Matt Moore's Blog, page 16

Review of “Silverman’s Game” on The Page of Reviews

My friend Adam Shaftoe has reviewed by ebook “Silverman’s Game” on The Page of Reviews site. A psychological thriller, “Silverman’s Game” traps three teenage boys in a basement of a remote house. Given a gun loaded with a single bullet, they are forced to play an impossible game where each choice could make them the victim or the killer.

Some highlights from the review:

“(A) perpetually tense atmosphere throughout… ‘Silverman’s Game’ is very much an effort to subvert the literary tedium that is the ‘coming of age’ narrative…. (It) revels in eviscerating a protagonist’s psyche without so much as a single physical scar. All the while it undermines any romantic notions that a reader may hold toward childhood innocence and teenage shenanigans.”

Yes, Adam and I are friends, but he cuts me no slack here. Still, overall a great review.

“Silverman’s Game” was released by Damnation Books in 2010 and is available for $2.50 off their site and Amazon.com. You can find more information the Silvermans’ Game page, including excerpts and reviews.

Table of Contents for Leading Edge #62 – Pre-order now

I’m pleased to present the table of contents for issue #62 of  Leading Edge Magazine , which will include my near-future SF environmental thriller  ”In the Shadow of Scythe”.




Issue #62 will be a limited print run for subscribers and pre-orders only, meaning once they are sold there will not be extra issues to order. So pre-order now or be forever sorry!

Stories

“In the Shadow of Scythe” by Matt Moore

“Friend, Inc.” by William Fraser

“Ferka” by Mackenzie Parker

“Duckman” by Neal Silvester

“Suume” by Elena YazykovaPoetry

“Einstein’s Brain” by E. P. Fisher

“When the Aliens Came” by Timons Esaias

“Blue-Eyed Monster” by Heather K. Sanchez

Artists

Anna Repp

Hannah Hillam

Benjamin Bronson

Jared Boggess

Adam Hanny

“Climb the mountain to see the world, not so the world can see you”

At a commencement address in Wellesley, MA, a teacher tells the graduating class that they are not special. Not unlike Tyler Durden in Fight Club, he tells the Class of 2012:

We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment come to love accolades more than genuine achievement.

I don’t want to beat up on this generation of young people anymore than I appreciated earlier generations beating up on me, but this is the kind of thing young people do need to hear, just as my generation needed to hear that we had to stop saying “everything sucks and there’s nothing that can change that” and actually get out there and change it. (And I’d like to think we did with the Internet Revolution.)

I hope eventually this lesson will settle in. For those of us a little older and a little more able to deal with criticism, take it to heart.

Just like we should take to heart what Tyler said in 1999:

 

 

 

The New Bit.ly / J.mp

Anyone else go to use bit.ly today and find the easy-to-use interface for shortening links and tweeting them had been replaced by a convoluted mess?

If so, you are not alone. The comments section for the blog post announcing this change is nearly-universally negative.

I understand the need to be innovative and expand a product. Perhaps bit.ly wants to be more like Digg or Reddit. This may be the first of several steps to monetize bit.ly. After all, it is a free service and maybe we should all calm down about this change.

The issue, though, is that it’s not about money. It’s about trust. Like I mentioned a year and a half ago when Tumblr went down, if money had been on the line, we could ask for a refund. There would be recourse. Since it’s free, bit.ly only has our trust to rely on. Break that trust, and users might leave.

I am beyond frustrated at this point after only using it twice. Bit.ly has always been about shortening links and then tweeting them; organizing short links as a secondary consideration. They have not only complicated this model, but inverted it. If Google’s goo.gl would integrate its service with Twitter, bit.ly would be buried. But since that will never happen, I hope bit.ly listens to the criticism and brings back the simple, easy-to-use form.

If you have any short-cuts, bit.ly alternatives or just want to vent, please post a comment.

Two Ways to Help #SaveCommunity

I’ve been getting a lot of hits on my blog post about the meaning of the #sixseasonsandamovie hashtag. People have left comments and tweeted me that the post has meant a lot to them. Even after a week, it shows no signs of losing popularity.

So, I hope I can do more than explain—I can try to do some good and save the Community that we love. The one with Dan Harmon at the helm.

