Arthur Gibson's Blog: A Journey In Mind, page 3
October 1, 2012
30 Characters
So, I have decided to challenge myself and have signed up for 30 Characters (www.30characters.com). The idea is that starting Nov 1st you need to come up with 1 unique new character per day. Now I am not an artist (as anyone following the Sticks and Stone webcomic knows), but I am a writer and consider myself creative. Diary entries, character sketch, or vignettes are allowed. But my question is that at the end of it, what do I have? 30 characters. To do what with? And then it hit me. A mystery.
So here is the plan. I will plot a mystery (probably murder) using a single character and imagining his movements. This will be really difficult because I don't want to think about any other characters. Just the killer and victim. There will be a LOT of "will disguise in case anyone sees him" and "will tiptoe in public area" kinds of plot points. I will have a locale, a crime, a victim and a killer. Then come Nov 1st I will ignore the killer and the victim as characters. They become set pieces. Instead, I will place myself in the locale, and follow the plot. Every day I will look at a new plot point (or series of points) and think of a character who was there or nearby. What did they see/hear/smell? And why was that day or incident something special to them? The character and information (including what they witnessed - knowingly or not) will be written in the form of a diary entry or letter/email to a friend/loved one. Maybe even a series of tweets. All the clues will be in these character's moments. At the end of the month I'll edit them to read smoother and post the lot on my Facebook page and here on Goodreads.
Then comes the participation. While I write up/re-edit/gather/add color it into a book form, the question to you the world is: who did it and why? I will invite you to guess. The top 20 answers will be put in an appendix at the back of the book for fun reading. What will the winner get? Well, first off if more than one person guesses right their names will be popped into a hat and a winner selected randomly. But that winner will receive a free copy of said book and the chance to be a character in it. Either I use you, a description, and your choice of locale and write an entry from your point of view, or you can write a replacement entry for one of a list of characters (providing you drop in the vital clue) yourself and it will go into the book. There will also be a special mention of your name on the websites and in the acknowledgements of the book.
That is the ambitious plan. With dedication and perseverance it may even just work. Wish me luck and come along for the ride. The posts will be on here as well as the 30characters website, but here there may also be judicious author comments/interjections/lamentations to discover.
Until then, cheers!
So here is the plan. I will plot a mystery (probably murder) using a single character and imagining his movements. This will be really difficult because I don't want to think about any other characters. Just the killer and victim. There will be a LOT of "will disguise in case anyone sees him" and "will tiptoe in public area" kinds of plot points. I will have a locale, a crime, a victim and a killer. Then come Nov 1st I will ignore the killer and the victim as characters. They become set pieces. Instead, I will place myself in the locale, and follow the plot. Every day I will look at a new plot point (or series of points) and think of a character who was there or nearby. What did they see/hear/smell? And why was that day or incident something special to them? The character and information (including what they witnessed - knowingly or not) will be written in the form of a diary entry or letter/email to a friend/loved one. Maybe even a series of tweets. All the clues will be in these character's moments. At the end of the month I'll edit them to read smoother and post the lot on my Facebook page and here on Goodreads.
Then comes the participation. While I write up/re-edit/gather/add color it into a book form, the question to you the world is: who did it and why? I will invite you to guess. The top 20 answers will be put in an appendix at the back of the book for fun reading. What will the winner get? Well, first off if more than one person guesses right their names will be popped into a hat and a winner selected randomly. But that winner will receive a free copy of said book and the chance to be a character in it. Either I use you, a description, and your choice of locale and write an entry from your point of view, or you can write a replacement entry for one of a list of characters (providing you drop in the vital clue) yourself and it will go into the book. There will also be a special mention of your name on the websites and in the acknowledgements of the book.
That is the ambitious plan. With dedication and perseverance it may even just work. Wish me luck and come along for the ride. The posts will be on here as well as the 30characters website, but here there may also be judicious author comments/interjections/lamentations to discover.
Until then, cheers!
June 6, 2012
What's in a Name
Am seriously considering just changing my name, lol. Almost every time I log in here there are more books added to my list that I have written. Except I have not written them. They have been done - and done well - by another writer in California. I wonder if the poor guy gets mine. Must be disconcerting to have all that serious non-fiction done and then get some fluff prose thrown in. Mind you, I am getting the better end of the deal. He makes me seem more intellectual than I really am lol
February 1, 2012
Austin Time
I am currently writing several scripts that are set in the long ago. Well, not THAT long ago lol. But whenever I write something that is not in current language I try and read books from that era or close to that era. Since I have recently re-read all my H.G. Wells and Sir Conan Doyle, I figured it was time to visit Jane again and see how she is. I think I only have a book and a half left (partway through Emma and then on to Northanger Abbey). She always gets me in the mood for long winter nights and drawn-out conversations. However, since my speech patterns tend to change I do get a lot of strange looks from people I talk to day to day LOL. Anyone else find they adopt the terms and pacing of yesteryear when they read extensively from an era?
