Betty Adams's Blog, page 134

Dark Lords and Background Characters

One of the balancing acts that authors have to pull off is populating their world with both main and background characters. A main character, hero or villain, needs to be fleshed out in four dimensions. Background characters however are a bit more flexible. They can be as little as a twisted smile across a crowded Inn or a detailed chapter. For the most part they serve one of two functions. They are either a part of the background, a bit of the landscape to set the scene, or they are something for the main character to react to. How much detail is used depends entirely on the situation. An old man whose behavior defines whether the town the hero enters is suspicious or welcoming of strangers might need only a few words, while a bar-maid with no dialogue whose apparel defines the average wealth of the town might need several paragraphs. The author must balance how much information the character can provided without becoming a distraction, with how much information is already provided by other aspects of the scene. 

Meeting the Unipiper at Cherry City Comiccon

One of the perks of conventions is meeting celebrities big and small. Cherry  City Comic Con had a few from Lois Lane to Flash Gordon to "who's that over there?". For those of us from the Pacific Northwest a local folk celebrity, one of the guardsmen for the "Keep Portland Weird" movement, was there to meet and greet.  
The Unipiper had a corner booth with a full set up of merchandise and his trademark unicycle and bagpipes. This author was lucky enough to snag a brief interview with him.

How did he get started?
Apparently he found the unicycle in the dumpster while he was taking bagpipe lessons  and one thing led to another. 

​#Unipiper  #CherryCityComicCon

Chasing Inspiration

Today is #InternationalDance day. As an author with very little natural physical grace or hand eye coordination I have always admired those artists with those skill sets . Of course when it comes to writing dancing this requires quite a bit of research on the part of a non-dancing author. This is where research gets fun. If an author can find a willing dance teacher, sitting in on a class or two is enlightening and entertaining.  

Book Review - Wearing the Cape

For #NationalSuperheroDay a review of a delightfully refreshing take on the superhero genre. 

"Wearing the Cape" 

Afterwards they called it "The Event", or whatever that translated to in other languages. For a handful of seconds the entire world blanked out, from supercomputers, to flashlights, to human brains. When the lights came back on the world was in chaos, and from the ashes rose astounding heros, and villians. 

Marion G. Harmon has created a world where super powered humans make sense. Scientists freak out over the laws of physics being ignored and the sigh, grit their teeth and amend their theories accordingly. Into this world where international powers are rearranging and a single individual can stand in for an army steps Hope. She is a self described pixy of a young woman who is hoping for one last growth spurt before she heads off to take University by storm. The the mysterious Teatime Anarchist drops an overpass on her. Granted he was aiming for the senator who was passing but Hope was the one caught in the blast, and Hope was the one who suddenly discovered that giant blocks of concrete and steel suddenly weren't that heavy anymore. In the aftermath she is offered an apprenticeship with her home city's local Superhero team.

The characters are engaging and real from a girl who just wants to do the right thing, to her overprotective father with secrets of his own, to a quite old professor of ancient history who bequeaths her a wealth of knowledge and Malus  (his distinctive mace only liftable by superheros). The situation the heroine finds herself in are so real they feel like the could have been lifted from any modern newspaper. This is a book that keeps you reading.  

The Balance Between Showing and Telling

Show, don't tell.
It is an old truism for authors that really works when applied, except when it doesn't of course. The author must strive to engage the reader and a long, dull description is not a good way to do that. 
The forest was beautiful. 
VS
Towering conifers dimmed the noonday sun and hid a dozen micro-climes in the tangle of their roots. 

Looking Forward to Cherry City Comic Con

Looking forward to Cherry City Comic Con in Salem, Oregon This Sunday! 

World Penguin Day

Today is #WorldPenguinDay 
In terms of adorable talking animals there are few that can match the sheer cuteness of a penguin. And give that most of the western world grew up learning about these black and white wonders of nature from a soothing British voice. Now David Attenborough was famous for his excellent diction and pronunciation, but not everyone has those skills. 

Cats Can Talk Today

The concept of talking cats is well established in the written word, In fact the concept most likely predates the written word in most cultures. There is something about cats that makes humans expect, if not conversation, at least a few pithy words from the kitty. As a famous smiling cat once said.
"We're all a little mad here!" 
​#MyTalkingCatSays

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day...which can take on a very different meaning if you are writing science fiction. 
#EarthDay
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Impending Doom

Well not so much doom as an impending deadline. Does anyone else know a good universal metaphor for being so far behind schedule in everything that the deadline wolves are circling like...something?