Have you ever had a time when you watched or read something really popular, and just couldn’t get into it?
 
A little while ago, I watched the “Hunger Games” movie, and as I watched, I waited to be impressed... and waited... and waited... but it never really happened.
 
It’s not that it was a bad movie. The acting, atmosphere, characters and pacing were fairly solid. But I just couldn’t bring myself to care about said characters, and thus the movie, very much.
 
Why not? Well, I think it’s because, between the movie and I, we were approaching the whole thing backward.
 
Most of the main characters are going to die. It’s right there in the premise. And when you know the stakes and the outcome before you even really know the characters, there’s just no point in caring about anyone, except for the obvious survivor-to-be.
 
The movie’s premise, and my resulting expectations, introduced the wrong element first, and thus all but ruined the whole thing.
 
As I contemplated my inability to really enjoy such a popular story, I found myself contrasting it with another popular story, “Puella Magi Madoka Magica”. For those who haven’t heard of it, it’s a magical girl anime that basically takes its home genre and deconstructs it in the most heart-wrenching ways it can come up with.

But it doesn’t start out that way. Yes, it opens with an epic fight scene, but then it moves on to show the characters living their everyday lives. You see their personalities, their desires, their friendships, their loves.

Ominous hints are dropped here and there, but the storytellers played their drama and danger cards wisely; they really made me care about the characters before putting them in harm’s way.

Would I have liked The Hunger Games more if I'd read the books first? Hard to say. I haven't read them yet. Yeah, I know, time to slap me. Maybe someday I'll read them, and write another blog post about that. But in the meantime, I watched what I watched, and thus I write.
 
Have you ever noticed the difference between stories like these?

Have you watched or read a story that was objectively good, but you just couldn’t get into it because it didn’t get you to care about the characters enough before it threatened to kill them?

Here it is! My second-ever music video - and, once again, it's about everybody's favourite Scarran-Sebacean hybrid.

As with the last one, I wanted to do something different. Most of the videos I see of Scorpius are about how dangerous and badass he is as an adult, or about his relationships with John or Sikozu.

It honestly surprises me a bit, to see how few of these videos focus on his backstory. On the trials and triumphs that made him who and what he is. So that's what this one does.

The song is "Unbreakable" by Fireflight - it seemed fitting, considering all he's been through, and how he refuses to let it stop him.

And yes, I know the splash image is pixellated. I don't know why that is, but don't worry; the video itself isn't like that.

I'd love to read your comments after you're finished watching. Enjoy!

I just love that self-satisfied little nod at the end. :) I hope you enjoyed it - don't forget to leave a comment, and pass it on to anyone you think will like it!

You know that moment in a book when the mood suddenly shifts, and lighthearted banter abruptly gives way to fear, danger and intensity, leaving the characters wondering how it all went wrong?

Yeah. I just made one of those. It was awesome. :)

That moment when the plot thickens, when idle questions about the characters turn urgent, and when you know that the stakes will never be the same... I loved writing that. And soon I can write the part where the veil is slowly drawn aside, and you find out what's really been going on behind all the snarkiness and fun.

I'm looking forward to it.

As I mentioned in a recent post, lately I've been experimenting with storytelling in the form of music videos. Well, now you get to see the fruits of my labour; I just uploaded my first music video to YouTube!

You can see it here:
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Or, if you want to bookmark it or add it to your favourites, you can find it on YouTube by clicking the button below:
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Here's the description, as seen on YouTube:

"From the perspective of much of the cast and audience of Farscape, Scorpius is the villain of the story. Much like the Wicked Witch of the West, from whose viewpoint this song is sung. But what happens when the POV character and the antagonist are switched?

While most of the Scorpius/John MVs out there seem to focus on John's pain, Scorpius' badassery, and/or the twisted, compelling chemistry between the two, I wanted to do something different. So here is the story of John Crichton and Scorpius, told through the eyes of our favorite Scarran/Sebacean hybrid, and set to soft female vocals and delicate piano. Enjoy. :)"

Ah, storytelling. It can take so many wondrous forms.

Literature, movies, songs, video games...

Lately, in conjunction with my writing, I've found myself drawn to another medium, one I used to think would take far more patience and expertise than I'd be willing to put into it:

Music videos.

No, I'm not talking about 'official' music videos - the ones you see released by the band that created the song. I've found that these videos, as often as not, seem to have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the song they're set to. (Either that, or I've been seeing all the wrong 'official' music videos.)

What I'm talking about is music set to clips from movies or TV shows, in a way that highlights a character's journey, celebrates a facet of the show, or tells a part of the story in musical form.

When done particularly well, these videos can practically be a 3-minute fanfiction in musical form - those are my favourites. So much creativity and care go into these, and I love watching them. In some of the videos I've outlined, that's what I aspire to.

Lately, I've been collecting clips from Farscape - I'll be starting my foray into music videos there. (Thank you, PJ, for helping me to get the clips onto my computer in a useable form!) Those who have been following this blog may remember some of my past posts about songs that would be perfect for characters; I finally decided to do something about some of those.

Don't worry; I don't plan to neglect my writing in favour of this. Collecting clips, thankfully, is one of those things that can be done during movie time, or at other times when writing wouldn't be very feasible anyway.

But while my writing still takes priority over this, it is fun to stretch my wings in a medium I haven't explored yet. I look forward to sharing the results.

What about you? Have you been expressing yourself in a new way, or trying a new skill, lately? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!