James R. Tuck's Blog, page 8

TATTUESDAY (Roller derby pin up)

Welcome to Tattuesday.  Today we have a selection on a friend of mine who is a hairdresser. Here is her salon.  It's not hairdresser themed, lol.

It's a piece of Sailor Jerry flash that I adapted to make into a derby girl. I did it James style, but with a tiny pinch of traditional thrown in. This is a freshly done tattoo so it is a bit red and shiny.

Click to make it bigger.

SIX SENTENCES ON A SUNDAY

Okay Loyals and True Believers, today's quote is from Father Of The Bride. The Steve Martin, 1991 version. It may be in the original, but I don't know.  Now before you think me a philistine who doesn't watch classic movies, I do love both, I just happened to watch the 91 version today.

Many, many moons ago, when I was a young teenager living at home (think 13, maybe 14) I stayed up late one night and was watching The Movie Channel because that was the only premium channel we had growing up. I clicked it on, sat down, and came in on the first few minutes of the movie. I tuned in when was just getting comfortable in that chair, with the carnage of his daughter's wedding strewn all around him.   He began to talk and I was hooked. I watched that movie mesmerized, entranced. I proceeded to watch it every chance I could  when it was on TMC. Remember dear friends, this was before DVR, TIVO, DVD, it was even before my family had a VCR.

So come around to 1991, I am 21 years old and they remake the movie starring Steve Martin. Yeah, The Jerk, Steve Martin. I was not going to see it. I was against it.

I was wrong.

The remake kept the heart of the movie while updating it for 1991. It was fun, funny, heart warming, romantic, and touching. I fell in love with Father Of The Bride all over again.

So today I wanted a nice movie to watch. A comfort movie, because it it was a lazy Sunday, the Missus was taking a nap, The Son was doing stuff ont he computer, and the Daughter is gone.

I watched it. I loved it. I got misty-eyed in several parts. I mean hey, wackiness aside I am realistically looking at my own version of that scenario in just a few, all too fleeting years.

I was also struck by some of the writing that was in it. High quality stuff. So today's selection is from that. Enjoy. It is George, the dad talking about his daughter and the way it is with fathers and daughters. This is truth. This was written by a father of a daughter. So hark, read and learn.

I remember how her little hand used to fit inside mine.

Then comes the day when she wants to get her ears pierced, and wants you to drop her off a block before the movie theater.

From that moment on you're in a constant panic.

You worry about her meeting the wrong kind of guy, the kind of guy who only wants one thing, and you know exactly what that one thing is, because it's the same thing you wanted when you were their age.

Then, you stop worrying about her meeting the wrong guy, and you worry about her meeting the right guy.

That's the greatest fear of all, because, then you lose her.

Damn George. Damn.

FIVE THINGS ON A FRIDAY (done on a Saturday so you get six things with a bonus)

1) Writers group was awesome today.  My son has started attending and that is uber cool.  Plus my group has a lot of really talented writers so the feedback and support rocks balls.  If you are a writer and you are not a part of a writers group FIND ONE. Seriously, go on Meetup.com and search your area for writers groups. If you live in BFE then start one.  Make it so.

2) Listening to Adele. It's nice. Relaxing.

3) Bought and read two really good books this past week. EVERY SHALLOW CUT By Tom Piccirilli from Chizine Publishing and BURDEN, KANSAS by Alan Ryker from Sucker Punch Press.      EVERY SHALLOW CUT is a vicious little ditty by the often imitated, never duplicated Tom Piccirilli. It sings like a pop song of violence and desperation.      BURDEN, KANSAS is one of the best vampire books I have read in a while. It is dark and gritty and it is a toss up as to who is more vicious: the vampires or Keith the MC.  AND they both have really spectacular covers, so SCORE!

4) Gonna watch The Wolfman this weekend and hope it doesn't suck.

5) My daughter leaves for today and I miss her already.

6) The tattoo shop has been crazy busy today.

Bonus)  The Missus rocks my face off. Every. Day.

REVISE TILL YOUR EYES SEE THE PRIZE (Writing Wednesday)

I am neck deep in the revisions on book two. It is going well. I wrote the first draft and topped it out at 59,000 words roughly. So I only need to go in and add about 20,000 to bring it up to my contracted word count. No problem.

Except there is a problem.

Revising for me is to go in and trim and cut and rearrange sentences in a way that cuts the word count. I take those long-winded, lackadaisical sentences and I chop them up into little, tiny pieces! Why? Cause I am a cold-blooded killer that's why! I am the Ted Bundy of my manuscript, the Richard Ramirez of my plot!

No, seriously, I do it because there is one very simple rule you MUST keep in mind when revising.  Ready for it? Is your little heart going pitter and patter?

