Max Is Totally Mental

I saw "Mad Max: Fury Road" over the weekend, and I was fully prepared to write a proper review, but Nonlocal Science Fiction has already published an excellent one here.  Much of the review shares my opinions of the movie, and I didn't want to risk redundancy; however, I couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about my favorite science fiction sub-genre.  My enthusiasm for the post-apocalyptic setting probably has a lot to do with my enjoyment of the horror genre.  Nuclear war was one of the scariest threats I could imagine when I was young and the Cold War Superpowers were constantly butting heads.  Unlike the monsters of horror movies I enjoyed, you can't drive a stake through its heart or find a relic to return it to the Netherworld.  When I finally saw "The Road Warrior" as a teen, I instantly fell in love with the idea that a nomadic anti-hero could survive in the wasteland by his wits, will, and his V-8 Interceptor (vrooooommm!).  He might even do some good here and there, when it would conveniently provide some petrol, anyway.

Through all of the explosions, car chases, and gun fights, I felt that the real star of Fury Road was the environment.  Everywhere seemed to be bleak desert, periodically interrupted by a toxic swamp or a pitiful conglomeration of desperate survivors.  In a world like that, living is the real horror.  Radiation sickness, roving gangs, storms of cataclysmic proportion, and even the governing factions left me wondering why the people even bothered to cling to their meager existences.  A lovely day was one where a bug could be captured and eaten.

Hope seemed to be the one thing people had in common, but they yearned for different things.  Most hoped that they would simply survive another day without dying of hunger or thirst, and the man controlling the water was practically worshiped as a god.  Some hoped to die spectacularly in a turbo-charged ball of flaming wreckage, before radiation poisoning could slowly claim them.  Others fought tooth and nail to die for something noble and meaningful.  One man seemed to struggle beyond the limits of human tolerance, simply because cheating death prolonged his own anguish, something he felt he deserved.

Max dragged plenty of demons around with him, and though Tom Hardy's role seemed slight, I thought he portrayed it perfectly.  Time and time again, I wondered what it would take for Max to decide he had struggled enough, that it would just be easier to lie down and die.  Some people can't stop fighting, and they are the survivors, the inheritors of the blasted wasteland and all of its treasures made of sand.  To me, that's what these types of movies are about:  men and women who will never give up.  The real focus is Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, who finds a kindred spirit with Max's stubborn need to survive.  At times, each seems to struggle to understand the other's purpose for struggling against inevitable death.  It is a struggle that begs to be watched and is efficiently explained through action and spare dialogue.

My unbridled enthusiasm for Fury Road thankfully seems to be shared by many other movie viewers. I can only hope this means we will see more of Max Rockatansky and his continued struggle to outpace his enemies and his demons.

Mushy Stuff

I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm working on a novel.  Progress is slow, but I'm still committed to it, enthusiastic about it, and finding time to work on it.  It's a science fiction novel because it's set in a future earth occupied by aliens, but I hope it's received as a novel about friends, family, love, and transformation.  I'm not sure I would call it a young adult novel, but the protagonist is a girl on the brink of high school graduation.  Her future seems written out in front of her until a seemingly random encounter with a young man begins to unravel the predictable fabric of her plans.

From time to time, I've wondered if I can pull off a romance between these two characters that is believable and genuine, fragile yet inescapable.  It seems like a fine line between what I want to achieve and something that makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.  I don't read romance fiction, but somehow this idea came to me, and I really want to tell this story, kissing and all.  It nagged at me that this might be a stumbling block.  It's not something I can pull out of an outline, and I'm not about to interview a bunch of teenage girls on the subject.  That would officially make me a creepy old man.  Then I remembered a summer from a long time ago and was surprised at how vivid some of the memories remained.

When I was 16, I went on a canoe trip through interconnected lakes in the Adirondack Mountains.  It started at a camp, not so different from the 4-H camp I attended when just a sprout.  Being that most of the canoe trippers were older teens, we were separated from the bulk of the other campers.  We were to stay the night and leave early the next morning for a few days of paddling between lakes and nights camping along shore.  The older campers, Counselors-In-Training, were allowed into an area we had claimed, playing pool and talking with us before dinner.  That was where I met Kathy (not her real name).

