Novelization of Campaigns

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Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Wed Jul 12, 2017 4:16 am

For those not on kakao, I have begun novelizing the Draconis Major Campaign. It's slow and difficult work, but it is turning out very nicely. If anyone is interested i can send it.

I have decided to start each campaign with a slight variation of the following paragraph:

This is an account of the marines of the “Easy Eights” and the “Devil Dogs,” and their actions during the Draconis Major Campaign, from November 31st to December 2nd, 2080 AD. The account was compiled and edited by retired Marine Corporal Eric Roberts. It was compiled from written and verbal accounts by the marines who were there, from memory, and with some assistance from official military records. This account was highly classified until December 2nd, 2095 AD, when it became available to the public.
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Nick » Sat Aug 05, 2017 7:52 am

Post an excerpt if you want.

:)
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Sat Aug 05, 2017 8:10 am

I have completed the Draconis Major Campaign at 29 pages. I have begun working on Exigo, and I'm up to 9 pages. Here is an excerpt from Draconis Major:

At this point it was up to the Sergeants to decide the direction the Marines were going to take. With the 9th undermanned, the decision was for them to make their way back up the northwest tunnel and map out the complex burrows there. The Eights would drop down to the lower tunnel sections and map out as much of the location as possible.
From out of the bowels of the tunnel that led down into the depths of the earth, the smell of cordite and blood were mixed in the stale wind that coursed through the tunnels. It is in here that Lance Corporal Khan had encountered the Grow as it charged him from the depths, and it was into these depths that the men and women of the Easy Eights were being asked to descend.
Tarik Khan had taken what ammo he could from Green's equipment so he was a little slower than usual. He didn't think much of the guy, but he had taken a shell casing from the bathroom and hung it with his dog tags. He kept it as a reminder how crazy this world can make you. Khan knew what had driven Green nuts, it was the bugs. Not only were there giant bugs that ate people, but little ones everywhere, crawling and biting. It was enough to drive anyone insane, he thought. Hopefully his new good luck charm would keep him sane and alive.
He raised his hand and moved it in a circular motion signaling for his squad to move up to his position. “Alright team, this is where we encountered the bugs the first time. I want you men on your God damn toes, and for fucks sake stay quiet. We barely picked them up on the motion tracker last time.” He rolled the shell casing from Green around his fingertips and thought of his fallen comrade.
Khan decided to report his previous experience in this tunnel over the platoon’s frequency so that everyone would hear. “I was charged by a Grow. The thing wouldn't stop even after I emptied my smartgun into it. Then it came crashing down on me; it was only a few moments before they came. My guess is they were after the Grow and ran into us.” He looked at his cigarette for a few moments. It was his fifth in so many minutes. If he didn’t get killed, he would soon die of something, he thought.
Khan looked down at his dog tags and realized that he was going to die, not of old age, nor some disease. He wasn't coming back from this mission. He looked around at the others wondering if they had the same thoughts. Some were so nervous they barely keep their rifles steady. Others, like Khan, played it cool. The vets were the worst of all of them, jumpy as Hell.
Interrupting his thoughts, they came across the corpse of the Grow that Tarik Khan had killed on the previous incursion. First Squad must have already passed it.
“Grow?” asked Sergeant Bojan simply.
“Yeah. It's kinda like a cow and a buffalo, only, well...” Tarik trailed off. He kicked the immense corpse of the 1500-pound creature that laid still oozing blood and stinking up the entire tunnel.
The easy eights worked their way down in the tunnel, it was pitch black down here and the only lights were their shoulder-lamps. The white arches shone on the black rock that glistened and glittered. The incline grew steeper and the air grew humid. The gurgling and sprinkling of water could be heard, the sound bouncing between the walls. Small particles of water started to appear in the shafts of their powerful lights. Angie Hawkins watched her motion tracker but it showed nothing. Toc. Toc. Toc. Everyone tensely listened to the eerie sound. The trackers were their lifeline, their one chance to spot an ambush before it was too late.
Unfortunately, the tracker only caught movement. The Marines of First Squad passed beneath the alien that laid curled up a few meters above them. It was nearly invisible as it blended in with the dark, moist rock. Distracted by the small stream of water they never heard the scratching sound of the creature as it uncurled itself. Then it pounced.
Private Angie Hawkins, the pretty, blonde medic, was slammed to the ground face first. With a spine-chilling crack, her head smacked the ground and bounced up again, the helmet saving her life. The rest of First Squad spun around and saw it only feet away.
Tarik Khan was leading his Squad, and Hawkins was not far ahead of him. “Hostile sighted!” he shouted, “Second Squad, hit the wall and take cover!” He knew First squad would have a better shot, all he could hope was that his men wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. As his shoulder crashed against the moist bulkhead, he took a knee and threw the nearest rock with hopes of distracting the beast. “Hey, shit-head!” he yelled. The rock missed by a hair’s breadth, but distracted it for a second.
