The Cart Ahead of the Horse

We can all agree that it is much easier to pull a cart than to push it. In the case of writing it may be a mark of true mastery. What compels an audience to remain interested in a story where the murderer is revealed in the opening scene? What could be so important that someone would continue a story where a vital answer is already known? Some people won't even watch a movie if they know the ending. Yet, a story written properly with the cart ahead of the horse can be a master piece? ~ Fair warning this blog will have in depth info about the X-Files episode that is used for study.

Let me take a moment to step aside and explain why I do most of my blogs with a parallel comparison to the X-Files, 109 award nominations in nine years. It can't be a bad field of interest. With that said let's take a look into placing the cart ahead of the horse with season three, episode twenty four, season finale, "Talitha Cumi." The reference is from the Bible, Mark 5:41 "Little girl, I say unto you, arise."

In the opening scene we see a man that is mad at the world, sitting in a fast food restaurant, and spouting off his anger to those around him. He stands and the camera spins with him to reveal a gun, "Nobody move..." Another man walks up to him and says that no one is going to get hurt today. An employee calls the cops, the cops show up (Quite quickly) AND shots ring out with several people in the building being hit, including the gunman. The older gentleman that had said that no one was going to get hurt today places his hand on the wound of the gunman and the blood dissipates as he is healed.

It sounds more like a closing scene, than an opening. With that said let's take a look at what is happening, the mechanics of the story thus far in just the opening scene. Second, how do you expand on the story at this point, keeping in mind the drama that has just unfolded is not enough to maintain audience for the remaining hour (45 minutes) or a novel? Third, what loose ends need to be answered and which ones just fade away. (More Smoke and Mirrors) You need to decide what the audience will deem as important.

So, first off, we have a shooter, the healer, about twenty eye witnesses (Three or four of which were hit by the gun shots), an emergency crew showing up to a shooting with no wounded, and the police that shot the gunman that is no longer wounded. Roughly twenty five loose ends. We now have, the drama/news worthy info for gossips, in the first five minutes. We also get what every crime scene has, one character that always asks the same question (NOTE, even though we just watched it, or read what happened) the age ol' question, "What happened here? This compounds the drama and is very important because now we have the testimonials of those involved and allows the audience to connect with the characters seeing them as individuals. If this was skipped we would loose the opportunity to have this connection. We have the heightened drama from the gunman that thought he was going to die, the testimonials of the people that had been wounded, we have the emergency crew that showed up for blood to find none, AND we have a police officer that had the healer vanish into thin air before his very eyes. So to close this and point made; we have the info for a gossip, we have the gunman that is no longer wounded, and a healer that vanished. Leading the viewer to wonder what happened to the healer and not focus on the gunman in custody. The gunman and the shooting is the...

... McGuffin (aka: MacGuffin or maguffin) is a term for a PlotEnablingDevice, i.e., a device or plot element in a movie/story that is deliberately placed to catch the viewer's attention and/or drive the logic of the plot, but which actually serves no further purpose - it won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, it ...

1. 

   McGuffin

   c2.com/cgi/wiki?McGuffin

Second, the drama has to continue to unfold. In this episode Mulder's mom has an unscheduled meeting with Cigarette Man at her summer cottage, Mrs. Mulder is put in the hospital with a stroke, Mulder finds a switchblade ice pick weapon of unknown use, Mulder gets in a fist fight in a dark parking garage, Mulder runs from a fight with a thug that can not be killed with mere bullets, Mulder fails to get the healer to heal his mom... The drama has to compound. There are no one trick pony's in writing. Keep the drama building, between the characters, new found things, questions that lead to more questions than answers... More drama for the gossip to talk about.

Third, how to lead the audiences interest. In the opening scene we have a lot going on with the shooter, the healer, and witnesses. To lead our audience's interest we have the shooter giving his accounts only to what happened to him in the restaurant and not on the events that made him do it. We have no retrospective of the events leading up to the shooting. The shooter talks only about the healer that saved his life and how he must be a man of God. This reiterating of the healer and what he did, over and over by all the witnesses, make the audience focus on him and not any of the other loose ends that have been made. The audience never asks what happened to the little girl at school the next day, because none of the characters ever allude to anything but the healer. Another thing that keeps our focus, the audience doesn't see the healer when he vanishes. we are only given an account by the police officer. This allows us to connect with his confusion. The incident continues to be referred to by Mulder, cementing the focus and shadowing the shooter.

