A Quick Note:
This entry is liable to be brief. Very brief. I got my flu and COVID-19 booster shots yesterday, and they knocked me out. I haven’t experienced any seriously bad reactions, but my shoulder hurts and I’ve spent most of the day sleeping. It’s almost dinner time for the cats, too. So I want to finish up before they start yelling about their missing supper.
Last Week’s Story:
It’s not finished yet. Honestly, I did not start “Hugh and the Missing Labyrinth” until yesterday, just because I was working on other projects. And even though last Monday was a holiday, I still did not get a whole lot of writing done.
The story itself takes some ideas from Story No. 4, “The Labyrinth at the End of the World”, and expands on them. I’m not sure what will come of it. I’m never sure what’s going to happen in these stories until I write them. That’s half the fun! Sometimes I do outline them a bit before writing them, but even then the story rarely follows the outline.
This Week’s Prompt:
Here it is:
An engineer wants to conduct blackmail with a phasing energy weapon, but it will start a war
As you see, I rolled a 5 on the D8 for Science Fiction, and a 2 on the D6 for Romance. Romance, romance, romance. The bane of my writerly existence. But at least I can explore the relationship between William and Sheila, the romantic pairing I created in No. 32, “The Race”, but which hasn’t really turned into a romance yet. I also get to explore some of their world.
I think the card with the energy weapon appeared last time I drew from the Science Fiction deck; if it did, that’s okay. I’ll just use it again and put the card back properly this time.
This Week’s Recommendation:
Ink Foundry, created by a Codex writer, is a tremendous resource for finding short stories to read on line. I was able to find a story that I’ve read and really enjoyed but lost the URL to, the novelette “And Then There Were (N-one)” by Sarah Pinsker, published in Issue 15 of Uncanny. I strongly recommend that story, and I strongly recommend using Ink Foundry to find other great stories to read.
That’s it for this week. I hope to finish “Hugh and the Mystery of the Missing Maze” tonight or tomorrow, then start the new story on Tuesday.
Until then, be kind, be safe, have fun, and stay weird.