Monthly Archives: February 2014

Feb 11 2014

The Calm before the Storm

 

As I look out of the sunset, it’s hard to believe that by this time tomorrow I’ll be getting dumped on with snow. Things look so peaceful and carefree that you’d almost think it was just another sunset.

Now, we have modern weather forecasting to keep an eye on things, but what about our ancestors? They’d’ve gone to bed tonight thinking nothing about tomorrow, only to have the snow storm suddenly appear. I can’t help but think about the dismay, fear and worry that they had in being able to make it through the winter and its storms.

Better yet, what about our friends to the south who deal with hurricanes? I wonder how many of them struck over the years, before we had satellites and other means of detecting them, and killed thousands because there was no warning.

Makes one appreciate the technology we have now doesn’t it? And imagine: just one hundred years ago what we take for granted would’ve been in a science fiction novel.

Feb 11 2014

Idiots and Pseudointellectuals

 

I have to say that the moment I’ve been waiting for has arrived. There’s one particular brainiac (and I use that term loosely) on one of the writing forums who fancies himself/herself to be the end-all be-all of writing knowledge.

It’s funny to watch this person operate and how they have diarrhea of the fingers and never get to a point. This time it’s telling someone how their idea is contrived and sounds like it came from a supermarket tabloid. Well, armed with that person’s statement, let me shoot it down.

Any idea for a fiction story could be considered contrived since every story that can be told has been already. Second, it’s not the idea that matters but the person writing it. Third, does anyone really give a shit about what he/she really thinks? If he/she had time to write, then he/she wouldn’t be playing blind leading the blind.



Honestly, I’m starting to find the posts of so many people to be so humorous that I’m taking time out from writing to wait for them to be made. Hell, it’s worth one big ass laugh and a good dose of stress relief!

With that said, what’s the *worst* advice you’ve ever gotten in writing? I’m kind of curious as to what’s been said.


 

Feb 11 2014

Frosty the Snowman!

 

Well, the forecasted amount of snow continues to go up for tomorrow into Thursday. While this time it’s supposed to start during the day (Yay!) so I can see it, it will cause a headache for the new graphics card that will arrive tomorrow for my desktop computer. Oh, well, I guess you can’t win everything.

Snow is pretty and I have kind of wanted one big snowstorm this year to consider it winter and looks like I’ll get it. After this it can warm up to spring and I’ll be one happy little writer. So…bring it on!

I think I’m going to try to get pictures of it with my camera and I’ll try to post them if I have juice. Hopefully the weather for the rest of you guys will be good. J

Feb 10 2014

Backstory and Boring Ass Writing

I just scanned through the ‘novels’ section of a particular writing forums workshop area. To say that I was disappointed would be putting things lightly. One particular work stood out and I’ll explain why.

In the post leading up to his/her writing, the author asks if this chapter was something in the middle, an infodump or good writing. He/she then goes on to post almost 3k of words that is nothing but information about his character’s background. I stopped reading after the second paragraph because it was nothing but a combination backstory and infodump all in one and ended up boring as hell! And what made things worse was that there were people who actually thought it was good. God help us readers!

See, there’s a fine line between writing backstory and doing an infodump. What he wrote there was both in one and if I looked at that novel on the shelf, I’d’ve put it right back down and walked away. Sorry, but I don’t care to know everything about a person’s ethnic background and family all up front-even if written in first person.

Ok, the first 300 words of this story is nothing more than backstory/infodump about background, genetics and how the character’s grandparents met. Really? Really? This is important shit to put at the beginning of a novel? I don’t know about you guys, but it’d put my to sleep.

Now let’s contrast what I describe against the first paragraphs of my Athol novel, which is also written in first person.

They say that man’s basic nature changed as he evolved and moved further out into space; that his urge for violence against other members of humanity faded. In my opinion, that’s a crock of shit but that’s neither here nor there.

One thing about being in my line of work, you always get to see the true nature of mankind, and it isn’t pretty. Someone is always lying to another person, or committing a crime and getting away with it or even trying to steal from other criminals. Either way, it’s enough of a shit soup to shoot down that optimistic garbage.