“Help!” cried the pinned Hawkins. The three men of First Squad had to control their trigger fingers, having heard stories of the creatures’ corrosive blood.
Before anyone else could react, Jonsson waded in. He pulled out a concealed machete and swung at the creature’s head. The blade glanced off without a scratch. Roberts was close behind him, and attempted to body-slam the creature off Hawkins. Neither marine was successful but to distract its attention from the prey underneath it. It slammed Erik Jonsson against the wall with its whip-like tail and left Hawkins to kill him.
Tarik Khan saw his chance, and took it. “Hit the deck!” he screamed, hoping First Squad would hear him and get out of the way. Khan looked back at Dugan, who had already set up the shot with his pistol and screamed “Now!” Dugan opened fire with his VP-70 pistol, the loud shots echoing painfully in the confined space. Khan quickly brought up his older model M4A3 pistol and fired three rounds.
When Khan screamed ‘Hit the deck,’ Roberts had dropped his heavy smartgun. The gun was attached to his combat rigging at the waist, and he allowed its massive weight to pull him down face first. It was more effective then he’d hoped; his face slammed into the hard ground. His green cap bounced off and he felt his nose crunch. He could feel Lance Corporal Chappell dive down next to him, and then the loud gunfire seemed to shake the earth beneath him. Twisting around, he drew his own VP-70 and fired several rounds up into the creature, only feet away.
The creature was struck multiple times and jagged holes were punched in its black armor. With a shriek, it turned its tail and ran down in the tunnel. Bullets chased it, some of them bouncing of the wall, screaming like mad bees. Small puddles of white-yellow milky fluid had spilled on the floor and started to eat into the rock while wisps of fume rose above them. A faint hissing could be heard. The marines quickly scanned the area but didn't detect any more threats.
Dugan Simovic was the first one to reach Hawkins, and he put out his hand to help her up. “You guys okay?”
“I’m okay,” said Hawkins unconvincingly. She was shaking and looked a little scuffed up. Jonsson sheathed his blade and picked up his pulse rifle, looking a little dazed but no more. Roberts’ nose appeared to be broken, but he was toughing it out well enough.
“Well, that was about the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” chuckled Private Jonsson.
“Thank you,” said Hawkins simply, looking around at the idiots who had just saved her life.
Sergeant Bojan had been watching the rear, but now he spoke. “Everyone stay sharp, we can't let this happen again. I want everyone looking at everything as we go along. Same formation,” he said. “Also, is everyone alright?”
“All clear up here, Sarge,” replied Chappell. “Okay, let’s go people. They ain’t paying us by the hour. Roberts, take point again.”
“Maybe we should radio the other platoon,” said Dugan, “They might have heard the shots.”
Tarik nodded. He switched his comms unit to 9th Platoon’s channel and radioed an old friend “Jonesy, this is Khan. We ran into a Hostile, it escaped so watch your back. What's your status?”
The radio crackled back with the voice of Jones, “We’re just shooting at ghosts here. We are moving onward.”
“Roger that Jonesy.” Khan watched as Roberts from First Squad fumbled with some flashlights, taping them onto the barrel of his smartgun. He looked like an old-time strobe light. Tarik shook his head and took another drag off his smoke. ‘We’re gonna die,’ he thought to himself. Looking at Dugan, he said, “Well at least we know who they'll spot first.”
Dugan grinned, “Better him then me.”
The marines began to leave M95 marking flares every so often, is case they needed to find their way back in a hurry. The red glow illuminated the path behind them as the marched forward and downward. Khan started to have doubts about the agenda of the Marine Corps, sending grown men to die in some hole that could easily be cleared out with a tactical nuke. Tarik wasn't the brightest soldier, but he could tell there was more to this than just extermination duty. He grabbed his vid-link that showed everything he saw and read his vital signs. He knew they could see it back in the APC. For a moment, he wondered if the General was watching from some secure ship in orbit. If they were paying attention, they might be able to tell that he had something other than nicotine in his system. He sighed deeply as he crushed the cigarette out on his forearm.
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Serial Number: D26/TQ6.3.48412E9
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Fri Nov 30, 2018 4:19 am

I have started working on the novelization again. So far I am still working on the False Cross Campaign.
I am going back through Draconis and Exigo to fix inconsistencies and fill the gaps.
I have begun parsing through Andromeda to piece the old rosters together.

I am incredibly proud of my work and I would love to send it to anyone who is interested.
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Pale Rider » Sun Dec 09, 2018 1:44 pm

Send away! There was an app that I used to use that even let you make book covers for your work.
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Wed Jan 02, 2019 3:23 am

One month of working on it whenever I can. I have added over 30 pages and completed the False Cross Campaign. I have also done a number of improvements on the earlier campaigns. False Cross is complete but it has a lot of loose ends and distractions. It's going to take a lot of editing before I have it just how I want it.

