Welcome back to the short series testing out the D&D 5th edition Player's Handbook. If you've missed a part, the list is below.
Part I - Reverence, tiefling monk
Part II - Liga Dawnspringer, Kagonesti barbarian
Part III - Aelfward Shadowstar V, half-elf swashbuckler
Part IV - Roscoe P. Tealeaf, halfling entertainer
Part V - June, priestess of Istus
For those just joining in, I've been giving the D&D 5th edition Player's Handbook a test drive. To give the new rules a fair shake, and because it was fun, I tried a character for different campaign settings. Now the ultimate question, how does the new system feel?
It feels right.
Simple answer, yes, but accurate. I had no problem staying to concept where I started with one and getting a concept while following the character creations steps. Aelfward is a swashbuckler, one who can impress the observers while being effective in a fight while still keeping a swashbuckling flavour even outside battle. June, on the other hand, came together well as I went through the steps. Fifth edition is easy enough to follow for a beginner while still giving the experienced player room to poke and prod the system to see how flexible it is.
Some older character concepts may not work ideally; this will happen if the concept is based on an older mechanic. The drow mage/thief concept I had from when the first edition's Unearthed Arcana came out falls apart, but can still be approximated using the right background. That said, playing a halfling archaeologist, a human warlord-in-training, or the bard, Elvish Presley, is easily done. Each character should come out as an individual, not stamped by a cookie-cutter, with chocolate chips for eyes and icing for mouths.
The easiest campaign settings to create a character for were the Realms and Greyhawk. Greyhawk was the default world in the first and third editions, and fifth leans heavily on both. The Realms allows for a greater range of concept for both high adventure and low. Roscoe may not fit in well in Greyhawk; he's a colourful character for the Realms. Dragonlance will need its own setting book; there were many changes done to the character section of the rules in earlier editions to be able to adjust easily. Part of the need comes from the available races. Humans, elves, dwarves, and half-elves are straightforward enough. Halflings were changed into kender, with a different set of racial abilities. Gnomes were based on the rock gnomes, but with a curse that forced them to be constantly tinkering with their inventions which would never work. There were also changes to classes. Wizards had to either declare a robe colour, based on the character's alignment, or go rogue. Fifth edition wizards might work, at least for now, but the GM will have to impose alignment restrictions on the school of wizardry chosen.
Overall, the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons is forgiving to character concepts. It should be possible for a player to create a character that he or she wants to play.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
29 Sept 2014
20 May 2014
Cangames 2014
The Victoria Day long weekend brings two elements. First, it is the first, much appreciated, long weekend since Easter. Easter's date is far too variable, occurring in March or April depending on the phase of the moon. As a contractor who doesn't get paid vacation days, that long stretch of winter is a pain and the May long weekend is most welcome. Second, it's the weekend of CanGames, Ottawa's gaming convention and oldest in Canada, and the one con that I make an effort to get to every year.
28 Mar 2014
Interregnum
With Lethal Ladies wrapped up for now, I'm using this week as a breather. I have to decide on the next serial, though I think I know which story it will be. In the meantime, a trip through NaNos past.
2006
Lethal Ladies was my 2006 NaNovel. As commented all the way through, there were growing pains. Jumping from short story to novel is a leap. The prep I did for the story fell short, as did the story as originally plotted. I was fortunate enough to be able to adjust on the fly when I saw the problem. For this, hooray and huzzah for tabletop RPGs, both as player and as DM, which let me keep my wits after a good night's sleep when I realized I was 23 000 words short.
2007
For 2007, I tried a romance. I had found a call for submissions earlier in the year for a new imprint of Dorchester Publishing that focused on science-fiction romance novels. The Dunning-Kruger effect hit hard. I did not realize how difficult a story where romance was front and centre could be. To prepare, I read some of the books available from the imprint plus a couple of interesting looking Harlequins, mainly from the Athena Force series.
The result, Digital Magic, an urban fantasy where the lead character, Jackie, had next to no interest in the male leads. Jackie was far more interested in the magic she was learning. The men were there, and the fantasy plot was well in force, but no chemistry at all formed. Part of it was the time spent world-building. Jackie was brand new to using magic, learning the basics. Strangeness was happening all around, and the villain of the piece, Donna, was content to let Jackie's power build.
The story has elements that I could salvage. The magic system has great potential, being based on mages having to find a metaphor to understand and use it. The general plot could be reused, though Jackie didn't quite fit as a damsel in distress. To be fair, she was going to rescue herself instead of letting some man do it for her. If I can work out the first installment, I had an idea for a follow up with the same characters.
2008
As I got ready for NaNo 2008, I tried to work out my main problem. The answer I found was not knowing the characters well enough. I hadn't fleshed out Jackie enough in my mind to realize that giving her a puzzle meant she focused on the puzzle. With that in mind, I went through the characters I had worked with already and found Nasty. As a bonus, I could expand the S13-verse, introduce characters I was trying to find a way to fit in, and play around with superhero tropes. Crossover was born.
With Digital Magic having reached the 55 000 word mark but unfinished, I had two goals. First, at least 55 000 words, ideally more, to improve on 2007's output. Second, finish the story. Helping me out, AC Cubed was the first weekend of November. I could adjust my needed daily word count to 2000 words per day and start the real work on November 6th, with anything written before that day a bonus. I had several 2000 word days over the previous two years; now, it was a matter of sustaining the rate.
Crossover finished the month at about 60 000 words. I also finished the story. It's a great feeling to add the words, "The End" to a work. Knowing the characters, especially how they'd react, got me through many a stretch. I still needed to look up details, but choosing Cleveland led to putting a super-powered fight outside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I even managed to luck out on placeholder names for an intersection. I was hoping that there would be an intersection of Main and Washington in Cleveland. There was, and in a great spot relative to the hotel and the Hall of Fame.
I threw myself into the tropes of superhero comics. Heroes fighting each other. Evil doppelgangers. Alternate universes. Power armour. With the villains, I could let them plot, showcasing them for a bit, allowing them to be on centre stage while the heroes went about their business at the superhero con. Oh, yes, I pulled in knowledge about conventions, about panels, about the behind the scenes workings. Fans in costume, all gathered to see Peregrine. Yes, Crossover made it easy by practically writing itself.
