Pens and Swords » Site News

Where the path ends

Kameron — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:00:31 +0000

I’m aborting my foray into RPG blogging. I am often overcome with a variety of creative impulses, and tend to follow too many of them, until I find my resources stretched thin and in danger of snapping. The last couple months have been a time of assessment and pruning, until my course realigned with the goals I had the ability and the opportunity to accomplish.

One of the features of my other blog was a weekly fantasy fiction serial based on the 4E D&D game I started playing in. My intent was to sharpen my writing muscles with short format pieces. I want to continue the exercise, so I’m going to move the feature over to this blog. Starting next Friday, I will reprint the first post from the series.

Sort of.

I don’t feel comfortable publishing content on this site that I don’t own or have permission to use. For that reason, the stories will be loosely inspired by plot elements from the game, but any references to D&D intellectual property will be removed. I’m going to set the story in the world of the Chronicles of Jord, during the Dragons’ War (long before the events of Shattered Amulet). The main character is a durkar named Keldon Ironbiter, who is a member of a resistance group fighting against the dragons and their allies.Similar Posts:

Following a new path

Kameron — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 14:00:47 +0000

Where did everybody go? Traffic to the site dropped by almost half exactly last week. I’m pretty sure it’s related to the expiration of the kameronmf.com domain, which happened back on April 10th. Hopefully, folks will find their way back.

I know I’ll still be here. I really enjoy blogging. It helps me sort through my thoughts and focus on the message or idea I’m trying to convey. Sometimes the process of writing a post distills the thought to its essence. Sometimes posts serve as the receptacle for detritus, allowing me to disgorge the random creativity bouncing around in my head so I can concentrate on a specific project.

I’ve been thinking about roleplaying games a lot recently. Dungeons & Dragons was–and is–a big influence on my perception of fantasy fiction. I cut my world-building teeth designing the settings for the games I DM’d. And, like many RPG players, I dabble in amateur system design. As much as I love D&D, I haven’t been satisfied with the rules since the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. The latest edition of the game is no exception.

The temptation to start blogging about roleplaying games here at Pens & Swords has been strong. I mean, the name works just as well for RPGs as it does for fantasy fiction. There is some audience crossover, but I’ve learned it’s better to keep a clear focus on the content of a blog, and fantasy fiction writing is what Pens & Swords is about.

So, I decided to start a RPG blog. It’s something I’ve been mulling over for a while now, but hadn’t settled on until a couple weeks ago, when I committed myself to a semi-monthly 4E game. I’ll be chronicling the adventures from that game, along with my thoughts on RPG design, over at Paths of Adventure, which I launched yesterday. If you’re a RPG fan, I invite you over for a look.Similar Posts:

Pruning posts

Kameron — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:00:39 +0000

This blog turns 5 next month. Over those five years, I’ve written posts about a lot of different subjects, and not all of them are related to fantasy fiction. Topics have included events in my personal life, the NBA, Dungeons and Dragons, movie reviews, game design, and various geek interests. Some of these posts are quite popular with spammers, some come up frequently in searches. The most popular post on this blog is not about fantasy fiction.

The obsessive-compulsive aspect of my personality has a deep desire to purge these non-fantasy fiction posts. I’ve considered running additional blogs focusing on other topics, and moving relevant posts from here to there, but I just don’t have the time. So, I’m going to give in to my OCD and start pruning over the next few weeks. The real question is, how much?

I’d like to know from you if there are any old, non-fantasy fiction-related posts you’d like to keep around. Make your requests to spare the axe in the comments.Similar Posts:

Domain transition

Kameron — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:00:01 +0000

I launched the Pens & Swords blog on kameronmf.com almost five years ago. The Men with Pens provided me with a free site critique last summer after I relaunched the blog. One result of that feedback was the purchase of the pensandswords.com domain, which I’ve been using as a redirect.

That’s about to change.

The registration for kameronmf.com will expire in a couple more months, and I’ve decided not to renew. The domain had personal significance for me, being a combination of my first name and the first letters of my middle and last names. It’s a common convention I use for email addresses and usernames.

It doesn’t hold the same significance for anybody else. People trying to find me online search for my first name or first and last name. I include my middle initial in most bylines.

So why didn’t I just buy kameronfranklin.com? Well, I started this blog using Blogger. My username was “kameronmf” and also used that for the Blogspot vanity URL. When I purchased my own domain, I just carried it over.

