I just got back from Dragon Con. What is Dragon Con? Dragon Con is energy. It is thirty or forty thousand fans of the future, of fantasy, of what could be. In that maelstrom of positive expectation you will find enormous, exciting, exuberant energy.
On Saturday morning the wilds of imagination walk downtown Atlanta in a parade of fantasy, fiction, and movie magic. The energy is fantastic as people line the road 2 and 3 deep to catch sight of their favorite characters. Pixies and fairies in skimpy outfits follow knights and goblins. A company of Ghostbusters complete with Ghostbuster cars follow a small army of howling zombies, monsters, and madmen. Groups of Star Trek Klingons escort various denizens of Shatner’s universe down the road. Warriors from Halo, Aliens, and the 300 charge down the street. A DeLorean souped-up to go back to the future drives by. At last, the 501st Legion, Vader’s Fist, tromps into view leading a massive wave of Storm Troopers, Sith, Jedi, and Bounty hunters.
After the road show, the denizens retreat into bowels of the hotels. The three main hotels and food court are connected. This creates an enclosed labyrinth of wonder. These caves of steel and concrete lend an Asmovian atmosphere producing one of the most wonderful people watching experience ever. A real He-Man walks by with a beautiful sprite clinging to one arm. In the central alcove is a lovely full sized stone statue of an angel. It is so perfectly rendered and still that you expect pigeons to fly down from the ceiling. Then her cell phone rings, and the illusion is shattered. T-shirts abound with funny quips. On the wall above the blood donations center is a nosferatu disparaging sign that says, “Come see us, the REAL blood suckers.” I wonder what the IRS thinks about that.
The con is filled with special guests, scientists, actors, musicians, authors, and dozens of other fields. They fill out the convention’s numerous panels, sign autographs, and generally make the convention memorable. Here is perhaps where the energy is greatest. In some panels guests discuss popular shows. In others every imaginable topic is discussed: politics, religion, dragon reproduction, and books.
I stumbled on an opportunity to go to the con two years ago. Last year something came up and going was impossible. This year things looked the same and in an unexpected surprise the opportunity emerged. I guess God knew I needed the recharge.
Dragon Con is an environment that encourages creativity and I came away feeling ready to write again. I have taken a three month hiatus, encouraged by a demanding job and relentless travel. What a joy to be excited to scribble down some ideas again.
I also, think I learned something else. I spend far too much time succeeding at life and not enough time enjoying it. Have you noticed that we hard driving personalities sometimes get so focused on where we are going that we forget to enjoy where we are. It doesn’t necessarily mean a difference in action so much as attitude. I am going to make a real effort to focus on the joy of the moment and less on the sorrow of the day.
Life is a fruit. It has all the flavors that you’d want. It’s sweet and savory. It’s bitter and sour. It’s salty and spicy. The succulent skin surrounds a core replete with juicy goodness. Don’t hold onto that fruit wondering where the bruises are. Grab a hold of life; and bite down hard! Let the luxurious skin slide down your throat. Let the meat fill your mouth with flavor. Let the juice run down your cheeks and drip on your shirt. Let people see the joy as you chew mouth full and smiling. Let them think, “He’s living his life to the fullest.”
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Universal Complexity
I have a great respect for novelists. It is not only the length of the work but also its breadth and complexity that amaze me. We readers see only a tiny fraction of the writer’s world; we see the scenes viewed through a window frame. Beyond that frame’s limited scope the world is far larger. To have more depth than a cardboard cutout, writers create people and places that cast shadows across the rest of the story without coming into our line of sight. Often, the unseen part of the work is as big as or bigger than what we can see.
Fantasy and Science Fiction provide even greater challenges. Not only do the story elements have to be defined but, as the reader has no shared frame of reference, the author must create an entire world. Each detail preconceived by the author is a thread building a firm foundation for the novel. The deeper the world is understood, the more real the story seems.
Miraculously complex and beautiful worlds have been designed by authors such as Raymond E. Fiest, Isaac Asimov, and Anne McCaffrey but the master of the unseen was J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien’s tales are massively deep. Entire species and cultures are detailed. Maps and Music interweave the stories. Tolkien, a linguist, even chose to invent new languages to populate his world. It is hard not to attribute some of the stories power and longevity to its iceberg-like underlying foundation.
There is another author who exceeds Tolkien, the Author of life. I sometimes view God as a writer. It helps explain why he is omniscient. He is viewing history from the perspective of someone who has written and now is editing his great work. If he wants to remind himself what is going to happen on a certain date and time, he simply flips a few billion pages in the right direction. Like many writers, he chose to write himself into the book. In fact, he made himself the hero, riding in on a white horse to save the day in the last scene.
