Invader Stim Homerpants

Girly

CW: blood, drugs, death

“… And as empress, I must make sure everyone sees a fair and just competition.” These were my words, my face on a massive screen, in front of 1500 people. “That it why the committee has banned a judge tonight.” Aside from me being the empress, and the belief I shared with the crowd tonight, I had no idea why this particular judge was banned.

In the postponement of the competition, she hit the streets, smacking walls and smashing windows, all with tears in her eyes. And Karu followed her.

He was her target – trashing his band’s backstage room, and spiking the water with god knows what to ban him from the talent show. And all because he ‘looked funny’. The spike was tonight, in the middle of a verdict that could have meant their demise as a reputable band.

It was about this time the news caught on, and the camera followed her every move.

Karu caught her in his arms, her head to his chest. “Stop, okay? It’s over.”

“Why are you being nice?” she squealed.

“I have a duty to uphold. You wouldn’t understand.” As blurry as his vision was, he kept an eye on all who stared back.

Her body went limp. Se cried on her way to the floor, but soon, blood fell from one nostril, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her entire body disintegrated like paper ash into the aether.

The rest of us legends gathered. All up, it was me and six men. Derek, Mas, Ike, Link, and Eddie – the ones who hadn’t witnessed this first hand, all asking what happened.

“Mom, is she coming back?” asked Karu.

I had a camera and microphone in my face at the time. I said to the reporter, Marcia Martinez, “This is death. It happens to the very worst of us.” I turned to the legends, who all gathered in a circle with me around the death site. “This is how a cosmite dies. And this is just one example. If you’re really that bad, that’s what happens, and you don’t come back. I want you all to be the best you can be.”

It was at this point Marcia asked me to repeat that last sentence.

Karu felt dizzy and sick, and Derek caught a glimpse of his eyes with an ability only he had among us. “You need an ambulance.”

The next day, we fell quiet. Karu came down from the fluoxetine, and I discovered through him that the whole talent show was cancelled. Maybe it was for the better.

This was about two weeks ago now. I wasn’t shocked at the death, but I felt bad for the guys who needed an explanation. But now, my son and his band are safe from her.

Woes of Derek

I sat in class, knowing full well I was capable of writing even 100 words for a paper due today. All it was was a flash fiction; anything we wanted to write. So I decided to write about writing tips.

Derek struggled to find even 50 words to fill the time. As it turned out, he knew nothing about fiction writing, and challenged himself to a romance story. No chance in hell would he know how to write a healthy romance in 100 words, I thought to myself.

But I aided him. “The story has a beginning, a middle, and an end,” I began. “And of course you can have sapphic romance. Make sure your characters are diverse and have a unique personality!”

He stopped at diverse characters. He asked himself many questions while he Googled these terms. Then, down he went, into the rabbit hole of character development and writing exercises. All the while, he was too busy with that, and I was too busy explaining the practice to him in simpler terms.

“So, is it to say I can’t write someone from, say, Sweden?” he asked.

“In what context?” I asked.

He hung his head in his hands. “Can you be straightforward with me?”

“Is it a Swedish tourist, or is the Swede in Sweden?”

He groaned loud enough to disrupt the class. The teacher shushed him, and reminded us all that this classroom is like a library in that we must let others focus.

“Let’s say the Swede’s in Sweden,” he said.

“Look up what Swedes do.”

And so, he did his research. Albeit, he built a Swedish man so average it borderline disgusted me. But considering he was a beginner, I laughed.

“Can he not drive a Volvo?” I asked. “Y’know, they have other car models in Sweden? They’re not a sheltered country.”

He frowned, then researched what brands they had. This gave me time to remember my goal, and to write down the basics of what I wanted to say. My outline was complete, at least.

After some time, he gripped my arm so tight and grit his teeth. “Have I built a good character yet?”

Watch me end this man’s whole career, I thought. “What is his internal goal, his external goal, and what is his fear?”

Suffice to say, I had enough time to write this whole story and dunk on Derek while I was at it.

—

This story is part of the rule of STARDUST and DOWNTURNED.

Things I Learnt On Hiatus

It’s been a long time, WordPress. I’m sorry that I went on another, but I can’t promise that this behaviour will stop. There’s been a habit of me trying to write more articles and then losing pace immediately, and I clamour to stop that from happening.

No, I haven’t stopped writing Twelfth Meridian (now named Stardust), and yes, I’ve missed blogging for ages. My one problem was finding things to write about, as many people have done what I’ve considered before.

So here are some lessons I learnt while staying away from WP.

Describe, Don’t Explain

Everyone knows the saying “show, don’t tell”, but I was watching ShaelinWrites on Youtube, and she used the term “describe, don’t explain”. I’m a natural explainer, and a fast typer. Learning to describe has taught me to slow down my typing and be more careful with the words I choose.

I also learnt that showing can still be explaining. It’s easy to write “she came in on a black horse”, but not so easy to write “a black horse arrived, carrying on its back a woman with freckles”.

