I remember the Mel Brooks satire on Star Wars known as Spaceballs. In one scene, Dark Helmet’s ship undergoes “Ludicrous Speed”, which is an extreme version of light speed. I recently discovered just how fast Ludicrous Speed is. It is less than one and a half trillion kilometers a second! I’m surprise their engines did not overheat instantly!
For my new space opera story, I am thinking of doing a plot twist that will involve a heroic sacrifice. This sacrifice will decide the fate of an entire star system and potentially the interstellar government as a whole. Just thinking about it gives me chills and thrills at the same time.
I had an interesting thought for my third fantasy book. At some point in the story, the main character will do something that will cause his more pious subjects to rebel against him. I will be drawing inspiration from how Henry VIII changed the Church of England during the Reformation. Both my character and Henry VIII did things that would secure the future of their dynasty and the zealots in their kingdoms turned on them for it. Henry VIII tried to secure his dynasty by having a male heir no matter the cost. My character tries to secure his dynasty by rediscovering and utilizing long forgotten magical secrets that his more pious subjects consider dark and unnatural. Overall, I think this is going to be an intriguing concept to tinker with as I continue to write.
I am continuing a system that I started a year ago with my writing. Normally, I would write a story one chapter at a time from start to finish. Now, however, I am writing sections of the story that I had planned out in advance. That way, I won’t have to suffer from writer’s block and I can write as much as I want. Who knows? I might be able to apply this tactic when writing multiple books at the same time, which is something I don’t normally do.
As a devout Star Wars fan, I watched The Mandalorian show and I love it so far! The main character is like a space version of Clint Eastwood. In particular, the protagonist resembles the version of Clint Eastwood from The Unforgiven, who is a morally ambiguous gunslinger. I am glad that they brought back several things from the Old Expanded Universe in this show. For example, we got to see Beskar iron in live action for the first time. Beskar is an indestructible metal that not even lightsabers can cut through and Mandalorians often forge weapons and armor from it. The main character also displayed a trait that I like about Mandalorians: despite being battle-hardened warriors, Mandalorians have a soft spot for children. In the Old Expanded Universe, it was customary for Mandalorians to adopt orphaned children from battlefields and raise them as their own. As the old Mandalorian saying goes, “family is stronger than blood.” Apparently, the main character is continuing this age-old Mandalorian tradition by rescuing and adopting an infant from Yoda’s species. I also like how the show illustrates how some Imperials who were not assimilated into the First Order were reduced to being warlords and mercenaries, clinging on to whatever power and influence they could. I look forward to seeing how the show will progress because I am loving it so far. Hopefully, we will see the epitome of another Mandalorian saying, “a warrior is more than his armor.”
I thoroughly enjoy the film Sideways, which depicts two friends having a week-long stag party in wine country. Paul Giamatti plays a depressed, divorced, and struggling writer who is seeking to publish a book while undergoing a stressful time in his life. Thomas Haden Church plays a self-centered and impulsive actor who is past his prime. Throughout the movie, these two men get into all kinds of trouble, including one of them getting his face caved in. Even though there were scenes in this movie that are depressing to watch, there were many parts that were both funny and relatable. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys life stories and good humor.
I am thinking of one day engaging in traditional publishing. I haven’t done this since after I graduated from high school. I remember being rejected countless times, but I never let that stop me. Now that I have evolved as a writer and have come a long way since those days, I am thinking of getting in contact with big publishers one day. The main drawback I don’t like is that I have less control over the process, but the marketing and royalties will be much better than it is now. It is a long shot, but I am eager to fight to good fight one day. Wish me luck!
