It’ll make more sense when you head over to Sci-Fi Bloggers.
(Click it, guys. It’s not a virus. Really? You think I’d do that?)
~D.
Tag Archives: to
Adventure on the Path
8 Dec
Not every story is a slow, character development piece. Sometimes the pace quickens. When that happens, don’t be alarmed. The other path will return, but there will always be valleys to get through. With that said, CLICK HERE to read the next episode of Path to Nowhere. It’s all for you guys. It’s all building up to something…
…or nothing, as it were.
~D.
Bird
22 Nov
Fire, we like it.
No, this isn’t a metaphor piece on birds, I’m sorry. I just wanted to let you all know that Path to Nowhere is on Sci-Fi Bloggers right now and you should all check it out.
That is all.
~D.
FIRST LOOK: Path to Nowhere
11 Nov
You’ll be able to read my weekly series, Path to Nowhere, on Sci-Fi Bloggers soon! Here’s a quick taste of what you’ll be reading:
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Fire, she likes it. It’s warm, filled with life, capable of death, known for both. It’s bright. She’s been up all night looking at it, and the stars, and the moon, and the glowing eyes of watchful beasts. They dare not draw near. They’ve seen her before. They’ve seen her fire.
She looks to where the horizon will be when the sun finally creeps over World’s End, calculating how far her next stop is. How long has it been since Krimwald? Three days: first day running, next two walking and hiding. At the rate she’s going, it should take another day to reach Reager. Hopefully they followed her false trail to Black Rider Canyon.
They’ve got to stop following me. They keep coming for more, ruining everything. There has to be an end to their search at some point, doesn’t there? No, there doesn’t. She’ll keep running, she’ll keep fighting, and she’ll keep searching for it. It is everything. It is all that matters. Everything else is either a barrier or a band-aid. It is the only way to fix it all. I need it.
That switch. It keeps happening. Her, me, her, me. Why can’t I just—ugh! It hurts to do it sometimes, most of the time really, just thinking it, I. She shivers, letting out a nervous sigh. Maybe she should just let it go, not try anymore. What’s the point, anyway? Why try at all? To heal? Everything else is either a barrier or a band-aid. It is the only way to fix it all. She needs it.
Her, me, her, me.
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Can’t wait for you to see the rest!
~D.
Is It Me, or We?
22 Sep
In the Roarin’ 1920s, it was all about looking good now, feeling going now, and being unique, standing out. It was all about individualism. It was all about desires. These viewpoints were remnants of an old era, one that lasted forty years called the “Me Cycle.” It ended in 1923, and a new age began, an age which would one day be referred to as the “We Cycle.” The We Cycle wasn’t about the individual, it was about the group. The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few, and responsibility was valued above desire.
The above mentioned were not the first Cycles. They have been going on a long time, and still exist today. How do I know this? A wise mentor of mine made me aware of it, and now I want you to be aware, too.
The Cycles alternate in the same way a pendulum swings: it starts at a central point, swings up one way until it hits zenith, swings back to central point, and then up to zenith again, back and forth, on and on. Both Cycles have their pros and cons, and neither is good or bad, only different. They represent the way we think and what appeals to us, in general. Now, that’s not to say we don’t all have our own personal tastes and desires and wants and needs and fears and all that jazz, but, for the most part, the consensus is there, and I don’t see it going away any time soon.
A good place to go if you want to learn more about the Pendulum Cycles is here. Check the site’s “Blog” section to keep up-to-date with current events and their relation with the We Cycle we are currently living in. Note that there are entries listing major differences between the We and Me Cycles, which you should read.
Well, that’s everything. I hope the knowledge I’ve just imparted to you leads to great rewards.
~D.
Unique Characters: A Necessity?
11 Aug
I gave a fellow on Reddit some advice:
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Question: How unique do characters actually need to be?
Answer: There is no degree to which a character MUST be “unique.” Uniqueness isn’t necessarily the problem one faces when creating and developing a character, rather depth. See, when a character has multiple levels, it gives us, the reader, a little game to play: Dig to the Bottom of the Character (or DBC, as most people call it). We want a mystery to solve, a puzzle to reconfigure, a game to win. We want to be involved with who we’re reading about.
Now, that doesn’t mean we should make every character as confusing as possible. Levels can be SIMPLE. Luke Skywalker isn’t just the farm boy who became an intergalactic hero. He’s also a son who’s been lied to by his mentor, betrayed before birth by his father, kept in the dark about his sister, and torn between light and dark paths his whole life. Honestly, Luke has more depth than people give him credit for, but he isn’t COMPLICATED. See the difference?
Uniqueness isn’t something that can be forced. It naturally arises from a character’s depth.
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So yeah, try that out some time.
~D.
No
6 Jul![[Insert esoteric metaphor here.]](https://dalexwrites.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/ra_15.jpg)
Let’s not get into it. I don’t want to talk about it. No, stop. Really, guys, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just something I need to handle myself, okay?
Hey, I asked you what you were doing first, so tell me. No, come on, tell me. What if I tell you what I’m doing afterwards. Still? All right, then I guess we’re keeping secrets from each other now, okay, makes sense, it happens.
Oh, COME ON! You’ve got to tell me what you’ve been UP TO! Writing? Baseball? Bowling? Why don’t we go bowling some time? Scared I’ll beat you? I’ll admit that I’m pretty good with duckpin, but I’ll need to practice more if I’m going to take you out at standard bowling.
No, I’m NOT telling you. Go eat breakfast. Maybe we’ll talk later tonight.
What, you think I’m being selfish? TO HELL WITH YOU! You’re damn right I’m being selfish, and I like it THAT WAY! You’d rather I gave you more? Well, tell me what you’ve been up to.
Okay, so you’re working out. That’s nice. That can’t be all though. How’s that friend of yours? They okay? Staying safe? No? Hospital? Ah, bummer. But I ain’t pitying you, no sir. I’m keeping my mouth shut until you tell me what’s really going on.
AHA! Finally, some @nswers! So, you’ve gotten tired of reading my stuff, eh? Oh, hush, you know you love it all. You’ve just forgotten how much you loved it because it’s the norm now, it’s not quite as “fresh” and “hip” and “tubular” as it once was. You need it to be “rockin'” and “sweet” and “clutch” and all those fancy things you use to call something “radical” nowadays.
Well, I’m not changing. If you don’t like it anymore, leave now and never come back.
What? You’re still here? What, this? Oh, it’s just a story I’m working on. Hey, listen, about what I said, I was just, you know, being, you know, dumb.
That thing you wanted to know, it was just me thinking about stopping, about not posting anymore. I was just thinking about is all, not saying I’d do that. I’m not stopping, you know that. I can’t stop. Well, I can, but I won’t.
I just sometimes feel like nobody’s there, you know? And I know you’re there, I check the statistics every day, and they look fine. I still get messages from you guys. But it still feels like you’re just here because you’re obliged to, because you’ve been here so long you feel like leaving would be rude or something. I’m okay with rude, I’m fine with rude.
You can leave any time you want. I’m not leaving. Someone will come by and replace you. It always happens. Everyone gets replaced. Except me. I’m not getting replaced. If God ever asks me whether I want to be replaced, you know what I’m going to tell him?
Actually, let’s not get into it. I don’t want to talk about it. No, stop. Really, guys, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s just something I need to handle myself, okay?
~D.
Dylan Alexander 