End of the World: Obligatory New Year's post

I was gonna continue on with the character study of status in novels, but I was dissuaded by the flood of obligatory New Year's posts.

Instead of focusing on whatever it is that I was gonna talk about (personal goals and failures and shit like that) I think I'm just gonna keep this short, sweet, succinct and to the point.

Remember the advice I have given you -- take "aspiring" out of your vocabulary. Believe in yourself. Understand that you ARE amazing in all kinds of ways. Focus on the "yes let's" instead of the "What ifs". 

Prepare yourself to take the next step in your chosen path. (Be it writing, art, music, acting, whatever.) Learn what you need to do to advance your skills, and advance in your career path. Find an agent. Join a critique group. Learn a new skill. Whatever it is, prepare yourself for it, and then do it.

No excuses. You CAN do it. 

Believe in yourself. I cannot stress this enough.

And, above all else, be excellent to each other.

My 2012 has been good in some ways, and horrible in other ways. But, I feel blessed and honoured to have met all of you awesome people online, and I look forward to the day when we can all meet up at a coffee shop for caffeine and insanity.

May your 2013 be fruitful and full of love.

All my love and all the best to all of you.
-Kai Kiriyama

Free Fiction Friday: High Noon

Here's a little short I have written based on a series I'm working on, kind of a high fantasy-Western series. Elves and cowboys and gunslingers and magic and wonderfulness. The Lawmaker is the main character in the series and more information will be coming when I have some for you!

This one is called "High Noon." Enjoy.

-Kai Kiriyama

-High Noon-

The town was a dusty little place, barely a spot on the map. The population was mostly made up of prospectors and farmers who hadn't been lucky enough to own properties in the Ten Cities when the boom had hit and construction on the railway had begun. Buildings lined the main road, it was what was to be expected in a human settlement. Nothing fancy, and it was made worse by the fact that things had not been as prosperous as they could have been.

Rumours has circulated about this place. They said that the town was run by a changeling, or maybe a skinwalker. It depended on who you asked. They claimed that he was a man as big as a house who turned into a bear whenever he was displeased, or when something didn't go his way. The city was supposedly filled with the bones of the people who angered the skinwalker, and he feasted each night on the flesh of stray travelers. It didn't really matter in the long run, the people lived in fear of the supposed changeling, and were not strong enough to do anything about it.

It was nearly noon and the streets were deserted. The skinwalker issued a challenge every day at high noon; if any man woman or child was brave enough to face him, and if they could best him in a fair shootout, he would leave.

No one was brave enough.

So the changeling issued his challenge to the empty streets every day. And every day as the clock moved past high noon, the changeling strode off, back to the saloon to drink and eat his way into a stupor and run the city's stores into the ground.

His spurs jangled as he strode through the empty streets. He stopped in the middle of the main road and waited. The wind blew his long, dust-coloured hair from his shoulders and revealed the subtle point to his ears. His wide-brimmed hat concealed most of his face, but it was clear that he was pale-skinned, paler than any man who wandered through the world the way he did ought to be. He rolled his shoulders, letting the thick woven poncho fold itself neatly around his neck, covering the familiar oak-leaf star pin that adorned his poncho, and freeing his gun arm for the challenge that waited. He stood in rapt silence, his slender form casting the only shadow in the street, his breathing the only sound beyond the sound of the wind.

Faces appeared in the windows, watching to see who was foolish enough to challenge the skinwalker that had taken the town by force and held it in his stranglehold. Whispers began to ripple through the buildings, through the brothels and inns. No one was willing to believe that it was who they thought it was challenging the skinwalker.

The lumbering shadow that was the supposed skinwalker appeared before the tall, lean man. He stared the huge man down. He was tall, yes, and built like a barrel with tree trunks for arms and legs. The "skinwalker" was a hairy beast of a man, probably half-giant if the slender gunslinger had to hazard a guess, and he wore the skin of a bear. 

"You're no skinwalker." The lean man drawled.

"And you're a skinny half-elf with something to prove." The lumbering man replied. 

The half-elf shrugged. "I'm here to free the people you have wrongfully enslaved."

