Villains and Stuff

So yeah, since (once more) it seems like it's been forever since I posted anything on here, I've decided to do another writing tip thingy. :P

To start with, if you know me (which is ok if you don't.....because you probably don't ;) ) you probably know that I am an extremely picky reader. I put down books within the first couple chapters if the main characters aren't doing the things I want them to. I have no idea what makes me such a stickler for books but I suspect writing has something to do with it. Not only do I like books with believable characters (which are pretty hard to find nowadays :( ) but also with plots and storylines that are interesting THE WHOLE TIME and not just part of the time.

One of these important pieces to building a plot worthy of my insane scrutiny is making the problem believable or interesting and likable enough to not be logical but still enjoyable. Often the manifesto of the problem in the story is the villain. Be that evil corrupted robot or xenophobic extremist, this individual (or individuals) I've found are the best written when they are written as what I call "good-bad guys".

"Good-bad guys" are literally villains that aren't completely evil. For example: wicked robot was maltreated by owners thus turning him cruel to others or xenophobic guy witnessed was so brilliantly intelligent but didn't have anything he could find to use his mind for other than creating bio-weapons against aliens. The truth is, is that this directly reflects real life. As you may know, the 'just world bias' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis ) says it all. The real-life 'bad-guys' aren't like pure evil. They were probably once average people or were driven to the extents they were by their own personal flaws or weaknesses. And in order to make the villains in your stories believable and intriguing, it is often a wise move to make them fit more of a realistic corruption into villainy.

Some great examples I could think of for "good-bad guys" would be people like Mr. Freeze from Batman, Asajj Ventress, or Javert from Les Miserables. I think what makes these villains so awesome was that they got you to question the protagonist's' decisions with dealing with them. They make you wonder what you would do if you were in their shoes. Another thing, these two "good-bad guys" are prime examples of where the hero had to stay their hand and allow these people to live on. I think that's really important, especially in a world where there is so much killing. I place certain higher value on the characters that let the "good-bad guys" live, not only because they've found out what happened to make them villains, but also just because they understand that life is better.

Next time you read a book, look for a "good-bad guy". If they are well-crafted they will make you kinda pity them. They also make the perils of the story so much better! :D

Would I have done Order 66?? --An Insight into one of the Core Topics of My Books

I've been thinking lately, apart from my usual brainfartstorming ;) , about what I would actually do if I were in the same place at the same time as Cody in that single defining moment known as Order 66.

I don't want to give away what exactly happens at that part (sorry guys) because the books tend to lead up to that point, but I will give you what I might have done. First of all, I'm actually a pretty shy person, and half the things Cody goes through I probably would make it out alive or with my sanity. Xp I don't even quite know how he does it! XD Going off of this, some of the things Obi-Wan does in my books...well, they are purposeful but not very thoughtful. There are times in the book when Kenobi is trying so hard to separate himself from the commander that I wonder why Cody is still loyal to him at all. It's very sad, because Obi-Wan has the best intentions, he literally cannot be friends with someone who, after the war, is more of a political, ethical, and economic problem than the Jedi can handle. And Jedi don't want to be seen with 'instruments' of war.

With all that said, I think I might not have been as quick witted or steadfast as Cody was when the Order was given. :L I would have ultimately been thinking about myself and my brothers, as well as my own interests instead of that of someone who had practically abandoned me. And the after effects of Order 66 sometimes make me question if I could have foreseen everything as clearly as he had. So sorry guys, I'd of probably ended up killing Kenobi. I don't think I would have done it out of hatred or frustration but probably out of desperation because I couldn't bear to see my brothers pay with their lives if he lived. Nor would I have been as quick as Cody was to see that third option, one that would require even more stress, and been able to act on it as perfectly as he did. (Obi-Wan fans please don't hate me! :( )

If anything, all this random babbling has kinda lead me to see how intelligent I've made him as well as unfortunate. :( I guess I really am wanting people to see how good people don't always get rewarded for what they do.

