Author: Douglas

Posted on

Church of the Mech

http://gorillaartfare.com/2009/10/sci-fi-dumpage/ (fourth down)

Martin found the encompassing feeling of the abandoned mech hanger remarkable. The lofty girders above and the open bay doors along the perimeter reminded him of a church he attended as a boy before he stopped praying.

“Thanks.” The occasional single-syllable acknowledgement was all that remained of Martin’s belief.

:Roger that, Commander.: Lieutenant Abilene Guerrera’s voice spoke in Martin’s earpiece. She drove the mech guarding above him. He smiled and pretended it was Goddess responding instead. He then tried to think of what he’d say to the Lieutenant’s inevitable query. :…uh, ‘Thanks’ for what, sir?:

:[something profound and direct]:

:Of course, sir,: Guerrera replied after a delay. Her brief protocol made Martin smile and almost laugh. He imagined her turning wide-eyed and questioning to her ensign co-pilot and him, cringing, unable to offer an explanation for their boss’s sudden melancholy. They’d chew on that shit for days, he thought.

xxx words on day 788

Posted on

Revisiting My Viper Comics Contest Script…Sorta

So I’d thought to review my one and only comicbook script to see what I could clean up in terms of structure and story. You know, now that I’m packed with all this experience and skill. A quick read through just now makes me think I was crazy to fit that much story into a five-page script. Overall I like the elements, but I’m not sure I executed some of the more subtle portions the way I’d thought I had. It worries me I’m not finding as much wrong with it as I probably should.

Maybe I ought to re-write it as normal prose.

Comparing this single scene story to the structure I’m learning ought to be employed (goal – conflict – disaster) I see that I’ve inverted the order to (disaster – conflict – resolution). I assume the obvious last scene of any story includes resolution rather than deeper disaster. But opening with the disaster (Wolverine captured and strung up) I’m posing a question for the reader to wonder how he got that way and hopefully want to know how or if he’ll get out. Since we find out he’s orchestrated the whole thing from the beginning as a training exercise for Jubilee there is no real conflict leading to that disaster, so the conflict I need to add in the middle is the escape route battle. I’d call that rather mundane, but I think the interesting ways that fight plays out gives it some atypical brawl character. The resolution does a mediocre job of wrapping the whole whodunit vibe probably because I never make it clear that even the one Hydra having his lighter was part of Logan’s multi-layered plan.

282 words on day 785

Posted on

Scene and Structure Redux

I haven’t posted in a while because I haven’t written in a while. I’ve blown my December 2011 date; my 1000 days of writing will conclude somewhere in 2012. The majority of my thinking makes this a good thing more than a bad thing. The quality and volume of what I’d been writing prior to my semi-purposeful hiatus was both low and low. I put the blame for that and the hiatus on my day job.

Instead of diving in, I’ll be sitting on the edge with my feet getting used to the temperature of the water first.

I’m re-reading that Scene and Structure book by Jack M. Bickham. Once again the specificity of his writing instruction resonates with my desires for knowledge. The most concrete analogy I can make involves lumber. If I think about my skills as a writer, I feel comfortable sanding the plank of a story to a glossy sheen. So comfortable, I’m sure I wear the thing to a sliver in places. Bickham’s instructions provide me with guidelines for placing the cut marks to break the plank into appealing lengths, suggestions for when to use a dovetail and when to do a mitre, and some third woody thing I can’t think of right now since I’ve not completed the re-read.

Some would find the thrust of his book too prescriptive, possibly to formulaic. The programmer in me finds it tangible and usable. And I know enough about writing code to know that there are several ways to accomplish the same outcome. I know that guides and rules and restrictions can be a harness which helps the horse pull the cart not a hobble which leaves her prey to wolves.

The last book and a half I read got me to thinking about scenes and how many one needs to include in a novel length book. Yesterday evening Bickham made an aside about the number of scenes needed in a book and how this high number often confounded new writers. He said that in his experience students had far too few scenes necessary for a novel and as a result those students padded their scenes to reach novel word counts. By doing so, they killed the pace of an otherwise engaging plot. I know I’ve not given enough thought to how much stuff goes into a novel. I wouldn’t have guessed the real risk of having too few scenes was bloat over brevity.

407 words on day 781