I watch the people entering and exiting the subway, staying ever vigilant that someone might sneak up on me again like on Earth. That’d been a close call and frankly I’m surprised I’m even here to write this.

Believe it or not, the safest place to sit on the train is a window seat. No matter how you cut it, no person can see behind them; it’s physically impossible, but there is a way to cheat. Most people don’t notice it but every once and a while but a window, especially at night, reflects what’s within its field of vision. And in this case it acts like a mirror and allows me to see what’s going on behind me.

At this time it’s just a mother and child who are on their way home from a shopping trip. They’re about as non-threatening as vanilla ice cream but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep an eye on them. Anyone can be a hazard for a person like me so I remain vigilant.

What’s funny is despite all this internal vigilance, anyone looking at me from the outside would just see a brown haired seventeen year old girl wearing a blue-black cloak and gloves. Given that it’s the winter and the temps are low, there’s nothing out of place about it. And that’s how I like it.

Despite my best efforts, the gentle rocking and the wheels’ sounds start to lull me towards sleep. It’ll take a good hour more to reach where I need to be, so I keep on eye open while dozing. No one with any brains will try to make a move in such a contained area without any means of escape, which allows me to relax just a bit.

Now, this shows a lot of character while not pulling an infodump on the poor reader. Which would you rather read? Opinions?


Feb 10 2014

Snow, Writing and Life

 

Well, the weather weenies are going nuts here in town over the possibility of a good sized snow storm Wednesday night into Thursday afternoon. While I don’t mind seeing the white stuff, it gets irritating that it happens at night where I can’t see it and determine if it’s a pretty type of snowfall.

While it will cause headaches for drivers and no doubt shut the schools down, it has its plusses. It gives me time to sit back and look out the window at it while writing, which is always something that boosts my spirits. Throw in the fact that I have a 4×4 truck and I’m good to go no matter how much snow falls. Now Ice…that’s a different story.

Living in the Mid-Atlantic states means I get a unique weather experience. In the winter it gets cold as shit while in the summer it can become hot, humid and totally miserable. It totally depends on the patterns. Or, as I like to say, if you don’t like the weather here then wait five minutes because it will change.

What are you guys’ favorite weather stories? Any snow? Storms? Heat? I’d love to hear them. J

Feb 9 2014

Things That Influence My Writing


 

As I spend each day looking at the laptop screen while writing, many thoughts start to fill my head. Ideas like: “What influences my writing?” or “What kind of character” drives me forwards. So, today I thought I’d sit down and blog about it.

When growing up, I read anything I could find, but I loved science fiction. Star Trek and Star Wars were my best friends and from them I have a fantasy about wanting to explore the galaxy. But, they weren’t all that I read. I read King, Heilein (The Cat Who Walks Through Walls and Starship Troopers), Clarke, Asimov, and a couple Ben Bova really lead me to want to write also.

So, my love of science fiction started when I was 6 years old and goes on to this day. Even when I look at anime I hunt for those that are sci fi based. I have no desire to read about zombies, vampires or demons. Aliens, starships and adventure? I’ll eat that up with a spoon.

When I was younger I had lots of ear infections and undiagnosed Bipolar, which led to me being cooped up inside a lot in my life, so I never did some of the typical “guy” things. While that was a minus, I also learned from my mother what things matter to women, and that’s something that I’ve kept in the back of my mind in my day to day life, which influences my political views, etc.

One lesson I learned from her was that there isn’t much in this world a man can do that a woman can’t do, so that’s when I made the decision to make female heroines and anti-heroines. How many books are written with the male being the protagonist when there’s a woman beside him who’s stronger and smarter?

That’s why I find characters like April in Coyote Ragtime Show to be far more interesting than Mister. Mister fits every stereotypical male pirate and it’s boring as hell. April, while evil, is far more than the typical “psychotic” woman killer. She’s smart, ruthless and also immature and arrogant enough to get pissed off when someone interferes with something she’s after. In other words: she really gets my motor running.

I also find Birdy from Birdy the Mighty Decode to be good and the idea of King Arthur actually being a woman (Fate/Zero anime) is fascinating too.

