Matt Moore's Blog, page 7

Writing workshop: “Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats” at CAN-CON on Oct. 30 in Ottawa

I will be teaching a 2-hour writing workshop on how to keep readers on the edges of their seats before the official start of CAN-CON, Ottawa’s SF/F/H convention coming up October 30 – November 1, 2015.

This workshop is one of four workshops being run before the convention officially starts, so you won’t miss any programming by attending. Even if mine doesn’t sound interesting, check out the others.

If you’re interested, here’s the short version:

WHEN: Friday, October 30, 2015

2:30 – 4:30
WHERE: Sheraton Ottawa Hotel (Room TBD)

150 Albert Street

Ottawa, Ontario
HOW: Register online

Space is limited

You do not need to register with the con to attend

No same-day registration
COST: $10 plus $1.25 service fee

Why should I take this workshop?

This workshop is for writers of all genres who want their stories to be page-turners that readers can’t put down. If you have been getting rejections or feedback like “Started too slow” or “Just didn’t grab me”, this workshop is for you.

There’s more to maintaining tension than just writing short, clipped sentences, the “ticking clock” or cutting between scenes. Stories, and the scenes within them, have a structure. (And do not confuse structure, which is descriptive, with formula, which is prescriptive.) That is, we are introduced to a scene, something changes for our characters, and they move on to the next scene. This can involve saving the universe or looking for their car keys. To create tension, you need to understand how the pieces of this structure work—plot, pacing, characters, conflict, etc.

We’ll look at things like:

How to end a scene in a way that makes the reader want to keep reading, but by giving a pay-off and not “cheating”?
What kind of threats and challenges can you throw at the main character that aren’t tired, clichéd or too easy?
Who or what is working against your main character?
What is on the line if your main character fails?

There is limited space and you have to register in advance online. You won’t be able to register at the convention.

I hope to see you there!

Just back from the Limestone Genre Expo

This past weekend I was in Kingston, Ontario for the first Limestone Genre Expo, a one-day mini-convention covering science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, and romance. If you’re near Kingston (Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, upstate New York) and you missed the convention, you need to come next year. This is going to be an important convention in the next few years.

I’ve known two of the organizers—Barry King and Liz Strange—for a while now. For the last few years, Barry and Liz have been trying to organize something in Kingston to celebrate the genre community. It’s a challenge in a small city, but they got the Limestone Genre Expo organized earlier this year and I was fortunate enough to be invited to be a panelist and present a workshop. Other panelists and guests came from Ottawa, Toronto, Peterborough and Montreal (among other places).

And what a day it was!

When I arrived, about 20 minutes before registration officially opened, the line was out the door and around the side of the building. I sat on two panels—world-building and horror—plus gave a writing workshop on how to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Attendees were excited, energized and engaged. My writing workshop filled up almost immediately (since you had to sign-up at the registration table). There was that “buzz” in the air you find at great conventions. I was so busy talking to attendees and workshop participants that I didn’t have time to catch up with my friends from Toronto and Peterborough. But that’s not a complainant—it’s great to have so many people around who are so passionate about speculative fiction.

I know Barry, Liz and the other organizers are thinking about next year and I hope they will consider a two-day event. The crowd in Kingston was great and with so many major cities only a few hours’ drive away I am certain they will draw even more attendees. Canadians know every summer weekend is precious, but if you are a fan of science fiction, fantasy, horror or other speculative fiction then this is an event you want to attend next year.

Keep an eye out for more about next year’s event:

Website: limestonegenre.ca

Twitter: @limestonegenre

Facebook: facebook.com/limestonegenre

What If Community: The Movie Is About Community: The Movie?

A few days ago I wrote about the Season 6 finale of Community and how I was ready to say good-bye to one of my favourite shows. While I would welcome a seventh season, I don’t see Yahoo! Screen doing it.

But Community’s fan have known for a while it was never about seven seasons, but #SixSeasonsAndAMovie. We have our six seasons, so would Yahoo! Screen greenlight Community: The Movie? What would it be about?

Walking home today, I had a vision of what Community: The Movie would be about. It would be about making Community: The Movie.

