H is for Hope in Horror and beyond

While I don't know much about the genre of horror (or action or mystery or a couple others) there is something I have noticed in the very few things I've read. That even when the story is dark, depressing and it seems there is no hope at all... that is not the case. There is always a little hope.  And hope, while can feel like just a generic concept can work wonders as the theme for a variety of stories.

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One example is that of zombies. I almost considered doing zombie for the Z post, in fact, to talk about what we can see in such stories when we look past the brain eating and running for their lives stuff. I haven't actually read or watched many zombie related stories but the few that I have read had something about them that the reader could hold onto, could hope for (and often so did the characters). Sure, many will die in them, but there are often survivors (even if it seems like there is only one).

Hopes even get dashed. A character grows when they learn that the goal they strive for, the dream/hope they had doesn't turn out to be what they imagined, but that doesn't end all hope as they know it. In fact, they adapt and keep one candle lit for a little light can heed off some darkness.

Even in some movies/books that aren't exactly "horror" this theme can be found. The specific example that comes to mind is Independence Day. Sure the focus of the movie is the whole alien attack, but that's just it. The big moment comes when people that wouldn't under normal circumstances work together, they can put aside those differences and save the day. We hope that in the face of a different other (in this case, aliens) that us humans could put aside our differences and fight for our survival.

Writers, we spin these tales and while we dash readers hopes with many different things (plot twists, death, love triangles ending, etc) we always have to give the reader something to hope for when it comes to the story. Even if that hope is a candle that will later burn out, we give them something to keep the pages turning. And sometimes, it is within the darkest genres/stories that the light will shine the brightest.


What do you think?
Does hope come out in your stories?
Any other common themes that you've noticed?

G is for Goals and Growing Up

Goals

I like to make goals. I am not often successful at achieving those goals, but I am definitely a goal-maker. Over on Writing.com I have a group called NaNoWriMo Plus and almost every month I post goals for the month. On my other blog, I often post month goals and in January usually will post some year goals as well.

My Goals for April:

1. Finish reading 4 books.
2. Move (or get closer at least).
3. A to Z Blog Challenge: Post almost every day on both blogs for the challenge.
4. Write a couple story entries on WDC, highlight more chapters for editing, and maybe write another chapter in a novel.
5. Get book blog up and running again and revamp book group here on WDC.


Last month I had similar goals and actually accomplished a few of them but I think I'm missing something. It's something that can either start with an I or an R. Incentive/Reward is something I have never been good at. I can make a goal with no problem but giving myself anything for succeeding, terrible. I never know what to pick either. Can't do food as trying to lose weight. Can't do much that takes money cause I'm trying to move and don't have much money. That is what I need to work on and maybe I'll succeed even more with my goals.


Growing Up

I had a hard time picking for today's post, so here is a second topic that I considered. This was inspired by a friend's blog post for E. Sometimes I don't really feel grown up, but that may be because I live with my parents currently, though I used to live on my own. But I also don't want to grow up too much anyways. I hope to always be discovering, learning and dreaming.

On Writing.com I have a quote I made up. I'm sure others before have said things much like it, but it's one a friend of mine made into a cute picture signature for me and I even had someone ask permission to quote me with it. The quote is: "The greatest toy a child can have is an imagination."

I always liked to use my imagination as a child and while I may be growing up, I never want to lose that. I even want to get a tattoo that reminds me to not grow up too much. It will have dandelions (the white one and the yellow one) and say Stay Gold. Not the most original in content and all but my first tattoo was a fairy so I pick what I want and usually don't pay too much attention to what others pick.

I love dandelions. They were my favorite flower as a kid, back when I could see them as flowers. A couple of years ago, when gardening, I had to pull the dandelions and keep on a lookout for them because they were weeds. When did I start seeing them as weed?

Here is a dorky poem I wrote about dandelions back in 2006:


Adults never understood
Childish games upon the lawn
Joy tumbling downhill
Skipping along, light kicks stirring
White fluff into the air
All they saw was an infestation
Dotting their precious lawn

A weed flower
Dandelion



Do you make goals?
What are your goals?
Are you growing up too fast?

