Write Club -- Which Reviewer Are You?

Hey y'all.  So I was reading this book, "How to Succeed in the Publishing Game" by Vickie Stringer. She was talking about all the different aspects of editing. Apparently in the business there are three types of editors. Copy editors, content editors, and book doctors.

Write Club -- Bigotry and Ego

Hey y'all.  So, as a writer, one should try to be as unbigoted as possible.  It's actually a little easier for the writer, as the writer looks at different kinds of people and is inspired by them.  This, however, doesn't mean that the writer is entirely immune from bigotry.  I don't know how many times I've read a book, only to discover that the author has condescendingly taken an antagonistical character and given that character all the opinions the author disagrees with, merely to use this character as a whipping boy for the author's narrow-mindedness.

Like, for example, the author will take a "Christian" character and have them be the biggest jerks you've ever seen, or make them act so inhuman you have to wonder if they're really aliens from space.  And honestly, how many times is that trite old "the government is always evil" stereotype going to work for some authors?  I'm so bored already!  And I'm even more bored of the feminist stereotypes, who are ridiculously self-righteous and antagonistical to men, even though they're supposed to be the protagonist.  Yawn!

However, there is a time when bigotry and stereotypes are a good thing.

Critic Critique: Jeremy Jahns

Hey y'all.  One of the things I like to do as a nerd is think.  And think some more.  One of the things I like to think about is movies.  So I tend to look around at different reviewers and see if they recommend the latest release.  I like to hear people's opinions.  Admittedly, I love it when people bash a movie, but that's neither here nor there.  Point is, from time to time the reviewers have led me wrong, and encouraged me to see movies that suck.  Or at least, movies that I could not possibly enjoy.  There's a difference.  So then it occurred to me that everyone needs a different critic, one that can answer whether or not they should watch a movie.  Since different people have different standards, there needs to be a critic for every type of person.

Hence the Jeremy Jahns.  I've been subscribed to him on youtube almost since he's been posting videos, and he's been greatly entertaining.  Especially considering that some of his earlier videos are complete bashes, which I love far too much.  However, is he a good critic for you?

Always Hardcore

Hey y'all.  So this is one of the stories that I wrote for the Writer's Digest Short Short Story contest.  Sadly, I have failed.  Not only did I not win, but I didn't even place.  And they had 25 slots.  Ouch.  Do I really suck that bad, or did the competition simply knock me out?  Or was what I wrote simply not something the judges were looking for?  In any case, I have five stories I sent in, and every few days I'll post another one.  This is the first of those stories, Always Hardcore.

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Emily Lewis liked fifth grade. Fifth graders learned more about history, and Emily always liked history. Today, however, that wasn’t the topic. Mrs. Phelps, the middle-aged brunette that taught the class, was talking about jobs. Emily pondered employment options as she stared around the room. The posters were the same as always, ones with cute animals and trite sayings about friendship and education. Emily didn't mind looking at them again. She admired their cheesy eighties color schemes. There were other things to stare at too. Jamesha had a new hairstyle that involved lots of braids. Carter up ahead was sitting in the exact right spot for her to see his marvelous doodling: an apple holding a knife.

Oops, I'm supposed to be thinking about my talents. What am I good at?

Nitpickery: Hollow Fields

Hey y'all.  So I was working at the bookstore the other day, and I was putting up some new manga books we just bought in.  One of these was a thick volume called Hollow Fields.  This is what the back cover of it says:

"Little Lucy Snow was meant to be enjoying her first day at the nice Elementary school in town, however a macabre twist of fate sees her enrolled instead at Miss Weaver's Academy for the Scientifically Gifted and Ethically Unfettered- also known as Hollow Fields.

Located on the outskirts of Nullsville and run by the insidious Engineers, the grim boarding school dedicates itself to raising the next generation of mad scientists and evil geniuses!  Classes include Live Taxidermy, Cross Species Body-Part Transplantation and Killer Robot Construction, and for her own survival Lucy has to master them quickly...the student with the lowest grades at the end of each school weeks is sent to the windmill for detention -- and so far, no child has ever returned!"

Come On, Let's Ride!

Okay, so in my Mega Man 10 music review, I mentioned that I wrote a dumb little story and made up some lyrics to Nitro Man's theme song. I said I'd post it, so here it is. Note that the names of the characters are a little weird because they're based on me and a friend on another website.

Write Club -- Worthless Opinions

Hey y'all.  So that title up there sounds kind of harsh, doesn't it?  Well, basically, it's something all writers have to understand, generally more by experience than by being told: there are some people whose opinions are not really worth considering or considering deeply when it comes to your writing.

You, as a reader of other people's work on the internet, are likely to be frequently annoyed when a writer gets antsy or defensive at the slightest criticism.  You've seen some people freak out because someone pointed out legitimate errors in their work.  You don't want to be like them; you want to be understanding, willing to listen, and willing to learn from your mistakes.

The problem with that is, not everybody's a real teacher.