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The End of the Indiana Pacers?

March 13, 2009 in Basketball, Indiana Pacers, NBA

I’ve abandoned the Indiana Pacers on my blog for a little while, and it seems I’m not the only one.  Recent chatter suggests it could be the end for my favourite NBA team, and I don’t mean for the season (which everyone already knows has ended for them).  – I mean for good.

Shudder.  It’s not something I ever contemplated before, but it seems the Pacers have been in financial difficulty for quite some time, even way before the start of the global economic meltdown.  It’s really sad that a state with as rich a basketball tradition as Indiana would abandon its basketball team.

Conseco Fieldhouse (home of the Pacers) had the lowest NBA attendance last season and is only slightly better this season.  The team has also lost money in 9 of the last 10 years.  According Indy Cornrolls, a Pacers blog, it was reported that the Pacers have lost money in 25 of the last 27 years.  How is this possible?  For most of the 90s up to their NBA Finals appearance in 2000, the Pacers were perennial contenders for the Eastern Conference Crown, and had several deep runs into the playoffs in sold-out arenas.

Of course, the team bears much of the blame.  Ever since the Detroit Brawl, the Pacers have had one of the worst images in the NBA.  The curse doesn’t appear to have left them though, despite managing to get rid of all of the trouble-players except Jamal Tinsley (and to a lesser extent, Marquis Daniels, who has somewhat redeemed himself as of late).  Unless the team starts moving up the ladder and make some playoff appearances, it doesn’t look like the situation is going to improve any time soon.

What are the other options?  As Vice President Pat Early says:  “It’s possible they could move the team.  It’s possible they could sell the team. It is also possible they could shut the team down. What’s not possible is the Pacers losing the kind of money they’re losing this year indefinitely.”

Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to any of those things.

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A Word About Novel Word Counts…

March 11, 2009 in Fantasy, Novel, On Writing

thick-book2

Potentially my finished manuscript

 As the first draft of my fantasy novel surged past 90,000 words, I started to worry about the final word count for the very first time. 

It was never something I gave much thought to before – after all, most fantasy novels you see on bookstore shelves these days are thicker than some of my law textbooks (not many though).  However, with my story not even at the half way mark (or so I think), I’m beginning to wonder just how much of a door stopper the finished product is going to be.  250,000 words?  300,000?

While I will be ecstatic just to finish the book, I’d be lying if I said publication has never crossed my mind.  But forget about selling any copies – would any sane publisher even contemplate publishing a 250,000-300,000 word book from a first time writer?  I’m certain the answer is a decisive ‘no’ (if I was James Joyce, maybe, but unfortunately I’m not).

So what is a publishable length for a novel?  I was lucky to come across this blog post at The Swivet (the blog of Colleen Lindsay, literary agent).  The post is almost a year old, but I doubt the publishing landscape has changed that much in a year.  According to Colleen, the ideal length of a fantasy/sci-fi manuscript is 100,000 words, and up to 120,000-130,000 for a truly spectacular epic fantasy.  Agents and publishers tend to think that if a novel is too long, it probably reflects a lack of writing ability (in my case it’s probably true).  The limits don’t necessarily apply to established, published authors who have already proven they can sell.  There are also exceptions like Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian (which I have read and personally don’t think is that great), but she was already a star and award winner, which few first time writers are. 

If you scroll down that post, you’ll see a message which lists the word counts of recent and historically popular novels.  Some of them caught me by surprise, like the first Harry Potter novel, which was roughly only 77,000 words, or the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was only around 455,000 words!  Really?  I could have sworn both felt significantly longer when I read them.  Part of this might be because I’m already up to 90,000 myself and I feel like nothing much has happened in my story!

Yes, it’s just a first draft, and there will be a lot of re-writing, editing and cutting (A LOT!), but I just can’t fathom squeezing the completed manuscript down to a publishable 100,000 words.  So…perhaps a trilogy?  One that comes to mind is Patrick Rothfuss, who wrote The Name of the Wind (which I can’t wait to read).  He originally wrote a mega-long book entitled The Song of Flame and Thunder, which was rejected by all publishers he submitted to.  However, after he won the Writers of the Future competition, he managed to sell the book by splitting it into 3 volumes, the first of which was The Name of the Wind (which is still a ridiculously thick book that I’m sure exceeds 100,000 words).

Anyway, enough dreaming for now.  Have to try and finish the damn thing first.

PS: I can’t believe this is my 100th post!

