This is mark Joseph “young” blog entry #409, on the subject of Characters Cooperate.

With permission of Valdron Inc I have previously completed publishing my first six novels, Verse Three, Chapter One:  The First Multiverser Novel, Old Verses New, For Better or Verse, Spy Verses, Garden of Versers, and Versers Versus Versers, in serialized form on the web (those links will take you to the table of contents for each book).  Along with each book there was also a series of web log posts looking at the writing process, the decisions and choices that delivered the final product; those posts are indexed with the chapters in the tables of contents pages.  Now as I am posting the seventh, Re Verse All,  I am again offering a set of “behind the writings” insights.  This “behind the writings” look may contain spoilers because it sometimes talks about my expectations for the futures of the characters and stories–although it sometimes raises ideas that were never pursued, as being written partially concurrently with the story it sometimes discusses where I thought it was headed.  You might want to read the referenced chapters before reading this look at them.  Links below (the section headings) will take you to the specific individual chapters being discussed, and there are (or will soon be) links on those pages to bring you back hopefully to the same point here.

There is also a section of the site, Multiverser Novel Support Pages, in which I have begun to place materials related to the novels beginning with character papers for the major characters, giving them at different stages as they move through the books.

This is the twenty-fifth mark Joseph “young” web log post covering this book, covering chapters 145 through 150.  It was suggested that more shorter posts were a better choice than fewer longer ones, so there will be posts every six chapters, that is, every other week, for this book.  Previous entries were:

1. #354:  Versers Reorienting, covering chapters 1 through 6;
2. #355:  Versers Resettling, for chapters 7 through 12.
3. #357:  Characters Connect, for chapters 13 through 18.
4. #359:  Characters Engage, for chapters 19 through 24.
5. #361:  Characters Explore, for chapters 25 through 30.
6. #364:  Characters Learn, for chapters 31 through 36.
7. #365:  Characters Travel, for chapters 37 through 42.
8. #367:  Versers Encounter, for chapters 43 through 48.
9. #370:  Characters Confront, for chapters 49 through 54.
10. #373:  Nervous Characters, for chapters 55 through 60.
11. #376:  Characters Arrive, for chapters 61 through 66.
12. #379:  Character Conundrums, for chapters 67 through 72.
13. #381:  World Complications, for chapters 73 through 78.
14. #383:  Character Departures, for chapters 79 through 84.
15. #385:  Characters Ascend, for chapters 85 through 90.
16. #388:  Versers Climb, for chapters 91 through 96.
17. #390:  World Facilities, for chapters 97 through 102.
18. #392:  Characters Resting, for chapters 103 through 108.
19. #395:  Character Obstacles, for chapters 109 through 114.
20. #397:  Verser Challenges, for chapters 115 through 120.
21. #401:  Characters Hiking, for chapters 121 through 126.
22. #403:  Versers Innovating, for chapters 127 through 132.
23. #405:  Versers Converge, for chapters 133 through 138.
24. #407:  Versers Integrate, for chapters 139 through 144.

History of the series, including the reason it started, the origins of character names and details, and many of the ideas, are in earlier posts, and won’t be repeated here.

Chapter 145, Beam 114

I didn’t really have much to write on this but to keep the group moving.  The book Lauren is reading is of course her Bible.

Chapter 146, Hastings 229

I knew Beam was going to have more confrontations, but that these would not be terribly interesting story-wise if they were always from his perspective.  The notion that some other tribe was occupying the buffet made for a good conflict which Lauren could both observe and resolve without being at the front of things.

Chapter 147, Takano 56

I knew that the space would become more crowded as they approached the surface, and decided that level six was a good spot for the real complications to begin.  The maintenance control room seemed a logical spot, as it would be spacious enough.

Chapter 148, Beam 115

I needed Tommy to practice, and Beam to recognize that she was not secretly a powerful ninja, and also to recognize some other things about them.

Having Beam discuss the problems ahead with Bron seemed the best option.

Chapter 149, Hastings 230

Since Tommy would be needed to lead the people back to the ramp, I figured I could put Bron in back and have some exchange of information between him and Lauren.  I also set myself up for her to teach him some magic, but of course we have that issue that the god of this world honors magic but tries to push people toward technology, so magic is wonky.

Chapter 150, Takano 57

I was filling Kyler in on some of what was happening in the story, and he commented that based on the personality of the person on whom the character was based he was pretty sure that Beam would have been flirting with Tommy.  That’s a problem for me, because I have no talent for flirting with younger girls, but apparently he does, so I was going to have to figure out how to work in that he was flirting somewhat effectively without pretending I know how to do that by writing it.  I’m still not sure how that’s going to work, but it starts with Tommy wondering about it.

I wrote part of it, then decided I was out of my depth, printed it for Kyler who was perhaps equally stymied, and then sent a message to friend Cassandra, who had helped with the question of how to get Tommy involved with her peers in the suburban world.

Ultimately I used a lateral break to get out of the flirting question; the discussion of physical training was really there as an escape.  I was still waiting to hear from my friend.  I had not heard from her before I finished the book.

