Muse Food – Hong Kong Reflections
The Dear Wonderful Hubby took this beautiful photo of Hong Kong while we were watching one of the nightly free light shows.
I love how all the colors are reflected in the water.
Having our characters reflect on past events is a very powerful tactic, especially if there has been a loss of a loved one in a battle or in some other action-packed event.
During battle, there’s no time for grief, for sorrow, for thinking about the loss. Everyone is fighting to stay alive. The action and reaction is fast, fast, fast.
It is not until later, when they are out of immediate danger, when they can slow down, that characters AND the reader can grieve. It is often during these reflections, during these internal replays that we are able to cry over the loss.
Use reflections or replays as a tool for great storytelling.
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Muse Food – Smaller Isn’t Easier
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I are growing mini tomatoes and mini bell peppers, along with many other vegetables, this year.
We’re not growing them because they are easier to grow than regular-sized tomatoes and bell peppers. They are as difficult to grow. And we’re not growing them because the plants grow faster. They take the roughly same number of days to get to maturity.
We’re growing them because more fruit can grow on those plants and that increases the likelihood the Mafia Squirrels and the insects will miss some of that fruit and we will get to eat mini tomatoes and mini bell peppers also.
(smiles)
Short stories are very similar to mini tomatoes or mini bell peppers. They aren’t easier to write than novels. And they often take roughly the same length of time to write well. But they can possibly serve more purposes (as promotional material, as a source of royalties, as a flat price sale to a magazine, etc).
And I find them fun to write!
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Muse Food – Grouping Like Things
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this collection of smooth, triangular boulders in Hong Kong.
One such boulder would have been interesting. But it likely would have gotten lost in the rest of the display.
Four similar-looking boulders, however, grab our attention. We notice them. We notice their shape, their colors, their size.
Writers use this same technique in stories. We employ symbolism more than once (I use it around three times or more), for example, because that ensures readers notice it. We repeat a key idea multiple times in slightly different ways.
Grouping like things or like ideas is powerful. Use it in your own writing!
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Muse Food – Pirate Ships In Cabo San Lucas And Other Adventures
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I were trekking along Playa Chileno, a beach near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico when we were delighted to see this faux pirate ship rounding the bend.
We weren’t the only travelers captivated by this unexpected appearance. Visitors from all over the world watched the pirate ship’s approach with glee and wonder.
And it reminded me WHY many people read our stories.
They are looking for adventure, for something different than their regular lives. This doesn’t have to be space battles to the death or daring rescues (though those are fun – grins). It merely has to be unusual and, perhaps, unexpected.
Give them adventure.
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The Killer And Strong Motivation For Change
Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about The Killer and it WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this 2024 John Woo film, you might wish to skip this post.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I recently watched The Killer, a remake of the 1989 film with the same English title, directed by the same director – John Woo.
I usually love John Woo movies. And I watched the original movie many years ago.
So I knew what to expect.
I should have loved this remake, especially as it stars Nathalie Emmanuel as the lead character Zee. She’s a gifted actress and always gives a great performance. The Killer was no exception to that.
My issue with The Killer is…
Motivation.
We are expected to believe Zee, a cynical, highly trained assassin, would face off against her boss and her fellow assassins, risking her life and her career, to protect a stranger who…isn’t a good person.
At all.
Jenn is a drug dealer and doesn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities other than she’s a great singer and she’s beautiful.
(I know what you’re thinking but no, there’s no indication Zee is interested in Jenn romantically.)
The only reason we receive for Zee taking that risk is Jenn reminds Zee of a younger her.
Except the two women appear to be roughly the same age. Jenn is definitely no naïve teenager or innocent.
For a viewer or a reader to believe a character can change significantly, there has to be a strong motivation for that character to change.
Maybe his dog is killed on the anniversary of his beloved wife’s death (John Wick). Or a child he has befriended comes to him, a killer, begging for help (The Professional). Or he is double crossed and targeted for death (The Accountant).
Those are all strong motivations for change.
Saving a beautiful singing stranger is, in contrast, NOT a strong motivation for change.
Unfortunately.
The action scenes and the actors make this movie worth watching…once.
This isn’t a keeper movie for me.
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Muse Food – Average Guy Angels And The Unexpected
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted an average guy trying on a pair of angel wings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
The average guy seemed to love doing this. (He was surprised by the weight of those wings.) And everyone around him was smiling and laughing.
Because we don’t usually picture an angel as an average guy. They are usually stunningly beautiful and super fit and not wearing white running shoes with black socks. (grins)
Give your story an ‘average guy angel’, something unexpected, something enchanting.
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Muse Food – Poseidon / Neptune In Mazatlán And Other Gods
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this GIANT statue of Poseidon / Neptune in Mazatlán, Mexico.
It was aptly situated next to the aquarium. (grins)
Almost every culture on Earth has at least one deity featured in its stories. It is human to want to credit the wonders of this planet and the often seemingly random events in our lives to a greater power.
I suspect this will also be true of many off planet cultures.
Who is your character’s deity (or deities)? What do these deities control? What do they look like? How do they act? What do THEY value?
This will tell you and readers a lot about your character’s concerns/beliefs/values.
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Muse Food – Mazatlán And Juxtaposition
We were trekking along a very urban part of Mazatlán, Mexico when we came across this body of water and the greenery surrounding it.
It delighted us.
I LOVE contrasts. They always grab my attention and delight me.
And I’m not alone. Many readers are intrigued by contrasts and juxtapositions also.
The hero with the scarred face and the sadness reflecting in his eyes. The heroine who kicks a$$ yet stops to pet a kitten. The desert planet with a green oasis in the middle of it. The sea licking at the sandy shore.
Use juxtaposition and contrasts to captivate your readers.
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Muse Food – Jellyfish Sculptures And Multipurpose Scenes
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted these jellyfish sculptures by a bus stop in Dubai.
They serve at least two purposes. They’re beautiful works of art. AND they provide much needed shade for waiting transit users.
Our scenes should, ideally, be like these jellyfish sculptures. They should, at the minimum, serve two purposes.
Maybe the scene hints at a future event. Or it reveals a character’s motive. Or it shows how the character is changing. Or it transitions the reader from one place to another. Or…it could have a gazillion different purposes.
Challenge yourself to make your scenes work harder and do more!
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Muse Food – Look Upward
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this vibrantly colored bird in Mazatlan, Mexico.
It is human nature to gaze around us at our eye level. That’s quick. That’s easy.
That’s…dangerous. Because threats can come from the sky. And they can come from below us.
As writers, we tend to describe the scene from our character’s eye level also.
And that can be…uninspired. Because there are likely interesting things happening above their heads and below their feet.
Look upward.
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