Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

Advancing on Multiple Fronts: The War Efffort in Writting a Novel

Yes editing a novel is like attempting to advance on multiple fronts in a war effort.  Did I serve in WWII?  No, that was before my time.  Though my dad was born in 1945, the year the war ended.

But as I edit on, I can't help but think that my efforts are much like the Allies of World War II: battles on multiple fronts.  So no my enemies aren't: the Nazis, the Facists, or the Japanese.  Rather my enemies are: boring content, plot gaffs, and poor wording/sentence structure.  

Boring content is the biggest enemy that I face.  These Nazis are bound and determined to make sure that no one will like what I write.  Whatever I write, something interesting is most important.  Don't write anything interesting and the Nazis have got you and put your story in their proverbial, gass chamber.  And shit ain't happenin' on my my watch folks.  I'm advancing on the Nazi of boring writing and constantly challening what I'm writing seeking to turn it on it's ear and make it as vivid as I can. 

Plot gaffs are the kissing cousins of boing content.  Like Hitler and Mussolini of WWII these two villians sometimes like to work with each other.  Plot gaffs are crippling logic jumps that can really cause a reader to scratch their head and tune the story out, but they're really the easiest of all villains of good writing to deal with.   The Facist boasts of plot gaff stick out, and though they may appear at first to be a major threat.  Once identified it's like that Italian army in Africa, once it's re-taken it's up the boot quickly to hang that plot gaff by the neck, just like what the populous did to Mussolini once Rome had been liberated.  

And finally there is poor writing.  And by that I'm talking sentences that need to be cleaned up.  As pertains to novel writing these pesky Japs can at first appear to be EVERYWHERE, having taken a vast island empire.  But these Japs of bad writing CAN be pushed back to a place that they belong; back on that crap island of goofball talk where they belong.  

So how do you fight an enemy as vast and far sweeping as bad sentence structure?  Same way as they rolled it in WWII, my friend, bomb the fuck out of it!  The best way to find all the poor sounding sentences you have and briring your writing from souning like Japanesese into the category of Shakspehrian is to listen to it like a flyover jet, then bomb the spots that sound bad!  For me Dragon Natural Speaking's audio playback is a godsend against Japanese writing.

Wow, what a different post, eh?  Well, who ever said I was normal!  I don't ever wanna be normal.  I was to be extrodinay.  I wanna write things that people wanna read.  

So where am I now?  Well, I have to admit this but I'm STILL editting chapter 2.  This chapter is CRITICAL to the set-up of the rest of the story.  In chapter 2 the reader gets some key information that really helps explain the greater outter story, which kinda plays like the greater outer story in George Lucas' "Star Wars".  So am I comparing my opus to the great George Lucas' opus?  Yes!  In a way my epic fantasy story is very much like "Star Wars"; there are BIG forses in play with are in opposition.  But I think I have much stronger characters than George Lucas created.  Better than Han Solo, better than the Darth Vader.  

Big words, eh?  Yeah, but I think I have the story to back such boasts.  Better yet, I think I have the characters with varried character arcs that people are going to love, I know I do.  

Lemme give ya a little taste of how character blends with greater outter story in what I'm writing right now.  Here are some character notes from what I consider a 3rd tier character, whose character arc really helps shape the greater outter story:

• Bold fighter who relied on the power of God in the field of battle.
• Crowning lifetime achievement was slaying a dragon.
• Forgetful and swayed when in the presence of people that he's supposed to be leading and inspiring.
• Wants to be redeamed.
• Shows prudence when dealing with immature people.
• Aware of a greater spiritual battle in play around him.
• Years have brought about a great remorse in this character.

Sound like a complex character who might hold your attention as a reader?  Hope so.  And a lot of this came about as a result of me allowing myself to camp in chapter 2 and really did deeper and seek out the best story I can tell.  And to do this I gotta root out the Nazis, Facists and Japs of bad writing.

