Does everyone need an origin story?

Superheroes and supervillains usually have origin stories specifically created and stated. I do wonder if it's necessary though. At least, does it need to be told right away? I've seen it successfully done both ways, and I don't really have a preference. But, I was watching the Star Wars prequels again, and I found myself wondering if the origins of Darth Vader really needed explaining? I struggle with the same question in my own stories as well.

 

I think back on some of my favorite villains and am surprised to discover that most indeed don't have a backstory explaining why they turned to evil. They simply are, and the story works fine without those added details. Actually, I think the extra baggage of history works against a villain and makes them sympathetic (unless that's your goal in the first place). It's difficult for an audience to hate what they know intimately. Then again, you have the newest Avengers movie where you witness the birth of Ultron and yet he is still completely despicable--though it doesn't hurt that he's a pitiless robot.

 

The funny thing is audiences still want to know. It's up to the storyteller to decide if that knowledge should be revealed. It's a tough choice. Actually, knowing what to show and what not to is probably the hardest part of storytelling. The author has lots of choices to make, and I doubt anyone ever makes every one of them perfectly. As usual, we do the best we can and hope for a miracle.

 

If all goes well, a story is born unto the world, in all its wonderful splendor and glory.

 

- M

Snow! The fabulous stuff of Winter!

Sadly, I live in a state where Winter is more a suggestion than a reality. We do get a chance to see snow now and again, but it rarely stays. As a matter of course, snow removal is usually wait and let it melt. Ah well. I do hope sometime to enjoy another white Christmas, but I may be waiting for a long time. And, yes, I do enjoy both looking at snow and driving in it. There's a particular thrill only enjoyed by sliding around in the snow.

 

There was a time when we actually had an honest-to-goodness blizzard, including white-out conditions. My wife and I threw on our heavy coats and we mustered the kids (grumbling and complaining) to slog through the snow and go to a corner gas station. We couldn't see more than a few feet, but I have an excellent sense of direction and it wasn't far. We made it to the gas station, had hot chocolate and hot coffee, then trudged back. There were amazing drifts by that point...

 

A small drift, likely melted by mid-morning I think..

You see, that's a memory our kids will cherish forever. Possibly they will regale others with lyrical renditions of how awful it was and how terrible it was for me to force it on them. That's a solid memory for them! They'll never forgive--er, forget it. Life is built of such memories. It was wonderful.

 

- M

X-Files returns!

The famous poster from X-Files television show

I've been a fan of the X-Files for quite a while. It was a goofy show back when it first came out (sometimes hilariously so) and then it started taking itself far too seriously so I dwindled away from it. However, it created a wonderful movie "Fight the Future" and another good one "I Want to Believe." The X-Files was the show where the audience was constantly confused and groups of fans got together to compile information and try to figure out what was going on. It was fun to be a part of it, and occasionally things made sense (more so toward the end as it got serious).

 

Now, the X-Files are back for a 6 episode comeback! I have to admit I've been very excited about it. I love the old show, and this new one apparently has 2 mythology episodes and 4 stand-alone episodes. What that means is the first and last episodes will deal seriously with the show while the others anyone can enjoy without knowing anything about the show at all. I'm looking forward to them. Be prepared to have your brain tickled and smashed at the same time.

 

The interesting thing about a show such as the X-Files is that it tap-dances between science fiction and fantasy, all while incorporating conspiracy stories of the modern age. Audiences clearly enjoy the concept, and I wish them all the success possible to the format. What I really hope is that it'll inspire new shows. I just can't get enough science fiction, and there's far too few of them out there.

 

- M

Well, the prophecy says ... it was prophesied!

Why do so many fantasy stories contain a prophecy? In particular, a prophecy about a "chosen" one? I'm not really sure. In the past there were many stories with prophecies (the Narnia books come to mind), but these days so many have them as a quick and dirty way to make the main character particularly special. That's fine, until you make the prophesy so important it takes on a character all it's own (such as the Star Wars prequel about the "one who will bring balance to the force.")

 

 

As a function of the story, prophecies are a stepping stone to get the audience involved. Usually these are mysterious, riddles, or plain gibberish. It's easy to cheat these, saying the audience has information without actually giving anything. These should function within the story just like any other part, it must have a purpose. Beyond giving the observant audience some especially useful information, it should advance the plot, add to the mystery, or improve characterizations in some manner. And, if the prophecy is fulfilled (that is the purpose, right?) the audience should be able to look back and understand all the clues and what happened and why. If not, then it's what mystery writers would call a "red herring" and is only useful to distract the audience.

