Posts Tagged ‘novel’

Review: World War Z (film)

Posted: June 29, 2013 in Review, Scary Stuff
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Some of you may remember my review of the novel a while back (if you haven’t read it, click here), which got a very favorable review for being a history of the political, military, economic, social, educational, religious, ethical, and moral ramifications of a zombie war as told through a series of vignettes from witnesses of the war (try saying that three time fast).

After reading the book, set ten years after the end of the war, my whole family–or just me and my mother, plus my sister who hasn’t read the book–wondered how the movie would differ from the book. Obviously there would be a lot of differences, seeing as the movie shows the zombie war as it begins. When we got to the theatre yesterday, had our coupon denied, sat through a hundred corporate ads, had the projector break down, and finally started the movie, we hoped that even with so many liberties, the movie would be good.

We weren’t disappointed. Although plenty of liberties were taken and plenty of stuff was left out–the zombies were fast-moving rather than slow shufflers, there was no mention of the new religious empire of Russia or the South Africa plan, changes in what happens to North Korea, and a huge difference in what happens to Israel–the movie was a decent zombie thriller. Brad Pitt was awesome as Gerry Lane, a retired UN worker who’s called back into service when the plague breaks out. He is surrounded by a great cast and zombies who are so lifelike–or maybe un-lifelike is better–that whether they are CGI or actors in make-up, they look so real.

The movie zigzags around the world, from Philedelphia to the Atlantic Ocean to Korea to Israel (whoop-whoop!) to Wales and finally to Nova Scotia, but there are plenty of thrills and tense situations in-between that have you on the edge of your seat. And finally there’s the scene in the vault in Wales, where the final twist in the movie is revealed. At the end, you’ll be enjoying yourself despite all the liberties taken.

My family and I left the theater discussing the movie and its many differences from the book, but how we enjoyed it all the same. I’m going to give the film a 4.4 out of 5, for being the first decent zombie film I’ve seen in a while.

Oh, and apparently Paramount is moving ahead with plans for a sequel, despite the fact that the original was plagued with numerous problems and production costs skyrocketed. Not surprising, considering horror has had a history of doing sequels long after the sequels should stop, and this was well before the sequel mania we are in began. I’m not sure if I’ll see the sequel, but considering that it took six years for the movie to actually make it to the screen, I tink enough time will pass for me to actually enjoy the sequel.

Laura Horn: The Outline Is Done!

Posted: June 28, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Dye this angel’s hair brown and she could be Laura.

Oh, I’ve had a good day. I got up on time for once this week, I had a good breakfast, went for a jog, started on the new Dan Brown novel, had lunch with my stepmother, and…oh yeah. I FINISHED THE OUTLINE FOR LAURA HORN! Twelve pages, eight-and-a-half of them devoted to the plot, the other three-and-a-half devoted to character summaries. And you know what? I LOVE IT!!!

To tell you the truth, I think it’s kind of ballsy to write this sort of novel. Not only is this novel’s heroine a victim of sexual assault, but it’s plot revolves around a…well, a plot. Against the President of the United States. And I have said victim trying to save the nation while the people behind said-plot are after her. And through all this she confronts her past and takes the first steps to moving on. I also make references to the NSA scandal and PRISM. Plus I write my first actual rape scene (not looking forward to that).

All that, and there’s an interracial cast of characters that would make the KKK run out of the movie version screaming like a bunch of banshees (makes sense given their wardrobes) and enough characters that slightly resemble actual political figures that if I ever get any devoted fans (perhaps I already have them but I just don’t know it? Like my grandmother?), they’re going to be wondering which characters are based on which politicians.

For the record, no one’s directly based on anyone. The President character is not a Hispanic version of Barack Obama, he is not based on Marco Rubio, and I didn’t even hear of the senator with the same last name as my guy until this evening, when I watched The Colbert Report! But yes, this is going to be a ballsy novel to write. I’ll have to do some more research as I write it, and it’ll be difficult to write at times.

But like I said, I love this novel. It’s going to be 67 chapters long (I guessed 61-67 chapters, so I’m glad I was right), and I love the twists and events that happen. At some point I stopped writing and was like, My God. I feel like I’m writing a James Bond movie with a teenage girl as Bond. That’s a huge stretch, but it’s what I felt like at that moment. There are plenty of crazy things that happen in the story, including a chase across the Georgetown University campus, a gunfight in the Blair House, and a trip down the shaft of an elevator, just to name a few.

