Tag: writing

Egotism, Read My Fiction

I’m Creating my own Universe

David Stringer

This is going to be just about the geekiest post I’ve written on the blog, so feel free to mock me in the comments. I won’t be offended if you do.

Despite the majority of my writing in the last year and a half being on other subjects (football, television, film and book reviews, analysis and rants mainly) my ultimate aim as a writer is to be a professional writer of fiction.
I prefer the blank canvas, the ability to create my own characters and tell my own stories, to the non-fiction writing I’ve mainly wrote and linked to in the year and a half writing this blog.

I’ve mentioned previously that I’ve got a lot of half-started fiction, things I started with a huge sense of ambition, excited about what I could do, and then more or less gave up, convinced that my story, for whatever reason, didn’t work.

It’s for that reason that I’ve started writing fan-fiction, using characters taken fro the Marvel Comics universe. (Though my interpretations of the characters are mainly  based on those that have appeared in the recent films and 1990s cartoons.) Essentially, the idea is that, by using characters and scenarios created by others, I’ll have guidelines of sorts.

Either this Spider-Man's a woman, or the spider-bite had a very strange side-effect.
Either this Spider-Man’s a woman, or the spider-bite had a very strange side-effect.

For instance, in the early chapters of what I’ve been writing, I felt like I wasn’t quite capturing the personality of Peter Parker the way I wanted. I was able to look up some old episodes online, to have a definite idea of how I wanted the character to speak – the sense of both humility and sarcasm. (My favourite version of the character is the one in the 90s cartoon series. While Toby McGuire and Andrew Garfield’s performances are decent, both are a little too geeky for me.)

Nothing is created in a vacuum – every writer who’s ever lifted a pen has been inspired by something. There’s a space opera short story concept I’ve picked up and abandoned many times over the years. Essentially what I thought for this would be the moral metaphors of Star Trek, in a darker and grimier world, more like Alien or Battlestar Galactica.
I’ve a hero that I wanted to be similar but different to common ideas of how a dynamic leader should behave… and it’s difficult working out the precise characterisation.

But with fanfiction, there’s something to consult, something solid that’s been made, to look at as an example of how a particular character should behave, what their home should look like, the kind of stories that work with that character.
My first plan was an episode by episode rewrite of Star Trek Voyager, which seems to have been a slightly ambitious idea.
My second project, which I think is more sensible, is to write a series of 500 – 1000 word chapters telling stories of Marvel Comics superheroes. (Spiderman, the X-Men and The Avengers are some of Marvel’s more popular characters, if you’re not aware which is which.)

I’m not a big comic reader – in fact the only Marvel comic I think I’ve ever bought was a Spiderman comic where he fought a guy on gigantic stripey stilts. For some reason I fail to comprehend, that villain hasn’t made it into the movies yet.
But I’m a fan of the movies, and grew up watching the 90s Spiderman, X-Men and Fantastic Four cartoon series.
What’s more, looking around various wikipedias – the Marvel Wiki, and of course, Wikipedia itself – it’s fascinating to see different incarnations of the same characters, the different ways the same stories have been told. Thousands of years ago, people will have gathered around campfires, reinterpretting and reimagining cool stories they’ve heard before, and I think comic stories are the modern equivalent of this.

I’ve started adding my own contributions to this continual reimagining.
Early chapters of The Marvel Universe are now up at Fanfiction.net, where I’ve been telling three stories across different time periods – the stories of Spiderman and The Hulk’s origins, and Nick Fury’s early days in SHIELD.

Hulk angry! Hulk smash!
Hulk angry! Hulk smash!

I’m using the fanfiction essentially as a way of getting myself into motion, getting myself to write, to stay in motion and keep my instincts sharp. I’ve written recently about a story I’ve submitted for publication, and I don’t think I’d have written that if it weren’t for the fanfiction.

As I said, I’ve started putting chapters up at Fanfiction.net. I’ve enjoyed writing it, and you may enjoy reading it. Stranger things have happened…

Click here to read The Marvel Universe: Phase One: Standing Alone

Egotism

A Story I’ve Submitted

David Stringer

I’m going to write about a short story I’ve just submitted for consideration for publication.
It’s set in a supernatural world, with the ‘creatures’ in that world being fairly classical ones.
There’s always the chance people will think I’ve jumped on the bandwagon merely because the genre is popular, but I promise I’ve not just seen a crowded market place, and decided to yell out “Me too!”

Although I much prefer science fiction to either fantasy or supernatural as a default, there is a lot of fiction that’s well written in both of those genres.They all tend to be grouped together, as they tend to be stories of larger than life adventures, and each tends to deal with fears and moral issues in an abstract way.
I spent a large amount of my youth watching the Buffy and the X-Files (which is generally more supernatural than sci-fi, despite the presence of the over-arching alien plotline) love Being Human, Dracula (the novel rather than any adaptation) and enjoy what I’ve seen of Supernatural.
Though the ‘supernatural’ genre isn’t my favourite, I have a relatively strong familiarity with it.

Continue reading “A Story I’ve Submitted” →

Egotism

A Writing Lesson Learned From A Shark

David Stringer

This is my April entry for the Insecure Writers’ Support Group.

InsecureWritersSupportGroup

Supposedly, if a shark stops swimming, it’ll die.

I’m not totally clear on the practicalities of this – does it drown? Does it sink to the bottom of the ocean, to the dark places where weird creatures with luminescent glowy bits live?
But, in cultural terms at least, the shark’s position as a creature that must continue moving or else is second only to it’s position as an evil killer, and devourer of boats that aren’t as big as needed.

