%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |  A hub for the "Book of Masks" universe. |
|
The Interactives "The Book of Masks"  : A high school student discovers a grimoire that can make magical disguises."The Wandering Stars" : Sequel to "The Book of Masks.""Student Bodies" : A high school student is turned into a blue goo that can possess people.For non-WdC Members "The Book of Masks: Archives" : Dodges the "Servers Busy" barrier!"The Book of Masks (Abridged)" : Introductory storylines for new readers.Community "BoM/TWS Message Forum" : Community for readers of the interactives."BoM/TWS/SB Wiki" : Notes and documentation for authors. Spoilers!Current Polls None The Latest 6/26: Interactive: "A Rescue and Retreat" 6/26: Public: "A Rescue and Retreat"
|
| So, is this the day that I'm supposed to announce my plan for the year? Do I even have a plan for the year? Last year I broke my writing schedule up into monthly jobs: one month of writing BoM, and two months writing other kinds of fiction. It didn't work out as well as I would have liked, but I did manage to write one novel, and to fuss around with some other stuff. I'd like to do something similar this year—and I'd like to work some more on those half-finished projects—but I think I want to break the year up up into shorter increments. One of the problems last time, I think, was that the blocs of time were too big. I didn't even write as much BoM as I wanted to or could have, because I didn't have the enthusiasm to fill a whole month with it. For the other projects it was even worse. Some of those two-month blocs felt like an endless desert, empty of feature and enervating to the spirit. So this year I'm going to be more flexible, both in plan and in spirit. I am still going to plan things out in blocs, but I'm going to make the blocs smaller and I'm not going to designate them or their contents until I'm ready to turn to them. That way (I hope) I can stretch out writing cycles that are being productive, and can shut them off when I feel my attention or interest flagging badly. * * * And since today is the first of the year, I suppose I'd better get started. So I hereby declare the first fifteen days of January (at least) to be a BoM-writing period. I have one branch that I promised you guys I would write, and I also have two commissions to fulfill. That's about sixteen chapters I still have to write, which is easily doable in fifteen days. And there are two other people I've heard from who have said they are interested in commissioning stuff from me; if they set something up with me within the next two weeks, I might make all of January a BoM project. * * * In the meantime, two other pieces of business. First, the new chapter: Interactive: "Magic on the Loose?" Public: "Magic on the Loose?" Second, the polls results. "Kelly O'Brien" and "One of Bridget's girlfriends" were neck and neck all through the voting. But although "Bridget's girlfriends" won the Free Vote, a largish GP vote came in for "Kelly O'Brien" that tipped the victory the other way. So that's the chapter that I will write and publish. My thanks to everyone who voted and played. |
| Yesterday's poll is still running—[Poll completed and deleted]—and will run through tomorrow. As I write this, one of the choices has a slim lead in the "free" votes, but the race is close enough that GPs could tilt the outcome. In the meantime, on to the branch that I intended to start publishing yesterday: Interactive: "Some Suspect Behavior by Sophomores and Seniors" Public: "Some Suspect Behavior by Sophomores and Seniors" Background: Will and Caleb have moved down into the sophomore class, where they have been helping some geeky guys infiltrate the more popular precincts. But Will has an itch to move back up to the senior level, and he thinks he might be able to convince the sophomores to come with him. I suppose I should caution you that the first two chapters in this branch are going to closely resemble two others—"Blasts from the Past" and "Twenty-Five Places to Hide" —but it can't be helped. Something important has happened off-page, and Will and Caleb need to hear about it in this branch as well as in the other. |
| Well, it turns out I spoke too soon when I said that today would bring a sequel to "The Sophomore Scheme" . It'll come tomorrow. Instead, today I'm anticipating the branch that comes after that, the one you guys voted for in the "Plot Plinko" poll. You know, the sequel to "The Nuclear Option." Here it is: Interactive: "Girls, In and Out of Character" Public: "The Nuclear Option" -> "Girls, In and Out of Character" Why jump ahead like this, only to post a single chapter? Because I wrote that chapter yesterday, and when I got to the end of it I realized that I'm not quite sure what you guys were voting for when you picked the path "Let Sydney switch with her." Oh, the immediate question posed by the choice is clear. Who should assume the identity of Bridget Atwater: Will or Sydney? But what are his reasons for making that choice? It turns out that's pretty