The bear-man's laughter echoed about the streets, bouncing back and forth in a horrible chorus full of malice and disbelief. "We will see about that." He growled.

"We draw when the clock strikes twelve?" The half-elf asked.

"Like gen'nlemen" The bear-man agreed.

"Then perhaps you had best make peace with whichever god you worship." The half-elf replied casually, as though it was nothing to best a man of this size in a gunfight.

"I will not be seeing any gods any time soon."

"You are not the first man to say those words to me." The half-elf threatened. "Nor, do I suppose you will be the last."

A hush settled over the bear-man as the casual tone to the half-elf's words. He scowled and turned his eyes towards the clock overlooking the town. The seconds ticked out int he rapt silence and the long, lonely tone of the clock's bell began to chime out the hour.

As soon as the twelfth chime sounded, a gunshot rang out as the bear-man moved to draw his gun. The half-elf turned his back on the huge man and began to walk away.

The bear-man opened his mouth to shout an insult at the other man, but a gush of black blood spewed forth from his mouth and he fell over, face first, into the dirt.

No one had even seen The Lawmaker draw his gun.

Dissection

Characters are the biggest thing you need to make when writing. Sure, plot is important, and so is world building, but knowing your characters inside and out is a crucial step in creating believable, lovable stories that will stand the test of time or whatever.

Lemme share with you something that I have learned recently:

Don't immediately dissect and take your characters under a microscope when you're first starting a new project.

Seriously, that initial blank slide is super highly intimidating. Like, you KNOW there should be bits of DNA and other forensic evidence on this slide and you feel like you KNOW what it is, but that immediate blank slide is scary. It's like the bad report card you wanna hide from your parents.

Your characters need motivation, and life and a past, but don't start with the tiniest details that you need to see under your microscope. The fact that Jane Doe's favourite pizza topping is anchovies because it reminds her of the fishing village where she grew up is fine and dandy, but if it's not relevant to the story, why would you fill that detail in right away?

And John Doe? His lack of a right nipple due to torture by sandblaster explains why he avoids any place where there's sand and why going to the hardware store reduces him to a crying mess, but he's currently locked in a laboratory being tested on for biochemical warfare, his missing nipple doesn't really play into the story right now.

Start with the basics: Hair and eye colour, age, skin tone, height, weight. Then move on to the next things you need to fill in. Job, family, pets, style of dress.

And so on. I find that RPG character creation sheets give you the best baseline for figuring out what's important. (D&D finally has a practical use, mom!)

And creating believable chracters takes time, but watch out for that dissection and microscope. When you take your characters apart, be sure you have your facts in order and don't jump right into it with both feet. It's an organic process. Your story will help build your characters as you go. Just remember to figure out what's important, and fill in the little microscopic details when they become necessary or relevant.

Oh, and maybe have a dossier handy, keeping your facts straight is more important.

What kind of microscopic details have you added to your characters? 

Characters of High Status in Novels

Last Monday (which was really Tuesday as I was really sick on Monday, but let's not split hairs over the wibbly-wobbliness of time here) I made mention of status. It's something that we, as writers, don't tend to focus on when we create characters, so of course I had to be the one to mention something about it.

I've been writing forever, and in the past 3 years I've taken up improv comedy and acting. Wow, let me tell you, the things I learned about character creation from the acting process has been amazing for my writing craft.

But I digress.

All characters, all people in the world, have a status. It's learning how to incorporate this status into your writing that will really bring about significant changes in your attitude and in your characters. This week, I'm gonna look at "high status".

High status is characterized by several physical traits. A high status character is confident. A high status character carries them self with an air of self-assuredness. A high status character takes up as much space as possible, they are possessive in a way that is unspoken, but very clearly there. The phrase "he walked in like he owned the place" is a great example of someone who is of a high status, or at least, believes themselves to be of a high status (whether conscious or unconscious of this fact is a topic for another blog!)

When a high status character speaks, they speak with authority. They do not falter. They do not stumble over their words.

When a high status character moves, they move deliberately. They do not fidget.

