When I was but a wee lad, I used to spend time creating super heroes with a couple friends of mine. While in retrospect I can see that we were just recycling Marvel characters, at the time it felt totally freakin awesome to hold up a sheet of notebook paper with a drawing on one side and a character bio on the other (radioactive waste flowed like wine in those days). After showing off our new heroes, we’d run outside and pretend to be them, which led to new ideas and new characters, including villains.

Keep reading ‘The Greatest Hero of All Time’

It’s been a long day. I don’t say that because I’m about to wax emo about how much I hate my life, but because by saying so, I’ll be able to cultivate a little more… leniency from my already too-forgiving readers.

So yes, long day. I’m going to try and turn everything into an element of the Hero’s Journey.

Keep reading ‘A wee bit sleepy’

Let’s begin by clearing up some terms.

Fictional Discipline
This refers to the dedication of fiction writers to their craft. It is their desire to write whether they feel “inspired” or not. It is the act of putting words on the page when that act is nothing like fun. It is the vision of a completed work of art that compels them to keep writing no matter how painful it is, or how tempting the idea of quitting sounds, or how much must-see TV they miss.

Fictional Discipline
This refers to the fact that, for many aspiring writers, the concept of discipline is a fiction. Many people say they want to write a book; few do. Many people claim they want to be writers, but refuse to take up the pen unless the magical feeling is there. Many people fail because they aren’t willing to put forth effort.

Fictional Discipline
Is an attempt by one aspiring writer to sit his ass down and write. Even if it sucks. Even if some ideas go nowhere. Even if he literally has nine minutes to spare before life swallows him up again. This isn’t about reaching the end of the journey and publishing the next groundbreaking piece of literature. This is about getting on the road in the first place.

Today I have moved into the world of “People With Their Own Domain.” As such, I won’t be expounding on the wonders of fiction, attempting to write fiction, or even posting something that is marginally related and forcing it to be related to fiction. Instead, I’ll be trying to get this bad boy set up and migrating all of my Blogger entries over.

Edit: Bear with me as I screw with the stylesheet! I’ll get it “good enough” tonight and tweak it tomorrow.

Don’t leave! Also, don’t punch me in the nose! Movies are fine, really!

I recently saw Get Smart, and while I don’t have the patience to write a real review, I will say that it’s awesome (also, frikkin sweet). However, the point of this blog isn’t so much to talk about how great it was, but to analyze one of the things that worked, which can be applied to fiction writing in general.

Keep reading ‘Get Smart, the movie’