"What Makes Us Human" Submitted

Last night I submitted my horror story, "What Makes Us Human." I wrote it about a year ago, so it doesn't count as breaking my writing hiatus. Inspired by all the buzz about "Twilight" (which I have yet to read), I wanted to see if I could write an original story about werewolves and vampires. I wanted it to be scary, but in a psychological way rather than throwing around enough blood and guts to turn the Atlantic Ocean red. I really like the story because it also explores a clash of ideologies, one of strict, self-righteous legalism, the other unrestrained, irresponsible hedonism, which are both equally bad.

I also got an idea about a zombie story (it figures that I get all my brilliant ideas while I am "on hiatus"). However, I don't just want it to be a bunch of animated corpses on a rampage. I want these zombies to be intelligent, cunning, and ruthless, masters of deception who lure their victims in with trickery rather than simply overwhelming them with brute force and numbers. Again, I want it to be psychologically terrifying, not graphic. I'm not quite sure how I will do this yet, but I am filing this idea away for the future.

Writing Tip Wednesday #8: Do Your Research

If you don't know about the topic that you are writing about, it's time to hit the library. Don't want to hit the library? Tough. If you want your readers to care enough about your story to read it, you need to care enough about it to make it accurate. Or, in the case of sci-fi/fantasy, you need to care enough about it to jumpstart your creativity by looking at facts and seeing how you can adapt and change them to make a new and exciting world. For example, in my stories, I researched the Assyrians and the Vikings to make Yangvaad jump off the page. Many people think that they can get away with just making everything up just because they are writing sci-fi/fantasy. The fact is that this doesn't always work. For example, I read a fantasy book in which a warrior disarmed a much larger man by sidestepping and slapping his elbow. As a black belt in karate, I know for a fact that wouldn't make me drop my sword. I would just circle the blade around and decapitate the guy. I stopped reading the book after that, and if you make silly mistakes like that, your readers will ditch you for an author who has more respect for their writing.

So how do you learn about your subject if you don't have the time to study martial arts for several years or earn a Ph.D. in physics? In addition to going to the library, you can also interview experts in the field. Many of these people love to share their knowledge with others, and can show you what resources will be most beneficial to your writing. Be sure to give them a thank you card for their help, or some other token of appreciation, such as cookies or something. You can also use the internet, although you will want to cross-reference the information you find there because many websites don't check the validity of their facts before they post them. Put in the necessary effort and your readers will love you for it.

Movie Review: The Italian Job (Original)

Abstract: Charlie Croker gets out of jail and attempts to perform a $4 million heist in Italy.

Pros:
-Phenomenal action sequences, namely, the car chase with the Mini Coopers and the raid on the armored car.
-Excellent acting from all the entire cast, in particular, Michael Caine as Charlie and Noel Coward as the uber-patriotic British crime boss, Mr. Bridger. Margaret Blye did a good job as Charlie's girlfriend, Lorna and Benny Hill was fantastic as Professor Simon Peach.
-The film was campy and hilarious. A man fights off criminal henchmen with a teddy bear. A getaway driver swipes a chicken off a restaurant table during an escape attempt. The tongue-in-cheek song titled "Get A Bloomin' Move On (The Self-Preservation Society)" is catchy and parodies the greed of the protagonists. One man's obsession with big-boned women puts him at the mercy of the Italian police. The British poke fun at themselves with Mr. Bridger's eccentricities, such as his obsession with the Queen.
-The scenes are very well-edited.

Cons:
-The film endly poorly with an awful cliffhanger. Literally. The movie deserved a much better resolution.
-The Italian mafia was underutilized as antagonists in the film.
-I have a hard time believing that wooden bats would be an effective weapon against the Italian police.

Overall: Excellent (4/5). Gold heist-$4 million. Movie-free on Netflix. Michael Caine as an action star-priceless.

(Photo from filmsdefrance.com. All rights belong to the copyright holder.)

"Wounds That Wouldn't Heal" Submitted

Hello everyone,

Earlier today, I submitted my short story "Wounds That Wouldn't Heal." I actually completed it a while ago, but before I sent it out, I did some minor edits. Nothing changed character or plotwise, just a few grammar things and small adjustments to descriptions to make the story flow a little better. I also reread a short story called "Rain" that I wrote years ago. It features a character called Lucina, who is a generation ahead in the series. I sent it to my friend, Nano, because she loves my stories and is an excellent critic. You really can't do better than a girl who has read masterpieces in over three languages.