When I was watching Louie Giglio’s “Indescribable” the other day, it occurred to me that God’s back story trumps anything imaginable. The depth of the tale is bottomless. Our story has 9 billion main characters in the current chapter and God has noted each characteristic of each of these characters. He has written down for each and every person their height, their weight, their personality, their skin tone, their inseam length, and the total number of pores on their left pinky toe. The minor characters are equally well detailed including Fifi the French poodle, the large oak in the front yard, and the toilet seat cover in the third stall at the local high school. More amazing still, God has also defined the unseen world, Schoerdinger’s proverbial Cat. We may not know what lies in the box, but God does. God has defined and named the billions of billions of stars in the universe. In each one of these, he has defined the planets, the mountains on those planets, the dirt that makes up those mountains, and the very quarks that make up the atoms that make up that dirt. Nowhere will we turn up a rock or look into the sky and find a blank and ambiguous reality. God’s pen strokes crossed there long ago and it is only up to us to find the meaning behind the lines.
Fantasy and Science Fiction provide even greater challenges. Not only do the story elements have to be defined but, as the reader has no shared frame of reference, the author must create an entire world. Each detail preconceived by the author is a thread building a firm foundation for the novel. The deeper the world is understood, the more real the story seems.
Miraculously complex and beautiful worlds have been designed by authors such as Raymond E. Fiest, Isaac Asimov, and Anne McCaffrey but the master of the unseen was J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien’s tales are massively deep. Entire species and cultures are detailed. Maps and Music interweave the stories. Tolkien, a linguist, even chose to invent new languages to populate his world. It is hard not to attribute some of the stories power and longevity to its iceberg-like underlying foundation.
There is another author who exceeds Tolkien, the Author of life. I sometimes view God as a writer. It helps explain why he is omniscient. He is viewing history from the perspective of someone who has written and now is editing his great work. If he wants to remind himself what is going to happen on a certain date and time, he simply flips a few billion pages in the right direction. Like many writers, he chose to write himself into the book. In fact, he made himself the hero, riding in on a white horse to save the day in the last scene.
When I was watching Louie Giglio’s “Indescribable” the other day, it occurred to me that God’s back story trumps anything imaginable. The depth of the tale is bottomless. Our story has 9 billion main characters in the current chapter and God has noted each characteristic of each of these characters. He has written down for each and every person their height, their weight, their personality, their skin tone, their inseam length, and the total number of pores on their left pinky toe. The minor characters are equally well detailed including Fifi the French poodle, the large oak in the front yard, and the toilet seat cover in the third stall at the local high school. More amazing still, God has also defined the unseen world, Schoerdinger’s proverbial Cat. We may not know what lies in the box, but God does. God has defined and named the billions of billions of stars in the universe. In each one of these, he has defined the planets, the mountains on those planets, the dirt that makes up those mountains, and the very quarks that make up the atoms that make up that dirt. Nowhere will we turn up a rock or look into the sky and find a blank and ambiguous reality. God’s pen strokes crossed there long ago and it is only up to us to find the meaning behind the lines.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Here Be Dragons: Tales of DragonCon Review
This limited edition book is probably out of your reach unless you picked it up at DragonCon 2008. If, however, you have managed to get your paws on it you will find that it is well worth the effort. I am not a fan of short story anthologies; too often I find myself facing stories or authors that I dislike. By contrast, “Here Be Dragons: Tales of DragonCon” managed to keep me interested throughout.
As you would expect from the all-star author team, the stories are well written and interesting. To me, however, the books greatest strength is its internal thematic consistency. In a panel I attended, Bill Fawcett described the book as “Stories set here, at DragonCon.” Mr. Fawcett, the editor, spoke truly, but I found deeper connections between the stories. The required environment of DragonCon which ties the tales together, leads to writing that at first glance is almost formulaic. Taking the whole book into account, however, you find these similarities developing into strong underlying themes. I assume that the harmony between the stories is unintentional, but I found them to be wonderfully revealing of the character of DragonCon.
Most prominent is the theme of the freedom of self expression that runs rampant at the Con. DragonCon is a place where the characters can be themselves without fear or ridicule or miss-understanding. Some of the protagonists almost live solely for the yearly event. Others find a new love, start new lives, or realize new amazing things about themselves. The implication that these things could only have emerged in the accepting environment of the convention is clear.
Another theme that runs less clearly through the stories is the dangers of the suspension of reality. This is a particularly odd theme as in many ways it contradicts the first. But who can deny that the Con’s fantastic atmosphere is a realm where deception is encouraged. Often both themes run through the same story where the very suspension of reality that allows a character the anonymity to be themselves, either camouflages danger or hides something wonderful. The inability to distinguish the real from glamour is the source of many of the various heroes’ problems.
