Make the Introductions, Josh

There are a number of benefits afforded to extended and long-term narratives. The benefit is felt more strongly in the written word than in movies as far as series tend to go, frequently because of a singular author. Of course moving from the page to the screen can pass on those benefits. I have discovered a really nice benefit while writing the posts for the On Dark Rhoads™ blog that I did not anticipate, as much as it makes sense. I can introduce concepts, characters, and any idea I might like to add into the narrative at any point, without getting straight to the point of why it is there. I can hint at its importance, or I can say nothing and just let it stand. Silence on the point can add its own mystique as well. Then I can come back to it when the time is right and the savvy readers will know they've seen it before and have the kind of aha moment that just wouldn't occur or be possible any other way.

This kind of foreshadowing is really appealing from this side of the process. It may not be quite so exciting for the reader, especially previous to the reveal. I just recently introduced a pretty important element to Josh's story in just such an offhand way. I'd like to think that it is mysterious too. People will read it and tell themselves that this simple, almost innocuously boring update has meaning that is not readily important, otherwise why is it there. The question then becomes can I, or any author in a similar situation, have superfluous posts? The answer must be yes. For starters, the idea of a red herring is reliant on giving information that is not actually important, at least to the true advancement of the story's main conflict, and to the characters beyond the time that it has proven false. By the way, the revelation was that Josh does vote for the hidden-evil political party.

Mood: dramatic.
Music: Street Justice by Twisted Sister and Top Jimmy by Van Halen.

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Be Brave with Your Fear

Did you ever want to tell the story after the story, but you decided that you couldn't because beginning at that point requires an emotional investment in the characters from the audience for it to mean anything to them? Did you ever want to have an event in your story that seems arbitrary, but has a good reason behind it, it's just that you can't tell it too early or you will spoil it? Did you ever want to tell a story in chronological order, but you couldn't because no one would stick with it long enough for the right things to happen to make for a great pay off later on? Did you ever want to tell a very subtle story, but it was just too much effort to build in everything to grab and keep audience and not leave the subtlety lost in the clutter? There are a dozen more questions like this that can be asked. There are dozens of variations on each and every one of them.

Some of these scenarios have resolutions. They can be conquered. The first question is do you want to surmount the obstacle? Sometimes the question is are you brave enough to embark on such a challenge? Will you stick with it or give in when the pressure becomes too much? The worst pressure may come from within. Just like last week I'm asking you to consider what happens when we break from script and do something different rather the same old thing--whether the same old thing is bad in the first place, or especially if it does work already. It's one thing to jettison a failed idea, to not repeat bad execution, but what if the thing are you looking to replace always works, gets certain people going, and ultimately is what will definitely sell to some fraction of the desired audience? You might ask who am I to do these things. I may be the one to do them or not, but I am here advocating them to others.

Are you going to do such a thing now? Be brave; be bold. If you are telling your stories and getting them in front of people, no matter how many or few, then you are already one of the brave. Look at the positives. Turn negatives around into positives. Think big even if you're doing it by thinking small. Bring the excitement whenever you can, as hard as you can. Go now and be the object of fear--not the recipient--tell your stories. Remember to scare them silly and leave them panting for more. I'll leave you to it.

Mood: invigorated.
Music: You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night) by Meat Loaf and Brave New World by Iron Maiden.

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Two Shades of Good

Conflict is not always between good and evil. Sometimes the most gripping or poignant conflict is between people who both think they are doing the right thing. Keep in mind that a lot of villains believe they are doing the right thing. Very few of them believe themselves to be evil. They get downright confrontational if anyone suggests they are doing evil. This does not include the masses of selfish users and takers who flaunt the law simply because they do not think it applies to them or plain do not care if it does, until they end up incarcerated. No, this is about the evil masterminds, when they're not delusional or caricature take over the world types, who want to mould the world into the vision they have for it. This is about the despots, the mafia don, the cult leader, and the countless others who are not introspective enough to see the harm they inflict.

