Keeping Fantasy Real

I've often mentioned how I like my entertainment grounded in something resembling reality. This idea of making things like superheroes and sorcery and space knights "realistic" means different things to different people, depending on the lens through which they view life.

To people like Zack Snyder and an inordinate number of comic book creators who hail from the British Isles... realism equates to cynicism. It's about making everything look like what they think the real world is. They make characters so flawed there is barely anything heroic about them. Their settings are bleak and their story themes are nihilistic.

Those aren't the kinds of stories I like to tell. But I DO like for my stories to be in a world that savvy readers can relate to without having to switch off their brains.

By definition, you're working in a genre where some suspension of disbelief is required, and in fact assumed. The trick is to make the audience feel like they aren't.

Think of genre fiction like professional wrestling. There are people out there who just don't get it, and never will. They call it fake. Some fans get offended at that, but I just roll my eyes. Because there are millions around the world who know what's up and appreciate it. We let ourselves get caught up in the scripted matches and promos as if it were all real.

The first and always most important key, to me, is the characters. Make people--even aliens or Fae--recognizable as people. If you have relatable characters who behave and react to circumstances how you or I or someone we know would, the audience will roll with a lot.

I typically point to Harry Dresden here. Some of Butcher's rules of magic and plot elements don't always sit right with me. His grasp of Chicago culture and geography and often lacking. But Harry is one of the most complex, well rounded characters I've ever read. And he is surrounded by a top notch supporting cast that keeps you engaged.

The Witcher is another one that jumps out. Much of the story gets a bit confusing, but you stay engaged because Geralt and Yennifer are both so interesting you want to follow them, even when you don't know exactly what they are doing or why.

The second key is consistency. Grounding fantasy with a sense of realism mostly comes down to establishing rules within the bounds of common sense and sticking to them. My favorite settings are worlds that look and feel like our own (or a possible one), but where some fantasy element like super powers, light speed travel, magic, inter-dimensional creatures, and whatnot, exist.

There are degrees of how "real" you want things to be, of course. You still have to leave enough room for the adventure and the drama to keep the audience engaged. At least the kind of audience that I target.

For my taste, hard-science fiction does not interest me. When writers in a space opera group get all stupidly technical, I tune out. Take, for example, Netflix's Lost in Space. It gets panned hard by science fiction purists. But for a normal, savvy viewer, there is just enough science to make the experience feel believable without getting in the way of the action.

On the flipside, when my fellow writers talk about how to make magic or super powers adhere to theoretical physics, I'm all over that. It's fun imagining how to strike that balance between handwavium and Stephen Hawking.

But this is where things can get dicey.

So I've played magic and superhero themed RPGs with my fair share of rule lawyers. And I've learned that certain powers can be easily abused to the point that they break plots. The existence of something like interdimsional portals and phasing specifically--two of Dr Strange's trademark powers--can make a story boring as hell if used to the extent that some people would use them. Plus they really make your brain cramp when you get even a little into the physics of them.

If you want them, you have to set hard boundaries.  Like why wouldn't you send the bad guy though a portal to the middle of a desert every single flipping time? Why ever drive someplace? The answer is because you lose the sense of drama. So how do you keep that drama without making the power useless. That's the fun challenge.

In my world, long distance teleportation takes so much energy that it can only really be done with fixed points, with a big enough magical power source. Kind of like a Stargate of sorts. Certain creatures can teleport with a medium, but not just anybody can learn how to do it on the fly by studying real hard. As fun as that idea can be (and I do like the Dr Strange movies), when I'M writing it, I have too much trouble wrenching my mind from all the ways this ability could be abused, and wreck a plot if you only apply it selectively.

Ok now back to writing my big magic fight scene.

A Non-Hater's Thoughts on Star Wars

I've been a Star Wars fan my entire life.

That fateful day in the theater in 1977 practically defined me. Though I'm not a blind follower by any means. I have been a strong critic of George Lucas and of the prequels.

I maintained a love/hate relationship with the Expanded Universe novels. Anything by Timothy Zahn, Michael Stackpole, and James Luceno is canon as far as I'm concerned. Luceno even made the New Jedi Order more tolerable. But then I can easily ignore Kevin Anderson's books, despite the fanboy love they receive for reasons I cannot fathom.

Yet despite the fact that I am often critical, I really have little bad to say about Disney's Star Wars films. I mean, I understand some of the hate, but most of it falls under stuff that is easy to get past for the sake of everything else that's great about these movies... exactly like the original trilogy.

I am confident that if Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi were released today, they'd be just as divisive. These are NOT well written, masterfully directed films. They have plot holes you can fly a Star Destroyer through. Luke Skywalker, IMHO, was kind of two dimensional.

Yet despite countless plot details that make your brain cramp if you dwell on them too much, the overall story arcs were engaging (mostly thanks to bringing in other writers to create a more solid framework and replacing Lucas as the director in Empire, but I digress).

These movies were fun adventures against a backdrop that left more than enough to occupy the audience's imagination so they could see past the flaws. That is the mindset you should approach the new films with, too.

I loved The Force Awakens and wrote a more detailed review at the time. In short...

While toxic fanboys were calling Rey a Mary Sue, I was like... what film are you watching?  They are very clearly setting Rey up to be someone special. Every time she demonstrated a Force power, I wanted to know who she was. The fact that she could fly and fix the Falcon was no different than Anakin Skywalker being able to build and program a droid with no education, or any other given Jedi being an ace pilot. Rumors abounded about who she was, so it wasn't just me reading too much into things.

So much of that ginned up hate was purely politically motivated, too, which is sad. Extremists on both ends of the political spectrum have declared these movies to be shots fired in the culture war. There is so much virtue signalling coming from all sides it's exhausting. I miss the world I used to live in where people can just enjoy things and ignore these idiots who try so desperately to turn entertainment into something it's not.

It's surreal how the spinoffs are somehow free of all the division, despite the fact that they, too, have prominently cast people of color and strong female leads. But again, I digress.

My biggest complaint about Force Awakens was the fact that it followed the first movie WAY too closely. It was so blatant it jarred me out of the story too many times. And I really did not like the way they started messing with lightspeed space travel. This would become a recurring sin through all 3 of the core films, especially in the second one.

I wasn't thrilled with the idea that Finn could wield a lightsaber, but it was kind of badass. Though I was okay with Rey beating Kylo Ren (who was wounded and had just murdered his father, so he wasn't exactly focused to begin with).