Though it can be annoying, I think the same applies to writers.
Writing is a habit, one that needs to be developed into an instinct. The idea of a writer with intense writer’s block is one that’s been done to death in fiction – the writer has six hours before a 50,000 word novel is due in, and is sat in front of a blank Word document.
But just because something’s a cliche doesn’t make it untrue, as much as the desire for freshness may make us wish it does.

Continue reading “A Writing Lesson Learned From A Shark” →

Egotism

I’ve Been Writing!

David Stringer

It’s been a while since I last wrote a proper blog post, rather than just link to posts on Bornoffside. I have been writing though, as well as looking into other writing opportunities. I’ll use this blog post to go through some of the things I’ve been doing, on the off chance anyone’s interested.

That doesn't bode well, but cats always look disinterested. Or occasionally psychopathic.
That doesn’t bode well, but cats always look disinterested. Or occasionally psychotic.

Continue reading “I’ve Been Writing!” →

Egotism

Unfreezing the Writers Muscle

David Stringer
This is my submission for the Insecure Writers’ Support Group for February. There’ve been a few blogs I’ve came across through IWSG in the last two months that I’ve not kept up with, so if I gave the impression I’d be reading your blog regularly but haven’t, it’s a matter of bad time management, not me trying to manipulate you!
InsecureWritersSupportGroup
Egotism

A Toolbar Redesign? Woo and Yay!

David Stringer

I’ve recently redesigned the toolbar at the top of the blog, All your favourite features remain (presuming you have favourite parts of the blog of an obscure writer/reviewer, which I can only assume is the case).
I’ve added a review section, to help you look through the things I’ve reviewed, and find something you’d be interested in.
I’ve been working on a little scifi project, which I’ve vaguely hinted at in a previous blog post and will write more about soon.

As this was always intended to be a blog about writing, I’m adding two new sections to be regularly updated.
I’m going to talk about the projects I’m currently working on, and the state of the progress of each.
I also intend to keep a day by day diary of the different types of writing I do.
I’d imagine both of these will become more interesting if I finally reach the stage where I become a writer of note, but it’s there if you’re interested.
Basically I’ve decided that I envy the types of writer who spew out every thought they ever have, and have decided to become more like them.

Not the most fascinating post, I admit, but my hundredth in total, and hopefully helping to mark a new, more prolific era here on the blog.

Egotism

Writers Contract for 2013

David Stringer

As you’ve probably seen, the new year has just begun. It’s been mentioned in the news once or twice, as well as on some calendars. I’m not totally sure where all the time zones start and end, but as we’re now almost 120 hours into the New Year in Greenwich Mean Time, I think everyone’s made it across.
The tradition is to make resolutions, to look at things in our lives that need changing, and come up with a plan to make that change. Most of my bad habits (the ones I care about, anyway) are linked to my inconsistent writing habits.
So I’m going to do something I did briefly 13 months ago – a writer’s contract, a public commitment to do a few things that will get me writing on a consistent basis.

Practical tip - it's hard to sign a contract when you have no table to rest on, and also a pig is trying to seduce you.
Practical tip – it’s hard to sign a contract when you have no table to rest on, and also a pig is trying to seduce you.

So, my commitments from here on. I intend to: Continue reading “Writers Contract for 2013” →

Egotism

A High Writing Workload – Motivating or Paralysing?

David Stringer

This is my second entry as a member of the Insecure Writers’ Support Group.

InsecureWritersSupportGroupI started this blog, fourteen months ago, with the intent of using it as a tool to keep me writing on a regular basis.
However, the blog and the opportunity to write more widely for the internet have proven distracting themselves, as more and more of my effort has been poured into the blog, and other writing intended as motivation, rather than my fiction. I’ve recently seen another blogger voice the same concern, and I’d expect it’s not a rare problem. Continue reading “A High Writing Workload – Motivating or Paralysing?” →

Storytelling Geekery

In Praise of Spiderman #700

David Stringer

Spoilers for the last issue of Amazing Spiderman – #700.

The most recent issue of Amazing Spiderman, #700 was released on Boxing Day, and had caused controversy beforehand when the contents were leaked.
At the beginning of the current story arc, Doctor Octopus was close to dying from cancer. (Which I think is a good thing itself – I think it gives a sense of heft to a fantastical world.) This doesn’t stop him from being a menace to Spiderman, however, managing to switch bodies with Peter Parker, planning to steal his life.
Switching bodies is a relatively common trope in long-running sci-fi/fantasy/comics, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG1, Red Dwarf, The X-Files and four of the five Star Treks having used the idea.
As commonly happens with this type of story, the hero spends the majority of the story trying to get back to his own life, while the villain causes chaos in the hero’s life. But this time there was a very uncommon twist – Peter Parker fails to get back into his body, and dies in Doc Ock’s body.

Continue reading “In Praise of Spiderman #700” →

Film & Television Opinion

Christmas in Albert Square

David Stringer
This Christmas Day, British screens have been filled with scenes of people suffering.
TV Tropes calls this ‘Soapland Christmas’, which is a pretty generic term that perfectly describes how generic the attempts to outdo each other’s misery have become.
The trend famously began with Den and Angie Watts on Christmas Day 1986.
I’ve never been a big Eastenders fan, and I wasn’t old enough to properly follow the show at the time. But my understanding of how the story progressed is that the pair, who had an aggressive and wild on-off relationship which drove a lot of the drama on the show at the time, were on the verge of reconciliation. But Den, having discovered that his wife’s cancer was a lie to keep them together, suddenly and surprisingly hands over divorce papers to his wife.
That’s how drama should work – keeping the audience on tenterhooks, unsure of what will happen, before revealing a twist that’s both shocking, emotionally powerful, and true to the characters.