Elias Returns.

Another short going up soon.

     That is right, my third short starting Elias will be coming out on Kindle/Amazon.com soon.  I have a little more tweaking to do with it and I will be putting it up.  This was written as a quick break from the world of Grimmack which is also coming along nicely.  I just need to figure out a name for it...

     I have some goals I am trying to achieve in my third edit of Grimmack.  The first is tightening up the language and prose so it reads more smoothly and professionally.  I want to add a touch more world building and detail, two things I know I'm sparse at when writing.

      Life is busy.  I have been working on my Network+ certification and I’m a couple weeks away from taking the test.  Kids have started school again, and we have been stumbling over ourselves to make sure all the million and a half forms sent home by teachers to be signed are attended to.  My work schedule is also shifting, which means my school schedule is shifting.  Good times.

     My goals are still before me.  I am working on my outline for the story I want to write for NaNoWriMo this year.  When November 1^st hits, I want to be ready to meet it head on.  I am poking at agents and soon a couple of publishers on Grimmack’s behalf.  If I don’t have him published traditionally by mid-summer next year, I will instead look at doing self-publication through Amazon. 

     I still have “The Dragon’s Apprentice” to finish editing as well.  My daughter really liked that story and keeps pushing me to get it done.   It will also look at traditional publishing before I consider self-publishing.  I am more than aware of my own limitations, and I know time wise I’m not In a position to market myself if I do self-publication.

     Otherwise, I have no issue with self-publication.  As a matter of fact, with the way trends are turning and media is sliding towards the electronic devices that rule us, I think self-publication will give some traditional publishing a run for its money in the near future. 

     That being said I know a lot of people are hesitant to touch anything self-published and with good reason.  There are some really big steaming piles of crap out there.  But there are also diamonds hiding in the self-published field.  I can think of a couple of authors who self-published first.

     You know, Christopher Paolini and Larry Correia.  Both have written great books, and if I remember right, both were self-publishing before they were picked up by traditional.

     That is my update for now.   Working on writing, working on not just claiming to be an author, but to put myself in the headspace where I can consider myself an author which is probably just the difference between author and aspiring author; Confidence. 

Until next time,

Ben Marble

Star Trek: Beyond, and Update.

No matter what I say, I did enjoy this movie.

     First comes the update.  I finished my second edit of Grimmack and I'm very happy with where the book is right now.  Both passes so far have been looking at wording and adding a little more attention to detail.  I feel the story it good and compelling and Grimmack is probably the best protagonist I've written.  Still a few characters I would like to shine a little more, but I'm happy with where I am.  After this edit I have a couple places I plan on submitting the story.

     Now to the meat.  Like I said earlier, when I watch a move I'm going to be doing a review from now on, because I can.  I like movies, I like to share opinions, and at the bottom I will say how I would have done some things different from a writing perspective.  At that point, and I will warn again, there will be spoilers because I will be discussing what I would have done differently.  I will still try and keep the spoilers light, but they will live there.

     This movie takes place three years into the Enterprises mission.  The crew we know is there, and they are all, well, as expected.  I have no complaints about the acting in the movie, but I have no praise either.  Everyone played their part nicely, but nothing made me look at someone and say, "Oh, that is amazing!"  It's all good for the crew.

     The plot on the other hand, is a mess.  It suffers from the matrix of convenience the other Star Trek Movies have.  For example in the first reboot Captain Kirk gets thrown on a deserted planet, and it just happens to be the one old Spock is living on. There are coincidences like that throughout.  Three movies through and this crew has to be the luckiest folks alive.  Well, except for the red shirts.  The resolution is also shaky.  My brother who went with me voiced it as, they Independence Dayed the final fight between the Federation and the enemy fleet, swarm?  Well, lets say we both thought of Zerg when we saw how they operated, but unlike Zerg they had a convenient weakness.

     The Action is great.  This is where the movie really excels and to be honest, the characters and plot often feel like they are there just to frame cool fight scene X around.  In the action scenes they often use all the space around them.  There are tricks played with gravity and space, and there are moments where your brain shuts off and you enjoy the spectacle of everything.

     Over all I would give this movie a 6.5 to a 7.  It is a flawed movie, but it's enjoyable.  Just don't think too hard.  Really don't, every time I start to think it brings more questions than answers.  More about that below...

So, this is where you hop off the bus if you don't want SPOILERS.

I mean it, below the trailer here SPOILERS are free game.

     The first thing here, is simplify the plot line.  There is just too much that doesn't hold up if you take the time to think about it.  The biggest thing for me was the villain after his big reveal.  You can't tell me that you can spend an extended amount of time on a planet, have the intelligence to build a giant fleet of robots? (They never actually explain what his followers are, creature or robot) and you can't find a way to make it home?  Really?  The plot needs to be something that holds up to questioning.  How did the villain get the ability to make an army? And out of who or what?  It just is never explained.   