2009
With Crossover's success in 2008, I kept working with characters I knew well enough. For 2009, I returned to a character I had role-played in a couple of games, Brenna Halliday. Brenna started in a superhero play-by-email game. She was a terminally shy teenager who inherited the Soul Blade, a mystical power that passed from mother to daughter. Adding to Brenna's fun, the Blade was expected to go to her younger sister, Grace, who received all the training. Brenna and her mother weren't seeing eye to eye, even after her mom's death. Worse, the Blade would ensure that there was an heir, so the wielder would get hot flashes anytime someone suitable passed by. Just want a terminally shy girl wants. In addition to the Soul Blade, Brenna was able to see and hear ghosts and to psychically read objects. The latter wasn't under her control; Brenna would wear long sleeves, skirts, and lace gloves to prevent unwanted visions.
Pulling Brenna from the game and into her own story wasn't difficult. I aged her a bit, putting her in her twenties. I thought out where her career would have gone, the limitations she had because of her abilities. Then I worked out the villain's plan. I introduced complications, including a potential boyfriend. All the romance I couldn't find for 2007 appeared in The Soul Blade. Almost derailed the story; I wasn't ready for Brenna to hop into bed with her friend, the police officer, at least not so early in the story.
After 84 000 words, I still didn't have an ending. The climax had started. The army of skeletons were marching through San Diego. The police were trying to stop or at least herd the army away from civilians. A demon had possession of his victim. However, Brenna's family had too many unresolved subplots. Worse, Brenna and her police officer had unresolved sexual tension that needed resolving. There just wasn't any room to wrap up everything and end the novel at the right place. The story is currently in Limbo and does deserve to be worked on again.
The Soul Blade was my best word count ever. Unemployment helped; spend the morning hunting for a job, spend the rest of the day writing for lack of a better idea. Could I ever hope to equal the output in the years to come?
2010
Feedback from friends about The Soul Blade showed that I might have known the characters too well. The reasoning for what they did, while natural for them, was obscure to my beta reader. I had to back down on the familiarity a little. For 2010, I spent time on a few ideas before deciding on By the Numbers, a Shadowun story. I had a good idea of two of the characters, but still had vague ideas about two others. I had also written some setting primers, meant more for potential players. Another interest of mine, though, helped.
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is a fun show. Take cheesy movies, let Joel or Mike and the bots at them, sit back and enjoy. Why not have my characters do that to one of my primers? MST3K is just riffing, which is what a lot of people do with friends over cheesy movies anyway. So, riff my cast did. It worked. I got an insight on all of them.
Each NaNo, I have tried to do something different. Lethal Ladies was just trying NaNo. Digital Magic incorporated romance, or should have. Crossover was all about superheroes, first time in NaNo. The Soul Blade was proper urban fantasy, though it did have romance. For 2010, I tried outlining for the first time. The results are mixed. Without the outline, which can be done prior to November, I might not have worked out the direction of the story. At the same time, there was something missing, a spark that the previous years had. Even with the outline, the ending changed drastically and saw one of the characters leave the team.
By the Numbers finished with over 58 000 words. A little short for a novel, a little long for a novella. But the story was finished. I had even left room for further stories. I have played around with using the characters again, and have realized that the title needs to be changed. The titles for each year start off as working titles, giving me room to adjust them as needed. By the Numbers turned out to be the first that does need changing. To contrast, Crossover may be the perfect name for 2008's work, being a crossover of titles and signifying the crossing over of dimensions done by the villains. Go fig.
2011
Once again, I wanted to do something different. This year, erotica. This story might never be released. It had a convoluted origin. I had wanted to try a fantasy novel, and had two characters in mind; Bronya, tall and blonde, and Morwenna, redhead extrordinaire. Lovers and mages. However, a fantasy setting just did not work for them. I kept trying to work out when and where they would work best. I even tried picturing them in Shadowrun. However, I flashed upon a scene where Morwenna drove a flying car in pursuit and Bronya stood on the roof, sword in one hand, readied spell in the other. With a mental shrug, I figured, why not? I hadn't written any type of science fiction yet.
I managed to break past 50 000 words, but once I had a bit of buffer in case of discrepancy between my word processor and the official NaNo word count, I ended the work. Other ideas were poking at me, demanding my attention, and I gave in. The space opera-y work added elements of mystery, and nothing was working together the way I wanted. I may return to the story. It may never appear on this blog.
2012
If you go back to the early days of this blog, you'll find the prep work for NaNo 2012. The new challenge this year was to blog my progress, on top of writing. I had started working out which story idea to play with and wound up with Beaver Flight. While working on the story, I realized that it was in the completely wrong format; the more I progressed, the more I realized that the story should have been serialized and visual. I still reached the 50 000 word mark, but at that point, I set the story aside.
2013
The most recent NaNo, The Devil You Know was inspired by several elements. First, it was another urban fantasy, the first time I had repeated a genre. Second, it was current, with BitCoins being a key plot device. Third, I had a black box character in Jack; I knew what he would do in a situation, but the reasoning was kept hidden even to me. Jack's a scary person.
While the story was doing well, I faded close to the 52 000 word mark. I reached the goal, then I had to stop. I need to get back to the story. BitCoins are major news, I know what happens next in the scene I left off at, and I have how the story wraps up. It's the bits in between that need work. With not quite 52k words, I may have to go back and add other perspectives. Fortunately, I have a few characters whose insights will help.
With three years of incomplete stories, I do need a NaNo that sees the work finished. Thus, starting the prep work early this year. I'm just jotting down some of the ideas to see how much more work is needed. I do hope that one of them will be the one that gets finished.
2006
Lethal Ladies was my 2006 NaNovel. As commented all the way through, there were growing pains. Jumping from short story to novel is a leap. The prep I did for the story fell short, as did the story as originally plotted. I was fortunate enough to be able to adjust on the fly when I saw the problem. For this, hooray and huzzah for tabletop RPGs, both as player and as DM, which let me keep my wits after a good night's sleep when I realized I was 23 000 words short.
2007
For 2007, I tried a romance. I had found a call for submissions earlier in the year for a new imprint of Dorchester Publishing that focused on science-fiction romance novels. The Dunning-Kruger effect hit hard. I did not realize how difficult a story where romance was front and centre could be. To prepare, I read some of the books available from the imprint plus a couple of interesting looking Harlequins, mainly from the Athena Force series.