Death of the Author

Ok, I'm going to kinda rage-write here. :P Well, not really rage-write. More like annoyed-write. Xp

Have you ever read one of those books then discussed it in class and suddenly half the class is commenting on how the author IS some character in the book? (It's mostly in college so I don't expect you to if you haven't made it there quite yet.) While it is interesting for them to compare the author to the character in the book, it has always annoyed me for some reason. I think it is because of the fact that, as a writer, if I really wanted to, I could go through all my characters and plots and melt them down to find the basic experiences in my life that I subconsciously created them from. Not only would this take a lot of time and effort, but it would once more prove the simple fact that literally all written anything is gleaned from a combination of life experiences and other books.

Yeah, it may seem kinda sad at first but it really makes sense. Maybe that's why my sister keeps telling me I should read more. :P (I probably won't though..... ;p ) The truly inspiring stories really come from a more original mix of stories and real-life experiences. That's why I dislike it when people point at some of my female characters and claim they're me. Especially Gretta Orbur because she may resemble me the most. I think it's funny how they don't see my characteristics placed in the male characters. I'd say that I'm pretty much in all my characters so there! >:D I've also used my incredible best friend and bf in much of my characters (because he's so awesome). I probably also use a whole bunch of my family members too!

This is where this blog's title comes in. "Death of the Author" was a 'movement' or something that was kinda a revolt against those (in my opinion) diluted books/stories that really were up to the reader's interpretations, and, thus, were most often connected to their author's lives. While that's all fine and dandy (so long as I don't have to read it! XL ) since there's not much else interesting (once more, in my opinion) about those stories, I'd appreciate it if these same things weren't applied to my stories. I'm not hating on anyone, just giving a kind of feedback on how to think when reading my stuff. If you want to think about how my characters or their experiences are like my life, then go right ahead, I can't stop you. Please take into account the fact that the point of my books is not  to write a biography about myself (I'd write an actual bio if I really wanted to tell you about my life ;) ) but to write a book about a bunch of characters and the crazy stuff that happens to them. This also applies to my artwork. I might use myself as a reference but, by no means, are the characters supposed to represent me as I am not nearly as epic as they are. XD

And now that I'm done ranting here is a peaceful song for you to listen to if you want! ;D

Why CLONES????

First, I would like to apologize for my long absence. I had no initiative to do any writing over break (which was odd) except for the last few days. That included the blog, where I would just sit there and think of what I could possibly write. It is a blog after all, and now, judging by the number of writers following me on Twitter (which by the way is AWESOME!! It is so cool to see how many neat writers are out there and how cool they are in real life. Just mind blowing!) I think I should finally write about writing. (pun intended?? I don't even know if that was a legit. pun.....whatever I'm Xp)

WARNING: BE PREPARED FOR A GINORMOUS OUTPOURING OF CLONE RELATED....STUFF!! IF YOU ARE IN ANYWAY ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY BEING IN CONTACT WITH CLONE TROOPER FAN-PERSON BLABBING (or are a Jedi only! fan-person) EITHER ADVERT YOUR EYES OR STOP READING THIS RIGHT NOW. <<sounds like the synopsis of a Series of Unfortunate Events novel. X)

Lately, as I usually do when I'm on a writing rampage, I begin to question why I am writing about the characters I am. This would bring me to the question of "Why on earth did I decide to write about CLONE TROOPERS???" Don't worry, I did the same thing to Jango when I finally finished the fourth part to his book (which I did first...don't know why. Wanted to try working backwards perhaps. The whole story is basically completed in my head, just still have to write the whole thing down!!). I think perhaps that other writers may do this. It helps clarify the purpose of why they're writing the book (or books) in the first place.

I think the answer is, quite simply, I am intrigued by them.

I used to looove the Jedi, especially Obi-Wan. Then I got the Battlefront 2 and Bounty Hunter games, and this one amazing book by Karen Travis (which if you are a clone fan-person, or want to be, I highly recommend Republic Commandos: Hard Contact........Just saying. It'll either inspire you or make you see that whole war from a completely different perspective. Or, as for me, both.) and that's where it all began. I also was realizing at that time that being a Jedi fan-person (no offense to Jedi fan-people out there) wasn't as gratifying as it is with the clones. Jedi have these powers that we can't really imagine that well. They also have a code (I accidentally typed Cody there because I'm so used to typing his name....OBSESSION! :p) that they have to follow (usually) and all this training.

