Today I thought I'd share a personal memory. Something I've tried to forget, but that I can't deny was a defining moment. It was the very first book I wrote, written out by me, illustrated by me, and bound with brass clips by my loving mother. Today, you get to hear the story of Super Gecko.
Fortunately for the world at large, there are no surviving copies of Super Gecko. I was, eh... five? So illustration was not my strong point, nor was a cohesive story. Still, for whatever reason, I insisted that anything I write have humor. I thought it was hilarious. Also, I'm stalling. Okay... let's do this. Super Gecko. The story of an ordinary gecko in the (Arizona?) desert. I can't remember his name, though I strongly suspect it was Gary. Our brave protagonist wandered one day into house. Somehow evading the notice of the humans that lived there, he made his way to living room where a television was on. On the screen our bold hero saw something that would change his life forever. Superman. Or at least, I alluded to that. Fairly subtlety, for a five year old, too. After taking in the concept of a flying hero saving the day, our reptilian hero made his way to a child's bedroom, filled with toys, where he stole a cape and mask off some actions figures and became.... dun, dun, dun... Super Gecko. Somehow between this scene and the next, an entire civilization of desert critters sprang up, complete with tiny buildings and cars. And a crime lord gila monster named, of course, Cigar Gila. Why yes, he did smoke a comically oversized cigar. So, as I recall, this city had no crime and Super Gecko had nothing to do except upset old lady geckos who would proceed to pull off their tails and beat him with it. Yes. I learned that fact and made sure it made it into my story. I... don't think there was actually an incident that triggered the confrontation between Cigar Gila and Super Gecko, but they fought and Super Gecko lost. Badly. So of course, Super Gecko's mother saves the day, beats up Cigar Gila, and gives her son a lollipop. The End. Now we will never speak of this again. It was just a.. a really weird part of my childhood. But the point is, even back then I knew I wanted to write. Instead of watching cartoons, I sat at my mom's computer, typed in C:/WP run and up came Word Perfect. My little fingers slid in a 3.5 floppy disk filled with all my stories. I wrote. I wrote and I wrote and I wrote. Heck, sometimes I even printed. With the cursive font on the print. The top feed, ridges on the side printer. Now, here I am. Blogging about that time so long ago. It's been a long time coming, but each day brings me closer to seeing my hard work, my sweat and tears, my hardships and joys, all these and more released to the world. And while my mom and day aren't around anymore to bind it in brass fasteners, I'd like to think they'd be just as proud to see my work in print. Hey. Be excellent to each other.
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Just a basic update today on what I'm working on. I'm almost done with the new content for The Paladin, which is more or less a revamp to the first few chapters. Once I get that finished, I'll just have to do a little touch up and then it's back to strict editing. I'll have to make sure all the stuff I've already written hooks up properly to the new content, then cut out all the stuff that I'm replacing. Things should go a lot faster once this next scene is done. Excitement!
On the short story front, I have begun a new entry that does not take place in the Paladin universe. It's fun, it's a different, and it's staring an intriguing new character, Lieselotte. I'm really excited to have this finished so I can show it off. On a more personal front, I've been considering a few things with my current career. As it stands, I do a little work for the local university helping journalism students get experience in writing, filming, and voicing script. I talked with a retired professor and there who was lamenting that there is no longer a broadcast announcing class being offered since he retired. As I have the experience, I asked and he agreed that I might be able to convince the university to let me teach the class. I know this doesn't have anything to do with The Paladin, but I've seen the level of on-air announcing we're currently putting out and it needs work. Badly. And on one more front, I really have to gush and brag about two of my students. You see, I've been asked to train a group of people to become pro wrestlers! I've been out of the ring, more or less, for two years, but we put things together, I've met these new guys and gals, and I have to say, they are impressing me. Two in particular are really going above and beyond, outpacing what I have scheduled to train them in. Again, I know it's not related to The Paladin, but I thought I'd give you a look at my life. And gush about my awesome students. That's all for today. Make sure you go out there and tell someone "Hey, I like your hair." It's a gentle compliment that doesn't require any follow up and it'll make someone's day. Don't Forget To Be Awesome. I've been working on this upcoming short story for a while now. I made the decision that I wanted to explore this genre and style back in January and I've been wracking my brain ever since!
