Sidney Blaylock Jr.'s Blog, page 40
May 31, 2018
So, I, Robot is a “bad” movie? What Gives?
Project Paradise Word Count: 357
Project Skye Word Count: 1617
Project Independence Word Count: 2428 (+71)
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
I managed to add 71 words yesterday, well below my 250 word goal. In my defense, I only had about 40 minutes in-between assignments, but I probably could have gotten it done, but I had to eat dinner, and eating ribs and typing on a computer keyboard is a recipe for disaster. I also had time on my breaks, but chose not to work on it. Instead I skimmed YouTube for most of break time. Today, I’m going to make a concerted effort to use my break times for writing and save YouTube for the weekend. We’ll see tomorrow if I make it happen.
I, Robot = “bad”?
So, towards the end of the day at the Writing Center, a discussion emerged about the concept of Artificial Intelligence in video games and movies, and I brought up I, Robot as an example. Now, I know I, Robot isn’t regarded fondly in the Sci-Fi community, but I was surprised to hear a MA (Master’s level) student pull a “Freshman Fiat.” This is my term for when a freshman (or any other beginning level student) pronounces that something is “fact” and then provides no evidence for this pronouncement. He categorically stated that I, Robot was a “bad” movie, but without giving any shred of evidence (such as characterization, plotting, setting, tone, etc) to back up his statement and I was supposed to just agree because that is the general consensus.
But I don’t agree.
Not only do I not agree, but as a student learning more and more about Afrofuturism, I would argue that the general consensus has less to do with the movie’s quality in terms of story construction than it does with the appearance of the hero and the formation of the hero’s identity.
But Looper = “good”?
As a counterpoint to the I, Robot narrative, I would offer the (as evidence, which the other participant in the debate never gave, I must repeatedly emphasize), the movie Looper. Looper is a time travel story, one which (minor spoilers–skip down if you want to know nothing about the plot) sets the protagonist against an older version of himself.
Looper was hailed as a “great” movie and was critically acclaimed. It also made its director Rian Johnson a powerhouse in the Sci-Fi movie community (which ultimately lead to The Last Jedi and the splintering of the Star Wars fandom). However, I found Looper (and The Last Jedi to a lesser degree) to be one of the least inventive, least original, and a movie so lacking in character motivation that it made the main character seem flat and uninteresting. And yet, this movie is hailed as what we should aspire to in Science Fiction filmmaking, while I, Robot, which tries to explore the idea what a soul is and where does it reside, and can it reside in a machine created by man (i.e, first explored by “high” literature such as Frankenstein, and explored in many different movies, including the highly successful Terminator films).
What Makes It So?
I would challenge viewers to watch (or rewatch) each film and focus on the protagonists–the main characters. I would also encourage viewers to take a moment to look at the way each character is defined and acts within the context of his respective movie. Although one is a darker shade in terms of skin tone and borrows from his cultural heritage, I would argue that it is Looper’s protagonist who acts in a more stereotypical way. The protagonist in Looper doesn’t emote (characteristic of the “strong, silent” type), his actor has the classic “Hollywood” face (“square-jawed”), and the character acts out of a misplaced sense of “love” (the character himself isn’t faced with any overriding conviction), whereas the protagonist of I, Robot hates the robots in his world as a way of displacing his own “self-hate” at the way his circumstances turned out.
I would argue that I, Robot challenges the stereotypical narrative far more than Looper does, but that the casting of the protagonist in Looper conforms more to the expectations of the viewers and thus, allows Looper benefit from a story that is far less engaging and far less revolutionary than the story that I, Robot tells.
If you happen to disagree, that’s perfectly valid. I just wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of the reasons why I think that I, Robot gets a bad “rap.” At least, there’s no “Freshman Fiat” to deal with here–you have points that you can refute if you disagree.
And that was ultimately the point of today’s post: a little more reason and a little less fiat. Thanks for reading!
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae, Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Amazon Associate Disclaimer:
I earn a small commission on the purchase of these items.
May 30, 2018
Updated Marvel Universe Movies
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This is a super short post to let you know that I’ve updated my Ranking of Marvel Movies post with the addition of Thor Ragnarok.
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae, Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Amazon Associate Disclaimer:
I earn a small commission on the purchase of these items.