But like the Allied effort of World War II, I am active on multiple fronts. Building up stronger characters.  Streamlining and clarifying the greater outter story, which is a lot like the Jedi vs. the Sith of "Star Wars" fame.  

Part of my problem is, a.k.a. why my overall progress feels so small right now, is that I'm doing a lot of, what I call, "intuative" rewriting.  Intuative rewriting is reading over what I've written, then going with my instincts and changing things.  There are a lot of different approaches one can take to re-writing with the express goal of JUST ending up with a stronger story than the pre-edit story.  Like striaght red-line edits, which is where you take a hard copy of what you wrote, pencil in some changes, then type in those changes in your current draft.  

In a war effort, like editing a novel, one must implore a varriety of tactics.  Sometimes you have no choice but to go house to house to root the enemy.  Othertimes your just bomging an area, knowing that it's litterered with the enemy or lots of bad writing.  And since a novel, by definition is a large in scope.  Like the whole contintent of Europe when both the Axis and Allies were moving on varrious war fronts.

So much to do, both at a macro and a micro level.  Though I must admit the longer I "hang in there" the more I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  At some point this war effort of mine will be complete.  I will have a more perfected version of the vision of this story.  It just takes time.  The Nazis, Facists and Japs weren't defeated in a single day, or as the result of a single battle.  Rather, it took a determined effort by the good guys to fight the good fight, and bring about a complete victory.  And that's what I've got my heart set on, a complete victory where I've won the war, and have novel truly worthy of public consumption.

The Great Emerald City Cheese Heist: Remembering the Greatest Comeback Victory in NFC Championship History

Have you ever seen someting so amazing that it took you several days to collect your thoughts on the matter?  Well, I have.  And it came at an unexpected place; from a watching a NFL football game, an NFC championship game.  Now MOST of that game I'd watched is far from being a classic.  But one play in the 3rd quarter and pretty much the whole game after the 5 minute remaining mark in the 4th quarter is very memorable, especially if you're a Seahawk fan, definately not so if you're a Green Bay Packer fan.

2015 NFC Championship game; Seattle Seahawks: 28, Green Bay Packers 22, F/OT.

I have watched a lot of football games in my life, but this one may be the most memorible of them all for a lot of different reasons.

First and foremost: the Seahawks had no business winning this game.  Honestly, their starting quarterback threw 4 interceptions.  At half-time Russell Wilson only had 1 completed pass--and that was to a reserve wide reciever named Riccardo Lockette.  At halfime Russell Wilson had a quarterback rating of "0"!  And yet by the end of the game, by some miracle, the Seahawks overcame a historically bad game by Russell Wilson and beat one of the best teams in football.  

I love the Green Bay Packers.  After the Seahawks they are my 2nd favorite team to root for.  Early in this game it looked like the Packers were going to ROLL my Seattle Seahawks.  They seamed to be knocking on the door, and were at or near the Seattle goal-line for what felt like most of the 1st half.  Yet the great Seattle deffence played their hearts out and held the score relatively down to a modest 16-0 Packer advantage at halftime.  

Not enough can be said for how hard my guys battled that day.  On a day when Russell Wilson was throwing intereceptions right and left, and the offence getting it handed to them by the Packer deffence, the Seattle Seahawk deffense showed some real grit in fighting even when it appeared it would be for naught.  It is very easy to be all sunshine and jumpy when things are going your way on the scoreboard.  Not so easy when everything on the other side of the ball is tough sledding.  

How tough was the sledding?  So tough that Pete Carroll opted for a fake field goal with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.  Did it work?  Ryan to Gary Gilliam--works every time (he-he-he-he).  The punter lobbed a shot-put pass to a back-up offensive lineman who had decalred as an eligible recievers on the field goal attempt.  Totally trickery.  But Jon Ryan and Garry Gilliam made it work.  One of the ugliest passes you'll ever see, but it got us on the board.  No, that wasn't the big momentum changer.  I think the Packers did a nice job of re-taking the momentum kick another field goal, and not starting to fall apart untill the TD drive the Wilson orchastrated just before the 2 minute warning.  

