Kindle News

Hello. I just successfully uploaded and self-published my short story, Murder on Laodicea Street, onto Kindle. If you are interested, you can buy my short story from the online Kindle stores for $0.99. Or you can "check it out" from the Kindle lending library. Either way is appreciated.

This is merely a "test-run" and a way for me to get my feet wet in the self-publishing world. I plan to self-publish a compilation of my short stories (which will include Murder on Laodicea Street) in the near future so readers will get more bang for their buck (or in this case $0.99).

Even though I am focusing mainly on writing short stories, I will eventually be writing novellas/novels and will self-publish those too.

In the meantime, though, check out my short story on Kindle. If you like it, then please, share it with your friends and other Kindle users. Happy readings!

Dictionary: Allusion

Allusion:

Allusions are a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication-- which adds a feeling of authenticity or creates an immediacy within your story. Allusions may range from references that you would expect every reader to recognize to subtle references that only your best audiences would delight in.

James Patterson, for example, uses historical and literary allusions in his book, Maximum Ride: the Fugitives, which adds depth/understanding to his story. Among these allusions are references to Thumper, Tarzan, the Terminator, Stalin, the British Invasion, Harry Potter, and  Star Wars robot character, C3PO. The references bring  more to the story's characters and to the situation within the story.

Indie publishing star, Amanda Hocking (amandahocking.blogspot.com), alludes to "Puff, the Magic Dragon" in her paranormal book entitled, Honalee.

Be aware that some allusions may be too obscure, then, the audience will miss the reference completely. Usually, the safest way to include allusion is to attach detail of accuracy. If you are referencing an Adele song, for example, describe how the character listening to the song feels, what memories does it bring up, etc. The point is, the details supply the reader with some knowledge of the allusion, making them more familiar with, what could be to the reader, an unfamiliar allusion.

There are mixed feelings amongst writers when it comes to allusions. Some believe it adds texture to the story, and those in opposition think allusions are a cheap trick that will make the story a fad that is eventually outdated.

In the end, it's up to the writer to use allusions where it makes their story stronger. And the writer should resist allusions where it would be a cop-out from having to do your research for more specific detailed, accuracy.

Dictionary: Allegory

Allegory:

Allegory is a representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning through concrete/material forms. It is the figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another. George Orwell's book, Animal Farm, for example, is an allegory. Orwell represents revolutions in general, and most specifically the Russian revolution, through the revolt of the farm animals.

Chaucer's A Knight's Tale, found in The Canterbury Tales, has been interpreted/suggested as allegory. For example, the characters Arcite and Palamon are thought to represent the active and contemplative life.

Beware, however, when writing allegorical fiction. All too often writers have abstract ideas, but no story. If that is the case, then your allegorical fiction will be a bunch of talking ideas. In good fiction, the ideas do not drive the story, the story drives the ideas.

Flannery O'Connor, author of Wise Blood and The Violent Bear it Away (among bunch of other famous short stories, essays, and letters), says this about the importance of concrete story over abstract idea:

"They [people who want to write stories] want to write about problems, not people; or about abstract issues, not concrete situations. They have an idea, or a feeling, or an overflowing ego, or they want to Be A Writer, or they want to give their wisdom to the world in a simple-enough way for the world to be able to absorb it. In any case, they don't have a story and they wouldn't be willing to write it if they did; and in the absence of a story, they set out to find a theory or a formula or a technique. (Flannery O'Connor, Mystery and Manners)"

The point O'Connor is trying to express is that ideas do not drive a story. Accuracy (a previous dictionary term), drives the story. What the eye sees from the provided details drives a story. From those concrete details comes ideas.

Movie Review: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Director: Brad Bird

Starring: Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Jeremy Renner (Brandt), Simon Pegg (Benji), Paula Patton (Jane)

Tom Cruise returns as IMF super agent, Ethan Hunt, in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. When Ethan Hunt and his IMF team are implicated in a bombing at the Kremlin, they are forced to go rogue in order to clear their names and save the world from nuclear war between the United States and Russia.

For those who worried about the fourth installment being a flop, like Mission: Impossible 3, you need not worry. What would seem like a typical genre exercise, is not. Cruise brought a fresh take to the series. The plot is not convoluted. The characters have depth beyond one-dimension. And action entertainment aside, the movie is actually funny (on purpose).

These welcomed changes mixed with the usual death defying stunts, cool gadgetry, car chases, espionage, disguises, and yes, Tom Cruise's flawless sprinting form, make Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol an unexpectedly fresh and a good movie definitely worth seeing.

Movie Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Directed by: David Fincher

Starring: Daniel Craig (Mikael Blomkvist), Rooney Mara (Lisbeth Salander)

Christmas came early this year--December 21st, 2011, to be exact--with the release of David Fincher's adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Based on Stieg Larsson's first of three mystery/thrillers from his international bestselling Millennium trilogy, the story follows journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) who is recruited by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), a wealthy patriarch, to investigate the disappearance of his niece that has haunted him for over forty years. Aiding Blomkvist in his search is young computer hacker, with a photographic memory and dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). Together, the two uncover the truth, facing danger along the way.