important, because (as you'll see if you read today's chapter) Will is going to have to immediately take on a new alias of his own. And which alias he takes will depend upon his reasons for letting Sydney take Bridget's mask. Specifically, does he let Sydney take the mask because he wanted her nearby as one of Kelly's friends? Or is it because he'd prefer to stay out of a female mask altogether? As "The Nuclear Option" is written, both are plausible motives. I'm not sure which motives the voters were thinking of when they voted for a continuation of "The Nuclear Option," so I'm putting it to you guys. Though Sydney winds up inside Bridget's mask, Will has a further choice about whose mask he puts on. The chapters "The Boyish Girl" and following will give you a sense of who the other candidates might be.To vote in the Free Poll, go here: [Poll completed and deleted] To vote using GPs, click on one of the links in the Free Poll and send GPs through the tip form at the bottom of the chapter it takes you to. * * * * * I'm going to let the poll run for two days, through Tuesday. In the meantime, don't worry about me keeping busy. I've been commissioned to work in a different branch in the saga of Will and Sydney, and I'll work there—keeping myself inside their heads—as I wait for the decision above. |
| Okay, today brings the current branch to a resting place: Interactive: "Unexpected Objects of Desire" Public: "Unexpected Objects of Desire" I know some people at least liked it because I got GPs. And I had fun writing it. I liked the twists that occurred along the way as various characters (plausibly, I hope, broke up and came together). I could have kept going for a little while longer, in fact, but decided to save the final turn of the screw—and would anyone like to guess on what that would that be?—for some other time. Tomorrow starts the thread that you guys voted on in the "Plot Plinko" polls, picking up with "The Sophomore Scheme" . Yesterday I finished writing the seventh (and concluding) chapter for it. That will carry us through January 5.I'll wait until the first of the year, though, before talking about future plans. I have to make some first. |
| A week ago I told you guys that the current branch would run through the 27th, which is today. But that was before I knew I was going to miss publishing on Christmas Day, so you might be thinking that it's going to run through tomorrow. Actually, it's going to run through Sunday, because I wound up revising today's chapter and tomorrow's, with the result that a new chapter of material got inserted between them. |
| So I hope everyone else had a good Christmas. Mine was good, though it did feel like I spent most of it hand-washing dishes. (Washing them while helping prepare a family Christmas meal, and washing them up afterward.) I'd tell you about what I got, but I doubt anyone (except maybe rugal) wants to hear about Peter Brown's The World of Late Antiquity or W. H. Lewis's The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV. What, you thought a guy who writes Book of Masks would be normal? Anyway, there's a new chapter up: Interactive: "The Businessman" Public: "The Businessman" I didn't publish anything yesterday, maybe you noticed. I didn't know know that I wasn't going to, and it wasn't until after washing all those dishes late in the day that I had a moment when I could, and by then I was all just, like, the hell with it. It wouldn't have been much of a holiday chapter, and it's also not much of a non-holiday chapter. Frankly, except for the last sentence, there probably isn't much point in reading it. If I wanted to, I could have cut it entirely from the branch sequence. I don't even know why it's there. Okay, that's not true, I do know why it's there. It's there because it just has to be there. I am not an outliner, I think I have mentioned in this blog before. Typically I don't know what is going to happen until I write it, and that was certainly true in the case of this chapter. Even as I writing it I was asking myself, "What's the point of all this?" And the only answer that made sense was: "The point is that it has to be there. Taking it out would be worse." Maybe that's a good answer and maybe it isn't. Maybe it's the wrong answer. All I know is that it's the answer I'm stuck with. * * * My thanks also to Easy and That One Guy for some absurdly generous Christmas gifts. |
| So, yesterday's poll will be the last, as it points to a chapter that needs to be written. My thanks to everyone who participated. And here's the quick links to today's chapter: Interactive: "Doing It at the Donna" Public: "Doing It at the Donna" |
| So I was right that yesterday's poll was very close. It just wasn't close between the two options I thought it was going to be close between. I like surprises like that. Anyway, here is the new poll: [Poll completed and deleted] And here are some quick links to today's published chapter: Interactive: "Bullying the Bullies" Public: "Bullying the Bullies" |
