John Lee Hooker and Carlos Santana. I know this has nothing to do with literature, but I freaking LOVE this song. Oh, for any Tupac fans out there, yes, this is the song he sampled for his diss track, Lil Homies.
Some big changes (Fish)
Hey everyone. Fish (or Obi, or Harold–whatever) here with a new entry basically detailing the sweeping changes arriving in the coming weeks. For one, the layout is going to be changed to include more categories for our posts (and to be more aesthetically pleasing). You’ll be seeing more of our original fiction (poems, stories, etc) as well as reviews of books we like and hope you’ll like as well. Another big change is you’ll now know who wrote what when it’s posted. Such as this post here. Finally, as we continue to grow, we’ll be launching a Facebook page, a twitter account and we’ll be adding guest bloggers and more people to write for Ronin. We’ve got big plans for this blog and we’re glad you’re all going to be apart of it. Thank you for hanging in there with us.
Filed under Other Stuff
My Worst Date Ever - A Tragicomedy
A few years ago, I had a bad date. And not just any bad date; a ridiculously bad date. So, of course, I documented it. I suppose this is the lemonade I made from the giant lemon life handed me. Apologies for the dated material, but I think that while I hated it, you will enjoy my terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad date.
Hey everyone. Tonight I bring you the horrific tragicomedy from my good friend over at Cup of Whimsy. Here, Natasha speaks on a bad date that just seemed to get progressively worse and worse and well, worse. While it was a nightmare for her, it's comedic gold for us. Seriously, this makes an awesome story. So without further ado, here's My Worst Date EVER - A Tragicomedy. On a side note, Sri Lanka is next to Africa (I know it's not, but just read the story, you'll get what I mean).
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Writer’s Block Sucks (Obi)
I’d kill for an idea right about now. No. Really. I’d KILL for an idea. Who are you looking at?
We’ve all been through it at least once, twice, eleven million times in our writing careers. When it rears its ugly head and waves those grotesque tentacles at you in salutation, you know you’re doomed. Writer’s block is the bane of any writer’s existence and it sucks.
Or does it?
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I know writer’s block, at least for me, means I’m thinking too hard. I have a nasty habit of getting too wrapped up in my own head and not in the story. As a result, I often can’t think of anything because that annoying inner critic starts chiming in and the bells (my inner critic is a talking llama) are so incessant and loud, it drowns out any potential creativity.
How do I resolve such a predicament?
Well first, I bitch-slap that punk ass llama and then I stop thinking so much–more like at all. I literally turn off and tune out. Miraculously, the words come to me. It’s like leaving oneself open as a conduit for the creative juices to flow onto the page. Whether you’re a visual artist such as a painter or sculptor, a writer, a filmmaker, etc. you’ve been stuck in a rut, and more often than not, letting go and not trying so hard was your saving grace.
A member of my writer’s group also gave me some sage advice, “don’t try so hard.” It is important to put forth great effort, but other times, it’s important to know when to show some restraint. When writer’s block hits, I just turn off the ole brain and let the words flow.
Most of the time, I think of how in over my own head I am with what I’m writing, or that I don’t have a good handle on the plot, characters, setting. Perhaps what I’m writing is too ambitious? Maybe it’s better to write what I know and not try for such lofty goals that obviously are too grand in scale for my wee brain to comprehend. I know I’m not the only writer to think such things, destructive as they are, but they cross my mind more often than I’d care to admit. My scene and structure instructor, Caroline Leavitt once said that if, as a writer, you DON’T feel as though you’re in over your own head, out of your element, or even the slightest bit uncomfortable, you aren’t doing it right. This offers a great deal of solace.
OK, if you’re going to write a novel in 30 days, know now that it will suck until you’ve HEAVILY revised it. Just saying.
A great book that got me out of many a jam is No Plot No Problem, written by Chris Baty, creator of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month–though the word “National” is a bit of a misnomer since EVERYONE around the WORLD has participated at some point). It helped me plow through my first novel, currently in revision.
The point is to NEVER give up. Don’t let writer’s block stump you from achieving literary greatness. I’ve learned to get a hold of it and that bastard ass talking llama.
Later Ronin.
