C.R. Langille's Blog, page 19

The Stars are Right!

That's all! This is the 'stache at almost five months of bulk. Now the question is, do I let it go further?

Conflict Part 1

It's been awhile since I've had anything useful on the blog. I have no excuses for that. To make up for it, I'm going to do a mini-series on conflict and tension in writing. Buckle up, because it's going to be a crazy ride (Otherwise, it would be boring. See, we started already!)! The information found within comes from a variety of sources, as well as my own experience. I'd like to acknowledge Tim Esaias and Sharon Mignerey for imparting their knowledge of Conflict and Scene Craft.  As well as Scott Johnson and Tim Waggoner for helping refine my craft.

If a story itself is a sandwich, then conflict is the peanut butter and jelly to that sandwich. In other words, without conflict, your story is going to be bland and no one is going to want to devour it. As an author, you want your reader to say, "I couldn't put it down." How do you do that? With conflict and tension.

James Scott Bell said, "Conflict has long been recognized as the engine of story. Without conflict there is no drama. Without drama there is no interest. Without interest there is no reader. And no writing career." So what does it mean to insert drama into your story? Well, first you have to determine what your story is going to be about. 

To put this in a nutshell, conflict is when your character wants something and can't have it. The details come into the why and how of that character being unable to get what they want. Once you have that basic idea, ask yourself the following questions: Is your story a man vs. man tale? A man vs. nature? Is the conflict external or internal? 

Just keep in mind, that one side of the conflict has to involve someone or something that is sentient and conscious of their decisions. In other words, the character has to be able to make choices. A story about two tornadoes meeting in a field might be visually interesting; however, there's not much tension because nothing is at stake. However, throw a man trying to save his family from one of those tornadoes, and now we're talking.

These concepts may seem fairly basic, but you'd be surprised the amount how integral they are to your story. Without a clear grasp of the concepts, the rest of the story won't come together. 

The next step, is to make this conflict familiar to the reader. As an author, you can make this happen by making protagonists that are likable/connectable, and to write conflict that has emotional familiarity. What do I mean by making a protagonist who is likable or connectable? It means the reader has to understand where they are coming from. Generally, most authors will write a main character who the readers will like. If not, the readers at least have to be able to connect or understand (empathize with) where the protagonist is coming from.

For example, let's say our main character is a person who kills others. For most readers, we aren't going to connect with that or like it. However, if we find out he's killing others to save his family, or his tribe, or his country, then it shines a different light on the matter. We can now get behind his actions and root for him. (This is a simple example and not fleshed out, but a common trope in books and movies.) After you establish that aspect of your protagonist, your next goal is to work in some emotional familiarity into the conflict.

Coming up next: Conflict Part 2--Emotional Familiarity.

Mustache Fhtagn!

That's right...the mustache sleeps, but soon the stars will be right and it will awaken. Who knows what will happen then. We're getting close to Christmas, which was the date I said I would go before trimming this bad boy. However, I'm considering waiting until after my college residency to trim it. We'll just have to see.

"Marketing Hell"

"Marketing Hell"
-by C.R. Langille

Lucy kept the pink slip Lower Management gave her; it hung on the wall of her cubicle in a cheap frame. They had the nerve to fire her just before the holidays. That was the best time for marketing, and they canned her. They claimed it wasn’t her, it was the economy. That there wasn’t enough resources to keep everyone on. Buckets of bullshit coated in chocolate.

With her experience and wiles, it hadn’t been hard to find other employment. Unfortunately, that employment turned out to be an entry-level job at a target marketing corporation.

At first, she was excited; target marketing was her specialty. Lucy had an uncanny knack of knowing exactly what a client wanted. However, this wasn’t the working environment she had in mind.

Her cubicle was grey, tiny, and unremarkable. The pink slip decoration was the only thing that set her cubicle off from the others. Plus, the job didn’t offer the kind of target marketing she enjoyed.

Lucy missed the thrill of the hunt. This was easy, which meant it was also boring. Here, the clients came to you. Where was the fun in that? She had to make a living though, and they couldn’t stop her from freelancing during her lunch hour.

It was time to get some real work done. Lucy checked to make sure no one was watching; it wouldn’t do to have an audience. Others may not understand, or approve of her methods.

Lucy logged into her personal mail account and started hunting. It didn’t take long before she found her potential client. Victor Marx, a thirty-something living in Whogivesashit, USA. She scrolled through the information on Victor and stopped halfway through—perfect. An impish smile slithered onto her face.

It appeared that Victor used to play Battlecraft. Lucy had to hand it to Lower Management for making that game. Pure genius. That game was more addicting than a hit of meth.

