Posts Tagged ‘novel’

The Impact of Imagination

Posted: September 5, 2013 in ideas, Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Writing is a mostly mechanical exercise, making practiced movements with a pen and paper or seeking the correct key on a keyboard. And putting those words together is part of the higher mental powers given to the human species through millions of years of evolution. But the act of imagination, the power it gives us to bring those words together into a coherent narrative and even tell stories with those words, to me that it is transcendent of all the abilities we’ve garnered from evolution. To me, it’s almost a gift of the soul.

I keep three separate lists on my flash drive. One list has short summaries and blurbs of novels, films, TV shows, comic books, and even video games I’d like to write. I’m up to sixty-one ideas at the moment. The second list gives short descriptions of short stories I plan to write (seventeen at the moment). And the third list has subjects for articles I can write for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors (great blog, by the way. Totally recommend it). That’s a total of eighty-eight ideas, and all of them are possible through my imagination. Heck, I wouldn’t have any of the ideas for stories I write if it wasn’t for imagination.

And imagination is influenced by so many things. Everyday life influences imagination, allows it to be transformed into stories. I read an article about efforts to stop forced marriages with metal spoons and I got an idea for a short story from that. When I went to my science fiction class, I had an idea for a novella that I had to blog about almost immediately (see this post for the actual article). Speaking to some friends about the recent death of an actor to suicide, I thought of an idea for a crime novel. When the lights in the Super Dome went out early this year, I got an idea from that too.

And not just events in life fuel the imagination. When I read or watch TV or a movie, I get ideas from them too. Just today, a book I’m in the middle of reading gave me an idea for a short story taking place in Jerusalem. Watching a favorite episode of Doctor Who the other day, I had an idea for a six-book series featuring Agatha Christie (Whovians, I bet you can guess which episode that is). I even have an idea for a movie to bring back a TV franchise I used to love as a kid. And how many fairy tales and childrens books have I taken and turned into new stories that boggle the mind and scare the soul? All this is possible through these works’ influences on my imagination, and my imagination’s influence on me.

Imagination. It is the ability to absorb events or old ideas and–pardon the adjective used–regurgitate it into a new form. It is the application of ideas and concepts in a new light, in a new way. It’s the churning of our subconscious, which spits out, like in a Greco-Roman Creation myth, something new and fabulous and beautiful. It is a force that I contemplate, that I look at and wonder about its complexity.

And perhaps one day I’ll write a story about its impact…oh wait. I’ve already got one or two ideas based on that! Never mind.

The point is, the imagination is something that is such a benefit to the act of writing, the act of living, that without it life would be so much less beautiful and powerful and amazing. It’s given me a ton of ideas, and I hope it’ll give me some more in the future. Because if my imagination can allow me to create a large body of work to leave me behind, even if I don’t get famous off of it all, I’ll feel like I’ve left behind an amazing legacy for the world.

Though if I can get famous I won’t complain.

What’s your view on the imagination and its impact on writing and on life?

Video Rage: First Third Done

Posted: September 5, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I love this shot!

Normally I’d be getting ready for bed now because it’s late and I need my sleep for classes. However, I started writing this evening, and I got so much of Chapter Twelve of Video Rage done, I was like, “No way am I going to let this chapter wait till tomorrow to be finished, especially with the amount of homework I’m likely to have!”

And I’m proud to say the hard work paid off. I’m now about one-third of the way through the first draft of Video Rage, the sequel to Reborn City. Well, it’s actually a little less than a third, seeing as the book has a planned 37 chapters, but it’s close enough, so who’s going to start a protest over it? Anyway, it’s a third of the way done, and I’m very excited to announce it.

The last couple chapters I’ve written for VR were actually a lot of work. I had to go through 10 and 11 twice before I could leave them alone, And Chapter Twelve had to be written just right so that it’ll have the impact I want it to have. In fact, a lot happens in Chapter Twelve. I bring up Kony 2012 in the story, and it has an impact on the protagonists, the Hydras. Yeah, I know that video, for all its hype, didn’t lead to Joseph Kony getting caught, but it was influential, which is why I use it in the story.

Remember this video? It makes itself known in Video Rage.