Abed leaves for Los Angeles at the end of Season 6. What if the movie picks up with Abed in L.A. shooting a documentary, so he stays behind the camera, where he tries to convince actors to star in a film called Community: The Movie? Lacking the time to imagine a seventh season of what’s happening to his friends, he’s written a screenplay. He approaches Joel McHale to play the strong-jawed Jeff, Alison Brie as the idealistic Annie, Donald Glover to play his best friends Troy, etc. (Despite his best efforts, Abed can’t get a meeting with Chevy Chase and Danny Pudi is not receptive to the idea of playing Abed.) In this Greendale universe, these actors never appeared on Community and there lives are much harder so they agree to star in the movie. But no one gets along and the production falls apart. Abed, in a Winger Speech, learns movies are not like real life. He concludes stating that Community, as a movie, just wouldn’t work.

As a story, it has Dan Harmon’s meta sensibilities. As a production, it could be shot as the actors are available and would only require Danny Pudi to do voice-over work since his character is the one holding the camera.

I know this is a long shot, but think it would make for a fun take on Community since the story at Greendale seems to have wrapped up. What do you think? What else should happen in Community: The Movie? Does Dan Harmon show up? Does Abed discover Greendale was never real? Does the last scene end with him entering the Study Room (and season seven of Community begins with Abed entering the study room with a camera in hand)?

Why We Might Not Need Community’s #AndAMovie

Three years and a month ago, I wrote about what the #sixseasonsandamovie hashtag meant following the Community season 3 finale. That was supposed to be the end of Community, but NBC brought it back, just without creator Dan Harmon. Then came season 5 with Dan Harmon, and Season 6 on Yahoo! Screen.

Season 6 proved to be very unbalanced. While it brought out great paintball and documentary film making episodes late in the season, earlier episodes lacked that Community vibe.

Then came the Season 6 finale of “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television”. This episode felt like Dan Harmon is finally ready to say good-bye. The Season 3 finale, “Introduction to Finality”, felt like Dan Harmon telling NBC to go fuck itself. There was a hostility to it, an oddness and irreverence in how outside the box it was.  Almost a “fuck you, NBC, for not allowing the audience to see what happens to these characters.”

But their story lived on for three more seasons. And so “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” is not about clinging to the people (i.e., TV show) we love but letting them (i.e., the TV show) go. (While twice dropping the F-bomb!!!) We had lost Pierce, Troy and Shirley. This episode says good-bye to Annie and Abed—the youngest members of the group—who go off to find their own futures. Only Jeff and Britta remain at Greendale.

Because that is life. While Abed has been Dan Harmon’s sensibilities, Jeff has been his insecurity. “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” shows Jeff, who presented himself as a badass in the series’ first episode, at his most emotionally raw. A throw-away moment in “Geothermal Escapism” when Troy leaves Greendale is when Jeff confesses he has never set foot outside of Colorado, where Community is set. This season (series?) finale hearkens back to that. Jeff, like Harmon (like me) is a middle aged man terrified his best days are behind him. Terrified his younger friends will find opportunities better than he ever did (and that he can ever offer them) and leave him. While he wants them to succeed and loves them enough to let them go, he worries that in 1, 5 or 10 years he will be stuck in the same place while his younger friends excel beyond anything he ever could have hoped to.

We’re still talking about Jeff Winger, right? A fictional character? (Because I am totally cool, here. Yup, no problems at all.)

Because we are all searching for our show—it’s premise, main characters, central conflict. But it’s that search—not the answers—that makes life. We’ll never find it. Like Bill Joel said:

So many faces in and out of my life

Some will last

Some will just be now and then

Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes

I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again

“Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television” is that middle-aged realization that sometimes a Tuesday night with some friends where you raise a glass is the greatest thing ever. Not the wild, drunken Saturday night when you were 21 where you stayed up to see the sun rise or a crazy road trip at 26. It’s that slight pause where you look at what you have and where you came from and it all just fucking comes together in one, perfect moment.

I was devastated after watching Season 3’s “Introduction to Finality” because I didn’t want Community to end, but I can now let Community go with “Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television”. Like Star Wars (was supposed to be), this was about the rise, fall and redemption of Jeff Winger. Jeff has finally accepted middle age—it sucks. But at least you have your friends in a moment that will last for as long as you have them. And since this is Dan Harmon being meta, it’s also about us letting go and enjoying what we had.

So if we don’t get #AndAMovie or Season 7, I can live with that. The greatest timeline ends with Jeff, Britta, Dean Pelton, Chang and Frankie in a bar. Everyone is home. Everyone is as fine as they can get. They saved Greendale and they saved themselves. (Take that, Lost, you fucking piece of shit waste of time!)

But I love you more than words can say.

“Follow Me Back!” and Bullying on Twitter

This is how I picture trolls who treat following back as an obligation
[CREDIT: memegenerator.net]

(APOLOGIES: It seems the images referenced in this post are not loading right now.)

