We all hit a time in our lives–multiple times, in many cases–in which we find ourselves so busy that we suddenly feel as though we can’t do anything. At least, I’ve hit that wall several times and many of my family and friends have been there at some point, too. You know that work has to be done but the very thought of it makes you want to curl up in a ball or hide. We push through it, though. So here I am, trying to push past my anxiety long enough to get some work down without a panic attack, when a poem by Robert Frost pops into my head.
As you’ve probably figured out, I’m a moderate Frost fan. I’m not a complete fanatic but a couple of my favorite poems are by him. The poem which keeps coming into my head as I struggle to work is one of my all-time favorites: “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”.
I’ve loved that poem since I memorized it for a school project in the sixth grade. I used to be able to recite it at the drop of a hat–of course, thanks to a combination of time, technology, and mental health issues, my memory isn’t quite what it used to be, but I can still drop a couple of lines before running into any problems.
Anyway, this poem, although a bit depressing, brings me an odd sort of calm, especially when I’m stressed. That’s why I wanted to share Frost’s work here:
A popular interpretation of this poem is as a contemplation of suicide. I can certainly see the basis and evidence for this interpretation. However, for my own sanity’s sake, I take a slightly more literal and much less grim approach to Frost’s writing.
I see this poem as the grievances of an overworked individual, someone who has had so much piled onto his plate that he must struggle in order to finish the work before he can get some well-deserved rest. He sees no source for aid and it’s the darkest, loneliest part of his life; this part is one of many in which my interpretation intersects with the suicide one. The two approaches differ in that I take the allure of the woods to more being a desire to stray from the already-forged path, to break from the busy, routine life and get some rest.
Really, I look at the poem this way more out of a personal attitude than as true literary analysis. This poem reminds me that we all must pull ourselves along when we are struggling to maintain. That’s why, in these times, I prefer to see it as a need for a break rather than contemplation of suicide; for me, the latter is not an option, but I understand the emotions which Frost expresses.
Now I must return to my work, for I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.
What do you think of this poem? Do you have any works or quotes that you think about when you’re feeling stressed or down? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Warning: This book depicts violence, gore, and man-eating aliens in mild detail and contains slightly sexually-suggestive material. If you are offended by such subjects or otherwise wish to avoid them, proceed with caution.
Update: To learn more about The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. and Sam B. Miller II, check out the series’ Facebook page and Miller’s Twitter and Goodreads pages.
On Friday I posted an alien writing prompt and briefly discussed two science fiction novels I have been reading. As promised, I am reviewing one of those books today, The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. by Sam B. Miller II. This novel explores the possibility of aliens and a fictionalized initial human/alien encounter.
Roswell, New Mexico: July 8, 1947. It’s a day which thrives in history thanks to the UFO and paranormal communities. We all know, yet also don’t know, what happened that night. At first, the military told the public a weather balloon had been shot down. Since then, so many different versions of the story and theories about the event have emerged that it’s hard for any single person to keep track. However, there is one theory which has stuck in the minds of Americans, some as a serious matter and others as a joke: the fallen craft was, in fact, extraterrestrial.
Miller’s The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. follows this theory for that night but with a new twist. Rather than the traditional Gray which is most often portrayed, the aliens who piloted the craft are actually a reptilian race called the Chrysallaman. Telepathic, technologically-advanced and enhanced, vicious, and dominating, the Chrysallaman could easily overthrow the human race—and that’s exactly what they plan to do. They aren’t deterred when one of their scouts is shot down and all the crew killed by humans; in fact, it motivates the commanding officer, Hisspat Zeck, to take revenge on all mankind, if the Chrysallaman Emperor lets him live.
Unknown to Zeck, one Chrysallaman has survived the crash: WrrNrr Zennk, the twelve-year-old son of DrrTrr Zennk, the captain of the scout. Overpowered and captured by human Major James Blunt, WrrNrr—known to humans as Whatsit—holds the key to forewarning the U.S. military of the impending threat and preparing Earth for invasion. With 65-70 years before the Chrysallaman Empire returns, General Matt Collier compiles a committee of experts from scientists to military personnel with the purpose of designing a defense plan for the entire planet. On one side are McPherson and Heinbaum, two extremely intelligent opposites working to reverse-engineer the Chrysallaman weapons. On the other side are James Blunt and Diane Hoffman—with the help of Lucy Smith, Mike Jenson, Tom LeBlanc, and Whatsit—trying to genetically modify humans to be a match for the Chyrsallaman aliens in physical combat.
