Flashbacks

I'm about to get a little personal here, and I hope people do not take this wrong. I consider myself a pretty logical person, but I am also of the belief that science (at least current scientific understanding) cannot provide us with an explanation of all things.

The other night I was watching the season 2 finale of the X-Files. I had not seen the episode I think since it originally aired, but something about it stirred up memories I have not thought deeply about for years. When I was about 14, I went with several Scouts and two leaders from our troop to a remote part of western New Mexico, in the area of Grants. If I remember correctly, we were at the edge of a wilderness preserve near El Malpais, which in Spanish means "The Bad Country."

The purpose of the trip was to help one of our fellow Scouts complete his Eagle project. We were going to be constructing "dams" out of chicken wire and cement in an arroyo at the edge of the wilderness preserve. We arrived in the area after driving quite some way from Grants, where we had stopped for dinner. The area was remote; it was not a place people normally camped in. We had to drive on a small dirt road for at least a couple of miles before we settled down in a stand of trees just a short distance from the wilderness preserve.

After darkness fell, one of the Scouts started to tell me about how the area we were in used to have homesteads, and that he thought he saw the ruins of a house or barn near the dirt road we were on, just outside the stand of trees we were camped in. With our leaders' permission, me, this Scout and one other boy set off with flashlights in hand. We talked excitedly about finding old coins, boot spurs or other interesting artifacts at the homestead site. The walk took several minutes, since the supposed location of the ruins was on the opposite side of the stand of trees from where we were camping.

When we arrived at the site, we began searching the ground for any indications of where the building had been. It was dark and the ruins were badly decayed and overgrown. We started to comb through the dirt and underbrush with our hands, hoping we would uncover something interesting to take back to camp. A light appeared in the distance, in the middle of an open patch of desert about a mile from where we were. The light looked very similar to a car's headlights, only it was brighter and there was only one light instead of two. The light was shining directly at us, and so we stopped what we were doing and began to wonder what was going on.

A second light, much like the first one, appeared from behind the first light. The first light stood stationary, but the second light began to advance on our position. We turned off our flashlights, realizing they had probably given us away. The boy who had come along began to panic and say he was going to run off to the camp. The boy whose idea it was to come to the homestead site decided he would crouch behind a bush and wait to see who would show up. A sick feeling welled up in my stomach as the light quickly approached us. The one boy was already running down the dirt road. I was able to convince the other boy to go back to camp. By this time the light was very close. I listened intently, expecting to hear the roar of an engine, yet I heard absolutely nothing.

We took off running as fast as we could. When we were several hundred feet up the road from the homestead site, I looked over my shoulder and saw the light arriving at our original location. I ran faster, sure they would guess the direction we had gone and overtake us before we reached our camp. I'm not sure I have ever been so frightened in my life. Fortunately, the light did not come up the dirt road. I lost sight of it as we delved deeper into the stand of trees and finally arrived at the camp. We yelled to the leaders what happened, and at first they did not believe us. After we insisted someone was out there, they grabbed their guns and ran off to investigate. After a while the leaders showed back at camp, saying there was no sign of lights or anything else.

I am not claiming I saw a UFO, partly because the lights were at ground level and partly because I still have absolutely no idea what I saw. Unlike some people, I really don't like jumping to conclusions too quickly, since often in strange situations there is more than meets the eye. The fact I did not hear the roar of an engine does not mean the lights were paranormal. I could have simply not heard anything because I was panicking. I will say that the most disturbing fact about the incident came the following day, when we were driving back towards Grants. As we drove out of the stand of trees, I and the other two kids who were with me gasped as we realized the ground the light that advanced on us had to cover was chock full of rolling hills. The light did not bob up and down as it would have if it were attached to a land-bound vehicle. This single fact cast the greatest doubt in mind about who or what the light was.

I have considered the possibility that what we saw was a manifestation of the infamous ghost lights, but they moved as if they were attached to a vehicle of some sort. I have heard rumors, but have not found any authoritative sources, that say a sacred site such as a Navajo burial ground is near the nature preserve. I have found many, many accounts of other supposed paranormal activities around the Grants area. The area is down the road from Chaco Canyon, a site where an entire (and very advanced) group of Native Americans mysteriously disappeared. Some have theorized these people were part of a massive alien abduction. I say pretty much any theory is possible since nobody can seem to come up with any conclusive evidence about what happened.

