Writing: the new language of story

When watching a re-make of any film, one cannot help but compare it to the original. While the original Clash of the Titans was a masterpiece of stop-frame animation and a cult-classic, it was also melodramatic, butchered three myths, combining the tales of Bellerophon and Perseus into a single jumble of mythical Greek goodness.

The film’s refit was only slightly improved when it came to clarity of myth, though that all fell quickly to the wayside when the cameras panned for the first time across beautiful Argos (though, admittedly, my least favorite of Greek cities).

One thing filmmakers need to understand is for this genre of film, expectations have become so high, that had Argos been anything less than epic and astounding and beautiful, it would have been sub-par.

The story itself was easy, solid, typical. Humans, with their hubris have offended the Gods. While I found it odd that Mighty Zeus the Thunderer would wear full plate armor, circa 1200 AD Europe (or from the set of Excalibur – which, by the by, would make a fine remake as well), Liam Neeson was an acceptable choice for the role.

The “pretty face” that played Perseus did a fine job, mostly because it was an action movie requiring little acting. The film’s true mistake, however, was the twenty minute battle with the scorpions, in place of the two-minute confrontation with the Kraken. Technically speaking, the film had no falling action from the plot climax. There was about sixty-seconds of “Good Job, here’s your prize,” and then credits.

Of course, I loved the film, being a fan of the Greek myth cycle and anything that dares attempt to render it for the modern audience. One thing I can’t shake, however – The Kraken is straight out of Norse/Finnish mythology and never was a Titan. I can accept that a creature of a magnitude would be considered a Titan (sort of) but Medusa, was a Gorgon. I suppose Clash of Norse Kraken and Gorgon just didn’t roll off the tongue like “Titans.”

The blog has become the most often overlooked and perhaps the single most powerful online method for sharing your message with a larger audience. While social networking like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter can have a huge impact on your message delivery strategy, they assume the monitoring of your stream by the audience. Whereas a blog , like wine, can age and even increase in value (if not taste). Google factors “longevity” into its search pattern. A long established blog with well planned and accurate content will help push your online presence to the forefront of the digital mob.

In the past, I’ve seen businesses of all sizes ponder and waffle over the idea of a blog. The concerns are valid of course. You’re better off not having a blog if you’re not comfortable with writing, or if you can’t afford to hire a specialist. A poorly written blog will not only hinder your SEO opportunities, but will affect the credibility of your online presence and even damage your brand. Further, with larger organizations, timing becomes a factor. Most large corporations, even those with finely honed communications teams (ahem)are simply not agile enough to make good use of daily blogging efforts (let alone real-time feeds like Twitter of Facebook). Since corporate communications are ultimately beholden to the “brand image” that a battery of nameless executive want to create/project/manage, the timeliness and impact of real-time communications is blunted significantly.

The small business has an advantage when it comes to communications with clients and customers. The layers of bureaucracy are removed and the blog author can look the owner in the eye and help prepare the message.

That said, blogs must be used wisely. The internet grants the power of communication to all who dare take up the pen (or keyboard). The power must be used concisely and honestly. But refrain from bashing your opponents or competition out right. Comparisons and analyses are obviously the more mature and effective method to employ if you feel compelled to fence with your opponent.

Libel is the written defamation of a person or entity (oddly, corporations have the same rights as a human being in the United States – who’da thunk?). In my humble opinion, a good juicy blog rides the line of libel and slander, like a surfer stuck in the tube of truth knowing that he’s going to have to “jump the shark” before the episode is over.

Of course, that’s got nothing to do with any sort of professional or corporate/product blog. Remember, blogging is a straight dialogue between you and your customers and clients. It’s a chance to build your brand, but don’t get hung up on those BS marketing terms. Your blog is essentially a calling card, a first impression, a reference point and a lifeline for you and your customers. Think out your blog updates. Take the time make them consistent and relevant. Don’t just cut and paste your brochure garbage. Give it some personality – make it real, make the human connection.

One last tip – answer all the comments you get. It’s worth your time to show your customers and clients that you care about their thoughts and opinions. Your blog generates goodwill by being entertaining and useful.

Previously, I’ve written about the special skills one needs to employ for website development, and how those skills are changing daily. Now, let’s look at what exactly is changing.