To quote somebody from my generation, it’ll get cray-cray. But still, I love it, I’m looking forward to writing it, and the fact that it’s 30 chapters longer than Video Rage means I’ll finish Video Rage long before I finish Laura Horn. I’m either very good at guessing how long my books or going to be, or I’m a psychic. God, I hope it’s the latter.

Good night everybody.

Laura Horn: Up To Chapter 40

Posted: June 25, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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I’ve been working on the Laura Horn outline for the past couple days, going on the Internet when I need information I don’t necessarily have (research is ongoing and done as needed). So far, I’ve written up to Chapter 40 of the outline. And let me tell you, it’s shaping up very well. A really great political thriller with spy themes. And Laura Horn herself? She’s getting the help she needs, slowly but surely.

It’s been a tough process just writing the outline. The many different things I have to research, plus planning out each scene to be the best as possible. Plus all the distractions that go on in my life, it’s been hard to write the outline.  But the fact that I’ve gotten this far, and that I’m probably going to get much farther by the time the day is done, is spurring me on. I might be finished by Thursday, Saturday at the latest.

I’m not sure how many chapters Laura Horn will end up being (more than Video Rage, anyway). I’m pretty sure that it won’t be Snake-length (100 chapters) but it’ll be a good length novel. And the way I’m feeling this story shape up, it’s going to be one hell of a story. One I can be definitely proud of.

Review: “Under the Dome” Pilot Episode

Posted: June 25, 2013 in Review
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Adaptations are either average, amazing, or really, really bad. Sometimes it’s easy to know which one is which, sometimes it’s not. But when you have Under the Dome, based on the thousand-page novel by Stephen King, it’s difficult to tell what this adaptation will be like. Especially when you consider that there are some big differences to the novel that His Scary Highness himself okayed.

For those of you unfamiliar with the novel, Under the Dome takes place in Chester’s Mill, a small Maine town that is cut off from the world by a giant invisible dome. The novel itself focuses less on where the dome came from and how they get out of it (though that does get its treatment), but on the social ramifications of being cut off from the rest of the world. The TV series, which may have more than one season depending on how well the show does in the ratings, will chronicle how the town does over a period of months (rather than days like in the book). Clashes will occur, people will die, and perhaps we may get a second season.

However at this point it’s too early to tell. There’s the usual weirdness and odd elements that typically define a King story. Two teens have seizures where they see “stars falling in lines” and there’s a cow that’s split in two early on. There’s also hints of something very wrong happening in Chester’s Mill well before the dome fell (I won’t give anything away if you haven’t read the book, but trust me when I say it’s important). And of course, there’s the usual elements of a small town in a King story: the local diner, the townsfolk knowing everybody and everything, and town politics that are bound to get nasty.

The King himself okayed certain changes to the story. What on Earth could that mean for the show?

As for character development though, not much. Dale “Barbie” Barbara (Bates Motel‘s Mike Vogel), our main character, is as mysterious to us as he is to the fellow townspeople. Big Jim Rennie (played by Breaking Bad‘s Dean Norris) isn’t yet the villain he’s supposedly playing (or will that develop later?), while his son Junior (played by Alexander Koch) is disturbed, but a different kind from the one in the novel. Still, very disturbing.

I’m not going to go into all the differences between book and TV show, but I do hope that this story can improve over time and become something I look forward to in the summers should it have a second season. For now, I’m giving it a rating of 3.4 out of 5 for at the very least giving a good attempt at bringing a Stephen King novel to the small screen. Let’s hope they can make it a great attempt as time goes on.

The Passion and the Drive and the Dream To Write A Novel

Posted: June 25, 2013 in Reflections, Writing
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I heard somewhere that around 90% of Americans want to write a novel. I wasn’t sure if that was accurate, so I did a little research. Estimates vary depending on what study you read. One article said 200 million Americans, which is about 64% of the country’s population. Another estimate said about 80% of Americans have a novel in them, which would be around 252 million Americans.

Why don’t they? Here are the common answers as I’ve heard them:

(In the voice of a woman I met at synagogue) “I want to write, but I don’t have the skills.”