Finally, in the anthology you will find something that is more feature than theme but still unifies the stories strongly. Throughout the book you will find silent and not-so-silent nods to con celebrities and to DragonCon itself. With the references coming every few sentences, Todd McCaffrey’s story is less a nod and more like vigorous head-banging. Many of the other authors have lots of familiar faces, but simply don’t achieve the 80’s hair band effect that Mr. McCaffrey’s tale does. Beyond the nods to celebrities, the experiences that unite so many convention attendees also run rampant through the book. For many, these stories will hit deeper and seem more real, because they occur in a place readers have actually walked.
The bottom line is that these are well written stories that will appeal to anyone who has attended Dragon Con and many people who have not. Read the book if you can get your hand on it. Maybe, if we’re lucky, Mr. Fawcett will put the book out there for Print on Demand purchase for those who weren’t lucky enough to pick it up at the Con.
As you would expect from the all-star author team, the stories are well written and interesting. To me, however, the books greatest strength is its internal thematic consistency. In a panel I attended, Bill Fawcett described the book as “Stories set here, at DragonCon.” Mr. Fawcett, the editor, spoke truly, but I found deeper connections between the stories. The required environment of DragonCon which ties the tales together, leads to writing that at first glance is almost formulaic. Taking the whole book into account, however, you find these similarities developing into strong underlying themes. I assume that the harmony between the stories is unintentional, but I found them to be wonderfully revealing of the character of DragonCon.
Most prominent is the theme of the freedom of self expression that runs rampant at the Con. DragonCon is a place where the characters can be themselves without fear or ridicule or miss-understanding. Some of the protagonists almost live solely for the yearly event. Others find a new love, start new lives, or realize new amazing things about themselves. The implication that these things could only have emerged in the accepting environment of the convention is clear.
Another theme that runs less clearly through the stories is the dangers of the suspension of reality. This is a particularly odd theme as in many ways it contradicts the first. But who can deny that the Con’s fantastic atmosphere is a realm where deception is encouraged. Often both themes run through the same story where the very suspension of reality that allows a character the anonymity to be themselves, either camouflages danger or hides something wonderful. The inability to distinguish the real from glamour is the source of many of the various heroes’ problems.
Finally, in the anthology you will find something that is more feature than theme but still unifies the stories strongly. Throughout the book you will find silent and not-so-silent nods to con celebrities and to DragonCon itself. With the references coming every few sentences, Todd McCaffrey’s story is less a nod and more like vigorous head-banging. Many of the other authors have lots of familiar faces, but simply don’t achieve the 80’s hair band effect that Mr. McCaffrey’s tale does. Beyond the nods to celebrities, the experiences that unite so many convention attendees also run rampant through the book. For many, these stories will hit deeper and seem more real, because they occur in a place readers have actually walked.
The bottom line is that these are well written stories that will appeal to anyone who has attended Dragon Con and many people who have not. Read the book if you can get your hand on it. Maybe, if we’re lucky, Mr. Fawcett will put the book out there for Print on Demand purchase for those who weren’t lucky enough to pick it up at the Con.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Pump up the Muse
Sometimes I find writing is hard to start. The first several minutes are all rusty hinges, steep inclines, and boggy soil. Sometimes I slog for hours instead of minutes hoping to see the swamp end. Eventually, I do loosen up and begin to write. However, I have always wanted to reach this fertile land easier and faster, so I have come up with several techniques to help me.
To talk about finding my way to through this swamp, I first need to speak to how I write. There are three main phases to writing for me. The spiritual, where I find the idea or the Muse, comes first. It gives me the seed that I plant and grow. The second phase is the Creative or writing stage. It is where the story sprouts and becomes mature. During this phase it all gets written down. Another important fact is that the Muse phase must always proceed each session of the Creative phase. Without the energy provided by my spiritual focus, it can be quite difficult to break through the soil and reach for truth. Finally comes the Pruning or editing phase. This is mostly about blood and sweat and, thus, presents motivational problems.
Taking all this into account, my first answer to writing problems is usually light exercise. For me light exercise means walking or, when I’m healthier, jogging. There have been several published psychological studies proving the correlation between moderate to light exercise and enhanced creativity. These studies showed not only the immediate benefits to the exercising individual, but creativity enhancing effects that last more than two hours post exercise. Furthermore, there is near limitless anecdotal evidence for enhanced post-exercise creativity in the writings of runners. I say all this to support my contention that when I am bogged down, the single most powerful tool to move forward in either the Creative or Muse stages of writing is nothing more significant than a long brisk walk.