 

My personal preference is to have the prophecy as a cut out quote at the very beginning of the book (directly after the chapter number, where poems typically are placed). "Jurassic Park" does this very well, though it's not really a prophecy but a prediction. I think it's good to let the audience gradually figure out the prophecy prior to its fulfillment, because then you have the audience on the side of the story and eager to watch it all play out. Audience participation is a fantastic trick, and prophecies are definitely one way to manage it.

 

- M

The power of feeling with all your senses

I bet you didn't expect a squirrel smelling a flower!

There's a neat science fiction movie called "Equilibrium" in which the society markedly eliminates all feelings. I'm not sure why it didn't become really popular, because it's an excellent movie (also with a really cool idea called the "gun kata" which mixes martial arts and guns, hilariously stylized and ridiculously awesome). The central theme is: who are we without our emotions? It's not the first time science fiction, or fiction in general, has tackled such an idea. The question is a good one and definitely worthy of dedicated attention.

 

Nope. I won't get into that here.

 

What I will do is ask: when was the last time you set yourself free and allowed yourself to really feel? There's a restaurant in California called "The Opaque" where you eat in a totally dark room, waited on by blind waiters, with the idea that if you take away sight then food is magnified to the other senses. How about taking away sound and watching a play? Do you then use your other senses more acutely? Take the exercise to all the senses. What happens?

 

I think we take our senses for granted. Maybe we don't even fully realize their true potential. I do know that if I close my eyes and hold my wife's hand that it's warm and alive and far more magical than if I only look. At the same time, why is it that I can hold a picture of my wife's smiling face and stretch out my fingers to caress her cheek? Our senses offer much more than tiny pieces around us, they gift unto us a reality of the world that is truly breathtaking if you take the time to appreciate it.

 

- M

Sick as ... a dog?

Why do we gravitate toward odd phrases and expressions? Currently, sick as a dog fits pretty well (yeah, yucky ickiness and awfulness). It's entertaining to search and discover where these phrases come from, such as "raining cats and dogs" or "cute as a button" and even "couch potato." There's a story behind every one, though not always a story everyone agrees with. In my studies, I've learned that some phrases just appear and nobody knows where. I'm reminded of phrases we used in high school that apparently never made it beyond our school.

 

 

Personally, I think we enjoy coming up with phrases that embrace a whole lot of emotions in a few words. It's actually a way of connecting with others and sharing common experience. The idea has been shown many times, and the one that I think of immediately was in a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where Captain Picard had to learn how to communicate with an alien who only spoke in phrases (so the universal communicator couldn't interpret correctly, because all it did was decipher the words and not the meaning), such as "Shaka, when the walls fell" (which we figure out means failure). It's a neat concept, and was a fun episode.

 

We also have our own private phrases--commonly called "inside jokes"--that allow good friends to communicate with subtle clues, gestures, and snarky words to completely mystify everyone else to the profound amusement of the participants. This is most fun at large gatherings, where people are most likely to wander away and shake their heads at you. It's even better when things kind of make sense, so people nod and smile, but have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. It's fun. You should try it!

 

- M

I'm not the main character, but, hey, I'm important!

Main characters are the point of the story, sure, but secondary characters can be just as much fun. R2-D2 and BB-8 aren't main Star Wars characters, but I'll bet everyone in the world knows them. Supporting characters not only prop up the story, but add welcome distractions and can be as goofy and strange and idiotic as you want. In a literary sense they're called "foils." But, some of my favorites are secondary characters, and probably because they're silly and fun.

 

Amazing things happen when care and love is spent on all the players in a story, regardless how small. Fan clubs have been created for even the most incidental people in movies (yup, even the Elven Council scene in the Lord of the Rings, where a handful of elves are arguing, has fans of each of those elves). There's no knowing what people will latch onto, or why they like what they do. So, why not include a bunch of choices In my own work, I've found it hard not to smile when some of the secondary characters show up.

 

I'm still astonished by the spectacular success of the new Star Wars, and really hope the toys will branch out beyond the main characters. I'd love to have a toy figure of that old man who gave the starchart key to the resistance pilot at the start. Or, the goofy parts dealer who only paid with powdered bread (I must admit, I love that little detail). Actually, I'm sure they'll sell as many toys as they can reasonably get away with.

 

Captain Phasma--what was it she did?

 - M