Keys to Traveling for Your Creativity, Part II

Posted on May 1, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

(Continuing advice and lessons learned for the benefit of those who travel to further their creativity at conventions and festivals.)

10) Toss Your Expectations Aside

When you’re traveling for your creativity, you may get closer to your creator (as I did in Part I of this blog trilogy- can’t wait until they make four films out of this), but you may also find yourself in places you’ve never been before. Some might expect to experience an Emerald City like the one in Oz; I expected a bit of the Wild West from my trip to Houston. Mostly, I experienced gray skies and grayish buildings and roads that looked too much like Route 17 in Bergen County, NJ. Hmmmm….

11) Give Peeps a Chance

I started my time in Houston inside Bush International Airport. George was not around but his airport was clean and huge and generic and full of helpful people who advised against spending $65 on a cab and put in a shuttle van with a very nice young Southern belle with very definite plans to become a funeral director.

 12) Stereotypical Preconceptions Will Not Help

I will admit, as I left the airport I expected to see 10 gallon hat’s and sagebrush and the wild West. What I saw looks suspiciously like Route 17 in Bergen County New Jersey. Commerce has marginalized large swaths of the United States, especially population centers, so Houston, Texas has staples, and McDonald’s, and even an Olive Garden.

But they do have places that are uniquely Houston’s….


I apologize for being New York ethnocentric, but the five words on that restaurant sign above should never be together.

13) Weird Things Will Happen

When I got to the hotel, I went to sign-in for the festival, and found myself at the welcome desk for a convention of… funeral directors. That inspired three quick questions: Does the nice girl from the shuttle know about this? Am I in the wrong hotel? Why do I keep running into funeral directors?

14) Find One Sane Person

Luckily, I discovered the WorldFest sign-in was housed in a guest services booth just 13 steps away. I recognized that makeshift closet with a window as being allocated for WorldFest Houston because postcards advertising various movies were displayed all along the front of it. Inside was the glorious Elease Jenkins, who would prove to be the sane center of a truly interesting few days.

Elease’s first question was whether my wife Tina was with me as she had come to understand. First the airline thought I had a baby with me, now WorldFest thought I had Tina with me, apparently no one trusted me to be on my own.

But Elease hooked me up with my VIP and all access passes. Now I was set, baby.

15) Make Your Room a Sanctuary

Conventions and festivals can be intense. Make sure you have a place to mellow out and regroup. Your hotel room can be perfect for this.

My room was generic hotel room nice, which is about the best you can hope for when traveling for your creativity. One time I got a hotel room that was clearly designed for a swinging single guy; that really disoriented me. This room was quiet and sedate just like I wanted it.


The view below, however, held promises of lovely young starlets-to-be lounging in the southern sun.  All I got was gray skies and rain, and one day when the sky cleared for thirteen minutes, two Italian guys in Speedo’s. Not what I was hoping for….
In fact, the only cool thing that happened around the pool was this underwater Roomba which cleaned it every day. Sort of R2D2 meets Aqualad.
16) In This World, You’re on Your Own

Once you are all settled in, you will need a plan. Cons and festivals are designed to overwhelm, providing too many choices. No way can anyone attend every event, so decisions must be made. There I was, all on my own, at a truly international film festival. They were movies from China, Russia, Italy, and more, all right here in Texas. What would I choose to see?
I chose a Western, Five Grand, which has Eric Roberts in it for a little while.


Actually, it was a good reason to choose this film. We used Tom Sizemore in our film Clandestine, in much the same way. Actors of some reputation attract international distributors. I wanted to see how they use Roberts and then compare it to what we did with Sizemore.

17) At an Event, You Always Represent
Right before Five Grand started one of the hosts mistook me for a producer of the film and asked me to say a few words. Not wanting to insult or embarrass anybody, I said, “I’m here as a producer of Clandestine which is showing tomorrow at 9 PM right here in this theater. Tonight’s movie is a western; ours is more of an eastern.”