"Wounds That Wouldn't Heal" deals with a lot of issues that I feel need to be addressed by Christians. Things such as bad romantic relationships and cutting. I've done neither, but I know people my age who have, and they need to know that Jesus loves them just as much as those who grew up in households that resemble the Cleaver family from "Leave It To Beaver." My friends from these rough backgrounds are usually very receptive to hearing the gospel from me just because I treated them with respect and kindness. They also appreciate the fact that I take their struggles seriously and stand by them while they are fighting to break free and heal. It may not be popular for Christian authors to write about those topics, but sometimes you need to do the right thing, even if it isn't popular.

On a lighter note, stay posted for my movie review of the original version of "The Italian Job." Suffice it to say that I had no idea Michael Caine could still be in his element as an action star.

R.I.P. Macho Man

Today, one of my favorite wrestler's passed away: "Macho Man" Randy Savage. He was killed in a car accident after having a heart attack while driving. He and Hulk Hogan were the first two wrestlers I ever saw on TV and whether he was in the ring, promoting Slim Jim, or doing a hilarious cameo in "Spiderman 3", Macho Man was always totally awesome. Oooooh Yeaah! So my prayers are with his family and may he continue to entertain God, the angels and the saints in heaven.

(Photo from Yahoo!Sports. The original copyright holders retain all rights to the image and it is here for fair use purposes only.)

Happy Birthday to...me!

Hello everyone!

Today I had an excellent birthday. My boss and coworkers had a mini-party for me and ordered pizza, cheesecake, and salad. The salad came in a doughy crust. It was pretty unique and tasty. I loved it. My boss even bought me coconut water because I love it like Kel from "Keenan and Kel" loved orange soda. I ended the night with some really expensive coconut gelato that was worth every penny.

To keep within my budget (especially after the gelato), I'll probably just rent a DVD. I've wanted to watch and review "Robin Hood" for a long time. Russell Crowe is a great actor and Kevin Durand did an excellent job as Little John in the clip I saw on Youtube. I'll see if the library has a copy. Next weekend I'll go ahead and splurge on a snorkeling excursion with some friends to compensate for all the swimming I wish I had done during Peace Corps. Lesson learned: if your ears keep getting infected, buy earplugs and swim anyway.

I will also look for a place to submit "Wounds That Wouldn't Heal." It's one of my better short stories and so far, is my darkest. Let's just say that the protagonist seriously needs to learn how to control her jealousy.

That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted!

Writing Tip Wednesday #7: Choose Your Audience

Hello everyone,

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to post last Wednesday due to personal reasons. However, now I am back on track with Lucky #7: Know Your Audience.

One important thing to consider when you are writing is who you are writing for. If you are doing it just for yourself, that's your decision. However, your talent is a gift, and it's meant to be used to honor God and for the good of mankind, not to be a dirty little secret on your hard drive. Therefore, it is far better to show your stories to others, whether you are simply trying to make someone laugh or trying to expound upon the deepest mysteries of the universe. With that in mind, you need to figure out what kind of person you want to read your work. It is tempting to simply say "everyone", but that is not a good idea for two reasons:
1) Everyone has different tastes, so trying to please everyone with your writing is completely and utterly impossible. For example, one person may love your book because of all the swordfighting, and another person might hate it for the exact same reason, so you'll have to pick a side and leave someone unhappy.
2) It is far too vague an objective, anyway, and will make it very difficult for you to write because you won't have a clear goal in mind. It is like trying to choose a college with the only criteria being that it has to be a 4-year school. You need to use other parameters to narrow down your options.

So how do you figure out who your target audience is? The easiest way is to observe who is already reading your story. Are they your friends from Anime club? Or are they your coworkers from a major corporation? Are they children, teenagers, adults, or the elderly? Are they men, women, or both? Start from there and identify the following things:
What is their age group?
What is their gender?
How do they dress?
What are their key interests?
What other books would they read?
What kind of music would they listen to?
What kind of films would they watch?
What is their outlook on life?

The more you know about your target audience, the better. Here's an example I prepared myself, describing the audience I am trying to reach with the "Heart of Flesh" short story series. Obviously, you can read and enjoy my stories even if you don't fit the following profile.