Twitter is not Facebook. The “Follow” feature is not reciprocal.

Twitter is meant to be a meritocracy: If you have something interesting to say, people will follow you and retweet you, which should get you more followers, etc.

Which is why, from time to time, I get frustrated by apps that present their value proposition as “Find who doesn’t follow you and unfollow them immediately!” Taken to its conclusion, Twitter would be a sea of small clusters of all-following-all users, which defeats its point.

Then I found this gem:

Don't care who you are. I follow you, you follow me, or be cut. 72 hours. Basic Twitter etiquette.

— JenniferWordAuthor (@jenniferword) May 19, 2015

I always check out my new followers

Jennifer followed me the other day and, like I always do with new followers, I looked at what she had to say. Sometimes the Twitter feed of a new follower doesn’t engage me, so I don’t follow them. Other times, I’ve found some very cool and interesting people, so I follow them. But I don’t feel an obligation out of politeness or custom to immediately follow someone who follows me. Like I said, meritocracy.

So when I checked out Jennifer’s feed, the above tweet was the most recent one. It made me immediately not want to follow her. (I can’t help but wonder if she went on a following spree and posted this tweet as a near-threat.)

Using the obligation to “follow back” to grow your followers

To claim following someone who follows you as “Basic Twitter etiquette” is absurd. It’s like two high school girls agreeing each can attend the other’s party, but neither girl really likes the other. So what’s the point? One might say “It’s all about numbers”, but that point of view ignores quality engagements.

Because they baited you with the follow, made you feel like you had to follow back, and then unfollowed you. It’s a dick move, but happens all the time.
[CREDIT: memegenerator.net]

But it’s a common tactic: Find users with similar interests as you, follow them, and hope they follow you back. It’s an easy way to get followers, especially those who are not hard-core Twitter users and might not understand its culture. So you follow a bunch of people and if they don’t follow you, you then unfollow them. And if you are especially Machiavellian, unfollow them even if they did follow you in order to keep your Twitter feed focused (unless you are a master at Lists).

Now, I don’t know Jennifer, and am speaking in general here and not about her specifically, but the claim that it’s “Basic Twitter etiquette” is bullying. People who take this approach are almost saying if you don’t follow someone back, you are doing Twitter wrong and a bad person. Like you’re making it worse for everyone else by not following the rules everyone else does.

But that’s bullshit.

My approach – value your followers and those you follow

I hold the opposite view. I have ~680 followers and follow ~330 users. Unlike Jennifer, who doesn’t care who you are, I do care about every single follower I have because I believe I have earned their follows. I wish these numbers were higher, but I hope all of my followers (are real and not a bot, and) find value in what I have to say about writing, social media, pop culture and what have you.

And I can tell you the reason why I chose to follow every single Twitter user I follow.

I could probably be a bit more aggressive in seeking out users I want to follow and hoping they follow back to drive up my numbers, but I have better things to do with my time… like complain about the Machiavellian strategies of some Twitter users.

So, bottom line: If you have something interesting to say on Twitter, I will follow you. But if you try to bully or shame me into following you back, it’s not going to work.

Review: It Follows

It Follows is the first film in a long time to have me on the edge of my seat for almost 90 minutes, my stomach in knots. What makes It Follows successful is rather than going post-modern, meta or inverting tropes, it sticks with the basic horror movie formula: introduce an understandable threat, assemble a cast of likable characters, and turn the tension up to 11. The original Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween understood this.

If you haven’t seen the trailer (it’s embedded below), the premise is that there is a curse that is transmitted during sex. Whoever is afflicted will be stalked by some thing that wants to kill that person. This thing (that I will call “the demon,” though I don’t think it gets a moniker in the firm) can take on the form of anyone, but only moves at a walking pace and only the afflicted person can see it. The only cure is to pass the curse on to someone else through sex. But, if the demon kills the infected person, it will then stalk and kill whoever was previously infected and so on down the line.

Our main character is Jay, a college student who has sex with her new boyfriend, Hugh, for the first time. But Hugh was being stalked by the demon and has now passed it to Jay, and then quickly disappears after explaining the rules and showing Jay something that Hugh insists proves the demon is real.

From here, Jay has to deal with what has happened. Was Hugh lying? Is the demon real? Slowly, she and her group of friends are stalked by this demon that only Jay can see, forcing them to first flee and then fight. All the while, Jay has to consider if she can temporarily save herself, but curse someone else, by sleeping with someone.

