Somehow I completely forgot to update my blog last week. I apologize for that, guys. D=

Anyway, quick update on what I've been doing with Story of the Dead since my last update. I finished Chapter 13 but haven't moved on much since, and I'm currently writing Chapter 14. I'm maybe a third of the way through it, having just begun the second scene. Unfortunately, this probably means that unless I pick up the pace soon, the posting of the story will catch up to me and I'll be playing catch-up the rest of the book like I was for almost all of Book 3.

At the point in the story I've just reached, all of our lead characters have finally been introduced. The last 3 characters we'll meet in the story are none other than Lariska, Triglax, and Mimic, characters that exist in the canon but who haven't been very far explored. I plan to explore them, especially Mimic, who has always been my favorite Dark Hunter.

Also introduced a totally new but minor character called Aciteth, an Onu-Matoran. Basically, Aciteth is to Gyotaren as Xironu is to Onathei - a right-hand, a confidante, and as you'll see in Chapter 14, a succesor (since Xironu and Aciteth become kings to replace Onathei and Gyotaren, who spend too much time away from the village training). For those who read Tyaseri's Blog, Aciteth was briefly mentioned there as a Toa on Tolliwam and part of the team of Hibuthil, Nejodis, and Mehikir. He becomes a Toa not too long after the telling of Onathei's Story of the Dead, and in the bonus story that I've talked about writing, he'll be a main character and most likely will be shown becoming a Toa.

This is a random thing that I thought might be worth noting: frankly, out of all the teams I've written about so far (the Toa-Kal, the Barraki/League of Six Kingdoms, the Krandorn/Barnoka/Zirralo team, the Lenurin/Qedono/Tyaseri team, the Sihnozu/Geoku/Tekarou team, the team from Rode Nui, the guest star team led by Lepaka, the Hibuthil/Nejodis/Mehikir team, the Guutana/Roqini/Desurk team, and more recently, the Onathei/Gyotaren/Feyain team, the Rai, the Shuuno, and now the Mimic/Triglax/Lariska team), I find Onathei's team to be the most compelling to write about. They're the classic three-man team: the hero/leader Onathei, the sidekick/best friend Gyotaren, and the peacekeeper/girl Feyain. The chemistry between the three is very interesting to explore, and even though I've only been writing about them for a couple months, I already feel closer to them then I ever was to the Toa-Kal or any of the other teams. This is going to make it all the more tragic for me to see the team falling apart towards the end of Book 4.

Anyway, onto the much delayed tip on settings for my weekly...

Writing Tip Of the Week

I've put it off long enough now, I'll finally give you my tip on settings now. There actually isn't as much here as I expected there to be, so I'll try to stretch out as much as I can.

The setting of your story in my opinion should be one (not both) of the following: a) totally unobtrusive and forgettable, like Ayomeii, or B) dangerous and providing problems for the hero as much as if not more than the villain does, like Dyteeli. As you can see, the setting has to be at one of the extremes. A "lukewarm" setting will likely just get in the way of your story or seem gimmicky. Of course, like anything else I tell you not to do in this blog, it can be done right. In fact, Book 4 is (hopefully) an example of how you can have a lukewarm setting - the main conflict is with the villains, but the setting (a living island) plays a large role in the plot as well.

An unobtrusive setting doesn't bring attention to itself and allows the plot and the characters to do their business with little intrusion; it simply sets the stage for a paragraph or so in each scene and then is mostly forgotten until the characters briefly interact with their environment again as opposed to each other. This kind of setting is generally the best, the kind of setting that could easily be changed to something else with only the most minuscule changes to the plot.

A dangerous setting does bring attention to itself, constantly. In a character-vs.-nature story, you'll need the setting to be like this. In other stories, it could be nice to have this kind of setting, since it provides an added feeling of danger when even the environment is turned against you. Usually to tell if you've done this right, see what would happen to the plot if you changed the setting to a type A setting. If you lose huge chunks of plot and the story basically couldn't survive, then you probably have a good type B setting.

Aside from that, you can basically do whatever you want with the setting and no one will complain. Just make sure it isn't too stupid or too nonsensical, and make sure that you can explain all the weirdness of your setting before you write it. (For example, if I had decided that the island in Book 4 was alive before I decided why, I'd be in big trouble later on. XD)

That's about all I have to say for settings, so I guess next week I'll finish this little mini-series of tips with a tip on plot.

Also, guess what guys? Comedy-Makers is making a comeback! I'm writing a new chapter alongside my friend Panakalego, who is probably going to be co-writing it with me (because he's the only one so far able to get me to write it XD) from now on. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, though. Soon. And I mean that this time.