18) ASOF- Always Scope Out Food
Free tip for conference or festival newbies: always check out what food is available before you are hungry. If you don’t you’ll get on the first line you see, and survive on a passable breakfast, when a beautiful, affordable breakfast buffet is available just 25 steps away.

19) Learn What You Can From Every Opportunity

I go to as many classes as possible whenever I am at a convention or a festival, always looking to learn something new. Worldfest Houston was an uneven education. From a veteran screenwriter I learned the need to make sure information is current as I watched her demonstrate how to layout a script page, apparently unaware that Final Draft, etc., exist. From another, I learned to quadruple test the selling point of any presentation when I sat through a class on filming with drones and the drone didn’t work.

Two other classes stayed with me, however. The first flipped on me later in the fest. Nick Nicholson, a Houston Broadcast film critic, did a master class on screenwriting, with a focus on making the film work.  Honestly, the opening threw me; Nick showed clips from his movie review show, wherein he trashed about twenty films (many of which I agreed were problematic) and a few he liked (his Deadpool review was a welcome relief). Nick’s point was basically screenwriting and acting and filmmaking are difficult, and when any area of this art form fails, it makes his job as a reviewer that much more difficult.

At first, I thought he just hated movies, but eventually I got his point; Nick Nicholson loves cinema to the point where he becomes angry when he has to sit through faulty work. It was ultimately a lasting reminder that people will be watching and excited to enjoy our work, and letting them down isn’t right. There are so many ways for creativity to go off the rails –a producer with an agenda, a director ignoring the source material, an actor mailing it in– that creatives have to really fight to make every second the best it can be.

This applies to novels, art, music, anything creative. People want to be transported and if we do not diligently weave all the elements needed to get them there, we’re not doing our job.

20) Every Once in Awhile You Hit the Motherlode

The other class that knocked me out was this guy from NASA who humbly came to us to show us gorgeous footage shot in space, and then tell us NASA had hours and hours and hours of it, and was offering it to us as fair usage.

Astounding.

The NASA guy said it would be fair to use the footage in our films, but it wouldn’t be fair to use it, then cut to a box of laundry detergent and say, “NASA endorses Washy Suds!” Fair enough.

Here are the links:

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/BeyondThePhotography/CrewEarthObservationsVideos/

and

https://archive.org/details/jsc-pao-video-collection

for more information on NASA media usage: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.html
21) More Weird Stuff Might happen, Roll With it

When I got back to the sanctuary of my room, the only one I wanted to contact was my wife. Somehow I messed up my iPhone, which made for really cool time travel texts….

Sometimes when you try to regain control of your environment, this happens….

 

21) As Weird as it Gets, There’s Always Stranger Places to Go

I thought the time travel was as odd as it would get. Amazing how wrong I was….

Posted in America, film, Independent film, pop culture, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Talking to Pop, 14 years later

Posted on April 25, 2016 by chrisryanwrites


Sad to say, but Facebook reminded me of my father’s anniversary.

Fourteen years ago today, my father passed on. 

Seems like yesterday. And centuries ago. 

I don’t really know what I would say to him today. But I do know I have a lot of questions, and so, on his anniversary, I would like to have a conversation with him. If I could, here’s what I would ask…

Hey Pop, would you explain this world to me, so I can explain it to my sons? How do I look them in the eye and tell them there is still an American Dream to believe in?

You instilled in me a deep belief in American values: hard work, faith in leadership, and a belief in the potential of this country. 

Two out of three ain’t bad. 

I still believe in hard work, Pop, and I still deeply believe in the potential of this amazing country, but the leadership, they’ve gone from disappointing us to to downright preying on our jobs, our retirement, our Social Security, our ability to sleep at night. How do I tell my sons it is still worth believing in a country whose leadership aggressively wants to take away the opportunities of its own people? How do I get them to invest their faith in a society so rigged towards the one percent? What would you say to me about such a fixed game?

I think you would tell me that, to more or less of a degree, it has always been this way. Maybe, but it sure feels like it’s gotten worse, and I have sons to answer to for the choices my generation has made.