I could write forever on this, but I’d love to know who, or what, influences your writing as authors.


 

Feb 8 2014

April is a Bad Ass

 

The anime series Coyote Ragtime Show is one that I’ve fallen in love with. And it’d not because of the good guys, but because of April, who is the leader of the 12 sisters (12 android assassins). While she’s tough, there’s more to her that makes her interesting. The little mannerisms, the body language and facial expressions shows so much about her. I took the time to look up the Japanese version of this episode and then the English-and her character is developed better in the English version, which doesn’t normally happen with anime.

This is a YouTube video someone made that shows the best moments of April. And the song ‘Bad Company’ is a good choice too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjKPlBMZ1mQ

I think folks should watch the video and then check out the series and see just what it is about her that’s so good.

 

Feb 8 2014

A Day In My Life

 

Saturday is my favorite day of the week because it’s when I set the computer down, grab my DSLR and then meet up with a friend. We leave from here, have breakfast at a local Shoney’s and then see if we can’t see a freight train to photograph.

It’s a perfect stress relief for a writer.

Nothing is more relaxing-no matter how much I love writing-then to go out to concentrate on photography. It’s during this time that my mind detox’s and I end up creating plot ideas, stories or even create new characters. Yes, I’m still doing writing activities, but it’s far less stressful because I’m not sitting at the computer trying to figure it out.

Of course, this depends on whether CSX and Norfolk Southern cooperate and move some trains during the daylight hours. When they do it works out perfectly; if not, it becomes a long nap in my truck. Lucky for me today was one of those times that the trains were moving so I actually got to enjoy seeing a few.

Now that I’m home for the day, and have edited my pictures, it’s time to sit down and get back to writing. But, I couldn’t start up without talking about today and thanking you, the reader, for following this blog. J

Feb 7 2014

Birdy The Mighty Decode

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Is the newest anime series I’ve found and I’m really enjoying it. Once again, it’s another series with a kick ass female character, which is right up my alley.

Birdy is a “Federation Agent,” (think special forces meets cop) who’s job it is to apprehend and return alien criminals. In the first episode, a pair escape to earth where she ends up fighting them. During the course of the fight, a human teen is used as a shield and then thrown at her.  Not knowing it’s a human boy, she uses her power and ends up killing him.

Feeling back for it, she merges his mind into her body while the Federation works to repair the kid’s form. Suffice to say, not just action takes place, but hilarity too.

I recommend watching it.

 

Feb 7 2014

Bad Advice Leading to the Blind Leading the Blind

 

It gets more and more difficult for me to sit back and watch people get bad advice from pseudo-intellectuals with diarrhea of the fingers. They sit there, pretend they know it all, and then give people who are trying to learn how to be an author terrible advice.

One thing that the sexual intellectuals (polite way of calling someone a fucking moron-so it’s the term I’ll use from now on) do is to get the newbies hung up on the rules. Yes, rules are important and you need to know them for writing, but they’re not fixed in stone. These guys tell everyone they are and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Another false premise that gets thrown out is the three-act structure in fiction writing. That is something used in scriptwriting to not only control how long the actual script is, but the help with the filming of it by giving the director some structure. It does not have a place in writing a novel, which is a different beast.

The other big one pushed is the ‘show don’t tell’ mantra. I’m sorry but novels are not 100% showing or telling. They are a mix of the two, and it’s how the writer puts it together that matters.

Fourth, they keep trying to tell others that the artistic nature is far more important than trying to write something that will be commercially viable. While that might work if you don’t mind the manuscript never leaving your computer-or being self-published-but it won’t in the mainstream.

And last but not least, the need to show writing to others, to get multiple people’s opinions on things. This is a case of ‘too many cooks ruin the pudding.’ Writing in a solo endeavor. It’s just you and the computer/typewriter/piece of paper. The more people get involved, the more likely your idea will be stolen or you’ll get lead down a rabbit hole and end up having to back track to move forwards.

Best thing to do is to read successful novel-preferably to top 100 of the 20th century, and see how the authors put their story together. What were their word choices? How did they construct sentences and use descriptions. That will help you be a successful writer.

With this said, I wish you all good luck in your travels.