I have  no idea if what I saw was connected to the Chaco Canyon mystery, or any other mystery. I do wonder what would have happened had we not run away from the homestead site, had we stayed to see what the lights really were all about.

Writing for Fame and Money

News outlets love to grab a hold of stories like Stephenie Meyer or J.K. Rowling, both of whom have gone through a tremendous rags-to-riches transformation due to their successful fantasy series. Rowling was a single mother on welfare in England when she published Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with a small publisher. The first edition sold out in no time (I believe in about a month), catching the attention of Scholastic Books. After publishing all seven Harry Potter books, and negotiating 8 movie adaptations, Rowling now has more money than the Royal Family in England.

Stephenie Meyer was a stay-at-home mom in Arizona when she had a dream about vampire love. She wrote her first book and claims that she sent off seven query letters, getting picked up on that first round. Anyone who has queried a novel knows that is nothing short of miraculous, but even more astounding was the $700,000 advance she received from her publisher.

The details surrounding the sudden financial uplift for Rowling and Meyer have been splashed around by media outlets all over the globe. People have lapped up the details eagerly, fantasizing that they too would write a book and become instantly rich. It seemed everyone was writing an "original" book about pubescent wizards and witches seven or eight years ago, and now everyone is writing about vampire romance. I seriously doubt all these people are writing what they feel, but are instead in the pursuit of riches and fame.

Recently I was reading the blog a friend of mine (who works in the publishing industry). She expressed frustration from dealing with first-time writers and those who were looking for publishing contracts. According to her, a fair amount of these writers expect this magical transformation from a huge influx of money. They think the money and being published will solve all of their problems and that they will then be on easy street. She gets to break the bad news to them that their fantasies are just that, and that reality is far different.

So if any of you reading this want to become published to get out of your current, bad job or to live in a palatial mansion, or to be the center of attention in the world, I have a message to you: please stop. Stop writing, and go do something you enjoy. The field is entirely too crowded with those who are writing for fame and money and books written solely to separate people from their money. The truth of the matter is that most writers have a day job so they can pay the bills (including yours truly), so make sure you set yourself up for a career that you can enjoy in addition to writing books. Your writing should be an expression of what you feel, of your desire to tell a good story or present intriguing ideas in narrative form, not to win the literary jackpot the media has pushed so much on us all lately.

UFOs Over China

China has recently been in the news for UFO sightings, including one that shut a Chinese airport down for a few hours. Interestingly, it seems everyone has an opinion about what the UFOs are, but the fact of the matter is nobody knows what they are, of they by definition would not be UFOs.

UFO, of course, stands for unidentified flying object. UFOs can be a human-made object, from Earth, that is not identifiable for a number of reasons. There are those who assume any time a strange light appears in the sky that it is aliens coming to enslave the human race, while there are others who claim certifiably there is no such thing as life on other planets.

I have to admit that to my untrained eyes, the UFO filmed flying through Chinese airspace looks strikingly similar to a rocket or something very similar. Of course, I am not an aircraft expert by any means. I cannot say for certain that the object is from Earth, though, and I cannot say for certain that it is from outer space. If you are looking for either uniformed declaration, there are plenty of others who will gladly provide it. Right now I am just fascinated with the fact a UFO sighting shut down an airport in any country around the world.

I Want To Believe

When I was younger, I would regularly watch a then-new, fascinating series on Fox, called the X-Files. For those of you not familiar with the show, it follows the exploits of two FBI agents as they investigate a number of strange crimes, missing persons cases and just about anything else that could have a potential link to the paranormal. Before I had a driver's license, I would spend quite a few Friday nights home alone with the TV and a frozen pizza. Yes, to borrow a line from the rock group Barenaked Ladies, I watched X-Files with no lights on.

One of the FBI agents was more of a skeptic, while the other was a staunch believer in the paranormal. Needless to say, this created an interesting dynamic for the series. The believing agent had a poster on his wall, which said "I Want To Believe." The statement is an interesting one from a language arts standpoint, particularly the word choice. "Want" shows that the person has a desire to believe, rather than having the belief in the paranormal forced on them. Whoever put the poster together could have just as easily made it say "I Believe" but the meaning would have been drastically altered.