When a high status character sits or stands, they do so in an "open" and confident manner. They take up as much space as they can. When sitting, they take up the whole chair. They "own" their space. They stand facing [the person they are speaking to] straight ahead, they do not lean, they do not stand sideways or angle themselves. Everything is an invitation to look at this person.

When a high status character is in conversation or otherwise engaged, they hold their head high, they look whomever they are speaking to in the eye and are not cowed or intimidated.

Of course there are varying degrees of high status, which we will discuss in a later blog because the subtleties are astounding.

When you think of a high status character, you think of a king. Of a queen. Of the wise old wizard who arrives to tell you what's what. Of the teacher. Of the villain.

Based on my examples, who's your favorite high status character in recent memory?

End of the Word: Boondock Saints 3 Spec -- Deleted Scene

Well, the world didn't end, so as promised. Here is my "Conjugal Visit" scene from my Boondock Saints 3 speculative script. For those of you unaware, "Spec script" means that I basically just wrote a more technical fan fiction for my favorite movie series and have put the finished project into my portfolio for when I start handing out my CV and applying for jobs in the film and television industry. I write a lot and this was honestly a labour of love more than anything else. It definitely brought closure to my relationship with the Boondock Saints. And made me love the story even more. 

Anyway, I do hope that nothing actually happens in the next 24 hours... that would suck.

Enjoy.

Love,

Kai Kiriyama

SC. 8(a)

INT. PRISON – CONTINUOUS

Connor and Murphy sit quietly on their respective beds in their cell. A GUARD knocks against the BARS of their cell. Connor and Murphy look up at the guard, SLOWLY.

GUARD:

You boys have visitors.

CONNOR:

No press.

GUARD: (snorts in contempt)

It's not press. Move it.

Connor and Murphy exchange CONFUSED looks. They stand in UNISON and move towards the CELL DOOR. The door OPENS and the guard HANDCUFFS the brothers. Additional GUARDS appear and fall in to FLANK the brothers as they are led down the hall.

MURPHY:

Who d'you suppose it is?

CONNOR:

Your guess is as good as mine.

MURPHY:

What if it's Ma'?

CONNOR: (a beat)

God have mercy on us if it is.

Connor and Murphy are led to the VISITOR ROOM. It is empty of all other PRISONERS. A solitary GUARD stands at the DOOR on the opposite side of the room from where the brothers entered. Connor and Murphy HESITANTLY take SEATS at the TABLE in the MIDDLE of the room. The GUARDS who escorted the brothers in leave.

Murphy TURNS to watch the guards LEAVE, suddenly very NERVOUS.

MURPHY:

We're gonna die.

CONNOR:

We're not gonna die.

MURPHY:

There's no guards in here.

There's no one else at all.

And look.

Murphy POINTS out the CAMERAS on the walls. All of them are DEACTIVATED.

MURPHY: (cont'd)

All the cameras are turned off.

CONNOR: (dryly)

Maybe it's a conjugal visit?

Murphy gives Connor a look of DISGUST.

A KNOCK sounds on the DOOR where the remaining GUARD STANDS. He opens the door.

Detectives DOLLY and DUFFY enter the room. DUFFY speaks quietly with the GUARD. DOLLY simply STARES at the BROTHERS.

CONNOR:

Told ya'. Conjugal. We're

gonna get fucked either way.

DUFFY finishes his conversation with the GUARD and the guard LEAVES. The two detectives stand over the BROTHERS, looking MENACING. Connor and Murphy stare UP at the detectives, INNOCNETLY. A TENSE moment passes.

MURPHY:

God, it's good to finally see

a friendly face.

DOLLY:

Yeah, about that, we've got bad news.

Dolly and Duffy sit down across from the MacManus Brothers.

DOLLY: (cont'd)

This isn't a social call.

CONNOR:

Aren't you gonna get

in trouble for this?

DUFFY:

Actually, we're here to get

your story about Greenly's death.

MURPHY:

Why? You were there.

DOLLY:

We didn't see the shooter.

DUFFY:

The Chief wants you to confess.

