Words for Nerds #AtoZChallenge--X is for eXtreme Writing (the ONLY way to write)

Improv says you have to “commit 100%.”

One of my rules of comedy is that you should, “take it as far as it will go. All the way up to the edge . . . and then push.”

And as I’ve told members of my critique group (please excuse the PG language), “Don’t do anything half-assed. It should be full-assed or nothing!”

I honestly mean that.  

What I’m talking about is extreme writing—and it’s the only way you should write.

I think if you look at any successful book, you’ll see the author didn’t hold back, didn’t do things by half. Whatever the author was doing, the author did it all the way. You might like it. You might hate it. But either way, you have to respect that whatever the writer’s vision was, that writer went for it.

Take Harry Potter as an example. That book isn’t just about a boy with magical powers who waves a wand and recites spells. There’s a whole magical world around him that’s rich with detail. Hogwarts has a history. Letters are delivered by owls. Food comes alive. Trees can attack you. Staircases move. Paintings talk. Ghosts roam the halls. J.K. Rowling didn’t do things by half. She took it all the way up to the edge and then pushed.

Or Gilbert Garfinkle from Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer,book one). I didn’t set out to write a series about just any geek; I set out to write a book the ultimate geek. Gilbert isn’t just a hacker; he’s the ultimate hacker. He’s not just a nerd fighter; he’s the ultimate nerd fighter. He’s not just a fan of Star Trek; he’s a fan of pretty much every form of geek or nerd culture. And I wasn’t going to give him a little problem. I gave him the ultimate teenage geek’s ultimate nightmare: getting stuck with a gorgeous vampire girl who wants to be his platonic BFF, literally forever!

Now that’s extreme writing.

You don’t have to write fantasy, science fiction or comedy for your writing to be extreme. You can commit 100% to writing a quiet book, too. Just don’t set out to make a quiet book with a few exciting scenes, or an exciting book with a few quiet scenes. Whatever choice you make, stick with it! Commit to it! Don’t waffle. Unless, of course, you’re all about waffling, in which case, I want to see you waffle like an IHOP! I want to see you waffle like no one has ever waffled before! I want you to be the King or Queen of Waffles!

Like many people, The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies. I love it because the hero, Andy Dufresne, isn’t just ordinary—he is extremely ordinary. He isn’t just boring—he is extremely boring. He’s an accountant, for goodness sakes! His hobbies include playing chess and reading. How boring (in the eyes of most people, not a book addict like me) can you get? His favorite music is opera. Opera! Andy is as ordinary as a piece of coal, but here’s the thing about coal: under a great deal of pressure, a piece of coal can turn into a diamond. And that for me is the beauty of this movie. Andy Dufresne succeeds—not despite being extremely ordinary and boring—but because of it.  

And that, I think, is a metaphor for extreme writing. Take something that could be boring and ordinary, put it under the pressure of making it extreme, and watch it shine. 

It honestly doesn’t matter what you’re writing about. As long as you make it extreme, your story will be more compelling for it. 

Writing Words for Nerds #AtoZChallenge--M is for Magic (Is it real?)

Picture a scene. Harry Potter is playing Quidditch with his friends as the sun begins to set. The young wizards zoom and loop through the sky, chasing the winged golden snitch that remains ever out of grasp.

As night falls, a figure appears in silhouette on the horizon, her long hair flowing in the wind. She’s holding a staff and wearing a long cloak. An extreme close-up reveals the cloak is made of colorful patches. The young woman, still in silhouette, runs her fingers through her hair and raises her hand. There’s a sound, like a woman talking, but the words spoken aren’t of this world.

The young woman glows, and we can see her for the first time. Her hair is dark, her skin pale, and her clothes are colorful.

The dramatic music rises as we once again see Harry trying to catch the snitch. The camera shifts to the snitch itself and follows it zooming straight toward something. The music rises and suddenly ends as the snitch flies into the young woman’s outstretched hand.

“The time for games is over,” she says.

The screen fades to black. Enchanting music starts. The words “This time the magic is real . . .” appear on the screen and then fade. The last screen shows the words “Toren the Teller’s Tale” as the music comes to an end.

