C.E. Dorsett's Blog, page 15

The Revelation of the internet anti-fan

There is an interesting post over at The Telegraph by Tom Chivers called "The rise of the Internet anti-fan," about those people who just love to hate you.

Important note: this post and the video embedded here contain language some people might find objectionable.  They are just words, and us, can do no harm.

So what is an anti-fan?  Are they a troll?  An asshole?  Or are they something different?  It is sad, that in this day and age, I feel that is necessary to diagnose different types of hate.  Truth is, if you realize what kind of hater you are dealing with, you will have a better idea what to do about them.

Jeff Jarvis in a Medium post called, "Defining the Troll," cites the book, Assholes: a Theory, and uses their definition of an asshole to classify the troll as a sub species of asshole, along with "the jerk, the boor, the cad, the schmuck, the douche bag…" We have a lot of words for people who are essentially unpleasant, but each of these define a special kind of insensitive person.

Trolls, in and of themselves, are interesting creatures.  They say and do terrible things to engender a response.  They crave attention and do not differentiate between positive and negative attention.  Most of the trolls that I have encountered, actually thrived off the negative attention.

The anti-fan is a related but separate phenomena.  Like the troll, they have not learned to distinguish between positive and negative attention; but unlike the troll, they want to participate in the community.  Part of them is drawn to something in the community.  They simply do not know how to participate in a way that is constructive.

The anti-fan, unlike the troll, can be reformed.  It is not easy and requires a lot of attention, correction, and effort.  Once they learn how to engage the community within the norms it has established, they can become a productive member of that community.  There is no formula for this conversion.  It takes time, and the gradual commitment on the part of the anti-fan to start abiding by the rules of the community.

While you are thinking about that, here is a little video dedicated to the haters of every ilk.

Welcome to Masks of the gods

For anybody who has followed me over the years, you know that I am always looking for ways to communicate, share, and organize all of the ideas that go through my head.  To my long time readers what I am about to say will come as no surprise:

The dashPunk blog is now Masks of the gods.  What does that mean for you, dear reader?  It means that with the surge in readership we have had from some of my recent writing posts, I am going to dedicate this blog to writing, publishing, running a business, and entertainment design, with occasional comments on the industry.

So if you like the posts you seen here over the last year, you will be seeing more of that.

If you are wondering where all of my posts on the sci-fi, fantasy, horror series, books, movies will be, either.  Go to Project: Shadow.com, or if you are on the site, just click Project: Shadow in the links above.

I want to thank everybody who has been so loyal and supportive of my work over the years, I hope these changes meet with your approval.  The decision to do this was based on your feedback, and what we think is best for the site.

The most exciting thing that we have added, if you look at the list of links above this post, you will see that every page on the all of our blogs now has an Ask Me Anything link.  Feel free to share your thoughts with me in the community in the comments, and any questions that you might have just submit your question there.

Have the fun!

Making a Website an extension of Story

WRITER comic cover. by ~ALSQUAD

I've been thinking a lot lately about my Dragons of Night site: What are some ways to make a website and experience of and extension to story?

It should be more than just a billboard or advertisement for my books and the setting I write in. If it is just an ad, why would anyone want to visit or come back?

This is a place where the Five Codes of Roland Barthes could really be a big help. In a lot of ways, his description of the ideal story resembled the hypertext novels of the 90's and early 00's.

The reader should be able to enter and leave a story from any point and have a valid experience. He also believed that the reader should be able to read the story in any order, and still have a valid experience of story.

This is a tricky thing to pull off in a novel, but a website should be able to easily fulfill these aspirations.

Here are some of the first steps I am going to try to make this theory a reality:

1) The Proairetic Code

This is the code of action. Essentially, this is the actions of the plot. Most of us have this covered on our sites already.

Let me try to make a quick check list:

Plot synopses for novels and stories.
Backstory elements that could enhance the reader's experience.
Highlight cliffhangers, unresolved elements of the story.
Anything that will cause the reader to ask, "What happens next?"2) The Hermeneutic Code

This is the code of enigmas and puzzles.  This is the aspect of the story that digs deeper.  It deals with mystery and the pursuit of truth.

