National Novel Writing Month Planning 2020 Part 3

In week three of planning for 2020's National Novel Writing Month, the focus was plotting. This is probably one of my weaker areas in the sense that I've never outlined as deeply as I should, but over the past few years I've learned quite a bit more about plot structures. Much of what was discussed in this session came as no huge surprise to me.

There is a quiz on the prep page to take which is supposed to help you pinpoint what style of planning would suit you best. For me, this popped up with the "I <3 Outlining SO MUCH!" option, which appears to be the most in-depth style of outlining and planning. It likely came up with this because I chose on the quiz that I wanted to know as much about my story ahead of time. The funny thing is, I already have a bit of a plan because I'm working off an old rough draft where the story's already been completed once--my goal is to dig deeper with it and make it a more worthwhile effort. If I took this quiz on a fresh idea, it'd probably come up with something looser. I've spent most of my writing time working without any kind of outline, but in doing so I found that many of my oldest stories are a mess. Having at least a rough plan seems to help me more--it's been a question of finding the best, most streamlined process.

Fortunately, the NaNo prep page offers a few different methods for arranging ideas into a plot.

• The first plotting method is the "Jot, Bin, Pants" technique. This is a pretty loose and flexible technique, in which you brainstorm and jot down all your ideas, arrange them within the elements of story structure as containers for your ideas, then tack on additional ideas (the ones you "pants" I suppose) within the outline as they occur. This is something that may suit me for many fresh ideas, but it might not suit my current needs.
• The second technique is the "Plot Rollercoaster" one. This breaks down into six parts, where you'll need to plug in the set-up, the inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. These are all the basic elements of a plot that I keep in mind all the time, really. I tend to apply these six parts broadly across just about all my efforts, especially since this lends itself easily to a three-act structure. It would not be much of a stretch to combine this with the Jot/Bin/Pants method to hammer out a good plotline.
  
• Third, there's the "9-Step Plot Dot" method. This is modeled after the Hero's Journey structure popularized by Joseph Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces. This, in turn, is the same structure that was rigidly applied to such stories as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. This still adheres to the three-act rising action/climax/falling action structure, but the story loops on itself as the hero ventures outside his or her comfort zone, learns stuff, and returns to a state of normalcy. There are very specific beats involved with the Hero's Journey--maybe a little too rigid for my tastes, but it's helpful to pinpoint where and how the character fails and changes. I find that other writers have come up and said this doesn't really work for them either.
  
• Next is the Save the Cat beat sheets. The Save the Cat book was written for screenwriters everywhere to find a successful formula, and it can be easily applied to other mediums like novels. Personally, I feel like this is also extraordinarily rigid and maybe too much for my intentions. The formula goes so far to specify exact percentages in which story beats need to fill up space in the overall manuscript.
• Last is Katytastic's 3 Act / 9 Block / 27 Chapter outlining method. This is basically a spreadsheet you can use, plugging in your plot points in a preset act structure. It seems self-explanatory to me and I have no doubt this sheet is useful. For my story though, 27 chapters is not actually enough (unless I want specific parts extend beyond just one chapter). Also, like the last few methods, this might be a little too stringent for my purposes.

Any of these techniques can be helpful depending on what kind of writer you are and what kind of project you're working on. My project this year is a little unique because so much of it is mapped out already. What I've come to realize too is that I might be working with something more complex than a three-act plot--I think it's more like five acts, with much longer middle sections and more turning points than usual. Thus, the more constricted plotting tools (like the Save the Cat method) won't be as easy to plug in. And really, I would have done the Jot/Bin/Pants method eight years ago on this book without realizing it--to streamline the next draft, I'll probably fall back on the Plot Rollercoaster.

Sometime soon, I will sit down and formalize my outline in a separate Word document. Once I do so, I expect to scrutinize it to identify areas that need fixing--most especially any areas that don't seem creditable or may not make sense. This will also be a chance to make sure character depth is addressed, arcs make sense, maybe some world-building issues can be tweaked, and hopefully I can pinpoint aspects of the experience (such as emotional response, empathy levels) and make sure they work correctly.

It helps that I've conceived of so much of this story years ago. The entire first act is pretty firmly set in my mind. Even as I rewrite it, I can take the time to keep working on the outline and finalize some details. Then, when the time comes to write all the scenes, hopefully it'll come out smoothly, quickly, and with less revision needed.

National Novel Writing Month Planning 2020 Part 2

Next month, National Novel Writing Month will begin for 2020. To help prepare for it, our local group had a virtual meeting to go over the preparation guide. In week two, the focus is on developing characters.

I was not able to attend the online discussion for this when it happened, but I followed up and did it on my own at a later time. Since I may be spending my NaNo month revamping an old manuscript, I already have a good idea about who the characters are--however, the questionnaires have been beneficial in directing my thoughts and plans towards deepening those existing characters and making them pop off the page better.

The guide offers four different sections to fill out for each character. Section one is intended for all the important characters. Here's one of the ones for my upcoming project. My main character is a rich pop diva in a futuristic city, who finds out that she's really a clone.

Name: Mary Evelyn Lowe. Often called Mary-Lo by fans.

Age: Well, she's a clone, so her physical age is five years but she looks 28.

Height: 5' 8"

Eye Color: Russet (or, a reddish brown color).

Physical Appearance: Long blonde hair. Athletic and voluptuous build--literally designed that way for public performances and dance.

Strange or Unique Physical Attributes: As a clone, she has an invisible marker on her forehead that can be revealed with certain scanners, or with the application of chemicals or enzymes.

Favorite Clothing Style / Outfit: An emerald-green evening dress, manufactured from genetically-engineered spidersilk.

Where Does She Live / What Is It Like? Initially, Mary lives in an upscale penthouse suite in the wealthy sector of Cascade City. It is clean, sleek, and luxurious. It has a chic bedroom. The living room has hardwood floors and huge windows with views of the city skyline. Kitchen has a modest fridge, shiny metallic appliances, good counters--but Mary never cooks for herself, so she uses it more like a minibar.

Defining Gestures / Movements: Mary has a way of commanding attention through her posture and pose. She will stand with her hands on her hips. Or she'll cross her arms. She may have a tendency to speak with her hands somewhat.