I also made a reference in the chapter to an early idea for VR called Bee Colony, in which the Hydras meet a colony of giant man-bees. Yeah, it sounds ridiculous, especially when you consider how Doctor Who used the idea with Agatha Christie. I thought so too about a third of the way into the outline, so I scrapped the idea and went back to the drawing board. It wasn’t until I saw Kony 2012 that I had an alternative to the man-bee plot, and it’s worked out better than the original idea, I’m happy to say. And the honeybees make an appearance in this chapter, though they aren’t man-sized or anything.

Now for the page and word counts. In total, the number of pages I have in this draft so far is 103 (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, in case you were wondering), and the word count so far is 28,039 words. Jeez, this novel’s coming together. I wonder how long it’ll be by the time the first draft is done. Heck, I wonder how long it’ll be when Reborn City comes out in November!

For now though, I’d like to take a little break from writing to rejuvenate and relax, or as much as I can while still doing schoolwork and working 3 days a week. In my spare time, I’ll probably take a few days, read a book, watch my shows, sleep, celebrate the Jewish New Year, edit chapters of Snake when I get them, and make jokes that are funny about thirty percent of the time. After that, I’ll probably write an article for Self-Published Authors Helping Other Authors, and then start on Part II of Laura Horn, the other novel I’m working on at the moment.

Until then though, I’m going to go to bed. Good night everybody, Happy New Year from your friendly Internet Jewish blogger and horror writer, and I’ll write again when I have the energy to do it. See you later!

Laura Horn: Part One Is Done

Posted: September 2, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Oh, I had a productive day today. I got a ton of homework done, edited The Quiet Game after being told there were some glaring errors in the book (sorry! If you buy/download it now, there will be less errors than before), I did my weekly exercises (see last post), I came up with an idea for a short story and a book series, and–oh yeah, I finished Part One of Laura Horn, one of the two novels I’m working on right now.

I called this part of the story “That Girl’s A Mouse”, based on what one of the girls at Laura’s school describes Laura. As we read the chapter, we find out some of the reasons Laura’s like that, though some things are still in mystery. I rather enjoy writing Laura’s story, but I sometimes have trouble getting into her head. In some ways she’s still a mystery, even to me, which makes her all the more fun and intriguing to write about.

Now for pages and word counts. The prologue, which is about ten pages and two-thousand, three-hundred sixty-four words, is about three chapters long. The first part spans from chapter four to eleven and is forty-five pages and twelve-thousand, one-hundred and eighty-nine words. This brings it a total fifty-five pages and fourteen-thousand, five-hundred and fifty-three words.  With fifty-six chapters left, it’ll probably get much longer. I’m guessing somewhere around 350 pages and maybe seventy-thousand pages. It’ll be awesome when it’s done.

Tomorrow I plan to do my biology and sociology homework, then I’ll hopefully edit chapters ten and eleven of Video Rage. I’m not entirely satisfied with those chapters, so I can’t start chapter twelve until I at least give those two a look-over and see if there’s some way to fix them up a little.

Until then, have a good night everybody.

Reborn City: The Book Trailer

Posted: August 30, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Reborn City

I don’t know if book trailers really increase book sales. I’m pretty sure that when I did the book trailer for The Quiet Game (see it here, if you dare). So when I finally had a release date for Reborn City, I had to ask myself, “Do I really want to spend an hour or two making a freaking video that probably create a viral sensation, let alone bring in some revenue for me?”

But then I discovered that you can make videos on your YouTube account. Yeah, I found that out just this week. I have no idea if that’s a new thing or if that option’s been around for a while and I’ve just been oblivious. But yeah, I sat down today, I pulled up YouTube, started creating a video on YouTube. Took me about twenty minutes and then all I had to do was upload it onto YouTube while I went to have Shabbos dinner.

This video is about twenty-five seconds long and features music by the rap group “Triple C’s”, with there song “Where Ya From?” Hey, they even have a song that uses the West Reborn dialect! I just noticed that. Also, the photo of “Reborn City” is actually a shot of the Las Vegas strip. I know, I know, but what do you want from me? I can’t afford to create my own original picture of my conception of Central Reborn. I do what I can.

