Challenger 7: 30 Years Ago

Posted on January 13, 2016 by Darrick Dean

Two weeks from tomorrow, on January 28th, marks 30 years since the Challenger Disaster.

Seems so long ago, yet it is one of those days people never forget. School was out that day, probably because of bad weather, and I remember watching on television the news showing the explosion over and over.

I will never forget.

We didn’t give up on spaceflight that day, but I wish more would have seen the real promise of the Final Frontier. Instead, many in government still see it as another “get-elected-for-a-few-years” opportunity. The vision of government sees only through the next election cycle, not seven generations hence.

There are those who are far more forward in their thinking. Those who are tired of the others who have given up on the human spirit of adventure. The spirit that created pioneers, frontiersman and explorers. That spirit is in all of us, even if those in power have forgotten.

We can best remember and honor the Challenger 7, and all those astronauts who light up the sky on the National Astronaut Memorial, by looking and forging ahead.

By remembering pioneers are still needed, frontiers need explored and danger can never be eliminated.

Honor those who tried, those who failed, those who succeeded and those who gave the last full measure.

Let the future not say we gave up, forgot or ignored.

If we do, there will be no future to look back on us.

Categories: History | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Escaping” Into Fantasy? Be Wary…

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Darrick Dean

Since 1977, Terry Brooks has been writing his Shannara fantasy series. Once the first trilogy was complete, he gave up his day job as a lawyer and never looked back. In spite of his success, he has often been asked why he writes fantasy. Not so much now, with fantasy’s mainstream success, but some still equate fantasy with escapism.

True, any book, television show, hobby has that element — and there’s nothing wrong with that, so long as most people know how not let one overcome the other. Good fiction, whether or not it is fantasy, ultimately rests on how much it draws on real life. From the outside, that may be hard to grasp when talking about stories with fantastic creatures. Yet we have detailed here in past posts that it was the depth and themes of fictional worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia that was in large measure the reason for their enduring success. Continue reading →

Categories: Fiction | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Did He or Didn’t He?

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Darrick Dean

At the end of World War II the Allies splintered between East and West, and they began carving up Germany and the rest of Europe. Even as the Cold War began to develop, the Allies were rounding up and preparing to try various members of the Nazi regime. It is no secret that while they were doing this, they were also deciding which Nazis to keep for their own purposes (and others would be released early from prison in the following years). This, and the consequences and questions of ethics, have been documented in many books such as The Nazi Next Door and Operation Paperclip.

The Allies also sent investigators to verify the death of Adolf Hitler, since the remains had been burned. There have always been whispers of Hitler escaping, but I’m not one to jump quickly to join conspiracy theories. Then two things happened.

First, there has been the continuing revelations of deception regarding the protecting of many Nazis brought to the U.S., or used in Europe, to “assist” in prosecuting the Cold War. The government’s nonsensical policy of picking and choosing who to use, and who to prosecute, and to occasionally change their mind years later, is a troubling window into what certain people in power do.

Second, something stood out in these accounts of investigating Hitler’s suicide in his bunker. The investigators relied on the testimony on Nazis and evidence provide by them. Continue reading →

Categories: History, Modern History | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Garage Band or Superstar?

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Darrick Dean

What to bands and writers have in common? Quite a bit. Author and editor Jaimie Engle wrote on the similar path musicians and authors take. It is up to you where to stop on that road, so check out her post and decide which band you want your writing to sound like.

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About Time

Posted on January 3, 2016 by Darrick Dean

I was way past due in getting around to reworking my About and book pages. More coming soon.

Categories: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Martin: “done when it’s done”

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Darrick Dean

Should George R.R. Martin, author of the books that inspired the Game of Thrones HBO series be apologizing for missing the deadline for his latest book?

I don’t think so.

It’s not just because, as an author, he has reached a level success many do not. This is about his work — writings that has made his career and defined him as an author.

Writing, like anything else, doesn’t always go according to plan. Sometimes it goes fast, sometimes it does not. Martin wrote, “Sometimes the writing goes well and sometimes it doesn’t…as spring turned to summer, I was having more bad days than good ones.” A writer who cares about his or her work, doesn’t want to get it done just to get it done.

There are times where the process does go fast and certain books get out quickly. Other times, not so much. The expectation to have a constant flow of books from authors is partly influenced by the apparent relentless parade of television and films. However, even those in the film business can be pressured to rush their work. Peter Jackson said he wasn’t happy with not having as much prep time with The Hobbit as he did with the LOTR. Extending the series to three from two films ultimately gave more time to create another epic trilogy. I get that publishing and filmmaking are businesses, but when you have something that has succeeded, why risk messing with what made it a success?

Like Martin wrote, “It will be done when it’s done. And it will be as good as I can possibly make it.”

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Opening Our Eyes in 2016

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Darrick Dean

I’ve written on how 19th Century author George MacDonald fathered the fantasy genre that has become such a staple of literature. Beyond that, MacDonald was also a controversial figure in his day, and even now. Why? Because he wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. Biographer Michael R. Phillips writes:

In his later writings MacDonald strongly attacks the mentality that cares more for providing its own position than for discerning the truth. He would prefer to find himself in the wrong, and thereby learn a new facet of truth, than win an argument…he would not even formulate an opinion until he sees the question more clearly…[he wouldn’t]…put forward an opinion prematurely until the light of truth had been shed upon it.