Lucy sent Victor an email with a promotional offer. Return to the game today, and get two months for free, plus double XP! It wasn’t long before he took a nibble at the hook. Giggles of excitement bubbled through her as she made her next move.

She placed an ad onto his FaceHangOut account stream. Lucy could almost taste his desire to play. Just one last step and Victor would take the plunge.

Victor started the download. Lords of Darkness be praised! Lower Management had to take her back. They’d see that they had made a mistake when they fired her. She was the best damn devil Hell had. Maybe they would even promot—

Victor stopped the download. No! Lucy sent him another ad, but it was no use. Victor logged off his computer.

She banged her head on the desk. A slight cough sounded from behind her—her new boss.

“Miss Fur, we have a policy about decorating your workspace.”

She sighed and took the picture frame off the wall. Marketing was hell.

Fictionvale Lives!

The first episode of Fictionvale came out today. My story, "Horishi Tom" is featured in the publication. I highly suggest you check Fictionvale out and buy a copy. The editors are very professional, and these stories are of the highest quality. Plus, the proceeds from this sale go towards paying the authors professional rates in episode II. 

"Horishi Tom" is a western horror set in Utah. It's about a man searching for a way to reunite with his family, even if it means selling his soul.

You can purchase the publication here: http://fictionvale.com/buy-an-episode/

Mustache Madness! Bring on Movember!

Elk Hunting Adventures: Success!

All the hard work finally paid off. I recently went elk hunting with a good friend of mine that I've known since 9th grade. He met me on a Thursday morning and we loaded up in my truck and set out on our adventures. I'd be lying if I didn't say that our initial adventures were more misadventures. Getting the camper from the rental place and figuring out that I needed a hitch with a higher rise was "fun" and cost us one scissor jack. After a two-hour delay and $100, we were on our way. We had to brave meth-head tweakers, gawking douchers, and a scavenger hunt through Ute lands to get the propane and water filled on the camper. Then, to top it all off, I lost my wedding ring setting up camp.

The next day wasn't much better. Someone had set-up in my spot that I wanted to hunt. We saw them on the trail; a couple of horsemen coming out of the woods like two defeated warriors leaving a battle. That night we decided to hit the glade where I had heard all the cow elk screaming like banshees. After a couple hours of freezing our butts off, we decided to call it a night. It snowed a lot up there the first two days, which I think was part of the reason we didn't see or hear anything. The next day we decided to go into town to get some more fuel for the generator, as well as some supplies. On the way out, I wanted to check out a couple of spots I scouted on my first trip up there. The sun was out and the weather had turned which made it a nice day. The spot I wanted to check out, was a big open meadow that had a stream running through it. In the middle of the meadow was a small copse of pine trees. When we got out there, we saw some fresh elk tracks that led from one side to the other. We figured it would be a good spot to come back to that evening. On our way down the mountain into town, we saw even more tracks, so we had some alternate spots to sit just in case.

That evening, we set up in the small copse of trees. My buddy on one side, me on the other. This gave us a 360 degree view of the entire open meadow. My buddy started hitting the cow call every ten minutes or so, as well as spraying some cow estrus in the air. We sat for about an hour and a half when the bull came walking out of the trees headed toward us. 

I put a round in my gun which caught the bull's attention (mental note for next year, have the gun ready to go). However, he couldn't see me. I was set up in front of the tree which helped break up my outline. That, coupled with my camouflage patterned clothes (my blaze orange had a pattern as well) helped hide me from its sight. I took aim, and figured it was between 200-250 yards out. My aim was all over the place and I decided I needed to sit on my butt and post up. This in turn created more noise, but the bull still couldn't figure out what the noise was. I took a couple of deep breathes, let my final breath half-way out, and squeezed the trigger.

The shot rang out and the bull jumped a little and turned in a circle. It meandered off to the tree line and stopped. I was trying to see if I hit him, but couldn't see any obvious wounds. He looked back at me from the tree line, and lowered his head. It looked like he was grazing which made me think I missed. I was about to shoot again when he disappeared into the trees.

I met up with my buddy and explained what happened. He was just as excited as I was. We decided to wait 20-30 minutes, and then go check for blood. We wanted to wait just in case I had hit him. That way he wouldn't feel pressured and would hopefully lay down and die. Otherwise, we could end up chasing him all over the mountain. After the time passed (which is forever when you're waiting for something like that) we headed up that way. I found the spot where he was standing when I shot, but I couldn't see any blood. We tracked him to the treeline just to check, and I found a blood trail there! We started tracking him further, but after a moment, we both looked up and saw him laying in the trees. He wasn't more than 20 yards in the treeline.

