Let's Discuss: DOTA: Dragon's Blood and the use of Tropes

 Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in my posting, things have been a bit overwhelming in my personal life. As of last week, I have returned to school for the fourth time. This round I am working on a Masters in Special Education, so that I can be certified as a Special Education teacher, in addition to my current certification. I was also unfortunate enough to be hit with Covid. Overall, it was not too severe, but it did limit my activities for about a week. As far as writing, I have been able to move forward a little more with my current work, but my current duties are going to make progress very limited for the foreseeable future.

This week I wanted to discuss the Netflix series DOTA: Dragon's Blood. DOTA is another series based on a video game that prior to seeing the show, I had no idea existed. Typically, I am hesitant to watch such adaptations, mostly because they seem like cheap money grabs from the producers. Lately, however, with shows like Arcane and Resident Evil, I have realized that they have come a long way with such adaptations, and they are certainly worth checking them out, at the very least. DOTA turned out to be everything I was looking for in a high-fantasy series. It has an expansive world with a variety of different races, customs, and traditions. There are dragons, demons, magic, and political maneuverings. You could say that it is, exactly, what you would expect from a high-fantasy story, and that is the point. DOTA does not re-invent the wheel in its story telling. The plot lines and character types are easily predicted and even the twists were less a surprise that they happened, and more a surprise on what and who the twist involved in it. Of course, none of that really matters, since it was exactly the type of show I had been looking for. The world uses a high magic, medieval style setting, and does not vary far from the familiar tropes that are expected. What makes DOTA worth watching is the way they weave these traditional tropes into an original story. Something I am able to spend more time contemplating, since I do not need to spend too much time breaking down the possible differences in what I am already familiar with, it allows for me to better understand the story they are telling.

This takes me into the other part of our discussion, the use of tropes in storytelling. If you are unfamiliar with the term, I assure you that you are not familiar with the process. A trope is typical use of certain elements of storytelling. This can be the character, the type of society, the way magic does or does not function, and really just about anything else you could think of regarding the creation of a story. It is what is expected when a certain thing is presented. Dwarves are short and stocky, religions of "light" hate the undead, politicians are greedy. These are all concepts that we have learned to expect when being exposed to certain types of genres. There have been many discussions regarding the use of tropes and if it is better to be as unique as possible, rather than recycle what has already been established. I say this is a stupid argument and that it should not matter if you choose to create your story in elements that are long understood and expected. As I mentioned before, it allows the reader to understand elements of the story without the need to give detailed explanation as to why or how. The elf is agile, good with a bow, good at magic, and close to nature. It makes sense that the elf village is in the woods, built around and among the largest trees. There is nothing wrong with giving the reader what they want. People who read or watch only a specific few genera are not really looking for the reinvention of their preferred form of entertainment. It is very much like how Alien vs Predator is a bad movie. However, it has Aliens and Predators that end up fighting each other. The effects were good, the creatures did what I expected, the battles went about how I anticipated, and I loved every moment of it. It was what I wanted and exactly what I expected. It did not matter that the plot was weak and the acting often sketchy at best. I love that movie. Using tropes is just that. Picking something that is known and loved and providing more of it. 

 I want to thank you for giving me your time, it is invaluable and I am honored that you have shared it with me. I hope you feel it was time well spent. I hope you have an enjoyable and safe holiday and new year. If you like what I am doing here, please feel free to hit the follow button, and then find me on Facebook and Twitter. May your days be fulfilling and your path be clear of trouble. All the best, and speak to you soon. 

Let's Discuss: The Wheel of Time T.V. Series and Adaptations

 Hello everyone, and happy new year! I hope you are all doing well and have been able to stay healthy. I know that things have been ramping up with the new Omicron variant. (Finally, a name that actually sounds ominous.) Myself, I have been able to avoid exposure overall, though my family had two close encounters that luckily they did not catch. I find it amazing that the world over has politicized this pandemic, but that is not for me to delve into here. I will simply say, be safe, take precautions, and I hope you stay healthy.

With that being said, Trinity is available in three formats now, which is really exciting. If you have not picked up your copy yet, you have your choice of media. Be sure to check it out, and leave a review if you are so inclined. I am still picking away on part two, though I feel I am ready for a major revision. This happened with Trinity as well. Sometimes, as a writer, you pick a particular plot thread to follow and after a while you realize that it has no where to go and you are forced to back track and take a new path. I'm not quite there yet, but I am trying get on the correct string so that I can finish the first draft before doing any rewrites. If I can not do it by the end of the next chapter, I will have to go back and try again. Remember, when writing, the first person that needs to like your work is yourself. Afterwards you can consider what the reader wants.