I loved the Jedi Apprentice books but I felt a little like they were always breaking the rules. Maybe it was just me. So I got confused with why it was ok sometimes to break them and other times it was completely unorthodox and made you "falling to the Darkside". I guess I got too confused on why they Jedi could do all this amazing stuff with their powers but in the next second weren't doing what I thought they were capable of before!

So anyways, I couldn't really connect/reconcile with what the Jedi were doing and their reasons for doing those actions. Too me it seemed like more and more they were only worried about each other or the natives rather than, let's see...the Clones! 8[ And the more I saw that happening, the bitterer (that's a weird looking word 8| ) I became that they were excluding the troopers from their efforts to preserve life. I understand that, in the interests of the stories of the show or games or movie, this was necessary in order for the story to progress, but I just had a hard time understanding why it was the clones that always had to die. :L If you watch the Citadel arc (Don't want to spoil it for anyone....) there is a part where they are scaling down a cliff and the droids shoot some of their grapple-lines so some of the men fall. Do the Jedi even attempt to help them, or ease their fall as they did with Captain Rex on Geonosis or each other?? Nope! (Chuck Testa!) I love how Cody and Rex's heads are right in the direction of where those poor guys are falling before they go splat. :( And they have people on their backs!!! Ahsoka and Piel don't have anyone, how easy would it be to use the Force to cushion the trooper's fall. >:{ I'm positive if Rex or Cody had the Force they would have acted and done something about those two guys even with the injured clones on their backs. All I could think of was "What a waste of everything.What a waste.."

But anyways, that was just an example of what I see.

Now for the big question: What's kept me writing about clones???? Yeah, perhaps it could be the rage-writing that I do after witnessing something like what I was talking about earlier happen. :D But I think it's the fact that....clones are just dang interesting.

If you've ever read war stories, real ones, you'll get what I'm about to talk about. (If you haven't you should try to read at least one in your life--if not just to say that you did ;)--because they are really stirring.)

All at once I just wanted to get inside their heads and know what the war looked like from their eyes. I wanted their stories, their experiences, their trials, the weird feelings they felt sometimes and couldn't put a name to because clones aren't supposed to feel love or fear or compassion or empathy......basically I wanted their brains! (muh-hahahahaha!) I wanted to know more about them. Simple as that. And the few books or Clone Wars episodes actually satisfying this were too few to answer all my questions. So that's what makes me fill in the gaps, "make it up" as my sister would say.

I get really consumed by it though. I go and do soooooo much 'research' (finding out how tall they really are, what they eat, mentality, personality, if people actually even like them!, and stuff I want to be precise about) so I can get it right. It's not that I can't make up characters or create personalities or features that readers will come to like, but rather, that I try to not step on other writer's toes. Not only does this create confusion but it kinda makes me look like I didn't even try to learn what other writers had set in stone for these characters. Not that I don't have any original characters, hopefully you'll eventually get to see some of the clones I've 'made up'. And if I were the one writer who's story and perspective got totally ignored in another person's book I would feel pretty bad, so I try with all my might to get the stories to mesh with the ones that are already out there.

It's probably one of the most difficult/time consuming things out there. I'm lucky though because the topics I'm covering (aka clones and Jango Fett....) have already been covered in great detail by incredible writers like Karen Traviss or Haden Blackman so it's my duty to respect these stories that have, for one, inspired me to even begin writing!! To forsake or deform what they've already put down isn't right. And if I can't use my creativity to find a way to do this than I am lacking a skill that would do their stories justice. I'm also fortunate that despite the depth that has been put into these works, clones and Jango aren't widely used cores of the usual Star Wars stories. They're exclusive which may explain their rising popularity. Isn't it true that people sometimes go more often to that small, unique coffee shop in town rather than the big one. Or the growing popularity of chickens being raised not only for eggs but as pets (chicken questions? Ask me! XD).