Sometimes I think of parts of my books as scenes in a film. This is the trailer that I like to imagine for the film version of Toren the Teller’s Tale. Sure, it will probably never exist in real life. But anything can be real in my imagination.

Toren the Teller’s Tale is about real magic. It’s about the magic of stories: the magic that lets you see and hear and touch and taste and smell a story, the magic that transports you to different worlds that could only exist in your imagination, the magic that lets you experience what it’s like to be a boy wizard or a hobbit or a young girl who loves telling stories and is about to discover the magic they hold. Toren the Teller’s Tale is about a kind of magic you know is real. You’ve felt it every time you’ve found yourself swept away by a story.

Those who aren’t very familiar with fantasy and science fiction often think there’s a clear divide between the two genres. Fantasy involves wizards and magic spells and magical creatures, like dragons. Science fiction involves the future and space ships and alien planets and things that could scientifically exist one day.

But there’s more overlap than most people realize. Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern books, for example, have dragons, but they’re science fiction.  Most people would say that Star Wars is a science fiction series, but never say that to a science-fiction purist. Sure, it has aliens, androids and spaceships, but it also has a form of magic called “the force” as well as Jedis, who are basically wizards that live on other planets, have robot companions, and fly spaceships. Star Wars regularly breaks the rules of science, which is fine as long as you don’t call it science fiction.

There are some who have pointed out that the Many Worlds theory of quantum mechanics basically means that all fantasy is actually science fiction, which is true.

That’s a topic that comes up in a conversation between Gilbert Garfinkle and Dungeon Master Dave in Why My Love Life Sucks, the first book in the Gilbert the Fixer series. Gilbert, the young aspiring mad scientist, can’t accept that he’s been turned into a vampire. His life is supposed to be a science-fiction novel. How is it possible that it now contains an urban fantasy trope? In his mind, that’s not scientifically possible.  It makes no sense. Dungeon Master Dave points out that the Many Worlds theory says otherwise. Because if an infinite number of worlds exist, some of those worlds must have vampires, as well as Gilberts that don’t believe in their existence.

The first book in the series shows Gilbert mostly grappling with his strange, new, unscientific predicament. By the second book (Why It Still Mega Bites, which should be out later this year), he’s come to accept that “magic is just science we don’t yet understand.”

Of course, he wasn’t talking about Quidditch.

Character bios for Gilbert and Amber from Why My Love Life Sucks

I was asked to share the bios of the main characters from my latest novel, so here they are:

The main characters in Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one) are Gilbert Garfinkle--a.k.a. Gilbert the Fixer--and Amber. Gilbert is the ultimate, teenage geek; and Amber is the gorgeous, vampire girl who wants to turn him into her platonic BFF--literally forever. The story is written from Gilbert’s point of view.

GILBERT GARFINKLE

Age: 17

Goal: to fix the world

Weakness: anything illogical

Favorite things: electronics, lockpicks, fixing things, inventing things, rock-climbing, aikido,  comic books, fantasy & science fiction, The Princess Bride, Albert Einstein, Dungeons & Dragons, his father, his Uncle Ian, his friends

Gilbert loves everything geeky: from Star Trek and Dungeons & Dragons to rock-climbing and inventing electronics. He has a compulsive need to fix things that are broken or can be improved on, and he plans on someday fixing the world. He’s already invented a few things to help him achieve that goal, including his Lablet, which is a cross between a laboratory and a computer tablet. At one time he tried to upload his own conscience into the Lablet, but it turned into a closed-lipped, depressed, animated robot instead. He has no idea why this happened. He is currently inventing a form of artificial intelligence with a will of its own. His father was a very successful chemical engineer who died at the age of 83 when Gilbert was still a toddler. His mother is a self-absorbed gold digger who only married his father for his vast fortune and who loathes even being in the same room as Gilbert. Uncle Ian, his mother’s lawyer, is the only person that Gilbert considers living family, even though they aren’t related. His best friend, Dylan, calls him “Little Dude,” and Gilbert calls Dylan “Big Dude.” He’s had a secret crush on the absolutely brilliant Jenny Chen since they were both six, and he considers Dungeon Master Dave his own personal Yoda, the mentor he turns to for advice. His life isn't perfect, but as far as he’s concerned, it’s pretty good...and it was going to be amazing until the Amber ruined his well thought out plans. His brilliant mind, eidetic memory, sarcastic sense of humor, lockpicking, aikido and rock-climbing skills, various gadgets, and friends are just what he needs to help him solve any mystery and get him out of any jam.

