Real-time Mind Control Zombie Zot

http://www.MindControlUSA.com ^ | 12/23/06 | BibleBabe1

[sionnsar]

Yup. I usually cut out a little of the inter-track gap, but on one noisy record I did chop a little of instrument fade-out. Headphones would be better for that.

[Irish_Thatcherite]

Ah, I can imagine!

Goodnight Sionn!! :)

[Irish_Thatcherite]

Goodnight Face!! :)

[NicknamedBob]

In my book, there were no Himalayas. More like the mountains of Appalachia.

[Monkey Face]

My book has Rockies. :o]

[NicknamedBob]

It actually didn't figure into the plot, but I envisioned a very mundane world, with large seas rather than oceans, some dry areas not as extreme as the Sahara, and polar areas of relatively thin ice caps.

Like many TV science fiction shows, the implication was that the whole planet was semi-tropical.

[Monkey Face]

I would think that a semi-tropical world is a possibility outside the realm of sci-fi. Your handling of the characters in that semi-tropical environment is quite appealing.

I like the idea of no "winter."

[NicknamedBob]

That world was not their original destination. I guess you could say "Fate" led them there.

Partly for that reason, they were essentially a "lost" colony. Some of them preferred it that way.

[Monkey Face]

A "lost" colony wouldn't necessarily have many prejudices, so inhabiting a semi-tropical world would allow them to carry on...

I'm curious as to how long the "plot" incubated before you actually sat down to write. ???

[NicknamedBob]

"I'm curious as to how long the "plot" incubated before you actually sat down to write???"

That's rather difficult to pin down, and if I can't do it, no one can.

Part of the problem is that "the plot" is a confluence of a few diversified plots I had been kicking around, as well as some evocative scenarios that had been occupying me.

Some of those things go way back. My first work was cathartic. I think I loosed a few demons.

It also changed as I molded its clay, transforming before my eyes into an entirely different thing. I liked the new thing better.

[Monkey Face]

I have several unfinished "books" lying around, and being dissatisfied with the way they are progressing was the major factor in them gathering dust.

It's nice to know that you were brave enough to forge ahead and change things as you went.

We all have demons to loose. Some of us just don't like to admit that the demons that are out are ours. :o])

[NicknamedBob]

Most folks find it easy to start. Like myself, they may have powerful, visual imaginations.

If they also have good descriptive abilities, then it is just a matter of learning a few basic things about grammar and punctuation, and you are well on your way.

And then, typically, one would run into a stumbling block: The realization that as powerful and evocative as the images are, and as fascinating and well-delineated as the characters are, there still has to be a story.

You have to tell a story. Just describing scenes, and filling page after page with dialog may be good finger exercise, but the reader is going to notice that nothing is really happening.

Some people call this a plot, and most writers have a concept of a plot before they begin writing. It is also possible though, to just put interesting people in an unusual circumstance, and then let them work it out.

For me, the plot became the character's realization of just how unusual their circumstances were, and their subsequent efforts to return to a semblance of normality.

[Monkey Face]

I had no trouble developing a plot. I think my problem came when I realized I actually had several plots, but I didn't want to clutter up the story with too many characters.

So my stories are in storage...

You worked out the plots quite well. But then, I guess that's what separates the men from the boys. Sorta.

[Monkey Face]

Bedtime for Bonza!

Later, all!

[NicknamedBob]

"... my problem came when I realized I actually had several plots ..."

It's important to ditinguish between plots, and plot elements. A character's motivations, misgivings, or machinations would be plot elements, either furthering, diffusing, or delaying the progress of the plot.

But you can also have sub-plots. This is rather difficult to orchestrate properly, but would be a fun thing to work at.

What worked best for me was considering that anything that didn't really belong in the story could be just shuffled along to the next story, book, or episode. It probably takes a little discipline to edit your own work for adhering to the main plot.

[Dead Corpse]

Continental drift? I was thinking more along the lines of volcanic upheaval. Japan is a lot like Hawaii that way.

[tuliptree76]

I was just clicking around on FR and saw the preferences link. And waddaya know - I could change the settings. :-)

[tuliptree76]

That depends on the frame in which you write it--If it's stricly from a historical perspective, not many. If it's a realistic look at how a governmental agency when unconstrained descends into uncontrollable totalitarianism and thuggery, probably a lot.

My writing tends to be more factual and dry. That's why I leave action and adventure to the experts.

[NicknamedBob]

"I was thinking more along the lines of volcanic upheaval. Japan is a lot like Hawaii that way."

Good point. Still, a hundred and twenty thousand years is a bit short on the volcanic scale as well.

What we really need is a map of Japan from a thousand centuries ago.

[Dead Corpse]

What we really need is a map of Japan from a thousand centuries ago.

Yeah, I'm not sure there was much in the way of accurate seismology or cartography going on then.