Writer's Block

Well, here I am one month past my last post.  I've been gone for a long time and as I have been gone I've been struggling writing.

I work every day, building plans and then trying to be creative with my lecture and materials for all those involved.  My creative being is turn on full throttle all day...yet I can't write when I get home.

One of the most interesting aspects that I've learned about writers block over the years is how often it is tied to an emotional state.  In my case, it's usually tied to depression and exhaustion.

Writer's block, for me, isn't so much based around a lack of ideas.  It is base around a lack of enthusiasm to write.  For a long time I've tried to be a writer and I can't seem to get my foot through the door.  Therefore, when I try to write something I  have to first ponder...why?  What is my exigence?  Why in the world am I going to waste my time writing words no one will ever see?

Thus the depression demon speaks.

The other voice which taunts me a bit more is that of exhaustion.  It's not so much a voice, I guess, as it is pull on me.  The TV is so alluring after a long day's work.  A nap feels good.  Playing Guild Wars 2 (tm) will give me some new ideas...which I promptly forget while I'm trying to accomplish some goal.

The strangest thing, though, about writer's block, in my case, is that I have ideas flowing.  I just can't get myself to develop them.

How about you?  What is writer's block like for you?

This Time Of Year

found at  http://blog.newsok.com/photo/category/uncategorized/ 

So, the dog days of August are upon us, and for many of us in the US it has been a horrid summer of drought and record highs.  Horray for the La Nina years!  Hip Hip Horray!

Yes, where I live it has been very hot with very little rain.  It makes going outside to do any sort of chore a tedious task all its own.  If you go out too early, neighbors might complain about the noise.  Do it too late and you might hit the sprinkler heads.

Anyway, I digress because the purpose of this post is more about what seems to happen to me during this time of year.  The wheels of schools all across the land begin to turn.  Papers rustle, mops swish, bells are being tested.  The store registers clatter away with the sound of new school cloths and heaps of school supplies -- which brings me to where my mind likes to wander.

Maybe it's the heat?  Many I know often tell me that it's the heat and I am just longing for the long winter's nights.  I fancy the darkness and coming hollowed days.  I love the snowfall and the wonderlands of ice.  I enjoy the nip on my nose, the chill rushing through the house.  I love fireplaces, though I don't have one.

found at: 
http://www.bestourism.com/items/di/6285?title=Christmas&b=223 

But, what draws me most to this time of year is a pursuit I'm afraid I have lost.

I never really had the opportunity to believe in Santa Claus.  My brother had figured out the secret back when he was around three years old.  Around the same age he discovered how to take apart anything his little hands could touch.  Also the same time he discovered that his baby brother could roll down the stairs just like a log!  I, of course, don't remember those moments.  They're all a spinning blur of banister and carpet and then darkness.

When I was young, my brother and I couldn't wait for Christmas.  My family lived a much more hardscrabble life than I understood at the time, and Christmas tended to be more of a time for my brother and I to fantasize about what we would get and then let my parents surprise us.  It was amazing that way.

Yet, it wasn't the presents I think I have lost.  It's the magic of the air.  It's the magic of my family being together and playing in the snow.  It's the magic that something was just right with the world, if only for this moment.  I think, as I got older, the Spirit of Christmas became more complicated and more allusive to my adult sensibilities.

Every now and then I can catch just the whisper of her shimmering dress as she runs out of my sight.  I can sense her cool breath on my neck as I march to school trying to think of how best to get my students to seek out the spirit rather than the latest video game like greedy goblins.

I'm afraid many of the churches around me now no longer know the spirit that I speak of.  And it frustrates me every year that she is just a whisper out of sight.

So starting around this time, all my old Christmas movies come out and I begin to watch them.  I begin to take notes.  I begin to plan family events (which always seem to go bust because many members of my family can't seem to be bothered to join us).  However, most of all, I seek a way to catch that spirit and hold her tight and try to shine her light to the world.

I just don't know how.  So what if we make that this message's little challenge.  Have you ever seen or felt the spirit of Christmas?  If so, how?

P.S. I'm not crazy, folks.  I'm being metaphorical.

Why Is Writing Necessary?

http://mecha-master.deviantart.com/art/MechWarrior-Fail-Arctic-Wolf-139299301

Great question.  Why are writers and their creations necessary?

The answer is simple:  The world needs dreamers.

Dreamers help us look beyond where we are at and ask, "Why not?"  We influence others to attempt that which we have proclaimed and make real that we fantasize.

To prove my point, off to the side is a quick sketch snagged from deviantart.com (one of my favorite haunts).  Below are a few real photos of the Kuratas robot which comes armed with twin Gatling guns and a water-propelled rocket launcher, both of which are harmless, though they may sting.

And thus, a dream is realized.

Some Thoughts

Borrowed Garfield image most likely attributed to Jim Davis 

July has been a very, very busy for me and I am glad that it is now August.  Aside from friends in the hospital, visiting doctors, training sessions, and other various meetings, my time to sit and write has all but vanished unless I give up sleep.  But, that's not what I really wanted to talk about on this post.

There are days when suddenly the world collides with me and I'm suddenly left with the need to be quiet and pensive and try to understand the world around me.  I've always wondered what other people are thinking at these times.  Am I the only one pondering universal truths, or are others sharing the same thoughts as a collective like Jung once theorized?

This past week I attended a funeral for a person that I had only met a few times, but I was there to support my friends.  I found myself crying during the service, though not because of my loss but because of the thoughts in my head about loss.  I pondered the death of my own family and things that need to be in place when I go to handle things.  I pondered my own death and how my family would react.  I figure these are typical thoughts and they've become all too common in my family these days.  But it has made me scared.

Now, to totally turn this in on my writing blog, we are seeing the beginning of a conflict within a story and the burgeoning of rising action.

But this has just been a very quick post so that everyone knows I'm still alive out here.

Something Important To Me and a Little Charity

The Thinker

What is something important to you?  What is something that drives you on a regular basis?  When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thing your mind turns to?