Image retrieved from AmazonOver 459 pages, Miller exposes readers to military preparations spanning decades, starting with one generation and being passed to the next. Miller also explores the interpersonal relationships of the members of the committee and the effect that this project has on their lives, both bad and good. While everything seems to be progressing in the committee’s favor, threats on two fronts emerge: the long-awaited Chrysallaman ships and, more immediately, humans who fear what they don’t understand.
Will mankind be ready once the 70 years are up? Who will stand in the way of progress? And, most importantly, how will the long-awaited battle between humans and Chrysallamans end?
As I made clear in Friday’s writing prompt, while I have an embarrassing amount of knowledge regarding the alien phenomenon, I’ve never really been a fan of first-encounter science fiction. Honestly, before this book and the other novel I’m currently reading, only Ray Bradbury’s short story “Mars is Heaven!” truly captured my attention. I’m just not into alien invasions. Nevertheless, Miller’s book brings a level of intrigue, depth, and humanity to the invasion/first-encounter story line which I have not seen before.
Although it is around 459 pages long, the novel is a quick read once you get started. The writing is simple and almost like a modern storyteller in its form. Sometimes the style leads to unnecessary amounts of exposition, at least as far as the plot goes, but I enjoyed having the more in-depth view of the characters which this exposition provided. It gives multiple layers to many of the characters, even the ones whom I would argue border on stereotypes and clichés.
Along with the quick pace, Miller presents a compelling plot. I quite enjoyed the book spanning across so many years, although I can understand how some people may not have the patience for such a long-term setting. American pop culture has become conditioned to story lines of immediate alien invasion but that trend sets unrealistic standards. The time frame Miller uses makes the scenario much more plausible, and I think that part of that foresight is due to Miller’s scientific background.
Miller heavily explains the scientific concepts behind the technological and biological advances made by the humans. Some readers may be put off by such detail, but I found Miller’s writing helped me understand the “science” of this “science fiction” without too many holdups. In fact, I loved that the author took the time to think these aspects through and trusted that the reader can follow along. I hate when books underestimate the reader’s ability to understand harder concepts.
That being said, the explanations did lend to the excess in exposition, particularly in scientists’ dialogue. It didn’t bother me for the most part but, at points, the over-exposition bogs down the narrative.
My favorite character, by far, is Whatsit. Although an alien, Whatsit is no monster. He is nothing more than a frightened kid on the defensive when Blunt finds him; once his new “Master” takes command and he is exposed to more humans, Whatsit grows into a very strong, empathetic, and hilarious being capable of expressing a wide range of emotions. Whatsit, despite the tainting influence of his father, is very open-minded and brave, given his circumstances, and he becomes the constant the reader can latch onto for the entire story.
Admittedly, I had a stronger preference for the first half of the book, but I think I’m biased. I am fascinated by people who seem to wield unusual abilities, and so the search for “uniques” in the beginning is right up my alley. Miller also throws in a corrupt “church mafia,” as I will call it, which I found both entertaining and crucial as social commentary on mankind’s fear of the unknown. Still, the second half of the book kept my attention, and even piqued my interest during the alien invasion, in which I’m not typically all that interested.
This book is both forward-thinking and classic science fiction. Unfortunately, with the “classic science fiction” trait comes some pitfalls in the writing. Namely, Miller inevitably uses the over-done scene of landing in front of the White House, although he certainly makes up for the cliché of that scene with an unexpected twist that had me laughing out loud. As I mentioned before, there are characters who seem rather stereotypical and cliché. The military generals for the Chrysallaman military have no conscience and are just evil, soulless beings. While Whatsit more than makes up for the alien cliché, I still wished I could’ve had a little something I could relate to in these more “evil” aliens. Your Grace also comes across as a rather one-dimensional mafia-style church villain, but I think that may have been by design, both for social commentary and comedic effect.
Throughout the story there are grammatical errors, mostly in the areas of improper punctuation, a lack of punctuation, and extra/missing quotation marks. Regardless, they did not detract from my reading experience.
I could go on and on about this book, particularly how it could have been a series within itself and the potent parallels between the alien invasion and European colonization of the “New” World. However, I will leave my review at this: Miller’s The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. held my attention from start until end. I became emotionally-invested in the characters and their relationships, and I wanted to know what happened once the Chrysallamans arrived. This book has convinced me to pursue Miller’s writing further, and I am looking forward to getting my hands on the second book of The Origin of F.O.R.C.E. series.
Know of any books I should review? Want me to read and review your book on this blog? Drop a line the comments below, contact me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com, or check out my profile on Fiverr.
Happy Friday, movers and shakers! The weekend’s finally here. Today I’m going to propose a writing prompt specifically tailored for science fiction fans. In particular, I want to have people take a closer look at alien origins.