Kathy's smile was the first thing I noticed, because it was pointed at me a good deal of the time, before I figured out that she wanted me to come talk to her.  This was all new territory for me.  Her long hair was curled, and her bangs were piled high with mousse in front of a banana clip.  She wore acid-wash blue jeans with a wide, white pleather belt that hung from her hips and served no function, other than to be shiny.  Her dark brown eyes half closed when she laughed at whatever her friend was saying to her.  Then she would look over toward me and smile.

I felt uncharacteristically brave at that point, as I checked to make sure my feathered hair was in place.  Pretty girls normally left my spine feeling squishy and my throat full of tangled yarn, but I was only going to be there for one night before I left.  Certainly I could suffer a little embarrassment for that long if I were wrong about her intentions.  I didn't know any of those people and would never see them again after that week.

Kathy turned out to be very sweet and fun to talk to.  Before I knew it, we had run out of time.  The dinner bell rang, younger campers filed into the dining hall.  Kathy had to go do Counselor-In-Training things.  I ate with my small group of outsiders, taking some abuse for being so shy around Kathy.  I didn't have any excuses besides not knowing anything about girls, but I wasn't about to confess that.

The canoe trip was a tremendous amount of fun, complete with thunder storms huddled in a lean-to, bear noises that turned out to be a raccoon, the ever-present smell of Skin So Soft (mosquito repellent extraordinaire), and much more that was actually fun.  By the end, I was tired and ready to head home with stories to tell my family.

Back at the camp, we helped stow the gear from the trip and then had a couple of hours to kill before parents started to arrive.  To my surprise, Kathy turned up and spent most of it with me.  She looked even prettier than I remembered from 5 days before, practically a lifetime ago from my teenage point of view.  Suddenly I wasn't ready to go home quite yet.  Everyone from my canoeing group seemed to be watching us like hawks.  I felt very self-conscious.  More, I felt this heaviness in the air between us, and it was just anticipation that my poor, inexperienced self hadn't recognized.

A honk drew my attention to a line of cars.  My father waved over the top of the car.  I'm sure he was eager to get going, since I remembered how long the drive had taken.  I shouldered my backpack and asked Kathy to walk with me to the car.  It wasn't until I climbed in and closed the door that I realized I had truly run out of time.  I lunged through the open window and kissed her.  My first kiss, Kathy of the Adirondacks.  With my eyes closed and our lips locked, I could still see her face as though she was watching me kiss someone else, smiling, eyes beaming.

My dad cleared his throat, reminding me that I had lost all track of time.  No telling how much had passed from the moment the kiss began until it ended, but it was apparently too long for my dad's taste.  Dad pulled the car toward the exit.  I gave Kathy a final wave as we turned out onto the road and then craned my neck to watch her until she disappeared behind a hill.

All of that nervousness, excitement, awkwardness, and joy should find its place in my book.  If I start to worry about how I'm portraying my characters as they fumble through their romance, I'll look back on those hours at camp and find some detail that will fall into place straight from that experience. Love is not for the faint of heart, but sometimes the faint of heart find courage when they need it.

Hold the Garlic

From an early age, I liked monster movies.  I can remember watching some black-and-white classics, starring the greats of the era.  Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Bela Lugosi were some I remember.  My favorite was Christopher Lee's Dracula, one of the reasons I was so psyched to see him cast as Sauruman in the Lord of the Rings and Count Dooku in Star Wars.  Vampires in particular seemed to occupy my imagination for many years afterward, only to slacken off a bit after my college years until True Blood brought me back to them.  Really, I just watched it because my wife was watching it.  Ok, I'm lying.  I hung in there until the second-to-last season, mainly because the show had a lot of what I like about vampires, for the first several seasons anyway, and skipped much of what I don't like about vampire fiction.  I appreciate the sensuality of the vampire mystique, but it's not the selling point for me.  I'm more a fan of the complications of immortality, the moral dilemmas behind their snacking habits, and what basically boils down to superhuman predators disguised as humans.  By and large, the books I've read have been superior to all the movies and TV shows I've seen.  Here are some of my favorites.