What I wouldn’t give for the ability to sit across from you, look into your sharp eyes, and see the truth you had for me, or better still, to sit back and watch you have a discussion with my sons. The perspective you would be able to give them would be so valuable, and I believe it’s one of the biggest things that is missing from our society. 

Your generation’s beliefs are not represented anymore. You were a Republican Conservative, but I do not think you would recognize your own party, just like old liberals wouldn’t recognize the Democratic Party. 

I understand that things have to change, but it was supposed to be an evolution; we were supposed to get better, to grow. That doesn’t seem to be the case. Things just seem to be getting more absurd. 

In the face of overwhelming scientific proof of looming catastrophe we really don’t take climate change seriously, and some of us flat out deny its existence after each natural disaster.

We fail to talk together and come up with solutions for the ills of our society, even after each mass shooting.

We actively vote for politicians who clearly do not have our best interests at heart, and fail to tar and feather them when they actively betray us.

And now, here comes the Presidential race. Donald Trump. Ted Cruz. Hillary Clinton. Bernie Sanders. Each of these mostly fictional characters has a spin on the nation’s future that is largely unachievable, and yet we will eventually vote one of them into office during a time when the leadership of this nation really concerns so many of us. I wonder, what would you say about these four, Pop? Would you shake your head and chuckle at me? More and more that’s what I do. But it’s a mirthless chuckle, a dark laugh, because I’m pretty close to handing this world over to my sons; they are 20, in a few months 21, and this world’s gonna be theirs. And it’s gonna belong to my students. What do I tell them, Pop? How do I give them faith?

Maybe that’s something that they have to discover on their own. Maybe that’s why you chuckled at me so often when I was their age, knowing that I had to find my own truth. One of the most generous things you ever did for me was giving me room to figure out some this on my own. You were a trustworthy sounding board and advisor, but you never forced me to think like you did. I get that now. And I am so grateful for that gift.

And even as I write this, a young couple walks past, arm-in-arm, sneaking a kiss, laughing with each other. Maybe that’s where they find their faith. Maybe that’s the best we can hope for; that they each get lucky enough to find someone to go through the journey with, no matter how crazy it gets. 

Worked for me.

Sure would be a lot easier with you around.

Still miss you, Pop, every single day.

Posted in America, Faith, fatherhood, husband, kids, love, marriage, parenting, politics, pop culture, teaching, teenagers, Uncategorized, wife | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Keys to traveling for your creativity

Posted on April 19, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

At some point, creators have to travel for their art. This is one such tale, told in hopes of making other creators’ journeys more pleasant and positive.

World premieres only happen once, obviously, and experiencing them in whatever form they take can be worthwhile.

Thursday was the world premiere of “Clandestine” by Feenix Films. Full disclosure, my work on the film was done long ago, but the Core Four of Feenix Films, David LaRosa, Nick DeMatteo, Kate A. McGrath, and Jeanine Laino, have worked tirelessly. They deserved a premiere. Once I saw the dates of the Houston Wordlefest Film Festival lined up with my scheduled Spring Break from my other life, I wanted to support their efforts and experience the event myself.

So with the support of the goddess, I headed south. Here are some lessons I learned…

1) Pack early, whatever that takes. For me (a storyteller who sometimes acts but mostly stays home writing) ddeciding what to wear became an issue. My go-to New Paltz Hawks sweatshirt wasn’t going to cut it. Neither were any of my Hackensack High School sports gear. I needed button down dress shirts, but every one that I owned was in the dry cleaners (yeah, about two dozen, happens too often, and my dry cleaner laughs at me). Retail was required.

2) Find what you are going to pack your stuff into well ahead of time. Turns out my son used all our luggage to move up to college and never returned any of it. I announced that it was no problem, I would use the garment bag we have. Actually, we have two, so I was set. Upon inspection, however, we discovered they were stored above our dryer and heat from that aging dinosaur of an appliance had discolored” them and warped their frames. Some more retail was required.

  
These would not do. The goddess took over and  shopping ensued.

   
Ummmmm, no.