Granted, what I am going to share isn't quite to the extreme that I wake up and immediately begin thinking about these, but throughout the course of my day my mind does tend to linger on this topic.

A quick little story:

My life is fairly simple.  I like it this way.  I like being able to keep control over my environment; however, a little chaos is never a bad thing.

For me, my chaos comes with the animals I have taken in.  One in particular that my brother rescued back in 2005, a pocket sized orange and white medium haired cat.  Within in a year this little bundle of fur became one of the most invigorating and inventive creatures in our house.  And when I say inventive, I mean I have never known a cat that could problem solve the way Peach did and does.  But, the essential point is that as Peach truly bonded with me and not so much the others in the family, my world began to change.

I have always loved animals of all kinds.  However, as Peachy and I spent more time together playing and investigating the backyard I began to realize how truly amazing animals can be.  Then, when I had to return to work full time in the fall I went to find Peach a friend.  I found Bama one cool October evening at a PetSmart store and something about her just ate me up.  Her story can be found here:

PetSmart Charities

Anyway, what does all of this have to do with writing?

It has often been said that when we wright we need to write about what we know about.  Personally i don't believe that statement.  In truth we need to write about we we want to learn about and what we're passionate about.  A few years ago I began writing a book about my animals, but there's no real focus, so I have been trying to learn more about animals in many respects.  I've worked and spoken with owners, vets, wildlife rehabilitators, game and fish specialists, game wardens, religious leaders, and many others trying to find a focus for my book.

However, that just maybe the right angle.  There is no focus except how these "beasts" become family and how they are more human in many ways than some of us realize.

So...what's important to you?  What do you want to learn more about?  

Showing Your Story, Not Telling It! (warning)

Well, now that all the theory and writing mumbo-jumbo has been dealt with, let's begin.

A quick note, I'm going to try my best to avoid stepping on toes in this one, but it will probably happen as I am speaking about religion, a hot button issue which is also why I will be using it.  Most of us have an immediate reaction to the term or idea of religion.  A little history about me is that I am a Christian and I have been a missionary, but the circles I run in are not exclusive to those ideas.

Throughout this post, though, it is important to keep in mind truth over perceptions.  People will fail us, that is a fact.  It is important to keep in mind what is and is not truth, and the argument that truth is subjective is not truth.

I will begin this part by letting everyone step into a brief moment in my daily life.  I have a lot of acquaintances, they're friends but people who rarely interact with me, or me with them, beyond Facebook or work.  Often enough they toss out little comics or send me an email to make their point and strut their stuff as though the point they made was really just as simple as how the comic makes it sound.

Now, where am i going with all of this?  That's simple.  One of the aspects of writing, whether it's fiction or nonfiction, is that it is best to show our audience not tell our audience.  It sounds easy, yet tends to be tricky. We want our characters (fictional or non) to simply drop logic bombs by sharing their fast ideas with the rest of humanity and then people will listen.  But the catch is that people don't listen unless they respect someone, and chances are they don't respect your character (even nonfiction ones because of how we tend to portray a person).  Therefore it's best to create the scenario and let the characters work it out rather than sit around a coffee shop and talk.

Now, take for example the following two comics.  I use these because they point-counterpoint and not to illicit a response from anyone or to upset anyone.  It's a learning experience.

from atheistcartoons.com

from liberallogic101.com

Okay, so the first comic has an atheist asking the audience to imagine a world without religion and then two of the world's top religions showing intolerance and chasing after him.  Cute.

The second comic makes a jab at Catholics but then follows it up with some facts that can be checked...but whether we nitpick or not on the facts presented (and yes I am aware that there are atheist charities out there, but I am unaware of any "anti-christian bigoted" charity groups, and i want to reiterate that I am not trying to incite anyone) there is still an important point to be made about charity, the message we inadvertently send, hypocrisy, and the role of religion.

*Climbs down from small soapbox*

The point is, someone made these comics and is trying to tell us something.  The catch is that people who will agree with one of these comics or the other is someone who probably began looking at the comics and already agreed with the ideas within it.  Thus, how would we transfer ideas that others may disagree with into a format that would better express our views and not overly simplify the situation.

So, what could we do?  We could create a story to address the first comic.  A world without religion, what would it look like?

Well some would see a utopia type of life.  Socialism walked this path believing in the innate goodness of human kind.  Everyone working for the betterment of all without the thundering spirits overhead lashing their whips of flame and damnation.  This is certainly a possibility.  

Although I personally would not walk that road, and willing to risk any nasty criticism I get (which would ironically support my thesis), I would look at the other extreme.  A world without a religious backdrop is one where there is no moral hierarchy, no ability to say what is a universal right and wrong.  Death, power struggles, drug addiction, murder, greed to extremes.  Things that are often found when we look at history and modern day in places where there is an absence of strong religion and moral struggle.  People are good, which would and could create our story, but people are also innately wrought with bad traits.  When unchecked by something greater than ourselves (a divine being, the death of the entire human race, or grandma and her rolling pin) humanity tends to devolve into a self indulgent state where people are harmed for other's amusement or prosperity. (hmm, anyone remember Nero? Caligula? The 1970s).  And some may scoff, but look at some of the groups with lobbyists that have surfaced who have no real value in furthering human society, debate, research, just themselves (for fun, the medical marijuana groups who ignore the fact that the medicinal properties tend to get destroyed when the plant is introduced to heat).

*steps down from soapbox*

Oh wait...did I just open up the issue of virtues and vices?  Isn't that an archetypal concept?  YES, my fellow writers.  Virtues and Vices are archetypal traits!  Oddly enough, many of the famous "Seven Deadly Sins" are repeated throughout other cultures moral frameworks, thus making it archetypal.  Just heaven help you if you're writing a blog and trying to find a picture of "vices and virtues".   Three pages of Panic at the Disco album covers?  I fear for our culture now, I really, really do.

However, I want to quickly point out that hypocrisy is not the issue I'm talking about.  I'm also not trying to assault any one's religion or lack there of.  I'm merely talking of history, values and memes.  I know that there are good people who do not believe in a higher power just as well as i know that there are people who claim to believe in a higher power but one could never tell, and in some religions those who claim to know the higher power but do not display that knowledge in their lives are deemed not of that religion.  

