About Dreams and Resolutions

So, the bell has chimed for the last time for 2014 and 2015 has come to pick up the slack. Everybody who isn't talking about the Golden Globes is talking about their resolutions for the year that's just begun. Through the years I've learned hard resolutions just don't work for me. Instead of focusing my energy into designing a plan with hard numbers (like, say, "To write X amount of words daily"), I aim at doing better than the year that has just ended.

I appreciate the value some people find in doing such plans or resolutions, and if it works for you then all the more power. However, most people keep kinda recycling the list of things they want to do, but for some reason they just never have accomplished. This practice, in my opinion, discourages people who feel that they will never get these specific goals so why even try. Let's be honest, a writer can never write "the perfect" story, no reader can ever read all the books in their TBR pile, no woman will ever consider herself thin enough, and no human ever will sleep enough, eat healthy enough, or exercise enough. These are empty endeavors, so why not instead measure yourself not against your dreams, but against the actual you?

It is an excellent idea to take this time to pause and weight the good and the bad of the last twelve months. Are you satisfied with the way things went? Where did you go wrong? Where did you go right? These are valuable questions that can help you find out the areas where you need to work, and to celebrate your accomplishments. To write more than last year, read more than last year, and eat less than last year is something doable. To become the next Stephen King and look like Kate Moss by the summer is not.

And so, I kicked off 2015 with very simply, yet challenging plans: To finish my novel's 1st draft, to submit more than ten stories through out the year, to make it to at least one writer's convention, and to read at least 18 books. This will be the year I try to break the genre barrier by submitting to literary journals as well as horror magazines, I'll keep developing my craft by enrolling in a creative writing class/course, and I'll participate in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge.

So, there. It seems like I'm going to be a very busy writer... because 2014 was totally relaxing! Wish me luck!

What are your plans/resolutions for 2015?

The Hunger Games: Last Words

A long time ago I wrote a review of each book of the The Hunger Games saga. I also promised I would write a new post where everyone would be able to talk about every detail of the books openly. I know, I'm a slacker, but with the second movie about to open in theaters, I thought this to be as good time as ever.

So, readers beware: This is an open discussion about the saga, characters, and important plot points. All is fair here; we can talk spoilers all day long and enjoy getting out of our systems the nitty-gritty stuff about Katniss, Peeta, Collins, and The Hunger Games. If you are looking for a review of the saga without spoilers, click here, here, and here.

Now, let the Hunger Games discussion begin!

Out of the three books, the one I least enjoyed was the third. Not only we have Katniss hiding in closets for one third of the story (at least), but then Collins deals a terrible twist to Peeta that just ruins him. Prim dies--WTF! So all this for nothing!--and then there's the final chapter... But let's start slow.

How about your favorite character? From previous comments on my other posts, I gather Peeta is a fan favorite. He is the most likable of the whole, and the true hero of the story. Such a sweet boy that pays a high price for his closeness to Katniss. I could not stand to see him turned into a mutt. I confess I did not see that twist coming, him turned into a weapon against Katniss, and it broke my heart because I knew he could never recover from something like that. They damaged him for good and there's no turning back from it.

Prim's death is another horrible blow and makes the story go from sad to depressing. However, I got it. I may not have liked where the story was going, but I understood what Collins was doing. She was following the turn of events to their worst possible conclusion. She was also making a brave statement about war and violence without being preachy and I admired her for that. And then came the last chapter.

For me, that denouement was Collins attempt at bringing a peaceful and somewhat happy conclusion to the story. Through her treatment of the characters, it is clear that she feels bad for the damaged youths, but it is truly in that trying to fix things that she betrays the spirit of her own books. Like so many before her, Collins was unable to kill her darlings. She chose to write about an ugly reality without making it pretty, just to try and do just that with the ending. I mean, Katniss recovering from her crazy period to go on and have a family of her own. After killing the true head of the revolution. Really? In what messed up reality would such an act be pardoned 'due to reason of insanity'? Does Collins know the Che Guevara story?