The elements that make up the Hermeneutic Code could be used to inspire additional web content, most of which we should be able to derive from our pre-writing notes:

What is the enigma?What in the story begs the question the enigma poses?What in the story confirms the enigma?  What clues open the mystery for the reader and make them want to answer it?What promises an answer to the enigma?What clues and information can you reveal about the enigma?What snares will pull the characters and readers further away from the truth?What equivocations will mix truth and falsehood to muddy the water?What blocks seem insurmountable that might prevent the character from solving the enigma?

You may be thinking to yourself, "I'm not writing a mystery."  Look carefully at your story, nearly all stories present a question to be answered, an enigma to be solved, or truth that must be uncovered.  Think about ways you can tantalize the readers with that question, enigma, or truth.

It is important for entertainment designers to realize that making your readers interested in the hermeneutics of your work is the best way to generate buzz and fans

3) The Connotative Code.

This may be the hardest code to discuss and adapt for our purposes.  It deals with semiotics, symbols, traits, actions, names, anything that grants a connotation to a character, or place, or to the overall story.

The easiest way to talk about it, is to think of the story, characters, and settings, and ask yourself, "what makes that unique or what it is?"  These elements are called signifiers, because they create or suggest something about the story, characters, or setting.

The characters and settings are themselves signifiers, in that they give meaning to your story.  This story would be different if these elements were changed.  Each character, objects, and setting has its own signifiers.

Some ways we could use this on our sites might be:

Create a bio page for the main characters
Create a page for the important groups.
Create a page for important places.
Create a page for any important words, phrases, arts, crafts, unique world or setting elements.

Don't forget to interlink these with what you've written about the enigma and the story.

4) The Cultural Code.

Depending on the type of story you wrote, this code may be more or less relevant to you.  The cultural code or referential code is the aspect of the story that pulls from our cultural heritage to give meaning to the story.

For example: if I tell you a character is Goth, you immediately dye their hair black, add eyeliner to their face, and dress them in black.  You probably also made other assumptions about them based on your experience with Goth culture.  That is the cultural code.

In my latest story, In the Light of the Moon, the main character is an Amores.  Fans of Greco-Roman mythology would immediately know that she is in erotes or Cupid.  My reference would've been clearer if I had called her a Cupid, but I didn't want to have to refute in the story the baggage that comes with that word.  In choosing to call her an amores, I hoped that readers the didn't even know what that was, would see the word amor and think of love.  That's how I chose to use the cultural code, for better or worse.  Maybe that would make an interesting blog post, or a comment to add to my page on the amores on the site.

When I wrote, The Chain, I made references to bands and songs that I felt enriched the characters.  The problem is I'm relying on my readers knowing those songs and bands.  So maybe I should make a Spotify playlist, and use the iTunes and Amazon affiliate program to create a soundtrack for the book.  That gives me another level of monetization, and even if no one buys them, gives my readers a chance to hear the music.

The reason I'm going into detail with my own work is that each of us is going to have to look at the references we individually made and try to figure out a plan to open those aspects of our story up for our readers to discover, explore, and play in

5) The Symbolic Code.

The symbolic code is similar to the connotative code, but deals with larger organizing elements, some of which you may start to see as you look at the referential code.

Whereas in the connotative code we were examining individual traits and elements, in the symbolic code, we are looking at the links and connections between them to expose a wider level of meaning.

Before we were talking about the characters, now were talking about the cliques.  How the characters interact, feel about each other, and the conflicts they have.  It's easy to uncover these interactions if we look at who is opposing who for what and why.

Some things we may want to discuss here:

The contention between characters and groups.
The motifs we wove throughout the story.
The symbols and MacGuffin's in the story and their meaning.
The themes we were exploring through the narrative.

The Open Story.

As we deepen our craft, we learn there is more to a good story than a lot of action, snappy dialogue, and interesting characters.  We've learned to make better stories by making the stories more meaningful and richer experiences for our readers.  Now is the time for us to open up our writer's notebooks and share more with our readers.

I spend a lot of time at events talking about the elements of story and mythos from the reader's experience.  Some are interested in the process, but so many more are looking for ways to get more out of the works they read.  It's time that we give them a helping hand.

Open your story up, invite people to play in it, and develop a deeper relationship with your readers.

As I implement each code on my site, Dragons of Night, I'll share more about what I learned with you.  If you give this a try, please share your experience with me.

Revealing Unseen Wonder

wonder by Petras Gagilas

I've gone through many stages as a blogger. It's difficult to admit to myself how many years I've been doing this. And it's not the easiest thing to keep doing.