Write to Sony

The first thing you can do is write to Steve Mosko, the President of Sony Pictures Television, which is the organization (not NBC) that ousted Dan Harmon.

Don’t send an email or a fax. Write, print and mail the letter. Yup, snail mail. Sign it and everything. Believe me, a physical letter means a lot more than an email. And, a desk covered in letters gives a greater impression than an inbox of emails.

Mr. Mosko’s address is:

Sony Pictures Television, Inc.

Attn: Steve Mosko (President)

10202 West Washington Boulevard

Culver City, CA

90232-3195

United States

Now, do not send a nasty-gram. That will get us nowhere. Also don’t demand that they put Dan Harmon back in charge. Contracts have no doubt been signed and decisions are made. What we can do is:

Say that without Dan’s involvement, true fans likely won’t keep watching since the show will lose the vibe we came to love
Ask that Dan Harmon retain a role as Head Writer or have some other direct involvement in the show’s creation
Trying to “main stream” the show will not work since many people who don’t like it aren’t going to give it a second chance
You watch the show repeatedly online on the NBC website (or wherever it is available), which means more ad revenue for NBC
Regardless, you will be tuning in on Friday @ 8:30 (the new time slot) when Community returns
Express your appreciation and love for the show

Help Community Win the Hugo!

“Remedial Chaos Theory” has been nominated for the Hugo in the Best Dramatic Presentation category. (If you don’t know, the Hugos are an annual award presented annually at the World Science Fiction convention in a number of categories. Voting is open to attendees of the convention.) It is up against three episodes of perennial favorite Dr. Who, so the odds are long. But if you know anyone going to this year’s World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago, urge them to vote for Community. Dr. Who will always be on television, Community might not.

Details on how to vote are on the convention’s website.

And, can I propose #CommunityForTheHugo?

What is the Meaning of #SixSeasonsAndAMovie?

[Please be sure to also read my new Two Ways to Help #SaveCommunity post, too, please.]

If you don’t watch Community, “#SixSeasonsAndAMovie” was shown as the last few seconds of the season 3 finale (which could have been the series finale) as black  text on a white background. It refers to one of the character’s prediction for the (now defunct) superhero show The Cape. As sometimes happens, the phrase took on a life of its own. And Dan Harmon used it as his call to action to his fans to show their support.

Community could be my favorite TV show of all time. It competes with M*A*S*H and WKRP. And seeing as how this could have been the last episode, but wasn’t, I am thrilled.

I will now make an aside to note that Dan Harmon has been fired as show runner of Community. What does that mean? Well, the show runner is someone who is on the set to make sure a show follows a certain rhythm. It is an imprecise definition, but consider that Frank Darabont was the show runner for the first season of The Walking Dead, but not season 2. I’ve talked about the first half of season 2 of The Walking Dead and the second half, so I think my opinion of show runners is clear. If not, let me put it like this: it is a disastrous move. Harmon will still have a role in the show, but what it will be is unclear. (More on this over on AV Club.com)

Few shows can examine a form while also being part of that form. Community is first and foremost a comedy. It wants to make you laugh before making you cry or ponder. But by exploring just what a sitcom is, it also shows us why we need comedy. And why we need a comedy that reflects ourselves.

Community sometimes borders on the schmaltz, the overly and overtly emotional. But what it also does is shows us a reflection of ourselves. Fans of the show all identify with several of the characters. Rarely does one person say “I’m Abed” or “I’m Pierce.” Usually, it’s “I’m a little Troy and a little Annie” or “I’m Jeff at work and Abed at home.” We love the show because we are the show. We are the outcasts, the ones others called “losers”, the ones who never quite fit in. Here is something that doesn’t talk down to us or say “It’s OK to be a nerd” like some other highly rated comedy on another network.

It says we are genuine. We are who we are and don’t need to pretend. We are kind of messed up. And that’s OK. We can deal with it. And so should those who can’t deal with who we are.

And I know not everyone gets this show. That’s cool. I am a hardcore nerd and I don’t get Dr. Who. Not at all. No, really, I don’t like it. But I don’t make fun of Dr. Who fans, so I’m not sure why there’s a Community Sucks! vibe out there.

Unless it touches on something sensitive. And we either react positively or extremely negatively.

