Monday, September 20, 2010
Lame-sauce
I apologize for this post. I meant to continue where I left off from my last post, but I'm wiped out from 3-4 days spent writing a paper for my Atwood seminar class. There's not much left in me to write at the moment. For now, I'm just going to get on my Paradise Lost reading assignment. Thank God for Sparknotes.
Friday, September 17, 2010
A Supernatural Era
Over the past decade, American pop culture has been in an era of the fantasy and extraordinary. The fiction market has dominated with a boom of paranormal and supernatural literature, which has also been supported by movies & TV shows of the same themes. I don't think I even need to give examples for it to be understood how much of an influence these books, movies and TV shows has had on American culture.
Of course, there has been a slow buildup of attention to this that has exploded in recent years, saturating American pop culture with vampires, werewolves and zombies (oh my!). A literary leader in this era is J.K. Rowling, whose books have been popular since it first hit the New York Times Bestseller list back in 1999. Buffy the Vampire slayer was hugely popular (and still has a following); it aired from 1997 to 2003. I don't want to leave out Anne Rice either, though I'll get more into her on my next post about vampires.
Of course, this flavor of geekdom has always been around for those who seek it. They just hadn't been as popular in mainstream American culture: Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Golden Compass, Xena: Warrior Princess, etc...
Science-fiction has been on the rise as well, although it hasn't been nearly as popular in numbers. Many sci-fi shows, novels, and movies have very loyal fans but not a big enough group to keep the overall popularity up. For example, the show Serenity was a sci-fi show (and later movie) that brought the wild west and sense of manifest destiny to the untamed expanse of outer space... However it only aired for one series. =( On the other hand, Trekkies and Star Wars geeks have come out of the wood works and flourished as their fandoms have attained more national attention.
And then where do we put the zombies? Back in their graves, I know. Stupid question. But really, zombies can be categorized as fantasy/paranormal or science-fiction, depending on the theory for the zombie rising (ex: voodoo magic or a crazy pathogen).
The big question to all this is "Why now?" The answer is many faceted and will take some more research to pin down exactly, but I do have one legitimate reason. The easiest and most obvious answer (to me) is that people search out more fiction and escapist literature when they are stressed, which is most everyone during this recession. People long for something completely out of the ordinary that will not remind them of the monotony of life or any other personal crises. They want something bigger, exaggerated, incredible, which in turn makes it a multimillion dollar market (including books, movies & TV shows).
At last, my mind always circles back to one question: What is the social and cultural impact of our actions?
How much of our pop culture spreads to other countries and effects their popular cultures?
What worries me is how long this market for fantasy/paranormal/supernatural is going to last. It's been a big hit and shows no signs of slowing, but sooner or later it will. It's only an era, a fad, a thing of popularity. In my favorite author's biography, she wrote about how she began to get published and how difficult it was. She said no one wanted to publish her stories (vampire-like beings, Greek mythology, & high action) because there wasn't a market for them.
So how long will this era continue? Will the market for it still be around for me (or many other young writers highly influenced by these veins of writing) when I actually finish a manuscript & try to publish it?
Of course, there has been a slow buildup of attention to this that has exploded in recent years, saturating American pop culture with vampires, werewolves and zombies (oh my!). A literary leader in this era is J.K. Rowling, whose books have been popular since it first hit the New York Times Bestseller list back in 1999. Buffy the Vampire slayer was hugely popular (and still has a following); it aired from 1997 to 2003. I don't want to leave out Anne Rice either, though I'll get more into her on my next post about vampires.
Of course, this flavor of geekdom has always been around for those who seek it. They just hadn't been as popular in mainstream American culture: Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Golden Compass, Xena: Warrior Princess, etc...
Science-fiction has been on the rise as well, although it hasn't been nearly as popular in numbers. Many sci-fi shows, novels, and movies have very loyal fans but not a big enough group to keep the overall popularity up. For example, the show Serenity was a sci-fi show (and later movie) that brought the wild west and sense of manifest destiny to the untamed expanse of outer space... However it only aired for one series. =( On the other hand, Trekkies and Star Wars geeks have come out of the wood works and flourished as their fandoms have attained more national attention.
And then where do we put the zombies? Back in their graves, I know. Stupid question. But really, zombies can be categorized as fantasy/paranormal or science-fiction, depending on the theory for the zombie rising (ex: voodoo magic or a crazy pathogen).
