Danika D. Potts's Blog, page 9

Rabbit's back, baby.

The print 2nd edition of Rabbit in the Road  is now available again on Amazon. In addition, it will be available on store shelves in the US within 6-8 weeks from now.  Request it at your local store, your local library. Make a fuss, make a scene. Rabbit is where it's at, baby.

-Dani

Oliver's Story: My Own Worst Enemy or Invading Your Own Country

Taken at 3:55am, as I continue to work on the updates to Rabbit in the Road.

Hey guys, Oliver here again.

This blog has from the start been about two things; storytelling and narrative. The exact details of that story and narrative have been variable, but at the very least those two things have been consistent. I've told you a few stories about myself, but all those things have been past tense. So I figured I would switch it up and tell you something different, the ongoing story. Maybe we can change it.

It's been exactly one week since I was informed about the anomalous mass lurking in my face, that which could be a cyst or a tumor but I'm unable to confirm because I can't afford the CT scan to find out. Lots of people have been asking me what it's like, being in this situation. Obviously, it's hard to field this question so many times, so I figured I would continue to talk about it right here, to get maximum coverage.

The past seven days have been, in short, pure hell. Not only did I come out of oral surgery and have been medicated up the wazoo, I'm still dealing with a great deal of swelling and have obviously had a hard time adjusting to the new features inside my mouth. Speaking can be difficult at times, but I'm managing so far. I've barely been eating at all during this time, it was only yesterday that I was able to actually put down two "meals" (if you call two turkey sandwiches two separate meals), and even then that was a struggle.

People have asked me "What's it like to have a (suspected) tumor? What does it feel like?"

I'll tell you what it feels like: Nothing. It feels like nothing at all, even though you would think I would feel a bulbous mass in my face. I don't. If it hadn't been pointed out to me, I would have never known it was there, under normal circumstances. Of course, over the past couple of days I have had headaches and NOW I can notice it, basically because of the pressure on the side of my head. Small, but noticeable difference. But that doesn't even begin to compare to the internalized feeling of it.

I'm fucking scared, man. Beyond scared, even. I've always been a fighter, as early as I can remember. If I can see an enemy, or at least quantify a threat, I'm never afraid of it. Because if you can know your enemy, you can beat your enemy.

This enemy is unknown, and the avenue I have to knowing my enemy is so far closed to me. And THAT is why I'm scared. I don't feel like I'm being given a fighting chance.

It's even worse because at the end of the day, I AM that enemy. For whatever reason, something has gone horribly wrong inside of my body. The system has turned on itself. I think one of the reasons why people get so upset behind various things like this (cancer, leukemia,  etc) is because it's not something that can be blamed on someone else, and you can't even realistically blame yourself ; it wasn't a conscious choice that you made. It just… IS.

My emotions have been up and down the chart over the past few days. Heated arguments with my sister, and I finally spoke to my mother (whom I haven't spoken with in 3+ years) for several hours on the phone in a combination of information dumping and reconciling. Lots of crying was involved, on both sides.

I don't think I've ever been so exhausted in my life. It seems strange that when I should be trying to rest as much as possible and take it easy, suddenly everyone wants me to work that much harder. And it makes me very, VERY angry. I did, after all, have a double whammy of surgery and possibly fatal news, and very few (please note that I said FEW, not NONE) around me seem to give two shits, and are going about their merry way. But then, I guess they're not the ones in this situation. I am.

Let me tell you what it feels like, inside. It feels like I'm wandering around in a pitch black room. There is an assailant in the room with me, and I cannot identify how much of a threat he is, not unlike the end of Silence of the Lambs when Clarice was wandering around in the dark with Buffalo Bill creeping around in nightvision goggles. It could just be a guy with fists in the dark. Maybe he has a knife, or maybe… he has a gun and is just waiting to blow my fucking brains out. I just don't know. All I need is the tiniest bit of light so I can know what I"m dealing with, so I can turn around and fight back.

But I don't.

Anyhow, I climbed out of my sickbed today and worked for about 13 hours, getting the 2nd edition of Rabbit in the Road ready. The Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Print versions of the book have all been updated with new copyright info, new covers as well as some typographical changes and such. It'll be a few days before the print version is back up, but the digital versions (Amazon and B&N) should be updated and you can update your copies right now to get those fixes. The print edition was also changed because we have decided to make the push to get the book on stores shelves, which should come sometime in March, according to my calculations.

It was all very draining on me physically, as well as my patience. Did I mention that I ran out of painkillers yesterday morning, so I've been working all day under great, GREAT pain? Yeah.

