Fan Friday: Coheed and Cambria

Hey, everyone! It’s Fan Friday and I’m really excited about this one! Last night I got the chance to see Coheed and Cambria live in Orlando. I’ve been waiting to see them play for a while and the whole experience was amazing. I wanted to feature them earlier for Fan Friday but I decided to wait because I knew the concert would be coming up.

If you haven’t heard of them before, I would definitely suggest checking them out. They’re not for everyone, but what band is? I love music and so do these guys, it’s apparent in every song they write.

Their most recent albums, sold as two parts, are The Afterman: Ascension and The Afterman: Descension. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that these albums collect their best songs to date. I’ve been a fan for quite some time but I was never really a die-hard fan. I didn’t feel the urge to attend one of their concerts, I listened to their stuff often but I enjoyed being a big fan from afar. I’m not particularly fond of crowds, so concerts are a rarity for me anyway.

A friend of mine put on Ascension the night is came out and suddenly I found myself ordering a collector edition box set. Seriously, I wanted to see them play live, I wanted the early VIP pass, the collector stuff, all of it. Ascension/Descension are albums that I can put on anytime and listen to. And honestly, as much as I loved Ascension, they completely outdid themselves with Descension.

If you’re interested in checking out their music, they have videos for Dark Side of Me, The Afterman, and Domino the Destitute. I’m not a big music video person, but they’re all really solid. My personal favorite from Descension is Gravity’s Union, though it doesn’t have a video yet.

Seeing them play live was really great. They gave an awesome performance, playing lots of great selections, and the crowd was really into it. Truly an awesome night with a sold out crowd and some great friends. If you get the chance, check out some of their music. If you’re already a fan, try to see them in concert because they really don’t disappoint. The energy in the room was really amazing and their performance was flawless.

Now it’s your turn! Are you a Coheed & Cambria fan? If so, what’s your favorite album or song? What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to? Who would you like to see in concert that you haven’t been able to yet?

Writing Wednesday: Giving Feedback

Hi, everyone! It’s Writing Wednesday here on the blog again! Today I’m talking about critiques, the importance of giving thoughtful feedback, and how to handle the work of others. As always, these are just my thoughts. I know that this subject can turn into a heated debate. I’m not saying my way is the only way, or the best way, it’s just the one that works for me.

Over the years, people have told me that my feedback is often thoughtful and insightful. In truth, I don’t really know that my feedback truly deserves the praise it gets. I tend to say what I think and everything I say is in the interest of making the piece better. To me, it’s always been a simple goal. Recently, someone (let’s call them Vinny Von Varlow) asked me to give them advice about looking at the work of others. The people around Vinny Von Varlow didn’t seem to value, or react well to, the feedback given to them. So Vinny came to me with the hope of sharpening his skills.

This request made me think about what qualifies as good feedback. I needed to think about what I was doing, consciously or unconsciously, that made people respond well to my advice. I also thought about advice I had received in the past, what advice I liked and didn’t like. What made me listen and what made me dismissive.

The first thing to keep in mind is that the person came to you for advice on their story. One of the most common errors I see in workshops comes from a disconnect between the advice giver and the person receiving advice, the writer. The advice giver should always try to remember that they’re helping the writer mold a story. Think of it like clay. The writer has handed you their clay and said, “I’m trying to make a komodo dragon.” The person giving feedback should then proceed to give advice on how to make the clay look more like a komodo dragon. It’s rarely appreciated when the feedback is, “komodo dragons blow, make a duck.”

To give thoughtful feedback, you need to try and see what the writer is going for and help them accomplish it. Pinch the clay here, reshape it there, and say, “if we added some more clay to this spot, it might look better.” Sometimes it’s hard to do this, I know. We start reading someone’s piece and think… there’s so much potential with this idea. Get rid of these characters, add a few over here, and really, the plot should revolve around this person rather than that person. Do all of that and you know what you have? A completely different story. A different story created by someone other than the writer.

There are exceptions to this rule. One time a friend came to me looking to brain storm new ideas and directions for a character. He wanted to make major sweeping changes to the plot arcs and characters. We had a lot of fun with it. However, when someone doesn’t ask you to do that and you take it upon yourself to demand major changes to plot, lore, and characters, it probably won’t be appreciated. In truth, it’s a very simple idea. When you give advice, make sure you’re helping the writer tell the story they want to tell. If you move away from that and begin telling the writer to write the story you want to tell, of the one you want to see them tell, you’ve missed the mark.