MURPHY:

It wasn't us, so that's

not gonna happen.

CONNOR:

We're not “cop killers”.

We're not letting you pin

that shit on us, too.

DUFFY:

We know that, but our bosses

don't. The public wants

closure.

MURPHY:

How much fuckin' closure do they

need? The shooter's body was right

there!

DOLLY:

It's a little messier than that.

MURPHY:

Bullshit! Why don't you just

tell everyone that Greenly was helpin'

us? That'll clear a few things right up,

and it's not like they can fire him now!

DUFFY:

We've considered it, believe me.

CONNOR:

We're not takin' the fall

for Greenly's death, so you've

wasted a trip.

DOLLY: (hesitantly)

You know we don't agree with

this, right? It's just a cover?

MURPHY:

No shit, Sherlock.

CONNOR:

Haven't you learned anything yet?

Connor and Murphy LAUGH at the Detectives' expense.

DOLLY: (relieved)

You bastards are gonna give

me a heart attack.

DUFFY:

How are you two holding up?

MURPHY: (shrugs)

Roof over out heads, three squares

a day, we're pretty much left in our

cell all day 'cause every time we go

out, a riot breaks out.

CONNOR:

We're very social, made loads

of friends in the year since we've

been in here. We're pretty popular.

DOLLY:

What're you gonna do?

CONNOR:

Wait it out. We're model

prisoners. We only fight back

in self defence.

DOLLY: (mutters)

Jesus...

DUFFY:

You know they're sending

in a shrink?

MURPHY:

'Bout time.

DUFFY:

You want a psych evaluation?

MURPHY:

Why not? S'not like we need

to prove we're not insane. Everyone's

already made that judgement call

for themselves.

CONNOR: (a beat)

You're the first visitors we've

had. No press, no lawyers, nothin'.

We're totally alone here.

MURPHY:

And we're still not “cop killers”.

The DOOR opens then, and the GUARD returns. Duffy and Dolly STAND slowly and follow the guard, leaving. Murphy halfheartedly WAVES goodbye as the DOOR slams shut.

Meat and Potatoes

One thing that I find almost every "writing" blog will tell you is a way to dissect your novel into bits and pieces to help you get through the tough boring bits.

A lot of blogs tend to liken your novel to something edible. Usually pizza.

And then I started thinking about it. (Writing a novel, not pizza, although to be honest, pizza would be a welcome breakfast food.)

Anyway, so I started thinking about it and I realized. Not everybody likes pizza. (Insane, right?) And then, that got me thinking that not every novel is like a pizza, either.

So then what is a novel like? Aside from a bunch of words?

The closest thing that I can figure as a universal truth insomuch as there can BE a universal truth about a creative, organic process like writing, is that your novel is like a typical "Sunday dinner". You know, that old standard? Meat, potatoes, salad, creamed corn, fresh bread, gravy and homemade pie a la mode for dessert? Yeah, your novel is kind of like that.

You start with the basics -- meat and potatoes. This is the backbone for your novel. Your characters, your plot, your character development, your key motivations for said characters. Your goodguy and badguy. The core things that drive your story and make your story more than just gobbledegook on a page. These are your meat and potatoes. The core essence of what makes your story yours. All the rest of it -- love interests, car chases, fighting dragons, mealtimes, love, sex, drugs, rock n' roll, whatever else there is in your book -- that's the extra stuff. That's the gravy and the pie a la mode. But without a solid foundation of meat and potatoes, you're not getting the full effect, you're not getting the complete experience.

So yes, you might have to chew through a bit of gristle to get to the next bite of salad, but when you're staring at that pie, believe me, it makes it so much more worthwhile.

What's your "meat and potatoes" when writing a story?

(Late) Monday: On Status

Status isn't something that you usually see in writing, but it exists in every other aspect of character creation. Status is extremely important as an actor or performer. When you're learning to act (especially in improv) status is one of the first things that you learn. 

Status is pretty easily broken down as thus: status is the natural 'pecking order' that occurs in daily life between one or more people. 

You have high status and low status. For example, you might be high status to your little brother, but as soon as your mom comes in to the room, you are low status next to her.