Whatever may come, six seasons and a movie, friends. That’s what Dan Harmon was saying with that hashtag at the end of the show. It was a call to action to those of us who get Community. Who value Community. He wanted us to tweet it

And we did.

#SixSeasonsAndAMovie

Tweet it. Keep tweeting it. Get Dan Harmon back for six seasons and a movie.

Then a couple more seasons.

And like my friend Adam Shaftoe suggests, tweet #BelieveinDanHarmon.

And if you have made it this far friends, please leave me a comment to know you were here. Thanks!

#SixSeasonsAndAMovie

You either know what I’m talking about or you don’t watch Community.

(Seeing as this is spiking on my blog (the above sentence was the original post), I will add a bit more.)

Community could be my favorite TV show of all time. It competes with M*A*S*H and WKRP. And seeing as how this could have been the last episode, but wasn’t, I am thrilled.

Few shows can examine a form while also being part of that form. Community is first and foremost a comedy. It wants to make you laugh before making your cry or ponder. But by exploring just what a sitcom is, it also shows us why we need comedy. And why we need a comedy that reflects ourselves.

Community sometimes borders on the schmaltz, the overly and overtly emotional. But what it also does is shows us a reflection of ourselves. Fans of the show all identify with several of the characters. Rarely does one person say “I’m Abed” or “I’m Pierce.” Usually, it’s “I’m a little Troy and a little Annie” or “I’m Jeff at work and Abed at home.” We love the show because we are the show. We are the outcasts, the ones others called “losers”, the ones who never quite fit in. Here is something that doesn’t talk down to us or say “It’s OK to be a nerd” like some other highly rated comedy on another network.

It says we are genuine. We are who we are and don’t need to pretend. We are kind of messed up. And that’s OK. We can deal with it. And so should those who can’t deal with who we are.

And I know not everyone gets this show. That’s cool. I am a hardcore nerd and I don’t get Dr. Who. Not at all. No, really, I don’t like it. But I don’t make fun of Dr. Who fans, so I’m not sure why there’s a Community Sucks! vibe out there.

Unless it touches on something sensitive. And we either react positively or extremely negatively.

Whatever may come, six seasons and a movie, friends.

#SixSeasonsAndAMovie

Then a couple more seasons.

I’ll have a 100-character story (Twabble) on the Drabblecast!

I learned this evening that my 100-character story (not counting spaces), called a “twabble”, will appear on The Drabblecast: Strange Stories for Strange Listeners. The story, in its entirety, is:

“1000 bucks to hunt zombies in your park? Where’d you get them?”

“We started with 22. The rest were like you. Customers.”

Yup, that’s it.

And this is in keeping with my belief that even very short stories should be stories with a beginning, middle and end.

This story, entitled “10 Years After We Won the Zombie Apocalypse”, will run on an upcoming episode.

This is my second appearance on The Drabblecast. My first was the 100-word story (called a “drabble”) “Wall of Gloves” back in episode 162. Now, if only I could get a full-length story on The Drabblecast I’ll crack the trifecta!

Writing Advice: Don’t Send Out that Rejected Story from a Themed Anthology

It’s happened to all of us. You hear about an anthology with a cool theme. You brainstorm story ideas, settle on one and spend the next few weeks writing, revising and work shopping the story. With high hopes, you submit it.

Then the rejection notice arrives. A bit disappointed, you think “That’s OK, it’s a great story. I’ll submit it to magazines interested in the same genre.”

This is a mistake. Don’t submit the rejected story to other markets for at least a year. Why? Because that’s what everyone else is doing and editors will be flooded with those stories.

Do you want your story lost in that mix?

How Publishers & Editors React to the Deluge of Rejected Anthology Submissions

I’m fortunate to have met and befriended some editors and publishers. From them, I learned the other side of the publishing world. One thing I’ve learned is the post-anthology deluge drives editors mad.

A few weeks ago at Ad Astra, a Toronto science fiction convention, I listened to my magazine editor friends chide anthology editor friends that the rejected stories from the anthologies were flooding in to the magazines. A lot of steam was blown off and plenty of friendly ribbing, but it made me appreciate their side of the business.

Editors have a stack of manuscripts to read at any given time. It can be a draining, mindless job. So, editors are looking for something that jumps out at them—well-written, entertaining and original.