Also, in my experience, overwhelmingly negative feedback doesn’t really help anyone. One of my professors would make a checklist for himself. Essentially, it was a checklist of the most important writing elements that need to be present in every story. So I’m talking about things like a coherent structure, developed characters, and so on. When he came to three major issues in a story, he would stop there and focus on those three issues. He would educate the person on how to improve in those areas. He would then mention that there are some other problems, but note that fixing these three large problems needed to come before anything else. This created two feelings, a sense of priority because these things need to be fixed first, and a sense of hope because the story hasn’t been torn apart at every level.

I’ve heard a few arguments about feedback and I don’t mind saying where I stand. Some people believe that writing workshops should be vicious camps where everyone gets torn to shreds and people are forced to tears. Others have told me that they believe students and writers can benefit just as much from only getting positive feedback. I think they’re both extreme. So here’s what I believe. When someone does something write (and they usually do something right), praise it. Tell them it works, tell them it’s good, tell them it’s the strongest part of their writing. When something needs to be improved, point it out. However, don’t just point at it, explain how it can be done better.

This is crucial, don’t just announce that what they’ve done is wrong, tell them how they can do it better. If I point at a character and say, “that character is flat,” why should the writer listen to me? On the other hand, if I say, “this character seems flat. I would like to see more tension and conflict from the relationship she has with her husband. Her kids are driving her crazy but her husband doesn’t help, does this make her think back on the dynamics of her parents and the house she grew up in?” That’s decent, or at least it’s a start. A writer can grab onto that and think about what will make their character better instead of focusing on the negative aspect of the comment.

Vinny Von Varlow had made some of the larger missteps that I mentioned. I’m happy to say that since making some adjustment to his methods, his partners react better to his feedback. This is great for everyone. He feels useful, the working relationship is mended, and his partners will probably spend more time giving him thoughtful feedback in the future. Like I said, this is what works for me. I’ve seen it work for a few other people as well, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only, or best, way.

Now it’s your turn! What does thoughtful feedback mean to you? When you receive feedback, what makes your listen and what makes you dismissive?

Story Sunday: Skyfall

Hi, everyone! It’s Story Sunday again and this week I’m talking about Skyfall. I saw this movie very recently and it actually inspired me to write a post about prisoners and the balance of power in a scene.

Here’s the risk the film makers took, they broke the usual formula. I like Bond movies, for the most part. However, I’ve never been blown away by a Bond movie. There are good Bond movies, bad Bond movies, but they’re all Bond movies. This one, honestly, didn’t need to be a Bond movie. You could have taken quite a few of the same elements, distanced them from the Bond name, and I don’t think people would have said “oh, this is just like a bond film.” That tactic worked, no question. You had the great elements of Bond mixed with a story that wasn’t made from a pre-packaged Bond recipe.

This movie had a lot of creative action. Sure, it had explosions, but it also had a lot of normal guns. The focus wasn’t on the gadgets, the big bombs, or the special device that will be used at just the right moment. Instead, Bond was on the run with M and they had to get a little creative with some of their weaponry. They had to use their ammo wisely. Essentially, they had to survive and I believed that doing so wasn’t guaranteed.

Just as The Dark Knight feels different from the established superhero standard, Skyfall feels different from the previous Bond films. We didn’t have a Bond girl, though we did have a cut away sex scene. The romance wasn’t quite there, but vulnerability walked through the door, despair followed, and it was truly a struggle for the protagonist to succeed. He was no longer the top agent or the pinnacle of physical fitness and ability. Instead, Bond was the one who persevered, endured, and wouldn’t walk away.

This seems to have turned into a glowing movie review but, in truth, I really liked the movie and can’t say much against it. The plot worked, the pacing was good, the character development felt natural and necessary, and the acting was fantastic. The villain didn’t even have the classic Bond villain feel. Sure, he had theatrical moments, but he was well-written, developed, and carried an interesting reflection of what Bond could potentially become, if he decided to go down a certain path. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Now it’s your turn, what movies “break the formula” of their genre or franchise? Or, if you’ve seen this movie, what did you think of it? Was it what you expected or did it surprise you?

Fan Friday: Dungeons and Dragons!

Hey, everyone! It’s Fan Friday again! I have to say, every Friday is a reminder of just how much nerdy stuff I like. Today is just going to be about D&D, or DnD, or Dungeons and Dragons, whatever you want to call it. I like other systems but I’ll always be a fan of D&D because it’s where I started.

If you’re not familiar with it, D&D is a form of collective storytelling in a fantasy setting. There’s usually a DM (Dungeon Master) or GM (Game Master) and the rest of the people are players controlling a single character each. The DM guides the story, monsters, traps, castles, and all that good stuff, while the player’s characters explore the world.