Was Mike McCarthy too conservative?  Not in my opinion.  I thought he had a good game-plan, and his players executed it real well.  NOTHING the Seahawk offence did early on suprised the Packer deffence.  And given Aarron Rodger's sore leg, I thought the Packer offence was doing pretty good.  There were no outright blubs on Mike McCarthy's part which contriubted to their eventual loss.  Yes, with 5 minutes remaining in the game, after Russell Wilson had just thrown his 4th interceptoin of the game, and with his team leading 19-7, the Packers were in prime place to pull of the upset.  But then came the Seahawk avallanche, and it wasn't Mike McCarthy's fault, he just didn't have the magic in him to reverse the tide.  

If you're looking for a goat, someone to blame, look no further than # 86 for the Green Bay Packers: Brandon Bostick.  After Russell Wilson had run one in for the touchdown just before the 2 minute warning, with only 1 time-out remaining, Pete Carroll ellected to try an on-side kick.  These things almoast NEVER work.  If I rember right from a 710 ESPN post, they're successfull like 14% of the time.  YET, Steven Hauska's on-side kick worked.  It worked because a back-up tight-end for Green Bay Packers decided to try to field the ball instead of block the nearest on-rushing Seahawk.  # 86, Brian Bostick had the ball bounce off his hands, where it was then swiped out of the air by a back-up wide reciever for the Seahawks, Chris Matthews.  Before this game I didn't even know Chis Matthews was on the Seahawks' roster.  He was a guy they talked about before the season, but then once things got going he was nowhere to be found--untill the NFC Champtionship game as Jordy Nelson would lament in seeing.  

The great Brian Billick had the best line of commentary concerning the Bostick debacle.  "For some reason Bostick deciced to leave the reservation."  That was Billick's line in snide commentary to Brandon Bostick's descion to try to field the onside kick instead of blocking the nearest on-rushing Seahawk so that Jordy Nelson could field the kick and escentially end the game.  Anywho, I'm sooo glad Brandon Bostick decided to "leave the reservation" and think he was better suited than Jordy Nelson to field the kick.  Watch the play for yourself, Right behind Chris Matthews is Jordy Nelson, if Brandon Bostick plays good, clean assignment football, the Packer with the best hands on the team get a chance to make the recovery.  If I was the Green Bay brass I would so cut Brandon Bostick; he cost the Green Bay Packers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.  Total goat.  Why is he still on the team?

My love and admiration for Russell Wilson grew leaps and bounds as result of his resiliant performance at the 2015 NFC Championship game.  I love how he can have the worst game of his professional life, YET STILL have the stones to come out throwing at the end of the game.  Not be afraid and just start dropping one beautiful throw after another, and another, and another.  Russell's four interceptions all came at completion attempt at balls thrown Jermaine Kearse's way.  Jermaine had a day to forget.  But at the end of the day, Russell never lost faith in Jermaine.  The 35 yard touchdown bomb that ended the game on the first possession in overtime was from Russell Wilson to Jermaine Kearse.  It was the only catch Jermaine had all day, and was a catch that I'm sure neither he nor Russell will ever forget.

Russell Willson is not a stats guy, he's a magic guy.  This athlete can do amazing things.  He can run arround and throw with the best of them.  And he has a knack for coming up big when his team needs him the most.  Yes, at the end of the game Russell was crying.   Why was he crying?  Becauae he's a human being who gave all he had to help the Seahawks win this day, and it was rolleroaster ride for him.  This dude cares.  This dude is relilaint.  I could give it shit less how his stats compare to Payton Manning, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees.  Stats don't always tell the whole story, because this is a team game, and Russell Wilson is the ultimate team player.  In his three at the helm I've watched this guy bring this team back repeatedly.  The moment is never to big for him.  Like the fail-Mary game two years ago against these same Green Bay Packers.  For most of the 2nd half the Packers had the Seahawks number, but at the end, Russell Wilson got them in position for one last throw into the endzone... which turned out to be a replacement refferee ruled touchdown to Golden Tate on a simultation possesion ruling: Golden and a Packer defender both had their hands on the ball at the same time.  

