The Martian

The Martian by Andy Weir

Read March 2016

Okay, I loved this book. I made time for it before bed every night. So know that this isn't a true book review, per se.

I have eclectic taste when it comes to books. For me, it's all about the author's voice and competence, and the characters of the story. Subject matter has no real bearing, and I love to feel like I'm learning new things as I read for fun. So The Martian was perfect on all those levels. I was a bit wary going in, because I knew it was going to be a very technical novel, and I have only a rudimentary grasp of space travel and exploration. All those worries were expelled the moment the story starts, and we meet Mark, our intrepid Martian explorer, thought dead and left stranded on the Red Planet when his crew aborted the mission and went back to the ship. Mark lives a year and a half on Mars, constantly encountering problems and having to engineer solutions. The narrative is comprised of his log entries, and the occasional flash back to Earth, as they try to devise a way to bring him home.

First off, Mark is an adorable dork, and he injects a quirky humor into everything. Though the story is dangerous, and suspenseful, Mark's voice takes the it from a place of nail-biting melodrama to one that is entertaining, appropriately nerve-rattling, and always interesting to read.

I'll paraphrase it for you:

Me: "This is obviously a clog. How about I take it apart and check the internal tubing?"

NASA(after five hours of deliberation): "No. You'll fuck it up and die."

So I took it apart.

Me: "I took it apart, found the problem, and fixed it."

NASA: "Dick."

....

You know what!? Fuck this! Fuck this airlock, fuck that Hab, and fuck this whole planet!

...

Things aren't as bad as they seem. I'm still fucked, mind you. Just not as deeply.

...

Fun fact: This is exactly how the Apollo 1 crew died. Wish me luck!

...

Stop laughing.

...

It seemed to work well. The seal looked strong and the resin was rock-hard. I did, however, glue my hand to the helmet.

...

Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshipped.

...

As with most of life's problems, this one can be solved by a box of pure radiation.

...

I tested the brackets by hitting them with rocks. This kind of sophistication is what we interplanetary scientists are known for.

I highlighted the heck out of this book on my Kindle. Can't recommend it enough if you like scifi and space. And I also recommend it to people who are curious and just plain like to read. Five stars from me. Loved it.

LG's Writing 102: The Ensemble

3/23/16 - The Ensemble

Starting today, I'm going to move from the Writing 101 series to the newer, more detailed 102 series. 101 was the basics, and now we're going to take a deeper look at some topics, and talk about a more nuanced way of writing. As with the 101, this has all got the Lauren-slant, and should totally be taken as my personal approach to writing, and not any sort of rule of law. So, ready?

 

Today we're going to talk about writing ensemble casts.

 

Organic, believable, compelling character development is essential to any great book, and no easy feat. Having organic, believable, compelling development among a large and diverse cast of characters? It's complicated. The more characters in play, the more intricate the juggling. Because I like to torture myself, I tend to work with large casts. This doesn't appeal to everyone, authors or readers, but in my eyes, there are some big advantages to setting the stage with lots of players:

 

- Real world feel: we don't live in bubbles, and a big cast makes the fictional world feel like a real place.

 

- Opportunities for story: characters can have side stories with other characters, and the plot has the potential to grown in any number of directions.

 

- Potential for a long-running series.

 

- A multitude of varying perspectives that give the story a richer, deeper tone.

 

It's a challenge, but a rewarding one, and a large cast lends itself to that cinematic feel I'm always shooting for in my work. For me, the great fun is that your ensemble is full of very different people, and they create a well-rounded look at your fictional world.

 

Here are my inexpert tips for writing ensembles:

 

- First, make sure there's a reason for the ensemble. The group approach should enhance the overall story. In my Dartmoor books, a big cast is necessary, because a club wouldn't consist of three guys.

 

- Make sure each character is his/her own person! This is the most important. Whether it's a group of friends, coworkers, family, or, yes, a biker club, there is personality diversity within every group. Writing about a group who all think, act, and speak in the same way (unless that's the point of your scifi clone novel) adds nothing to the story, and is not realistic. Every group needs to delegate tasks. For instance, not every Lean Dog can be just like Mercy: they need leaders, thinkers, organizers, enforcers, and foot soldiers. It takes all kinds.

 

- Create an interesting dynamic between the members of your ensemble. There will be disagreements. They won't all like one another. Some will be better friends than others. They will have conflicting goals (like, say Ghost, who's always looking out for the club as a whole, while his guys get caught up in personal struggles with their families at home). The goal is to keep it interesting.

 

- Use the varying POVs to add new interpretations, new world viewpoints, and new logic to the story. Every character should be interesting. Every character will be touched by different aspects of the story.