Things About Her Appearance She Would Most Like To Change: Breast reduction surgery.

Speaking Style: Mary has a lyrical contralto voice--lower-pitched and deep, similar to Amy Winehouse. Mary's voice has a smooth, sultry texture. Her word choice is often confrontational or loaded with attitude. It's an even, level voice that's neither too fast or too slow.

Pet Peeves: Not getting her way.

Fondest Memory: Celebrating the release of her first studio album.

Hobbies: Athletic activities to ensure she's in shape for dance and performance--typically running, dance, and tennis. Mary is a night owl and a party animal who will venture into bars and nightclubs almost every night.

Special Skills: Trained singer and dancer. Has no stage fright and no fear of engaging with people.

Insecurities: Without street smarts, Mary is clueless about how many things are in the working class environment. She relies on her manager, producers, and AI assistant to take care of her--on her own, she's lost.

Quirks: Often says or does provocative and suggestive things as a way to throw other people off-balance or tear down inhibitions. She is especially gifted with dishing out innuendos.

Temperament: Impulsive and quick to anger.

Negative Traits: Will find ways to escape reality (such as through substance abuse or engaging in numerous one-night stands). As a clone, there's always the question of whether there's an inhuman monster lurking within her, and when she's pushed too far or excessively enraged, it can come out and Mary will show no mercy, remorse, or empathy towards people in her way. In a way, I consider her part Frankenstein-monster, and there are moments where she goes on a rampage.

Things That Upset Her: People lying or not being their real selves (which is funny because she's never sure about what her real self is either between her public/private personas and the "monster" side of her). As the story goes on, she'll be further upset by the governing system that oppresses the city and wronged her. Their control over her music has always sparked outrage over artistic limitation and censorship.

Things That Embarrass Her: The past, in the sense that she's caused trouble and done stupid things to land her in the tabloids. As time goes on, she'll become more embarrassed by the persona and image she once put on for the public, and she eventually comes to hate the music she used to create.

Opinionated About: Music and singers, fashion, food, and art. Maybe politics later on.

Phobias: Filth in general, she's accustomed to living in cleanliness. However, she is not a germophobe.

Things That Make Her Happy: Clothes, drugs, drinks, records, accessories, makeup, cars, toys, gadgets, jewelry--you know, anything that money can buy. However, this changes as the story goes on.

Family: None. Her producers and manager would be the closest thing she has to a family, but they betray her. At a later point, she'll look up to other characters who help her as a kind of family. If sequels are possible, she might even be able to have a real family of her own.

Deepest, Darkest Secret: At an early concert gig, Mary beat up an overly-zealous fan. And she liked hurting him.

Reason She Kept This Secret So Long: Because it's bad for her public image. More importantly though, it's the moment she became aware of what evil she may be capable of and she scares herself knowing that it's always there.

Other People's Opinions Of This Character: Fans are drawn to Mary's body, showmanship, and voice. To them, she is a divine idol that embodies all their dreams and fantasies--including their most intimate ones. Rivals and critics consider her hollow, mean, entitled, materialistic, and toxic.

Favorite Bands / Songs / Types of Music: No opinion until she's exposed to older, pre-flood records. To her, the modern pop scene is business as usual, and it's always cobbled together with digital tools and components. In time, she will be intrigued by songs of the past, especially from an age before digital. She'll be inspired by raw, natural voices untainted and unchanged by technology.

Favorite Movies: Most films bore Mary. Since North Island embodies both movie and recording studios, she can see up close how fake most movies are (and most in Cascade City are done on green screen stages with a lot of digital compositing to fill in the sets and locations). Comedies are too sweet for her. Dramas too boring. Action movies too dumb. The only movies that she'd fancy are horror and thrillers.

Favorite TV Shows: Entertainment news.

Favorite Books: Mary doesn't read.

Favorite Foods: Mary adheres to a strict diet to keep in shape, but her food is typically bloated with artificial supplements. Will splurge on luxury dishes like caviar, fancy steaks, shark fin soup, anything with truffles, or one of those deserts with gold flakes on top.

Favorite Sports: She's not interested.

Political Views: She didn't have any political views until she's made to realize how powerful and corrupt her government actually is. After they try to change and condition her, she'll support any movement that fights the system, even going so far as instigating violent revolution.

Life Philosophy: Hedonist. She lives to please herself.

Health: Artificially enhanced for beauty and pleasure. As such, she's fit, has a natural immunity to many diseases, and she can stay healthier than most normal people. She even has a slight boost in strength due to her gene manipulation. However, she was not designed to live long, and will age fast.

Dream Vacation: One of the cities to the east.

Description Of Her Home: Seriously, I like described it already way up at the top. It's a rich apartment.

Description Of Where She Sleeps: The bed is a soft memory foam mattress with silky sheets.

Pets: Just a robot assistant in the form of a hovering orb. Its name is Priscilla.

Best Thing That Happened To This Character: She's a successful singer with multi-platinum albums and all the riches and fame that comes with it. She's spent most of her life being at the top of the world already.

Worst Thing That Happened: As part of the story, Mary will be taken against her will and confined in harsh conditions in the city's hidden labs. She'll undergo a painful series of procedures designed to brainwash and condition her into an obedient wife for the mayor--essentially, becoming somebody she is not.

Superstitions: Has a mistrust of white lighters. Hates the phrase "break a leg."

Three Words To Describe Her: Impulsive, sensual, vindictive.

If A Song Played Every Time This Character Walked Into The Room, What Would It Be? Madonna's "Material World."

There are additional questions to be asked for the protagonist, which I've tacked onto this questionnaire below.

What Does She Want More Than Anything? Justice.

What Does She Need To Grow As A Person? Mary will experience and learn how it is to be among the poor and the have-nots, and the experience will change her attitude towards people and life. She'll learn to fend for herself and stand on her own. She'll even learn some street smarts and combat skills. She'll discover the value of hard work and earning her own living. When she finally confronts the people who wronged her, she'll find out the hard way that revenge and justice are not the same thing.What Flaws And Obstacles Stand In Her Way? Mary is a creature of habit and it'll take much learning and experience to change her impulsive, entitled ways. She will act often without thinking. She has less of a filter than most. Obstacles exist in many forms--there is a whole police state in the city, plus a mafia that the police use to monitor the poor districts in a low-key way. Mary will have bounty hunters, gangsters, cops, and maybe even actual monsters hunting her.

