This morning I decided to watch The Dark Knight Rises.

## SPOILERS INCOMING ##

As far as action films go, it was okay, but not great. My list of gripes follow:

THE FIGHTS

The fights were not imaginative or unique, neither confrontation between Bane and Batman resulted in any special moments that evoked a reaction of ‘Holy Shit - that was cool!’

The two just punch each other until one of them falls down. Wow. Brilliant. Did it take both Nolan brothers to come up with that?

Following up on that line of thinking, isn’t Batman supposed to be smarter than this? He’s a detective, not a straight forward brawler, but that’s all we get in this film.

Batman, when he’s not sitting in a pit of despair in Wayne Manor or a pit of torture in Pena Dura, just punches his way through confrontations or blows things up with the Batwing. Everyone else in the film is smarter and more active than he is.

Which leads me to…

PASSIVE BATMAN?

Seriously, Batman spends half the movie doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Bane, Selina Kyle, Blake, Commissioner Gordon, and Miranda Tate do all the heavy lifting. 

Even when Batman escapes from Pena Dura, he immediately seeks help from Selina Kyle and Fox. Seriously? 

Can the Batman do nothing on his own anymore? Is he that broken?

And when he gets the help he needs what does he do? Use his brain? Try to figure out Bane’s plan? Puzzle out what’s really happening?

No, he sets the police free from their underground prison, then proceeds to trade punches with Bane - AGAIN.

So Batman, the great detective, spends months in Pena Dura but NEVER ONCE USES HIS GODDAMN BRAIN.

Maybe Bane punched the smarts out of him.

THE DIALOGUE

Look, writing good dialogue is hard. Damn hard.

But some of the lines in this film fall so flat they threw me right out of the movie.

“This isn’t a car.” - Batman

“You’ve got another thing coming.” - Commissioner Gordon

Those were the two worst offenders.

I would have quoted something from Bane, but I couldn’t understand half the shit he said. 

His voice was so heavily processed most of his dialogue was lost in all the background noise.

If you’re going to have dialogue, at least make it so I can understand the guy.

BATMAN DOESN’T LEARN ANYTHING

My biggest gripe is Batman’s arc in this film.

He just punches and shoots his way through the entire movie.

After his second escape from a prison (Pena Dura), I would have expected him to puzzle out a way to defeat Bane.

Nope.

We just montage the Caped Crusader through enough sit ups and push ups to be able to kick Bane’s ass.

Then what happens?

He gets stabbed by an unexpected villain. Surprise!

Now I’m thinking, great, they’re punishing our hero for not learning anything. For not pushing himself to be better, smarter, or more tactical than the physically superior villain.

Nope.

Selina Kyle (Han Solo) to the rescue.

Then they stop the truck with the Nuclear Bomb - when I say they, I mean Selina Kyle and Commissioner Gordon. Batman just swoops around in his Batwing being chased by rockets.

Of course, Batman flies the bomb away from the city, and apparently dies as a result. The ultimate sacrifice - the final consequence of fighting fire with fire.

Nope.

He’s still alive, chilling in the Mediterranean.

“Me Batman. Me punch. Me kick.”

/facepalm

THINGS I LIKED

The hijacking of the plane in mid-flight. That was damn cool.

That’s about it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I don’t go to see a Batman movie where the Dark Knight spends most his time feeling sorry for himself or sitting in a prison.

Yawn.

He’s FUCKING BATMAN!

Everyone was smarter, more active, and more clever than he was.

They should have titled this movie The Dark Knight Muses - A LOT.

Movies are hard to make, and good movies are a damn miracle.

TDKR couldn’t possibly live up to the hype, but it could have been much better.

It focused too much on the secondary and tertiary characters, and not enough on the Dark Knight himself and what makes him so special.

A world class detective and sociopathic vigilante who pursues justice with single-minded purpose.

He indulges the dark side of himself, the dark side in all of us, and shows us the danger of feeding our desire for vengeance - it’s never satisfied and devours you from within.

Batman the character - amazing.

TDKR the movie - below average.

Today I stopped by Amazon (as if I need to link it =P)

On the front page they were carrying an announcement about author Jessica Park and her book “Flat-Out Love” which she self-published through Amazon’s KDP program.

From the announcement:

Kindle Direct Publishing empowers serious authors to reach readers, build a following, make a living, and to do it on their own terms. Readers get lower prices, authors get higher royalties, and we all get a more diverse book culture (no expert gatekeepers saying "sorry but that will never work”).

Did you see that bolded text? “No expert gatekeepers…”

Welcome to the Age of Empowerment.

Tools like the internet have connected people in ways that are fundamentally changing the way we live, govern, and interact with each other.

Consider the so-called “Arab Spring”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring and the role of social media in facilitating it. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/raymond-schillinger/arab-spring-social-media_b_970165.html

From the Huffington Post article by Raymond Schillinger, “[Alec] Ross equated the rise of social media to a democratization of world politics, shifting the balance of power from nation-states to individuals and smaller institutions.”

Never before in the history of the world have people had so much power available to them. Power they can wield, en-masse, for tremendous political and social change.

Your work doesn’t have to spend years being battered against the walls of the Big 6. Their power structure is collapsing around them, and what little control they have continues to crumble.

And fall into the hands of you, the writer.

YOU determine when your work is finished. 

YOU determine the relationship with your editor. 

YOU choose the cover art by working directly with the artist. 

YOU control the formatting or choose someone to format it.

Or you can do all these things yourself. It’s all up to YOU.

Readers, The New 'Gatekeepers'

Power is shifting into the hands of the reader, where it’s always been, only now writers have direct access to millions of potential readers.

Jessica Park is just another example of an author that’s taken control of her writing career, leveraged the new power structure to her advantage, and found success doing so.

And you can too.