Yes, I'm talking in a vague cloud of words because this is always a hot topic and that whole once-bitten-twice-shy thing tends to make my apprehensive.

*climbs off the small soapbox again* 

So how do we illustrate these points?

In fact the second comic is sort of a Bible lesson, for those of us who stayed awake in Sunday school it's not surprise.  When Jesus had his feet washed by the woman with the perfume, Judas became upset that the money was wasted on the perfume when it could have been used to feed the poor.  Well Judas was right wasn't he?  Maybe, but the fact that he was rebuked becomes the focus of the point.  Judas was upset and over compensating for his own iniquities.  We know this because of his reaction.  He has been walking with Jesus for a while, and he should have learned that people worship Jesus it is never worthless or useless.  The woman could go out now and tell her story.  She could share with the world her testimony.  She could stand tall when others refused to even get up for fear.  Her actions are the focus and her actions are the key.  

So what could we do?  We could show a world without religion.  We could show the world where religion reigned over.  Both could be shown as utopias, but only one can also be shown as a distopia.  We would need to show the struggles and how those struggles in those societies would or could be overcome.

Now, for those who will make the point that a religious world would be a distopia, too, because people would no longer be free thinkers, I would like to direct your next few readings toward John Milton.  Please read the real stuff on him, none of the conjecture about his sexuality or beliefs because, frankly people, we don't know the secrets, but we do know essential facts about the man.  Anyone can make up conjecture about a person based on their nicknames or letters they've written.  I would hate to see what future historians would say if they knew my nicknames in school or found the letters I had written to many of my friends (male and female).

*Climbs down from the soapbox again*

One fact about Milton was that he struggled with trying to picture a world where God reigned supreme.  There is little doubt that the man was a devout follower of God, but he identified the pre-fallen world as "stupidly good".  He depicted the struggle in Heaven as a philosophical battle that turned into war while God was absent unable to decide why God was absent, or why God was absent at the fall, except that it was planned.  That everything since then was the fire purifying the gold that would decorate the streets of Heaven (symbolism, humans are the gold).

C.S. Lewis struggled much with the same concept and he wrote a companion piece to John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress called Pilgrim's Regress.  Both stories take readers on a walk through this fractured world to find that perfect place, or find it once again.

Conclusion:

Basically, the point becomes that your job is to show us what you wish us to see and understand.  Not tell us.  You must create a world that is plausible and demonstrative of what you wish people to perceive.  Star Trek lived and died on scientific exploration.  Camelot lived and died upon the notion of everyone working together.  Paradise was lost when pride became part of the equation.

Even More Character Archetypes: Literature Style.

We all know the formula.  Dragons steal damsels.  Kings rule lands.  Knights quest.  Dragons die.  Damsels are saved.  Tra-la-la-la-la!

Or is it?

I know, for anyone who read through my other posts, I'm beginning to sound a lot like a college professor spouting out the rules and guides to writing.  The great thing about writing is that none of these rules or guides need to be followed.  In fact, you can smash these archetypes to bits with your creations and, trust me, it is encouraged.  No one wants to read the exact same stories over and over.  That's why the TV cop dramas keep getting redone with new angles, new problems, new ways to kill someone and/or solve the case.

Anyway, with that thought out of my head, let's talk about archetypes, but instead of looking at our ancient history, we're going to look at some big ones for modern literature: Warrior, Mentor, Geek, Seductress, Femme Fatale.  As a note, I would like to point out that this is a quick rundown and each group can be broken down further and I can even add more types.  However, right now, I'm more worried about building up ideas and beginning to play with the concepts.

There are of course many others to be looked at, but let's start small so that we may actually find our way into getting into the rising action of our story examinations.

Author Neal Stephenson, image borrowed from
Bloomberg Businessweek at
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-15/
a-sword-fighting-lesson-with-neal-stephenson
(you need to close the gap between the "15/" and "a-s")

The Warrior is simply the character who we are following.  They're the ones struggling and battling to obtain some goal.  This includes the gaunt, scrawny kid who no one suspects to ever fight back.  If they are physically struggling against something, they're a warrior.  The warrior is often smart, regardless of what the name conjures.  The warrior is typically honorable, serves a higher purpose or a higher power than himself.  Although, love is probably a much grater cause than oneself, it is not always the driving force behind a warrior.  Particularly today, a lot of readers and writers have made the point that love is seen as passé and weak to a characters central motives.  A bit of a sad commentary on the times we live, in it would seem.

The Mentor is the character who has accrued a great wealth of knowledge in their lifetime and uses it to further the cause of whichever hero we're dealing with.  Wizards, Jedi masters, librarians, anyone with a great acquirement of knowledge who is helping the warrior through his journey or quest.  Or, helping the villain destroy his nemesis...as we play with conventions and changes.

The seductress, once a staple in most pieces of literature as a woman who lures the hero (occasionally a villain) into a trap with her wiles, was a method of depicting the hero as a human character.  The seductress could have been a love interest who betrays him in a teenage drama.  The seductress could be one of the women who help bring down a crooked general by luring him away from his guards.  However, rarely is the seductress a pivotal character.  Her ultimate job is to create movement in the plot...but this has occasionally been changed from time to time.

As times have changed new conflicts and additions to the literary bouquet have surfaced.  One of these is the Geek, or the hacker, or the nerd.  Basically, this is a mesh between the mentor and the warrior except that this character holds the weak, unassuming assets of the mentor and truly survives off of luck and his knowledge.  Their charms seem limited to their circle while they're clumsy around those outside their circle.  A great example of this is the sitcom Chuck.  Charles Bartowski is a hapless and unwitting participant in the world of the spies.  His costar, Yvonne Strahovski, as the next new archetype.

"The night air, rich with heat and humidity, revealed little of its mysteries.  The moon refused to offer any of her insight tonight.  Fear welled up in his chest, but he refused to allow it to become dread.  He did his best to chase the demons of Phobos and Deimos away with the click of the safety of his pistol.

