Utrit (Fantasy short story concept)

The drink in Utrit's glass didn't resemble the human "whiskey" in any way, but he always figured it must be close.  They talked about whiskey "burning" and being "smoky," which were both accurate statements about ashmead.  It was originally made by pouring alcohol over still-glowing embers, which would reignite if they were still too hot and the drink maker didn't pour quickly enough.  These days everything just came from packets you could mix in, though.

He took a drink.  Mornings were hopeless if he didn't get a couple glasses of the stuff.

"I could just go," he sighed to himself.  "Two more days til the next City Boat leaves.  I could just go, and then..." What?  This town wasn't great, but would the city be better?  There was more opportunity, but there were more people, too, and Utrit didn't have a craft to practice if he left the quarry.

Another drink, and the cup was empty.  If he lived out in the country, he could make his ashmead the old fashioned way.  At the moment, he was stuck with the packets.  It was quicker, which was a good thing since he only had a few more minutes before he had to leave.  The sun was peaking above the road already.

The quarry supplied good work for much of the town, but nobody felt good about it except the humans that managed it.  Their kind loved the consistency, the way the Plan never changed, and especially the control.  For over forty years, the quarry ran 9 days on, 1 day off.  It went deeper, then wider, always working one side at a time and moving clockwise to the next.  But what the humans loved most was that they ran the only quarry of its kind for hundreds of miles.

It was good work.  But it was terrible.

Utrit gulped the rest of his drink and walked out the door.

Self-expression, showing off, and social media gig

In high school, I thought it would be fun to make a blog site (not that I knew the term "blog" at the time).  This journal started as an effort to build short content and practice writing.  And when I visit places, learn about self-improvement, learn about history, or just want to share information, I generally feel like it would be fun, interesting, and helpful to others if I shared in a format that lets me dig in when I feel like it.  Most people do this in small bits on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, whatever, but I'm not particularly fond of those.  They simply aren't good for telling stories, backing up your point, or holding someone's attention for more than 10 seconds.  So I'm interested in writing, interactive web apps, audio, video, and photography.  I think these all work together pretty well if you have time and do them consistently.  Each interacts with the consumer differently and can more easily focus on different aspects of the story.  Each exercises a different creative muscle.  And I do feel the need for creative exercise to help keep me engaged in life and drive away anxiety and depression.

So, first, writing.  Well, here I am, that's what I'm doing.  But if I grab a platform, the writing needs to be semi-consistent and frequent.  Plus nobody gets excited about reading somebody's ramblings or personal adventure.  People want to learn, or be entertained, or bond with people they known.  So posting this style of writing would mostly be interesting for people who know me.

Next, video.  We have a nice camera that's capable of taking nice video.  I'm interested in the technical process of using the right camera settings, and working with an editing software to compile an appealing story.  Plus, our adventures in Germany and the rest of Europe will have a massive visual component to them, and audio / video formats make it easier to convey my sense of excitement when I find something amazing.