Anyway, in my opinion the author was very conflicted about the kind of story she wanted and the story it turned out to be. But my biggest disagreement would be with all the fans out there who don't get tired of saying that Katniss is a strong leading role. Are you kidding me? She's manipulated throughout the whole story by anyone who knows a bit more than her. From Haymitch to Snow, passing through every other character in the books, even Peeta at some point. Everyone knows what they're doing and how to accomplish it except her. Sure, she knows how to shoot an arrow, but she lacks the confidence to take control of her life. And let's not even talk about how she does nothing but be the vulnerable, broken youngster incapable of taking care of herself for most of the third book. So annoying!

The quality of the books is not an issue at all. Collins is a good writer and the story--however annoying or incongruent--never fails to be interesting. She also managed to surprised me at least once per book, and I have to tell you: It doesn't happen that often. So, in case anyone reading this feels affronted by my comments, understand that this is simply my opinion. I'm not judging the writer herself, or her ability to write. I'm simply stating the plot points I feel missed the mark and let me down. We are all entitled to our own opinions and I'll be happy to receive all your comment as long as you are polite.

Now go ahead and shoot.

Is Katniss Really Better Than Bella? Feminism in Present Day Literature

In order to know what is considered hip these days all you have to do is take a look at what the social media is blabbing about. There will be haters and lovers to everything under the sun but when a fad sweeps by, the loudest side will be the one to direct the sea of opinion. With the final Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn, setting box office record, the fad sweeping the entire country is hating the Twilight brand. All of it. Movies, books, author, actors, not a soul gets out unscathed by the masses brought together in their common disdain.

There are pictures in Facebook, reviews in Goodreads, and punch lines with pictures in Pinterest (some of them are quite funny, really). And though Twilight seems to be at the butt of every joke, a few would argue that the joke's really on the haters, since none of Meyer's, Lautner's, Patinson's, or Stewart's checks seem to be bouncing. All part of the Hollywood game. 

I tend to agree. You see, I'm a Twilight lover (the books, not the movies AT ALL) but, as a long time horror fanatic, I see why Edward Cullen’s sparkling, lean, lovin' machine has made every hardcore vampire lover retort in disgust. Then, there's Bella. The pathetically insecure teenager that can't help but fall for the broody vampire has faired even worse in the court of public opinion, taken the blunt of the hatred. And what is it about this character, you may ask, that has offended the delicate taste of the crowds? Well, Kristen Steward's uninspired acting (let's call it that) hasn't helped, and her clearly uncomfortable stance against the media does nothing for her either, but it goes deeper. In fact, the character--even the actress herself--has come to equate everything the Feminist Movement fights against.

Fast forward to the release of The Hunger Games movie. As always, the books were widely popular way before the movie broke out, but the simple knowledge that a movie was about to be made drove thousands of new fans to the saga and soon the inevitable happened. Katniss Everdeen and Bella Swan were at forefront of every discussion, not jokes anymore, but true symbols of what our youth is and admires. Katniss, whose prowess with a bow was a long shot from the whiny starstruck Bella, became her the antithesis and, therefore, the image that defines Feminism for the present generation.

Now, I have a bone to pick with this. I get why Bella is such a nightmare for many women. She is whinny, insecure, and unable to stand for herself. I’m an unapologetic fan of Meyer's books and even I wanted to choke her sometimes.