In any case, I’m very satisfied with the results. Heck, I’ll try and make another video some time, see if I can improve for the next book trailer. Yes, I said the next book trailer. If I can get one done in twenty minutes, imagine what I can get done with an hour and some practice! Snake‘s trailer will be the s**t!

So, without further ado, here’s the official trailer for Reborn City. And subscribe to my channel…as it is. Comments welcome.

Flawed Protagonists Are Some of the Best

Posted: August 28, 2013 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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Today we had a rather interesting discussion in my Science Fiction and Fantasy class (for those of you new to the blog, yes there’s such a thing. Apparently Ohio State’s English Department has been studying the foundations of nerd culture since 2007. And possibly there’s a grad student in the Sociology Department who’s studying the actual people of nerd culture, but that’s an investigation for another time). Anyway, we were talking about the differences between heroes in science fiction stories from pre-WWII and the stories written after WWII.

In the pre-WWII stories, the heroes were always larger than life, able to overcome evil and fight off any villain with ease. In a sense, they were Supermen without superpowers, and they still won every battle, got the girl, saved the world, and were home in time for tea. Some great examples were John Carter of Mars from the Barsoom novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and Freder from the movie Metropolis.

But then you have World War II. There you see death camps, POW marches, bombings, jungle warfare, beaches that run red with blood, mortars and claymores and bullets, racism and nationalism, beheadings, and several other bits of Hell made incarnate. Those who came back from the war were given a darker outlook on the world, and those whose talents were more geared to the written word and who in turn enjoyed a little space travel incorporated that new world view into their work. The best examples I can give you of the sort of hero that became popular after WWII are Barton from the short story The Cold Equations and Han Solo from Star Wars. They are not Supermen. They are simply men. They have problems, conflicts, flaws. Barton is haunted by what his job requires him to do when he finds a stowaway on his ship. Solo is looking out for himself and his ship and nobody else, though the Expanded Universe of Star Wars says that he’s like that because his lover died leaving him cynical and jaded. And then he met Jabba the Hutt.

The point is people liked these characters. A lot. They’ve been around since then in some way or another. Look around at science fiction and fantasy stories today. Harry Potter admits he’d be lost without his friends, and as Hermione is fond of pointing out, he’s useless with girls. Katniss Everdeen is troubled by her feelings for both Peeta and Gale and her memories of the Hunger Games, and is only in the situations she’s in so that she can protect her sister and stay alive, in that order…though she does love a little revenge every now and then. Max de Costa from Elysium is trying to be a better man, but with his life on the line he becomes the definition of a survivalist, willing to do anything to live. And Buffy Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer has a host of issues that inhibit her life, especially in season six of the series. Jeez, that season was psychologically dark!

And it’s not just science fiction. Other genres of speculative fiction have these sorts of character. My own fiction has these sort of flawed characters:

Zahara Bakur (Reborn City): low self-esteem and a sometimes overwhelming timidity and fear of violence.

Rip (Reborn City): recovering drug addict with image issues.

Snake (Snake): highly disturbed serial killer due to abusive childhood.

Laura Horn (Laura Horn): pathological shyness, social anxiety and general anxiety due to sexual assault.

Why are these characters so popular when they are so far from perfect? I think it has something to do with the fact that’s what they are: imperfect, They care deeply and try hard, but occasionally they fail and they fall and the consequences are terrible. To the readers, that makes them real. We don’t want to read about infallible heroes, because we know all too well that they don’t exist. We want heroes who are a little more like us. They depend on people, they hurt, they need a good smack occasionally to see that what they’re doing is hurting both themselves and their loved ones. We’ve all been in positions like that to some degree in our lives. And that makes these characters relatable to us, and our problems, even if they don’t involve magic or spaceships or fighting in an arena with other young kids.

Not only that, but these protagonists tend to grow in the story. They tend to become better than what they were before. And I don’t mean better warriors or fighters or healers or wizards or whatnot. I mean better people. They learn what’s really important in life, or how to express their love for others, or they come back as true leaders who put the lives and interests of those who depend on them first. In other words, the sort of people we want to be.