To reiterate, and it may be a matter of opinion--it certainly isn't something to be overused without cause and enough originality--the most exciting conflict, with great impact and resonance is between two forces for good. Some of the excitement is in-built just because it's different. Some of it is because it's harder to decided for which side to root. There is also the matter that the cost and results are different depending on which side is victorious. The audience--been a while since it was said but the audience could be readers of your short story, novel, comic book, or role-playing game or your video, movie, TV show audience--will pick a side and a significant number of them will decry the other side as being in the wrong, if they don't go so far as to equate them with villains. This is true even if there is a three-way conflict including a definite evil person or group.

The three-way conflict gives the most flexibility in crafting a sinuous, whether that is convoluted or not, plot. The sides can play off of each other, go for outright manipulation of each other, and generally get in the way so much that not a one of them can reach their goal. The potential to derail all of their plans could lead to a disaster that none of them wants to see. This in turn will cause one or more sides to reverse course to some degree, switch sides, or pull out--this will be common among the villains who can just try again later or do without that particular victory. The dynamics of the conflict can change dramatically, turning heroes into villains, and turning expectations entirely on their head. The best thing to do in creating one of these conflicts is to make it so that there is a painful decision/aspect to one of the good sides confronting the other good side.

Mood: scrupulous.

Music: Peace Sells by Megadeth and Distant Skies by Stratovarius.

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Disconnected Series

Sometimes a story needs to be told over a length that is greater than feasible or in some manner desirable. Feasibility is quickly falling by the wayside when e-books can be of any length with no regard for spine width or holding the pages together. Desirability is a function of a few things. Cost asked for the book. The amount of time a reader is expected to stay with a story at any particular interval without seeking a change of pace. A similar need in the author either to write something different for a while or simply take a break. That author break may be researching something different later use, which doesn't break the fiction flow or feel of the current story while still giving the brain cells a chance to change gears. A series of books or stories starring the same main character(s) isn't the only kind of series. This sometimes feels like an idea that gets lost and or forgotten.

I've been thinking about this topic for the last little while because in the recent Killing Time - Horror E-Rag Issue 2-2 I released in PDF the first of my devil stories. It is titled "Toasty Warm" and so far is part of a trilogy where the only tie is that there are devils involved in the plot. Nothing else binds them. No repeat characters; not even the devils. So how is that a series? The stories are related. They are a part of the same vein of the same mythos--at least as I've done them. It's the same as they would be if they were a more coherent continuing series rather than a series in spirit or intent alone. I haven't put much more thought into the series since the conclusion of the third story. The time is appropriate to look at returning to the themes into which these stories play, what they are expressing about that corner of the mythos I wish to build, and should there be more.

The question is more what? The simple answer is that it may be time to look at pulling the strings together between these stories and bring some kind of greater coherence. This could be bringing out an overarching story that requires the previous parts--at least for the continued readership who has been witness to the events from start to newest finish--yet can stand on its own. Moving from disconnected to connected is not a given. It may not even be desirable. Sometimes trying to pull off the connection diminishes the feel that was previously held. It can weaken the strength born of their uniqueness. It may just be unfulfilling and have no bearing on the past. Either way it is a question that needs to be asked before embarking on such a goal. The rewards and the satisfaction are great if it can be pulled off though. It's something that requires a deft hand and good forethought.

Mood: reflective.

Music: Anthem of the World by Stratovarius and Sister of Pain by Vince Neil.

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The Witch Hunter General Rides In

Witches are only one part of the equation for many stories. Out there lays the one thing that even the forces of evil fear, the Witch Hunter General and his men. These men are both stalwart champions of good and scourges of evil. Turmoil and death follow in their wake to a degree only paralleled by the most fiendish witch. Their arsenal is vast, their knowledge of their prey complete, their interrogation skills consummate. None dare to stand against the General and his cadre. There is no hiding. There is no pleading--except to plead guilty. There is nowhere that their influence and power does not reach. Wicked, beware. Who are these enigmatic paragons? How frequent are they encountered? How many are there? Most importantly, how do they impact the horror expressed and demanded by witches, singularly or even by the coven? All will be revealed for goodness' sake.