But let’s check Katniss’ character through The Hunger Games Saga: 

KATNISS	BELLA	SCORE
The sole provider of her family in a post-apocalyptic world where you need to fight for every morsel of food.	Regular teenager trying to find her place in the lives of her divorced parents.	Katniss starts strong and, though Bella’s problems are much more relatable for our teens, I’ll give this to Katniss.
Knows how to handle a weapon and isn’t afraid to do so.	Irremediably clumsy. She can’t play ball to safe her live and constantly injures herself.	Once more, point to Katniss.
Unknowingly, becomes the symbol of rebellion; yet, she fights hard to show the world she is, in fact, in favor of keeping the status quo.	She falls in love with a vampire and fights hard to become one herself.	Here Katniss’ character starts to fall through. When the stakes are raised, she proves to be a run-of-the-mill, insecure, scared teenager. Bella is improving, though very slowly, she has made clear she will get what she want, even if those closest to her don’t approve.
Completely uninterested in having a boyfriend, first because she doesn’t want to have a family in that messed up world, and second because she isn’t sure if she would pick her best friend or the boy who saved her life.	Bella, too, is torn between the love of two boys. Oh, but she’s into it. Even though she says she isn’t.	Teenage drama, plain and simple. Both the same, neither comes above.
When it becomes clear no one’s stopping the rebellion, she not only doesn’t embrace the movement, but lets everyone use her image the way they please and becomes a puppet in the power struggle that ensues.	When the powers that be threaten the safety of her family, she decides to fight against them, even if it means her life. In fact, she and her immortal family lead a rebellion against the oldest, more powerful vampire clan.	Katniss becomes a sad figure, broken and damaged beyond repair by the third book while Bella has found herself. I will give it to the Twilight haters, it is merely a few thousand words in a four book saga and hardly the theme. Then again, Twilight is a Paranormal Romance, THG is a Dystopian Adventure. So I say point for Bella…

Fact of the matter is Katniss spends half of the saga breaking to pieces and most of the third book literally hiding in a closet. I fail to see how this is any better than Bella’s obsession with her boyfriend.

The problem when talking about Feminism is that getting married and tending a home was the only career path available to us back in the days, hence its present bad rep. We look for specific traits in our females in order to select them as our new standard of ‘Girl Power’ like physical strength and open disdain (or disinterest) for men. Katniss is both, lethal and uninterested in boys, but is she truly the incarnation of empowerment? I don’t think so.

Let me tell you it was hard to come across a female character in modern literature that met my idea of Feminism, which is very sad and goes to show you why it is that our teen girls hold so hard to the few outstanding female characters they have available, however faulted these might be. But I finally found it: Hermione Granger.

Think for a moment. She is intelligent, determined, strong, and she might not be able to take a life with her magic wand, but she is powerful nonetheless. Her power comes not from magic, but from within. She is strong because she knows what she wants, what is good for her, where her weaknesses are, and she has a great moral compass. All these traits make her, in fact, a much better symbol of Feminism. A role model for our youth they can actually hope to become.

When we decide to bash a fictional character such as Bella Swan because of its interest in having a boyfriend, we are sending the message that worrying about boys is a sign of times past and a weakness. When we sing praises to characters like Katniss Everdeen for her physical strength we tell our teen girls that this one trait is so positive, it actually compensates the clear shortcomings the character shows in other areas.

Do you think I am being ridiculous? Giving way too much importance to fake and clearly fantastic novels? Well, yes! And therein lies our main trouble. We read too much between the lines. Teenage girls will worry about boys, that’s just how it is, very few of them are the actual providers of their household, and even fewer know how to shoot a gun, forget about a bow. Let’s not make the mistake of confusing physical prowess with strength of character. They like Bella? Sure, why not. Then, show them a book where the female character is worthy of being emulated and talk about it. That will take you a lot farther that trashing the latest fad. Communication is the ultimate way to empower our youth and help them travel the murky waters of adolescence and external influences. It is the final weapon that trumps even books and that’ll make of our kids true Feminists.

Possessions, Ghosts, and Everything Horror. Why do we like them so much?

With October fast approaching, horror fans all over the world are salivating over the many movies we'll enjoy in theaters everywhere. Already The Possession has earned a total of 33 million dollars and opened as the number one movie during its debut weekend, and it's only september! With movies like V/H/S and Paranormal Activity 4 which claim to be the scariest movie ever and the scariest franchise ever, respectively, it seems there are no limits to what a good trailer can sell, no matter how disappointing the actual films turn out to be. Truth is, as the last film gets ripped apart by devotees and critics, there will always be those who still enjoy the ride, and no sooner the big screen fades into blackness, the new 'scarier/gorier/most realistic film ever' is released.

