re-write, re-think, re-edit

Mad World - Chapter 35

2009-12-14T19:51:01Z

Chapter 45 : Scars Remain

(*Your timing is abysmal; you do realize that, don’t you, my host?*)

Mad World - Chapter 44

2009-11-28T02:59:46Z

Chapter 44 : Something Good

(Sephiroth gleamed in the moonlight)

Mad World - Chapter 43

2009-11-18T18:48:39Z

Chapter 43 : Equinoxe

(The next morning, they were on the trail before the sun cleared the edge of the canyon.)

Mad World - Chapter 42

2009-11-05T16:45:27Z

Chapter 42 : O Green World

(“You think that makes you brothers?”)

Mad World - Chapter 41

2009-10-24T03:42:35Z

Chapter 41 : Slow Cheetah

(It was one of the most relaxing days he’d ever spent.)

Looking for a Holy Grail type thingy

2009-10-23T20:28:39Z

I have no idea what she's talking about (sorta) but my daughter has offered to make me some icons if I can find decent scans. Where do I go to find these creatures. FFVII of course.

TIA

Mad World - Chapter 40

2009-10-17T17:31:54Z

Chapter 40 : Nightless Night

(“Well, you sure got yourself beat up”)

Hellmasker Theme Song

2009-10-17T02:30:39Z

So I was going through my scary music for tir_synni(Halloween is coming up) and I completely forgot about this song (which isn't on my halloween playlist but probably should be). I watched the official video and couldn't help but think that my Hellmasker would fit right in. Take this as a warning that the video could be disturbing (very).

Enjoy.

What makes a story interesting?

2009-10-15T18:42:10Z

There's an interesting post on Sarah Monette's LJ on the art of storytelling and the use of MacGuffins. (MacGuffins being an item that instigates, but doesn't participate, in the story.) It also links to another interesting post on Charles Stross's blog about the difference between just using words and actually creating a story.

It made me think about why certain books/movies/TV shows appeal to me and some don't, which was fun. It also made me think about how/why I write the way I do.

If you're interested, here are the links:

Sarah Monette:

http://truepenny.livejournal.com/689717.html

Charles Stross:

http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2009/10/why_i_hate_star_trek.html

Genesis Awards Call Out

2009-10-14T12:37:51Z

As most of you know, I'm a supporter of the Genesis Awards which recognize writing excellence in FFVII fan fiction. rsasai, who is one of the volunteer judges, has put the call out for nominations and help.

If you love good writing, and/or anything to do with FFVII, you should go check them out and then nominate some of your favourites. You can get to their forum by clicking the link in my link list. Go ahead, you know you wanna...

Mad World - Chapter 39

2009-10-08T19:25:33Z

Chapter 39 : Infinite White

(Then there was Vincent. The ever-disappearing Vincent.)

Mad World - Chapter 38

2009-10-02T19:12:44Z

Chapter 38 : Don’t Cry Out

(“Do you really believe you can become a god?”)

2008 Genesis Awards Nominations

2009-09-29T14:17:45Z

I am once again busy pimping out this site because good writing is good writing and should be recognized as such, whether it's for fun or profit. You can visit the site at genesisawards (dot) net and troll for new reads or to nominate a fic you love... I do.

This year so far, I've nominated the following:

Midgar: The Soap by jaded_grin in Best AU/AR.

kremesch's Void I. A tortured, angsty love(?) story between Tseng and Vincent. Posted on ff.net

For those of you who like your current events with a Final Fantasy flavour, check out The World of Nasdack by karanguni and ellnyx.

rabid_plotbunny's short comedy series Fly on InsaneJournal

Unexpected Side Effects by tir_synni in the Best Action/Adventure category.

I'm sure this list will grow as the year wears on and I find more stories that make me go 'wow'.

This year they've opened it up for fanfics from the FFX world as well. It's not a fandom I'm familiar with but, if you are and you have some favourites, go over and nominate them!

Mad World - Chapter 37

2009-09-25T17:45:10Z

Chapter 37 : Fight the Power

(“Mother wants to talk to her eldest sons.”)

On passion that comes in all forms...

2009-09-22T05:28:20Z

I remember watching 'Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris' when I was very young and being impressed with the clever lyrics and catchy tunes. It wasn't until I found this clip on youtube that I truly began to appreciate the passion Jacques Brel brought to his singing. No wonder the man is a legend.

Mad World - Chapter 36

2009-09-18T04:42:51Z

Chapter 36 : Blue Moon City

(“I guess I was right about the Lost Civilization thing.”)

Fun stuff

2009-09-13T04:08:26Z

This was made by someone I know. She made it some time ago but I keep on losing it my link to it and then I can't remember what name she posted it under so I'm going to post it here. Now she'll never escape from me again ha-ha ha-ha-ha mwuaahahaaaa!

Besides, it's good. =]

I want this for Christmas!

2009-09-09T18:50:32Z

with Nathan Fillion, thank you very much...

If you didn't guess, this is a completely fan-made trailer for a non-existent movie. He's taken content from the animated movie, Firefly, the Matrix. I think I saw some Star Wars in there. I'm sure there are others. This guy did a kick-ass job putting this together.

And I still want it... with Nathan Fillion. =)

Mad World - Chapter 35

2009-09-08T19:19:20Z

Chapter 35 : Tales

(“Not everything is about sex.”)

