Sidney Blaylock Jr.'s Blog, page 18
April 27, 2020
Mini-Movie Review: Extraction (Netflix)
This past weekend I watched a movie produced by Netflix. While not my first Netflix movie, I generally pass them up in favor of seeing “studio” produced movies as I’m trying to catch up on movies that I’ve missed theatrically. As an individual, I’ve seen a lot of movies; however, as a film student, I feel that I don’t have the same repertoire as some of my colleagues (one of my friends at school who is also a film student and working on his dissertation watches a movie a day on his phone! I sometimes struggle to keep up with the movie a week paradigm that I’ve set for myself.) This movie was written by Joe Russo (Avengers Infinity War/Endgame) and stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor & Avengers movies). So, did I like it–yes, I did, for the most part.
“The Protector”
This story is very much in the style of films made famous by Keanu Reeves in the John Wick movies. However, there is a difference, story-wise. While those are about “revenge” in some way, this film owes much more to films like Liam Neesom’s Taken movies (which I’ve not seen) and the BMW short film The Escape (which I have seen) in that there is more an element of protection than revenge. While different in tone, the plot actually functions a lot like other movies in the action genre–I’m specifically thinking of 16 Blocks, Special Forces, and Mile 22 (all of which I’ve seen–see, I do have a pretty good film knowledge base to draw on 
April 24, 2020
Reading Log: Frankenstein and The Hunger Games
So, I liked the way the blog post came together for my Writing Log post a couple of weeks back, so I think I”ll expand it so that I cover 4 or 5 different elements of my life in a “log” format and publish them (potentially) on Fridays–the day when I find it hardest to get blog posts done and out. I’m thinking it will follow writing, reading, video games, and some other fourth thing (not sure what that will be at the moment). Still, I really like the format, so look out for these on Fridays.
Now on to the log!
Frankenstein
This is a book that I’ve been wanting to read for a while. I started it once before as I wanted to read it before watching Kenneth Branaugh’s movie adaptation of it. As I think I may have mentioned before on the blog at some point, I never got past the introduction/prologue of the tale and never watched the movie. However, my mentor professor, who is teaching a sci-fi literature course this semester, made it the beginning literary work to examine, so I read it along with the class and I enjoyed it. What I took most from it was how changed it is from the Boris Karloff movie. Now, I’ve not seen that one either, so one of these days, I really need to just go on a Frankenstein binge-fest, but I think I like the book’s quiet menace and contemplation on what it means to be different and hated. One could almost make a parallel between Frankenstein’s monster and racism based on the fact that the prejudice comes from the way the monster looks, not (initially) the way he acts. There is also something to be said about the nature vs nurture debate, in that things that happen later in the book are a direct result of how the creature was (not) nurtured rather than an product of its creation (birth). There is a lot to unpack in this novel, and one of the reasons that it is still such a classic even today. It makes me wonder why Branagh’s interpretation was so roundly disliked since it seemed to move back towards the book and be a much more faithful interpretation than than the Karloff story.
The Hunger Games
Like The Expanse, this is a book that I read at first and did NOT enjoy. While I liked the concept, I didn’t like (at the time) the way the characters were presented. It has been quite a few years since it first came out, and I think I read it–if not at the height of its popularity–quite close to it and I believe that it was probably “overhyped” in my mind and that helped to predispose me against it. I gave it 3 stars (out of 5) on Goodreads.
Rereading it, I’m able to appreciate it more. and I feel that it is a better book than I originally gave it credit for all those years ago. Another thing that I think helped is that understanding that I’m NOT the target audience for this book. No, I’m not talking about gender here or even YA, but rather, I’m not interested in the slightest in “Reality TV,” and that’s almost a requirement here. You have to be interested in the inside/outside machinations of that type of entertainment structure to really get into this book. In the intervening years, the “Battle Royal” subgenre has become a thing in video games, and while I’m not really big into that type of game, it is a reference point/touch point through which I can get into the story now–a book version of the “battle royal” genre.