What Major Flaws Stand In Her Way? Mary will land in trouble repeatedly through her own sense of entitlement and a certain lack of self control.

Additional sections are available for the antagonist(s) and supporting characters. Many of these questions are directed at their connections to the protagonist. For me, these are still works in progress.

For the intents and purposes of fleshing out the protagonist, the questionnaire has been immensely valuable in forcing me to think about this character in fresher and deeper ways. I thought I knew this character well, but I did need to address deeper issues concerning her origins and career. After this exercise, I now feel like there's a more fully developed person to work with. Once November starts, it will be a pleasure to work with Mary again.

National Novel Writing Month Planning 2020 Part 1

For the past nine years, I've always looked forward to November for the National Novel Writing Month challenge. Writers all over the world try to nail down a first draft of 50,000 words in 30 days. With the right time management and motivation, it can be easy and breezy. But with creative blocks, lack of motivation or inspiration, or lack of energy, it can seem insurmountable.

I've always been the type of writer that just makes things up as it goes, from page one onward. No outline. No character sheets. No plan. Nowadays this is referred to as "discovery writing," but it's sometimes referred to as "pantsing," as in writing by the seat of your pants. As years have gone on and I have a bunch of messy first drafts that were "pantsed," I find that there is value in outlining at least something. Especially when NaNoWriMo comes around--having a clear outline and detailed plans can made the words fly out the fingers at light speed.

Thus, I've committed myself to joining the local regional group to participate in online exercises designed to help brainstorm and plan for the next big project. For this first session, we went through the steps listed on the NaNo webpage and explored four ways to find an idea.

I kinda have an idea already for what I want to do this November. Instead of something new, I'll probably resurrect an old manuscript and rewrite it to fix a number of issues. In spite of that, these exercises offer little to something where the idea is already developed. However, these prompts did have the benefit of creating some interesting new ideas I could use somewhere else.

Exercise 1: Borrow A Plot

First, write a summary of 3 books or movies or stories you love. Include important characters, major plot turns, and setting.

With no shortage of plot ideas from movies and the few books I've read, I came up with the following examples:

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the novel by PKD, but I dig the movies too). The story of Rick Deckard, a (blade runner?) bounty hunter who's saving up money to buy his own animal. He takes on a job to hunt down four escaped androids and "retire" them.
• Alita: Battle Angel (manga, anime, movie). It's the heart-warming story about a cyborg that's discovered in a trash heap and brought back to life by a doctor, and is named Alita. Though she has no memory of her past, she quickly learns that she has expert combat skills and she becomes a hunter/warrior. A whole bunch of stuff happens that pits her against the city of Zalem and forces her to fight for people she cares about.
• Fahrenheit 451 (the Ray Bradbury novel). The future in which books are burned by government "firemen." Montag is a fireman who becomes disillusioned and finds a companion that shows him the joy of reading books. He inevitably defects.

The next step: choose one of the summaries and start changing around different parts - characters, setting, plot turns, adjectives, verbs, anything else you like! See where those changes take you, and keep writing when you get inspired.

• Rick is saving up money to buy his freedom. To do so, he's given a task to find four aliens and terminate them. But will he?
• A cloned popstar winds up in the sewer and has to get back on her feet. She quickly learns combat skills and she becomes vigilante. She embarks on a mission to find those that wronged her and take revenge.
• In the past, as Rome is sacked, all its books/scrolls are burned. A character discovers the value of knowledge and reading, and seeks out to salvage other texts all over the Mediterranean sea and save them from being destroyed.

I did cheat a little in the sense that the middle one based on Alita is actually the plot of my planned novel. I'd go so far to say that Alita is one of the primary inspirations for it, so it wasn't a stretch to bend that premise to mirror what I've written before. The other ideas, however, I just twisted around as I thought about what would be opposite or different (past instead of the future, aliens instead of androids, and so on). I honestly had the film Agora in mind when I came up with the third idea.

What's cool about this exercise is that I have three possible novel ideas already. The first bullet I came up with can be easily tweaked further to become a more enigmatic, surreal thriller about a guy hunting aliens, then becoming influenced by them. This would fit in perfectly with other works I've conceived, especially since I've been trying to tie them together with the unified mythology of higher beings. The second paragraph is pretty much already there. The third, I see as a possible historic drama or adventure--it would need a ton more research, and it would be beyond my comfort zone, but I see potential.

Exercise 2: Borrow A Character

Invent a history or future for someone. Maybe it’s a friend you lost touch with after college, a teacher you had, a family member you’ve heard stories about, or just someone you’ve seen in photos or on the bus. I’d like to write a novel starring my great-grandmother someday, inspired by the pictures I’ve seen of her (I’ve never really heard anything about her!).

Who is the person that intrigues you? What was their childhood like? What did they dream of? What was their greatest desire? What obstacles did they face? What was their greatest triumph?

I was a little tripped up by this step because I couldn't see how these new characters would fit into the stories I came up with minutes ago. Then I realized they don't have to be connected, they can be imagined and tucked away for another project. Then I spent way too much time trying to pin down a specific person I wanted to base this character off of.

I wound up picking T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia. Not that I'm an expert on the guy's life, but I learned one or two things about him beyond the movie, and I consider him a fascinating figure. With this fellow in mind, I wound up penning this rough sketch for a character by changing a few key details:

• Terry was born in Yorkshire, the year 2078, to a rural family that owned farmland. Terry spent most of his youth dreaming of seeing other lands beyond England, and even into outer space, and he fed his imagination regularly through reading. He wound up graduating from school highly educated with top honors, and he dabbled in all manner of fields concerning archeology, astronomy, history, and academia. Wanting to travel and make a bigger difference in affairs, however, he opts to enter into a military academy and become an officer.
• As it is, Terry has implicit conflicts between his lower-class upbringing and the elitist establishment that surrounds him. It builds up into a kind of mistrust of the system, especially when opportunities are constantly denied. Once he's finally given a chance to deploy to space and interface with an alien culture, he's not expected to succeed. Terry, however, will succeed in bridging a cultural gap and establishing an alliance--one that might threaten the integrity of his military masters, but could benefit mankind in other ways.

