F*** You I won't do what what ya told me!

I'm sitting at work with so many co-workers and Leaders telling me what I need to do to progress in my career. Finish your degree, it will make you more competitive. Volunteer, it makes you look good. Get three million sheaves of files on your past accomplishments, it will help Big Brother decide you need a promotion. FUCK YOU! I'm a writer dammit! It's what I do and when I get my time done it's what I will do till my fingers fall off and I am a pile of dust. Look, my job isn't bad. It pays the bills. As long as the bills are paid, I'm gonna pursue my life as a writer. But devoting all the extra time to what some leadership consider as progression? Nope, I'm stubborn. And then the cackles and the rolling eyes and looks of disdain crash into me like a convoy of Mack trucks.

" Listen, that writing stuff is cute as a hobby, really! But you can't ever consider it as a career! Come now, get your degree done so you are more marketable on the outside. Write your little stories and use them as a catharsis, just don't be a writer."

I hear it from friends and family too. I tell them, I can hold a steady job, but I want to be published...for real, by a real publishing company.

And so the bombardment continues to hail derogatory or negative energy bombs in my area of operations. I hunker down in my self built bunker of will and stubbornness, hoping it holds with each new blast.

Up side, I am a stubborn bastard. I LOVE telling stories. I love making characters come alive from my mind onto paper! So, conventionalism, Eat a Dick!

Anyways, this is my frustration for the day when I see too many people to include those close to me pew pew my endeavors.

Alien Predators

Building your sci fi or even fantasy world? Need a predator that scares the living shit out of the heroes? Want one that continuously picks off members of a team with absolute crushing power only to vanish into the mist? Look to our own natural world. Now, don't describe one of nature's predators by statistics, but more like what they do and how they accomplish the hunt. Common boring predators relate physically to our own world. Add a couple of extra legs or perhaps a second row of teeth. Put on some bug details and WHAMO! You got yourself an alien beast right? NOPE!

Building an alien takes a bit more than that. Now I will agree the the original Alien series made for one kick ass and scary as fuck predator. But where did the creator get the idea? I'm not sure, but the real task is defining our own alien predator.

Going about it takes a bit of research. Look around you. Do a bit of that evil thing called reading about our natural world.

One example is below. I saw this stalk and hunt and about shit my pants. My jaw certainly hit the floor at the implications. Now I suck at embedding videos so please hit the URL, it's a fun surprise, I promise! Without further a due I present the Jaguar at it's primal best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu1by5-BpTA


Right, that was some bad ass stuff! Now, do a little exercise. Don't describe the Jaguar and it's super sexy face. Instead, list what it DID to close in for the kill. Realize that it took on another dangerous predator like it was going to take down a little deer. Look carefully at it's kill technique. See how it could silently swim to it's target, make a last second crazy ass pounce and notice something that is VERY different about it's strike compared to other big cat hunters. Did ya see it? That's right! Most big cats strike for the throat! This little bad ass went straight for the skull to literally crush it. Fun fact, The pounds of crushing pressure a jaguar has out performs both the tiger and the lion. Ye the jaguar is smaller than both. It can literally lift the cranial cap off the skull of an animal with one bone crushing strike.

So take away the fur, take away the gorgeous coat. Now develop the analytical statistics of what it did. Watch it carefully from the very beginning of it's stalk to the final killing blow. Describe the action without describing the beast.

After this put the beast in the world you desire, but look into the evolutionary environment you put it in. Atmosphere, prey availability, terrain, etc. Think on the biology of it. Once this is done, start developing the physical characteristics that actually count. Leave a bit of mystery to the actual predator so the reader can in fact use their imagination to finally put the puzzle pieces together.

Final point to re-iterate Our own world has a dynamic and diverse set of species we can look at for ideas. A little research, a little creativity and BOOM MUTHA FUCKA! You got the Samual L motherfuckin Jackson of predators! Ok, nuff said for now. Have a great field day in the writing.

Free your Mind!

