Why we always need heroes

When things go wrong, we want heroes to save us. However, we need heroes anyway. We need examples to emulate, people who are greater than we ever hoped to be, living role models who lift us up simply by existing. Heroes provide hope, inspiration, power, excitement, and yearning for greater things. I'm talking about true heroes, who live their lives with passion and purpose, not the fake sort forced upon us by spiteful people. We need heroes to press us forward, guide us, and make us see a better future. Real heroes do all these things.

We don't have to be Superman to be heroes
Superman by Alex Ross

For some reason, our culture loves deconstructing heroes and either destroying or making them worthless. Sure, people are flawed, make mistakes, and generally louse things up. Heroes aren't perfect, and if they were they would be impossible to imitate. It's okay to want to be like them. Battlefield heroes inspire courage, workplace heroes encourage diligence. Heroes are found in every area of life, and I submit they are needed there just as much.

I think we have taken the danger of hero-worship too far. Sure, It's not good to idolize anyone to the point of ridiculousness, but if we only strive to destroy any great example then we lose the value of powerful role models. In an age of no heroes, there is no hope and anyone who tries is torn to ragged bits. Then, we run the risk of passing into the anti-hero, who does all kinds of mischief and does good only as an idle after thought.

We need heroes in our lives. We need to celebrate heroes. We need to once again place heroes in places of honor. And, not just military heroes, but all walks of life. I'd like to nominate my dad as my lifelong hero. Who's yours?

- M

Why is it that when things are perfect, it's wrong?

The science fiction movie, "The Matrix", has a great monologue from the character Mr. Smith. In it, he says that a prior version of the computer simulation failed because it was perfect and humans rejected it out of hand. It's an interesting thought, and it's also likely true. Whenever there's perfection--such as in sport or art--we immediately look for trickery, for mirrors and smoke, anything to make it so we aren't inadequate in comparison. So, we prefer our worlds to have flaws, because that makes them more "real."

This brings us to the common advice all new writers are given: give your character a flaw, something that makes them vulnerable. What's interesting is these don't necessarily have to be real. For instance, my favorite detective, Columbo, makes a big deal of being a bumbling fool, yet is actually highly intelligent and uses this seeming vulnerability to put suspects into a state of arrogance. Batman's flaws are his childhood trauma and also his unwillingness to kill, which limits his options and thus forces creativity. You see, flaws expand a character rather than limit them--and that's why perfection is so hard to believe, because perfection requires nothing else.

Authors can use this sense of reality to incredible effect. Audiences may not even realize their being manipulated. If you're watching a suspense movie and the hairs stand up on the back of your neck without you knowing why, it's likely the author is pricking your sense of reality. Think of it like a magic trick--lovely to watch, infuriating to work out how it's done, and ultimately unfulfilling when you know all the details. However, as an author, the thrill is in watching the audience react, and enjoying the amazed looks and bewildered chatter. So, don't let perfection stop you. Get out there and mess stuff up!

- M

Passwords gone crazy!

When computers were new, and cyber security still an unknown term, people would often write their passwords on papers right at their desks. That's clearly a stupid thing to do, but I bring it up because people have had difficulty with passwords from the very beginning. Now, we have passwords for nearly everything we do online and offline. A personal pet peeve of mine is when I'm signing up on an inconsequential website and they ask for a password, then immediately reprimand me for not making it "secure" enough--only then do they mention requirements of two symbols, non-repeating letters, at least three numbers, capital and lower-case letters, and that it not be a dictionary word. Good grief! I'm not logging into Fort Knox, I'm just reading a news column. Sheesh.

All these passwords have created a new generation of writing the password on your desk ledger ... making one "secure" password and then incrementing each new one by a numerical digit. For instance, "1#dG(!832_d%" becomes "1#dG(!832_d%1" and "1#dG(!832_d%2" and "1#dG(!832_d%3". This creates the same problem, in that if someone gets your password, it's simple to gain access to everything else. There are special programs that will compile all your saved passwords and then enter them for you in a super secure way, and these applications are fabulous. Just don't lose your master password ... or post it on a desk note.

I've become less convinced of the need for passwords in many instances. Yes, anything we pay for should be protected, but why protect a simple new site that only wants to track my views? Leave it at a username and drop the password. If I order a pizza, then remember my address and give points for that, and not because I created an account which I forgot the password to. Places are obsessed with tracking user behavior (which I can understand), but this has caused a tidal wave of passwords and usernames. Oh, and don't forget to change your passwords now and then ... augh!

- M

Silence, Peace. Just a breather for my mind.

Have you ever had enough noise, and wish for nothing but peace? Television commercials are especially bad at this, instead filling every nanosecond with ear-splitting noise. It used to be thought that younger audiences required constant noise and motion (MTV specifically was good at doing this), but those concepts have imbedded themselves into everything it seems. Perhaps it's just me, but I do enjoy allowing events to dwell quietly for a bit. Jokes are especially subject to this. For instance, George Burns, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jack Benny (an absolute master of the prolonged stare) turned pauses into art forms, creating humor out of nearly anything.

