TCWT: What’s normal?

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authors, baroness emma orczy, bbc sherlock, brian jacques, captain america: the first avenger, catholic culture, catholicism, christian fiction, christianity, creative writing, dee henderson, disney, dynamic characters, editing, editor, fantasy, frozen, generations, invented religions, jorge luis borges, living life with passion, loyalties, macguffins, magic realism, marvel, novels, o'malley series, paranormal, redwall, religious themes, roman catholic, sherlock holmes, sir arthur conan doyle, spiritual, star wars, story dynamics, story tools, supernatural, t.h. white, the avengers, the scarlet pimpernel, the sword in the stone, uncommon heroes series, urban fantasy, world building, writing

I thought that I would not be doing TCWT again. I’m almost too old to do it. But I decided to come back at least one last time. So, here you go.

The prompt was “What do you think is commonly done well in literature? Done poorly?” I think it depends on the author and genre as much as anything else. Some things are well-done in one genre and horrific in another, or okay in one and marvelous in another.

Religious themes. A character’s religion, how they practice it, if they really live their faith, if they even practice what they preach at all, is a marvelous tool in character development whether you are religious or not. I have never been able to understand why some people neglect it. A character’s beliefs, including their religious persuasion, tells us quite a bit about that character. (This is why, if someone leaves the religion space on their character sheet blank, I often have headcanons about their beliefs.) Some books where this is done well: Dee Henderson’s “Uncommon Heroes” and “O’Malley” series (among the only romance I actually read). Living what you preach is a sign of sincerity, honesty, and sometimes even of courage. Often, it takes courage to say more than “non-denominational” on your forms, and the thing is, these characters don’t overtly try to convert others. It is the way they live that makes others think, “Wow. I wish I had what they have.” A book where this is done poorly: Many books (sadly) in the Christian fiction genre. (Oftentimes, Christian fiction is like romance; you have to be extremely choosy to find the good stuff.)

Religious themes in general: If a character actually lives what they preach, then religious themes in the plot itself are generally a given. Normally, you won’t run into actual angels or demons “on-set”, but the forces of evil vs. the good guys will probably happen. I very much prefer the sort of stories with a fallible main character, who falls and fails and then gets up again and apologizes for it (or, sometimes, doesn’t apologize and then sees the error of his ways.) Everything else just feels like another Christian fiction forgettable Mary Sue.

I also like to see slightly-different versions of real-world religions in stories (such as the world where Christianity developed slightly different, though all the teachings are still the same, the practices are different; some practices never evolved, while some that don’t exist in the real world did.)

Magic Realism. Now and again, I love a good story with spiritual/supernatural themes in the magical realism style, where it’s all strongly realist and then seamlessly in comes a bit of the supernatural. I love it when the plot twist throws me off, but when I look back into the rest of the book, I can see how it was subtly setting it up the whole time. Sadly, many “paranormal” stories tend to be “paranormal” throughout, without any magic realism. For me, it’s not urban fantasy if they don’t have the urban before they have the fantasy. Otherwise, it’s just fantasy.

A few notes on urban fantasy: I have read a couple of very good dystopian/urban fantasy novels where the story was very well-written. One of the biggest shockers, in my opinion, is when something that’s out of our normal experience happens and the characters treat it like a normal occurrence, because in their world, it is normal.

Items with character and/or significance. Now and again, there will be a MacGuffin that really ties everything together; it doesn’t even matter what the MacGuffin is, it is the significance that goes along with it. For instance, in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, it was Padme’s charm that Anakin gave her when they were both very young. (I swear, Attack of the Clones would have been so much better if at some point, Padme had slipped the japor snippet out of the collar of her dress and said quietly, “I still have the amulet you gave me.” I would be shipping Anidala so much harder than I do now, trust me.) In my novel Loyalties, it is the multi-generational hand-me-down amulet, the symbol of a master’s care for his apprentice, which is worn hidden in the French braid across the back of an apprentice’s head (or, alternatively, depending on the circumstances, hung on its ribbon around their neck,) that ties the generations together, as it is passed down from Rynnar to Winter (who tries, upon his leaving active service as a Ranger, to return it, but Rynnar refuses to accept it), and later from Winter to his apprentice Elían, and is constantly there to remind Winter of Rynnar, even in Rynnar’s absence, during the first book. (I’m certainly praying to the Muse that I end up doing it right.)

Martin the Warrior’s sword, in the Redwall series, is a recurring object that serves to both tie the series together, and to remind everyone of Redwall’s first Champion. Another example would be Sir Percy Blakeney’s “pimpernel” signet ring in the Scarlet Pimpernel books (which, though not recurring, was key to the first book–was that a spoiler? I hope not…)

Items that get left behind. In my opinion, many authors these days tend to forget about this. Things get broken and left behind. Things are not overly important, and things should not be overly important to the characters. For instance, someone can and will lose their arrows or throwing knives (which, believe it or not, is a loss that was, in the past, a very hard one, since both were very valuable, especially arrows, which were hard and time-consuming to make by hand and thereby expensive. There will be times when someone rips their shirt or goes swimming and loses it. For some reason, authors these days seem too often to ignore these instances.

On the other hand, a character losing something with sentimental value can be a very emotional moment. It can be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back. Or it can illustrate that at this point, the character doesn’t even care any more, or is just grateful that they got out of there alive. Martin the Warrior loses his father’s sword, which Tsarmina snaps in half, pushing him into vowing vengeance on the wildcat, as it was the only thing he had left to remember Luke by. Someone’s horse dies, and it’s a very emotional moment. Beaumont the hound in The Sword in the Stone (book, not the movie.)