But if you still doubt about the genre popularity, don't look further than your own TV. Celebrity Ghost Stories, Ghostly Encounters, My Ghost Story, and Haunted Collector are but a fraction of the dozens of shows that have sprout in recent years. The fact is that the Horror Genre is not only alive, but has gone mainstream in a big way and our hunger for 'True Stories' is more avid than ever.

Hauntings, exorcisms, demons, and ghosts are no longer a once-in-a-year fest, but a year-round-spook-galore. Suddenly vampires (hello Damon!) are more popular than doctors (Dr. McWho?) and being a Ghost Hunter can allow you to quit your day job as a plumber. But, why on earth is it that we are so interested in the paranormal? This, my friends, is the million dollar question and if you're able to answer it, you might be able to ride the paranormal wave all the way to the bank.

In my case, I've always been interested in the paranormal. It is a mysterious field where no answer is definitive and no one can be certain of the truth. I have learned not to believe everything that I hear, and I know most of those shows 'based on real stories' use the term 'based' very loosely. Still, there's a part of me that finds an inordinate amount of pleasure in the rumor that the lyrics of Hotel California really told the story of Anton Lavey's satanic congregation. Why? Because there's a special beauty in folklore, because some mysteries are better left unveiled, because if we believe that there's dark behind the curtain, then it means there is light as well.

So, tell me, are you a fan?

The Twilight 'Controversy'

Usually tuesdays are my 'Book Review' days but with the first installment of Breaking Dawn in theaters and all the people dishing or loving it, I just have to get it out of my chest.

First, I'll tell you where I stand. I loved the books. I mean, REALLY loved them; though I have to say the baby stuff was a stretch. Breaking Dawn was my least favorite book for a bunch of reasons, but that is fodder for another post. I'm not talking about the literary quality of any of them, I'm talking about pure entertaining value. I'm no scholar up on my tower, but a reader who wants to be transported to another world while I read. There's no secret recipe that will ensure that a certain book and a reader will click; it either happens or it doesn't. It happened for me with these books in a way I hadn't experience for a long time.

How about the movies, you wonder? Well, I hate them. I'm sorry guys, but the actors are painful to watch! And I like Robert Pattinson, he seems like quite a personable guy. Taylor Lautner is even more charismatic, and the only one who has the slightest idea of what an acting range is; however, I don't think they portray adequately the characters that I grew to love in the books. That and the fact that Kristen Stuart portrays Bella like such a lackluster girl with chronic constipation. Augh.

But I do understand how millions of young, impressionable teenagers were swept away by the fantasy of an all-powerful hero who falls head over heels for a simple, normal girl, just like them. That's the kind of romanticism that comes with the territory. I also know they'll grow out of it and will remember the characters as a precious memento of their youth.

Now, with that said; all that people talking about how the books and movies promote getting married, or getting pregnant, too young are driving me crazy. Seriously? You might as well just say they promote marrying vampires and condemning your soul.

Get real, people. There are books written as a mean to exert people to do or change certain things, they're called "Inspirational books" and most certainly do not involve either werewolves or vampires in any state of undress. Sparkly or not.

Fiction has never had the goal of inspire or influence the actions of the readers, simply entertain them. Harry Potter isn't advocating for any form of wizardry, as Romeo and Juliet isn't a vehicle to entice young lovers to suicide, so just stop the bulls**t.

If you hate the movie, own it. Say it's stupid, unrealistic, antifeminist, that destroys the horror value of the vampire; or say that the books are poorly written, that they have no character evolution nor believable characters, that they have no ultimate message or meaning. Don't get on top of your soap box and turn it into a moral issue. And even if all those things above are true, that's the beauty of art; even crappy art is personal. Just because you and I don't think the movies are worth a hoot doesn't mean there has to be any kind of message in them. They're but movies, don't go on a hate binge merely 'cause they're popular.