The result, Digital Magic, an urban fantasy where the lead character, Jackie, had next to no interest in the male leads. Jackie was far more interested in the magic she was learning. The men were there, and the fantasy plot was well in force, but no chemistry at all formed. Part of it was the time spent world-building. Jackie was brand new to using magic, learning the basics. Strangeness was happening all around, and the villain of the piece, Donna, was content to let Jackie's power build.
The story has elements that I could salvage. The magic system has great potential, being based on mages having to find a metaphor to understand and use it. The general plot could be reused, though Jackie didn't quite fit as a damsel in distress. To be fair, she was going to rescue herself instead of letting some man do it for her. If I can work out the first installment, I had an idea for a follow up with the same characters.
2008
As I got ready for NaNo 2008, I tried to work out my main problem. The answer I found was not knowing the characters well enough. I hadn't fleshed out Jackie enough in my mind to realize that giving her a puzzle meant she focused on the puzzle. With that in mind, I went through the characters I had worked with already and found Nasty. As a bonus, I could expand the S13-verse, introduce characters I was trying to find a way to fit in, and play around with superhero tropes. Crossover was born.
With Digital Magic having reached the 55 000 word mark but unfinished, I had two goals. First, at least 55 000 words, ideally more, to improve on 2007's output. Second, finish the story. Helping me out, AC Cubed was the first weekend of November. I could adjust my needed daily word count to 2000 words per day and start the real work on November 6th, with anything written before that day a bonus. I had several 2000 word days over the previous two years; now, it was a matter of sustaining the rate.
Crossover finished the month at about 60 000 words. I also finished the story. It's a great feeling to add the words, "The End" to a work. Knowing the characters, especially how they'd react, got me through many a stretch. I still needed to look up details, but choosing Cleveland led to putting a super-powered fight outside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I even managed to luck out on placeholder names for an intersection. I was hoping that there would be an intersection of Main and Washington in Cleveland. There was, and in a great spot relative to the hotel and the Hall of Fame.
I threw myself into the tropes of superhero comics. Heroes fighting each other. Evil doppelgangers. Alternate universes. Power armour. With the villains, I could let them plot, showcasing them for a bit, allowing them to be on centre stage while the heroes went about their business at the superhero con. Oh, yes, I pulled in knowledge about conventions, about panels, about the behind the scenes workings. Fans in costume, all gathered to see Peregrine. Yes, Crossover made it easy by practically writing itself.
2009
With Crossover's success in 2008, I kept working with characters I knew well enough. For 2009, I returned to a character I had role-played in a couple of games, Brenna Halliday. Brenna started in a superhero play-by-email game. She was a terminally shy teenager who inherited the Soul Blade, a mystical power that passed from mother to daughter. Adding to Brenna's fun, the Blade was expected to go to her younger sister, Grace, who received all the training. Brenna and her mother weren't seeing eye to eye, even after her mom's death. Worse, the Blade would ensure that there was an heir, so the wielder would get hot flashes anytime someone suitable passed by. Just want a terminally shy girl wants. In addition to the Soul Blade, Brenna was able to see and hear ghosts and to psychically read objects. The latter wasn't under her control; Brenna would wear long sleeves, skirts, and lace gloves to prevent unwanted visions.
Pulling Brenna from the game and into her own story wasn't difficult. I aged her a bit, putting her in her twenties. I thought out where her career would have gone, the limitations she had because of her abilities. Then I worked out the villain's plan. I introduced complications, including a potential boyfriend. All the romance I couldn't find for 2007 appeared in The Soul Blade. Almost derailed the story; I wasn't ready for Brenna to hop into bed with her friend, the police officer, at least not so early in the story.
After 84 000 words, I still didn't have an ending. The climax had started. The army of skeletons were marching through San Diego. The police were trying to stop or at least herd the army away from civilians. A demon had possession of his victim. However, Brenna's family had too many unresolved subplots. Worse, Brenna and her police officer had unresolved sexual tension that needed resolving. There just wasn't any room to wrap up everything and end the novel at the right place. The story is currently in Limbo and does deserve to be worked on again.
The Soul Blade was my best word count ever. Unemployment helped; spend the morning hunting for a job, spend the rest of the day writing for lack of a better idea. Could I ever hope to equal the output in the years to come?
2010
Feedback from friends about The Soul Blade showed that I might have known the characters too well. The reasoning for what they did, while natural for them, was obscure to my beta reader. I had to back down on the familiarity a little. For 2010, I spent time on a few ideas before deciding on By the Numbers, a Shadowun story. I had a good idea of two of the characters, but still had vague ideas about two others. I had also written some setting primers, meant more for potential players. Another interest of mine, though, helped.
Mystery Science Theatre 3000 is a fun show. Take cheesy movies, let Joel or Mike and the bots at them, sit back and enjoy. Why not have my characters do that to one of my primers? MST3K is just riffing, which is what a lot of people do with friends over cheesy movies anyway. So, riff my cast did. It worked. I got an insight on all of them.
Each NaNo, I have tried to do something different. Lethal Ladies was just trying NaNo. Digital Magic incorporated romance, or should have. Crossover was all about superheroes, first time in NaNo. The Soul Blade was proper urban fantasy, though it did have romance. For 2010, I tried outlining for the first time. The results are mixed. Without the outline, which can be done prior to November, I might not have worked out the direction of the story. At the same time, there was something missing, a spark that the previous years had. Even with the outline, the ending changed drastically and saw one of the characters leave the team.
By the Numbers finished with over 58 000 words. A little short for a novel, a little long for a novella. But the story was finished. I had even left room for further stories. I have played around with using the characters again, and have realized that the title needs to be changed. The titles for each year start off as working titles, giving me room to adjust them as needed. By the Numbers turned out to be the first that does need changing. To contrast, Crossover may be the perfect name for 2008's work, being a crossover of titles and signifying the crossing over of dimensions done by the villains. Go fig.
2011
Once again, I wanted to do something different. This year, erotica. This story might never be released. It had a convoluted origin. I had wanted to try a fantasy novel, and had two characters in mind; Bronya, tall and blonde, and Morwenna, redhead extrordinaire. Lovers and mages. However, a fantasy setting just did not work for them. I kept trying to work out when and where they would work best. I even tried picturing them in Shadowrun. However, I flashed upon a scene where Morwenna drove a flying car in pursuit and Bronya stood on the roof, sword in one hand, readied spell in the other. With a mental shrug, I figured, why not? I hadn't written any type of science fiction yet.