We ensured he was dead and then started the work. Initially, I couldn't find the entry-wound, although later when we examined the pictures, it's clear as day. I hit him right behind the shoulder, exactly where I was aiming. We found the exit while quartering him.

This was the first time I'd ever quartered an animal, and I found out pretty quickly that the knife I brought wasn't the best choice. Inexperience, doubled with the wrong knife meant it took us three hours to skin and quarter him, and get back to camp. I think next time it will go much faster now that I know what I'm doing, plus I'll ensure I have the right tools.

The next day, we packed up and left. My ring is still up there. I'll probably end up getting a different one, but I want to go back in the spring with a metal detector just for sentimental reasons. I should be getting the meat back from the processors in a few weeks. All in all, it was an experience I'll never forget. I spent time with family and friends both scouting and hunting. I shot my first elk ever. And I've provided us with meat that will last quite some time. I couldn't ask for much more than that.

Flash Fiction: Skalden Ord on the Word Wood

My newest piece of flash fiction, "Skalden Ord" just appeared on blog called The Word Wood. They run a unique site dedicated to flash fiction of different varieties. They'll pick a noun and a verb that have to show up during the story. Go read my flash fiction and spend some time poking around on their blog. You won't regret it.

http://thewordwood.blogspot.com/
http://www.thewordwood.blogspot.com/2013/10/skalden-ord.html

Hunting Adventures: Final Day for Deer

Wednesday marked the last day of my hunt. I had to work on the official last day, so I tried my best to get something while I was out. It didn't start off too well; I slept in. I didn't even hear the alarm go off. A text from a friend, who ironically wished me luck, woke me. By the time I got up to my spot, the sun was already out.

I sat there for about 45 minutes until I heard some rocks along the cliff-side. I got up to investigate and saw a herd of about six doe walking along base of the cliff. On the other side of the valley, I spied a two-point through my binoculars. I think it was the same two-point I took a shot at earlier in my hunt. I decided I wanted to try to get closer, so I started cutting across. I decided to climb up the mountainside and come out nearby to where it was feeding. I knew it would more than likely move on as I got closer, but I figured I it was worth a shot. I made a bad judgement and went the wrong way. At one point it was so steep and rocky that I was on my hands and knees, basically crawling up the mountain. Scared the shit out of me really.

As I figured, the buck was gone when I popped out on top. I tried to take a nap because the sun was up and I figured the deer would be resting as well, but the wind picked up something fierce and I decided to move on. I wanted to push through some brush before heading down, and lucky enough, I kicked that two-point up. It was gone too fast though, I couldn't even get a shot off before it disappeared from sight.

I went after it and made my way down into the adjoining canyon. The picture above is where I stopped to eat my lunch. After watching a couple more doe, I figured it was time to make my way back into my original canyon. So I climbed back up the ridge and over to the other side. The temperature was dropping, and I was getting tired. I spied a couple more doe way up top, and I also found a kill-site from another hunter; nothing more than a few lower legs and a cleaned out torso/rib-cage. At least someone was lucky.

As I made my way down the ridge, I saw a young buck grazing near some aspen trees. It was only a spike, but a decent size spike. Since it was my last day, and only the second buck I'd seen since I started hunting this season, I decided to take a shot. I figure it was about 150 yards away, which is pushing the limit of my rifle, but still do-able. The other issue, was that it was downhill. No I had to play the guessing game of aiming at something far-off and downhill. When shooting downhill, you generally aim under your target because of how the bullet will travel. However, since it was further away, I had to take that into account and aim high, because the bullet will drop. I aimed just above it and fired. The bullet must have gotten close, because the buck took off like a bat out of hell. It ran all the way across the valley, halfway back, then across the valley again before crossing over a ridge. 

I didn't think I hit it, but I wanted to be sure. There wasn't any blood or hair where it was feeding, but I wanted to go after it anyway. I hiked over to where it had crossed the ridge and I followed the draw down. I never found it again. I did, however, find a weather station nestled in the draw. Kind of interesting to come across an antenna array in the middle of nowhere. 

Near the end of my hike, I ran out of water. Now I packed my iodine tablets with me just in case, so I could have filled my camelback with creek water and been fine. However, I didn't want to have to clean my camelback out and go through that ass pain, so I just endured. Let me tell you something. When you run out of essential items, that's all that's on your mind. 

I got back to my ATV and the sun was still up. I could have waited until dark and maybe gotten another shot at something, but I was tired, sore, and thirsty. It was time to go home, my hunt was over. 

Although I didn't fill my deer tag, I became more familiar with the area. I'll be even more prepared next season. Plus, any day on the mountain is better than sitting at work. Now please enjoy the picture below of the happiest lichen on the mountain.

