To Be a Kid Again

It’s very rare that I see something that stirs that special spot in my heart reserved for fond childhood memories, but it has been known to happen on occasion. As much as looking back on being a kid offers a mixed bag of whatever, there really is something magical about that place where imagination ran wild with unfettered gusto. To be a kid was to attempt the impossible on a daily basis, and much of that fire is missing as a guy in my late twenties that sits in a cubicle writing Web copy.

In the last week or so, I’ve hit two media examples that poked at those halcyon days of youth. Continue reading →

Shredding and Editing

I’ve been anticipating 2011 as the year of the revision, much like 2010 was the year of the first draft. As such, this means that I’m now tackling the lengthy process of printing, reading and revising, and so far it’s been a mixed bag.

Oddly enough, I actually decided to revise the most recent book first, the fully fleshed out version of In the Blood (although that will not be the final title). I came to this conclusion for a number of reasons. Continue reading →

Things I Did in 2010

Seeing as how we’re already 12 days into the year 2011, I figured my time was running short on doing a self-congratulating post about last year. I could write a whole bunch of nonsense about how 2010 was a year of ups and downs, but it really wasn’t. In all honesty, it was one of the best years I can remember, and I have no reason to believe that 2011 will be any different.

Here’s some stuff I did in 2010, mostly in chronological order: Continue reading →

Blogging Cliches

This is where I write a cliche blog post about how I haven’t blogged in a long time. It’s where I also say that I’m going to be doing more on here in the next few weeks. Both of those things are true, but I figured it was good to go ahead and get it out of the way, just so there’s a mutual understanding between us. In keeping with blogging cliches, here are what some of my next few posts are going to be about:

1. Why Everything Is Awful, Everywhere

2. How that One Thing Is Not as Good as it Used to Be, Back Then

3. 10 Tips for Talking a Big Game in Tip Posts

4. A Post About My New Hobby, Amateur Photography

5. Everyone Is Wrong About x Subject Continue reading →

What A Game Can Do: Final Fantasy 7

Final Fantasy 7

Growing up, I was always a big reader. You could also insert nerd, dork and dweeb following that sentence, and it would sit just as well. While I enjoyed watching shows on TV or even Empire Strikes Back on VHS – which was my favorite movie until Jurassic Park came out – I never got quite the same satisfaction as I did reading a fun adventure on paper. There was something about holding the story in my grubby hands, interacting with it by turning pages, seeing the words as they formed whatever pictures I dictated and really having time to connect with characters. Sure, movies had people that I loved, but spending several weeks with a character in my brain was infinitely more satisfying than just a few hours on a screen.

But I never knew a video game could do the same thing until Final Fantasy 7. Continue reading →

Sudden Fiction: In the Blood

Inspired by my good friend Jeff James, who’s been writing great little bits of sudden fiction lately over at Full of Words, I decided I wanted to try my hand at a few creative writing exercises. As I’ve been working on all kinds of other stuff for about eight months on end now, my creativity has needed a bit of a shot in the arm.

So, I decided to run with a small idea I had and let it go for about 1000 words or so: a boy returns to bury his father and finds a secret. There are vampires involved, and Assassin’s Creed 2. It should be noted I’m not a huge fan of the vampire trend, but I thought the idea was a fun one and jumped on it. I’m pretty pleased with the results. Feel free to let me know what you think. Continue reading →

Writing for Yourself as the Audience

Aesops FablesYou can’t please everyone, so you might as well please yourself. It’s one of Aesop’s Fables and a song by Rick Nelson, but it’s a true thing that I think writers need to keep in mind as well. In a recent post on her blog, Jane Espenson, writer on such shows as MASH and Buffy, discusses the question of if in today’s age of high speed communication, does the audience have a much greater impact on the storylines of shows than ever before.

In a move that made me incredibly happy, Jane discounts that idea completely. The short of it is this: write for yourself as the audience. And from my (extremely) limited experience, I’d say she is 100 percent correct.

The answer I give to this is that I consider myself to be the audience I’m writing for. I write what I would want to see. Continue reading →

The Raggedy Edge

standing on the edgeIn the realm of things that are totally are-you-freaking-kidding-me ridiculous: last night, I officially hit my goal of writing 100,000 words for Seven Sons. There was no fanfare associated with this, nobody standing there and cheering or popping champagne bottles, but it was an event for me nonetheless.

The threshold was crossed on the following sentence: A few lies would set them back on their way just as easily as a blade, but the death would only mean questions later.

Continue reading →

My Superman Obsession

Superman

Another Comic Con has come and gone, and Eddy is left with an empty hole inside of his heart the shape of several thousand cosplay costumes, star-studded panels and epic movie trailers. Add this convention to the list of things I might commit a crime to attend one day, along with E3. Because of this, I’ve been in the superhero mindset as of late, which really doesn’t take too long, seeing as how I’m a bit obsessed, and have been since I was but a wee lad, as they say. Continue reading →

Why I’m Tired of Viral

City 17

I apologize in advance about the rant-y nature of this post.

I’ll go ahead and say it: I’m tired of viral videos. I really am. Not viral videos in general, though. I’m tired of the weekly recycled “awesome fan made x trailer/short film” (x being some property like Doom, Batman, AntMan or what have you). This is a conclusion I’ve reached recently, and it’s caused me to look at online video in an entirely new light, like getting a bucket of cold Fortress of Solitude ice water thrown on my face: for the most part, viral videos have turned into a derivative pile of predictable drivel.

For years now, the Web has been heralded as some kind of wide open landscape ripe with potential for creative types to find a home for their exciting and original content. At times, we’ve seen just that: people that become a unique force in a way they might not have outside the tubes, whether they are comic artists, Web show creators or video game reviewers. But is the Web actually living up to this promise, or are we making backwards progress? Continue reading →

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