I would take Russell Wilson over ANY quarerback in the NFL right now--even Aarron Rodgers, and I LOVE watching him play.  Why?  Because Russell Wilson is a unique player and he has all the intagibles that you look for in the one leading your offense.   He has the accuracy.  He can move with his feet and improvise.  He can lead a team back from behind.  And he instills belief in the others arround him.  No, he's not the classic NFL quarerback, but he's our quarterback and Seattle loves him!

This was a game for the ages.  Not a perfect game.  But a classic ending.  The Packers didn't choke this game away, rather the Seahawks stole it from them, with a series of improbable plays.  They caught fire, and the Packers just didn't have enough to hold them off.  Like I said earlier this was...

The Great Emerald City Cheese Heist!

Odds and ends from the game:

1. Aarron Rodgers is a sore loser and a poor sport.  After the game he is quoted as saying, "The best team didn't win."  Sounds like some sour grapes to me.  Thought this guy was a class act!  Guess not.  What he should have done is wished the Seahawks well, and said they'd get 'em next time.  You know Aarron, we here in Seattle know about playoff heartbreak too.  Just two years ago we LOST to the Atlanta Falcons in a divisional round game.  They were up by bunch, we came back, then they had a game winning field goal that ended our season.  And what my responce was?  Good for Atlanta, they deserve to feel good about themselves.  Sure I would have like to have won and seen the Seahawks in the NFC championship game, but Atlanta won the game, fair and square.  Wish 'em well, and tell 'em you'll get 'em next year.  Classy.  
2. Doug Baldwin puts the chip on his shoulder.  I listened to Doug Baldwin's postgame rant, and his taking shots at Dion Sanders and found EVERYTHING he had to say was unfair to those he was taking issue with.  I know realized that Doug has to play with a chip on his shoulders to elevate his own play.  Doug is a fine, possesion wide reciever, but he is not a #1, or even a good #2.  He's a GREAT slot wide reciever who has been pressed to be the #1 on this team, becuase guys like Sydney Rice and Percy Harvin (the brown color is for SHIT that Percy turned out to be) didn't work out.  I love Doug's game.  I think he gets the most out of his tallent, but he'll never be an elliete tallent like Calvin Johnson, Dez Bryant, Mike Wallace or Antonio Brown.  The Seahawks are still searching for their top guys.  Thankfully, Doug Baldwin doesn't shy away from the challenge, he just doesn't have the eliete tallent like a few others do.
3. This will be the last season Marshawn Lynch plays for the Seattle Seahawks.  Yes, he's an eliete tallent, but this guy has some serious baggage with him.  Can't imagine how hard it is for Pete Carroll to coach this guy.  He fucks arround with the media, and makes the whole Seahawks organization look bad when he grabs his crotch after making a big play.  If I were the Seahawk brass I'd cut a trade with the Raiders and let them deal with him and his CONSTANT, pushing-the-envelope antics.  
4. Richard Sherman is the real deal.  This guy's play is off-the-charts good.  And he plays hurt.  He cares about his teammates and his welfare.  This is a guy the more you see and look under the cover, the more you like.  There's more to Richard Sherman than the guy who embarassed Erin Andrews at her post-game interview of him after he tipped the ball away from Crabtree and Malcom Smith made the interception that sealed last year's NFC championship.
5. Cam Chancellor is the lynch-pin and tone setter for the team.  His play may be more important than even Russell Wilson's.  As Cam goes, so do the Seahawks.  When he brings his "A" game, watch-out, because he's a hard hitter and a bruiser.
6. Pete Carroll is a winner.  No matter what happens for this day forward, I'll always be a Pete Carroll fan.  From my perspective Pete was a tough sell.  He came from USC.  For YEARS USC dominated the PAC 10 conference where the Univercity of Washigton Huskies play.  Thus, in my mind, Pete Carroll was an enemy.  It took a long time for me to warm-up to Pete.  Now, all his crazy mantras, I can't get enough of.  Why?  Because I realize their importance.  Crazy mantras are what we hold onto when the going gets tough.  "You don't win a game in the 1st quarter.  You don't win a game in the 2nd quarter.  You don't win a game in the 3rd quarter.  You win a game in the 4th quarter." And that truth, my friends was just proven in the last game. 