Here, on the first day of the new year, perhaps this is what we should keep in our minds and on lists of resolutions. A commitment to test what we read, what we are told and what the powers that be claim is so. In an election year this is even more important, because the professional politicians and their dutiful followers have already spent months weaving their deceptions. We need to be like MacDonald who had

…a mind not afraid to doubt and ask questions. It was a mind not hiding behind doors, but knocking on them. His eyes were wide open, alert to any entrance of truth.

So in 2016, let’s open our eyes, stop hiding and start knocking.

Categories: Critical Thinking, What You Can Do | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

A Time to Speak

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Darrick Dean

Even though some of my favorite books are old-school dystopian — A Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 — I haven’t picked up many of the new wave of books in this genre. One exception has been Nadine Brandes‘ Out of Time series. I reviewed book one, A Time to Die here. Book two, A Time to Speak continues chronicling the life of Parvin Blackwater.

Parvin lives in a future where the world was devastated by disaster. All she knows of civilization is walled in from the rest of the world and run by an oppressive government. The rulers control the population through Clocks. Each person knows when their life will end as their Clock counts down. Parvin was only months away from the end and her life hasn’t amounted to much. In book one, we saw how she began to change that, facing perils she never could have imagined. The true nature of the world she lived in also began to reveal itself.

I don’t want to give too much about this book and reveal the ending of the first for those who haven’t read it. I will say, Parvin has not quit on changing the fate of her people even though events have become much worse. With the Council packing people up and shipping them off to an unknown fate — which reminded me of 1930s Germany — Parvin struggles with being anyone’s leader. People are also dying before their Clocks expire. Her journey will take her to distant parts of the globe and force her to decide if she will lead, and speak, regardless of the risk to herself.

Brandes continues a well-realized, character-centric story with Parvin. Not that the other characters aren’t important or without depth, but Parvin drives this tale. You want to see what happens to her next, her choices and her changes. While her dystopian world will be familiar to genre fans, and Parvin follows that reluctant hero path, it’s her journey that sets her apart from the others. Stories like this are one reason why people write and read:

To remind us to evaluate our own journey on this world.

ndtts

Categories: Books, Fiction | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Edit Without Mercy

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Darrick Dean

Miss Benison gives some great advice for the editing stage of writing your book. Editing can be a long, drawn out process.  It’s where you learn to shape and reshape words, sentences, plots, and characters. As Benison writes, this is where you need to:

Be ruthless and objective. Don’t think of the book as your own. Think that it belongs to a complete strangers. Don’t be afraid of the words “Cut” and “Delete”, in editing, they could be your best friends.

The idea of deleting may be unthinkable to some writers.  We all know what things aren’t working.  They probably never did. If they can’t be fixed or moved, deleting words, sentences, or whole paragraphs will often make a writer think, “Wow, that’s so much better.” Force yourself to evaluate your writing as someone else would. Don’t let yourself rationalize away parts of your story you know aren’t right.

Benison also writes about focusing on different aspects during each edit. Focus on grammar one time, details (too much or too little) during another.

At some point you may consider finding beta readers, because no matter how many times your review your manuscript, you’ll miss something. Then you’ll decide on whether or not you want an editor (other than you) to edit your work.  Separating yourself from your work can be hard.  Sometimes someone else can do it better.

Editing isn’t easy and it’s time-consuming. One of the best pieces of advice I read somewhere went something like, “Find part of your story that just pops: You know, every word is perfect and clicks with each other. It’s the example of what you want your voice to be. This is the standard the rest of the story should rise to meet.”

That’s a high standard, and no book is perfect to the author or all readers. If you set your standard as high as possible, however, you’ll end up with one amazing story.

Categories: Books, Writing | Tags: | 2 Comments

“Heavy Handed Message Fic” Doomed?

Posted on December 27, 2015 by Darrick Dean

Virtually every book ever written has some sort of message or messages. Even the escapist pulp variety once so popular — and now making a comeback — has some insights for us. What about books that go to the other extreme — authors who wish to overwhelm us with their commentary (and authors who think that’s what books should be)? Are these losing favor? Author Mike Duran seems to be leaning in that direction:

The more I grow as an author and a reader, the less I am interested in “heavy-handed message fic.” Of course, stories have messages. And writing stories for the “betterment of the world” seems like quite a noble endeavor. Nevertheless, when such an intention becomes the over-arching agenda and leads to “heavy handed message fic,” I’m checking out. I read to be entertained, inspired, disturbed, and moved. Nit-picking over an author’s race or gender, the number of ethnicities represented in their books, or the sociological or environmental issues they manage to tackle, seems like a wrong-headed approach to story-telling. Give me good, old-fashioned pulp over pretentious preaching any day.

Entertaining books. What a concept!

Categories: Books, Writing | Tags: , , , | 2 Comments

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