I think that if a writer can move his or her readers emotionally then they deserve their books to be public. If they can create a story that the readers fall in love with, one that keeps them interested, inspires them, then that author deserves their books published. The only problem is that how many authors are out there that never have their work seen or chosen for publication? Sorry I digress... :p

Cody has really grown on me ( :L That sounds kinda awkward but I don't know how else to put it. :\ ) along with some of my other characters. I just LOVE the stories I gave them. Ok, spoiler alert (..kinda :7)!! Something I love about my 'battle' books is that sometimes, in the evening, the clones all sit around and tell stories. Like everything, this does kinda reflect my life when I used to tell my sister clone stories, but also this is a place for me to weave backgrounds for these characters. They talk about their pasts, places they've been, people they know, legends (which is hard to do now that they're all serving under a legend X} ), and sometimes break out really deep stories It's so incredible.....I can't tell you. Sorry. :p

Another thing I love is the places they all go to as a group. Each place has a theme "and that is all I am authorized to reveal." -Alpha (or is it!? 8}. This was actually kinda hard to do because most of the planets that the clones or Jedi had been to we've already seen in vivid detail during the shows or movies. And I had to choose ones that the Republic had actually been to, more so Cody. Lucky for me (well not so lucky :\ ) the Clone Wars tv show hasn't really shown us a lot of episodes that had Cody doing his thing (*insert smug smiling face nodding head here*) nor the planets he was on. I also choose planets that aren't really described on any of the Star Wars websites nor in the books (because they killed off the best anthropologist in Star Wars land EVER!! >8[ : GREE!!). That allows me to use the crazy ideas I have in my head to create an environment and culture which is so much FUN!!! Most of the planets do have a few small facts about them: 600 billion people, reptillian humanoids, ect. That just makes it more fun to shape a culture or habitat around these facts so that it remains canon and doesn't tread on anybody's toes. ;)

Though, I must say I like the sparsely populated planets a bit better. There's something about putting men who've never seen the outside world in a beautiful place with curious people and interesting surroundings that is just so cool to me. I hope you will all, some way or another, get to read my books to find out what I mean by this. I think it's another reason why I like clones so much. It's because they're just like us when we see a different species of alien or planet in the Star Wars universe. We're like, "Whoa! That guy looks like a giant sea cucumber!" or "What's that weird squishy plant with the moving vines!?". It's this curiosity and just plain awe that really touch me when I see troopers react to a new place. Next episode look for the guys who don't have to be so formal, most likely they're looking around like crazy! I think it's cute/funny/interesting. Maybe I like clones because they are appreciating the galaxy they live in and the beauty around them and their life rather than being so concerned with the Darkside and who likes who (cuz apparently all the Jedi are in love with someone at some point in their lives, well not all of them 8\ ).

So yeah, I've created whole 'soundtracks' (collections of songs from CDs or iTunes downloads) on my iTunes library. I have a notebook stating exactly what's going on during these songs and in what order they go. I've had whole sections of my books created by mere songs. Pretty crazy right?!

I love the many valiant and selfless things that troopers do as well. The last thing I can think of that I admire about clones is their unflinching humor. I never thought the Jedi were very funny. The only one I ever laughed at was Yoda during The Empire Strikes Back and during this one book I read. The banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin is ok but it seems like they kinda over do it. :L It really takes a sharp eye and ear to catch all the clone's jokes. Just today I laughed so hard I cried watching the second preview for The Hunt for Ziro (yeah, it came out a while ago but I haven't gotten it yet. :[ ). There's this one part where Quinlan jumps off the Lartie (Laat'i for non clones ;) and lands on the deck...Cody makes this 'huh' laugh like, "Why was that necessary?Why couldn't he just wait for the ship to land?" or "OOOHHH great!". I was actually watching that video to find out how Cody was standing, just a pose! and I ended up giving myself a gut ache cracking up over what I realized Commander Cody was really doing. Or when Fives and Hardcase are 'flying' the Umbaran fighters--more like swirling around in the air. And their facial expressions and whooping sounds was too funny. I was crying I was laughing so hard! XD One doesn't see Jedi making those sorts of jokes.


So there you have it. A gigormous speel about clone troopers.  Hope you survived alright! X) I might add more if i think about it. 


Want music to that?? ;) It's quite epic and I like listening to this song and others for my 'battle' aka clone books. Enjoy! :D