A Quick Heads Up

This week I will be promoting a couple of books by some fellow authors at Anaiah Press. They are both new releases that I look forward to reading. Check out the promos later in the week!

Announcing The Mc's on Movies Podcast!!!

Calm down, ladies. The bear is spoken for.

That’s James and I, just two dudes with Irish last names who like to talk about movies.

We’ve been friends for a long time. James; my brother, Donnie; my oldest friend, Kyle; and I called ourselves the four-horsemen growing up. Though we rarely rode horses, unless those plastic ones at the mall count.

The four-horsemen. Kyle has since turned
into a vampire and no longer appears in photographs. 

Our childhood included all the normal boyhood shenanigans (you know, long bike rides down country roads, video game marathons, sinking possessed demon clown dolls into ponds, backyard football, etc.) and through it all, we discovered and developed a love for film. Whether it was peeking through the gaps in our fingers at a horror movie our babysitter wasn’t supposed to let us watch or sitting in the bed of a truck at the drive in, we consumed all that we could. From classics like Aliens or The Lion King to the wholly inappropriate for children Troma movie The Toxic Avenger, the four-horsemen watched it all. If there was a big movie, we were there.

And we loved every minute of it.

In spite of that, watching the movie was never my favorite part.

That was reserved for the moments afterword, when the four of us crammed into a booth at some unfortunate fast-food joint to discuss what we’d just watched while chowing down on whatever we could get off the dollar menu.  We were probably a little too loud as we laughed or mused about our favorite parts and definitely a little too obnoxious when we commiserated with one another about the disappointments. But those moments were some of the most fun I ever had.

So in a twist you probably saw coming, the Mc’s on Movies Podcast isn’t about the movies we review, it’s about camaraderie, the good old days, the inside jokes, the rants and endless arguments, the off the wall theories and speculation. It’s about putting on our rose-colored glasses and reconnecting with a simpler time for an hour every week. It’s about hanging with my best friends.

As we metaphorically cram into that booth at the fast-food joint, we hope you’ll join us, but even if you don’t, we’re still going to have fun.

You can find our podcasts at any of the links below:

Apple Podcasts 

Google Podcasts  

Spotify  

Stitcher   

Radio Public  

Anchor

YouTube 

Enjoy! 

A Writer's Perspective: What makes Infinity War special.

The culmination of over ten years of hard work and 19 films, Avengers: Infinity War is massive in nearly every way, from its 2 billion dollar Box Office to its larger than life villain, Thanos. 

Me rolling into Taco Bell

For such ambitious storytelling with dozens of characters fighting for screen time, a movie like Infinity War usually wouldn't work (I’m looking at you, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), but it does and one major reason why is the use of Character Goals to create conflict.

Infinity War’s overarching conflict is actually quite simple. Powerful super-villain wishes to kill half population of the universe and our beloved heroes must unite to stop him. Thanos’s effort to collect the Infinity Stones to practice population control provides the main thrust of the plot, but in general terms, this kind of conflict has been done before (in the previous Avengers movies for example). Yet, Infinity War never feels repetitive or stale. And this is where character goals come in.

SPOILERS AHEAD          

With dozens of characters appearing in this one movie, there isn’t much time for character development. In fact, very few characters besides Thanos and Thor have any development at all. And the filmmakers know that, so they build tension by giving every major character a goal inside the larger goal of stopping Thanos. These goals are stated openly by the characters and are often in opposition to the goals of at least one other character. Here is a breakdown of a few of the most important:

All of these conflicts are resolved as the plot unfolds (some more dramatically than others), but there are enough to keep the characters interesting and sustain tension as the film builds toward the climatic final struggle against Thanos.

One could argue that Infinity War works because it builds on stories and characters already developed in previous films or because the filmmakers developed the heck out of Thanos*. Those are solid arguments, but I believe it’s the use of character goals to create conflict that propels Infinity War from a good film to a great one.   

*There’s a sayin' that in order to write an antagonist well, an author must understand that the antagonist sees themselves as the hero of his or her own story. The filmmakers of Infinity War took that to heart.

A Writer’s Perspective: What I learned from The Hate U Give

So when my wife and I watched Ant-Man and The Wasp we caught a trailer for an upcoming film called The Hate U Give, I was intrigued but my wife more so. When she found out that it was based on a book, she got a copy from our local library and consumed all 444 pages in two days (not easily done when keeping up her busy schedule). Needless to say, her wordless recommendation sparked my interest and I read it as well, completing the novel over the next four days.