During my interview with Lisa Williams, a British clairvoyant now living in the United States, she told me something interesting about skeptics. She claimed, interestingly enough, that skeptics were almost always easy to do psychic readings on. When I probed her about the reason, she explained that many skeptics want to believe in the paranormal, but they just don't know how. I was taken aback a little at her claim and have been thinking about it ever since. Perhaps this conflict raging inside the minds of so many skeptics accounts for the sometimes almost violent reaction they display toward anyone who claims to have witnessed (or even believe in) a paranormal event.

So there is some food for thought. I have suspended final judgment on much of this, which honestly is my general practice with most of the notoriously puzzling paranormal cases in the history of the world.

Who Do I Write Like?

I took a writing analysis test that analyzes a person's writing style (using statistics, the only sure way to measure anything;) and came up with some interesting results. Apparently my writing style when I do articles matches that of Dan Brown. When I write my blog posts on here, however, my writing style more closely resembles that of H.P. Lovecraft. As if that were not enough, I submitted several pages of Shadow House for analysis, and the result came back as David Foster Wallace.

Not sure what to think of these results...

Propsal Drafting

I have been kicking around an idea for a non-fiction book for almost a year now. My wife has been bugging me to do something about it, but I always feel like I have too much on my plate. Wah, wah, wah! The writing is crying about how put upon he is. I know, none of you are impressed, nor do you believe it.

Rather than make excuses, I have decided to see if I can get a publisher for this book. I would do it indie, but the nature of the book and the work to do it properly requires a publisher. So here I am, getting ready to send query letters to agents and publishers yet again. This time, though, the game is completely different. Non-fiction publishing is a horse of a different color entirely.

This book will involve a lot of photographs, and I am not sure if a publisher would supply a photographer or if I need to find one myself. Maybe it depends on the publisher, whether they are a big shot in NYC or a small regional press. There is a lot about this process I don't know, so I am feeling around in the dark, hoping by some miracle I stumble along the right pathway until I see the light of day. I am hoping this project sees the light of day as well, since it would be a blast to research and write, as well as promote and have people read.

The query letter is an important piece of getting my book on with a publisher or having an agent champion me. These people may only read my query letter and make a judgment about my writing skills based solely on that short piece. It has to be top-notch, engaging, clear, concise. Yeah, no pressure whatsoever. Wish me luck.

New Facebook Page for Shadow House

I have instituted a Facebook page for my first paranormal thriller novel, Shadow House. Take a look, "like" it, get the latest updates on Shadow House and share with your friends for them to "like" as well.

My Interview With Lisa Williams

I have to admit that I was unsure what exactly to expect before I spoke with Lisa Williams, an internationally recognized clairvoyant medium. Some self-proclaimed mediums are like Harry Potter's divination teacher: they act as if they live on another plane of existence mentally. Trust me, that is not a good thing.
I was pleasantly surprised when I finally spoke with Lisa. Behind her thick British accent was a sense of warmth and humanity one would expect from a therapist or a very good teacher. We chatted about the recent heatwave, the great ski resorts here in Utah and other "small talk" before getting down to business. When I do interviews, some people are so nervous they ramble. Lisa was very well-composed, which did not surprise me since she has done quite a number of interviews and public appearances. Some people who are so used to the media treat you with an amount of abruptness, as if you are a necessary evil that must be dealt with but at the same time detested.

I had a very enjoyable chat with Lisa. I say chat, because it was more like speaking with one of my friends than it was like conducting an interview. I can't stress enough how easy-going Lisa was. She entertained every one of my questions, answering them clearly and thoroughly. At the end of the interview she even bothered to compliment me on my array of questions, saying most were not so thorough in their interrogatories. Needless to say, I was flattered considering Lisa Williams has been interviewed by many top-notch media personalities.

To read my article about Lisa Williams' visit to Salt Lake City, click here.

Check out Lisa's book, Life Among the Dead, here and pre-order her new book, The Survival of the Soul, here.

