Character Creation and Arcs

Creation, both the act and the art, involve myriad details, but one that is frequently critical, but often overlooked, is change. Change, whether purposeful or unintentional, is a hallmark of most art. We say we are "moved" by art for a reason. Not only does it inspire an emotional, cognitive and spiritual response, but it also serves as a vehicle, to transport us from one place to another.

I think this is why character arcs matter so much in fiction. Characters that don't change over the course of a story are incapable of moving the reader. Inert characters inspire inertia: they are a form of anti-transport.

Jeff Gerke's Tips #3 and #4 (scroll down) go into the "how" of this in greater detail, but I think the why is important to remember. I think, if I get the chance, I'll intentionally take a look at the arcs of some characters and see if I can find the turning point of each, and determine what that means for the reader/viewer.

These Are the Stupid Things We've Been Waiting For

An intergalactic genius and people's hero has found those two stupid things that have been bugging every man, woman and child on the face of the planet since the dawn of gasoline and three-hole punching.

He invents a new form of government in the process.

Incidentally, the dawn of the modern three-hole punch has been traced to a 1940 issue of Popular Science.

Euhemerus Amok: Egypt's Long Tail (Tale)

Factotum's Rostrum has a cute observation on when historic analysis goes a bit too far on a bit too little.

Dr. Horrible Melts My Cold, Cold Heart with a Freeze Ray

Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog is set to stun.

Finally, the ancient question has been answered in the affirmative.

That question is, of course, "Can low-budget musical vlog that follows the budding career and withering heartbreak of a hapless evil genius give a heartless troll the goosebumps?"

Available now, but not forever...

Black Gate 12 Opens...Fantasy Awaits.

My favorite magazine* in all the world, Black Gate has just released its 12th issue.

I've got my copy, and only have begun to survey its topography. Every issue is an expedition, and this one looks to be no different, although it might be more adventurous than ever. In addition to top-flight tales of fantasy and adventure, spectacular illustrations, outstanding commentary, in-depth rpg and fiction reviews and the resurrection of long-forgotten pulp treasures, this special issue includes a self-contained solitaire role-playing game.

All for ten bucks. Editor John O'Neil and his minions have quite clearly lost their minds and have become drunk on the power that stems from unleashing pure art and wonder into the wilds of this planet.

I recommend you hunt a copy down before everyone hears about it and you have to wait in line for it.

*I use this term very loosely. The thing is an anthology of joy, with quality unsurpassed. But nobody knows what I'm talking about when I describe it that way, so I just say "magazine" for short.

Verdi's Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore

...you know. Just because.



(Also because I celebrated the 4th of July by splitting wood. A lot of it. Every time I swung the hammer against the wedge, I'd catch myself humming Verdi.)

Hwaet, Me Worry?

If I seem on edge, it isn't because Ragnarok partially describes the future. It's because it accurately describes the near past and present.

The old Norse didn't know everything, but they had a pretty good handle on the strength of the world and its people, but also the fire and ice that burns and freezes inside creation and evelopes its destruction.

Ice can heal a wound, fire can light a path. But what did Smeagol scream when put in chains? "It burns! It freezes!" Destruction, too, can be ice and fire.

I see Ragnarok, not in a mythical time, but in ours, today. Today, I acknowledge the martyrs.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic

The Battle Hymn of the Republic has been in my cold black heart since Independence Day.

A song with such rich lyrics sometimes requires a little explanation.

Here's a wonderful version (by LiliAna) wherein the lyrics can be plainly heard:



And a poorer sound quality, but nonetheless unforgettable performance on our nation's most recent day of prayer, fasting and remembrance:

I, For One, Welcome Our New Web Content

Trolls are incredibly difficult to own. We are messy, we are loud, we are fiercely religious and we occasionally eat our masters.

But The Guild owns me. For now. I'm sure they are going to regret it once I drain Vork's supply of orange drink and release Clara's shoats into the wild, where they'll be better cared for by the snakes and coyotes.

But this extended interview by Zadi Diaz with show creator Felicia Day from the blog of Epic Fu does a great job of getting to the heart of at least one key facet of the art of start-up media: the origin of creation.

Rejection is Good

I rarely repeat myself, but I'm going to here:

I don't look at the fiction submission process as an interview where I am the candidate. I think of it as an editor search. An agent/editor is a book's first consumer. Write the right book and find the right first consumer and they'll be best positioned to match the book with a like-minded audience. A query letter isn't a "please love me" note - it is a ruthless way of culling out all the wrong people who aren't a good match for your stuff.

So, getting a lot of rejections doesn't mean you are a lousy writer, it means you are cutthroat and specific. You know what you are looking for, and you have the pile of rejected editors and agents to show for it.

Quick "no's" are critical. It's what the potential readers do all the time.

Agents/editors aren't evaluating you, you are evaluating them. You've got to rip through as many of them as you can in order to unearth the right one. Rejections are good.

Quick rejections are better.

FourFour Makes Friends While Not Here to Make Friends

I would embed it, but FourFour deserves a little recognition for his deep philosophical examination of the zeitgeist of the "bad guy" subculture of reality television. I hope he gets some friends out of this.

Excellence is Not a Democracy

When I wonder why what is great is not revered, why a person's best efforts are often overlooked, while mediocrity holds court, I must remember: excellence is a virtue, not a reward. Excellence makes enemies. Excellence, while benefiting others, is an unwanted goad to others. Excellence won't win you love or universal praise. It may not even sell your books.

Melville excelled in Moby Dick, but his earlier works, esp. Typee sold better in his day. Excellence is no guarantee of reward. There are shorter roads to reward, democratic ones, even.

The most excellent way has no correlation to personal gain or even enrichment. But it is at the heart of life, and those who go there would not trade the world for its adventure.

Liberty in America

Thank the Maker for our founders and our freedoms.

At the Mountains of Madness in Del Toro's Hands

There's a script review of Guillermo Del Toro's production of one of H.P. Lovecraft's greatest stories At the Mountains of Madness. I find the secular author's approach to the atheism of Lovecraft and the Christian elements included by Del Toro to be fascinating, for obvious reasons.

The tension between Lovecraft's* beautifully misanthropic thesis (that beauty, science, art and man are useless) and his efforts (namely: the studied portrayal of beauty, science art and man) is a wonder to behold, even seventy years after first publication. I can only imagine what Del Toro is going to go through to try realize this on film. Even a failure could be a wonderful one.

Some great insights and excellent questions are raised by Big Ross at CC2K.

Spoilers, obviously.

As if Lovecraft's words are mortal enough to be spoiled...

*Even old Howard's surname betrays him: Love. (Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ) Craft. (Creation testifies to its own Maker.) Can something be simultaneously delicious and painful? Certainly. A diet of ice cream, after all, likely contributed to the great man's untimely demise.

Ass* Kicking Book Cover of the Day

The Personifid Invasion is set to release in October. I've never read R.E. Bartlett before, but I'm going to give this author a shot.

Yes, based on my judgment of a book's cover. Best one I've seen so far this year.

+

*Balaam's ass, of course. What were you thinking?