There are lots of physical tells that indicate status, as well as verbal ones. I will explore those in a later blog. For now, though, one thing to keep in mind is who is higher status than whom, who is the boss, and who is the master of their own little world? 

It takes a  bit of practice, but once you get the hang of putting characters into their correct status, your characters will take on an added depth.

Moment of Silence

Normally, I post short stories on Fridays, free for consumption, but today I'm not going to post anything of the sort.

Another act of senseless violence has claimed the lives of KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN. A shooting in a Connecticut elementary school has killed 27 people; 18 of them were children.

This is unacceptable, and heartbreaking.

I'm sickened over this, and I feel that it would be in poor taste to post a story that likely includes violence in light of this tragedy today.

Instead, I want to give my condolences to the families who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

I also want to send out my love to everyone affected negatively by this. And in all honesty, EVERY SINGE ONE OF YOU should be weeping uncontrollably at the horror of this.

So yes. All my love to all of you.

Stay safe.

Hug your loved ones, and don't take life for granted.

All my love,
Kai Kiriyama

The Next Big Thing Bloghop

I've posted this on my shiny new Wordpress blog as well, but I figure, y'know what? Let's keep this blog updating while I figure out what I'm doing with myself, so here you go.

I got tagged to do this, so what better way to christen my new blog than by filling out these questions? Good thing I've got answers to these Q'S! Here we go..

What is the working title of your book?

The current WIP I have going is called "Blaze Tuesday and the Case of the (something something)" I haven't exactly figured out a snappy way to title this case, but it's book 2 of a series, so there's that, I suppose?

Where did the idea for your book come from?

My mom calls it a "Star Trek Holo-deck Adventure". I've always had a fascination with noir films and hardboiled detective novels. So I took those elements and set them into a semi-futuristic SteamPunk kind of world.

What Genre does it fall under?

Hell if I know. Probably "Crime" and "Science Fiction", but you can call it whatever you want.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

Blaze Tuesday and his partner, Jackson Early, have had tough cases before, but never anything so tough as protecting a bombshell babe from the wrath of New York's mob -- and living to tell the tale.

Will your book be self-published, or represented by an agency?

I'm hoping for the latter, but won't turn my nose up at self-publication.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Ha. Ha... um... this one isn't finished, but the story that comes before this one (since it's in a series) I wrote, edited and polished during NaNoWriMo 2012. So far, I've just started the second book, so I'm hoping it'll take me about 6 weeks. My editor is awesome and works SUPER fast.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Dresden Files. And maybe a less funny version of Dirk Gently. Shades of Marlowe, too. I try not to copy other people's styles because I have my own and that means that I don't have to think too hard about being exact in my copying. :D

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Funny this would come up. I'm working on developing Blaze Tuesday into a TV show. Ideal casting?

Blaze Tuesday: Brian Mahoney or Sean Patrick Flanery. Or, if he was done with Psych, Timothy Omundson. Blaze is an older, kind of grizzled detective, so someone who can bring the sarcasm and the whole "super good guy upholding the law" kind of vibe.

Jackson Early: Misha Collins... Or Sean Patrick Flanery, depending on who was cast as Blaze. Jackson is younger than Blaze, so that's kind of a factor. I also wouldn't be opposed to Andrew Lincoln taking up the role of Jackson.

Trixie Luna: Blaze's secretary, who is dating Jackson... huh... I haven't really thought about this one. She'd have to be cute, bubbly and get the soul-crushing "I will get what I want" look, down. I could see a young Catherine Tate playing her. Because, damn if Donna Noble didn't have that "bitch, please" look DOWN.

