Reflections on 'Mirrors'

The other night we watched a film called 'Mirrors 2'.  On my 'Tweet' I said it was boring  -  well, most of it, anyway.

That may have been a sweeping generalisation so I sat down after watching it and tried to analyse what it was that made it uninteresting to watch.

Was it the filming?  The acting?  The script?  All of these things were quite good in their own way so was it the story?

The first film, 'Mirrors', was fine.  It wasn't my favourite film of all time, which is a tie between 'Serenity' and 'The Man Who Would Be King', but it was acceptable viewing over an evening's tea and biscuits.

The story in 'Mirrors 2' is similar to 'Mirrors' but in a different setting.  Was it the 'sameness' that made the emotional hole?

One of the sad facts of today's film industry is that a good film demands a follow-up movie.  Either a sequel or, as in 'Star Wars', a prequel  -  or two.  Invariably the following films are rarely as good as the original.  The 'Firefly' series on TV was a stunning exception but, then, it wasn't a film even though the whole series stitched together into a complete story.

'The Lord of the Rings' started out as a trilogy so, maybe, that cannot be included in this generalisation of good v. bad in the No. 1, 2, 3, 4.... categories.

Many films have gone rapidly downhill from the first release (I know a lot of people will differ) but:
SAW
Friday 13th
Nightmare on Elm Street
Speed
Legally Blonde
American Pie (under other names, too, but, still....  http://bit.ly/cqgH65)
have all been well worth not watching in their rebirths under various numbers.  You can, no doubt, add your own (long) list.

Some of these sequels are quite good but they never seem to match up to that first one.

Why?

I thought about the writer (of course).  His script for 'Mirrors 2' - remember that?  Is good.  There was nothing wrong with the story line nor with the flow of dialogue.  The writer, clearly, had an image in his mind that he (she?) wanted to convey to the person watching the film.  The premise was good, the plot was good and the outcome fine even to the point of leaving that little taster hanging ready for a third movie of this franchise.

If the acting was reasonable, if not outstanding, and the filming was also acceptable was it the directing or the production?

It seems to me that the answer is in the difference between the first and second  -  and subsequent, films.  The difference is minimal.  The setting has changed as have the characters and yet the story-line is pretty much the same.  There is, mayhap, only so much you can do with the "person/ghost trapped in a mirror" idea.

How does this relate to books?

Terry Pratchett has written a large number of 'Discworld' books.  They are very similar in their basic premise, the characters remain fairly constant and yet.... and yet....

Leigh and David Eddings have the same scenarios in each book with the same basic ideas and characters.  Yet each is different.

Pratchett, Eddings, Asimov (Robots, Foundation, for example) and others with series seem to be able to steer away from the trap that films drop into.  Why?

I believe that this hinges on two concepts:
Firstly, the book conveys ideas and images into the mind of the reader.  The 'world' inside those words is of the reader's creation  -  only the framework is built by the writer.  No matter how many times you create the same world the reader will find a new image to put into it; indeed, it is entirely possible that the reader gains comfort from the recreation of the same scenes in each book.
Secondly, each of these authors tell stories based on the same scenes and with the same characters but,  big 'but',  each story brings something different to the table.  A little extra, and different, spice is dropped in to pique the interest and keep the reader's imagination going.

Films cannot do this.  Films give you words and images, there is nothing left for the watcher to create.  They are, necessarily, more superficial entertainment than are books.

I have tried, in my stories, to create, using the same characters, a different view of the universe with each book.  To bring something different to the table so that, when you open 'Book 2' you will not get a re-run of 'Book 1'.

Hopefully, each of them will keep you on the edge of your tea cup.

Meditations on Writing

In a few moments of enforced idleness I had a little cogitate.  No, really!  Rather along these lines:
It seems to me that there are only two ways to write a book.

Firstly, let's just examine what L Ron Hubbard had to say about it.  I paraphrase because I cannot remember, now, the exact words:

He said that you should never do a writing course.
I agree with that.  It is a bit like going to Art School.  You get to absorb the way that others do things and that takes the edge off the way you do it.  Art School is good for specific, mechanical, techniques - how to do ink and wash, how to use oils, water colours, scraperboard and also the more mathematical side like perspectives - I still have nightmares about those!  But style and content and how you combine those techniques is yours.