The big question to all this is "Why now?" The answer is many faceted and will take some more research to pin down exactly, but I do have one legitimate reason. The easiest and most obvious answer (to me) is that people search out more fiction and escapist literature when they are stressed, which is most everyone during this recession. People long for something completely out of the ordinary that will not remind them of the monotony of life or any other personal crises. They want something bigger, exaggerated, incredible, which in turn makes it a multimillion dollar market (including books, movies & TV shows).
At last, my mind always circles back to one question: What is the social and cultural impact of our actions?
How much of our pop culture spreads to other countries and effects their popular cultures?
What worries me is how long this market for fantasy/paranormal/supernatural is going to last. It's been a big hit and shows no signs of slowing, but sooner or later it will. It's only an era, a fad, a thing of popularity. In my favorite author's biography, she wrote about how she began to get published and how difficult it was. She said no one wanted to publish her stories (vampire-like beings, Greek mythology, & high action) because there wasn't a market for them.
So how long will this era continue? Will the market for it still be around for me (or many other young writers highly influenced by these veins of writing) when I actually finish a manuscript & try to publish it?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Literature and pop culture
There have been some pretty big hit series in novels lately. They've become so big, in fact, that many scriptwriters and film-makers have forgone new and original movie scripts for the stability of turning best-selling books into movies. To list a few books: the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings series, Percy Jackson Lightening Thief, Nicolas Sparks novels, The Lovely Bones, Eragon, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (in theaters Sept. 24th!), Ramona & Beezus, The American, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Blind Side, etc..
Many comics have also been made for the big screen: Batman/Dark Knight, Hellboy, Iron Man, Sin City, Spider Man, Men in Black, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, Fantastic Four, Transformers, Alien vs. Predator, Catwoman, Daredevil, Superman, X-Men, etc. The list goes on and on and on. There's been quite a few TV shows as well, but those generally aren't as popular, or simply the popular comics are made into movies instead of live action TV shows.
Here are more comics-turned-movies coming out in the next 2 years: The Green Lantern (summer 2011), Men in Black III (2012), X-Men: Firstclass (2011), Thor (2011).
[*If you'll notice, the majority of these movies, books & comics are supernatural, paranormal or fantasy in theme. Wonder why that is? Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog!]
3 new films that will soon join the ranks is Stephen King's magnum opus, the Dark Tower series! I have mixed feelings about this, though I'm mostly happy. I'm glad these are being made into movies because Stephen King's books are awesome, most especially this series. And all seven novels will be made into 3 movies and 1 TV series (neato!). On the other hand, I'm a chicken and never watch scary movies. Period. Though I'll probably make an exception for these ones. And then, there's also the worry that the people making the movie will royally mess it up.
Besides J.K.Rowling, who had a very active role in the creation of the Harry Potter movies, most authors do not or cannot have anywhere near as much say-so. And I've seen some really messed up movies. Take, for instance, my favorite childhood book is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. *minor rant warning* This is a Newberry Award winning novel that was completely gutted and destroyed as a film (for which I still cannot like Anne Hathaway). The scriptwriters & film-makers changed the entire plot, removed major characters, added in a main character that never existed in the book, completely changed the personality of some of the main characters--it was a mess! On top of that, they changed some characters' personalities and completely altered the physical description of the elves from tall, slender, peace-loving, green-skinned vegetarians to Keebler elf look-alikes!
I will say that there are a few occasions when the movie comes out really good, maybe even better than the books. I thought Stardust by Neil Gaiman came out really good in film. There was a bit added to the movie, but those parts were really funny and only made it better than before. I mean, who doesn't love cross-dressing pirates? hahaha
And I'll end it there for now. Good to get this outta my system.
-----------------------------
Aha! I flatter myself that I was clever enough to split a very long blog post into 3 separate, marginally smaller entries. =) Yay!
... Kinda scary to think how long it would have been otherwise.
P.S. I didn't touch the whole Twilight stuff because that will come up in next week's blogging.
Many comics have also been made for the big screen: Batman/Dark Knight, Hellboy, Iron Man, Sin City, Spider Man, Men in Black, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, Fantastic Four, Transformers, Alien vs. Predator, Catwoman, Daredevil, Superman, X-Men, etc. The list goes on and on and on. There's been quite a few TV shows as well, but those generally aren't as popular, or simply the popular comics are made into movies instead of live action TV shows.
Here are more comics-turned-movies coming out in the next 2 years: The Green Lantern (summer 2011), Men in Black III (2012), X-Men: Firstclass (2011), Thor (2011).