Hope this helps in your writing. Sleep with one eye open and have a "HORRIFIC" day. B)

Smoke and Mirrors

It's the age old mechanics of any magician's trick, smoke and mirrors. Yet everything our eyes see tells us that what just happened was magic, unexplainable. We want to believe that something just happened that goes beyond the more likely, because our eyes saw it, it must have happened. The woman was sawed in half and put back together, the elephant appeared out of thin air, and yes that is my card. The audience is glued to the magician's every word and movement.

This goes beyond parlor tricks. The same hold true in good writing. You give an easy explanation that the audience can except without giving time to think of what actually is happening. Show them what is in the right hand before they think about what is in both hands. To do this have a character that is trustworthy, a professional in their field, to direct the reader and what they should watch for. In The X-Files season three episode twenty two, you have the opening scene of the two biologist arguing over the disappearance of the frog population. They are both trustworthy characters, but one saying that there isn't a problem. I want to focus on that point, that, "There isn't a problem." in the opinion of a professional. Yet his colleague presses the point, that, "There is something strange going on." Once it is made crystal clear to the viewer/reader that something needs to be done, AND the skeptic saying their is nothing going on, you now have drama, I.E., something to gossip about. Two highly regarded professionals in their field saying the exact opposite. The reader will gravitate toward the idea that something is wrong, it's in our nature. The more you tell the reader there is nothing wrong, the more they will focus on their own fears of what can happen, "How bad can it be?" "What's out there?" After you have spent enough time setting this thought in the viewer/reader's mind, in come Scully and Mulder. At this point you are addressing the same questions, "How bad can it be?" "What is out there?" and "There is nothing out there." There is no problem unless you make it a problem." "Why are we going here Mulder?" "There is no reason for this Mulder." The more Scully says there is no reason for us being here, the more the reader/viewer convinces themselves that there is something out there. It always took a while for Mulder to let Scully stew for a while before letting her in on his thoughts, giving her time to be angry, skeptical, negative... Be sure and let your reader stew over what the problem could be. I would like to stress the point of how every X-Files had the same mechanics, and how important it is. So far we have the issue with the frogs, we'll call this Drama A yes and no. We don't have any answers to either, so we will go as far to call it Drama A1 and Drama A2. We also have Scully and Mulder making it Drama A2 vs Drama B1 since Scully always sides with there is nothing going on and Mulder always has something in mind that doesn't coincide with anyone. You then have the fourth mirror distorting the truth with the hoax, you have this local tourist trap merchant that promotes a fake explanation to what Mulder has going on, Drama B2. This hoax is shown immediately after Mulder states his opinion and the viewer has time to get on board, because everyone knows to side with Mulder in these matters. So what we have so far is D-A1, D-A2, D-A2, D-B1, and D-B2 ~ Follow? Now, the rest of the story is eye candy. You have five loose ends, with two that agreeing that there is nothing. leaving you the writer to focus on where you are going to take your characters. Now that the mechanics of the story is laid out in what I call an outline format, it all seems a little easier to build off of, to me anyway. Hopefully you can take from this and make something of it in your writing.

The Dirt on Gossip

Gossip, it's a contagious disease that quickly spreads in the work place and other social circles. It's demoralizing, resentful, hateful... while hiding in plain view. It plays off peoples inadequacies and their sense of self preservation within the circles involved. Adding to their own feeling's of self worth and pride. And we are all guilty of it.

One way to make yourself a target of gossip is to, "Tell everyone your personal life." Eventually it will land in the hands of your gossiper. That person that comes up to you at the new job and puts you on the spot in front of their friends to tell them about yourself...

One type of gossip is, (The Collector,) "Man, you ever want to watch that movie. It's on Webflix. I can set you up for a full month of free movies." "You ever need help tuning your car, let me know. I can do it all." They know everything about everything, or they can make it up. Watch this in your own circles. The one person that knows everything, is the first one to place a dagger in your back because it adds to their collection of, "I know everything - about everything. And I need something new to entertain my other friends with."

Another type of gossip, (Hitting the Fan.) A little bit of bad news and it's hitting the fan. People will take that morsel of bad news and immediately fill in the blanks. "The schedules are going to be changing next week." AND it hits the fan. Everyone fills in the blanks of who, what, when, where, and why... Then you have all these stories going for miles.

