Researching topics

I like most writers am always looking for new topics to learn and explore. What this does for my creative process is it allows me to imagine all kinds of new material for my writing. In the case of science and everything in that category, the more research one does, the better the material is going to be.

Research alone can take a long time and often times a writer can get stuck in that phase of the creative process. It is hard to find a way out from doing a lot of research, especially for me because I love to learn new and interesting topics. If anything you as a writer should limit yourself at first to what you really need for your project. Narrowing down a search is a good way to keep the research to a minimum. When it comes to genres or story types, it is also a good thing to keep it somewhat brief at first, then go back and do more research if you have to. Being buried under all that tedious researching can be exhausting.

When planning for scenes to write, also plan the kinds of research you will have to do to make that particular part of your project better or more interesting for the reader. When you have things more planned out it gives you more time and space to be creative and focus on the writing, and not the research.

What makes Sci-Fi ????

In my personal opinion Science Fiction is one of the most overdone and overlooked genres of any kind of storytelling. What different people perceive it as can be very drastic depending on the person telling the story.

It is one of those vague descriptions that can pretty much be interpreted in many ways. For one, are there certain guidelines to narrow the genre? I would like to think so, but isn't what is needed is just science and some fiction?

There are many "rules" for writing or story building in this particular genre; things that have to exist in order for that to be that particular genre. One would have to be the science aspect. Now this doesn't just mean like test tubes and quantum theories. I have noticed that a lot of Sci-fi stuff usually has the science either half or totally integrated within its world. Take "Star Trek" (thought I was gonna go with Star Wars, huh?) Star Trek is a classic example of Science Fiction. You have aspects of space travel, exploration, high technology(ie: Star Ships, deflector shields, phasors, etc) and you also have different worlds and aliens that populate the "realm" of Star Trek. What seems to be clear is that the science in Science Fiction has to be not only rooted in the world, but it has to be somewhat believable.

Now I know that beaming someone up from the surface of a planet to their command vessel is hardly believable, but what helps sell the idea is that the audience can associate the function of that type of beaming technology, and also the way the information is displayed to that set audience is cleverly designed.

It didn't take much for past audiences say in the 50's and 60's to suspend their disbelief to enjoy those things, but what troubles more modern writers in today's age of Science Fiction, is that the key audience has gotten smarter. This doesn't seem like a problem at first, I mean who really invests in Science Fiction other than nerds and geeks, right? Well what I have noticed is that back in the 50's and 60's there was this great unknown about much of what we call Science. There were tremendous leaps forward during that time which made people seem more accepting of the genre but not many people really knew what it all meant. Nowadays, you can have high school kids debunking things from past Star Trek episodes, when the show first aired, on the internet in like 6 seconds. I mean back then a portable hand help communications device was pretty hi-tech but now its called a cell phone.

The need to explore space say in the case of Star Trek was fitting because of the times. There was the cold war and the race to space mentality that was happening so much of that idea or concept was on a lot of people's minds at the time. Now going back to modern times...the audience is smarter and it is partly due to those writers of older science fiction. What people often overlook is the influence the genre has on actual science. I mean if it weren't for Star Trek displaying all those nifty gadgets, we as a science based people would not have the desire to make those technologies a possibility. Science Fiction has actually inspired many of what we consider today as modern marvels. It is kind of nice to see a genre that gives back to our fellow man.

So what writers today have to deal with is the way they display their material. Since the audiences are smarter, it takes a lot more to convince them of the ideas within the material itself. Writers are now becoming smarter as well to accommodate for their audience's growth in frontal lobe mass. This makes for more research and a lot more interesting topics.

All in all I feel that there is much more for the genre of Science Fiction for the future. At one time in history Sci-Fi influenced much of what actual real life science has to offer, and now the advancements in technology and science will push the boundaries of Science Fiction into the great vast beyond.

New Quarter!!

I have been on my spring break and it is Monday, the day we all go back to school to start a new quarter. I was pretty busy so I did not get a chance to work on my writings. It is hard at times to keep up with my art and my writing to post. I am happy however to get back in the swing of things and very excited to start work on my graduating portfolio. But, rest assured I will post new stuff soon!