The first vampire novel I ever read that flew in the face of the movies I enjoyed during childhood was "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King.  I did enjoy the movie, but the book is far superior.  The small-town setting provided a level of familiarity among the characters that caused all kinds of tensions.  There was no way people could avoid confronting the fact that something awful plagued the village, as people they had known for years seemed to disappear.  Characters my age were missing, only to reappear to friends who had attended their funerals.  One of the heroes was a kid like me, who read books and watched monster movies and let his imagination get the best of him.  He and an out-of-town writer made a horrible team of vampire hunters, but that was part of the magic of the story. They were desperate to save the town and the important people in their lives, and there was nobody else to do it.

"Vampire$", by John Steakley, was eventually made into a movie, starring James Woods as the leader of a secret band of vampire hunters working for the Catholic Church.  I liked the movie, mainly due to Woods' fine portrayal of the main character, but the book was even better.  It's a gritty, high-velocity thriller, and the vampires aren't portrayed as age-weary romantics.  They're hunters with a plan to take back their rightful place as head of the food chain.  Their main opposition is all too human, fragile despite their best toys and tactics, and not completely up to the task.  It makes for a great read, as the ragtag band comes up against the worst of their fears in a winner-take-all battle for humanity.

Probably my favorite vampire novel of all time is "Necroscope" by Brian Lumley.  It's really much more of a Cold War spy novel than anything, but vampires were the main draw for me.  The novel involves two competing psychic espionage agencies, setting up the main characters from each faction to face off.  The influence of the vampire is interwoven artfully, with peeks into his history as well as his current ambitions.  The novel is followed by a whole series full of compelling characters, both human and vampire, some of whom seem far more evil than any undead parasite.  There's no arguing the originality of Lumley's vampire lore, again deviating from some of the classics and the popular successors to this genre.

Writing about these books makes me want to read them all over again, even though I've read each of them multiple times.  I guess it's time for me to find some new vampire fiction, so if you have any recommendations, please let me know.  Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing what you've been reading in the comments here, on Facebook, or Goodreads.

Savoring a Good Scare

When I was a kid, cutting my teeth on horror stories by the likes of Stephen King and Clive Barker, I came to the realization that being scared, in the confines of a fictional world, was one of the most amazing feelings I had experienced.  Age hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for being terrified in a controlled environment, but it has become increasingly difficult to tell me a story that really makes my hair stand up and quickens my pulse.  That's not more difficult at my current age just because I have less hair on my head than I used to.  I've just seen a lot of horror movies, read tons of books, and even played a few really chilling games.  Every once in a while, I get a welcome surprise by a story that can let me relive the joys of my early years immersed in the genre.

In the early 1990's, I bought a video game called "System Shock 2".  Horror stories set in space have since been one of my favorite genre mash-ups.  In a future where mankind can explore the stars, live in a nearly self-sufficient but closed environment, and feel completely safe thanks to amazing technological innovations, things that go wrong become truly horrific.  Rogue artificial intelligence, psychotic breaks of the fragile human mind, and parasitic alien races harried me throughout my attempts to travel through a malfunctioning, and often dark, spaceship.  Footsteps, suddenly silenced screams, and taunts from my hunters kept my tension high and surprises frequent.  Even after completing the game and defeating the evil menace, I would find myself reliving moments of it in my mind, cringing, and reaching for the light switch.

Around the same time, a low-budget film probably led to many people's fear of the woods.  It was called "The Blair Witch Project", and I remember being curious about the story but not anxiously awaiting its release.  Much of the movie seemed silly to me, and the shaky camera point of view made me queasy, but I steadily grew more and more concerned for the mental and physical health of the protagonists.  By the last 15 minutes of the movie, I practically had to remind myself to breathe. The end left me so tense that I couldn't sleep that night.  I didn't dare turn off the light on my bedside table, but I eventually nodded off.  I never watched it again, and I tell myself that's because I won't be surprised by the events I've already seen.  Secretly, just between you and me, I'm concerned that I might have nightmares.

