by Camela Thompson
I'm not sure how I feel about séances and mediums in the real world. It's a tough topic and something I choose not to participate in personally. However, a séance can add a lot to a scene in fiction, whether it be in a book or movie. I love when the events are fantastic and simultaneously believable, even if the séance is subsequently revealed as a fraud! Here are some of my favorites in no particular order. Hell House This is a classic novel by one of my favorite authors, Richard Matheson. I've read most of Matheson's work and rarely run across something I don't enjoy. Hell House is disturbing, detailed, and my first run in with the author. The premise: Dr. Lionel Barrett is charged by the owner of a renowned haunted house to prove the existence of life after death. The doctor invites two mediums and runs several tests to validate the experiences that are recorded in the house. The Awakening This movie begins with an intelligent and logical woman exposing the fraudulent behavior of a medium during a séance. The protagonist is contacted by a concerned teacher at a private school in Cumbria, where she experiences several things she cannot explain. The Others If you don't like horror, you may still like this film. The movie has a healthy dose of suspense without being overly frightening. There's a medium and a great séance scene that includes automatic writing. Insidious I enjoyed the first two movies in the Insidious franchise, but I haven't seen the third yet. While a certain haunting force in the first movie is a little hokey, I really enjoyed Lin Shaye's performance. The séance scenes have some original twists that are very entertaining. Ghost If you don't remember the séance scene, Youtube it. It's hilarious. Honorable Mentions: The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson is another horror great, and I highly recommend the book. She does a fantastic job with character development. I particularly enjoyed the militant Mrs. Montague and her cohort Arthur Parker. Despite Dr. Montague's insistence on keeping up a scientific air, Mrs. Montague's interest in Spiritualism brings about well meaning but unproductive séances. Ouija Boards I don't mean the series of short movies. I mean the object. This board has catapulted many, many movies from suspicious paranormal activity to full bore demonic hauntings. Paranormal Activity, The Exorcist, The Ouija Experiment, What Lies Beneath, The Pact.. I could go on. There's even a website dedicated to movies featuring the ouija board. Do you have a favorite? What do you think makes a good séance scene?
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by Camela Thompson My podcast co-host, Z.D. Gladstone, had a brilliant idea: Ask our listeners whether they preferred the Resident Evil movies or video games (we're recording the episode soon and there's still time to contribute). I cringed when she read off her call to action. It wasn't because I thought we'd have a hard time sorting through the responses. It wasn't because I thought we'd have a close argument. It was because I anticipated shouty, all caps rants. Nailed it. Pro Tip: I can tell how rational a fellow geek's argument will be by how loud the yelling gets. The more passionate and spittle fueled the rage, the fewer facts and science. As expected, I've heard and read the following variations:
I haven't heard much of an argument from those who prefer the movies. Personally, I didn't have a problem with the movies, but I hadn't played the video games when I watched them. I know, I know. You may now revoke my geek card. We'll just ignore that I grew up in the 80s heyday of linear game playing and loved it. I'll burn my Star Wars fan fiction and pretend I don't know things.