To me it was a solidly told, rousing space opera. Everything I wanted out of JJ Abrams and the franchise.

I really liked The Last Jedi, too. No. Seriously.

Nearly everything that happened in space was hot garbage. The idea of dropping bombs like it's World War II is too stupid to get into for too many reasons. Admiral Holdo was too incompetent for words. It was no wonder the Resistance was losing the war so badly. The whole mutiny plot line was painful. The idea that they could sneak away in those shuttles to a "hidden" planet was absurd. Rose was milk toast on screen.

While I don't go as far as to say the casino planet's subplot was "pointless" I will agree it was... well dicey. If seen though a political lens, it's more virtue signalling pap that amounted to nothing. But I saw it as a major turning point for Finn. I thought it was a well done swerve... set up the typical formula of a quest that will resolve the whole plot and turn it on its ear.

But what redeemed it all, and this confuses people, was Luke and Rey's arc. Remember, I thought Luke was kind of two-dimensional in the original films. Rian Johnson gave him depth. While fanboys were wailing and moaning how Luke was ruined and he'd never quit... I kept wanting to know what must have happened to him to drive him to this point.

Even aside from the revelation of his and Kylo's past, we were seeing a former idealist who was beaten down by a galaxy gone mad. Not even thirty years after his "victory" at Endor, everything was worse off than when he was a clueless moisture farmer. Apathy and cynicism were written all over his face. Mark Hamill gave the performance of his career.

Then the ending saved it all. Luke's final speech gave me chills. The swing from the darkness that dominated the film to seeing signs of hope spreading through the galaxy was powerful. How fans weren't moved by that is beyond me.

On a bad note, though, by tossing out JJ Abram's plot notes, Rian Johnson threatened to turn Rey into a Mary Sue. Now she really could do it all. While I was good with her first fight with Kylo, I was torn watching her kick so much ass vs the Praetorian Guard.

As exciting as the fight sequence was, it made no sense. Force powers are one thing. She should not have had that level of fighting technique without training. That fight really should have gone more like Luke's loss to Vader in Empire... which would have been a great way for Kylo to try to convince Rey how much she needs him. You'd think.

So that brings me to Rise of Skywalker. Loved it!

Warning: SPOILERS ahead. I'm writing this assuming you've seen it. Jump to the last few paragraphs by the photo of Rey, Poe, and Finn if you haven't seen it and care about such things.

On the down side, it opened with more messing with lightspeed. Hopping what I assume was across the planet a bunch of times looked cool, but it was too stupid. After Last Jedi made warships obsolete thanks to a nonsensical lightspeed tactic, now you are rendering the idea of a nav computer pointless because apparently you can jump on the fly? Ugh. And how did the TIEs follow them?

But as I said, I loved it. That moment passed and I had few other complaints.

A lot of people out there whined about too much fan service, but none of those little tidbits came across as such to me. It was nothing like Force Awakens in that regard. There was a scene that showed Leia training. And? Why is a two-second flash a problem? It helped move the plot, so no that wasn't "just" fan service. Chewbacca finally getting his medal. Now THAT was fan service. It was a cute throw in that didn't get in the way of the plot and it made me smile.

People get the weirdest bees in their bonnet. Though I guess the same can be said of me.

Another annoying complaint from some corners of fandom is that they sidelined Rose. Why does that have to be for nefarious reasons or to appease anybody? She just wasn't needed and the crew for that mission was already big enough. Any more would have made it unnecessarily confusing.

Yes, JJ Abrams had to undo a lot to get his story back on track. But all in all I felt he did a great job at it. When the story took off it really took off. I was enjoying the whole ride.

My favorite part was Rey's true origin reveal. It explained pretty much everything and salvaged her as a solid character.

And as if to drive the point home that she was NOT a Mary Sue... she lost the rematch vs Kylo Ren. The dark side would have won if Leia had not intervened in a heart wrenching sacrifice.

Speaking of Kylo Ren, they made him a much better villain over the course of the second two films. His journey from apprentice to Sith to coming back to the light turned out to be a solid story. I was worried about him being so emo in the first one, but in this and Last Jedi he was great.

Finn being Force sensitive only made sense. I figured that was how he broke his stormtrooper programming. It was great to see him get a more serious storyline.

Poe, likewise, got a decent treatment to give him more depth. I would be totally on board with those 3 characters continuing the next chapter of the saga.

Oh, and Babu Frik NEEDS to become a recurring character somewhere. Just saying.

The end battle was pretty cool. I loved the throwaway line where they dismissed the idiotic "Holdo Maneuver" from Last Jedi. That needed to be erased.

But I had two hangups.

First, good GOD is the Force more powerful than it's ever been portrayed before. I cringed a bit earlier when Rey and Kylo were playing tug of war with a shuttle in flight. But the lightning blast in the end battle was psycho. I rolled with it by telling myself that Palpatine is a special case, and that planet was some kind of dark side nexus or something. That big contraption that kept him alive could have been an amplifier.

Though I did like how Rey summoned the spirits of other Jedi to match his power. This idea can be used to explain minimal formal training to gain skills. I could buy that in the Old Republic, the idea of training was almost entirely about philosophy and meditation and honing your natural talents as opposed to having to be taught every aspect of your ability.

Second hangup... the space horses. What? They were assaulting ships coming out of the water. In what way does bringing horses make any sense? On some level I guess they were running with the symbolism of the horses from the previous movie, so that kind of works. But how exactly did that work getting them back on board the shuttles when they had to evac? Plan A was to assault the nav beacon, which was floating by itself with no kind of platform around it. And why could the capital ships jam speeders? They don't jam starships when they get that close. Not to mention, what if they tilted a little to the left?

All for a 2 second frame of the horses charging? Come on JJ you're better than that. Your critics will forever list that scene next to "lens flare" every time your name is mentioned.

But I recognize that those are nitpicks. There was tons to nitpick in the originals, too.

You know, the one where three people waltzed around a military facility the size of a small moon with mysteriously empty hallways, manned by soldiers that couldn't hit an unmoving target. Or the one where the Falcon's lightspeed was out, yet they still traveled the distance between planets in the Outer Rim. Or the one with the fuzzy teddy bears with spears defeating guys in armor and tanks.

I love those movies and I'm guaranteed to see this latest one many times over, too.

Top that off with the spinoffs with completely different tones--a military/espionage thriller in Rogue One and a space-romp heist in Solo--I can't complain about where the franchise has gone. Then there's the Mandalorian, the upcoming Obi-Wan series, and talk of a Knights of the Old Republic series. To me, it's a great time to be a Star Wars fan.