A Splash (1984) of Rom-Com Optomism for 2015; Exploring Issues in Rom-com Movies: Volume 51

Sometimes in order to have the strength and optomism to go on in a downtrodden environment you need to look to the past to better times.  In many ways the romantic comedy genre is like the U.S. economy; in the dumps showing NO SIGNS of getting better.  Don't let the government or any radio or TV program fool you, the U.S. job market is SHIT.  Good paying jobs are getting harder and harder to find.  And even people lucky enough to have jobs are CONSTANTLY gripping with the fear of the loss of what they do have.  Don't believe me?  Well, I'm in the trenches and I see this cold, hard realitiy re-infoced EVERY.  DAY.   

But that's why we got the movies, right?  To help us forget about how bad things are really getting in this country.  Well, I'm seeing the movie industry failling too.  How many movies did you see in 2014 that were great?  Not that many, if any right?  I'm an avid movie-goer, and I saw plenty of movies in 2014 and from my perspective I saw a lot of okay to so-so movies.  NOTHING exceptional or noteworthy that will stand the test of time.  And from my perspective I'm not suprised at all the reported 5% decline in the domestic, movie box office.  And the crazy part is I don't that's even an accurate barometer of how bad and uninspired the movies being made and sent out for us watch are.  And that's because there's a strong latent desire by many people to go to the movies.

Unfortunatly, my favorite movie genre is in the dumps too.  The last truely great romantic comedy I can remember seeing has like 5 years ago with "(500) Days of Summer".  Okay, maybe on a good day I'd add "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012) as classic, but beyond that...  And the sad thing is the frequency of new rom-com movies being released feels like it's slowing down too.  

Never thought I'd say this, but thank God for late-night cable TV.  Coming home last week from my 2nd shift job (that may be ending soon) I got to re-watch an old classic "Splash" (1984: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy, direrected by Ron Howard).  Its been YEARS since I've seen this movie.  Always knew I liked it, but never realized how good of a movie this is, and how strongly its female protagonist would move me untill I re-watched this movie as an adult.  I was so moved from this viewing that I even went so far as to adjust my  top 25 romantic comedy movies of all-time list, and move "Splash" up highter.  I'm a rom-com nerd, and I know it, I own it.  But watching this movie I couldn't help by remember the magic that can be created when Hollywood's creatives have a good material, and good actors to pull it off.  

So, yes, as a result of re-watching, "Splash" (1984), I felt my own optomism about the movie-making industry get a well needed lift.    

"Splash" (1984) is a great movie.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  This movie is about a boy from New York named Allan.  As a little boy Allan sees something in the ocean, jumps in after it, nearly drowns--but comes in contact with a little girl mermaid.  Now as a grown man seaking solace after lamenting his own failed love life, a hungover Allan once again falls in the ocean, only to be rescued by the now matured female mermaid.  Then after a brief encounter on an island immediately following the rescue, the mermade makes herself known to Alan before she returns to ocean.  Then Alan goes back to work--only to have the mermade come ashore again in search of him with his lost wallet.

I really liked Daryl Hannah's "Madison".  She embodies so many of the traits that I adore about women in a romatic contruct.  

