Swear to me!

Movie tough guys are constantly roughing up baddies and demanding information. One of my favorites lines is when they say, "Swear to me!" Yup. That'll work. Terrified people will admit to anything. But, you also get the opposite end, where someone swears on their mother's grave. In this instance, the oath is a mighty pledge based on honor and reverence. Isn't it interesting how the same statement can be so different in context? That's one of the big reasons language is so difficult to decipher and is among the best secret codes you can make (I love making secret codes).

Batman being tough in "Batman Begins"

The funny thing is, we do this sort of thing constantly. Sarcasm is the fine art of saying what you don't mean and implying something else. Humor is a slippery subject, but I think we can all agree it's better to laugh than sulk. Don't take life too seriously. There's so much hilarity around us, and we fail to notice it most of the time. Swear to me you'll open your eyes! Swear to me!

Ha. That's actually lots of fun to say, though I can't imagine myself being a tough guy who punches baddies in the throat--I'm just a big cuddly teddy bear. Well, I doubt movies will change this sort of thing, but we can still laugh. That's the thing about language anyway, sometimes it's just too strange to take seriously. So, paste a smile on your face and just go along with it.

- M

Sleep ... you are feeling sleepy ...

I've always been someone who enjoys being awake at night. We call such people, "night owls." Yes, I realize it's kind of silly, considering owls are known to be active at night, so why not just say "owls" without the "night" in it? I don't know, but it's the phrase. I love the dropping temperatures, the quiet atmosphere (people usually go inside and to bed), and the darkness. My mind is clearer at night, and it's when I get the majority of my writing accomplished. I love it. But, the night is when we naturally sleep, so I also run up against the need to close my eyes fighting against my desire to finish whatever I'm working on. Yup, it's tough being me...



Angel, our cat, absolutely terrifying!

Are you getting sleepy yet? I've read that yawns are oddly psychologically infectious, with the prodding being so powerful that simply reading about stifling a yawn is enough to make readers want to stretch and get out a good yawn. What yawns do for us is still a mystery, but our bodies love doing it and we sure enjoy the feeling too. I will say that when our cats do it, they look positively EVIL! Trust me, if you haven't seen a cat yawn, it will make your skin crawl. Yeesh. I think their real nature slips out a bit at the end of a yawn.

Our bodies apparently have a sleep cycle rhythm that impacts our health and happiness. I'm of the opinion that it's incredibly easy to break the cycle and throw ourselves into chaos. It's too easy to burn the candle at both ends, working late and rising early, cutting short our sleep to no good effect. At some point, our bodies must recharge and relax its burdens. Sleep is essential to our health (some very terrifying experiments have proven this beyond all doubt), so I am doing my level best to lull you all into a comfortable and leisurely bliss ... and then you will sleep without a care or worry. Let your eyelids slide down and carry you into dreams of fantasy and imagination.

- M

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day to America!

Today we celebrate our many freedoms, enjoy family and friends, eat good food, and light fireworks in celebration. Such freedom came with enormous cost and requires diligence and courage to maintain. We must never forget why our nation was founded. America was birthed from the idea of individual freedom, where personal religious beliefs aren't mandated by the state and where even the lowliest person can own their very own slice of land. Hard work is encouraged, as is participation in the political process. All citizens have a voice, and the government works for us.

This is why we celebrate. This is what we celebrate. This is what we hope for the rest of the world.

- M

Cheating like a pro, and being paid to do it!

There are many methods authors use to cheat. Bear with me on this. What I mean by cheating is basically taking extreme shortcuts to end goals by devious means. For instance, take the movie, "John Wick"--we watch the protagonist lose his wife to cancer, then receive a parting gift from her in the form of a puppy. Aw, cute and darling. Then, after a few short minutes, the dog is murdered and John is plunged into red-eyed revenge. That's a cheat, and the author's knew it. We love cute animals and our blood boils to see them mistreated. That's all the motivation the hero requires, and the audience is right along with him. Action films don't need a bunch of setup, and this cheat fills the void nicely. The audience doesn't mind, and is happy to get past the slow stuff.

Another cheat is putting kids in danger, triggering the natural desire to protect them. Still another is to threaten the destruction of a sacred object or landmark. But these are just to get the narrative running and stoke conflict. Other sorts of cheats can build whole cities and groups of people in a flash, by mentioning a well-known event or familiar surroundings. Historical references, even in fiction, provide huge swaths of background and impressions. Using these tricks, authors are capable of weaving incredible worlds in a very short time.

However you cheat and shortcut your way through your story, it's not malicious at all. These are tools to use, and you'd be a fool not to take advantage of the way our minds work. In my view, these cheats actually improve the depth of stories and provide easy hooks to catch onto. Audiences aren't as patient for stories to develop as they once were--which is a grand shame, but what can you do but adapt? So, revel in your mischievous quirks and draw from whatever seems appropriate. Just make sure to tell a good story in the process. Audiences will seek you out. I believe that with all my heart.