I have begun my research into the Gothic Serpent Campaign. I have compiled an initial roster and now I'm going to start reading the campaign so I know what its about.

I had a hard time choosing which campaign to novelize next. I could go back to Andromeda and work my way forward or just keep the momentum going where I am at in the story. Right now I am going to continue forward with Gothic Serpent, but I have compiled rosters from Andromeda Campaign and I will hopefully get to it at some point.

I know it doesn't make a big difference here but it's my main passion right now so I wanted to share where I'm at ;D. Right now I have written 93 pages
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Nick » Thu Jan 24, 2019 8:20 am

Incredible work there!

When you feel ready we can host the files here on USCM as PDFs for all to read?

//N
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Sat Jan 26, 2019 12:01 am

Thanks! As it grows I've begun to consider the possibility of some kind of fan-fic publish. I'm a little worried somebody will steal it but I'm probably paranoid because it's very niche.

But yeah, I think that's a good idea. The point is to share the stuff so why not?
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Sun Oct 27, 2019 5:13 pm

10 months have passed since my last update here, so I will provide another! I have completed writing Gothic Serpent Mission One. It ended up at 39 pages long.
Draconis Major Campaign: 30 pages
Exigo Campaign: 21 pages
False Cross Campaign: 43 pages
Gothic Serpent Mission One: 39 pages
Total: 133 pages

I have also completely overhauled my first story, Draconis Major. It is reading much more like a real book now, and the audiobook version is half way complete. My goal is to have the audiobook done before Christmas, but there's many hours of work left to do on it.

My other next goal is to write up Gothic Serpent Mission Two. I'll take a wild guess that it ends at 34 pages. After that I'm doubtful that Mission 3 is good enough to make the cut unless I do some major work. Hell On Earth Campaign is cool but it stopped dead before the first action started, so that one would also need some major work on my part to patch it together.

After Gothic Serpent Mission 2, I suppose I'll most likely jump backward to the beginning and write up the Andromeda Campaign, or possibly jump forward to the next complete campaign which is I think Longinus. We had a few very weak years there.

In writing these up, I've realized that writing is one of the things I enjoy the most! Who knows, maybe I'll write my own books some day. Thank you to everybody who has read my stuff so far, the interest helps to keep me going.

-Hicks
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Nick » Thu Nov 21, 2019 7:49 pm

Looking forward to the release.
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Mon Jan 06, 2020 5:00 am

I'm ordering a paperback copy of my book. I just want to hold it in my hands and see how it feels! I still consider it a draft because I want to adapt a lot of plot gaps and things. But I'm pretty excited to have written a 258 page paperback!!! (Paperbacks have smaller pages)

Nick, since it's an ongoing project I'm not sure about when I can "release" it but I'd be happy to send it over to you or anybody else who wants to read it. And thanks to everybody who contributed in the original campaigns it's based on, however few of you now remain here.

If I like my paperback I can get 25 copies for $300, so maybe sometime in the future :)

-Hicks
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by pants » Tue Jan 14, 2020 4:46 am

Put me in for a copy in two months

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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Sat May 30, 2020 10:20 pm

Figured it's time for another update here.

I ordered 25 copies of my paperback and sold them all in about two months. (Net loss of only about $100 so worth it in my opinion). Since then I have been editing the book and I have completed close to 600 edits of my original paperback draft. Once these dreadful edits are complete I intend to order more books, maybe 50 this time. I estimate the cost to be over $500, but I already have close to 30 people who have requested a copy once they are available. If I charge 12-15 dollars per book I should end up breaking even or maybe even a tiny profit, not that I am interested in making money.

I have just finished novelizing the Charybdis Campaign, including writing an ending for it as the campaign practically stopped mid-sentence. It finished up at 21 pages which will translate to about 55 in my next paperback. It took me a record low of 19 days to complete the entire thing! If I could keep that pace up I will have some seriously awesome shit written up in a short amount of time.
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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Medic Guy » Sat Jun 06, 2020 9:11 am

Good job, if the price holds, I'll get a copy from you.

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Re: Novelization of Campaigns

Post by Corporal Hicks » Wed Jun 24, 2020 3:06 am

I purchased 40 copies of the second edition. 600+ edits complete and hopefully a better book. They cost me about $12.20 each and I intend to sell them for $15.00 to hopefully break even (More likely a small loss).

As I mentioned elsewhere, I've been feeling very burned out. Once I am settled in my new place I hope to kick the writing back into full gear along with GMing this game! :) I did start on the Andromeda Campaign but it's still in the very early stages. With me, it's all about motivation. The campaign I feel motivated to write is the one I will write.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me! Writing these books genuinely brings me happiness and fulfillment and I'm glad that a few others can enjoy and appreciate them too! I hope this stuff gets published some day so I can make your characters' names into household names lol. Dream big I guess.
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