May 29, 2018
Thor Ragnarok: Mini-Review (No Spoilers)
Project Paradise Word Count: 357
Project Skye Word Count: 1617
Project Independence Word Count: 2357
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
Nope, no writing done over the 3 day weekend. Tragic. This is what I’ve got to get better at as a writer who wants to be “professional.” Yes, I had another real-world “project” that I was working on (changing rooms in my house), but it doesn’t take that long to do 250 words. I just didn’t want to go through the hassle of setting up the computer for just 20-30 mins of writing–but the cost to that was, no writing done at all. 250 * 6 days = 1,500 words. I one week, I could, if I could get my act together, essentially finish a “section” of a short story, or the basic “outline” of a chapter. So the word I used above is actually something I need to tell myself when I don’t get my 250 words in–tragic.
Finally Saw Thor Ragnarok
Okay, so over the Memorial Day Weekend here in the U.S., my family and I gathered together after the holiday dinner to watch Thor Ragnarok. I have to say upfront that it was a fun experience–it isn’t the best Marvel movie that I ever seen, but it also isn’t the worst. I guess that’s what, after having a night to sleep on it, I would say–it was a solidly fun experience. Unlike Star Wars, which at the moment that I write this, is having a “moment” (and not in a good way as Kathleen Kennedy seems determined to remake the brand into something that she wants and not something that the fans want), Marvel movies know what they’re audiences want: quite a bit of action, some humor (quips and some physical comedy), characters having to some (light) soul-searching, an inventive and eventful ending, and (a bit) of moral relevance (theme) and they’re golden. This is what Thor Ragnarok delivers to its audience. Is it flashy, like say Civil War or Winter Soldier? No. But is it good? Yes, yes it is.
God of Humor
So, the comedic elements in this one are super strong. Whether they be visual gags, banter and quips, or downright physical humors, a lot (but not all) of Thor Ragnarok is played for laughs. I happened to have liked that, but if you’re looking for (or liked) the grim seriousness of Thor The Dark World, then you’ll need to look elsewhere because they play this strictly as an action-comedy. When there’s action, there’s a lot of it, but when there’s no action on the screen, they’re either setting up a joke or actually paying off a joke. There’s very little else here, although to be fair, there is quite a bit of light character development of Thor, Loki, Hulk/Banner, and the new character, the Valkyrie, whose name wasn’t really used all that often in the movie, but who both Thor & Loki recognized as a Valkyrie, so that’s (at the moment) how I remembered her character.
Not the Worst, but Not the Best
Again, I have to say that I really liked this movie quite a bit, but based on the high praise that it was given by some of the reviews when it released, I’m a little surprised that it wasn’t a stronger movie. I suppose when you get right down to it, this may have to do more with me and my expectations than the movie itself. While I like comedies and like to laugh (who doesn’t), my favorite genre is action. While there’s no denying that Thor Ragnarok does have action set-pieces, for the most part, this one lent itself to comedy (think the comedy sketch of Thor sitting out Civil War that made the rounds on YouTube last summer, and you’ll have an idea of what the creators of Thor Ragnarok were going for).
Having just re-watched this vignette, I just realized that they referenced the “email” joke in this vignette in Thor Ragnarok, so this is very much a “tone-piece” for the movie. If you like this vignette, then you’ll probably like Thor Ragnarok very much. I was mildly amused by this, so while I really liked the movie, it probably won’t make it into my Top 5 Marvel movies. Not to say it isn’t good, but I feel there are other Marvel movies that are stronger.
Overall Grade: B (Above Average)
My take: Hey, it’s a Marvel movie. They’d have to really misfire (Thor Dark World) to get much less (Marvel gets me as a fan in a way that Kathleen Kennedy and the “new” Star Wars doesn’t seem to anymore). I love what they are doing right now. Even the movies that I feel are perhaps “weaker” entries in the Universe are still above the quality of many other movies of competing franchises. My mother said the movie was better than she expected it be based on the other Thor movies and my step-father laughed all the way through, and myself was at least amused through most of it, but sat up and took notice through the extended action sequences. This was, while not my favorite Marvel movie, still one that I would gladly re-watch anytime.
May 25, 2018
Show Us The Gameplay!
Tom Cruise with the dialogue caption: “Show me the money!” Image Source: The Social C Suite (http://thesocialcsuite.net/show-me-the-money/)
Project Paradise Word Count: 357
Project Skye Word Count: 1617
Project Independence Word Count: 2357
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
I haven’t written anything as of yet–I wanted to do the blog post first and get it out before the long holiday weekend (U.S.). Hopefully, if I don’t write today, I’ll be able to write at least 250 words over the 3 day weekend–that’s my goal, at least. Let’s see on Tuesday if I can actually make it happen.
