Ideas: Bitter Harvest

So with the return to activity, I'm introducing a new category, called "Ideas". This is a catch-all, really, just to put out a lot of thoughts and things I've learned that have been percolating in my head during the hiatus.I will give this an underlying structure, however, by saying that these are mostly stories I've come across in the world at large that I want to incorporate somehow into my writing.

The Star Wars Prequels = Nickelback

When I heard that JJ Abrams was being handed the reins to the next Star Wars trilogy, I think like many others, I felt encouraged by his previous effort at helming a major sci-fi franchise: Star Trek. Personally, I felt that the first new Star Trek movie (not so much Into Darkness) managed to walk the incredibly fine line between catering to devotees and being accessible to neophytes. It was clear he had respect for the source material without being slavish to it.

A New Day Is Dawning

What's this? A post? Yes, at long last, some output. The accursed day job is finished, probably the worst job since Kiff's. Wait, scratch that, that doesn't happen for another thousand years. OK, it's the worst job since the poor bastard who had to catch Henry VIII's jizz.

Anyway, expect some new/old posts as I catch up.

Review: The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch

It's hard not to be too effusive about this novel, Scott Lynch's debut.  It is a great read that stands out moreso for being the author's first published effort and became an immediate favourite of mine.

The strength of this novel, I think, is based on a very detailed, fully-realized world that Lynch has built, although that worldbuilding, ironically, is also one of this novel's weak points (more on that later).  Through the novel, there are intricately fleshed out details about the economy, art, cuisine and sport and leisure interests of the world's inhabitants.  There is always a sense that the characters live in a real world.  Lynch takes this one step further and imbues even minor characters with personalities and interesting histories.  Different characters take on roles of hero or villain at different times and are driven by rational motivations.

Thomas the Tank Engine and the Really Useful Cult

When you're forced to read the same kids' story, a dozen times daily, day after day after day, the mind starts to wander.  I find myself searching for subtexts and hidden backstories in the most innocuous of places.  Case in point: Thomas and Friends.

Aggravating Fantasy Tropes and Clichés

The Onion AV Club recently ran a piece asking contributors what TV tropes aggravated them the most.  Personally I would have added the moderately unattractive, doofy man with the inexplicably hot wife/girlfriend.  It also made me think about common tropes in fantasy fiction.

Oops

I was looking at the details for submissions to the Toronto Star Short Story Contest, and I realized that for some reason I thought the limit was 5,000 words, rather than the 2,500 it actually is.  Unfortunately the story I had been planning to submit is already over 3,400.  With little time left, I don't plan on editing it down to the right size, so after all that struggle challenging myself to come up with a story that was more upbeat and positive (and not succeeding there either, as the story has taken a decidedly dark bent) I'm going back to the story that I wrote for the writing prompt exercise.  This probably wouldn't have happened if I had been more productive with my writing time in the past few weeks.  Two things that certainly didn't help: starting a new day job and the Olympics!

Someone once told me that "the writing process is a battle against procrastination."  Yes, indeed.