Writing Prompt Wednesday 5/18/16

Here is the first of my Writing Prompt posts. This will be a regular thing on this blog from now on. I will give you five writing prompts every Wednesday, and I will ask that you post whatever writings you come up with in the comments below.

Writing prompts are a great way to engage your inner muse and to get those creative juices flowing. Using prompts like these can be the beginning of even bigger projects.

Our 5 Prompts for this week:

The Picture:

The Story Starter:

They would never be able to cover up the smell of the body from the officer…

The Journal Entry:

Answer the question: Do you believe in ghosts? Explain. 

The Fiction Entry:

Write a story about a man who believes girls are “prey”. You can also go the other way with this and do a woman who believes the same of boys. Either way, get into the head of this person and really dive into the psychology of the story.

The Mish-Mash:

Use the following five words in a story, poem, journal entry, whatever:

Reflection

Face-to-face

Accomplice

Ultimatum

Surgically

Putting off Until Tomorrow

I recently had a friend from college tell me how proud he was for me. He said how he always hears people talking about how they want to write a book, or do a painting, or create a sculpture, or make a book of poetry, but they never get it done. He said that he found it amazing that I said I was going to write, and that I actually did it, and not only that, but I continue doing it.

That got me thinking that the only real difference between a writer and someone who aspires to be a writer is that a writer doesn’t put off until tomorrow what they can do today.

The major excuse one always hears about someone wanting to write a book, is that they don’t have the time to do it. The truth is, I think, these people don’t want to make the time to do it.

Let me tell you, I am a teacher, so, I work my 40+ hours a week, but I also tutor on the side for probably another 15 – 20 hours a week. Two or three times a month, I get in the car and travel to some destination for a comic book convention where I sell my books and comics on the weekends. Oh, and to add to that, I have an insane two-year-old (for those of you who are parents, you know what I’m talking about). So, if anyone has an excuse that they do not have any time to write, it is me.

Now, I’m not saying all this to brag. I’m trying to make a point. If I can get in at least a little bit of writing every day, than anyone can. The point is, that you have to do it instead of saying, “I’ll get to it when I have the time.”

It isn’t that hard to get started. If someone wants to write a book, they must have an idea in mind. The fact is, they have to sit at that keyboard—or, like in my case, a pen and notebook—and get those ideas out of their head. (Yes, for those of you wondering, before I type my stories out on the computer, I write them in a book. That way when I copy it down onto the computer, it forces me to do my edits as I go.)

And the thing that I think many people think is that they have to get all their ideas out at once. That is definitely not the case. I set a daily goal for myself for writing. My goal is not that large—only 500 words a day. This isn’t that large a number. If you’re typing in standard font, and single spaced pages, this is only one page. So, my goal is really one page a day. That’s 3,500 words a week. Most days I exceed that goal. However, there are days where I won’t make it. But that’s okay, because I will still make my goal by the end of the week.

If writing is a passion of yours, you should make time to do it. We all have other things we are doing. But if this is something you truly want to do, it is important that you get it done. Do an inventory of your time. Maybe there is some time in the evening when you could write something while you’re sitting in front of the TV. Maybe you can do like I do and write early in the morning before work, or late at night right before bed. Maybe you can start just by writing for one hour each day on the weekends and expand from there.

The important thing is to get it done. Stop saying that you don’t have the time. Make the time. Then maybe you will have a friend tell you how proud they are of you.

Review - Injustice: Gods Among Us Graphic Novel

Now, I haven't kept up with DC Comics ever since they launched the New 52. I read many of the initial comics that they released and was so unimpressed, I pretty much stopped reading anything DC put out. So, when my wife got me the Injustice: Gods Among Us graphic novel, I was a little hesitant to read it. I knew it based on the video game (and many comics based on games usually are little more than rehashing the plot of a game in hopes to promote it), which gave me even less of a reason to give it a shot.

That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the comic actually was. Now, I don't want to ruin anything for anyone who hasn't read this yet. So, I am only going to speak of what happens in the very early part of the comic. If you don't even want to know that much, I suggest stop reading now.

The essential plot of the story is, what would happen if Superman went bad. We are so used to seeing Superman as the unfailing, unfaltering, always do the right thing, hero. He shows up. He saves the day. He puts the bad guy behind bars. This story starts off that way, but only for the briefest of moments.