Games, Games, Games
Okay, so for the most part, my blog entries for the past two weeks have centered (mostly) around my writing endeavors as I try my best to find the best way to navigate the Work, Life, Writing Balance. I’m actually going to veer a hard left today and move more into video games and gaming for the next two weeks. Don’t worry, I’m still going to update the word counts and give a brief description of how the writing is going, but as E3 approaches, I want to shift focus just a bit for a while to cover some aspects of gaming that are intriguing. Sometimes, like today, the writing and gaming will intersect (at least tangentially), but not always. Just wanted to give you a head’s-up about where the blog is headed in the next couple of weeks. Oh, I should mention that sometime in the near future, I’ll (hopefully, *fingers crossed*) be seeing Thor Raganarok in the near future & I’ll post here and update my Favorite Marvel Movies post when I do.
Gamplay is King
So, today I watch a trailer for a game called Earthfall (aha, tricked you, didn’t I. Gamers are all up in arms about a “little” game called Battlefield V at the moment–I’ll actually cover that at a later date–maybe). However, as you can see from the trailer below, the game looks to be a 4 person cooperative shooter against aliens. The problem is that is all I can gather from the trailer. As there is no actual “gameplay,” it is hard to decide if I should put it on my “radar” or not. Is it a 1st person or 3rd person shooter, is it online only or is there a single player component (campaign), what does the moment-to-moment gameplay look like, etc.? Yes, yes, I know that I simply google it and find out all of this information, but the point I’m trying to make is that I shouldn’t have to. If you want me to purchase your game, show me (in gameplay) why I should do so.
We should be past creating a trailer, but not releasing any information about, especially since the game releases on July 13th, which is less than 2 months away (and knowing that a game goes “gold”–i.e., features “locked in” so that the discs can be pressed and shipped to retailers or downloaded for purchase doesn’t inspire confidence). At most, show one trailer–the trailer below is the 2nd major one, and then start showing gameplay. Even if they reveal gameplay at E3 in about two weeks time, I’m going to have to wait on reviews because, like movies, when companies aren’t confident that their product is good, they’ll often hold off releasing detailed information on the product until the last minute, hoping to “trick” consumers into seeing it/purchasing it before the initial waves of bad reviews start to flood in.
How to Do it Right!
So, last year, a racing game called The Crew 2 caught my eye. It is the sequel to The Crew, a game I loved and sunk hours into over the past two years since its release. The Crew 2 did have a trailer, but it has also consistently released gameplay elements, showing off the various parts of the game. They’ve released so much that I’ve had to put it on media “blackout” so that I don’t see too much of the game and spoil the surprises of the new things that they’ve added.
As I know what The Crew 2 is and what its gameplay looks like, I’m all in and willing to invest my hard earned money “sight unseen” in it because I’ve seen enough gameplay of the new game and I’ve played enough of the old game to know that this new game will be right up my ally. Also, as it comes out June 29th and my classes end on July 3, this will make the perfect “getting through your summer classes” gift to myself. Earthfall might have also been included in this transaction had they shown more gameplay, but as it stands, I’ll probably pick up God of War instead and (if the reviews are good), pick up Earthfall on sale around Christmas time.
To any developers (or future developers) who may stumble across this blog post, please remember–“Gameplay is King!”
Have a great weekend, and for those in the U.S., have a great and safe Memorial Day Weekend!
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae , Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Amazon Associate Disclaimer:
I earn a small commission on the purchase of these items.
May 24, 2018
Back to the Future (No, Not the Movie, My Writing Projects)
Writing the Future: All For Nothing. Image Source: YouTube
Project Paradise Word Count: 357
Project Skye Word Count: 1617
Project Independence Word Count: 2357 (+634 words)
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
I’m back to writing again–I’m working primarily on Project Independence now that I have a complete idea of the story in my head. I shattered my 250 word writing goal for today, but in doing so, didn’t have a whole lot of time left to craft this blog entry before my Writing Center shift begins.
