Thursday, May 24, 2012
Plotting Your Journey
I think that while you are living life, sitting on a plane or driving on the highway, those are times where you as a character should plot your next move. Decide what you will do next in order to reach your goal, or maybe you just need to make a goal. When you write a story you don't want to waste the characters time, or rather, the audiences time. We may not have a room full of hundreds of people waiting to see what's next, but we do have a creator who wants us to chose what is right. He is the greatest audience of all. He may know the ending, but we don't. I think that fact makes watching humanity exciting for him. He knows redemption will come. He wrote it down before time began.
God invented our stories in the quiet nothingness of infinity. When we feel we are in the black holes in between action we should be planning for the future. Not that relaxing or waitig is bad, or detrimental to our lives. Sometimes we are forced into a period of waiting. But neglecting an opportunity to prepare and reflect is a loss on our parts. Anything less than being proactive and we are wasting our own time.
Threshold Guardians
The call to adventure was Alaskan salmon fishing. I answered, terrified but eager. Now I walk through the threshold of every new door, everything a new adventure. In new adventures there are opposing forces, both internal and external, that pose as threshold guardians. These guardians enrich the journey, teaching the hero something about the world, and themselves. One of my first obstacles was my plane delaying, the guardian was the ticket lady.
While she was helpful, she was stressed, everyone in the terminal was. Several flights had been delayed and as a result tension seeped from every humans pores. When I finally was able to speak with her, I did everything I could to keep a calm temperament. I realized the situation was rough, she needed no more guff from me. I let her do her business, attempting to help me get to Alaska. While it took close to a hour, I remained calm, feeling the fire from a growing line of angry passengers behind me. I was tempted several times to snap. Not only at the lady, but the impending crowd breathing down my neck, cursing with rage that they were another few hours behind from their busy schedule. The tension was high, and to say I was stressed would not be far from accurate. I'm not blowing my own horn here, because I think there is very little difference between externally showing anger, and internalizing it. My only victory here was my ability to bottle the pressure.
Finally, the wait was over. I passed the guardians test of patience: I was given a free night stay in a high class hotel and a meal while I waited until the next day for a flight.
In truth, I didn't ever realize this until I was already in the hotel, eating my free food. Traveling alone offers the solace of reflection. It's exciting, but lonely. One of my goals has been to view life more like a story, I have forced myself to look at things differently. So far, less than a day in my new journey, I'm glad I did. Yet I know this little victory only furth opens the door for more obstacles. Some of which, I'm bound to fail. That will be the true test of my meddle. Can I fail with grace, ask for forgiveness, rise again and work harder to pass the test? Writing these questions frightens me. Paralyzed at this thought, I prepare for my next guardian, test and failure
While she was helpful, she was stressed, everyone in the terminal was. Several flights had been delayed and as a result tension seeped from every humans pores. When I finally was able to speak with her, I did everything I could to keep a calm temperament. I realized the situation was rough, she needed no more guff from me. I let her do her business, attempting to help me get to Alaska. While it took close to a hour, I remained calm, feeling the fire from a growing line of angry passengers behind me. I was tempted several times to snap. Not only at the lady, but the impending crowd breathing down my neck, cursing with rage that they were another few hours behind from their busy schedule. The tension was high, and to say I was stressed would not be far from accurate. I'm not blowing my own horn here, because I think there is very little difference between externally showing anger, and internalizing it. My only victory here was my ability to bottle the pressure.
Finally, the wait was over. I passed the guardians test of patience: I was given a free night stay in a high class hotel and a meal while I waited until the next day for a flight.
In truth, I didn't ever realize this until I was already in the hotel, eating my free food. Traveling alone offers the solace of reflection. It's exciting, but lonely. One of my goals has been to view life more like a story, I have forced myself to look at things differently. So far, less than a day in my new journey, I'm glad I did. Yet I know this little victory only furth opens the door for more obstacles. Some of which, I'm bound to fail. That will be the true test of my meddle. Can I fail with grace, ask for forgiveness, rise again and work harder to pass the test? Writing these questions frightens me. Paralyzed at this thought, I prepare for my next guardian, test and failure
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Avengers, Joss Whedon, and Our need for Stories.
Joss Whedon has had a following since the 90's. The man knows how to tell a story. That being said, I had very little interest in his work until well after most of it came out. Not a fan of Buffy or Angel and I caught on to Firefly about 9 years to late. I did jump on the Dr. Horrible wagon relatively fast, but that was during the writers strike, and I think the internet blew it up so quickly that I had to see it.
Since I started using Netflix about a year ago, I have discovered there is an over-saturation of terrible TV and movies out there. There are plenty of gems out there as well, but be honest for one second, do you watch every single title that pops up on your screen from Netflix?
That got me thinking. I've watched the entire Firefly series several times over the last 12 months, and it is not the first series that I've done that with. Avatar: The Last Airbender(the animated series), 30 Rock, Scrubs, Arrested Development, and soon I'll revisit Lost, are just a few titles that I've seen many times over. I love revisiting a favorite series once and a while, but where are the new shows that explode on the screen and capture the audience? I look over the titles on Netflix and I am found wanting. I'd like to be immersed into a new adventure of character and plot. I'd kill for something like that. Which brings me to Joss Whedon and his new movie, The Avengers.