(In the gruff voice of a 30-something classmate of mine from a couple semesters ago) “Yeah, I have a novel in my head. Got all the characters, the scenes, and the punctuation marks. Just have to find the time.”

(From someone I met in high school) “I would write, but nobody would read my work.”

(The promise from two friends who said it like they were going to win the lottery someday) “Oh yeah, I’ll write a novel. It’ll be great.”

Rich tomes, all from these daredevils we call writers.

There’s some things I’d like to address here. For starters, writers aren’t born with their abilities. We start out fumbling with pen, typewriters, or computers when we’re young, trying to tell a story. Over time our skills develop, rough like stone but then polished. It may take years to do, but we do it. So what if you don’t have the skills? Neither did Shakespeare till he actually tried and learned his craft. You should try it out.

Second, the time to write won’t just magically come upon you like fairies floating in the air or like a dollar on the sidewalk. Nope, we writers carve out the time. I carve out the time between my part-time job, cooking, chores and errands, eating, jogging, and sleeping to write. It’s an exhaustive process, but writers do it anyway. So don’t wait for the time to find you, but instead find the time yourself. It may seem impossible, but I know you can find the time, even if it’s in-between the moments you finish running errands and the moments you go to pick up the kids. Nothing good on TV between those times anyway, right?

Third, don’t assume that people won’t read your work. Sure, it seems like a majority of people stop reading after high school or college. And there are plenty of people who do. After all, there’s plenty of TV-watching, movie-watching, calling, texting, Skyping, chatting, listening to music, and other such activities to do in your spare time rather than read a book. But a lot of the great movie franchises come from people who read books and write them as well. Jennifer Roth, whose novel Divergent is being made into a movie, probably worried that nobody would want to read her work. And at 24, she’s already a bestseller (so jealous, by the way). And she’s probably not the only one: Suzanne Collins, JK Rowling, Anne Rice, Stephanie Meyer, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Mark Twain, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Rice Burroughs. Say what you want on their work, but these people are famous, their books have been adapted into various formats at least once, and some weren’t famous until after their deaths. Yet they still wrote, because they were willing to face the fears that nobody would want to read their work and put it out there anyway.

And with self-publishing, you can even get directly to the readers without having to please the gatekeepers in New York (I’ve got a post about those guys later). So don’t despair that nobody will read your work. There’s always somebody for every writer. I’m sure there’s someone out there for you. Maybe your parents, your partner, your friends, or somebody in Kabul you’ve never even met or heard of just browsing online. They could become your biggest fan.

This is the magic the writer conjures and creates. If we put our wills to it, we can all do it as well.

And finally, writing a novel is nothing to laugh about or say “I’ll do it” with such a casual air. It’s difficult. It’s writing one word–usually four letters, sometimes less, oftentimes much more–after another after another. And the average novel is a minimum of 40,000 words, woven into a (usually) complex story with characters who are developed and grow over time, a plot that we invest ourselves in, wanting to know what happens next, and a magic that is fiction, for though it may be lies on paper (or screen), it seems so real to us. Having the energy to keep writing those words and weave them into the story in our minds is no mean feat. Kudos go to those who attempt it, but special congratulations to those who can stick with it, and applause to those who do it time and time again, story after story. Who says you can’t be one of those people?

So maybe a lot of the American population say they want to write a novel. But only several of us actually have the dream to withstand our fears that no one will read our work, the passion to develop our skills and carve out the writing time, and the drive to keep going when boredom, distractions, life, or various other things come at us and want us to stop from completing that next four-to-eight letter word. We are the writers.

And if you have any of these qualities, I’m sure you can be one of the writers as well. You just have to give it a try.

Laura Horn: Initial Research

Posted: June 21, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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Spy novels and espionage novels are not my forte. I never attempted in my youth to write a James Bond story. Never even imagined one. And now I know why: it’s a lot of work, involving plenty of research and detective work. Just today, I looked up dates for the year 2017, the US Intelligence Community, and what causes embolisms. Makes me wonder why I made Laura Horn an espionage novel, even though it started out as a story about a girl and sexual assault victim who comes to terms with her past and her trauma through events forced upon her.

Oh wait, now I remember why I did that! I thought it would be cool to have a story that took place in Washington DC. And even better, why not make it involve the White House? That could work. It’ll involve a lot of research and guesswork, but what the hey? It’s good for the story.