For today, let's discuss The Wheel of Time as a novel and a tv series. The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson is one of my all time favorite book collections. I was a little late to the game in discovering the series, as I had only heard about it when Brandon Sanderson took over The Gathering Storm in 2009. I went to check out my local book store, (I know, the crazy things we used to do back then!) and found the first three books in a paperback collection. I have to admit that it took me a number of tries to get through the first few chapters of Eyes of the World. There was such a massive dump of information being thrusted upon the reader that it just seemed overwhelming. So many names, places, customs, and more, I had put the book down at least three times before deciding to press through and finish the book. I was so glad that I did. The world building by Jordan is as vast as it is detailed and his characters were made into real people that had flaws and self-doubt. They were not simply the hero or comic relief. I truly did not like Rand. I loved his story arc, I loved his adventures and his fulfilment of the prophesies, but as a person, I did not like him. He was often pompous, quick to make judgement or simply reckless as a leader. Even how his story arc ended, it was in typical selfish fashion for him, and I loved every line of it. The characters were who they were, and no amount of power or personal growth was going to change the core of who they were. Rand always tried to do what was right. He tried to be a good leader, and he learned how to be better skilled in all areas that he needed to, but he was still Rand. At the same time, everything that Perrin did, only made me like him more. Even when he made poor choices, or his reluctance cost him his advantage, I could relate to his thought process and justifications. He viewed the world in much the same way I do in my life, and it instantly made me a fan of his character. That was the genius of Jordan. He did not make characters for a specific story. He made a story and had it achieved by people. The difference is that the first makes the character fit each roll perfectly in order to complete all the story plot points. The second is having those same plot points, but the characters do not make a clear connection to them, or they reach them in a round about way, because they have their own agendas and their own desires. It is something that I strive for in my own writing as well. 

This brings me around to the new tv series on Amazon that recently completed its first season. My initial reaction was that it was too short. While it was much more complete than if it had been a movie, it was just hard to condense a book that is over 300,000 words into eight episodes. I do not know if the Covid delays are to be blamed, or if they always intended to keep it to eight episodes, but I feel the show would have benefited from another two episodes. Overall, my experience with the series was positive. I had to separate my knowledge of the book from what was happening in the show, but once I did I was really able to appreciate what they accomplished. The characters are put together in such a way that I feel they truly do encapsulate the personality of their counter parts, right down to my distaste of Rand. The settings were amazingly beautiful and there were so many subtle inclusions that I really felt I was returning to the world of The Wheel of Time, but as a parallel universe, rather than a direct adaptation. My recommendation for this series only applies if you have either, never read the series, or you are able to separate the show from the novel. The actors, the settings, the effects, and the story are all very well selected and executed, but it is not the same story as the novel. It is an adaptation, and a very good one at that.

This brings me into the second part of our discussion, the general backlash of people comparing a movie or tv show to the original source material. This is something I have argued about many times over the years. I have always had the ability to take a show or movie at face value. I look at it in terms of acting, cinematography, direction, and most of all, did it carry over the spirit of the source material. For many people, they become upset because the story was not exactly like the book, or the comic, or the anime, or whatever the source material happened to be. This never made sense to me. Why would you want something to be exactly the same? If you want the same, go back to the source and read or watch it again. Adaptations are just that, they are adapted to fit the new media it is being presented in. In many ways, an adaptation is just a high budget fan fic of that title. The writers, directors, and actors are all trying to bring about their interpretation of the story. Sometimes this is done really well, other times, not so much. I think back to the Super Mario Bros. movie in the 90s or the live action Last Airbender movie that still leaves me cringing every time I think of it. These movies not only failed to bring to life the source material, they did not possess the spirit of the source material either. There are even some that I believe improved upon the source material. The Hunger Games trilogy were an amazing movie series that really brought to life the world of Panem, far more so than the books, which were entirely first person and, as such, blocked out much of what was going on in the world around Katniss. Or, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. This was a movie based on a comic series. While the comics were good, and entertaining, the movie was above and beyond anything the comic could have presented. 

