On Tumblr, Animated Gifs, Fandom and Creating

Going to have to unfollow a bunch of people who insist on posting animated gif after animated gif.  Tumblr makes it waaaay too easy to post mindlessly, without considering what you're doing.  It makes it even easier to repost things other people have posted mindlessly without considering what they were about to do.  I try to follow people who post interesting, thought-provoking things, but so often, folks are just lazy or too busy to post their own thoughts.  I don't mind the occasional reblog, but when your stream is nothing but someone else's photomontages or graphics with sayings on them (I CAN HAS 2 MUCH TIME ON HANDZ) or the bane of my existence...animated gifs, I feel like you're missing the point of having a blog.

A blog is for self-expression.  It's one thing to find someone else's content, repost it and add commentary.  That's cool. That's a discussion.  But to repost someone else's shit and just add "This."  ARG. WHY AM I FOLLOWING YOU???

And those animated gifs!!!  What is this? 1997?  WE HAVE VIDEO NOW.

And what's with all the shameless (shameful?) gushing over scifi shows? I hate animated gifs from scifi shows more than any other kind of animated gif.

Why is it that people are so excited by a show or a movie that they grab some frames of it and make an animated gif rather than using that show or movie as inspiration for their own damn content!?!

Back, before the Internets, fandom would write their own fanfics--short for Fan-written Fiction (aka, fiction written with characters and settings by someone else--who usually got a paycheck while you don't).  They'd even print them out (or have them printed out at a real printing service!) and try to sell them at scifi conventions.

The whole thing just seemed so sad to me.  I mean, come on, man, take yourself seriously! Don't just be a fan, take that inspiration you are feeling and DO something with it!  Create something OF YOUR OWN.  OR: have some balls and submit your own story/script for XYZ franchise directly to the company that makes your show/movie.  Why do you expect people to take time to read your stuff if you consider yourself only a fan?

This is one reason I don't go to conventions any more and really don't like hanging out with my fellow fans most of the time.  Fans who are just fans and have nothing else going on are kinda boring.  I don't want to be a fan.  I want to be a colleague.

It's easy to write a fanfic, it's easier to make a half-dozen stupid animated gifs of David Tennant looking goofy and it's even easier to just reblog someone else's content.  But why not challenge yourself and create something on your own? Of your own invention?  Or just examine your own feelings and then express them in a blog post?

Life is short. Create something now.

The New Yorker Magazine asks: "Is it worth half a million pounds to save Roald Dahl’s famed writing hut?"

newyorker:

Is it worth half a million pounds to save Roald Dahl’s famed writing hut?http://nyr.kr/oAiVgQ

YES!

It sure would be nice if we could save this thing and show respect to one of the greatest writers of the 20th Century. Roald Dahl wrote all sorts of stuff from the classic kids book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the Bond movie, You Only Live Twice.  Seriously, we need to start respecting the artists who have helped shape our culture.

William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction

William Shunn : Manuscript Format : Introduction

INCREDIBLY useful tutorial if you're writing a short story, book or poem and plan on submitting said creative work for publication someplace. Linked to from here: http://urltea.com/1l47 (AndromedaSpaceways.com)

TheSaturdaily for September 22, 2007

Hey there, folks! I'm about out the door to catch my bus to Groundwork in Hollywood for my weekly writing session in Hollywood. If you're a writer, want to write or just want to hang out and talk about writing in a place that's "hip" and "cool" why not join me on the northwest corner of Sunset and Cahuenga? I'll be working on the second draft of my latest novel and on formatting an earlier novel for self publishing. I'm aiming to get there at 12:30pm (buses allowing) and should be there at least until 4:30pm, possibly later.

You can always stop by ThePete.Com/munity and click on TheSaturdaily to learn more (or just go here: http://thepetecom.ning.com/group/thesaturdaily).

TheSaturdaily for 9/15/7

Everything looks on target and on schedule for me to be at Groundwork tomorrow as I am every Saturday! I'll be working on the second draft of my seventh novel and, if you want, talking to YOU about writing and junk! So come on down, or just leave me to work on my novel. Which ever. But I have a feeling if you stop by you'll learn something!

Or not, who knows?

So, I'll be at Groundwork on the corner of Sunset Blvd and Cahuenga, in Hollywood at (or around) 12:30pm tomorrow.

Don't know what TheSaturdaily is? Check out ThePete.Com/munity or go here: http://thepetecom.ning.com/group/thesaturdaily and read all about it.

TheSaturdaily for 9-8-7!

ARG. Set my alarm for 10:45PM instead of AM and missed both the correct bus and the later bus, so I'll be on the even later bus and won't be making it to Groundwork today before 1:30. LAME. I should have just postponed it until tomorrow. Ah well.

Today, I'm bringing plenty of writing work. I'm sooo far behind on the second draft of my NaNoWriMo novel from last year. I need to get the second draft done before November begins. I also need to work out a way to trick myself into being disciplined about being creative again. I worked up this very reasonable schedule balancing all of my interests and have blown it off through negligence consistently since I created it. Ah well. I think I might have to start doing some more online fiction writing just to keep myself productive. Too bad doing my second draft online would remove my reasoning for publishing it.

OK, I should start packing up so I don't miss the even later bus.

Remember, if you are thinking about joining me for TheSaturdaily, I usually will post something about whether I'll be there or not right here at ThePete.Com or at ThePete.Community which you can get to here: http://thepetecom.ning.com. Join me! It'll be fun!