So that’s why I decided Laura Horn should find herself while taking on the power struggles of DC. And it’s going to be a tough job. I’m not familiar with the workings of the US Intelligence community, or Washington DC for that matter. Let’s face it, there’s only so much you can learn from high school government classes and The Daily Show. But if I can get this novel written and do it with all the elements I want it to have–the 2016 election, the NSA scandal, a few other items that are hot right about now–I could end up writing a damn good story.

And isn’t that the point? I think Laura could be a great character, a character plenty of people could identify with, but I have to give her a great story first. And for that, I need to do a lot of work to make sure the details are right. It’s not going to be easy, but I plan to pull it off somehow and right a damn good story.

So let’s see what happens. I bet by the time I’m done researching and writing the outline, this’ll be an entirely different story than when I first thought of it. But it’ll be a story I’m damn proud of, and that’s important enough that I’ll research till the cows come home.

Wish me luck! I’ve got more work to do tomorrow morning.

Oh, before I go, the photo above of the monarch butterfly deserves an explanation. When I envision Laura Horn, I see her as an angel that’s been forced down to earth by evil forces and cries over it. Unfortunately, there’s only so many photos and illustration that feature that sort of subject material in the theme I’m looking for. So I’m doing things that are similar to my angle theme: butterflies, flowers, birds, and yes, angels. But first a butterfly, a metaphor for transformation. This story is going through a transformation and so is the main character. I hope that by the end, the transformations of both will result in something beautiful.

Video Rage: The Outline Is Finished

Posted: June 19, 2013 in Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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So I spent most of the day working on that outline. And I finished it. Plotline, character bios, all done in a day. I have to say, the sequel to Reborn City looks pretty exciting, just from reading the first draft of the outline. There’s conflict between characters, even the best of friends, some pretty nasty battles and plot twists, and a Native American healing ceremony (Lakota, to be specific). All in 36 chapters (I guessed 37 chapters when I started, so I wasn’t too far off).

I’ll probably take a break from writing tonight to recharge, but the beginning of this 2-novel writing project is off to a great start. I’m not sure when I’ll finish VR, but I’m excited for it and I can’t wait. I also feel I’ll finish VR before I finish Laura Horn. Don’t ask me why, I just have this feeling.

Now, to make dinner! I’m hungry.

Writing The Video Rage Outline

Posted: June 19, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, Reflections, Writing
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With RC there weren’t many photos I could use. Not so with it’s sequel!

Recently, I read the novel Misery for the first time. At a certain point, Annie Wilkes says that when dealing with a cliffhanger, the resolution has to be “realistic” and “fair”, but she also wants this to apply to all literature. What does she mean? Well, if you’re on a plane and it’s about to crash, pull a parachute under the chair. Somewhat fair, pretty realistic. If a character with several broken bones suddenly is able to get a doctor and do experimental blood transfusions in the 19th century, then it’s not fair or realistic at all.

Paul Sheldon had a hell of a time getting the balance right, especially since he was being threatened with missing limbs if he didn’t deliver. And although I’m not in any danger of losing any limbs, I feel the pressure to make things realistic and fair with Video Rage, the sequel to Reborn City. My philosophy with sequels is that you have to build up, do something better than the first book. To do that though, I find myself having to think really hard about how I plot the story as I write the outline, and I’m wondering if what I’m writing down for each chapter is any good.

I’ve often preached about sequels and how people just don’t know how to make good ones, but I have to admit that it’s hard. Most of the action of VR takes place on the road, and besides normal conflict, there’s also the conflict of relationships which I’m trying to insert. And when I add certain elements–a hunting cabin to hide in, a Lakota village with a hospital–I wonder if people will buy this or if they’ll call BS. I’d have someone critique the outline, but there’s only one person in the world besides me who’s even read RC, and I don’t want to spoil it for him by having him critique the outline.

Well, this is why I advise taking a break after writing the outline to creatively recharge those batteries. Perhaps after the outline’s first draft, I’ll be able to figure out if things need to be changed. However at this point I don’t intend on changing much…except possibly making one of the antagonists much more involved with the fighting instead of using drones and soldiers.

Wish me luck. I’ve got more work to do in the morning, where I’ll try to finish this outline. Honestly, VR could potentially be longer than RC, the way I’ve been writing the outline.

