How about those midweek blues?
We all know Monday, but this is something else.
Week’s half done, but eyes down, soul depressed.
Where’d that come from? What to do?
Got to buck up, chin up, pull yourself together.
Have to knuckle down and push on through.
Grit your teeth and gird yourself and
Push through those midweek blues
What’s something people take too seriously in life?
Dated references to old films aside, today’s title refers to something I commonly observe in society. We take our entertainment very seriously. Extremely seriously. As in “Do you find this even remotely relaxing or fulfilling anymore?” seriously.
Take sports, for instance. Theoretically, sports are a form of recreation that allow us to challenge ourselves and take pleasure in pushing our bodies and minds, or, if not an athlete, to enjoy watching our favorite teams compete and experience the thrill of victory and near-defeat. It’s supposed to be fun, right?
So, why do people scream and tear out their hair and beat up other people who don’t support their own team? Why do people riot and curse and weep over what their favorite player eats for breakfast? It’s … not just a game, anymore, is it?
In fact, a quick jaunt through the Youtube comments section (horrors of horrors …) on just about any subject that supposedly falls under the category of “entertainment” yields insight into a curious phenomenon: Nobody seems to hate any given activity, hobby or franchise more than its own fandom. Fans are very grumpy characters, seemingly more entranced by how [insert subject here] has been ruined forever than taking any sort of joy in it.
Entertainment must be a very fragile thing if it takes so little to destroy it. Perhaps we humans are entitled creatures, believing that a movie or video game or sports team or car brand is only “fun” when it conforms exactly and perfectly to our own specific expectations. On an individual basis. And when it doesn’t, well …
I get irked sometimes when a favorite franchise takes a turn I don’t like. I try not to take it too seriously, if only because I have a tendency to brood over the silliest details and really don’t need anything else competing for that brooding space in my head. Life’s short. Why not just … be entertained?
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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
So I’m walking down the street in the early dawn
And who should I meet but a cocky fox sitting on a lawn.
I ask him what he’s doing there, carefree as can be
And he replies, “I belong. This is my territory.”
I smile and shrug and wave goodbye and carry on my way.
Maybe I’ll see him again sometime, if meet him again I may.
***
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life. Sometimes, I dabble in poetry.
Five things that make me feel happy every day:
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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
When I was little, I wanted to be an “everyologist.” I would be an expert in everything – history and science and books and everything.
Little kids can be experts in everything, because everything is within easy reach.
I got older, and couldn’t do everything, so I decided I should focus on “most things.”
Then I got a bit more older, and decided I should focus on “the most important things.”
But I still dabble in everyology on the side.
***
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
Tattoos are not for me, and though I admire their artistry
My body would not make for a good tapestry
Colorful patterns, curving lines and creatures
Would look poorly on my shape
Good tattoos depend on anatomy most fine
And limbs and torsos that gracefully align
For if the body should expand after the tattoo is drawn
The artistry would be a mocking jape
Tattoos, as well, involve a modicum of pain
Coming in for sharp sessions again and again
I am averse to such things and not partial to needles
So why endure something I hate?
And now you can see
Why tattoos are not for me.
***
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
What is your middle name? Does it carry any special meaning or significance?
The title of my blog is Jake W. Powell. What is that W doing there? The letter is a somewhat exotic middle initial in English, sounding rather like something found in the name of a quirky character from a 1940s comedy. It’s short for Wesley, and it has no special significance whatsoever.
My parents liked the sound of it. I’m not named after anyone called Wesley or in homage to anything. It just sounds nice.
Although, perhaps it does carry a certain amount of meaning in that it serve a purpose. My parents made a point to ensure my initials didn’t spell anything. Some parents don’t consider this when naming their kids, and you end up with gaffes like O.L.D. and B.A.G. and Z.A.P. My parents decided to spare me any potential embarrassment and give me the neutral J.W.P.
I guess it does having meaning, after a fashion.
***
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
If you could delete one word from being used, what would it be?
Do.
A two-letter word that has gotten far too big for its britches. A little verb that has become far too self-important. A word that has been fed and fed until it’s grown so fat that it’s smothered the rest of the English vocabulary.