| I don't know why I even bothered to run a poll yesterday. I knew it wasn't going to be close. I do expect the sequel poll—[Poll completed and deleted]—to be closer, though. Oh, and here's extra links to the chapter I published today: Interactive: "Protecting Your Interests" Public: "Protecting Your Interests" Meanwhile, I have now written enough chapters to carry us through January 1, which (after taking account of that day I missed a few weeks back) will guarantee readers 31 days of BoM content. And I still have 10 more days of writing, so you'll get more chapters stretching into January. |
| A second "Plot Plinko" poll is now up: [Poll completed and deleted] And I'll use the opportunity to put another set of links to the chapter I published today: Interactive: "It's Like Marking Your Territory" Public: "It's Like Marking Your Territory" In case you're wondering, this branch will run through December 27. |
| I'm still at work on new chapters in the storyline you all voted for last time, but I'm already looking forward to the storyline after that. So, you guessed it, I have another poll for you. This one is going to follow "Plot Plinko" rules, which is one reason I'm getting an early start on it. I want to return to the branch where Will has partnered with Sydney McGlynn, and work down through various choices until we arrive at a chapter choice to continue. Here's the first poll: [Poll completed and deleted]. Voting is free, but you can also weight your vote with GPs. Tomorrow I'll post a sequel poll with choices based on how today's vote went. Meanwhile, new chapters have been published: Interactive: "Some Things That Yumi Can Do With Her Mouth" Public: "Some Things That Yumi Can Do With Her Mouth" |
| The voters have spoken. The bastards. Nah, I'm not upset with the voting results. I was neutral between the choices, which is why I tossed that choice to the readers. When I want the story to go in a particular direction, I keep firm hold of the wheel. Still, I have to wonder if the voters realized what they were likely to get. The choice wasn't between "Push Frank and Joe front and center" and "Shove Frank and Joe off-page." It was a choice about what Will should do in a particular situation. And it's not like what Will wants and what Will gets are always going to be the same. I couldn't tell you the likely consequences of each choice. That would have been a spoiler. But I knew when I made the poll where each choice was going to lead. I would hope that those of you who voted tried thinking about the logic of the situation before you cast your vote. And if you didn't? Well, then it's up to me to make what comes next feel logical. Inevitable, even. BTW, contra my headline above, I did do some writing yesterday and the day before, just not in the "sophomore" branch, which had to go on compositional hiatus while the poll was running Instead, I added two chapters to the branch that is currently being published, so it's going to run a little longer than I originally planned. But that's to the good, as those two additional chapters bring it to a better resting place. |
| Since my post below I have written two chapters in the new storyline. It wasn't hard. They closely parallel chapters already written: "The Last Day of Life as Lindsay?" and "Blasts from the Past" . And for that reason, the second of the two chapters ends in a choice very much like that at the end of "Blasts from the Past." Will and Caleb need new senior-level aliases, and by accusing robo-Dane of being Gordon Black in disguise, Frank and Joe have made themselves candidates. (I don't think that's a spoiler. If you're familiar with the branch that contains "Blasts from the Past," you'll have anticipated that this new branch would feature the same events and a similar choice.) I can write either choice. I like both choices--they lead to different but equally interesting challenges. But I also know that Joe and Frank are controversial characters with readers. Some like it when they show up. Others don't. Whichever choice I end up writing, there's a non-negligible chance that I'll end up writing the other at some point. But for now I'd like the readers' input on which direction to write in. [Poll completed and deleted] Note: Remember that Joe and Frank are likely to feature heavily in whichever branch I write, so this isn't an issue of avoiding their presence. The real question is: Do you want to see Will and Caleb try to hijack their identities? |
| First new chapter in that old branch is now up: "Bagging a Thug" (public)"Bagging a Thug" (interactive)Yesterday's poll is now closed: "The Sophomore Scheme" is the winner, so I'll start working on that chapter when I finish typing up this entry. Which happens now. |