The Muse stage benefits most from physical exercise. Almost every story I have written has gained its soul during a long walk. I think part of this may be because of the distractions of the modern age. It is harder for full ideas to shape themselves among the hustle and bustle of the noisy home or office.
A second important tool to move past being bogged down is isolation. That may seem obvious. In our busy lives today, however, it may be far easier to consider isolation than to do it. Much of my isolation is achieved as a tradeoff for sleep. Free time away from the office is often filled with family activities and chores. I am sure I am not alone in this. None-the-less, isolation is a great tool to help all stages of writing. It is especially effective during the Pruning phase. I often try to fool myself into thinking that I can edit in front of the T.V. or while riding in the car. Realistically, editing is hard enough to achieve without constant distractions.
The third major tool I sometimes use is introspection. Why is introspection important? My writing, even when I try to suppress it, is scarred by what I believe in my heart. The twisted thorns of truth that my subconscious mind has truly accepted lay beneath the surface of all my writing. To be sure J.R.R. Tolkein’s stories, despite his attempt to create a pure fantasy, blaze with Christian symbolism. Similarly, all good writing is an overflow of the heart.
Introspection comes into play during the Creative phase and even more so during the Pruning phase. Why is it so important? I find that most of us don’t even know what we really believe. Why do I spend money I don’t have, work too much, eat too much, love too little, and basically do things that my mind tells me are stupid? To be frank, this is because very rarely are my actions driven by what I think. My decisions are driven by what I think. My actions, which often contradict my decisions, are driven by my heart. As I said earlier, writing is an overflow of the heart. Right or wrong, my goal must be first and foremost to sharpen the thorns that are hidden in my writing. This will transform my writing from good to magnificent.
My fourth and final tool I use is music. This may not work for everyone but it works for me. I find it tremendously valuable in all stages of writing. Basically Music can be used to leverage each of the above techniques. Music provides energy and helps me move towards the spiritual. It can be used to isolate me from my surroundings. As what moves me is often much more driven by my heart than my mind, music can also help my introspection. A whole essay could be devoted just to the power of music to enhance writing creativity, but that is for another time. Suffice it to say that when I’m having a down writing day, I often pump of the music and thus, pump up my muse. With my muse on fire, the writing comes.
Chris.
To talk about finding my way to through this swamp, I first need to speak to how I write. There are three main phases to writing for me. The spiritual, where I find the idea or the Muse, comes first. It gives me the seed that I plant and grow. The second phase is the Creative or writing stage. It is where the story sprouts and becomes mature. During this phase it all gets written down. Another important fact is that the Muse phase must always proceed each session of the Creative phase. Without the energy provided by my spiritual focus, it can be quite difficult to break through the soil and reach for truth. Finally comes the Pruning or editing phase. This is mostly about blood and sweat and, thus, presents motivational problems.
Taking all this into account, my first answer to writing problems is usually light exercise. For me light exercise means walking or, when I’m healthier, jogging. There have been several published psychological studies proving the correlation between moderate to light exercise and enhanced creativity. These studies showed not only the immediate benefits to the exercising individual, but creativity enhancing effects that last more than two hours post exercise. Furthermore, there is near limitless anecdotal evidence for enhanced post-exercise creativity in the writings of runners. I say all this to support my contention that when I am bogged down, the single most powerful tool to move forward in either the Creative or Muse stages of writing is nothing more significant than a long brisk walk.
The Muse stage benefits most from physical exercise. Almost every story I have written has gained its soul during a long walk. I think part of this may be because of the distractions of the modern age. It is harder for full ideas to shape themselves among the hustle and bustle of the noisy home or office.
A second important tool to move past being bogged down is isolation. That may seem obvious. In our busy lives today, however, it may be far easier to consider isolation than to do it. Much of my isolation is achieved as a tradeoff for sleep. Free time away from the office is often filled with family activities and chores. I am sure I am not alone in this. None-the-less, isolation is a great tool to help all stages of writing. It is especially effective during the Pruning phase. I often try to fool myself into thinking that I can edit in front of the T.V. or while riding in the car. Realistically, editing is hard enough to achieve without constant distractions.
The third major tool I sometimes use is introspection. Why is introspection important? My writing, even when I try to suppress it, is scarred by what I believe in my heart. The twisted thorns of truth that my subconscious mind has truly accepted lay beneath the surface of all my writing. To be sure J.R.R. Tolkein’s stories, despite his attempt to create a pure fantasy, blaze with Christian symbolism. Similarly, all good writing is an overflow of the heart.