Every writer loves their particular genre. We live for it, breathe it, eat it up like a nice juicy steak. It's always nice to read and study within our own borders. But there are whole untouched universes out there to explore and add into our bag of tools. I'm not talking about galaxies far far away. I'm talking about the myriad of things to explore and glean from all around us in reading material. Some things are at the touch of those crisp...or dog eared pages of books. Other things are at the speed of digital light on the internet. point is that exploration can give new insight and new ideas from all around us. Even a walk around your neighborhood can be enlightening just by watching people.

Personally, history is my favorite. Personalities throughout history give interesting prospective for different personalities. This morning I was watching the movie Frida, as portrayed by Salma Hayek. what an interesting character this artist was. It got me wanting to know the real artist vs Hollywood's. With a bit of searching I got to know Frida not just as the very interesting artist, but as a woman who struggled throughout her life physically as well as emotionally.

In a time of turmoil and very radical ideas for politics pitting the very poor against the very rich, a brilliant story arose in its chaos. The geo political things happening were a back drop that enriched Frida's story. Now, I'll be honest with you. I'm not a big fan of Communism in any shape or form. I understand it's idealism from the working class poor. I understand it's intentions. But ultimately it's a failure and can never work. Why? Human nature. Greed, corruption, someone always wants to be on top of the pile. It's the truth. Not sure you agree? Check out how well it worked for the Soviet Union or Argentina, or many different little countries. Ok, why all this? Because I watched impassioned people WANT to believe in something that gave them hope. Isn't that what all stories are about?

Given all that, I loved Frida as a very strong female lead. As portrayed she embodied perseverance, creativity and a deep strength that perhaps many of her time would cower from. Even though she suffered hurt from her artist love/future husband, she never gave up and did what she loved most. She painted. The suffering and challenges ultimately came from around her. Physical trauma time and time again attacked her. Failed love relationships and yet she never stopped her quest as an artist. Pretty cool stuff.

My point is that you can glean ideas from what you see across the board. You can also see how adversity affects characters as you breathe life in them. So, hat's off to you Frida, your politics were a bit to idealist but you stood a long battle in a short life. Thanks for letting me get a peek into your life, it was worth it.

So what characters OUTSIDE your genre of choice have given you inspiration?

IT"S ALIVE!!!!!!!

Cora,
I see you. You are becoming real, not just a figment of my twisted imagination. The cardboard paper doll is evolving. Enjoy the innocence while you can. Life is going to blow like a leaf on the wind. Don't worry about death, we all face that eventually. Worry about what you are going to do with your life! I apologize in advance for the hell you are going to have to overcome. I know, it isn't fair. But you have a story to tell. Many won't understand or will fear you. It's ok, you have  allot to accomplish and so little time if what you choose to do has an effect. Hang in there kid, I know you can do it. Just don't quit.

You know, I always wanted to write military sci fi, but an idea struck me and I need to follow this one through. I've been thinking about it all day. This project will span from no tech all the way to future tech and every dark hole in between. I'm not going to tell you the story, look for it down the road when I finish it and send it up for 3 million rejections and maybe a self publish.

But Cora is who I am developing. She has to be strong because in her world, she is viewed as crippled. Not so much a physical deformity, but a perceived mental deficiency. Why put her through hell? Well, no conflict no story. That's the honest truth. I mean I could keep this sweet young lass in a crystal ballerina ball, but she would only gather dust on the pix-elated shelves of my many files that get saved and never revisited. I can't say if I'll even keep her name, Cora was just the first one that popped into my head.

In a way I feel heart broken for what she may have to face. Of course the sadistic side of my wicked mind makes one helluva arch villain. Hey...it'll be fun right? What I can tell you is that I deal with both the heroic and the dark ugly parts of the mind. Subject matter will include some very sensitive and painful topics. I suppose you could hate me for that. But Cora as she stands has the potential to do the most good or most harm not just to her little world...but to many others.

Even if she does the unthinkable, the heinous...I know I'll love this creation. She is the Frankenstein Daughter to my creative will.

Periodically I'll update this particular line. If I publish these bits, I think it will help me stay focus and on whatever course it leads.

Shattering 2D Characters

Yup,

I want her to come alive. I’ve got the idea down. She's got all kinds of simple stats that gives age, height, weight, family, background, education etc. But still the poor girl is locked in a crystal mirror of two dimensions. I want to care. But it's a tough battle. Where are the flaws that make her human, or the strengths beyond a gun/robot/baseball bat? Where will conflict rise? Why should she care about anything or how the world goes?