  
Now we’re talking.

3) Read the Omens. As the goddess and I entered Newark Airport, we saw this:

   
I should have recognized it for the sign it was; if a New York pigeon was having trouble finding his luggage, challenges loomed. 

The second omen was when we realized everyone else in line (this is an airport, there are always lines) held a different piece of paper than us. Long story short, we needed to go to a machine to do a “first check-in” which resulted in a baggage tag and and a boarding pass (I told you I mostly stay at home writing). Hijinks ensued.

4) To thine own self be true. A helpful airport employee (yes, they exist; not all are defensive) translated the check-in process for us, and kindly asked, “And will Nick be sitting on your lap?” Now, I love me some Nick DeMatteo, but I really have to profess that love to be platonic and based strictly on an appreciation of his myriad artistic skills, not potential lap dancing, so I politely replied, “Um, who?”

“Your son? Nick?” 

A second boarding pass for a Nicholas Ryan had also printed. I explained that I had no son named Nick and the sons I did have were now really big and would balked at any physical interaction. She resolved the issue by stuffing Phantom Nick’s board pass into her pocket and announcing we were ready to go.

5) Romance must take place before you get on line. The goddess offered to drive me to the airport (bonus advice: if at all possible, hook up with a god or goddess, that one move will make life worth living), and we planned to breakfast together and then smooch at the gate a la Casablanca. Wrong. In Terrorism World, the airport is the least romantic place on Earth (yes, even less romantic than the dentist’s office, a colonoscopy room, or divorce court). The lesson here is that all the romance goes before the airport. Rumple the sheets before you leave. Hold hands in the inevitable traffic.  Find a nice diner.


6) Seating on the plane is crucial. The forward section is best and costs more. The middle is pretty smooth and costs less than first class. Economy is a thrill ride. 

Call me Indiana Jones.

  
First class was two suburban blocks away. I had the perfect seat to serve as bathroom monitor. If it is possible to top such perfect accommodations, the combination of engine roar thundering by on either side and my location’s ability to allow me to experience every shake and roll of take off worked in tandem to put me in direct contact with God. 

Well, almost. 

It had been so long since I prayed this fervently that I feared Our Creator might be disclined to hear me out, so I addressed my desperate pleas for deliverance to Mary because, as a Mom, she is allegedly a softer touch. 

And then a voice that was not a voice but a spoke unto me, saying “Listen to podcasts, loudly.” 
And I was delivered.

   
(Yes, this Divine Intervention strongly suggests the Blessed Mother is a Joanna Penn fan. Makes sense to me.)

7) Risk a look at heaven. Hey, the nuns always said God’s eternal reward was in the clouds, so take a peek…

  
Alas, these acres of eternity were sparsely populated – another omen?

8) Entertain yourself while waiting out the chaos of everyone trying to “deboard” at once…

 

… I watched my luggage deboard more efficiently than I did.
9) Once back on the ground, savor life’s blessing ... 

 

… At least until the flight home.
   

Posted in #adventure, America, Faith, film, love, marriage, pop culture, Religion, Spirituality, Uncategorized, wife, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

#TWD Finale Postmortem: #Whoisit?

Posted on April 4, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

You have seen The Waking Dead Season 6 Finale. You witnessed the taunting. Saw the barbed wire bat come down. Heard those horrible, haunting sounds. Saw the blood. So who is it? Who died?

Here are some unofficial odds:

1)  4 million-to-one: Rick Grimes

   

Just no. He’s the center of the show, the core of season 7 battles with Negan. No way.
2). 3.5 million-to-one: Carol and Morgan

 

They weren’t even there and Rick has longer odds than them, that’s how safe Rick is.

 3) 100-to-1: Rosalita Sure, it could be her, but why? Where would the dramatic impact come from if she died? And it would cost Abraham too, because that guy would scream out something like “Man vagina!” and try to take on the entire army of Saviors.
4) 50-to-1: Abraham

 
Still a long shot, but he gave Negan loud face, made him stop and comment. Possible.
5)  49-to-1: Eugene

 
 Almost as long a shot as Abraham, but he gets as smidge closer because the beating his face took suggests he annoyed someone in the Saviors’ camp already.

