Archive for November, 2012

I Do Okay Writing Both Sexes

Posted: November 15, 2012 in Reflections, Writing
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You know, I’ve never had any problems writing from the perspectives of either boys or girls. It’s never been an issue for me, and yet I hear from writers all the time about how they’re males and they just can’t get into the minds of their female characters, or for some women, they just can’t figure out what motivates their main character’s boyfriend. I kind of feel like an outsider in these conversations.

Granted, I think most writers feel more comfortable writing characters that are more like us, and that includes gender. It’s easier to relate to someone with the same likes, dislikes, and struggles, and it can be difficult at first to get into the head of someone with a completely different sort of life. But I think with time and experience, it gets a little easier.

Take me for example: I’ve had both time and experience learning how women think. I grew up in a house with several women in it, and that’s not including pets! I kind of got used to women early on, and some of these women, including my mom, were big and positive influences on my writing (this is also where my beliefs on women’s rights were formed, but that’s no surprise, right?). And to add to that, I grew up watching a lot of shows that featured women characters as leads playing out the traditional male role of fighting evil, such as Sailor Moon and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. With all that input, I got an inkling on how to write from a female perspective.

And you know what? It showed! Some of my early short stories featured women in lead roles, and they got praised for how realistic these girls I wrote seemed. It was a big boost to my confidence, and it’s why a lot of my works–such as my short story Doll’s Game or my science-fiction novel Reborn City–feature female protagonists.

So yeah, I’ve had the time and experience, enough that I can write some decent female characters. And I’m sure that with time and experience, I’ll be able to write all sorts of characters and make them all feel real. Just a matter of time, right?

What about you? Do you have trouble or ease writing for the opposite sex?

Doll’s Game: Done For Now

Posted: November 14, 2012 in Progress Report, short story, Writing
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I just finished with the first draft of the rewrite of Doll’s Game. And yes, I said I was renaming it “Animal Child”, but you all are more familiar with the title Doll’s Game, so for now I’ll continue calling it that. The new version of the story is four pages shorter, and doesn’t cover as much ground as the earlier version. And unlike the original version, I like this one much better. In fact, I think this draft kicks the old draft’s butt, and actually stands the chance of being published somewhere, which I certainly don’t mind.

Well, now it’s time for the next step in the process for short stories I’m trying to publish: I save the story and put it away for later, when I can edit it with fresh eyes. I’m pretty sure that when I do the edits, I’ll be doing a lot of work on the middle and ending sections of the stories more than the beginning section, just because those sections involve important character important, so I have to make sure those sections are good sections.

In the meantime, I have some projects and papers to write for class, and then I have work to do on my novel-that-is-in-its-final-stages Reborn City and my novel-in-progress Snake. Of course, the former requires more work than either of the latter, which may mean I’ll have less time to devote to NaNoWriMo. Ah, the troubles of a college student.

I have to go now, so I’ll write more later. Happy Wednesday.

I’ve Got A Superhero Identity

Posted: November 13, 2012 in Living and Life
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I’ve got a secret I want to tell you: I’ve joined an online group of superheroes. We create our own missions and go fight villainy and corruption in (insert city here). So if you are reading my comments and see someone calling me Judgement, you know why.

So I’m going to take this oppurtunity to tell you about my superhero identity (feel free to click away if you feel this post is too geeky for you): I’m called Judgement, and I’m an antihero of sorts. I’m also what’s called an N-Feed, meaning I absorb emotional energy from myself and from others in order to fuel very amazing abilities. In my case, I absorb negative energy–anger, fear, despair–in order to fuel powerful telekinesis and energy blast abilities. In addition, my form changes a little like the Hulk when I really make use of my abilities, except I turn black with gold designs imprinted on my skin, my hair grows out and becomes pale white, my teeth become fangs, and my eyes become yellow (drawing to be scanned in and uploaded later).

I just used my powers to help me get through life (a little like Peter Parker), but I fell in love with a girl…who’s father was an investigative journalist who got a little to close to something big and as a result was killed and his daughter crippled. Between taking care of my girl and taking classes/using my writing to pay the bills, I go out as Judgement to find what my girl’s dad found–and bust a few heads while I’m at it.

My catchphrase is “Feel my wrath”, and as a side effect of my powers, I become a little sadistic when I’m fighting my enemies. However, I have help in fighting crime and keeping my darker side from getting the better of me: in addition to my friends in the league, the Revengers, there’s an underground community of N-feeds who look out for each other, even the darker ones who sometimes put the safety of N-Feeds everywhere in jeopardy.

