Kyle Belote's Blog, page 19
November 20, 2018
November 7, 2018
Death’s Purpose; Life’s Meaning
The passing of my mother came sudden and less than ten days past. Roiling emotions cascaded through me in the quiet moments of each day, wave after painful wave. She tried to last, her spirit fighting on–I believe in my heart, she knew I was coming. The last-ditch effort to keep her alive came to a sudden, agonizing stop. She died one hour before my plane landed in Dallas, Texas.
When I asked for an update, my brother said it was too much to put into text. He said he’d FaceTime once I got through immigration. It wasn’t until I passed the metal detectors that the call came. My dad, my brothers, sister, and most of their spouses, lined the room, and the dirk that slipped white-hot in my gut, twisted. It was here, in Dallas International Airport, that I learned my mother had died. I tried not to break down in the airport, to wail in the despair, the guilt I felt. I held it in, releasing silent, body-shaking tears. I didn’t care what the passerby saw, just so long as they didn’t try to console or detain me. I had to get to San Antonio, then New Braunfels–to see her, to say goodbye.
I was on the first flight out, and less than thirty hours after she took a turn for the worse, she left this earth. In twenty-eight days, from her first little blip of trouble, she submitted her spirit. The debate of whether I should have come or not came up numerous times, and in all fairness, her health improved in rapid succession. A full recovery lay just fourteen days away. This plot twist that life threw came up cruel, dirty, and abrupt.
The cliche saying comes to mind, “Life is precious, spend your time with loved ones.” No one understands this until it happens to them. The irony is how the tried and true maxim is appropriate. Some ask, what is the meaning of life? I don’t know, at least in the philosophical sense, but death gives life meaning, context, a finality. There are consequences in life. Mine will forever be of guilt, having not been there for her in the final moments. I take solace in knowing that she did not suffer, did not linger in between.
My family asked me to write her obituary, and after some input, it almost wrote itself. I hope she is proud of her children, the people who loved her and came to celebrate her life. I could write a tome on the relationship I had with her, the good and bad, the things I did not know. And maybe someday I will, but for now, the wound is fresh, and the salt of such prospects still stings.
Mother’s Obituary: (Please note that names have been redacted/taken out on purpose).
With the deepest sorrow, the Carpenter family reports the passing of Kay Carpenter (66), beloved wife and loving mother. The long-time Wimberley resident joined her Maker at 3:41 p.m. on October 30th due to unexpected health complications. She fought valiantly to survive and held out for as long as she could. Kay Carpenter was born in south Texas to her father, a successful farmer, and her mother, a school teacher. Kay grew up in a southern Texas town. During her childhood, she became an accomplished pianist and singer. Kay attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a minor in Spanish. Part of her employment started as a professional secretary for various companies, but later in her adult life, she was primarily a partner with her husband at (their business). Wherever Kay worked, traded, or patronized, she touched many lives over the decades. Though she participated in diverse ministries, she was a founding member of a (specific) church and always considered it her home. She held numerous roles for many people and affiliations, but none compared to being a helpmate to her husband, a devoted homemaker for her children, a caring aunt, and an affectionate Nana.
She discovered a passion in her life, the joy of painting–as Bob Ross would say–and set out to master the craft in her late twenties with the aid of longtime and current instructor and mentor Betty Ritchie. This commitment to artistry has filled many homes and businesses with paintings and Christmas cards. Later, she would go on to spread happiness with her delectable cakes, cookies, and pies with Kay’s Kreations. Her love of cooking, painting, and music passed on to her children, a fitting tribute to her talents. One pastime that brought great pleasure in her life came from gardening, a dedication imparted by her mother-in-law. The pink rose became a cherished staple, often cultivating it herself. Kay took great solace in watching her children flourish and pursue their own passions and careers in the medical field, aviation, entrepreneurship, and writing.
In life, only her love for God could rival the devotion she had for her family. She is preceded in death by her parents and an older brother but survived by her husband of thirty-three years. The two wed on February 17th, 1985. The couple would grow together in their love and commitment for each other. Her four children–and their spouses–live on as witnesses and extensions of her grace and decorum. Like every mother, she loved her children, but her fervor manifested in her ten grandkids. Her family ensures her memory echoes long after her light has left this world. Her lineage, which spans the great state of Texas and the globe, surpassing ethnicities and nationalities, will continue for generations with her four children, their spouses, her ten grandkids, and a host of nieces and nephews as an aunt and great aunt. Kay is also survived by her three sisters, her brother, and her beloved sisters-in-law.