This has been the twenty-fifth behind the writings look at Re Verse All.  If there is interest and continued support from readers we will endeavor to continue with another novel and more behind the writings posts for it.

This is mark Joseph “young” blog entry #407, on the subject of Versers Integrate.

With permission of Valdron Inc I have previously completed publishing my first six novels, Verse Three, Chapter One:  The First Multiverser Novel, Old Verses New, For Better or Verse, Spy Verses, Garden of Versers, and Versers Versus Versers, in serialized form on the web (those links will take you to the table of contents for each book).  Along with each book there was also a series of web log posts looking at the writing process, the decisions and choices that delivered the final product; those posts are indexed with the chapters in the tables of contents pages.  Now as I am posting the seventh, Re Verse All,  I am again offering a set of “behind the writings” insights.  This “behind the writings” look may contain spoilers because it sometimes talks about my expectations for the futures of the characters and stories–although it sometimes raises ideas that were never pursued, as being written partially concurrently with the story it sometimes discusses where I thought it was headed.  You might want to read the referenced chapters before reading this look at them.  Links below (the section headings) will take you to the specific individual chapters being discussed, and there are (or will soon be) links on those pages to bring you back hopefully to the same point here.

There is also a section of the site, Multiverser Novel Support Pages, in which I have begun to place materials related to the novels beginning with character papers for the major characters, giving them at different stages as they move through the books.

This is the twenty-fourth mark Joseph “young” web log post covering this book, covering chapters 139 through 144.  It was suggested that more shorter posts were a better choice than fewer longer ones, so there will be posts every six chapters, that is, every other week, for this book.  Previous entries were:

1. #354:  Versers Reorienting, covering chapters 1 through 6;
2. #355:  Versers Resettling, for chapters 7 through 12.
3. #357:  Characters Connect, for chapters 13 through 18.
4. #359:  Characters Engage, for chapters 19 through 24.
5. #361:  Characters Explore, for chapters 25 through 30.
6. #364:  Characters Learn, for chapters 31 through 36.
7. #365:  Characters Travel, for chapters 37 through 42.
8. #367:  Versers Encounter, for chapters 43 through 48.
9. #370:  Characters Confront, for chapters 49 through 54.
10. #373:  Nervous Characters, for chapters 55 through 60.
11. #376:  Characters Arrive, for chapters 61 through 66.
12. #379:  Character Conundrums, for chapters 67 through 72.
13. #381:  World Complications, for chapters 73 through 78.
14. #383:  Character Departures, for chapters 79 through 84.
15. #385:  Characters Ascend, for chapters 85 through 90.
16. #388:  Versers Climb, for chapters 91 through 96.
17. #390:  World Facilities, for chapters 97 through 102.
18. #392:  Characters Resting, for chapters 103 through 108.
19. #395:  Character Obstacles, for chapters 109 through 114.
20. #397:  Verser Challenges, for chapters 115 through 120.
21. #401:  Characters Hiking, for chapters 121 through 126.
22. #403:  Versers Innovating, for chapters 127 through 132.
23. #405:  Versers Converge, for chapters 133 through 138.

History of the series, including the reason it started, the origins of character names and details, and many of the ideas, are in earlier posts, and won’t be repeated here.

Chapter 139, Hastings 227

I had debated on what level Lauren and Tommy would encounter Beam, and had shifted in my mind from level four to level eight.  At the last moment I decided that it would be really odd for Lauren and Beam to have adopted the same day/night schedule, so I decided that the girls would be having dinner at the point where Beam was going to stop for lunch.  That meant an odd numbered level, and I went with level nine.  Lauren still has to decide to travel with Beam, which I’ll have to work out in the next chapter.

It was sort of a last minute decision to have Tommy in the hall when Beam arrived.  I had long known that when the confrontation occurred Lauren could easily raise her psionic shield (she doesn’t know absolutely that it would work, but it has been reliable in the past), but by putting Tommy out of sight I prevented her from doing so immediately.

Chapter 140, Beam 112

I needed to bring the two groups together cautiously.  The notion that Tommy’s graffiti distracted Beam giving the girl the chance to get back to Lauren before the confrontation was kind of abrupt.

The idea that Beam suspected Tommy of being a ninja was abrupt but logical.  After all, Beam wouldn’t take someone along who didn’t contribute in some significant way, and he is a bit awed by Lauren’s powers so he assumes that Tommy must offer something significant to that.

The television reference is to a Tom Baker Doctor Who episode, The Ribos Operation in The Key to Time series, in which the Doctor identifies a young man as a thief and Romana (Romana 1) makes the comment about his honest face and gets that response.

I knew the kawanaga was a ninja weapon, but didn’t expect anyone to recognize it as such so soon–but Beam’s gaming experience would have meant that, like Lauren, he was exposed to such weapons, and the more so because he was a more serious gamer than she was.  Of course, he doesn’t really care if she’s a ninja for the reasons that matter in game, but rather because he thinks that if she is that gives her hidden skills of which to be wary.