Shattering through the simple stuff and making the mirror become flesh is terrifying. Why? I want to believe before she becomes a ghost, a wisp in the fog of night. I want to feel that spine tingling electricity that makes her pop forward and makes the careless reader suddenly embrace who and what she is. I've read a lot on strong female leads and my current project steps away from the typical hard bitten Soldier to something a bit different. The vulnerability needs to be there without becoming stagnant and depressing. Through the setbacks, I want to see her grow. Sometimes I catch glimpses of this. Steel hammers and iron anvils mixed with the fire of chaos. The edge gets a little better each round but it's like ripping clay from a pile of sand.

Still, this one has a whole lot of potential. Something that aches, groans, screams and kills. But where do I bring her to life? Today? Tomorrow? A thousand years from now on some distant world? What would shape her attitudes and desires? Is it nature or nurture or a few different things in between? I'm not sure where this leads but DAMMIT I know something is there.


All this because I want a reader to look beyond physical traits or historical facts. It's a craving, a quest and a heartbreaking climb. I love every minute of it even when I want to scream bloody murder.

How bout you? Do you see that one character you REALLY want to come alive? Is he or she just on the tip of your mind, ready to burst out and come alive? Drop a line and tell me how it comes!

It all started when....

Well, the whole point of this is to write even though I'm not working on my masterpieces that will inspire future generations (please insert sarcasm here). Seriously, I love to write and tell plenty of stories. I also love sharing ideas with other people whether they are writers or not. If you came here expecting me to be nice and politically correct...probably want to shut this down fast. My opinions are my own based upon personal experience and attitudes and this is reflected in writing style. If Fuck and Shit offend you...there are plenty of other tame sites out there. I often curse when I'm working through problems and issues. It's just who I am. On that same note, when I am writing it's from the heart and all the gooey syrupy stuff they call emotion. Personally I like to write in sci-fi genres with a bent towards military action of some sort or another. I get bloody, dirty and gritty. I am not a hard science writer. I believe in being ball deep in the mess of humanity. Gotta love that nastiness. Sites, smells, screams, hate, sex, cruelty, humanity, free choice and a stubborn streak to carry on when every thing sucks. Yup, those are the things I love about writing. Oh ya, I tend to write in short moments between work madness, so spelling isn't a priority. If that bothers you or if you are a grammar nazi, bear this in mind. This is my dart board or splattercanvas. It's not for finished or polished writing, I don't believe in doing that when I shoot out the vomit of ideas in my squirrely little head.
Ok, enough butt sniffing. Welcome to my humble if not stable mind. This is where I pour it out and don't stop.

The thing is, getting it from that black hole of a brain of mine down onto paper or pixel text is a real pain in the ass. Oh, got plenty of those ideas but getting that right character to fit into the right plot for the right reasons often makes me want to throw my monitor through a window. Not the rig though, that shit is expensive and feeds my other addiction of video games and the loss of those would probably land me in the looney bin. Geeky? You got it man! I am a bit on the video nerd side and damned proud of it. Of course that can be so fucking distracting when I should be typing away at a story whether short or epic long. Very dangerous addiction, worse than my infinite love for booze.

Of late I've been surfing the internet for other writer blogs to follow and read. I see so many come up with interesting writing challenges, some based upon genre and others based upon word count. Hmm...over 400 words already on my first post, I'm ever so proud. Anyways, I get a lot of ideas from conversations I read or musings of others. Currently, one of my favorite bloggers is hands down Chuck Wendig from http://terribleminds.com/ramble/blog/ . The guy is honest and up front. His writings aren't sci-fi per se but they are pretty cool. Go check him out.

Well, back to work. Wait work you say? But I thought you wanted to be a writer?! Ya I am a writer, but I also got to put a roof over my head and food on the table. Takes a long time to be the next David Drake or Stephen King or Robert Ludlum. Still got to eat and I'm not into starving. done that once and it blows donkey balls. So, I work a mundane job, and in fits of madness I drop a few lines here and there. Anyways, drop a line, or a beer, or share a smoke. We'll laugh together.