Thursday, August 29, 2013

Plot Holes

I'll admit it: I'm a nerd when it comes to plot holes, continuity errors, questionable character actions, and the like. I'm fond of pointing them out. I like to discuss them with other nerds as if they were matters of grave importance.

One of my favorites is this: why didn't Voldemort stick around in the Shrieking Shack to make sure that Snape was dead? As important as it was to good ol' Tommy Riddle to take control of the Elder Wand, shouldn't he have at least waited for, like, five or ten minutes and then checked for a pulse or something? But noooo...instead, as soon as Snape fell to the ground, "blood gushing from the wounds in his neck," You-Know-Who just walked out "without a backward glance."

Not dead
Dude...seriously? I mean, yeah, your belief that you had to kill the previous owner of the wand was wrong to begin with, but if that's what you thought, then is it really so hard to just, you know, confirm that the previous owner is actually dead? Especially since the wand has been giving you so much stress up until now? C'mon, Riddle, this is a place of magic! What if Snape had some sort of healing potion tucked away in his cape just in case? What if he, like Arthur Weasley, somehow managed to survive a Nagini attack long enough for someone to rescue him? What if Harry Potter was hiding right outside, sneaked in after you left, got Snape's memories, and...oh, right. That last part really did happen, and it contributed to your downfall.

Seems to me that if Voldemort was a little more detail-oriented, he would have been much more successful. But then if he was, we wouldn't even have a story to begin with.

Now don't get me wrong - for the most part, none of these plot holes or whatever detract from my enjoyment of the books I read, movies I watch, etc. It's part of what makes being a fan so much fun. In fact, most of my nerdiness is reserved for the stuff that I love the most: Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc. (In Episode IV, why did Obi-Wan call Darth Vader "Darth"?)

That being said, I tried really hard to make sure Secret of the Songshell was air-tight. Despite my best efforts, I'm sure there's probably a few things in there that I missed. If you've found anything (and/or have a good answer to my Snape question), I'd love to hear from you, you nerd.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

The Spectraland Soundtrack

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post about video games is that in all of the games I listed, music is a very important part of the overall experience. The games' producers did a great job of adding music in a very cinematic fashion - memorable, soaring main themes; tense and dramatic passages during battle sequences; etc. I like some of the soundtracks so much that I even listen to them while I write.
On a related topic, every so often I think about (and get asked in interviews) what kind of music would be on the soundtrack for a Secret of the Songshell movie. The answer is that I've always envisioned a mix of rock and classical, all with a sort of epic, tribal feel. The general score might sound something like this.

As far as specific songs go, some examples would include We Sing In Time by The Lonely Forest, and Incantation and Dance by John Barnes Chance (a song I used to play with my high school band). I would also love to have an iconic, instantly recognizable main theme in the tradition of Star Wars and Harry Potter (hello John Williams!) And, of course, a few tracks by these guys.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Video Games

I enjoy playing video games, although I wouldn't call myself a hardcore gamer. Most of my gaming time happens when the kids are around, so we tend to stick to the tamer (no "MA" rated-games), Nintendo-centric fare.

My favorite games are the ones with strong stories behind them. Some of them are so well-written that, to me, they're even better from a narrative standpoint than a lot of the books and movies that are out there. A writer looking for some inspiration could very well find it in some of these games. Here are a few of my favorites:

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Once I got used to the relatively slower pace of this game, I really enjoyed it. A haunting dystopian tale about a teenage boy searching for companionship in a post-apocalyptic world.


Visually striking with lots of humor, heart and action, this game has one of the best endings I've ever experienced. You can also acquire a couple of special attack moves that are both hilarious and awesome (if you've played this game, then you know what I'm talking about).

The Legend of Zelda

Of course, right? Twilight Princess is probably my favorite entry in this series, although they're all so good it's hard to choose.

The Last Story

My daughter and I were skeptical about this one at first (the trailers looked cluttered and over-the-top-RPGish), but I took a chance on it and boy, am I glad I did. A very epic game. The only problem is, if you call your game "The Last Story," then what do you call the sequel? "The Last Last Story"?

Super Paper Mario

No, I'm not kidding. Despite what Mario's creator says about wanting to keep the plots of Mario games to a minimum, this one actually has a very rich and detailed story full of drama, romance and twists. Apparently Seth Gordon even wanted to make a movie out of it (yes, I know the track record of movies based on video games, but still).