So, feeling like you don’t want to read my blog anymore? Your loss. I’m still having fun. In the meantime, I’ve got a mission at the DA’s office to carry out. Feel my wrath!

Rewriting “Doll’s Game”

Posted: November 13, 2012 in Progress Report, short story, Writing
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As I’ve said in previous posts, I’m working on editing the short story I’m writing for my creative writing class, Doll’s Game. One of the biggest criticisms I got on that short story when we workshopped it was that for a little girl who’s been held captive and abused for most of her life, she adapts to the outside world rather quickly.

So now I’m writing a version of the story showing the events of the main character’s first few days on the outside through her perspective, and since she hasn’t had much human contact, she has a rather unique point of view that’s been challenging to write. Then again, I like the challenge, so what’s the problem?

I’m also trying to rename the story, seeing as in the act of a total rewrite, a title that worked under one circumstance doesn’t work under another. Since kids growing up in the sort of environment my main character is growing up in tend to be feral, I’m going with “Animal Child’ for now, but it’s subject to change. Hopefully a better title that fits the direction of the story will come along.

Anyway, I better get back to work; I’m two-thirds of the way with this rewrite, and I need to do a little more if I want to get to three-fourths. Wish me luck.

The Power of a Symbol

Posted: November 11, 2012 in ideas, Reflections
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What does this image mean to you?

I started watching The Dark Knight trilogy recently. I’ve seen all the films, but never one after the other, especially with the most recent one, and I thought I’d see them with a new perspective if I watched them as an adult than if I watched only the first two as a teenager. I do have a better understanding of the concepts presented in the films, but I also started thinking about something apparent througout the movies: the power of symbols.

Symbols do a lot in The Dark Knight films, making the men who use them more than just men. Batman is a symbol of fear to the criminals of Gotham, something that can’t be tamed or limited by rules and regulations. The Joker is a symbol of chaos, a psychopath with a sadistic streak who destroys for the sake of destroying…and getting to wear a skirt. Harvey Dent is both a symbol of how one can be twisted and how one can be a lighthouse for good. There are numerous more examples I could use, but let’s face it, Batman is rife with people-as-symbols, and The Dark Knight trilogy goes to great lengths to point that out.

This has made me think about some of the major symbols that men and women embody in some other works of literature and film that I admire. The Phantom of the Opera is both a symbol of fear of the unknown, and a symbol of tragic beauty. V from V for Vendetta has become a symbol for overthrowing tyrannical government through unconventional means (whether that government is tyrannical or not depends on which hacker you ask). Lelouch Lamperouge, the protagonist from my favorite anime Code Geass, symbolizes both mystery, the struggle of every oppressed Japanese man, woman, and child, and finally unconquerable rebellion. Heck, I’m not even Christian, but I can see what Jesus and the cross do for so many Christians around the world!

Even in my own works, there are people who act as symbols. The Snake is a symbol of rebellion against the Camerlengo family, a symbol that some are willing to use to their advantage (see my excerpt a few posts back). And in a work I plan to write someday and a work that I plan to make my personal magnum opus, the main character references the Phantom of the Opera when he decides to take on the evil government in the story, becoming a symbol of revolution by donning a mask and doing things others can’t (I would have him reference Batman, but this guy is operating about a year before Batman ever hit the bookstands).

So what does this tell us, besides that the only examples I can think of are men? Well, that humans-as-symbols are extremely powerful, especially when they are able to cause a stir, a wave in a criminal underworld or in the working staff of an opera house. They represent that which is impossible, that which can’t be imagined, that which shouldn’t come to pass but passes anyway. Why? Well, that depends on a number of reasons. But the point is, a symbol is a powerful thing, and when a man embodies it, it becomes even more so.

“Doll’s Game”–Beginning the Revision Process

Posted: November 10, 2012 in Progress Report, short story, Writing
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In my creative writing class, I have to do a revision exercise due two days after my workshop date. Yes, that means I have to turn in a new draft on Sunday. By noon, too. Jeez, what if I want to sleep past one in the afternoon?

Well, I can’t sleep in that late apparently, not without getting a lowered grade. So I did my revision exercise and I plan to send it in after I finish writing this post. What I had to do was take a certain section of the story and, taking into account all the suggestions I got on the day of my workshop, rewrite it. And that’s what I did, editing one of the early sections of Doll’s Game. And now, I think I’ll work on the rest of the short story, doing an entirely new version of the story based on all the feedback and critiques I got on Friday.