All 21 Marvel Movies According to Me

I grew up on Marvel comics. I was rabid collector for twenty-some years. Over time the price of comics steadily crept up in sync with the decline in story quality and I stopped collecting entirely sometime in the late 90s.

Which is why I LOVE Marvel Studios. They capture everything I loved about comics that the publisher has lost sight of. They are kid friendly and fun, but fully aware that it's grown-up True Believers who make up the core of their target audience.

Unlike those Zack Snyder atrocities over at DCE, Marvel movies focus on staying fun and entertaining, and yet they consistently (well mostly) balance this with a serious, grounded tone in (most of) their stories. Exactly like the comics of the bronze age, which were for kids, but never made you feel like you were reading a children's book.

If you want to get a sense of my philosophy as a storyteller, you needn't look much further than these movies.

Now that I've seen Captain Marvel, it seemed like a good excuse to look back through them and rank them with a fresh perspective.

A couple things to keep in mind...

I do not pretend to be objective about this list. Anyone who does is lying. This list is influenced by my philosophy on story structure, pacing, style, and very much on my own personal taste. I've always gravitated toward lower-to-non-powered heroes.

Also, this isn't necessarily a straight ranked list. First I grouped them. Those groups are fairly set in stone, but the actual order within each group are subject to change depending on my mood from day to day.

Except these top 4 which are actually ranked in order.

Best of the Best

These are the standouts of the franchise that either set or raised the bar.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)  -- I gushed at some length when this one came out. It had the most solid story of the franchise, tons of geek out moments, perfectly paced action, awesome characters. It was everything I wanted out of a Cap movie. I especially loved how it tapped into a zeitgeist that appealed to my sensibilities, yet it did so in a way that fans did not complain about its politics. They were not smacked over the head with it because it fit seamlessly into the story.

2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) -- This film was nothing short of brilliant. Damn near flawless, and another that I gush over often. It's a case study in how to properly incorporate humor into a grounded, relatable story that doesn't come across as a gag fest. Not to mention how to make a fantastic space opera setting feel grounded and relatable.

3. Marvel's The Avengers (2012) -- After all these years and all these sequels, the first movie to bring the Avengers together remains one of the greatest superhero movies of all time. I even manage to forgive Joss Whedon for giving the bad guys at the end the Death Star syndrome to wrap up the big battle at the end. Great laughs, every character had a memorable moment, and a clean plot. It really was the total package.

4. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) -- I was so hesitant of this one at first. Spidey is near and dear to my heart, and I did not know what to make of all the changes they were making to him and to his supporting cast.

But dammit if this movie didn't perfectly capture the heart and soul of Peter Parker. I participate in social media groups populated by old curmudgeons who refuse to live in the now. They hate how this Spider-Man is basically Iron Man's plucky sidekick. And yet they ignore that it hits EVERY other note of the Lee-Ditko era of the comic.

This film had wit and charm and one hell of a villain. This places so close to the top of the list because it is another case study... How to properly modernize a character for a new generation without ruining him.

Awesome Flicks

While maybe not as stellar in my mind as the above, these are endlessly rewatchable.

5. Captain America: Civil War (2016) -- Very little to complain about here. It juggled a lot of plot elements really well and kept a solid pace. Great geek-out moments during the airport throwdown. Spider-Man's powers were wildly inconsistent, and they had to forget Vision was present during too much of the fight to allow Cap to get away. Zemo's plot was airtight until the end, when it suddenly relied on convenience. But the movie was such a fun ride until then, and Iron Man vs Cap was so cool, the sins are easy to forgive.

6. Black Panther (2018) -- A little too formulaic and way too over-hyped, but a fun ride. I enjoyed both of the movies that they mashed together to make this happen. Part 1, T'Challa as James Bond. And Part 2, the Lion King.

7. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) -- I am hard pressed to think of much to complain about in this movie. Tons of great performances. For such a dense script, it somehow managed to give every character at least one great moment. Probably the most well-told and epic story of the franchise overall. And what a cliffhanger. Steve Rogers should be a red stain on the grass after Thanos punched him at the end, though. Loses some points for being a bit bleaker than I've come to expect, so others get ranked higher just for being more fun. Of course the comic was waaay darker.

8. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) -- Possibly the most underappreciated of the MCU. This and the first one had a great balance of humor, charm, and action packed sci-fi adventure. And Luis.

Still pretty damn good

These lost points for one reason or another. But I really enjoy them overall.

9. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) -- So you may notice the pattern that each category starts with Captain America. I pretty much use him as the benchmark for the rest. When First Avenger came out, I absolutely loved it, and still stop flipping channels when I find it's on. It slowly lost points as better paced sequels came out. The montage of Rogers as WWII mascot went on way too long and hence ground the film to a screeching halt. And there wasn't nearly enough of Cap vs Red Skull.

10. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) -- This might be the one I am most conflicted on. There is so much to love. Wanda and Pietro, Hawkeye's development, the into of the Vision, James Spader's deliciously insane portrayal of Ultron. But that's just it. There is too much. Too many plot elements crammed in made the pacing feel all kinds of awkward.

11. Captain Marvel (2019) -- The latest installment of the franchises lands firmly in the middle of the list. It was fun, action packed, with a tight story and great character moments. But at the same time suffered from some ridiculously lazy writing. The haters need to seriously get over themselves. Brie Larson was great, and helped salvaged what could have been a very mediocre film.

12. Thor (2011) -- Loved the opening sequences. Felt it was a decent story. Loved Loki, natch. Laughed through most of Thor being on Earth despite that part dragging out so long. Rolled my eyes at the bizarrely goofy portrayal of the Warriors Three on Earth. The end battle was decent but almost anticlimactic. I want to like it more than I do.

13. Ant-Man (2015) -- I know I ranked the sequel way higher and said how underappreciated this movie was. And I meant it. I thought this one was a lot of fun. They did some crazy creative things with his powers that you don't see in the comics that made it a pleasant surprise. But it loses points for having a painfully thin plot and a pretty lame villain that followed the formula of...

14. Iron Man (2008) -- Speaking of thin plots and lame villains. You'd think the one that started it all would be ranked way higher, but I just can't.