So what did L Ron suggest is the correct method?  He said:
"Write, write and write again.  Then, write some more.  When you are thoroughly sick of writing, write again.  Like anything else you only get to be good at it by practice.

Is he correct?  I think so.

Now let's go back to my theory.  This has, very likely, been proposed before by others but it is, right now, something that has crept insidiously into my head and the only way to extract it is to write it down.

Two ways to write a story.  You can fill in extras as you see best fit, of course.  Opinions and ideas are free and welcome.

First way:
Get the idea.  Write the framework.  Put in 'waypoints' to navigate by.  Write the start and the end.  Fill in odd details along your 'Masterplan'.  Research the subject and any points you want to include and insert them in 'The Plan'.  Now write the whole thing to that plan using words as cement to glue the waypoints together.

Second way:
Have the idea.  Sort out a beginning and a few characters.  Have a general idea of how you want it to end. Start writing.  Let the characters take over and follow them through their journey.  You may have to change location from time to time but still listen to them.  Live the story in your head and just use it as an exercise in dictation.

I like the second way.  The story, for me, flows better using this method.

For you?  I don't know.  Whatever you are comfortable with and brings you satisfaction.

I do insist on this, though!
If you enjoy writing it then somebody will enjoy reading it.  If writing is a chore then reading it will be, too.

So.
When you write happy bits  -  smile.
When you write sad bits - cry.

It will show.

Conversation just before 'The Adepts - Book 1: Furato'

"You are becoming fat and lazy, Harka'aani.  You sit here on a civilised planet, your girls go 'human' from time to time leaving you on your own and now you say we should do more--be more pro-active.  You are almost completely inactive.  What would you propose we do to change?"

"Raudu'aani, my friend.  What are we doing?  The aligned planets have become bureaucratic cankers, they are administrative black holes.  The non-aligned planets are, mostly, drifting along satisfied with their lot as far as we know but we know very little in reality.  There are still pirates out there who we let go because there is no political will to punish them, it is always 'someone else's jurisdiction'.  We have become complacent, complacency breeds stagnation and stagnation is its own punishment.  You say my girls are 'human' from time to time but yours are, what?  Bored.  Tullatta'aadu is not as sharp as she should be and Sangga'aadu is going witless through ennui while you do.... what?  Travel around looking for something to do."

Raudu'aani shook his head not knowing how to respond.  Harka'aani was right, he knew that.  He spread his hands wide.  "What do you suggest?  Start a war or two?"

"Could do worse.  It works on this planet."  Harka'aani took another long swig of his hot tea and surveyed the scenery overlooking the Great Rift Valley.  "We could do more exploration, see what else is out there.  We could look in on the Non-Aligned Planets to see what they are doing.  How long is it since we looked for any more of us that might be out there?"

"We've been through that a thousand times.  No good will come of raking over burnt out embers.  They are gone.  We are all that remain."

The two Adepts sat quietly drinking their tea, their memories washing over them.

Raudu'aani's two girls watched them with growing curiosity.  Sangga'aadu wanted something to stretch her considerable intellect while Tullatta'aadu just wanted to stretch her muscles and kill someone."

Ideas

"There's a storm coming.  It's not brewing.  It is not riding in on dark clouds.  It is not sweeping in from the East or the West.  But it is coming.


We who are going about our innocent daily business; those who are, less innocently, planning bad things for other people; some who are considering the futility of life, consider this.  Your worries will all, very soon, be the same.  Those of us--or you, who are left.


Survival.


Who will help?


Why should they help us?


There's a storm coming.  It moves in remorselessly from the outer edges, even now, of the Solar System.


Soon the lead Mother ships will be at Titan and the astronomers will pick them out against the night sky.  Perhaps the first thought will be jubilation.  Perhaps the second thought will be the question of how to contact them.


There will be no third thought.


This is not punishment.  It is not revenge.  It is spite.


The storm is here."




I was just having some thoughts about "The Adepts - Book 2: Empath".  The words, above, sum up what the beginning is about.


This is another of those stories that was really fun to write.  After having to introduce the characters in 'Book 1: Furato' it was lovely to just get on with the tale and have it unfold in my head.


Perhaps there should be a similar 'Blog' about 'Book 1: Furato'.  Hmm.  I'll think about that.