In many ways, it's the same as my other job as a novelist. I'm constantly looking for ideas, things to share and talk about that I hope you all enjoy as much as I do. For a while there, I even tried being a news commentator. While I moved all that over to my other blog it Project: Shadow.com, and decided to use dashPunk as a more personal blog, I found it hard to open up.

I gave this site the tagline, "revealing unseen wonder," because I really felt that was my duty. After all this and that the duty of every writer?

As a writer, I see the world differently. I see characters, through lines, and symbolism in even the most mundane events. I have a habit of finding symbolism in things that most people don't. But most of the time, I just sit in my house and write.

On the first of the year, we make resolutions. If we were honest with ourselves, we would admit that most of them are unrealistic. But I want to make a resolution to be more open, sharing what few and precious glimpses of wisdom and wonder that I find in my life with you guys. Over the years, you all have shared so many with me. It is time that I paid back the favor.

So let us all resolve that in this year 2013, we will not be afraid to share our gifts and talents with the world. I will be sharing more stories this year than I ever have before. I have a plan.

What we share?

Love isn't money

It's not something you buy
Let me fill myself with tears you cry

You know I am in a fun mood when I open a post with a quote from Black Sabbath. I've had Wishing Well stuck in my head all week.

As a writer, I want to entertain people, but I also want to share something intensely person. Something that con only be shared through stories.

I love it when I hear from you all. You make all the soul searching worth it. But, I feel a strong urge to be original. To tell stories that are different from the ones I read, watch, and listen to.

The problem with originality is getting other people into it. I read the reviews and so often they make me smile.

As I work on this story, I wanted to return to the things I love. You can really see that in Wand and Weaver: The Chain.

The other problem with my struggle for originality is that it fills my head with more stories than I know what to do with.

So, I think I have seen a way forward. Wand and Weaver is a bigger story than I can easily tell, but I think I have found a way to do it.

I have changed my focus for the serial. I am going to tell a story that parallels the main story so I can give you all a fuller image of what is going in in the world.

I'm still not sure what I am going to do with the story if Amazon Serials doesn't take it. I am looking for options if you know about any.

What other stories in the Dragons of Night world do you want to read? Let me know.

To Steampunk or not to steampunk

Evelyn Nesbit Thaw by Bain News Service, 1913

While working in this new serial, I find myself adding a lot of steampunk elements, but I am not sure if I should call the story steampunk or not.

There are a lot of Steampunk purists who would instantly tell me that what I am working on is not Steampunk.  The story takes place in a secondary world.  It is not a Victorian era setting in most ways.  The plot is a mix of supernatural horror, epic fantasy, and steampunk.  So what is it?

I hate genre titles.  I've posted about that on numerous occasion.  The problem is one of constraint.  Oddly, that is also what I love about genre.  It gives you conventions to play with and constraints on the types of stories you can tell.

In fact, I am almost more concerned about calling the serial an epic fantasy than a steampunk story.  To be honest, it is somewhere between an epic fantasy and a sword and sorcery story.

I suppose, what I am most concerned about is more how readers react to the terms.  I will probably use all the above as keywords for the serial.  I just hope people know I am doing it in good faith.

What do you think?  How flexible is the term steampunk?  Let me know.

The Prewriting Trap

I've been working for a couple months on a new story, and I fell into the same whole I always do: too much prewriting.

I don't just outline, I dig into every character and setting element, and while some of that is necessary, it can easily get out of hand.

When I say every, I really mean every. I get really involved with the setting and start looking at more and more of the ephemera of the setting. I once wrote 90,000 words of backstory for a 54,000 word story.

I talk to my friends about the iceberg effect of my writing style. For my previous series, I wrote 10 words of backstory for every 1 word of story.

Now that I am starting to do it again, I am at least happy I can see it this time. I am not sure what I want to do about it.

Part of me thinks I should post it all on the site, but, as I learned with Dragons of Night, it takes a lot of time to edit the material and make it reader-worthy.

I might continue to do that, but as for this project, I am going to pull back and focus on the story.

I am curious what you all think. I am open to suggestions.

Rediscovering the Heart of Fandom

The last couple years have not been easy for a fan like me.  Okay, truth be told, it has been a rough decade.