More Chupacabra Killings in Texas

For whatever reason, Texas seems to be a real magnet for hairless canines people keep claiming are Chupacabras (or "goat sucker" in Spanish). I have written a couple of articles on el Chupacabra, including one that has basic information about the cryptid (undiscovered creature) you can read by clicking here. I also wrote about another incident involving the killing of what some hypothesized was a Chupacabra (in Texas) you can read by clicking here. Other Chupacabra corpses have been tested by university researches, who have concluded the dead animals were some sort of canine with a skin disorder.

Some have blamed the recent slaughtering of cattle in Colorado on the Chupacabra, as well as aliens. Some have theorized that Chupacabras are alien creatures, as intelligent beings or kept as pets by intelligent alien beings.

If you want to learn more about el Chupacabra, check out the book Chupacabras: And Other Mysteries by Scott Corrales.

Twitter

I have had a Twitter account for a while now, but admittedly in the past I have been not so vigilant about really using Twitter. Recently I have recommitted myself to Twitter, since it is a great place to disseminate compact messages and also collect a myriad of information. Twitter can also be a great way to waste some time, as some tweets are nothing more than puffed air (as are some cereals).

If you use Twitter, or plan to in the near future, I would very much appreciate a follow. My user name on Twitter is "stevenwriter" -- look me up. I am busily trying to build a list of people to follow who are interesting, so feel free to peruse my list.

Until next time...

Literary Theory

I am forever grateful for my undergraduate English studies, in particular for my alma matter's insistence that all English degree seekers be well-schooled in the major literary theories of the time. When I spent my first semester as an official English major, I started off in the recommended introductory classes. The first class was an introductory course to linguistics for English majors, which proved to be a mind-expanding experience. The second course focused almost exclusively on literary theory. These classes, I have concluded, were crafted not only to drill into your head the fundamentals needed to succeed in the program, but to also drive away anyone foolish enough to think English was an "easy" degree to attain.

The literary theory class was not the favorite of many of my classmates, who complained about the course long after we were done with it. The class did prepare us to speak and write intelligently about the many, many books we were about to read. I was able to get up out of my seat as a casual reader, and walk around a book (or short pieces), looking at it from the various angles these different theories provided. At first I had to put forth a concerted effort to view what I read through the various lenses.

I earned my degree several years ago, and over time I have learned that viewing what I read through different literary theories or approaches now comes quite naturally. I especially struggled with postmodernist and deconstructionist theory, but they flow through my mind without my thinking about it.

I strongly feel that having a firm grasp on these theories not only makes me a more aware reader, but also a more aware writer. I would argue that being a more aware writer makes one a better writer. Anything you can do as a writer to gain a tighter grip on the English language (including learning other languages) will only help you to improve your own craft. Of course this is a relative thing, since there are writers who are quite good who are not really that aware. These writers, undoubtedly, would be much better if they would engage in activities that heightened their awareness.

If you were not an English major in college, or say you did not go to college, does that mean you can not be a better writer? Are literary theories forever lost to you? No. There are many excellent books on the subject. If you have the money, time and dedication, I would highly recommend buying Literary Theory and Criticism: An Oxford Guide. If you are a little tight on cash and need something more easily digested, try out Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction for some wonderful insights. I would not stop at studying literary theory from just one source, though, since there are many theories and many ways of employing them.

Werewolves vs. Skinwalkers: What's the Difference?

After seeing some recent depictions of Skinwalkers in Hollywood films, some may be wondering what the difference really is between a Skinwalker and a werewolf. Others may already think there is no difference, that a Skinwalker is just a Native American werewolf. Further muddying the waters is the Twilight series, where the Native Americans are werewolves. Some literary critics have gone so far as to say these werewolves are Skinwalkers.

Well, it is my turn to weigh in on the whole connection between werewolves and Skinwalkers. First off, there is none. Let me just clarify that once more: a Skinwalker is not a Native American werewolf. First of all, Skinwalkers have been known to take on animal forms of more than just wolves. A Skinwalker is rumored to be able to take on the attributes and deformed form of the animal whose skin they wear. That means you get Skinwalkers walking around like bears, deer, coyotes, etc.

Second major point: humans become werewolves by getting bitten by one, but Skinwalkers are not bitten by other Skinwalkers to become part of the group. How does one become a Skinwalker? Well, first off, the person needs to be Native American. There is much debate about additional requirements to become a Skinwalker, however numerous sources (which I believe to be legitimate) say a "candidate" must kill a close family member in cold blood. Some claim that new Skinwalkers must use corpses to perform magical rites, perhaps even the body of the close family member. Let's just say that these practices are nothing like the lore surrounding werewolves.