I guess I don't really have a whole lot to else to say. I've begun to fear going to sleep, for one key reason:

When I wake up, the first thing that keeps popping into my head is, "I might be dying soon." And unlike Folgers, that is definitely not the best part of waking up.

~Oliver

Notable Quotable: Story Lives In Everything We Do

"Kung Fu lives in everything we do, Xiao Dre. It lives in how we put on the jacket, how we take off the jacket. It lives in how we treat people. Everything… is Kung Fu." ~Jackie Chan, The Karate Kid (2010)

Hey guys. I've been meaning to do this Notable Quotable for a while now, but obviously recent events have slowed me down significantly. So please bear with me as I'm bound to make a few errors here and there.

This is probably the most important quotable that will ever appear on this blog for one very important reason, notably through the title of the post. If we change a few words, the meaning of it becomes much, much more potent, as evidenced below:

"Story lives in everything we do. It lives in how we put on the jacket, how we take off the jacket. It lives in how we treat people. Everything… is story."

It is important because it is true. Everything about us, as humans, as people, is told through story. Even the tiniest and seemingly insignificant of events travels back through the vein of communication. There is a story to be told. Even when you think no one is paying attention, that person you casually bumped up against in the grocery store and you're not thinking about anymore? They probably went and told the next person they saw a story about that event.

Story makes the world move. It helps us survive. It teaches us important lessons that we need to know in life. What do you think history class is? It is a story being told about past events throughout our joint existence. Some of them are beautiful, some of them are horrible. Others are filled with joy, others with sadness.

No matter what happens, no matter how different we are, no matter what our various beliefs may be… we are all bound together by story. When William Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players," he wasn't trying to sound awesome. He was trying to make a point. I suppose one could say that this notable quotable is merely an updated interpretation of that statement.

Every single moment of your existence is a story, even when you might not think that it is. The moment of your birth was a key milestone in another person's story, and it was the beginning of yours. The story of you, in which you are the main protagonist, and there are an almost infinite amount of potential players. Heroes, villains, damsels, beaus, character growth, victories, catastrophic losses and more, it's all there.

Take just a moment of your time today, open your eyes, and see the stories that are unfolding about and around you. The person that you work with that you don't speak with. The clerk at the check-out counter that you gave a ration of shit because they were a little too slow for your tastes, or even that old woman who was struggling that you didn't stop to help for no particular reason besides you not feeling like it. It's right there in front of you.

One day, that story will end.

You have the ability to choose how the overall tone of the story will go. You can spend your whole life waiting for someone else to make your story a great one, or you can get up and make it great yourself. Just remember, your story is centered around how you are perceived by other people. When you are no longer here, they will be the people who tell the story of you. Give them a story worth telling.

~Oliver

First Professional Review of Rabbit in the Road: "A Definite Must Read"

And after several months of sales and waiting, we've finally gotten our first professional review of Rabbit in the Road in! A quick excerpt from the review by Grace Snoke:

"The book is fast paced with well developed characters full of grit and emotion.  It tells the story in the only way it can be told: from a strong woman's perspective who is doing everything she can to fit in and survive no matter what."

You can read the rest of the review right here at Kayhynn Turns The Page.

~Oliver

Live Chat with Oliver!

Oliver is pretty much this 24/6. Hey, even he needs to take a day off every now and again.

Live Stream on Justin.TV

Yes, it's true. I'm on the internet. Come say hi! I'm doing a bit of a Q&A about the book as well as my unfortunate medical situation and just kind of pow-wowing a little bit. Beware, I look a little rough, but then hey. I just had surgery 3 days ago. What's your excuse?

~Oliver

Memento Mori: I'm Terrified Because I Might Have A Tumor In My Head

Click the Image Above For the Full Details in video. It is me, in the raw, and looking horrible just after oral surgery.

Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die" (taken from Wikipedia).

So yes, my dear readers. You have seen me at my lowest possible moment, my very worst. When all is said and done, I am still a regular man, a regular person. I'm not a faceless entity out here in the bowels of the internet; I'm a flesh and blood human being, just like you. And I am fucking scared shitless.

I thought very hard and realized that this is what I care about. I didn't realize I loved story so much that I'm not willing to die for it; I want to LIVE FOR IT.

I've been around this block 30 times now. And  I want to keep going around it a few times more, and not because of selfish reasons. I want to stay here, for YOU. I want to keep telling you great stories. I want to show you the world, all the emotions, all the heart ache and sorrow, and all the happiness that can come with it too.

And I meant what I said. I have always believed that a man is entitled to the sweat of his brow; we've written a book, a helluva book according to the reader reviews. And that was all that I could think about when I was getting the news.