- M

Diversity in stories

Current American culture loves to throw diversity into critiques. When it comes to stories (mainly movies, as they are visual), it is skin color that is most commonly examined. I'd like to shift the focus of the diversity into a totally different aspect, which is diversity of character. Have you ever heard the term, "cardboard characters?" People use the phrase when a character has no dimensions, no yearnings, and is a simple archetype or stereotype. Such characters are not enjoyable. What audiences want are characters with diverse personalities, varied interests, and overlapping needs. We want someone we can possibly relate to, empathize with, and take the story's journey alongside.

We get wrapped up in appearances too much. When I was a youth, there was a phrase girls were using, "Beauty and Brains." Woman wanted to be recognized for their inner beauty as well as outward. I have no idea how well it worked, as I wasn't actively dating during that time, but I understand the desire behind it. People don't like being thought of on a purely surface level, because it's insulting. So, why should authors be surprised when stories are treated the same way?

One of my personal beliefs is that when we find a story we adore, the story becomes a part of our personality. Think about it, if you recommend a movie that you love to someone, and they hate it, why do you feel a twang of personal insult? Because you identified with the story, and for it to be attacked hurts that connection. Stories with a diverse cast of well-drawn characters provide those connections far better than stories with simply color-coded people. Let the characters speak for themselves, not only their outward appearances.

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- M

The journey is the best reward.

Have you ever found a new book and immediately gone to the end to see how it turns out? I've done it sometimes, were I'll read the final sentence and then enjoy how the book manages to get to that point. I know people who will read the last chapter and then decide if they want to buy the book. I've never understood spoiling the ending. The joy of a good story is the journey you undertake, the situations faced, and the choices made. Knowing the ending dampens the enjoyment of the ongoing struggles of the journey.

Stories mirror life in powerful and significant ways. We often seek out stories dealing with issues we currently struggle with, such as: death, love, poverty, success, tragedy, hope, and on and on and on. True stories are a bit different, because the end is usually known beforehand, but with fiction why deny yourself the joys of taking the journey? There's much we learn about ourselves in the pages of books, far beyond the content of the story itself. But, if you skip to the end, you miss out on all those rewards.

Hearing stories is a powerful method of passing on the wisdom of ages, and providing experiences in an engaging way. The audience willingly participates in undertaking these unknown journeys, with the hopes of entertainment and possibly much more. It's an awesome thing. I encourage everyone to pick up a book today, let the journey fill you, and stick it out to the glorious ending. Only then will the final pages have the cumulative impact they deserve.

- M

Why must we lose to realize value?

At some point in everyone's life, we've lost something we didn't then realize was valuable to us. It could be said you were taking it for granted, that it would always be there, and only missed its absence. Yet, there's more to it. I can't say I've ever considered a hair comb all that valuable, but I've had times when I desperately wished I had one. How about a good knife? What about butter? Water? Air?

And, then there are the things you can't really touch, like the nearness of a friend, or the words of a loved one. Photos and sound files can remind us of these things, but they sure don't replace them. Mountains are wonders to behold, and filled my childhood; now, I live in a flatlands and miss them more than I can express. Such things leave a lasting mark, never quite healing or wanting to heal. And, there's our own bodies. Have you ever cherished your sight, your hearing, your sense of touch and taste? What about your fingers? Legs? Memory?

My hometown. To think I had a mountain in my backyard ... wow.

Take the time to count your blessings, in every part of life. Don't let loss teach you value. I prefer enjoying something before it's gone, if I can help it. Although, there is a concept of too much of a good thing--like ice cream, chocolate, and tickles. Whatever you do, wherever you go, take the time to note what's important to you and spend time valuing those things. You may even realize that what you thought was important isn't and what you took for granted is more important than anything else.

- M

It's forbidden! Okay, but why?

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One of my favorite movie lines of all time is in the animated "Beauty and the Beast" where the Beast is showing Belle around the castle and he mentions that she can't go to a certain section of the place. When she asks why, he says only, "It's forbidden!" It's such a great delivery of a silly line that it permanently stuck in my memory. The thing is, why not just say what the actual issue is? Sometimes authority figures just stick out a big finger and say not to ask. It's frustrating for kids, and irritating for anyone older.

The thing is, there's few things as attractive as violating a forbidden rule. If you have small children, I'll bet you have imagined one day finding a slice of cheese in the DVD player, or a stuffed toy in the garbage disposal. Kids love to experiment, and if they don't know how something works they will still try anyway. Adults are the very same. When someone tells us not to do a thing, or go somewhere, we immediately wonder why not and then spend all our time figuring it out. It's an inherent quality in us, so there's nothing wrong with it, but it does need to be tempered and managed. As they say, "curiosity killed the mouse."