And with this I feel there's a potential sci-fi novel in this--one that feels a little like Dune. It's possible I could try and conjoin this with the one story idea about aliens I came up with above. In fact, doing so excites me a little and I can see it becoming a cool new thing. Some of the details in this write-up (especially the English upbringing) can easily be changed to accommodate whatever setting or genre I'd prefer.

Exercise 3: Use The News

Pick an event from the news. Imagine it from the perspective of different people involved with it. So a story about a river flooding might include the single mother driving her two kids on a camping trip, the park ranger called in to help, the farmer who lives down the road. Feel free to use the basics of the news story for inspiration, but make up your own details - change the place, the time, the specifics of the people involved (age, gender identity, personality).

What news stories have stuck with you?

This is 2020. All the news is sticking with me.

COVID-19 is probably the biggest and most obvious thing. Almost too obvious. It wasn't actually the first thing that came to my mind. Neither were the elections or the riots. Of all the issues that the media bombards us with every day, I fell back on one issue I sporadically watched or read about over the past couple of years: homelessness. 

It's a very broad topic, but it's hardly uneventful, much less simple. Major cities like Seattle and San Francisco have seen a major increase in the homeless population, and it's become so prominent that tent cities appear beside streets, bringing garbage, disease, crime, and blight close to homes, businesses, and even public buildings. It's become so pronounced that the Bubonic plague has come back in some areas of LA.

To tweak this for a possible story, I took the issue and considered how homelessness could occur in the setting of my old biopunk novel.

• In Cascade City, a rising portion of the population lives in squalor in the southern districts. Labor in the city's factories, refineries, and piers become increasingly rare as automation continues to cut people from manufacturing and logistical processes, while high-profile occupations remain out of reach behind the walled districts of the rich. Those who can't work have no incentive to--with free food given by the city's administration, people take to the tent cities to squabble over places to sleep. Drugs, disease, and violence become rampant. Some are motivated enough to scavenge trash piles or become members of the local mafia, but thousands will never find a way out of poverty.
  

This is all a pretty grim piece of world-building, some of which already exists in the old draft, but this is a more streamlined conception of it. I suppose that the overall theme of social class divides is an ongoing news story as well, and that's also something baked into the old draft. In a way, this kind of setting falls in line with the trashy, impoverish settings we see in things like Alita or District 9, and like those stories there will probably be some focus on how technology impacts these areas.

Exercise 4: A Whole New World

Scroll through these photos until you find one (or more!) that sparks something for you, then pause and write your questions, wonderings, and ideas. 

• https://www.boredpanda.com/abandoned-places/

• https://www.roughguides.com/gallery/20-seriously-weird-places-around-the-world/

• https://traveltriangle.com/blog/50-weirdest-places-across-the-world/

What kind of place is this? How did it get this way? Who might live or travel through it? How do they feel? What is it like for them there? What challenges do they face?

To be honest, our group didn't even get this far and I haven't had a chance to peruse these galleries. I do have a Pinterest board going for the biopunk story (a work in progress though). Much of this novel is pretty clear in my head anyway.

Looking over the first link now, I'm inclined to single out this photo as a possible inspiration:

• Plugging this into the biopunk novel, it's not too hard to imagine this kind of scenery since the story is set in a world affected by climate change, and the sea levels had risen. And with it, world societies had become ruined, wars happened, and billions of lives were lost. This ruined ship could be one of hundreds littering the bays and harbors where cities once stood, but now have become flooded and overgrown.
• The story specifically takes place in some of the last cities left on the Earth, collectively holding together a billion or so people. They still have the benefits of technology, industrialization, and organized society (albeit it is a controlled elitist rule rife with corruption). Trade still happens among these last cities, with fleets of scrappy merchant ships criss-crossing the ocean daily. Some folks can make an independent living in the open sea by scavenging ruins or harvesting sea life. For the most part though, sunken and overgrown ruins are a common sight on most landmasses. Outside the cities, people just kinda live and work around them. Some become hedonistic, only caring for the comforts and pleasure the cities provide. Others, however, do face the decline of the human race but remain powerless to change it.
  
• There is even more behind the powers that run the world's last cities. I just won't spoil those details here. But I will say that people struggle to adapt to the changing Earth, so some people believe that mankind itself has to be altered to change with it. Even if this means artificially forcing evolution.

It might not be fair to fall back on some recycled ideas, but the unexpected benefit of this exercise is to organize and streamline the many ideas I've had. Chances are that I'll get them more straightened out in the next draft.

This first session of brainstorming turned out to be quite a bit more fruitful than I imagined, and I wish I could have discovered these kinds of methods earlier. Even if I can't roll all these nuggets into my NaNo project, I will have fodder for possible future works. These techniques can be useful any time of the year.

Even More Days Of The Pandemic (August 2020)

Okay. So, COVID-19 is still around. If any curves were flattened, they wound up ballooning back up in the last few months. A vaccine may or may not be possible soon, who knows? As records and milestones continue to be shattered, it seems like it's all getting worse before it gets better.

From June onward, the order to stay at home had concluded and I had to resume work on a week-on week-off schedule. Which is fine and all--things have to be done. I do find it rather head-scratching that isolation and curve-flattening was pounded to the ground so hard in March and April, but now that the numbers have risen so much we're more focused on reopening all the things and returning to normal. Chances are it could all take a step back in the coming weeks. I have a feeling that summer holidays, nation-wide protests, and school reopenings might catalyze a surge in cases. There's no telling what will happen.

All that being said, I don't begrudge or fear going to work or going outside. If cases manage to go down and everybody reports in full-time again, I will be looking forward to actually accomplishing my goals and talking to teammates again. I just question if this is the right time.

 

Between June and now, I had a larger concern over my dad's health. He had gone to the hospital for an pancreatic attack. After ten days there, he was discharged, but with no immediate answers for what caused it. It wasn't until a few weeks later, and after more tests, that the cause was found: a gallstone attack. After even more tests and such, he finally had surgery to remove his gallbladder. This had taken up much of my time and energy for the last couple of months. It was worrying and anxious for a time, but now that he's recovering, there is a sense of relief and some semblance of normalcy was restored.

