Day 12 - Barely There, Lovecraft

Woke up from the strangest sleep this morning, groggy and confused. I blame writing weird crap at 4 AM. It was raining, so I decided to walk my way to an amazing class at Vega. I'm so grateful for my students and my job there. I've been part of a few studios, all good, but Vega is the topper. I just resonate with it. Anyhow, post class I walked home in the rain for a good hour, taking my time and enjoying the sounds of a mostly vacant Portland that was well drenched by breakfast. I forget sometimes how relaxing it is for me, walking in the rain. 

But something weird hit when I got home, burrowing like a tick in my head. I don't know what brought it on, but I've been massively scattered the remainder of the day, confused even. I tried explaining to Sena a story concept I'd been working on, but couldn't get two coherent sentences out in succession. I've felt like a good ol' fashioned dumb-ass. No clue why. I need a shower and a real nights sleep.

Habbit RPG update. This thing is the shit. Simple enough? I'm now level 11, have a fancy cotton candy blue lion (not kidding), and a magic blue sword. I get so many things done when they're gamified. And no, the rewards aren't really material, as in, can I use them in real life, but a sweet blue sword in any reality is a-okay with me. That being said, I think I need to amp it up and turn my attention to writing. This blog is a huge help, and I feel a daily sense of accomplishment because of it, but I need to get back to my sequel and other projects. I can practically taste, touch, fondle and otherwise feel that APEX is real, but dammit I haven't really done jack beyond chapter 1. It's such a good product and I can't wait to really start it.

Speaking of projects, my crew is insane. By crew, I mean my friends, and by insane, I mean brilliant. Though I did feel like something of an annoying ass after a point the other night (been a strange week in my head), I still feel like the group is something right with the world. They all have such a way with story, or theme, or music, or characters, or setting. It's a good thing. Must keep the project on a hush for now, but soon enough there'll be things to rave about.

Ravings...And I'm back to that thing I wrote last night. A tad depressing, yes, yes it was. We were talking about HP Lovecraft, the boys and I, last evening. I love Lovecraft's stories, his creatures, even his radically over-stuffed sentences (he wrote like he was getting paid by the word). But I love his concept of two things more than anything, and that is perception and godhood. His characters, be they man or otherwise, live in a universe rife with ancient beings and beasts whose power is so great man reveres them as gods of a sort. The most popular of his is the tentacle mouthed Cthulhu, who at one point is described as indescribable. More than that, for the man who sees the mountain sized creature goes insane from simply looking at the behemoth, he can't actually comprehend what Cthulhu is. I love that! Even looking at a statue of the beast for too long can drive one insane due to his very existence being communicated through said statue, regardless of where Cthulhu may be! Dayum! 

But my all-time favorite concept that Lovecraft touched on was the concept of gods and their followers. In the Shadow Over Innsmouth, the fictional story in a fictional town where fictional zealots worship a fictional (though real in their world) fish/sea beast/god (kind of)/monster. The people are talked about by those from other towns as having the "Innsmouth Look," effectively possessing sea creature like qualities. And here's where those good looks come from. The more time and effort you have spent worshiping Dagon and Mother Hydra, the more you look like their children. That's fuckin' rad! Lovecraft basically takes the thought that "God created us in his own image," and flips it. He proposes that we look like god due to our devotion and worship, and that should our faith be significantly diverted to say, I don't know, a fish monster of substantial power, we would take on aspects of that things appearance, in this case eventually becoming an amphibious creature known as a Deep-One. 

Marinate on that!

Day 2 - Short and Long

I'm one for the blitz, the overkill, the shotgun blast. Always have been. Paring my life down has been, and will continue to be, something of a chore. I have it written somewhere that just because I'm narrowing my focus, it doesn't mean that I'll be limiting myself from new things. I'm still fairly narrow minded there. C'est la vie. I'm working on it.

In my pursuit of happyness, I've made a great many friends. The crew I currently roll with is solid gold. I'm talking local and the regular hang. Zach, Sara, Sena, Aaron. Such a group, let me tell you. All talented in a weird, sorta freakish way, these four have helped me see who I am and who I can become. Both are good.

The best part is that we're all enablers. We enable each other to both excel at our passions (whether that's through encouragement etc or actual assistance), and to do new/random/stupid/excellent shit. Case in point: Roller Skating. I've been a fan for a while, never consistent but always enthusiastic. Tonight we hit a personal favorite of mine: good ol' Oaks Park (http://www.oakspark.com/roller-skating.html). If tonight is the right night (can never remember the dj schedule) then the jams will be just right for me to fall on my ass and laugh. Honestly, I'm stoked.

This HabbitRPG thing is giving me the strangest burst in productivity. It's too early to tell, but only a couple of days into it and I'm feeling that gamer itch. I'm now level 3, and I'm excited to accomplish my tasks. I have proposed this several times, but I feel that life itself should have an exp bar with associated rewards. When I say this, I'm usually met with (skill and cash are you rewards for your experience in real life). Eat a dick, it's not the same thing. I can't slay things in real life unless I go hunting! Which brings me to another interesting franchise that is another boost in my creativity.

Seriously...I can't praise this enough. My favorite anime in years (which is saying something these days, lemme tell you). It's smart, charming, refreshingly real if you're a dork, well designed, blah, blah, etc.