Zero Drafting

I must confess, I’m a plantser.

Stardust is my baby, basically, and it’s taken ages to craft the story into something that sat right. And finally, I could fit it all into a zero draft with around ten beats in every chapter. I can’t construct a concrete three-act outline yet, but for Stardust, this seems to work.

I’m now working on another story and applying this tactic, but perhaps it won’t go so far – it was the same way with Stardust, but I completed the zero draft after all.

Word Count Doesn’t Matter During the First Draft

I’m telling you now, there’s a lot of explanation going on in Stardust’s first draft, and I haven’t completed the first chapter. This is to be expected. When I complete that draft, then I’ll be concerned with word count.

Writing By Beat

I tried Stephen King’s method of 2000 words a day, but it takes so much of the day. Now that I’ve written down the beats in my zero draft, I’ll be writing the first draft beat by beat. And then, I’ll have time to read, blog, or knit.

Don’t Try Hard to Evoke Emotion

This was a trap I fell into all my life. The sense of humour I have rests on Simpsons quotes, metaphors, and gags that make no sense.

Few people can pull off timeless laughter, and I am not one of those people. It’s better for myself to be candid when I tell the story of the characters.

Character Portrayal

I’ve cut out the words beautiful, ugly, and awkward. Why? Because using these words doesn’t explain why the character is beautiful, ugly, or awkward – it’s all subjective.

It’s also not enough to describe the personality – it’s great in a character reference, but if you write it in your story, now you have to stand by that, and when you don’t, the reader is going to remember that.

Take a princess, for example. It’s one thing to say she’s kind, but then to portray her calling a beggar ugly? The reader remembers that – the princess is not kind, she is conceited based on the one action.

And so I’m careful what the character says and does. There’s no point tacking a personality onto them.

Psychic Message

Want to know why I’m calling my project Stardust now? It’s not related to the Fantasy novel – it’s the title of the psychic message.

I’ve been breaking down the deep, deep messages within Stardust, going from NOTHING, to TWELFTH MERIDIAN, to SOMERSET, to its current iteration. And so, without this psychic message, there is no structure and rule to it. Every character has a purpose, and every action is considered. If it doesn’t fit within the rules, it’s dead weight, and it has to be changed to be believed.

As such, my signature is the whole set of rules at the beginning of the novel. It looks like garble, but every single letter, lower-case or upper-case, matters.

Letting the Story Stand On Its Own

This was a hard decision, but it’s a Science Fiction/Paranormal world – everything had to stand on its own. No music, no TV shows, and no video games from Earth. I put this on myself as a challenge, and while some songs may come through as an obscure reference, it can take the reader out of the story entirely, and could date the story.

Sequelitis and the Universe in which Stardust Stands

I’m telling you now, I am not writing a sequel for Stardust. But there are other stories to tell within the universe, and one day, I might tell those others. There is Space Dragon, and potentially, Peace on Earth (thinking now, the psychic rules for Peace on Earth have not been written yet – they’re forming as I write!). But they are of a different time, and a different place. These two stories must be able to stand on their own.

And those are just a few things I learnt. I won’t be counting my words anymore; there’s not much point to it. But I’ll think of things to blog about.

I’m Back From Querying – This Is What I Found

How’s it going, everyone. The TL;DR is, I’m frustrated.

As you may or may not know, I’m from Australia. This is an important fact which will cover what I’m about to type.

What we have is literary agents. Easy found; there’s a Reedsy list. Not what I’m aiming for, but it led me to the next step.

What we have in Australia is theatrical agencies. The prerequisite for joining the agency as a screenwriter is two scripts, fully produced into films. The best way to show them is to enter film festivals. They’re also hard to find online.

These facts have made me so dizzy that I’m practically mad over it. I want this script and pilot to be homegrown, yet I have to go through a rigmarole of producing the storyboards, animation etc myself. I need TWO. I don’t know how to animate.

How can I show my screenwriting skills when you are distracted by the production? I am not here to produce. I am not here to film nor animate. I am here to write.

Hiatus Update

Greetings, humans. It’s been a long while on this blog. I’ve been more active on my psychic blog lately and trying new things, so let me give you the rundown on what’s happening.

12M is no longer a novel

That’s right. It was too difficult to complete the novel, so I tried a few things, had a few epiphanies, and the final product is in script and treatment form. Wish me luck on getting accepted by an animation studio (not live action. You won’t find an exact actor to play these characters).

But because 12M is now in script format, I can’t discuss specific details. This is the sad part. But I can say the treatment is almost complete, and that 12M will remain the codename. Again, wish me luck.

I’m learning Japanese

I was very much into learning Japanese through high school. Now, I’m learning to get serious with it. I have a journal, and I’m using WaniKani to learn kanji. I’m taking small steps with DuoLingo as well, but I don’t know how much I’m going to take in in the long run.