Shots suddenly rang out.  Echoing throughout the streets.  He darted to one side, but it was all for naught.  There she stood, her pistol smoking and pressed to the back of his head..."

Thus we see a Femme Fatal archetype.  Sexy, intelligent, charming, strategically well endowed, and loaded with courage.  Though they have existed in history books, it took a long time before the female assassin to become a staple of literature.

Archetypes Grab Bag Part 2: Mythical Characters

Who are you?  I don't mean philosophically, but how would you describe yourself?  If you were a character in your novel, are you completely unique?  What clique do you fall into?  These are the questions we need to figure out about our characters.

I would fall under the guise of a typical nerd complete with glasses, potbelly, strewn books, pocket protector, and countless references to history, movies or trivia.

The characters I create are anything but nerds, which is why we're going to look at all the various archetypes I have been alluding to lately.

The first three key character archetypes are called many things.  Most commonly though, and depending if you're in public schools or not, they are the Mortal, Devil, and Christ figures.  These three figures are perhaps the oldest archetypes created because they go back to the oldest troubles of mankind.

A Mortal figure is usually in some sort of danger, but he is also the one we identify with, yes, the protagonist.

A Devil figure is usually the one causing the danger, we don't normally identify with the Devil, so they are the antagonist.

The Christ figure is a strange figure, in my opinion.  Ideally, the Christ figure's job is to sacrifice something very important to save the mortal, for example their life and thus the name.  However, the Mortal can also sacrifice something to save people, thus shifting their status from Mortal to Christ.  The Devil may also do this.  Therefore, the Christ figure may not necessarily be a third character and we are now looking at a character trait known as Dynamic.

Dynamic characters are characters who throughout a story change their opinions, ideals, or in some manner or means grow or degrade.  Inversely, Static characters never change.  They are who they are and will forever be.  Ideally, static characters can be a form of archetype, but their entire purpose is to just move the plot, like the red shirt guy in Star Trek.

Moving on, however, some more archetypes to consider.  When we spoke of mythology I provided four god archetypes.  These four archetypes are still prevalent in today's literature.

Trickster: The trickster is very much alive and well in modern literature.  This is your quintessential villain. They lie, cheat, steal, drink, basically any vice you can think of they do it to excess.  In mythological times, these gods (Hermes, Coyote, Loki to name the big three) were used to teach people a lesson through bad behavior.  The trickster was often a shapeshifter character because of his weak ties to the community and the lack of trust his community could put into him. Nowadays, the trickster befriends the hero to trick him, or the trickster manipulates the situation to his whim.  However, his vices always get the better of him, most notably pride. 

Yes, Wile E. Coyote was once a god, some of us
already knew this though.

Earth Spirit (Earth Mother): The life giver and often the one who has, in some sense, set the events of the quest or journey into motion.  Gaea, Mother Earth, and I know i'm missing more than a few of these deities, but their role is generally the same.  These are the spirits which created the world we know.  They are the source of life, and in particular they are usually the ones guiding the hero on their journey.  In mythology, though, these goddesses (and occasionally a god) were sometimes minor gods and sometimes they were pivotal and essential gods.


All Father: Hmm, the All Father.  Odin.  YHWH.  Allah.  Zeus.  The king of the gods in mythology or the king of a kingdom in literature.  He's the one playing puppet master either figuratively or actually.  Ideally, the All Father was an idealistic citizen of a particular society.  In fantasy stories he is either in a state of losing control or he is in a state of becoming evil.  In Greek stories, I think it is important to note that the gods were not benevolent or benign beings, nor were they good or evil (same with the Hindi gods, too, but if I am wrong please correct me) but they were flawed just like humans are flawed.  What later made the gods good or evil in our mindsets were their deeply rooted associations with vices and virtues.  The memes of a culture sort of determined if they were good or bad later.  Thus Odin who would stand tall until the final moments of his time was praised while Zeus would later on become a point of ridicule for being a cruel and philandering father, yet he is not completely hated...interesting food for thought.


Dying God: They dying god is the character which dies and is reborn or recast somehow.  Dionysus, Odin, Baldr, Jesus, and Kali are all ones I can think of and all of these and all of these gods bring about a some massive change to their world with their death and resurrection.  Odin brought back knowledge and divinity, Baldr brought the end of the world, Jesus gives salvation, Kali came back with punishment and torment and the ability to avoid meeting such ends.  Dionysus is a different case.  He was cannibalized during his parties and brought back upon the waves of the sea with the rising sun.  In either case, the death of the god is tragic but it brings about great change.


An archetype which is not officially noted but does appear a lot in mythology and has their representational archetype in literature is the three goddess which make one;  the Moirai (the Fates), the Morrigan, the Wyrd, the Valkyries, the Norns, etc.  Basically, this god motif is a trio of sisters who control the fate, in some sense, of humanity.  Some directly, like the Greek Moirai or the Norns or the Wyrd, but others through choices and situations like the Valkyries and the Morrigan.  Meeting these ladies was usually a sign of your existence on earth coming to an end.

As a note, it is important to understand one of the most essential definitions of mythology.  We commonly use the word "myth" to describe something false or something wrong.  However, a myth is a culturally significant story which attempts to explain the world around us.  A myth is not necessarily false or wrong, in fact many times they can be correct.  Every culture has a flood story but that was considered a joke by scientists of ages until evidence began to turn up, accidentally I might add, that there may have been a world wide myth.  Another fun concept is the flat earth round earth concept.  An early scientist (natural philosopher at the time), Cosmas, ran about declaring that the world was truly flat and the predominant religions at the time (early Christianity for example) were completely false in their ideals of a spherical world.  He created maps and became very vocal on the matter, but the myths of a spherical Earth proved true.  So, do not assume that a myth means false or fake.  That's bad mojo.

Grab Bag of Archetypes Part 1

What are your goals in life?  What do you want to accomplish by the time you're 30?  50? 75?  Do you have a destiny?