Or, someone escapes a burning building to find that they left their old notebook behind. When the other character offers sympathy, the first just says, “It’s all right. It was only a notebook. I’m just glad we both got out alive.” Or even, “I don’t need it any more,” illustrating a dynamic moment in a character’s journey. Moments like these are a tool that is sometimes sadly neglected. People tend to forget that in a prior era, people would attach value to things using a different methodology than we do today. They would keep things because they were valuable or hard to replace, not because of sentiment, quite so much. In realistic historical fantasy, this is sometimes a stumbling block, though not always. (Kristoff losing his sleigh in Frozen could have been done so much better. At least they weren’t afraid to have people lose their gear in the movie.)

Use of small cues. This is a big one. Some people nowadays seem to want everything to be blatantly obvious and to avoid the search for small meanings and symbolism. This is the reason why some people hate character movies and characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi; they don’t see anything past the not-really-action of the movies or the character’s quiet, unassuming exterior. Forsaking dynamic characters for the sake of flash, some people end up creating Mary Sues.

However, I believe there are authors out there who do this really well (Brian Sanderson, Liam? I think I got that impression,) using small character cues, such as a slight movement, a nervous habit (such as fiddling with one’s sleeves) that recurs throughout the book, and tiny facial expressions that are left open for the readers to interpret to subtly build well-rounded, fleshed-out, dynamic characters. After a while, the reader becomes familiar with a repeated movement (“oh, Halt’s up to something; there’s the eyebrow!” “He’s reaching for his cuffs, even though he’s wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Poor kid.”) and learns to associate it with certain moods or actions. After a while, if you’ve seen The First Avenger, you get to recognize Steve Rogers’ nervous half-smile and distinguish it from his awkward smile, his stage smile, and the genuine article in Avengers. (Did anyone else notice how eerily similar Coulson’s non-offensive “I’m not a threat or even important to the plot at all; take no notice of me” half-smile is to Steve’s awkward smile? Since we know Steve better than we know Coulson, this tiny little fact, whether intentional brilliance on the part of Joss Whedon and whatsisname who plays Coulson or happy serendipity, tells us loads about Coulson as a character.)

Excessive stage drama queens. Basically, some characters just draw attention to themselves when they shouldn’t, detracting from the plot and being blatantly obvious (“don’t be obvious!”–>Moriarty’s best advice ever!), so much so that it’s sickening. This is just annoying. If it fits into the plot and the character, all well and good; it works! (This is why we actually can like Tony Stark.) But if not, then… then what’s the point? Seriously. All you have is an over-made-up actor who can’t even recite his lines properly. BORING. *shoots the wall* Sickening.

For me, most of what annoys me is blatantly obvious or lacking when it should be there. Of course, my pet peeves will be different from other people’s, but I think that all authors should try to improve their work based around these issues.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this listing of things I think are well-done but could be improved in fiction, thanks for reading and God bless you, as always, and don’t forget to drop by the other blogs on the chain through the rest of January! 😉

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5^th – http://whileishouldbedoingprecal.weebly.com/

6^th – http://jasperlindell.blogspot.com/

7^th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/ (you are here) and http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/ (this would be Rosalie; I still need to read her post so now I’m done with mine I’m heading over to do that.)

8^th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

9^th – https://ramblingsofaravis.wordpress.com/

10^th – http://semilegacy.blogspot.com/

11^th – http://kirabudge.weebly.com/

12^th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

13^th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/

14^th – http://dynamicramblings.wordpress.com/

15^th – http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/

16^th – https://horsfeathersblog.wordpress.com/  

17^th – http://www.juliathewritergirl.com/

18^th – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

19^th – https://gallopingfree.wordpress.com/

20^th – http://www.alwaysopinionatedgirl.wordpress.com/

21^st – https://deborahrocheleau.wordpress.com/

22^nd – http://irisbloomsblog.wordpress.com/

23^rd – https://clockworkdesires.wordpress.com/

24^th – https://introspectioncreative.wordpress.com/

25^th – http://wanderinginablur.blogspot.com/

26^th – https://anotefromthenerd.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://randommorbidinsanity.blogspot.com

28^th – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

29^th – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/ (We’ll announce the topic for next month’s chain.)

(Hey, look! Rosalie and I share a day! Awesome. ^_^)

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The Sisterhood of World Bloggers Award

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authors, autumn, award, baroness orczy, bbc merlin, bbc sherlock, blogging, captain america: the first avenger, dee henderson, disney, dreamworks, editor, fall, fall break (finally!), frozen, irene hannon, joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat, louisa may alcott, madeleine l'engle, pixar, prince of egypt, roleplaying, sewing, singing in the rain, star wars, star wars rebels, story dynamics, the clone wars, writer, writing

I have been awarded the Sisterhood of World Bloggers Award by Robyn Hoode of Spiral Bound… Thank you, Robyn! 🙂

Okay, the rules are to show the icon on your blog, answer questions, make up new questions, nominate bloggers, and notify them of the nomination. (It isn’t exactly fair to them if you expect them to just read your blog and see, “Oh, I got nominated!” A lot of us are really busy people, so it takes a while for us to get back and realize that we were nominated, if you don’t comment on our blogs to tell us. PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT pointing fingers at anyone. I’m just making an observation about something, because the last two times I got nominated no one commented to tell me that I had been. Don’t worry about forgetting if you did nominate me and don’t remember if you notified me or not, because you probably did, but if you haven’t seen your award up on this blog please comment and tell me and I’ll do my best to respond to the nominations in a timely manner. 😉 Don’t loose any sleep about it, just do your best to notify people of nominations, and no one will hate you if you forget, and the whole world will go a lot smoother. 😉 )