Movie Wonderings

A few days ago, enjoying my newfound freedom, I watched 'Devil'. Against some nay sayers, I have to say I liked it. It's a different story, well told and short enough so you don't get bored with a lot of useless backstories. For the seasoned horror fan, it can be a little predictable but, be honest, which movie isn't? It's hard to find situations that haven't been played in the particular setting of the story but I think that what's behind the story is a lot more compelling, and well worth your 1.5 hours. About all those shenanigans referring to M. Night Shyamalan's dry spell; well, this movie was only written by him and if anything, it goes to show he has great stories to tell. Weather or not he should limit his roll to that... that's still up in the air.

Now, if you haven't seen the movie, I strongly recommend you stop reading this, go watch it and then return to see if we share the same view of the end-story. If you're simply not interested in the movie and don't care about being told the ending, I'd love to have you with me through my following ramblings, as they go beyond the movie and more into wondering what possible life there would be after surviving something like that.

This is your last warning: spoilers ahead. Readers beware.

For all those who haven't seen it, the whole concept comes from this little story that a narrator tells in the very first minutes of the film.

"When I was a child, my mother would tell me a story about how the Devil roams the Earth. Sometimes, she said, he would take human form so he could punish the damned on Earth before claiming their souls. The ones he chose would be gathered together and tortured as he hid amongst them, pretending to be one of them."

We then see five people get trapped in an elevator in a building that happened to be the scene of a suicide, reason why there are cops around to 'help' when things turn ugly. Among those cops there's Detective Bowden, who lost his wife and young kid on a vehicular accident where the driver got away after leaving a note with just two words: "I'm sorry"... how horrible, right? Through out the film, we are informed that all the trapped ones are supposed to die and every witness is chosen for a particular reason. It's also established that whoever gets on the Devil's way to get himself some PR, will die; innocent or not.

The action starts as everyone on the inside suspect the other and when the lights in the elevator go out, one of them dies. We as spectators, spend most of the time wondering who the Devil is and who'll be the last to die. The final twist comes when there's only two people left, one of them gravely hurt, and the Devil unmasks himself; that's when we know the one not hurt is a mechanic that has been having a hard time forgiving himself for leaving the place of a vehicular accident he had caused as he was drinking and driving. Can you guess who were his victims? Ok, so he says he's not worthy of being alive, uses a walkie talkie to confess his crime to the policeman hearing on the other end (Bowman), and begs the Devil to take him instead of the woman who's bleeding in his hands. This, obviously grants him forgiveness, and the Devil leaves taking all the others with him.

There's a little epilogue at the end that shows Bowman, who at the beginning of the story had established his unwillingness to forgive and lack of faith in God, actually forgiving the man responsible for the death of his family. The credits roll and, if your anything like me, you're left to wonder what would you do in such a case.

My first question to myself was: Could I really forgive the bringer of such annihilation to my life? This is a hard thing but on the other hand, how could I not, being that the Devil himself not only had spared him, but chose me as a witness to his show? I don't know about you, but I'd be literally scared to death of so much as give a step on the wrong direction. You know what they say, the way of the pious is paved with fear...

About the poor mechanic... What would you do with your life if you were in his situation? Apparently, you have just saved your soul and have every reason to think you're starting with a clean slate; then again, you have every reason to fear that the Devil will try to find a way to collect. I thought, oh, man; you may have come out of this alive but I don't see how you can go on and have a normal life... and then I realized: it's their soul they just saved, both of them, and they're about to pay for every sin through a life of fear.

How many people survive things that let them more scarred than they previously were? Then they go on to live a different life full of shadows and distress. Stephen King is so right. Sometimes God is cruel; he lets you live.