While I still have an on/off schedule, there are still some things I've managed to accomplish that I might not have made time for in the past. I haven't done a lot of cleaning like I did before, and my efforts to organize my collections fell to the wayside. However, here are the few things I managed to do.

• With July's Camp National Novel Writing Month, I started an effort to rewrite/edit an eight-year-old manuscript I had (originally titled Gods Among Men, this was a sci-fi novel about a utopic city policed by superheroes). Though I managed to redo a few chapters (probably 10,000 words), my motivation ran dry. Video games sucked up all my attention, sadly. As old as the project is, I question if it's a good enough premise to continue working with and if it deserves to be rewritten and finalized.
  
• Lately, I figured out that I'm less in the mood for writing and more in the mood for editing. So I looked back on Heathen, fixed the first couple of chapters, and I have them ready to pass through critique groups (I'll probably start using Scribophile more for this, in addition to a Utah-based group I'm in). This novel came together well, but the second act needs work. The coming weeks will be a good time to try and straighten it all out.
• My foray into video games, as well as things related to video game history (mostly Youtube essays, watching folks play games, watching The Wizard), has given me the notion to attempt a story one day centered around gaming. I'm still in the brainstorming phase--what I have in mind would probably be like Ready Player One crossed with 1984.
  
• I've played a lot of video games.
• Played and finished the story for The Last of Us Part II. This became kind of a big deal since I saw so much outrage over story leaks and such--it actually had the bizarre effect of making me play while judging it critically. By the game's end, I felt it was a bold story told well--it could be better in some ways, sure, but I'm not nearly as enraged by it as other folks are, and I admire many aspects of it. I've already cleaned up collectables and such--it'll only be a matter of time before I platinum it.
• I started Ghosts of Tsushima. Hot dang, this game's beautiful and the combat is satisfying. I can see myself engrossed in this for a good long time.
• I picked up a game called Ancestor: The Humankind Odyssey--since I already played games that put me in the place of sharks and goats, I figure why not apes now? First attempt playing, I didn't even know what I was doing and took way too long figuring out how to progress. I started a second playthrough, but since I didn't know how to switch between apes, I wound up killing most of my tribe (intentionally and unintentionally) and the next generation only had three apes left. I plan on starting a third playthrough now to build a proper tribe and keep them all alive.
• I bought, downloaded, and started Subnautica. I was sold on its concept, and it's the kind of thing I wish I could have thought of for a novel idea. The game was so addicting and immersive that I couldn't put it down for a whole week, until I platinumed it.
  
• I finished Saints Row: The Third with a platinum. Pretty juvenile, but it was colorful, funny, and fairly addicting. Not sure I'd want to pick it back up with the remastered edition--I'll have to think about it.
• Played and finished Maneater. Took all of three days to achieve a platinum. I enjoyed it though.
• Played Bad North in full a few times (including a hard playthrough), and I found it surprisingly engaging. After a few weeks, I completed all the trophies.
  
• Of all the games I can play on the PS4, I wound up playing Solitaire for quite a few hours. Woo!
  
• Played a bit more of Doom Eternal. A few online matches, started the extra lives playthrough, and mopped up a couple more trophies.
  
• Played the original Far Cry on the PC. I don't think it aged well, but it might fare better on a console.
• I've spent three hours playing Escape Rosecliff Island. It's pretty relaxing to focus on simple puzzles.
  
• Started a playthrough of Phantasmagoria on the PC. This is one of those games from the 90s I had always heard about but couldn't play. Might as well try it out now.
• Started a playthrough on Disco Elysium, after hearing about its rave reviews and such. I am genuinely floored by it.
• Started a game called Factorio. This could become obsessive.
  
• Played some rounds of Post Void. It's a pretty nutty game, but it's good in short bursts.
  
• After seeing some videos and such on older games, I decided to dust off my SNES Mini. I finally got around to modding it with more games, and I've been exploring a bunch of them. I seem to always go back to playing Super Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars--those are the SNES titles I always coveted the most.
• I also managed to hook up a spare PS4 controller to my PC to facilitate more gaming. It works pretty well on some Steam games I have (like Doom). I can't really do the mouse and keyboard with shooter games anymore, it just feels too weird now.
• My parents revealed that they were considering a PS3 to purchase for games (simple ones like Peggle, Pain, Tetris, etc), on top of being a movie and music player. I decided to part with a spare PS3 slim model I had, which meant taking time to install the right games on it and set it up for them. They're making good use out of it--probably better than me, since I was only using it as a movie player beforehand.
• Plenty of movies seen.
• Watched Koyaanisqatsi again.
  
• I did start a Christopher Nolan marathon in anticipation of Tenet, and with the intention of blogging deeper thoughts about his filmography. My efforts fell to the wayside unfortunately, and I stopped after The Dark Knight trilogy. Picked it up again only recently with Inception, and there's only a few more after that.
  
• Revisited an old favorite on a new UHD--Lawrence of Arabia. The movie remains a personal favorite, and in 4K the film is the sharpest and cleanest I've seen it. The scenery and scale was always jaw-dropping, and now it's even better than ever.
• Marathoned the three Star Trek films from the Kelvin timeline (in 4K!). I know these films probably sideline the deeper sci-fi roots in favor of spectacle, but I still think they're awesome.
• Revisited Baby Driver. I believe it holds up fine and I'm still enamored by the characters and the film's style.
  
• Watched most of the Mission Impossible movies--numbers 3 - 6, which are the best ones anyway imo. It's a dang good run of movies, all in good quality with jaw-dropping stunts.
• Watched War of the Worlds, the 1953 and 2005 adaptations. I had forgotten how intense both of these are.
• One film that I never understood the love for was Come and See. With the Criterion release, I decided to give it another shot. Holy cow, this movie is a bleak, gut-wrenching trip. I found it far more engaging and vivid on this viewing.
• Also revisited 1917 and found it much more engaging than the first viewing. It could become a new favorite over time.
  