1. What is your favorite musical? Ooh, hard to say. I’m bouncing between Prince of Egypt, Singing in the Rain, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. 😉 Partly because the latter was the first and only real musical I’ve seen live. 😉

2. If you could guest star in any TV show, which show and who would you be? Any TV show? Including ones that have stopped running? Well, I have a lot, but I’ll have to pick three… BBC’s Merlin as an assassin sent to kill Arthur but who instead winds up siding with Merlin against a bigger threat (no romance, because that’s overdone!), Star Wars: The Clone Wars and/or Star Wars: Rebels as a Jedi (or maybe a Mandalorian, just because 🙂 ). I’d also like to be on BBC Sherlock, but I have no idea what I’d be doing there. 😛

3. Do you have a favorite number? I don’t know… Nine seems like a nice round number. For some reason, twenty-seven doesn’t seem nearly as perfect. But I also like the smaller prime numbers, just because they’re interesting…

4. What is your favorite thing about autumn? I don’t know. Probably the beautiful color of the leaves (and jumping in the piles). Or the hot beverages–wassail (spiced hot apple cider) is the best!

5. What’s your favorite girly thing to do with your sister/female cousin/best friend? Umm… I don’t know. Sewing projects. Sitting down to watch a movie and then discuss it. (I know. Not very girly.) Roleplaying. (As a boy, occasionally–so again, not very girly!)

6. Best movie you’ve seen this year? So far? At the moment, I rather think that that would be Captain America: The First Avenger. I haven’t seen many movies for the first time this year, and I was rather underwhelmed by Frozen, after all those stupid spoilers.

7. If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? Wow… I don’t know. I might change it to Erin (as Erin is not on my birth certificate, if you were wondering :-P) I don’t really plan on saying here what I would like to use as a pseudonym, as that could be–could be–personal information. As to why I go by Erin online, it’s a long story. 😉 If you want to hear it, I suppose I could post about that… which should tell you just how bored I am and how low I am inspiration-wise.

8. How do you feel about chick-flicks? Not much into them. Don’t know much about them. That’s all.

9. GIFs? I like them, but I don’t use them much. (Oh well!) The first time I encountered a gif was over on the Merlin Wiki back in 2013, and I was a bit amazed at first–it’s a moving picture (minus the sound), after all!

10. Favorite female author? I know I’m probably going to have a bunch of angry people on my hands, but Madeleine L’Engle is my absolute favorite female author. Baroness Orczy is a close runner-up. I also like Dee Henderson and Irene Hannon. I haven’t been quite as “in” to Louisa May Alcott as some others… yeah. Rather limited, I know.

Now, for my questions!

1. How many times in a day do you look things up online, on average?
2. What is the strangest thing you have ever said to anyone?
3. Since my dad is having us watch The Avengers and all the movies leading up to them… who’s your favorite Avenger? 😉
4. Which Avenger are you most like, in your opinion? In your friends’ opinions?
5. If you had to pick one–just one–fictional character to be caught with in the middle of a natural disaster (or a nuclear war, take your pick) who would you choose?
6. Oddest thing you’ve sung in the shower?
7. What is the biggest thing you’ve had malfunction about your account or blog? (Mine is the elusive “like” button which I have often complained about.)
8. Favorite kind of fruit?
9. What book/movie/poem/short story has made the biggest impact on you lately?
10. And, last but not least, what was the funniest thing you read recently? Please share! 😉

Okay, so now I need to nominate people… let’s see…

Tara Therese (check out her new… well, relatively new, site! 😉 )

Miko (because she just nominated me, and so I can’t nominate her back on the other award reception post I’m working on.)

PinkDoughnuts15, because Winnie the Pooh, and relatability as well. 😉

Rachel Carerra, because awesome stories!

Portergirl, even though she might not accept the nomination, just to point more people to her awesome blog! 😉

Rayne Speryll of Writing in Rivendell, just because. 😉

I was probably going to nominate a bunch of other people, but oh well… I can’t remember half of who I wanted to nominate. *sigh* I’m trying to nominate mostly people whom I haven’t before, but one day after I receive the award myself, everything goes out the window. As I said, oh well. 😛

Reasons Why I Loved “Captain America: The First Avenger”

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authors, brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, characters, confusing nonsense, cressida cowell, editor, how to train your dragon, marvel superheroes, movie reviews, movies, nazi germany, rambling musings, redwall, science, science fiction, small rants, star wars, story dynamics, theoretic science, world war II, writer, writing

Hello, dear readers, and sorry about the absence. I really shouldn’t have an excuse and if I do have one, it’s 1) college, 2) rough transfers, and 3) poor time management. So, really my fault this time, and I hope you enjoy the post.