Holy Cow was that movie good. Often, I'll head to theaters to watch a blockbuster with high hopes, only for them to be dashed on the rocky shores of poor plot and weak character development. For the Avengers, that was not the case. All the main characters had great motivation and development. Something I did not expect. As a matter of fact, I went into the theater expecting a Spiderman 3 syndrome of too many pots and not enough hands to churn them well. I was especially surprised with the Hulk. Often times he has been portrayed, by good actors, as a meat headed monster. Joss did an amazing job of allowing Bruce Banner to actually build into the Hulk.
Overall, the movie wove the headlining heroes stories together very well. Setting up sequels, and adding depth to rather weak franchises. My hope is that Joss stays on for the sequel, because I fear great stories switching hands.
I'm certain we need great tales to soak up and divalge in, because we look for them so intently. When we find a bard that we can give our full attention to, storytellers like Whedon, Nolan, and Spielberg, we cling to their work for dear life. We trust these few to continue to give us great fables that one day our children will love. Think about it, I'm sure you have a favorite show or two. I believe the reason we have these love affairs with series is because they tell us fundamental truths about ourselves. We project ourselves as the hero and live through their experiences, seeing ourselves in the good traits they have. When we see a villain we hate, it can be because it is our worst nightmare of what we could become. We may not be a manipulative demi-god who throws the world into jeopardy by opening portals at the opposite end of the universe, but maybe you know a person who craves attention so deeply that they are willing to do terrible things for it.
In the end my desire for better stories on Netflix comes down to my desire to experience the world through a new perspective that can speak some truth, and mystery, about life. I tip my hat to Joss for his exceptional telling of The Avengers. I'm officially a Whedon fan now, hoping for great things to come from him. The most important lesson I learned as a writer, is that exciting characters and stories can be made even out of old, well known archetypes. It rejuvenates me for the drive to invent new characters as a result. If they can do reboot old characters, you can create new ones.
Since I started using Netflix about a year ago, I have discovered there is an over-saturation of terrible TV and movies out there. There are plenty of gems out there as well, but be honest for one second, do you watch every single title that pops up on your screen from Netflix?
That got me thinking. I've watched the entire Firefly series several times over the last 12 months, and it is not the first series that I've done that with. Avatar: The Last Airbender(the animated series), 30 Rock, Scrubs, Arrested Development, and soon I'll revisit Lost, are just a few titles that I've seen many times over. I love revisiting a favorite series once and a while, but where are the new shows that explode on the screen and capture the audience? I look over the titles on Netflix and I am found wanting. I'd like to be immersed into a new adventure of character and plot. I'd kill for something like that. Which brings me to Joss Whedon and his new movie, The Avengers.
Holy Cow was that movie good. Often, I'll head to theaters to watch a blockbuster with high hopes, only for them to be dashed on the rocky shores of poor plot and weak character development. For the Avengers, that was not the case. All the main characters had great motivation and development. Something I did not expect. As a matter of fact, I went into the theater expecting a Spiderman 3 syndrome of too many pots and not enough hands to churn them well. I was especially surprised with the Hulk. Often times he has been portrayed, by good actors, as a meat headed monster. Joss did an amazing job of allowing Bruce Banner to actually build into the Hulk.
Overall, the movie wove the headlining heroes stories together very well. Setting up sequels, and adding depth to rather weak franchises. My hope is that Joss stays on for the sequel, because I fear great stories switching hands.
I'm certain we need great tales to soak up and divalge in, because we look for them so intently. When we find a bard that we can give our full attention to, storytellers like Whedon, Nolan, and Spielberg, we cling to their work for dear life. We trust these few to continue to give us great fables that one day our children will love. Think about it, I'm sure you have a favorite show or two. I believe the reason we have these love affairs with series is because they tell us fundamental truths about ourselves. We project ourselves as the hero and live through their experiences, seeing ourselves in the good traits they have. When we see a villain we hate, it can be because it is our worst nightmare of what we could become. We may not be a manipulative demi-god who throws the world into jeopardy by opening portals at the opposite end of the universe, but maybe you know a person who craves attention so deeply that they are willing to do terrible things for it.
In the end my desire for better stories on Netflix comes down to my desire to experience the world through a new perspective that can speak some truth, and mystery, about life. I tip my hat to Joss for his exceptional telling of The Avengers. I'm officially a Whedon fan now, hoping for great things to come from him. The most important lesson I learned as a writer, is that exciting characters and stories can be made even out of old, well known archetypes. It rejuvenates me for the drive to invent new characters as a result. If they can do reboot old characters, you can create new ones.
Linkage
Fantastic storytelling insight from the wise Hulk: Hulksmash
Most read books in the world: Read-o-meter (where the heck are the Koran, Bhagavad Gita?)
25 things I think everyone should know about storytelling. Story-o-matic (beware of the vulgarities...)
A few movies I look forward to this summer:
Hey, have a good weekend, mkay?
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