October 28, 2018
October 27, 2018
October 26, 2018
Book Blurb Poll
I’ve got a military sci-fi novel coming out in March. Starting to piece together elements such as back jacket details. Here’s your chance to vote on your favorite short blurbs. If you don’t see something you like, make your own!
Take Our Poll
October 23, 2018
Blue Suede Mountains
It’s been a while since I have painted, probably a good month and a half. This one had been cooking on the back burner for a while. I decided to do something more monochromatic. Enjoy!
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October 21, 2018
NaNoWriMo: For All Writers?
I’ve seen/ read many people who are curious about NaNo and wonder if it’s for them. No one can answer that except you and only after you’ve participated. As stated in my last entry, NaNoWriMo: The Good, the Bad, and the Writing. I will not be participating ever again. It ruined writing for me. I almost deleted the manuscript because I hated it so much. A few fellow writers from Dakk’s Dungeon convinced me not to. That said, the manuscript went untouched for almost a year.
I’ve seen some tweets wondering if they should give NaNo a shot. To this, I say, sure, go for it! You never know, it might be good for you. What doesn’t work for me may be great for others. One of my fellow writer from Dakk’s Dungeon says she loves NaNo because of the deadline and she works better under pressure.
Again, for a quick recap, I don’t like NaNo because it is more worried about that daily word count instead of the journey of writing, the quality, or the therapeutic nature of crafting a story. When I hear people talking about how they used “do not” instead of “don’t” to get a bigger word count, that’s when you know you’re focusing on the wrong aspects.
Still, there are great pros to the November event, mainly bringing all types of writers together, and that’s what really matters. And to all those detractors out there, saying that if you cannot write fifty thousand words in a month, “don’t try it cause you’re not a real writer,” it is their negativity that gives this social affair a bad reputation. I could go on a tangent about “the real writers vs. the posers” but that’s for another time.
In the end, if you have a system of writing that works for you, stick with it. As they often say, “write for you.” This is taken out of context, sure, but the sentiment remains. Or, push pause on your routine and give NaNo a shot. If it makes things worse, then drop it. There is no shame in realizing that something is not beneficial. People don’t condemn others for leaving a toxic relationship, so take that mindset when contemplating the value of NaNo. Last November (2017), I stuck with it out of stubbornness, and it killed my love for writing and my story. I don’t want the same to happen to you.
If you enjoyed this content or you’re an avid, epic fantasy reader, check out my book, The Bearer of Secrets, on Amazon. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print.
October 13, 2018
Star Wars: A Franchise Fatigue Story part 2
In the last blog, we talked about Marvel and Star Wars and compared their cinematic universes and grand plans. This time, I would like to discuss other franchises who may have or soon will suffer fatigue. I will profess not to be an expert on these intellectual properties, and most of this will resonate as opinion. Maybe you agree and perhaps not, but they are all worth scrutinizing and learning lessons.
The first IP I want to talk about is the Fast and Furious franchise. The first installment hit theaters in 2001, and I thought–at the time–it was going to be a one-off. To me, all the movie consisted of was people racing cars, and that didn’t appeal to me. So, how do you even make that into a franchise? Well, you adapt. I still don’t watch the series (I’ve seen each movie once up to #6), not my cup of coffee, but to me (and correct me if I am wrong) it resembles an Ocean’s 11 with cars–which I must admit is an intriguing idea. F&F has gone on to be a successful franchise with eight installments and more on the way. The current plan is for the ninth and tenth film to drop in 2020 and 2021, and that will be ten films in twenty years. A spin-off series for Hobbs is in development, too. The roadmap ahead seems straightforward, and I am glad they were able to spawn a creative and evolving IP for its fans.