FIRST ON MARS a Short Story

OK, here's another episode of ThePeteFiction! This week it is in the form of a short story called First on Mars and I JUST wrote it. I haven't even proofread it yet, so please don't be offended. I literally bang out ThePeteFictions every Thursday night, barely taking a moment to spell-check them.

With that said, here is the beginning of First on Mars:

THIS WORK WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE UNTIL September 14, 2007.

First on Mars (c) 2007 ThePete.Com (this is fiction)


The press went mad--it was the new era of space travel. Of course, the press only cared because the private company that was venturing to Mars was, well, paying them off. The SSI was, after all, a private company and could keep it's finances secret. This wasn't a government-run operation and there had been quite a bit of attention from the press before the cash started to flow thanks to the entire mission, up to launch-time being completed entirely in secret. When the mission launched, it was a shock to the American government and to everyone else, too.

Why was it a big deal? Because the private company was based in the middle of the United States of America, in an abandoned missile silo that was bought up by a front company that allowed Special Space Incorporated to move in and set up shop. Joy, Kansas, where the silo was located is mostly farm land so no one was around in the middle of the night when SSI would have their materials shipped in. As a result, starting ten years previously, the entire Atlas Missile silo was refitted to support the building and eventual launch of a space rocket--a space rocket tipped with the most advanced robotic probe ever devised.

"Look, it's not like our intentions were ill," Ground Mission Commander, Joe Keegan, explained in an interview after the launch. "We hired the best engineers and scientists to design both the ETM Space Rocket and the Martian Analyzation Neurobot."

"But you, yourself said the rocket was experimental," the attractive news reporter asked.

"Experimental, yes--but how else were we to test it? Ask for permission? No. There was no other way. The government moves too slowly. The opportunity was there as were the funds, so we took it. It's not like the Space Agency had any concrete plans to go to Mars on their own. It's not like they were using the planet." Keegan's argument was sound enough on it's own, but his his good looks, handsome attire and boyish charm would sell a cynic a bridge in Brooklyn.

"Some say that if you had only gone to NASA and told them that you had a space ship and a probe already built, they and the United States government would have happily allowed you to launch under their guidance."

"Oh, no--they would have made us do all the same tests we did on the ground all over again. That would have postponed the launch for years, possibly even more than a decade. I couldn't allow that to happen."

"You're partner, Kevin Walsh, how involved was he with this entire project?"

"All the way. It was his idea, I just got the money together. Sure, I had always dreamed of re-igniting the space race with the fortunes I made in the second great Internet boom, but he was the one who guided the mission on the back end. He over saw the construction of the Neurobot and the ETM Space Rocket."

"And his death--how did that effect both you and the mission?"

"I was horrified with his death, of course. But the show had to go on, as they say and as I'm sure Kevin would agree. And the mission is going on in his memory, dedicated to him. And when the ETM reaches Mars and when the Neurobot rolls out onto the Martian soil, I know that Kevin will be looking down on us with approving eyes. He'll be missed, to say the least."

"We're actually going to rename the landing area of the OTS module to 'Walsh Base' in his honor. I think it's the least we can do. And, of course, his wife Amy will be looked after forever."

Nine months later, the press was, once again, awash with the private Martian Mission news. Every headline on every website and newspaper proclaimed something about the approaching landing date of the OTS, or Orbit-to-Surface, module. Keegan made sure of that by utilizing his extensive wealth. Learning from the mistakes made by so many during the initial DotCom Bust, Keegan got out early, selling everything he had for tens of billions. That billions were now one fourth of the funds paying for the mission and the press putting it square in front of the public every day and night. The other money came from his anonymous backers. Keegan would never tell Walsh who they were and still wouldn't admit it. He would justify it to another reporter by saying: "That's the advantage of being a private company."

Read the rest of it here: http://thepete.com/thepetefiction.pdf

Remember, as with all ThePeteFictions, they'll only be up for a week, so if you're reading this after September 14, 2007, you'll have to hope ThePete got around to publishing this someplace else, like in paperback.

TheSaturdaily for September 1, 2007

OK, everything looks perfect for me to be at Groundwork on time at 12:30pm. That's Groundwork on the corner of Sunset and Cahuenga in Hollywood--right near Amoeba Records and the Cinerama Dome.

I plan on leaving at 4:30 instead of 5:30 this week, however. I've got some stuff I need to get done elsewhere. In fact, I'm thinking about changing the end time to 4:30 for good since four hours of writing is still pretty substantial.

Incidentally, we've got NaNoWriMo coming up in just two months. I know what novel I'll be writing in November, do you?

Never heard of NaNoWriMo? Check out NaNoWriMo.org to learn more about it!

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2007 12:13PM: I'm going to be 30 minutes late to TheSaturdaily. I'm just now catching my bus. :(

The Saturdaily for August 25, 2007

OK, this is just letting everyone (anyone) know that everything looks good for me to be getting to Groundwork tomorrow at 12:30 ish. I might be a little late because I have to call my folks on the east coast in the morning.

But I'll definitely be there! So, if you're thinking about it, stop on by and write with me! HUZZAH!

For more on The Saturdaily, join up here: http://urltea.com/1995 or just stop by ThePete.Community here: http://thepetecom.ning.com/ and learn more about it.