[*If you'll notice, the majority of these movies, books & comics are supernatural, paranormal or fantasy in theme. Wonder why that is? Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog!]
3 new films that will soon join the ranks is Stephen King's magnum opus, the Dark Tower series! I have mixed feelings about this, though I'm mostly happy. I'm glad these are being made into movies because Stephen King's books are awesome, most especially this series. And all seven novels will be made into 3 movies and 1 TV series (neato!). On the other hand, I'm a chicken and never watch scary movies. Period. Though I'll probably make an exception for these ones. And then, there's also the worry that the people making the movie will royally mess it up.
Besides J.K.Rowling, who had a very active role in the creation of the Harry Potter movies, most authors do not or cannot have anywhere near as much say-so. And I've seen some really messed up movies. Take, for instance, my favorite childhood book is Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. *minor rant warning* This is a Newberry Award winning novel that was completely gutted and destroyed as a film (for which I still cannot like Anne Hathaway). The scriptwriters & film-makers changed the entire plot, removed major characters, added in a main character that never existed in the book, completely changed the personality of some of the main characters--it was a mess! On top of that, they changed some characters' personalities and completely altered the physical description of the elves from tall, slender, peace-loving, green-skinned vegetarians to Keebler elf look-alikes!
I will say that there are a few occasions when the movie comes out really good, maybe even better than the books. I thought Stardust by Neil Gaiman came out really good in film. There was a bit added to the movie, but those parts were really funny and only made it better than before. I mean, who doesn't love cross-dressing pirates? hahaha
And I'll end it there for now. Good to get this outta my system.
-----------------------------
Aha! I flatter myself that I was clever enough to split a very long blog post into 3 separate, marginally smaller entries. =) Yay!
... Kinda scary to think how long it would have been otherwise.
P.S. I didn't touch the whole Twilight stuff because that will come up in next week's blogging.
random update
I woke up this morning with a strange urge to write something poetic. Unfortunately, I can't write down all my ideas while I'm in the shower, and as soon as I'm out, I gotta move move move to get to class or work on time. Anyway, I thought of 2 story ideas, both based on social issues.
One is a poem or short fiction story (maybe 55 fiction) about female body image. The other is a poem for the Words Against Hunger event coming up. I'll see if I can make a slam poem, which will take a lot of focus and editing & critiquing. I'm never a good enough critique for my poetry or much anyone else's. It's not my thing.
But this poem for Words Against Hunger will be a bit different from last year. Last year I wrote about the different type of homeless people one might see and other non-homeless people's various reactions to them. This year, I want to write more about homelessness as a growing reality (specifically because of the economy), fear of what it means to be truly without a home, and maybe a little about a changed perception of homelessness in light of the recession.
Other than that I haven't written anything much creative. Homework zaps all the energy out of me. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post the long entry I worked on today but was unable to complete. I do tend to have long entries. ^^;
One is a poem or short fiction story (maybe 55 fiction) about female body image. The other is a poem for the Words Against Hunger event coming up. I'll see if I can make a slam poem, which will take a lot of focus and editing & critiquing. I'm never a good enough critique for my poetry or much anyone else's. It's not my thing.
But this poem for Words Against Hunger will be a bit different from last year. Last year I wrote about the different type of homeless people one might see and other non-homeless people's various reactions to them. This year, I want to write more about homelessness as a growing reality (specifically because of the economy), fear of what it means to be truly without a home, and maybe a little about a changed perception of homelessness in light of the recession.
Other than that I haven't written anything much creative. Homework zaps all the energy out of me. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post the long entry I worked on today but was unable to complete. I do tend to have long entries. ^^;
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Misconceptions pt. 1: Romance vs. Romantica vs. Erotica
I'm currently reading Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood for my Atwood seminar class. In this, my professor mentioned the influence of Harlequin romances, especially for the story called "True Trash". If, for some obscure reason, you don't realize what a Harlequin romance is, you'd likely recognize it as one of those short paperback (approx. 250-300 pages long) romance novels found at any grocery store and most bookstores. There are many different lines of Harlequin romance novels, as Harlequin is the publisher (Canadian based).
Now then, in Atwood's short story "True Trash", a group of young women read a story in a magazine considered trashy romance. Indeed, I would agree that is a trashy romantic story; in the story, teenage girl (16 yrs old?) tried on a fancy dress while her mother was out, only to have someone come in the house/apartment while she was half-way undressed. The girl rushed to the door only to find that it was a beau of hers (so to speak). This guy, who is a few years older than her, proceeds to pick up the reluctant girl, and they have sex on the couch. Of course, the girl ends up pregnant (just like what happened to her mother) and the guy leaves her. But it has a "happy" ending in that another guy that liked the now-pregnant girl married her and they moved into a trailer park with the baby (+ a dog) and lived happily ever after.