Innocence.  Madison is ab innnocent.  She comes from a mermaid colony that lives in seclustion underneath the ocean outside of New York.  Madison knows very little about our culture, and when she does explore the Statue of Liberty and then New York, she is wide-eyed and eager to see and experience things.  Contrast that against many women of today who are sacrastic and have a negative view on so many things.  Point: innocent is sexy, sarcasm from a woman takes away from her attractiveness.

My favorite scene in "Splash" is after Madison rescues Allan and the meet briefly on the island.  I just love the aqua blue colors, and I thought having Madison's mermaid fin doing a flip out in the water was a nice touch.   It's not a funny scene.  It's not really all the romantic.  I just love the expression on Madison's face when she's spying on Allan before she makes herself known; reminders of what it's like to be attracted too and love someone from afar.

Passionate.  I love women who are passionate and want to be touched.  The minute Madison gets her hands on Allan in New York she's all over him ready to kiss and get busy.  

Dedication.  Madison is dedicated to her man.  As little girl mermaid she had an interaction with Allan a little boy himself when he jumps off a boat in response to something he sees under the water.  Underwater they have a childhood sweetheart moment--and Madison remembers it!  Then later when Madison saves Allan a second time, now as an adult, she acts like a flirty girl on the island, then later after finding his wallet underwater goes on a quest to find Allan and return to him his lost posession.  Though her oddesy in this story, Madison's dedication to Allan is unwavering.  Madison knows that she loves Allan.  That's never in question in this movie.  Once in New York she doesn't try out other guys.  She set her heart on Allan and stuck with it.  And for that dedication, I applaud the Madision character.

But make no mistake about it, "Splash" (1984) is a male weighted romantic comedy.  And I would classify this movie as a destiny rom-com, and yes, I do think it's a lot like another famous romantic comedy that Tom Hanks would later do, "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993).  But back to "Splash" (1984) and its weighting, The central character is Allan (as played by a young Tom Hanks).  The movie starts out with his heartache; Allan doesn't feel enough love for his girlfriend that just broke up with him, and now laments his life thinking he'll never find love.  Then comes the mermaid. 

But this time re-watching "Splash" I also gained a new appreciation for the pervert friend, who in "Splash" is Allan's brother Freddie (as played by John Candy).  The funny pervert friend is lost art.  In the last decade the pervert friend went too far over the bounds of good taste and got to overly raunch for my tastes.  Seems to me the 80s had a beter version of the pervert friend, what with movies like "Porky's" and characters like Benny Hill.  Inuendo that staddles the fine line of funny yet not being overtly perverce.  

So is "Splash" (1984) the perfect movie?  No, far from it.  I really didn't like the chase sceen at the end of the movie with the helicopter and the army troops.  I think story-wise having the scientist villian, Walter Cornbloof's mentor doing the chasing here with his scientist frieds would have been a beter choice.  This chase to the airport sceen, as Billy Mernit might describe it, wasn't aweful but it could have been better.  

So will the rom-com genre rebound in 2015?  I doubt it.  I have acess to IMBD, a site on the Internet which sites upcoing movies in production, and I haven't seen any rom-coms out there that caught my eye.  This genre still needs a boast, and I think it needs some new blood in it.  A visionary filmmaker who knows what to put in and what to leave out of a mainstream, rom-com.   But I digress.  

Just remembering what happens in "Splash" (1984) gets my heart to sigh with bliss.  To realize just how magical the right romance can be.  Gotta get this movie on DVD, as it definatley a movie I want to watch again.  I just need to find my own mermaid, right?  Well, at least I live in the right state.  The state of Washington has a very long, oceanside coast, surely somewhere along its vast expanse their has to be a girl for me...

Sigh.

Oh well, at least now after re-watching "Splash" (1984) I have some good fodder for my dreams...

 

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Stumbling Amidst the Magic

Admittedly I have not the best of times since I last posted back in mid-December.  Writing wise I've had a lot times where I was fired up to write then got pulled away by various things, usually by pesterings from my brother's six-year-old son who came barging into my room demanding that I play with, which normally I did.  Most times, though, the stumbling was my own fault: I sleep in to late, have too much to drink the night before, and just not be into it the way a good writer should.

