If You Can Do It Better, Do It / Happenings In The Outhouse 27-May-2022

Critics.

People love to criticize the artistic works of others.

Love 'em or hate 'em, there have been critics for as long as humans have walked the Earth.  But some criticize far more than others.

I was listening to a podcast about the upcoming Lord of the Rings series coming to Amazon Prime later this year, and I was struck by how critical the folks were about the process and what story they were using to tell.  It reminded me of the criticism George R. R. Martin has received in regards to finishing his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

The same goes with other successful people, like Rowling and the new fantasy world she has created, and many others.

It drives me crazy when I hear about all the people speculating about this and that about a new series in the Marvel universe or Star Wars universe or whatever.

Me?  I just sit back and enjoy the show when it comes out.  No speculating.  Why?  It's a waste of my time.

I would rather spend my time creating my own worlds than speculating about others outside of my control.  Think about it for a moment.  Would you rather watch the movie unfold or actually be a part of it?

I go with the latter if my money is on the line.  I control my own creations.

Also, and here is the crux of what I'm getting at: if you think you can do better, then go ahead and do it.

Writing Is A Dish Best Done Daily / Happenings In The Outhouse 05-March-2021

Most writing advice is individualized, and is thereby crappy advice.

But there is one simple piece of advice (and this goes for most anything) is to make a habit of doing something daily.

Yes, even writing.

I'm in the middle of reading Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (yes, all fourteen books plus a prequel novel) and in looking at the publication dates, that man had an impressive writing output.  Another fantasy author I admire is Brandon Sanderson.  He can churn out the novel behemoths at regular intervals.  Yes, I'm still waiting on a few other fantasy novelists to finish their series . . . Martin?

What does this mean to me?  For the past month or so, I've had a few setbacks, which has eaten into my writing time.  And because of it, I find myself taking longer to get back into the story.  This could be the reason why George R. R. Martin is taking so long with finishing his monumental series, simply because he has written other things in the meantime.

I'm not comparing myself to Martin by any stretch of the means, but when you're busy with other obligations or distractions, it's harder to get back into the story.  I've had to go back to the beginning of my latest novel three or four times now to re-read the whole damn thing--I've enjoyed reading it, but for crying out loud I just want to finish it.

The same goes with exercise or any other habit.  Do something daily.  Even in little drips.  You'd be amazed at what you can accomplish.

Not everything needs an explanation / Happenings In The Outhouse 12-June-2020

Writing a decent story means, at times, that you may be walking a fine line between a well-paced story and one that drags.  Well-paced doesn't necessarily mean fast-paced.  Have you ever read a book or watched a movie/TV show where you found it difficult to stop?

That's good pacing.  And the best ones blends fast and slow pacing very well.  It would do you well to study how it was done.

A few weeks ago, I decided to watch all eleven Star Wars movies back-to-back, in chronological order by the events in the movies, not the release dates.  I started with the three prequels, then Solo and Rogue One, and of course the original trilogy and finished off with the sequel trilogy  Now, before you ask, I didn't watch them straight through without any sleep.  Lord no!  But it was interesting how quickly I moved through the first movies--including the prequels--and by the time I got to the final sequel movies, I found it difficult to watch for too long.  In fact, it took longer to watch the final trilogy than the others.

Then I discovered why.  Pacing.

Even Rogue One and Solo didn't suffer from a pacing problem.

If you view the sequel trilogy, there is a problem with the characters having to explain EVERYTHING.  True, there was some explanation in Phantom with the whole midichlorian thing when it came to the Jedi and Sith, but it was done quickly, in passing, and then we moved along--well, some were upset by it and still are to this day.

Remember.  Not everything needs to be explained.  And mindless banter just for the sake of banter only drags the story along.  Not that dialogue needs to be eliminated.  If you want a lesson on dialogue, read anything by J. D. Salinger.  Especially his other stories.

Watch one of your favorite movies or read one of your favorite books.  I can almost guarantee you that the pace of the story doesn't suffer.  Events don't always have to be explained in great detail.  Even Tolkien didn't explain a lot of the events in Lord of the Rings.  Neither does Rowling and George R. R. Martin, when it comes to their worlds.