The blog has always been called Pens & Swords, however. That name has multiple layers of significance, and is a much more common search term. I was extremely lucky the domain was available. And now that I have it, I’m going to take full advantage of it. Starting February 1st, this site will be fully hosted on www.pensandswords.com, and www.kameronmf.com will become a redirect. Then on March 1st, www.kameronmf.com will disappear.

This also means that my email address is changing. Any address associated with the kameronmf.com domain will cease to function. I’ve already made the change on the Contact Kameron page. Please be sure to update your address books.

Google is transitioning Feedburner feeds, so the RSS feed for the site may change as well. I’ll make a separate announcement at that time. If you have www.kameronmf.com bookmarked, or link to it in a blogroll, you’ll need to update those.

Everything should go smoothly. I’ll make the transition over the weekend in order to avoid as much disruption as possible. I appreciate your patience during the process and please let me know if you encounter any difficulties.Similar Posts:

Recovering from a drive-by

Kameron — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:00:31 +0000

The knight stepped out from the shadow of the gatehouse as the chains that raised the portcullis clinked to a halt. Sunlight flashed off the polished plates of his armor as he strode toward the agreed location for the duel. The metal’s weight comforted him, though he could feel some imbalances indicative of loose straps and other casualties of wear. Nothing life-threatening, however. He would send for an armorer after this business was finished.

Two men were waiting as the knight approached. One swung a broadsword with two hands in clumsy movements that reminded the knight of the first swings he took with his father’s blade. The weapon now hung comfortably on his left hip, ready to leap into his gauntleted hand.

The other man took the blade from the first, and showed a much more practiced stroke. He offered the sword back to his companion, who returned to his hacking arcs with an indifferent shrug. A nudge and a nod toward the knight from the bladesman brought the display to an end.

Were these men his opponents? The knight slowed his pace, cautious. Surely not. Their dark, loose linen tunics and breeches belonged to craftsmen. More likely, they were shirking their responsibilities for a bit of fun.

Or perhaps they had come to witness the duel. Spectators were not unheard of, though the knight did understand the thirst for such bloodsport.

“Good day,” the knight greeted them, scouting the area. “I suppose you are here–”

A whoosh of air was all the warning the knight had. He swung his arm up, the clang of metal ringing as the blow connected with his armored limb. The knight stumbled backward, grasping for his own sword, but it caught in the scabbard. Betrayed, he was helpless as his attacker pierced the gaps in his protection.

The knight fell to the ground, blood flowing freely from several wounds. His breath rattled in his lungs. The duel had been a ruse, he realized, as the two men turned and left. The knight rolled onto his back and flipped back his visor. He heard the pounding of hooves on packed dirt. His men were approaching. Leather and metal jingled, and a grizzled face appeared over his.

“My lord, what happened?”

“Assassins.”

Pens and Swords was the victim of a drive-by this Sunday, courtesy of the Men with Pens. I’ll be making a few changes based on their wonderful (and solicited) analysis and feedback. The first, which I already completed, is the purchase of a new domain. You’ll now be able to access this blog by going to www.pensandswords.com. I’m keeping kameronmf.com; the new URL acts as a redirect.

All the off-site links are moving to a Resource page. And Ben Overmeyer has offered some graphics help with a new banner. Post categories not related to fantasy fiction will disappear from the Archives drop-down, and the categories with ambiguous names or acronyms will be clarified. I also need to try to clean up the CSS, but that’s lower on the priority list.

I’ve flip-flopped on the issue of post title capitalization over the course of my blogging career. I currently follow AP guidelines (as opposed to the Chicago Manual of Style).

I’m interested in hearing what you readers think of the blog design, both those that have been here through past iterations and those new to the site. What works and what doesn’t, for you? Is the banner too plain, or is it clean and uncluttered? Can I do something to better emphasize the content? Do you even visit the site or do you get the content through a RSS reader?Similar Posts:

Open during remodel

Kameron — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:00:22 +0000

It’s been a couple years since the last time I re-designed my website. The bug bit me following Pens & Swords’ four-year anniversary last month. I’ve also been reading up on Internet writing, which resulted in some ideas I want to try out.