Because the concept is simple, we never know when the demon is going to appear nor in what form. Writer/director David Robert Mitchell uses this to great effect. In several scenes, we see someone in the background walking toward Jay, but the scene ends with this character still in the background. Is this the demon or just an extra? In other scenes, the demon appears in a startling but still human form. The demon’s plodding but unrelenting pace only adds to its menace. (Remember when a single, slow zombie was terrifying?) As a character explains, wherever you are it’s somewhere walking straight for you. But it’s walking.

The film also smartly leaves a number of things unexplored. How did the demon start? How does Hugh know about it? Can someone who was infected becoming infected again? Can the demon travel over water, making an island safe? While I worry these will be explored in an inevitable sequel, proving as satisfying as Freddy’s dream demons and the Curse of Thorn, in It Follows we only know what Jay knows, which is to try to survive and never knowing when the demon will reach her.

At the same time, it leaves some things up to the audience to decide. When you see it, ask yourself what happened between Jay and the guys on the boat? Why the long, lingering shot of the girl in the cafeteria with Greg? What does the last shot at the pool mean? Did Paul sleep with a prostitute or couldn’t bring himself to do it?

As a film about sex, it treats it realistically. This isn’t some keep-it-zipped-or-die metaphor. Having sex isn’t treated as a magical moment between two people nor just a casual, meaningless act. The sex scenes are realistic, but not gratuitous.

The film isn’t perfect. The demon seems to quickly get to some distant places, but never arrives at all when the characters are only a short distance away. (I found myself wondering if the writer worked out the demon’s ground speed, plotted the different locations and then figured out when the demon would arrive… because I am such a geek I would have done that.) Some tracking shots seem to go on for too long. Near the end of the film, the demon appears in a place that doesn’t make sense. And there is some kind of voyeuristic subplot that is never fully developed.

But it works a lot more than it falters, and some of the tracking shots are damn eerie—why is the camera lingering on a location where there isn’t anything happening? (We learn why later.) Music and sound are used to wonderful, terrifying effect. And the set-up of mounting, inevitable dread is pitch-perfect. You can avoid Freddy if you stay awake and the shark by staying on land, but the demon is always coming.

It Follows doesn’t need expensive effects, big name actors or large set pieces to be effective. Just someone slowly walking and never, ever stopping.

Save Trailer Park Boys

I’m a fan of Trailer Park Boys. Rude? Vulgar? Sure. But it makes me laugh and while some seasons are uneven, it has some great work in obeying a rule of writing: every character is the hero of their own story. From the three mains—Julian, Ricky and Bubbles—to the minor reoccurring characters, all are clearly and richly presented.

Plus, as I spell out below, there are a number of great messages of tolerance and empowerment in the show.

More than that, TPB was my first exposure to Canadian content. We didn’t have TPB in the States while I was growing up. A television show where a character could say “cockface” while rolling a joint was something new, revolutionary, and funny. And truly Canadian.

Not that it represents Canada, but in the US network programs could show plenty of gunfire, death and bloodshed, but the word “shit” or seeing a woman’s breasts did not happen. Canada, on the other hand, recognizes that nudity, profanity and substance use happen in everyday life. Non-fatal bullet wounds… not so much.

So when I heard that the Nova Scotia government is considering cancelling the film tax credit that allows TPB and other shows and films to happen, I wrote a letter to the Liberal Minister of Finance and the Treasury Board, the Honourable Diana C. Whalen, to express my views. The letter in its entirety is below.

Dear Minister Whalen:

I am writing to urge you to not cancel the film tax credit in Nova Scotia. For a country like Canada, overshadowed by the popular culture flowing out of the United States, film is a vital way to create and share Canadian stories.

Of note, I want to discuss the show Trailer Park Boys, which was some of the first Canadian content I encountered when I moved to Canada from the U.S. in 1999. While the show is rude and vulgar, and might not be the best representation of Nova Scotia, it presents many positive messages that one does not find in popular culture produced in Hollywood.

Acceptance of homosexuality

The characters of Randy and Jim Lahey are a gay couple, but initially kept their relationship secret. When they come out as a couple, there is neither a negative reaction nor an exaggerated positive acceptance—life goes on.

Men can express their emotions

In western culture, men do not demonstrate affection, which is not healthy. Yet in Trailer Park Boys, the male characters frequently hug and tell each other they love each other without unease or embarrassment. It’s a message young men need to receive.