So, I’m Back to Writing
This one is a shorter blog as I have to be in the Writing Center in about 45 minutes. Basically, I just wanted to let everyone know that I’m back to writing, specifically Project Independence. While yesterday’s blog was a way to help me discover what time is optimal for me as a writer, today’s blog is to emphasize that sometimes you have to write at sub-optimal times. Yesterday, I tried to write in the afternoon, but I ran out of time because I was reading outside and I didn’t have access to a wifi-enabled computer. I would have had to go back inside into the air-conditioning which I had been in all morning and lunchtime, so I just enjoyed the sunlight outside reading. Today, I just got up early and wrote before my shift in the Writing Center begins.
Writing Future Slang
So, one of the things that I’m really interested in is communication between the various characters. While I want to tell a very cool and interesting story, I also want to emphasize how communication can help (or hinder) the characters in the story. Today, for instance, I tried my hand at creating slang for a different planet. I’m not sure how effective it is at this stage of the draft, but I really like the challenge of taking today’s slang and trying to extrapolate how it might work in the future.
Sorry this blog is so short–consider this a maxi-update for Project Independence. Hopefully, I’ll be able to craft a longer blog entry tomorrow. Right now, I’m just excited that I’m actually back to writing the story.
Have a great day!
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae , Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Amazon Associate Disclaimer:
I earn a small commission on the purchase of these items.
May 23, 2018
Changing Paradigms
Good Afternoon written on a notebook beside a laptop. Image Source: Depositphotos
Project Paradise Word Count: 357
Project Skye Word Count: 1617
Project Independence Word Count: 1723
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
So, again, no new writing done (boo!). Read on to find out why.
Adjusting to a New Schedule
So, astute readers will notice that the Word Count section of the blog that I recently added has not changed in a couple of days. There’s are reason for that–while Summer “Classes” have not officially started, my summer “responsibilities” for my Financial Aid started on Monday, the 21st. I’m now working in the University Writing Center as a Writing Consultant over the summer. This means my writing time has been severely restricted in terms of time to write.
Optimal Writing Time
Dr. Renfroe, in the very first class I took from her here at MTSU, encouraged us (grad students) to experiment with writing times to find what worked for us so as to write consistently and regularly. She advised us that, as students who would be writing theses and dissertations, this was the best and most consistent way to be able to craft these longer works with as little frustration as possible. Later on, after reading Jesmyn Ward’s Interview on NPR (Persist. Read, Write, and Improve), I realized that I really needed to produce 250 words a day and to find the time when I was at my best in terms of a writing time.
Early to Mid Afternoon
So, in this past year and half, I’ve discovered that I’m best as a writer during the early to mid-afternoon period. Some time after lunch, but sometime before, say five o’clock. Early morning writing (except for maybe the blog) doesn’t really work (for me) as I’m not usually awake enough to consistently put words on the page, even though I’m a fairly early riser. Late night doesn’t work because my body and mind usually go into “shut down” mode and any energy/excitement for the piece is overcome by mental exhaustion from the day. No, my preferred writing time is early to mid-afternoon. My brain is awake and alert, but not tired and mentally exhausted.
This week, I’ll have a couple of hours in that optimal time, but next week, I’ll only have one hour. Now that I know this, I’m going to have learn to be a little quicker in adapting myself to the changing paradigms that I find myself in to protect as much of that precious “golden time” in the early/mid-afternoons as possible based on the circumstances.
It is true: knowledge is power. Have a good day!
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May 22, 2018
Enjoy the Ride
Project Paradise Word Count: 357
Project Skye Word Count: 1617
Project Independence Word Count: 1723
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
So, I didn’t get any “mainline” writing done, but I did brainstorm a project and this brainstorming session, while unintentional, was very productive. I’ve chosen which of the two projects that I will be working on to finish out the month. To find out which one, read on:
Driving While Dreaming
So, as some of you may know that I have a fairly long commute from my house to school/class. I usually listen to podcasts and (more rarely) play music. The reception isn’t good enough to listen to anyone radio station the entire time, so these are my only two realistic options. However, today, I found myself not really wanting to listen to a podcast after the first one finished playing and all of the stations had nothing but static and I didn’t want to hook up my bluetooth aftermarket connection for my phone to play music, so I just drove. And what a drive it was.