Often times you get something in between, where the adaptation and the source material are good in their own ways. This was probably most evident in the Game of Thrones series, which was adapted from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series., and the Harry Potter movies, based on J.K. Rowling's series of books. In both cases, the adaptations and the source material are highly adored and have extensive fandoms, yet they stray greatly from the source material to make the adaptations fit the new media. The element that makes them both a success is the fact that they keep to the spirit of the story. The characters retain the elements of who they are, the setting is relatable and identifiable, and the driving point of the story plot is still present. There are so many shows and movies that are adaptations of other materials that most people are completely unaware of, and they truly enjoyed what they watched. While it takes a little effort to willingly separate yourself from the two, it is much more rewarding and enriching if you manage to do so. My final example I feel optimizes my argument. Todd Philips' Joker is an amazing movie.  Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck is a work of art as you watch him break down mentally and how the society around him brought him to his breaking point. That being said, it was not a DC Joker film. Had they set it in New York or Detroit, it would have been the same movie. Had he been a professional clown who merely snapped and called himself The Funny Guy, it would have been the same movie. To call it Joker, and set it in Gotham was, in my opinion, a lure to get fans of DC and the Joker into the theaters. Luckily, the movie was still amazing, but it did not carry any aspects of who the Joker is and what motivates him. (if anyone can really accurately say what his true motivations are) If I were to review the film as an adaptation of a DC character, it was a failed attempt, with little to no similarity or continuity to the target character. However, it was still an amazing movie and worth watching.

Obviously, everyone has their own opinions as to what makes a good adaptation, but if you can give a movie a chance, you may find that you like it despite the differences. You might even find that Dragon Ball Evolution wasn't all that terrible. Well, maybe that is going a bit far. I want to thank you for giving me your time, it is invaluable and I am honored that you have shared it with me. I hope you feel it was time well spent. I hope you have an enjoyable and safe holiday and new year. If you like what I am doing here, please feel free to hit the follow button, and then find me on Facebook and Twitter. May your days be fulfilling and your path be clear of trouble. All the best, and speak to you soon. 

Let's Discuss: Attack on Titan and a Comparison of Creative vs Academic Writing

 Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well. We made it to the end of the year, and we are still pushing forward. There has to be something said for that. Despite the struggles, I have been able to share a few milestones with you that I am proud and excited about. As of this weekend, Trinity of the Broken is officially available as an audiobook. You can pick up your copy on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes, and if you get the ebook first, you can get an additional 33% off from Audible. Making an audiobook was an incredible experience, and Kayll Heath was fantastic to work with. He really made the entire process easy, and really helped to bring the characters of Trinity to life. I hope he will be able to continue voicing Dante for me when the next installment comes out. 

This week I finished Part 1 of the Final Season of Attack on Titan anime, and holy cow, this has been an insane rollercoaster. As usual, I will do my best to avoid any spoilers, but if you have not been following the show, or the manga, you are missing out on one of the best stories to come out in the last decade. It has won several major awards, and Hajime Isayama, the writer and illustrator, was able to make Attack on Titan become the best selling manga of all time. The series is extremely violent and visceral, even by my standards, so if you are squeamish to such things, be warned now. It is extremely graphic. The story follows Eren Yeager and his friends who live in what is believed to be the last city on Earth. Humanity was wiped out by the Titans, mindless giants that live only to eat people. The last city is protected by three massive walls that have protected humanity for the last hundred years, until two new Titans appear and destroy the gates into the first ring of the city. Titans pour in and begin to kill anyone they can catch, including Eren's mother who was he had to watch be eaten. Eren vowes to wipe out the Titans and as soon as he was old enough, joined the military with his two best friends.

There is so much to go into regarding this series. The characters are unique and real. They have their own strengths and weaknesses. They are flawed in real ways. Armin is incredibly intelligent and a natural strategist, but is often paralyzed with self doubt and fear of being wrong in such a way that it would cost the lives of his friends and comrades. Eren is so driven by his anger and hate, that he often finds himself in trouble. That and the fact that he clearly suffers from extreme depression and PTSD from watching his mother die, makes Eren a tragic hero. The world is rich with its subtleties and nuances. between the truth of the world, the opposing political philosophies, and the natural tendency of people to be biased and racist, Attack on Titan could become the focus of a multitude of different discussions. If you are looking for a great show, or are looking to pick up the manga, I highly recommend Attack on Titan. 10/10 love this series.

I do not have a clear segue into the second part of this discussion, so I will just make it a hard jump. As a teacher and a fantasy writer I often find myself caught between two worlds of writing ideology. It has always amazed me that these two worlds are often considered to be exclusive of one another, but I have always believed that they compliment each other in ways that make both better. When I was an undergrad, I had a professor that told us he did not waste his time reading fiction, because it was meant to allow you to ignore and avoid the real world around you. That if you wanted to be respected as a writer, you had to use a clearly structured methodology and provide an opinion that is designed to bring to light something or someone in the world, so as to better society with your efforts. That same year, my Short Stories professor said that creative writing was the key to connect and enlighten society through the use of their imagination, and that there is no specific method or structure that should limit your ability to tell your story. Through out my college career I was pulled back and forth between these two views, which ultimately lead to my current style and approach to writing. 