6) 30-to-1: Sasha

  
She was there, but Negan did not seem interested in her as a victim. We may see why next season.
7) 29-to-1: Michonne

  
Michonne is such a baddass she kind of rose up on her knees and looked Negan dead in the face, but again, he didn’t seem interested at all.
8) 15- to-1:  Daryl

  

 Nearly impossible, but he looks to be bleeding heavily already, so maybe Negan will just finish the job (millions of women just screamed and cursed my ancestors).

9) 10-to-1: the Justin Timberlake stand-in  

Probably just a distraction, but they cut to him a few times during the TWD fatality shell game right before Negan raised Lucille.
10) 9- to-1: Carl

  
I doubt Carl is the target mostly because there is too much good story between he and Negan still to come, but the showrunners have wandered from the comic before…
11) 5-to-1: Maggie

  
This would also stray from the comics, but what a heartbreaking reversal, and it would cement Negan’s reputation as cruelest villain of all time.
12) 1- to-1: Glen

  
The poor guy has everything working against him; comic book lore, he reluctantly commited cold-blooded murder on the Saviors, he resisted most noticeably, he was the only one to break Negan’s rule, and reactions to him being dragged back into line made it clear his death would have emotional impact to a number of people. I truly hate to say it, but things look bleak for the nicest optimist in the cast.

What do you think? Toss your theories in the comment section. We might as well discuss theories, because the reveal episode won’t be here until October….

Posted in #adventure, comics, fiction, film, pop culture, The Walking Dead, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

10 Reasons to Dread Tonight’s TWD Finale

Posted on April 3, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

There are many reasons to experience fear when it comes to almost any episode of The Walking Dead, but waiting for tonight’s 90-minute episode, the level of dread is palpable. Here are ten reasons to worry about tonight’s #TWD season 6 finale:

10) The walkers haven’t caused chaos in awhile.

9) We haven’t seen the true strength of the Saviors yet.

8) We’re not really sure what’s up with Enid; is she secretly aligned with the Saviors?

7) This guy took Daryl Dixon out of play.

8)  Eugene may have to bite another dick.

7) Abraham’s days of outflanking people (both militarily and verbally) may be over.

6) With nothing to lose, Rosilita is a strong possibility to be killed.
5) One or more of the realitvely new cast that we are just starting to know may be sacrificed to the beast that is coming. 

4) Pardon the irony, but our heroes might be getting betrayed by Jesus. 

3) Carol and Morgan and Rick are out there away from the group and can be easily outnumbered by the Saviors..

    Well, maybe not Carol….

 

2) Daryl’s been shot. How badly?

1) with Maggie doubled over in pain and Glenn heading right for his darkest moment in the comics, will either survive?



BONUS: The reason that all of this speculation seems worse is beause of one charming guy …


…named …


Negan is coming. And #TWD may never be the same.

Posted in comics, fiction, film, pop culture, The Walking Dead, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blackjack: Ransom for a Dead King, chapters 5 and 6

Posted on April 3, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

 Here are the next two chapters of “Blackjack: Ransom for a Dead King” I. Am offering with Blackjack creator Alex Simmons. All previous chapters are available free on this blog (chrisryanwrites@wordpress) for your enjoyment.
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Posted in #adventure, America, comics, digital publishing, ebook publishing, fiction, independent publishing, pop culture, super-heroes, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Birthday wishes

Posted on March 31, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

  
On my birthday, I wish for…

You to find your center, the thing you are meant to do…

You to know your song and sing it well…

You to stand for what you know is right, based on a strong moral core, built on classic, not politically expedient, values…

You to look into someone’s eyes and know that you are loved…

You to know that the real you is revealed when no one is looking, and to act boldly for good in those moments…

You to know the best we can do is serve “us” not “me” …

You to enjoy laughter more than victory, love more than money…

You to see the treasure in a child’s heart, and protect it fiercely…

You to know, really know, that peace cannot be purchased, it must be earned through selfless acts …

And then I wish for the blessing to be in the presence …of you.