YOU MUST MAKE EVERYTHING PAY FOR ITS TIME ON THE PAGE.

It's simple. When you write your first draft you are in story mode and you are firing on all synapses just blurting out the story. Every idea is zinging around your braincase like one of those crazy rubber balls you find in a gumball machine. Bing, bing, zing, bang, boing! Crap is flying out of your mind and onto the page. You get everything in there. Your characters grocery list, your grocery list, characters motivations, their childhood drama, their preference for wheat over white, boxers over briefs, Coke over Pepsi…..you get the idea.

So now, in revision, you get out your hatchet and your scalpel and you go to work. You pare out every superfluous piece of prose and prune away every unnecessary detail. And when I say everything must pay for its time on the page I mean it. If you have a conversation between two characters then it either has to further the plot or serve for characterization.  Even your speech tags (which should be a thing you take a hard look at) should serve a purpose. Use them sparingly and only to keep the order of the conversation going. Most of them should be replaced with a physical action that will clue the reader in on some aspect of the character speaking.

ex: I set my fork down on my plate, careful to keep it from making a sound. "I advise you to not do that."

"Shove your advice old man." Grimy fingers belonging to Black Bart moved down to grab my wallet from the linen tablecloth. I thought about the smudges they would leave on the cream colored cloth. What would the matre d' do?

The steak knife still in my hand buried itself in his arm. Blood shot onto the table like spilled Cabernet Sauvignon as he screamed like the girl who found a spider in her hair. Grimy fingerprints didn't seem to matter anymore.

I picked up my fork. A square of rare steak hanging from silver tines. "You should always listen to good advice."

The steak was delicious.

Now that is rough. I just whipped that up on the spot, so don't judge me, but you can see how there is not even one I said/he said. I used physical action to frame the conversation. I also told you Black Bart was an outlaw who didn't bathe enough. the setting is a restaurant, probably high end with the linen tablecloths and matre d', the protagonist is an old man who is cold-blooded and tough as nails.

That's how I do it folks. Your mileage may vary.

Write well, y'all.

RED UMBRELLAS MAN (or Tattuesday part deux)

First of all, thank you one and all for your continued support and love for Tattuesday! I really appreciate it. According to the stats on my old blog here Tattuesday was a big hit last week.

So here we have another Tuesday and another tattoo, two tattoos actually.  These are both on my friend and customer Shannon Murphy, or Murph as we call him. Murph is an abstract painter. He is very creative and artistic, delving in to many techniques to give his art the fullest depth he can. You can find a lot of his artwork hanging at Family Tradition Tattoo as well as galleries around town.

Murp is a cool guy.  He's really one of the nicest, most laid back cats I know. He gets weird artsy tattoos cause he's cool like that. This is an example.  I have several pieces of artwork, done by different artists all with umbrellas in them. Tattoo artists all try to find offbeat things to paint and someone did a cool umbrella. Well, the idea sparked and next thing you know a lot of people put umbrellas in their stuff, all on their own. So it became a thing. Kevin has one and now Murph has two.

They are both red and both cool as hell.  Kinda new school, kinda traditional.  Click on the pic to make it bigger. Enjoy!

GENRE MONDAY

Welcome to Genre Monday. On monday I will talk with you about all things Genre and give with my opinions.

So new stuff.

Teen Wolf on MTV.

It's not bad. We are I think 5 episodes in and it is very very watchable. In fact I actually like the actors in it. They all do a great job. Some of the FX are a little sub-par, but it is a tv show so that happens sometimes. Overall, despite it becoming racier by the episode and thereby putting it in danger of being off limits for the 14 year old son, it is a pretty well-made and entertaining show. They went old school werewolf on this one with some good things associated with wolfsbane and the like.

Falling Skies on TNT

Another very watchable show.  I like the interplay of characters. I like the way it seems to be setting up an American Revolution allegory. I liked character having an Independence Day moment without ripping the movie off. I like the outlaw leader.  The cast does a great job, the FX are pretty damn good, and the story is peppered with things that lead me to believe that this show is well planned out.

The Nine Lives Of Chloe King on ABC Family

Light, very light, but not bad. It's not a sock knocker like The Vampire Diaries, but I will give it another go or two.  The lead actress does a good job and the show actually has the start of a good mythology going, so I will hang in there a little longer.

I Am Number Four

EXCELLENT! This movie got a lot of things right. It was more of a superhero movie than most superhero movies are nowadays. And I LOVE superheroes. I am a fanboy from wayyyyyyy back. Been reading comics since I could read at the tender young age of 4.  I loved the special effects, the actors did a fine job. The plot was a bit wonky at times and it could have been a touch grittier, but very enjoyable. Highly recommended. I will own this one day.