Werewolves often do not have control over when they transform, since this is powered by the moon's cycles. In some werewolf lore (mostly modern) they can transform at will. Skinwalkers are said to operate almost exclusively under the cover of darkness, but they can wear the animal skins and make their transformation at will, day or night.

There are other differences between werewolves and Skinwalkers, but I think you get the point. So the next time Hollywood comes out with a "Skinwalker" movie that is basically a bunch of werewolves riding around on motorcycles, you too can roll your eyes at the sheer ignorance, then write a ranting blog post about the whole thing.

Until next time...

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

I finally caved in and signed up for a Netflix membership. My wife actually did, but I am fully enjoying the benefits of the membership. Lately (and by lately I mean the last several years) I find it difficult to catch a movie at the theater, so I get to see a lot of movies when they are released on DVD. Recently I watched the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland. Before I give my opinion on the film, let me just say that I am a big Lewis Carroll fan. I have thoroughly enjoyed both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass since I was in my youth. The Jabberwocky used to give me nightmares when I was little.

I had high hopes for Tim Burton's version of Alice. I was aware of the fact Alice was supposed to be nineteen in the movie, but I was not prepared for the return-of-the-heroine twist. It smacked too much of Steven Spielberg's failed movie Hook, where Peter Pan has grown up and forgotten his roots. If only this movie had the same coherency as Hook, not to say that Hook was highly coherent. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland was all over the place. It was some strange twist between the books Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass with the movies Shrek and The Lord of the Rings trilogy thrown in.

Needless to say, my high hopes were dashed, and surprisingly soon into the movie. I felt the whole story falling apart once Alice made her way through the little door and crossed into Wonderland. Even the acting might of Johnny Depp was not enough to save the script that tried to be too much, becoming a jack of all trades and master of none.

Dead of Night Radio

I have recently discovered a series of "radio" broadcasts, called Dead of Night Radio. For those of you who are not aware, back in the day (before I was born) radio broadcasts were king. This was, of course, before television came out. Well, it seems a resurgence of audio-only entertainment has been born, thanks to a little device known as the iPod.

The Dead of Night shows are short and entertaining, giving me something other than Pearl Jam to listen to. Okay, I listen to more than just Pearl Jam, but the point is the Dead of Night broadcasts are interesting and different. The voice characters are dramatically engaging, the sound effects are surprisingly non-cheesy, and the stories are intriguing. As a writer I know how hard it is to tell an impacting story in about fifteen minutes, but Dead of Night Radio does well at it.

You can look at the Dead of Night Radio blog here or you can look up the Dead of Night Radio podcast on iTunes (and the best part is it's free). So far I have been thoroughly enjoying the shows that have been put on iTunes, but I wish there were more of them.

Layering

I used to do quite a bit of drawing and some painting. Sadly, I have not done that much in recent years, mostly out of time constraints and a little out of space constraints. When I first started taking art lessons in high school I struggled with finding my own style. After turning in some miserable assignments, I started my first colored pencil drawing. The picture (see below) was part of the movie poster for Last of the Mohicans. Sick of doing the same mediocre work, I decided to go bold. For the assignment my teacher only allowed us to use two colors, so as you can see I chose to do mine in red and yellow.

After I lightly drew out the main features of the picture, I did something that others thought I was crazy for. I took a crimson red colored pencil and applied a thick coat of red for the hair. I then worked on top of this bright red base to create the effect of the different strands of hair. The rest of the picture I did in a little bit more traditional way, but I was not done with my layering technique.

The next picture I drew was a colored pencil depiction of a scene in the movie Clueless (great modern adaptation of Emma, by the way). This time I laid down a canary yellow base for her hair, and a thick layer of peach for her skin. I went further in my layering technique than I had done with the previous drawing. For the hair, I stuck to using basically canary yellow and black, layering and blending the two until I got the exact effect I was looking for. With her skin, though, I lost track of the number of colors I used at somewhere around ten. I am not even sure how many layers I applied to create the final effect, but it was an insane amount.