| So today's posting— "Joey and You and You" (public)"Joey and You and You" (interactive)brings this branch to a halt. Last week I was pretty inconsistent about posting chapters, mostly because I've been writing these chapters right up against the deadline. Some of them I have finished up right before I post them. So yeah, this has all been highly improvised, in keeping with the highly improvised manner in which Joey Tartaglione walked in. People have said nice things about her, both directly, in public and private comments, and indirectly with some tips. My thanks, by the way, to Easy, Tal, Wordsmitty, bickuribox, and HayateZero for those. I hope I didn't sounded needy and insecure and in need of encouragement when I made that post where I described her genesis and admitted to not knowing if I liked her or not, and I hope that wasn't the reason I got those tips and comments. But whatever provoked them, I am grateful for them. * * * I need a bit of breathing room after a week or so of last-minute composition, so for the next week I'm going to be posting a series of chapters that I wrote some months ago but held back. They pick up here, with "The Wrong Guy for the Wrong Girl" . The back story? Will got rid of the "Libra," but it has come back into his life when through Keith he makes friends with Carlos Montoya, Michael Hollister, Philip Fairfax, and Joshua Shank. These guys were using the masks to insert themselves in place of some cheerleaders, and using their new clout to try to make Will popular. But Will stumbled onto their secret and joined their gang. Needing a new project, they have decided to engage in some "Freak Friday" style antics, by making unwilling body swaps between some of their classmates. The first victims are Chelsea Cooper, the head cheerleader, and Yumi Saito, one of Chelsea's critics and enemies. Will, in the guise of Yumi's friend Jenny Ashton, has been keeping close to Chelsea (the real girl, now trapped in Yumi's body and life) to see what she does and how she reacts. And to everyone's consternation and horror, the Yumi-swapped Chelsea has reacted by starting to date that gang-banging drug-dealer, Gary Chen. * * * So that starts tomorrow. It's all written, so I need something else to write while it's rolling out. And you know what that means? Let's do a poll: [Poll completed and deleted] (See poll for details.) |
| Well, let's find out what happens with Joey Tartaglione: "Returning a Prank with Interest" (public) + "Returning a Prank with Interest" (interactive). I did some thinking about it yesterday, so I want to push on a little further. |
| Every time I came in today to post today's chapter, something came up to pull me away. But it's up now: "Any Friend of Jenny's ..." (public)"Any Friend of Jenny's ..." (interactive)When I said yesterday that I didn't know where it was going, I was perfectly serious. I had no idea. I knew Will was going to go off with Jenny, and that there'd be someone else along, but who? The name "Joey" came to me, so that's who he met. For minigolf, I haphazardly decided. I also had to come up for some reason why we hadn't seen her before, either from Jenny's POV or not. Hence, the church/home-school angle. Which suggested a socially awkward persona, which also fit in with the fact that I didn't know anything about her. I sent her to the restroom so Will and Jenny could talk about her behind her back. I totally didn't expect her to come running back out, shouting that there was a rat in the restroom. What happens after that is a spoiler. I really don't know how I feel about her, and I'm unsure whether to continue with her or not, because I don't know how the readers are going to feel about her. I don't want to run a poll, but I do want to see if there's any reaction, privately or publicly, before continuing this line. So I think tomorrow you're likely to get a one-off somewhere else in BoM. |
| A new chapter is now up: "Four Girls and One Red-Faced Guy" (public)"Four Girls and One Red-Faced Guy" (interactive)I have no idea where it's going or what's going to happen. I don't know how long it's going to run, but I will try to make it last at least seven days. |
| Today's chapters— "The Trouble with Karl" (public)"The Trouble with Karl" (interactive)—bring a commission to a halting point. Tomorrow we'll go someplace else, to follow up on the branch you guys voted to continue: "The Search for Support" .That's an early chapter, so there's not much background. Will has bought a magical grimoire from a used bookstore, and he has started playing around with it, to the point of making a mask. But he's decided he wants a partner to work on it with him. Who? You guys voted for Jenny Ashton. Now I have to go off and figure out what happens, if there's going to be a chapter tomorrow. |
| Hey, so I'm sorry I missed publishing yesterday. Here's the chapter I should have published: "Secret Boyfriend" (public) + "Secret Boyfriend" (interactive). I'll make it up to you guys on the other side of the month. Yeah, I'm still distracted by Civilization IV. I started a game yesterday, intending only to set it up, but it got so absorbing it took up all my free time. It was a puzzle game I've been trying to solve off and on for a couple of weeks now, and yesterday I finally felt like I was going to crack it. And I did. So that's how come I was away. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