All good questions we should be asking ourselves about our characters to help us determine what sort of story we're writing.

The sword in the stone is perhaps one of the best known
quests in literature.

One of the stories I'm currently dabbling with, my main character is attempting to solve a murder which has happened and is completely foreign to his people, while his uncle is attempting to steal the sovereignty of the nation.  So now my hero is on a journey to save his people while ridding his land of danger.

I have made a lot of mention of the various archetypes that have been identified in mythology, literature, film, and general story telling.  Let's first look at quests and journeys.

There are ideally ten different quests and journeys which have been identified.  Other authors will claim more some less, but it all comes down to how we twist our stories.

Quests: 

Identity - The hero is seeking who they really are.  Perhaps this is a coming of age story or a high school drama.  Perhaps the hero has discovered they are adopted or the last remaining member of a forgotten race. Perhaps they fell from the sky in a meteorite.  In any way that there can be confusion about who he or she is, there is a quest for identity.  This is considered a quest because once the hero has realized who they are, going home is extremely hard or in some cases impossible.


Tragic - Tragic quests usually result in the death of the hero or the complete failing of the hero on their quest.  This tragedy has a tendency to also be the point where the hero dies on their voyage, but not entirely.  There are second chances, but in whatever case, the tragic quest is typically a trial of utter torment which ends poorly.


Vengence - This is very interesting because many, many cultures believe that seeking vengence actually alters you into becoming that which you hate, thus altering who you are to the point that you are no longer who you started out to be.

Soldier watching their fire line.
Photo found at  http://militaryphotos.deviantart.com/gallery/
Thank you for allowing me to borrow it. 

To Rid the Land Of Danger - I always wondered why this was considered a quest, and then I sat through a class on Native American mythology.  There are always monsters in our stories, but these monsters are much more powerful than we are as humans.  However, in other cultures, when there is danger and trouble the humans must become powerful enough to defeat this evil, but unfortunately the power that it takes to rid the evil also consumes the hero and they become that evil.  Thus, in order to truly rid the land of that evil they must flee their home and never return.

The Fool's Errand - This is a very interesting type of story because the entire quest is based around the person who is unaware that they are on a quest and being acted upon by all others around them.  These stories can also be journeys, it all comes down to what is learned, how the hero has grown, and what how the situation is resolved.

The Grail - This quest dates back to the age of King Arthur and his round table.  However, these quests are the subject of true Romantic literature.  They are the search for Rome, thus Romantic.  They are a search not for the city, but for the ideal.  Romantic literature is the search for perfection.  Human perfection, spiritual truth, Utopia.  Unfortunately, these quests either end with the corruption of the perfection or the perfection has a horrible cost far beyond what any wish to pay.  For example, Camelot fell, Arthur died, and the round table lay in ruins.  Lancelot and Guinevere never return to the Isle of Britain and Merlin's dream is never realized.

Journeys:

Love - The journey for love is exactly as it sounds.  The hero is seeking love.  This is usually the premise for most chick flicks and the stories are usually very formulaic. Girl meets Guy, Girl refuses to admit her feelings for Guy, Guy is forced to leave Girl, Girl races to keep the Guy.  However, this version is played out differently in a film I really enjoy, Family Man with Nicholas Cage.  Ideally, Cage's character is given a glimpse of what he could have had had he made a different decision.  Once the realization is made, the character's life is forever altered, but not as drastically as a quest.  We usually want to take our dream date home to meet mom...well depends on the kinkiness of that date...



Find the Promised Land - Just as the name suggests.  The characters are seeking the land promised to them in some means.  The story is basically a tale of finding a new home.  For example, the Puritan pilgrims in American history or the tale of Exodus.


Knowledge - There really isn't much to be said here.  The hero is seeking knowledge.  Lately this has come down to some sort of mysticism or science formula in modern science fiction or fantasy, but it could be something as simple as a recipe.  The mundane can be just as exciting as the elaborate and intense.  As a quick addendum, I usually lump the journey for wealth in this same category because there seems little difference in the tales where one person achieves great knowledge and the other achieves great wealth.  Ultimately, the both seem to find trouble and sorrow in their journey and they both accrue something sacred and sought after by all.  I probably should change the name, but then I'd have to give up that lecture time talking to the student who had to ask me the question about the journey for wealth and that helps me to identify my classroom pets.  Only kidding of course, all my students are guinea pigs for literary experiments. (Insert Maniacal Laugh Here) *Crash of Thunder*

Warrior's Fight To Save His/Her People - This is just as it sounds, however it is not the same as the tales of danger or vengence for one simple reasons, the hero returns home as a hero and is praised for their success.  This is a happy story and a great example of this would come from a series of video games, The Legend of Zelda franchise.  Link always goes through a horrific quest to save Zelda or Hyrule or both and always returns home to his uncle, tree, farmland as a loyal servant to the princess.  I've always been intrigued by how Link gets treated in the series.  He is the altruistic white knight, wearing green and we, as the audience, are always waiting for that love affair to get moving.  I am probably wrong, but I have played all the games, not memorized them, but The Adventures of Link is the only time he got a kiss from Zelda and the new Skyward Sword the flirtation is very thick...but I haven't beaten it yet (okay hardcore fans, attack my facts now).

Of course we shouldn't limit ourselves to just one of these journeys or quests as a good novel is usually a twisted rope of subplots along the main thematic plot.  Link is trying to save the princess, struggle with various romantic advancements while being blissfully unaware of his destiny which is revealed as we play our games.  Yet Link also regularly goes through the voyage of the hero discussed in the previous post.

End of Part 1.

The Roller Coaster Begins!

I hate roller coasters.  I have never liked them.  My brother and my father both love them, but I'd rather pull my fingernails off with a pair of pliers than to ride a roller coaster.

the Galaxy roller coaster at Cliff's Amusement Park in Albuquerque, NM
Picture borrowed from themeparkreview.com

Where I spent most of my life, Albuqeuerque, NM, there is only one real theme park, but an amazing water park where I spent far more time of my summers at.  Cliff's, once called Uncle Cliffs, has a roller coaster called the Galaxy, and a newer one called the Rattler, but the Galaxy was my first real experience with roller coasters.  My first experience wasn't so bad.  My father sat with me, my mom and brother behind me.  I wrapped my arms around the bar across my lap and closed my eyes through the entire thing.