Another series that ran its gauntlet is Rocky. I LOVE ROCKY! When you want to get motivated, you throw on this movie and listen to the soundtrack. For all writers out there, this is how you write a phenomenal subversion of the underdog story. Incredible! So many Hollywood writers could learn for the oldies but goodies. Still, anyone who is honest with themselves, Rocky V turned into a horse pill to swallow. Slow and bloated with no characters to get behind, a ponderous head bash against the wall ensued. We witnessed Rocky fall from the heights of fame, glory, and riches, to the all-time low of his humble beginnings. It would be the same if Peter Jackson (director for LOTR trilogy) destroyed the Shire when Frodo came back at the end (as in the book). I mean, what a letdown. Stallone should have stopped with IV–III had mediocre elements mixed within, and I miss Micky. “You catch this chicken, you can catch greased lightning.” I digress. All said, consider how Rocky Balboa held up against those mentioned above. I am one who loved the film. Enough time had passed between the V and VI that a sense of freshness accompanied the movie, thus defeating the oversaturation. For the record, Creed is a great way to start a new story that honors what came before.
The last franchise I wish to discuss (and I know some of you Star Wars fans out there are going to groan) is Star Trek. Like Star Wars, I grew up on the Next Generation. Jean Luc will always be my Captain. I mean, what a character! What a crew! Some of my fondest memories is watching and discussing/ arguing with my older brother about phasers, warp, and how resistance is futile. Moving back on topic–the late 80’s and early to mid 90’s saw a massive oversaturation of ST, and every Trekkie knows this whether they admit it or not. Maybe at the time, they were in a hog’s heaven, but in retrospect, the damage done to the franchise took almost a whole decade to recover. A dozen years would pass before ST found its way to the small screen again, and a lot of fans don’t like to count Enterprise.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country came out in 1991 during the middle of ST: TNG’s fourth or fifth season–it’s numbers and math, and I don’t do either. A mere two years later, ST: DS9 premiered. Voyager came tagging along in 1995, but not before Generations hit theaters in 1994. The glorious Borg returned in 1996, let us not discuss Insurrection, and skip right to Nemesis which I thought was enjoyable, better than the received lashing. I think poor marketing KO’d that one before hitting the big screen. A soft-serve Enterprise followed in 2001. All the above ST had superb and atrocious elements. Each series could have been a hit far beyond what they did achieve, but the franchise stretched itself too thin. TNG had some excellent shows that overshadowed the God-awful, and we’re all thankful! With over five hundred hours from three TV shows alone, you can infer almost everyone, even the non-Trekkies, grew fatigued. One last point: none of this is meant to dunk ST in the outhouse cesspit.
How does this correlate with Star Wars? I’ve heard some people complain about too much SW. “God, there’s so many films!” Well, not exactly. As of now (2018), there are ten with another coming in 2019. If you count the animated movie: The Clone Wars, that rounds up to twelve, but that’s a dozen since 1977 (forty-one years), which equates to one movie every 3.33 years. Let us not forget the dry spells between the OT and the PT, and from the PT to the ST once Disney started cranking out movies. I am not here to debate whether the Disney SW movies are satisfying or not, that comes later or has already come, see Sins of the Last Jedi. This concluding writeup is to address the oft-thrown “franchise fatigue” tag.
When you compare SW to the mentioned IPs, does it feel like fatigue? Humbly, I submit, if any fatigue is felt, it is from the atrocious handling of the franchise, the vitriol directed at the fans, and the assassination of beloved characters. Fans, the joyous and the petty, will always covet their opinions and be critical of the things they hold most dear. SW is no different. There are toxic people, a small portion does not represent the fandom as a whole, and those fringe folks, like the far-left and the alt-right, do not represent the majority. It is the duty of every fan to question and demand excellence; it is the burden of the company to deliver on those high standards. Both should cherish the symbiotic partnership of business.
If you enjoyed this content or you’re an avid, epic fantasy reader, check out my book, The Bearer of Secrets, on Amazon. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print.
October 9, 2018
Let’s Connect: Writer’s Tag
This morning, I saw an email from Tomas about a writer’s tag. The original idea came from Lorraine Ambers and Ari Meghlen. The initiative is to use a ‘Writers tag’ to connect bloggers and writers. See below:
The point of this is simple: to answer some questions and pass it along by ‘tagging’ others. The rules of this game are:
Post the Tag and Image on your blog (see above)
Thank whoever nominated you and give a link back to their blog.