• Revisited 1979's Zombie on UHD. I wasn't sure if I liked this movie that much, but on a rewatch it came off as campy, gory schlock and I enjoyed it that way. In 4K, this film is surprisingly sharp and vibrant.
• Had a Jaws marathon (first one in 4K). The first two hold up fine (in fact, my appreciation for the original keeps going up), the last two not so much. 
• Saw the first two Transporter movies again. The first one was always a fair, unassuming flick with some way cool fighting, and I still like it. The second one is such a mixed bag--few good scenes mixed with a lot of stupid stuff, but it's still enjoyable.
• Caught up on the older Alfred Hitchcock movies I own and haven't seen yet: Murder!, The Ring, Champagne, The Manxman, and Jamaica Inn. Some of these are fair and have good photography, others are rather droll. I think Hitchcock hit his stride the best between the 40s and 60s. In fact, after all of these I revisited North By Northwest and enjoyed it just as much as the first few times I've seen it--that one remains my favorite of his.
• I received a collection of films by Shinya Tsukamoto, and I viewed all the films I hadn't seen before. Not sure what to think of many of them--Tokyo Fist and Bullet Ballet are alright, found Vital and Kotoko a little boring, but I did enjoy A Snake of June, Haze, and The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo.
  
• Hot Rod is funny.
• Revisited Payback. I'm pretty sure I saw the theatrical version years ago and didn't care for it. I seemed to like it better this time around with the "Straight Up" cut. Doubt I'll want to see it a third time though.
• I bought a copy of Sleepaway Camp while I could and gave it a spin. Wow, that ending can't be unseen. 
• Cobra, with Sylvester Stallone, is pretty rad.
  
• Earth vs the Spider--it's so bad, it's good! 
• There is a movie from the 70s called Mr. No Legs. It's about a hitman in a wheelchair. I can't make this stuff up.
  
• For whatever odd reason, I wound up renting Freedom Writers and Dangerous Minds within the same week. It's a good double-feature.
  
• Caught up on some outstanding 2019 films I missed last year. The Lighthouse is a trip. Frozen II, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Ma, and Uncut Gems are all decent. Cats is awful.
• I'm starting to look at what 2020 films are actually available and working on staying on top of them. Was impressed by The Invisible Man and Swallow. Couple of good documentaries: Have a Good Trip and You Don't Nomi. Bad Boys For Life is decent. The Wrong Missy is a little agitating. The Old Guard sucks. And, if you'll excuse the absurdity of this--a movie called Butt Boy exists. It's not as raunchy and tasteless as it sounds, it's more of a surreal detective story and it'll probably be the weirdest film I'll see this year.
  
• Seen my fair share of short films, including a bunch of early Scorsese ones.
  
• Found time to listen to some music albums.
  
• Thievery Corporation's Symphonik is as beautiful as they come.
• Geogaddi by Boards of Canada is solid. I always approached this one with caution since "Gyroscope" is such an unsettling and discordant track (I blame the film Sinister for that). But as experimental as the album sounds, there is good harmony to it and most of the album sounds smooth to the ears in its own way. I might like Tomorrow's Harvest a grade better though.
• I finally sat down and listened to Groove Armada's Black Light and White Light attentively. These are often cited as the band's best, but I wasn't seeing it for the longest time. The vocals put me off for the longest time, and honestly, I still find them garish. But, I do appreciate the instrumentation and the New Wave style they aimed for. Some of the tracks work for me, some don't. If I listen to it enough, it just sinks in as a fair listen, but I still vastly prefer Vertigo, Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub), and Lovebox over these. I am looking forward to their upcoming album though--"Get Out On The Dancefloor" is good!
  
• Anathema's Serenades is a heck of a lot darker and louder than I expected. It's fine for what it is, but I do like their later albums more.
• In an effort to stay current, I did listen to a few 2020 albums on Amazon Unlimited. Did enjoy Lady Gaga's Chromatica. Eminem's Music to be Murdered By is pretty vulgar, but I appreciate the beats and the speed of the rap is often impressive. Where The Light Is by Surfaces is good, but I'm not sure I liked it enough to hear again.
  
• Gave the greatest hits of 3 Doors Down a spin. Turns out I have heard most of their songs before, but I never knew it was them. As heavy as they are, a lot of their tunes are rather melodramatic and "emo," but I actually don't mind their songs that much--the instrumentations are good.
• One of many albums I had for years that I never listened to was Vertigo by a band (maybe a Christian one?) called RingsEnd. The cover art always put me off because it looked cheap. I think I only bought it because I mistook them for a different band: Ringside. I gotta say though, RingsEnd's Vertigo is solid. More of a jazz fusion thing I guess, but I appreciate the style and sound of it. Was surprised to hear a cover of The Turtles' "Happy Together," but I actually think it was the low point of the album.
• I started dabbling in some bizarre subgenres. One is chap-hop, which is like hip-hip done by very polite English gentlemen. I primarily listened to songs by Professor Elemental, and they're a hoot. For the one story idea I've mulled over, I also dipped into some chiptune music. A band called she has made some good albums, but I'm also quite smitten by the remixes people do for video game themes found all over Youtube.
• What is it with bardcore these days? It seems like all of the suddenly in 2020, medieval and old-world covers are popping up all over Youtube for a wide variety of old hits. Somebody did the Doom theme this way and it sounds perfect. Ditto for Linkin Park's "Numb," and some songs by Nirvana and Metallica. Heck, even a song like "Stayin' Alive" is pretty fresh coming from a lute. I might have to make a playlist of these songs for regular listening--they're all pretty smooth.
• Few books finished.
• I completed the first two deluxe volumes of the manga Alita: Battle Angel. The anime and live-action movie had me sold on this franchise already, but the original comic doesn't disappoint. It's a fast, smooth read with a lovable heroine, lots of action, and amazing artwork.
• Read and finished Delia Owens' Where The Crawdads Sing. It's not the kind of book that's in my comfort zone, but positive reviews compelled me to give it a try, and I figured I needed to read something with more literary value. While I don't think the book is perfect or anything, I did find it more engaging than I expected, and it's pretty touching in a way.
• Finished The Liminal War by Ayize Jama-Everett. Didn't realize it was part two in a series, so I'm probably missing out on a lot of details and setups. Still, I wasn't a fan of the book. I found the characters rather unlikable, and I lost interest in the plot.
• Finished Stephen Baxter's Ultima. Once again, I didn't realize this was part two of something. I thought Romans in space could be a fascinating enough premise. Even though Baxter has a lot of unique ideas (and I assume good research) stuffed into this tome, the characters fell flat for me, the story is long and moved too slowly, and I didn't even really understand what it was supposed to be about. I found it disappointing, but I also hear that its predecessor is better.
• Read Mike Mignola's The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects. It's pretty short and shallow, but strangely endearing and amusing. I actually like it.
• Read an Aliens comic: More Human Than Human. Despite a few cool ideas and such, it was just alright.
• Read four volumes of the graphic novel adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? While I felt the first volume of this was over-written in a bad way, the second, third, and fourth were pretty awesome and faithful to the source. Will be interested to read the last two volumes.
• Speaking of PKD, I cracked open a book of short stories and read "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale," which is the basis for the movie Total Recall. The story solely focuses on the guy going in for a virtual vacation. It's not nearly as action-packed and big-scale as the movie is, but in a usual PKD fashion, the story remains interesting in the way it twists reality around and such. It's pretty decent, and I really ought to read the other stories (maybe "Minority Report" next?).
  