Chapter 141, Takano 54

I put Lauren and Tommy on rear guard partly so they could talk about their relationship with Beam.  I moved into the concerns about the computer mostly for fill, but it had occurred to me before that Tommy’s computers might be infected by whatever was bringing down the central system, and I wanted that to occur to her.

At this point I thought I should shift to running the three viewpoint characters in turn, but I had already decided that as they approached the surface they were going to encounter more groups of people, and it kind of had to start with level eight and Beam had to be the front man for it.

Chapter 142, Beam 113

I had not intended to get involved in an effort to fix the main computer, and for plot reasons I know it’s going to fail, but once Tommy started asking about the system problems, which really was inevitable, it just naturally led to a consideration of whether they could be repaired.  The notion of obtaining a clean copy of the basic operating system by ordering a new computer was valid, but won’t work because of the auto update feature that’s been incorporated in more recent computers.

This chapter was supposed to be the confrontation with another tribe, and instead turned into the computer discussion.  I’m not sure how the confrontation is going to play, particularly as it looks as if it has to be done from Lauren’s perspective, and she’s in the rear.

Chapter 143, Hastings 228

I struggled with how to convey the population problem, but it actually worked better with Lauren deducing the problem than it would have with me trying to have Beam confront multiple groups of residents.

I sort of stumbled into the mattress store idea.

Chapter 144, Takano 55

Once I had the mattress store idea it was obvious that Tommy would lead the way to get there.  It also gave me more spotlight for her, making her a more significant part of the group, and probably also showing Beam that she contributed something to the team.

This has been the twenty-fourth behind the writings look at Re Verse All.  If there is interest and continued support from readers we will endeavor to continue with another novel and more behind the writings posts for it.

This is mark Joseph “young” blog entry #405, on the subject of Versers Converge.

With permission of Valdron Inc I have previously completed publishing my first six novels, Verse Three, Chapter One:  The First Multiverser Novel, Old Verses New, For Better or Verse, Spy Verses, Garden of Versers, and Versers Versus Versers, in serialized form on the web (those links will take you to the table of contents for each book).  Along with each book there was also a series of web log posts looking at the writing process, the decisions and choices that delivered the final product; those posts are indexed with the chapters in the tables of contents pages.  Now as I am posting the seventh, Re Verse All,  I am again offering a set of “behind the writings” insights.  This “behind the writings” look may contain spoilers because it sometimes talks about my expectations for the futures of the characters and stories–although it sometimes raises ideas that were never pursued, as being written partially concurrently with the story it sometimes discusses where I thought it was headed.  You might want to read the referenced chapters before reading this look at them.  Links below (the section headings) will take you to the specific individual chapters being discussed, and there are (or will soon be) links on those pages to bring you back hopefully to the same point here.

There is also a section of the site, Multiverser Novel Support Pages, in which I have begun to place materials related to the novels beginning with character papers for the major characters, giving them at different stages as they move through the books.

This is the twenty-third mark Joseph “young” web log post covering this book, covering chapters 133 through 138.  It was suggested that more shorter posts were a better choice than fewer longer ones, so there will be posts every six chapters, that is, every other week, for this book.  Previous entries were:

1. #354:  Versers Reorienting, covering chapters 1 through 6;
2. #355:  Versers Resettling, for chapters 7 through 12.
3. #357:  Characters Connect, for chapters 13 through 18.
4. #359:  Characters Engage, for chapters 19 through 24.
5. #361:  Characters Explore, for chapters 25 through 30.
6. #364:  Characters Learn, for chapters 31 through 36.
7. #365:  Characters Travel, for chapters 37 through 42.
8. #367:  Versers Encounter, for chapters 43 through 48.
9. #370:  Characters Confront, for chapters 49 through 54.
10. #373:  Nervous Characters, for chapters 55 through 60.
11. #376:  Characters Arrive, for chapters 61 through 66.
12. #379:  Character Conundrums, for chapters 67 through 72.
13. #381:  World Complications, for chapters 73 through 78.
14. #383:  Character Departures, for chapters 79 through 84.
15. #385:  Characters Ascend, for chapters 85 through 90.
16. #388:  Versers Climb, for chapters 91 through 96.
17. #390:  World Facilities, for chapters 97 through 102.
18. #392:  Characters Resting, for chapters 103 through 108.
19. #395:  Character Obstacles, for chapters 109 through 114.
20. #397:  Verser Challenges, for chapters 115 through 120.
21. #401:  Characters Hiking, for chapters 121 through 126.
22. #403:  Versers Innovating, for chapters 127 through 132.

History of the series, including the reason it started, the origins of character names and details, and many of the ideas, are in earlier posts, and won’t be repeated here.

Chapter 133, Takano 52

I’m hoping the graffiti will be something different for the reader.  The discussion of attacks and blocks has given me a problem, though, because it’s obvious to me that Tommy would see she could order a weapon from the computer even though it wouldn’t occur to Lauren, and I’m facing the perennial problem that if Lauren teaches Tommy to fight with the same weapon Lauren uses, Tommy will fight like Lauren and my stories will be more the same.