AMBER

Age: claims to be 17, although she appears to be 15

Goal: to turn Gilbert into a vampire and her platonic BFF--literally forever

Weakness: low self-esteem (although she hides it well)

Favorite things: bacon, pizza, candy, her friends, boys, dancing, laughing and smiling, and above all being liked

Why My Love Life Sucks is written from Gilbert’s point of view, and the first time we meet Amber is on the first page. As Gilbert lies paralyzed by her vampire bite, he looks back at the events of the night, starting with what happened when he brought her to his room: “Amber laughed. It was a nice laugh. I felt so relaxed, because she’s so beautiful. They say there’s no point in worrying about the things you can't control, and I figured I didn't have a chance in hell with her. Guess I was right, but not in the way I thought.” Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous, seemingly sweet, funny and quick, asking Gilbert to kiss her, and the whole turning-him-into-a-vampire thing, she remains mostly a puzzle for the start of the book, a puzzle Gilbert feels compelled to figure out. And he does figure out some of it by the end of this book. But there’s a lot more to Amber than meets the eye, and it will take the rest of the series for readers and Gilbert--and in some ways Amber herself--to truly know who and what she is.

What actors would you cast for Why My Love Life Sucks?

Some people have fantasy football teams. Others like to imagine a dream cast for the movie or TV versions of their favorite novels. Someone asks me for my dream cast for Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one), so here it is: .

Jared Gilman as Gilbert Garfinkle

The star of Moonrise Kingdom has the geeky good looks, the right voice (he’s not from New York City, but South Orange is pretty close), and is almost the right age. I can picture him spouting Gilbert’s sarcastic lines, but is he capable of being super intense, like Gilbert? So far, all his roles seem to have had him acting chill. And at 14, I think he might already be too tall. But when I saw him again in a recent commercial for Verizon, I knew he has the look I want for Gilbert. He just needs his hair curled.

Dakota Fanning as Amber

I've long loved Dakota Fanning’s acting, particularly in Charlotte’s Web and Dreamer, although she might already be too old to play the 17-year-old who will forever look like she’s 15. Or maybe not? Of course, she'd have to change her hair color and put on some weight for the role of the voluptuous Amber. It would be nice to see her in a role that lets her smile a lot, because I've seen her on late-night talk shows, and she has a beautiful smile. And she does deserve a chance to play a vampire in a series that doesn't, you know, suck.  

Anneliese van der Pol as Delilah Jones

I don’t know what it is about her, but I have the feeling that Anneliese van der Pol from Vampires Sucks and That’s So Raven could play the beautiful, bullying queen bee who will use every trick in the book to get exactly what she wants. It’s a fun and crazy role, and I think she would have a great time with it.

Ryan Lee as Dylan Barry

Ryan Lee, from Super 8, has almost exactly the right look and mannerisms I wanted for Dylan, and he’s also the right age. The one problem is that Dylan--Gilbert’s best friend--is meant to be much, much taller than Gilbert, and Ryan Lee isn't exactly tall. Not a good match for the guy who calls Gilbert “Little Dude.” Aside from that, he would be the perfect choice.

Victor Garber as Ian MacIntyre

Gilbert’s Uncle Ian is a tall, suave, sophisticated, silver-haired lawyer with incredible charm, who has always been kind to Gilbert but not so kind to those who cross him. Unlike Gilbert and Amber, I’ve only ever pictured Uncle Ian as being played by one actor. Victor Garber is exactly how I picture him, and he’s a great actor who brings so much to any role he plays.

Yvonne Strahovski as Candy Garfinkle

I loved her as Sarah Walker, the gorgeous secret agent who falls for a super geek,  in the TV series Chuck, one of the most geeking awesome action-comedy shows ever! Candy Garfinkle is pretty much the opposite of Sarah Walker, but I still think that Strahovski has the talent--and beauty--to play Gilbert’s self-absorbed, gold-digging mother without making it campy.  