Fortunately for me, my artist friend for whom I'm writing this, and for anyone interested in reading it, it finally clicked! Sometimes all the plotting and planning won't help if you don't just sit down and talk it out. There's something about saying it out loud to someone else, something about getting it out there that just makes it real and make it work. What was a twisted web of plot hooks and weird twists suddenly straightened out and unfolded into a wonderful little story that I am excited to write. While I'm also working on The Paladin. I will always advocate plotting out stories. There are people out there that can just write as things come to them and it comes out fine, but those kind of writers are few and far between. At least those that write that way and still manage to create quality content. Plotting helps you lay things out and, if you're like me and are a visual person, then it's so much easier to switch things around and let them go where they need to go. But on top of that, you need someone to bounce ideas off. You need someone to listen to your ideas fresh and without bias. I have figured out more plots by talking them out with someone than I ever have just staring at a blank screen. Be Excellent to Each Other. So today's International Women's Day and I thought it would be a good time to reflect on making female characters and what I've put into mine. This tends to be a tough and sometimes touchy point in writing. There's a hundred bad female tropes from the damsel in to distress to the "dude with boobs," and it makes it feel like writing a female character is some impossible task. What I've found, through research, listening to a hundred podcasts with both male and female authors alike, and just flat out writing, is the simplest answer. Stop trying to write strong female characters and just write a good, human being. I have several female characters in my story and I never really sat down to make any of them act a certain way. Their being female has been secondary to them being a whole, realistic person. I'm sure if you look at each one, you can find roles to slot each of them in, but I didn't intend any of them to suit a specific role. I've learned from others that have been there before, the key is simply to focus on making a good character. Think about the women in your actual life and try basing a character off them. So, with these thoughts in mind, let me introduce you to some of the female characters throughout The Paladin. The first female character you'll run into is Giz Johanson. If we have Jonathan's paladin team work as a Five-Man Band, then Giz would be the Lancer to Reagan's Leader. She's there to counter Reagan's thoughtless whims, keep the group on task, and push doing things by protocol to avoid unnecessary casualties. When Reagan is callous to his new charge Jonathan, Giz is there to comfort him and try to guide him. She never misses an opportunity to challenge Reagan's authority or at least his motives. The next up, and one that might be scrutinized more closely is Samantha. She is the premiere monster hunter in the larger district that Jonathan operates in. She's given latitude to act outside standard protocols, has some trouble with emotional attachments, and is laser focused on her job. I have so many other female characters I love in this novel, like Angelina Arriette, the leader of the St. Valentina parish who values the older traditions of the Order, the tag team of St. Michael's Ashley and Juliet, the monotone demonologist and the slightly punk anti-specter, and the Muscle of St. Michael's, Patricia Armstrong. But above them all, one character has grown on me as I wrote her. She's easily my favorite lady of The Paladin. Katie! No one works harder than her. No one gets let credit than her. And no one could care less about it because she's having such a blast at her job. Katie is a Mason, a sort of helper for the Paladin Order, that takes on way more tasks than she should, sleeps far less than she should, and loves every minute of it. Monsters are her life and she's dedicated herself to learning and cataloging everything she can about them. She's cute, she's friendly, she's so lovable, and her character grew to do so much more in the story than I initially intended her to.
So tell me all about your female characters! If you don't write, tell me about your favorites in movies, TV, anime, books, or wherever! And also, don't forget to be awesome! I can't just edit, I have to have something else to write or I go nuts. This is why I'm very happy to announce that I'm ready to start on my newest short story. It took me over a month of playing around and rearranging plot elements, but I finally have my outline settled and I should be able to start writing it in the next day or two!
I was really hung up on this one. I'm playing with a genre I don't have much experience with, but if I want to stretch my literary muscles and expand my scope, this is the kind of stuff I need to do. I think the hardest part was getting my brain past the hurdle of a new genre. It's still fun and a lot of it falls within my experience, but certain specific elements are new to me. I'm being vague, aren't I? Well, there's a reason. Much like the last two stories, I really post this one here on the blog, so even talking about the story's subject matter is a little spoiler-y. In any case, I'm excited, I hope you're excited, and I hope you keep your eyes glued here for it. Until then, don't forget to be awesome! Okay, so I love Amy Lee. And I love The Nightmare Before Christmas. When I first found out there was an album that had her singing Sally's Song, I flipped. Between her dulcet tones and the lulling lyrics of Danny Elfman, this song was perfect. So when I put together my writing playlist for The Paladin, this song was a no-brainer. Now, I can't say there's a specific scene that this song is for, or really even a specific character, but the mood is perfect for so many parts of the novel. When other songs are too hard, too peppy, or too weird, this strikes a perfect balance. Her lilting voice dancing through my ears has fired the engines of creativity on many occasions. If you haven't heard of Nightmare Revisited, make sure you check the album out. Besides Amy Lee, it has Marilyn Manson doing This is Halloween, Korn doing Kidnap the Sandy Claws, and so many more. Perfect for Halloween and the whole year! With a novel about monsters and magic, it's a must have in your writing playlist. So, enjoy today's selection, Amy Lee's rendition of Sally's Song. My newest review is finally up! Check it out at dlh.net (Here's the link...) So, as I mentioned before, I reviewed Junkfish's Attack of the Earthlings. Now, usually I like to talk about the story, being that this is a blog dedicated to writing, but... I mean... the story is kinda secondary in this game. There is one, don't get me wrong, and it's okay, but it's not why you're playing. You play Final Fantasy or Zelda for a story. You play this because it's dumb and it's fun. The story, such as it is, is that you are the alien. Yes, you get to be