     The enemy fleet is beaten by an use of technology that left me scratching my head.  Not so much that what they did worked, but the fact the ships just started blowing up.  They weren't hitting each other.  They didn't just stop and drift, they blew up.  It was an awesome effect but it made no sense.  I would have rather they managed to McGyver an EMP that send out a big enough wave that shut the enemy down.

    I would kill the convenience.  It makes things feel to easy at time for the characters.  This thing needs to reach terminal velocity, well it happens to be on the planets tallest cliff.  The villain conveniently forgot this thing was here? Well, lets be happy about that and don't question.  (By the way, if you are an engineer and you develop a ship that needs to hit terminal velocity to activate your impulse drive, WTF? Why would you ever, ever, ever create a feature like that?  If you are an engineer and can answer this, feel free!)  The story is more interesting if it doesn't depend on convenience.  

    Needless to say, I think this movie would have benefited the script being looked over by someone who deals in physics and/or futuristic technology.  It would have helped.  A lot.

    That is my opinions up front about this, what would you change if you could edit this script?  Even better, what would you keep the same and why?  Thank you for taking the time to read, and feel free to share your opinions.

Ben Marble

If you want to support me and my writing endeavors feel free to pick up one of my short stories at Amazone.com/Kindle 

My Suicide Squad Review

So I had a little thought.

    I love to go to the movies.  I am one of those nerds who love the dark theater, big screen and excited crowds.  It is actually probably the only time I ever like large amounts of people.  But a group of folks enjoying a movie, laughing along and hopping up and down in anticipation of different events is a fantastic thing.  Film itself is such a big medium for expression that we all have a favorite movie, or moments on T.V. we remember.  Even those who don’t watch T.V. or movies now, tend to have the memory of other shows and things that shaped their childhood while they watched them.

    Because of this, when I go to the movies now I am going to do a movie review.  I am not a film critic, and my opinion will probably count for very little.  However, as this is a writing blog, part of the review is going to be what I think I would have done, or that could have been done better or differently.  Once again I would like to express that this is all a matter of opinion.  I could be dead wrong, and if you think I am that is O.K.  It would be a rather boring world if we all had the same opinions and expectations.

     So, as per the title, let’s dig into Suicide Squad. 

     First of all, I think this is a great popcorn movie.  There is plenty of action, the visual effects are great and there is a good sense of adventure in this movie.  There were many moments when I found myself grinning like a fool and enjoying the insanity of it.  As a movie this is a great turn your brain off and enjoy the ride flick. 

     There were some compelling characters.  Deadshot is wonderfully played by Will Smith and is arguably the most central character in this movie.  Harley Quinn is wonderfully brought to life by Margot Robbie.  Rick Flag played by Joel Kinnaman is a great straight man for the craziness to be happening around.  Amanda Waller played by Viola Davis is very dark and I would say is probably the biggest villain in the film.  After that, everyone is pretty much pared down to a side character, and even though they have moments that pique the interest, they are pretty much interchangeable.

     I will voice a controversial opinion.  I did enjoy the Joker, played by Jared Leto.  I think it was a great idea to do a version of the Joker that was very different from Heath Ledger’s Iconic performance.  The manic gangster we got I thought was fun, and great.  While he is far from being my favorite Joker, I enjoyed his performance and I love the thought of him being in a Batman film against Ben Affleck.

      So, here are the issues.  This film suffers from character bloat.  There are way too many faces for the screen time so a lot of the bad A characters we were promised are little more than glorified extras.  This also means some of the characters that do get screen time, like the Enchantress, are not developed enough for use to really care.  I wanted to care about Dr. June Moon’s side of the character, but you just aren’t given the chance to.

     The story line as well is a lot more complicated than it needs to be.  Because of this, it is hard to judge the characters as actual bad guys when they are constantly making the right choices.  This is something I will discuss a little below.  Needless to say though, in a team of villains there is not a lot of villainous activity.

    What do you expect though? It’s a PG-13 movie.  I don’t mean that as an insult, but if you expected to see the villains mowing down innocents and being horrible, this isn’t going to happen in this story line or with this rating.  I will call the prediction now though, in a little bit, Warner Brothers will announce the DVD/Blu-Ray will come out with an extended Rated R version like they did with Batman Vs. Superman.  If it is like the Batman Vs. Superman version, it won’t earn that R rating either, it will just be a marketing ploy.

    So, below is where I’m going to discuss what I would have done differently and why.  As a writer I think this is a good exercise.  Do it even with movies you think are great and wonderful.  It helps you debate possibilities and their consequences.

     The first thing I would fix, would be to cut unnecessary characters.  Slipnot, Killer Croc, Katana, would all be gone.  I could put Captain Boomerang on this list as well, but I would actually use him to illustrate the purpose Slipnot did. (If you have seen this you know what I’m talking about) I would just make that moment happen later so you could get some of the fun banter Captain Boomerang brought.   Or I could take that moment out of the movie entirely fitting with the change I would make to the plot….