Project Independent Comes into Focus
So as I was driving, there were long stretches with few cars and lots of quiet and my mind began to wander a bit, I must confess. I kept my eyes on the road and had full road awareness, but I began to wonder what would happen next in the conversation I was in the middle of for Project Independence and boom, my mind was off to the races. It was very much like reliving watching an enjoyable movie as scene after scene played out in my mind. I knew what the main characters were going to do, what they were going to say, who would live and who would (possibly) die. I had the setting, complications, and reversals all planned out. This took place from about the base of Monteagle mountain, through the truck rest area and inspection station, and ended about at Manchester, TN (about a 20-25 minute Speed Limit drive).
Recapturing the Glory
When I finally got to school, I took a moment to jot down (in outline form) the key scenes and their importance from my brainstorming daydream. I’m now super excited to write about it because I want to recapture that feeling and those emotions that i felt while brainstorming the story in my mind. So, if you haven’t guessed already, Project Space Trucker (which should have a title that I really like now) is the one short story project that I’m working on for the rest of May (& a bit into June if I need to. I will push Project Skye (which I’ve made good progress on) back to June. I will work on the Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel on weekends (I owe my artist an email soon).
It was really amazing the way the subconscious took over and helped to fashion out a story that I’m itching to tell. The moral of this story = if you’re stuck, go out for a drive (or a walk, or whatever), but just do something else for a while. You’re subconscious is probably already working on a solution.
Talk to you later!
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae , Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Amazon Associate Disclaimer:
I earn a small commission on the purchase of these items.
May 21, 2018
Commodore 64 (C64) Nostalgia Review: Starflight
Project Paradise Word Count: 357
Project Skye Word Count: 1617
Project Independence Word Count: 1723
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
As you can see, I didn’t manage to get any writing done Friday or Saturday. I didn’t even feel well enough on Friday to get out a blog entry–sorry about that. I’m still also trying to fine-tune my “process.” I think I have too many projects, especially since Summer classes are about to start and they tend to be these intense periods of “crunch” time because you’re trying to cover a semester’s worth of stuff in 4-8 weeks. I trying to decided if Project Skye or Project Independence is the one I want to focus on for May and then I’ll shift the other for June. I do want to keep working on the graphic novel in the “background” (on weekends?), but I’m not really sure when to fit this in. I’ll cogitate on it and try to decide on a course of action in the next two weeks before school starts.
Late to the Game
I’m not sure that I have all that much to talk about when it comes to Starflight published by Electronics Arts (before their rebranding as EA. This was an early space ship explorations/simulation game, heavily inspired by TV shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica (the OG shows, not the newer modern reboots.) In it, you controlled a spaceship and chose which worlds to visit and explore. As I recall, you could choose destinations and fly your ship there, land on planets, and (I believe) scavenge for resources and discover aliens. Just browsing through the manual, it looks like you could create, train, and utilize crew members on your ship.
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Screenshot, Image Source: Moby Games
Uncharted Territory
As i mentioned above, I don’t really recall that much about the game. It would probably have been one that I played and enjoyed and would have probably been one of my favorites, except, as I recall, Electronic Arts didn’t publish this on the C64 right away. If memory serves, this was a PC game that absolutely “blew up” in popularity. It wasn’t talked about so much outside of gaming circles, but from what I remember, this was “hot stuff” in the world at the time. The C64 port came sometime later and people think that modern day Ubisoft “downgrades” graphics are bad (i.e., shows an enhanced game during their presentations of the game and then “downgrades” the graphics so that the game will actually run on current hardware), but the game’s graphics were truly watered down–so much so, that my uncle nicknamed the main character sprite/avatar “Caspy” after “Casper the friendly ghost.”
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“Caspy.” Image Source: Lemon64.com
More Time and Space
Unfortunately, this meant that I didn’t get the game until the very end of the C64’s life-cycle in our household. By then, CD-Rom systems like the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation were beginning to be talked about in the gaming magazines, and the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo ruled the roost at that time (if memory serves), so a hack-and-slash game like Golden Axe was more in-line with what I was playing at the time and I didn’t really devote a lot of time to “Caspy” and his adventures (even though I’m a spaceship sort of guy.). I don’t want to turn off modern gamers, but I remember it being a old-school version of No Man’s Sky (which I actually don’t think is as bad as everyone who hates on it, says it is–it’s just slow and more about survival.) I would actually have kept my copy had I not been in grad. school–I realized that even though I would be able to tolerate it and have some fun with it, but it just took too long to do anything and that I just didn’t have the time to invest in learning its systems and getting really good with them. That’s sort of how I felt when playing Starlight. Electronic Arts really should have had a port ready for the C64 much sooner–or if they did, they needed to have advertised it better so that I could have made it a priority Christmas/Birthday request. As it was, it was a good game that I just didn’t get to put a lot of time into because the “gaming” world had moved on by the time I got to it. I could only find a DOS play through and not a C64 play through.