The first half with Tony in the cave building the first suit is stellar. Seeing him build the upgrades and going out on his first flight was pretty cool, too. But the trilogy suffers from some major problems. 1. Not enough superheroics in the armor and 2. Tony creates ALL of his own villains. That second one was a huge problem with Age of Ultron, too. Still, it's a fun enough ride that I can roll it.

15. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) -- When this one first came out, I was really harsh on it. A subsequent rewatch made me lighten up on it a lot, but not entirely. For all it's flaws (being insanely formulaic with too many forced gags instead of the natural humor of the first one)... this movie had heart. The underlying story about family was powerful enough to keep the whole thing tied together. And damn it's fun.

Decent to Okay

We're getting into shaky ground now. I still rewatch them.

16. Doctor Strange (2016) -- Awful pacing. He apparently becomes master of the mystic arts in a matter of what? Months? It loses huge points for being like 95% origin story. Awesome SFX and a cool villain, though.

17. The Incredible Hulk (2008) -- Yes, it had an embarrassingly thin plot. But Ed Norton was great in the role. What plot there was I thought was interesting. And that big brawl with Hulk and Abomination destroying Harlem was epic. C'mon. I don't know why I'm such a sucker for Hulk fights. I own Ang Lee's Hulk on DVD, but only for Hulk vs those gamma-dogs and the big Army chase across the desert. So I am kinder to it than most critics.

Meh

I don't outright hate them.

18. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) -- There are times when I have said outright that I hate this movie. The gags were so effing forced they were painful. But Cate Blanchett was incredible. I loved the battle on the rainbow bridge. And I could not help but chuckle at many of the Hulk moments, almost despite myself.

19. Iron Man 2 (2010) -- This turned out to be the most disappointing series of the franchise. There is just nothing special about this particular installment. I loved the recasting of Rhodey. And I started to love Michey Rourke as Whiplash. But then it dragged on. And on. And on. And... zzzzzz... Then the big battle at the end happened and it was over.

And where the hell is my Black Widow movie!?

Worst of the Worst

I can say nothing polite about these.

20. Thor: The Dark World (2013) -- Stupid. Contrived. Boring. Forced humor. It was so empty I can't even remember enough about it to specifically criticize. Oh... that gag with taking the train back to the fight when he lost his hammer. GAH!!  Okay now I'm pissed off at having lost 2 hours of my life again.

21. Iron Man 3 (2013) -- Remember the problems established by the first installment? Not enough superheroics. Check. And it's now gotten beyond tiring that Tony literally creates all of his own enemies. Not only that, but this time they even teased that we were finally get Iron Man's greatest foe from the comics. And that turns out to be a slap in the face. Then what happened to Pepper was beyond contrived. Absolute trash.

And yet, Robert Downey Jr is one of the best parts of the franchise in every other film he's in. I'm really looking forward to Endgame, and I'm kinda bummed that he's retiring the role.

Thinking I'll do this same treatment to the Marvel Netflix shows.

How To Be An Author

A guy walked up to me at my booth at Comic-Con one year. He asked if he could take a look at my comic, so I said handed him one. He looked at it with awe and wonder, then looked up at me and asked, "How do you do..." The word hung for a few seconds as he waved his hand over my book and finally said, "... this."

I'm sure every writer reading this has been asked "How do you come up with your ideas?" or "How do you sell your books?" But never did I imagine someone who had so little of a clue as to not even know how to ask the question. I could tell he was eager and wanted to create comics, but he didn't even know even one of the steps involved in "...this."

Maybe he thought he could ask the question because I wasn't known. I was a normal guy just like him. And yet I apparently had this magical power he wanted to understand.

In my last post I mentioned that, despite so many false starts, I'd been holding onto the winning strategy all along. But before I get into specifics of writing and marketing books, there's a different strategy that a lot of aspiring creators need to apply first.

It involves changing your mindset.

This entry is for people who think they want to __________, but struggle like I have. Fill in your own blank. Because regardless of what you really want to do in life, it likely involves a huge change in mindset to get our of your comfort zone and go from dreaming to chasing that dream.

There are 7 "steps" to achieving success. They are not easy steps. And the real trick is in order to truly understand them, don't think of them as a sequential list. They all revolve around and connect back with each other.

If you're a self-help junkie seeking the secret magic bullet to success, these may sound like the same platitudes you've come across a million times. The thing is... they're all true. But like all things, you can't just acknowledge them in your head. You have to believe them in your gut.

What made these "steps" finally click came from talking to a number of successful pros, and studying successful people. They all had different paths, but every single one of them has these 7 elements in common in their stories.

#1 Define Success - First you have to visualize it. Not in abstract, but in concrete terms. What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it smell like?

What you tell yourself is what you will achieve. If you don't think you're good enough, you won't be. If you think that all you'll get out of your hard work is failure, you're right. If you think what you really want out of life is nothing but a pipe dream, it is.


#2 Have A Strategy - I've managed projects in my day job, so I can attest to the power of having a solid project plan at the outset. Nothing motivates an engineer better than a hard deadline with consequences for missing it. The idea doesn't just apply to IT and business. You need to handle your life like you would a business if you want a return on your investment.

The difference between goals and dreams is a timetable. Set a plan to keep focused. Break your goals down into measurable benchmarks and deadlines.

But just as a goal is near impossible to reach without a project plan, a plan is not worth much without an end state goal. You have to know what you are working for. Always keep that north star in sight and make sure your plan is moving toward it.


#3 Turn Intention into Attention - This one is probably the hardest. They call them comfort zones for a reason. This requires a conscience decision to stop dreaming and start doing. This is what the old saying about the road to Hell means. All the good intentions in the world mean squat if you don't act on them.

No more some-days. No more maybes. Do not accept any more excuses. Never quit.  Make every decision like your life depended on it. Because in a way it does.

One way to stay motivated is to learn to recognize little successes. When you hit one of your little benchmarks in your plan from #2, celebrate it. No step forward is too small.


#4 Take Risks - For some this may be just as hard. Part of making that decision to take deliberate steps forward involves overcoming fear. Believe it or not, fear of success is stronger than fear of failure.

But therein lies the rub. Because there WILL be failure on your journey.  You need to understand and accept that up front. And when failure comes, don't dwell on it. Own it and move on.

Not one single success story came without failure. Without risk there is no reward. Another of my favorite Rocky quotes is, "Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up."


#5 Deal with Reality - This one may seem contradictory. Just because you think you want something doesn't mean it will happen.

On one hand, I loathe the the old parental axiom, "Not everyone gets to be an astronaut." I hate the idea of telling a kid what they can't be. But the statement itself is not untrue.