And old stuff

I have discovered a way to put comic books on my Nook. It is glorious. I have spent the last several days reading JSA and Criminal Macabre.

JSA is excellent. I love the Justice Society of America. I have since I was a kid. This is a new version of them. The original Green Lantern Al Scott is there,Starman,  The son of the original Atom (Atom Smasher), Wildcat, Mister Terrific, The Star-Spangled Kid, Hourman, Doctor Midnite, Black Canary, Sand (Sandy The Golden Boy), Doctor Fate, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and Jay Garrick (The Original Flash).

I have enjoyed the new incarnations and the storyline. I am only 30 issues in, but it is wonderful.  Truly a flash back to my childhood.  The artwork is stellar and the covers are amazing. These are classic DC heroes and they are paid the respect they are due.

Now Criminal Macabre.

I am about 3 issues in to the first miniseries.  The artwork is creepy thanks to Ben Templesmith and the storytelling by Steve Niles is first rate.  Cal Macdonald is a messed up occult detective who stays stoned to deal with all the weird crap he deals with on a day to day basis. Now occasionally it is hard to follow because of the style of artwork teamed with the sparse storytelling style, but that never lasts more than a panel or two. If you like urban fantasy you NEED to read this series. I also recommend the book Criminal Macabre which collects the three novellas about Cal Macdonald. Get it, read it.

Go forth and enjoy.

Now tell me what you think of the shows I listed and the comics here. Go on, comment away.

SIX SENTENCES ON A SUNDAY (kinda)

It wasn't long before I found the first rat.

    It was a sewer rat, grown to mutant proportions by easy living in the sewers under the zoo. Its head had been ripped off. Its body crushed and misshapen. My imagination flared and I could picture the Nosferatu using the rat like a beer. Popping the top, drinking it down, and crushing the empty.

Welcome to Six Sentences On A Sunday done my way!  I will be randomly picking six sentences every Sunday to post. They could be from what I am working on, random snippets that appear in my head that I write down, something from someone else's work, a quote, anything that is six sentences long.

This selection is from a prequel short I am working on for the Deacon Chalk series. The plan is for it to be given away to promote the release of BLOOD AND BULLETS from Kensington Publishing.

Hope you enjoyed it. If so, leave me a note and say so. If you hated it, well, leave that note too.

FIVE THINGS MAKE A FRIDAY

Welcome Loyals and True Believers to another new themed day.  From now on, barring a change of heart, or a special occasion, or the outbreak of a zombie apocalypse Fridays will be spent here with five random things.

Here we go, hold on to yer assets!

1) J.K. Rowling announced what Pottermore is. You will now be able to buy the Harry Potter books in e-book format for the first time ever. She will also have new material on there and a marketplace. If you didn't know J.K. Rowling is a genius.  My take on it: Welcome to your second billion dollars Mrs. Rowling. Well done.

2) Comics legend Gene Colan passed away. He was one of my favorite artists growing up as a comic book fan. Tis sad.

3) Happy Birthday Charlie Gollmar.

4) passed away. You will be missed Columbo.

5) Later I will be eating Amy's Kitchen's Indian Mattar Paneer. It will be very, very delicious.

WRITING WEDNESDAY!

Ok Loyals and True Believers, today is Writing Wednesday.  I will be blogging about writing. How I do it, things about it, reviewing books about it, etc….. If you ever want to know anything about writing, Wednesday is the day for it!

Today, I am going to tell you about the BEST book on writing ever written.  For real, no lie, I credit this book for the selling of my manuscript that led to my 3 book deal with Kensington Publishing.

Are you ready?

THANKS BUT THIS ISN'T FOR US by Jessica Page Morrell

Go buy this book now and read it. It gives you the practical, easy to understand advice you need. Seriously, I thought I had writtena good book. I was querying and getting responses but no takers.

Then I read this book.

I completely revised my book USING THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM THIS BOOK and within a few weeks sold that book and the two unwritten sequels. So this recommendation is based on my actual use of this book and I cannot praise it enough.

WELCOME TO TATTUESDAY!

Okay Loyals and True Believers we are doing new stuff around here. This si the first post for Tattuesday. What is Tattuesday you ask? Why it is where we talk about tattoos and art on Tuesdays. You may or may not know that I am a professional tattoo artist.  I have been tattooing professionally for over 15 years. I have my own shop Family Tradition Tattoo in my home town of Marietta, Ga.

So here is a portrait tattoo I did on a good customer of mine named Heather. This is from one of the best zombie movies to come out in the last few years Zombieland!

This took about 2 and 1/2 hours and is approximately 11 inches tall. Enjoy this like it was the last twinkie on earth!

Click to make bigger!