The Hate U Give is from debut author, Angie Thomas and it tells the story of a sixteen-year-old from a poor black neighborhood who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer.

With a plot seemingly pulled straight out of the headlines, it is no surprise that The Hate U Give resonated with so many. There are hundreds of glowing reviews out there that testify to the fact but it isn’t the social commentary or even the author’s voice that I want to highlight (though those things are major reasons the book is such a success). The aspect of Angie Thomas’s writing that I wish to highlight and someday emulate is her ability to create tension and conflict through well-rounded characters.   

As I read The Hate U Give, the characters became flesh and bone in my mind, not because of physical descriptions but for their personalities, interests, desires, fears, past experiences and prejudices. In the biz they call that characterization. And it is through that characterization that most interesting conflicts in the book emerge.

 For the sake of spoilers and your time, I will try to avoid too many specifics, but I think I can illustrate my point with a quick breakdown of one essential character, the protagonist’s father, Maverick Cater.

“Big Mav” as he’s known in the neighborhood is heroic yet flawed. A reformed gang-member/ex-con who owns a small convenience store, Mav is a stern protector and provider for his family who holds high expectations for his children. For all his virtuous qualities, though, Mav struggles to overcome his own prejudices against those he feels abandoned the neighborhood for the suburbs and those in mixed relationships. His desire to stay and help his community and not be a “phony” at the expense of his own family’s safety is a major source of conflict between he and his wife in the book. His belief that romantic relationships should only be between people of the same color is a source of conflict between him and his daughter, who has a white boyfriend. These examples may seem basic on the surface but the tension they create make every interaction with Mav meaningful.

The book is peppered with characters just like Mav and it's that contrast of noble qualities and real flaws that breathe life into every character and add layers of conflict which make The Hate U Give so much more than just a book about a controversial police shooting. 

Whether you're published or unpublished, remember that tension starts with interesting characters. Characters that sometimes have angels and devils on each shoulder.

An Unbreakable Law of Nature

I’ve been busy editing my upcoming novel like a mad man, but I wanted to take a moment to highlight one of those unbreakable laws of nature I keep running up against:

Before I go any further, it must be stated that I’m not an expert on the Laws of Thermodynamics. I’m not a physicist, scientist or a great intellectual (I barely passed 10^th grade Chemistry) but there’s an observation I’ve made that I’d like to pass on to you.

Entropy in its basic form is the gradual decline into disorder and it occurs when energy is no longer applied to a system. Think of your home. What would happen to it if you just completely abandoned it? 

It would decay and rot and ghosts would move in.

We observe Entropy in the natural world all the time, but what about things that aren’t as easy to see?

Say a relationship?

The romance between a husband and wife begins blazing hot but waxes cold over the years due to the stresses of family life. The best of friends drift apart as other aspects of their lives take priority.

Yep. That happens.

But what about skills? They diminish too.

Even Michael Jordan was rusty when he came out of retirement the first time.

When Jordan came back mid-season after trying his hand at baseball.

That sad truth is that Entropy happens in all kinds of places, but it’s not all bad news.

There is a remedy.

And that’s the real reason I’m writing this blog post.

I’ve tried blogging before and I failed. I just told myself that I didn’t have anything interesting to say. That may be true, but I won’t get any better at it if I don’t apply any energy to trying. 

And there it is, the rub. If we want something, a better relationship, a better foul shot, a blog that actually encourages someone, we have to try.  

It’s one of those unbreakable laws of nature.

Thanks for reading. If this encouraged you in anyway, please let me know or share it with others.

5 Books I'm Glad My Teachers Made Me Read

I like reading. I really do and I have since I was a bobble-headed little boy. But back in school, I loathed the days when a teacher would force us to read a book/play. Nothing against my teachers, they were great, but my rebellious human nature wanted more say in that part of my education.  I wasn’t alone either, I remember the collective sigh from my classmates when the books were passed out. Fortunately, only a few of the books/plays were duds (I’m looking at you The Glass Menagerie). For the most part, they were pretty good, but there were some that really stood out.

So without further ado, here's five books that I'm glad my teachers made me read.

#5

Orwell uses a scant 112 pages to deconstruct and satirize the rise of Communism using farm animals. As a fan of history and a rural Ohioan, this one really resonated with me.

#4 

A survivor of the holocaust, Eli Wiesel, recounts his time in multiple concentration camps. Straightforward and tragic, this staple of Holocaust literature was one the first books that I can remember having a deeply emotional impact on me.

