Legal issues and traditional publishing / Happenings In The Outhouse 01-Jan-2021

Take a moment and search the following on your favorite search engine browser: Alan Dean Foster and Disney.  Then do a little reading.  It's quite the rabbit hole.  Don't worry, I'll wait . . .

Done?  Good.  What are your immediate thoughts?  Distain toward the house of mouse?  Head-shaking toward an author who has written much in universes they didn't create (and still writing) and they should just move on with the money they've been given?  Indifference to both sides?

Keep in mind, this is just one author who is being messed over by traditional publishing.  I've read other articles where there are numerous others in this mess too.  When you peel back the layers of the corporate onion, this is what may happen when companies are bought and sold like cattle on the market.  Not everyone benefits in a positive way.

Now, first and foremost, I'm not an attorney and I sure as heck don't play one on TV, so I won't lay out all of the legal issues at play here.  That being said, the conglomerate involved in this should be absolutely ashamed of themselves--my opinion, of course.  Your opinion may differ.  Nothing screams corporate greed more than this--and I, for one, am a fan of capitalism, but this is just plain shitty.  Again, just my opinion.

When I told my youngest daughter what was done to Mr. Foster, she asked me, "What if Disney wanted you to publish a story?  Would you do it?"

Good question.  A challenging one too.  My answer: it depends on the contract and the money attached to it.

Go back to that same search engine and, this time, look up: friends (plus) residual checks.  One of the top hits states that the cast of the TV show Friends make several millions of dollars each year in residuals, from reruns.  Then, when you look at other TV series, even some of your favorites, the cast members in those do not share in the same residuals.

Why?

Answer: it depends on their contract.

My point in all this is simple: those who are in control seems to hold most of the money.  Keep as much control of your own work as possible.  If you want to license it away, educate yourself get proper legal advice.

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.

Stop trying to be clever and tell the story / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-April-2020

For those who know me, I don't trash any of the Star Wars prequels and sequels.  I take them for what they're worth as pure entertainment.  Obviously, the original three are my favorites--and Empire being my favorite of those three.

But as I watched the last movie this past weekend, there were a few times I shook my head and urged the story to just move along . . . move along.

This seems to be the case with all three sequel movies.  Clunky dialogue that doesn't serve any purpose except some cheap thrills, endless bickering about nothing, overexplaining, and the list goes on.

Take the first Star Wars movie: A New Hope.  Did it have clunky dialogue?  Sure, like Han explaining to Luke that flying through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops.  But it flowed.  In the first thirty minutes of the final movie, there were five to ten minutes of overexplaining and bickering and weird dialogue that could've (should've) just been cut.

Back to A New Hope.  Luke asked Ben/Obi Wan if he fought in the Clone Wars.  He said he did.  And that was it.  No explaining WHAT the Clone Wars was or anything.

All of these things on the sequel movies took away a bit from the overall story, and with that I am sad.  I still loved them, but they could've been better.  And with that, our lesson for today.  When telling a story, don't feel the need to explain every little thing.  Rowling didn't do that in the first Harry Potter book.  She showed us the canvas and left it for us to wonder, to use our imagination.

Do that with your story.

Tell the story.

And leave it at that.

Setting the big rocks in place / Happenings In The Outhouse 03-Feb-2017

A few weeks ago, I finally came up with "the big rocks" to plot out books two and three of the Shadowkill Trilogy.

What do I mean by big rocks?

Think of ideas as various sized rocks.  Big rocks are the main plot points that are the meat of the story.  This would be the equivalent to the Rebel Alliance stealing the plans for the Death Star in Star Wars: A New Hope.  For example, that is.  There are other big rocks in Star Wars, but for simplicity purposes let's stick with this.

Next to the big rocks are smaller-sized rocks.  Imagine the big rocks being placed in a large bucket.  The remaining space fits the rest of the rocks, and eventually down to sand.  Coming up with the big rocks for the rest of this trilogy has changed the scope of these books--honestly, I know what's going to happen in book three, but didn't figure out how to marry the two.

Now I have.

I am currently around the 21,000 word mark in the second book.  I'm shooting for around 75,000 words, as a guideline, but wherever it ends is fine by me.

Jessica Jones vs. Star Wars: The Force Awakens / Happenings In The Outhouse 08-Jan-2016

The Saturday after Christmas, I took my three kids to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens at a movie theater in East Grand Forks, North Dakota.  The first two shows were sold out, but we were one of the first ones to see it for the next one.