 

- Different strokes, you know the rest: with varying goals come varying wishes and fantasies, so a happy ending won't be exactly the same for each character. For example, Mercy's happy ending is Ava, and pretty much only Ava. Tango's happy ending will be happiness, finding a little peace with the idea that life has been terrible, but that it will get better.

 

Like I said, an inexpert list. After years of it, I can say that I prefer writing large ensemble casts, and that it keeps me engaged with my stories and on my toes, always ready to become fascinated by someone new. But it takes some planning, some thought, and a strict adherence to your characters, and their personalities.

 

 

 

 

Michelle's Aesthetic

For Chelle:

 

Think of it as her Instagram account. She likes order, she likes pretty, she doesn't mind living small. She loves hanging out with her Uncle Albie: furniture maker/arms dealer. She misses London, and she really wishes she'd bought those blue cowboy boots. A London girl who won't admit she's in love with a Texas boy.

Michelle's Playlist

Michelle

"Pretty Vacant" // The Sex Pistols
"London Calling" // The Clash
"Bloodstream" // Ed Sheeran
"If You Ever Want To Be In Love" // James Bay
"Hard Out Here" // Lily Allen
"Never Forget You" // Zara Larsson & MNEK
"Hard" // Rihanna
"Beast of Burden" // The Rolling Stones
"Waterloo Sunset" // The Kinks
"Wannabe" // The Spice Girls
"Air Balloon" // Lily Allen

For miss Chelle. The Spice Girls because she was a child of the nineties! Haha. And I think her music tastes would run the gamut: from her dad's selection, to modern UK pop, to the American pop that inevitably finds its way over. And had to throw more than one Lily Allen song in there.

Candy's Playlist

Candyman

"Boom Boom" // John Lee Hooker
"Ain't My Cross To Bear" // The Allman Brothers
"Miss You" // The Rolling Stones
"Amarillo By Morning" // George Strait
"Texas Flood" // Stevie Ray Vaughan
"Roadhouse Blues" // The Doors
"As Good As I Once Was" // Toby Keith
"Amarillo Sky" // Jason Aldean
"God's Gonna Cut You Down" // Johnny Cash
"Keep Me" // The Black Keys
"Crosstown Traffic" // Jimi Hendrix
"Cat Scratch Fever" // Ted Nugent

A strange mix of things Candy would have on in iPod (after Michelle loaded it with his requested music) and a couple of tracks with Amarillo in the name, because, and a few that make me grin and think of him.

The Candyman Aesthetic

Candyman is one of those characters who started out as an intentionally larger-than-life side character, and who picked up a megaphone and demanded to have his own book. Love him, hate him, he's a Texan force of nature, and I can't believe how goofy, and sweet, and completely devoted he turned out to be. He's a true Southern boy, and he misses his mama and daddy, and he carries responsibility heavy across his substantial shoulders.

 

If you want to follow along on Wattpad, we're up to Chapter Nineteen!

 

Tentative release date of mid-May for the final, compiled book edition of Tastes Like Candy.

 

Checking In

 

I feel like I need to check in, since I'm running so silent. In this case it's good silence, because I've cocooned myself in a writing state and been more or less glued to my ugly purple swivel chair. The entire gang's been chatty, and that's not something to be wasted. They're throwing out lines faster than I can write them, so yay them.

 

I was very afraid, in my post-travel fog on Monday morning, that it might take days, even a work or more, to get back into the writing groove. But the words struck that night, right before dinner, and have been a bit relentless. So I decided to take advantage of the rush and just concentrate on writing. Which, unfortunately, means no Facebooking, no blogging, no Tweeting, etc. So I thought I'd update you guys.

 

Progress is happening on both story fronts. I'm currently working on chapter 19 of TLC, and, computer-allowing should have that up tonight or, more likely, tomorrow. It's at about 54K words, and 200 pages of single-spaced book page text, so my predictions were correct that this is going to be a meaty book.

 

Loverboy has been moving a little more slowly, but it's a very different sort of book. I'm happy to take the slow-but-satisfied approach with it. I'm so happy about it right now, where it's already been, and where it's going. I will say this for it: If you really like and care about Tango as a character, you will really like this book. If you wish Tango would just turn into a badass biker already, you will hate this book. In a nutshell.

 

Given how heavy things are going, I've got plans for something new, and fun (Candy not responsible for this fun) to announce. Just a little something. I was going to do it tomorrow, but I'll be honest, I'm just going to stay in The Zone the rest of this week and see how much I can get done.

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Have some green beer for me, since I can't. :-)