Chapter 134, Beam 109

I had mentally created two disruptions for Beam, and having two trucks going opposite directions was one of them.  I was not certain I wouldn’t lose someone, but I played it out and managed what I think was a moderately tense scene.

It was also a bit of a tricky scenario to envision, and I wound up re-writing because I believed I had the ascending and descending trucks reversed in one paragraph–the descending truck had to pass behind the ascending truck, which had moved out of the lane, and the ascending truck had to return to its left.  I was still making corrections the day I released it.  Anyway, I hope that’s correct.

Chapter 135, Hastings 226

I had been struggling over the question of how to keep Tommy from becoming a Lauren clone, and pulled out my old Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Oriental Adventures book.  I quickly found the kawanaga, and liked it immediately–it was similar enough in name that Tommy could have ordered it by mistake, and it was a flex weapon similar enough to the kau sin ke that Lauren would be able to adapt her techniques to it while different enough that it couldn’t do everything Lauren did but could do quite a few things she couldn’t.  I ran it past Kyler, who agreed that it was exactly the sort of thing he was thinking.

The recollection that Lauren was “into” horses as a girl suggested to me that she probably had handled a lariat at some point, and throwing a grapple is undoubtedly easier, so she could adapt some of those techniques to explain why she was able to use the rope weapon so readily.

Chapter 136, Beam 110

For a while I had in my head that one of the events in the Beam pilgrimage would have to be encountering another large group.  This was that.  I did not know how it would go, but felt my way through it.

Chapter 137, Takano 53

Lauren and Tommy are about to connect with Beam, but I wanted to create the feel of multiple days of travel and practice before they did.

Chapter 138, Beam 111

I had managed to bring Beam up far enough that it was time for him to intersect with Lauren.  The discussion of why he was unaware of her approach but Dawn wasn’t I thought obvious and straightforward.

I intentionally misspelled the name of the other group leader because it would reflect the fact that Beam didn’t care.

This has been the twenty-third behind the writings look at Re Verse All.  If there is interest and continued support from readers we will endeavor to continue with another novel and more behind the writings posts for it.

This is mark Joseph “young” blog entry #403, on the subject of Versers Innovating.

With permission of Valdron Inc I have previously completed publishing my first six novels, Verse Three, Chapter One:  The First Multiverser Novel, Old Verses New, For Better or Verse, Spy Verses, Garden of Versers, and Versers Versus Versers, in serialized form on the web (those links will take you to the table of contents for each book).  Along with each book there was also a series of web log posts looking at the writing process, the decisions and choices that delivered the final product; those posts are indexed with the chapters in the tables of contents pages.  Now as I am posting the seventh, Re Verse All,  I am again offering a set of “behind the writings” insights.  This “behind the writings” look may contain spoilers because it sometimes talks about my expectations for the futures of the characters and stories–although it sometimes raises ideas that were never pursued, as being written partially concurrently with the story it sometimes discusses where I thought it was headed.  You might want to read the referenced chapters before reading this look at them.  Links below (the section headings) will take you to the specific individual chapters being discussed, and there are (or will soon be) links on those pages to bring you back hopefully to the same point here.

There is also a section of the site, Multiverser Novel Support Pages, in which I have begun to place materials related to the novels beginning with character papers for the major characters, giving them at different stages as they move through the books.

This is the twenty-second mark Joseph “young” web log post covering this book, covering chapters 127 through 132.  It was suggested that more shorter posts were a better choice than fewer longer ones, so there will be posts every six chapters, that is, every other week, for this book.  Previous entries were:

1. #354:  Versers Reorienting, covering chapters 1 through 6;
2. #355:  Versers Resettling, for chapters 7 through 12.
3. #357:  Characters Connect, for chapters 13 through 18.
4. #359:  Characters Engage, for chapters 19 through 24.
5. #361:  Characters Explore, for chapters 25 through 30.
6. #364:  Characters Learn, for chapters 31 through 36.
7. #365:  Characters Travel, for chapters 37 through 42.
8. #367:  Versers Encounter, for chapters 43 through 48.
9. #370:  Characters Confront, for chapters 49 through 54.
10. #373:  Nervous Characters, for chapters 55 through 60.
11. #376:  Characters Arrive, for chapters 61 through 66.
12. #379:  Character Conundrums, for chapters 67 through 72.
13. #381:  World Complications, for chapters 73 through 78.
14. #383:  Character Departures, for chapters 79 through 84.
15. #385:  Characters Ascend, for chapters 85 through 90.
16. #388:  Versers Climb, for chapters 91 through 96.
17. #390:  World Facilities, for chapters 97 through 102.
18. #392:  Characters Resting, for chapters 103 through 108.
19. #395:  Character Obstacles, for chapters 109 through 114.
20. #397:  Verser Challenges, for chapters 115 through 120.
21. #401:  Characters Hiking, for chapters 121 through 126.