The technology one uses to implement their online presence, brilliant flash-driven database apps, rusty-gear cranking CGI or smooth DHTML layers is really irrelevant when compared to the content being delivered.

Consider some of the most popular, or at least, oft visited websites: Youtube.com and Amazon.com. Youtube.com specializes in delivering video content. That’s all. Sure, there’s built in methods for sharing videos amongst your Facebook and MySpace buddies, but for the most part, Youtube.com just delivers videos. Nothing too complex about the layout, nothing too magical about the interface. Just videos.

Amazon.com on the other hand uses a rather old school display layout, plugged with little media apps here and there. Amazon’s magic, however, still lies in content delivery – its ability to parse through previous customer purchases and selections enabling it to display content that you are interested in.

Of course, the average small business doesn’t have the ad power or the draw that super-shopping sites or the delicate art of the human spectacle might have. But well planned, well thought out content is still the biggest draw available. Not only does well planned content have meaning for the audience, but it helps build long term SEO.

My crack pipe is digital and fibrous and reflects light, a trillion tiny messages packed up neat as you like and shot-thought out, across space and time. My crackpipe comes in flavors, blue and white lasers, reticulated star-gazers and the cost is steep. The High Animal, ribald in his hopes for godlessness, sweats and shits in a mirrored landscape, scurries for shelter, without God we’ve just Mommies Little Helper.

She pulled a hit from the swirled-glass creation, the acrid chemical smoke drifting lazily from her upper lip, curling around, obscuring a tiny mole before sneaking into her nostril to run through her pulmonary system again. Each pass the smoke grew weaker, thinner, as her body absorbed it instead of precious air.  Eyes half open, once pale-blue now blazed a noxious red. Her ears rang.

It was a painful need, that nagging desire always in the back of her mind, always chewing away at her dreams and goals, a dull blade knocking chips, spark and all, from so fragile self-respect.

As the pain receded and she slunk back into the warm arms of Forget, she was betrayed by her eyes and a tear fell.

My crackpipe has grown, transformed over the years, from simple knowledge to data to rampant seething, patterns. The crack pipe shattered and shivered when knowledge wasn’t enough. The patterns began to go wild, expanding and growing growing like interlaced vines. A fractal that cannot be mastered, cannot be wholly viewed in instant. As she wished for the pattern, I wished for the smoke.

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Eric Staggs: Writer

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I’ve been plagiarized!

How many of you have seen the recent film “Role Models?” (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430922/) You’ll notice it had five writers working on the script. In film lingo, “and” means the two worked together on the project. The “ & “ means the second person re-wrote the script. When you see something like this:

…it means the script was written by a committee and is likely to suck since we all know that a group of people can’t really do anything. Don’t believe me? Have three people order a pizza and try to get everyone what they want. It doesn’t work. Someone will have to give.

I digress.

What follows is an excerpt from a story I wrote in early (February) 2006, for my final “Fiction Seminar” course, my senior year of my undergraduate program.

“Morning, I slow-drift into the Starbucks on the corner. Despite everything I know about Starbucks, it still means only one thing to me: coffee.

The sights and sounds are all alien to me, but I can smell coffee. I do not like coffee, but I need it. Entering the place, I find tall men, in black wool coats, scarves and newspapers. They drink things, the mill about. Women, hawk faces with too much make-up, too much perfume, like some sort of poisonous flower. So oddly attractive, you are drawn to it, and when you touch it or breath it in, the trap is sprung. The thick pollen sets in your innards and festers. You’ll never be free of it.

There is a line and a woman-girl in a Starbucks uniform takes my order well before I get to the register. Efficiency. Blinking the tentacles of Chanel from my eyes, I turn and reply.

“Medium coffee please.”

Moments later I’m at the register. A boy-man stares at me. “You had the venti?”

“What? I don’t speak latin.”

“What?” He stares.

“Venti. Sounds latin. I guess it could be Spanish. I could probably speak Spanish.”

He looks at me.

“What, Sir?”

“You know, Spanish? I could probably speak it. Like, hola, gracias, su casa es me banyo, that sorta shit.”

“Sir, did you order a venti coffee?”