One simple test could help determine whether or not I'm in grave, mortal danger or merely inconvenienced a little bit. A test that I cannot afford in any capacity. But here's the thing: I don't want a hand-out, I just want to be able to continue to do this, right here: Talk to you, and continue to write. This right here is all I have. This is my legacy.

So this is me, coming to you as a human being with probably only one decently good talent in the world. Please read my book, because you could literally save my life. It's a win-win, I think: You get to be entertained with a good read, and I get to continue to serve you.

Memento mori. I know I'm going to die. But I don't think it's time yet. Please, give me a reason to stay and fight. If you've already purchased and read the book, thank you. It means a lot, and trust me when I say that your purchase is going directly to getting me well.

One day, I want to be able to say that, "I was very sick once. Thousands  of people I've never met before came together, and saved my life." I would enjoy telling that story very, very much. Please help me to be able to tell that story.

~Oliver

Questions, concerns? Please, feel free to ask me right below.

CreateSpace

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon (Kindle) 

Barnes & Noble (Nook and More)

Best laid plans

We released our book in October. Things were going pretty well, and we were looking forward to an upcoming move, some really big changes. Why is it life knows exactly when to take a crap on you? Here's my co-author's plea. We've only finished our first book. We  don't want it to be our last. Please- tweet, RT, share, link, press, +1, like, whatever it takes.

Oliver's video

The Philosophy of Time Travel Fiction

"Oh dear God, he's posting again!"

Hey-o, I'm back again with another post discussing and disseminating genre into easy to understand concepts! You guys seem to like it, so I'm going to keep doing it until either A) You guys get tired of it or B) I run out of genres.

So today, we're going to talk about one of the trickiest to write but most rewarding of genres (if done well): Time travel.

Time travel is  unique in that unlike other genres that have pretty clear rules, it actually has very few. Because of the distinct lack of rules, it often makes it incredibly difficult for people to start writing, because they don't know where and when they're messing it up outside of typical character development.

I'm going to help you today by bringing in that common theme that keeps popping up in these posts: People. One of the unique features of time travel narrative is that it is a universal language among all people: Almost everyone wishes they had advance knowledge of events, or had an opportunity to go back and do something over again.

Time travel narrative has THREE STEADFAST RULES about how they START, and they are all tied into human behavior. You can choose one, or two, or even all three to use. Regardless, at LEAST one of them will rear its head in your narrative, and they are the following:

Regret: "I wish that could be done over…" or "If I had only…"
Curiosity: "I wonder what this is like…"
Deterrence: "I have to make sure that this doesn't happen."

These are the only three rules that are potential absolutes in Time Travel fiction. Curiosity is the simplest form of time travel to tackle in fiction, because it needs no other justification than human curiosity itself. Interestingly enough, having Regret as the "starter" is almost exclusively used in the past tense (after all, one cannot regret an event that has not yet taken place), and Deterrence being the starter is used exclusively in the future tense (since one cannot take measures to prevent an event that has ALREADY HAPPENED in the past; trying to change something that has already passed would be Regret)! However, ONE CAN BE USED TO JUSTIFY THE OTHER.  Let's take a look at a few well known examples of these rules below:

Back to the Future (Curiosity)

Terminator 2 (Deterrence)

Frequency (Regret)

Once you start mixing these three rules together, you get all sorts of fun and rewarding time travel fiction:

Donnie Darko: Deterrence AND Regret

12 Monkeys: Regret AND Curiosity

Chrono Trigger: Deterrence, Regret, AND Curiosity!

You'll notice in these multi-cause examples, that each of them are considered some of the "best in class" of time travel fiction, and with good reason. Pulling off multiple time travel reasons in one piece of narrative is a fairly tricky maneuver, but doing it well is almost certain to be memorable!

Now, here's where things start to get fun with time travel: Time travel isn't necessarily limited to people. Almost ANYTHING can travel through time in these stories, from objects to even  ABSTRACT INFORMATION. If you'll notice, there are quite a few examples of fiction where no person actually traverses the time lines, but they will glean important information from a time long past that was forgotten, or acquire knowledge from a time ahead of them and this will drive the story forward. Let's take a look at two examples below in detail:

Frequency: Exchanging Information in Time

In Frequency, John Sullivan is able to communicate to his father Frank Sullivan by way of ham radio 30 years in the past concerning the details of his death and how to prevent it. INFORMATION from the future traveled backwards in time for the benefit of the Past, Present, and Future. Later on, Frank Sullivan will move an important object in the past to a location where it won't be disturbed for 30 years so that John Sullivan can find it in the present. Important INFORMATION was relocated in the Past in order to benefit the Present and Future.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim; Observing information that has vanished so that it can be utilized again.

