Writing Blog #8 tapestry narratives

September 1, 2010 · Posted in Stories MJG, Writing Blog · 2 Comments

I`m a fan of convoluted narrative styles. I like stories that are chopped up and remixed, especially those chopped and remixed on the basis of character. LOST did this over 6 seasons, Magnolia did it in a 3-hour movie, Orson Scott Card did it between Ender`s Game and Ender`s shadow, David Gemmell did it across fantasy eras.

The effect is always epic. We begin to see the threads that make up not just one person`s life, but the whole tapestry. We glimpse the arc of the world of these characters, and while we`re with them we get to see the whole in a way we never can in life.

Here`s a breakdown of how it`s been done.

Relics of Camp Drake in Saitama, Japan

August 30, 2010 · Posted in Haikyo, Military Installations, Saitama · 4 Comments

Camp Drake was a joint US Army/Air Force base in Saitama, active until the 1970`s. It contained a hospital which handled troops coming out of Vietnam and also a communications array. Now about half of it remains, an overgrown jungle with only a few remaining buildings set back behind several layers of fencing. The other half has been eaten up by parks and a junior high school.

Tanks in a shed by the commissary.

Izu roadside haikyo

August 24, 2010 · Posted in Haikyo, Izu, Restaurants · Comment

Here`s a haikyo I chanced upon almost a year ago in Izu, while haikyoing with Mike (and Jason?). It`s not particularly awesome in any way, it just has some nice peeling red and white paint, and a cool Coke fridge.

Front yard.

Writing Blog #7 the engine of fiction

August 24, 2010 · Posted in Writing Blog · 3 Comments

Everybody knows, it`s about conflict. Without conflict a story has no reason to be, it`s just a pretty picture, a post-card.

I think about this a lot with regard to the Dawn book I`m working on. I went to a writing group on Sunday and took along three different potential opening scenes. They each belong to three separate drafts, and are different ways of presenting the beginning of the tale. I asked the 5 other members in the group to let me know which one got their attention the most, and why.

Of course I would hoping they`d choose the most recent draft as the best. I wrote it last week, and it syncs well with the new material I`ve been writing for the beginning of the book. And did they?

Izu’s abandoned Jungle theme Park #3 souvenirs

August 18, 2010 · Posted in Haikyo, Izu, Shops, Theme Parks · 13 Comments

Across the road from Jungle Park was this smashed-up restaurant/souvenir shop. I`ll guess it wasn`t actually connected to the theme park, though it probably survived on the tourists who came there. Inside it felt inhabited, with clothes hanging on rails to dry, but I didn’t run into anyone. The area was very still for most of the time I poked around, with hardly even any cars going by.

‘Kotobu’ (the sign on the front) may be the stem of ‘Kotobuki’ which means ‘Congratulations’.

The Servants

August 17, 2010 · Posted in Reviews · Comment

This is more like it. After traisping through the self-indulgent waffle-house that was The Lonely Dead, I felt ready to give up on Michael Marshall Smith, but The Servants proves he’s still got it. He IS able to follow a storyline with some rigor. He IS able to write in a non-glib/smug style. He STILL writes with occasional haunting beauty. Well done that man.