Recently I watched a movie called "As Above, So Below".  It impressed me as one of the most atmospherically frightening movies in my recent memory.  Set mostly in the Catacombs of Paris, darkness, cave-ins, and other more sinister threats lurked.  The legend of the Philosopher's Stone and ancient treasure only added to the mystery and excitement.  Like most great horror stories, the real tension built from forces and threats unseen and unassailable, threats a few mere mortal characters were ill equipped to combat.

It might be a while before I watch another horror movie.  So many made these days are forgettable or made strictly for shock value.  When I watch an exceptional one, it sticks in my memory for months, and I can savor it.  I don't want to dilute the memories with any cinematic disappointments, so I'll wait until I find something that will make a lasting impression.  Besides, too many shocks aren't good for my aging heart.  I need to give myself some time to recover from my last good scare.

More Pulp, Please

Space Opera is a science fiction sub-genre that I don't read often, but when I do it always satisfies my craving for full-throttled adventure.  I've been hoping we would see more in the movies, especially now that CGI has advanced far enough to animate truly alien characters.  I enjoy the usually uncomplicated conflict, larger-than-life characters and romantic take on space travel and battles. Throw in a strong lead and some romance with a daring heroine, alien princess or otherwise, and what's not to like?

My first exposure to space opera was as a teen, when I watched Flash Gordon.  I didn't even know about the source material, but I instantly loved the movie.  The conflict was uncomplicated by gray areas, though the rivalries among Flash, Timothy Dalton's Prince Barin, and Brian Blessed's Prince Vultan provided some room for surprises.  Since then, I've watched the movie a few more times, sometimes catching it in the middle on cable TV and finding myself unable to turn it off.  Rather than the special effects seeming dated, they only seem to add to the experience.  Max von Sydow's Ming the Merciless seemed a better villain than Darth Vader to me at the time.  At least when Vader blew up Alderaan, he was fighting against a rebellion.  Ming targeted Earth for torment and destruction simply because he could, saying, "I like to play with things a while before annihilation."  Who was daring enough to stand against him? Flash!  And now I have the theme song stuck in my head.  That's going to be there for a while.

There was also Disney's "John Carter", based on the character in the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I liked it while I watched it, even though it performed below expectations at the box office.  It wasn't the most memorable movie, but I hope the stories will be revived for viewing one day.  I still haven't gotten around to reading them.

A while back I read two great novels by S. M. Stirling that really grabbed me.  Both operated under the premise that the Space Race of the 1960's became the dominant focus of funding and achievement, giving humanity access to the solar system much earlier than in our own history.  The first was "In the Courts of the Crimson Kings".  Set during the waning of a great empire on Mars, advances in space travel allowed humanity to send emissaries to the Red Planet.  With limited room on Earth's ships, settlers on Mars were required to be some of the best people the planet could field: scientists, athletes, and artists combined, not unlike a lot of our current astronauts.  Strange technology based on biological engineering made for great atmosphere and surprises.  Stirling was also quick to remind readers that Martians, though humanoid, were not human.  It was a novel I couldn't put down, full of swashbuckling adventure and alien mystery.

I also read Stirling's "The Sky People", a novel that takes place on Venus and is related to the story I mentioned above.  It was even more enjoyable, perhaps due to the addition of dinosaurs.  In an opposing twist from "...Crimson Kings", the Venusians were a less technologically advanced race than the Earthling visitors.  In fact, Earth's technology was closely guarded, lest it fall into the hands of warmongering Venusians.  Present in both novels was an ancient technology that allowed psychic powers to those capable of wielding it.  The Cold War between America and the Soviets survived the vacuum of space to continue being waged on Venus as well.  A fan of some of Stirling's other alternate history series, I couldn't help but love his foray into pulpy Space Opera adventure.