I also liked the “Rue” subplot better this time around and the reaction to it really had the “weight” that I think it was supposed to have. As an African American, I may have been a bit miffed at the time at the outcry against Rue’s casting for the movie (and there was an outcry–I remember the news stories), and probably held that against the book–even though Rue is written in the book as a dark-skinned character. However, now that this controversy has faded, I was able to read the interaction as the author intended and found that it was a really captivating moment. Enough that I actually want to watch the movie. I even went back to Goodreads and gave it 4 stars (out 5).
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 23, 2020
RetroView: Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 (or C64) was my first computer. My best friend had a VIC-20 which was an earlier, precursor model to the C64 by the same company. The numbers represented the amount of RAM for each of the computers (as I recall). The C64 was notable in that it had 64K (yes, 64 Kilobytes) of RAM, a fairly large amount at the time. I got my C64 in either 1983 or 1984. I’m a bit fuzzy on the year because I got my first video game system, The Atari 2600 a year prior, so I think the dates were 1983 (Atari)/1984 (C64), but I could be off slightly–in any case, it was definitely in the 1983-1984 time period (1982 was the World’s Fair in Knoxville, TN where I first discovered “arcade” games and where my passion for gaming and all things video game related was born–it was only after that blossoming interest that my parents decided to spend the money on–what at that time might only have been a “fad”).
The “Educational” Machine
I got my computer for Christmas, although I got to go to the Hills Department Store (there’s a blast from the past that’s no longer around) and picked it out. I also got a Datasette tape machine to go with it–to load and save programs (the datasette was a cassette tape recorder which could save programs or could load them as well). It was abysmally slow–taking upwards of 5-10 minutes to load even the most basic of programs–these were after all 30 minute cassette tapes that were being read just like a music cassette tape. My parents sprung for a C64 Floppy Disk drive the next year.
I was given the computer with the stern caveat that it was only for use for education and any “games” that I might get for it could only be educational. This actually lasted for a good while–well up into the beginning of high school (1987-1988), although even before that time, my parents had begun to relax that restriction. I also began to find “creative” ways of stretching the definition of “educational.” At first, I stuck fairly close with “edutainment” titles like In Search of the Most Amazing Thing, but later I began to be more creative, such as justifying the purchase of the text adventure game The Tracer Sanction and the road racing game Great American Cross Country Road Race.
Learning BASIC, Yearning for More
One of the things that I really got to do was learn the programming language BASIC really well. My elementary school also had a C64 and I was able to use it very well and became the defacto computer guru of the school. I wrote a small program that “interacted” with parents on a “Parents’ night” we had at the school. I was able to do that because the C64 users manual had the basics (pardon the pun) of BASIC and there were plenty of resources (magazines and new computer books in the Children’s Department of the library) devoted to learning BASIC. And basic could do some impressive things–In Search of the Most Amazing Thing was written in BASIC on the C64 (and so was Temple of Apshai–I know because I “peeked” at the code to try to decipher what those two games were doing “under the hood.”
However, the games that I really wanted to do (high graphics games and projects) were written in machine language. The C64 manual didn’t really cover this, offloading it onto another (fairly expensive) book. I couldn’t really afford it on my paltry allowance–but I really did want it. My uncle finally found a low-cost substitute at RadioShack, but by then, the whole machine language craze had pretty gone by the way side (Apple IIs, IBM PCs and the beginning of MacOs/DOS was taking over–I saw & used my first Mac and Apple computers in high school, but it would be several years yet before I saw my first true PC). Not including some sort of “machine language” programming book was truly a mistake as it kept kids like me, who couldn’t afford the true programming “tome” from really cracking the intricacies of the machine and getting into the guts of programming (although I’ve since learned that Commodore–the company–made a lot of egregious mistakes, but as a child, I knew none of this).
Not Without Its Problems
The C64, while being one of the most popular computers of its era, still had its share of issue. One major one being the power supply. My C64’s power supply died after 3 years–on Christmas day, no less, just as we were playing some of the new games on it. F15 Strike Eagle by Microprose was the offending game as I recall (I’d managed to snag that one by arguing that it was a “simulation” and I was learning about flight and flight models through playing it–I’m sure they saw through it, but they let me get it, so hey, I’m not complaining. It took a while for us to find a repair shop–in the strip malls above Northgate Mall here in Chattanooga.