Okay, the inevitable questions every fan is going to ask: how does Fincher's film compare to the book? How does his film compare to the Original Swedish version?

Well, in regards to the former question, Fincher does a mostly true adaptation of the book... it is just that he decided to cut out some details the book went into. For example, Larsson's book goes into great depth detailing how Blomkvist came by the information that got him convicted for libel. There are literally 70 pages worth of financial jargon no everyday reader would understand. Therefore, I say plus one for Fincher. His cuts are calculated and for the audiences sake (the film is already 158min long).

Another example of "missing" detail--and I quote missing because the detail is in the movie, it is just subtle--is Larsson talks more about Lisbeth's photographic memory. Fincher, however, does not make those characteristics so obvious through a blatant statement. Instead, the audience infers Lisbeth's photographic memory through her actions. I would say the cuts are, simply, good film making. Everything cannot and should not be explained (it would be terribly boring).

Now, the latter question is harder to answer. Mostly because both films have scenes that appear exactly the same. Both films do have their differences, however, and the jury is still out on which style is better. The original Swedish version maintains a creepier and darker overall tone, while Fincher's version is more stylistic (but lacks a final umph). What really sets these movies apart, I believe, are the casted characters. Both Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara fit Larsson's original descriptions (along with a majority of the casted characters), a detail missing in the Swedish version.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a movie worth seeing in theaters.

Dictionary: Advice

Advice:

Advice from others is, naturally, sought after by the author. Typically, the author looks for advice from their loved ones. This is a bad idea. Loved ones will always tend to affirm what you are doing. They will not properly criticize what you write. Also, you as a writer may be limiting yourself because people close to you want to believe you are a certain type of person; hence your writing becomes self conscious, and the potential not fully realized.

Be aware of advice from what your loved ones say. What if someone, a family member or friend, tells you that you cannot write and should give up? Do you quit, then? Get depressed?

Writers should look for advice from people they believe have good taste in fiction (not art, not music, etc.). These people should be sympathetic to what you are doing, knowledgeable, and provide constructive criticism.

Dictionary: Accuracy

Hello all. This is the beginning of a new series I will be starting on my blog. The series is called "Dictionary," and will explore in A-Z fashion important pieces that make up good fiction. This series will show the techniques I use in my creative writing, as well as provide helpful advice for writing your own fiction (if that's what you are into). The very first entry in the dictionary is "Accuracy."

Accuracy:

"Accuracy refers to how well writers have observed the world. It means showing respect for the most minute details and the deepest truths of your subjects. If the readers feel that the observations are genuine, then the fictional world comes alive" (Jerome Stern, Making Shapely Fiction).

What is meant, then, is if you are writing a story, say for example a police procedural, the details need to show what the procedures of police are. They cannot be made up details or your audience will not believe in the fictional world you created and think you do not know what you are talking about.

A seemingly less important, but really is important, detail would be writing about Suzy's grandmother making no-bake-bars. The ingredients and the process for making the food should be accurate; otherwise, the audience will not buy into the story.

Fiction can be fiction, but it still has to be built on what we know. If your character gets off a train in Chicago and you write, "Bob arrived at the train station in Chicago, then he walked down main street." The reader will not buy into the story. Give the specific station name. Give the specific street name.

Accuracy applies to everything. This includes actions, feelings, morals, customs, culture, habitat, food, etc. The point is there, just because fiction is "fake" doesn't mean it can be inaccurate.

Fiction requires research in order to write with accuracy.

(NEW) Short Story: Sleep Walking

Last time I wrote, I was in the final stages of editing my first short story, Laodicea Street. Now that I am done editing it, I submitted my short story to two literary magazines: Ruminate and Rock and Sling. Both are small venues, but I have to start somewhere. The overall selection process (when I find out if I am going to be published or not) takes about 2-4 months. In the meantime, I will continue to write other projects.

As a matter of fact, I have just finished a rough draft of my second short story, entitled Sleep Walking. Before sending it out, attempting to get published, I will go into editing mode. But for my fans, here is a sneak peak of my new short story. Enjoy!

Sleep Walking

Mrs. Peggy Sommes sat up in bed, listening very carefully, and looking down the hallway out of her bedroom as if she was expecting someone. The hallway was dark and narrow, but because of the window at the of the end hall, the moon provided enough light to highlight silhouettes. Along the walls, the moonlight projected swaying shadows of trees that looked like people walking with their heads down. Mrs. Sommes looked away from the hall, down to her right next to her, at Dale Sommes, her husband lying down, and whispered his name.