Now that we've gotten that dirty piece of business out of the way, I can tell you I was glad I hadn't played the games first. It allowed me to view the two things as separate and unrelated. I realize that I can't tell people who did play the video games first to pretend they hadn't happened or to take the two things as separate products. The problem is: They bear the same name. If they had been branded separately with no attempt at crossover, there would have been less rage. The other reason I understand why I can't ask people to separate the two? The book vs. movie phenomenon. I've lived it. So much disappointment. Those of us who cherish something built up in our minds have a really hard time coping with different interpretations (and heaven forbid they diverge from the original plot). When someone gets stabby about Resident Evil, I take a deep breath and remember how I feel about The Shining. Taken as a separate thing, the movie is a classic. Compared to the book, it's a heap of trash. Jack Torrance's character arc flat-lined before his first appearance on the big screen. The thing I loved about the book was absent. Here's what has been missing from the arguments I've heard about the Resident Evil debate: WHY. Was it the plot line? The directing? The acting? The story? The casting? If you do not like the movies, I would love to hear why. I would also love to hear from those of you who appreciated both or even preferred the movie. If you're in that last group, I would suggest emailing me or posting anonymously to avoid caps lock tirades in your direction. You have been warned... by Camela Thompson "You need to talk to bookstores. When you interact with someone, get their email and sign them up on your mailing list. You sold books last night, but you should have done more!" My friend was right, but I had my handy list of excuses ready. "If my book is carried by a bookstore, people won't know to look for me. It just sits on a shelf with its spine out and no one buys it." "If my book doesn't sell, I get charged back." "If I ask for someone's email, I'll annoy them." These things may or may not be true. Deep down I know I'm not going to sell books if I don't try. Putting them on sale online gets me traction that may last up to two months, but it dies off. Social media is an awesome tool and I will keep on posting and podcasting, but these things aren't generating direct sales. There's a reason why well known authors still go on tour and do book signings, even though people know to look for them. Word of mouth can't gain traction if people don't know about a new book. I've worked for sales organizations and helped people excel at their jobs by providing them with information to help them target potential customers. I have the utmost respect for sales people who spend their days approaching people they've never met. They get told 'No' eight or more times for every time they hear 'Yes.' It's a job I have said over and over that I can't do. Now it's exactly what I should be doing. I'm terrified. When it's all said and done, it's time to try new things. I'm just not exactly sure where to start. This is my idea of a good time. Maybe it's time to take another Marketing for Introverts class.
The good news? I've been writing again, even if it's just a chapter at a time here and there. I'm over the moon the ideas have decided to start happening again. The bad news? None were forthcoming for this week's blog post. I probably could have come up with one thousand words on writer's angst, but I figured that if I'm tired hearing about my angst, the world wouldn't miss it. Instead, I present an adorable picture of Annie: Cheap ploy? Absolutely.
Next week, I'll try to think of new material. Be sure to check out this week's podcast on Killing the Undead! by Camela Thompson Be warned. I'm feeling a little bit ranty today. I just finished a book I really enjoyed. In fact, I couldn't put it down. I read until my Kindle ran out of battery charge. I even looked forward to my commute to and from work on public transit because it's a chance to read. That is really saying something considering it was in the 90s which only intensified the various smells imprinted into the vinyl seats. So, what's the issue? There was one thing that nearly ruined the book for me, and it's my biggest pet peeve as a reader: The protagonist was perfect. She could do everything well. Her perfection was explained by lessons gleaned throughout her life, but the list of awesomeness was never ending. I get the impulse, and one of my beta readers pointed out that I've been called on it during first draft reviews. As a writer with feminist overtones, I want my female protagonist to thrive on her own. I don't like having her ask for help. But. Sometimes it makes sense. A character new to surviving in a harsh environment may not know everything about fighting, weapons, or even legal representation. Let's not forget there are many forms of strength, including knowing when to ask for help. A character can appear weak, but their strength may be in what they sacrifice for another to thrive.
I've read historical fiction novels with characters who excel at everything. It's very prevalent in spy thrillers. Just look at James Bond--his only flaw was misogyny. In the particular book that fueled this tirade, a young woman had perfected everything from learning new languages to spying to throwing dice. It made sense for her to excel at some things, but there was no need to call out others. When she excelled at something as mundane as efficiently moving through crowds, it grew frustrating. Other readers have expressed similar frustration when the main character is a stunning beauty or a gorgeous man who also happens to be an expert in all things. It's easier for me to relate to characters who have physical flaws (or at least is self-conscious) and have uncertainties. It makes the hero's journey more interesting and the character arc has more room to grow. What are your feelings? Are you bothered by perfect protagonists, or do you enjoy a shining hero? by Camela Thompson Today marks my first day back in the office since I started my long break. I remember when I took time off work, several people were excited and asked if I was going to write full time. Perhaps one day in the future I'll be able to retire from corporate life, but not now. Not yet. And maybe not for many, many years. I would be lying if I said I didn't struggle with it initially. When I started this break, I thought I would use the time to write a couple books. Maybe even three. Instead, I sat at my computer writing chapters, only to delete them. I focused on marketing in the second half of April and all of May. By all accounts, the launch was solid--a definite improvement over the first. It gave me hope that this author platform thing will continue to get easier as time goes on. I jumped into an ongoing marketing strategy. I started a podcast. I spent a ton of time with my dog and husband. I had time to write and interact with my family. I even had energy to do things on the evenings and weekends. I did write a book. It wasn't the book I expected to write, but I was thrilled it happened.