That's all gunna now, though.  With Christmas, New Years and MOST of the football games behind me, it's time to knuckle down and make some real progress editing that pesky, epic fantasy novel I've been re-editing for over a year now.

Writers are notorious procrastinators and lolly-gaggers--and we need to stop that!  (At least I do)  Stop being lazy and put in the time.  The good thing is, I got a lot of work to do. A couple days ago I read chapter 2 to my mother, and she seamed to like it.  I wasn't too impressed by it, and still think it needs a lot of work.

But one cool thing came out my reading to her, my mom wanted to help me produce books of what I'm writing, which is something I'm going to do.  Yes, I'm going to self-publish this epic fantasy novel I'm working once it's done.  Not really looking forward to doing so, but I realize that's the way I'm going to have to go.  11 years ago or so, back when I was involved with the Pacific Northwest Writing Association, the panelist they flew in from New York we advising new and aspiring writers to do this: get a track record of sales--THEN query NY publishers.  It's all about developing a "platform".  Celebrities don't hafta worry about that, but no-names do.  

So, I'm a long way from crossing that bridge.  Gotta finish the novel, get it edited, and illustrated BEFORE I worry about shelling out the $$ for self-publishing.  

One of the funner vanities I'm going to work on in 2015 is illustrating the novel I'm writing.  I want a killer cover and artwork for each chapter.  This artwork will be a feature visuals from something in that chapter.  C.S. Lewis sold me on this on the masterful way he has an illustration for each chapter at the beginning of his "Chronicles of Narnia" series.  

So is there still "magic" in the writing?  Yeah, I'd hafta say so.  I find myself putting a lot of personal stuff into this novel.  Stuff from E.C.'s life, only slightly reformatted so as to be more interesting.  Like one of my character's near suicide.  A long time ago I thought of doing the same thing, and nearly did.  Is there magic in that?  Is is cathartic?  No, not really, the circumstances of my near suicide back in 1990 is quite different than the one I'm writing about now.  Still, I do to draw from that experience, but only to make the writing more dramatic, real and interesting.  We'll see if I can pull that rabbit out of the hat...  

I'm going to throw the kitchen sink into the novel.  I'm going to make it the best I can.  In order to do so I know I'm going to hafta log more hours at the keyboard.  It really boils down to self-discipline.  Staying away from alcohol will definitely help.  I've found that I've tried it many times alcohol and writing don't mix.  When I start to get "buzzed" I just completely lose my creative edge.  

So what else have I been doing since I last posted?  Well, I did take my 2008 Toyota Corrolla into the shop to get some 100,000 + mile maintenance done on it: new drive belt, spark plugs and front brakes.  I also put 4 new Les Schuab tires on.  Did a boatload of Christmas shopping.  Took Obo (my 6-year-old nephew) out on a couple adventures, went and saw a couple movies: "The Hobbit: The Battle of the 5 Armies" and "The Gambler".

I was SHOCKED by how poor the plot of these movies were.  O-kay, I get it, "The Battle of the Five Armies" as the last movie of a trilogy, but this movie really doesn't stand-up well as a stand-alone movie.  First you have a cool dragon fight, as Smaug burns down Laketown at night, but after that it's just an amassing of various people groups, which ends in an epic battle.  There is about ZERO character development in this movie.  Bilbo tires to convince a dwarf to share his treasure, he doesn't want to until the very end.  Oh, and Gandolf looks really worried a lot.  This movie just SUCKED from a character standpoint.  Sure a lot of the battle was kinda fun to watch, but where is the compelling drama?  Will the ugly Ork get what's coming to him?  Of course he will, dipshit!!  What did you expect?!

After watching this movie with my aunt and father, I asked my dad what the plot of the movie we'd just watched was.  And my 69-year-old father said to me:

We don't need no stinkin' plot!