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Aspiring Writer Inspired by Dublin Writers Museum

March 10, 2009 in On Writing, Travel

dublin-writers

The Dublin Writers Museum is a must visit for visiting aspiring writers

I just got back yesterday from a 24 hour trip to Dublin (taking advantage of some cheap flight deals), and for the most part, it was a rather uneventful trip.  Full details of the trip can be found in my Travel Diary.

However, as an aspiring writer, it was also unexpectedly motivational.  As pathetic as it is to admit, I had no idea Dublin had such a rich literary history.  The first bit of inspiration came when I walked past Dublin’s City Hall, which, as fate would have it, was holding the Dublin Book Festival (last day too).  Despite the actual festival not having much to exite me (a couple of stands and some people handing out awards and diplomas of sorts), I took it as a sign (more on this later).

The second and true source of inspiration was a little visit to the Dublin Writer Museum (at 18 Parnell Square, Dublin 1).  It has a very unassuming exterior, and the interior resembles a quiet residence or a suburban office, with a small front office, 2 rooms of exhibitions downstairs, a library and a Gallery of Writers upstairs, plus a gift shop tucked away on the first floor corner.  But there are so many treasures inside!  I knew very little about Ireland’s literary history, and was completely unaware that some of the greatest writers in the history of the world were from Dublin, and most of them attended Trinity College (of Dublin University).  James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Samuel Beckett, Oliver Goldsmith, George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats – just some of the famous names you’d expect to come across.  Each visitor is given an audio guide that adds colour to your journey through Dublin’s literary history, detailing the lives, struggles and masterpieces of these magnificent writers.  Just seeing the cover of the first edition of Ulysses or Dracula made me tremor with inspiration.  Just reading a few lines of Yeats’ poems made me want to whip out my note pad and start writing right then and there.  Their freakish abilties to use even the simplest words to convey the deepest of emotions left me in awe.  It was a magical experience.

I ended up spending about 2 hours in the Dublin Writers Museum, but I could have just as easily spent 5 or 6 if I wanted to.  There’s also a James Joyce Museum nearby, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to check it out.  Maybe next time.

You see, recently I started seriously contemplating a career change from boring lawyer to exciting writer.  It will be a massive step, one that would have ultra life-changing consequences, but it’s no longer feeling like a pipe dream.  I’m actually starting to lean over the precipice that I could not have imagined even coming close to a year ago.  I still don’t have a clue where to start, and whether I actually do it or not in the next twelve months is still up in the air.  But for the first time in a long time, I’m feeling hope.

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Movie Review: Watchmen (2009)

March 7, 2009 in Movie Reviews

I had been importing my short Flixter entries for all my movie reviews up to now, but I thought if any movie deserved a full review, it would be Watchmen, possibly the most anticipated movie of the year for many (unless Harry Potter 6 or Transformers 2 is more your thing).

Disclaimer: I will preface this review with two comments: (1) I am going to stick to my convention of not revealing much about the plot or what happens in the movie; (2) I have not read the Watchmen graphic novel yet (thought it might ruin the movie experience if I read it beforehand).

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Watchmen (2009)

Director: Zack Snyder

Main cast: Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre II), Billy Crudup (Dr Manhattan), Matthew Goode (Ozymandias), Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), Patrick Wilson (Nite Owl II), Carla Gugino (Silk Spectre I)

Rating: USA: R, UK: 18, Australia: MA

Running time: 163 minutes

4 out of 5 stars

Watchmen is likely to be one of the most unusual films you will ever see.  It’s about superheroes, but it’s not your typical superhero movie.  Most of the superheroes don’t display any obvious supernatural abilities (which really just makes them people who like to fight crime and have costume fetishes).  It’s often difficult to discern who is good or evil, right or wrong.  Probably all of the main characters exhibit some form of mental disorder at varying levels of seriousness.  In a sense, they are the anti-superheroes.

As I said, I don’t like to reveal the plot for those that don’t want to know about it (but I assume most people who go to see it have a rough idea).  All I will say is that the story takes place in an alternate historical version of 1985, during the peak of the US/USSR Cold War.  This becomes clear in the opening sequences.

However, to some extent, it doesn’t really matter what the plot is about, because at its heart, Watchmen is a character movie.  The story is told in non-linear form, jumping from character to character and revealing their back stories through flashbacks.  There is a central line in the plot, a mystery waiting to be solved, but the focus is firmly on the characters – who they are, how they became the way they are, their personal struggles, their fears, desires, motivations and ambitions.  At the same time, there is this constant undercurrent about the nature of human beings, and in particular, their capacity (or lack thereof) for understanding and compassion.