I personally prefer using these characters with their flaws and warts and troubles. I used to be more into characters that were impervious, Granted, I was a kid at the time, and all my favorite TV, movie, and book heroes seemed impervious to me. But I’m older now, smarter, wiser, and a bit more aware that the world doesn’t usually produce such heroes. So I like to use the heroes with problems, with something that’s keeping them back. Along with the conflict of the story, it gives me something to grapple with and for the characters to grapple with as they fight onwards. After all, a story is not just getting from Point A to Point B, it’s also about letting the characters grow and become better people.

“I’m not even perfect, and I’m bloody brilliant in all my forms.”

Now are these sorts of characters here to stay? I’m tempted to say yes, at least for the meantime. If you look at the latest movies, TV shows, novels, and comic books, the main characters all have problems of some sort that makes life difficult for them. Watching them grow, take on these problems, and overcome them is part of the appeal of the story. And I certainly plan to use these flawed characters in the future, as do other writers I know. So yes, it’s quite possible these flawed protagonists will be staying for quite a while.

How do you feel about flawed characters? And are there any that you particularly like above all others?

A Novella Idea

Posted: August 21, 2013 in ideas, Reflections, Writing
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If you see a pun in that title, you’ll realize it’s one of THE worst puns in existence. I’m not even sure why I made it.

Earlier today I had an idea for a story that I’m tentatively calling “Rose”. I’m not going to get into details about it, though I will say that flowers and plants do play a big role in the story, if the title didn’t give it away, and when I write it I’ll probably listen to a lot of songs about obsessive love and stalkers. I somehow came up with it while sitting in my Science Fiction and Fantasy class today (I’ll probably be able to recall the thought process behind it better at a later date, because it’s a bit of a mystery now), and I wrote it down when I got home today.

Now at first I thought it would make a great short story. But then…I realized that this story would be longer than your average short story. Then I thought, “Perhaps it could be some weird, creepy novel.” But that was too long. So I thought to myself, “How about a novella?”

Now, I’ve never had any definite opinions on novellas. I’ve only read a few in my entire lifetime, most of them by Stephen King (anyone familiar with “N.” or “Everything’s Eventual”, by any chance?). I’d never considered writing one before. Short stories, which are the foundations for a career in fiction writing, are hard enough to write for me, and novels are my true passion. Why would I have time for a novella, that strange middle-ground between the art of short stories that is sometimes so elusive for me and the novel that is my freedom and passion?

But when I thought of this story, it somehow clicked that a novella format would be best. I wouldn’t have to struggle to extend the story, and I wouldn’t have to pack it into a neat little package. The story would fit in the format of a novella. And from there I formed my first real opinion on novellas: they are perfect for those stories that can’t fit into the format of a short story but would suffer as a novel.

I’m not exactly sure when I’ll write this novella–though I have an idea or two–but I look forward to writing it, like I look forward to writing all the stories I come up with. Until then, I’ll probably churn this one in the bowels of my imagination until I have a better idea of the story I’d like to write with it. After all, my stories are usually a bit better when I’ve given them a little time to mature in my imagination.

Oh, fun fact before I finish this post: this novella is the 60th idea for a story I’ve had, not counting short stories or articles I’ve written. With the amount of ideas I have, I’ll at the very least never run out of ideas for stories to write, and at the very best I’ll be very prolific. Either way, it’s good news.

The Power of Bad Memories

Posted: August 20, 2013 in Novel, Reflections, Writing
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Some philosophers and psychologists will say that memory is what makes us who we are, and it’d be hard to say they’re wrong. The retention of past experiences plays a great deal in shaping our personalities, our sense of selves, and how we interpret and react to the world around us. As I’m writing Laura Horn, one of the novels I’m working on at the moment, I’m beginning to understand this concept of memory and what it has over us.

My protagonist and titular character Laura Horn is a victim of sexual assault. Her dark experiences have never been dealt with and she’s still affected by not only the experience of what she went through, but by the memories she has of the assault.

I think for most people, good memories tend to sleep below the surface of our consciousness, always there but not at the forefront of our thoughts until we need them. For example, someone could be driving down a road they hadn’t traveled down in a long time could remember the last time they travelled down the road, maybe with a lover or someone they really liked and what they did that day. Immediately they may feel happy. less stressed, or more excited about their life and their day as the memory returns to the sea of our consciousnesses.