I highly recommend both of these novels.  Stirling's love and appreciation for the genre are obvious in his writing.  It's fun, and like most reading I enjoy, it doesn't come close to classification as literature.  It exists purely to entertain.  I think I mentioned dinosaurs on Venus, and that would have been enough for me to read it, even if I hadn't read many of his other works.  As for Flash Gordon, it's probably something you either loved or hated when you saw it back in the 1980's.  I loved it, and somehow I seem to treasure it more every time I watch it.  I can't wait to watch it with my son, taking special note of his reaction to my enthusiasm when I sing along to the theme song. Flash.....AHAHHHHHH!

My Writing Stay-cation Draws to a Close

Last Friday was my first real day off in about three weeks, and I decided to roll it into a week-long stay-cation to see how productive I could be as a writer.  I first conceived the notion a couple of months ago, and after juggling some work responsibilities and checking multiple calendars, I finally found a decent chunk of time.  I had a few things to do on Friday, including lunch with an old friend, and knew that my writing output would be limited that day.  The weekend was devoted to family.  I knew the real writing time wouldn't begin until Monday, so everything else I accomplished was just gravy.

In an earlier blog entry, I listed some of the things I wanted to try to accomplish during my Week of Pretend.  I knew I would be lucky to achieve half of it, but I always like long to-do lists.  Just identifying work and prioritizing it seems helpful to me, and it's fun to scratch things off the list or modify it as I go.

Exercise was a big priority for me, and I made sure to get my cardio completed every day, usually in the morning when I would normally pour myself a second cup of coffee.  All too often, I exercise at night after everything else is completed for the day.  Adequate sleep every night was essential to help me feel energized to write and motivated to log miles on the treadmill.  Sadly I couldn't stick with the strength training I attempted to add.  Day one went fine, with the difficulty I expected after a long lapse, primarily due to a shoulder injury.  I resolved to cowboy up and power through the second day, even though I was sore.  Soreness is usually a sign that I'm out of shape and getting a good workout. It normally disappears entirely after my first week of any new workout.  This did not.  On the third day, I couldn't contemplate the calisthenics.  I could barely lift my arms without pain.  It only got worse with inactivity, so periodic breaks in writing were necessary to prevent stiffness.  The most basic actions became grueling physical torments.  Putting on my glasses, lifting a fork to my mouth, and scratching my nose were only possible with a tremendous amount of effort.  Like any middle-aged man with something to prove to nobody, I will try this again at some point soon.  I intend to work my way into it gradually this time, but I'm not giving up.  I'm determined to win the swimsuit competition at my 25th high school reunion this summer.  I think that's one of the events, but this will be the first reunion I've attended, so I might be wrong.

The writing was the most important part of the the stay-cation.  I didn't want to lapse in my blog posts, so I made sure to devote some time to a review of Avengers: Age of Ultron for the Sunday night entry.  If you haven't read it, please give it a look.  There aren't any spoilers.  Tonight's blog entry is my final bit of writing before the official end of the my time off, but there was a lot more going on during the earlier days of the week.

I wrote and edited, from beginning to end, a brand new science fiction short story called Disaster Recovery.  I sent it off to a buddy (thanks, Cliff) to read and get some helpful criticism.  I hope, after some additional editing, to submit it for publication as soon as it's done.  The first draft clocked in at just over 4400 words.  I was happy to finish it so quickly.  I downloaded a copy of "Writer's Market for 2015" and will begin searching for publications where it might be welcome.  I felt really lucky to find Nonlocal Science Fiction for my earlier submissions, but I need to create a larger body of work and see what I can sell.  I will have another story appearing in Nonlocal #3, out this fall.

I got some editing done on a longer piece I started writing a few months ago.  I've been going back to it occasionally because the concept revolves around survivors of a zombie apocalypse, centuries after the initial infections.  I love the zombie genre, and I wanted to try some stuff I felt was new.  Of course, I don't have time to read and consume media the way I used to, so I asked some friends if this idea sounded relatively original and was rewarded with affirmatives.  At this point, my main project deserves priority, as do continued efforts at writing short fiction for immediate submission, so this one will go on the back burner.  I'll continue to jot down plot and character ideas, so I don't forget anything important, but I'm most excited about the novel I started writing this week.