The question of how many will depend on your setting. More witches mean more witch hunters in only some cases. More hunters could mean lesser skills or more dangerous witch powers. It is important that the hunters do not overpower the setting and dissipate the horror. They can be so powerful and unstoppable that witches have no chance against them when push really comes to shove, but this might be mitigated by the wait for the Witch Hunter General and his men to come to the rescue or the level of collateral damage created by the conflict between the two sides. Do not forget the flip side that where the hunters go the innocent fall prey to them as well over hysteria, jealousy, and other general finger pointing. They are feared by all who do not feel they measure up to that level of righteousness. Pride comes before the fall as well, be warned.

Secrecy is one of the weapons in the witch hunter's arsenal. Fear of the unknown extends to the wicked just as much as the virtuous. Stories from the witches' perspective doing away with hunters are possible if not mainstream. Extended stories of the witch hunter's training and seminaries will tend toward a more fantasy than horror feel, especially with the hunters working from such a strong base position. Even with a story from a hunter's perspective--regardless of whether high or low in rank--less is more to maintain the mystique. The line between folklore surrounding the hunters and their true power can be revealed, but benefits from being unleashed little by little--much as the most spectacular part of any story must be the climax. Come back next time for a look at the signs of witchery, witch's habits, and the tools of the witch hunter's trade.

Mood: seasoned.

Music: Fear Is The Key by Iron Maiden and Catch Me If You Can by Alice Cooper.

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Role-Playing Game Run Down

As a writer, and therefore an editor I have cultivated a sense of judgment on various levels of what I read and watch. I put this to use as reviewer for the Bob's Reviews site. Likewise, whenever I set out to create a new product I use that critical eye to look at what is out there in the market and target concepts, methods, and procedures that could do with improvement. Familiarity with products in particular veins improves that sense of what could be done different or better--the two are not always exclusive with better being a matter of taste in some instances. I have a great familiarity with one product that I look to speak about specifically today and as long as it takes to cover the concepts I wish to discuss. That product is role-playing games.

Kevin Siembieda is famously known as saying that "RPGs are, after all, part novel, part text book, part instruction manual, part art book and all imagination." That's a good covering of the main facets of role-playing game books, but as far as games and their design goes it is not the entire story, not as far as I am concerned here. The games themselves are part collaborative story telling, part acting, part strategy, part chance, and all game. A lot of the time people gravitate to one of those more than the others, sometimes one or two. It all depends on the game, the personal goal in playing, and a likely host of other decisions and desires held in balance. A good game system, that is the core rules and setting, should offer many possibilities in each of those elements of the game.

One area where a game might fail, or not measure up is in the balance between strategy along with numbers and dice, and the art of telling a story. This can be a matter of one getting in the way of the other and bogging things down or hindering the smoothness of game play. The purpose of rules, and dice, known as the mechanics of the game, is to provide a framework upon which to tell the stories, set up the scenarios, make it a game rather than just writers or actors collaborating. There is a level of simulation involved, simulating physics, simulating character or psychology. How much it feels like a simulation or how much verisimilitude it doesn't or doesn't have is a frequent failure point for RPGs. There are a number of ways this can happen. Tune in next time for more.

Mood: declarative.

Music: Voodoo Medicine Man by Aerosmith and Harvester Of Sorrow by Metallica.

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Onward in the Corners

Here it is 2010. Can you believe that? Even a month into the year it's still hard to wrap my head around it. Is there another year yet to come that has received a lot of fictional press? I don't know any--I'm ignoring supposedly real apocalypse dates. Not only is 2010 a new year, but also more than that it's a new decade. Somewhere along the line I'm sure that I will post something about the future of books or writing and multimedia together or similar. It won't be the first time and as long as things keep changing and evolving in the world it likely won't be the last. Some of the articles I intend to write this year are not very dark or horror oriented but don't let that get you down. Some of them I will take special care to make dark and horror-filled.

One of the first topics I want to tackle will be in a sort of pseudo-series. I do not know how many weeks it will take or if I'll do them all at once or not. They are focused on role-playing game writing and use. The main thrust of these will be about the artificial quality of some rules that games have, and ways of avoiding that, hiding it, or otherwise minimising it. I also want to take a look at the ubiquitous and attention hogging vampire. This was a number of ideas, spawned by recent movies and a novel I have knocking around in the back of my head, to really make vampires something to fear again. Before I get to that though we need to look at how they are portrayed now. I also have to cover a bit about some of the myths that have fallen by the wayside and some that are only partially explained.