If the thing you defined back in #1 isn't happening the way you think it should be, then you have to make an adjustment to either your expectations or to your project plan.

Don't live in denial. Don't delude yourself. Understand and accept your limitations--differentiating between an actual limitation and your own imaginary ones. Admit when something isn't working. But don't stop there! Course correct. Take a good hard look at your expectations and your plan and make changes where needed. The trick, though, as I said above is to not dwell on it. Stick with point #3 and keep moving forward. Learn and adapt.

The flipside of this is do not have any expectations of a fast track. There is no magic bullet. Like I said, these are not easy steps.

Nothing worth having comes without hard work. LOTS of hard work.

The rest of the line from this epic scene in Pursuit of Happyness is...

"You got a dream? You gotta protect it. People can't do something themsleves, they want to tell you you can't do it. If you want something, go get it. Period."

Which takes us to...

#6 Network - Another huge lesson that Chris Gardner learned is that NO ONE succeeds alone. When you need help, ask for it. Surround yourselves with encouraging, like minded people who share your passion and support them as much as they will support you.

Part of this process is get rid of toxic people from your orbit. This may include purging yourself of toxic voices in your own head that likely sound like people from your past. Are they holding you back, keeping you mired in regret and inaction? Get rid of them. Or at the very least, marginalize them so they don't have so much influence over you.

#7 Find Your Passion - This may sound weird as the "last" step. Wasn't your passion what you defined at the outset?  Yes and no. This is more about defining your motivation to maintain your passion.

Do you really want something? I mean really want it in your bones? Then don't half ass it. Stay focused on it. Define what your motivation is for WHY you want it.

Always maintain a positive mental attitude about it. The only way you will be able to stick to your plan and pick yourself back up when you trip over one of those hurdles is to stay excited about what you are trying to achieve.
...

Now... I am writing this as someone who, to date, has done everything wrong.

I thought I had my vision of success defined pretty well, but not really. And I got stuck there. I meandered about it without a project plan. Being honest with myself, I half-assed a lot of it. I always thought of it in terms of some day. I had every good intention without taking tangible action. I didn't take many risks, at least not on the right things. Because I held onto unrealistic expectations of myself and how the business worked.

And when I did take big risks and fell on my face, I wasted more time than I want to admit dwelling on them. I wouldn't let go of unrealistic expectations. I wouldn't give myself enough credit for the small victories. I alienated myself from more than one network. I lost my passion. And I definitely didn't maintain a positive mental attitude through most of it.

I used to think that I was incapable of doing any of the things named above, mainly because I suffer from crippling social anxiety. I am no salesman.

But can you guess what was another thing that damn near every single working self-publisher I talked to had in common? They all considered themselves (either currently or in their past) to be socially awkward and shy.

Meaning that was just another excuse I was leaning on to hold myself back.

I know I'm a good writer. I've had enough qualified people throughout my life tell me as much, so I know I'm not kidding myself. I have studied my craft. I have applied feedback to improve. In 2014 I was nominated by the New Pulp Awards for Best New Writer. I got 3 novellas published. I taught myself how to produce my own book and published it myself.

If I don't say so myself, it's damn good. I don't consider myself a great literary wordsmith. I tell stories. And they are all stories that I think will resonate as they entertain.

I write because I have to. I write because my story ideas consume me and demand to be shared. And I write because I want to live comfortably in my eventual retirement. My stretch goal is to be able to leave my day-job-career early and write full time.

Next up, I'll get into the details of what it will take to get there.

Turn the page...

I recently saw a 2012 movie on Amazon Prime called The Words. It was a brilliant film about a writer, who wrote a story about a writer, who wrote a story about a writer. It's pretty meta.

Beyond great performances from a top notch cast, it had several powerful themes masterfully woven through the story.

The plot gets rolling when aspiring author Rory (Bradley Cooper) finds an old unpublished manuscript. Upon reading it, he is thrown into a deep depression. Because no matter how much he's been trying to convince himself otherwise his entire life, he knows he will never be as good as the man who wrote those words on those dusty pages. He feels like a fraud.

What writer hasn't had that existential crisis?

At one point Rory tells his wife (Zoe Saldana) "I'm not the person I think I am. And I'm terrified I never will be." That scene hit me like a gut punch.

I won't spoil any more if you haven't seen it. Suffice to say it's amazing.

In the weeks since, I've been seriously introspective.

As of this post, it's been one year and seven months since I published my first novel. It's been one year and five months since my last update on this blog, and the posts to my Facebook Author page are painfully few and far between.

I could go into the laundry list of excuses for why that is, but that's not what this is about. I've thrown one too many pity parties for my liking. And therein lies the whole problem.

Not putting out regular updates is precisely how you keep people from caring about you. It's rule #1 in virtually every author-brand marketing advice page you will find. There is no excuse. It's a pattern I have to break if I expect anyone outside my family and one good friend to ever read my books.

Thing is, the pattern goes back a looong way. The truth is, Prodigal traces back to a manuscript written in pencil on a notepad when I was twelve years old. Somewhere in my garage I have a junior high yearbook that says I want to be a writer under my picture.

My first piece of fiction that someone else other than myself read was a high fantasy short story about a barbarian warrior and a thief who broke into an evil wizard's castle. My teacher's praise was the first real encouragement to keep writing that I can remember. It was the first that stuck with me at least.

She liked it so much she wanted to publish it in the school paper. I was so embarrassed I said no.

My next finished piece of fiction was set in a post Apocalyptic world about a wizard and a cyborg soldier who free a town from bandits. Again it was for a creative writing assignment, this time in college. Again, the teacher gushed. She wanted to introduce me to a friend of hers about getting published.

Again, I was so embarrassed of my hack work I said no.

See the pattern? Are you maybe all too familiar with it yourself?

Later in college, I thought I had honed my craft enough to start taking this writing thing seriously. Sticking with my roots as a D&D player whose earliest inspiration was CS Lewis, I dove into the high fantasy genre.

Then I read R.A. Salvatore. Then I read Ed Greenwood. I was Rory reading those dusty pages. I was a fraud.

Being as objective as I can get... my attempt at period dialogue really was kind of painful. I just had not found my voice yet, and I clearly had a lot to learn. But that's not how I dealt with it at the time.

Fast forward roughly a decade and I'm all about comics. I read as much about comic script writing as I could. Over the next five or six years I would make three attempts at publishing, once with collaborators, and under two labels as a self publisher.