The Watchmen graphic novel (by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons and John Higgins) first came out between 1986 and 1987, which explains the setting.  For many years, it was regarded as unadaptable, and after seeing this film, I got a sense of why that may have been the popular opinion.  It’s a shame that the movie was not made closer in time to the graphic novel, because the story reflects many of the contemporary anxieties of the American public of that period.  Many of those anxieties are still relevant today, but they have evolved (in the wake of 9/11) and the impact is not quite the same as it would have been.

Directing and Screenplay

Director Zack Snyder and writers David Hayter (who wrote the original script) and Alex Tse (who kept the best elements but amended much of it) should be commended on bringing Watchmen to life at last.  As I haven’t read the graphic novel, I cannot comment on how good the adaptation was, but as a standalone film, it was very good, though not great.  The difficulty may lie with the running length – at 163 minutes, it is very long for a superhero movie (though not as extraordinary as it would have been a few years ago) – but at the same time, you get a strange feeling that there was much more of this bizarre world yet to be explored.  Perhaps the director’s cut, which is supposedly 191 minutes (and coming out with the DVD), will be a more complete picture for those that want to see more of it.  For some, I imagine 163 minutes is already too much.

Acting

rorschach

Haley as Rorschach was amazing

The importance of the acting in a film like this cannot be understated.  For the most part, the actors in the lead roles delivered believable performances that traversed a plethora of emotions.  The clear standout would undoubtedly be Jackie Earle Haley as the freakish yet intriguing Rorschach, the best character by far.  You’re already impressed with him when he wears a mask that obscures his entire face.  You then become even more amazed when he takes off the mask.  Truly brilliant.

Not far behind is Patrick Wilson (Haley’s co-star in the magnificent Little Children), an extremely underrated and underappreciated actor who plays Nite Owl II, a slightly overweight and awkward social misfit.

If there is a weak link, it would have to be Matthew Goode’s Ozymandias.  While he may fit the bill physically (tall, lean and traditionally handsome), he doesn’t quite exude the charm and presence needed from the character.  Not to take anything away from Goode’s performance because it was adequate, but if you have to pick on someone it’s him.

Violence, Sex and Special Effects

Given the classification ratings for Watchmen, it’s not surprising that there is an abundance of incredibly bloody and gruesome violence (as well as ’normal’ violence), a bit of sex and nudity (both real and assisted by special effects) and some coarse language (though not as much as I expected).  I’m glad they made this film for adults rather than worry about the classification and go for a toned down version that simply wouldn’t have worked.

The fight scenes were superbly choreographed - smooth, crisp and whole, thankfully avoiding the rapid cut scenes that have plagued action films of late.  And from the guy who directed 300, I would have expected nothing less.  On the other hand, Snyder didn’t shy away from some of the more frightening scenes either, displaying the pain, gore and blood in all its glory.

As for the special effects – they were good, but certainly not groundbreaking.  They did a fairly decent job with Billy Crudup’s Doctor Manhattan, but there were times when you could easily spot things that were completely computer generated (not that you would expect them to build the real thing).

Conclusion

On the whole, Watchmen was very very good – but it fell considerably short of the masterpiece some it expected to be.  It may seem unfair, but you cannot NOT compare the film to its source material (or at least its reputation if you haven’t read it), which is considered by many to be the greatest graphic novel of all time.

There were some absolutely brilliant sequences littered throughout this movie, but it was more scattered than consistent.  Those expecting an all-out action flick might be disappointed because there are quite a few ‘dull’ character development moments in between.  I assume there will probably be 4 broad classes of reactions to Watchmen: (1) loved the graphic novel and therefore loved the movie; (2) loved the graphic novel but felt the film did not do it justice; (3) haven’t read the graphic novel and now want to after seeing the film; (4) thought it was weird and stupid and didn’t get it.

I put myself in the third category.

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Writing action sequences

March 4, 2009 in Best Of, Fantasy, On Writing

How would you write an action sequence like this one?

How would you write an action sequence like this one?

Writing action sequences for any novel, not just fantasy, can be both exciting and frustrating.  The aim is almost always to create fast-paced, intense action that keeps the reader on the edge of their seats, but it’s not always as easy as it seems.

Writing action is a skill that needs to be practised and refined.  Often you can end up writing the entire sequence, explaining exactly what happened in the scene in your mind, and yet it turns out to be slow and boring – not the movie-like, fast-paced style that you had imagined.