Bad memories though, tend to act like monsters. Fresh memories or those that were formed relatively recent, tend to be worse. They latch onto your consciousness with their teeth and claws, reminding you of their presence, of dark experiences and horrible mistakes, and they never let go, upsetting your day and causing you terror, anger, anxiety, and other negative emotions.

I have more than a few memories I would rather forget, and this is reflected in the way I write Laura’s interactions with her memories. Whenever her memories surface,  she tries to push them away and berates herself for bringing those memories forward in the first place. I feel the same way whenever my bad memories surface, though I learned that instead of pushing them away and berating myself over them, I’ve learned it’s just much healthier to accept the memories as they are and not get too upset over them.

Like I said, Laura hasn’t dealt with her experiences and her memories of those experiences, let alone how to healthily deal with her memories. Because of this, she’s still very stuck in the state of mind she had when she was attacked. She’s terrified of the world around her and most of the people in it. She wishes for the past to change and to return to a happier time, even though she knows this will never happen. Her life is dark and she is terribly unhappy.

I’m hoping as time goes on and I continue writing, I hope I can help Laura move past her experiences to a happier state. To me, this story is more like Laura telling me what her story is about rather than me making up events as I go along, so I’m hoping as time moves along, our collaboration on her tail will yield some positive results.

Until such a time, I have to examine how Laura interacts with her memories of her assault and how those memories be affected as she gets ever closer to the main events of the story, which will change her life forever. And maybe, while doing so, I’ll come to understand my own life and experiences, especially the bad ones, a little bit better.

The Case For Genre

Posted: August 19, 2013 in Living and Life, Reflections, Writing
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At Ohio State, the two professors in the English department who are published and celebrated authors (at least locally celebrated) are literary authors. In the two fiction workshops I took last year, the focus was on literary writing. As my undergraduate advisor tells me, “Ohio State is mostly about literary.” And whenever genre is brought up, I hear a lot about how it’s not OSU’s thing, or there’s more of a focus on literary fiction, or that there are no professors who write genre fiction among the staff.

As a genre writer, particularly one of horror, I have to disagree with this. Yes, literary fiction is more focus on character development and on character-driven stories than genre. I am willing to admit that. However, I find it somewhat hypocritical that contemporary genre fiction isn’t worth examination and study in the English department. Yes, there’s a couple of classes that examine science fiction and fantasy, or famous monsters from literature, or YA fiction (I’m taking that first one this semester). But that’s not an acceptance of genre fiction. Ohio State still doesn’t accept genre fiction, at least not any within the past fifty years.

Personally I find that strange, considering how much genre fiction is used in required courses and in general scholarship. I mean, look at it: Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth are examined in classes all the time. If those were written today, they’d be classified as psychological thrillers with supernatural elements. And A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest would most likely be fantasy stories.

Ever read Beowulf? That’s in early British fiction courses all the time, and it is fantasy if ever I’ve seen fantasy. Rip van Winkle? Definitely a ghost story, seeing as Captain Hudson came back and put the titular character to sleep for twenty years. Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft? Horror writers and, at least in the case of the former, mystery writers. Frankenstein? The first modern science fiction novel. Dracula, anyone? It’s the basis for the modern vampire legend. Ever read Fahrenheit 451, or 1984, or Atlas Shrugged? They may be philosophical and full of character development, but they are certainly dystopia stories!

So why not contemporary genre fiction, if all this older genre fiction is worthy of attention? Perhaps because it’s popular, or maybe because some of its authors’ fame may not last a hundred years after their death. Maybe the stories haven’t had as much of an influence on literature as others have. Who knows?

But to exclude modern genre fiction just seems wrong. After all, the majority of people see literary fiction as boring or too elite. If English Studies is supposed to examine the English language, how it is used and how it affects the common man, and how it should be used, shouldn’t genre fiction be given as much consideration as literary fiction? Because honestly, genre fiction can have as much an effect on English literature as literary fiction, and sometimes even more.

So don’t exclude it. Include it, with all your academic heart and soul. You may find something there that is worth studying and makes including genre fiction more than worthwhile.