Academic writing is great as a foundational platform. As a historian, you are taught to apply the scientific method to historical and social research and to present it in an organized and supported method. It is analytical in its approach, but it helps to learn how to brainstorm and plan out what you want to write, while providing a specific topic that keeps you centered on your narrative. It was during my time of endless research and paper writing, that I discovered that there was room for creative writing in academic work. Some of my favorite secondary sources were composed in such a way that it allowed you to hear the authors voice and feel the inflections and perspective of their narrative. It was still structured, and it was still rigid in its fundamental presentation, but it was inspired and created a means to be connected to the work. 

It is funny to think of creative writing in a college setting, because it is still technically academic since it is instruction on the writing process, but we are not necessarily discussing the absence of education, but the absence of mandated structure. Proper grammar and sentence structure are still very important aspects of writing in general, and creates the true divide between the armature and the professional writers. That being said, creative writing taught me to write without strict guidance. Be it poetry or some form of fiction, the idea is to be inventive and imaginative in your work. The point was to engage your reader and draw them into your words. To both inspire and to be inspired through your own writing. For me, I had a hard time understanding why these two styles could not benefit from each other.

 I have spoken of my writing methodology before in my world building discussion, but for me there is no difference between academic and creative writing. Both require an immense amount of research and planning before the first page is ever attempted. My fiction characters are treated like a historical figure. I want to know who they are, what their life was like. What was their social class, did race play a significant roll in their day to day life, did they practice a particular faith, what is their economic experience? On a larger level, what was their society like? What was their dominate morals, customs, and traditions? When I write academically, I look to understand who the people are and what were their experiences that led them to their actions. By being able understand those involved, I can begin to put together a presentation that not only answers the five W's, but be able to deliver it in a way that people want to read more about it. 

Ultimately, I feel the biggest difference between academic and creative is the intended audience. The practical applications to the writing process are beneficial from both sides, but there are different expectations based on who the intended audience is. In general, I try to write to the average person, but there have been many papers that had to use specific language and structure that was typical of academic writing. Knowing your audience, for me, is the secret to successful writing. If you are a sci-fi writer that writes about space and super advanced technology, then as a reader you expect there to be a fair degree of technical dialogue with theories that are at least loosely based on real scientific principles. It requires a fair amount of research by the author to be able to write to the expectations of their reader. A biography is expected to be linear in its presentation and focus on how that individual affected the world around them, which will require a fair amount of educated interpretation. Even a high fantasy novel is expected to have a certain amount of lore and world building within it to engross the reader. Knowing what your audience expects of your work will help you to structure your writing, and it does not matter if you are writing academically or creatively. Both schools have something of value that all writers should learn, as it creates a stronger writer, regardless of what genera you decide to write in.

I want to thank you for giving me your time, it is invaluable and I am honored that you have shared it with me. I hope you feel it was time well spent. I hope you have an enjoyable and safe holiday and new year. If you like what I am doing here, please feel free to hit the follow button, and then find me on Facebook and Twitter. May your days be fulfilling and your path be clear of trouble. All the best, and speak to you soon. 

Let's Discuss: Arcane and Video Game Storytelling

 Hello everyone! I hope you are doing well. These last two weeks have been difficult for me, as I managed to injure my ankle, and it has made for a very demanding distraction. What we have been able to do is finish the primary recording of Trinity of the Broken. I have one more read through to complete, but I am hoping that we will have it uploaded just in time for Christmas! Kayll Heath has done an amazing job bring Dante to life, and I really think you will enjoy his interpretation. In terms of writing, I am progressing slowly. I have been forcing myself to become better organized in my world building, since much of the established lore will also filter into my high fantasy series I am currently framing. As such, I have been putting everything in a wiki for quick reference. As you can imagine, it is easy to get lost in creating the lore and I end up on hours long trips down various rabbit holes. 

This week I wanted to give my thoughts on the new Netflix series, Arcane: League of Legends. This was a show that I had initially blown off as a pre-teen money grab based on a game that I had played a few times upon release and quickly decided it was not for me. With the exception of the occasional tournament news, I had barely even thought of the game, let alone know anything about its characters and lore. It was only after seeing a multitude of reviews and comments that I decided to give episode one a shot, and oh my god, I am glad I did. There was no reason for this show to be that good. 