Personally, I love writing action.  Consequently, my fantasy novel has its fair share of action-packed fight and battle sequences ranging from one-on-one sword fights to large scale, all-out battles.  I actually think it is one of my excrutiatingly few strengths as a writer.  It’s exciting to watch the action scene unveil inside your head as you write it, and even more exciting when you read back on it.  Here are some of my thoughts on it:

Imagine the scene and let your imagination fly

Some people prefer to choreograph the entire sequence in advance, like planning a dance.  For me, the preference is to just come up with a beginning and an end result – what is the situation at the beginning of the sequence, and what happens at the end of the sequence – and then fill in the middle with free, flowing writing.  Imagine the scene in your head like a movie.  Especially a movie you haven’t seen before.  When I start writing a fight scene, all I know is who wins in the end.  I don’t imagine every attack, dodge and parry in advance.  I let the image inside my head guide the action.  More often than not, I surprise myself with how smooth and innovative the sequence becomes.  If it gets a little out of hand, scrap it and do it again in a little while, after you’ve managed to get the old sequence out of your mind.

Stuff the cool verbs

A common problem with action scenes is the struggle to find the right verb to describe a particular action.

My advice: stuff it.

Describe the moves of each character precisely and in the most efficient manner possible.  Don’t worry about finding the perfect verb in the heat of the moment because it stops the flow of the action in your head, killing the creativity.  If it’s a kick, just call it a kick for now.  Just imagine – how annoying would it be if you are watching an action movie and every time a character is about to do something they call time out and ponder on their next move for a few minutes?

You can always come back with the thesaurus later and spend hours coming up with the best descriptive word possible.

Variety is crucial

If you have plenty of action sequences in your novel (like me), you need to spice it up with variety.  No matter how wonderfully you can describe an action scene, it will get boring if the reader keeps coming across the same sequence.  If every fight consisted of the same moves, it dulls down the action immediately.

I don’t just mean with the verbs and descriptions, though that does help.  But don’t go out of your way to use words you don’t even fully understand.  I still prefer to use easier, more direct verbs and descriptions as much as possible.  The faster your reader reads the sequence, the better it conveys the fast-paced nature of the action.  Using words they are unlikely to understand will just trip them up and retard the speed.

Instead, try and come up with something new in each action sequence.  As I said earlier, my novel consists of a wide range of combat situations, from the classic one-on-one encounter to the mass orgies.  But go even further than that.  Try to use a variety of weapons.  Different weapons will give rise to different opportunities in combat.  Try and come up with combat and battle strategies (which may require some research) that allow one party to outsmart or trick the other.  Try to make full use of a character’s physical characteristics and attributes.  Are they strong?  Do they have quick reflexes?  Think about the characters’ surroundings.  How can they utilise the equipment around them to their full advantage?

Most of all, try and introduce an element of surprise to some but not all of the sequences – guide your reader in one direction and then twist them around in the other.  Sometimes this can come naturally when you are writing freely; other times you have to push it in afterwards during revision.  Thinking of how to make each sequence work – both individually and collectively – can be a lot of fun.

Describing the other things

In an action sequence, the most important thing is the action.  However, you cannot completely ignore the other elements.  You may want to describe what a character is feeling (or appear to be feeling), or you may want to throw in some dialogue.  Perhaps you might want to give a clearer picture of the outward appearance of a character before, during and after a fight.  There are good reasons for doing so.

My opinion is that these things should be kept to a minimum in an action sequence.  The best way is to blend them into the action, if it’s possible to do so effectively, or alternatively, implement little breaks in the action to slot them in.  Just be careful not to make the break too substantial, or it will sever the pace you have built up from the scene.

Techniques and resources

There are specific techniques that can be employed to speed up the pace of your action sequence, like shorter sentences and more paragraphs.  Unfortunately, I’m not qualified to discuss them.  But fortunately, S B ‘Kinko’ Husley is, and here is a fabulous article entitled “Writing Action” that teaches you how to improve your shitty action sequence that goes through each step methodically using a set example.  Do yourself a favour and read it.  I am certainly going to be using it when revising all my action sequences in my second draft.

A more general article, also from the legendary Elfwood Tutorials, is entitled “Description, Dialogue, and Action” by Jessica Barnes.  I’m sure the sections not-related to action are also capable of assisting in writing better action sequences.

Here are a few others:

Lastly, a neat little article called “Novelists share their secrets on writing action.”

Pretty self-explanatory, though the article itself is not as good as one might expect.

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