Mention the creators of the award and link back to their blogs.
Nominate 6+ deserving bloggers and notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
…as well as answer the following questions and tell everyone about yourself.
Name one novel that inspired you to write.
The now deleted Star Wars Expanded Universe (Legends) in general. I never decided I wanted to be a writer based on books I read. I woke up one day after having a fevered dream and wrote down what I witnessed, and that’s when the bug bit.
What’s your favorite genre to write and read?
Reading: Fantasy and sci-fi and any subgenre thereof. I don’t mind elements of horror, mystery, erotic, adventure within as long as the main staple is F & SF.
Writing: Grimdark fantasy, Sword-and-sorcery fantasy, Sci-Fi
Do you prefer to write stand-alone or series?
Series. I like to world build. I love character driven stories rather than plot driven. Series gives you time to discover them both. Each book gives you a domino effect, too. I am currently writing a military sci-fi that I hope to have out by my birthday in March.
Use 3 words to describe yourself.
introvert, analytical, ardent.
Reveal your WIP aesthetics or an image that represents your MC or setting.
Space. The final frontier. In a galaxy far, far away, beyond Bootes Void…
How long did your first MS take to draft?
You are assuming I am satisfied with it … All jokes aside, I did fifteen revisions over a fourteen year period before I finally published.
Who is your author idol?
George R. R. Martin for sure would be my number one pick. The duo Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory for their Obsidian Trilogy. Timothy Zahn from the Star Wars universe.
Share a writing memory that made you determined to carry on.
The first time I ever received praise for my writing. It was college, I got a hundred, and the professor said it was the best he had read in years from a student, and that I should pursue my passion.
Tell us something surprising or unique about yourself.
I am a multi-instrument musician and amateur oil painter in addition to being a writer.
Share the hardest part about being a writer and how you overcame it.
My hardest part is giving out my book or WIP and one person saying, “This shit is amazing! Best I’ve read in forever,” while the other person says, “This shit is horrible. Don’t give it out to anyone else. In fact, burn or delete it.” I can take people loving my work or hating it, but the split decision is what really gets me. Doubt is a fear, but the kind where you think you might be good and then finding out you aren’t.
What’s your favorite social media and why? Share your link.
I hate social media. I only use it for ‘advertisement.’ That said, I have Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Goodreads, and this blog site. You can find me on each with my site name: Outpostdire.
Share some uplifting wisdom in six words or less.
You can’t edit a blank page.
Nothing is original, but uniqueness is.
Write for you, edit for readers.
I really does take a million words…
My nominees are (and I don’t know if they have to be on WordPress or not):
Hope this brings traffic and awareness to other writers and their blogs.
October 6, 2018
Star Wars: A Franchise Fatigue Story part 1
Let’s talk franchise fatigue. I see this tag thrown around a lot when it comes to Star Wars. What most people consider fatigue is too many movies too soon. Let’s take a look at this specific definition.
I have several topics I wish to discuss in relevance to Star Wars, and I thought about writing a massive blog addressing these issues, but I felt the meanings would get lost in this endless wall of text. So, I will pursue multiple, miniature blogs to articulate these points.
Marvel started its cinematic universe in 2008, kicking off with a B-role character Iron Man. This character went on to be a household name and anchored the MCU as a box office powerhouse. Marvel released twenty motion pictures in ten years, and four in 2018 alone. To anyone on the outside looking in, this would be considered an oversaturation. Don’t get me wrong, I am not attacking the MCU. There are several I liked. The original Iron Man was a great place to start the MCU. There were elements within that took you out of the moment, like Tony Stark falling over two hundred feet and surviving (the desert scene). My favorites are The Avengers (the first one), Guardians of the Galaxy volume I, Dr. Strange, and I’ve grown to appreciate and like Thor: Ragnarok. To me, these are the gems of the MCU. There are flaws within, make no mistake, but these made me interested.
So, let’s take a pause for the cause and look up the definition. Fatigue is: to make weary, either physical or mental, to lose so much strength and energy that one becomes weak and tired—or the noun version—material failure, such as cracking or separation, caused by stress on the material.