History of the series, including the reason it started, the origins of character names and details, and many of the ideas, are in earlier posts, and won’t be repeated here.

Chapter 127, Hastings 224

I kind of stumbled into most of this because I needed something.  They are actually getting close to the truth about the people, but I don’t think it will ever be confirmed.

Chapter 128, Beam 106

I had set myself up for this speech, although I had not rehearsed it.  Even the opening was spur of the moment.  I have not even decided whether he loses anyone when he continues.

I asked Kyler his thoughts, and he said roll a charisma check and use relative success.  Since I specifically don’t use dice to guide the stories in the books, I’m going to have to think it through a different way.

Chapter 129, Takano 51

For at least two days I pondered what I could write for Tomiko, opening the last Hastings chapter and closing it again several times.

I came to these thoughts by imagining the duo walking in the plain hallways and comparing that to walking in our world.  It struck me that there wasn’t even any artwork.  I had been thinking about what I thought about when I used to walk, as home from school and such or hiking with scouts, and I’m afraid I was very internalized.  However, it struck me that other people on walks notice the world around them (I had been watching the BBC’s Springwatch program, hosted by such people) and that Tommy had nothing to notice.  The chapter developed from there.

I feel like the chapters are too intellectual, because I’m struggling to get Beam to the surface and it’s a long trek which has to be broken up with stories of Tommy and Lauren, who are similarly on a long trek trying to get to him.  I’m pushing to get to the end and start the read-through edit–this past weekend I published the last installment of Versers Versus Versers and started posting the support materials, so I’m going to be done soon and needing the next book.

Chapter 130, Beam 107

I was going to take thirty from Beam’s crew, but got confused about how many were in which groups and which group belonged to Tennan Tamis.  I wound up taking twenty five, mostly from his group, then upped it to thirty; I had never established which group lost the people killed in the accident.

Having Beam climb two levels was a push I knew I could do based on his mood–he’s a bit angry about people turning away from him, even before he knows how many he lost.  The third level was an extra I added because I figured I had a chance to push the story forward a bit faster.

I hate bean soup, but the guy on whom Beam is based loves it and frequently when he visits us he makes a big pot of it and leaves it in our refrigerator until it goes bad and I throw it away–but then, I don’t know whether anyone else likes it because frankly I’m generally the only one who really eats the leftovers.

Again I had to adjust the numbers because I had gotten it in my head that there were about a hundred fifty when it was only just over a hundred.  I had to cut down several of the numbers to make it work.

Chapter 131, Hastings 225

The double T image was the first graffiti idea I had; the sun comes from memories of native American symbols, and the spiral was because I needed at least three that were recognizable.

I had set up the paint delivery in the previous chapter but hadn’t mentioned it to Lauren, so this was all surprise to her.  Tommy is experimenting and will probably improve at graffiti over time.

Chapter 132, Beam 108

I had been complaining to myself that at one level a day it was going to take a long time to get Beam out of the caves.  Each level took at least one chapter, and complications usually caused them to take longer but were needed to keep the story interesting.

I was seriously thinking about packing four levels into this chapter by covering two days, but as I was writing I had two significant events enter my head both of which would probably stretch the chapter–one a problem with two trucks going opposite directions, the other a confrontation with another tribe, probably inhabiting one of the apartments.

This has been the twenty-second behind the writings look at Re Verse All (and the one hundredth look behind the writings of the Multiverser novel series).  If there is interest and continued support from readers we will endeavor to continue with another novel and more behind the writings posts for it.

This is mark Joseph “young” blog entry #401, on the subject of Characters Hiking.

With permission of Valdron Inc I have previously completed publishing my first six novels, Verse Three, Chapter One:  The First Multiverser Novel, Old Verses New, For Better or Verse, Spy Verses, Garden of Versers, and Versers Versus Versers, in serialized form on the web (those links will take you to the table of contents for each book).  Along with each book there was also a series of web log posts looking at the writing process, the decisions and choices that delivered the final product; those posts are indexed with the chapters in the tables of contents pages.  Now as I am posting the seventh, Re Verse All,  I am again offering a set of “behind the writings” insights.  This “behind the writings” look may contain spoilers because it sometimes talks about my expectations for the futures of the characters and stories–although it sometimes raises ideas that were never pursued, as being written partially concurrently with the story it sometimes discusses where I thought it was headed.  You might want to read the referenced chapters before reading this look at them.  Links below (the section headings) will take you to the specific individual chapters being discussed, and there are (or will soon be) links on those pages to bring you back hopefully to the same point here.

There is also a section of the site, Multiverser Novel Support Pages, in which I have begun to place materials related to the novels beginning with character papers for the major characters, giving them at different stages as they move through the books.