Age group: Mid-teens to early twenties
Gender: Female
Dress: Sweatshirts/T-shirts and blue jeans. Multiple piercings and tattoos. Dyed hair. They make up their own style rather than following trends.
Key interests: Traveling, art, history, religion/mythology, other languages and cultures, martial arts/working out, video games, and, of course, sci-fi/fantasy
What other books would they read: "Dune", "Lord of the Rings", "The Chronicles of Prydain" ("The Book of Three", etc.), "The Outsiders", "That Was Then, This is Now"
What kind of music would they listen to: Hard Rock (Industrial Rock, in particular)
What kind of films would they watch: Deep, thought-provoking films like "Infernal Affairs", "A Bronx Tale", "The Dark Knight", and "Fireproof."
Outlook on life: This girl will be unusually intelligent, mature and sophisticated for her age. She prefers having a few really close friends to being popular with a million acquaintances. She has some "guy" interests, but still has a gentle, caring, and perceptive heart. She may not be particularly religious, but is seeking the truth, and will be restless until she finds it.

That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted.

Movie Review: Hop

Abstract: Fred O'Hare tells how he became the first human Easter Bunny with the help of his furry friend, E.B.

Pros:
-Great acting all around, in particular from James Marsden as Fred, Russell Brand as E.B., Hank Azariah as Carlos, and Kaley Cuoco as Fred's sister, Sam.
-Many hilarious scenes, such as the one where Fred and E.B. inadvertently upstage a grade school play, the auditions at "Hoff Knows Talent", in which David Hasselhoff makes a great cameo and an inside joke to "Knight Rider", and a creative resolution to the "Bunny vs. Chick" war at the end.
-Beautiful animation. In particular, the Easter Island factory, the bunnies and the chicks, and the Egg sleigh were amazing.
-An unintentional but hilarious Christian parallel in which E.B.'s father confessed that they "haven't cracked China yet" after it is shown that the holiday is not very popular there.

Cons:
-The movie's greatest selling point, which was the battle for Easter between the bunnies and the chicks, barely even got off the ground. Literally. This conflict appeared much more central to the plot of the film in the trailers than it actually was, and deserved more attention than it got.
-Although E.B.'s attempt to get shelter in the Playboy mansion because he considered himself a "sexy bunny" was humorous, it was still grossly inappropriate for a children's movie.
-Many aspects of the plot were derivative from other children's films. For example, a son doesn't want to follow his father in the family business, even though it is magical. A talking creature pretends to be a stuffed animal when a character's relative walks into the room. There are more, but that would involve spoilers.
-The female characters (even the adorably deadly "Pink Berets") were all depicted as driven, intelligent, and confident whereas the male characters were depicted as childish, immature, lazy, and irresponsible. It's great to have strong female characters, which is why I will say that it is more effective when it is done without putting down the entire male gender in the process.

Overall: Decent. A bit of a letdown from the trailers, but still enjoyable due to the humor.

Osama Bin Busted; Is "Ecgtheow's Way" the path to victory?

I was up late last night revising my entry for the 80th Annual Writer's Digest competition when I overheard that Osama Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan from my grandma's TV.

"No way!" I thought, having come to the belief several years ago that he had starved to death in a cave somewhere in the mountains and would never be found.

I immediately turned on the TV in the living room and turned to ABC. Indeed, it had finally happened! Osama Bin Laden, the evil leader of Al-Qaeda, was killed in Abbottabad, a city outside of Islamabad. President Obama ordered the attack that day and the world's most vile terrorist was killed in the ensuing shootout. I watched the President's speech and immediately started chanting "USA! USA!" Finally, all those murdered on September 11 have received justice. Finally, all the hard work and sacrifices of the brave American men and women (such as my childhood friend, Sarah) and our allies who served in Afghanistan have paid off and borne the ultimate fruit. I have never been more proud to be an American than I am now. Don't mess with the U.S.!

After watching the news, I submitted "Ecgtheow's Way." Now, Writer's Digest competitions are the WWE of the writing world. I knew that I was competing against the best of the best when I sent in my story. That's why I did some serious revision. The plot stayed the same, but I added a lot of backstory so that the reader would better understand how Max winds up in the dilemna she is in. The story takes place seven years after "Daughter of the Seven Seas", when both Max and Sandra are teenagers. It is also the debut of Max's ruthless and cunning best friend, who ruled Nineveh Academy with an iron fist and terrorized Sandra throughout her entire childhood. I thought it was excellent before, but now that I made the necessary changes, it is absolutely phenomenal. Anything can happen in this competition, but I am confident that it will win. If it doesn't, I am certain that I can get it published.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for my review of "Hop." Not to give too much away, but Hank Azariah never ceases to amaze me.