But now that that news is over, I don’t know what exact direction I’m taking with this blog. I may have another hiatus again, which is probably for the best. Thank you to my followers for hanging on. In the meantime, I still have the flash fiction for you to read.

Goodbye for now.

Slowing Down

I feel like I can finally slow down on the flash fiction stuff. I’ve done it for 13 days straight. Today I started to feel the burnout.

From now on, I’ll do the stories when I feel like there’s nothing else to do on the day. But in the meantime, I don’t know what to do otherwise. I’m working with Mr H on some stuff, and I have my psychic blogs to fill in (missing information).

What would you like to hear from this blog in the meantime? Should I do more flash fiction, or would you like to know the progress on other projects?

Flash Fiction #13: Fire Divining

I watched the bonfire, looking up at the moon to gauge its position in the sky. I knew for sure I wouldn’t sleep tonight, as I never took to tents. We were done toasting marshmallows, and I longed for one more toasty bite.

At this point, we went around the fire and told scary stories. Well, they turned funny when the guacamole monster was introduced, and we were no longer scared of the forest.

The stories ended, and Aunt Marilyn pulled a packet out of her pocket. “How’s about I show you all something?” She threw it into the fire, and the flames turned phosphorous green.

We all oohed and ahed at the colour and the purple smoke. But my stomach turned, not only at the weird smell, but at the sudden imagery in the fire.

There were faces, and skulls, and… a duck? I never believed in curses and witchcraft and all that, but… what did this all mean?

I was the only one who saw it. So the thoughts raced all night, and I was right about the lack of sleep.

—

Deck: Cat Tarot by Megan Lynn Kott

Flash Fiction #12: Altar

It was time. The cold feet sunk in, and I waited in the back room, tempted to fix my already styled hair. My husband-to-be waited at the altar. My feet froze further.

But it was destiny. Our meeting was an accident. I tripped in a cafe and spilt my matcha latte on his front. When I looked up, he was the most handsome man I’d ever seen, and I knew for certain I liked men.

My dad knocked on the door and came in. “Are you ready to go?”

It was hard to say yes. Was Jerry the right man for me? And was he worth living the rest of my life with? Maybe that was the oppressed gay in me talking. We considered children, and what we’d want to do together. Suddenly, it came easier to say anything. “Absolutely.”

Dad guided me to the doorway, and as soon as Jerry and I locked eyes, my heart warmed, and I knew for sure he was the one.

I marched down the aisle to “Stairway to Heaven”.

—

Deck: Vikings Tarot by Manfredi Toraldo & Sergio Tisselli

Flash Fiction #11: Aftermath

“Are you ready to give up everything to save yourself?”

The voice of a stoic stranger rang in my mind. Nothing was working out in my favour, so what was I supposed to answer? “Yes.”

In my third eye, towers crumbled, with people buried under their rubble. The people screamed, but were drowned out by the breaking of walls. What desolation did I just call? I sat in silence, my jaw ready to hang open. But I was safe.

“What will you do now?” The stranger asked. “You can do anything you want, but choose wisely.”

“What about the people?” I asked.

“What about the people, indeed. Are you willing to save them?”

I found an arm reaching out before me, under the weight of concrete. I pulled it, and the little girl came out with ease.

Fire appeared in front of us. The devil made himself known. “You think it’s THAT easy?!” Then the flames engulfed him, and he disappeared with it, cackling into the aether.

My heart said yes, but my brain said no. But I continued saving the people, no matter if it took months or years. Who would clear the damage, I wondered? And who would rebuild?

—

Deck: The Faery Forest by Lucy Cavendish & Maxine Gadd

There we are, another Cavendish. This deck contains many portraits, with beautiful detail added to them like flowers and wild hair.

I should add, I think this one story was chasing me without my knowing. I’d think of my birds, and all of a sudden I’d have someone or something yelling at me, and I could never figure why. There’s a line that made it click, and now, I hope this FF is satisfactory.

Flash Fiction #10: The Lions and the Wolves

I had the strangest dream last night, that I was a lion, running in a pack of wolves. I had no fear, and the pack didn’t fear me.

But after I woke up for work today, even though I was at home, I had the feeling of missing home. And it nagged me all morning, until I drove to the tax office.

I sat in my cubicle and did the work, but the sense only became stronger. My neighbour Sam and I had our breaks at the same time, so we often sat next to each other in the break room. I told him about it, and he jumped out of his seat.

“Are you serious?” he asked. “I had the same dream, but I was a wolf among lions!”

It started up such a passionate conversation that we almost forgot our break was over. Sam started three months ago, but today was the first time I really go to know him.

—

Deck: Alice the Wonderland Oracle by Lucy Cavendish and Jasmine Becket-Griffith

As you can imagine by the name of it, the Wonderland Oracle is full of whimsy and imagery of Alice. It features characters with big heads, big eyes, and small noses. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I, for one, vibe with Lucy Cavendish decks.