First and foremost, this show is not trying to target children or pre-teens. It is most certainly made for the young adult / fantasy market. The storyline is complex, the characters are richly developed with both good and bad traits, and the world is vast and unknown, with a rich history that is often touched upon, leaving you wanting to know more about it. In its most basic description, Arcane is a story of two sisters that end up on opposite sides of an ideological war. The story takes place in the divided sister-cities of Piltover, a near utopian supercity, and Zaun, a poor and destitute slumland. A single council of upper-class elites presides over both Piltover and Zaun. A brilliant engineer, who was obsessed with magic, discovered a way to harness magical energy using technology, elevating Piltover to a major world power. Meanwhile, Zaun is on the verge of revolt, led by a criminal organization that has created a type of super steroid that temporarily transforms a person, giving them amazing strength and speed, but also makes them savage and recklessly ruthless. 

What I enjoyed most about the show is how they address aspects of society that are often ignored or overlooked in most storytelling. It looks at the economic and civil aspects of the society, but it also looks into ideological differences within the opposing cultures. It looks at bias, mental illness, and coping with loss. There were so many layers set to in Arcane that you can not help but be drawn into it, and left with wanting more. I ended up watching the entire series in two days, something I almost never am willing to make the time for. If you have not checked it out yet, I highly recommend you do so. It should be obvious by now that just because it is animated, does not mean it is for children.

That leads me into the second part of my discussion, the advancement of storytelling in video games. My first game console was the Atari 2600. Games were simple in their plots, and their designs. Get the frog to the lily pad, escape the jungle, don't let the aliens destroy your cities. As the technology got better, so did the games, as well as, their plots. I still have a hard time calling Super Mario Brothers a story based game. For me, The Legend of Zelda was the first story based game I ever played, soon followed by Final Fantasy 2. While these games and stories were very linear, they were complete stories, and raised the bar for all later games. With the development of MMOs (Massive Multiplayer Online games) the developers needed more than just a story progression, or choose your own adventure style of storytelling. They needed to have a world that the players feel apart of. Most RPG (Role Playing Games) already included significant bits of lore and history that could be discovered and sought out, but eventually everything that could be included. Modern games have the ability to be ever expanding and visited in a number of ways. 

Games like Kingdom Hearts have spin-off games and apps that add to the lore which appear on multiple gaming systems, as well as, mobile apps and websites. They are hiring screen-play writers and A-list actors to create an experience that is just as engaging, if not more, than the best movies or tv shows out there. I am an avid Destiny 2 player. While they had a slow start, Bungie has put together a model that spreads a story line out over the course of weeks, with aspects that connect them to the opening events of the game. This February Destiny will be releasing an expansion called Season of the Witch, a story that they have been building towards for over two years now. Not only has the main storyline been heading to this climax season, but the game has included lore that can be unlocked and discovered that provides deep and complicated connections between characters and events. It is the equivalent of experiencing The Lord of the Rings, but in your travels you begin to unlock the scraps of texts and maps that made up the Silmarillion and Atlas of Middle Earth. What used to be reserved for the most popular of fandoms is now becoming expected in any story based games, and we are better for it. 

Just as we are able to lift animated movies and shows out of the stigma of children's entertainment, video games are removing the stigma of being a voice-actor, animator, playwright, director, or producer of video games as something worked on by armatures hoping to move on to "real" work. I know it has everything to do with the fact that the current game and animation creators, like me, are looking at the mediums they grew up with as viable tools to tell their story in the most vivid way possible. These people who have spent a lifetime being exposed to storytelling that was never even imagined before the 1980s. The last forty years have worked to raise the bar of entertainment to incredible heights. While there will always be a place for simplicity, I will often decompress by playing Freeflow or Candy Crush, people today have higher expectations of things they are expected to spend hours and hours upon. Even sports and racing games have career modes and require the player to manage all the little aspects of maintaining a sports team or a race car. I look forward to the future of videogames as technology continues to improve and developers are able to share their world build in ways that we fantasy writers have never been able to. 

I want to thank you for giving me your time, it is invaluable and I am honored that you have shared it with me. I hope you feel it was time well spent. If you like what I am doing here, please feel free to hit the follow button, and then find me on Facebook and Twitter. May your days be fulfilling and your path be clear of trouble. All the best, and speak to you soon. 

Let's Discuss: Shang Chi and Thoughts on the Super Hero Movie Genera

 Hello everyone. I hope you are doing well. As usual, my life has been a small boat in the midst of a raging oceanic storm. With that though, I am happy to give an update regarding Trinity of the Broken's audiobook. We are nearly half way completed and it sounds awesome. I know I am a little biased when it comes to judging it, but I feel that you all will agree that Kayll Heath has a strong connection to the soul of the story. For those of you that still have not picked up your own copy of Trinity, I am also excited to announce that it will be on sale at Amazon for 33% off this Thanksgiving week, just in time for Black Friday. I will be sharing a link once the sale goes live on here, as well as, on Twitter and Facebook. 