I managed to break past 50 000 words, but once I had a bit of buffer in case of discrepancy between my word processor and the official NaNo word count, I ended the work. Other ideas were poking at me, demanding my attention, and I gave in. The space opera-y work added elements of mystery, and nothing was working together the way I wanted. I may return to the story. It may never appear on this blog.
2012
If you go back to the early days of this blog, you'll find the prep work for NaNo 2012. The new challenge this year was to blog my progress, on top of writing. I had started working out which story idea to play with and wound up with Beaver Flight. While working on the story, I realized that it was in the completely wrong format; the more I progressed, the more I realized that the story should have been serialized and visual. I still reached the 50 000 word mark, but at that point, I set the story aside.
2013
The most recent NaNo, The Devil You Know was inspired by several elements. First, it was another urban fantasy, the first time I had repeated a genre. Second, it was current, with BitCoins being a key plot device. Third, I had a black box character in Jack; I knew what he would do in a situation, but the reasoning was kept hidden even to me. Jack's a scary person.
While the story was doing well, I faded close to the 52 000 word mark. I reached the goal, then I had to stop. I need to get back to the story. BitCoins are major news, I know what happens next in the scene I left off at, and I have how the story wraps up. It's the bits in between that need work. With not quite 52k words, I may have to go back and add other perspectives. Fortunately, I have a few characters whose insights will help.
With three years of incomplete stories, I do need a NaNo that sees the work finished. Thus, starting the prep work early this year. I'm just jotting down some of the ideas to see how much more work is needed. I do hope that one of them will be the one that gets finished.
20 Oct 2013
Review - Can*Con 2013 - Part 2 - Sunday
I've already covered Saturday. I had missed Friday, but planned on getting in for Sunday. For another view of the conference, go see Mathie x Pensive; he covered Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and took photos!
First panel, Creativity in Fandom.
Panelists: Errol Elumir, Debs Linden, Chadwick Ginther
The panel covered creative fandom, the ins and outs and the fun. Debs and Errol perform geek music and have just released an EP. Debs also works solo and knits on the side. Chadwick is a novelist. Although the panel was about creativity, LinkedIn recommends that creativity not be used as a keyword; the term is too broad to be meaningful. Get specific. Meanwhile, Chadwick uses music as a fuel for his writing, creating a soundtrack for his novels as they get written. What helps is being creative in your daily life. The creativity helps remove filters. Errol is a great example. Also helping in removing filters, NaNoWriMo, which encourages to, if not kill your inner editor, at least leave it tied up in the closet for a bit. Other ideas to help with being creative is to keep a notebook handy for when ideas strike. Some reading material mentioned was Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience and Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, both by Czech psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Animation from Script to Screen by Shamus Culhane, and Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Flow and Creativity both show the need to enter a state of flow where you lose track of time while creating. Animation mentioned the dichotomy between perfection and completion; novels aren't so much finished as abandoned. Taking on crazy challenges, such as NaNoWriMo, still results in something being created and refined as needed. Perfectionism though can be a problem, deadlines help push the project to an end. Also mentioned were "pantsers", people who write/draw/create by the seat of their pants; even they* have pitfalls including poor work and distractability. However, with practice, the processes will be internalized, becoming natural. To help become more creative, keep an eye open for ideas; they're everywhere. Improv classes help remove the internal filter. Watch out for research, it can sometimes become a chase down a rabbit hole, especially on certain sites like Wikipedia and TVTropes. Collaborate; having people participate, even through being first/beta readers, will help keep the creativity going. Again, a very useful panel, for both writers and fans.
Second panel, Marketing for Writers 201: Blog Tours and Other Clever Ideas*
Panelist: Linda Poitevin
A followup to a Friday evening panel, Marketing 101, which I couldn't make, Linda Poitevin presented a talk on virtual tours. Linda is currently on one to promote her latest book in The Grigori Legacy and shared her knowledge. She also came prepared with handouts! A lot of the info can be found on her blog by searching "blog tour". The short of it, a blog tour is a virtual book tour, giving guest columns and interviews at various websites. The goal is to get your name and the title of your book out there to as many people as possible in a short amount of time. There's two ways to go, set up the tour by yourself or hire a tour organizer. In both cases, you need to decide how long the tour will last, how many times a week you'll post, and if you'll have a giveaways during the tour. With an organizer, the bulk of the work will be off your shoulders as the organizer arranges for the sites, makes the needed introductions, and giveaways. The organizer can cost anywhere from one to several hundred dollars, but, in return, a lot of the heavy lifting is done for you. Otherwise, you'll have to research and contact the various hosts. Ideally, you'll appear on blogs that review books that are similar to what you've written. Verify the number of followers the blog has; the idea is to raise your presence. Also check the level of feedback; the number of followers isn't always indicative of the activity on a site. The more active the commentary, the more active the followers are. And keep track of where you're appearing, so that you can send a reminder to hosts of your guest appearance a a week or two in advance and remember what sort of post you're putting up at the site. Prepare your guest posts as soon as possible and send them when they're ready. The posts don't necessarily have to be about the book being promoted; Linda has written about canning on her current tour. When in doubt, ask the host for a topic. Once your post is up, check back a few times over the next few days and the following weekend so you can follow up on feedback. And, above all, remember to send thank yous. Definitely an informative panel for writers.
My last panel, The Mystery Plot Form.
Panelists: Violette Malan, Hayden Trenholm, Robert J. Sawyer, Tom Barlow
The panel was delayed a bit as the Aurora Awards banquet wrapped up; Robert J. Sawyer arrived halfway through the panel because of photography needed after his Lifetime Achievement Award. Once it got started, the panel covered adapting a mystery into a speculative fiction format. The panelists noted that speculative fiction is similar to a mystery, with an investigation into what is happening. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was the first scientific detective, using methods that were, at the time, akin to science fiction and based on the work of Doctor Joseph Bell and of police officer Bartelet. The key is to know whodunit before starting to write. In effect, mysteries are written twice, once from the end to the beginning to make sure the chain of clues to the perpetrator holds up, and then again from beginning to end to add the needed red herrings. The writer needs to use subterfuge and sleight of hand to distract the reader from the clues. At the same time, the author has to maintain a separation of writer and character knowledge.** The big thing to avoid is the "I don't understand" reaction by the reader; the mystery reader adds a meta-level of reading by trying to solve the mystery along with the investigating character. Mysteries tend to be in series because the lead character is the most empathetic; this can lead to the problem of the lead character not changing as the writers aim to make each book accessable whether a reader picks up book 5 or book 35. The order of most mystery series usually isn't important; however, there are exceptions such as John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, which has a subtle progression. In science fiction, though, there is a progression; characters develop from book 1 to book 3; missing book 2 means missing key events. Sawyer brought up another aspect once he arrived; his first novel was a science fiction mystery. He saw the Venn diagram of readers of SF and of mystery, with the intersection. He thought he'd reach everyone; instead, he got the intersection.
