Weekly Update 45
Hello there! If you were looking for Seth Oberlender’s weekly update on his journey to becoming an author, then you are in the right place. If you weren’t, well, now is the time to leave if you wish, Be careful, the chairs in this room screech against the floor very loudly. Everyone will stare at you as you leave.
Ok, now that they are gone, let’s begin! Guess what didn’t happen this week? Correct: no agent replies. Guess what else didn’t happen? Correct: I did not query any new ones. But guess what I am about to do as soon as I am done writing this update? Correct: query some agents!
Now in my personal life I enjoyed a long week full of that potential energy exclusive to a school days before a holiday break. My Thanksgiving break started off rough since I got my COVID vaccine on Friday and suffered the consequences all Saturday. But now I feel like a human again and I can’t wait to see what will happen this week! I expect a lot of reading, video games, and movies.
Speaking of movies, can we talk about Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves? This is a little film released in 2023 that I was very excited about (because I am a big nerd) but didn’t see for awhile because I was busy. I finally saw it yesterday and let me tell you: it was not good. At first. I told my friend that I was not having a good time and was only watching because the characters were interesting and funny. The story was… well, to quote Sir Alec Guinness; “rather roping.” The biggest problem was the pacing: the movies “starts” almost four times before the movie moves on. It was boring and not fun. I really believed it would stay that way as I watched the characters form their crew and plan their attack on Neverwinter until the end of the fourth act. At about the middle point the story started to creep its way to becoming better until it exploded in the final act. Suddenly, I was rooting for the group of new friends to succeed, and this shocked me. I think it was because I got to see most of them grow and change over the story and by the end their struggle had greater stakes because of it. And at the end I was very happy to see them succeed! It made me think of the endings of Indiana Jones and Star Wars. I just felt very good seeing these strangers grow closer and be victorious. Part of me wants to watch it again just for the ending.
Ok. I am writing this update on the morning it will be released. Believe me when I tell you I am about to go and start the long process of querying agents again. When I think about this whole process I have decided will define my life as it currently stands I think of a video game. Hades is a rouge-like adventure where you play as Zagreus, the son of Hades in Greek mythology. You have to try and escape the underworld in rooms that change every time you die. And you die a lot. With every death you are returned to Hades and have to start all over again. But Zagreus never gives up. He goes again and again, making more and more progress every time until finally… well, you should play it yourself. I will talk about one part in particular though, so if you don’t want spoilers for the game, stop reading here.
When he gets to the surface he gets to meet his mother, but the reunion is short lived. Zagreus is of the underworld and therefore can’t stay there without dying and returning to the start of the finish line. But before he does, he makes a promise to his mom. He will return to the surface again. He doesn’t care if it takes him longer the next time, or the next time. The story of Hades has stuck with me because giving up is such an easy thing to accept. I have given up on a few things in my life, but some things are too important to give up on. Zagreus knows this. As he falls to his knees for the first time on the surface of our world he says: “However… long… it takes…”
I think that is pretty beautiful.
Sorry to get like that at the end, I just felt like sharing how I feel about all of this. I will see you all at the end of this journey. It might be next week, maybe next year, maybe even a few more years. But I will be here. However long it takes.