From there it only got worse.  My brother used to drag me onto it over and over again. And for some reason I would go with him protesting the whole way, yet I never had to ride with him.  Either way, he was the one who used to tell me tales of this roller coaster riding off the tracks and people dying.  Thoughts that stayed in my mind the entire time I sat in one of those cars, whizzed around corners, climbed the hills, and free-fell to a tight banking turn.  I kept imagining our car launching from the rails and just staring at the pavement climbing up to meet us.

Basically, I hate the heights of the coaster and the belly lurching drops.  I also can't stand log rides, yet I love the rush at the end of them.

So, what on earth does this have to do with anything I've been blogging about?


Well, our beginning is considered and people are entering our theme park.  Our characters are examined and being developed thus creating our theme.  Now we have to create the ups and downs and twists and turns of the roller coasters.


Also, just like characters, these twists and turns have been broken into a series of archetypes and steps.  So let's look at these identified steps as a whole first, and we can break them down into the archetypal quests and journeys and how we can twist and turn them.


Joseph Campbell, the mythologist, was the first published author to note commonalities between the ancient stories the whole world wide.  His books decorate my shelves and the shelves of many authors simply because he noted a common thread which still exists in our stories today.  He found that golden link all people share.


Campbell's work gave way to other authors, one of my favorites, for example is David Adams Leeming.  To break down Campbell's work into more digestible bits, Leeming wrote two necessary books for authors to read: The World of Myth and The Voyage of The Hero.  Okay...so enough plugging other people's works and hoping for free, signed copies, let's break it down here for you.


Mythologically speaking there are four essential gods: The Earth Spirit, the Trickster, the All Father, and the Dying God.


Mythologically speaking there are four essential myths: Creation, Flood, Apocalypse, and After Life.


Well this is all and good, but so what?  I'm not into writing fantasy and I'm no Rick Riordan.  But that's not the point.  All of these myths lead us to the very steps of heroism.


First, all heroes must be born or reborn somehow.  When we're talking about myths, the hero's birth is miraculous somehow.  Some were born from virgins, some were forged from the earth, some were even vomited into being (Bumba is a very strange story).  In books and literature we see this still.  One of the most noted that I can remember is the Matrix.  Neo actually had numerous births and rebirths.  He was first born into the computer generated reality, he was reborn into the true living world, and then reborn again into the One prophesied, after his death and venture to the the underworld (which was the loss of hope for all).


Secondly, their childhoods are plagued somehow with trials.  Learning how to fight, trying to pull swords from trees, some mad king afraid of a prophecy is trying to kill them, or they are trying weighing the truth of their father's evil deeds and trying to keep from becoming that same evil.


Third, all heroes must go into a state of meditation where they make a great and weighty decision.

Star Wars is a prime example through all six episodes

Fourth, their quest or journey begins.  This is a very important aspect.  Most of the time we are told that the books is the quest or journey, and though that maybe true in a few cases, ideally this aspect is the rising action of our roller coaster.  To make matters more complex, and we'll look at this again in the future, but J. R. R. Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy, identified a distinct difference between journeys and quests.  Ideally, a journey makes a great story (and a stand alone book), where as a journey alters and changes the heroes so much that they can never return home happily (a series or at the very least a growth of a character within books).


Fifth, all heroes must die.  Truth be told, they don't have to die as in physically, but metaphorically is just as well.  It is a point where all their dreams just snap.  That's it.  The end.  The finale.  The fat lady is belting it out.


However, while our ears are popping from the song, the sixth step is that all heroes go through a sort of underworld.  Usually it is a form of hell, a point of depression and suffering, but not always.  Russel Crowe's character Maximus in Gladiator kept a constant vigil on Elysian Fields.


The seventh step is the resurrection of the hero.  They have slipped from Tartarus or their depression has ended, some sort of realization has just occurred and the Hero is back on track.


Lastly, the eighth step is the ascension.  The hero finds heaven, or their version of heaven.  Goals are achieved, happiness is restored, order is found.


Let me elaborate.


Perhaps one of my favorite stories of all time is Casablanca.  The plot is relatively simple, people go to French soil, but German occupied Morocco to escape the coming of the Nazis.  However, people need money and papers to get smuggled to safety and freedom.  Straightforward, get papers get to safety.


But this is where we meet Rick, an American who has a past of working for underdogs but has had a change of heart while in Paris before France fell to the Germans.  We find Rick while he is in underworld.  He has no dreams, no expectations, no concerns, though parts of his former self still exists as he helps rig his gambling tables to help people escape the country.


We are only treated to flashbacks and historical references of Rick's past.  His time in Paris, stories of his sympathies to causes and people. These are Rick's trials as they were failed causes he fought for, and I can't help but think of Sam, a constant reminder of those times.

Easy to see why she was Rick's dream girl.

Now enter his hopes and dreams: Ilsa.  Plot twist, she's married to a man who the old Rick would have supported, but because Victor and Ilsa are married, Rick is torn between realizing what he wants and realizing what is best for all.  Once more, we see the moments of Rick's trials but we are directed toward his reason for leaving Paris, which he attributes to the invasion, but he could be hiding something.


Rick's "death" comes when Ilsa leaves him but when she returns to him begins Rick's torturous climb back to life and who he once was, the hero we're routing for.  But there's a twist, he could have Ilsa back at the cost of Victor's freedom.


I won't ruin the film if you haven't seen it, but Rick does resurrect and ascend into glory for those who knew him best.  


Now i know there are tens if not hundreds of blogs out there discussing this very same thing.  Some authors even elaborate on their own adding more steps.  By all means, read some of them and help grow your ideas, but most of all, learn how to identify these steps in your writing as it will give your story the arcs all of us are looking for consciously, subconsciously, and occasionally unconsciously.