I'll give away a secret of mine: sometimes I wear headphones and am not listening to anything whatsoever. Yup, I do it just so I can retreat into my own head and think, rather than absorb all the stimuli around me. And, no, I won't ignore someone or use my quiet to annoy. I just want a bit of peace sometimes. Funny how in our modern society of incredible marvels and bewildering technologies has such minimal times of nothing going on. We bury ourselves underneath mountains of sound, activity, and business.

Take a walk in the mountains and you'll discover what I yearn for. There's terrific peace and pleasure to be had when you're out in nature, somewhat far from civilization. Just get away from it all. Turn off your phone, look up, and realize there's a lot more to do in life. At the very least, try and find some peace, with no loud music or interruptions, and definitely less frantic activity. Slow down. Enjoy life. It won't bite ... well, not the things without teeth at least.

- M

Forced to do dumb things

People do dumb things all the time. In stories, however, when characters do ignorant, dumb, stupid things it rips the audience right out of the story and they collectively sit back and groan. A few examples from movies I've recently seen include: a cab driver still driving (and weaving wildly) after someone falls onto his roof and grabs on by sheer accident, cops shooting at a fleeing suspect while on a crowded street, cops shooting a suspect while the bad guy holds a baby hostage to his chest, security guards firing into a crowded boardroom to stop a loose animal, and the ever popular scared person investigating a noise without any weapon at hand. I could name the movies, but these choice moments are multiple offenders and are seen all over the story map.

 

You see, the problem with these dumb acts isn't so much that they're stupid and wrong. No, the problem is people simply wouldn't do them without very precise motivation underlying their actions. The writer wanted tension and so forced the characters to behave unnaturally. The audience will notice and will immediately pass beyond the story, criticizing it rather than enjoying it. It breaks the implicit trust the audience has made with the author. All of my examples could work fine, but only if the characterization had a good reason. Normal people would pull over (or slam on the brakes) if someone fell on their roof. Cops certainly wouldn't endanger innocent lives by firing wildly at a fleeing suspect (and, many times the suspect hasn't done anything worth dying for in the first place). When you're scared you won't blithely investigate suspicious sounds without arming yourself, unless you have no other choice.

 

Audiences are enjoying the story to escape reality for a time. That's the goal. It's basic escapism. Even history is a way of leaving the present behind and leaping through a time portal. They want to connect with the main characters. So, when the characters behave unrealistically it pulls them away and causes the audience to moan in frustration. The desired tension doesn't develop because the audience isn't connecting with the characters any more. The trust is lost, and it might take the rest of the story to get it back. Why lose it in the first place?

 

I often sit back and wonder, "Would <place name here> actually do this? Or am I forcing them to do something stupid?" If you have any doubt, then the answer is likely, "yes," and you need to do some re-writing. It's well worth the effort.

 

- M

Hanging shelves ... I think this activity belongs in Dante's "Inferno."

My body keeps me humble, especially since I'm actually quite strong. But, my knees and my back won't take much strain. Sigh. So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I took on the duty of putting up shelving (the sort where there's a board with brackets, not a kit which free-stands). My youngest daughter helped, as it was for her room anyway, and she was fantastic! We levelled the board, then marked where the screws should go. I drilled holes in the board and set the brackets first, then we went to work on the wall. Everything was perfect, with three studs exactly spaced to match the boards ... what luck!

Yeah, like this but with brackets holding it up--rather than magic.

Somewhere along the line, it was like hearing a boxing announcer saying, "Boom, baby!" Yup, one screw hole was off. Hey, it happens to the best of us, right? Okay, so drill it again. Whoops, the screw skipped into the old hole. Eh, it'll be hidden behind the bracket, yes? Well, now the wall is bent. Huh? How did that happen? Was it always bent inward? Wait, just that spot? Did I do that? Why did we put the shelf there then? Oh, good grief. Um, ah, well, there'll be a gap at the back of that particular shelf. Don't worry about it, honey. It'll be hidden, right?

 

So ... we put up one shelf. The next will go up tomorrow. Hey, perfection takes time and a clear mind. Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm sure the wall will behave at that point. Maybe it's just having a bad day and needs a good long nap? So, I did the brave and honorable thing and let the wall sleep it off. I'm sure tomorrow it will stop fiddling with me and be good. After all, walls have feeling too, don't they?

 

- M

Good intentions gone awry

image credit

Many times we do things with the very best intentions, but then it all goes wrong. Many things can happen, and usually do, even though we do everything we can to prevent it. However, it's interesting how we never give up trying. Despite our failures, we keep doing what we can to put things right, to fix it all, and to make it better in the future. Even with all our flaws, we humans are an optimistic bunch and we don't give up.