Hunting Adventures: Days 1-5

Day 1 Day one was really night one. I didn’t know if the weather was going to hold up, because it had started raining hard in the valley from the late morning until the evening. A friend from work was going with me and we decided to try it anyway since the weather radar showed it clearing up over our hunting spot.

I took off work a little early, went home and changed, and then headed out. I met up with my buddy at a grocery store named Soelberg’s, which I quickly renamed Zoidberg’s. Twenty minutes later, we parked the truck, unloaded the ATV, and started up the mountain.

The place we chose to go, was the place I scouted out earlier in the year. It takes 30 minutes to drive up to the trailhead on the ATV, and then another 45 minutes to hike up the trail to get to the top. It was cold, and sprinkled a little snow on us, but overall, the weather was quite nice.

We arrived up top close to 5:30 and there were deer everywhere. We probably saw over 20 doe while we were up there. However, no bucks. What I did find, was a good game plan for the next day because we saw how they were moving around. Plus, we didn’t see too many other people. Nobody was up top, but we passed one guy coming down as we were going up, and then saw another ATV while we were up there. By the time we made it back to our ATV, it was dark. Traveling the mountainside in the dark isn’t very fun.

Day Two Day two was another evening hunt. I took off a bit early from work again and headed up the mountain. This time I was alone. The weather was okay going up, but once I made it to the top, the fog and snow rolled in. It was hard to see anything past about 40 yards and it was very cold. I saw another dozen doe or so, but no bucks again. Once the sun set, I headed back down the mountain and home.

Day Three Day three was the first day I didn’t have to work. I decided to get up super early and make up top before the sunlight. I was a little later out the door than I wanted, but I made it up top just in time. The fog was light, and there was about four inches of snow up there which helped mask my moving about, and also helped with spotting the deer. However, I think it made it easier to see me as well. Plus, it was super cold. Not too bad when moving about, but when I decided to sit and wait, oh my lord, my hands and feet went numb.

While I was up there, I saw another twenty head of doe. After crawling all around, I decided it was time to head down the mountain and find another spot. As I came down off the first rise, I spotted a nice two-point buck grazing in the meadow. He was over 200 yards away, which was a very long shot for my muzzleloader (I hunt with a traditional style muzzleloader which is really only effective out to about 150 yards). However, since it was the first buck I’d seen, I took the shot anyway. I missed and the buck ran up the hill. Just to be sure, I went to check and couldn’t find any blood. I tried to get close to it, but it was onto me by that time and got away.

As I drove down the mountain, I came upon a herd of six doe grazing on the hillside. They were about 100 yards away from me. I wanted to see how close I could get, so I got off the ATV and started walking. I took video of it. I got about 50 feet away from them before they boogied out. I’m not sure if they were too concerned with my ATV (which I left running) or if they just couldn’t tell what I was. They were looking right at me, but I got the feeling that they couldn’t really “see” me if that makes sense. Too bad I didn’t have a doe tag. I would have had over ten opportunities to shoot by this time.

I got some lunch and then decided to find a different spot. I went up another canyon that a friend had told me about and ran into a dozen hunters. Seems like this was the popular place. I parked to unload my ATV and three doe were across the road. I was probably about 60-75 feet away from these ones. I was able to take some nice pics before they took off. I hiked up the mountain and spooked a couple doe, plus saw seven more on the hillside, but no bucks. I did see a couple hunters hoofing it down the road, and one had a nice three-point in his pack. At least someone had some success.

After that, I went to another canyon. I didn’t see any deer, but I did come across a good looking coyote. It took off before I could stop and get my gun out.

Day Four Day four, I slept in which was nice. I think I slept over twelve hours and I needed it. I was sore from all the hiking, and tired from being out the day before. I took the morning to finish up some homework, then I headed up to my original spot…again…for the fourth time. This time, like a dumbass, I decided to hike up to a ridge so I could see what was on the other side. Probably a bad mistake since I was on the skyline for a good amount of time. Kind of a beacon for all the deer to see. I saw a couple of other hunters coming up the mountain, plus a man and woman on horseback with their dog. I’m not sure if they were deaf or not, but they were talking so damn loud I could hear every word they said a quarter mile away.

I picked a spot and hunkered down. I didn’t see too many deer, maybe about ten or twelve doe, but not the two-point I had shot at the previous day. I stayed out later than usual and it was dark before I got the ATV. By the time I got home, my body was sore from all the hiking, and I was beat.

Day Five Day five has consisted of sleeping in and taking it easy. I have another four days to hunt and I’ll probably go back up the mountain to my original spot at least a couple more times after work. With any luck, I’ll be in the right place at the right time.