Oregon Trip part 2: an idea engine

Three years ago, just after my wife discovered she was pregnant with our first child, she informed me we were taking a vacation since, in her words, it would be the last time  we could go together "for years".   Flash forward to Christmas, when I am informed that before Child 2.0 arrived we were having a "romantic getaway"  for similar reasons.  Hence  the trip to the Oregon Coast.


I could talk about the fabulous place we stayed or the sights we saw, but overall tonight I keep going back to the ideas that flowed from  being there.  Time and again  I would find myself transfixed by something I witnessed and out of it find myself inspired by  unrelated ideas.  For instance, at the Seal Lion Caves  I found myself thinking of a Pirate Story, an invasion tale,  and several others all while teasing my wife about the odds of witnessing an killer whale attack; which of course, would have been the best story of all.  Watching the Light house beams cut through the fog I found myself considering the stars, and how would an interstellar society would attract attention to dangers or even to themselves.

I guess the short form of the experience is a dream engine the likes of which  I haven't seen in a long time.  I tend to grind down in the details of work and lose my sense of wonder.  I'd like to thank the state of Oregon for shipping it back for me. 

The Quandary

Caught in a quandary right now; I’m  enjoying what little writing I’m getting done right now, but I’m carefully staying away from many of the topics I once wrote about.  In no great part this is because my new job.  It is an amazing job and  huge time eater and … problematically for the way I work,  99% of it is confidential killing many subjects I would love to write about.  I don’t want to put myself in  a situation where while talking hypothetically I say something that could be tracked back to something that happened on the job. 

Good plan overall considering in many ways I want to keep my writing away from education as much as I can.   I want this place to both be my relaxation and my research log.  I need to stay focused for that to happen. 

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Heroes in their own story

Have you had ever had a conversation with someone who most obviously on drugs or been around  a human being who was so desperate to be RIGHT that they were willing to go to almost any length in an argument to make everyone metaphorically bleed?
I have.
Almost Daily.
On the other hand.  I have  seen the heights of people reaching out to help others.  Often times from the same people.

I'm not offering any earth shattering insight when I say at the best of times people are complex creatures, but it is something that all too many writers and directors forget  when  developing a story.

It is too simple to just to throw a flat character out and allow your reader to see that  the so called character is nothing more than a place holder in your story.  Villain, Hero, Red shirt, Love Interest; nothing more than an interchangeable piece in what ever puzzle you are putting together.


Humans are so much more than that.   Even the worst of us are more complex than simply the word EVIL.  Most importantly in my mind:  at the end of the day everyone wants to the be the Hero in their story.

I guess the moral to my story is: one key ingredient to a great story is to create characters as complex as the people I meet daily.  I pray that is a recipe for success.

Gaming... followed by Markus King.. a backstory.

I have an on again, off again like affair with table top role playing games.  Time plays a factor of course, as work and family eat up the majority of my time so I won't waste time with bad gaming or spend time dealing with any other sort of frustration.  Right now the only system I"m really interested in playing is Green Ronin's Mutant's and Masterminds not necessarily because of its four colored superhero nature, but because of its flexibility.  Right now  I'm prepping to run a  a modern mystery game that may owe a little of its tone to Oeming and Bendis' Powers series. 

I won't get into the meat of what the King's 7 series will be about, that may come later as I don't want to have some of the details floating anywhere but in my notes, but for now I thought I'd share what  John and I call an "Interlude" the pieces the written pieces we each do outside of game time to share with one another and other players.  today's piece  is a brief introduction to Markus King:

Hubris (an interlude)

I spent my youth expecting to elite.   I spent my middle age trying to be great in order to make up for the sins that were blamed on me and those I recruited.  

I failed on both accounts. 

The fame I wanted,  the good I felt I was destined to do destroyed by the stupidity of lesser men whom I had foolishly believed to be heroes.

I’ve spent the last 30 years taking the only sane course of action.  I’ve worked hard to be forgotten, to be nothing more than a footnote in a history book.   Letting my anonymous  donations  do what little good they can content with what measure of peace I can would surrounded by the fruits of my hubris.  

Until Now.

Give me the news Mathew.   His face tells the story before he even speaks.   It is worse than the initial reports. 
“Mr. King,  I visited the scene myself  under police escort of  Detective Lt. Chang.  It’s the old team Logo. This time the “revamped” 70s version  tagged on the walls around the victims in blood and branded on  their chests. 

Mathew tossed the pictures on the old man’s desk.  They sit untouched. 

Markus King stared out the window. “ and the other?”

“Markus, there are plasma burns and evidence of low level super speed throughout the alley” 

Markus King stood suddenly,  his exoskeleton whining almost inaudibly. “Still no arrests. No clues.  Someone is calling me out but why now?”

Matthew shrugged  “I don’t know , sir.  But if you believe that this is an attempt to “flush you out” then we can’t play to their tactical advantage.’

“You are correct of course.  But it does need dealt with.  Someone I can trust even after this time.  Someone who  carries some of the same wounds I do. “  He laughed ironically “Someone who hates me for the hubris that drove me into this position. “  Find me Lo Fat, the Jade Monkey. “

Chapter problems... and story dissections

I'm six chapters into my all time (so far) favorite project The Hunt and I'm currently struggling.  I can't seem to capture  the tone I picture in my head.  A big part of it is that I'm not  spending enough time living with my characters.  Not even an hour a day between work commitments and the time I spend with my family.  As for the rest of it I"m not sure.  Davis is vibrant and alive in my mind.  Most of  the other characters feel right, but I will admit to a nagging problem with one of the subplots (to the point of me scrapping it  after drafting it   in initally) and I really fear I am both under and over planning parts of the novella and not letting it flow.  Either way  I am in need of a serious rethinking as I really dig in to the meat of the story I want to tell. Anyone want to pull the vision in my head out for me and dissect it into what it should be? 

Five Years on the Abyss update (Writing update)

Five years is my obituary for what I dreamed the future might be.  It was an (incomplete) story I wrote about a year and a half ago.  Space Travel, grand adventures, a hope that mankind could move out to the stars by growing beyond the concerns that have very nearly destroyed us.  It was a story without a real ending, but rereading last night I found myself needing to revamp and finish this story.  I need to finish my Buck Rogers dreams because the stark reality of today puts even the moon beyond our humble grasp.