Now, on to the point! I’ve probably told everyone about how I saw Captain America: The First Avenger on Sunday and absolutely loved it. I’ll probably review it once I have the chance to see it twice (I make it a rule not to review anything until the second watching, for obvious reasons; not that the second watch often changes my initial opinion), but for now I’m making a list of reasons why I loved it and why you should go see it if you haven’t yet. 😉 So, without further ado (and in no particular order):

1. Because underdogs. Everyone cheers for an underdog in a story, though it’s sometimes different in real life (because people in real life want to be on the winning side. Why else would Italy change sides halfway through WWII?) But more than just having an underdog-becomes-awesome story, The First Avenger also gives us a few reasons why it’s an underdog story. Because, as the nice scientist whose name I can’t remember states, a weak man appreciates what strength can do and, if his heart is in the right place, he won’t misuse it.
2. It has a good portrayal of hero vs. villain. Rather than having all Germans be the bad guys, it is a German scientist who didn’t agree with Hitler (they don’t mention anything about him being Jewish, which in my opinion adds to the character dynamic) and fled the country who first sees something in the young Steven Rogers. Also, to be historically accurate, there were cowardly followers and Nazis who were the spawn of darkness (because. They were.) If this movie lacked anything, it was the nice Goring brother. 😛 (Yes, Herman Goring had a brother who could not agree less with his philosophy! Look it up! 😉 )
3. Patriotism. And what’s more, a balanced portrayal of patriotism vs. nationalism. The Nazis were not patriotic. They were nationalistic. And the guys who repeatedly talk about killing Nazis? They’re nationalistic, too. Also ethnocentrist, but that’s occasionally justified. Steve just wants to get out there and fight for his country. And he’s not just fighting for his country, but he’s fighting for an ideal, which is basically what patriotism is and why patriotism is a Christian virtue. There have always been Americans who were also America-haters out there, but Steve puts these guys to shame. He’s not just fighting for his country. He’s fighting so that Nazi Germany can’t enslave more places (which is also technically ethnocentric, but this is one of ethnocentrism’s proper places, since the Nazi “ideal” was wholly evil.) He’s fighting for those back home. He’s fighting for those who can’t fight, too–especially since, at first, he was one of those.
4. This brings me to reason #4. Here we have a guy in the public spotlight after becoming a folk hero, being used as an advertising gimmick. Basically, he has attention, but he doesn’t want it. We know that he really hates this and only goes along with it because it’s for the war effort. He really wants to be over there with the soldiers who are fighting and dying. He’s a symbol, and he never particularly wanted to be one. He’s also bad at keeping up the troops’ morale (when he’s not on the field). Yet, when he gets the chance to fight, he’s not disobeying the people higher up until his friend’s life is at stake.
5. This movie is pretty darn funny! It’s great to watch, has humor, and can make you cry in places. It’s pretty well-balanced, in my opinion.
6. The protagonist feels pretty helpless around girls. 😛 I think it’s charming, and pretty funny, but it does lead to some awkward moments. Basically what I’m trying to say here is he’s not a flirt, which in my opinion is the bane of the new Spiderman movies.
7. Steve is really against violence. This is made, in my opinion, pretty clear when he makes the distinction between fighting for his country and killing Nazis. Not only is he against violence, but he also understands that sometimes–sometimes–violence is the only way to protect yourself, your friends, and your country. Also, in this occasion, he’s protecting others around the world from being overrun by Nazi Germany. (I believe C.S. Lewis made the point why he wasn’t a pacifist, and that’s what I’m talking about here.)
8. Last, but certainly not least, he has a shield. No, I’m not going to rave about superhero weaponry… okay. Maybe a little bit. Because you’ve got to admit, that buckler of his is pretty darn cool. It operates on a similar principle to a bulletproof vest, for goodness’ sake! Anyway, though a shield can be used as a weapon (thank you, Roughnut and Toughnut, for that marvelous exhibition), it’s primarily a defensive one. You use it to keep arrows, pikes, lances, and swords (and in this case, bullets and knives) from hitting you. Though it can be thrown like a discus, the edges aren’t sharp like the edges of Racketty Tam MacBurl’s buckler, so it’s mainly used to stun rather than to kill. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi choosing to use Soresu rather than Ataru later in life, Captain America’s fighting style and weaponry are the ultimate statement of his life philosophy. Be ready to defend yourself when necessary; do not attack when not provoked. As Obi-Wan puts it, “There are alternatives to fighting.”

(More about the shield. Apparently, rather than hardening up to absorb impacts, thus spreading the impact around a larger area, like a bulletproof vest or liquid armor do, vibranium actually absorbs the kinetic energy of anything coming at it, keeping shock waves running through the shield virtually nil. For instance, if the shield were somehow merely hard enough to stop bullets and other objects at high velocity from penetrating it, the vibrations throughout the shield would be enough to actually break the bones in Cap’s arm and hand. However, since vibranium actually absorbs those shock waves, this is not a problem at all. This is one incidence in which I will not question Marvel pseudo-science, because though this has not theoretically been proven possible yet, it pushes the boundaries and is innovative, like good science fiction should be. I will, however, question the portrayal–if vibranium really absorbs all the kinetic energy, then why do things make noise when they hit it? And why does Steve sometimes stagger backward upon an impact? I know this is to make it look realistic in the film, but it does call the physics into question a little bit, doesn’t it?!)

The one thing that I did not particularly care for was the wording that the scientist uses to describe what happens to the personalities of those who receive the serum he created. Though I suppose we could attribute it to English being (probably) his second language. 😛 I don’t think the serum actually changes someone’s personality, per se. It merely underscores, magnifies, or works on what is already there. It gives a good man the opportunity to do great things, and gives a bad man the power to do worse evil. I don’t think it changes people’s personalities. In my experience, most of the time it’s only time and circumstances to do that, and with the serum, time is a factor that doesn’t really play in, since the transformation is relatively quick.