Nikki SooHoo as Jenny Chen

At 24, she’s much older than Jenny, but she has exactly the look I've always pictured for the love of Gilbert’s life. Nikki SooHoo has had many small roles on TV and in the movies, including playing the main character's best friend in heaven in The Lovely Bones. She also has a gymnastics background, which could come in useful considering that Gilbert and Jenny bond over rock-climbing, aikido, and ballroom dancing.

Seth Rogen as Dungeon Master Dave

The truth? I've always pictured Kevin Smith as Dungeon Master Dave, but Dave is supposed to be about 25, and Smith is too old to play him. Seth Rogen, though, would be a perfect second choice. Yes, he’s still a little older than Dave, but Rogen captures the geeky vibe of incredible humor, intelligence and calm that is Dave.

What Are You Geeky About?

Gilbert Garfinkle, the hero of my latest novel, Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one), is the ultimate geek. He has vintage Star Wars sheets on his bed, and posters of dragons, sci-fi movies, and Albert Einstein on the walls of his tiny room in the basement. He takes apart video game systems because he so desperately wants to see what he can do to improve them.

Character sketch of super geek Gilbert Garfinkle, the hero of Why My Love Life Sucks (The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer, book one) by Shevi Arnold

Some people see being a geek as a bad thing, but I don’t, and neither does Gilbert.

In one scene he explains to Amber--the gorgeous, mixed-up vampire who wants to turn him into her platonic BFF literally forever--what it means to be a geek: ““Geeks are awesome. If other people can’t see that, it’s their problem. The very definition of being a geek is that you love something just because you love it, not because someone is telling you you should, but in spite of them telling you you shouldn’t. There’s no greater love than geek love. If you’re lucky, maybe someday you’ll find it too.”

I’ve always been super geeky about comedy, fantasy, and science fiction.

When I was little, I'd take them apart and analyze them, kind of like what Gilbert Garfinkle does with video game systems. If I didn’t like what I found, I would try to fix it. And sometimes I would take parts of a story and use them to create something new. This continued into my college years, when I majored in English Literature and Theater Studies. Actually, it continued through my time as an editorial cartoonist, illustrator, editor, consumer columnist, and arts-and-entertainment writer specializing in children's entertainment and, of course, comedy--and it continues to this day.

Nothing makes me as happy as tinkering with a funny, fantastic, incredible story.

So I ask you, “What are you geeky about?”

What is it that makes you so happy you don’t care what anyone else thinks?

Maybe you’ve found it, and maybe you’re not as ready to tell the world as I am and Gilbert is. Maybe you’re still afraid of what others might think. Well, don’t be. Others only judge because they don’t feel the joy that being truly geeky about something brings. Don’t let them steal that joy from you.

I’m geeky about writing stories that make people laugh, cry, and think, and that transport them to worlds only reachable through the imagination. I’m geeky about books. I’m geeky about Gilbert, and Why My Love Life Sucks. And I’m geeky about my fellow geeks who love books just as much as I do.

What are you geeky about? What do you love so much that you don’t care what anyone else thinks?

My Top Ten Sci-Fi Movies

There are two problems when it comes to compiling a list of my 10 favorite sci-fi movies: first, not everyone would agree that every movie on my list qualifies as science fiction; and second, how do I limit it to just 10?

Well, I agree that some of these movies aren’t really science fiction. I mean, that whole nonsense about being able to erase yourself from existence if you upset the “space-time continuum” in Back to the Future? Yeah, that’s great for the plot, but it has no scientific basis. It’s what Doctor Who would call, “Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey.” But it’s still a great movie franchise with a pseudo scientific basis, so it stays. The Avengers, on the other hand, is one of my favorite movies of all time, but it didn't make the list because, well, I just don't think superhero movies qualify as science fiction, particularly when they involve Norse gods.   

And there were about 10 other movies I put on and took off the list, because there really are so many great sci-fi movies. I could play with this list forever, but I had to settle on a top 10, so this is it. Some are classics, while others are just personal favorites. Maybe some are your personal favorites too.