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the protagonist of the game lacks a specific dragon shout needed in order to prevent Alduin, the World-Eater dragon from destroying the world in an upcoming apocalyptic event. However, the Shout itself is lost to the annals of time. The protagonist will use the titular Elder Scroll to look INTO THE PAST in order to learn the dragon shout needed to fight Alduin at the time of its creation. The INFORMATION traveled through time by way of the observer, the player character, back into the present day.

At no point did any person travel through time in those two examples, but something DID, and it has a similar effect as if someone HAD. Information is a powerful, flexible narrative device!

So as you can see, the rules of time travel fiction although few in number, are very fast and incredibly loose. Because of the open nature of the genre there are basically infinite directions you can go with it, depending on how clever you are. Of course, this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of the genre, but it's a good base to help you START WRITING from.

~Oliver

What Fantasy Stories Are Actually About, And Many People Don't Notice

Since my previous post explaining some of the unique trappings of post-apocalyptic fiction went over so well, I thought I'd come back for round two to explain to you what one of the oldest forms of fiction is about. If you've been paying attention to my analysis over time, you'll start to notice that there's a common theme amongst my posts: People.

So, this is me, slapping the pen out of your hand before you sit down and say, "Oh man I'm going to write this story that has wizards and fairies and dragons and huge crazy magical explosions and dancing brooms because it'll be COOOOOOOOOOOL!" Stop. Just STOP right there. If you don't know WHY you're writing it, you're already doing it wrong, and I'm going to show you how to do it right.

Let's start with the most common thing that we see in fantasy fiction: A medieval setting or even a little further back. It's initially a little odd trying to figure out why we keep going back to an age long past, and it's not because it's fun. So, here's your grand reveal:

This period of time is as far back as we can go and be JUST on this side of being feral, barbarian creatures. Don't believe me? Let me ask you this, then: Outside of the hilarious movie Caveman, how much caveman fiction have you actually experienced? Not much, I'd be willing to reckon. Does this mean it doesn't exist? No, but it does mean there's not a whole lot of it!

If you think about and study the time period, you'll notice that there are significantly less "rules" and "laws" among the people that tend to inhabit a fantasy world. It pretty much comes down to "Murder, and get murdered", "Steal and we'll fucking kill you", and "Stay away from my horse or I'll fucking kill you." Things are looking pretty bad for you. Stepping on the wrong person's toes could get you killed in a quick fashion.

Because there are fewer social rules, it's far easier to expand on the different aspects of human nature and behavior in an observing method, simply because so much of it is NOT TABOO in this time frame. How many fantasy stories have you read where there are plenty of slaves around,  rape occurs probably more than once, or girls barely older than puberty age marrying some guy twenty to thirty years her senior? All of these things were considered AT THE TIME, PERFECTLY NORMAL AND SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIORS.  Let me know when you've picked your jaw up off the floor, and we'll continue.

Let's move on to the next common theme of fantasy stories: The supernatural, the mystic, and the folk lore.

There are some pretty crazy cool monsters out there, but they're NOT MONSTERS FOR THE SAKE OF BEING MONSTERS. They are manifest, personified representatives of the various aspects the human emotional spectrum as well as behavior. Tentacles, claws and more a monster do not make. What the monster DOES, is what makes the monster. Let me give you an unexpected example from modern day:

He lets the last Hungarian go. He waits until his wife and kids are in the ground and then he goes after the rest of the mob. He kills their kids, he kills their wives, he kills their parents and their parents' friends. He burns down the houses they live in and the stores they work in, he kills people that owe them money. And like that he was gone. Underground. Nobody has ever seen him since. He becomes a myth, a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night. "Rat on your pop, and Keyser Soze will get you." ~Verbal Kint, The Usual Suspects (1995)

A spook story that criminals tell their kids at night. Hrm… give him a couple of scary-ass horns, or hoofed feet, or just have him drink blood, and you've got yourself the modern day equivalent of a classic monster. The character of Keyser Soze represents two things in this fictional context: Wrath, and Brutality. Neither of these things are considered positive human traits. Creatures such as demons, trolls, ogres, orcs, and more fit exactly this stereotype and they have physical features that help to amplify the intent of  this behavior. Various poltergeists, ghosts, ghouls and more tend to represent unfulfilled earthly desires, eternal anguish,  and so forth. When you see the signs of representation, it's hard NOT to notice them afterwards.