I've been outlining the novel for what seems like a very long time.  Mostly I've accomplished this during my lunch breaks at work.  If I reached an obstacle to progress that required more thought, I tried to work on other things at lunch until I had worked out the problem.  That's how the zombie fiction got started, and sometimes I still work on blog entries during my lunch breaks.  The most general plot points of my novel are already completed, and I've been taking care to make the outline very detailed.  This level of detail has already helped me write from the outline without much need for slowing my pace.  The outline has reached what I believe will be the half-way point of the novel, at 23 chapters.  I would have liked to accomplish more, but I wrote 7900 words in the last two days, editing as I went to make easy corrections to grammar and spelling.  From the outline, I am half-way through the second chapter.  I've established my protagonist, Nicole, including her struggles at home and school.  I introduced the young man with whom she will fall in love, and she has begun a friendship with members of a race of alien-human hybrids.  No more about that for the time being. Wouldn't you rather be surprised later?

So, what did my time at home teach me?  The first thing is that I'm 43 years old, and while I don't plan to let this stop me from getting in shape, I really need to exercise (no pun intended) some basic common sense.  Don't take working arms for granted.  I did, and I paid the price.

The second thing is that spending my day writing is the way I want to spend all of them.  While this might not be possible right now, I hope it will one day.  The best way I know to make that happen is to keep writing, keep blogging, and submit stories far and wide for publication.  This will undoubtedly involve more stay-cations for writing in the future.  People will notice me at some point. People already have.  I have been asked to guest blog for an accomplished epic fantasy author, so stay tuned for news about that.  Thanks to all of you for reading this blog and supporting my Facebook page.  You're helping me realize my dream, and you should never underestimate the contributions you've made.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (No Spoilers)

Nothing says "Mothers' Day" like watching costumed superheroes defend the earth.  At least, that's what we say around my house.  Our local IMAX theater showed Avengers: Age of Ultron in 3-D, and there were plenty of other families in line for the showing we attended.  Quality time with the kids and Earth's Mightiest Heroes was had by all.  Well, most.

Reactions were very favorable among my clan, but I did overhear disappointment from some of the other attendees.  A friend warned me a few days ago that the first Avengers movie was superior, but I normally give sequels a bit of a break.  My expectations were still high, and they were exceeded overall.  "Best movie ever," was my son's reaction.  I seem to remember that he has said that after just about every movie we've seen together in the last several years, but maybe every movie is an improvement over the last in his eyes.  I have to admire that kind of attitude, and I will surely drag it out to remind him when he hits his teens.

I've heard some people say that they're getting tired of superhero movies in general.  While the novelty has worn a bit for me, all I can think about is the terrible attempts made in the '80's and '90's (that's the 20th Century, kids).  The technology finally exists to make these movies the way they were meant to be seen:  in IMAX, in 3-D.  This is not some cut-rate Spiderman movie made for television or Punisher movie gone straight to video.  This is the real deal, including a cast of outstanding actors and a huge budget to make every detail seem real.  How many times can I watch Ironman break the sound barrier and fire missiles out of his arm?  I'm going to say "a lot", or until they want to cast Terrence Howard as Rhodey again.

I loved the first Avengers movie, but I've been a fan of comic books since... a long time ago.  I'm wholly in favor of Marvel's attempt at connecting the different movie franchises, along with their television and Netflix properties, into a cohesive universe.  At times, it does grow a bit tiring for me to see the grand arc of the drama play out, but as long as the quality of the individual films isn't compromised I will keep watching them.  The first movie was, after all, the building of the Avengers as a team, and it played the individual personalities against each other with plenty of mistrust and character development to back it up.  Tony Stark's arrogance, Thor's stubbornness, Captain America's antiquated ideals, and Bruce Banner's fear of the Hulk's violence were all obstacles that needed to be overcome.  Joss Wheadon's skill allowed all of the characters to seem vital without wasting too much time on back-stories to explain their differences and opposing opinions.  It's a difficult job with such an ensemble cast, and I thought he made it look easy.