#3 

Not one of my favorite books by any means, but the story of the Creighton family’s plight during the American Civil War sparked my interest in the great conflict which still lasts to this day.

#2

No joke, when my teacher first passed out this book to us, I thought it was about killing mocking birds. What I soon learned was that Harper Lee’s novel is something much different (and something much more).

#1

The first time I cried while reading a book (and again when I watched the movie).

So that’s my list.  Have you read any of these? If so, did you have a similar reaction? Let me know in the comments and list some of your favorites as well.

If you liked this article, please share it with others.

Thanks and God bless!

Getting Published Part 2: Five Years of Guerrilla Warfare

NOTE: This is part 2 in an ongoing series detailing my rocky road to getting published. My hope is that you will be encourage by what you read and learn from my mistakes. Part 1: Meeting you is linked here http://www.mcmurraymuses.com/2018/03/getting-published-part-1-meeting-you.html

Now on with it!

I first met John after he'd spent the day skirmishing with Confederate troops. He sat on a fallen tree, hollow eyed and exhausted with sweat dripping from his brow. I hadn't witnessed the battle, arriving just as the last of the gun smoke melded into the haze of a sticky June evening. The young soldier, clad in the Union blue, was pensive. I breathed in deep, then took a seat beside him. My nostrils clenched up immediately. The boy stank to high heaven!  Of sweat, gunpowder and blood. I gagged and coughed but the soldier didn't notice, he was lost in the setting sun.  The way he watched the slash of dying light across the horizon, regarding the shifting of color with a kind of reverence often reserved for a communion service, warned me not to intrude with words. I knew what was on his mind though, or I should say, who was on his mind. A girl---his girl---Sara.

And then I was back in a windowless basement classroom and John was gone.

But not forever. That brief moment, would be the first of many spent with John as he and his fellow soldiers hunted a dangerous band of guerrillas along the Kansas-Missouri border during the American Civil War.

Guerrillas, not Gorillas.

                                                         

In the Spring of 2007 I wasn't thinking about writing a book or telling that story. My mind was elsewhere (like finishing my teaching degree, getting married, dinner) but the image of that weary, young soldier lingered until one summer night I cracked open my laptop and began to write.

I wish I could say that words flowed onto the page like my fingers were streams of literary awesomeness, but that would be dishonest. The first night produced one opening paragraph, pretty much the moment described above, but when I finally hit the save button and closed my computer after a few hours of work, I felt like I'd actually achieved something. I enjoyed it.

I hung out with John off and on that summer even after I got married and though he was a little awkward and shy I learned that he was a very loyal friend and a lethal soldier.  After a year I had several chapters and I started to believe John and I really may just finish this tour of duty.

But then this happened!

And this!

Baby Girl #1

At the same time.

And John faded into the background...until January of 2010, when I needed him the most.

The recession and housing crisis had taken it's toll on my school district's tax base and budget cuts had to be made.

Toddler + Pregnant Wife - Single Income(very few job openings) = Lots of worry and Lots of prayer.

It was then in the midst of another sleepless night that I cracked open my laptop and said hello to an old friend.  John's problems (and there were many) proved to be a worthy distraction from my own and I'd soon written several more chapters.

Then this happened!

The prayers worked, I was hired the day before school began again. 

And this!

Baby Girl #2

Though my life was super busy, I didn't stop writing this time. In between toddler chasing, lesson planning, ball coachin' and dirty diapers, I found time to hang out with John and after nearly 5 years of guerrilla warfare---I mean---writing, we finished our tour of duty in late 2011.

John's story isn't pretty, there's too much telling rather than showing, the dialogue is stilted, it relies too much on flashbacks and not all the characters are fully developed. I'm still proud of it though. In spite of its flaws, that book is probably the most important piece of fiction I've ever written for one simple fact:

I proved to myself that I could actually write a book.

So if you're reading this and you're thinking about writing a book, do it!

If you're bogged down in the middle of a book, push through and finish it!

If you've written a book and you're trying to get it published, don't give up! Persevere!

That was the greatest lesson John taught me. To persevere to the end and though it wasn't easy, I'm glad I did.



ON THE NEXT EPISODE:

Fresh off the completion of his first novel, intrepid wannabe author, Sean McMurray, falls in with an ex-spy seeking vengeance for his wife's brutal murder. Will he survive?..

Yes. Yes he will.

But will he gain new literary insight?

Tune into "Getting Published Part 3: Eye Spy" to find out!


Thanks for reading! God Bless!