The Two Results of the Post-Anthology Hang-Over

Your story may be well-written and entertaining, but if all the rejected anthology stories start rolling in at the same time, you lose your originality. The editor might only give these stories—including yours—a quick glance, mentally lumping them all together. Now, as an author I feel your pain in saying “That’s not fair!” And it’s not. But it’s human nature.

A second strike against your story is the editor will know these are rejected stories, so it’s simple to assume they are second-best. True, your story may have been rejected for reasons other than quality, but again it’s human nature and how an editor can get through the mountain of stories that much easier.

Set the Story Aside for a Year

So what do you do with that story? Set is aside for a year. That’s right—one whole year. There are two reasons for this.

First, let the wave of stories flooding the inboxes of magazines pass. After a year, your tale of the unicorn-powered zeppelin will regain its sheen of originality and stand on its own merits.

Second, before you submit the story, review it. You will have grown and improved as a writer over that year, so there may be some improvements you can make to the story to further increase its chances of being purchased.

And Read that Anthology

Lastly, read that anthology when it comes out. Take a look at what got accepted and why. You might find your writing was not up to snuff or thematically the story didn’t work with the others. Take a good, hard, critical look at the anthology because—most likely—the editor will do another anthology… maybe a “Volume 2″. Understanding the editor’s tastes will greatly improve your chances of selling him or her another story.

Thoughts and Theories on the Third The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

[NOTE: I originally wrote this on Friday, May 4 but lost the thumb drive I'd stored it on and only found it this morning. This post should have gone up Friday, so I think I may have missed the wave.]

I’ve been getting a lot of hits here for my review of the first The Dark Knight Rises trailer now that the third one has been released. So, I figure I should give some thoughts on it. (For a great take on the second trailer, see Adam Shaftoe’s break down over on The Page of Reviews.)

While the first trailer focused on Commission Gordon lying in a bed and the second on Bane, here Selina Kyle/Catwoman gets the best scenes.

We have a repeat of her pro-Occupy / “live so large” monologue to Bruce Wayne, hinting she may know of the coming of Bane. But a later scene has her guiltily admitting she does not know if Bruce is alive or dead. (At least, that’s what the trailer suggests.) Then, we have her fighting along side Batman and even getting into the Batwing.

Could it be that Catwoman begins working with Bane and the League of Shadows? (I don’t think there can be any doubt Bane is the League’s big gun, meant to finish the job Ra’s al Ghul—and maybe the Joker—could not.) Perhaps she helps the League infiltrate the newly constructed Wayne Manor, as suggested by scenes of looting and someone being pulled up from under a chest. To solidify his power, Bane destroys the bridges connecting Gotham to the mainland (No Man’s Land reference?) in a “I gotta see that in Imax” shot. But when Selina sees Bane’s true nature, she has a change of heart.

The class-warfare idea can also be seen in another “I gotta see that in IMAX” scene where Bane is rescued in mid-air. A C-130 Hercules—the old work horse transport plane of the military—stalking and dismantling a private jet? Symbolism much?

We also get a bit more of a look at the fight scene between Bane and Batman that either takes place in the rain or the sewers. Or, the Batcave. My belief is Bane learns Batman’s identity (as he does in the comics) and infiltrates the Batcave, where he fights and defeats Batman, which is why we see Bane dropping the cowl in that same setting.

What else? Does the shivery reveal of Bane in this and the first trailer remind anyone else of the drug from the blue flower from Batman Begins? Does Bane spend days or months torturing Bruce with nightmare images, making Bruce ask for Bane to kill him?

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Is this the new Bat symbol for a new Batman?

Then there is Joshua Gordon-Levitt, who looks amazing in this movie. There have been rumours he plays the role Jean-Paul Valley did in the Knight Fall storyline: the heir to the cape and cowl when Bruce Wayne is injured. I think this is seriously hinted at when we see the chalked tag of the bat shape and the question “Think he’s coming back?” Notice this shape is very different from the Batman logo so far. I wonder if this indicates a new symbol for a new Batman.

There’s more going on here, like the big fight on the building steps or just who is driving a camouflage Tumbler,  but from this latest (and perhaps last) trailer we have tantalizing bits of information to keep us guessing about what’s to come.

So what do you think? Any hints I’ve overlooked at what’s going to happen in this last Batman film under Christopher Nolan’s guidance?