There is a solution to all this, but it may not be the most ideal. Take away the mystery by explaining and demonstrating. Why is a cliff forbidden? Show the dangers so people understand the risks. Why is the DVD player forbidden? Demonstrate proper use, so children know how to operate it without sticking grilled cheese sandwiches inside. Why's the Beast tell Belle the West Wing is forbidden? Well, there's a magic rose there ... wait, that's pretty interesting and enticing ... eh, never mind ... this doesn't always work.

IT'S FORBIDDEN!

- M

Super intelligent characters -- like Sherlock Holmes

The long history of Sherlock Holmes testifies to how much audiences love smart characters. Of course, we naturally assume that the authors are equally intelligent. While that certainly can be the case, it doesn't have to be. Authors shouldn't limit themselves because they aren't super geniuses. What matters is keeping the story ahead of where the audience is at. There are lots of techniques to do this, such as preventing audiences from learning critical facts, completely leaving out information, and basically giving the audience no hope whatsoever of guessing the truth. These are bad ideas.

Many times it helps to put together a "map" of the story ahead of time. This can take form as an outline, bullet points, or even simple 3x5 cards. The importance is so the author knows ahead of time what's going on and all the relevant information. This way, it's only natural for the "smart" character to be ahead of the audience. Many of the little inferences made by Sherlock Holmes seem rather crazy on retrospection. In the "Sherlock" BBC television show, the first time Sherlock meets Watson, there's a series of deductions made about Watson's phone--deductions that fall apart with a little bit of thought. Despite these things, the scene works perfectly and Sherlock comes off as a brusque, but very astute observer who's intelligence can be trusted. That's a great way to show super intelligent characters.

Peter Falk as detective Columbo

Another method I particularly enjoy is watching characters behave in a bumbling sort of way, but who are actually far more intelligent and observant than they appear. "Columbo" is the prime example of this, as this detective purposely behaves like an oaf so the suspects are put into a false sense of ease. The joy of this method, is the audience has all the same evidence the detective has (even further, as the audience watches the murders happen onscreen, with all preparations intact). Yet, the audience still lags behind the super intelligent hero because we haven't made all the connections necessary to reveal the truth.

Don't let creating super intelligence get in the way of simple storytelling. So long as the author knows what's going on, and gives little hints again and again, the audience will happily go right along with believing in the intelligence of the hero and won't even try finding faults in the logic of events ... at least, not until the story is over and they are trying to figure out how they missed it all.

- M

Eyeglass cleaners are a sign of an advanced civilization

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I wear eyeglasses, and I frequently need to clean them. There are plenty of methods available: bottom of your shirt, facial tissue, lint-free cleaning clothes, solution-soaked wipes, spray solutions, and the good-ole spit and polish. What matters is that whatever you use, your glasses need to wind up clean. The trouble I've found is that there's usually a sheen of oil on the inside and only a good cleaner will take it away.

 

The wonders of civilization are numerous. We normally point to the major things, like electricity and so on, but I think it's the little conveniences that are the true wonders. I wonder how long we'd live without can openers, or cigarette lighters (mainly for their fire starting ability), and even something as simple as comfortable shoes. Have you ever considered just how much of our daily lives are thanks to cheap plastics? What about drinkable water? And, what about that chair you're sitting on?

 

I'm trying to point out that we take a lot of things for granted. It's easy to think that all these conveniences will always be there, no matter what. But, things aren't like this everywhere. Many places don't even have clean water from a tap, or electricity, or proper sanitation. There are incredible people and organizations who's sole purpose in life is to bring these modern things to the people without them. That's pretty amazing.

 

So, yes, eyeglass cleaner is incredible and I won't take it for granted ... I promise.

 

- M

Understanding allegory: The Emperor's New Clothes

Somehow we have forgotten how to put our minds to work as we read. I'm not sure when it happened, but I've seen more and more confusion about simple children's stories. One such is "The Emperor's New Clothes," by Hans Christian Andersen. If you haven't read it, then follow the link and check it out.

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 This tale spells out it's meaning at the end, but the value is far beyond the simple observations. The point the author was bringing up was how people are capable of fully believing a lie while at the same time knowing it as a lie. George Orwell does much the same in the book, "1984," with the concept of "doublethink." Put bluntly, the Emperor in the story is naked and is too proud to admit he's been fooled by devious tailors, so he only suspects he's naked and forces himself to continue the sham. Therefore, he is on display to everyone as naked and shamed. "The Emperor has no clothes" means it is fakery, illusion, trickery, and is in fact all lies.

 

How often have we, ourselves, done the exact same?

 

Fiction is typically written for pure entertainment, so doesn't have deep lessons to teach. However, authors are human beings and so imbed such lessons anyway, though mostly implied. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is chock full of lessons, despite being a great fantasy. When you read, take a bit of time to digest what you've read. Think about it. There's good stuff beyond the words on the page, and sometimes you'll find an even deeper story floating there. If you need a starting point, go back to "Aesop's Fables" and enjoy figuring them out ... yup, some are just weird.

 

- M