This week Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was released on Disney+. It was one of the movies I really wanted to see in the theater, but like most things in life, did not fit into my schedule. So, instead, I popped some popcorn, and set myself up on the couch surrounded by my kids. I came into the movie with positive expectations, and I feel that they did not let me down. Shang Chi is not only action packed, but has that element of humor that is not present in every Marvel movie. Simu Liu did an excellent job of making Shang Chi both likable and formidable. In the early fight scenes I was reminded of the Jackie Chan style of action movies. Large number of enemies that all have a chance at being a danger, but thanks to his high level of skills and quick thinking, he is able to overcome the odds. In the second half of the movie, it transfers into a more traditional Wire Fu. The second half is also extremely heavy on the CGI, but there was no way to tell the story as they did without taking that route. 

Overall, it was a great story about a young man who wanted to be more than a weapon, and escape the evils of his father. Tony Leung Chiu-wai does an amazing job at portraying a villain that you want to see change for the better. Xu Wenwu (Shang Chi's father) is relatable in that the viewer can sympathize with his driving force, even if you do not agree with his methods. I have always been drawn to the likable villain. They are more believable to me if they have qualities that make them human. Sure, sometimes the bad guy is a monster, human or otherwise, but a villain that has power and authority did not come to that point through violence alone. I want the audience to know that the bad guy needs to be stopped, but understand why he did the things that put him against the hero.

I feel this is a good segue to get to the second part of this discussion, the Super Hero Genera. Recently, a big named Hollywood director gave their opinion on Super Hero movies, and long story short, he dislikes them and feels they are inferior. This is an opinion I have heard from a number of people, and honestly it bothers me. First and foremost, it is a form of entertainment. Entertainment, as well as art in general, are not meant to be confined to serious study. It is meant to be entertaining. While I appreciate Monet, or Da Vinci, I will not spend hours upon hours pouring over their work. By contrast, I have spent hours exploring those pictures of buildings with the cutaway to see inside, with different movie characters doing different things throughout the complex. Is it high art, no. Some of the figures are barely recognizable at times, but it is still art, and one that draws me in much better than a proper landscape painting. It is the same when it comes to cinema and the Super Hero genera in general. People looking to watch Super Hero movies are not looking to be moved. They are not expecting a masterpiece of scriptwriting and cinematography, but it does happen from time to time, and they are praised even more for it. What they are looking for is something exciting, eye catching, and entertaining. They want to see action scenes, explosions, and harrowing moments. They want to escape their lives, just for a little while, to see something fantastical.

I think that beyond anything else, the reason that I love Super Hero movies is because they tend to inspire you to be more than you are. The Super Hero is given an advantage over regular people, and they use that to make a positive change around them. Superman and Captain America are beloved characters, not because they are perfect, but because they live their lives with conviction and strive to be a good person at all times. Average people do not have the luxury of conviction. They have responsibilities, be it their jobs, their families, their children, and so much more. They do not always get to make the choice. Rent is due, children need to eat and be clothed, sometimes, it is the heroic battle of survival that dictates a person's day to day life. The Super Hero movie helps to escape the daily grind. It gives them someone that enacts what they wish to emulate in real life. For the most part, they are for fun. They are entertaining and that is enough on its own, but they also are inspiring and (most of the time) provide a strong moral compass to strive to live by.

I want to thank you for giving me your time, it is invaluable and I am honored that you have shared it with me. I hope you feel it was time well spent. If you like what I am doing here, please feel free to hit the follow button, and then find me on Facebook and Twitter. May your days be fulfilling and your path be clear of trouble. All the best, and speak to you soon. 

Let's Discuss: Dune: Part 1 and the Hero's Journey

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. Things have been running non-stop for me, so I apologize I did not get this out sooner. Some exciting news regarding Trinity of the Broken, I have teamed up with ACX to have Trinity turned into an audiobook, and production is well under way. The goal is to have production wrap up by mid November so we can have it published by end of November, beginning of December. The process was incredibly easy to set up and within a week I was signing the agreement to begin production. I will keep you updated as we move forward and maybe share a some sneak peak sound bites.

This week I have had the pleasure to see a movie that I have been anticipating for some time now, Dune: Part 1. While I have never read the books, I am a big fan of the original movie from 1984 with Kyle MacLauchlan, Sting, and Patrick Stewart. I was just a kid when it came out, but I watched it for real when I was in high school, and it became a spring board into my Scifi phase. I loved everything about it, the lore that preluded it, with the AI war and the development of people capable of super-computer level computations, to the interstellar feudal system that developed. If that wasn't enough, it was a beautifully developed movie that held up for decades after its release, not to mention the amazing cast. 