PS If you guys have nay questions on any topics related to writing or just art or stories let me know and I will post some helpful stuff.

Alan Wake: More than a video game

In case you guys haven't figured out by now, I am a huge video game player. I also am going to school to learn video game design and one game that I have had my eye on for a while was Alan Wake. I just got done playing this game, and I must say that visually and story-wise it was very well crafted.
The story is about a writer named Alan Wake who goes to a pacific Northwest town for vacation. Little does he know that weird and scary things are about to happen...

As a writer I enjoyed this game because the makers tell the story as writers; as if I wrote the story. The narration is what makes this game so unique amongst all those overplayed first-person shooters. I was pleased to see that the story justified the action and the action supported the story. Even how they cleverly adapted a sort of episodic feel to the game, I was entertained from start to epic finish.

The set pieces were amazing and the lighting effects really looked great for a next-gen game. As a writer I felt satisfied with the suspense aspect of the game and I very much enjoyed the creepy factor. I highly recommend this game for any writer who wants to tell a story...I mean who doesn't want to live their own stories, right???

New Passage

I am sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been busy with life. I however have another passage to share, so here it is...




By this time Jess flourished into a beautiful young woman. She read books made by the town printers and enjoyed picnicking in the woods with her friends. She was also well on her way to becoming a physician of animal anatomy. She would often take lessons from Brimwalls main physician, Alexander Dubble; an ex-Civil War doctor who traveled west to start life new again and often times operated on man and beast alike during the early part of the war.

The town was a sight during the day but really came alive at night to reveal its true nature and beauty. After sundown the torches and lights of the town illuminated into the night sky in rays of orange and yellow. The wood soaked in light as the town lights competed with the bright white twinkles of starlight every night. The townsfolk would sit out of their houses and shops and just looked in awe as the town became more of a homely place; a sort of place that added peace and prosperity to the wilderness that somehow needed it.

Sanders, a former slave, stood out into the muddy street and walked over to Winnham’s office. Winnham was outside on his balcony rocking back and forth smoking from a pipe. The flashes of each puff lit his face in the dark as he sat there watching his town. Sanders calls up to Mr. Winnham. “Sure is a fine night tonight, ‘aint it Mr. Winnham?”.

“Yes it is Mr. Sanders. Yes it is”.

Sanders rubbed his hands together as we walked back over to the far side of the street. His leather boots sank into the mud as he walked making a rather amusing sound to Jess as she gazed upon the man.

“Hello Mr. Sanders” said Jess.

“Well hello Miss Jess, Ma’am. Fine night tonight. Me and the misses is gonna go over to the hillside to see the stars. Shine as bright as ever tonight they are! Care to join us?” asked the dark man.

“Perhaps tomorrow night. I have news of great importance that I must speak of with my father”.

Myth of Spirit Healing

When the earth was young, and the ways of the great spirits were known, the world of beasts as we know it was born. When the great creator sought fit to create all living things on this earth our mother, he created man. Out of this man came two spirits. One became light and full of rays and became everything good of man. The other was dark, heavy and thunderous; this was everything evil of man.

Although the Great Creator made man he didn’t make man whole. He was torn between both spirits being swayed one way or another and could not be good and could not be bad. He just was. Knowing this, the Great Creator decided to make another, a woman in hopes to complete the man. The woman was also born of two spirits. She did not know why but she felt drawn to man.

Winters went by and the man and woman got married by the Great Creator. He told man and woman that the reason for joining is to have children, and those children shall live on the earth forever. Man and woman did as they were told and made many children. And over time both man and woman gained the spirits of good in them. But the other spirits dark and heavy grew jealous. They crashed the skies and shook the ground. Man and woman gathered their many children and fled to a cave nearby. The dark spirit of man moved water to flood the cave. The dark spirit of woman grew thick roots from the ground and blocked the cave exit. Being of an older age, Man and woman knew to look to the heavens to Great Creator. There they saw an opening with light shining through. When the water filled the cave, it pushed Man and Woman up through the hole with all their children safe by their sides.

