Crossovers

One day my coworker tells me how excited he is for a new video game about to be released. I'm not sure what it's categorized as exactly, but it's a role playing/third person shooter game. I'm not into video games myself, so I am amused when he tells me he's going to drive to town, thirty minutes away, for the big release at midnight. Crazy, crazy man.

So the game comes out and I hear more about how awesome it is and how the storyline is changing. Ah...the storyline. He tells me he's reading a book that tells the story that proceeds the first game. Being the book buff that I am, I look it up on Amazon and read the first few pages. It's a great story. I'm sucked in in just a few pages. "So...," I ask, "how soon will you be done with the book?"

My coworker doesn't read as fast as I do, so he let's me borrow it. I devour it and return it two days later. Then I buy the next book in the series...and the next.  There is one more and possibly a fifth in the future. Woot!

I know this type of game-to-book writing happens frequently. I know that things like the Star Wars Chronicles exist. Even so, when I read what I consider to be crossovers, I'm totally drawn into them and a little at awe. Why? These writers have taken an already richly defined world and made it even more robust. Characters that were loved are given more dimension.  It's a fine line to walk for a writer, in my opinion. They must keep true to the original character as perceived by the gamers.

This book series was so enthralling, I even picked up the game controller and went a few rounds with my son.  I suck, by the way, a lot. :)  I don't think earning the "Go On Without Me" ribbon three times is something to brag about.

Simple Can Be Fun

As intricate and realistic as video and computer games are these days, I think it's great that simple (not high graphics or requiring expensive systems) games can still be highly rewarding.

My son has been playing a game called Terraria for the last several days. As he explores the seemingly endless world, he is able to find raw materials and figure out how to put them together, fights monsters, interacts with other characters, and more.

He burrows into the earth and finds hidden caves, underground lakes, and pockets of precious minerals. It even has a sense of humor.

His crazy 3 story house. After he built it the nurse showed up. "Hello Nurse!" lol

Research

I love the sense of accomplishment I get from learning something new.  Information is fascinating.  The process that goes into gaining knowledge is also fun.  Last night my kids and I talked about research projects.  How to figure out what exactly you're trying to research and why.  What resources are available for your research. What information you want to share with others and how to present what you've learned. 

The process is similar to writing.  You have to decide on a subject that would be interesting to write about.  The subject also needs to be something you understand.  If you don't have first hand knowledge, then you'd better be prepared to research the heck out of it because if, for example, you write about riding a motorcycle and you've never ridden one, you can believe that all the motorcycle enthusiasts that read your story will see the holes a mile away.  Your characters need to be interesting enough that the reader wants to know more about them.  You need to give them enough depth that the reader cares about what happens to them.  The reader needs to be invested in the character.

Your plot needs to be complex enough to keep the reader reading, but not so complex and full of subplots that the reader is confused.  Your subplot should build and enhance your main plot, not detract from it.  Of course, since I haven't published anything, who am I to talk??  What do you think? Do you agree or disagree?

Fan-fiction

My first foray back into writing was in the arms of fan-fiction.  I know this is a highly controversial subject, but personally, I think it should be taken as the highest form of flattery.  It means I fell so in love with your characters that I wanted to take them for a spin in my own creative world.  Of course, some may also interpret it as, I hated the way you wrote that SO much that I'm going to write it the way I think it should be.  I guess, in that respect, it may not be the highest form of flattery.  However, whichever way you look at it, your material is being read, analyzed, discussed, recommended, and loved.

Over the last nine months I've written several stories for fan-fiction.  It has been a good exercise for organizing my thoughts.  My stories included the FF characters and several of my own characters that I've come to love.  Now, my characters are going to come out and play as I begin work on my own novel.  Maybe someday I'll have my own FF followers.