We took it there and it took about a month (maybe less, two-three weeks?) to repair–probably just to order and ship in a new power supply. This one lasted for a several years and then it too died. However, this time the computer market had moved on, so computers weren’t prohibitively expensive (at least not Commodores). While most of the world moved on to Apples and PC clones, we decided to replace the C64 and did so with a C64c, a redesigned variant of the original C64. This one lasted until I quite a while, but as I couldn’t really do anything on it (too limited–it could on run GEOS, the Commodore answer to MacOs, but not well and I didn’t have a printer to print out school papers, nor could any of the school computers read the GEOS files even if they could have used the 5.25 floppies, which they couldn’t because the standard by then were the smaller 3.5 floppies.
The End of an Era
My grandmother had to buy me a new computer over Christmas Break of my first year in college. She bought an IBM PC clone (a 386sx Packard Bell on sale at Sears) and a Dot Matrix Printer. While not nearly as great as my C64–let me tell you, I have some things to say about Packard Bell computers, and none of them very nice–it still did the job in terms of allowing me to get my papers and school work done.
It also, luckily, had a modem. So I was able to experience BBSs and more importantly, use that experience to navigate the new burgeoning “online” world and navigate onto the “World Wide Web” for the first time (thus, becoming a savvy internet user in its infancy–for the public, at least). The C64 suffered as I rarely used it anymore and only my uncle would occasionally use it to play the “Gold Box” Advanced Dungeons and Dragons RPGs that I “convinced” them to let me buy. He got our respective parties to the “final” boss fight, ready to challenge the evil minions for the last time before he succumbed to cancer.
Although the C64 holds some of the greatest memories of my life (from carrying the box out of the Hills Department Store to the car on one joyful Saturday afternoon, to being considered a tech guru because I could load up my friends’ favorite games on the system at school, to finding a hidden love of databases and relational data through creating a miniature computer catalog with a database program and looking for hours at graphs, charts, and breakdowns of the books that I owned, my C64 was companion that I will never forget, yet I have not been able to shake its final memories for me of my uncle and his last days with the system. I’ve not been able to take back out since (it is still up in the attic in its box along with the Disk drive). Maybe one day, I’ll be able to associate it with good memories again–but right now, all I can think of are the two teams waiting at the edge of the doorway, waiting for a battle that will never come.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 21, 2020
ReWatch: Wall-E and Crazies
Over the weekend, rather than watching a new film, I chose to re-watch two films that I’d already seen before, Wall-E and Crazies. Wall-E is an animated film from Pixar that is fairly well regarded (95% critics/ 90% audiences). Crazies (2010) is much less so, garnering a Rotten Tomatoes score of 71% from critics, but only a 52% from audiences. I happen to like them both, but watched them both for very different reasons.
Science Fiction Literature Class and Wall-E
While I’ve multiple English Literature classes, I’ve never had the opportunity to teach one. I’ve always taught introductory Rhetoric classes. This year, my school came up with a “mentorship” program to help those, like me, get more experience in teaching literature who normally teach just rhetoric course. My mentor happened to be teaching a Science Fiction Literature course this semester. One of the movies that she had on the syllabus was Wall-E as an example of ecological Science Fiction.
I really enjoy both the story and the message of Wall-E and I was reminded of it when I rewatched it a couple of days ago. One of the things that struck me was the way gender was handled with EVE. While very progressive in some respects, there are some more stereotypical ways in her characterization. I’m noticing this, by the way, because there is a Conference that will be issuing a “Call for Papers” about women’s issues, and I guess I’m noticing these things more.
Crazies (2010)
[image error]Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7w9uWFIMBs
Crazies (2010) is an “infection” movie that, while not technically a “zombie” movie, acts like one functionally. I was in the mood to see it again since it has come back on to streaming. While not nearly as intense as World War Z, it has a similar set up, with a local sheriff tasked with figuring out and surviving an outbreak that is happening in his town.
Again, while not perfect–sometimes the “zombies” kill immediately and indiscriminately, while other times they hold off–to increase the tension (demanded by the plot usually), it still is a good movie that isn’t “just” the same old story retread as every other “zombie” movie.