What I find interesting and almost comical is I agree more with the noun version of the definition rather than the verb. So, if you meant the noun version with regards to Star Wars, then I agree with you. There has been a material failure. There is a cracking or separation in the Fanbase caused by the stress on the material. I am not tired of seeing Star Wars in the theater every year. I am not tired of journeying to a galaxy far, far away. What I am sick of is the subpar writing, execution, and packaging of this beloved franchise, and we will leave those aspects alone for now. I will have more blogs relevant to the writing and other elements. If you would like to read my thoughts on where Lucasfilm took a wrong turn, you can read my Sins of the Last Jedi blog. Just be forewarned, is a lengthy tome, but it addresses all I found wrong with the movie.
Now, I am not advocating I want Star Wars to be like Marvel. I don’t want two or three or four daisy-chained flicks a year. That wouldn’t make Star Wars special. I want well-constructed, epic sagas that tell a fascinating story while echoing the themes of fantasy and mythology and what made the franchise so special in the first place. To me, Marvel is reaching the critical point. I know many of you may disagree with my assessment, and that’s fine, you don’t have to agree with me. From my point of view, it’s stalling. I haven’t gone to the theater for an MCU movie (excluding the Infinity War) since Thor: Ragnarok, and before that was a long time ago. I am sure there are others who are the same. To be fair, I love this incarnation of Thor, not the classic comic book version. Another reason I went to Ragnarok was Cate Blanchet. Had she not been in the movie, I doubt I would have gone. So, what makes Marvel teeter on the precipice?
The MCU did a great job of mapping out where they want to go. They’ve had an over-arching grand design (like the Sith with the Rule of Two) and allow individual directors to come in and tell a story based upon the set floor plans. However, it took them too long to get to a significant payoff—Thanos. He has been teased for many years and while they are building up this hype for the big evil villain–here comes my opinion–they ran out of steam, chiefly in the broader audience. They’re moving out of phase four an into phase five, and a lot of characters we’ve grown to love or hate are not going to be returning, and that is fine. It’s the nature of the beast. But, if you did not watch each film that teased Thanos, then you wouldn’t know the continuity of the story or about the infinity stones. Twenty films equates to the whole picture, and at $19.99 a pop, that’s a hefty investment.
So, where does Star Wars come in?
It goes back to the beginning of the blog, the tag franchise fatigue. Disney put out four silver screen pieces in four years, and from a mathematical standpoint, that’s half the speed of the overall MCU pace. Since Disney bought this IP from George Lucas for a paltry figure of $4 billion, they systematically decimated a beloved franchise. Why? Well, because they lacked a grand plan, and they didn’t want the fans that made the IP such a huge success; they sought new ones, people they could control with their narrative. They wanted a movie by 2015, to milk the brand for all it’s worth as soon as possible. Whether this falls on the shoulders of Bob Iger or Kathleen Kennedy, I wouldn’t profess to know or debate. All I can tell you is the result of such decisions.
Whether you like JJ Abrams or not is irrelevant at this point. He made the first installment, Episode VII: The Force Awakens, and he had a template for what came next. This was the beginning of the foundation for Star Wars. As everyone knows, the next director came in and threw it out. And this is what is fundamentally wrong with Star Wars as a whole. It’s not fatigue from the movie pace, its weariness from lack of planning, atrocious writing, incompetent directing, and substandard execution.
Some folks out there complain that you cannot compare Marvel cinematic universe to Star Wars. I wholeheartedly disagree. As you can see, the comparison between the structure of one led to the success of one the wealthiest Intellectual Properties to date, and how the lack in the other led to its demise. If you were saying I cannot compare interconnected films of one to another that doesn’t have associated movies other than trilogies, then I agree.
Planning is the key to success in this regard. You cannot make twenty linked films without careful planning; you cannot make a trilogy without careful planning. Marvel has a tight grip on the writers to make cohesive movies. The limitations on directors include creating a story within predefined parameters. If you want to witness an intellectual property implode on itself, just look at the difference between The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
If you enjoyed this content or you’re an avid, epic fantasy reader, check out my book, The Bearer of Secrets, on Amazon. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print.