My work got reviewed in three places. One LOVED it (God bless you, Corrina Lawson). One was lukewarm. One passionately despised my writing and our art. I suspect he didn't actually read the book he was trashing.

Long story short, I quit the collaboration, and my solo ventures tanked. Despite what I had considered a ton of heart and hard work in production, sales were dismal We had great reaction at conventions. More than once someone who had bought a copy on Friday came back to the table on Sunday to tell me how much they loved it.

I think 7 or 800 people or in total read all of my comics combined. The funds ran dry and I went back to my cubicle.

Then I started Haven Distributors. That lasted four years, as some may remember.

I did manage to put out a handful of novellas over the next few years. Again, frighteningly few and far between. And again, sales have been, well... not great.

To those still reading (thank you!)... I'm writing all this to get it out of my system. It's "dear diary" (and for the benefit of many out there who I suspect can relate to what I've put myself through).

The objective is to read this post a year from today. In February 2020, I'll either still be bitching about my failures to an audience of one, or... Well I'm still trying to define what that goal looks like.

After talking to and reading up on a bunch of successful pros, it turns out that I've been holding onto the winning strategy for a long time now. On paper. I just haven't been able to get out of my own way to execute it.

I'll wager there are a ton of similar journeys out there. Do you wonder why you're not selling as many books as you think you should be (or any!?).

Have you looked in the mirror?

(to be continued...)

Vote for PRODIGAL for Cover of the Month

So a few weeks back I was approached to enter the cover of Prodigal in a monthly contest at AllAuthor.com. It IS gorgeous ain't it?

I've been a bit of a dark horse in the competition, shooting from near the bottom of the list to #15.

The cover needs to be in the top 12 to make it to the final week. The top 3 win and get some free promotion.

I could use all the votes and signal boosting I can get to stay in this. If I rack up enough of a following, I'll start using that site for more promotions and a newsletter.

Show your support here... https://allauthor.com/cover-of-the-month/924/

Tips To Reduce Word Count

I am wordy. Like, really wordy. And I know I'm not alone. Admit it. We love our word play a little too much sometimes. As a friend of mine loves to put it, we like to smell our own farts.

So what do you do when you've finished your masterpiece, and you come to your senses about making someone slog through 500 pages of your drivel that you would be forced to price at $20?

Lots of well meaning bloggers (says the well meaning blogger) will tell you to eliminate damn near everything extraneous. Like we all must be Elmore Leonard clones.

Not to dismiss the late Mr. Leonard by any means. I just dislike the use of absolutes in his personal rules. There are many other variations on "Never do x" advice that make me cringe. For me, there's something to be said about strategically slowing the pace, or setting the cadence of your word flow, so don't feel obligated to cut every last damn adjective.

That said, a lot of what you wrote is probably expendable.

Major Pruning

For when you’ve gone 15K over your allowed word count, or you feel your finished novel is just way too long (like mine was).

1. Examine side journeys and subplots 

This can be the toughest one. Most great books are more memorable for their character moments, not their plots. We LOVE our characters. We don't want to neglect them, right?

But if it doesn’t advance your plot, it’s probably not necessary. If it develops your setting and your characters, it MAY be worth keeping, but not if it ends up feeling like filler. This may require a bit of untangling if the subplot is referenced a lot or had indirect impact on the main plot. But it will by far reduce more pages than nitpicking individual words.

2. Lose anything self-serving

You know that part that you’re just SOOOO proud of? That witty banter, that hysterical zinger, that esoteric reference that the hipsters in your audience will love. That moment when your words danced and your brilliance leapt off the page for the critics to marvel at. 

Yeah it probably sucked.

One pitfall along these lines is a compulsion by some to make political commentary. Assuming we're talking about non-political fiction, no one wants to read that crap. Especially not in our current cultural climate.

Sometimes a character’s politics is a defining element worth mentioning, but more likely it comes across as preachy to 40% of your potential audience. Ask yourself, does it add value to the story, or is it virtue signaling? Is it really worth risking a 1 star review?

3. Shorten descriptions

This is one where I definitely agree Elmore Leonard. Did you really need all those lines to describe that woman’s hair? Does the reader need THAT much detail about your character’s car? Or that store window? Did the bad guy’s ensemble really warrant a whole paragraph in his introduction? Probably not.

4. Minimize Exposition

Here's another one where I'll quote from Leonard's rules: "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip." A beta reader once described one of my chapters as drinking from a fire hose of exposition. Handled badly, exposition can be a pacing killer, and a waste of words.

Lean toward having actions reveal the background of your story. If you took a whole paragraph to explain something that becomes obvious later by what your characters say and do, you can probably cut it out.

Edge Trimming

For when you’ve formatted your book for print and you end up with a bunch of widows, orphans, and hanging chads (paragraphs with one tiny word on a line by itself). Or the end of your chapter goes all the way to the end of the page. Or for when you just want to ratchet things up and/or quicken the pace.

1. Beware filler words

that
this
then

just
complete
completely

actually

suddenly
awkwardly

technically

definitely

basically

quickly

Pretty much any word ending in –ly.

pretty much

around or about (as adjectives)

any verb followed by have or not (contractions are your friends)

"Yeah."

"No."

2. Rework sentences that take the scenic route

Any time a character did this, then that:

... looked up and ...

... turned around and ...

Or

... felt something happen

... saw something happen

... heard something happen

(unless conveying a sense of detachment from the action is important to the scene)

On a smaller scale, keep an eye out for ways to use words more economically. For example, reduce "get a message to me" to "reach me" or "dropped me off at home" to "took me home."

3. Shorten dialogue

Read the lines out loud and imagine yourself watching the scene play out in a movie. Are you having trouble following it? Are you bored by the end? Your reader will be, too. 

One thing I did quite a bit was combine short one liners into a longer quote. It’s good for rounding up orphans, and it often makes the exchange flow more naturally.

4. Sidebar: Adding lines

Sometimes your solution to widow/orphan control is to add a line. Maybe you have a paragraph that is way too long (7 lines is a good max). A sentence at the end of a paragraph may deserve to be on its own line as a tension builder.

I guarantee there are more. What are the things you put on the chopping block in your final draft?

Guardians of the Galaxy vol 2 Spoiler Free Review

Short version: I enjoyed it. Can't say I loved it, but it was fun and worth the price of admission. The special effects are amazing and worth seeing on a big screen. Volume 2 was the perfect subtitle because it felt like the second TPB of a comic.