Despite the skipped-over sex scene, if I read something like this that was published today, I would completely agree that it was trashy. However, I am very relieved that I've never read any romance novel like that. (I've read a couple not-so-great romance novels and one horrible one that I might sometime rant about if I'm in the mood, but that's all.) Unfortunately, many critics of the romance genre think that romance novels are still like that. WRONG!
Romance novels are about strong women who find love and support from a partner. It's not about being swept off their feet and rescued because they are weak and worthless without the men. No no no. Romance novels staunchly follow the sentiment of "In order to love others, you must first love yourself". Sounds awfully realistic for fiction, no? How about that, folks. Realistic, healthy relationships with an emphasis on a woman's security and happiness. (Now be careful with what I said there: realistic relationships. I did not say that the circumstances needed to be completely realistic, for example, as in thrill romance novels or paranormal or other fantasy romance novels.)
--Another frequent misconception about romance novels is that they're all sex scenes. Smut smut smut.
My first reaction to that is to say, if there is so much sex in the book, there can't be any room for a romantic relationship to develop. And without the romance, it's not a romance novel. Simple as that.
Second, if people say they've read stories like that, then they are likely reading them from Wanda Wannabe, not from a published romance author (print or e-book published). I.e. they are lying. I double dog dare anyone to find a romance novel without romance.
Books with many frequent, long (and often explicit or graphic) sex scenes are in a separate category called Erotica. Erotica novels might have a bit of romance involved, but the entire point of these novels is to read about sex scenes. These are what my friends would call "porn novels". The biggest difference between the Erotica and Romance genres is the mandatory HEA (happily ever after). Erotica novels are not necessarily concerned with finding a good relationship or having a couple commit to each other in some shape or form. And there are sometimes more than 2 people coupling in erotica novels. 0_o;
Furthermore, only a very small percentage of romance novels include more than 2 people in the romantic relationship & sex scenes/ love-making scenes/ whatever you want to label the dirty deed. And those that do, being more kinky, are sometimes considered Romantica. Romantica is a term used by some, connotating romance novels that are especially steamy or graphic. This category is most often found used online with romance ebook publishers. There are authors that write what I would consider Romantica and still publish in print, but these books are not differentiated from others in bookstores' romance aisles.
"Regular" romance novels novels include an average amount of sex scenes are not super kinky, graphic or frequent. There are also certain authors and even lines of Harlequin books that have the overly modest; light-petting, the bedroom door closes, use-your-own-imagination kinds are available for all the prudes out there. (Hey, the romance genre is diverse and inclusive for everyone.)
I think that's all I've got to rant about today. I'm certain there will be more to come. </end rant>
Now then, in Atwood's short story "True Trash", a group of young women read a story in a magazine considered trashy romance. Indeed, I would agree that is a trashy romantic story; in the story, teenage girl (16 yrs old?) tried on a fancy dress while her mother was out, only to have someone come in the house/apartment while she was half-way undressed. The girl rushed to the door only to find that it was a beau of hers (so to speak). This guy, who is a few years older than her, proceeds to pick up the reluctant girl, and they have sex on the couch. Of course, the girl ends up pregnant (just like what happened to her mother) and the guy leaves her. But it has a "happy" ending in that another guy that liked the now-pregnant girl married her and they moved into a trailer park with the baby (+ a dog) and lived happily ever after.
Despite the skipped-over sex scene, if I read something like this that was published today, I would completely agree that it was trashy. However, I am very relieved that I've never read any romance novel like that. (I've read a couple not-so-great romance novels and one horrible one that I might sometime rant about if I'm in the mood, but that's all.) Unfortunately, many critics of the romance genre think that romance novels are still like that. WRONG!
Romance novels are about strong women who find love and support from a partner. It's not about being swept off their feet and rescued because they are weak and worthless without the men. No no no. Romance novels staunchly follow the sentiment of "In order to love others, you must first love yourself". Sounds awfully realistic for fiction, no? How about that, folks. Realistic, healthy relationships with an emphasis on a woman's security and happiness. (Now be careful with what I said there: realistic relationships. I did not say that the circumstances needed to be completely realistic, for example, as in thrill romance novels or paranormal or other fantasy romance novels.)