This, of course made me both excited and worried when I heard they were remaking Dune. My worries were mislead, however. From the opening scene, it was clear the Denis Villeneuve was looking to do right by the books and the original movie. The first thing that really hit me were the visuals. From start to finish, I was taken aback by how beautiful each scene was. In regards to the cast, I was unsure about Timothée Chalamet, and I honestly would have liked to possibly have seen a few others in the roll as my first pic, but he did a fantastic job. I feel his success came from the support of the stellar cast around him, helping and lifting him to level he had not reached in previous works. Jason Mamoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Josh Brolin, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster all helped to shape and support each other throughout the movie and allowed for an immersive experience that is so important to movies of this scope. 

My only criticism is that it ended when it did. Thought the original movie moved quickly through the three parts to the story, Villeneuve makes each arc a full story. The detail and character development is appreciated and never did I feel like I was watching a nearly three hour movie, yet when it finished I only wanted more, which we will not get until 2023.

Watching Dune had me thinking about the story structure known as the Hero's Journey. For those that are unfamiliar with this, it is a twelve step progression of a protagonist on his journey from mundane to Hero of Legend. While not every heroic tale follows this model exactly, it is standard enough that most hero stories can be broken down within its structure. These steps basically start with an ordinary person in an ordinary place, who is motivated in someway to set out on an adventure. This of course will be unwanted and rejected by the protagonist, but ultimately they are forced to go forward. On this journey, they will encounter helpers and mentors, face initial trials that will help develop their skill and mental constitution, until they are faced with their own internal fears that they must overcome. Eventually, they achieve their goal, develop a level of character growth, and travel home to complete their mission.

Dune does not hit all of these points, but it is only the first part. If taken as the first act, Paul Atreides is set firmly on the Hero's Journey. There are many authors I have talked with that feel that the Hero's Journey is overused and has outlived its usefulness, but I disagree with that perspective. People want to see and experience what it means to be a hero. People are already living in their normal, boring lives, they are not looking for a story that maintains the status norm. They are looking to lose themselves to someone who is no longer constrained by the world they themselves so often find themselves restrained by. 

The hero is what people should aspire to be. They should be the ones who make the moral choices, not because they are easy, but because they are right. They want to see the hero overcome their challenges and trial, because it inspires them to face and progress through their own challenges and trials. Finally, they want to see a hero face their own faults and weaknesses, because if they can overcome theirs, then maybe the reader can find the energy to overcome their own. 

The Hero's Journey is not a very complex format to write in, nor is it necessarily prone to ensure a good story. What it does do is work as a story trope that enables a level of familiarity that readers and writers can be comfortable in and give a level of expectation within the story. It does not mean that every story should be set up in this way, but it should certainly not be dismissed simply because it is used often. Sometimes, things are used over and over because they work. If it did not work, people would not keep gravitating towards it and I feel the world would be much less for it.

I want to thank you for giving me your time, it is invaluable and I am honored that you have shared it with me. I hope you feel it was time well spent. May your days be fulfilling and your path be clear of trouble. All the best, and speak to you soon. 

Let's Discuss: Thoughts on the movie Black Widow and Modern Horror

 Hello everyone. I hope you are doing well. I have been keeping busy, as I tend to do. I am still actively working on the sequel to Trinity of the Broken, and I have submitted a query to ACX to see if I can get Trinity produced into an audio book. The process is much easier than I ever imagined it would be. With a little luck, I will be reviewing auditions soon and hopefully get the ball rolling on that project. On the personal entertainment side of my life, the little there is, I am looking forward to my weekly D&D session. We have been playing a single campaign for the last two years. I play a high elf fighter 6 / wizard 5. We recently completed the Doom Vault, and have now arrived at a mountain fortress overrun by Hill and Fire Giants that are working together. This campaign was one of the few times I did not DM and I am enjoying being on the player side of things, however, once we reach level 20 and our story comes to an end, I have been working on a new campaign that is set in the ancient history of Trinity of the Broken. It will be a story of the first Summoning War, the rise of humanity as the dominate race on the planet and the fall of the gods. I am hoping to use the sessions as a template for a new series, in the same fashion as the Dragonlance series. This is a very distant project idea, but the groundwork for it is being laid.