There was an easier way to draw her skin for this picture, but the effect would have been different. Instead, I chose a more difficult path, one that involved a lot of work, innovation, and guts. People who saw her skin half-finished (including other artists) said I had ruined the picture beyond repair. Did I listen to them? I heard what they were saying, but I had a plan and a vision they did not understand. I pushed on and produced a picture that floored by art teacher. 

How does this apply to writing? Much like my colored pencil technique, I have found layering to be a very effective technique for writing stories. Some people want to rush through writing a story, thinking prewriting, rewrites, and such are too time consuming. Personally, I think the more layers or passes you take over your story, the better it will be. I have never met anyone who spews pure poetry onto the page at the first try. As the saying goes, the real writing starts after the rough draft. I cannot tell you how many times I went over the manuscript for Shadow House before it was ready for publication. I plan on going over the manuscript for The Devil's Nightmare even more, like the difference between The Last of the Mohicans drawing and the Clueless drawing.

Paranormal Activity 2

Paranormal Activity took the world by storm in 2009, with its tale of an average couple terrorized by a demonic force. I was aware of this movie for a couple years before it finally made its way to theaters. The film made its rounds at various film festivals, accruing an impressive list of glowing reviews from film critics, including some who declared it the scariest movie ever. Other critics were more moderate, declaring it the scariest movie since The Exorcist. Needless to say, I was very intrigued by the movie.

When I finally did get to see the film, I found the director's approach to a horror film intriguing. He did an excellent job of making the main characters very human, complete with flaws yet not replete with them. They were a couple anyone would have known, living a fairly average life in California. I guess this setup made the film more terrifying for some people. I wish it had resulted in the same for me, but the film, I thought, went for a cheap and sudden ending. Literally, I was sitting in my seat at the end of the film saying, "that was it?"

With the wild success of the first film, a second is coming out. You can see the trailer here. The teaser does not show any of the new characters, other than a baby and a shadowy woman (okay, and a German Shepherd). It does what most teasers do: that is, give little information and expect you to salivate for more. We'll see what effect this has on the public, but my prediction is quite a few people are going to be going nuts speculating what this movie will really be all about.

Despite my disappointment in the first Paranormal Activity movie, I did appreciate the fact the film did not turn to buckets of movie blood to sell tickets. The horror industry in general has become morbidly fascinated with the grotesque, something that has turned off the general public. This has been one of my reasons for distancing myself from the horror genre lately, gravitating more toward the thriller scene (which does not involve dismemberment or graphic portrayals of cannibalism as a mainstay of the genre). So hooray for the director of Paranormal Activity for doing it without sinking to the cheap "frights" of bloody violence. In all honesty, I will probably still check out Paranormal Activity 2, just out of curiosity to see what evolution the story goes through.

Forced Inspiration

One thing that strikes me when I speak to some people who say they want to write full time, or do any other kind of creative venture, is these people's attitude about inspiration. Apparently they feel that they are not able to write, or at least write anything good, unless inspiration "strikes" them. It seems that inspiration for these individuals strikes like lightning: unpredictably and infrequently. I used to think like them, back when I was a teenager and wrote when I felt moved upon to do so. That is no longer the case.

If you really want to progress in writing, then you have to treat it like a workout program. I know, some of you thinking working out involves going out and killing yourself each day. That is a good way to set yourself up for failure, either in working out or in writing. Like exercising, you do have to engage yourself in writing every day. Yes, that's right, engage yourself. You don't wait for inspiration to strike. In fact, at the risk of sounding a bit cliche, you have to strike inspiration. If you are not making daily progress in your writing, then you will not rise above to the next level. It is just that simple.

I am not advocating a death march writing schedule, nor am I saying writers need to shut themselves off in a secluded room or shack in the middle of nowhere. In fact, some of my best ideas for writing come from the day-to-day life occurrences, the things some creative souls consider distractions.

In addition, you have to find what works for you to write every day. Some writers like to work on multiple projects at once, although I personally feel this is a great way to never finish anything. Many writers, myself included, listen to music when they write. I build playlists on my iPod for different books, music which helps set the tone or mood while I write. Some writers have an item they leave on their desk while they write, and still others have a favorite writing spot.

It really doesn't matter how you get yourself to write every day. Some days will be better than others. Some days you may not write at all, and that is when you must force the inspiration.