Posted in education, Faith, husband, kids, love, marriage, parenting, Religion, sons, Spirituality, teaching, Uncategorized, wife, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Will TWD Season 6 Finale Be Kirkman’s Revenge?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

The dread has been building all season.

Negan’s coming. 

The dread has gotten worse over the past few episodes as it became so clear.

 Negan’s coming. 

And Kirkman is going to have his revenge on all of us.

  

You see, it wasn’t just me, even though I know I too may be to blame. But I heard there were lots of us. Maybe thousands, though that could be exaggerated. 

But we did it. We wrote. We complained. And now the complaints we made have been addressed and what happens in the finale …. Well, now Negan will be completely justified. Maybe, possibly because we complained.

And that only increases the dread.

You see, when the unthinkable happened in the infamous issue number 100 of The Walking Dead, some of us readers wrote emails. We argued that what Negan did in issue 100 was “not organic” and that it violated a sacred “author/reader trust” by ending a character we had invested in without justification, reason, or payoff. We accused Kirkman and company of pulling a “gag” just for the event of issue 100.

That was then, this is now.

Kirkman and the showrunners have provided justification this time around. Serious, clear, emphatic justification. Loads of it. Rick and Daryl and Glen and the others have killed Saviors in cold blood, have blown them up with a bazooka, have taken out so many in combat, that when The Big Bad comes, he will have every reason to do what he does.

Negan is coming. And due the actions our heroes have taken recently, much to our horror, we know in our tortured hearts that they deserve whatever he brings down on them. 

And it just might be the fans’ fault.

  

(What follows is the original blog that paraphrased the letter to Kirkman. My apologies, on behalf of any fan who may have written and possibly inspired Kirkman to build a better monster….beware, there are spoilers aplenty beyond this point….)

Do authors owe readers anything at all? And does that debt grow the further into a story readers get?

I ask because I believe there is a grave difference between surprising or challenging a reader for entertainment and betraying that reader’s trust.
An author asks for a reader’s attention, yes? And that same author earns readers’ attention by making certain promises; to entertain, to thrill, to intellectually challenge; to provoke thought, emotions, moral reflection; to scare, etc. Once the reader accepts the author’s offer, a pact is created: an author will provide a certain kind of entertainment aimed at eliciting certain responses, and in return, readers will continue to read.
What happens when an author violates that pact?

After considerable time trying to shake THE WALKING DEAD issue #100, I am amazed at how thoroughly betrayed I feel. Not entertained. Not thrilled, spooked, scared, horrified, or any other sensation. I believe the comic book’s creative team was disloyal to its readers, and may have damaged THE WALKING DEAD experience significantly, perhaps irreparably.
I understand that one of the rules of this book’s world is “no one is safe.” I have lived with that, even when continuing was difficult (the Governor’s serial raping of Michonne was nearly impossible to get beyond; I actually stopped reading for more than a year, until a friend wore me down saying the book “got better”). I also understand that another of the rules of this series is “this group of people is worth watching.” If this group was not worthy of our attention, was not somehow more worthy of following than any other group, then the book would have been a non-linear series of stories moving from group to group, and would not have made it to issue #100.

The reason a book is successful comes down to character. Character is story and story is character. Everything of value in storytelling must emerge from character. Plot comes from character. Suspense, horror, humor, love, all of it comes from character. And the agreement between author and reader is “these characters are worthwhile, they have something to say to you.”

The Walking Dead team entered into this pact with readers, especially in regards to characters they kept in front of readers for almost 100 issues. Why would an author ask readers to invest in a character for almost 100 issues if that character had nothing to say? That is why we keep reading because we have been promised these characters “have something to say.”