Like Wall-E, however, it has some interesting things to say about its female characters. Like EVE, the main female character has elements that are progressive and stereotypical at the same time. Motherhood and life-nurturing character traits seem to be consistent in both of them, yet both are portrayed as career women and women who will take no guff from their male counterparts. Again, just something that I noticed that might become a paper in the future.
Still, that is such an interesting idea that has sparked that I may do that a little more often in the future–rewatch older films together and see what ideas spark from them and where I can put them into conversation with each other–who knows, I might even find a video game or two that also helps to round out the idea and see what emerges from there.
Have a great day!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 20, 2020
What Writers Can Learn from Disney Star Wars Trilogy’s Mistakes
Okay, not to flog a dead topic, but as SO many other reviewers have noted, while Rise of Skywalker does some things well, it turns out to be an unsatisfying end to the trilogy and 9 movie arc because it shows that there was no consistent plan. As the story goes, after J.J. Abrams finished Force Awakens, he had “loose” notes on the way the story should go that the next director, in this case Rian Johnson could use or not use as he saw fit.
Mistake! This why I’m always “banging” on about about the need/importance of outlines and trying to minimize “discovery” writing (for myself) as much as possible.
Why Outlines are Important!
I feel outlines are critical because stories (either fictional or ones that we hear about/tell others about in real life) are not just events. You’re not just relying a set of events that happened to you or someone else–although that’s part of it. You’re relating a series of events in order to 1) make a point about something or 2) reveal something (usually something you discovered as a result of those related events). Each case, while different, gets at the heart of storytelling and narrative.
Yet, if you’re just throwing random events together, or even if you are trying to following a logical progression of events, the one element you’re missing is the element of planning. What events are you going to foreground because they’re necessary to understanding the point of the story or what was learned/gained from the story? These are all questions that an outline helps to answer.
Let’s take Rey’s parents as an example as this was a particularly contentious “bone” that both Rian Johnson and Star Wars fans hotly debated. Let’s, for the sake of argument, pretend that Rise of Skywalker contained the “outline” that is supposed to have existed after Force Awakens. Had Johnson followed the idea, we could have been given the information about Rey’s parents (spoiler so I won’t reveal it here) in the 2nd movie (last act), and then she would have had to wrestle with it at the end of the 2nd movie, during the intervening time between movies (for characters) and then all through the 3rd movie. I mean, since we’re paying “homage” to Lucas anyway with the set-ups for these movies as they are very similar to the original trilogy, then this is what happens in Empire. Luke learns his parentage at the end of that movie, simmers over it during the intervening time, and then confronts Ben Kenobi’s Force ghost about it in Return of the Jedi. The revelation meant something, his conflict (inner turmoil) meant something, and him confronting Vader meant something (because Vader, at that point, wasn’t a nameless, faceless enemy, but his own father). A point was made and delivered. Not so with the Disney trilogy. As the reveal of Rey’s parentage comes in the 3rd act (or late 2nd act) Rise, there’s next to no impact on Rey outside of “shock value.” There was no emotional investment of the information.
Essentially, the storyteller focused on the “wrong” thing–shock value in learning Rey’s parents/heritage over emotional investment in seeing Rey struggle with the knowledge of who she was and is and a choice that she has to make as to whether to be defined by her heritage or break free from it. There could have been a powerful (American) introspection of are you bound by your circumstances or can you rise above them. However, with no outline, this is NOT in the story and helps to create the audience dissatisfaction that we see reflected in the 52% Rotten Tomatoes score.
In Defense of Outlines (and Drafts)
In closing, outlines help to provide a coherent framework to a story and keep it from meandering. It also helps the writer see (and focus) on the details that will most strongly make his/her points. Lastly, it allows the storyteller to see what the ultimate point or goal of his/her story is and make more effective choices on how to get there.
If you’re a “discovery” writer, should you drop that and start using outlines? No! That’s not what I’m advocating. I’m of the opinion that whatever works for you is something that you should do more of it. I might suggest however, that once you’ve finished the discovery draft, to go back and rewrite it (heresy, I know) because you now know you’re point and what events in the story have led you to the point and you may be able to get there more effectively with another draft or two, but if it’s working, I say keep doing it. As always, however, if it isn’t working, then you might give outlining a try.