Dark Waves has a Bright Beginning
Just got the very talented Thor Fjalarsson from Gosi Graphics on board for the first issue of Dark Waves (a serial comic book) entitled "echoes". I am excited to have such a multi-talented artist involved with this story. It has been in development for about a decade and I am happy that it is going to finally be born.
July 29, 2011
Kindle Direct
The final version of Gothic Prophet (2nd Edition) just went live on Kindle Direct Publishing through Amazon.com. Still waiting for the final proof to approve for the physical copy, but at least the digital is now out there and available for purchase. Whew... there is a light at the end of the tunnel :)
June 1, 2011
Revisiting
Do you ever revisit old stories you have written? While gathering a series of short stories for a collection I have found that I want to rework them. It is not that they are bad stories. In fact, I rather like them. But since I have changed as a person since I wrote them, I find that there is a different voice I would like to bring to them.
Who we are as people greatly affects what we write. How our thoughts and ideas and beliefs translate onto the page. As we grow older we - according to theory - grow wiser. That wisdom and difference of perspective can alter how we see characters. How we feel their voices should sound. The question is whether or not to meddle.
I find that some stories I have written cannot be altered. They are as good as they are ever going to be. Other than minor editing changes (catching a false tense or tightening up some loose grammer), there is nothing that can be done to 'fix' them. They are good and done just as they are. But there are other stories that can me more. Or to be honest, they can be different. They do not neccessarily need to be altered, but they could be.
Should we leave our stories as we find them? Products of who we were at the time? Or do we make them different and better for what they could be now? I am undecided.
Who we are as people greatly affects what we write. How our thoughts and ideas and beliefs translate onto the page. As we grow older we - according to theory - grow wiser. That wisdom and difference of perspective can alter how we see characters. How we feel their voices should sound. The question is whether or not to meddle.
I find that some stories I have written cannot be altered. They are as good as they are ever going to be. Other than minor editing changes (catching a false tense or tightening up some loose grammer), there is nothing that can be done to 'fix' them. They are good and done just as they are. But there are other stories that can me more. Or to be honest, they can be different. They do not neccessarily need to be altered, but they could be.
Should we leave our stories as we find them? Products of who we were at the time? Or do we make them different and better for what they could be now? I am undecided.
May 20, 2011
2nd Edition
Received the physical proof of Gothic Prophet, 2nd Edition today. Looks like I get to spend the weekend reading, lol. I hope that everything went well and that a new proof will not be necessary. Here's hoping.
Strong Gals
Read an article about female superheroes today. It was sparked by the recent cancellation before airing of the new Wonder Woman TV series. The author made a valid point that in film and television there are extremely few strong villians for the female superheroes. Without a strong negative character, the positive characters have a harder time shining. I mean, it is hard to take seriously a powerful hero when all they take down are dime store robbers.
Once again it got me wondering what the fear is of strong female characters. Or just strong females. A recent study by a university found that the majority of female grads expect to earn less and wait longer for promotion than their male counterparts. On the one side it is good they are realistic in their attitudes. On the much larger side it is disgusting that in today's day and age they have to be. What is it about a strong, capable woman that bothers so many men?
I take comfort that in prose there are so many strong female characters. In a variety of professions with a variety of skills and powers that make them super. I will live in hope that hollywood will take some of these properties and make honest works true to the spirit of these gals. I will sadly not live in hope of equality making its way into any reality beyond lip service in the corporate world. Personally, I am glad we have strong and capable women out there. May the daughters of tomorrow continue the trend.
Once again it got me wondering what the fear is of strong female characters. Or just strong females. A recent study by a university found that the majority of female grads expect to earn less and wait longer for promotion than their male counterparts. On the one side it is good they are realistic in their attitudes. On the much larger side it is disgusting that in today's day and age they have to be. What is it about a strong, capable woman that bothers so many men?
I take comfort that in prose there are so many strong female characters. In a variety of professions with a variety of skills and powers that make them super. I will live in hope that hollywood will take some of these properties and make honest works true to the spirit of these gals. I will sadly not live in hope of equality making its way into any reality beyond lip service in the corporate world. Personally, I am glad we have strong and capable women out there. May the daughters of tomorrow continue the trend.