I may have struggled with writing, but I learned some things about myself. I accepted that I can't continue to work full time and be an author without help. I'm lucky that my career by day is lucrative. My career by night--writing--is not. Yet. Having a dual income means we are lucky enough to have someone come in and help clean so I don't have to spend time on it on the weekends. We have a dog walker come every day so I don't worry about our pup. I need to look for help marketing. I made the choice to take a challenging job (that I fortunately enjoy) rather than work part time and attempt to live with a little extra from writing jobs. That would have meant learning how to churn out articles, spending more time cleaning, fixing stuff around the house, and finding ways to save money and live in a really expensive city. It's doable. It just wasn't the route I decided to take.
I enjoy the challenge of my day job, and spend most of that time analyzing trends and pulling together numbers. I listen to business issues and work hard to find solutions. It keeps my brain whirring. For some reason, I do a better job of writing when I'm working. My husband's theory is that I need to use the analytical side of my brain for the creative side to flourish. I think it has more to do with having incentive to spend precious spare time wisely on a hobby I enjoy. Less time is dedicated to the wormhole that is the Internet and more time is spent typing. I'm more willing to push through writing walls and persist rather than wait for a muse to strike. My weeks just got busier, but it doesn't mean I'll stop writing. The book output may be lower than it would have been otherwise, but I'm not so sure about that anymore. I've accepted that I may only be able to kick one book out a year, but I'm going to take the time to make that book as good as I can get it. Both working and writing means sacrifices. In the coming months, I know to look at the things that get put aside and make sure the right sacrifices are made. Have you had to make sacrifices for your passion? by Camela Thompson If you read my post about writing a book in a month and a half, you're probably wondering how writing a book in a week could be a good thing. Last time I pushed myself, worked too hard, and snapped up an opportunity to take some time off. This time, it was different. An idea popped into my head and kept spinning around and kicking things until I had to write it down. After months of wondering if I would ever get another idea, I ran to my laptop. I typed for hours, only walking away to figure out where to go next. Within five days, fifty-thousand words had spooled out of my head and onto the screen. Even my loyal assistant grew weirded out with the amount of time I spent typing When I was young, I asked a ton of questions as I tried to understand how things work. I still do. It's why I'm an analyst during the day. It has always frustrated me when the answer to a question is, "It depends." I prefer answers to be straight forward and logical. It's why I often fall on my face as an artist. Now I have discovered that the amount of time it takes to write a book is fluid, and how that time passes--how it feels--also varies.