This is the twenty-first mark Joseph “young” web log post covering this book, covering chapters 121 through 126.  It was suggested that more shorter posts were a better choice than fewer longer ones, so there will be posts every six chapters, that is, every other week, for this book.  Previous entries were:

1. #354:  Versers Reorienting, covering chapters 1 through 6;
2. #355:  Versers Resettling, for chapters 7 through 12.
3. #357:  Characters Connect, for chapters 13 through 18.
4. #359:  Characters Engage, for chapters 19 through 24.
5. #361:  Characters Explore, for chapters 25 through 30.
6. #364:  Characters Learn, for chapters 31 through 36.
7. #365:  Characters Travel, for chapters 37 through 42.
8. #367:  Versers Encounter, for chapters 43 through 48.
9. #370:  Characters Confront, for chapters 49 through 54.
10. #373:  Nervous Characters, for chapters 55 through 60.
11. #376:  Characters Arrive, for chapters 61 through 66.
12. #379:  Character Conundrums, for chapters 67 through 72.
13. #381:  World Complications, for chapters 73 through 78.
14. #383:  Character Departures, for chapters 79 through 84.
15. #385:  Characters Ascend, for chapters 85 through 90.
16. #388:  Versers Climb, for chapters 91 through 96.
17. #390:  World Facilities, for chapters 97 through 102.
18. #392:  Characters Resting, for chapters 103 through 108.
19. #395:  Character Obstacles, for chapters 109 through 114.
20. #397:  Verser Challenges, for chapters 115 through 120.

History of the series, including the reason it started, the origins of character names and details, and many of the ideas, are in earlier posts, and won’t be repeated here.

Chapter 121, Takano 49

I had Lauren order breakfast to demonstrate that she had learned how to use the computer to obtain food.

This was another nothing happens leg of the journey, but I decided to delve a bit into the background for the world by having Tommy ponder the design of the machine and why the world was as it was.

Chapter 122, Beam 103

Bron’s decision to get the power tools was something of an abrupt choice.  I figured he knew how to use them from the bunker, and he knew they were more efficient than what they were using, and it made sense for him to add them to his cart.

I had envisioned the destructive wake of the mining machine previously, and wanted to continue the evidence that the computer was malfunctioning, so having it destroy the restaurants and head somewhere else made sense.

Chapter 123, Hastings 223

I was on some level filling space as I turned to Lauren musing about guidance and whether she was right in seeking the other verser and dragging Tommy along with her.  I don’t think it was wasted, though, as her musings on guidance are of some value.

Chapter 124, Beam 104

The double reason to have the construction crew stand by the bridge was obvious, but actually I thought of the second reason first:  they would have to be there in case the bridge broke, so they could repair it.  It would be better, though, for that not to be the first reason, and the idea that they should be honored for their work was an easy idea to set first.

I knew these chapters were all short, but it was difficult to make them longer.  The story was being told in pieces.

Chapter 125, Takano 50

I knew it was a training day, and I knew they would be stopping in an apartment block, so I had to wrap my head around what they would have that Lauren could use as training equipment.  I remembered that in my own game Raiden had me walk on the backs of benches; I didn’t remember whether I had included that in Lauren’s training, but it seemed likely and anyway a reasonably obvious option.  The mattresses were not as obvious, because I wasn’t sure whether I had previously said they could or could not be removed, but I wanted Tommy to have a soft surface for rolling and falling, so I decided to go with that.  I still have to do a read-through edit, so maybe I’ll notice if I didn’t make them removable, and I’ll try to reconcile it then.

I had actually thought of pot roast for the last Beam chapter, but didn’t go for it, and then this time I decided that it would work for Tommy and Lauren.  I did not decide whether it was pork or beef, but instead ignored the question.

Chapter 126, Beam 105

The potential mutiny of the people struck me, given that they had climbed eight levels and nothing was different.  I’ve set myself up for a Beam speech, which I’m going to have to figure out in his next chapter, but I’m not too worried about it.  I am worried about how I’m going to decide whether he loses people, and who he loses.

This has been the twenty-first behind the writings look at Re Verse All.  If there is interest and continued support from readers we will endeavor to continue with another novel and more behind the writings posts for it.

This is mark Joseph “young” blog entry #397, on the subject of Verser Challenges.

With permission of Valdron Inc I have previously completed publishing my first six novels, Verse Three, Chapter One:  The First Multiverser Novel, Old Verses New, For Better or Verse, Spy Verses, Garden of Versers, and Versers Versus Versers, in serialized form on the web (those links will take you to the table of contents for each book).  Along with each book there was also a series of web log posts looking at the writing process, the decisions and choices that delivered the final product; those posts are indexed with the chapters in the tables of contents pages.  Now as I am posting the seventh, Re Verse All,  I am again offering a set of “behind the writings” insights.  This “behind the writings” look may contain spoilers because it sometimes talks about my expectations for the futures of the characters and stories–although it sometimes raises ideas that were never pursued, as being written partially concurrently with the story it sometimes discusses where I thought it was headed.  You might want to read the referenced chapters before reading this look at them.  Links below (the section headings) will take you to the specific individual chapters being discussed, and there are (or will soon be) links on those pages to bring you back hopefully to the same point here.

There is also a section of the site, Multiverser Novel Support Pages, in which I have begun to place materials related to the novels beginning with character papers for the major characters, giving them at different stages as they move through the books.