In issue #100, the WD team seemed to suddenly, violently, declare, “No, they do not.”
From very early on in the series, the WD team wrote and drew and inked and lettered the character Glenn in such a way as to evoke a sympathetic response in readers. Glenn meant something to the creators; it is clear from how they allowed him to exist. Glenn was the hope left in that world. And in issue #100, the WD team utterly decimated that hope. He was violated with such lack of respect, such cheap thrills, such utter dismissal of his value as to alter how this world is perceived by readers from this point forward.

And it is easy to understand that the WD team meant to change the way we perceive this world. And they succeeded. But here’s the problem; the change violated the pact. We were promised these people were worth watching, that they were different than the rest of this world of victims, and therein was the promise of hope.

Now, unfortunately, there’s no more hope, no more reason to “watch this group” above any other. There will never again be that sliver of hope that some semblance of worthwhile existence can be achieved, and if there is no hope that life is worth living, where is the entertainment value?

We read horror for catharsis, release. Now those elements have been removed. That was not the pact. The agreement was these characters were special, were worth watching. It seems the WD team betrayed our faith in these characters as worthwhile, in this book as worthy of our time, in their storytelling abilities as worth experiencing. They undermined the character’s collective heroic journey, and obliterated trust that these people are worth following.

Sadly, I am not sure I can go any further with THE WALKING DEAD, in either comics or television. After Glenn, what’s the point?

I’d love to see the opinion of others. Hopefully, there is someone out there who can restore my faith in what had been an exceptional experience. What do you say? Is there an author/reader pact?
Christopher Ryan is author of City of Woe, available on Kindle and Nook, and in print. For more info, click here.
 

Posted in #adventure, comics, fiction, pop culture, The Walking Dead, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BvS vs. Daredevil Season 2, et al: Spectacle Vs. Story

Posted on March 28, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

First things first; congratulations to Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice for crushing  it at the box office worldwide in its first weekend. Over $440 million is awesome. I wish it even more success. However, I must admit I came out of my theater experience of this film frustrated. And I think that what is missing in BvS could have been there. This movie came so close to being an all-time classic, and what is missing could have been so easy, and inexpensive, to include.

  

We can find what is missing in BvS, spoiler-free, by looking at Daredevil Season 2, or to avoid the DC v Marvel war, the current, ridiculously intense season of The Walking Dead. What both of these series include that BvS does not are scenes of characters talking that allow us inside, allow us to care about what happens to them. This is my biggest complaint about BvS; it is loaded with fun spectacle, but falls short on story with dramatic impact. 

  
  
It is understandable to suspect that some are thinking, “Yo, $440 mil creates a big who cares?” I’ll acknowledge to some who think in these terms that they have a point, and then respond with a nod to final box office numbers for so many other films that made a big initial splash and then had legs because people connected with the story, kept earning because what happened to the characters mattered greatly to the audience. I am uncertain that the word-of-mouth on BvS is going to help sales in that regard.

And, yes, both of the shows mentioned do have many more hours in which to provide the crucial human scenes I am discussing here, but BvS would have been incredible if it added as few as two such moments of meaningful character exchange (and maybe lost a dream sequence or two). All it needs are the kind of truly emotional beats such as those we have experienced repeatedly in The Walking Dead Season 6. Never have I dreaded a season finale as I do TWD’s next Sunday.  

Can such moments be done in big spectacle films? Look at Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Classic storytelling. Why? Because we are provided with scenes that allow us to care.  And sure, some will say that people cared going into that film because they have been fans throughout the franchise’s 40 year history. True, but Batman and Superman have been around almost twice that time and yet it is hard to deeply care about them in this particular film.

  
Additionally, both SW:TFA and BvS have moments of major tragedy in the third act. Which one resonates? Which one still hurts? The answer is intimately connected to which film creates moments that get us to care about its characters.

For example, Batman has a worldview that is clearly different than Superman’s but we do not get that scene of debate, that moment which allows us in (at least not for Superman). Daredevil and Punisher’s discussion on the rooftop has been pointed to as exactly the kind of moment that would have elevated BvS. I agree, and I believe Ben Affleck will have a few such moments in the solo Batman film he is going to do because his other directorial turns have benefitted from them (See? I have hope for DC’s cinematic universe).