Introspection comes into play during the Creative phase and even more so during the Pruning phase. Why is it so important? I find that most of us don’t even know what we really believe. Why do I spend money I don’t have, work too much, eat too much, love too little, and basically do things that my mind tells me are stupid? To be frank, this is because very rarely are my actions driven by what I think. My decisions are driven by what I think. My actions, which often contradict my decisions, are driven by my heart. As I said earlier, writing is an overflow of the heart. Right or wrong, my goal must be first and foremost to sharpen the thorns that are hidden in my writing. This will transform my writing from good to magnificent.
My fourth and final tool I use is music. This may not work for everyone but it works for me. I find it tremendously valuable in all stages of writing. Basically Music can be used to leverage each of the above techniques. Music provides energy and helps me move towards the spiritual. It can be used to isolate me from my surroundings. As what moves me is often much more driven by my heart than my mind, music can also help my introspection. A whole essay could be devoted just to the power of music to enhance writing creativity, but that is for another time. Suffice it to say that when I’m having a down writing day, I often pump of the music and thus, pump up my muse. With my muse on fire, the writing comes.
Chris.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
DragonCon 2008
After reading about it forever, I went to DragonCon this year for the first time. It was awesome and went far beyond my expectations.
My son and I arrived to see the parade Saturday morning. We loved it. My little boy marveled at the comic book characters, cheered for the star wars troopers, and refused to give the witch with the detached hand a high five. As we hopped on the MARTA and headed home, he was just tickled pink.
After an hour or two, I headed back to the Con and got in line. It only took a few moments to get registered and head towards the first panel. The writer’s track turned out to be my first great choice of the con. The panels were great and gave me some great ideas. Keith DeCandido and Jospha Sherman were in several panels adding humor and valuable info. The best quote of the con came during one of these panels as well, “You need to drag the reader across the page by their eyeballs.”
Later, I decided to head over to the SF Lit track and check it out. This was my second great choice at the con. The panel “The golden age of Science Fiction” blew me away. The panelists were tremendously informed and the moderator was a cute young lady by the name of Stephanie Souders. She intrigued me a bit. It was odd to see a twenty-something sitting at the table between two older men, talking sensibly about fiction that was written way before she was born. I actually selected a couple of other literary track opportunities to see her specifically. She didn’t disappoint me and proved to be well informed and well spoken. Larry Davis was another great panelist. This track was terrific and complimented the writer’s track perfectly. Special thanks to Sue Phillips, the Track director.
Gaming at the con was another special experience. I played “Cash and Guns” one night and loved it so much I bought it the next day. Another day, I saw “Playing Gods” which premiered at the con. Bottom line, even if you’re not into fantasy and sci-fi, but love board, miniature, or card gaming, DragonCon still has something for you.
Overall, DragonCon is worth the 90 bucks I paid to go. I’ve signed up to go next year, and I encourage anyone who loves writing, fantasy, science fiction, gaming, robots, anime, movies, or just a good time to check the convention out in 2010.
My son and I arrived to see the parade Saturday morning. We loved it. My little boy marveled at the comic book characters, cheered for the star wars troopers, and refused to give the witch with the detached hand a high five. As we hopped on the MARTA and headed home, he was just tickled pink.
After an hour or two, I headed back to the Con and got in line. It only took a few moments to get registered and head towards the first panel. The writer’s track turned out to be my first great choice of the con. The panels were great and gave me some great ideas. Keith DeCandido and Jospha Sherman were in several panels adding humor and valuable info. The best quote of the con came during one of these panels as well, “You need to drag the reader across the page by their eyeballs.”
Later, I decided to head over to the SF Lit track and check it out. This was my second great choice at the con. The panel “The golden age of Science Fiction” blew me away. The panelists were tremendously informed and the moderator was a cute young lady by the name of Stephanie Souders. She intrigued me a bit. It was odd to see a twenty-something sitting at the table between two older men, talking sensibly about fiction that was written way before she was born. I actually selected a couple of other literary track opportunities to see her specifically. She didn’t disappoint me and proved to be well informed and well spoken. Larry Davis was another great panelist. This track was terrific and complimented the writer’s track perfectly. Special thanks to Sue Phillips, the Track director.
Gaming at the con was another special experience. I played “Cash and Guns” one night and loved it so much I bought it the next day. Another day, I saw “Playing Gods” which premiered at the con. Bottom line, even if you’re not into fantasy and sci-fi, but love board, miniature, or card gaming, DragonCon still has something for you.
Overall, DragonCon is worth the 90 bucks I paid to go. I’ve signed up to go next year, and I encourage anyone who loves writing, fantasy, science fiction, gaming, robots, anime, movies, or just a good time to check the convention out in 2010.
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