So there you have it, a quick critique and a short post on theoretic science all in one. ;-P

That much said, go watch the movie! 😛

The Scribbler Award

Tags

award, characters, editing, editor, kysherin, muse, selay'uu, story dynamics, writer, writing

I was awarded this one the same day as the Sunshine Award, but I decided to space them out a bit. 😉 I was awarded by Tara Therese; thanks, Tara! 🙂

So, the rules are to link to your favorite writing blog, share your favorite writing tip, or do both, and then pass the award along to up to five more people. (I’m doing both.) My best hint for writing would have to be to do it with a friend. It helps. My other favorite tip is that you should never, never, trust a typo turkey, no matter how many interesting names the misspellings crank out. Sooner or later it WILL betray you… Mostly kidding. Really, I think that when you’re telling a story, you should know your characters. (Sometimes it helps to get friends and roleplay random, even mundane, things as your characters. Even when you don’t think they’re getting it right, it helps; you’ll know where the pitfalls are and how to avoid them. Maybe even have conversations with your characters in your head… which is how Selay’uu got started, by the way.) It’s the characters who drive the story and keep your readers reading. They’re there. Use them to the best advantage. Know them well. Be true to your characters, and they will never betray you.

Since I awarded five people yesterday, I’m going to try nominating five different people today, so the awards get spread around more. Sound fair? 🙂

And now, I wish to nominate:

Proverbs31teen, because superheros and Bible trivia at one site and writing stuff at another! ;-D Though technically, as this is a writing award, I suppose I’ll notify her at her writing blog… 😛

PorterGirl, because I haven’t ever nominated her before.

Professor V.J. Duke, because of punchiness and dadblamery! X-D

Sarah, because she posts awesome lists!

Bessie Lark (whose blog is now read by invitation only, so maybe you’ll be able to ask her permission in the comments? 😉 ), because she’s an awesome writer and knows how I feel when I complain about an unruly muse (hers ships Kiliel, while she doesn’t–Kysherin ships Obidala, and I don’t, mainly because except in certain majorly alternate universes it’s pretty unrealistic to me. Besides, I like writing Obi-Wan for the character, not for any romance or shipping. 😉 My OTP, for those who are wondering, is most likely Arthur/Gwen in BBC Merlin, because they’re adorable and so sweet together, and Gwen knows how to put Arthur in his place when he’s being obnoxious! X-P)

Congratulations, everyone. 😀

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Internship In Camelot

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archives, archivist, bbc merlin, c.s. lewis, camelot, camp nanowrimo, camp nanowrimo july 2014, desks, editing, editor, kysherin, muse, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, paperwork, selay'uu, star wars, the chronicles of narnia

It has taken me a while to write, once more, and I apologize. I have had college to apply for, and Nanowrimo (which, by the way, I WON! 😀 ) to finish, and job applications to work on. Fortunately, there is a “schedule” function on WordPress, and I have lots of random things handy to post. My drafts folder is like my mind; full of partially-completed work, and extremely cluttered and mixed-up.

Once again, I find myself wondering just how my life got this crazy. And I respond to it in exactly the same way as always: I mull over the question for a while, then I decide it’s all Kysherin’s fault. And when I look in the mirror and see my reflection–messy chestnut/auburn curls, dark eyes, square jawline–I decide it’s really not worth it to try and look more impressive. Or put on makeup. I don’t understand why most girls my age wear it.

This morning, I was looking at my books again–my personal books, not the ones in the library/archives–and found a proposal I had begun only recently, but had also recently forgotten. It was a proposal for me to visit Camelot and explore my new-found magical abilities and study with Merlin, Alice, and Gaius. Unfortunately, it had gotten rather crinkled (paper tends to do that when it is lying on a shelf under Anakin’s rock collection–why it was on my shelf may some day be explained–or not…) in its time in hiatus. I groaned and got out a new sheet of paper, picking up Anakin’s rock collection and shoving it under the leg of my desk. Perhaps I should explain. My desk is rather old-fashioned. It is large, with several drawers, full to the brim with stuff. Most of it is orderly (my pens, pencils, mechanical pencils, mechanical pencil refill leads and erasers, vinyl erasers, etc. are sorted in a valet tray in one drawer,) but the one largest drawer–which, by rights, should contain electronics, but instead holds a bunch of old three-ring-binders, each shedding pieces of plastic from their covers, which are held together with duct tape and most of which are mislabeled–is decidedly untidy. I should get around to overhauling it some time. Anyway, my desk is very old. In fact, it’s an exact duplicate of one my father brought home when he was switching jobs when I was very small (just without the same contents.) It is dark, mahogany-colored wood, but the stain and varnish are wearing off in places, and if you scratch the varnish with your fingernail it starts to flake off in an unpleasant-feeling powder. The “legs” of the desk, which, I suspect, have been extended upwards to accommodate my father’s height (he’s a tall man, and I take after him,) are mostly drawers, and the desk is clearly designed to go right up against a wall (I should get Jay to help me with that…) but there is a space in between the bottom drawer on the “leg” and the actual foot of the desk, that rests on the floor. It was covered by a piece of wood, originally, but due to mishandling by the movers and mistreatment by us kids, the pins or staples holding the cover in place gave way, leaving me with a compartment that I can hide things in by pulling the piece of wood off, shove stuff I want to hide into, and then push the pins lightly back into their holes. It’s very convenient.

Anyway, so I pushed Anakin’s rock collection into my hidden compartment (which was, at the moment, empty, though much of the time it’s as full of random stuff as a first draft that needs editing, or a G.A. Henty novel sprung up, grown wild, and gone to seed.) and found two pieces of loose paper and went to work, copying my proposal neatly out twice and completing it. I thought about email, but something of this importance required El’ye’s permission (I still have not figured out why), and she didn’t like modern innovations, though Merlin would have been comfortable with a simple email with the proposal attached. Immortality necessitates being very adaptable, I believe. Which is a bit of a paradox, since I think El’ye is at least a pretender to immortality.