• Started HG Wells' War of the Worlds, since I saw the two movies. The book is rather old-fashioned, but it doesn't hold back on the grim details--I can see why it's a classic.
• Been reading a book on the artwork of Salvador Dali. That guy was a trip.

Work schedules being what they are, I find myself facing nearly three weeks of leave, lasting until mid-September. Some of that was already spent editing the novel I drafted last April, and that task could go on for a long. I have other plans in mind (primarily dropping stuff off with Goodwill, washing the car, and maybe finding a good local place to take photos), but I keep pushing them off. It's hard to find motivation when most days are rainy, I keep waking up late, and the pandemic continues to batter our region.

Times have been troubling. Other than a few work weeks and some writing, I've been passing time with my media collection, often times finding something enriching or interesting. I have wondered about the future often, but it depends on many factors that may be out of my control--for now, I am content and will find ways to keep improving my well-being.

A few ways to pass time in 2020.

Book Review: Where The Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens)

No matter how civilized a society can become, human behavior remains rooted in biological codes that are naturally embedded in all of us. We like to think that we're all above nature in a way as we splurge on technology, dress ourselves up, and pave over forests to build cities. When you take all of that away from a person, we might see a savage. In the setting of the deep south, you might even say a savage would be nothing more than a crawdad scurrying in the mud.

Delia Owens' Where The Crawdads Sings paints a somber portrait of such a character. Kya Clark, age six, is abandoned by her family, which had suffered for years under the abuse of a drunken, violent father. Left on her own, Kya has no choice but to fend for herself, slowly learning how to find and cook her own food, find money, and survive in the marsh. As the years go on, a boy named Tate befriends her and teaches her to read, which empowers her to eventually learn science and poetry. However, a romantic connection falls apart when Tate runs off to college and doesn't return when promised. Kya inevitably falls for the local bad boy, Chase, who winds up dead some time later. As you might guess, Kya is the prime suspect, but did she really commit murder?

What's most admirable about this book is its dedication to building up its main character and showing us the full scope of her heart and soul. Considering that we follow her from childhood to adulthood, we see for ourselves how she learns, copes, and evolves with the times. One can't help but to feel sorry for the girl when she's constantly abandoned and shunned (maybe that's a cheap trick for sympathy, but hot dang, it works). But I eventually grew to appreciate the adult Kya as her introspection frequently draws insightful connections in nature--both actual nature and human nature. Themes concerning human love, hate, life, and the coming of age elevates this narrative into a more artistic sphere. The prose bears a light, heartfelt touch, especially when it divulges into random poems. However, the story is not afraid to bluntly dive into darker territory.

This book is at its best when it follows Kya on her day-to-day struggles and shows her growth. Of course, when you stitch a book together with all these slices of life, narrative momentum comes off as a slow burn. It flares up only when the emotions do, at those key moments where Kya is abandoned or scorned--in-between, it's a little dry. Beyond that, the book also weaves a mystery throughout the whole length, until the timelines align and we have a back-and-forth between an ongoing trial and flashbacks. The trial read fine, but the investigation leading up to it fell way flat for me. The sheriff struck me as a flat stereotype whose sole interest was lunch (in fact, you can't go ten pages in this book without a mention of grits, butter beans, biscuits, or some other kind of down home cooking). And honestly, most other side character came off as one-dimensional, and most dialogue that occurs feels less authentic and more like a movie script.

One minor problem kept popping up, which many readers may dismiss, but to me it makes the work feel undercooked. There's an awful lot of headhopping--instances in which the prose flips from one character's POV to another's without a break or indication. It really stands out to me when Kya thinks one thing on one sentence then Chase or somebody else thinks something in the next. Some of the introspection given doesn't even add that much (for example, there is a huge paragraph from a lawyer's POV, which is probably generates tension, but this is the only moment in the story where he has any thoughts revealed and I question why even). The way different thoughts invade the narrative comes off as clunky, but it's not nearly as clunky as the moments in which Kya may reflect on other characters and flashbacks on the fly, so we're told about the townsfolk and their connection to her only during certain moments (like the trial) instead of having them planted, foreshadowed, or having their interaction shown to us. The drama between Tate and his father seemed tacked-on at the last minute, and if it was cut, nothing would really change. It feels as though a lot of small details could have been fleshed out in a more organic way, but instead we have scattered paragraphs that flatly tell us things, not show.

Fortunately, these issues are diluted to the point where it never confused or upset me, I just find it bewildering at times. The majority of the book read smoothly, with ample amounts of detail, but not so much that I got bored. I actually found myself looking forward to reading each section every night, to see more of the Marsh Girl and read what happens next. Hardly a perfect book, but the heart and soul of the story and character makes it a decent read anyway. I admire the book the most for the way it handles the main character, her scientific musings, and a few good metaphors.

8/10

Film Review: The Wizard (1989)

Video games are more than just games. They can be a sport. In the 1980s, it might sound laughable and silly. Now, 30+ years later, and those Starcraft tournaments in South Korea are no joke. Some players have an uncanny knack for winning--they are wizards.