Mary Sue, You're A Hero Too?

I don't know where the art came from, if you do
let me know so I can give credit, however the quote
is from the movie Flight of Dragons (1982).

Did you ever want to be a hero?  Sword toting or gun roaring or mystical princess or even a space smuggler with a tall hairy friend.

Of course you did.

When I was back in grade school, middle school and even well into high school...yeah okay even in college sometimes, I always wanted to be the hero of some grandiose fight for justice.  The sort of battle that would keep the bards singing for ages.

I truly believed that women swooned at the sight of heroic deeds and that I could win over any young lass that I wanted simply through my courageous deeds and mysterious ways.

Yeah, I was never that lucky with the ladies.  Just for you literary nuts out there, my favorite and role model for how to treat a woman was Edmund Rostand's depiction of Cyrano de Bergerac.  I wholly, and to a large extent still do, believe in chivalry.  There are somethings that should never have died.

However, like Cyrano, and somewhat due to my affinity for swords at the time, I was awaiting the day a villain would storm my castle (and oddly my high school was nick named "The Castle") and I would have to defend all the fair maidens of my imagination.  To those who knew me best, and to a very select few of my friends, also knew a journal I had poetry, short stories, speeches, poorly constructed French sentences (ZUT!) of the things I would say to the girl who was most important to me during that four year period (my first date, kiss, scores of love letters, and heart break).

Okay, yeah, so my high school years could probably be turned into young adult novel, but that's not why I'm writing this chapter.

I want to bring your attention to a very specific breed of character called the Mary Sue Hero. The Mary Sue hero is not necessarily a heroine (a female hero for those who are unsure, and yes, there are always some).  What Mary Sue is, is a character based on you as a person.  Based on who you want to be.  Based on what you would be like if you were a hero.  And though Mary Sue isn't bad, per-say, Mary Sue  has a tendency to be overly dramaticized, overly described, overly perfect.  So much so that many slush readers are basically standing on guard towers with rifles and searchlights trying to keep these types of characters away from their gatekeepers (another industry term that is wise to know, especially since the slush reader only determines if a piece is worth of progressing and the gatekeeper determines if it is worth distributing).

There are even Mary Sue Litmus Tests: Example 1  - Example 2

Now that I have made my cautionary little note.  Mary Sue characters are not bad things.  In fact they are great at helping you accomplish some pretty important aspects of your writing.  Ever had writer's block?  Create a Mary Sue and drop it into the middle of your novel.  What would you as a hero do?  Would your main character do that?  Oh....look the dam is beginning to leak.   What if your Mary Sue suddenly discovered that it was adopted?  What if the perfection that is Mary Sue were exact opposite values of a new society it has discovered?

What kind of archetypal hero would you be?  I already know mine.  What's yours?

What Would You Say?

So, once a month I meet with the River Valley Writers Group to talk, discuss, craft, critique, and so on so forth that writers do.

For this past week, we had a host of photos to choose from, 20 all together i believe with one of my favorites being the Brooklyn Super Hero Supply shop, and we could select a picture we liked and then create our story.  Well, i like to make things difficult on me, so i flipped the photos over and randomly selected one.  And this is what i pulled from the pile.

So...what would you write?

Here's what I created:

"Sir, the photos have been developed.  You said you wanted to see them immediately."

"Thank you, lieutenant."

the manila folder was promptly plopped and the photos scattered on the captains desk.  He flippantly flittered the folder over his shoulder as he bean to shuffle the black-and-white images taken by an agent somewhere beyond the 38th parallel.

"What in God's green goodness is this?"  The captain growled as he held up a photo.

"Sir, that appears to be a bowl of vegetables.  Sir, I believe it is actually kimchi, a delicacy in Korea."

"I can see that.  Is this some sort of joke?"

"Sir, I don't know, sir."

The captain huffed a sigh and tossed the image over his shoulder as well.  Several terse moments passed in silent disapproval of the spy's efforts.  More photos were tossed over his shoulder before he stopped and began to stare at one photo, a peculiar smirk perched across his ruddy face.

"Lieutenant, where's any carnival in North Korea?"

"Sir, I--don't have a foggy clue."

"Then please, lieutenant, explain this photo to me and how this isn't a joke."

The lieutenant took the image and scanned over the matte finish.  A military officer squatted next to the young dictator of North Korea apparently attempting to explain some aspect of the device while an engineeer tinkered with the throttle and pitch controls.  Their efforts seemed wasted from their supreme overlord's slack-jawed stare.

"Sir, I believe the photo to be authentic, sir.  Not a joke."

"And why is it 'authentic,' lieutenant?"  The captain scoffed.

"Sir, the flying disc shape, we've been working on for a few decades, sir, with some success and a notable failure in New Mexico.  I grant you the craft is small, but the armaments, sir--"

"Yes, the armaments, tell me more about those, lieutenant."

"Well, sir, our own engineers have been working on -- well -- I believe they call them Photon Emitters."

The captain raised an eyebrow, "Photon Emitters?  They look like Buick headlamps."

"Yes, sir.  That would be the tricky thing about them."

"And the two orbs between the Photon Emitters, what are those?"

"Sir, I am unsure.  They maybe the smaller, Pulsating Photon Emitters.  Pilots of various new crafts use these when banking to defend themselves against other crafts."  The lieutenant replied with a calm stoic tone.

"Really?"  The captain admired the photo anew.  "Is this device a real threat to us?"

The lieutenant bit his lip pensively.  "No, sir.  I think not.  We, that is our scientists and engineers are years ahead of the Commis."

"What of pilots?  Any grown man would be too heavy."

"You right, sir.  I believe we have a special select squad of pygmy pilots testing these devices now in controlled rings right now up in Fort Coney, New York."

The captain nodded his head with muddled understanding.  "Very well, then."

Only Moments Before The Rise Of Action

I know it has been a while since I last hopped on here to blog a little, but I actually have a really good excuse.

