Change in the Air

            During my last read-through of The Hobbit, at one point I turned to Colleen and said, “You know, if it’s really sad to think that the current publishing industry wouldn’t have published this book.” I went on to point out the many things deemed ‘wrong’ in it that I’ve learned about during my journey towards getting published. Use of adjectives, writing style, and the overall structure of the story are all things that would currently earn the book a rejection – which is a tragedy, because it is a wonderful book.

            Getting anything published has become difficult in modern times for two very big reasons. The first, and more major of the two, is that there are so many more people out there trying to get published. Between growing populations, increased education, and technology making it easier to contact the publishing companies (you no longer have to print off an entire book), literally anyone can try to get published – meaning there’s a lot more to sift through, making it a lot harder to get noticed.

            The other is that we have examined, studied, and refined what it is that makes a good story, and there are now expectations that specific patterns are followed. Yes, there are still plenty of variations available, but in order to get through submissions faster, publishing professionals look for these key points that have proven to make the most appealing stories – and without those proper plot arcs, it’s very difficult for a book to get published.

            It seems like that’s a good thing. In theory, it provides readers with the best stories possible. However, while this is true, it has also backfired a little. It has made stories far more predictable. When people who read a lot of books pick up something new, they always have a good idea of how things will turn out in the end.

            This isn’t just limited to books, either – it’s the same across all story-telling platforms. For years and years we’ve been refining the perfect story structure – and now we all know it extremely well. Sure, there are plot twists that we didn’t see coming, but by the time the end shows up we already know how it will turn out.

            That said, creators are becoming aware of this now. Some bold writers are looking at these patterns that we expect, and they are taking advantage of it to subvert our expectations. If you’ve seen some of the new Star Wars, or Avengers: Infinity War, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a risk for creators to leave the well-worn paths and to traipse away from the perfect story arc, but it’s paying off. People aren’t getting what they expected and, for the most part, they like it.

            You see, while there’s a lot of comfort in the familiar, we also have a craving for something new. After being fed the same story arcs for so long, we’re ready for something new. To me, this is an exciting time. It’s time for change, and there’s no telling what will come out of it. We may even get some stories that are truly surprising.

            We might even be moving into a time when a book like The Hobbit, were it not already published and famous, would get published again.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

A Geeky New Year

            Welcome to 2015! According to Back to the Future, we get hover boards this year, so we have that to look forward to. For all those sciency people out there, I have two words for you: electro magnets. Make it happen.

            Anyway, Colleen and I had a great New Year’s Eve – we celebrated by staying home and making our way through a geek countdown. What’s a geek countdown, you ask? It’s when we count down from ten geeky movies, shows and games to midnight instead of seconds. The catch is there had to be a numerical value associating the activity with the number of the count.

            Our countdown went like this: We started by watching the episode Blink from Doctor Who (with the 10^th Doctor), then watched an episode of Deep Space 9 (the Trouble with Tribbles crossover episode). Next, we played some Super Mario World (an 8-bit game) followed by the 7^th episode of Firefly (Jaynestown). After that, we watched Star Wars episode 6, Return of the Jedi, the 5^th Element and the Fantastic 4. We finished off by playing a little bit (because we were running out of time) of Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, Portal 2 and the 1^st Little Big Planet.

            Yes, we managed to squeeze that all into one day (all before midnight) and it was a blast. We’re thinking of making it a New Year’s tradition – with different activities, of course. We’ll have more time to plan for next year, so we could get really creative.

            I hope all of you had as great a New Year as we did and that 2015 is fantastic for everyone.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Deathstar the Christmas Tree

            Today I shall share with you the story of our first Christmas tree, since 'tis the season.

            For those of you who've follow this blog, you’ll know that over the spring and summer, Colleen and I were involved in some extensive renovations to convert her parents’ house into two separate units – one for us and one for them. I don’t think I mentioned it before, but we actually did move over the summer as well.

            Anyway, Colleen went out hunting Christmas trees with her family, only looking for one for them since we don’t really have space for one. However, while they were out, they came across what can only be described as a spherical tree and Colleen fell in love with it. So, they grabbed it as well as their own tree.