Then there is the, (Let Me Make it Better.) "What did that SOB do this time?" "Spill your guts and get it off your chest, 'cause I am here to make it all better, for me." "Tell me the dirt on your latest and greatest tragedy."

I say all this to make this point. Delve into your characters personal life and put it out there on display. Have a character that is, "The Collector." The collector is your narrator character. Give the reader a morsel of bad news and, "Let it Hit the Fan." Take the time to, "Let Me Make it Better." Feed the reader... We have all been caught up in gossip, unbeknownst or otherwise, and from a writer to reader aspect we must give them the dirt. By doing so it gives a perspective of what can be edited out, and what needs to stay or even expanded on.

This all came up because, long story short, I happened upon an ol' bookmarked web page of Guy De Maupassant's "The Terror." and I was hooked. I dare you to only read one line of it.

Contracted, the Movie and Three More Thing Not to Do.

As always this is from the viewpoint of writing and not a movie critique per say. This is more to ask the question of what when wrong and what can be learned from this? Fine line, I know.

So with that said I just finished forcing my way through, "Contracted." I had truly hoped it was better than what the reviews had reported. The first forty five minutes came across more like a soap opera than a horror story, it had character development, but I wish it had a faster tempo. I honestly had to force my way past this and continued watching it later in the day. Also, the reverse of that, once the story took off and got interesting, character development went out the window and it was eye candy for the most part.

It starts off stating that this is, "Day One," but gives no indication how long the timeline is. When you get to the all important forty five minute mark you start to wonder if there are thirty days of this or ninety days... It should have given the ticking time bomb count down from the get go. It isn't until day three that we learn that there are only three days to the story.

Second, is this mystery character, B.J. that was at the party, he slips something into our main characters drink and rapes her, and is now part of a police investigation, but this is only spoken from one character to another, there is no visual contact for the viewer to make with the investigation and there is no indication of why he is wanted. Not only that but it is systematically brought up throughout the movie as if important, the viewers interest is peaked in this guy, but nothing is said or done about answering the viewers questions ~ unlike Psycho when you gain more interest in the characters and the money is not only lost, but forgotten by the viewer, it isn't continually brought up.

Third, the story ends for no reason. Don't ever end a story so open ended that there is no reason for the story to end. Kill off the main character, solve the mystery to what caused the events to take place, find this B.J. and get some resolution from him, but don't ever end a story fading to black with a scream and nothing answered! That's more annoying than watching a murder mystery and the power goes out as they say, "...and the murder is..." It's like watching a soap opera.

That's my nickle worth of free advise on that.


Toklotox Forluna Tansikna Wun Yoleeblah Morlee & Morlee Itox Ithno Yoleeblah Inx Youloth Crunum Wonnay. With that said, "Sleep with one eye open and have a 'Horrific' day." B)

Coprophages

A look into The X-Files season 3, episode 12, "War of the Coprophages."

This episode has so many things going for it. I truly enjoyed watching this one on many levels and in the end there are no answers found; it's just great story telling. I want to parallel this blog with Alfred Hitchcock's, "The Birds," and why I personally did not like, "The Birds" for for the same reason of no answers in the end.

First let me mention why I did not like, "The Birds" out of the way and I will focus more on the reason I do like this X-Files episode even though both end without everything being answered. In the movie "The Birds," you get no answers at all, there is no character development, no ideas to why the birds are attacking or why they stop, why the characters are there. It plays more like a music video with eye candy. I never was scared for the characters because I had no attachment to them. They simply went through this small ocean front town and left. In the end I did not like it because it didn't focus on the birds and why they were attacking and it did not focus on why the characters were doing what they did.

The basis of the X-Files story has Mulder disappearing to a small town to clear his head and getting pulled into local reports of killer cockroaches. (Which is a borrowed situation from Hichcock of the unsuspecting hero in the wrong place at the wrong time.) The fear of cockroaches is a very common phobia since roaches live on every continent ~ Katsaridaphobia. In the opening scenes an exterminator gives his rant on bugs and history there of and is quickly consumed by roaches (Note the character that hires the exterminator he reoccurs and I missed that fact the first time I watched this.) From the very beginning you are hooked into finding out what is going on, yet this is not a story of the bugs, this is a story of how people react to bugs. The roaches are in fact the, "McGuffin," a mere means for the characters to be brought together so that the story can focus on developing the characters. You can take this formula and plug anything into the slot that grabs the viewer or readers attention. (In Psycho you have the stolen money that gets lost in the story because it isn't about a money theft ~ Psycho is about the characters. The Birds isn't about the characters, and oddly enough, it isn't about the birds ~ See where I'm going?) Other examples are Hellraiser being about the characters and not the box. In Poltergeist it isn't about the poltergeist, it's about the characters. In the original Aliens, it rarely shows the alien because it's about the characters. Plug whatever you want in the McGuffin slot, and write about the characters, tell of their reaction to it. Like I said at the top of the blog I enjoyed this episode on many levels, and this being the center of why. This episode as well as all The X-Files can be found on Netflix.