I won't do a formal review of the movie (there's plenty of that out there as it is, good and bad and indifferent) but I will say this.  I loved it.  My three kids talked about it non-stop all the way home.  Hats off to J. J. Abrams.  What he did to Star Wars is what he also did to Star Trek.  He made the movie franchise for each series fun again.  Into Darkness is my favorite Star Trek movie next to The Wrath of Khan.

Yes, I loved the new Star Wars movie and am disappointed so many people have ripped on it.

Well, here's one for you.  The same people ripping The Force Awakens have also been praising the Netflix series Jessica Jones.  Again, no formal review, but I will simply say it was boring and it just wasn't right for me.  The last 3-4 episodes were mildly entertaining but that's it.  It took me over a month to slog my way through it.

Not every movie or TV show or book or work of art is for everyone.  Critics will line up to spew their opinion.

Frankly, I don't give a damn what you think.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion and most of the time I keep it to myself.  Star Wars isn't for everyone.  However, there are people who don't normally watch science fiction or fantasy movies, will watch Star Wars and love it.

The same goes with Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or even Harry Potter.  The masses love these movies/books.  Instead of criticizing them, find out what it is that people love about them.

Again, it may not be for you.  And that's okay.

But not everything you like is for others either.

As an aside, the first draft of the third thriller novel in the Central Division Series is complete.  I will keep you informed as I am temporarily slating this for publication by the end of January 2016.

"We'll never see this again in our lifetime" / Happenings In The Outhouse 25-Dec-2015

 

"We'll never see this again in our lifetime."

 

I heard this mantra last week when it was predicted that Star Wars: The Force Awakens would smash box office records in a way that will never be seen again in our lifetimes.  Funny thing is, I've heard this before.  Several times, in fact.

I'm in my early 40s and have lived through several of these so-called "never see again" eras.

"Oh, we'll never see as prolific a writer as Stephen King."

"There will never be as prolific a writer as J. K. Rowling."

"The success of Harry Potter will never be matched.  Ever."

"(Fill in the blank) will be the biggest Marvel movie ever."

I am utterly disgusted by the notion that there will never, EVER, be something better than what has currently been created.  Here is a list, from Wikipedia, on the highest grossing films of all time.  It's impressive how many were created within the last few years.

Do not get sucked into the mantra that there will never be anything as good as what has already been created.  I remember reading an article about this concerning the massive success Stephen King in the early 1990s.  Then, a scribbler from Mississippi had his second novel made into a movie . . . starring Tom Cruise.  The Firm was the name of the book and movie.  The author?  John Grisham.

And let's not forget J. K. Rowling and her "tiny" book series called Harry Potter.

I could go on and on.  Brandon Sanderson.  Andy Weir.  The Hunger Games.

Are we forgetting about Peter Jackson's theatrical trilogy version of The Hobbit?

Every time I hear the "never again" mantra I shake my head.  And so should you.  Because the "next big thing" is always right around the corner.

Star Wars vs. Doctor Who / Happenings In The Outhouse 18-Dec-2015

I apologize if the headline sounds like it's click-bait, but today's Friday post is a mashing of several ideas and with the new Star Wars movie coming out, why not start with that.

Earlier this year, I introduced my youngest daughter to both Doctor Who and Star Wars on Netflix.  She watched a few episodes the Clone Wars animated series as well as Doctor Who.  Who won?

Doctor Who.

Not to say she didn't love Star Wars, because I for one have been a fan ever since the original movie was in the theaters in 1977--yes, I'm that old.  She said she loved Doctor Who more because the doctor and his companion(s) go on countless adventures and can go in any place in time, be it far in the future or well in the past.  She knows more about the show than most people, and she's only 9-years-old.

However, when the new Star Wars movie comes out, I will be bringing all three of my kids to it.

Now, back to business at hand.  The third book in the Central Division Series is getting closer to done.  I have surpassed 48,000 words and am planning this to be anywhere between 65-70,000 words when it's complete.  I will be working on the cover shortly, and will be sharing both the title and cover soon.

Lastly, as a writer/author, one can never seem to run out of ideas.  A few days ago, while driving to work, I got a fantastic story idea.  It sounded so simple I was sure it had to be written before.  Nope.  Not even the title seemed to be taken in either a movie or book.  Sweet!  All I will say is that it's Christmas-themed and I would love to try write it before Christmas next year.  I also have a Halloween-themed story I need to write in 2016 too.

Like I said, there are no empty wells of ideas.  Only the lack of ambition or fear of failure to accomplish it.

Dream it.

Then do it.

The world is counting on you.