It lost points with me because...

1. The core plot was a little too paint by numbers. Though it was a well told story with lots of Easter eggs, cool themes and character moments, you knew where it was going by the end of the first act.

Recognizing the familiar plot formula was kind of a bummer. Like I didn't want to see it, but there it was. An otherwise awesome roller coaster ride kept coming to a screeching halt when they had to check the next box off the textbook plot point list.

2. Much of the humor felt forced, mostly due to weird timing. This is the gripe I usually have about the Thor movies. So many laugh lines were so out of place and dropped at such inappropriate times they were more distracting than funny.

In the first film, the humor was a natural part of the action. James Gunn went for whimsical, and succeeded, but still delivered a real story you could immerse yourself in. It was surreal and alien, and still somehow grounded and believable.

In this one, a lot of the jokes feel more like gags, just not as natural. Though it does have the greatest Stan Lee cameo to date.

I am looking forward to Vol. 3, though. I'd happily watch the movie again because if nothing else, it really is a lot of fun.

Captain America 3 / Iron Man 4 / Avengers 3 Review

Whether you are looking for big epic fights, lots of fanboy geek-out moments, exciting action, a tense thriller, Marvel's trademark humor, or a more serious examination of superheroes in a real world setting, Captain America: Civil War delivers on all counts.

That might sound like the movie was trying to be too many things at once, but the Russo brothers pull it off. Every element gels. I was entertained from beginning to end.

I can't gush to the extreme of Winter Soldier or Guardians of the Galaxy, though. I can't call it my new favorite Marvel movie. I loved it. I'll see it again. I'll own the Blu-ray. But it lacked... something that I couldn't put my finger on for a couple days.

I finally realized the problem was that unlike those best of the best Marvel installments, this one felt structured. It suffered a bit from having most of the story beats that audiences have come to expect from lesser films. You could feel Act 1 ending and Act 2 beginning and trace how it all comes together.

It's biggest sin was that it gave away what was supposed to be the huge plot twist at the end of the movie with Tony Stark's opening scene. That plot twist was not delivered very well either. It essentially pinned the villain's entire master plan to a major plot contrivance that was hard for me to get past. Like with Age of Ultron, the How It Should Have Ended writes itself.

But with so many awesome fights and great scenes that run the spectrum from funny to touching to gripping, it was hard to care about its shortcomings.

Black Panther walked off the page and came to life on the screen. The scenes with Vision and Wanda were both a treat for old school fans and an intriguing element that newer fans who only know about the movies might not have seen coming. Ant-Man's part in the big airport fight was one awesome cheer worthy moment after another.

All of the focus is naturally on the heroes fighting each other, but even the opening scenes surrounding the Avengers chasing down Crossbones grabbed the audience right out of the gate, and set the tone beautifully.

Woven through all that escapism, the drama behind why the rift in the team forms is compelling. Unlike the pitiful comic of the same name, this story is an incredible look at what it would really mean to be a super powered vigilante in a real world with real politics and real consequences. Everyone's motivations make sense and makes the audience think.

Yet it doesn't sacrifice any of the fantasy or fun that makes the superhero genre great. The plot is not just an excuse of make the characters duke it out just to see who would win. At no point do you stop liking any of the characters or forget why you are rooting for... well everyone.

Spider-Man was the stand out star of the big airport battle. He and Ant-Man were there to lighten the tone and they succeeded.

Peter Parker was in some ways a departure from past films, and even the comics to a degree. Tom Holland's portrayal focuses a bit more on the awkward kid angle than his predecessors. But that's not a bad thing. The spirit of the character was a spot on modern take of a shy nerd with a sense of humor and a big heart who suddenly gets awesome super powers.

Seriously, they could have sold advance tickets to Spider-Man's next solo movie in the lobby on the way out and it would have broken box office records.

Bottom line: It doesn't dethrone my top favorite Marvel movies, but it makes a fine addition to the top 5. Go see it. Especially if you are a producer for Warner Brothers. THIS is how you make a superhero movie that normal people outside of hardcore comics fanboys want to see.

My Take On Star Wars Ep VII

As the hype for Star Wars grew, I couldn't help but think back to the final line of Fanboys. After our heroes' hilarious journey surrounding the release of Episode I, they finally arrive in the theater opening night and one of them dares to ask, "What if it sucks?"

Experience has taught me to always keep my expectations low with any big anticipated movie. Letting your inner geek get too excited only makes the letdown that much harder.

With Force Awakens, though, I just couldn't help myself. The property was free of that hack Lucas. It was being done by a company that understands action adventure, directed by a man who clearly loved the Star Wars universe as much as we did. Despite my best attempts, my hopes were high.

And I was not disappointed. I can't gush over it like I have been prone to do with some films of recent years, but unlike the haters on social media, I have no problem enjoying a fun movie even if it has a few warts.

The short version: 4 out of 5 stars.

Well played action sequences, music and scenery that made you feel part of a galaxy far away, engaging characters... and despite following the exact same plot outline as the original movie, the story was delivered with enough of a unique spin and cool twists that I can forgive them. For the most part it was solidly written and well acted. I didn't feel the need to dumb myself down to enjoy the ride. I am really looking forward to seeing how this new saga develops.

The Force was with JJ Abrams and crew. From the bottom of my inner child's heart, thank you.

Now for the long version, as seen through the lens of a writer who can't help but dwell on story structure and characterization. And as a lifelong fan.

Oh yeah... SPOILER WARNING, for what it's worth. Though I figure anyone who wants to see the movie has by now.

Lets get the problems out of the way first. I want to talk about the good stuff, but bear with me while I vent a little.

Apparently there is such a thing as too much nostalgia. My biggest gripe was that they had to follow the plot of A New Hope point for point. I get that Disney wanted to wipe the prequels from our collective conscience. I get the appeal of filming a love letter to the originals. But I was tugged out of the story a few too many times when they beat you over the head with deja vu.

Some of the callbacks were well done. Calling the Falcon garbage at first glance. Dropping the line "I have a bad feeling about this." C3PO interrupting Han and Leia just as they are having a moment. Han asking if the base had a trash compactor. Those were well timed tension breakers.