May 14, 2011
Kindle Live
ok, so the Kindle edition of Gothic Prophet is now available. So is a fairly short story (a romance of sorts) called The Lamp.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Lamp-ebook/...
http://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Prophet-...
http://www.amazon.com/The-Lamp-ebook/...
http://www.amazon.com/Gothic-Prophet-...
May 13, 2011
How Real Should Real Be?
The answer is largely dependent upon the format in which you write. When approaching most prose, it is important to be real. As real as you can get. People should act like people. There should be consequences to actions. Violence should have injury as a result. Emotions will be normal and layered. Basically, what you see when you look out the mirror. But there are times when "real life" isn't what you want. You will be looking for a kind of hyper-reality.
When writing action-adventure fiction on the level of Bond and his ilk, "real life" only applies in certain situations. Villians will be over the top. The sense of reality will be suspended briefly for some actions by either the character or the governments of the world. Without this non-reality, the story just would not be fun. It would be much more serious in tone (like Ludlum's Bourne series).
When writing soap opera-style stories or scripts, emotions do not exactly adhere with reality. Try some of these shenanigans at the workplace and you will be in for a suprise. People don't swap their feelings from partner to potential partner quite so quickly or effectively. There are not that many evil twins floating around in the world. And many of the plot devices are - outside of the particular work itself - utterly implausible. It is interesting that within the show itself, they are quite believable. The soap opera is truly its own reality.
Comic books and graphic novels are another almost-but-not-quite real format. Or at least they should be. There is a trend in a lot of modern work for these stories and characters to be very "real". They interact with the world and the events of the world so closely that reading a book is akin to watching the 6 o'clock news. It is what it is, but I do not agree with it. I lean more towards the style of earlier years. Where story is the focus. Even when dealing with real world events there is a one-step-removed style where there are parallels but not a direct mirror. Serious issues can be explored without having to show every gritty detail. The focus is on the story. The lesson can be learned. And the audience can be younger without fear of jading them. Entertainment and story telling, not shock and reporting should be the goal. Tell stories. Do not try and make material worthy of being optioned for a motion picture.
Be true to the "rules" of the genre and style that you are writing in. Get familiar with other works. Look at how real or near-real the worlds are. Suspension of disbelief is a wonderful thing and the audience automatically does it - within certain boundaries - for many styles of fiction. It works to the author's advantage and helps us to create great stories without worrying about all the tiny details of the real world. Just make sure that you are operating within the framework that you should. Superman doesn't need to know how an appropriations committee works, but Jack Ryan doesn't fly off the handle without looking at the political landscape.
When writing action-adventure fiction on the level of Bond and his ilk, "real life" only applies in certain situations. Villians will be over the top. The sense of reality will be suspended briefly for some actions by either the character or the governments of the world. Without this non-reality, the story just would not be fun. It would be much more serious in tone (like Ludlum's Bourne series).
When writing soap opera-style stories or scripts, emotions do not exactly adhere with reality. Try some of these shenanigans at the workplace and you will be in for a suprise. People don't swap their feelings from partner to potential partner quite so quickly or effectively. There are not that many evil twins floating around in the world. And many of the plot devices are - outside of the particular work itself - utterly implausible. It is interesting that within the show itself, they are quite believable. The soap opera is truly its own reality.
Comic books and graphic novels are another almost-but-not-quite real format. Or at least they should be. There is a trend in a lot of modern work for these stories and characters to be very "real". They interact with the world and the events of the world so closely that reading a book is akin to watching the 6 o'clock news. It is what it is, but I do not agree with it. I lean more towards the style of earlier years. Where story is the focus. Even when dealing with real world events there is a one-step-removed style where there are parallels but not a direct mirror. Serious issues can be explored without having to show every gritty detail. The focus is on the story. The lesson can be learned. And the audience can be younger without fear of jading them. Entertainment and story telling, not shock and reporting should be the goal. Tell stories. Do not try and make material worthy of being optioned for a motion picture.
Be true to the "rules" of the genre and style that you are writing in. Get familiar with other works. Look at how real or near-real the worlds are. Suspension of disbelief is a wonderful thing and the audience automatically does it - within certain boundaries - for many styles of fiction. It works to the author's advantage and helps us to create great stories without worrying about all the tiny details of the real world. Just make sure that you are operating within the framework that you should. Superman doesn't need to know how an appropriations committee works, but Jack Ryan doesn't fly off the handle without looking at the political landscape.
A Journey In Mind
Thoughts, feelings, and discussions on writing, publishing, creative solutions to issues, and generally anything else that might come up along the way.
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