Tonya R. Moore's Blog: Tonya R. Moore, page 32
October 23, 2016
Bargaining
Beakman showed up at dawn.
He didn’t knock or call out for Else. He just stood there at her door, silently waiting for her to notice him staring at her through the glass.
He was an oddity. Else just wasn’t sure what kind.
The only form she’d ever seen him take was of a man’s body with a bird’s black beak and eyes. He reminded her of a heron, maybe a giant heron in a penguin suit. It wasn’t just his inhuman freakishness that unsettled her. The guy was an arrogant creep; from his beady little eyes right down to his sharp little toes.
He barged into her kitchen and took a seat at the table when she opened the door. He regarded Else expectantly, waiting while she grabbed the kettle and started filling it at the sink.
When she set the kettle down on the stove, Beakman leaned forward. “So, let me see it.”
Else sighed. She gripped the edges of her tee shirt, pulled it over her shoulders. She sat straddling one of the chairs at the table, so that Beakman could examine her back.
The pattern there looked like a tattoo, a very colorful glyph of a scarab spanning the breath of her torso. Its strangeness was apparent only because she knew what to look for. The pattern was slightly raised under the skin, giving the design a slightly three dimensional feel. It was hot to the touch. The veiny color patterns kept changing. Clearly, the thing was very much alive.
“So, you met a scarab,” Beakman mused. “When?”
“Yesterday morning, I think.” Else tried not to cringe when his icy fingers poked at the flesh there. “It was on the ground, upside down. All I did was help it along a little.”
She pulled the ends of her shirt back down when he drew away. He took the lemon grass tea she offered. His spindly fingers coiled around the glass. She watched him dip his beak in. A thin, pink tongue came down, lapping at the warm liquid.
“A scarab in this climate is ludicrous, you know?”
“Everybody makes mistakes,” Else grumbled.
“Never met anyone who makes quite as many as you.” Beakman snorted. “There’s supposed to be something inside your brain that says: ‘one of these things is not like the others’ and you’re supposed to walk away.”
Whatever that certain thing inside the brain was, Else seemed to be in short supply. It was common sense, she knew that, dammit. At the same time, she wanted to grab her shady guest by the beak and snap it in half, for being obnoxious enough to keep pointing it out.
“What made you think something like that needed saving, anyhow?”
“It was belly up, Beakman.” She frowned over at him. “What else was I supposed to do?”
“I have a real name, you know?” He was staring at Else intently. It made her skin crawl. “Why don’t you use it?”
“Who the hell is that stupid? No thanks.” She shuddered. “Are you gonna help me get this bug off my back or not?”
“There’s a price.”
“Isn’t there always?” She countered.
She’d first met him when she was twelve years old. Beakman had noticed her and her penchant for attracting strange things, thereby needing to be rescued from them.
“What’ll it be this time?”
“I don’t know,” he smiled coldly. “Maybe an arm and a leg?”
“What?” Else set her cup down with a clatter. “Isn’t that more than your usual–”
“The price can only go up for the girl with the thick head.” Beakman pointed at her accusingly. “What have I told you about picking up strange things? At this rate you’ll probably go and become something else’s prey.”
She snorted and took another sip of tea. The fact was Beakman never denied being one of those strange things that were always out to get her, just for knowing they were there.
He’d apparently decided that she was more interesting to watch than whatever he could have planned for her, though. Presumably, he didn’t have any intention of collecting on this ridiculous debt anytime soon. For the time being, at least, she could trust that Beakman would be content with just biding his time.
October 21, 2016
When to Ignore Negative Feedback
I think we call all agree that getting feedback on our writing is very important. Most of the time—whether it’s positive or negative, feedback serves to encourage or help us grow.
We can learn a lot from negative feedback but this isn’t always the case.
Sometimes it makes more sense to simply ignore negative feedback.
Here are three examples of instances in which we really need to just ignore negative feedback:
When it’s Not Constructive
Unfortunately, some people only know how to dole out destructive criticism.
Writers need to be able to accept feedback meant to help us improve and reject toxic remarks that are of no real value.
When it Doesn’t Educate You
Not all well-meaning criticism will benefit you. Perspectives vary and people will develop their own ideas of what the end result of your work should be.
I once had a short story dismissed by a reviewer who thought that six different kinds of aliens were too many, which made it difficult to keep up with the story. But it was a science fiction story that took place on a ship inhabited by hundreds of species, so were six really that unreasonable?
At the end of the day, if the negative feedback you’re receiving doesn’t actually help you to achieve the result you envisioned, sometimes it’s best to simply thank the person kindly and move on.
When it’s Not Relevant
Have you ever gotten negative feedback on a piece of work that wasn’t even relevant to the subject?
I once had a reviewer state that the “chapters” in a collection of short fiction that I published were disjointed and didn’t seem to be related to each other. Of course I was mystified because it was a collection of unrelated stories, not a novella or novelette.
