Author Spotlight: Octavia Butler

I first read Wild Seed by Octavia Butler years ago based on a recommendation by Orson Scott Card. I really don’t want to give anything away, so let’s just say it’s a story about two very unusual beings whose chance meeting alters their lives forever. Card gave this book as an example of an effective first sentence of a novel:

Doro discovered the woman by accident when he went to see what was left of one of his seed villages.

Right away we’re introduced to the two main characters and a number of significant and intriguing questions arise. This book, and its related books, were fascinating and entertaining to read.

Did you know:

• Octavia has won both Hugo and Nebula Awards.
• Octavia wrote Fledgling, a story about a vampire.
• Octavia spoke at MIT, and the talk is called “Devil Girl From Mars”: Why I Write Science Fiction.
• You can see these videos of Octavia talking about writing and her views on life.

Self-Sacrifice

To love someone so completely, you’d be willing to walk through hell to be with them, never fails to move me. The love story from What Dreams May Come gets me every time I see it. It consistently catapults me beyond my ordinary awareness, awakening the part of me that transcends any one born lifetime. All in the moment where Chris Nielsen gives up everything for his beloved.

Appreciate the Time You Have

A survivor of Hurricane Ike takes refuge in a tree to escape the flooding waters.

For my friends and everyone else in the path of Hurricane Ike. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

True Love

My current wallpaper

I can’t help it. I’m getting all swept up in the Twilight Saga, by Stephenie Meyer. I just finished New Moon, am about to start reading Eclipse. What is it about this series that has me so hooked? Yes, vampires are my favorite supernatural being, provided the universe allows them to “have a soul” and be good (well, at least as good as they can).

But there’s something else in the series, I realized tonight, that draws me. Bella and Edward are soulmates. How many people entertain the idea of finding their soulmate when they are young, and eventually “grow out of it” after life sends them a bunch of duds, and “learn” to settle for compromise? Yes, the Twilight Saga is “young adult”, and the soulmates here are teenagers (sort of), but their love is that special miracle that touches a deep chord in anyone that’s ever been a hopeless romantic.

And that’s worth writing about.

Eureka!

Archimedes making his famous discovery

I’ve thought of the perfect new climax to IA (my WIP). It all flowed from the dilemma I added.

Inspiration From the Kitchen

Yesterday my copy of Writing a Great Movie: Key Tools for Successful Screenwriting by Jeff Kitchen arrived. This looks like a real gem. But it’s the kind of book that needs to be slowly savored.

Already, in Chapter One, he covers some ideas discussed by Aristotle almost twenty-five hundred years ago. Kitchen says:

Dilemma may be defined as “a situation with a choice to be made in which neither alternative is acceptable.” Two equally unacceptable alternatives–two equally painful choices. The story of someone trapped in a challenging dilemma can be riveting.

…a solid dilemma of this sort can always improve the plot. …a writer may come in with a well-plotted story, but creating a new dilemma or strengthening an existing one will inevitably improve the material.

So naturally the first thing I did was ask myself if my WIP had a dilemma (as defined above). Well, not really. I have a compelling hero with a visible goal facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles. But my hero isn’t faced with two equally unacceptable alternatives.

So next I thought, how can I add dilemma in a way that will improve the story? The answer hit me. It fit right in with my existing idea, and enriched it. It fits in with the theme I had been discovering from my first draft. And it makes the story much more riveting.

All this from the first part of the first chapter in this book! This book has already paid for itself, and I’m eagerly looking to see what else is in store.

Movie Moments

I’m a big fan of movies, and every now and then a movie will come along I can watch again and again. It will have at least one moment that breaks my heart open in love. I try to remember these moments, and write them down. If these moments in story-telling blow me away, how I can I incorporate that kind of feeling into my own stories?

Benny & Joon is one of my favorite movies. Besides the quirky charm and beautiful cinematography, it has one of those magical moments. It’s the scene with Johnny Depp as Sam, as shown above. The love and dedication being expressed, the crescendo of the music, the rhythmical dance of the shot…it undoes me every time.

Your Writing Space, Your Sanctuary

Reduce distractions by closing the door and drawing the blinds.

Two New Craft Books

In my endless effort to check out every highly-recommended book on writing, I got these two books from Amazon yesterday:

Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

This looks like a very solid book. After a quick skim, it seems to cover many of the same ideas that have inspired me by Michael Hauge, although with a bit more verbiage. But that’s fine. It’s still well written. He even seems to incorporate a method very similar to the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson. My first impression is that there’s not much new for me, but considering how many bad writing books are out there, this one stands out pretty far above the rest.

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain

This one has some high recommendations, so I had to check it out. First, the bad news. This book made my eyes bleed. Originally published in 1965, the dated prose is frequently stilted and the author rambles on about his psychological theories of what makes good story-telling, with detailed loquacious systems of what makes good craft. Isn’t it a bad sign when you’re trying to learn how to write from someone whose writing style makes you cringe?

In spite of all this, there is some excellent writing advice sprinkled throughout the book. Yes, you’ll have to hunt for it. Yes, you’ll have to translate ridiculous terminology into practical instruction. But if you’re up for it, it’s there waiting for you in the pages of this book. Consider the opening sentence of the book:

You need to know only four things in order to write a solid story: how to group words into motivation-reaction units; how to group motivation-reaction units into scenes and sequels; how to group scenes and sequels into story pattern; how to create the kind of characters that give a story life.

Scary, isn’t it? You can check out a streamlined explanation of motivation-reaction units (ouch!), scenes and sequels by Randy Ingermanson here for free. A final word of caution to anyone who dives into this stuff. As Swain and Ingermanson suggest, don’t use this stuff to write by. Use it to analyze and revise. At least until it becomes second nature and flows naturally in a creative manner. And even then only if it helps you fix what isn’t working for you.

Finding the Right Job

I had originally given the protagonist of my WIP a part-time job as a massage therapist. I lazily gave her the job without a great deal of thought. After completing the first draft, I had her waiting tables at a nice restaurant, thinking she’d enjoy the extra income.

However, a week ago I realized the perfect part-time job for her. Working in a bookstore. And not one of the mega-bookstores, but an independent one with charm and character. You should have seen her smile. In spite of all the danger and horrors I’m throwing at her in the story, she’s happy as a clam to be working there.