What does that mean, though? Basically I’ll be writing an entirely new story with the same main motif at the center. What was that motif? A girl raised in captivity by her kidnapper gets free and gets a real shock when she escapes. The original story focused on her entire life after she escaped, but now I’ll be focusing on her time in captivity, and what happened immediately after the escape.

And yes, I do write that sort of creepy subject material. Why? I blame a childhood trauma I wrote about several posts back.

But back to the main theme of this post: I’m basically doing an entire rewrite. At the center will be the main character and her experience, but it’s less about her lfie growing up after her trauma and more about what happened immediately afterwards, which is just as terrifying, if not more so, than her time in captivity. Imagine how terrifying an unfamiliar world might be after escaping one that was familiar but filled with pain and fear. It’s horrible.

Which works to my strengths, since I’m writing disturbing material whenever I’m not writing a term paper or something along those lines. But still, it’s going to be quite a lot of work.

Oh well, that’s the challenge I’ve taken up, isn’t it? And besides, I’ve got about a month. If I work now, I should have plenty of time to do any necessary revision. And if I get a good grade, who knows? I may seek to get it published somewhere. I’m not sure where, though; even hardcore horror magazines might pass on a story involving this sort of story if they feel it’s a little too disturbing for their tastes.

Well, wish me luck. I’ve got some work to do.

Review: Skyfall

Posted: November 10, 2012 in Review
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British theatrical poster for “Skyfall”. Looks kind of…nostalgic, doesn’t it?

BOND IS BACK!

And he’s better than ever, showing that in an age of enemies without countries and cyberterrorists with no faces, Bond can still kick ass and take prisoner. Daniel Craig returns as Bond, but this time the serious spy comes with quips and self-referential humor. After faking dead for a while after a failed mission, Bond returns to England to defend M and MI6 when the latter comes under attack by Javier Bardem’s Silva, who apparently has a history with M (a really weird history). A tight plot spanning the globe from Istanbul to London to Hong Kong and Macau and finally a climax in the Scottish Moors that would’ve made Emily Bronte say “My word!”, Skyfall shows that the Bond era is not dead, but coming back with full force.

Craig is in his element aa s slightly older, unshaved, tired 007, who still will go to great lengths to help his country and his boss. We also get to see an entirely new side to Bond, one that’s not England’s killing machine or what every man wants to be, but a more human side only briefly glimpsed in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and Casino Royale. Javier Bardem fulfills his villain role by being creepy. He’s also possibly bisexual, definitely Oedipal, and you don’t want to see him without his dentures in, but above all, he’s just creepy, especially as he goes about trying to kill (or possibly be reunited with and forgiven by) M. Speaking of which, Judi Dench is still one of my favorite Ms, a cold, calculating leader who, underneath it all, really cares for the agents she employs. You will not believe what happens at the end of the movie with her character.

In addition, there are some newcomers that definitely deserve mention. For starters, Naomi Harris as Eve, who will definitely be making some appearances throughout the movie and will appear in later films as–you guessed it–Moneypenny. Saw that one coming, didn’t we? Ben Whinshaw takes the role of the Q character, redefining the role as the young computer genius who prefers the power of a computer over the agents of the field, but seems to like Bond well enough. He’s also filled with some self-referential humor, especially when we see him make a quip about exploding pens. And Ralph Fiennes, formerly known as both the Red Dragon and Lord Voldemort, gets a very important role in MI6, one that brings Bond back to its early days (that’s a hint, if you don’t get his role yet). And Albert Finney plays Kincade, the gruff Scottish gameskeeper of Bond’s boyhood home. Although he’s not a secret agent, we can see where Bond picked up his shooting and joking skills.

The plot, like any Bond film, went all over the place, but it was much better than anything I saw in Quantum of Solace. To say the least, I’m looking forward to what happens in the next couple of films, especially if director Sam Mendes comes back, because he obviously can present a strange, sprawling storyline without boring or confusing Bond fans. In addition, Thomas Newman’s soundtrack is simply excellent, working in the old Bond theme with new music that reminds one of The Dark Knight Rises. Overall, this is one of the best Bond films I’ve ever seen.

