Writing stories for fun, not so much profit

When I was in high school, one of my goals in life was to become a science fiction writer.  I had good scenes in my head, and I could write them descriptively and well .... but I had not cohesive story, so I would abandon the effort.

Well, about a year or so ago, I began playing a video game called The Witcher III:The Wild Hunt.  Amazing game with beautiful graphics and intense game play!  But it was the story that captured my interest and I started reading the books the game was based off of.  Andrzej Sapkowski created a rich and diverse fictional world for Geralt of Rivia, Triss Merigold, Yennifer of Vengeborg, Dandilion and many other characters to live in.  Their stories are wound around a world in which magic, politics and otherworldly creatures vye for prominence against the backdrop of war.  Through it all, Geralt of Rivia walks, a Witcher, a professional monster slayer for hire, holding to his own code of chivalry and honor.

So, I had this story set in this world bouncing around in my head for the last year and I finally started putting it down in words.  Fan Fiction is a great outlet for creativity.  I don't intend to ever publish it for money, there are a lot of legalities that surround that.  But I did find a place I can put it up for other writers to critique.

If you want to read it, The Last Manticore is up on FanFiction.net.  I hope you enjoy it  :)

Testing a theory ...

I think I will hang my hammock out tomorrow and test out if my 0 degree bag will keep me warm tomorrow night.  It's a heavy bag, with a 1 inch memory foam cushion built in to it.  If it will do the job, I may not need to get an underquilt till things get really cold.

Honestly, the next piece of gear I NEED to buy is a bear proof canister.  But I need to set aside the $60 for that piece of equipment and likely won't have it for some time.  I would love to go trekking up in Dolly Sods, but not without that little piece of prevention.

I would also like to get dear daughter a back pack so she can go with me.  Not that we'll be doing an exorbitant amount of hiking, but it would be nice to be geared up for it when we have time to do so.