What do we use “do” for? To accomplish, to finish, to work, to perform, to act, to emphasize, to partake, to accept, to think, to engage, to pursue, to execute, to carry out, to give, to pay, to produce, to decorate, to cheat, to travel, to behave, to arrange, to cook, to serve, to mimic, to kill, to suffice, to put, to use, to treat, to get along, to behave, to happen, to function, to fit, to satisfy, to fulfill, to make. And more.
And what is wrong with that, you might ask? Look at that list. Aren’t those words just there for the taking? Why replace a rich tapestry with a boring blank sheet? Why kick out all those words and saddle their many definitions on a single one? In the end, if a word is burdened with so many meanings, then it comes to mean nothing at all.
Don’t do it.
***
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
Have you ever unintentionally broken the law?
Yes. I cut off a police officer’s vehicle while driving. It was an unfortunate incident, one of those galling moments that ambushes and commandeers an otherwise perfectly fine day.
I was driving home from dinner with some friends. So far, so good. It was after dark, and I was driving back from a part of town I hadn’t been to before, so navigation was a touch difficult. And, since I know some of you are already thinking it, no, I wasn’t drunk. I don’t drink. Anyway, I missed a turn and my sense of direction went topsy-turvy. I pulled into a parking lot to get my bearings, realized I was only a mile from home, and, in my eagerness to reach said home, quickly turned left out into the street.
As these things tend to go, that was the same moment a police officer was driving along. I didn’t see her, and I cut her off. I’ll never know how close it actually was because I didn’t spot her car, but I did spot the flashing lights and pulled over.
The officer also thought I might be drunk. I replied in the negative, she wrote out my ticket, and then, since this was the first (and so far only) driving infraction I had received, she very generously informed me that I could go to the county courthouse and pay to have the ticket removed from my record. And because I am not in the habit of desiring bad things to show on my permanent record, I did so ASAP.
…
…
What? Were you expecting explosions and gunfire? I broke the law, I never said it was a scene out of John Wick. I cut off a police officer, got a ticket, paid the ticket off. The end. Always remember to pay attention when you’re driving.
***
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
Work on my third book is, as they say, “proceeding apace.” Third draft is halfway done, and I’m actually somewhat happy with it.
It’s an interesting subject I’ve chosen. My two published works, A God Walks Up to the Bar and The Trickster’s Lament, are urban fantasy following the Greek god Hermes in our modern world. Writing gods is fun and fascinating. When you’re writing a guy like Hermes, and you look at what him and his ilk get up to in mythology, you realize that you can’t really start out the story with him being too likeable.
Hermes is a funny guy, and he’s smart, perceptive and entertaining to write and read about. But he’s not necessarily a good guy. He’s egotistical, vain, manipulative and more than a little callous. Which begs the question: How do you make readers want to keep reading about such a person?
The first step, I find, is character development. Hermes is not a static character. He grows and changes over time, and hopefully he’ll change for the better. The second is the time-honored strategy of comparing and contrasting. Does your story have an awful person as your protagonist? Make their opponents even worse.
Michael Corleone was godfather of a murderous Mafia family, but at least he wasn’t a drug dealer. Darth Vader killed children and endorsed the destruction of entire planets, but at least he wasn’t as sadistic as his emperor and still held love for his son. Peter Pan is a selfish child who never matures and is a nasty little brat, but his nemesis Captain Hook is a bloodthirsty pirate who, you know, wants to kill children.
Maybe it’s a cheap trick. Make somebody bad look good by standing them up alongside people who do worse things. A part of writing is getting inside people’s heads and figuring them out. When writing any protagonist, whether hero or villain or in-between, you have to figure out how to stoke the desire in audiences to keep reading about them. And if they do things that the audience finds … distasteful … then you may want to consider the good old strategy of compare and contrast. Give them lines they won’t cross. Give them a code. It doesn’t have to measure up to the reader’s own personal morals, but give them standards. And then pit them against antagonists who violate those standards.
It is, in many ways, a literary sleight of hand.
But Hermes, at least, isn’t a villain per se. He’s not nice, but he does have standards, fairly strong ones, and he is aware of some of his own vices. And he may even change for the better if he survives this upcoming book.
***
Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
Jake W. Powell 