Strong women characters

The female characters are strong and independent. Many run their own business. They do not obsess over relationships, but aren’t afraid to express sexual desire. It is one of the most realistic portrayals of women on television.

Family is everything

Strong family ties, and fear of losing them, is a common theme. Ricky, a criminal, is driven to provide for his family. He is devoted to his daughter and seeks to reconcile with her mother. This theme is reflected in many other familial relationships.

It is actually anti-addiction

While alcohol and marijuana use is common, the characters are able to carry on in their day-to-day lives. But when use becomes abuse, there are always negative consequences. What’s more, problem gambling and cocaine have been presented in negative light.

I am not a resident of Nova Scotia and have only had the privilege to visit your beautiful province once. And I understand the challenges that balancing a budget can pose. But I hope you will re-consider cancelling the film tax credit so that shows like Trailer Park Boys, and many other shows and films produced in your province, can continue. These shows are an important alternative to the pedestrian shows one finds on network television.

Thank you for your attention.

If you feel the same, you can reach her through her website. As Bubbles said, be polite.

Or, sign the change.org petition.

More hashtags and Twitter IDs below.

@TrailerParkBoys

@NSFinance

#SaveSunnyvale

#SupportOurScreens

#SupportNSFilm

#NSFilmJobs

On Being in Pain

I have been in a lot of pain recently (I’m fine; this is not a bid for sympathy) and it has changed how I see writing characters in pain. It has also made me appreciate the difference between an injury’s immediate pain and the kind that lasts for days, weeks or a lifetime.

I’ve been lucky. I’ve broken a few bones and dislocated my shoulder, but that’s been it.

Recently, I pinched a nerve in my lower back. The result was sharp, grinding pain in my left buttock, down the outside of my leg and into my ankle. It makes sitting, standing or lying down anywhere from uncomfortable to excruciating. Unlike a broken bone, this pain is on-going and the only relief are medication and exercises to warm up and stretch the muscles, but the exercises are painful.

And come morning, the muscles of tightened up and the medication worn off.

Pain is tiring

Even though I spent many of the first days inactive, I still needed to nap. Not just rest, but sleep for a few hours in the middle of the day.

Constant pain is draining. I don’t just mean that doing something as simple as climbing stairs or preparing a cup of coffee requires more effort, which is true. Being in pain zaps your energy, your concentration, your strength. It wears you down to the point of exhaustion.

And being in pain makes falling asleep difficult and sleep itself is lighter than normal. I found myself in a mental fog for the first week.

Without a name, your condition might not generate sympathy

Many diseases can be measured. How many parts per million, how many millimetres. No one doubts a spot on an X-ray or positive bacterial culture.

Pain is subjective. It is usually measured on a scale from 1 to 10—1 being barely there and 10 being the worst pain of your life. And pain is a symptom, not a disease, so being in pain has no medical name. Without a diagnosis with a fancy medical name, some might doubt the severity of your condition.

And the same injury for one person might be a nuisance, but for another might be excruciating. Since everyone has been in pain, some might doubt the amount of pain you are in. Or, not understanding its nature, tell you to “suck it up”. This might even come from health care providers.

This reaction can demoralize and isolate someone trying to deal with their pain.

Time is measured until your next medication

When I look at a clock, I don’t see the time of day but how long it will be until my next dose of medication. I’m not taking anything hard core or addictive. Simply Tylenol and a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. They bring relief, but it wears off as time passes. So what time it is doesn’t matter to me. How long I have to wait for more relief is my top concern.

You are in pain in the future

It’s only a few weeks until Ad Astra, one of my favourite conventions since I get to see friends who live in Toronto and beyond. I moved into a new home in November, so am looking forward to improvements I can make on my new home once the weather turns warmer. And since I live downtown for the first time, I am excited to spend a summer in the centre of the city with all it has to offer.

But all of these future events seem impossible. Because I look at the future—in a few days, a few weeks, or a few months—and I can’t imagine them without the same pain I am in now. I can’t imagine walking through the Ad Astra hotel without my pain-induced limp. I don’t have the strength to work in my new backyard.

Being in constant pain colours everything, even your plans for the future.

You will try anything to be free of pain

With intense injuries, you might receive some intense pain killers. They can have intense side effects, but the medicines are stop-gap measures until your body can mend. For long-term pain, the side effects can be damaging to your liver or other organs. And since there is no way to objectively measure your pain, your doctor might tell you to get by on something like acetaminophen.