The Catalyst: An Essential Element For Fiction

Posted: August 19, 2013 in Reflections, Writing
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Catalyst: like a line of dominoes.

According to Wiktionary.org, a catalyst is, when used in literature, “an inciting incident which that sets the successive conflict into motion.” In other words, fiction, which is reliant on a conflict of some sort for the story to occur, cannot exist without the catalyst that starts it all.

I’ve been thinking about the catalyst for a while now, and I’ve come to believe that the catalyst is actually a pretty interesting and underappreciated element in fiction writing. Imagine what would happen if Katniss Everdeen had never volunteered to take her sister’s place in the 74th Annual Hunger Games and instead of Peeta, Gale had gone to the Capitol? There would be no story. Katniss would somehow go on with her life after a period of depression, and maybe even still get together with Peeta at some point, but would anyone really want to read that? That single catalyst, Katniss volunteering to save her sister and Peeta being selected to go with her to the Capitol, is what makes the story interesting, that draws us in and makes us want to see how events unfold.

And the catalyst for a story can take many forms. It’s usually the first thing you learn in writing any story. In a romance story, it’s usually boy and girl meet for the first time. In a mystery, it’s the occurence of a crime that needs to be solved. In stories like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Hobbit, where a journey is prevalent in the story, it’s that inciting incident that causes the need to go on a journey that gets things going. In a zombie novel, the catalyst is (obviously) the appearance of zombies.

You look at any story, you’ll identify a catalyst. Heck, my own stories all rely on the catalyst. In my WIP Laura Horn, the catalyst is the titular character recieving a particular item that causes her to be the target of a government conspiracy. In Snake, the loss of something important to the main character is what causes him to beocme the Snake. And in Reborn City, events that happen to the founders of the Hydras about a year and a half before the story even starts serve as the catalyst.

And speaking of RC‘s catalyst occuring a year and a half before the story starts, you can find plenty of stories where the catalyst to the story occurs a long time before the story starts. For example, for years Harry Potter fans couldn’t identify why Voldemort wanted to kill Harry, thus causing the whole story that would be Harry’s life, but after Book Five, they realized the catalyst for all of Harry’s life was Professor Trelawney’s prophecy being leaked to Voldemort, thus setting his sights on killing Harry.

“Freud was half-right: the causes of all problems are mothers and prophecies.”

Of course if you want to get technical with it, the story began in 1925 when Voldemort’s mother used love potion on Tom Riddle Sr, leading to their elopement, Voldemort’s conception, and his birth. But I digress. The point is, a story can rely on events that occurred years, decades, or in some cases centuries before the start of the actual story to act as the catalyst (I’m thinking of The Lord of the Rings trilogy when I say centuries, by the way). It’s actually a little mind-boggling, if you think about it.

So what more can be said about literary catalysts? Probably a lot more than I could probably come up with, especailly in a blog post. But to finish this post, I’d like to say that without the catalyst, the fictional stories we love so much, despise so much, debate so much, examine so much, and write fanfics to so much, just wouldn’t exist, and I think our world would be a lot less interesting to be in.

Fall Semester 2013: What’s Going On Leading Up To It

Posted: August 18, 2013 in Living and Life, Poetry, Writing
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It’s happened folks, I finally did a post about my school life that doesn’t have a sports metaphor or analogy to it.

In four days, I will start my third year at the lovely Ohio State University. Yes, my Michigan relatives, I said “lovely”, and don’t use the fact that we’re without a president to troll. Our football team will still kick your butts come Thanksgiving weekend, so go watch Downton Abbey and be glad the people on that show never get hit by giant football players wearing scarlet and grey!

So now that I’ve sent some wolverines running with their tails between their legs, let me tell you what I’m looking forward to this semester: first, I’m taking five classes this semester, though it feels like six since one is split up into a lab and a lecture. That class happens to be Introduction to Biology, which I’m predicting will be my most challenging class this semester. However I’m determined to get all A’s this semester, something that I’ve been trying to do ever since I got here. On the off-chance that doesn’t happen, I’m making sure to come away from this class with at least a B.