The Wizard is a cute little yarn about a kid with special needs named Jimmy (Luke Edwards). His parents undergo an ugly divorce, so he wants to run off to California. He winds up doing so accompanied by his brother Corey (Fred Savage). Along the way, they befriend a girl (Jenny Lewis). When it becomes apparent that they need cash to move on, the trio discovers that Jimmy is a bonafide video game wizard, and they push themselves into a tournament.

My interest to see this movie stemmed from some recent video game history videos I stumbled across on Youtube (as such, it comes as no surprise to me that this movie is loaded with Nintendo propaganda). The Wizard has the distinction of being the first time any American had ever laid eyes on Super Mario Bros 3--prior to this, the game had been released and played all over Japan and it was rightfully hyped as a masterclass platformer. Couple that with a memorable "so bad it's good" scene where a rival kid shows off the Power Glove, and the film becomes a kitschy time capsule of Nintendo's highs and lows by the end of the decade.

If this movie was strictly about games and Nintendo, I would have been more invested. And this could have been easy for the film if it focused strictly on the tournament. Alas, it treats it as an ends rather than a means. Without indulging in the specific characteristics of what defines Jimmy as a "wizard," we're left with a rather lame melodrama about kids running away and avoiding adult problems. Right from the start, the film shoots its credibility in the foot as the two brothers somehow cross Death Valley without dying. To say nothing about the useless subplot in which a bounty hunter chases after these kids (with bumbling antics to ensue).

I see what the film's doing though. So-many years after movies like Rocky and The Karate Kid successfully showcased underdogs (and kids) building themselves up to become champions, The Wizard carbon-copies the plot structure expecting us to care about these lost underdog kids before proving themselves in a major championship. It doesn't really work because most of the film is more interested in showing how Jimmy is emotionally tormented (and is bullied in at least one scene) and exploring the trauma that makes him clam up as he does. But it does so in the framework of a chase film--one that seems cheaply shot all across California (and possibly Nevada or Utah, it all looks similar).

What's really odd about this flick is that the adult actors inject their performances with way more energy and camp than the kids, who play it pretty straight and serious. It becomes tonally weird--stiff in some places, goofy in others. Most of the money seems to be put in the few scenes that do feature video games, but it still amounts to nothing more than a room full of cheering kids in front of three or so screens. The film is competently shot and edited, for what it's worth. Every time an emotional moment is warranted, an 80s rock ballad kicks in, and I found it quite annoying.

I would have been six when this came out, and if I saw the film then I might have enjoyed it just fine. Even with an enthusiasm for the 80s and gaming culture, I can't really get invested in this as an adult--there's simply not enough gaming involved, and the actual meat of this story just doesn't work.

Oh, and those final championship scenes with Super Mario Bros 3? I was really distracted by how poorly these kids played it. Jimmy hesitates way too much and he could have gotten the warp whistle way earlier than the castle level. In fact, all these kids sucked at it. When I was ten, I could have pwned them all. For all that goes, here's a guy who beat most of the game in 10 minutes--he surpassed the scores in the movie within 30 seconds.

Also, screw the Power Glove. It's so bad.

4/10

Video Game Review: Maneater (2020)

So, they made a game where you play a shark. Cool!

Maneater is a small, short, single-player open-world RPG where you control a bull shark from cradle to grave. This isn't any old shark--its mama was caught and slain by a particularly brutish fisherman, whose antics are captured in cut-scenes that resemble a reality TV series. Left alone and disfigured, your shark has to eat everything it can until it grows and evolves into a vicious killer. Inevitably, you will have to face Scaly Pete again and take revenge.

The story is pretty sparse and does little to cover up the fact that you are indeed playing a shark that rampages all over beaches, boats, and docks to slaughter hundreds of innocent people. From a moral standpoint, the game is rather troubling (and can mere revenge really justify such an angsty, nihilistic power fantasy?).

But hey, if you overlook that aspect, the game is an absolute hoot. And it's easy to forgive the violence given how cartoony, colorful, and over-the-top this game becomes. Once you get past the opening phases and level up the shark, you'll reach a point where you can confront bigger predators of the sea. With enough chaos, you'll eventually attract hunters--if you overcome them, you unlock upgrades that can turn your shark into a more evolved monstrosity (including upgrades offering bone armor, electric teeth, or poisonous attacks--so much for biological realism). Boss fights become challenging, but the game rarely felt insurmountable. In a good ten, twelve, twenty hours, you can potentially max out your shark, beat every enemy, and finish every quest.

The things you do as a shark are rather limited--in each area, you're given tasks that must be fulfilled to satisfy certain requirements to unlock more of the story. Most of this amounts to simply eating a bunch of fish (or humans, *gasp!*). Exploration takes the edge off of the combat as you scour a lot of odd places, tunnels, and sewers for collectables. The open-world aspect of the game is what attracted me the most, and I found it modestly satisfying--but I can't deny that it has the potential to become repetitive and droll (but thankfully it's short and small compared to many other games).

Fighting as a shark is a hit-and-a-miss. It can be immensely fun (albeit frantic) to leap over boats, crush their hulls, and eat their gun-toting occupants. It's a lot less satisfying to fight other fish, gaters, and whales though. One particular Orca was an absolute pain even with full upgrades. The biggest issue is that your attacks are always one-dimensional--with your teeth. Maybe your bone fins and crushing weight can help, but it's easy to lose your prey if they swim out of the path of your jaws. You will need to keep swinging the camera around to track your surroundings and keep yourself from becoming hunted.

Few minor glitches introduced a few small headaches to the experience. Game crashes and frame rate drops can happen. If you're hunting for collectables, there is a chance the game won't count something (although trophy hunters should be aware that opening the gates between areas counts towards the trophy--it's not explicitly stated anywhere, I just found out first-hand when I opened a gate and the thing just popped). The biggest shortcoming to this game is, simply, it's shortness. Once it's done, there's little incentive to go back and revisit it (although this can be said about many open-world titles).

What I like the most is, simply, the flow of the game and how satisfying it was to skim the waters, eat some prey, and explore a cute little bayou. I overcame a few challenges, but they weren't all that terrible and the game takes very little time to master and complete. It all looks slick and the sound quality is decent. It's good fun for a few good days. If you like the open-world RPG type games, and have no qualms about playing a predatory animal, then this would be a fair recommendation. When it's on sale, that is.

7/10