F is for Fact or Fiction

Is this story true? It's fiction... But is it true?

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So, at work I get an hour lunch break which gets boring fast even while eating. Right now I am bringing The Hunger Games to read since people have been waiting for me to read it for years now. One of my coworkers noticed the book and asked "do you know if it's based off a true story?"

Yeah, I stared at her confused for a moment. A true story where teens are sent to kill each other as tributes? Umm I hope not.

It is amazing how many people want a story/poem/etc to be based off real life. I notice this in the reviews I get over at Writing.com (which is basically a writing site that allows for others to review the work). It doesn't matter what the item is about, often people will think it's a true and about the author. Several different poems and short stories I've received reviews for on there have all commented about it in a way that they think it's really about me. That includes a story with an intersex main character. Doesn't matter what the writing is about, they often construe the story to be about fact instead of just fiction.

Ever notice that with published work that people try to find ways to relate the story or the main character to the author's real life? Sometimes it's the positive interest of "ooo is this based on something real" and other times it's about things like "is this a mary sue character or author wish fulfillment" and such. Any time a reader wanders if a fiction story is real, it makes me wonder.

Is it because the writing feels so realistic? I try to hope that it's a good sign when it comes to my own writing that people make the comment but it still feels weird at times. While there are things that we base on real life, interactions, some dialogue, character traits, etc... There is a bit of a difference between life-like and fact.

Or is there some desire to have a factual connection within fiction?

hmmm....


What do you think?
Do you ever try to find facts within fiction?
Ever have readers want to know what is fact in your writing?

E is for Exclamation

The use of exclamation marks in literature has me baffled as of recent. I have noticed them more in the unpublished stuff I read on Writing.com. I see them in entries in my contest and even more from young writers and new ones in general. I don't know if it's just me noticing them more now or if some writers are using them more. And I'm not talking about the few that use more than one at the end of a sentence. X.X

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The purpose of the exclamation mark:

An exclamation mark is a punctuation mark, and like the full stop (or period), it marks the end of a sentence. A sentence ending in an exclamation mark is either for exclamation (“Wow!”), to make a command (“Stop!”), or intended to show astonishment in a way (“They were the footprints of a gigantic hound!”). Often used in fiction writing in particular to add to the emotion of the words and/or the volume of them too.


In writing fiction:
I have been under the impression that in writing to use the exclamation mark as a form of punctuation sparingly. Which is why it has me confused when I start to see them used more in the writing I see online. It's almost as confusing as some writer's need to randomly use all caps for one word in a sentence. While I don't remember every single thing I've written over the past 7 years, I am certain that most of the work doesn't have very many uses of the exclamation mark. But I started to wonder if maybe it was just me.

For certain, there only needs to be one. The whole, "omg" with 20 exclamation marks might work for random posts on line or something (even annoying then) but if wanting to publish a story, try for one and some sort of way to show what is going on beyond using excessive punctuation.

There is a time and place for the exclamation mark but it's not something to fall on in lieu of showing the emotion, tension, inflection or whatever the punctuation would have been used to achieve. There are other options. So, I think I will stick with only using it on occasion.


A few sites that discuss this:
http://theperfectwrite.com/creative-fiction-writing-punctuation-never-to-use-the-exclamation-point/
http://knol.google.com/k/emily-sather/how-to-use-exclamation-marks-in-fiction/dz0pz35q5kxd/2#
http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/dialogue.shtml
http://www.writingforward.com/grammar/punctuation-marks/punctuation-marks-exclamation-mark


What do you think?
Are you for the exclamation mark or against using it often?

D is for Desperation

Yes, desperation. Sounded like a good word to me and I want to talk specifically about the struggle of "show, don't tell" with something that I'm certain a number of writers deal with at some point in at least one of their stories.

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What is Desperation:

Definition 1: loss of hope and surrender to despair
Definition 2: a state of hopelessness leading to rashness


Fiction often talks about a character being desperate and almost any character could experience it whether it's the protagonist, the antagonist, a child, an adult, someone in desperate need or someone who just thinks they are desperate. But often times in a few different common forms: one character observing another that they are desperate, trying to hide desperation, and in particular, someone reeking of desperation. Sure it varies some, but often the word "desperate" or "desperation" is used.