            He didn’t budge, and still resting peacefully, he rolled over on his side with his back facing Mrs. Sommes. She turned away from him to check the hallway, she didn’t see anything, but a moment later, the sounds of creaking wooden floor boards lingered through the air vents.

            “Dale, wake up,” she said, turning back to him again. “Dale,” she grasped his doughy shoulder with a boney hand and gently shook him.

            “Whatta ya wan,” he murmured back, still resting on his side.

            “Wake up.”

            “Jus a few more mi—” he said, dozing off into sleep again.

            “This isn’t a joke. I think someone’s in the house,” she continued to shake him with a little more force. Her face rotated back-and-forth, between the hall and her slumbering husband, as if she was watching a tennis match. The wooden floor boards creaked again, this time much louder. “Get up, now!”

            “Okay, okay, I’m up,” he said, lifting his body off the bed. Dale stood up rolling out his neck and stretching his back. He was a fat man with grey sweatpants and a t-shirt draped over a beach-ball-belly that overshadowed his waist. He squinted across the bed at a slender woman with indented cheeks, wearing athletic clothing. “All right, what’s your problem?”

            “I think someone is downstairs, shhhhhhh.” She held up an index finger to her lips, then pointed a finger over her shoulder down the hallway. Dale let out a sigh, biting his lower lip and nodding, while reaching for his nightstand. He opened the drawer, revealing a metallic compact .357 magnum. “Dale, no.” Mrs. Sommes’ voice strained.

Editing

Currently, I am editing a short story I wrote for one of my classes, entitled "Laodicea Street." I know it is not the most interesting title; nonetheless, the title is important to the larger theme and symbols of the short story (and in general, I am not good at creating titles). Overall, the editing process is... well, a process. This is my fourth draft, and there always seems to be something I can fix or change. The hardest part is making sure the tone is consistent and the characters are consistent.

When I am done editing my short story, I will send it to a literary magazine with the hopes of getting published. My writing professor says that one student every year, out of twenty or so, gets published. So my odds are not necessarily the greatest. I will keep updating the publishing process and the end result. In the mean time, here is a sneak peak of my short story:

Laodicea Street

Knock-knock-knock

            Don Walker opened the oak-styled fiberglass door of his house to discover Mrs. Laura Bareilles and Mr. Richard Bareilles, his neighbors who lived five houses down on Laodicea Street. They greeted Don with earnest smiles, mentioned how beautiful the day was, how the rest of the week was supposed to be just as beautiful. Mrs. Bareilles, a lean woman, was dressed in a blue tank top and black leggings. Mr. Bareilles, a stout man, wore a blue polo draped over a beach-ball-belly that overshadowed his khaki pants.

            Don looked at the both of them, then, past them up and down the street. Both the Bareilles looked back as well to see what had captured his attention, but all they saw was the uniformed line of white picket fences, blocking in the cookie-cutter houses along the road. Further up the road, a mailman walked up to a front door and placed a package down.

            “We don’t suppose you know why we are here?” said Mrs. Bareilles, facing Don again.

            “Um… Jimmy didn’t do anything, did he?” Don replied.

            “This is not about Jimmy.” She pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and folded her hands. She looked over at her husband and he looked back, nodding his head while rubbing his doughy hand over her rigid shoulder. “It’s about the Schleck family—I am sure you heard about them in the news.”

            “Yes, it’s very sad,” Don said, looking down at the ground. He tried to seem sympathetic while he searched the filing cabinets of his brain. Schlecks… Schlecks. Oh, the Schlecks. They lived at the end of the street—he remembered reading the newspaper article on them: “Couple Brutally Murdered.” Mr. and Mrs. Schleck were found with their hands and feet bound together with plastic zip ties, shot at point blank range. The newspaper didn’t go into gruesome detail, but rumor on Laodicea Street was that the murderer used a sawed off shotgun and the police had trouble identifying faces.

First Post Ever

Hello. I just created this blog, and because everyone I tell about my blog looks at it and says, "You haven't posted anything yet!" I am writing my first post ever, right now. When I do post more on my blog, however, it will be about books and movies that I review, about my own writing (the process, the publishing attempts, etc.), and about writing in general (but of course, not strictly limited to these if something else seems fitting).

Until I start blogging more frequently with content, here is a poem to hold you all over. I wrote it in my creative writing (poetry) class as an exercise of poetic sounds. Therefore, the poem consists heavily of rhyming and iambic feet (the da-DUM feeling throughout). Also, I contrast Latin root words with Germanic root words, creating an extra sonic quality. Enjoy!

Sonic Sense

Forget semantic sense

It is a sonic poem

Iambic feet intense

Will bring the sonnet home.

And now, the sound of feet:

Da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM.

Reflects the drummers beat:

Ba-DUM ba-DUM ba-DUM.

Remember, rude and plain

And short, and raunchy too

Germanic roots profane

Contrasts with Latin woo:

Aqua fire.

Inferno heaven.