Back to that idea about the future of writing and the possible changes, I would like to write an article or two further getting into this whole idea of deleted and alternate scenes as well as side stories. The thing about this idea is it is only new in that--especially in the case of side stories--they existed separately before and now they can co-exist. The important part of this topic that I want to get to is about using the bits that exist in the story to set the mood, or to contrast it. How do you set that up? How does the full version change things? Are those changes present elsewhere and just quietly inserted? Of course any of these kinds of ideas could be full-blown articles all on their own. I hope you'll stick around to see.

Mood: optimistic.

Music: Music: Big Guns by Skid Row and Snakebite by Alice Cooper.

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Looking Back at 2009

It's February, but since this is the first entry of the year to this blog I would like to say, Happy New Year. I thought this year that I would begin all of my blogs with two particular articles. The first is a look back at 2009 and the highlights of the year. The second is a look forward at some of the things that I want to talk about in 2010. One of the perennial series of entries in these dark corners is the annual 13 Nights of Hallowe'en. In 2009 all of the movies were my favourites. Most recently I wrote a couple of role-playing game themed articles that are useful for creating characters for any media. Still in the RPG vein there were articles about game changing alterations to settings, such as travel times and instant communication, which can have massive impact on a number of fronts even outside of gaming.

At one point in the year there was a bit of a lengthy look at changing perspectives, and perspectives versus reality on several levels. That got into the realities that we surround ourselves in and they way that it affects, well, everything. Those perspective shifts work their way beyond our view of the world and they effect our interactions with everyone--a handy understanding for writing. Another topic that surfaced with a need to be covered by more than one entry was a look at where publishing is going and where the writer can take their work as new paradigms emerge. There I likened one of the possible experiences, with only text being a requirement, to extras and deleted scenes on a DVD. That plays into my favourite topic of taint, which comes up now and again and will continue to do so.

It’s hard to forget as well that at the beginning of 2009 there were the last couple parts of Anatomy of a Horror Setting #3 about mixing the horror and sci-fi genres. That of course was followed by all of Anatomy of a Horror Setting #4, which looked at combining horror and fantasy moving from the typical medieval European fantasy settings up to Industrial Era settings. The rest of the series of course was a part of 2008. The whole set of them are still on my list to be lengthened, re-edited, and turned into a book. It was both easy and hard to devote so many weeks to a small set of topics and examine all of the angles. It was easy in that I knew one week to the next what I writing about and hard to come up with some of those angles and try to keep some kind of order in the progression.

Mood: progressive.

Music: Music: This Day We Fight! by Megadeth and Hitchin' A Ride by Green Day.

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Seasons and Spaces in Time

I was just thinking about how I like to specify a timeframe in my stories. Sure you can set the year and affect many facets of the story. What I like even better is to deal with things a bit more specific and that is by choosing a season. The first thing that this affects is the weather. Now I'm not super big on this whole weather and atmospherics should mirror the mood of the story. Certainly at the least I'm more of a contrast kind of guy. However I think the weather, should it be an issue—which it will any time a story takes place outside—should be whatever makes the story more interesting. It shouldn't be just a gimmick or a function of mood already established without it being present.

My personal preference of season is, as many may already know, autumn. Certainly it lends itself to the horror genre even without its connotations that Halloween can't be far away, or far back. I won't go into detail of just what it says with its colour changing trees, or after that's done the dry leaves that skitter with their menacing sound in the stillness of the night. Of course I don't use autumn all the time. That would be against everything I said up above. Again I use what best serves the story. More than the weather, the season expressed in a story is dependent upon the characters with or without the plot. People do certain things during certain seasons. Those things may be a part of the plot or they may not. Certainly I like to mix things up whether they parallel or contrast or just are independent.

Mood: bored silly.
Music: Black Reign by Quiet Riot and Prophecy by Iron Maiden.

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