Summing up the weekend, I am happy I went. First, this was my first con since FanExpo in 2010 where the crowds were far too overwhelming. CanCon was much smaller, intimate, and didn't involve getting trapped going upstream in a crowd. Second, the panels were focused on written work. The panels I went to were either to get information for projects, especially the Traveller idea, about the business of writing, or about the creative fan aspects. I did see some cracks, but that's four years of being a con exec for AC Cubed speaking up. I also had an idea for a panel for next year's, which I do plan on going to.
If you're a writer or a reader of fantasy and science fiction, this is the con to attend.
* Okay, we, but I'll have a post on my methods separate from the review.
** Similar to player versus player character knowledge in RPGs, really.
First panel, Creativity in Fandom.
Panelists: Errol Elumir, Debs Linden, Chadwick Ginther
The panel covered creative fandom, the ins and outs and the fun. Debs and Errol perform geek music and have just released an EP. Debs also works solo and knits on the side. Chadwick is a novelist. Although the panel was about creativity, LinkedIn recommends that creativity not be used as a keyword; the term is too broad to be meaningful. Get specific. Meanwhile, Chadwick uses music as a fuel for his writing, creating a soundtrack for his novels as they get written. What helps is being creative in your daily life. The creativity helps remove filters. Errol is a great example. Also helping in removing filters, NaNoWriMo, which encourages to, if not kill your inner editor, at least leave it tied up in the closet for a bit. Other ideas to help with being creative is to keep a notebook handy for when ideas strike. Some reading material mentioned was Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience and Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, both by Czech psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Animation from Script to Screen by Shamus Culhane, and Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland. Flow and Creativity both show the need to enter a state of flow where you lose track of time while creating. Animation mentioned the dichotomy between perfection and completion; novels aren't so much finished as abandoned. Taking on crazy challenges, such as NaNoWriMo, still results in something being created and refined as needed. Perfectionism though can be a problem, deadlines help push the project to an end. Also mentioned were "pantsers", people who write/draw/create by the seat of their pants; even they* have pitfalls including poor work and distractability. However, with practice, the processes will be internalized, becoming natural. To help become more creative, keep an eye open for ideas; they're everywhere. Improv classes help remove the internal filter. Watch out for research, it can sometimes become a chase down a rabbit hole, especially on certain sites like Wikipedia and TVTropes. Collaborate; having people participate, even through being first/beta readers, will help keep the creativity going. Again, a very useful panel, for both writers and fans.
Second panel, Marketing for Writers 201: Blog Tours and Other Clever Ideas*
Panelist: Linda Poitevin
A followup to a Friday evening panel, Marketing 101, which I couldn't make, Linda Poitevin presented a talk on virtual tours. Linda is currently on one to promote her latest book in The Grigori Legacy and shared her knowledge. She also came prepared with handouts! A lot of the info can be found on her blog by searching "blog tour". The short of it, a blog tour is a virtual book tour, giving guest columns and interviews at various websites. The goal is to get your name and the title of your book out there to as many people as possible in a short amount of time. There's two ways to go, set up the tour by yourself or hire a tour organizer. In both cases, you need to decide how long the tour will last, how many times a week you'll post, and if you'll have a giveaways during the tour. With an organizer, the bulk of the work will be off your shoulders as the organizer arranges for the sites, makes the needed introductions, and giveaways. The organizer can cost anywhere from one to several hundred dollars, but, in return, a lot of the heavy lifting is done for you. Otherwise, you'll have to research and contact the various hosts. Ideally, you'll appear on blogs that review books that are similar to what you've written. Verify the number of followers the blog has; the idea is to raise your presence. Also check the level of feedback; the number of followers isn't always indicative of the activity on a site. The more active the commentary, the more active the followers are. And keep track of where you're appearing, so that you can send a reminder to hosts of your guest appearance a a week or two in advance and remember what sort of post you're putting up at the site. Prepare your guest posts as soon as possible and send them when they're ready. The posts don't necessarily have to be about the book being promoted; Linda has written about canning on her current tour. When in doubt, ask the host for a topic. Once your post is up, check back a few times over the next few days and the following weekend so you can follow up on feedback. And, above all, remember to send thank yous. Definitely an informative panel for writers.
My last panel, The Mystery Plot Form.
Panelists: Violette Malan, Hayden Trenholm, Robert J. Sawyer, Tom Barlow
The panel was delayed a bit as the Aurora Awards banquet wrapped up; Robert J. Sawyer arrived halfway through the panel because of photography needed after his Lifetime Achievement Award. Once it got started, the panel covered adapting a mystery into a speculative fiction format. The panelists noted that speculative fiction is similar to a mystery, with an investigation into what is happening. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes was the first scientific detective, using methods that were, at the time, akin to science fiction and based on the work of Doctor Joseph Bell and of police officer Bartelet. The key is to know whodunit before starting to write. In effect, mysteries are written twice, once from the end to the beginning to make sure the chain of clues to the perpetrator holds up, and then again from beginning to end to add the needed red herrings. The writer needs to use subterfuge and sleight of hand to distract the reader from the clues. At the same time, the author has to maintain a separation of writer and character knowledge.** The big thing to avoid is the "I don't understand" reaction by the reader; the mystery reader adds a meta-level of reading by trying to solve the mystery along with the investigating character. Mysteries tend to be in series because the lead character is the most empathetic; this can lead to the problem of the lead character not changing as the writers aim to make each book accessable whether a reader picks up book 5 or book 35. The order of most mystery series usually isn't important; however, there are exceptions such as John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, which has a subtle progression. In science fiction, though, there is a progression; characters develop from book 1 to book 3; missing book 2 means missing key events. Sawyer brought up another aspect once he arrived; his first novel was a science fiction mystery. He saw the Venn diagram of readers of SF and of mystery, with the intersection. He thought he'd reach everyone; instead, he got the intersection.