“I ordered a medium coffee.”

“That’s what venti means.”

“No it doesn’t. I lied to you before. I speak a little Latin. Venti means to come. I doubt it means medium in Spanish either.” He stared. I went on.

“Come to think of it, medium means medium in Latin. At least, medi, medius, mediam.”

Behind me, a voice. “What hell is your problem buddy?”

I turn to face a tall man in a black wool long coat. He looks, funny to me, so I half smile.

“My problem is that this kid is making up words. And I’m dying.”

I put three dollars on the counter, grab my medium coffee and leave.”

The story was submitted to the instructor, Antonia Rose Logue, and shared with ten other students for their review and critique. I also published the original version of the story on LiveJournal (Feb. 6th, 2006 at 2:38 PM). Considering the copies that were made and distributed for the class, there is no end to possibilities of who saw the original story.

Watch the film “Role-Models.”

Tell me, then, honestly, if they stole my scene. Then, tell me what I can do about it…

Social Networking sites promise the future to users. From quick contacts and slip-dash deals, nearly instant gossip transfer and insider information, “adding a friend” is considered a prerequisite to business success in the ultra-speed digital world.

But realistically, how many people trust a faceless icon floating out there in the bit-bucket somewhere? I could be anybody, writing to you about anything. And I think you know that. Yet, optimists we are, we click that “add to contacts.”

I was once contacted through Facebook for a position in Madison WI. I thought it was a joke at first. Isn’t that what LinkedIn.com is for? Turns out it was a legit offer for a pretty good gig. The lesson here is that the boundaries between social networking sites are melting away.  While I personally would rather keep business on LinkedIn and Mafia Wars on Facebook (some folks get it, some don’t), I’m the only one. It seems that LinkedIn.com simply lacks many of the facilities for contact that Facebook has. That is to say the built-in professionalism (formality) of LinkedIn in working against it as far as social networking communications are concerned.

Watching the evolution of the two sites offers some interesting insight into how people use the internet. LinkedIn’s addition of “apps” mimics Facebook and MySpace, furthers the common theory of the internet: people want to play with other people. These “apps,” most of which are games,  allow people to post fictional or real accomplishments and share them with others. Much like Twitter, the idea that one single person’s activities could be so interesting to demand the instant notification of thousands is amusing to say the least.

So how can small businesses take advantage of thee so called social networking websites? They seem to be just toys for office workers with too much time on their hands. That would be a correct assessment. However, a major appeal of the internet is VOICE. The web allows Joe Public to give their opinion. This high-tech sort of grassroots support shows carries a lot of weight in the digital world, even though it’s the easiest thing in the world to simply click that “like” button.

In fact, the support one sees for causes and products, bands and movements, via the internet are mostly based on “my friends are doing it” and “it seems cool enough” and “that’s a buddy of mine, so I’ll show support.” Besides, what does it cost anyone to “add as a friend” anything?

The benefits are of course subtle, but can’t be beat. When compared to traditional advertising, pound for pound, web ads, bulk email, social networking and fan-pages get triple the impressions for the same (less) dollars.

Communication, the Internet and personal telecom devices in particular are changing how we interact with one another, how we share knowledge and market our businesses and products almost daily. Text messages, wireless web-enabled devices such as the iPhone or similar gadgets allow near instant sharing of information with customers, clients and friends anytime, anywhere.

One would think this is a good thing – a great leap forward for marketing and advertising, allowing the small and mid-sized business owner a chance to compete with the corporate leviathans of the world. While it’s true, these new and ever evolving technologies allow us the average Joe to reach out to customers and clients, to expand their business networks and improve brand awareness, it’s also true that these new tools (toys) allow business owners a dozen and a half new venues to alienate and irritate their customers.

So what’s the solution? Knowledge of your technology and how the end user utilizes it is key, and with everything, research (vast amounts) goes a long way towards improving that knowledge. The internet has for the last two decades, and likely for the next two at least should be your first stop when trying to learn about these new methods of telecommunication.

There’s a catch, however. This caveat is subtle, and simple and for small business owners, logical. No website, blog, newsgroup or wiki is going to give you all the answers for free. If every master SEO writer gave away his secrets, he’d have no business. If every master web designer could step you through creating the most magnificent website ever, he’d have no clients.