Here’s an example of several writers who would like to “fix” Star Wars and the story outlines provided. They are all really interesting and, even though there are elements that I don’t agree with or would do differently, if I could “fix” Star Wars, they still illustrate how a cohesive (and competent, maybe even compelling) story can be told through outlining. (There are some spoilers for the movies, so be warned if you’ve not yet seen them all.)
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 17, 2020
Mini-Review: Star Wars IX: Rise of Skywalker
Last weekend, I watched Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker (RoS) for the first time. I know that it has a fairly poor rating, 52% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this writing, but I felt that it was, overall a much better story than its predecessor–The Last Jedi. I can’t (and won’t) go into too much territory in terms of spoilers (although I can’t be sure that what I discuss won’t give hints/clues to those the movie’s structure/plot, so you’ve been warned). I think–and will always think–that hiring Rian Johnson was a mistake because he’s not, at heart, a sci-fi writer. As you can see with Knives Out, he’s best when he’s being “clever.” Clever can mean a couple of different things here: 1) witty as Knives Out seems to be a satirical movie (based on the trailers) full of repartee between the characters and 2) provocateur, throwing things our/subverting expectations just because he can, something Last Jedi was filled with. Rise of Skywalker rights the ship, but is ultimately a decent movie, but is an unsatisfying end to a trilogy (and epic 9 film saga) because it has to spend so much time trying to undo the missteps of the previous two movies.
What I Liked
Action: The action of the first movie was back–thank goodness. Instead of action happening off screen in Last Jedi–Luke never getting to confront Kylo (or even Rey about what happened to her parents) was such a downer for me. Luke is (and was) the central character of the Skywalker saga that it was criminal for him to be dispatched in such a ignominious fashion in the previous movie. The action has returned in this one and while not nearly as thrilling as the original trilogy, there are some set pieces that were inventive and well-done. Action scenes, lightsaber battles, and space scenes seemed to be back to the level we expect from Star Wars films
(Some) of the Characterizations: These characters felt more like what we introduced to in The Force Awakens. While some things seemed notably off–the fact that Finn & Rey (first movie) were co-opted by Rey & Kylo storyline (the 2nd movie & fan-base with their “Reylo” fan-fic element)–comes to mind, the characters seemed to stay and be truer to their natures than in the previous movie.
Explanations: While seen as a “walk-back” by many reviewers, what Rise of Skywalker actually gives us is some answers (now I don’t always like those answers or the way they were delivered), but at least it wasn’t just thrown out there to flatly contradict what we were shown in The Force Awakens (“Rey, your parents were nothing special”).
What I Didn’t Like
The Need for “walkbacks”: You’ll notice I’m spending a lot of time talking about Rise of Skywalker in terms of what it did in comparison to Last Jedi. That’s intentional and it shouldn’t be necessary. In the Return of the Jedi, Lucas had already established the characters, deepened the plot, and made Luke’s conflict (destroy or redeem Vader) clear. In Rise, we are so busy explaining elements from the previous movie that made no sense, that the actual “trilogy” went out the window.
No Trilogy: related to the last point–this actually wasn’t a trilogy arc. It was movie 1, movie 1 again (Rian Johnson’s interpretation), movie 3. The “Reylo” storyline proves it. In the original trilogy, Han & Leia “spark” in movie one, their feelings are exposed in movie two, and they deepen in movie 3. In the Disney trilogy, Rey and Finn “spark” in movie one, “why do keep holding my hand?”, but in movie two (Rian Johnson interpretation), Rey and Kylo “spark” and Rose and Finn are supposed to “spark,” and in movie three Finn hints to Rey his feelings, but never says them outright and is in a “platonic” relationship that includes his best friend Poe Dameron (3 way hug) and Rey and Kylo expose their feelings for each other (“Ben”) in that “star-crossed” lovers way. Nothing in the trilogy pays off in the way that it should because movie two didn’t “deepen” anything in the way that a good second chapter of a trilogy should have and the “payoff” you would normally get from the third movie either isn’t there or is far below what it should have been.
