Transformers 2 - Revenge of the Fallen opened nation wide this week I've been eagerly awaiting it. I've watched trailers just to get excited, I've read whos acting in it, I've followed the rumors and now that it has been released and I've seen it I have to say WOW! I loved it. It was awesome. It was robots kicking the crap out of other robots. It was a little romance (but not to much). It was just plain COOL!
What I am sick of though and where my complaint comes in is why in the world are the critics slamming this movie? I mean what are they expecting when they see it? It's a summer action flick by the king of summer action flicks. It's not an Oscar movies, it was never meant to be. It's not Shakespear, it's not high art. It's just a movie about robots beating up other robots. There is a mild plot but I'm not wanting plot I'm wanting more of Prime ramming his sword through Decepticons in the forest. I'm wanting more of Megatron growling, "I can smell you...Boy!" or "Come here Boy!". In the end that is exactly what this movie gives me. It is bringing my childhood to the big screen just as Spider-Man, X-men, Iron Man, and Star Wars has done! It rocks! So to all those professinal critics AND the amatuer upset fanboys out there I say lighten up! Relax and go rewatch it and quit worrying about plot and character development. Just enjoy it!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A writer’s world…
I’ve read over and over recently how lonely a writer’s life is and as I get more and more into the “Story to be Named Later” I realize just how lonely it might get. I read blogs from established authors like Lili St.Crow and I get a glimpse into the busy life of a successful writer and I wonder just how well organized their life is. I sit here writing this and keep glancing at the clock, knowing I’m running out of time. Work is around the corner. Tomorrow is a day to take the little monsters to the parental unit’s house and for the first time since my new commitment to writing I’m trying to figure out how to deal with kids all day AND write. This past weekend is another example. I came home from eight hours on the job and just had no energy to write.
A book will not write itself.
So I find myself hammering out words here and there for twenty minutes, thirty minutes, anything to add to the word count. I day dream while I’m driving to and from work and lay out plots while I’m eating as if possessed by these works that are still waiting to be born. Then the inevitable happens. I get sidetracked. I see something, hear something or smell something that launches my mind into a frenzy of creative activity and a new story idea grows. A new character that seems better, faster, stronger than the one I’m currently writing about. A new genre calls my name and it’s a struggle to maintain the flow on the story I’m currently working on. Then I go back and I sit and I wonder. How do ‘real’ authors deal with these tsunami like ideas when they’re working on their ‘real’ book? Does Jim Butcher put off his latest Dresden novel because he has a great idea for a romance novel? Does Saintcrow put off her latest Strange Angels novel because she has a great idea for a western? Yet authors do jump genre and authors can write a plethora of books (Butcher comes to mind). Robert B. Parker seems to have books coming out at a pace that is startling. He has Spencer novels, a YA Spencer novel, a western, and a Jesse Stone novel all coming out around the same time. Does the man ever sleep!
And then we are back to the original driving force behind the post. How lonely it is to have all of these great ideas and few people to share them with. These ideas and worlds swimming through your head and no one to share them with or at least no one who will really see it the way you do. Hours of pounding away at a keyboard the story playing out like a movie in ones mind and no one to share the maniacal genius of it all. It’s a bit scary and a bit enticing. Still, it’s going to be a long journey until completion. I’m figuring at least 150 rejection slips before I even get close to an acceptance!
A book will not write itself.
So I find myself hammering out words here and there for twenty minutes, thirty minutes, anything to add to the word count. I day dream while I’m driving to and from work and lay out plots while I’m eating as if possessed by these works that are still waiting to be born. Then the inevitable happens. I get sidetracked. I see something, hear something or smell something that launches my mind into a frenzy of creative activity and a new story idea grows. A new character that seems better, faster, stronger than the one I’m currently writing about. A new genre calls my name and it’s a struggle to maintain the flow on the story I’m currently working on. Then I go back and I sit and I wonder. How do ‘real’ authors deal with these tsunami like ideas when they’re working on their ‘real’ book? Does Jim Butcher put off his latest Dresden novel because he has a great idea for a romance novel? Does Saintcrow put off her latest Strange Angels novel because she has a great idea for a western? Yet authors do jump genre and authors can write a plethora of books (Butcher comes to mind). Robert B. Parker seems to have books coming out at a pace that is startling. He has Spencer novels, a YA Spencer novel, a western, and a Jesse Stone novel all coming out around the same time. Does the man ever sleep!
And then we are back to the original driving force behind the post. How lonely it is to have all of these great ideas and few people to share them with. These ideas and worlds swimming through your head and no one to share them with or at least no one who will really see it the way you do. Hours of pounding away at a keyboard the story playing out like a movie in ones mind and no one to share the maniacal genius of it all. It’s a bit scary and a bit enticing. Still, it’s going to be a long journey until completion. I’m figuring at least 150 rejection slips before I even get close to an acceptance!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Addiction...