For managing the old Bond of espionage, womanizing, and awesome storylines with the new Bond of shadowy organizations, cyberterrorism, and showing that old dogs can learn new tricks, I give Skyfall a 4.8 out of 5. Well done, Mr. Craig, Mr. Mendes. Well done.

Oh, and before I forget, my friend Michael Geletka and I went in costume to see this movie, I as James Blond, he as Dr. Geletka. It was great. We should have our own film.

Rami Ungar and Michael Geletka as James Blond and Dr. Geletka in the new movie “No Country for Bad Hair”, out this March. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality, innuendo, and 80s hair.

“Doll’s Game” Post-Workshop

Posted: November 9, 2012 in ideas, short story, Writing
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Alright, so I just got back from lunch, and now I’m writing about what happened at the workshop, where Doll’s Game was discussed and we talked about ways to improve it. Surprisingly, people didn’t hate it. Some actually liked it, and one person said that compared to the other stories we’ve read this semester, mine was “a breath of fresh air” (I’m going to chalk up that last part to the fact that I’m probably the only person besides the teacher in the class who’s ever been published, so I might have a little more experience than my classmates).

However, there were plenty of things to be improved upon. One was that my story spans about twenty years, summarizing unimportant bits while going into detail about life-changing bits. The gist was that all this information would make a great book as well as a novel (not that I’d write such a novel; in addition to the projects already in progress, I don’t want to write something that has nothing to do with horror). However, my classmates and my teacher recommended that instead of making a novel, I should focus on when my character Renee is eight years old and her life is changed forever, which sounds challenging and interesting to write.

There were some other parts that were pointed out as implausible, and now that I think about it, I can see the logic in this. So I’ll have to fix those areas up as well.

So I’ve got to do some rewriting to do, starting with a short revision exercise that I’ll do over the weekend. Finally I’ll turn in a rewrite in early December, and aftar I get the grade…well who knows? Maybe I’ll have something publishable. Fingers crossed and hope for the best, right?

Workshopping “Doll’s Game”

Posted: November 9, 2012 in Living and Life, short story, Writing
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Some of you know that I wrote a short story for my creative-writing course, Doll’s Game, and that I turned it in last week. You may also remember that I thought it was the worst piece of fiction I’d ever written in my college career, and I made a point of telling my classmates that it would be the worst story they read this semester.

Well, I stood corrected on that last point: mine’s the second-worst. The grand prize goes to the guy who’s story, although interesting in terms of plot, had so many point-of-view switches that it left me dizzy. Not too mention the guy couldn’t properly signify dialogue to save his life. It just took down the quality of the story so much.

But today I’m getting my story reviewed. And I am not looking forward to it one bit. I mean come on, my strength is in scary stories, not literary ones, and my plot goes all over the place. I sent everyone the link to my recently-published alien invasion short story Ripple just to make up for the quality of Doll’s Game.

Well, maybe they’ll give me an idea to improve the story. Who knows? I’ll let you guys know how it goes after class and we’ll see. Wish me luck.

My Favorite Obama Speech Yet

Posted: November 8, 2012 in Politics and Leadership, Social Activism
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If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you know I’m a fan of the President, and that I think very highly of him. I’ve watched a few speeches by him, seen him address politicians and regular people. I’ve heard him sing, I’ve heard him laugh. I’ve watched him do well and do poorly in debates. I’ve seen him be a leader and a husband and father to Michelle Obama and Sasha and Malia Obama. I been to see him speak live during both his campaigns, and I had the distinct honor of voting for him this past election. I even danced Gangnam Style with some friends of mine when we found out he won the election.

Yet this video here is the best speech I’ve seen him give yet. Obama speaks to some of the organizers for his campaign–most of them young, fresh out of college, on their way to amazing things–and he thanks them from the bottom of his heart. He tells how they look up to him as an example, yet when he was their age, he didn’t have a clue what he was doing, even though he was supposed to be trying to help organize churches on Chicago’s South Side to better the community. And about four minutes in, President Obama starts tearing up, telling the crowd how proud he is of his organizers and thanking them for sticking with him.

It truly is a moving speech, but it teaches us something important: great leaders are only as great as the people willing to follow him. I think we see how these youths are the essence of the Obama campagin, and how, even if they were drawn to the man himself by his charisma, intellect, and leadership, they are the ones who put him back in the White House. And the President is aware of this fact, and shows his gratitude to them.

It is the best speech I’ve seen any politician give, and I’ll be hard-pressed to find one I’ll like better in the future. Thank you, Mr. President.

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