To give you a more crystal clear example of monsters in fantasy, let's look at the one monster that almost everyone knows about in today's day and age:

Gollum from Lord of the Rings literally represents the avarice and greed of people. The Ring drove him beyond the point of madness, turning him into something not even resembling a hobbit or even a person any longer as he lusted after it. Gollum became as ugly on the outside as Smeagol was on the INSIDE. He is the most extreme example of the effect of the Ring within the books.

Don't feel bad though, there's still plenty of good aspects represented in fantasy about people  through creatures also! Take fairies and sprites, for example. They tend to represent innocence, mischief, and/or purity. Other higher end supernatural "good" creatures show up, but did you ever notice that they don't stay around for very long, but the monsters tend to stay for a LONG TIME? Because it is the same way internally for humans. We seem to focus on the ugly, messed up portions of our lives, and it always SEEMS like the good parts are just so fleeting and over far too quickly, with these creatures acting the same way. We almost always seem to be disappointed when they leave, too. However, the impact of a positive creature encounter in fantasy seems to last for far longer than an encounter with a dark creature.

The last two big things about fantasy actually are pretty simple to explain and are fairly straight-forward: Magic, and travel.

Magic merely represents a desire by man to exert control over things that he normally doesn't have control over. Remember, back in that time period starting a fire wasn't as simple as flicking a bic or turning the dial on a stove. It could sometimes take hours of work to build a sustainable fire. But in fantasy, characters with magic skills tend to just throw that stuff around willy nilly.

Travel in fantasy is even simpler; it is merely there to extend a story. After all, it would take months (and sometimes years) to cover the distances that we cover in hours or days today. Hell, I don't need to tell you about the Donner Party Crossing and the problems that came along with that, and this was barely more than 150 years ago! Utilizing the unfortunate length of travel in a fantasy story gives you plenty of time for character development and side story…

But most just cheat and use teleportation powers. Why? I attribute it to laziness.

So, before you start getting an idea in your head of what you think is going to be a good convincing fantasy tale, you should stop and ask yourself WHY you are writing the things that you're writing. Are you writing the different creatures and aspects of your story in as simple (and often times flawed) wish fulfillment, or is it rooted further in meaning and actual narrative?

So, before you ask, does this mean we're writing a fantasy book? No. We're writing FIVE of them. In fact, we've been working on the first book for over a year now. Will it rock your ass? Definitely. Maybe if you ask really, really, REALLY nicely, we might even tell you about it.

In the mean time, here's a picture of Meg Mucklebones for no other reason than "That thing is fucking gross. COOOOOOL!"

~Oliver

Nightmare Fuel.

The Beauty of Death, Despair, and Suffering

Now that I've creeped you out a little bit, I thought I'd spend some time talking about one of my favorite genres, since I don't talk about what I read all that much. Post-apocalyptic fiction has always been utterly fascinating to me, and after thinking on it for a few years, I think I've discovered why.

Often times when we see PA fiction, it is drenched in darkness, or incredibly low lighting. This is an interesting thing about humans; No matter how technologically advanced we become, and no matter how smart we might think we are, we are still creatures and we still long for the basic primal instincts. Just like a plant, we're constantly reaching for the warmth of the sun. It feels good, provides us nutrients, if we don't get enough of it we become depressed, and of course we use it for vision as well. Once you take that away… the game changes. This is one of the reasons why people have long had a stance of darkness equals bad and goodness equals light, simply because the light provides so much for us, and the darkness provides so very little. Strange little creatures, aren't we?

But let's not stop there. One of the key features of post-apocalyptia that separates it from many genres is that in it, civilization and society are gone, whereas they remain in almost all other forms of fiction. PA can be incredibly interesting because it often times is an examination of what human beings are REALLY like when they're pressed against a corner with nowhere to run; People will do some fairly crazy shit if you push them far enough, and all it takes is the right trigger and/or lack of consequences for that to become self-evident. Removing civilization and social structure from the narrative formula really lets you explore the space and the doom and gloom of it all. Even more dangerously, it lets you examine the true darkside of people after the gloves have been taken off.

Oddly enough, one of the things I dislike the most is when someone always tries to bring "law to the lawless" and restart the same problems that brought us to the brink of extinction in these stories. You'd think that if it messed us up once before, we'd be wise enough to not try that again, or at the very least try something different. But then, we're also very stupid creatures, aren't we?

All in all, post-apocalyptic fiction is really fun for me, simply because I've seen a lot of variations on that basic theme, and rarely do you see plot duplication between authors. Everyone seems to bring a really unique spin to the genre, so I never really know what I'm walking into. The only constant that remains seems to be, "What once was, is no longer."

That alone sends delightful shivers up my spine.

~Oliver