Lastly, will be a panelist and Presenter at LTUE in Provo! Here is my schedule:
Twisted Science Thu Feb 16, 9:00 am
Introduction to Style Sheets Thu Feb 16, 10:00 am
Becoming a Great Podcaster Thu Feb 16, 11:00 am
Understanding Blender for Animation and Gaming Thu Feb 16, 4:00 pm
A Day in The Life of an Author | Moderator – Fri Feb 17, 11:00 am
Models of the Mind: Why we Need to Tell Stories | Presentation Fri Feb 17, 5:00 pm
Healing from Well-Crafted Stories Sat Feb 18, 11:00 am
Books That Save Lives (Not Self-Help) Sat Feb 18, 3:00 pm
Screenwriting for Novelists | Moderator – Sat Feb 18, 4:00 pm
If I Were the One to Choose the Classics Sat Feb 18, 6:00 pm
Woot!
I’m super excited for this year, starting to publish a book, build an audience, and get my stuff out there! I am absolutely ready to kick this into high gear!
In this episode, we have special guest Gama Ray Martinez talk about his experiences with self and traditional publishing. He shares some excellent insight as to why maybe you shouldn’t “Write every day.” Tune in to learn why!
In today’s episode we discuss some of our adventures in publishing! Leah gives some good advice on hiring cover artists, Thomas says a couple of bad words, and Jeremy offers a well-deserved sassy retort!
You are wrong about everything and so am I! This episode is much less about fiction and much more on human psychology. Why are we wrong? Why do we want to be right? How can we cope with the vast incomprehensibility of the universe? And why are political parties SUCH A JOKE?
In today’s episode, we talk about war and REVOLUTION!!!!!!!! Good reasons wars happen, bad reasons, and a complex tale of some humans, some dwarves, two dragons, a whole lotta gold and a whole lotta death.
In this episode, we start out talking about food as a key element of fantasy and scifi, then delve into genetic manipulation and cannibalism. So… it’s gonna be a crazy ride! Welcome to crazy town.
In this episode, we discuss using music as inspiration while writing. And when not to! Joined again by the fabulous David. Check him out at @crestsphinx (twitter) and his comic club podcast at comictradesmonthly.libsyn.com/
Sometimes, the movie is better than the book! Often, it has nothing to do with how “faithfully” they adapted the source material. It more often has to do with just solid screenwriting principles.
This story beautifully captured two things for me: depression and dissatisfaction with the futility of life.
The main character, Quentin Coldwater, lives a lifestyle that he thinks will make him happy, but doesn’t. Drugs and sleeping around don’t bring him fulfillment, they only make him more miserable. One scene perfectly encapsulates this realization that his lifestyle is worsening his depression, and it is hurting those he loves.
The book also communicates just how HARD magic can be. I mean, every spell requires a set of hand symbols which are so complex, your hands ache after practicing them. Then, every spell must be modified according to the “circumstances”, ways that you must tweak your spells due to nearby factors. The nearest body of water, the political affiliation of the people nearby, the time of year, the location of the moon, whether your bladder is full (the last was a joke… almost), etc. There are literally books and books filled with tables and charts describing all of these.
Magic isn’t much explained, since you basically need a genius-level intellect to comprehend it at all (which is why the magical college only recruits people with such intellect as potential students). But Lev Grossman doesn’t use magic to solve crazy plot problems (and if he does, he quite efficiently explains THAT part of the magic). In fact, magic, or the ability to do almost whatever you want, causes problems in the protagonist’s sense of purpose. He can get almost whatever he wants, therefore he is depressed and feels like life has no point. The plot issues must be solved through different means.
People talk about hard-magic (rule-based) and soft-magic (mysterious). Other novelists use educating the reader about the rules as a way to solve plot problems, and I LOVE novels like that. But Lev Grossman doesn’t do this. As I said above, being able to do anything with magic, even though it’s really hard, does not solve the emotional and relationship issues of the main characters.
If you don’t mind f-bombs and a moderate amount of sexuality (he doesn’t go into pornographic detail, but these ARE promiscuous twenty-somethings), then I DEFINITELY recommend this book. It touches my own inner pains in a way that no other novel quite has. The part that suffers from anxiety and depression. And, most important of all, it gives HOPE for the future. Despite the truth of these sorrows, he gives you HOPE as a truth to top it all.
-Thomas Fawkes
p.s. It’s also a TV show on Sci-fi. I’ve watched part of the first season. It’s pretty good! More rushed, and they also add more events and change things. It’s different from the book, just know that and perhaps you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