This past weekend, a new video game was being beta tested.  It is the second one in a series that I first played when it came out in 2005 and have been totally smitten ever since.  The story line is quite interesting and fun to participate in, except that it became a bit strange in the third game Nightfall where you and your team must kill a god and then ensconce a new god...yeah I had a small issue with that.

Concept art for Guild Wars 2

Anyway, the new game is called Guild Wars 2 (TM) and It was beta tested this past weekend and I have been anticipating it for a very long time.  For one key reason, this story has been boasting a player-dynamic event system to create the story line.  Basically, the players all create their own individualized (maybe mostly individualized) story as the game progresses.  Awesome!

*drool*

Okay, so we discussed the exposition and how much is tied up in the first few pages, chapters, minutes, etc.  but before we can go on our little adventure up the plot pyramid we need to stop and look at what creations have been identified in the past so that we may "borrow" these constructs to strengthen our projects.

Character Archetypes!

The Batman Live cast of characters

An archetype is simply a reoccurring type of character.  And a character is defined as the mental, physical, and emotional aspects of a person, or a toaster, or whatever we're writing about.

the first break down of character types are protagonists and antagonists.  Protagonists are the good guys, well not always, but for now we'll use that definition.  Antagonists are the bad guys, usually, but we'll use this definition for now.

Ideally, what truly makes a protagonist and the antagonists is how the audience identifies with these characters.  The protagonist is the character that we, the readers, want to see win.  We cry when they cry, we hurt when they're hurt.  We clench our seats and drop our tea cups when their world crashes down.  Then, of course, the antagonist is the character the audience has trouble identifying with.  We want to see this character fail and be defeated.  We want to see their efforts crumble at that hands of the protagonist.

The reason why I didn't want to completely brush all good guys as protagonists and all bad guys as antagonists is because of the concept of antiheroes and antivillains.

An antihero is a hero which utilizes socially unacceptable means to accomplish good goals, Batman for example is an antihero as a vigilante.  A more broad definition is that of a character who is an unlikely hero, or someone who doesn't fit the typical hero strata, the everyman, for example.  Keep in mind, heroes are the subject of all the good social memes of a culture, therefore they are a force of good within their given culture.  So a hero who ignores the social structure to accomplish goals which support that culture is the antihero.

Anti-villain is just like the anithero, except that they do socially acceptable things to accomplish bad goals, like a lawyer who uses the law to ensure that his drug dealing and pimping clients are found innocent of all charges.  In the US we pride ourselves on our legal system, which has been receiving a lot of criticism for being broken, so a wicked manipulation of tricks and schemes would create the antivillain because he is operating within acceptable social memes to achieve goals which are negative to the culture.

Now, here's the catch to this.  For both protagonists and antagonists there are tens of further archetypes to examine.  Something for us to discuss later, but something definitely worth researching.

Best of luck mi amigos.

Where's John Williams! It's the Exposition.

-Silence- DUUUUN!  Dudadum, dudadum! Du dun dun dadun...More brass and trumpets kick in and I can't keep up with the onomatopoeias without an orchestra of other bloggers helping out.

Well, as promised, I will continue talking about the plot because it is what gives our stories a directed focus.  Plus, I have read so many other blogs and books which have a lot of good information, but there also appears to be somethings missing from many of these books, articles and bloggers. Though I'm sure some, or perhaps many others, have covered these same concepts, but for those like me who haven't found those writers or articles, I hope this helps.

We begin with the Exposition.  The big blue box on the diagram above.  Many articles and books leave the exposition fairly open ended and vague.  For example, this diagram simply looks for the information the author provides at the beginning of a text.  Well that is fantastic, but what information should an author provide at the beginning?

Hmm, what information indeed?

Let us consider some classic movies.  For some reason, "Back To the Future" has been popping up a lot on my radar, and it's the first one that comes to my mind right now.  Well, within the first few minutes we are introduced to Marty McFly, Biff Tannen, Lorainne and George McFly, Marty's parents.  We are told it's 1985, the long running conflict of superiority of Biff over George is presented very clearly in the ribbing and teasing (Man V. Man), and the depression Marty has with his lackluster life and family (Man V. Self/Fate).

So what did we get within 10 minutes?  Setting - the time, the place, even social status.  The key characters, both protagonist and antagonist.  Lastly, we're given the conflicts.  Holy Cow!  That's the whole concept!

More than just the concept, we also have our story, plot twists, complications, climax!  Everything was just foretold in the first ten minutes of the movie, or within the first ten pages.

"Whoa! Whoa, Marty.  You also said that both the protagonist and the antagonist are played in the exposition.  But I want to keep my antagonist a secret so that it's a surprise at the end." You might say.

Well...you can do that.  Some authors manage to do that very well.  Authors of thrillers tend to pull this off in some form, yet their villain is still established early in the form of a dossier, a news broadcast, an assumption tossed around in the homicide division of a police station.  Yet, the big boss isn't disclosed until the end.  The puppet master, which is another form of archetype to discuss, is usually kept secret and hidden.  It's used to create a cathartic sense of humility and hopelessness for the reader who is bonded to the character.

Also, what's more surprising than betrayal?  Your protagonist knows the antagonist early on in the story, or at least knows about them, and then that becomes the person or creature causing strife in their life.  Ouch!  Knife twist...well plot twist.

A plot twist like this is another cathartic device.  It is painful to the readers, because many readers have experienced some form of betrayal.

To provide for you a living example.  In another book I'm writing, I am at a crossroads.  I have an obvious conflict of Man Vs. Man, a young boy trying to solve the murder of three people in a back alley.  However, should it be his uncle who committed the murders so that he could start a feud between the houses of his city and ensconce his power and role as sovereign. Or should it be his adoptive father who is still writhing with anger and revenge for his true son who was murdered by one of the houses.  Do I aim large, or do I am simple?  Plus, which would have the greatest cathartic tug?

Okay, so time to end this with a question or a challenge.  Name some of your authors and their books and see if those authors manage to disclose all three elements early in the book.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.  Templates are guides and we as writers are meant to experiment and change with these templates.  So what can you discover?