But come ON. It opens with a spy giving the film's MacGuffin to a cute little droid. The droid then wanders a desert full of scavengers in search of a reluctant hero with a destiny to bring him to the good guys by way of the criminal underworld, with the help of a man of questionable morality but a heart of gold who turns out to really just be in it for the girl. Said anti-hero tries to bail, but returns to save the day. The conflict builds to a battle with a huge superweapon that they have to destroy by flying through a trench before it wipes them all out.

sigh.

I pray to the sci-fi entertainment gods that Disney got it out of their system with this film and run with a more original script in future installments.

Though not part of the carbon-copy plot syndrome, the biggest moment that I had trouble pushing myself past was when Finn and Rey were trying to escape Jakku, and the Millennium Falcon just happened to be right there.

Now, there was an underlying sense that Han knew exactly who Rey was, not the least of which was the fact that she knew everything about that antique ship like she'd grown up flying it.

So it's entirely possible that it will be revealed in the next movie that Han's whole claim about the Falcon being stolen was just a cover story, and that it was left there on purpose. I kind of hope that's the case because if not, it was just way too silly of a convenience. Or maybe it was Luke orchestrating events from afar. I'd buy that. Give me some attempt to justify it. The audience can only be expected to fall back on the Force as a plot device so much.

A few scenes later, another immersion breaking moment came when no one thought it might be a bad idea to bring the very distinctive BB-8 droid that the First Order was hellbent to capture into a literal den of thieves. Not very sound judgement coming from a career criminal. Granted, there was a throwaway line where Han figured they were being tracked anyway, but why increase your odds of the First Order finding you that much more? It was an awkward stretch of logic to buy.

Also during this part of the film, Finn suddenly changes his mind about wanting to not be one of the bad guys anymore and declares he's leaving. This was just one of the times that made me wonder if I liked Finn or not. He'd JUST given Rey a spiel about doing the right thing. But then much later in the story, he basically admits that he's only there because he has the hots for Rey. His motivations are too scattered at times, which I couldn't help but see as Hollywood Mentality mucking him up. I could just hear them in the writer's room. "No no no. He has to refuse the call of the hero's journey first!"

I am so damn torn on Kylo Ren.

First he freezes a blaster bolt in mid-air and casually waltzes around it. After several scenes establishing that Chewbacca's bowcaster packs the punch of a grenade launcher, Ren takes a shot to the chest and shrugs it off. He rips thoughts from people's minds with abandon. He's ruthless. He's savage. For 3/4 of the film, he's scary as hell.

Then he takes his mask off in front of Rey.

Instantly this insane mind crushingly powerful badass devolves into an emo kid. His whole monologue with Rey in the interrogation chamber came across way too weak. He had a lot of his grandfather in him, alright. Ugh.

Soon after, when he faced his father in the most pivotal moment of the film, I didn't know whether to hope for his redemption, root for him to complete his turn to the Dark Side, or push him off the damn bridge.

My opinion of him hinges on what they do with him in the rest of the trilogy. He BETTER NOT be turned back to the Light. If he does not develop into a full-on unabashed, unapologetic, unsympathetic evil villain, then he'll be remembered as nothing but a pussy.

And don't try to write him like Vader either. Kylo Ren needs to become the Joffrey Baratheon of the Star Wars universe.

If killing his father gives him permission to put on big boy pants, then even his whining and tantrums in this first movie has a chance to be remembered as solid characterization. So long as they don't ever try to sell him as stoic.

See, that was the biggest problem with the portrayal of Anakin Skywalker. I just could not see that whiny bitchface being seen as a war hero, or turning into this paragon of fear that we met in the original trilogy. It was too inconsistent.

Captain Phasma was kind of disappointing, though that was more a failure of marketing than of the movie itself. She was billed as one of the big villains, but ended up being kind of a joke. I really hope they redeem her in the next movie. I demand a vibroblade throwdown between her and Finn at some point.

Anyway, that's it. Too much fan service, and a couple scenes of iffy writing. And Kylo Ren, but with a big asterisk on him because I still liked him. There were a few other moments of plot contrivance that were so easy to ignore I have trouble recalling them. It was not a perfect film. But neither were any of the original films.

And just like the original films, there was SO much to love.

Like Rey! If I am ever blessed with an opportunity to write a novel in the Star Wars universe, I am going to have so much fun with her. I loved the way they unfolded the mystery surrounding her origins. Her vision, the way she knew the Falcon inside and out, the way her powers and training slowly came back to her.

She clearly has her own issues with how to channel her powers, too. She radiated frustration that bordered on anger almost every time she showed her Jedi side. Big warning bell, and great material for her training arc in the sequel.

The reigning theory is that she'll turn out to be Luke's daughter. That's actually pretty likely, but I don't just assume it. If you look only at what was said and shown on screen, you don't know the full story. She is easily the most intriguing character.

While a little torn on Finn, I lean toward liking him, too. There's a lot of unfair hate out there on the interwebs surrounding him that I just don't get. Here's a kid who was taken from his family and psychologically reprogrammed to be a drone. But when faced with an order to kill innocent civilians, he breaks his programming and defects. How is that not compelling?

Despite being just a grunt, we see him pick up and wield a lightsaber, which is a bit mind blowing if you think about it. Sure he loses to Kylo Ren, but the fact that he could beat that other stormtrooper in melee combat with a weapon so dangerous that only Jedi dare to wield it was enough to establish the kid's battlefield cred.

The revelation that he was assigned to sanitation at one point in his career was kind of unfortunate. While it was funny, and set up the trash compactor joke, it also made haters go "OMG he was a janitor LOLZ." Well that janitor went toe to toe with a trained Dark Jedi so there's clearly more to him than comic relief.

And who can complain about a movie where Han Solo had such a HUGE part? Even after seeing it countless times in commercials, the line "Chewie, we're home" gave me chills. Harrison Ford slipped into that character as easily as if he'd just played him last year, not three decades ago. His presence on the screen was what really made fans feel nostalgic. And he finally got to give the character the ending he always wanted. Can't get more poetic than that.

Chewie's scenes were gold. Leia had some very poignant moments. Even Luke's thirty seconds with no dialogue made for an epic ending.

What I loved most was that Abrams presented a story about a very large and diverse galaxy. Jedi were just one aspect of it. The core aspect, but only a part of a larger story. One huge failing of the prequels was how much the Jedi dominated the plot to the point of suffocating it. In role playing terms, every archetype had a part to play in this adventure. It was a relatable story that focused on  regular people fighting for their place in a very real universe where the Force was the stuff of myth and legend. A true space opera fantasy.

Don't let the haters get you down. Go see it (again)!

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