Kali (last name hasn't been decided yet): Blaze's crush since forever. Also the coroner he used to work with and still uses as a consultant. I honestly haven't got a clue. If I can play TimeLord and pick anyone, I'd probably go with Melissa McBride as a young woman because I love her so much. Like SO much. You have no idea. It's a legitimate crush. :D

Chief Fredricks: IronE Singleton. I miss him in Walking Dead. (Three guesses about what shows I watch.) Funnily enough, when I wrote this character, I was imagining Michael Clarke Duncan and then remembered that he died earlier in 2012, and then was sad. So I changed my mind and wrote the character with IronE in mind.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I love to read mystery books, but I have always been afraid to write mystery and crime books because they intimidated me. I used NaNoWriMo to force myself to write something outside of my comfort zone, so I did it and I couldn't have been happier with the outcome. Hell, I even entered it into the Curiosity Quills NaNo Virtuosos contest! (Vote for me starting on the 14th!) I've also been obsessed with hardboiled detectives for as long as I can remember, so it seemed natural that I'd eventually start writing one!

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Mystery, intrigue and clockwork robot implants aren't enough? Mob hits on beautiful women aren't enough? I plan to keep this as an ongoing series with lots of different plots and wonderfulness. I can promise a good time and you'll have my undying love forever? I'm also not opposed to fan fiction! Ha ha!

I have no idea who to tag, someone remind me to tag other people when I find other people to tag, okay?

Tagging:

seeredwrite.wordpress.com

NaNoWriMo follow up

Warning: Contains me being positive and uplifting, supportive, cussing AND LOVE. (Taken from my tumblr)

So we’re 6 days into December and NaNoWriMo has come and gone. Holy crap. Time flies. Now though, I’m hearing a lot of people in the writing community complain about their “wins” and “losses” in November. 

Let me put it right out there in black and white for everyone: not hitting 50 k words in November is not a “loss.” IT IS NOT A LOSS. Hitting, meeting, or surpassing 50 k words in November is not a “win.” IT IS NOT A WIN. 

Do you see where I’m going with this?

The numbers and the deadline are arbitrary. Just because you were unable to pump out a first draft of 50,000 words or more in 30 days doesn’t mean that you’re “not cut out to be a writer”, or that “you’ll never make it as a novelist”, or that “you’re not good enough to write,” or any of the other negative things that you’re probably complaining about after your so-called “loss”. It means that maybe 50,000 words in 30 days doesn’t work for you. And that’s all right! Maybe your one story didn’t quite make it to 50,000 words. That’s also cool! Maybe November was a busy as hell month and you couldn’t devote the time to writing that you had anticipated. That’s perfectly all right, too.

And let’s look at the flip side of that! Just because you wrote 50k, or 100k, or, like some insane people that I know, 285k and beyond, well, that doesn’t mean that you’re gonna “make it” as a writer either. It doesn’t mean you’re “good enough” or that you’re “cut out” to be a writer. It means that you had a whirlwind month and one or more story ideas that seemed to magically flow from your fingertips onto the pages of your draft and into your computer or whatever the hell you use to write that many words in 30 days. (You insane, freaky ass cyborgs you.)

While yes, the feeling of accomplishment from finishing the first draft of your novel is a great thing, the point is to build good writing habits that should theoretically stick with you year-round. Making yourself the time to sit and write 1667 words a day (minimum) is the goal. They say that it takes 30 days of repetition for an action to become a habit. Oh look at that. Writing 1667 words per day for 30 days. Huh, seems like they were trying to reinforce the idea of making writing a habit, wouldn’t you agree?

Personally, I do NaNoWriMo every year. I have been participating for 4 years. And I participated in both “Camp NaNo” session this year. I have completed (and surpassed) the 50,000 word goal on every one of them. Out of those 6 sessions, only 2 works have been polished enough to merit submissions to anything. The third one is nearing completion but is getting cut down to around 35,000 words and will finish life as a “novella”. The other three things I’ve written are being completely discarded and reworked when I feel like delving back into them, which will likely never happen.

All of the works I’ve submitted have needed major polishing. Nothing was perfect right out of the gate. And, I’ve managed to keep the writing habit year-round, however. I write other things too, so there’s one good thing about being a “Wrimo”.

The point of it all is this: stop beating yourself up over an arbitrary number that dictates whether you’ve “won” or “lost” NaNoWriMo. Face it. “Win” or “lose”, you still ended up with more words than you had at the beginning of the month. And that is the goal in the long run.