This week I had the joy to finally see the Black Widow movie. I was unable to catch it in the theater, but I was glad that it made it to Disney+ so quickly. If you have not had the pleasure of seeing this film, I highly recommend it. Black Widow is set just after the events of Civil War, but before Infinity War. The main story is that Natasha discovers that the Red Room program is still up and running, with an entire new group of Widows, with the Taskmaster being the apex villain. The highlight of the movie, besides Scarlett Johansson, was David Harbour as Red Guardian. I was already a big fan of Harbour from Stranger Things, but he was amazing in this role. The character itself was meant to be somewhat tongue in cheek. A Soviet super soldier, thrown into prison and forgotten, only to remanence about his glory days. His interactions with Yelena (Florence Plugh) were fantastic, and brought a level of reality to the characters that, I feel, the MCU is so good at. Overall, it is an action packed story that was long overdue. I did appreciate that they tied in a few elements of phase 4 MCU throughout the movie, like Red Guardian's insistence that he fought Captain America, giving the implication that Rodgers was not idol after returning to Agent Carter in the past. I will certainly be watching it again.

With it being October, I wanted to take a few minutes to throw around my thoughts on the horror genera in the modern era. When I wrote Trinity, I did not believe I was writing a horror novel. It was my readers that had insisted that it was horror and that I should tag it as such. It has had me thinking about what "horror" actually means. For me, horror was something that caused fear in the person experiencing the media. It was a blending of suspense, shock, and most importantly, some sort of monster as the antagonist. Now, I will admit, under that extremely broad definition, Trinity does count as a horror novel, but to me it does not cause true fear. It is in the same sense that I do not consider the movie Alien as a horror film. 

To me, it is a scifi thriller, yet many people consider it a horror film, and it does meet the same criteria. I suppose, at the end of it all, I was never afraid that a Xenomorph was going to be hiding in a nearby duct, waiting to get me. It just did not cause that lasting fear that I associate with horror. Growing up, movies like Child's Play and Nightmare on Elm Street were horror films. Despite the resolution of the story at the end, there was that little extra part at the end to let you know the monster had lost the battle, but they were not done by any measure. Also, I could relate to the supernatural danger. Toys that come to life to attack you is something that keeps you on your toes. In the movie, most toys are harmless, almost all of them. All of them, but this one. What if I was the one to pick out that toy? Freddy attacks children in their sleep. I have to sleep, the movies make a point to emphasis that we have no choice but to sleep at some point, and then you are at his mercy. The fear is in the idea that the monster in question is able to cause harm to anyone at random. You did not have to be traveling through space, or walking through a grave yard at night, this could get you at home, where you feel the safest. 

Even when I consider some of the classic horror stories and novels I have read in the past, they all had that same idea that the terrible things that occurred in the story could happen to anyone if they were in the wrong place. Lovecraft, who I consider to be an top tier horror writer, created an amazing formula for horror. It always starts with the average and ordinary. Then there is some sort of mystery, something to look into. It is not necessary, but curiosity or emotion drives the protagonist forward to find answers. They are confronted with the monster, and what befalls them may vary, but once the monster became aware of them, it became a life or death struggle, with the threat never actually going away. For a more recent example, Rachel Harrison's The Return follows four college friends, when one of them goes missing for two years. When she comes back, she has no memory of what happened to her, but her friends know that something is wrong. While some horror stories have short arcs of mundane to mystery to encounter, Harrison has a constant build up to the reveal. It is not a slaughter fest, but it is still horror. Why? Because, it leaves you with that "what if" long after you have finished. What if an old friend disappeared and came back as a different person. That could happen, it happens all the time. What if they aren't really your friend, or if they are they are not in full control of their actions. These are things that, despite not actually believing in the Boogey Man, unnerve you just enough to allow your irrational mind to do what it does.

Personally, I like the newer trends of horror. The psychological and supernatural merged into something that is far more terrifying than Frankenstein or The Man-wolf. At one time horror was defined by its violence and gore, but I think today's society has been too desensitized to those aspects that they no longer hold the same weight. Sure they can be intense and gruesome, but they no longer bring on that feeling of dread and panic like they used to. When you can find people being beheaded on YouTube, it is hard to scare someone by describing a person being cut open. My story certainly takes elements from the horror playbook, but they are moments, not the story. I did not try to leave the reader with the idea that there is a Karen waiting for them in the dark alley way, Instead, I tried to make a word that was close to our own, but clearly not. Horror is something that might just be nearby if you are unlucky enough to stumble across it.

I want to thank you for giving me your time, it is invaluable and I am honored that you have shared it with me. I hope you feel it was time well spent. May your days be fulfilling and your path be clear of trouble. All the best, and speak to you soon.