I’m not a big fan of stories detailing initial human/alien encounters. Still, I’ve found myself reading two such books recently, one which I will review on this blog much later today. These two books, while both focusing on initial encounters, take quite different approaches to aliens and their interactions with humans. One deals with a more enlightened Earth joining a league of other enlightened beings throughout the universe; the other involves reptilians from the Roswell UFO crash. Both of these books, nevertheless, have caught my attention. Why? Because, while mostly in line with classic science fiction, these stories have unique views of aliens which I haven’t often encountered.
I have a complicated relationship with the UFO and alien phenomenon. I don’t think that all UFOs are alien space craft. In fact, I’m not sure that even a small percentage is extraterrestrial in origin. I just think they’re unidentified flying objects, hence UFO. However, I do think we’re not the only inhabited planet in all the universe. I can’t imagine what the other beings might look like and I don’t know if we ever have or ever will make contact with them, but I think that they’re out there, beyond our reach.
I know more than I would like to admit about the pop culture trend. I watch shows on supposed alien encounters, sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes for a laugh. There seems to be, at least to me, three prominent species of alien people claim to encounter: grays, humanoids, and reptilians (all of which you’ll find on People of Earth).
This affirmation leads me to today’s writing prompt. You see, many pop culture stories focus on the alien invasion rather than the aliens and their home planet (with some exceptions, such as Avatar, although we’re the invading aliens in that one). The books I am currently reading try and address why certain aliens look and act the way they do. That, more than anything, fascinates me, and that’s what I want people to focus on during this exercise.
Here is the only known sketch of Kelly’s little green men based on actual eyewitness accounts. What sort of conditions would such beings come from?
Take a famous alien–Roswell grays, humanoids, reptilians, Kelly little green men–and jot down some physical characteristics reported about these species. Once you have these physical attributes, imagine the sort of planet these aliens must come from. Why did they adapt such traits as enormous eyes and gray skin? What do their civilizations look like? How do they communicate? Do they compete with other creatures on their home planet? All animals, humans included, look and act the way they do as a result of evolution; what conditions did these aliens have to work with in order to necessitate their evolution?
If you want to make this exercise a little more thorough, think about the aliens’ initial encounter with Earth. Why did they come here? How? What do they think of the planet and the beings that live on it?
With this information, write a short story or, if you want a bigger challenge, a field report about the aliens which incorporates some or all of the origin theories you listed in the first part of the prompt.
If nothing else, this prompt will help you develop world-building skills and character development. You’ll really get to know your alien buddies in this exercise, which you should do with all major characters in your stories. It might take a little time but it’ll enrich your stories in the end.
Did you come up with something particularly interesting? Encounter any unusual problems? Have an idea for a future writing prompt? Leave your thoughts on this prompt in the comments below.
I’m all for creative self-promotion in book sales, especially for first-time and small-print publications. Book signings, local meet-and-greets, even paying a blogger to read and review your book honestly (I cannot stress that qualifier enough; if the reviews aren’t honest, they’re just publicity fluff, which I deplore). However, one YA book far overstepped the line separating the gray area from the black. What did they do, exactly? They cheated their way onto the New York Times Bestseller list.
I’m sure you’ve all heard this story by now, but I’ll provide a recap for those who haven’t. For twenty-five weeks, Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give had dominated the YA category of the New York Times Bestseller list, and rightfully so. A drama filled with tension that hits close to home for the current U.S. political climate, the YA community has been all a-buzz over The Hate U Give. There’s even a movie in the works. No one stays on top forever, but it would be a pretty impressive feat to knock this titan down.
The book that took its spot, Handbook for Mortals by Lani Sarem, however, does not fit the bill.
Handbook for Mortals is published by the publishing branch of the website GeekNation. In fact, Kayleigh Donaldson of Pajiba pointed out that it’s the debut novel for GeekNation. Now, it’s not unheard of or unacceptable for a book from a small publishing company to make the New York Times Bestseller list. It’s a reason for readers and writers to rejoice; after all, some amazing books come from small-scale publication and yet are overshadowed by the mainstream conglomerates. Nevertheless, the sudden popularity of Handbook for Mortals is surprising, especially considering the buzz outside of GeekNation’s press releases (and, now, this scandal) is non-existent. Even the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads carry red-flags, such as duplicates and low-quality reviews.
Here’s the meaty part of the story: thanks to detective work conducted by YA writer and publisher Phil Stamper, we’ve learned that an incredibly in-depth and complicated “bulk buying” scam that seems to be partly be a publicity stunt for a movie being made out of the book (with the author of the book as the main character, BTW) may be responsible for this novel’s mighty leap.