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And here we are
I’ve never been good at introducing a poem. So all I’ll say is that ever since I was a kid it’s been my way of releasing the demons and the sadness within. It heals my pain to try to create something beautiful through the fires of trauma.
Abrahim Appel
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And here we are
With all the pain and all the shattered dreams.
And here we are
With an empty night full of shame.
And here we are
As Memories crumple in the flames
And ashes of who we use to be float through the air.
We are lost and groping life
For one heart to love us back to health.
And here we are
Talking to stars
As scars and shadows dance across the sky.
Copyright © 2013 Abrahim Appel
Filed under Fiction
Los Angeles Festival of Books
Books, books and more books! Is it wrong that I’m suddenly turned on?
Who’s going? You know Ronin will be there in full attendance. We’ll have pictures and commentary of our trip once the festival is over. If you’re unable to attend, there will probably be videos of the festival on YouTube shortly after its end. Stay up, Ronin!
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The Virtues of Being Evil
Dudley Do Right. Prototypical Protagonist.
The word protagonist usually conjures images of a hero or heroine, who saves the day, kills the bad guy (or defeats him/her in some other fashion not involving death) or is just generally the moral opposite of the bad guy, the antagonist. However, the protagonist does not have to be morally pristine or inherently good. The protagonist can be evil while the antagonist can be good, for instance the protagonist could be a notorious cat burglar while the antagonist can be a rookie cop bent on catching him/her and making a name for himself in the process.
So just what is a protagonist? The protagonist is someone whom the reader or viewer identifies with. Therefore, the antagonist must be one whose very existence, at least as far as the story is concerned, is centered on stopping the protagonist from reaching his or her goal, whatever that may be.
A protagonist is only as strong as his/her antagonist. According to John Truby’s Anatomy of Story, the antagonist (Truby calls the antagonist the “opponent”) is someone who wants the same thing as the protagonist. This may seem, at first glance, to be counterintuitive but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
Snidely Whiplash. Curses, foiled again.
I already mentioned I’m an avid gamer in a previous post found here, so bare with me as I use a popular video game franchise to prove my point. Let’s take a look at Ubisoft’s successful franchise, Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed features two secret organizations both fighting one another for the same thing, peace. The Templars, based on the Knights Templar from the Crusades and the Assassins, loosely based on the Hashashin from, you guessed it, the Crusades are orders that want peace in all things. However the Templars want peace through subordination, control and submission and the Assassins want peace through free will and free thought. Both want the same thing, but both go about obtaining it differently, and the antagonist’s job is to undermine the protagonist at every turn.
The conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist must be the single most important relationship in a story. Think of Batman and the Joker. Both inherently want the same thing—for the world to feel their pain. Whereas Batman dishes out justice, the Joker dishes out anarchy and violence. Both are screwed up emotionally and carry a lot of baggage. One could argue they are opposite sides of the same coin. This is how a relationship with the protagonist and antagonist should be—not necessarily opposite sides of the same coin per se, but the opposition must be deeply ingrained for the tension between the two to have any meaning.
Lets revisit the earlier example of the cat burglar and the rookie cop. The cop wants to make a name for himself, while the cat burglar wants the same thing—they just want it differently. The rookie cop wants to catch a notorious cat burglar so he can make a name as a good cop. The notorious cat burglar wants one last score before retiring to the Cayman Islands; still he is regarded as the world’s greatest cat burglar and wants his reputation in tact. In order for the story to move forward with any type of compelling narrative, both the protagonist and antagonist must be against each other, the antagonist blocking the protagonist at every turn. It is only in that way, the protagonist becomes stronger. Conflict moves a story. Conflict!
A good way to create a compelling protagonist and antagonist is to psychologically analyze your characters. Know them, see what makes them tick; some writers interview their characters or give psychological profiles. These are excellent ways to really discover your characters and keep them in check when you feel they’re “getting away from you.” It helps if you give the protagonist a germ of “evil” and the antagonist a touch of “good.” Flawed protagonists are very popular because they are realistic. This is especially true if the protagonist is an anti-hero or a Byronic hero.
Well, kiddies I’ll end this entry on a sad note. My heart goes out to Boston. Keep your head up out there, guys. We’re right there with you. Love each other, people. Life is too short for bullshit.
RONIN STAND UP!!
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