Great!  Guess that's where he are as society.  Plot smot, just give us some dazzling visuals and choreographed fight scenes.  Is that all you need to entertain the masses these day?  Ouch, from a writer's standpoint, from a guy who WANTS to deliver thought provoking stories, that hurts.  And that comes from my own dad.  Swear to God he really did say that on route back to the car from the multiplex.  Later, after we discussed this some more he came up with another plot summary gem.  With more careful deliberation my dad told me, the plot of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" was:

Take the cave!

This was in reference to the former dragon's lair where the dwarfs were holding up, and various people groups were amassing outside the gates.  Anywho, the point is "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" DOES NOT have a very strong, compelling story to it.  IF you like this movie chances are that's because of the visuals and fight scenes: a continuing sorrowful trend, at from my point of view, of this generations continuance of flash over substance.

Mark Wahlberg's "The Gambler" (2014)" had a great cast and some good acting on display, but I was VERY DISAPPOINTED with its bo-ring plot.  I did however like the improper relationship Mark Wahlberg's character, Jim Bennett, had with Brie Larsen's character, Amy Phllips.   That should have gotten more screen time, as it was FAR more interesting to watching Jim Bennett's character get deeper and deeper into debt with loan sharks and his mother.   

Huge fan of Brie Larsen (the actress off to the right).  Feel in love with her after watching Bree play the potential love thwart in "The Spectacular Now" (2013: Shelienne Woodly, Miles Teller).    

I was also VERY DISAPPOINTED with the effort of a fellow scribe out there, an academy award winner no less, William Monahan.  This dude can write killer stories, deservedly winning an oscar for best adapted screenplay with "The Departed" (2006: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Damon).  Yes, there was some screenwriting on display here especially with the choice of showing Jim Bennett's descent in losing money gambling via a fast-forward montage set to music, but overall I thought that this plot was rather cliche and I was never drawn in to Jim Bennett's plight, which given all the screen time he got is a very bad mistake.  This movie sets itself up to explore the reasons why a college professor with a rich family would risk it all in high stakes gambling.  And I don't think the William Monahan script answers the basic question that is set-up with story: what is diving Jim Bennett to gamble when he's got so many good things in his life?  Why is he so unhappy?  For my $$ that's the central question in this character driven drama, as this movie spend ALL of its time with Jim, and zero time with anyone else.    

"The Gambler" (2014) is a bad movie--and it shouldn't have been!  And the crazy thing is this is like a remake of movie they did back in 1974 which stared James Caan.  Ugh, now even dramas are being remade poorly by Hollywood!  I thought drama were the one genre where original thoughts and ideas were still thriving.  Guess not.  

Anyway, "The Gambler" (2014) This is a movie that is bad at the story level.  Its fixes are all needed at the story level.  The whole oriental crime family thing was dull, and the black hoods weren't much better.  This movie had a place it could have went to make it more interesting, the whole Jim and Amy improper professor/student thing, but they didn't get enough screen time together, and from what screen time they showed I didn't buy the connection they made.  Amy's side of the ledger needed to be gone into more.  

Enough with the movies.  Moving on, I'll defiantly be posting on more regular basis.  Sorry, I got lazy. I had the time, could have easy posted more.  I did start one post, just never brought it to completion.  I need to get back on track.  I think tomorrow I'll get up early and put in a couple extra hours on the epic fantasy novel.  The cold hard truth is, I need to be more productive and bringing this story closer to a professional level where it's as good as I can take it and now it's time to show it to a professional editor.  

I do not want an editor doing my job for me!  I merely want to use a professional editor to pre-screen my work before I self publish it.  You can only trust yourself so far, then it's time to bring in other people.  That's where my mind is right now.  I want to push my material and make it as good as I capable of doing.  That's going to involve challenge the emotional core of the scenes I've already got written.  Can I make them better?  Can I push them to greatness?  As of right now I can't honestly say thay I've done that.  But things are gunna change in 2015.  Just you wait and see!