Summing up the weekend, I am happy I went. First, this was my first con since FanExpo in 2010 where the crowds were far too overwhelming. CanCon was much smaller, intimate, and didn't involve getting trapped going upstream in a crowd. Second, the panels were focused on written work. The panels I went to were either to get information for projects, especially the Traveller idea, about the business of writing, or about the creative fan aspects. I did see some cracks, but that's four years of being a con exec for AC Cubed speaking up. I also had an idea for a panel for next year's, which I do plan on going to.
If you're a writer or a reader of fantasy and science fiction, this is the con to attend.
* Okay, we, but I'll have a post on my methods separate from the review.
** Similar to player versus player character knowledge in RPGs, really.
14 Oct 2013
Review - Can*Con 2013 - Part 1 - Saturday
This past weekend, October 11-13, 2013, saw Can*Con 2013 held in Ottawa, Ontario. I wrote a review for MuseHack, but the following is the more personal approach.
Before I get into the details, I will mention that I took notes. Those very notes are the reason why the review is late. Take a look at my handwriting at the start of the first panel.
Someone should hire me to encrypt messages. Even in plaintext, it's hard to figure out.
I was not able to get to the convention the Friday evening. The program shows a variety of panels, including one for first time con attendees, one about chemical weapons and synthetic medicine, a marketing panel, and humour in science fiction, along with a concert at the end of the evening that included open mic filking.
Saturday morning, I arrived with a rough idea of what I wanted to see, a mix of panels to stimulate the imagination and panels to learn about the business side of writing. While I did notice some organizational issues, the problems wouldn't be apparent to most attendees; experience running a convention let me see a few cracks that most people would miss. However, I paid for the weekend, I was off to the panels and the rest of the weekend went smoother than expected.
First panel, Atmospheres Around Solid Bodies: Mars, Venus, Titan, Pluto.
Panelist: Science guest of honour Mark Robinson
The panel covered meteorology on rocky planets. using Earth as a basis; my reason for going was to learn more for a personal project. Robinson is a meteorologist, hosting StormHunters on the Weather Network, and has experienced the more extreme weather here on Earth. He then extrapolated that information to show how weather would work on Mars, Venus, and Titan. Definitely was worth getting to, and the questions from the audience were intelligent.
Second panel, Going Viral: Infection and Disease in Speculative Fiction.
Panelists: Lynne M. MacLean, PhD, Leslie Brown, Wayne Conlan, PhD, and Cameron McDermaid.
As the title implies, the panel covered how diseases spread, again using real data as a base to build on. Again, this was more for personal projects, both current and future. Cameron McDermaid is part of the Ottawa Public Health Unit, tasked with tracking rates of infection while Leslie Brown, Dr. Conlan and Dr. MacLean are research scientists. Also again, the audience asked good questions about the nature of viruses and bacteria and the vectors used.
Third panel, The Business of Writing.
Panelists: Authors Suzanne Church, Jean-Louis Trudel, Karen Dudley, and Chadwick Ginther.
This was the first panel about the business side of writing that I attended, and it was loaded with information. Topics covered included the use of social media and how to use it, how to balance the time spent between writing and marketing, the pros and cons of self-publishing beyond just the still lingering stigma. Also mentioned, be nice to fans; word of mouth can work against authors, too. Also to keep in mind, electronic catalogues can now track a writer's online presence, so just having accounts on various social media platforms isn't enough; writers need to be social on social media, too. Also useful, especially in light of the track almost dedicated to it, learning how to give readings; sometimes a good reading can pull in people who didn't expect to be buying the book. The financial side lead to more useful information, including what and how to claim for expenses. Even books and magazines can be expensed by writers. Since Can*Con is Canadian, there was a mention of an extra hoop when publishing an e-book through Amazon.com. The bookseller requires an American tax number; the panelists mentioned that both EIN (Employer Identification Number) and ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) and how to get them. The panel was well attended and, yet again, had thoughtful questions from the audience about processes. This panel, if no other, was a key one for aspiring authors.
The next panel I went to was Women as Authors and Women as Fans.
Panelists: Marie Bilodeau, Linda Poitevin, Cherry Valance, and Robin Riopelle.
With the controversies involving authors snubbing women writers and the "fake geek girl" turducken of insanity happening, the panel set out to find positive solutions. The odd woman out, Cherry Valance, is a fan, not an author, but is very active in the Capital Geek Girls, a group to promote activities for the geek girl. The problem, though, isn't limited to fans or to creative types; it's systemic, pervasive through society. There are no easy solutions, but ideas were presented. One was the idea of a safespace, especially at conventions, where someone can go to get away or someone to go to when help is needed. Another was increasing awareness, having panels at conventions similar to this one, raising the issues. Changing the language used is also important; assertiveness isn't being bitchy, it's standing up for what is right. The changing of the word changes the impression of the action. Marketing must be brought on board; too often, the packaging becomes limiting, with pastels signfying a book for women only, even if the story might appeal to men, too. Marie Bilodeau ran into this problem with one of her early novels; it got the pastel treatment, leading people to believe the romance was the main plot when, in reality, the main plot involved explosions. If the previous panel was key for just authors, this panel was key for everyone. Fortunately, a good cross-section of the attendees were there, women and men, young and old.
After lunch, the first panel I went to was Gas Giants to Hot Jupiters to Brown Dwarfs.
Panelists: Mark Robinson, Peter Watson, and Derek Künsken.
Like the first panel on I went to, this was about weather, this time on gas giants. Again, this was for a personal project and, again, very useful for my needs. Plus, finding out about gas giants where precipitation is molten iron and molten glass. Definitely geared towards the writers of science fiction.
[And look at what the BBC is now reporting: raining diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn. Fuel skimming of gas giants is not as easy as it sounds.]
Late in the afternoon, I went to Cripping the Light Fantastic.
Panelists: Derek Newman-Stille, Tanya Huff, and Dominik Parisien.
The panel covered the role of the disabled, starting with a "Disability Bingo" featuring slides of characters from speculative fiction in all media, based on various tropes including "Disabled as mentor for hero", "The magical or technological cure", and "Disability as ugliness". As society became more sensitive to the needs of the obviously disabled, some tropes were seen less and less, but the disabled character is beginning to be all about the disability and not a full character. Awareness will help, but efforts will be needed. This panel was for fans and writers, to help recognize the issues.