I started this hiatus from work back in April. It ends next Monday when I start up the day job again. In that amount of time I expected to write a book, maybe two. I spent the majority of my time writing chapters only to delete them. I started my third book in The Hunted series three times. THREE. None of them felt right and my editor agreed when I met with her. The good news is she helped me see what wasn't working. We brainstormed. It is a gift to have someone in my life who understands my characters and will let me talk it out. Plus, we met at a bar with hard cider and bacon. That took the sting out of learning I was looking at another rewrite. The next morning, I wrote some decent chapters. I feel optimistic that they won't be going in the trash bin, but the next scene didn't jump out and beg to be written. Being on the right path was enough. I accepted I would not write a book. Determined to enjoy the rest of my break, I scheduled time with friends. And then something happened in the last place I would expect: a movie theater viewing of Magic Mike XXL. The movie wasn't good so far as storylines and dialogue goes. The men were gorgeous, the dancing was great, and I will never look at Cheetos the same way, but I didn't give a rat's ass how Magic Mike got the bros together for the big show. But something Donald Glover's character said wound up something in my brain and it would not stop ticking: "...these girls have to deal with men in their lives who every day, they don't listen to them. They don't ask them what they want. All we got to do is ask them what they want and when they tell you, it's a beautiful thing, man. We're like healers or something." I write thrillers. Sometimes I even crank out horror stories. I don't do chick lit. But that line got me thinking about all of the women in the world who feel invisible. Ignored. It spoke to my history. What would drive a woman to seek validation of her existence? What would make someone crave acknowledgment on such a basic level, something that could be fulfilled by the simple question, "What do you want?" The answer: Emotional abuse. A character came to life in my head. I could picture her leaning over her sink in her shitty little apartment. I could feel the pull to wipe off her makeup in response to years of programming by her ex-husband--an ex-husband who had left her. This woman has good friends who rally around her now that she's not isolated any more. It isn't until she finds herself that he comes back because he can't stand to see her happy without him. I followed her down a rabbit hole and I ran to keep up. Scenes played like movies. When it was done I had a migraine and wondered if I had written fan fiction (I don't think so, but the migraine left me a little muddled). I have used this break to figure out where the strain and weight I felt last time came from. I've looked at ways to make life easier. I looked at different career options and asked myself what I should do with my life. I can't claim I have everything figured out. But I found joy in writing again. I had a new idea. Most importantly, I have faith that I'll have more. I have no idea what I'll do with this book--whether I'll publish it or even what genre it's in--but I feel lucky this happened. Now I have to apply the lessons from last time and not force the rest. by Camela Thompson
I was recently in an interesting Twitter conversation with @TheWriteMunz. He had heard my tirade on Jurassic World and wanted to know my opinions on Fridging versus a Red Shirt. First, let's start with the definitions. Fridging Fridging is a specific technique used to motivate protagonist characters into action. The writer creates a traumatic situation involving someone the protagonist cares deeply about. Often the protagonist's family member (or entire family), wife, girlfriend, partner, or best friend have something horrific done to them, usually ending in death. The body is left so the main character finds it and is further traumatized. The trope originates from the storyline of Green Lantern. Major Force literally leaves the protagonist's girlfriend shoved in a fridge for him to find later. I explained this concept to friend and she told me, "Once you know to look for it, it's everywhere." She's right and there's a reason. The death, mutilation, or rape of a loved one is a very compelling reason to seek vengeance. It's often seen in comic books and video games, but it's all over the place in television, books, and movies. Fridging Examples These are more obvious examples where the fridging incident is a main feature of the plot. There are plenty of movies, like Star Wars, where more distant characters are killed off to motivate a character into action (Luke Skywalker coming back to his Uncle Owen's farm and finding the crispy bodies of his uncle and aunt). Max Payne - A cop comes home to the gruesome murder of his wife and baby. His partner is also murdered. He sets out to bring the people who ruined him to justice. Supernatural - So many to choose from. The Winchester boys lose their mother, Mary, who is burned alive on the ceiling of baby Sam's room. Sam loses his girlfriend the same way, watching her burn. Both are motivating factors in their drive to hunt demons. There are many, many more characters shoved into refrigerators on this show throughout the seasons - Google it. The Barber - A cop is convinced he knows the identity of a serial killer and becomes obsessed. When the case is thrown out and his name run through the mud as a dirty cop, he shoots himself while his son is reading upstairs. Twenty years later, the son goes on a mission to bring the escaped killer to justice. The