I know what you're thinking.  This is not a valid problem.  Fandom is not something any person is entitled to.  I would have to disagree.  Fandom is not about the media we watch or buy, and it is not about the merchandise aassociated with it.  Fandom is about the connection we have with the the stories, worlds, and characters we love, and our connection with the other fans.

I'm an old man now.

I realized that I crossed the line into being an old man when my friends and I sat around talking about how new series had lost the heart and mind of the series I grew up with.  I was reminded of people talking about the Beatles and the Rolling Stones compared to Nirvana and Pearl Jam when I was younger.

Since I like to over think everything, I asked myself, is that true?  Have I just become old and cynical or has media actually dumbed down?

Every generation feels that they were at the apex of civilization, and the world has gone off a cliff since.

Is everything really the worse?

Yes and no.  How is that for a safe answer?

Yes, things have gotten worse.  When I was a kid, there wasn't the crazy pressure of a shrinking market to contend with.  Babylon 5 was able to take the independent route and get its full story out, yet Firefly and Legend of the Seeker weren't.

The market isn't what it used to be.  Star Trek was canceled for low ratings despite 8.3 million viewers, whereas Fringe averages 2-4 million viewers and went on for 5 seasons, while Dollhouse was canceled for 2-5 million viewers, as was Legend of the Seeker for 2-5 million viewers.

The market has changed.   What used to be called low rating, is now dream ratings, and the shows that stay on TV are more up to them whims of industry than ever before.

What keeps a show around now?  Ruby dust?  Magic?  Who the hell knows.

The industry seems to move more based on narrative and rumor than on any viable metric.  Why?  Advertising.  If the story going around is that the show has bad ratings, it doesn't matter was the actual number are.  Oh, that show is by J. J. Abrams, he makes blockbusters, I'll advertise there.

What is the effect of this?  Mediocre content that has big names associated with it.

But it is not all bad.  Once Upon A Time is transforming the folktales we all grew up with in a fun and imaginative way that brings these stories to a new generation.

Hush Puppies!  How to silence Cynicism

So, how do we get beyond our own cynicism?  Remember what you love, and fight off the voice of the hater within.

Remember the shows you used to love, and don't be a perfectionist.  No, the Tom Baker Doctor Who's don't have slick computer generated special effects, but the stories and characters are worth watching. 

Don't be a hipster!  Nitpicking is a social disease that need to be killed off like polio.  Nothing is perfect, and mocking sarcasm is a way to prevent you from having fun and enjoying life.  Hipsters aren't cool.  They are sad people who have forgotten how to enjoy their life.

You have a choice

Every moment, you have the choice to enjoy your life or not.  As someone who suffers from depression, I know how easy it is to slip into the gray, desaturated world of ennui and despair.  For me, a part of the solution was choosing to enjoy my life.

Have the fun.  I say that a lot.  Some people think it is a cute (or annoying) affectation I have adopted.  It is my philosophy of life.

Life is short, and I want to enjoy it.  No matter what I am going, I ask myself how to make it more enjoyable.  If I have to do something that isn't fun that I cannot make fun, I set up a reward to look forward to so I have the thrill of anticipation to get me through.

I know some people think it is fun to tear things down, but I would rather build them up.  Join me at the heart of Fandom, and learn to enjoy your life all over again.

Revolution Gets A Full Season, Why

Imagine my shock and sadness when I saw this post in my feeds today:

‘Revolution’ Picked Up For Full Season By NBC (Scifi Pulse)

Why? What could have prompted this?

I would never claim that my or anyone else's fiction is perfect, I am continually shocked when really bad shows get produced.

I presume this reflects faith in the production team rather than the actors or the writers. I live in the target market for this show, and will watch a few more episodes in hopes it will find a way to keep me from rolling my eyes through the episodes.

I can only hope that NBC knows something that I don't. This show is on my probation list, heading toward dead to me.

Amanda Tapping to play a new kind of angel on Supernatural

With Sanctuary gone, I've been wondering where I was
going to find the Queen of Scifi, Amanda Tapping on my TV machine. Now, I
know: Supernatural in November. 

While I am not the biggest fan of Supernatural, I have enjoyed the
series, and look forward to the new season.  The addition of Amanda
bumps up my excitement. 

I've been a fan of
hers since Stargate SG-1. She has become a staple for me. I expect to
see her in something new every year. Hopefully, this is a stepping stone
in between series for her. I want her to headline a new series soon. 

This will tide me over in the meantime. 

(via Gate World.net)