  
Event filmmaking and spectacle entertainment is fine and profitable, but utilizing the golden rule will always create finer, more profitable, and, most importantly, more beloved films. That golden rule is serve the story and make us care.

Posted in #adventure, America, comics, fiction, film, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, pop culture, super-heroes, The Walking Dead, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

An Easter scene….

Posted on March 27, 2016 by chrisryanwrites

On this Easter morning, in the spirit of wishing everyone peace and joy no matter what spiritual path taken, I offer a scene between two of my characters. This scene has been around for a couple of years in my mind. I have told it to the goddess (that generous soul has heard me tell multiple versions of thousands of stories throughout our marriage, God bless her), and while it may wind up in the upcoming City of Love, I reserve the right to use it or not, and change it or not, to serve the needs of that novel.

But for this morning, here is the current version ….

It was about 5 a.m. and nothing had happened. Stakeouts were like this sometimes; hours and hours of paying keen attention to nothing happening at all. Except for Gunner. Something always happened to Gunner during stakeouts. He grew bored. When that occurred, anything could fall victim to his need to be entertained.

Sometimes he could “mosey over for some snacks.” At those times he would come back with way too much junk food.

No escape on this one; they were stuck in a van that looked beat up on the outside and was a surveillance wonder inside. Wandering off for Milky Ways would blow their cover. Moving around too much in the car would do the same. Santiago, who was in deep with their target, had driven them there, parked it and gone inside, improving their cover, but essentially trapping them inside for the duration.

And Gunner was bored. He’d spent the first six hours making note of any developments no matter how trivial, dissecting and theorizing on relevance until he and Mallory had to admit they were chasing their tails.Gunner spent hour seven musing on past sexual conquests, a monologue Mallory had endured during other stakeouts. Interestingly, the list always stopped before Lam Pi, the murdered love of Gunner’s life. He never acknowledged any involvement, no matter how fleeting the conquest, after her either.

Eight hours in, Gunner was looking for new territory to cover. Mallory knew what that meant, and braced for the scrutiny. But Gunner didn’t zero in on his paunch or graying hair or crow’s feet this time. Instead, he focused on the Christhead dangling on the chain around his neck. 

“You got yer buddy wicha, huh? Old J.C. gonna keep us safe if this thing goes sideways?”

When Gunner got like this the key was to lean into the conversation rather than get defensive. “To the best of my knowledge, He doesn’t have a say in the outcome here.”

“‘Whatchu talkin’bout, Willis?'”

“You think He actively mainpulates events in our lives? I don’t.”

Gunner made a “tsk” sound, a clear indication that the ball breaking portion of The Gunner Show had begun. “Thought you religious types used him as some kind of ethereal body guard. ‘Lord, protect us and save us’ kind of thing.”

“Not for me.”

The gleam in his eye was a tell; Gunner was about to launch into pure ranking or dozens or scorching, depending on which neighborhood you were raised in. “Oh, you’re in it for the magic tricks? You want a piece of His big finish? ‘Tadaa! I’m back!’ That’s your connection?”

Mallory looked at his partner until Gunner blushed a bit, then he shrugged. “That’s not the attraction, not for me. Here’s a guy with clear beliefs that He is committed to. He has the conviction to serve those beliefs even when everything goes sideways for Him, when the whole world seems to turn on Him, and those beliefs are the only thing He has left. He lives what He believes even when it would be easier and safer to abandon them, or let someone else take the fall. When everything is on the line, He knows who He is, what He believes, how He wants to live, and He finds the strength from those beliefs to live his way. That is who I wear this for, who I aspire to follow, who I pray to for just a fraction of that strength. You have a problem with that?”

Gunner watched his partner in silent awe for a moment, then smirked. “Happy Easter, buddy.”

“Gunner, it’s December.”

“And if you’re good, and this doesn’t, in fact, go sideways, Santie  Gunner might just bring you a Christmas present.”
  

Posted in Easter, Faith, fiction, love, pop culture, Religion, Spirituality, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment