Havah Inspires a Free and Easy Contest

Tosca Lee, author of Havah (which I am currently reading*), is giving away a few interesting Genesis-related prizes. Just go to Toscology to enter the drawing. Yeah, it's that simple.

By the way Havah: The Story of Eve, officially released today. Look for it a B&N or wherever you shop, today!

*I'll have a review up when I finish, but I do have to say that any book that switches from French, Latin and Greek-origin language to Anglo-Saxon sixty pages in just to make a point is well ahead of the game.

Lommel's March to the Sea

First, the genteel application for the Evil League of Evil by the Gentleman Caller:



Which somehow leads to this strange polar transmission/powerpoint presentation:



Bad Horse would be making a huge mistake by galloping past the Lommel.

Evil League of Evil NEEDS Lommel Lead of Lommel

If this private, unread online journal of mine could be encapsulated into a single three-minute video, it would be done as follows:



Make your video application to the Evil League of Evil today.

Into the Breach: The Marcher Lord in History and Legend.

As I await the arrival of the print novels I ordered from Marcher Lord Press, I thought I'd mention two of the e-books that MLP has also published.

The first is Into the Breach: The Marcher Lord in History and Legend.

This quickly became an invaluable resource to me as a writer. Castle expert Lise Hull's meticulous review of a number of (in many cases, still-standing) borderland castles and their operation in Medieval Britain illustrates the impact that the very concept of the Marcher Lord (A "March" or "Mark" being a medieval term for border) has, even today.

In addition to historical fiction, this book would be very useful to any writer who writes stories in genres ranging from post-apocalyptic "last stand" to gothic horror to westerns to science fiction (esp. "outpost"-type tales).

Any story that involves an imperfectly self-sufficient enclosed society at the frontier of security would benefit greatly from the information packed into this wonderful little e-book. In honor of Marcher Lord Press's launch, it has been discounted for a limited time to $3.

New Publisher Launches - Order Books TODAY

Marcher Lord Press has boots on the ground. Remember to buy two or more of their books today, and you will also receive two really cool (including the gorgeous A Marcher Lord Gallery: Speculative Art by Christian Artists) e-books for free.

Go here to order their new titles.

Now.

Fantasy Fans Undie! - New Publisher Launches Line of Fantasy Novels

I know I've been buried in the lab, mixing up troll medicine for far too long, but I did need to Punxatawny my head out from the depths for an important message:

Marcher Lord Press launches three titles on October 1. If, on that day (and that day only) you buy two or more of their first three books off the press, and you'll receive a pair of really, really cool e-books for free.

Register now w/ Marcher Lord, and you'll be eligible for really cool prizes from them, including the Grand Prize: A Trip for Two to 2009 COMIC CON!!!! [HOLY SMOKE! Look at the huge list of prizes! I want the 50th ed. Deluxe LOTR - so back off!]

So, those of you (like me) who couldn't find the cash this year to go see Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, Wil Wheaton, Joss Whedon and a cast of bajillions of authors and movie, comic and video game stars taking over the city of San Diego and turning it into a nerd wasteland, you have no excuse.

A chance at free tickets to Comic Con. Register this week at Marcher Lord.

Then buy the books on Day One, October 1!

Yum...Chimera jerky.

Game Theory Answers Ancient Religious Question

What I find most remarkable about the modern mind is how frequently it is shocked to find that the ancients actually weren't insufferable gits.

Yet another source in my bibliography for my forthcoming imaginary work of non-fiction: We Are the Stupid Ones (But Won't Remember That Anyway). Coming soon, courtesy of Totally Random House Books.

New Short Fiction: Subterranea, by Mike Duran

I've been mixing up the medicine in the hidden laboratory of corn, but I have come across a charming little horror story by Mike Duran here.

Subterranea plumbs the depths of...well...the depths. And it is free...at least in terms of a cost to your wallet. I can't guarantee it won't cost you your soul.

Fear of Girls 3 Trailers

You may need major surgery.

After laughing so hard!

The Fear of Girls 3 trailer is engaging audiences around the county.



Tom Lommel, Scott Jorgenson and Charles Hubbell have reunited again, sort of like the James and Younger boys did in Northfield. Let's hope this adventure goes off just as splendidly! Perhaps pie will be served.

Truly, a milestone in Fantasy Gaming. For the first time in my life, my pants are diceless. Peew!

And, for you intrepid few (er, one) who has scrolled down this far, a wonderful demo of the game's character generation process.



(And yes, I meant "county.")

Dr. Horrible Returns

Hulu got AT&T to sponsor Dr. Horrible, so the entire show is available once again online:



...but, for how long?

Eric Violette: Hollywood Superstar, except not in Hollywood (nor very well-known)

Because television commercials are the most critical contribution that man has made to society since Offa of Mercia built a really good wall out of dirt--Good dirt walls are hard to come by, after all--I bear this planet's burden for highlighting the often overlooked television commercial work of otherwise unheralded actors.

Today's entry is Eric Violette. The talented French-Canadian actor does work that is at turns comic and strange, dramatic and ridiculous. Were we not living in an age where the avant-garde was passe', you might call him avant-garde. Were we not living in an age where the passe' is now considered avant-garde, well...you still might call him avant-garde.

Also, he speaks French. Yes, he's that good of an actor.

I highlight him today for his groundbreaking work in a trilogy of short films that redefine the ancient art of the television jingle.

That's right, he's the hero of the FreeCreditReport.com ads. And he's today's unsung television commercial star:



The important thread that ties the video tryptych together is that the pirate hat from the first commercial appears briefly in the back seat of the car in the final one. Thus the second ad is revealed as the wide-scoping bit, providing the large central frame that gives definition to the accompanying "bookends." Or maybe it is just a pirate hat in the back seat.

"It's Pat!* Answers" edition.

You humans, and your demands for answers. Don't get me wrong, there are answers to important questions, but your very nature resists them. In fact, questions are often like a tree: the visible part (i.e. the words we use) are like leaves that show signs of illness. The majority of human questions are variants of "Heal my leaves!" The problem is that the actual disease is in the roots.

Jesus answers a deep question often with an answer that simultaneously skirts the question's branches and buries into the root. If we are to have answers, then Jesus provides an excellent model for their delivery. Pat answers may be technically correct, but it is always important to ask, do they address the symptom, or the cause? It costs us more to answer questions with a true ear than with a quick tongue.

Q: Who is my neighbor?

A: Have mercy. Be a neighbor.

Q: Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left.

A: It is not mine to grant.

Q: Why couldn't we drive out that demon?

A: That kind requires prayer.

John the Baptist tells us to "Prepare the way of the Lord," not to "Provide answers for the way of the Lord." Though St. Paul admonishes us to have ready answers, part of having answers is also making space, preparing a way, leaving room for the Ru'ach to move without our meddling. Pat answers are like laundry baskets: great tools, lousy vehicles.

*Incidentally, the very funny creator of the Pat character, Julia Sweeney, from Saturday Night Live starred in her own one-woman show "And God Said Ha!" and is a deeply religious atheist. And thus, the circle draws to its incompletion.

Dr. Horrible, Billy Buddy and Melville

Dr. Horrible's secret identity (typically thought of as superheroes and supervillains' "real" or "normal" selves) is Billy, whom Penny affectionately refers to as "Billy Buddy."

The name is far too similar to Herman Melville's famous title character of the unfinished and long-lost novella, Billy Budd. Budd is the nearly angelic "pure good" character who is executed by the good, just, yet ultimately legalistic and cowardly Captain Vere for the crime of murder. The so-called victim of the murder is the nearly demonic Claggart. Budd accepts his fate, even to the point of calling on God to bless his executioner.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog seems to reverse the roles a little, but stays true to the themes, of Billy Budd. Billy Buddy is likeable, sweet and endearing, but he's the one with a seemingly friendly and justified demon inside (with jerks like Captain Hammer running around, isn't he allowed a little vitriol?). Captain Hammer slides almost directly into the Captain Vere role - the law-abiding, by the book, good guy who nonetheless can't transcend the letter of the law to the spirit of it: in other words, he's good and just, but also legalistic and uncaring for those whom he defends. So, in Joss Whedon's version of Melville, Billy Buddy is the one becoming an agent for the Thoroughbred of Sin, while Penny is the pure good in the Billy Budd role who is nonetheless an innocent catalyst for disaster.