This goes back to what grandpa always said “You get what you pay for.” This is especially true with technical knowledge. That’s not to say one shouldn’t do their own research, but unless you’re planning a career change from business owner to SEO Specialist or Web Content Specialist or Web (insert flavor here) Guru, you’ll need to hire a professional.

The one thing I always hate about cinema is when films build upon one another’s cosmology. Legion, a sub-par piece in every sense of the word, starts off with bloody scene where the archangel Michael severs his own wings. He then stitches up the gaping wounds himself, as he is now mortal.

Being something of a mythology researcher, I’ve found no mention in Christian Biblical Lore about angels becoming mortal when they cut off their wings. In fact, this is an invention of the writer/director Kevin Smith. So, right off the bat, the basis for the film Legion is something Kevin Smith coughed up between bong hits.

The rest of the plot is a mish-mash stolen from films like The Prophecy, revolving about the classic “Hold-Out-And-Run” template. Aliens, 30 Days of Night, Dawn of the Dead (remake), The Mist and about a thousand other films of the genre share the same “story” arc; the characters are presented with an impossible challenge, one steels their wills to survive and they fortify until they realize they must move to stay alive. This decision invariably costs the characters that which they sought so hard to preserve – each other.

An ensemble piece, the cast of characters were there merely to add to the body count. Their deaths however, were nothing less than ignoble, usually getting chewed up by some file-toothed “angel” who has inhabited a human body.

The details of the plot are inconsequential – God wants to kill humans, but the Archangel Michael disagrees. Gabriel flies down after an hour of forced character development and begins to kick ass.

As a writer, you are obligated not to assault your audience’s sense of plausibility. Many will argue the “suspension of disbelief” is elastic and should be stretched – if I can accept that angels are real, I should be able to accept that angels would swoop down and enact God’s will.

However, this film left so many loop holes, even the most devout may begin to question their faith. The only new elements added to the archangels arsenal were bladed, bullet proof wings (stolen, if I remember correctly, from a Marvel Comics character named Archangel) and of course, a mace straight from the MI6 labs – a bludgeoning weapon that whirred and twisted and changes shape, extended and transformed, though likely too heave for even the new James Bond to heft, he was no doubt drooling over the versatility of this ridiculous weapon.

To spoil an already predictable plot, the good guys win and Michael gets his wings back, having taught the omniscient and omnipotent God a lesson in mercy. Gabriel flies off, beaten and the main characters, a trailer-park hussy/new mother and a bumpkin named Jeep (whose only heroic act was to machine-gun a child possessed by an angel) drive off into the post apocalypse desert to rebuild humanity, enacting a sloppy Joseph and Mary/Post Flood analog.

Overall, a  forgettable film.

In this film, perhaps for the first time in the history of vampire-cinema, the immortal la vida loca is painted in a realistic light. We step into a dimly lit world where vampirism, spread like a sexual disease or perhaps a viral plague has consumed and transformed most of the world.

The plot centers around a vampire who doesn’t like being a vampire (what, eternal youth, power and indestructibility not as much fun as you thought they’d be?), who by chance encounters the dwindling human resistance.  Proving himself a  friend to sheeple everywhere, the bipedal cattle bring this hematologist in on their plan to cure the vampiric infection.

The film is filled with those clever little gimmicks, like “daylight” driving windows, tinted 100% opaque, and a warren of underground tunnels that allows the leeches to travel during daylight hours. Willem Dafoe plays a blue-collar vampire who accidentally cured himself, and with the help of Ethan Hawke, intends to help cure all of humanity. Meanwhile, the blood supply is out, and the vampires are tearing off their neckties and degenerating into the nosferatu-esque and savage true vampiric form. Gross.

Half-developed characters stumble through subplots, while the audience is treated to constant barrage of surreal gore, squishing noises and vampires that are so starved, they turn on one another.

The films true weakness comes in the form of the cure – a shake and bake solution requiring neither hematologist nor faith nor garlic/silver oxide solution to achieve. Not impressed.

True vampire fans will enjoy this classic tale of moderate redemption wrapped in Big Business Dystopia, but those demanding substance will find the film without much of a bite.