In this second Avengers movie, we get to see the team in action once again.  This time, they've all bought into their roles as teammates, and they've learned to work well together.  But Stark has always been arrogant and self-reliant, and when he decides he knows best how to protect the earth against extraterrestrial threats, he doesn't seek the counsel of his entire team.  It's nice to see some familiar issues brought into such a fantastic world.  Should we develop technology because we can and without fully considering the consequences?  Enter Ultron, a worthy adversary for the Avengers and one of their own making.

As a whole, I felt the movie delivered everything I wanted, including some surprises and inclusion of characters I wasn't expecting, even after seeing the trailers for months now.  The action was superb, and I marveled (no pun intended) at the ability of the story to maintain its frantic pace for such long periods.  Humor was injected here and there to keep the movie lighter than it might have otherwise been.  Though one or two times I felt it detracted from the overall mood, its use to show the bonds among the different Avengers was welcome and valuable to understanding their friendships.

I encourage fans of the genre, and especially of the last Avengers film, to check out Age of Ultron. While the 3-D IMAX treatment was a nice addition, I certainly think it would be just as enjoyable at your favorite theater.  It will likely join my blue-ray collection at some point as well.

The Week of Pretend

I decided several months ago that the best birthday present I could give myself was a vacation spent writing.  I imagined it would be a short simulation to help me answer some questions.  How productive could I be?  Would I come up with some good ideas that bore fruit?  Would writing seem like a chore after several days and make me wonder about my aspirations?  Would it leave me energized and craving more time spent writing, perhaps prompting me to consider some life changes to allow me to pursue my ambitions?

My birthday came and went, but the idea stuck.  I put it off, mostly due to projects at work that I thought would distract me if left unfinished.  Now it's here.  Starting tomorrow, I will have seven days off in a row.  No more wishing for time to work on projects normally relegated to my lunch breaks.  No more excuses.  Here are my plans, writing and otherwise, for the upcoming week.

Since I've increased my amount of daily exercise, I've had less time to write in the evenings after work.  While the exercise is important, and should have been undertaken long ago, the time it consumes has frustrated me.  Rather than decrease my exercise, I'll be adding a short core conditioning workout.  I downloaded an exercise app called CARROT, which guides me through calisthenics as though harassed by a sadistic, robotic drill sergeant.  It also contains a lot of geeky humor, but sometimes she yells at me and calls me "meat bag".  I try not to let it hurt my feelings.  If you, like me, exercise more enthusiastically with the help of humiliation via automaton, try it out for yourself.

Writing will be my primary focus.  I have several projects I want to address, and I hope to work on all of them in varying amounts.  The novel outline I've been constructing needs to be given priority.  It has stalled now and then, as I stumble over some obstacles to the plot and flow.  I'd like to overhaul it into a format that could be submitted to publishers, along with the first several chapters of the book. If I don't complete this during my vacation, I would at least like to get a substantial amount done.  I'm looking forward to writing the initial chapters and seeing how the outline helps or hinders the process.

I would like to write at least one piece of content for the Nonlocal Science Fiction website.  Mad Max: Fury Road comes out next Friday, and I originally wanted to take my vacation at that time and write a review of the movie.  Unfortunately my work obligations didn't allow for this, but I will still likely review the movie.  I'll have to think of something else to contribute to the website and write it next week.

My second story to be published in Nonlocal Science Fiction will appear in issue three, probably in September if all goes as planned.  The publisher has made some general suggestions for my next draft, and I need to work on it.  His advice makes sense and will add more world building, something I love about writing, so I'm looking forward to it.  He has promised more detailed notes after he gets done preparing issue two for release, which gives me some time to play around with it.