the monster in this tactical, turn-based strategy game. The evil Galactoil has landed their giant drilling tower on your planet to suck it dry of it's resources and it's your job to infiltrate it, dine on all the inhabitants, and make the evil heads of this corrupted company pay for what they've done. You command the Matriarch, a unit capable of dealing good damage, eating your prey, and then spitting out new units to supplement your numbers. Stealth is your friend, so eating the bodies of your victims not only keeps other units from finding you, but helps you build biomass to spawn grunts, your basic unit, and then upgrade those grunts. Depending on your play style and the enemies your facing, you'll want to try out different units. Disrupters (upper right) are ranged units, perfect for kamikaze units that explode on death or radar units that have a field of focus that surrounds them from all angles. The Goliath (lower right) is your armored unit, perfect for those who like a straight fight. You can tighten your defenses, let your enemies swarm you, then unleash a smash attack to damage them all at once. My personal favorite, however, is the Stalker (bottom left) who can sneak through grates, back stab, and set traps. Yeah. I like stealth. The story may be a little light, but the humor is top notch. It feels a lot like Portal or Team Fortress style humor. It never takes itself seriously and uses humor as it's way of directing you through the game. Not all of the game is perfect, though. While I love being able to save my game whenever (and that the autosaves are actually descriptive!) it's way too easy to abuse this and take all challenge out of the game. The AI never deviates from it's pre-programmed paths, so once you know the puzzle, it's just a matter of moving to the right places. Furthermore, it's actually a fairly short game. After finishing it, I really wish I could've had just another two or three more levels. Still, the fact that I wanted to keep playing is a testament to how good it is. The game is fun, hilarious, and forgiving (almost to a fault.) It's fun to figure out the optimum path to victory and watch your enemies fall before you. It does a good job of making you feel like the titular creature from that Ridley Scott series (what was it called?) while at the same time, making you laugh out loud. If I can laugh and feel like a ruthless killing machine at the same time, I call that a good game.
Don't Forget to Kill All Humans. One of the things I really like about writing The Paladin is that I get to add my own touch to the gallery of classical monsters. Of course I can't write a supernatural fantasy novel without touching on demons, vampires, werewolves, etc... they're staples of the genre. They'd be conspicuous through their absence. That doesn't mean I can't add in my own.
So far, I've added three unique creatures to my story. It's been great playing with them, figuring out how they different from established creatures, and plotting out their importance. I've had to create lore from scratch, filling out a backstory for an entire species. And best off all, I still have three or four more waiting in the wings. I think the hardest part is making them stand out as unique without being so far out in left field that they're just pointless. You have to accept that certain things, while being part of other monsters, are not the complete essence of those creatures. For example, you can have blood sucking monsters that aren't vampires. There's more to a vampire than simple draining the blood from their victims. In real life, more than one creature can lay claim to being a blood sucker. Of course we have mosquitoes and vampire bats, but also fleas, beg bugs, leeches, vampire finches, lampreys, and ox peckers. There's no reason your monster can't drink blood, just make sure they stand out. I have to say, as I'm writing this, I'm very excited to see this novel come out so I can introduce the world to some of my creations. My characters, my world, and of course, my monsters. Don't forget to be awesome! I got to do another game review. I don't want to say too much about the review itself, but man did I enjoy doing it. I love getting my name out there, seeing my writing published in an official capacity. Now, the review isn't out yet, so I can't say anything about it really (I mean, I need you guys to actually go to the site and read it, right?) but I can tell you about the process. First off... this is the game I reviewed. I wanna talk about it so much, but I'll be a good boy and just talk about the process. It's actually pretty cool. Normally I would just go through a game, looking at it just for it's enjoyment factor, but unfortunately you can't write an entire article about the game just saying "it's fun." Now that I'm paying attention to the plot elements, the mechanics, and taking screen shots every so often, I'm seeing a bit more of what the developers put into the game.
I was fortunate enough when I was studying in the Netherlands to meet some friends in the IGAD program. Basically, it's a program for game development. The people there were awesome and I even got to play test some stuff for them. Thanks to them, I was given a taste of all the hard work that goes into a making a video game come to life. Now that I'm reviewing games instead of just playing them, I'm taking what they showed me and using it to pick apart the experiences these games are offering. It's not just about "I had fun," but it's about what mechanics are involved in playing. It's about whether the story actually gripped me or if it was completely ancillary. This is good for me to practice as I can definitely use this in my future writings. When I'm putting together a novel, I need to know what elements are actually important and what are merely there to be there. I need to know what feels like it was phoned in versus what seems well put together. I'm having a ton of fun doing these reviews and I can't wait for the next one. Hopefully my experience here will lead to even better opportunities down the road. Oh! And for those who haven't seen it, make sure you check out my last review on World to the West over on dlh.net. Until tomorrow, Be Excellent To Each Other. I’m volunteering at a convention this weekend, so my updates will be a little short. Now, before you go thinking that I’m just goofing off, I’m actually doing some learning, believe it or not.
Some of the guests here are directors, actors, and writers with over a decade of industry experience, all of which is valuable to someone like me who is looking to tell a story. I also balanced that volunteering for today with training a new batch of wrestlers (you forgot I dabbled in pro wrestling, didn’t you?) which, again had a surprising amount of storytelling involved in it. You know, the more I think about it, the more I realize I’m surrounded by storytelling. And you know what? I wouldn’t change that for the world. DFTBA |
Matias TautimezKeep your eyes open for my debut novel, The Paladin. Archives
January 2023
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