I'm sure there are a lot more that I haven't played yet, so if you have any suggestions, let me know...

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Greetings From Spectraland: Day Four

All right, I have a confession to make. Ready? Here goes:

I didn't actually go to Spectraland this week. I know, I know, you're all surprised and shocked and stuff. What really happened was that I cleared my schedule of most of my usual obligations, parked myself and my computer in a secret location, and just wrote. And wrote. And wrote. Non-stop. All day. Every day (except last night, when I had band practice).

It's been an interesting experience so far. Book Two's word count has jumped up quite a bit (over 26k now), while my sanity has taken...well, let's just say that I'm not sure I'll be repeating this exercise again in the near future. I now have a lot of respect (even more than before) for those hardy souls who can pull off NaNoWriMo with any measure of success.

Anyway, that's why I was doing the whole "Greetings From Spectraland" thing - after just one day of doing this, it really felt like I was on vacation in that alternate world. I did end up returning a day earlier than planned when, after about a thousand more words this morning, I realized that my brain was just completely and totally fried (I actually misspelled "Joel" twice - not kidding).

But never fear - after I take a little break to catch my breath (and attend to personal hygiene), I will definitely be back. Probably tomorrow. Because who can stay away from a place like Spectraland for long?

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Greetings From Spectraland: Day Three

This trip has definitely taken a very strange turn. Remember that argument that interrupted my live blogging yesterday? Well, things got a little...out of control, and before I knew it, I had been tossed into a sort-of jail cell along with my Wavemaker tour guides.

So, needless to say, not a whole lot has happened today. I did hear some interesting stories from one of my guides, but unfortunately, I don't have the time to relate any of it here (I'm not actually supposed to still have my phone). Rest assured, though, that I will be documenting the whole thing in my next book!

Oh cool, I've just been informed that I've been released on bail - or whatever the Spectraland equivalent of bail is - and will be sent back home for the night. What's that? I have to come back tomorrow? Okay, well, no problem...I didn't want to leave early anyway. I really was having a good time, aside from the whole being-taken-prisoner bit. Hopefully the rest of the week will go a little smoother...

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Greetings From Spectraland: Day Two

Okay, so that Chieftain Council thing was totally not what I expected. There was no food or drink, or anything even remotely party-ish. It was just the four Chiefs of the island, sitting around a table, talking to a Wavemaker about some kind of political crisis or whatever...interesting from an anthropological point of view, I suppose, but c'mon, I'm here for a vacation, not research. I did notice a couple of strange-looking villagers that seemed to resemble Joel and Felicity, but...that couldn't have been them, right?

Actual photograph
After that disappointing experience, I went off in search of an actual party. It took a while, but I eventually found a group of island residents sitting around with a vat of lifepod wine. That's right, an entire vat. It was like a hot tub filled with the stuff.

So anyway, today got off to kind of a slow start. I had some strange dreams (or "visions," as the folks here usually call them) about flying blue people with ray guns and Rachel Weisz. Fortunately, my tour guides were nice enough to wait until after lunch before we set out for the Silencer Stronghold. I'm still there as I write this (blogging from my phone - that's right, I'm a techie wizard) and so far, no gift shop. Not giving up hope yet, though. Oops, gotta go - there seems to be some kind of argument going on between one of my tour guides and a Stronghold curator...

Monday, August 5, 2013

Greetings From Spectraland: Day One

For my summer vacation, I decided to take a five-day trip to a little tropical island known as Spectraland. You may have heard of it.

My camera takes good pictures

It really is a pretty amazing place. Although, I have to admit, I've spent the day mostly in the civilized, populated villages of Bluecrest and Headsmouth. I did take a little detour to visit a razorbear den in the hillside above Bluecrest, but fortunately, my Wavemaker tour guides managed to keep me from getting eaten.
Tonight, I'll be attending a Chieftain Council, which is like a meeting of the chiefs of the four main villages. Should be fun. I'm expecting to have some delicious fuzzy roast beef and lifepod juice.

Not actually fuzzy
On the agenda for tomorrow (I like to have my trips planned out in advance) is a place called the Silencer Stronghold. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm assuming it's some cool tourist attraction. I hope they have a gift shop!