I’m not going to lie, all of this gave me a headache, so I highly recommend reading Donaldson’s article; it’s thorough and well-researched. I had originally learned of this scam on Twitter but her coverage of it includes much more information, all of which is simultaneously infuriating and amusing.
So, why am I so perturbed by this scandal?
Clearly, these people tried to cheat a deserving writer out of a very high honor. No, it’s not technically illegal to buy your way onto the New York Times Bestseller list, but it is a cruddy and indecent thing to do.
I’d also like to point out that, in hindsight, the scam was quite obvious. I mean, you’ve already gone through this much time and effort, why not think it through a little bit more? Maybe, for example, not have your book skyrocket to #1 about a month after you’ve announced that you’ll start publishing books? Readers would rip that plot hole to shreds if a writer tried to use it in their book.
My other big issue with this book is the destruction of authorial integrity brought on by this stunt. Writing isn’t about the awards and recognition. Yes, it’s amazing to make the New York Times Bestseller list and it would make a writer’s day to be asked for an autograph. And yes, we often have to create works with “commercial appeal” in order to pay the bills, but those things aren’t the biggest reward of writing.
Writing and having others read our writing are the biggest, and most pleasing, rewards. We write to relieve the tension in our head, shut up the voices for a while, spread our thoughts and values to others, raise awareness of an issue, and even just to bring joy to other readers. When people pull stunts like this one, it degrades the genre and, often time, the entire writing/publishing industry.
I know what you’re thinking: I get paid to review books on my blog, so how is that different? The difference is that I write honest reviews. I’ve given three stars to books I’ve reviewed before and I’m not too shy to point out what I don’t like about the book. I put thought into my reviews and I always want to do good by my readers. My integrity comes before the money. Besides, honest reviews make for more curious readers than fluff.
Marketing and promotion, especially for first-timers and small publications, is a huge gray area. Some people approve of paid blog reviews, others don’t. Interviews and meet-and-greets generate attention for you and your work, but they take time away from our writing and can seem too commercial. Nevertheless, all writers have standards. Hiring bloggers who will review our books honestly is one; not neglecting our work or changing it to meet public expectations is another. And, of course, not buying our way onto the New York Times Bestseller list is near the top.
What do you think? When does creative self-promotion stop and cheating readers begin? Is it acceptable to buy your own books in bulk to pull yourself to the top? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
About a month ago, I wrote a post on a writing quote from Anne Rice. Rice’s quote encourages writers to go where the pain is, where the pleasure is, wherever your passion is when writing. I believe this to be sound advice. However, I’ve found it hard to follow. In particular, I have a hard time going where the pain is. Opening wounds does not come easily to me, and my struggles make me wonder: are some wounds not meant to be opened, even for fiction?
I’ve sincerely tried opening wounds for my writing. I know that there’s a rich vein of emotional material there, but something keeps blocking me. Whenever I attempt to immerse myself in these pains and sensitivities, I hit a brick wall. It feels as though something clamps down on my skull and an unbreakable window stands between my writing self and those emotions.
Don’t get me wrong, my negative emotions and experiences do often slip into my writing. It’s when I consciously write those emotions, when I try directly opening wounds, that I can’t access them.
Ray Bradbury once said that thinking is the death of creativity. Is that the case here? It certainly doesn’t help. When we overthink the pain we’re trying to access, we fear revisiting it. At least I do. Self-preservation dictates we avoid that which causes us pain. If memories and emotions cause pain, our minds and bodies will do all they can to avoid those wounds.
Does that mean we should avoid opening wounds? Are some scars too fresh or deep to touch, or should we push past the avoidance reflex for the sake of good writing? Do we just need to stop overthinking it?
My answer is a firm maybe.
Really, the memories and emotions we want to avoid make our writing rich and real. If we’re so deeply affected by them, our readers will be, too. Still, we have to take our mental well-being into account. If we have severe mental and/or physical reactions to opening wounds, those wounds may not be ready to pick at yet. Someday we might be ready but, at the moment, we’re not.
Sometimes writing can help us work through our emotions, like therapy. Sometimes we need to forget that other people might read the work to let the emotions seep through uncensored. Many times, we need to abandon the idea of directly accessing emotions and memories and let our subconscious write for us. We may not get what we originally set out to do, but we’ll at least have solid material to work with.
Emotions are the, to state the obvious, the heart of writing. Anything written without them turns out like crud. That’s why we can’t let ourselves shut out our personal selves while we’re writing. We may not react the same way as a character should or we may blather on in order to work through raw emotions, but those problems are best ironed out when rewriting. The initial writing phase is all about getting words onto paper; we need to let our id speak then and give our ego and super ego the stage later.
Do you have a hard time writing about painful emotions or personal pain? Have you found a way to push past that brick wall? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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