What not to do with your weekend

2009-08-31T17:11:45Z

I don’t usually use my LJ to review current movies and stuff but I’m going to make an exception.

Don’t see GI Joe: Rise of Cobra! (and probably none of the sequels, either.)

It’s the most boring action movie I’ve ever seen... barring some Italian 3D stuff in the 80’s but I’ve tried to scrub those out of my mind.

My expectations weren’t even that high. I mean, I knew it was a bubble-gum, special-effects movie that would be low on plot and character development, but I was expecting something on the level with Fantastic Four or Transformers 2 which were decent but I wouldn’t see them again. My hopes plummeted when, arriving late to the theatre, the person I was with (who’d seen it before) informed me that since we’d missed the first 10 minutes, nothing would make sense.

It’s a 2-hour movie and the whole plot is explained and discarded in the first 10 minutes? EEEEEP!

Actually, that turned out not to be true. The story was so formulaic that it was easy to figure out what was going on. What wasn’t easy to understand? Why, with the how many hundreds of millions they spent on this movie, didn’t they spend a little more for a decent script? There were gaping holes in the basic science, the characterizations, and the plot (what plot?). There was no logic and little coherency to any of it. I’ve read better flowing action stories in fan fiction. Hell! I’ve written better.

Two things I’ll give them kudos for.

1. The requisite romance between the hero’s rule-breaking, comic-relief side-kick (who wasn’t very funny or very rule-breaking) and the over-achieving, hyper-focussed brainiac still took place even though they were of different colour. This is still not something you see much in mainstream ‘serious’ movies let alone brainless summer blockbusters. I mean, there was no reason Megan Fox’s character had to be white in Transformers; she just had to look good in shorts.

2. They allowed a man of Islamic descent to be one of the good guys in the main team. Sure, he was Muslim by way of France, but he was certainly of Arabic descent. It’s not really mentioned or brought up (unless it was in those missed 10 minutes) but it’s there. A Muslim is a Good Guy; a Scotsman is the Bad Guy. (You know he’s the Bad Guy because his accent is so over-the-top—only Bad Guys get to speak like that.)

I like action movies. When they are done well they transport me and turn me into a superhero. They get my blood flowing and my heart pumping. I root for the hero(es) and cheer when they win, even though I knew it was inevitable. When they are done okay they will often have something I can enjoy; usually the good looking hero or the stunts or the effects. When they are done badly, like this one, I sit there and think ‘I could be washing my hair right now’.

We should’ve gone to Ice Age 3 instead.

Mad World - Chapter 34

2009-08-29T22:42:06Z

Chapter 34 : Walk on the Wild Side

(“Let her die,” Vincent said calmly.)

Mad World - Chapter 33

2009-08-19T18:53:57Z

Chapter 33 : Have Gun Will Travel

(They were only a little late getting to the airstrip.)

Proofreading Workshop Notes

2009-08-13T01:51:25Z

As a large part of my job involves proofreading documents that will be released to the public, my office recently sent me on a (wait for it) proofreading workshop!

Most of the workshop concerned grammar, which wasn’t what I was expecting. Still, it never hurts to be reminded of the basics. Even so, a lot of what we covered was stuff I already did, some of it was stuff I’d forgotten and some of it was either new or the rules had changed since I took my last grammar course.

The course was geared toward business communication but most of it works for fiction as well. One thing I realized, as I sat there feeling my legs go numb on the uncomfortable chairs, is that proofing business or formal correspondence is a lot easier than proofing fiction because the rules are more rigid. In fiction, ‘proper’ grammar is often rejected in favour of ‘what reads right’, which in unquantifiable and not subject to The Rules. Still, it’s always nice to know what rule you’re breaking.

I did these notes up for myself, because I remember lessons better if I rewrite them afterwards. Then I got thinking that fanfiction is filled with people of all ages, education and experience. We are all volunteer writers and beta readers. I know I found some of the content helpful, so I wondered if other people would as well. I’ve decided to post my notes to my LJ account in case they can be of use to anyone else. Plus, if anyone has tips or tricks on how to make the process of writing, editing and beta-ing easier, please feel free to let me know. I’ll probably add them in.

Time wasting & other procrastinating tools

2009-08-04T04:12:43Z

It's all my daughters fault! (Actually, it isn't. I found this one all on my own, but she's the one who got me hooked on manga so it's like, one degree of separation or something.)

So, I followed a link from one manga to a thread that recommended this one. I agree with the poster, this one was much better.

It's called Yankee-kun to Megane-chan, and it follows the adventures of a 1st year Senior High student with a bad (very bad) reputation as he gets shanghai-ed, embarassed, coerced, bullied and generally whipped by an itty-bitty slip of a girl who just wants to be a good class rep. She's a bit (a lot) dense but she's not quite the goody two-shoes she tries to be. Mind you, the guy who looks like a gangster (tall and glaring) is a 'fraidy cat, and don't nobody go and call the former student council president 'a girl'. That would be very bad.

I laughed out loud while I was reading it and that's saying something. Check it out. Click on the picture to go to it on mangafox.com.

Mad World - Chapter 32

2009-07-31T19:48:40Z

Chapter 32 : Fly Away

(…he caught a glimpse of something unbelievable.)