This is the twentieth mark Joseph “young” web log post covering this book, covering chapters 115 through 120.  It was suggested that more shorter posts were a better choice than fewer longer ones, so there will be posts every six chapters, that is, every other week, for this book.  Previous entries were:

1. #354:  Versers Reorienting, covering chapters 1 through 6;
2. #355:  Versers Resettling, for chapters 7 through 12.
3. #357:  Characters Connect, for chapters 13 through 18.
4. #359:  Characters Engage, for chapters 19 through 24.
5. #361:  Characters Explore, for chapters 25 through 30.
6. #364:  Characters Learn, for chapters 31 through 36.
7. #365:  Characters Travel, for chapters 37 through 42.
8. #367:  Versers Encounter, for chapters 43 through 48.
9. #370:  Characters Confront, for chapters 49 through 54.
10. #373:  Nervous Characters, for chapters 55 through 60.
11. #376:  Characters Arrive, for chapters 61 through 66.
12. #379:  Character Conundrums, for chapters 67 through 72.
13. #381:  World Complications, for chapters 73 through 78.
14. #383:  Character Departures, for chapters 79 through 84.
15. #385:  Characters Ascend, for chapters 85 through 90.
16. #388:  Versers Climb, for chapters 91 through 96.
17. #390:  World Facilities, for chapters 97 through 102.
18. #392:  Characters Resting, for chapters 103 through 108.
19. #395:  Character Obstacles, for chapters 109 through 114.

History of the series, including the reason it started, the origins of character names and details, and many of the ideas, are in earlier posts, and won’t be repeated here.

Chapter 115, Hastings 221

I’m still struggling to create interesting story, and having Tommy discover the history of the world provides backstory for them and for Beam, who was never interested enough to look for it.

I find myself writing about food not because I’m hungry but because I know they have to eat and sleep and it breaks the monotony of travel.

Chapter 116, Beam 100

I was not sure how much to cover in this section, but I had decided that Beam was going to create a construction crew which would be useful on the surface, even though I had no idea what I would be doing on the surface.  I wound up postponing the bridge building partly because I didn’t like the way it was shaped in my brain and didn’t want to start it, even though I had no idea what Tommy and Lauren would be doing.

Chapter 117, Takano 48

I was struggling with the effort to find something different, and decided that a utility control room would be different.  Once I’d decided that, and knowing that I needed to include physical training, I envisioned the pipes as tools for training, and went with the balance skills.

When I was a child, our next door neighbor had what we incorrectly called split rail fences (they were properly called wooden post fences), and we–my brother, my sister, the girl next door who was my brother’s age, and I–learned to walk on them, forward, backward, eyes open and eyes closed, maybe, if memory serves, jumping on them.  The hardest thing I remember was negotiating past the roses, but different slats had different shaped surfaces and posed different challenges.  Then once we’d learned enough, we began teaching the other kids in the neighborhood how to do it.  A lot of that is being channeled in this training session, although some of it comes from my imagined gameplay when I first started playing Multiverser.

Chapter 118, Beam 101

I had been writing this and stopped abruptly when I realized that I had been envisioning it as if the entire crew was at the top, but I had only brought up three plus Dawn and Beam.  There were only a few corrections–I had had Beam address Bron at one point–but I wasn’t sure how big a mistake it was so I set it aside, went to bed, and fixed it in the morning.

I felt like this chapter was dragging on, not letting me get past the dull stuff, until finally I managed to get to bringing Bron up and I could break it.

Chapter 119, Hastings 222

I decided to reverse the teacher/student relationship mostly to do something that would be at least a little different in this chapter.  Besides, it makes sense for Lauren to want to know how to get food in this world without being totally dependent on Tommy, and for her to want to learn more about using computers.

Chapter 120, Beam 102

The bridge design sort of came together in pieces.  I kept visualizing it a bit different.  I had actually typed that the planks ran parallel to the edges of the hole, but immediately decided that they had to run across the hole, and changed it before I’d finished the sentence.

I knew it would take more than one day to finish, and I knew that Beam was the sort of person who wouldn’t stop work until he had to, so to get him back for dinner I had to deplete the lumber.  This would also send him back to the hardware supply and use part of his next day, although less than they had used previously.

This has been the twentieth behind the writings look at Re Verse All.  If there is interest and continued support from readers we will endeavor to continue with another novel and more behind the writings posts for it.

This is mark Joseph “young” blog entry #395, on the subject of Character Obstacles.

With permission of Valdron Inc I have previously completed publishing my first six novels, Verse Three, Chapter One:  The First Multiverser Novel, Old Verses New, For Better or Verse, Spy Verses, Garden of Versers, and Versers Versus Versers, in serialized form on the web (those links will take you to the table of contents for each book).  Along with each book there was also a series of web log posts looking at the writing process, the decisions and choices that delivered the final product; those posts are indexed with the chapters in the tables of contents pages.  Now as I am posting the seventh, Re Verse All,  I am again offering a set of “behind the writings” insights.  This “behind the writings” look may contain spoilers because it sometimes talks about my expectations for the futures of the characters and stories–although it sometimes raises ideas that were never pursued, as being written partially concurrently with the story it sometimes discusses where I thought it was headed.  You might want to read the referenced chapters before reading this look at them.  Links below (the section headings) will take you to the specific individual chapters being discussed, and there are (or will soon be) links on those pages to bring you back hopefully to the same point here.