Another class I’m taking is an online Introduction to Sociology class. It looks like it’ll be a challenge as well, but if it’s anything like my Anthropology and Psychology classes of past terms, I’ll most likely get anywhere between a B- and an A, which is what I plan to work towards. I’m also taking an English class required by the English department called Writing For English Majors. You think with a title like that the class would be self-explanatory, but it’s not. Trust me, I’ve read the description and it probably won’t make sense till I read the syllabus. How typical is that?

And there are two classes that I’m really psyched up for this semester: a class called Science Fiction and Fantasy that’s a literature course, and Holocaust as History. The first one is as its title suggests, a class that examines themes in sci-fi and fantasy fiction and applies it to what we read and our world. There are some very interesting books in this class, and we’ll also be watching 2001: A Space Odyssey for class. Looks like I’ll be able to pull out my HAL 9000 impression for this class. And it’s also a chance to possibly advertise Reborn City.

The other class is also pretty obvious from its title. The Holocaust is the focus of my History major, so I’m looking forward to the subject matter. We’ll be reading, among other books, both volumes of the comic book Maus, which if you haven’t read I seriously suggest you do. I’m hoping to learn a lot about the Holocaust from this class, more than I already know, though I don’t think you can read or learn anything about the Holocaust without learning something new.  I can’t wait for it!

Some other things are coming up that I’m looking forward to: my roommate Morgan and I moved into our new apartment a couple days ago, so it’s going to be an adjustment for the both of us, paying rent and bills, cooking and cleaning, getting along with another person in the same living space (though we seem to get along pretty well already). Plus we’re the resident managers of our building, so there are responsibilities for that. Hopefully we can hack it!

Also there are the usual things with classes, getting homework done and doing all my requirements for my classes and whatnot. Plus I have work three days a week, so I want to get a lot done with that and keep my paycheck, maybe earn a little extra with a few extra shifts. And I want to finish Video Rage and Laura Horn, get RC out and finish the final edits on Snake.

And there’s some new stuff this semester: in September I’ll be applying for a trip abroad to see some of the most important sites of World War II Europe, and trying to get as many scholarships for said trip as possible. And I want to be a bit more sociable this semester, instead of spending every evening in front of the TV. Meet new people, make friends, and maybe go out on a date or two. Who knows? I just want to see what happens.

But of course, the ultimate goal is to get good grades. And I will work hard for that, believe me.

Finally, I would like to leave you with a little poem in honor of Morgan and I moving into our new apartment. It’s called “Night-Night Flat” and if you can’t guess what it’s based on, then you’ve been missing out, my friend.

Nighty-Night Flat:

In the land of the Bucks,
There is a two-bedroom flat.
It’s apart of a building
Which may have bats.

In the flat there’s a novelist and an engineer
The novelist writes scary stuff,
But his roommate has nothing to fear.

There’s a Doctor in the fridge,
He doesn’t travel through time or space,
His last name is Pepper,
And he has an excellent taste.

There’s a very creepy ghost over there,
Who we hope will be good to his hosts.
You see, it’s not the renters,
But the ghost who should beware.

On the TV there are four funny nerds.
The tallest one is very absurd.
And in a large rectangular box,
Is a vacuum cleaner that totally rocks.

There are several characters running out of the novelist’s imagination,
They somehow become physical and fill the room with their talk and animation.
And in the engineer’s room is a bunch of books,
Each with a very special opening paragraph for a catchy hook.

Nighty night flat.
Nighty night bats.
Nighty night building.
Nighty night other flats.

Nighty night novelist.
Nighty night engineer.
Nighty night to all their friends and peers.

Nighty night Dr. Pepper,
With your wonderful taste.
Nighty night ghost, who won’t disturb his hosts.
He just learned that the novelist’s parents are rabbis,
And quite possibly also exorcists.

“Oh, so you’re the one who stole my boxers! You’re going to get it when I sick the cheerleading team on you!”

Nighty night nerds on the TV,
We’re not really sure what the really odd one’s girlfriend sees.
Nighty night vacuum that totally rocks.
You are powerful in the way that you suck.

Nighty night characters from the novelist’s imagination.
Nighty night engineer’s books, which are good enough to cause sleep deprivation.

Nighty night Buckeyes everywhere.
And nighty night Brutus Buckeye’s underwear.
Yes, I said that, and I went there.

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