Here’s hoping you have a good week!
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae , Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Amazon Associate Disclaimer:
I earn a small commission on the purchase of these items.
May 17, 2018
Mostly a Stop Sign Day
Woman breathing in vapors from solution. Image Source: Healthfully.com
Sorry about the lack of a coherent blog today, but I’m just barely functioning. I actually wrote yesterday and I’ll include the stats today, but unless something major changes, I won’t be able to write today. For some reason, I don’t really feel all that well today. I’m not sure why, but I think it has something to do with getting over a minus sinus infection from yesterday. The weather has also changed from warm and sunny to cool and rainy and that is also affecting my sinuses.
Project Paradise Word Count: 357 (+244)
Project Skye Word Count: 1617 (+533)
Project Independence Word Count: 1723
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
I hope to be back to writing and blogging as usual tomorrow. Have a good day!
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae, Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Amazon Associate Disclaimer:
I earn a small commission on the purchase of these items.
May 16, 2018
Submitting Drafts Too Soon?
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” Terry Pratchett (Freedom With Writing). Image Source: Pinterest
Project Paradise Word Count: 357 (+244)
Project Skye Word Count: 1084
Project Independence Word Count: 1723
Project Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel Page Count: 12
I came within 6 words of my Daily 250 word count, so I feel like this was a successful writing day. I would have liked to have gotten to 250 words, but the place where I stopped seemed like a natural “break” in the flow of the story.
Am I Submitting Drafts too Soon?
So, working on Project Skye has been an eye-opening experience. I’ve discovered some interesting things about my drafting process as a fiction writer. One of the things I’ve discovered is that I need to “Tell, Don’t Show” first. I need to tell myself the story first before I try to show it to the audience. The second thing is that I may be submitting drafts one or maybe even two/three versions too early, and this may have to do with the terminology that I use when describing where I am in the writing process.
“Working” Draft
So, after I outline and write a Rough Draft (sometimes these are separate, sometimes not–although, lately, I’ve taken to outlining using the “Story Map” handout that I’ve mentioned before in a previous blog post, and then write the Rough Draft in the Notes App on my phone) which looks a lot like a “Treatment” for a Hollywood script. I let that sit for a week or more and then start on the next draft, the “Working” Draft.
To me, “Working” implies that it is a “Work-in-Progress” Draft of the story. It is, as close as I can make it, the story that I see in my mind. After the “Working” draft is finished, I compare it to the outline and the vision that I have in my head. If I’m satisfied with it, I’ll edit it and begin submitting. If I’m not, it will go through another “pass” to see if I can improve on it.
“Intermediate” Draft
This process did not work with Project Skye. What I’ve done is created “Intermediate” drafts along the way with each successive draft getting closer and closer to the story/vision in my head. Unlike, 99% of my stories so far, I’m only on the first major scene, and already I think I’m going to need at least one more major pass at it to get it right. I’m doing a lot of world-building and characterization in this draft, but other techniques like building excitement by starting the story In Media Res (“in the middle of things”) and cutting of extraneous details that I need, but that the audience doesn’t won’t be addressed in this draft (although I have ideas on how I might accomplish these things in the next draft).
However, normally when I finished the draft that I’m on right now for Project Skye, it would go out to various markets, so I’m wondering, if I haven’t been simply submitting my stories too early in the process by not thinking of these drafts as “intermediary” steps to getting to a more “dramatic” story that does what all good writing should do: “show, don’t tell.”
Food for thought for me on this Wednesday afternoon. Happy writing and reading!
Sidney
Read Skin Deep for Free at Aurora Wolf
Read Childe Roland for Free at Electric Spec
Read Faerie Knight in the anthology Fae, Rhonda Parrish, Ed. or the Kindle Edition
Read Ship of Shadows in the anthology Visions IV: Space Between Stars, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read WarLight in the anthology Visions VI: Galaxies, Carrol Fix, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
Read Dragonhawk in the magazine Tales of the Talisman, Vol. 8, Iss. 3, David Lee Summers, Ed. or the Kindle Edition.
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