1. Serenity

The movie that followed Joss Whedon’s Firefly: a TV series about Captain Mal (Nathan Fillion) and his motley crew of outlaw space cowboys. Like anything done by Joss Whedon, it has the perfect combination of excitement, comedy, strong characters, awesome heroes, and even more awesome heroines. Netflix has both the series and the movie available for streaming, so if you can, watch the series first and then the movie. Prepare to laugh and cry. A lot. Shiny.

2. E.T.

A young boy named Elliot tries to help a friend from another planet get back to his spaceship. I’ve seen E.T. so many times, and I’ve cried every single time. E.T. will always hold a place in my heart.

3. Inception

A dream in a dream in a dream, and audiences argue which is reality. That’s kind of missing the point, though. This is really a movie about movies and how they affect us. That’s what’s real. Everything on the screen is a dream, and yet those dreams have the power to change our perceptions and our lives.

.

4. Star Trek

J.J. Abram’s reboot of the original Star Trek series is nothing short of brilliant. Star Trek Into Darkness is brilliant too. The only question is--where does the series go from here?

5. Blade Runner

What makes someone human? That question isn’t so black-and-white in this movie about a man who hunts down and kills renegade robots that have been programmed to think they’re just as human as the rest of us. This movie does what the best science-fiction does: it entertains while making you think.

6. Back to the Future

Marty McFly endangers his very existence when he travels to the past and accidentally stops the event that led to his mother falling in love with his father in the 1950s. Can he fix the past, save himself, and get back to the present? Yeah, it doesn’t make sense, but it is so much fun.  

7. Men in Black

The Men in Black help good and harmless aliens on Earth, while saving the planet from otherworldly threats. So silly and so funny.

8. Star Wars: Episode IV--A New Hope

The Star Wars movie that started them all. I know it’s probably just me, but this has always reminded me of a game of Dungeons & Dragons played in space. And I like that. Some things are better when they’re produced on a shoestring budget. The Star Wars series proves it.

9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Ordinary people are joined together on a quest after an encounter with aliens, in this early Steven Spielberg film. Just thinking of the scene with the car headlights, or the one with the mashed potatoes, puts a smile on my face. Da, da, da..DA, DA.

10. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams wrote the screenplay for the movie based on his hysterically funny science-fiction novel--my all-time favorite in any genre. Arthur Dent is rescued from planet Earth just before it’s demolished to make room for an inter-galactic highway. This isn’t for everyone, but if you love Douglas Adams as much as I do, you should definitely give it a try. Don’t panic, and don’t forget your towel. It’s not as good as the book, but that’s like saying a Hershey bar isn’t as good as Max Brenner truffles. It’s still chocolate, and that means it’s still wonderful.

Another Geeking Awesome Review for Why My Love Life Sucks!

"Great ball of fun with vampires wrapped up very nicely with a great cover and catching title. It is worth checking out, trust me." Thank you, Jenn Renee Read, for your review of Why My Love Life Sucks. 

You are geeking awesome, you know that, right? 

I'm so super psyched right now I could just scream... 

YayYYY!

You can read the rest of the review by clicking here.

Why My Love Life Sucks Goes on an Xpresso Book Tour at the End of April!

I'm so excited. My latest novel,Why My Love Life Sucks,  is a funny story about geeks, gadgets, girls, vampires, and the most unlikely of friendships--and it will be going on an all-reviews tour at the end of April thanks to Xpresso Book Tours! 

Here are the blogs that have signed up and the dates they will be posting reviews: 

April 29th

-Jennreneereas  

-Dizneeee's World of Books

April 30th

-Coffee & A Book Anytime 

-Words Create Scenes 

May 1st

-Little Lovely Books

-wordpaintingsunlimited 

May 2nd
-The Next Chapter
-Spiced Latte Reads  

May 3rd
-Krystal's Enchanting Reads
-As Palavras Fugiram   

May 4th
-Teen Blurb

If you're one of the book bloggers who has agreed to review my latest novel, thank you! Give yourself a round of applause, because you are geeking awesome. 

If you're not, would you like to join the fun?  If this book sounds like something you might like, email me at shevia at hotmail dot com with your preferred digital format (for Kindle, Nook, Apple device, or other) before April 29th, and I will be happy to send you a free digital copy in exchange for an honest Amazon review. 

Geeking out from all this awesomeness, 

Shevi