Fugitive - A woman is brutally murdered in her home and her husband is accused of the crime when he comes home to an active investigation of the crime scene. The husband escapes police custody in an accident and goes on the run, professing his innocence and searching for the killer along the way. Red Shirt The Red Shirt trope comes from the original Star Trek television series. If you've ever seen the show, you know that the characters in the red shirts have a limited life span from the time of their appearance (except for Scotty because he's a badass). Red Shirt characters have little or no direct tie to the main character and are used to move the plot forward. You'll see them most often in crime mysteries, thrillers, and horror. It's common to have a Red Shirt appear in the first chapter of a thriller to illustrate the presence of a killer (I've done it myself in All the Pretty Bones). A great example of this in television is Supernatural, which uses the trope not only to demonstrate the presence of a killer, but also hint at what it is and how it works. Why wouldn't it be okay to use these? I use the Red Shirt trope, so I'm not going to argue against it unless you rely too heavily on a limited set of main characters and only have appearances from people who strictly serve the purpose of dying outside of your core character group. There are people in the world who need to exist for things like gas stations, grocery stores, and police departments to keep running. Remove everyone and you have a problem unless you're intentionally writing a dystopian thriller. As long as we have stories with murderers, there will be Red Shirts. If someone doesn't die, there isn't a murder to solve. Fridging is more problematic and, honestly, a bit tired. I would challenge people to find more creative means of motivating their characters. There are a lot of reasons why people join the police force. Yes, some of them involve murder, but branch out! Maybe your superhero just has a psychological complex--those can be interesting without an entire family being slaughtered. The biggest problem with Fridging is the majority of victims are women and minorities. It's so prolific that the term Women in Refrigerators was coined a long time ago to capture the phenomenon. I gave a more equal opportunity range of examples above (dads are great fodder, apparently), but our straight white male protagonist is often motivated by something happening to his main squeeze. More examples of Fridges in Comics A great post by The Promethean Playground on why we need to do better by Camela Thompson I was thirteen when Jurassic Park came out and it blew my mind. The dinosaurs were terrifying and lifelike. When I saw the previews for Jurassic World, I jumped at the chance to go with my friends. I wanted to bask in the nostalgic glow of raptors eating people. The premise was a little absurd--who would open a theme park after the first attempt failed on every level--but I was willing to overlook a lot in terms of logic and science. What I wasn’t expecting were the frustrating writing choices for the female lead in the movie. I couldn’t help the disappointment I felt as I walked out of the theater. When I first drafted this post, the frustration sang through. I articulated this in a conversation with my brother and was presented with an opportunity to approach this piece a different way. My brother was immediately irritated with my impassioned plea for change and viewed it as a fringe opinion because of my tone. His eye rolling demonstrated my need to take the emotion out of the argument and frame a logical critique with suggestions for improvement. Challenge accepted, bro. The hiring process for the chief position in a park that houses dangerous dinosaurs would involve an evaluation of risk management capabilities. This is especially true when the first park failed epically and a subsequent attempt on the mainland also failed. Someone as interested in park statistics as Claire would also understand how long it would take to get so many guests to comply with initial safety protocol. Poor attitudes and compliance were realistically illustrated when the relocation was finally ordered. Where I take an issue with the writing is that Claire didn’t even argue with the man who hired her to run the park. If she had insisted on initiating safety protocol, she would have realistically represented the position she had been hired to do, and there still would have been more than adequate time for carnage. No gore or film time would be compromised. A stereotype illustrated repeatedly for female executives is the barren ice queen: A woman who foregoes nurturing a family in order to climb the corporate ladder and embrace her inner control freak. Claire was no exception and the trope was embraced with enthusiasm. She didn’t know her nephews’ ages, delegated the responsibility of watching them to an assistant with zero qualifications, and printed up an itinerary for a date with the rebellious alpha dino-wrangler. Even when she was presented with a field of slain herbivores, her last articulated thought was concern for her nephews. There is nothing wrong with electing to not have children (it’s the decision I made), and we’re still human. A reasonable response would be check-ins with the kids at the hint of an issue, and a level of elevated concern once she discovers the nephews are missing and the ultimate predator is killing for sport. Just because we don’t have children doesn’t mean we don’t love our family. As an executive, it is imperative to learn how to effectively delegate. A successful business leader knows their weaknesses and how to