Anyway, after checking my drafts over, I went to my window (living in a tower is quite delightful, by the way, though the people on laundry duty always complain about the stairs) and shouted for Kilgarrah. He was not very happy at being shouted for, and still more annoyed about carrying my mail (“I am not a mail horse, young recorder!”), but as I am on good terms with Merlin (who is currently spending what remains of the summer in Camelot), he condescended to carry my message to the young warlock with a bad grace. That done, I whistled for Glimfeather, who came much more briskly and cheerfully than Kilgarrah had. I was politer to him than I had been with the dragon (Kilgarrah doesn’t like me much, and the feeling is mutual; the dragon is too self-centered and survival-centered and Machiavellian for my taste), and Glimfeather kindly agreed to carry my message to El’ye. So far, so good.

With a much heavier heart, I returned to my piles upon piles of paperwork. At least, hopefully, by the end of the summer I would be serving an internship in Camelot for the term (though I would be in and out of the Selay’uu chateau all the time.) I can hardly wait!

Morality Sans Preachiness

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author, avoiding preachiness, characters, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, editor, insanity, muse, small rants, story dynamics, writer, writing

In modern writing, there is one big no-no, above every other taboo, except, perhaps, a poorly-thought-out plot or out-of-character characters (see Out of Character Syndrome or OOCS), and that is sounding preachy. Whatever your authorly stance on controversial issues, you must never, ever preach. Nothing sends readers running for the hills like a sanctimonious bludgeoning of preachiness thinly disguised as a story. For one thing, authors of such tripe rarely take the time to actually write a story instead of just a sermon. Your story should not be a story with a moral, it should be a story that “just happens” to have a moral. It takes talent and practice to write a story that happens to have a moral. The moral should not be the be-all and end-all of the story–rather, it should rise gradually, organically, from the rest of the tale.

But the simplest way of putting morals and morality into your story without sounding preachy can and should be easy. (Mind, I didn’t say simple–just simplest.) Simply put, neither should you as the narrator intrude on the story to preach, nor should your characters. They should not–unless it is absolutely necessary to the story–ever state their moral code, but it should be abundantly clear by their actions that they do have one. This is the very heart of good writing. Also, if the moral code in your story is ever stated, hypocrisy will become a very serious offense in your reader’s eyes. It can be used in order to create hate for a given character in your readers, and can cause a serious “alignment check.” Which means, your character may be on a fast road to the Dark Side, even if it’s only in your reader’s eyes; what your readers see is everything to them. It’s better to manipulate those emotions than it is to have those emotions slip out and betray you, which is why it’s also important to check back a couple times on what your readers will be thinking, and what they should be thinking.

To recap, your characters should not preach; they should not say “right” or “wrong” unless it’s necessary to the plot. Rather, make it clear by their actions that they are good people.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless! Love all you wonderful people. 😉

Allowed in Writing, Forbidden in Editing

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author, authors, c.s. lewis, confusing nonsense, description, dumas, editor, insanity, j.r.r. tolkien, life, living life unexpectedly, long rants, muse, rambling musings, rousseau, secret life, story dynamics, writer, writer trouble, writing

Or, How to Talk With Authors and Not Tick Them Off.

Have you ever compared a writer to a published author, only for them to become upset and irritated? It’s a common enough occurrence. I know that I myself have been subjected to this form of torture a few times.

Why do writers find comparison irritating? Well, perhaps because they are occasionally inadvertently compared to an author whose work they object to, or whom they simply know is not really very good at their craft. But more often, it’s like this.

While comparisons are the essence of description, they can also be trite and shallow. And when dealing with an author, it’s a good idea to not upset them. For one thing, it won’t change their mind or their writing if they feel antagonized. For another… have you seen those buttons around the internet?! You know, the ones that say “Be nice, or you’ll end up in my novel”?! There is truth to those, you know.

So, each event, no matter how commonplace, should be taken as a new and unprecedented one in the larger context. Also, an author may take you too literally when you compare them to Rousseau, for instance. They may think you are calling them unoriginal, that you think that their ideas are too similar to Rousseau to be taken practically. They may think that you’re secretly irritated with them for emulating Rousseau. (It’s true, writers oftentimes have inferiority complexes.) Instead, you should tell them, “Your prose reminds me of Dumas!” or “Your world-building brings C.S. Lewis to mind!” or “I love this description. It sounds like Tolkien’s work. I can really see it in my mind’s eye!” Rather than making a sweeping generalization, it’s better to compare different elements of their work to authors, rather than comparing their work as a whole. Remember, real life isn’t actually a paper you’re writing on how different mythologies influenced Lewis and Tolkien, making their work different, or comparing Dumas son to Dumas pere. Instead, you’re supposed to be giving useful feedback (not necessarily advice!) to an author who isn’t dead yet, so be specific.

Good luck.

If you can’t make it yours, make it your own!

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advice, author, camp nanowrimo july 2014, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, creative writing, editor, insanity, long rants, national novel writing month, rambling musings, small rants, story dynamics, writer, writing

Erin walks on, wearing a bright cyan headband over messy yet undeniably gorgeous curls.

People complain about originality an awful lot… She notices the looks at her hair, then shrugs. I feel pretty today. Normally my hair is frizzy, fluffy and horrible. Give me my twenty hours of advertised glory with that Pantene curl scrunching gel stuff. It’s better than what I normally get! She sits down on the chair on stage.

