Good afterevenmorn Readers!
This is going to be a personal post, brought on by the various, incredibly depression discussions around A.I. and artistic creation. As I’m primarily a writer, or, at least, I’m hoping to make a living as a writer. I draw and paint as well, but those are things I do mostly for me and I’m not trying to make a career of that. Perhaps more than one of you can relate to the state of, well, creation right now.
Good afterevenmorn, Readers!
This one is for the writers out there. Also, I’d like to remind all the writers out there that any writing advice should be taken with a large grain of salt, and while the title does make it seem like I’m commanding thee to read non-fiction, you don’t have to. Of course. I just find that I get most of my inspiration for my fiction from non-fiction.
Very specifically, archaeology… Especially for fantasy (but it has its place in science fiction, too, as you’ll see).
Good afterevenmore, Readers!
First, my apologies for getting this to you late, instead of my usual morning post (also, please spare a thought for the editor, whose forbearance is bordering on legendary. Give him some kudos in the comments). I was away on holidays all last week and couldn’t get my usual writing in.
I wasn’t completely out of the world while on holidays. I did occasionally check social media… which might have been a mistake, because an old, old argument has begun once again. This isn’t one where I can understand both sides. This is one where I am firmly on one side, for very obvious reasons. There are several points to this argument, all of which stem from the same kind of thought process, and all of which I find exhausting.
But what argument, you ask? (I’m assuming) Ah! But the age old argument of the cost of stories.
Good afterevenmorn, Readers!
I’m here to do something angsty, teenage me would be horrified by – defending “bad” entertainment. You know the ones – bad movies that are just a fun time to sit through, even if the only thing they have going for them is epic fight choreography, pulpy books with lead characters whose names are alliterations, and who rock their way through the pages with naught but their wry grins and cheesy one-liners. Video games that attempt a story, but fall short and yet are still really fun to play by virtue of their mechanics or visuals. All these “bad” movies, books and games, if done right, can actually be just what the doctor ordered.
Sometimes you need RPGs that inexplicably change direction to wallop the bad guys. Sometimes you need heroes with flowing locks and bare chests. Sometimes you need the weirdly gravelly-voiced maniac with a gun fetish who saves the day. Entertainment does not need to be deep. Sometimes, the exact thing it needs to be is silly — “Bad.”
Goodafterevenmorn, Readers!
I’m still in the world of video games. I’d rather not be. I’m gearing up for a book release right now. I’d much rather be talking about that. But the gaming news is slamming itself into my algorithm at the moment, and I need to talk about it. This isn’t happening in a vacuum, but is the same damned thing that happens every time a game that doesn’t feature a straight dude comes out; primarily giant man-babies throwing public tantrums because there is a toy in the world they don’t want to play with and how dare anyone make something that doesn’t appeal to them specifically. There are so many cases of this, but the big one right now belongs to the latest installment of the God of War franchise. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Good afterevenmorn, Readers!
Now that I’ve finished my play-thorugh of Far Cry 6, I have started playing a new game on my Friday night live streams. It is a survival exploration game that I am assured also has a story element (my livestreams are narrative games, largely). It is both fascinating and absolutely horrifying. I am, of course, talking about Subnautica. With the third game in the series out now in early access (oddly called Subnautica 2, even though the second game in the series was Subnautica: Below Zero), I figured I should take a stab at the original game. I knew precious little about it, save that it was a science fiction survival and exploration game, and that there was a thing in it called a reaper levaithan.
Now, I’m not very far into the game, so I haven’t experienced any of the promised story, save for the introduction, but I am already obsessed. Let’s talk about it!
Good afterevenmorn, Readers!
This past Saturday, I headed out with a few of my martial arts students, past and present, to watch the second installment of the recent Mortal Kombat adaptations. I’m not going to lie, the draw for me was the involvement of Karl Urban as Johnny Cage. Cage was never a character I played, but the retired action movie star is a fun idea for this franchise, and I will generally support anything Karl Urban does. Even when it’s bad, he’s great in it. And sometimes when it’s bad, it’s good. Ask me about my love of the 2005 film Doom one day. I never said I had great taste.
The point is, I went and saw the movie, and the short review is, I loved it (see afore mentioned note about my tastes). Let’s dive in!
Good afterevenmorn, Readers!
So… I’m a nerd. I know, surprising, right? What might actually be surprising, though, is that I’ve never actually played a game of Dungeons & Dragons. I mean, I’ve had a couple of home-brewed one-shots many years ago, but I’m never actually played a proper campaign, with a regular crew. That changed this year. I started with a friend, who was part of another group, who then created a splinter group for a different game. I am part of that splinter group, starting a new campaign at ground zero.
Can I just say, I am loving it. It’s a very excellent way to explore character and motivation, as well as world-building and story-telling. If you struggle with any of these, consider starting a D&D campaign. Let’s explore what’s going on in my game, because I’m too enamoured with it currently not to share.
Goodafterevenmorn, Readers!
I had an interaction online that took me aback a little bit, and I really need to talk about it. I realise that I’m largely preaching to the choir here, but I am feeling a little like I need a sympathetic ear, so apologies. But I must give some context, so here we go:
Good afterevenmorn, Readers!
Everyone has a preference, right? Preferences show up all the time; in food, in friends, in partners, in art, films, and books. I, for example, like my food relatively spicy. My father will take it so damned hot any normal person will hallucinate pink elephants for hours. Not my preference. Sharing an Indian meal with him is sometimes a challenge. I prefer whiskey to most other alcoholic beverages, though I’ll happily have a rum and coke on occasion. I am a huge fan of surrealism in art, and find expressionism a little dull (controversial take alert). And when it comes to my books, I do not like first person perspective narratives, or LitRPGs, and I’m very particular about my humour.
Well, there are two books/series now that have absolutely slapped me in the face and called me a liar. And I’m here to admit I have (joyfully) been proven so very wrong.