Little Details: So many of the little details were off. Some of it was due to the untimely deaths of original trilogy cast members (or advancing ages). Obviously, Carrie Fisher’s heartbreaking and untimely death meant that the filmmakers had to incorporate scenes that were already shot into the narrative to give Leia’s character an appropriate sendoff, but even Chewbacca didn’t look like, sound like, or “run” like Chewbacca as it was different actor portraying him. C-3PO’s voice is higher than normal (again do to age of actor), and Artoo Detoo is hardly used. Some of it was due to the “walk backs” necessary. And some of it was due to the way Disney wants its SW movies to appeal to a new audience while trying to “pander” to the old audience as well. Disney is like look–here are the old droids you remember, but aren’t the new droids–BB-8 and the new droid they introduced just for Rise whose name I can’t even remember (it’s that forgettable as a droid) so cool because, hey, they’re new, and everyone likes new stuff, right, right? There are so many small issues that one only notices if the person is truly invested in the Star Wars world. For me, there are so many of them that it begins to seriously detract from the quality of the story and begins to make it seem more and more like a pale imitation of the original.
Overall Grade: B- (80)
I really think this is a stellar improvement of the last movie, but there are so many flaws in it because it can’t do what the 3rd movie in a trilogy should do, but must spend so much time trying to address the poor choices of the 2nd installment that it really weighs the film down for me.
While not a 52% (which would be a low, low F on a grading scale by the way), and yes I know that RT isn’t a grading scale, but a percentage of people who like/dislike the movie, but my point stands–this movie isn’t as bad as some would have you think as they would like to “punish” this movie and Disney with a low RT score–I still think that it is hamstrung by the fact that it has to essentially be a truncated 2nd act and then a partial resolution that has so many compromises that, while a fun and satisfying movie on its own, it can’t be a satisfying conclusion to a trilogy, let alone a 9 movie saga which is what is was purported to be.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 14, 2020
Blogging My Way to a Novel
One of the things that I noticed when I was looking over the stats for my blog posts is the amount of words that I’ve been averaging. I’m actually down overall in terms of words from the past couple of years because I’m not publishing posts as regularly even though the actual word count for the posts has gone way up.
However, when I looked at the word count for the year, I was astounded. Taking the overall yearly word count just for the blog into account, I’ve written enough words to have written a novel every year since 2016!
Yup, you read that right–just doing what I’ve been doing for the blog would have been enough for a novel for the past four years!
60,000 Words (2016)
So, NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which happens in November has a goal of 50,000 words. In theory, while there is no set amount of words for a novel, 60,000 words has generally become the accepted length in practice–although some would argue that NaNoWriMo’s 50,000 word length could also be considered novel length.
Looking at the blog’s stats–I reached 60,000 words (and change) in 2016. I was fairly committed to blogging–but I didn’t do it every day. If you were to use the calendar function on an old 2016 post, you would see that there were long gaps in posting, although I did post routinely at 5-6 days out of the month (yes, I think there may be some 3-4 days in their, but I generally average 5-6, maybe more). As you can see, while not consistent, I at least wrote something on monthly basis, even if it wasn’t a lot (or daily).
Had I done the exact same with my creative writing as I did with my blog posts, I would have had enough for a (depending on the font choice) 200 – 225 page manuscript and would have completed my first novel.
117,000 Words (2018)
My high water mark (so far) for the blog came in 2018, where somewhere around April/May, I hit my stride and blogged pretty much consistently for rest of the year. I blogged much like I’m trying to get back to now and what works best for me: Mondays-Fridays, 5 days a week. I actually usually do one or two blog posts on the weekend (maybe 3, but usually not more than 3) and then fill out the rest of the week with blog posts either written on that day (or at most, a day earlier).
I managed 117,000 words (and change) that year. Enough for 2 full novels or 1 door-stopper epic fantasy novel. This is the stat that really floored me and set me thinking about my writing, my writing process, and that helped to inspire this post. Just think of all that could have been accomplished had I taken the time to do with my creative writing that I managed with my blog.