[Since the convention, I managed to catch an episode of the remade Ironside series. Although I can't really extrapolate from just one episode, that one managed to avoid the major tropes covered, having Sergeant Ironside be a detective sergeant first and foremost. Time will tell, but, so far, Ironside is a character first, his disability second.]
Afterwards, I went to the panel Researching for Fantasy Stories
Panelists: Matthew Johnson, Karen Dudley, and Mike Rimar
Another panel aimed more for writers, the topic covered world building and researching. Brought up was the /National Geographic/ test on amount researched; if you have enough information to write an article on the subject for the magazine, you have enough information to work with in writing. When it comes to a fantasy world, start with the science and extrapolate while watching out for incompatibilities. While it is easy to take an example from Earth, elements of the world may break the sample. Allow readers to fill in the gaps. Solid advice from the panel.
Last panel of Saturday was National Novel Writing Month! Aspiring Writers: Do It! Commit! Commit!.
Panelists: Nicole Lavigne, Geoff Gander, Maaja Wentz, and Chadwick Ginther
The panel covered what NaNoWriMo is, the aspects of writing 50 000 words in thirty days, and the social elements. Also covered were software to help keep writers going through the month, including Write or Die and Written Kitten, and some dirty secrets of NaNoWriMo, including the fact that editors dread December. Professional writers have also used the month to get a start on a side project, working out a first draft while still working on their main works. Most of the audience had participated in NaNoWriMo before, but the panel allowed for an exchange of ideas and for getting to know others embarking on the same insane ride.
Remember that handwriting sample? Here's a sample of my handwriting by the end of the day. I, for one, welcome the computer revolution.
As soon as it's written, the review for the Sunday will be posted.
Before I get into the details, I will mention that I took notes. Those very notes are the reason why the review is late. Take a look at my handwriting at the start of the first panel.
 |
| Chicken scratches are more legible. |
Someone should hire me to encrypt messages. Even in plaintext, it's hard to figure out.
I was not able to get to the convention the Friday evening. The program shows a variety of panels, including one for first time con attendees, one about chemical weapons and synthetic medicine, a marketing panel, and humour in science fiction, along with a concert at the end of the evening that included open mic filking.
Saturday morning, I arrived with a rough idea of what I wanted to see, a mix of panels to stimulate the imagination and panels to learn about the business side of writing. While I did notice some organizational issues, the problems wouldn't be apparent to most attendees; experience running a convention let me see a few cracks that most people would miss. However, I paid for the weekend, I was off to the panels and the rest of the weekend went smoother than expected.
First panel, Atmospheres Around Solid Bodies: Mars, Venus, Titan, Pluto.
Panelist: Science guest of honour Mark Robinson
The panel covered meteorology on rocky planets. using Earth as a basis; my reason for going was to learn more for a personal project. Robinson is a meteorologist, hosting StormHunters on the Weather Network, and has experienced the more extreme weather here on Earth. He then extrapolated that information to show how weather would work on Mars, Venus, and Titan. Definitely was worth getting to, and the questions from the audience were intelligent.
Second panel, Going Viral: Infection and Disease in Speculative Fiction.
Panelists: Lynne M. MacLean, PhD, Leslie Brown, Wayne Conlan, PhD, and Cameron McDermaid.
As the title implies, the panel covered how diseases spread, again using real data as a base to build on. Again, this was more for personal projects, both current and future. Cameron McDermaid is part of the Ottawa Public Health Unit, tasked with tracking rates of infection while Leslie Brown, Dr. Conlan and Dr. MacLean are research scientists. Also again, the audience asked good questions about the nature of viruses and bacteria and the vectors used.
Third panel, The Business of Writing.
Panelists: Authors Suzanne Church, Jean-Louis Trudel, Karen Dudley, and Chadwick Ginther.
This was the first panel about the business side of writing that I attended, and it was loaded with information. Topics covered included the use of social media and how to use it, how to balance the time spent between writing and marketing, the pros and cons of self-publishing beyond just the still lingering stigma. Also mentioned, be nice to fans; word of mouth can work against authors, too. Also to keep in mind, electronic catalogues can now track a writer's online presence, so just having accounts on various social media platforms isn't enough; writers need to be social on social media, too. Also useful, especially in light of the track almost dedicated to it, learning how to give readings; sometimes a good reading can pull in people who didn't expect to be buying the book. The financial side lead to more useful information, including what and how to claim for expenses. Even books and magazines can be expensed by writers. Since Can*Con is Canadian, there was a mention of an extra hoop when publishing an e-book through Amazon.com. The bookseller requires an American tax number; the panelists mentioned that both EIN (Employer Identification Number) and ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) and how to get them. The panel was well attended and, yet again, had thoughtful questions from the audience about processes. This panel, if no other, was a key one for aspiring authors.
The next panel I went to was Women as Authors and Women as Fans.
Panelists: Marie Bilodeau, Linda Poitevin, Cherry Valance, and Robin Riopelle.
With the controversies involving authors snubbing women writers and the "fake geek girl" turducken of insanity happening, the panel set out to find positive solutions. The odd woman out, Cherry Valance, is a fan, not an author, but is very active in the Capital Geek Girls, a group to promote activities for the geek girl. The problem, though, isn't limited to fans or to creative types; it's systemic, pervasive through society. There are no easy solutions, but ideas were presented. One was the idea of a safespace, especially at conventions, where someone can go to get away or someone to go to when help is needed. Another was increasing awareness, having panels at conventions similar to this one, raising the issues. Changing the language used is also important; assertiveness isn't being bitchy, it's standing up for what is right. The changing of the word changes the impression of the action. Marketing must be brought on board; too often, the packaging becomes limiting, with pastels signfying a book for women only, even if the story might appeal to men, too. Marie Bilodeau ran into this problem with one of her early novels; it got the pastel treatment, leading people to believe the romance was the main plot when, in reality, the main plot involved explosions. If the previous panel was key for just authors, this panel was key for everyone. Fortunately, a good cross-section of the attendees were there, women and men, young and old.
After lunch, the first panel I went to was Gas Giants to Hot Jupiters to Brown Dwarfs.
Panelists: Mark Robinson, Peter Watson, and Derek Künsken.
Like the first panel on I went to, this was about weather, this time on gas giants. Again, this was for a personal project and, again, very useful for my needs. Plus, finding out about gas giants where precipitation is molten iron and molten glass. Definitely geared towards the writers of science fiction.
[And look at what the BBC is now reporting: raining diamonds on Jupiter and Saturn. Fuel skimming of gas giants is not as easy as it sounds.]