balance them out with strong employees. Since Claire is running a multi-billion dollar operation, I will make the leap that she was successful prior to being hired. Arguing with the behavioral expert because of personal friction during a major emergency was grating. Instead of yelling everything short of, “You’re not the boss of me!” have Claire display frustration at her inability to fix the situation. It’s potentially amusing, but the motivation is a function of the situation and not her inability to defer to an expert. Also, sexual tension was understandable, but pausing to make out during a pterodactyl attack was asinine. The final point I will harp on is minor next to the others, but I found it grating because it was easily avoidable. Especially in a city like Seattle with a lot of hills, women tend to wear functional shoes and switch them out at the office. Even those of us who drive usually wear flats and switch to heels in the parking lot. In New York, where people are more fashion forward, women carry their heels in their bags and wear cute flats on public transit. A woman who has spent considerable time running a park and walking on heavy gravel would have functional shoes instead of risking ankle fractures. Cars and bags would be a great place to store these flats. I will admit I was impressed by how fast she ran in the heels. I wouldn’t have thought it possible. I wanted to love this movie. There were a lot of things I enjoyed. The dinosaurs (!!!), the youngest brother’s enthusiasm, and Jake Johnson’s character was wonderful among other things. Please don’t misinterpret the critique of the writing as criticism of the acting. Bryce Dallas Howard did a great job with what she was given. It wasn’t just Claire I took issue with--tropes were relied upon with multiple male characters. If I could change one thing, I would ask that the writers spend time developing depth in their main characters. As it was, the impression was that the writers believed the audience needed nothing more than special effects. Intelligent decisions are more complicated to execute, but that extra attention may have made the movie something really special. by Camela Thompson I'm not sure why some of us are drawn to horror. As a naturally anxious person, you'd think I have enough worry and fear in my life. I even write in the thriller and horror genres. Why? Perhaps I need a distraction from the very real things in this world that are frightening. Illness, physical threat, and accidental dangers provide compelling reasons to never leave the house. I avoid the news when possible because I grow weary of the frustration I feel towards my fellow humans. Regardless of the reason I am drawn to horror, I have watched countless horror movies and some of them are more effective than others. The horror that plays most to my deep-seated fear deals with demonic possession*. Horror movies play off our assumptions and fears. Slasher movies capitalize on our distrust of fellow humans and ignorant assumptions. Urban legends and even real events come to life in many of these (the example that jumps to mind is The Town That Dreaded Sundown, which was loosely based on tragic events in Texarkana). There are many movies with sharks, snakes, spiders, and clowns--all common phobias. Ghost stories play on our fear of the unknown, and many are also purported to be based on true stories: The Conjuring, Annabelle, The Haunting in Connecticut, The Amnityville Horror, and even The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Why does the concept of demonic influence and possession terrify me? I find it frightening that a being could shove what makes us human individuals out of the way and wear us like meat puppets. The need to rule out all other explanations before accepting the supernatural gives an entity time to take root, building tension. The subtle changes in the individual are horrifying. The demon's intent to destroy the human it occupies along with as many souls as it can take with it along the way seems oddly plausible. The thing that tickles my reptile brain and gets that fight or flight reflex really going is the thought that dark influences are always waiting for a weakness that will let them in. I find that worthy of a shudder or eight. I accept it would be much more rational to be afraid of spiders or scorpions or even fellow humans. That doesn't change the fact that possession scares the crap out of me, even if all of the movies fall in category A or B. Category A: Introduce priest/pastor with shaken faith, add teenaged victim inflicted by demonic possession, and procrastinate for forty-five minutes by searching for any other explanation for why the kid can rotate his/her head 360 degrees. Category B: Introduce a happy family to a new household, add an escalation of unexplained events, then introduce a matronly woman who specializes in hauntings. Either way, I'm squirming in my seat with my ears plugged and one eye shut. Do you have any fears that make the difference between a horror movie scaring you and being laughable? * If you have read All the Pretty Bones and Blood, Spirit & Bone you're probably wondering why I write about demons if I'm so scared of them. I write about a biological series of species that are known as demons because many of them feed on the chemicals produced in large quantities by humans when they experience terror, rage, envy, and (more fun) lust. There's a difference between those demons and the kind that can inhabit a human. |
Camela ThompsonFreelance writer and Dark urban fantasy author featuring vampires with bite. My BooksCategories
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