Lessons Learned
I’ve learned two lessons from looking at my stats for the blog over the previous years of blogging:
I need to be more consistent in my writing process if I want success. Even if I can’t find the “time,” I need to always be moving forward and to make sure I find time to write at least 5-6 days monthly. If I can also find a way to write daily (Monday-Friday) along with my blog, great–and that will put me in better stead–but at the bare minimum, I must be more consistent about writing.I should try to use the format of my blog to help me draft my longer works. This format works well for me–Introduction, 2-3 headings, and a paragraph or two for each heading. This is how I’m hoping to help myself become a better and more productive writer without “breaking my process.” That’s the key and I’m hoping that because I like this format–it will work for me.
Well, that’s all I have for today–nothing earth-shattering. Just a realization that I have the capabilities within me to make my dreams come true–if I can just find the consistency (and willpower) to get it done. And of course, not let it interfere with my dissertation for school.
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 13, 2020
Don’t Fix What Isn’t Broken (Part Deux)
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 10, 2020
Writing Log = Finished The Independent!
So this post is a little later than normal as I wanted to make sure that I actually completed the works that are listed in this post. However, I was able to get everything done and I’m very excited about it!
Finished The Independent (aka “my Space Truckers” story)
Yesterday evening, I finally finished The Independent which began its life as my “Space Truckers” project. This one has taken a long time to do (way too long), but I finally was able to get the handle on what I really wanted to do late last year and early this year and began to make serious headway on the story in January and February. After not working on it because of the trip to Boston and subsequent Spring Break and early Corona virus news, I finally was able to power through the rest of the story and finished off the story last night. Some facts about the story: It is currently 5,100 words long. I will be working to get that down as most markets have a (generally speaking) a 5,000 word limit. It is a “spaceship” story–the action happens on a spaceship in space and contains a space battle (my favorite type of story) and one that I feel is done way too seldom in Sci-Fi media. Lastly, it features a female character–I hope (as a male) I do a good job in creating a believable character (I have before–I’ve published two other stories where the protagonist was female), but time will tell.
So, what’s next: I’m going to let it lie fallow for a week (maybe more) and then I’m going to schedule a time with the MSTU Writing Center and ask a consultant to look over it (I may do this a couple of times–once for content & story construction and once for grammatical issues) and work on getting as compact as possible and then I should be sending it out to markets later this month or early next month. Huzzah!
Finished Rough Draft of “Project Arizona”
So, “Project Arizona” is one that I wrote a blog post on a while back. It is a Weird Western that has been kicking around in my mind lately, so I went ahead and wrote the “Rough Draft” for it. Like The Indpendent, I will go through multiple drafts honing it in (hopefully it won’t take as long to finish though).
There’s not too much more to say about it yet–after I finish the first draft I might reveal the “working” title of the story. I may do an Author’s Note when I get a little deeper into drafting, but right now, I’m more interested in finishing it than discussing it, so I’ll add it to my list of projects in the Signature line.
HawkeMoon = a Milestone
So, I went back and checked and HawkeMoon represents my 10th published short-story! I now have enough to do a short story collection (I may even do that if I can ever find the time/right publisher).
While HawkeMoon is overall my 14th publication (when you include my comic book story split into 3 parts, and my non-fiction article on writing), and 16th when you include my work for MTSU’s Off Center Journal, it is still significant as it represents double digits in a particular style of writing. Here’s to trying for triple digits next!
Well, that’s all I have! Have a great weekend!
Sidney
Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora WolfRead Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Purchase HawkeMoon on Amazon.com (Paperback) or eBookPurchase Dragonhawk on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase WarLight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Ship of Shadows on Amazon.com (Paperback) or KindlePurchase Faerie Knight on Amazon.com (Paperback) or Kindle
The Independent (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
Editing DraftShip of Shadows Graphic Novel
Finished: Script, Issue #1
Next: Script, Issue #2“Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
Finished: Rough Draft
Next: First Draft
April 9, 2020
Mini-Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
So, in an effort to be a better film student, I’m trying to catch as many of the “major” and important releases that I’ve missed before they go off of various streaming services. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a movie that I’d always intended to see (due to my love of martial arts movies), but was, in all honesty, put off by because of the Oscar hype that surrounded it. I won’t go off into a long discussion (rant) about hype, but let’s just say, in some cases, hype has the opposite effect on me–it makes me less inclined to see a movie, not more. However, with it (at the time of this blog post), scheduled to go off of Netflix later this month, it seemed like the perfect time to check it out.