Toklotox Forluna Tansikna Wun Yoleeblah Morlee & Morlee Itox Ithno Yoleeblah Inx Youloth Crunum Wonnay. With that said, "Sleep with one eye open and have a 'Horrific' day." B)
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The Ever Important Reason for Tension

This would be another case of what not to do, and a clear example showing how a story can fall stale. In the past couple months I have been revisiting The X-Files in order that they were aired, something I have never had the liberty of doing. I ran across one episode that truly stood out as lacking, and I watched it yet again to see if I missed something or if the story was truly missing something.

In season 3 episode 3, D.P.O., the first time I watched it I felt like there was something missing. I watched it a second time and determined this to be true and not my oversight. There is no tension in the writing. There is no pressure from the powers that be from the government side of the story, there is no doubt to who is causing the deaths, and most of all-there is no ticking time bomb. If the Teacher was robbing the cradle and that made up the kids in the area that were dying then you would have a reason for the other deaths, and a time line to save the other students, but there is none of that, more tension would be contributed if D.P.O. was not part of that attention still. In most of the X-Files the viewer watches as the fifth death in forty years is about to happen, and if Mulder and Scully don’t get the killer by the time the fifth person dies they won’t be able to find him in another forty years. There is no mention of having to get to him before time runs out. There is little to no threat to Mulder and Scully. There is a local Sheriff that is skeptical and throws a wrench in the machine from time to time, but even then you don’t get the feeling that he is going to stop the case from being solved. It’s a murder mystery where you know who the killer is in the opening scene with no plot twists, no pressure, no problem. You simply watch as the “Predestined,” events unfold. To me this is a prime example in what not to do, and how important it is in writing to create tension.

Toklotox Forluna Tansikna Wun Yoleeblah Morlee & Morlee Itox Ithno Yoleeblah Inx Youloth Crunum Wonnay. With that said, "Sleep with one eye open and have a 'Horrific' day." B)

I Know 1,000 Things Not to Do

Thomas Edison after 1,000 failing attempts at making a light bulb was asked, "Have you learned anything?" He responded, "I know 1,000 things not to do."

Today's blog is in that frame of mind, what not to do ~ when writing! So many times we want to learn what to do, but often we can do much more in what we don't do, learning from other peoples mistakes if you will. Also having a name to go with what you are doing puts a much clearer light on the matter. So with that said here are five things to stay clear of, and inspiration for avoiding them.

Also note the links (book and movie titles...) within the blog for more detailed information.

Numaro five, Dry Dialog. Sometimes in writing it's easy to fall into writing as you would speak rather than writing for your characters and everything starts sounding like the same monotone drone. Make sure that each character has it's own voice. Take a moment from a favorite book or movie, and study and or write the dialog of a character. Many times it helps to see what is being said in order to emulate it. Do some characters speak in long winded~nervous sentences~like the maniacal madness of Edgar Allan Poe's narrators? Does the character speak in slang or metaphors? Is the character somewhat self indulgent? AND ~ What does the circumstance call for? I always liked in Star Wars when Princess Leia told Hans Solo (self indulgent, self centered~Solo) "I love you." and the impromptu line, "I know." This dialog came about when they had shot the scene multiple times and everyone was dissatisfied with the out of character dialog of Han Solo saying, "I love you too." Over and over they shot the scene and hated it, felling something was wrong with it. Then out of frustration they were told to basically do whatever they wanted. The line was so repetitive, redundant and rehearsed that on hearing Carrie Fisher say, "I love you." that Harrison Ford said the now famous line, "I know." Being perfect for what the character Han Solo would say.