Please leave something for the imagination.

Rome wasn't built in a day. So don't treat your writing career like it should be.

Stephen King didn't stop with The Shining, his first hard cover bestseller.

J. K. Rowling didn't stop with the first Harry Potter books.

John Grisham didn't stop with The Firm.

Brandon Sanderson didn't stop with the Mistborn trilogy.

George R. R. Martin didn't stop with Game of Thrones.

All of these bestselling authors (and many more) did one thing in common: they wrote more books.

Of course, there are runaways successes like Harper Lee, William Peter Blatty, and J. D. Salinger who wrote one book (or two in the case of Blatty and four for Salinger) and quit.  These are not the norm for most authors who want to have a successful writing career.

Write more books.

Rome wasn't built in a day.  I look back at my blog and am astonished at how long I've been doing this.  I also look back at when I wrote some of my previous (unpublished) books and wonder what in the world I've been doing.

I am in this for the long haul.  I will be writing, and publishing, more books.

Don't treat your writing career anything less than the building of Rome.  It may be slow, but keep writing.

The world needs you.

Parable of the cabinetmaker

There once was an master cabinetmaker, whose great works were higly sought from all across the land.  One day, his apprentice noticed the cabinetmaker spending just as much time sanding the back corners of the drawer as he did the front.

"Why do you do that, sir?" the apprentice asked.  "No one will see them.  No one will even know."

"But I will know," the master cabinetmaker said.

The same could be said about your writing.  How much are you smoothing all of the edges?  Are you making the dialogue to the best of your ability?  Are you bringing a richness to both the story and the characters?  What are you holding back?

In my alternative military history novel (boy, I should really share the name for this instead of always referring to it in this way), I came to a chapter where I delve into the life of one of the supporting characters.  As I did, there was so much I discovered that I want to enhance it as I continue to write the rest of the book.

Does this always need to be done?  Do you need to share all of the worldbuilding you did for your book?  Certainly not.  However, take one of your favorite books and watch where the author does this, sharing a richness to their created world.  I'm currently re-reading George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones and loving where he brings this rich world to life.  He does it in sublte ways, giving little hints to the past.  The same could be said of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

Does everything need to be included in your story?  Certainly not.  But adding even a few details here and there will make your world more alive, and your readers will grow more and more in love with it.  If, in the end, it doesn't work, you can always hit the DELETE key.

My review of Game Of Thrones Seasons 1 & 2 - Books vs. DVDs

What can I tell you?  I only recently discovered George R. R. Martin last year and honestly I'm not sure why (and how) I missed his writings.  As a huge fan of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and Terry Brooks, where in the world was Martin hiding?  Well, it's possible he was there the whole time and I just didn't know what was in store by this master of the storytelling craft.

George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song Of Ice And Fire, starting with Game of Thrones, is now on its third season as an HBO TV series.

I read Game of Thrones last year and was taken aback by this rich world, one that felt like a medieval soap opera where this family was pitted against that family and so on.  I loved it!  At times, however, minor characters seemed to blend and I got confused as to what was happening, but in a way that's the richness the world Martin has drawn.

Then, I borrowed the first season of Game of Thrones on DVD from the library and got an even clearer vision of what the world was about--I even have plans to go back and re-read Game of Thrones.  Now, I can also honestly say, I am also a fan of HBO's Game of Thrones channel on YouTube.  I have gone back to the beginning and have watched nearly every single video--yeah, call me a geek if you want, I really don't care.

I am currently in the middle of reading Martin's second book in the series A Clash of Kings, which the second season in the HBO series takes place.  In watching some of the previews, I don't consider them spoilers as I plan on getting the DVD series very soon even before I finish reading the book.

My take on watching the TV series and reading the books is simple: they've enhanced my knowledge of this world GRRM has created, and appreciate the complex web of plots he has set in place.  (As a side note, speaking of epic fantasy series, I have not read any of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books but I will devour them soon as well--I just want to get caught up in GRRM's world first).

If you've either not read the books but watched the movies or held back on the movies as you have read the books, my suggestion is to do both.  Read the books AND watch the TV series.  You will enjoy these books a whole lot better.

Way to go George and the HBO team for putting together such a fantastic series!