Distractions.

Lots of distractions today.  Finally got to sit in front of the computer and distracted myself again by reading another author's web-site (www.janiebill.com).  Different sort of writing to mine but extremely gifted  -  I wish her every success.


Also keeping an eye on the "Writer's and Artist's Year Book"  Short Story Competition.  I have every confidence of doing superbly well this year.  The story submitted was extremely satisfying and most enjoyable to write even 'though it is tough going to get a good story line into 2000 words or less.  I usually manage to get it into 1990+ so just inside the limit.


Still, got some done on the 3rd Book so everything is not completely lost.  Must remember that time is a finite resource  -  no slacking!

Short Story List

Just in case there is any confusion; the two titles "Crater" and "Crater II" are the same story but in different settings.  The original "Crater" is set in Malaysia, initially, but there was a general feeling that people in the big, wide world would not be able to identify with it.  Result?  "Crater II".  "Crater II" is set in Scotland  -  Edinburgh, which is, very likely, a place that more people can associate with.

Sad, really.  Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful place with great food, lovely people, great food, lots of greenery, great food, wonderful shopping, great food, super beaches nearby.  Did I mention the food?

The Adepts - Book 3: Pitch Perfect

Did a little bit of writing and getting really into the swing of it but veered off by doing some research.  Very easily distracted these days.  Looking up one thing on 'Google', something catches the eye so that bit gets followed, which leads to another string and end up not finding the facts I was looking for in the first place.  Very frustrating!

Now I'm half way through a conversation between three people and trying to make sure the reader doesn't get confused over who is saying what to whom.  Or why.

"Ruthermore Heidigens"

Just finished another proof-read of 'Ruthermore Heidigens'.  Might re-title it yet, we shall see about that.  It will largely depend on whether I can finish another story about him in my head first.

Usually go through the stories 20 to 30 times and, even then, I find typos and other errors.  After that the editor 'suggests' changes.  Sadly, the editor is usually right but it's very irritating having to redo work that you have considered as complete and finished!

Now to progress with "The Adepts - Book 3:  Pitch Perfect".  This will be a glimpse into where witches and warlocks come from....

Novels

About to get re-started on 'Book 3 - Pitch Perfect' of the 'Adepts' serioes of novels.  There has been so much else to do that time has prevented me from doing much with it.  A concerted effort is now in order to write it down before I forget what it was all about!!

'Rhittach'

Had great fun writing this one.  Just imagined what a young girl brought into a lethal world would think  -  and how she would think.


Life can be very harsh on the tundra but death is even harsher.

Short Stories

Some of the short stories are humorous.  Some are 'free to read' on www.davidleyman.com  (for a short while longer).  'Rhittach' is a sort of prequel to the 'Adepts' novels and three of the stories:
'Disc'
'Birth of an Enemy'
'The Return of the Prodigals'
combine sequentially to form the 'Deep Space Squadron' story.

Short Stories

Just finished another story.  Now there are thirty ready to go to print.

'The Family Skunk' A Sneak peek at the ‘Ins’ and ‘Outs’ of family life in Mrs Skunk’s household. What can you do?  They get older and they get more and more adventurous.  Next thing you know your life is full of panic.

'Armageddon at the Speed of Light' Just because you understand very little does not mean everything is inexplicable to everyone else.  But, often, it is. A colossal war between physical factions spreads doom at the speed of light.

'The Moral of the Russian Nobleman' A case of putting all one’s eggs in one, gilded, basket? A famous pun brought to life in an aristocratic manner.

'Seventy Two' A new angle on the Universe. How can you be lonely when you can dance on silent feet and revel in distant companionship?

'Pillbox' How many lives need to be spent to achieve one objective? Being in charge means making the tough decisions; how will you react when you find out the decisions were unnecessary?

'Quasimodo’s Apprentice' Quasimodo drops a clanger. Quasimodo needs an apprentice and puts an applicant through the ropes  -  and the window.

'South From Alaska' He was dying to tell her how much he loved her. A Science Fiction writer’s last flight of fancy.

'Silicon Ballet' Love is blind—and fatal.  Everywhere. Reuben is cute, Reuben is slow, Reuben is careful.