Strange as it may sound, that sort of thing happens. Who knows why?
At those times, I ask myself one question: can I use this to become better at what I do?
If not, I simply move along.
What About You?
When do you choose to ignore negative feedback?
October 15, 2016
Vertigo
A quintet of scared birds makes a mad dash for the ragged cliff’s edge. They take to the sky unsteadily, a flurry of frantic appendages.
I, the usurper having stolen their dusky roost, crouch there desperately gasping for air.
The muscles in my legs are burning and I can almost hear that snap-snapping sound like electrical circuitry leaping to life. It’s a wry twist, this revelation of my own bone and sinew’s penchant for the melodramatic.
The world goes blurry, briefly.
I’d arrived, chasing full-tilt after something unnameable which was neither the blue vanishing into the melting horizon, nor the frightened flock wheeling out of my field of vision.
The air up here is razor sharp, icy and hurts going down into my straining lungs. My blood roars in my ears. I hear a steady sound like the beat of a drum. Throbbing cells subside into quiescence. Euphoria snakes out, lapping up the agony of exertion. An indescribably wonderful feeling bubbles up and spills from my mouth.
I toe the jagged line to peer down the seaward side of the cliff. Way below and far away, great waves moan and twist as they roll up from the deep belly of the sea. They break and scatter, violently spilling their frothy treasures onto the spiky teeth of the shore. Down there, I think what happens must be something like ecstasy manifested in its purest form.
I feel that if I summon the gumption to take a flying leap and dive downward, that salty body will joyously welcome me into her overwhelming embrace with wide, watery arms.
Red Data Girl
Red Data Girl is the brain child of Noriko Ogiwara. The fantasy novel series was adapted into an anime which aired from April through June of 2013.
As the story goes, Izumiko Suzuhara is a 15-year-old girl who was raised at Tamakura Shrine, part of the Kumano Shrines World Heritage Site. She has the unfortunate disposition of destroying any electrical device that she comes into contact with.
Yearning to overcome her shyness, she chooses to try living in the city. She enrolls in a school in Tokyo, accompanied by yamabushi-in-training, Miyuki Sagara. As the story unfolds, she learns that she is a vessel for a certain deity and that Miyuki is her assigned protector
Red Data Girl is an understated and quietly rich body of work. The artwork is splendid and the characters are likeable. This is one of those series that I find myself going back to re-watch ever so often.
October 14, 2016
Curation for Productivity & Inspiration
One of my biggest challenges used to be keeping an organized digital listing of inspiring articles, pictures, and other media.
I recall I carting out a 13-gallon garbage bag filled to the brim with old, handwritten notes that I’d been hoarding for years. I didn’t feel even a twinge of regret. Gone are the days of scribbling in my trusty notebook, paper napkins, my hand or whatever else happened to be within reach whenever inspiration struck. Yes, gone are those days but I’ve gotta say, I don’t really miss them all that much.
I remember sitting in a sea of papers from time to time, frantically searching for that one note that I-don’t-remember-where-I-put. Now, my little mountain of notebooks and boxes full of scribbles notes have been replaced by digital alternatives.
I’ve managed to develop my own haphazard system using the following tools/platforms:
Evernote
Evernote is the ultimate notebook. I can capture notes by snapping pictures, typing, handwriting on my tablet or phone, make notes via speech to text and record voice notes. These can be categorized into stacks of notebooks and tagged as I wish. Evernote supports annotation and capturing web articles and images. Most importantly, Evernote syncs across all of my devices, which makes it truly the notebook that goes everywhere with me.
I use Pocket to save and categorize (tag) interesting articles and research links. This is perfect—as opposed to using Evernote for everything–because I like to keep my reference materials separate from my actual notes or content that needs to be followed upon.
I use Pinterest to build collections of inspiring images. I’ve noticed that a lot of my author friends are using it for the same purpose, so I know it’s a totally genius idea.
Flipboard’s magazine style lends itself to browsing interesting content in a beautiful format. You can create “magazines” from only the content you especially like or want to remember. Flipboard’s limitation—if you can call it that—is that it is designed for tablets and smartphones, so the experience isn’t quite to inspiring on a PC/laptop.
What do you use?
Are there any awesome resources that you use that aren’t mentioned above?
Please, do share!
October 9, 2016
Blog Schedule
Now that my website is pretty much up and running again, my next objective is to achieve some sort of consistency, as far as posting frequency and timing goes.
2016 Blog Schedule
Barring a few exceptions/extras, from now on, expect a new post every Friday.
Exceptions/Extras
Anime and manga related topics will be posted once a month, on the 15th.
For the remainder of 2016, Flash Fiction will be posted on Sundays.
Major News will be posted immediately.
Reviews, Guest Posts, and Interviews will be posted at optimal times, as agreed upon by the parties involved.
Schedule Changes/Updates
Expect some changes to the weekly Flash Fiction. I’m currently considering whether or not I want to post a new flashfic monthly, staring in January 2017.