Character Arc: Vork's Turning Point Catalyst

In my mind (I'm being a little arbitrary here), there are three main elements to a good turning point for a character.

1. The turning point needs to have motive.
2. It needs to be a logical extension of the character.
3. It needs to come at the last possible instant, when the character is forced from within to make the change.

Also, when you are dealing with a story with multiple characters, it is really great when the turning points harmonize, coming at different places within the narrative, but not in a predictable rhythm, and certainly not all at once. When character arcs rise and fall, seemingly independently of one another, the story can gain strength and depth. Kind of like a choir.

There have been times when I've thought something was written poorly, but it had nothing to do with style, grammar or emotional depth: it had to do with badly timed, poorly placed or unmotivated turning points.

A good example of harmonic turning points can be seen in the scriptwriting for The Guild. (ahem, you have watched the Guild, right?)

Six characters with diverse goals and objectives converge under extraordinary circumstances, and in harmony, build both to the climax of the story and to their own individual turning points.

Take Vork/Herman, played by Jeff Lewis. Vork is a man living in the shadow of society, subsisting off the social security checks of his deceased grandfather. He is thrifty, cautious, and, aside from his online persona (and recognized leader of the Guild), almost totally anti-social. If he ever goes out, which is rare, he sneaks his own beverages into restaurants. Yeah, he's that guy.

He encloses himself in obscurity at home, sealing himself from outside contact even though the people with which he associates online all live within a half hour of his house. He's a hermit, and likes it that way. The first conflict for this character arises when he's asked to venture outside.

His tipping point comes early in the storyline, in episode 3. When Codex/Cyd asks her online friends to meet in the real world for the first time, Vork's resistance to such a thing (which has already been well-established in the subtext of his character) is vocalized. Even after he exhausts his logic-based excuses for not meeting, he resorts to his base emotion:

"...and also, I don't wanna."

His turning point comes shortly thereafter, when Codex insists that it is critical to the group.

Vork's turning point occurs at about the 3:00 mark, and resolves by 3:12:

The moment of transition from hermit to face-to-face meeter passes briefly (A well-placed turning point is often subtle, and usually even more subtle with supporting characters.) but it is significant. Vork agrees to venture out.

Why does it work?

1. The motive for his change is laid early on. Vork is online leader, he's well organized, and, although he has secured his isolation by unscrupulously living off of government checks for the deceased, he was a dutiful grandson, caring for his grandfather while he lived. Herman/Vork has a sense of duty and thrift, organization and an aspiration to lead, all of which lead him to isolation...but also to his willingness to break from isolation. In other words, the conflict stems from "two divergent choices which stem from the same motive." His leadership of the online group provides justification for his hermitage, but also impetus for him to venture out.
2. It is telling that his decision is clinched by Codex's appeal to his acumen for organization. Vork has a choice of two risks, not one. If he follows his nature and doesn't meet face-to-face, he risks the online group. If the offline group falls apart, so does The Guild. More than that, by not meeting, he risks his control. Doing the thing he does not want -- socializing -- is the most certain way of ensuring that he doesn't lose what is most important to him: his (online) friends.
3. The consequences of not meeting will be immediate: Codex is at her wits' end, Zaboo is at a fever pitch, Bladezz has betrayed the Guild. The threat to the group is at the gates, and Vork must make the choice. Had it come any earlier, it would have lacked tension, any later, and it would have been too late to alter the course of events.

Also, and I think this is a key: even though all the characters are persuaded to meet face-to-face in this scene, it is only a turning point for Vork. A resistance to meeting is shared by almost all, but is only a bugbear for one.

If I get the chance, I'm going to look at another Guild character's turning point to contrast the two, and see if I can break the harmony down at the writing level.

In any case, good writers for the screen, stage or print know how to place a character's turning point in the right position.