Late in the afternoon, I went to Cripping the Light Fantastic.
Panelists: Derek Newman-Stille, Tanya Huff, and Dominik Parisien.
The panel covered the role of the disabled, starting with a "Disability Bingo" featuring slides of characters from speculative fiction in all media, based on various tropes including "Disabled as mentor for hero", "The magical or technological cure", and "Disability as ugliness". As society became more sensitive to the needs of the obviously disabled, some tropes were seen less and less, but the disabled character is beginning to be all about the disability and not a full character. Awareness will help, but efforts will be needed. This panel was for fans and writers, to help recognize the issues.
[Since the convention, I managed to catch an episode of the remade Ironside series. Although I can't really extrapolate from just one episode, that one managed to avoid the major tropes covered, having Sergeant Ironside be a detective sergeant first and foremost. Time will tell, but, so far, Ironside is a character first, his disability second.]
Afterwards, I went to the panel Researching for Fantasy Stories
Panelists: Matthew Johnson, Karen Dudley, and Mike Rimar
Another panel aimed more for writers, the topic covered world building and researching. Brought up was the /National Geographic/ test on amount researched; if you have enough information to write an article on the subject for the magazine, you have enough information to work with in writing. When it comes to a fantasy world, start with the science and extrapolate while watching out for incompatibilities. While it is easy to take an example from Earth, elements of the world may break the sample. Allow readers to fill in the gaps. Solid advice from the panel.
Last panel of Saturday was National Novel Writing Month! Aspiring Writers: Do It! Commit! Commit!.
Panelists: Nicole Lavigne, Geoff Gander, Maaja Wentz, and Chadwick Ginther
The panel covered what NaNoWriMo is, the aspects of writing 50 000 words in thirty days, and the social elements. Also covered were software to help keep writers going through the month, including Write or Die and Written Kitten, and some dirty secrets of NaNoWriMo, including the fact that editors dread December. Professional writers have also used the month to get a start on a side project, working out a first draft while still working on their main works. Most of the audience had participated in NaNoWriMo before, but the panel allowed for an exchange of ideas and for getting to know others embarking on the same insane ride.
Remember that handwriting sample? Here's a sample of my handwriting by the end of the day. I, for one, welcome the computer revolution.
 |
| And that's when I print. Imagine proper cursive. |
As soon as it's written, the review for the Sunday will be posted.
3 Mar 2013
The 33rd Annual Razzies and Their Implications
While most of Hollywood gathered to see and be seen at the Oscars on Sunday, a different set of awards got handed out earlier that day. The RAZZIES announced their worst of 2012. The list of "winners" can be seen here, but I wanted to make note of a few, since there's some overlap with Lost in Translation.
First up, Worst Supporting Actress. Rihanna got the "honours" for her role in Battleship. I've gone on about the movie, both at Lost in Translation and elsewhere here. The movie itself was in parts fun, disappointing, and frustrating, for reasons pointed out in my reviews. Rihanna's role in /Battleship/ was to pull in her fans. Her character could have gone to anyone and the same amount of impact would've been felt. The character was an extra promoted to a speaking role. I wouldn't be surprised that the first few drafts of the script only had the character listed as "Gunner's Mate" or just "Gunner". But, the role had screen time. Rihanna's win might have been close, given the other nominees, including co-star Brooklyn Decker (in a meatier role) and Jennifer Lopez.
Next, Twilight. Just as with the Oscars, where Return of the King won not for itself but the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2* won for the full Twilight series. Twilight was expected to sweep the awards, but Rihanna, above, and Adam Sandler (Worst Actor, Worst Screenplay) prevented it. Still, snaring 70% of the awards is no small achievement. Special mention to Kristen Stewart for getting Worst Actress for both Twilight and Snow White and the Huntsman.
So, Rihanna's not so hot as an actress and Twilight was a series of bad movies. So what? And, indeed, so what? Oh, if only it were just that. There were worse movies in 2012. The problem isn't quality; it's the high price for the lack of quality. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2** was made for $120 million. Battleship's budget was $209 million. Both movies made a profit, Breaking Dawn 2*** moreso than Battleship. I went into some detail about Rihanna's problems above. The short version is that she was in a role that had screentime but was expanded to a speaking part to accommodate her. The writer even added a catch phrase for her that, well, comes from nowhere. Rihanna should really share her Razzie with the writers and casting director.
Twilight, though . . .. Many of its problems stem from the original books. Pro tip, if your romance can check off every sign of an abusive relationship, you are a frantic 911 call by a neighbour away from appearing on /Cops/ as a domestic disturbance. As a character, Bella is a blank. She reacts. She's caught up in the plot. She has little agency of her own. The Twilight movies improved on her by the necessity of giving her a personality. I was willing to give Kristen Stewart a pass - she didn't have much to work with as Bella - but Snow White and the Huntsman gave us more of her emotional range from A to the outskirts of A. The quality, or lack thereof, of the original work probably gave the one vote edge to That's My Boy for Worst Screenplay****. Twilight, the full series, since this was its last shot at Razzie history, did get Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, despite the issues with the original novels. Though, that does create an interesting dilemma. If the script cleans up the worse problems if the novels, including the adult werewolf imprinting on a newborn for a lifeling mate, fans could be outraged. The adaptation wouldn't be as accurate. But, the story could improve as a result of the meddling. Or should the studio just adapt faithfully and pander to the audience, despite the issues? Making a change would risk $800 million***** in gross receipts.
In general, the Razzies serve a role beyond popping a hole in Hollywood's collective ego. The awards give people a chance to stop and take a good look at the direction pop culture is going, at what the studios think is important, and at what point too much is too much.
* Electric boogaloo. Really, that title is an eyesore.
** The Sparkling. The title really annoys me.
*** See? Most people would know what franchise Breaking Dawn is, and the ones who don't will figure it out from proper advertising.
**** Being an Adam Sandler movie didn't hurt.
***** But will the fandom persists, like the ones for Star Trek and Star Wars? Or will the fandom move on and abandon Twilight?
24 Feb 2013
Sharktopus vs Battleship!
For those who aren't aware, I write Lost in Translation, a column about adaptations, reboots, and remakes in the media, mainly movies. As a result, I watch a lot of movies. Unfortunately, not every movie I watch is a good one, though some are still fun to watch.
Some spoilers follow, so here comes the cut!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)