But what does desperation really look like? Are there any tell tale signs that people can do that doesn't involve using the words "desperate" or "desperation." And more importantly, why does someone who seems desperate often reek of it? What does desperation smell like? Seriously. I tried looking up where the phrase "reeks of desperation" comes from but got tired of looking through links that all use the term but don't explain the origin. Well, technically reek also means "exude" so I guess that could be what reeks of desperation means, but it would be interesting to know what it might smell like.

In writing, we are often told to show, not tell, and that makes me curious about what desperation is like in the show way.


What does desperation look like to you?
What, if anything, do you think it would smell like?

C is for Creative Control

C turned out to be a tougher topic than I first imagined but here is one I never really thought about posting until now. Creative control is an interesting topic because we often think of our own stories as something we control (okay, or in some cases the characters control, we're writers we understand) but there are other aspects to the topic of creative control we can consider.


What is Creative Control?
It is term often used in media production, such as movies, television, and music. A person with the control has the authority to decide how the final product will appear. It is sometimes referred to as Artistic Control.

A few Web sites to check out:
http://www.andyeklund.com/creativestreak/2010/02/definitions-of-creativity.html
http://alchemyofwriting.blogspot.com/2010/12/creative-control.html
http://scriptwriting.tumblr.com/post/18390205106/how-to-gain-creative-control-over-your-writing
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=196832



We all dream about not only publication but also what may lay beyond that milestone. Creative control comes in different elements from characters, plot, other aspects of the novel, covers and movie scripts. And for the most part, I'd like to think, we get to keep that control (okay except with the movies cause I'm sure unless very popular like JK Rowling, or already known for writing movies, there is less control in how the movie turns out). There will be suggestions made, of course, in order to improve the work but that doesn't necessarily mean the creators work is tampered or the control taken away from them. And we all have to know our limits: some things we won't change for specific reasons and the rest have an open mind.

Self-publishing is a way some people pick to keep complete creative control of their work. It takes effort, and like any path of publishing both advantages and disadvantages, but there is that sense of control from layout, to story elements, to even the cover. For some, this is the right path, and for others it's not, but that's for each writer to decide.


What are your thoughts on Creative Control?
Is Creative Control an ideal or something you strive to maintain?

B is for Bromance

*giggles*

That's right. Today's "B" post I am dedicating to the "bromance" aka the straight male friends that always seem umm a little too friendly. Okay, this is about bromances and also about gay jokes used in comedies but the characters are straight, people just joke that they are often.

What is a "bromance"?
According to the urban dictionary online, a bromance "describes the complicated love and affection shared by two straight males."

Examples of Bromances (Found on wikipedia):
Star Trek
The Hangover
Bromance - the reality tv show
Superbad
I Love You Man
Brad Pitt and George Clooney
Boston Legal





ROFL... hahahahaha

That was hilarious. Anyways, now to my slight rant, the other part of this topic: the use of homosexuality jokes for straight characters in comedy. Ever notice how a show will make jokes about a certain male character sexual orientation but it will only be a joke and they never will "come out"? Yeah, it happens often.

Examples:
Friends (Chandler)... though there is a kiss between Ross&Joey and Chandler&Joey
King of Queens (Danny and Spence)
Everybody Loves Raymond (Robert and Ray)
Two and a Half Men (Allen, sometimes Charlie)
The Big Bang Theory (Raj and Howard)

Sure, it can be funny. I still question Chandler, lol, but at the same time it gets a little old. When are they going to actually be gay instead of just joke about it? Sure, it's good to show guys can have close friendships but where is the line? And how does one make it work in fiction?

Writing a bromance is a difficult task. Don't be surprised if there will be fan fiction of the characters where it is beyond a bromance to something more because when reader see that level of interaction, they tend to take it and do what they want to imagine. At the same time, don't be afraid to let two straight guys be close. It depends on the characters and their friendship. It always goes back to that advice doesn't it? Do what is best for the characters. Maybe give it a try. I'm sure having a bromance could make for some interesting conflict.


What do you think about bromances?
Ever write one?