Perhaps most important to me is to have some time to rest and rejuvenate my creative spirit a bit.  I definitely want to spend some time brainstorming and developing new ideas for stories.  I've got to increase my body of work, so I can submit more of it and establish my writing cred and web presence.  I decided to curtail my plans for a website until I actually have more content to present in the form of blog entries and free stories to post.  That could take a while at my current rate of creative productivity, but I might enlist some help along the way.  For now, I simply need to bang out some stories, even if I just produce a bunch of horrible first drafts that I can salvage through the power of editing and caffeine.

Lots to do in one week.  It's the first week of work I can remember eagerly anticipating in a long time, and I can't wait to fill you in on my progress.  Thanks for reading.  More to come!

Daredevil Done Right

When I first heard that Netflix was producing a Marvel Daredevil series, I was skeptical.  I remembered the Daredevil movie, starring Ben Affleck, and shuddered.  Slowly my curiosity climbed as I learned more about its cast and its inclusion in the Marvel universe, where Avengers, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy take place.  It's just the first of the Marvel properties Netflix will produce, and it was better than what I had hoped it would be.  It was so good, that I watched while on the treadmill and lost track of time.  One thing I did have to keep track of was Netflix's trick to start a new episode ten seconds after my current episode ended, or else I might have overextended my cardio.

The cast was the first obviously great thing about the series:  Rosario Dawson, Scott Glen, Charlie Cox, Deborah Ann Woll and Vincent D'Onofrio.  This might not have been enough, since I got fooled by the likes of Colin Farrell, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck once before, so I crossed my fingers and pressed play.

The atmosphere and tone of the series was quite dark, and it worked very well.  Daredevil has always been, to me, a champion of the people of Hell's Kitchen's mean streets, and they are mean indeed. The poor are being pushed out of their homes by real estate developers, crime and decay abound, and I began to cringe if I saw any of the major characters walking around at night.  It was easy to see the people of Hell's Kitchen as victims of ruthless power, and most of the main characters had relatively realistic lives, including other people people depending on them, something overlooked too often in these kinds of high-action properties.

The treatments of both Daredevil's and the villainous Wilson Fisk's origins also unfolded with obvious care.  Matt Murdock (Daredevil) gained his powers as a boy, and this along with his evolution into a hero were portrayed without the show falling into typical training montages and other tropes.  The series even took care to offer enough background on Fisk to establish sympathy.  Even as he committed atrocious acts, I was left wondering if a few simple acts of love and kindness during his childhood might have made him a completely different man.  In fact, Fisk's back-story sometimes seemed to overshadow that of Murdock's, but I didn't mind in the least.  It felt important to me to learn more about the Fisk, aka the Kingpin, since I knew little of him from scant reading of the comic books.  D'Onofrio excelled in his portrayal of a driven and tortured antagonist, and the series did well to paint his obsession with a deep shade of righteousness.

The format gave ample opportunity for developing other characters in the series as well, and I appreciated the depth that these scenes added.  Foggy Nelson, frequently comic relief and Murdock's law partner, was especially endearing and even more so when the origin of his friendship with Murdock got some screen time.  Woll's character, Karen Page, could have been relegated to a "pretty secretary" role, but thankfully her character's importance to Nelson and Murdock only increased as the series progressed.  Her intelligent, determined character quickly became one of my favorites.

The action was superb, and I have to confess that it was the main draw for me.  I love martial arts movies and Daredevil didn't skimp on the fight choreography and stunts.  At times, I wondered why Daredevil would execute a back flip with a twist when he could have simply jumped or vaulted a railing, but it didn't reach farcical proportions and was easy enough to forgive.  What made the fights even more enjoyable was the realism found in the price Murdock paid for his heroics.  I couldn't remember the last time I saw a superhero have to take some time off to recover from his last bout with criminals.  The anguish Murdock felt during the conflict between his body's need to heal and his sense of responsibility was palpable.  It only left me admiring the character more.

If you're a fan of comic books, martial arts or just plain action, Daredevil is definitely worth your time.  Netflix has definitely set the bar high for the rest of the Marvel properties it produces, and I look forward to the debuts of each and every one of them.