      That plot change would be, instead of keeping these characters in the dark, I would let them know from moment one what they are up against when they start the mission.  If the villains knew, hey we go risk our lives now, or die in a few days anyway, you don’t really need the slipknot moment.  It also would make sense why they aren’t acting like complete villains.  You don’t need the subplot of them going to in save person X, or you can still have that as part of the story, and have it as checkpoint one. 

      Assuming you cut the characters and simplify the plot line then guess what, we can now make Diablo, Enchantress, and the rest of the characters more compelling.  That time you are wasting can be put to good use.  Then the movie will be more engaging when that work and time is put into these characters so you can care about them.  All of them.  Not just Deadshot and Harley. Yes, the DC universe gets to introduce less characters, but wouldn’t we rather those characters were introduced as full interesting characters then glorified extras?  I know I would.

     The big question is, how would you change this film, or would you?  What other films would you like to think about changing?  Pick something you love, that is almost perfect, this makes the question a bigger challenge.

Ben Marble

Critics and Opinions

I'm raising an eye over Suicide Squad reviews.

     First off, I'm halfway through my second of my edits through Grimmack the Goblin.  I will have this run finished by next week, and then I plan on my third run through being a lot more comprehensive and game changing.  Right now I'm happy with the state of the story.  I am looking forward to strengthening my world building and making the third run through my final one for a bit.

     Big thank you to my alpha readers on this.  They have helped immensely.

     If you haven't heard by now the critics are panning Suicide Squad.  This hurts my heart a little as I have been looking forward to watching this moving for months.  And guess what, I'm still going to see it.  Why?  Because critics aren't my end all be all with media.

     I'm that guy.  You know the one who still enjoys watching Ben Affleck's Daredevil every now and then.  That likes (not loves) Superman versus Batman and while admitting there are several issues in that movie can still sit down and enjoy it.  I liked Man of Steel.  I like the Blade movies, and even the campy Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin because I can see them for what they are.  Moments to turn of your brain and enjoy some action.  I loved the Warcraft movie despite the critics ripping it down.  It is a good movie, and I will stand by that.

    If you hate these shows, your point of view is just as valid.  I'm not going to judge you for not liking some of the weird shows I enjoy.  You are welcome to enjoy what you want, even if I don't as well.  If you like Rap and Nickelback, (ok, I like a little Nickelback) we can be friends.  If you vote Democrat, Republican, or flying spaghetti monster may his sauce be upon you, I am cool with that.  I'm going to bring my point back to critics however.

     Critics have the job to let you know if a movie is good or not.  Or a book,  or any other type of media.  They take their expertise (I'm not sure if there is a movie critic school, degree etc... but wouldn't be surprised if there was.) and give the judgement to the movie on whether EVERYBODY would enjoy a show.  Not just the fans, not just the non-fans, everybody.

      I can walk into Suicide Squad and I'm pretty certain that as long as the movie accomplishes some good action, Harley Quinn and Deadshot fun, and somewhat of a storyline I will be happy.  If it blows my expectations away I'll be ecstatic.  I have no illusions that what i'm going to watch is going to be deeply intellectual or Shakespearean.  It is a pop-corn fueled action flick.

     I look at movies that are supposed critical failures and a lot of times I see the critics points.  Avengers one was great because it was the culmination of years of work from Marvel.  Avengers 2 wasn't likely to reach that high point, but when they made it a move that not only had to be a great flick, but shoved things in there to set up the rest of the MCU that baggage dragged it down.  I look at Captain America: Civil War, and that one was great.  Why? Because it was again the Culmination of several things including Avengers 2 and wasn't bagged down by having to set up a lot of new stuff coming in the Marvel Universe.  I still love both Avengers movies, but I have to admit the second one wasn't as good.  So the critics were right to bag on it a little more.

     However, with Batman Vs. Superman, the critics were right.  If I took my daughter who hates super hero movies to it, she would have hated it.  If I grabbed Joe Shmoe off the street who didn't have an opinion, he might have looked at the ending and been, "ummm Martha?"  Or he might have turned his brain off and enjoyed the action.  The critics are supposed to judge which re-action Joe Shmoe is more likely to have.

     With writing I hear again and again authors warned not to read the reviews on their work.  There are some hateful folks out there and they are happy to let you know if they think you suck.  There are also literary critics who once again are judging based on "If anyone picked up this book," not "If a fantasy nerd picked up this book."  It makes the critics opinions pretty much invalid for a large group of people who fit in the fantasy nerd circle.

    Anyway, I've rambled.  In short, Enjoy things because you enjoy them.  Don't let people be they critics or friends make judgments for you.  If you want to see Suicide Squad vs Batman Vs Ghostbusters, go see it.  If you enjoy it, smile and enjoy it.  If you hate it, well you won't know until you see it.

    Just don't let people decide what you like for you.

Ben Marble

     As always, if you want to support this crazy habit of writing you can purchase any of my short stories on Kindle or Amazon.com.  A Fey Deal, The Choice, and The Black Oak.