--Another frequent misconception about romance novels is that they're all sex scenes. Smut smut smut.
My first reaction to that is to say, if there is so much sex in the book, there can't be any room for a romantic relationship to develop. And without the romance, it's not a romance novel. Simple as that.
Second, if people say they've read stories like that, then they are likely reading them from Wanda Wannabe, not from a published romance author (print or e-book published). I.e. they are lying. I double dog dare anyone to find a romance novel without romance.
Books with many frequent, long (and often explicit or graphic) sex scenes are in a separate category called Erotica. Erotica novels might have a bit of romance involved, but the entire point of these novels is to read about sex scenes. These are what my friends would call "porn novels". The biggest difference between the Erotica and Romance genres is the mandatory HEA (happily ever after). Erotica novels are not necessarily concerned with finding a good relationship or having a couple commit to each other in some shape or form. And there are sometimes more than 2 people coupling in erotica novels. 0_o;
Furthermore, only a very small percentage of romance novels include more than 2 people in the romantic relationship & sex scenes/ love-making scenes/ whatever you want to label the dirty deed. And those that do, being more kinky, are sometimes considered Romantica. Romantica is a term used by some, connotating romance novels that are especially steamy or graphic. This category is most often found used online with romance ebook publishers. There are authors that write what I would consider Romantica and still publish in print, but these books are not differentiated from others in bookstores' romance aisles.
"Regular" romance novels novels include an average amount of sex scenes are not super kinky, graphic or frequent. There are also certain authors and even lines of Harlequin books that have the overly modest; light-petting, the bedroom door closes, use-your-own-imagination kinds are available for all the prudes out there. (Hey, the romance genre is diverse and inclusive for everyone.)
I think that's all I've got to rant about today. I'm certain there will be more to come. </end rant>
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Hot news!
Now is a bad time to be a poor college student. TT_TT
Now is a time of excitement in the bookworm communities for paranormal romance and for horror genres.
Three days ago Sherrilyn Kenyon (my favorite author) released her newest novel in the Dark Hunter series! *happy dance*
Ten days ago, Christine Feehan (3rd favorite author) released another novel in her very long Carpathian series.
Marvel comics just released another graphic novel from the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton (2nd favorite author).
And Stephen King gave the OK to Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman to direct and write the scripts to make The Dark Tower series into 3 movies and a TV show. How awesome is that? So awesome that I want to drop everything and start reading the rest of the Dark Tower series asap.
Now is a time of excitement in the bookworm communities for paranormal romance and for horror genres.
Three days ago Sherrilyn Kenyon (my favorite author) released her newest novel in the Dark Hunter series! *happy dance*
Ten days ago, Christine Feehan (3rd favorite author) released another novel in her very long Carpathian series.
Marvel comics just released another graphic novel from the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton (2nd favorite author).
And Stephen King gave the OK to Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman to direct and write the scripts to make The Dark Tower series into 3 movies and a TV show. How awesome is that? So awesome that I want to drop everything and start reading the rest of the Dark Tower series asap.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Writing Common Sense
Following yesterday's thread of thought, here are some writing tips that most people should be aware of as common sense.
- Show, don't tell. Put your money where
my pocketyour mouth is. - Read your writing aloud. If it sounds choppy or slow or ridiculous, (you guessed it) it is! Fix it.
- Adjectives are the enemy. Use them sparingly, like your last storage of chocolate.
- Verbs are great! They skedaddle, mesmerize, explode, catapult over burning buildings and even do the dishes (literally... or is that figuratively?). What more can you ask for ?
- Use correct grammar! Creative license will only get you so far, depending on what you're writing. But first, make sure you can easily follow the rules so you know how to artfully break them.
- Edit your work! Don't be a lazy ass and make someone else do it. Editing is one of the most important parts of the writing process.
- This should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway: avoid cliches!
- If you're writing about a character that's the opposite sex, please think twice about the dialogue and thoughts. I've critiqued writing many times where I end up saying, "(Guys/Girls) don't talk like that. Think about it. They would never say/think like that at all." Even if it's fiction, keep it real, yo.=
- Follow the rules of the world/genre. If it's sci-fi, don't go jumping outside the bounds of physics (esp. without any logical explaination). If it's fantasy, obey the law of the land; everything has limits and consequences, even magic. If it's non-fiction, don't go off into an alien space ship. You get the point?
- Research! Don't write about things as fact when you're going on assumptions. People will call you out on it.
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