So, people are complaining that all the original plots are taken. She shrugs. So? My advice is, if you can’t make the plot yours, make it your own. If you can’t own it, OWN it! She notices that everyone is staring at her blankly. Am I talking gibberish again, or is my message just not getting across? She crosses one leg over the other.

If you haven’t got an absolutely original, unprecedented plot, then so what? You can still make the one you have absolutely unique. Just pour your heart out into it until you have nothing left to give. I know that sounds hard! She stands up and begins to pace. But that’s what writing is. It’s about going on even when you feel as if there’s no point. Well, there is a purpose to it, even if the purpose is only to get the people living in your heads to stop screaming at you for a little bit. It’s also not always about ending, either. It’s a paradox. You can unravel it if you like that sort of thing.

Even if you have an unprecedented plot, it still pays to put in that extra little bit of work. You following me? Scattered “yes’s” and “no’s.” She ignores the no’s. Good.

Even if you’re not the first person to write a plot of this cast, it will still be unique as long as you take the time to make it unique. It will be worth reading, because those who say “read one, read ’em all” are WRONG! Besides, some people like to read variations on a plot anyway!

So, what is the pith of this little post? I’m telling you to take the extra effort and make your story unique in every facet, because frankly? You’re NOT going to be the next… J.K. Rowling or Susan Cooper or whatsername who wrote the Hunger Games. You’d better start pursuing your own niche because there is no way you can ride to fame on the skirts of their coats. Cloaks. Whatever!

Oh, and if you’re not writing a completely unprecedented plot, don’t despair. Make it your own.

Cliches can be turned to advantage. With enough detailing, even a stereotype’s hardened exterior will dissolve into a most definitely non-Mary Sue.

Rant over.

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Aren’t Chosen Ones Getting a Little Old?

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bound to the flame, characters, editor, harry potter, j.k. rowling, kysherin, realism, star wars, story dynamics, writer, writing

Seriously, it’s starting to get on my nerves. It’s cliche, and cliches bother me. Does it bother you too? No? Well, let’s see. The post is young yet! *sinister grin*

I give you exhibit A: Anakin Skywalker. The chief mistake they made with this one was telling him that he was the Chosen One. He was sweet in The Phantom Menace, but by the time Attack of the Clones came around, he was bratty, spoiled, disrespectful, and disobedient. Not to mention disgustingly and awkwardly lovesick. And in Revenge of the Sith, Obi-Wan’s gotten to the point where he’s just trying to hold things together, and Anakin’s not helping. And he turns to the Dark Side. We can blame Palpacreep for that, though. He cuts his son’s hand off, for goodness sake! Oh, and we (or at least, quite a few of us) love Obi-Wan better than him. 😛 Maybe it’s the inherent tragedy of Obi-Wan’s position, or that Obi-Wan is a shining example of what an “ordinary” person can be, but… we do. Perhaps it’s that Obi-Wan is even more human than Anakin and still succeeds where Anakin fails. (Oh, by the way. Ever notice how you rarely, if ever, see a poorly-written or grammatically incorrect fanfiction with a lame plot that stars Obi-Wan, but Anakin has lots of those? Not that Anakin-starring fanfictions are all bad, but… food for thought.)

Frankly, Anakin seems just… overrated at times. And it doesn’t help much that Obi-Wan and Luke are the true Christ figures of Star Wars. (Obi-Wan gets the title because he sacrificed his own life to save Luke and ultimately Anakin as well, and Luke gets it because… dun dun dun! he ultimately saved Anakin, in his own weakness. I love these beautiful paradoxes…)

And now for exhibit B: Harry Potter. Now, I’m fairly sure there wasn’t exactly a prophecy included here, but you know what I mean. (To whom it may concern: I have not read the Harry Potter books and have no intention of doing so. From what I understand, they can be violent and cast doubt on traditional values, not to mention that there are what seem to be veiled attacks against the Catholic Church, and there is no way I can condone that! See Harry Potter and the Paganization of Culture, by Michael D. O’Brien. Bear in mind, though, that I am not attacking the author of the Harry Potter books or those that read them. I’m certain that the readers find the books good entertainment, and J.K. Rowling is a well-meaning lady. It’s simply that I object to the books, on religious and spiritual grounds.) Apparently this case is different; they didn’t start calling him that until what? The last two books or so? But from what I’ve heard, they don’t seem to fight the villain with integrity; more with whatever will give them victory. (Recurring theme here; Anakin thought the Jedi “inadequate” and to be “holding him back.”) This is in stark contrast with the way Gandalf, Frodo, Galadriel, and Elrond decide to fight the War of the Ring; they refuse to fight the Enemy with his own weapons. From the reports of the Harry Potter books, not only does Harry indulge in this general lawlessness, but so does everybody else. Yeah, they win in the end… but at what cost? As opposed to Star Wars, where the only victory is by doing the right thing. (I know I’m going to get shouted down for judging without reading, but I really do not need another obsession, or even just more clutter on my mental landscape.)

Exhibit C: Lloyd Garmadon. Despite the Eastern spiritualism perpetuated in the Lego Ninjago series, it really has quite a few redeeming thematic features. I can safely say that I think this is the best portrayal of a “Chosen One” in modern popular entertainment. Lloyd, the son of Garmadon, the supposed “Dark Lord”, is “destined” to “destroy evil” (though, predictably, that hasn’t happened yet or the series would be over!)