The Project(s) For This Summer

Posted: June 16, 2013 in ideas, Novel, Progress Report, Writing
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Well, Reborn City is off to the copyright office, I hope to have a new cover for The Quiet Game sometime this week, and if God’s feeling particularly nice, the copyright for The Quiet Game will finally come in. I only have a single short story to finish up before I’m free to work on my next two writing projects.

And since you’re reading this post, I’m assuming you’re curious as to what my next two projects are. Well, I’ll tell you: this summer, I’m writing not one, but two novels! Yes, two novels. I plan to switch off between chapters, doing one chapter for one novel and then doing one chapter for the other before switching back to the first novel.

But now you’re probably wondering why I want to do two novels. The reason is that I was able to write Snake in six months. Yes, that’s the reason. That’s the fastest I’ve ever written a novel, and even the first draft was a damn good one. And let me tell you, I have a lot of stuff I wish to write. I want to write the sequel to RC, which I’ll be calling Video Rage. Actually, I kind of have to write that one. But there’s a bunch of other novels that I want to write, and if I only do one book at a time, I’ll never get to some of them in a timely manner.

Then again, if I do too many at once, I may get burnout and my work will suffer. So two seems a fair balance. With that in mind, I’ll be able to get to do more of the stories I want to write in the future. And right now, I’ll be able to work on two very interesting, very distinct stories…though the protagonists are similar in some ways. Not many, but some. Enough that they could be friends if they ever met. But they won’t.

Alright, enough rambling! Let’s go over those two novels! One of course is Video Rage, which is the sequel to Reborn City. RC, as we all know, is about street gangs in a post-apocalyptic future and their connections to a very shadowy organization. VR will pick up where RC left off, following the characters around as trouble finds them at every corner…and there will be some internal conflict that may threaten to tear our group of protagonists apart. How will they stay together? And how will they survive a world that is stacked against them? That’s the excitement of VR.

The second novel, I’ve only spoken about once. Does anyone remember that article I wrote, back around March, about some prominent rape cases at the time and how they related to a novel I wanted to write? If you don’t remember and need a refresher or you’ve never read that post, please go ahead and click this link, but it’s that novel mentioned in the page that I want to write. I feel it’s time to start on this particular story, for a number of reasons, and not just limited to the ones listed in that article.

So what is the name of this particular novel, about a girl who was raped and the travails she goes through in the novel help her heal and confront her past? I decided that it’s be best to name it after the character herself, and as for a name, I’ve decided to go with Laura Horn. Laura will confront her past, and in so doing, she will also save the nation (I plan on setting the story in Washington DC). I think it’ll be a great challenge to write and I can’t wait to see where the story goes.

So Video Rage and Laura Horn. Between the two of them, I’m going to have a very busy summer. But I think it’s also going to be a very productive one as well.

Let’s get started!

Reborn City: The New Cover

Posted: June 14, 2013 in Living and Life, Novel, Progress Report, short story, Writing
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On Wednesday, I created the cover for Reborn City out of a photograph and Photoshop. Problem was, I wasn’t completely satisfied with it. So, after much thought and encouragement from the ever-helpful Matt Williams, I turned to CreateSpace. If you don’t know what CreateSpace is, it’s a program through Amazon that you can use to self-publish ebooks, paperbacks, and all sorts of wonderful things. I’d never considered using CreateSpace because I heard it costs money, but I learned that only some services do, while others are very DIY and free-of-charge. And I like those options.

Now check out the old cover:

RC cover

Now check out the new one:

Reborn City

Same photograph, better picture. Sure, there’s no graffiti-esque writing, but this looks better, more professional. And maybe someday, if God is good to me, I can create the cover of my dreams with a later edition.

And guess what? CreateSpace also does print-on-demand paperbacks for no cost to the author, just a small percentage of royalties. Do you know what that means? It means all my books can be someday turned into ebooks and paperback editions! All you have to do is order them from Amazon!

And of course I’ll try to do this with The Quiet Game, get the cover to be customized so that it stays the cover. That’s one I can be satisfied with, I just hope I can get it onto the editions. I hope you’re as happy as I am! If I can, I’ll get the cover loaded up tomorrow, along with sending RC to the copyright office. It’s going to be fantastic!

Expect Reborn City November 1, people, and The Quiet Game this summer whenever that gosh-darn copyright is processed. Ooh, I’m so excited. Hope you’re excited with me!

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