There is also a section of the site, Multiverser Novel Support Pages, in which I have begun to place materials related to the novels beginning with character papers for the major characters, giving them at different stages as they move through the books.

This is the nineteenth mark Joseph “young” web log post covering this book, covering chapters 109 through 114.  It was suggested that more shorter posts were a better choice than fewer longer ones, so there will be posts every six chapters, that is, every other week, for this book.  Previous entries were:

1. #354:  Versers Reorienting, covering chapters 1 through 6;
2. #355:  Versers Resettling, for chapters 7 through 12.
3. #357:  Characters Connect, for chapters 13 through 18.
4. #359:  Characters Engage, for chapters 19 through 24.
5. #361:  Characters Explore, for chapters 25 through 30.
6. #364:  Characters Learn, for chapters 31 through 36.
7. #365:  Characters Travel, for chapters 37 through 42.
8. #367:  Versers Encounter, for chapters 43 through 48.
9. #370:  Characters Confront, for chapters 49 through 54.
10. #373:  Nervous Characters, for chapters 55 through 60.
11. #376:  Characters Arrive, for chapters 61 through 66.
12. #379:  Character Conundrums, for chapters 67 through 72.
13. #381:  World Complications, for chapters 73 through 78.
14. #383:  Character Departures, for chapters 79 through 84.
15. #385:  Characters Ascend, for chapters 85 through 90.
16. #388:  Versers Climb, for chapters 91 through 96.
17. #390:  World Facilities, for chapters 97 through 102.
18. #392:  Characters Resting, for chapters 103 through 108.

History of the series, including the reason it started, the origins of character names and details, and many of the ideas, are in earlier posts, and won’t be repeated here.

Chapter 109, Takano 46

I feel like I’m dragging by trying to tell story.  On the other hand, I feel like if I weren’t telling story everything would be the same boring narrative repeated.

Chapter 110, Beam 97

I had an idea for an obstacle, and I needed obstacles to keep the story interesting.  Yet the obstacle as envisioned should mean that there would be a crashed mining mole, so I couldn’t put the obstacle in place until I had the mole, and that became the focus of this chapter.

Chapter 111, Hastings 220

I recognized part of my problem at about this point.  Way back when I started Verse Three, Chapter One, I put Bob Slade in a dungeon crawl, and I realized fairly quickly that it was not easy to write a dungeon crawl and keep it interesting.  Yet in this book I ran Lauren in what was clearly a dungeon crawl, and put Beam in a world in which a dungeon crawl scenario was inevitable, and sort of boxed myself in to bringing Lauren and Tommy into that same world and more dungeon crawl.  So I’m struggling to keep it interesting.  What made the Tiras story interesting was largely the interactions of the characters, but it’s harder to get that here.  Beam’s main characters have all told their stories to this point, and can only really interact with the world; Lauren and Tommy could tell their stories to each other, but those stories have already been told to the reader and the narration says they told them to each other, so there’s not much that can be done there.  So I have to try to create interesting events and encounters along the way, and that’s not really simple in this world.

As I finished the chapter, I was reminded of something I was writing a few decades back intended for a grade school audience about the exploits of a knight (his name will probably return to me).  What reminded me was that it was rather episodic, that he was headed somewhere (and I’m not sure I knew where even then) but with each chapter he encountered someone or something that created a short story before he moved to the next.  I have something of that feel here.

Chapter 112, Beam 98

The mole machine trench was my obstacle, and I’d actually considered whether it was going to prove impassible and floated it to Kyler, who had no real suggestions.  The bridge was the only idea, and I quickly saw that a simple bridge would slip, but by the time I got to it I’d envisioned a better bridge.  The fact that Beam had Bron made a difference.

I had typed the statement that they were going to have to build a bridge, and then stopped and left it open there without closing the chapter overnight.  I had thought to continue, to start work on the bridge, but I liked the cliffhanger despite the fact that the chapter seemed short.  In the morning I decided to go with the cliffhanger, and so marked the beginning of the Takano chapter, even though I was sure what Beam was doing and not at all sure what Tommy was doing.

Chapter 113, Takano 47

As I came to this chapter, I knew in significant detail what I needed to do with Beam, but had no clue where to take Tommy and Lauren next.

The greenhouse was going to be a park, but I decided that it was going to be a bit too hot and humid for comfort, more like a greenhouse garden.  That would keep them moving.

Chapter 114, Beam 99

I had played this through in my mind more than once, but was surprised at how quickly I reached the place to stop.

This has been the nineteenth behind the writings look at Re Verse All.  If there is interest and continued support from readers we will endeavor to continue with another novel and more behind the writings posts for it.