Lloyd struggles with his destiny, quite a bit. He is very human indeed (not to mention cute… shhh. 😛 ) He feels rather left out and there are times when he just wants to be normal. He struggles with self-control, and has times when he snaps under the pressure of training. There are days when he just fails. In short, he isn’t perfect, which is a common feature to all humans, and he realizes it, which is a redeeming feature. He realizes his errors and tries to become better. Ultimately, he ends up defeating evil by realizing his own weaknesses, and in the sequel (Ninjago Rebooted,) his powers actually become the team’s greatest weakness. This turn-about, added to the fact that the former Dark Lord, Garmadon, has been redeemed and is now the team’s main “Sensei” after Wu was captured, is nothing but pure brilliance. I’m not obsessed with this show, but I do love the way they suddenly whipped things around fast enough to make the watchers’ heads whirl.

But even without his powers, Lloyd would be quite the character in his own right. He’s mischievous at times, charming, kind, endearingly rascally, occasionally brash, and most of all, he recognizes his shortcomings. Even without the added abilities, Lloyd would have been a valiant defender of the people of Ninjago in his own right.

In my experience, Chosen Ones tend to be humans with a superhuman destiny. They have their own lives, free will, and fallibility, just like other humans. Only occasionally have I read a story in which the “Chosen One” is a supernatural or superhuman being, who has been sent especially to defeat evil, or for some other “mission.” Invariably these supernatural, “perfect” Chosen Ones are side characters, and for good reason. If they are infallible, they’re not loveable. They’re not human enough for human readers to get to like them. You simply can not write a story with a perfect protagonist, because if you do, then what? Nothing even happens. There is no point, no reason to fight. The protagonist must change with the story, they must defeat their inner demons and fight with their flaws. Occasionally, there won’t even be a fight because the Mary Sue takes out the bad guys, end of story. So what if it kicks behinds? It’s still just a fight scene, not a story.

So, what am I calling for?

1. For the Chosen One (if human) to have to understand that their powers are not limitless, and that they are still fallible, and to accept that.
2. For Chosen Ones to have to work at controlling their powers before they can actually use them.
3. For humbler Chosen Ones, or at least for Chosen Ones whose lack of humility brings in bad results.
4. For good mentors to work with the Chosen Ones, punishing them for disobedience or disrespect, basically knocking them into shape and making them accept the consequences of their actions, as well as providing emotional support. (Obi-Wan is the best, but fails partly due to his lack of practical experience.)
5. For destiny not to be written in stone. In other words, the Chosen One must have the free will to deny his or her destiny. He or she must doubt destiny, and have the choice that they can make of their own free will to choose this road of destiny or to live a normal life instead (and those who decide not to choose destiny should be pitied, not judged.) They must have the chance to deny destiny. They must be fallible creatures.
6. Most of all, I’m looking for Chosen One prophecies that are realistic. In other words, the Chosen One’s destiny is not to defeat evil, but to hold it back, or to make some vital stroke in the battle of good versus evil. (To refer to the Bible, Christ came to make a definitive blow against Satan, to open the gates of Heaven, to call on sinners to become saints. He did not come to destroy evil once and for all–that would destroy free will, and must wait for the day of Judgment–or to collect those who were already doing good, but to save all of us, to give our good actions true merit, and heal sinners.) After all, a perfect and absolute victory leaves no room for a sequel, now, does it?

These six points are the reason why Rowan, the protagonist of my novel Bound to the Flame, is not really a “Chosen One.” Yes, he is special. Yes, he is gifted. Yes, there may (or may not) be a prophecy about him. Yes, he probably will change the course of this alternate history he’s living in. But his role is really more of a protector and strategist, not the person who is supposed to single-handedly save the world. And if the story does change into him needing to do that… you’ll be the first to know, my dear readers. ;-P But seriously, if he does end up needing to save the world, you can trust that he’s going to do it by God’s strength, not his own. He’s going to find that out, anyway–he’s still learning the lesson of humility.

I think that should be the true message of a “Chosen One” story–you can only find true strength by realizing your weakness, and in some cases, by embracing it.

I’m pretty sure there are other books, movies, and series out there involving faulty portrayals of “Chosen Ones.” Which is your favorite? Which do you like to bash? Please, tell me! 🙂

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Happy May Day!

Tags

camp nanowrimo april 2014, editor, nanowrimo, national novel writing month, star wars, star wars week

Hello, everyone!

Well, I survived Nanowrimo! *clapping and cheering* I won! I wrote my first 70k novel. Though it only contributed to the massive 100k-and-growing one… *cue laugh track*

Now comes the hard work: editing. Even though Obi-Wan suffers through it with me, it really doesn’t make it that much more tolerable. *sigh* I wrote a lot of fun stuff this camp, but it wasn’t necessarily in the right order, so… yeah. I need to work on editing and/or ordering things right.

I will continue work on Bound to the Flame now, however. And don’t worry–I will try to get more done on Battlefield of the Soul. No promises, though, on what time I will have it out. I will try to have some out next week or the week after…

And that brings me to my next point.

In celebration of Star Wars, the week of May 4 is hereby declared Star Wars Week on The Upstairs Archives! There will be something from Star Wars every day of the week, and hopefully something to satisfy all tastes, whether you be Star Wars geek, casual fan, or even the rare person who has never seen Star Wars. I may try my hand at some poetry, but what I mainly hope to do is to get the Shifting Tides series back on its feet.

Also, Professor V.J. Duke has suggested that I do some sort of celebration when I get 100 follows on my blog, not to mention the 1-year anniversary (which is in August.) So I put the question to you, my dear readers: What sort of celebration would you like?

So that’s all the news for today, people. Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Eww, beer. I can’t stand the smell of it either. 😛