What I Liked
In a way, waiting might have been a good thing. I don’t think hat I would have appreciated Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon nearly as much. What it does, it does very well and is an example of something that “transcends its genre.”
I liked the personal story being told and the way it handles its central characters. In a way, this is a story about love–what is it, how is it exhibited, what happens when it is unrequited, what happens when it is set free, what is the place of marriage and love–are they analogous, or are they mutually exclusive? It is also the story of women and their roles and functions in a patriarchal society. This is the element that I feel that I would have missed had I seen it when it came out. Hear me out, as I’m not an unenlightened neanderthal. However, there are certain genres that turn me off–crime/mob stories, heist stories, and, yup, you guessed it, “love” stories. In my earlier days, this focus on love, marriage, and women’s issues would have “ruined” the movie for me. However, having taken Dr. Hixon’s Disney film class, I now understand how those tropes have permeated through the movie landscape (for good or ill) and I’ve learned to pick up on them and not “hate” them as much as I used to.
I also liked the martial arts. For a martial arts movie, I thought the actual fights were good Now obviously, that isn’t the true focus of the movie and they could have been stronger, especially the earlier ones. But I found the ones in the later half of the movie to be particularly interesting and well done in terms of choreography.
The characters were also well done, although the women characters are the ones who truly shine in story. The men are a bit one note, even the two main male leads. Both seemed under used. While I’m glad they didn’t go with the traditional “love” triangle for this story, breaking the focus up between the two male characters meant that neither the “strong, silent” protagonist or the “rebel without a cause” protagonist had a chance to shine. They both seemed under developed due to the lack of screen time they were given.
Finally, I like the story. Again, it wasn’t as strong as I’d been led to believe by the hype–it isn’t the best story I’ve seen in a martial arts movie–the Ip Man movies come quickly to mind, but it is far from the worst. I would give the plot (just the events of the story) an A-/B+ alone.
What I Didn’t Like
Okay, really the only thing I didn’t like is this movie’s claim to fame: the unrealistic gravity defying “flying-running” on air. I understand this from a stylistic choice and even from an aesthetic choice to differentiate your martial arts movie from everything else out there, but every time it was on the screen, it took me out of the action.
Look, I’m more into well edited, hyper kinetic fight sequences. The pseudo-rolling combat of Scarlett Johannson’s Black Widow, the methodical and clearly paced combat of Donnie Yen’s Ip Man, and the frenetic energy coupled with masterful comedic timing of Jackie Chan’s earlier movies (specifically thinking of Rumble in the Bronx here). Each one of these shows that it is possible to create a believable fight sequence that is both clear and fun to watch (okay, okay, so the edits in Marvel Movies are sometimes hard to follow, but as my mind mostly fills in the gaps, I’m okay with it).
However, knowing that it is clearly impossible for the action in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to be occurring without wires really takes me out of the action and story. I would have even preferred some sort of supernatural/hypernatural explanation because for humans to run up walls, jump from rooftop to rooftop and fight on swaying limbs was just too far for me. It didn’t help that the actors/stunt people clearly looked like they were being held upright by wires, even if we couldn’t see the wires. The way their bodies moved and swayed, clearly indicated that gravity was affecting them in a way that only wires/harnesses could have mitigated.
Had the movie been made today, a lot of the action would have probably been digitally created using digital models of the characters and animated with appropriate physics. I know it is heresy, but it would have to have been done this way for me to have liked it and kept it from distracting me and taking me out of the story.
Overall Grade: A-
Overall, I think this movie did what it set out to do: tell an interesting story about two female characters in a repressive, patriarchal male society in ancient China. While I’m not sure that I like the very element it was praised for (the unrealistic flying effects), I can say that I did like the story, characters, and martial arts far more and those elements really made the movie come alive for me.