Many more winters went by and Man and Woman had managed to fend off the dark spirits’ attacks long enough to raise many healthy warriors and wives. There were many more children that needed protecting. This gave the dark spirits an idea.

“I will disguise myself as Man and mate with woman” said the dark spirit of man. “I will give us a child that will be greater than any other child that has been born before”.

So one night when Man took his children out to hunt, the dark spirit of man slipped inside the hut of Woman. He transformed into man and took woman in her bed. Surprised by her husbands presence so soon, woman asked of the hunt. The dark spirit told her that she was dreaming, but will wake up full with belly. By the next sunrise he left. When man returned with many kills, woman tells him she is with child. Stunned and surprised, man celebrated with all to see.

They had a child, but it was different than the others. Instead of killing animals for use, he killed them with no reason other than to see them suffer. The boy didn’t have the same light as the others and Man knew this. He called to Great creator, but he didn’t answer.

The dark spirits were happy with their trickery. “Soon the boy will be of age and will be stronger than any other warrior, even the old man” hissed the dark spirit of man.


“I will whisper dark thoughts upon his ears at night so he knows who his real father is” said the dark spirit of woman.

Together for many seasons, they managed to raise the boy pure of dark heart and malice. They decided that when Man goes on his hunt, the dark son will kill him.

On his hunt man was killed by his own dark son. The dark spirits manifested themselves in front of woman and her children. All the mighty warriors tried by failed to kill their attackers. In a final attack, all of mans children were slain by the dark son and the dark spirits. All were killed except one; a mighty warrior who was from another tribe. In a great and lasting battle, he struck down one of the dark spirits. The dark son became enraged and attacked the mysterious warrior. The hero overcame his attacker and struck a killing blow. The last of the dark spirits, the dark essence of man, fought the mighty warrior. Their battle lasted for many moons and many suns. Finally with the strength of his tomahawk, the mighty warrior struck the dark spirit hard and made him sleep.
The Great Creator came down from the sky and spoke with the mighty warrior. Since he had defeated these dark and terrible creatures, he was to be a warrior for the Great Creator and go forth and fight others who deal with this pain. He must go and heal them of their dark spirits. The warrior accepted what the Creator had set forth. With a final touch, the warrior received a great gift from The Creator; the gift of finding the way to the land of the spirits to fight the dark ones that hinder all of mankind.

The mighty warrior then took the sleeping spirit and locked him away into a sacred wooden totem and hid it away from man. Deep in the forests is where he must remain guarding the totem and keeping the ways of the ancients and the Great Creator.

This is the way of the Spirit Healers of the North West. Their champion- The Spirit Fighter carries on the ways of his ancestors and of the ancients keeping safe what must never be unleashed again into the world of man.

The Novel

The Novel I am working on is primarily a Western genre novel, and I have thrown in elements of Fantasy and Spirituality. The main character is a Native American whose family is slain for their land by whites and then adopted by white church folk until age 15. Then he is thrown into a boom town started by a wealthy, yet reasonable businessman with a heart of gold. The young Native boy starts work as an assistant to the town Blacksmith, but quickly develops a relationship with the businessman and his daughter.

As you might have figured out by now, he falls in love with the daughter. They grow a little older together and then plan on a wedding. The only thing is that there is still plenty of racial prejudice so the local judge refuses to marry the young couple.

One of the fun components of telling a story set in the Western genre is describing the terrain and really getting caught up in the lore of the genre itself. In my approach however, I wanted to tell a story of this young man's journey of his own discovery. He eventually turns to a more vengeful quest when all that he holds dear is taken away from him. One of the themes that excite me when I either watch Westerns or read them is the revenge story. In a novel it works to carry the audience with the protagonist's revenge quest. We as an audience can feel for the hero and journey with him as he discovers new things about how to accomplish his ultimate goal.

The other twist I put into my story is the fact that the hero is a healer, or a Native Shaman. This puts a wrench into anyone's revenge plans when they stand for something that might ultimately lead to tilting the world off its course in a Spiritual sense. The Shaman character is supposed to be a person of wisdom and harmony, but the young man shapes his own destiny and decides to use his extraordinary skills and abilities as a Shaman to exact the revenge he so greatly desires.