So I was just over at Lili St.Crow's blog (it's a good read if you get a chance you should go check it out)and she was mentioning an addiction to the internet. I got to thinking about this and realized that I am trully addicted to the internet and I wonder why? I mean I subscribe to Facebook but I haven't been on there is ages. I don't subscribe to Twitter so I'm wondering what my excuse is. I have several emails to check each day from School to work to personal. I check my fantasy baseball team and a bevy of blogs from authors to bike riders to editors. It just seems to suck the time right out of a day. You turn it on at 8 in the morning and before you know it BAM its noon and nothing productive has been done! No writing, no homework....nothing!
Well yesterday I had had it, so I shut the whole laptop down and went to Jack in the Box and ended up writing with pen and paper. I went old school folks and you know what it was great...except for a serious case of wrist cramp about 45 minutes in! I'll sit down and input some of it into the "Story to be named later". I felt really productive and while I doubt the word count was very high it was nice to get it out without interuptions of the internet kind!
Well yesterday I had had it, so I shut the whole laptop down and went to Jack in the Box and ended up writing with pen and paper. I went old school folks and you know what it was great...except for a serious case of wrist cramp about 45 minutes in! I'll sit down and input some of it into the "Story to be named later". I felt really productive and while I doubt the word count was very high it was nice to get it out without interuptions of the internet kind!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Endings and Beginnings…
As I write this, my spring 2009 school semester is done. It was a rough one this time around with work getting in the way, financial issues on the home front and a myriad of other obstacles. I had started the semester with two classes and due to the above laundry list of issues in the past seventeen weeks one class became a casualty of the war! So I finished with one Environmental Science class. Even that one class was a real struggle these last few weeks. Still it looks like things will end on high note as I’ve earned a B for the class; not bad for a guy who hates Science.
I have to say that the Professor for the class really helped me out. Her belief in my ability to pull through really kept me from dropping out of the semester entirely and I’m not sure I’d have some of the revelations about my educational future had I done that. Many thanks go out to her for that support.
So as one thing ends so to do many things begin. Last week I started work on the Book to be Named Later. I had spent many days prior to that start beating myself up over my writer’s voice and even wrote a rather depressing blog entry about it. I struggled with what to write, what genre, what kind of character and finally I just sat down and wrote what I like. I like ‘trashy’ sci-fi novels and so I’m writing one. I might try another genre later but to get things started I am just sticking with what I know and love. I may try to write another genre during the NaNoWriMo month of November to see how it goes. I have a few ideas for that. I’m reading No Plot? No Problem written by the founder of the NaNoWriMo and I have to say it’s been encouraging and November can’t get here fast enough.
The other thing that inevitably begins when spring ends is that summer begins. Summer vacation (a whopping nine weeks long this year) should be fun, or I should say I am determined to make it fun! Last year it went by far to quickly and I feel like I robbed the Garbage Disposers with hair the opportunity to have a great time. We missed the beach altogether and only went camping once. This summer I’m really hoping to do a few more things with them. First up will be a trip to San Diego to see museums (hey they said they want to and who am I to stop that!?) and then who knows.
So endings lead to beginnings and off we go. I have a pretty solid idea of my educational goals and it’s lit a fire in my backsides. Perhaps the end result won’t result in any more money for us as a family but I’ll be far happier working on a degree I find satisfying than to work on a degree just to earn money! I have plans for the summer that will involve me spending as much time with the "Little Me's" as possible and life will hopefully settle in for a nice little trip through summer.
As the school years end across the country I wish you all a very merry and fun Summer!
I have to say that the Professor for the class really helped me out. Her belief in my ability to pull through really kept me from dropping out of the semester entirely and I’m not sure I’d have some of the revelations about my educational future had I done that. Many thanks go out to her for that support.
So as one thing ends so to do many things begin. Last week I started work on the Book to be Named Later. I had spent many days prior to that start beating myself up over my writer’s voice and even wrote a rather depressing blog entry about it. I struggled with what to write, what genre, what kind of character and finally I just sat down and wrote what I like. I like ‘trashy’ sci-fi novels and so I’m writing one. I might try another genre later but to get things started I am just sticking with what I know and love. I may try to write another genre during the NaNoWriMo month of November to see how it goes. I have a few ideas for that. I’m reading No Plot? No Problem written by the founder of the NaNoWriMo and I have to say it’s been encouraging and November can’t get here fast enough.
The other thing that inevitably begins when spring ends is that summer begins. Summer vacation (a whopping nine weeks long this year) should be fun, or I should say I am determined to make it fun! Last year it went by far to quickly and I feel like I robbed the Garbage Disposers with hair the opportunity to have a great time. We missed the beach altogether and only went camping once. This summer I’m really hoping to do a few more things with them. First up will be a trip to San Diego to see museums (hey they said they want to and who am I to stop that!?) and then who knows.
So endings lead to beginnings and off we go. I have a pretty solid idea of my educational goals and it’s lit a fire in my backsides. Perhaps the end result won’t result in any more money for us as a family but I’ll be far happier working on a degree I find satisfying than to work on a degree just to earn money! I have plans for the summer that will involve me spending as much time with the "Little Me's" as possible and life will hopefully settle in for a nice little trip through summer.
As the school years end across the country I wish you all a very merry and fun Summer!
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