Quantum Storytelling

I’ve been having some problems with a few scenes in my story, relating to theme. You see, I spent so much time plotting things out, and that worked out well because the plot remains solid. But as I go to execute certain scenes I have trouble finding the best way to convey the themes.

For example, I have a scene featuring one of my villains who happens to be the chief of a government agency. Since corruption and hypocrisy are themes of my dystopia, I’ve been trying to find the best ways to bring those out through the actions & dialogue of the characters.

In one scene, the villain is assembling his men and about to engage in a raid against people who would be honest law-abiding citizens in a 21st century democracy. In this future society, they are perceived as criminals by the authorities, and through authority’s manipulation of public perception, they have become enemies of the society itself.

Read more

There are too many books, movies, and games out. There. I said it.

I can’t keep up with it all. I’ve got a stack of books next to the bed, and piles of movies and games in front of the TV. Sure, there are worse problems in the world. But do you ever feel overwhelmed by it all? It’s blasphemy, I know.

My problem? If only I didn’t want to check out everything. There ya go, I admitted it. I’m an entertainment addict.

What about you?

Lois Tilton over on Deep Genre has a problem with libertarianism in stories. Though I think in her reaction, she’s a bit heavy-handed herself in two ways:

1. She implies that getting too political or philosophical in fiction makes the reading less enjoyable, and more a rolling-of-the-eyes.
2. She oversimplifies libertarianism as an Ayn Rand-ian, anti-social, “greed is good” selfishness, and in the process shows her own true colors a bit strongly — see number one.

Speaking of tautological knee-jerk reactions, I played the Bioshock demo and noted much of the same. The antagonist in the fictional underwater city of Rapture is one Andrew Ryan (Ayn Rand - Andrew Ryan, get it?) and of course the player is lambasted with sound bites that echo of Gordon Gecko in Wall Street.

Read more