Dr. Horrible and the Thoroughbred of Sin

Not that anyone reads these (fortunately, for the sanity and well-being of the civilized world) but just in case:

SPOILERS ahem SPOILERS WITH A CAPITAL "s" SPOILERS to follow.






Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is, well, relatively self-explanatory. It is a video blog that you can sing along with about a would-be supervillian named Dr. Horrible.

I've seen it, you've seen it, we've all seen it. But what's it all about?

In the first two acts, in true post-modern fashion, the show establishes sympathy for the lead character, Dr. Horrible (played by Neil Patrick Harris). This works because it plays off the well-worn anti-hero motiff. The anti-hero argument is basically this: traditional heroes are actually symbolic of the shiny veneer on the oppressive Social System, and the real hero is the flawed, unsuper fellow who can see through that facade, and fight against it.

In other words, Superman is a facsistic wish-fulfillment, a literal and figurative extension of the eugenics of the spiritual Third Reich. Batman is a sick sociopath, haunted by his impotence and forever dependent on criminality in order to give himself identity. Captain America is nothing more than a government tool. The Hulk is displaced rage with daddy issues.*

What about the poor, misunderstood supervillain? Doesn't he have motive? Doesn't he have good cause for what he does? Shouldn't his dreams matter?

Such is the case with Dr. Horrible. In act I, we quickly understand that Dr. Horrible is a puffed up, mostly harmless, social basket case. By the end of act II, we root for his cartoonish revenge fantasy, because we believe him to be wronged. By the end of act III, his dreams have simultaneously gone awry and come true, and we abruptly realize the depths of isolation that his success has brought him.

Dr. Horrible is, literally, all fun and games until someone loses a life. And it all started so innocently. Dr. Horrible, the incompetent, yet likable, blowhard confesses his love and ambition, and the viewers are inspired to take up his cause. Here's a guy who wants to be validated by membership in an exclusive club (the ridiculous-sounding Evil League of Evil) and get the girl of his dreams, Penny (Felicia Day). The absolutely goofy plot that develops dares the audience to take it lightly, and to vicariously hope for Dr. Horrible's too-perfect traditional hero foil (and jerk-of-all-trades), Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion), to take one on his well-chiseled chin.

And, in Act III, he does. Dr. Horrible, in taking extreme measures by developing a lethal weapon (something that he found, in his saner moments to be unstylish), gets everything: Hammer is humiliated, people fear/respect Dr. Horrible and, by unintentionally killing Penny, he earns even the respect of Bad Horse, the Thoroghbred of Sin and head of the Evil League of Evil. At that point, when Dr. Horrible could come face-to-face with the consequence of his once-silly rage and once-overreaching ambition, he instead, reluctantly accepts the fruit of his sin, entering the League, reaping the fickle public's acclaim, and starting his quest in earnest to rule the planet. The audience, on the other hand, is left with broken hearts for a now incapacitated, weeping Captain Hammer and a dead Penny.

The last, brief image is that of Dr. Horrible, stripped of all artifice, staring blankly into the camera, feeling nothing.

This wasn't what many expected from something with the phrase "Sing-Along" in the title. But it is, in fact, the perfect title. The show says a great deal about what people have come to expect from their entertainment. It is alluring to live vicariously through the comic actions of bad characters. It is a standard trope that the traditional hero is, by definition, now considered to be, at best, a heavily compromised self-deception, and at worst, a greater problem than whatever evil faces us.

Dr. Horrible takes a lighthearted approach to temptation and sin, gives motive to wrath, revenge and power fantasies, and then pulls the curtain back to reveal what we all know inside: there are many ways to sugarcoat evil - downplay it, lampoon it, sympathize with it, explain it away, or laugh it up - but it is real, it is creeping, and it ultimately leaves us empty as a tomb.

And that is the story's genius. It succeeds as a laugh-out-loud comedy that leads us to the sobering conclusion that sin is nothing to joke about.

The shocking, tragic lesson of Dr. Horrible is that there is a deeply likable face of Wrong.

*It's not just comic books: the antihero-worship is an alternative for those who accept the musical accusation that "John Wayne was a Nazi" or the notion that subsistence is preferred to the risk of heroism.