I first started Pens & Swords as a chronicle of my experience writing and publishing Maiden of Pain. The blog’s scope expanded after Maiden saw print by necessity, but I think it’s gone too far and I want to refocus. There are so many D&D news, review and playing tips blogs, and I don’t play the game enough (though I’d love to find a group for 4E), that any value I might add is minimal enough that it isn’t worth the effort.

Pens & Swords is going to return to its roots. My posts will focus on writing fantasy fiction as much as possible, whether that’s something specific about my writing or talking about the genre in general. If I’m lucky enough to join a gaming group, I might even keep a campaign log. If it has to do with fantasy fiction, you’ll read about it here at Pens & Swords.Similar Posts:

Relvan’s retirement

Kameron — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:00:20 +0000

Got a form letter rejection from Realms of Fantasy yesterday for “Relvan’s Rescue.” Return time: 41 days. I’m going to retire this one for now. I like the story, but I don’t have the time or desire to dig around and discover what it needs.

J.L. Collins is collaborating on a fantasy comic book that has passed the first round of an Idol-like contest. Round two will allow public voting, so check out his entry and give him your support.

It appears that my anti-spam plugin, which I recently updated, may be preventing legitimate commenters from posting, even if they have JavaScript and Cookies enabled on their browsers. I’ll revert to the previous version when I get home, but double check your browser settings and confirm you have enabled JavaScript and Cookies.

Update
Both the Wavatars and the WP-SpamFree plugins had updates. I’ve installed those. Wavatars is working again. Shoot me an email if you have JavaScript and Cookies enabled on your browser, but still can’t post a comment.

Further Update
Had to roll back WP-SpamFree all the way to 1.3.1 (was 1.5.x) to stop error message. Comments now appear to be working correctly again.Similar Posts:

Pens & Swords fourth edition

Kameron — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 21:00:49 +0000

With the upgrade to WordPress 2.3.x, tags were added, so I’ve been going through and tagging old posts, as well as redoing my categories. I’ll add a tag cloud to the Archives page tonight. I also want to convert the bulleted lists of categories and months into drop-down lists.

Another change I’d like to make to the Archives is the display of posts. There is an option that lets you set how many posts appear on a page, but it affects all “blog” pages. I only want one post visible at a time on the front page, but would like multiple post excerpts listed in the Archives.

I added Gravatars and Wavatars, so you’ll notice some wacky images in the Comments now. I spent most of the time last night trying to get CAPTCHA plug-ins to work, but the image never appeared. I found another anti-spam plugin that tests for Javascript and cookie handling, and was very easy to install and activate, so I’m using that for now. If you have disabled Javascript and cookies in your browser, you won’t be able to leave comments, but most bots can’t handle them, so it is an effective filter that requires no extra effort from a majority of users.

I still need to figure out why WordPress keeps messing with the embed code for videos. This is a lower priority, as I’m not much of a video blogger.Similar Posts:

New Year’s layoffs

Kameron — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:36:16 +0000

I’ve decided to start the year by downsizing. The first to get the pink slip is the forum here. The only traffic it was getting–that wasn’t spambots–came from my play-by-post Dungeons & Dragons game, which has been going on for more than two years. Unfortunately, the pace of the game did not live up to my expectations. I enjoyed those I played with, but this experience has shown me that the PbP format is not the solution to my gaming woes. I am looking forward to the 4E online tools, and hope to game again with many of the same players.

Perhaps I will resurrect the forum when my writing career gains more momentum. For now, it’s not worth the maintenance, and most visitors post comments on the blog anyway.

The second victim of my crusade to reallocate resources is City of Heroes. I’ve been playing for a year, and really enjoy the game, but as I look at my commitments for the next six months or so, I can’t rationalize the time if I’m serious about accomplishing the goals I set. So, I’m letting my subscription expire. I’ll assess my progress later in the year and reactivate my account once I can afford the time.Similar Posts:

Open calls & email notifications

Kameron — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 06:16:46 +0000

I had the pleasure of being asked to contribute to a small press anthology last week. While very appreciative of the gesture, I decided to pass for purely mercenary reasons. I did tell the publisher I would advertise the open call for submissions once it was announced.

Readers of Pens & Swords can now subscribe to email notifications of blog updates. You do not have to be registered to sign up. Just click on the Subscribe link under the Pages section on the left. If you are registered, you can subscribe through your Profile.Similar Posts:

Open call: a winning proposal