I find it rather upsetting that, every year on black friday, someone gets killed, usually at a Wal-Mart, because of senseless morons rushing into a store for some material item that will be forgotten about within a month or so.
People are getting injured, getting into fights and even getting killed becuase they want to be the first ones in the store to 'get the deals...'
Yes, I am going to go all cliche on everyone here: what happened to Christmas being about family and friends? Now, this sorry excuse for a society has turned Christmas into a 'keeping up with the Jones' charade where getting the right gift for someone is more important than just seeing that someone on Christmas. Who cares about getting stuff on Christmas? That's not what it is about. Let's stop killing people just so you can save 50 dollars on the lowest quality electronic gadget that will be out of date before you even get it out of the store.
Wal-Mart and other such stores that feed into this kind of behavior should be under strict regulations. Obviously people are going to be stupid and run around the stores like a maniac looking for the best deals, but let's try to come up with some way to control those maniacs. Maybe put a leash on them or make someone follow them around with a taser. Some people can just be so oblivious to their moronic behavior sometimes.
Also, I believe that the companies making these electronic gadgets...AHEM Nintendo, that say they will no be able to have enough of the product...AHEM Wii, to meet the demands of the crazed public, should stop lying to everyone and assuming that absolutely everyone is a moron. Granted there are quite a few morons out there. However, we all know that there has been a warehouse slap full of nintendo Wii's since before they came out. Obviously, you could send out more to your distributors so that these morons that don't have any self control over themselves on black friday don't kill anyone. But, I guess that would mean you may have to wait an extra year to get that new yacht.
So, since the money hungry, whore mongering imbecils that oversee these types of companies aren't going to do anything to help control the morons, then maybe we should try to use our common sense this year and not go crazy over some material item that has no real value in life any way. For all of those people that are tired of seeing the senselessness of black friday get out of hand, if you happen to be out and about on friday and see one of the morons, do us all a favor and slap them in the face. Back handed or front handed, it doesn't really matter.
Now that my random, and probably hard to follow, ranting is over... I would like to wish everyone out there, even the morons, a Happy Thanksgiving and a safe black friday. Let's not kill anyone shall we?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Evolution of a Character
I started writing one of my fantasy books when I was in the 11th grade. When I was a freshman in college, I actually had a completed first draft and I felt better than ever about it.
Now, I am 26 years old and that same book has changed so much that I can't even remember how the original story played out. My writing has matured greatly since 11th grade and my characters show that. I don't fancy ever going back and reading that completed first draft from college. I know, from the parts of it that I do remember, that it is certainly laughable. It did feel great to have a complete draft in my hand, nonetheless.
One of the main things that I remember from that first failed attempt to write a book is a very insignificant character named, Matholis. Matholis from the old story was a character that all the rest of my characters were supposed to hate. I did portray that quite well. He was played off as being an annoying drunk with no sense of morality.
In a later rewrite, Matholis ended up playing a more significant role in helping the same characters that hated him in the first draft. As I dug deeper and deeper into Matholis' past, I found that there was something golden in him as a character. For some, unknown, reason I was able to flesh out this 'insignificant' character more than any other character in the book.
In another rewrite, Matholis, with a dark past, is actually the main character of part 1 of the book. He is a messenger of the gods. Before I even finished that rewrite, I knew that I needed to explore his dark past. It is a past worth telling and it is, indeed, very dark. Now, I am on chapter 13 of a novel focusing on his life from childhood all the way up to the beginning of that unfinished rewrite.
Now, the insignificant character that will, in the future, play a vital part in the main series as a whole, is living out his dark past. The drunk that nobody likes and has only a few short appearances in the very first draft of a novel, is now the most fleshed out character and the main focus of a whole new story.
I have learned that it is okay for a writer's characters to lead the way for the story. If I had tried to fight Matholis' lead on my story, I would never have created one of my finest characters and would still be stuck with that laughable first draft full of undeveloped characters.
Has anyone else had this' evolution of a character' in their writing? Certainly, I can't be the only one... Let's hear about one of your characters that took the lead in your novel.
Now, I am 26 years old and that same book has changed so much that I can't even remember how the original story played out. My writing has matured greatly since 11th grade and my characters show that. I don't fancy ever going back and reading that completed first draft from college. I know, from the parts of it that I do remember, that it is certainly laughable. It did feel great to have a complete draft in my hand, nonetheless.
One of the main things that I remember from that first failed attempt to write a book is a very insignificant character named, Matholis. Matholis from the old story was a character that all the rest of my characters were supposed to hate. I did portray that quite well. He was played off as being an annoying drunk with no sense of morality.
In a later rewrite, Matholis ended up playing a more significant role in helping the same characters that hated him in the first draft. As I dug deeper and deeper into Matholis' past, I found that there was something golden in him as a character. For some, unknown, reason I was able to flesh out this 'insignificant' character more than any other character in the book.
In another rewrite, Matholis, with a dark past, is actually the main character of part 1 of the book. He is a messenger of the gods. Before I even finished that rewrite, I knew that I needed to explore his dark past. It is a past worth telling and it is, indeed, very dark. Now, I am on chapter 13 of a novel focusing on his life from childhood all the way up to the beginning of that unfinished rewrite.
Now, the insignificant character that will, in the future, play a vital part in the main series as a whole, is living out his dark past. The drunk that nobody likes and has only a few short appearances in the very first draft of a novel, is now the most fleshed out character and the main focus of a whole new story.
I have learned that it is okay for a writer's characters to lead the way for the story. If I had tried to fight Matholis' lead on my story, I would never have created one of my finest characters and would still be stuck with that laughable first draft full of undeveloped characters.
Has anyone else had this' evolution of a character' in their writing? Certainly, I can't be the only one... Let's hear about one of your characters that took the lead in your novel.
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