Stephanie O'Brien
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        • Skyrim - Your Truth Cannot Stand, Chapter 8
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The Weirdest, Coolest Collection of Sci-Fi Creatures and Objects

28/10/2014

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Have you ever discovered such a treasure trove of weird creativity that you ended up blowing several hours on it?

My brother recently introduced me to the SCP Wiki, and if you enjoy reading about strange and imaginative sci-fi creatures, objects and everything in between, you should definitely check it out.

The SCP Foundation is an organization dedicated to the discovery and containment of all things bizarre and inexplicable, ranging from safe beings like a gentlemanly talking spider, to monsters or paranormal objects that can and will destroy the world if they ever breach containment.

The articles are written in a carefully clinical tone, which lends an interesting, scientific feel to the whole thing, as if it really was a collection of reports from researchers assigned to explore and contain the SCP objects in their care.

I'm not sure which is my favorite SCP so far - 682 is a candidate, but I haven't read anywhere near all of them. I'm curious to see which one will be your favorite, so once you've read a few of them, feel free to name your candidates in the comments below.


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How to Succeed as a Full-Time Author

21/10/2014

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Well. It's been an interesting week as far as writing goes. I was editing the climax of Heroic Lies, and just as I got to the single most pivotal conversation in the entire novel... plot hole.

Ouch.

I had to rewrite the entire thing, and I LIKED the original version. Darn. But sometimes, if you want your book to be high-quality and plot hole free, you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

Speaking of what you've gotta do, I recently read a great article from a guy who's writing an average of 5 books a year, and he gives some solid, practical advice for what you need to do if you want to be a prolific, successful author.

So whether you're an author who wants to get better at what you do, or a reader who's curious about a writer's day-to-day life, check out the article by clicking the button below.

Click here to read it
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Maintaining Exciting Energy During Calm Scenes

14/10/2014

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I've been running into a dilemma lately in my music videos, and sometimes it shows up in novel-writing as well.

What do you do when you want to create a high-energy video or series of scenes, and not let the adrenaline decrease at any point, but some of the scenes, lyrics or clips are too docile for that purpose and can't be removed or replaced?

While that hasn't been a problem in my recent writing, it's caused me some difficulties in a few of my videos. Especially when it came to a video set to Nightwish's Amaranth, in which the words of some of the lyrics are soft, and therefore fit best with soft visuals, but they're sung with so much energy that pairing them with anything peaceful just felt wrong.

So, how do you maintain high energy during peaceful scenes, in writing and in movie-making?

The answer came from an unexpected source: a Madoka Magica AMV I'd discovered almost a year ago, without initially recognizing the genius of a stylistic element it uses.

The video is set to A Demon's Fate by Within Temptation, not a peaceful song by any means. But some of the scenes it uses ARE peaceful... yet it managed not to lose any momentum by including them.

The way it did this was simple yet brilliant: it used rapid transitions between shots and set them in time with the music, so that even though the scene itself was peaceful, the sense of urgency was maintained because the picture being shown changed with such frantic speed.

It also interspersed some peaceful scenes with glimpses of combat scenes, so that the softer images could be depicted without losing the fierce, ominous tone. I suspect the same could be done in writing, by punctuating a slow scene with flashbacks, flash forwards, or glimpses of a more dangerous scene that's happening elsewhere in the setting.

It's a technique I was happy to add to my arsenal, and I can definitely see its positive effect on my latest music video (which also happens to be set to A Demon's Fate). I don't know when I'll need it for my writing, but I'm glad to know that I'll have it available when the need arises.

​In the meantime, here's the video, if you want to watch it:

Where have you seen this technique used?

Did you think it made the book or video better or worse?

Do you think you'll be using the technique yourself?

I'd love to hear from you in the comments!
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When You Aren't Sure If Your Writing Will Be Well Received...

7/10/2014

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When I saw the above quote on TheMetaPicture, it grabbed my attention. How many times do we hold back, letting a story or a dream sit in our minds unheeded, because we aren't sure what the results will be if we act on it?

Today's blog post will be short, as it's a pretty busy week, but I wanted to share this quote with you. Because I have stories I want to write, things I want to take risks on, and ways in which I could get hurt... but it will all be worth it to put my novels in writing, to experience life fully, and to reap the rewards of doing things that could be painful, but could also open new doorways to amazing things in my life.

What is in your mind right now, that seems like too much of a risk?

Is there a song you want to sing? A story to write, a project to start, a business or product to create, a relationship to pursue?

And if it's still in your mind, after months or years of hesitating, do you think it's worth the risk?

I look forward to reading your comments.
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    Author

    Stephanie is the author of My Fugitive, Voice of a Silent Fugitive, Heroic Lies, and Catgirl Roommate, as well as the artist behind the Undertale webcomic Just Cause.

    This blog often updates with new stories and artwork, so please keep checking in!

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