            As it turned out, this particular tree had been targeted by an insect that specifically eats the tops (and only the tops) of evergreen trees. Since the tree was a write-off anyway, it was given for free (with thanks for saving them the work of getting rid of it themselves).

            The tree was promptly brought home and suspended from the ceiling – yes, that’s right, it’s hanging from the ceiling – with a container for water attached to its stump. Today, we finally got it decorated with our combination of traditional and geeky decorations.

            So, without further ado, I give you the first Christmas tree of our own Colleen and I have had – Deathstar, the spherical Christmas tree. It’s a shame that no future tree is likely to compare.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

References and Originality

            One thing you should always remember about authors is that we are playful people and words are our favourite toys. We love to be sneaky and hide little secrets and references in our books, not to mention leaving a few puns lying around. My favourite  though, are the references. Most of these you won’t even notice unless you’re familiar with what they are about, but when you see them, they give you a good chuckle.

            The master of these references, of course, is Terry Pratchett. I firmly believe that no one can measure up to his satirical fantasy. I don’t think you can read a page without stumbling across some sort of obscure reference – the more I read, the more of them I catch and the more I marvel at his brilliance.

            In the three and a half books I've written, I've snuck in everything from Monty Python and Princess Bride quotes to references from Tolkien, Pratchett, Shakespeare and Dr Who (which I've only been watching for about a week) to internet memes. The more I write, the more ways I discover to sneakily hide references.

            I started thinking about these references (obviously, or else I wouldn't be talking about them) after coming across a reference to the lyrics of a Bon Jovi song in the book I'm currently reading (Vortex). I started to wonder why we hide these little tidbits in our books. I mean, obviously it’s fun, and it makes us feel special when someone likes our books enough to go digging through in search of everything we hid inside, but those couldn't be the only reasons.

            Then I realised that it’s our way of giving credit. In this day and age, there is virtually no originality. Not because we artists aren't as imaginative as we used to be, but simply because there is so much that has come before us. When I first read Eragon (a book written by someone close to my own age) I knew right away, without a doubt, that Christpher Paolini was a fan of Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K Le Guin. Whether it is intentional or not, authors will always have traces of whatever inspired them in their work. So, by sneaking our little references in, we are tipping our hats to those who inspired us and making ourselves feel better about using the turn of phrase that, strictly speaking, we didn't come up with.

            Since I mentioned the lack of originality in the world, I think I should elaborate on what I mean by that, as well as making it clear that it’s not a bad thing. We humans love to measure things and, while many would argue that art can’t be measured, we have managed to analyse books and say with certainty that there are only somewhere between 1 and 36 plotlines that exist in the world (the number depends on the system you are using to define the plots). If you look at the thousands of books, movies, video games and anything else requiring a plot that’s out there (like life), it’s obvious that these get used over and over again. How do we not notice?

            Well, the reason we don’t notice is because we (well, most of us) aren't watching for it. The art of telling a story isn't in creating a plot that no one has considered before; it’s in telling the story in a way that entertains people. It’s nice if this is a new way, and even better if you can keep people guessing, but the true purpose is to entertain. So, it doesn't matter that every story has already been told, because it can always be told in a different way!

            What about those people who analyse everything and complain about the lack of originality? That’s their own problem. If they want to decide that every story where the villain is the protagonist’s father is a Star Wars rip off, anything with a portal to another world is Narnia and anything with any type of institution that teaches magic is Harry Potter, then they are welcome to be disappointed about the lack of originality. They should, however, take a moment to read the history books to see how often events of reality repeat. They should also look to see if anyone else has commented on the lack of originality, lest their complaint is not their original thought.

            To finish off, I shall impersonate the Doctor and say, live long and prosper with the force. Alas, poor Yorik, he got caught playing riddles in the dark and was slain by Sephiroth before he could collect all the Deathly Hallows! Now, where did I leave my holy hand grenade...? Like a boss!

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.