Because readers, BILLIONS OF THEM, are now the arbiters of what’s *good* and what’s *not good*.

Empower yourself. Empower your work. 

Give your work the chance it deserves to thrive, give it over to the ones that really matter.

Readers.

And they’re hungry for content from YOU.

Today I’ve been researching - one of my favorite parts of the writing process.

I love spending hours discovering facts about people, places, and lifestyles.

The vast database that is the interweb makes research easier and faster than ever.

But nothing beats discovering unexpected connections.

And that’s what I’m going to talk about today.

Unexpected or overlooked connections that can strengthen your story.

Environmental Connections

Consider the environment your characters inhabit.

Are there potential dramatic elements you’re not taking advantage of?

Perhaps you have a pale-skinned homebody forced to go camping in the desert. Or maybe your story features a geologist. How does her environment influence her personality or lifestyle?

Your story could take place in a dust-covered wasteland. What would happen if there were a deluge?

Get outside your character’s head long enough to consider the world they live in. A rainy day often alters our mood, and probably does the same for your characters.

Time Connections

Time connections? What does that mean?

Consider someone who grew up during the 1930s and 40s and how much differently they view the world versus someone who grew up in the 1950s and 60s.

Twenty short years can create enormous differences in political, social, and religious perspectives.

Your characters don’t live in a vacuum, and they’ll likely encounter other characters with conflicting or similar viewpoints based solely on their time connection.

Border Connections

Borders exist everywhere - both physical and perceived.

Fences, walls, gates, rivers, and mountains are all examples of physical borders. Characters on one side of the ‘Rookstone Mountains’ will be deeply connected by their shared experience, while possibly being suspicious of or even hostile to characters from the other side of the mountains.

Perceived borders could be political, social, religious, moral, or cultural. Think of the connection you feel between someone who shares your political views versus a co-worker who believes the opposite.

Borders are fantastic opportunities to create dramatic conflict in a story.

Event Connections

Dramatic events can connect or divide characters.

Wars are an obvious choice. There’s always more than two sides involved in a war, and none of them have the same agenda. Depending on which side of the war your character was on, it will effect how he connects (or disconnects) from other characters involved in the war.

09.11.01 - In America, the tragedy of 9-11 connected a nation in the aftermath. For others, it was a banner day in their fight against western imperialism.

The world your characters inhabit should have life-changing events even if they’re completely fictional.

Events can also be relatively small. What about the birth of a child? The loss of a spouse? Your first pet animal? Your first date? Graduating High School or College?

Consider how events in your character’s life connect or dis-connect them from other characters.

For someone who’s never had children, it can be difficult to relate to the struggles of their best friend now raising three boys.

How will that affect their relationship?

Summary

Connections give substance and robustness to your characters, thereby drawing the reader deeper into your story.

Your characters will feel more real, with genuine reasons for seeing the world the way they do, and you’ll make the most powerful connection of all.

The connection between your story and your reader.

One of my many lives is spent as a filmmaker, and this week I launched a campaign to raise support for a new documentary series called "WAR! Gamer - For Some, It's More Than A Game"

You can view a preview video here: http://vimeo.com/43578698

Each installment of this multi-part documentary will focus on competitive gamers from different genres such as roleplaying games, board games, video games, card games, miniature games, and many others.

The first video in the series will look at competitive roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons.

The reason being is that, by their very nature, roleplaying games don't have a winner and loser. They're inherently non-competitive, yet organizations like the RPGA host competitive events for these games every year at huge national conventions like GenCon.

So, what goes into hosting, adjudicating, and participating in a competitive roleplaying game?

That's what we're going to find out by talking with industry experts, organizers, and the stars of the series: The Gamers.

If you're interested in more information, check us out here: WAR! Gamer

One of the most frequently misunderstood and difficult to explain artistic concepts is 'Voice'.

You'll see it discussed in almost every artistic guide ever published.

What is Voice? and How do you develop Voice?

What is Voice?

Your Voice is the unique way that you communicate with others. It's that simple.

From the day you were born you've been developing your Voice. Every experience in your life, from the most outrageous to the most banal, gets filed into your subconscious and shapes the way you see the world.

A point of view that's unique to you.

There isn't anyone else on this planet, absolutely no one, who will experience the world exactly the way you do.

And that's powerful.

It's powerful because you are hardwired by life itself to have something special - Your Point of View.

And people want to know how YOU see things. Whether it's through writing, photography, film, sculpture, painting, or whatever. Any form of self expression contains your Voice.

And with every piece of work you finish, your Voice grows stronger.

Which leads us to...

How Do I Develop My Voice

What a loaded question!

Many beginning artists struggle with this question, and for good reason. It's frequently thrown in our face.

So, what exercises help develop your Voice?

Well, here's a secret: You DO NOT have to WORK at it.

Yes, you read that right. There are no esoteric or Zen practices or metaphysical revelations to be figured out when it comes to Voice.

But it does take commitment.

You said it doesn't take work. Aren't you contradicting yourself?

Not at all. When I say commitment, I mean developing a habit of practicing your art and the commitment to finishing it.

With every piece you finish, your Voice grows in power. It develops naturally.

If you're just starting out, your Voice may not come through as clearly as you'd like. Sometimes it may not seem like it's there at all, but it is.

Your Voice is finding its way, and every finished piece of work is a guide.

What you're really doing is strengthening your Voice. You already have it, and it's already unique, but it may be lacking in strength and clarity.

So don't worry about 'developing' or 'finding' your Voice. Just crank out as much work as you can, and your Voice will find its way.

The Bottom Line

You don't have to find your Voice, you already have one.

Finish your work, and your Voice will grow stronger.

So, just keep working and be comforted knowing the work will guide you, and your Voice will strengthen naturally - the way it was meant to be.