 

Being in the medical field myself, it's always amazed me how great the human spirit to survive becomes. When we are living easily and without stress, that quality isn't seen much. But, when things are tough and we are facing the end of it all, we find an inner reserve of strength that's truly astonishing. Yes, there are many horrible things in our world, but we'd rather remain a part of the good things than step away. It's been said that true character is revealed by the fires of life, and I've seen it happen time and again.

 

My wife frequently tells me I stress about things that don't matter. She's right. Maybe it matters that our intentions are good, maybe it doesn't. Whatever happens, we move on or get trapped by regret. I hate regret. It's one of the few things that can drag me into the pits of despair before I even know what's happened. We can't redo the past, so why dwell on it? Kick the dust off your feet and try again. Maybe this time your good intentions will win out. Whatever happens, just do your very best.

 

- M

Last minute craziness!

Have you ever waited until the very last moment to get something done?

Yup, I sure have. I probably drove my parents crazy with all my last minute homework and projects. Hey, I can't be the only kid who slapped together their science project the night before, right? Right? Yeah, well, I'm not perfect. I have gotten better though. Most importantly, I kind of have a schedule for things that I do. Especially writing duties--although sometimes it feels like I'm strangling my Muse rather than being inspired. If I put things off these days I feel broken ... ok, no, I can't really say that with a straight face. I do try though.

 

The strange thing is I never meant to delay, and I sure didn't like the pressure of last minute projects. The worst part was knowing there was no time to spare, and I would be forced to pull an all nighter just to get it done. Yuck. It's a good sign of maturity when someone gets a task done ahead of schedule, rather than procrastinating. The wise plan ahead, while the fool falls behind. My parents tried to teach me that throughout my childhood, but only now do I really understand how important that lesson was. Thanks mom and dad, I get it now!

 

And now the cycle has turned to me as parent instructing my own children. Yup, I've been cursed with carbon copies of myself. Augh! How many times have I pulled my hair out trying to get them to do something this century? Oh how cruel the wheel of fate is ... or, maybe I've just been run over by recycled history. Either way, I'm still trying to get my kids to do things in a timely fashion. Well, hopefully they get it before their boss smacks some sense into them. Life is cruel when it teaches lessons. If I could go back in time, I'd give myself a stern talking to and maybe then I'd pay more attention to the wisdom of my parents.

 

- 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

Alakazam! It's fixed, er, broken, well, I can work with this ...

Ever hear the saying, "You first must break a thing to make it work." No? Well, perhaps I just made it up. But, it does happen a lot where you make an oops into a eureka! Life is a lot like that, I suppose. But, I was really thinking about when we are desperately trying to make something, anything, happen and all that results is a pile of broken pieces. Then, with a bit of thought and frustration, we create a workable thingie that isn't a complete failure. Case in point ... I now have a shower that points up, but works great!

 

Being a parent is also like that over and over. I lost track of the times I've goofed up, only to return with some words of wisdom to pass along. And, I'm really serious here, it was worth doing. All of it. The idea that our kids get to see how we fail, get frustrated, and finally burst through is a dynamic life lesson (one I'm sure we wished we could ignore). Our children get a glimpse of our true selves, unveiled, for all to see. If you're like me, you cringe at the thought. But, we can fix it. We are works in progress, and if we break a piece off, then use the left over pieces from something else. It'll work if you tweak it a bit...

Yes, this is totally an accurate representation of me.
All accusations that this is some fakery called He-Man is ridiculous.

All silliness aside, why are we so afraid to fail? In stories, the heroes fail all the time ... reliably. Yet, we are on the edge of our seats, because we know they cannot possibly fail in the end. What makes us think we aren't the heroes in our own stories? Shouldn't we be? I doubt I'll ever have superpowers, but I sure am going to win at the end. Count on it. In a blaze of glory, with a sword held high. Count on it!

 

- M

Build-it-Yourself ... put slot B in object T with tool J ... huh?

One of the most frustrating projects I've ever coped with was building our first baby crib. It was the most confounding and ridiculous build I've done in my entire life. I swear the people who designed the thing were Klingons, or possibly pranksters from another dimension. And, yes, I do read the instructions available. One thing I've realized is how important it is to read all through the directions first, because they invariably goof up the order of assembly.


photo credit

Yesterday, my wife and I bought a new television stand. It's sitting on the other side of the room, staring at me. I swear it's laughing maliciously, just waiting for me. I'm not completely sure it's not possessed. Maybe if I have someone come over and do an exorcism it'll assemble without disaster? Either way, I'm biding my time. I think if I sneak up on it when it's napping things will work out better. Okay. I admit it. I'm just not gonna do it until later.

I do have a suggestion though, and that's to put a difficulty rating on these things. Model airplanes have it, or at least they used to. If I knew it was a tough kit, then I wouldn't feel so lousy when I'm not getting the crazy thing together. And what's the deal with having parts left over? Extras, for later replacement? Or, do the designers expect that we destroy some bits and need a second one? Personally, I think the second choice is the likely one. Maybe they realize that anger management becomes an issue during these challenges? Wish me luck!

- M