'When Fate is Sealed' How do you choose who is to die? This is happening now, to us.  Cheap parts to keep costs down will always be a problem.  Sometimes justice is slow, painful and poetic.

'Tracker' There is always a choice. Did he know the truth or was he guessing?  At some point in life a decision has to be made even if you know the result is going to be bad.

'Sunshine' Discard history at your peril. There will be a problem.  Tomorrow.  The problem will always be tomorrow.  The problem is always someone else’s it will never be our problem.

'Homework' A triumph of hope over experience. We wait for a better future rising out of a troublesome and lethal present.  Soon we will be free.  Soon.

'Winston’s Puzzle' A pedestrian tale of a Zebra crossing paths with the King. Winston was a ‘neigh-sayer’.  He makes disasters and catastrophes out of nothing.  Only Hawksworth can solve this problem for him.

'Three’s Company' How do you feel about re-incarnation when your best friend’s a cat who cooks? In an isolated rural community on the edge of nowhere lives a man who has a cat for company.  It is a community of conservatives who disapprove but who will not go against the memories.

'A Cross-Stitch in Time' You can go into the past, you can go far away and you can come back  -  but what do you leave behind? Some things you can neither calculate nor predict.  Adrianna was just too beautiful, too shapely and too tempting for an innocent ‘egg-head’.

'The Chewed-Off Willy' A lion’s dented pride. You wake up with the devil’s own hangover feeling really, really awful and thinking that things just cannot get worse when, suddenly, things get much worse.

'Maryam and the Whirly Thing' Maryam thought she had the best of several worlds but, to others, it might have been the worst. She overcame her fear of the ‘Whirly Thing’ and tried to use it to do good.  But sometimes ‘good’ is so elusive.

'The Defection of Kua' The law might not stop you but something, somewhere, always will. She was happy on her home planet, she was happier here.  Until that one thing, that one bad memory came and plagued her until even she snapped.

'Disc' Even dead men get revenge. You can only kill someone once.  It may be the worst kind of death but it is still only once.  But then they turn around and get you back.

'Life and Times of a Journey' What if you had been born a hundred years ago with what you know now? An adventure of the greatest possible magnitude in their time.  They had been chosen as the first interstellar astronauts.  Life is good.  Life is short.

'The Black Knight with the White Horse and the Red Balloon' The archetypal ‘Shaggy Dog’. Nonsense.  Just sheer nonsense.  But what fun nonsense is!

'Birth of an Enemy' Space has always been empty.  Except that now someone is filling it. As far as we knew we were alone in the galaxy.  We had encountered no other intelligent life form.  Now someone wants to kill us with our own ships.  Have we made our ships too intelligent or is someone out there hunting us?

'The Tale of Hermann Limpitt' Just because you’ve seen ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ doesn’t mean you know everything about them. There are times when, no matter who or where you are, you just have to spend a penny.

'Meevo' In a polluted world where climate has shifted radically, there lurk mutants.  Some are good but many are not.  One is evil. The best squad of the best soldiers are mobilised to find and erase one mutant.  A mutant who will make you see what he wants you to see.

'Crater' They arrived by accident but now they know we are here.  They want to harvest us and our planet.  We want to live.  There can be only one winner. They are ‘immortal’.  We breed.  They want us  -  dead.  We want them  -  dead.

'Crater II' They arrived by accident but now they know we are here.  They want to harvest us and our planet.  We want to live.  There can be only one winner. They are ‘immortal’.  We breed.  They want us  -  dead.  We want them  -  dead.

'Ruthermore Heidigens' The Greatest Wizard in the Known Universe.  The Only Wizard in the Known Universe. The biter bit.  You con me, I con you.  Sorry about the ‘man in the middle’.

'The Hags of Teeb' Be careful what you try to get because you may not know you’ve got it. A bit of inter-racial bigotry never did any harm.  Not in the long term, anyway.

'The Return of the Prodigals' Everyone who thinks they are omnipotent should realise that there is always somebody bigger, tougher, wiser—and luckier. The Deep Space Squadron gets its first break courtesy of a ‘Social Worker’ and goes into battle

'Rhittach  -  The Beginning' You can’t keep a good girl down.  Sometimes it’s even harder keeping a bad girl down. She was born on the tundra and raised in a fighting school.  She never had a chance to become a woman, only a killing machine.