As our story begins, we see Clark and Lois in bed (yes, in this reality he is still married to Lois Lane, which DC erased in the New 52). Clark suddenly perks up as he begins to hear a second heartbeat coming from Lois' body. He is overjoyed as Lois runs off to get an exclusive story down by the docks. Clark flies off as well and even asks Batman to be the godfather. This, is where the happiness ends. Lois is kidnapped by none other than the Joker and Harley and they hide her from Superman, and when he can't find his wife, he goes in search of her, with the rest of the Justice League's help.  They finally locate the Joker with Lois in a submarine which Superman lifts from the water and places on the dock. They break in and find Joker performing some kind of surgery on Lois' body. Supes gets shot in the face with some Scarecrow gas laced with Kryptonite and he believes he sees Doomsday (shown above). He grabs Doomsday and flies him into space, while Batman and the others capture Joker and Harley.

Now, here's the twist and again, if you don't like spoilers, I suggest you stop reading. Doomsday turns out to be Lois, and when Superman flies her into space, he kills her. The Joker had implanted a trigger in her chest, attached to her heart so that when it stopped beating, a bomb would explode, destroying Metropolis. This is the part where you'd expect someone to come up with something clever to save the day. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Lois dies, as does the population of Metropolis.

Grief stricken, our boy-scout hero undergoes a change. He asks why psychotics like the Joker are allowed again and again to cause terror and death in those around him. Superman isn't content to let this go. He seeks out the Joker in his cell in Gotham and punches a hole in his chest, beginning the downfall of our once great hero.

I'll stop the description there, but essentially the story pits hero against hero in a Marvel: Civil War style war in which the question is simple - Should those with power be able to rule with an iron fist if it's in the best interests of the people?

The series is ongoing and I have since getting the volume 1 graphic novel, gone on to read the other 30 or so issues they have released digitally. The story is compelling, and at times I find myself rooting for one side or the other. I want Superman to win, and sometimes I want him not to win. Not to ruin anything, but many of your favorite heroes do show up at some point in this story, and not all of them survive.

This is a great alternate reality comic set on an Earth we haven't yet met in the 52 worlds set up by the multiverse (if there is even a multiverse in the New 52. Like I said, I still don't read it). It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and I really hope that DC continues this series until it's end - not just when they don't need to promote the video game anymore.

Injustice: Gods Among Us Volume 1 is written by Tom Taylor, and has several artists working on it. Even with various artists, the artwork in this volume is consistent and detailed. Taylor tells an awesome story, and manages to use many characters without the story getting too bogged down. This is a wonderful read for anyone looking for a fresh perspective on classic characters (or anyone tired of the doldrums of the New 52).

Review: Special Edition NYC - June 2014

I had the great opportunity to be one of the artists at the inaugural edition of Special Edition NYC, a mini-comic con at the Javitz Center in New York City.

For anyone who has been to New York Comic Con in the last couple years, you know that for the uninitiated, the experience can be a little scary. NYCC 2013 boasted well over 160,000 people, over the course of four days, and let me tell you, having experienced that, it is a little frightening.

Well, Special Edition NYC was anything but. With less than a quarter of the crowd of NYCC, it is a great place to start your con experience. This seemed to be the case for many of the people I spoke to last weekend. Many told me that this was their first comic convention ever.

Because Special Edition was in the space usually reserved for NYCC's Artist Alley, this con was a lot more low-key than many of the other cons I have been to over the years. With no celebrity guests, and no major publishers putting on spectacles for the crowds, this show was mainly about one thing: THE ARTISTS and CREATORS.

For a writer/artist, such as me, this is a good thing. It places more focus on the artist alley and allows more fans to see our work. I hope that in future years ReedPop keeps this aspect of Special Edition the same. Because while it is great to go to the big conventions with all the celebrities and such, it is nice to be a part of decent sized con that is about the comics and the people who create them, which so many of the cons have fallen away from in recent years.

This con was only two days, as opposed to the big on in October which runs for four. I would venture to say that this particular con could have actually been shortened to just one day. While the crowd was great on Saturday, the Sunday crowd left much to be desired. I'm used to having a lighter crowd on Sunday, but as we noticed, there were more people walking by with exhibitors badges on Sunday then there were people wearing Sunday badges. I don't know for sure, but I don't think ReedPop sold all that many badges for Sunday. Now, this could have been hurt by the fact that it was Father's Day, and if they switch the weekend next year, that might fix itself, I don't know. The only thing I can comment on was that the Sunday crowd was unusually light, and that was disappointing.