Numaro four, A Rotten Fish. I will say this almost tongue in cheek, but breath life into Your World. Write and rewrite and then re-rewrite if need be. Make sure that what you're writing has a hook to draw the reader in. Create a world that is heart pounding, captivating, and alluring. A world that has sustenance, and edifies the imagination by stirring the senses, "By Intention, Mention the Senses." Use all five senses to bring life to the world your characters live in. What do they hear, what do they feel~is it cold/hot... what do they see, and so on. Another way of breathing life into your world is to put some non-fiction - in your fiction; a little bit of Barnum's humbug if you will. Take something that the reader already has a full understanding and fear of and add a pinch of newt's eye. I say all this to inspire, simply said, inspire your reader. I don't know how many times I have gone into a second hand store and picked up a book of fiction, read the first few sentences; to judge a book not on it's cover, but it's opening lines, and was left with the feeling of a cold fish hand shake. You know that person that shakes your hand with a cold and slimy limp hand feeling more like a rotten fish than a friendly greeting? The world you write of is as much a character as those with any other part in your story, don't let it go unknown. I have ALWAYS been a huge fan-atic of Ray Bradbury's work and his ability to draw you in from the moment you open the book. I will leave this here for your enjoyment, Fahrenheit 451, Something Wicked This Way Comes~click the link and for the Amazon page you have to click on the cover pic to open it, "Look Inside"...

Number three, Gum Drops. Life for the characters are care free, worry free, and everything is handed to them on a silver platter, the story sucks rotten eggs with the pungent smell of ammonia, setting off a gag reflex that makes you want to vomit ~The End.  Alfred Hitchcock said, "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible," He also said, " There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." There is no better time to start than right from the get go when it comes to alluding, and baiting your reader. It's nothing to be feared as a writer. I know of several stories where the protagonist and antagonist sit down in the same bar unbeknownst to the other, and I never get tired of it. You know something is about to hit the fan in a catastrophic way! From Dusk Til Dawn I like how George Clooney is so jealous in this scene and his outburst at the end, Desperado a cheesy piece of cinema but entertaining none the less, and last but not least is a true masterpiece of cinematic perfection, that never stops for a second with the tension between characters~ Tombstone.

Number two, Throwing Guns, In the 1950's tv series, The Adventure of Superman, I remember as a kid watching this daily~in reruns, I'm not that old!!! B) and even as a kid I picked up on the inconsistencies of the character Superman. He would be face to face with the bad guys and they would be shooting at him till they were out of bullets and in a desperate act of defiance they would throw their guns at Superman and every time he would make the effort to dodge the guns thrown at him.  I always found the idea of taking the brunt force of the bullets and dodging the guns so funny even as a kid. Make sure you stay true to your characters. Write up a character sheet like it was a role playing game so you can spin off situations and ideas that are accurate to the characters strengths, weaknesses, and motivations for who they are. For your viewing pleasure, The Adventures of Superman and Throwing Guns. Also, a very in depth look at making a Character Sheet.

And now, here it is, here it comes, NUMBER ONE!!! ~Always loved listening to The Doctor D. Mento Show. Anyhoo, at number one of the things not to do in your writing, Please Leave a Message and I Will Get Back to You Shortly. Don't leave the reader wanting to contact you with unanswered questions. Nothing in all the world is more annoying to a reader that devotes countless hours to read a story and have the answer to the all important question unanswered. This is not to say that all questions must be answered, and I will come back to that, but answers of character development, of who done it, of who ends up with the Maltese Falcon, of who wins the heart of the fair maiden... However, there are McGuffins, things that the reader doesn't really care about or for that matter need to know. They are simply a means to tell a story. For instance, the money in Psycho, (SPOILER ALERT) the Maltese Falcon~We have to know who ends up with it and why everyone no longer looks for it. That is what the story is about. However we don't need to know who started the rumor of the worthless lump of led being some priceless jeweled antiquity. We don't need to know if it is a door stop in Rick's Place. The story is in its finality when it is discovered once and for all that no one wants it. That all the killing and betrayal was for nothing other than the greed of man; chasing rainbows for an easy fortune and "Happiness" that ends up being anything but...

That's all I have to say about that. Take it to heart and may it inspire you. In the next blog I will be returning to The X-Files and one episode that I didn't particularly like, and an in depth look to why!

Toklotox Forluna Tansikna Wun Yoleeblah Morlee & Morlee Itox Ithno Yoleeblah Inx Youloth Crunum Wonnay. With that said, "Sleep with one eye open and have a 'Horrific' day." B)