Simple premise: SAO is THE new VMMORPG (v is for virtual) in the not too distant future. 10000 people log-on launch day, finding themselves in a stunning fantasy game. The world is just as true as real life, but you get the added benefit of being a bonafide badass in short work. The twist is that not one person can log-out, and if you die in the game, you die in real life! Also, if someone tries to unplug you in real life, you're fucked too. It adds a real weight to something that I've found refuge in for so many hours, a real consequence, something tangible and frightening. Also, it makes me droll just a tad. The only way for the characters to log-out, is for them to clear the 100 floors and beat the end-game boss at the top. I'll no-doubt do a whole thing on this anime at some point, so I'll leave it there with the plot. I love the show, love the premise and Reki Kawahara is my freaking hero. Way to gift the world something fresh and two of my favorite characters of all time (Kirito and Asuna).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_Art_Online

I'm finding, as I narrow, that I'm surrounded by amazing things that are pushing me forward. As I relax, I find that I don't need to work as hard to force anything. It all comes naturally. A lot of people already know that, but I sure didn't. It feels good to trust in the process. 

The Kung-Fu Formula or Style Makes the Sale

Can't stress this enough: If you love kung-fu films, go see The Man With the Iron Fist. Stop reading this. Go see it. I'm just using it as a jumping-off point, so if you want to know what the movie's about, wikipedia that shit. In fact, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_with_the_Iron_Fists

Go see it. Enjoy the violence and killer soundtrack.

I grew up on such fine films as the original drunken master (where getting boozed up was good for Jackie), Iron Monkey, Zhu Warriors, things like that. One thing that Kung-Fu cinema does so well and makes me...well, let's call it "rock hard," is their ability to stylize. Granted, that comes with Lucasian names such as Brass Body, or my personal favorite: Thunder Leg, but it's worth it. What you get, in return, is a story with very identifiable and marketable characters. You don't really have to remember names (which is good, because let's face it: Thunder Leg. Come on.), all you have to remember is "that guy who could vomit fire," or, "turn his body to iron." Easy. I call it: The Kung-Fu Formula.

Also: merchandising. Can't go wrong with an action figure for things like this, but that's not what this is about. But take a moment and saver the thought of a Jet Li lighter. Awe yeah.

Now, granted, if you're planning on writing a story, you don't have to name all of your characters after what they do (that gets old real quick when no one is murdering up a storm). However, using this method as a way to play with character design and bio-fleshing (just made that up...kinda gross, yet shexy), is a great way to practice your character building.

I am, first and foremost, a character designer. Always have been, and I always think it's where you should start when you're developing a story. Figure out who your story is about, then go from there. Most people start with a name, an actual first and surname. Fair enough, but that's putting yourself in a box, as far as I think. Start with what he does and what his goal is.

For today (and for sweet self promotion), I'm going to use Tom Valentine, my lead character from my book (shameless plug music here), Crossroads (available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Nobel's Nook). Tom's name came last, lemme tell you. I started with his problem (spoiler alert...BUY MY BOOK): Tom wakes up with only a faint ability to hear and, shortly thereafter, gets his sight back and sees his reflection. He is no longer a man, but a giant voodoo doll creature.

SO, that's where I started, my main character would be a living golem made of burlap. I decided from there that I wanted it in a place folks could tangibly recognize (New Orleans), since they would have to deal with Tom's lack of senses and therefor, a descriptive writing style that they might not be used to. Sensory deprivation is a bitch to write, incidentally, and really fun.

From there, I brewed up Tom's back story. The keys were his skills/job and his home. He works in his family's shipwright business. From there, I made the magic that Tom would deal with more physical, than it was hocus-pocus. It became more of a science than a few fantastic spells and what not. I did this, so Tom could latch onto the familiarity of 2 + 2 = 4, in the beginning, as opposed to HERE'S ALL OF THE MAGIC CRAP EVER!!! Eat it and take my seed! J.K. Rowling is a master of tweaking the familiar (old news, I know), and is a huge inspiration to me and my type of story telling (more on that in a later post). It was a cinch to place Tom's childhood home in New Orleans (it also felt right). And there's one of the secret ingredients to a good story: You take something familiar and make it unfamiliar in some way. To make the mundane intriguing is priceless. Tom knew the New Orleans that he grew up in, not the one stocked with hoodoo/voodoo/etc.

Picking his quirks came next and flowed like sparkling spring water. Grew up in New Orleans: loves food and Jazz music. Managed family's shipwright business: stickler for time, always checking his watch, with an eye for detail.

SO, I made Tom, then I made a world where he fit, one filled with physical based magic, in a place that he grew-up, a place that people have heard of but slightly out of the ordinary. Eventually, I named him, but his name only acted as a compliment, not a crutch (Tom is Swedish for empty, and Valentine is from the Latin word valens, meaning roughly "strong and healthy." It's also a name of several Roman Catholic martyrs, but that's just coincidental and kinda cool.).

The Kung-Fu Formula. Take what is known and slightly alter it. People know a kick, or a brute, so you tweak them into a fiery kick, or a solid iron monster. People know New Orleans, so I tweaked it to fit a hoodoo'd Tom with science-based magic. Simple, tangible and fun to write! Making your characters physical, especially in fantasy/sci-fi, leaves you room to develop your story, and it's a damn-sight more enjoyable to read.

Andrew