The schedule will also be updated to accommodate the Spec-Fic-Trifecta Podcast (Coming Soon).
Blog Schedule – 2016
Now that my website is pretty much up and running again, my next objective is to achieve some sort of consistency, as far as posting frequency and timing goes.
2016 Blog Schedule
Barring a few exceptions/extras, from now on, expect a new post every Friday.
Exceptions/Extras
Anime and manga related topics will be posted once a month, on the 15th.
For the remainder of 2016, Flash Fiction will be posted on Sundays.
Major News will be posted immediately.
Reviews, Guest Posts, and Interviews will be posted at optimal times, as agreed upon by the parties involved.
Schedule Changes/Updates
Expect some changes to the weekly Flash Fiction. I’m currently considering whether or not I want to post a new flashfic monthly, staring in January 2017.
The schedule will also be updated to accommodate the Spec-Fic-Trifecta Podcast (Coming Soon).
The Kugali Podcast
The Kugali Podcast is an awesome podcast where Ziki, Obito, Demi and Tolu give an African perspective on the world of comics, video games, TV shows, anime and all things geeky.
Some time ago, I was on The Kugali Podcast. In that heavily anime/manga focused episode, we touched on the portrayal of women and black people in anime and manga.
(I sounded like a blathering idiot but these guys are great!)
Check out Kugali Podcast Episode 35: Spoilers!
The Latest Episode
The latest episode of The Kugali Podcast features Regine Sawyer, founder of Lockett Down Productions, her independent media company through which she has published a number of titles such as The Rippers, Eating Vampires and Ice Witch.
Regine is also one of the founders of Women in Comics, an initiative to promote women around the world working in comics particularly independents, they have hundreds of members across five different continents and are growing still.
Read the Show Notes
Popular Spec-Fic Genres I’ll Never Write
Zombies freak me out.
They’re icky. They’re gross—bodies rotting and falling to pieces, they probably stink to high heaven and they eat people. They. Eat. People.
They used to be people. Talk about a fate worse than death. When it comes to horrifying truths, Soylent Green’s got nothing on these dudes. And you get to stare that truth in the face. The disgusting, putrefying face.
You can’t ever seem to outrun them. Remember that time when zombies couldn’t run? Now Hollywood has them running, jumping and performing mind-boggling acrobatics to pin down prey.
They swarm cities in hoards and since zombie movies are like train wrecks that I just can’t look away from, I’d like to thank the following movies: Resident Evil, World War Z, Dawn of the Dead, and Shaun of the Dead, among others. Yes, thanks for the nightmares.
You’d think this would be an incentive to write zombie fiction, since phobias feed fiction. But no. Just no.
Anthropomorphism
Not to be confused with animorphism—the ability to transform into animals, anthropomorphism is assigning human characteristics or behavior to deities, objects or animals.
A good example would be Olaf from Frozen.
I don’t hate the sub-genre. It’s been decades since I saw it but I remember liking Watership Down.
Plus, I’m a fan of anime which does feature quite a bit of anthropomorphism. I mean, have you seen Kill a Kill?! It’s ludicrous but I can’t totally hate it. Let’s not even talk about my love of One Piece.
I used to hate writing school essays about “My Life as a Pen” or “My Life as a Dog” etc., which is probably why I still just can’t jive with writing this particular sub-genre.
Religious Speculative Fiction
I’m not religious. I’ve tried being religious. I learned that at my core, I’m just not religious. Knowing that, it would be presumptuous of me to try to write about religion—unless I fictitiously invented one. That, I could do.
Fan Fiction
Can I even call fan fiction of “sub-genre” of fiction? In any case, don’t get me wrong. I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with writing fan fiction. I’ve read some damned good ones over the years. You do need to have a certain knack for writing fan fiction though. A knack I do not possess.
How About You?
Do you have any genres/sub-genres that you avoid? Or am I just being too narrow minded?
October 8, 2016
Attack on Titan
Attack on Titan (進撃の巨人 Shingeki no Kyojin) the 2013 anime was adapted from the eponymous manga, created by Hajime Isayama. The series began in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine on September 9, 2009 and has been collected into 17 tankoban volumes as of August 2015. The anime was produced by Wit Studio, directed by Tetsuo Araki. (Wikipedia)
As the story goes, the surviving remnants of humanity lives in cities enclosed by massive walls. The walls are there to fend off the titans, colossal humanoids that eat people. Eren Yeager, his adoptive sister Mikasa Ackerman and their friend Armin Arlett live in the outskirts of the walled city.
One day, a colossal titan breaches the wall and the giants come streaming into the city. The town is laid to waste. The young trio’s lives are forever changed. Bent on revenge, Eren and Mikasa vow to join the Survey Corps, an elite group of soldiers who fight titans outside the walls. (Shingeki no Kyojin – Wikia)
Attack on Titan streams on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix and Funimation.
Tonya R. Moore
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