Sometimes it’s enough. Sometimes it isn’t. Dreading the pain that comes each morning and follows you, the fatigue, the lack of understanding, you might consider alternative therapies.

Now, I am not knocking all alternative medicine. I have found great relief in acupuncture. But there are a number of unregulated and unproven “therapies” out there. But when you are desperate, you will consider something that before your pain you might have considered more hand-waving than medicine.

I know I am lucky

In time, I know I will get better. Every day, I feel a little better—the pain easier to deal with, the exercises not as challenging. Every medical professional I have spoken with say I am following a normal and predictable path to full recovery.

Not everyone gets this optimistic prognosis.

So if you have never had to deal with persistent pain, but are writing a character who is, I hope this post gives you insight into what life is like. It’s one thing to take your experience with a broken bone and try to translate it into some other immediate injury. But the long-term, day-after-day pain that can follow you will change your character’s perspective.

Ad Astra Schedule

Ad Astra 2015 is coming up in Toronto April 10-12. A full schedule is up on the Ad Astra website, but my schedule is below. I’m looking forward to all of them, especially my reading on Saturday night.

Friday

10PM: Podcasting After Dark 2: Kaiju Boogaloo (Newmarket)

Adam Shaftoe, Kate Heartfield, Marie Bilodeau, Matt Moore

Saturday

11:00AM: Horror Pro-Tour: A Delightful Discussion with the Masters of Twisted and Chilling Tales (Richmond B)

David Nickle, Rio Youers, Sephera Giron, Matt Moore

6:00PM: The Big Bang Theory: Revenge of the Nerds or Geeksploitation? (Aurora)

Ada Hoffmann, Sephera Giron, Stephen Kotowych, Matt Moore

9:00PM: Matt Moore & Ian Keeling Readings (Unionville)

Sunday

3:00PM: History of Monsters: Things that go Bump in the Night (Aurora)

Denis McGrath, Erik Buchanan, Kari Maaren, Matt Moore

Why Millenials Don’t Steal eBooks

According to Deloitte, physical books aren’t going to disappear in a wave of ebooks. What’s more, contrary to popular opinion younger readers prefer print to ebooks more than the average population.

Young people may have the reputation as device-dependent, but they still read physical books over ebooks. (Credit: Flickr users goXunuReviews)

I had the pleasure to learn this, and many other wonderfully geeky things, at a presentation by Duncan Stewart on what the next twelve months will bring for technology. (If you do not know about Deloitte’s TMT Predictions series, I recommend you check it out when it comes around next year.)

Something not in the online summary I link to above is Duncan’s assertion that Millennials (in this case, generally 18-35) don’t have the same proclivity to pirate books as they do music, movies or television programs. That is, while they won’t hesitate to torrent a whole season of HBO’s Game of Thrones, they will pay for A Game of Thrones and preferably in print.

Stewart proposed several possible, non-mutually exclusive reasons for this, to which I am adding some of my own ideas and interpretations.

First is the view of stealing from a corporation versus sole authorship. Films, movies and music are seen as products of large corporate entities. Corporations are out to make money at any cost, the viewpoint is, so stealing from them has almost a Robin Hood feel to it. It is an act of righteous rebellion against Big Business. A book, however, is the work of one, sole author. Pirating a book is not striking a blow against a corporation, but stealing from one of the least glamourous artistic forms.

A book can be a reminder of another time in our life.

Next, there is the little physical difference between watching an episode of Breaking Bad that you purchased on iTunes versus torrented from Pirate Bay. You download it and play it on your laptop or tablet, or stream it to your television. ebooks are different. While some are epubs or mobis with cracked security, others have been mangled when the security was cracked and still more are poor quality PDF scans of the entire book. This does not compare to the experience of opening the front cover and turning to page one. More than this, you need a device to see or hear music or movies. Books are much more direct and serve as tangible artifacts to a certain period in a person’s life.

But the last theory really struck me is the ability to identify with artists. By the time we are 20, we have abandoned dreams of being movie stars or rock gods. We are either fully committed to acting or music, or we treat it as a hobby and know our career path lies elsewhere. But many people, at any age, see themselves as potential writers. We’ve probably all known someone who claimed she or he would right a book when they retired. So while there is little hesitancy to steal from the millionaire actors or musicians Millenials know they will never be, stealing a book feels like an offence committed against a future self.

So while there is something that takes me a bit aback at the idea that anyone thinks they can write a book and it is not as challenging as writing and recording songs, I hope there are those out there who will follow through with that dream.