The other disappointing thing, that also effected the crowd I'm sure, was that Special Edition was scheduled at the same time as the Long Island Comic Con and the Westchester Comic Con. We are talking about three comic conventions literally within 50 miles of each other. Poor planning on this schedule I think hurt all three of these cons, because each con lost fans to the others. This would be another thing I would suggest ReedPop avoid in the future.

If you are into cosplay, you wouldn't have been disappointed with this con either. Like the crowd though, the cosplayers were very light. The pictures I've included here are a couple of the dozen or so pictures I took of cosplayers. Usually, I come out of a convention with 100 pictures. Not to say that this was a bad thing, because for the most part, the people who were dressed up wore high quality costumes, like the couple you see here.

Overall, I believe that Special Edition NYC was a great success! I enjoyed it thoroughly. I like doing the smaller cons as much as I enjoy doing the huge ones, and for the first year, I would say that this one has the potential to be one of the better small cons. Look for postings for next year's con, and if you have the opportunity, come on up to NYC for it in June (if it is in June again next year). Either way, come on down for the massive party that is New York Comic Con in October. I'll be there!

40 Questions to ask your Characters

When creating a new story, you need to start with some engaging characters. These characters are going to be the major driving force of the story. When creating a new character, you have to do more than come up with a simple name and physical description. You really need to get into the head of your character in order to effectively write from their point of view. The more you know your characters, the better you will be able to write them.

When I create a character, not only do I search through one of many baby naming books to find that perfect  name for them, I take a few pages in a notebook and for a moment, pretend I am that character and answer some questions as if I am him/her. I won’t even begin writing a story until I have fleshed out the characters that will inhabit it. When I answer the questions as my character, I learn things about him/her that I never imagined. For example, when I began creating the character of Christine for High School Heroes, I discovered she had a fear of crowds. I hadn’t intended this to be a fear of hers, but it turned into a plot point for my story once I made the discovery.

To help you create realistic and lifelike characters, here is a list of 40 questions you can ask him or her to answer so you can get a better idea of who he or she is. 

1.       Where were you born? Was it in a hospital or at home? Was there anything unusual about your birth?

2.       Are you an only child? If not, what order to you fall in? First, middle, last?

3.       What images come to mind when you think of early memories of your father and mother?

4.       What traits (physical or mental) did you inherit from your parents? 

5.       Recall any memories from your life before age 10.

6.       Where do you live? How many people live in your house? What are the distinctive features of your home?

7.       What are some rules you have in your household? Are they strictly enforced or are they lenient?

8.       To whom in your family do you feel the closest?

9.       Write a list of 5 things your mother or father say to you all the time.

10.   Other than family, who are the most important people in your life?

11.   How do you celebrate birthdays? Holidays? Which holiday is most celebrated in your home?

12.   Write about the most memorable vacation you’ve had? Where did you go? Would you go back?

13.   Make a list of 10 places you would like to visit before you die.

14.   What are your hobbies?

15.   When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Has that changed? If so, what do you want to be now?

16.   Think about an important conversation you’ve had with your best friend. What was it about?

17.   What do you and your friends do together for fun? When do you usually get together with them?

18.   Do you save money to purchase something big, or do you spend it as soon as you get it?

19.   What is your favorite TV shows? Movies? Books? Video Games? Music?

20.   What are possessions you really treasure? Why?

21.   Quickly describe your typical day.

22.   Describe a teacher either past or present who has had a great influence on you.

23.   How has your relationship changed with your parents through the years? Friends? Other family?

24.   Describe a difficult decision you have had to make in your life. 

25.   Where is your favorite place to have quiet and alone time? Why?

26.   How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? Do you consider that a lot? Is dating even important to you? Why?

27.   When did you realize or how will you know when you have fallen in love?

28.   Do you know how to cook? If so, how did you learn? If not, why can’t you cook?

29.   Describe a situation that will make you laugh uncontrollably.

30.   Have you ever moved to a new place? If yes, what adjustments did you have to make?

31.   When you come home at the end of the day, how do you feel? Why?

32.   Name your 3 closest friends and describe each of them. 

33.   Describe the pets you had growing up. Do you have similar pets now? Why or why not?

34.   How old were you when you stopped believing in: Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc.?

35.   What are your greatest fears?

36.   What annoys you more than anything else? What do you do when you’re annoyed?

37.   What do you think your parents, teachers, friends, family would say about you if they were asked to describe you?

38.   Describe yourself in 10 words or less. 

39.   When looking for inspiration, where do you look? Why?

40.   How do you do research? Are you more likely to run to the library or Google? Why?