My group of friends started playing in high school, maybe around 2004 or 2005. The books were present for a couple of years before we sat down to play a game. Most recently, I’ve been the main DM and that’s fine for now. I really prefer to DM sessions that emphasize the idea of collective storytelling, which can only come from players with strong characters. Essentially, a DM can be firm or soft in their manipulation of the story.

A DM with a firm hand can put the player “on rails.” I’ve done that before and it rarely works for me. It gets boring for me when I know what will happen every single second. So I started experimenting with sitting back and letting players choose more of their own direction. I throw a few ideas out there and see what sticks. In a way, this requires more preparation. I need to be ready for them to pick a fight, sit around and talk, look for work, or do something truly unexpected. To me, this is fun. It’s fun for the players, too. They’re shaping the story, their story, a personal and unique story.

Which edition? I don’t know, they all have their good qualities. In recent years, my friends and I have mostly been playing 4th edition. Here’s the thing about 4e, it can get really gamey really fast. Honestly, I’ve seen game in 3.5 get the same way, though. It’s up with the DM and the players to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Burden of responsibility usually fall to the DM when it comes to generating ideas for fixing the problem, but it’s a group effort. That’s where collective storytelling shines.

I’m also a big fan of RP sessions, or at least that’s what we call them. These are sessions with roleplaying and no dice. It helps the players connect, or reconnect, with their characters. They can’t sit back and say “I attack!” and throw some dice. They need to speak, interact, and think their way out of situations. It’s great but your players need to be into it, they need to be willing to invest time in thinking of a character, much like a writer might.

As far as settings go, I love Ravenloft. I’m running a Ravenloft campaign right now and if it’s the last campaign I DM, it’s fine with me. I’ve always like it and I actually waited to start something in Ravenloft until I felt confident in my abilities as a DM. In the future, I’ll probably do Fan Friday posts about specific settings in D&D. I have a few that I really like, though some can be more challenging than others when it comes to running a session.

Now it’s your turn! Have you experienced D&D? If so, what edition or play style do you prefer? What settings do you really love? Or, if you’re not all that into D&D, what other systems do you enjoy?

Writing Wednesday: Prisoners and Power

It’s Writing Wednesday again here on the blog and today’s topic is about power. Specifically, I’m talking about power through the caged beast, scenes where one character is locked up, chained, bound, or otherwise detained. In all forms of storytelling, it’s worth taking note of which characters have power in any scene. Sometimes the answer is obvious, other times the answer lies beyond the obvious portrait a storyteller has given the audience.

When a character is being held against their will, it’s always important to note how they’re being detained. Right now, I’ll go ahead and use two examples from Game of Thrones (the show, though I don’t believe the show deviates from the books in this area) where Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister are prisoners. When the audience sees Ned, his eyes are squinted because of torchlight. He’s nearly blind, his voice is hoarse, and he’s incredibly thirsty. Varys comes in to speak with him and gives him water. If Ned is chained in any way, it’s not severe because he can still use his hands to drink. This is simple, Varys has all the power. He has the power to free Ned, give him water, leave him to die, or just speak with the man.

Jaime is a different animal entirely. At first, we see Jamie bound to a pole with his hands behind his back. He smiles, he’s not dying of thirst, and he makes jokes to the people keeping him prisoner. Later, we see a field of prisoners in wooden cages. However, when we see Jamie, he’s bound to another pole within the wooden cage. He smiles and jokes again while his captor tries to assert dominance. It’s even mentioned that his captor can’t leave Jamie at a castle with a trusted ally because they can’t be trusted to hold Jamie. This brings up the question of true loyalty, while showing the power Jamie has, even as a prisoner.

Jaime is an example of the caged beast. The monster that has been captured, but not broken, not controlled or tamed. We’ve seen many examples of this over the years. Recently, the movie Skyfall did a similar thing with its villain. The man was captured and placed within a small room within a larger room. The small room’s walls were clear and guards were able to see his every movement. The small cage was also elevated if I remember correctly, putting the villain on a sort of stage over his captors. We see the same thing with Magneto in the X-Men movies. He’s kept within a clear room of plastic, within a much larger room, and the only way to reach him is to cross a plastic bridge. Such extremes are meant to make the villain feel hopeless, though it rarely works. Such elaborate arrangements are made out of fear, the fear of power, the power of the villain, which is currently on display even in captivity. One can also look at The Silence of the Lambs and note the balance of power between Clarice and Hannibal

Now it’s your turn. How do you display power in your writing? When thinking about this topic, what other examples come to mind?