Good Fiction

The moral of a story is not its quality.

A character is not a good character just because he is a good person within the fiction. Likewise, a villain is not a bad character because he is bad. A happy ending is not the happiness of the reader unless he is glad he read the story. A tragic ending is a good ending if wonderfully memorable.

The quality of a story can be measured by the INTEREST of its readers, not only in the short term but in the long term. If he is eager to read till the end then the fiction is good. If he remembers what he read long afterwards, then it is very good.

A classic is not always a classic at first.

Originality tends to be a problem because something unexpected cannot be what readers are already looking for. People are disappointed if they expected something else.

Something new may be rejected at first... yet is never forgotten. It is read again and eventually appreciated.

I write fiction. My work is original. Though the genres, archetypes and tropes are familiar... the familiarity is made strange. The aspects are not subverted. On the contrary: I respect convention. They are simply tempered.

My every story is a parable. The morality is not about right or wrong, however. The distinction is excellence or mediocrity. The heroes and villains alike are more important than anyone ordinary.

The superiority of the hero is not righteousness... but rather sincerity. Even if he doubts himself, he does not hesitate in his moment of truth.

The inferiority of the villain is insincerity. Even if he believes in himself, his confidence is pride. He falls short in his moment of truth, as the proud always do.

The quality of my work is not its message, insightful or not. My readers must read eager to continue to the end. The experience must stay with them long afterwards.

Are the stories I write good? They are original... but originality is not quality of itself. What few people read my work usually enjoy it. Most of them remember it long afterwards.

Books on Amazon

Silent and Weird

I am not a gamer but I do play video games. One of my favorite franchises is Silent Hill. It is scary, sexy and adventurous.

Children were nameless baddies in the first game. They lurk in a school and try to kill you while you explore for clues. You kill them to survive. This was the original version of the game and the one released in my country... but it was changed for the rest of the world.

You are a father trying to find your daughter. The children trying to kill you were those who bullied her. You read the insults carved into her desk. You hear her crying in the stall of a restroom.

Nurses are nameless baddies. They lurk in a hospital and try to kill you while you try to find your missing daughter. They are caring for her but not for her sake. They are keeping her alive because her suffering empowers their sinister bosses.

You are tended by one of the nurses. She cares about you and your daughter. She tries to help you... but alas, is already corrupted and becomes like the others.

Silent Hill is scary because it turns the least dangerous people in reality into monsters. It is sexy because it is normalcy as strange and violent. It is adventurous because the protagonist must fight and kill to prevail.

I write and illustrate fiction. My Weird World books are the most like Silent Hill.

From Mind to Pen

As a writer of fiction, I know what it is to be inspired. It takes time and effort to turn what was easy in an instant into a story. Context can be vague in a daydream but there is no plot if it is so in writing. What is understood intuitively should be assumed to be nonsense unless articulated.

As a writer of fiction, I know what it is to be frustrated. The frustration is either a failure to express the inspiration or success but it is unappreciated.

I illustrate the covers and create the title fonts. It is unnecessary for me to do so. I am told my covers are bad and I should let them be designed by “better” artists. Alas, a book is not entirely dear to me unless the cover and font are mine as well.

I am not at liberty to write freely. Even my friends and family would turn against me if I did so. I must temper my work mindful of their sanctimony. I bother to do so because I do not write fiction to keep it to myself.

I enjoy my own fantasies by daydreaming. I write for no other reason than to share what I imagine with others. The version they read is tame to compared to the original.

If I was candid, my social commentary would be deemed extremist. My sexual themes would horrify. The moral of a story would confound rather than enlighten.

I can write what I want as I want it. It is unlikely I would be censored, since my work is unknown. I dislike shocking readers. My fiction is written to entertain, not to change the world. I want people to have fun. I shall write non-fiction if I ever want to teach them anything.

Boys and Girls

We are men and women. As children we are our full potential. As the elderly we become ghosts of ourselves. This is reflected in art and fiction.

Art is innately sexual if its theme is girls. This is whether the art is wholesome or not... or whether the artist is male or female. The sexuality is sexy whether erotic or not. It tends to be sexier if tasteful, actually.

Art is only sexual if homosexual if its theme is boys. This is whether the context is about sex or not... or whether the artist is male or female. The sexuality is unnatural, actually, even if true to reality.

Art as fiction is more specific, whether that fiction is prose, shows, movies or video games.

A little boy is the protagonist of a fantasy adventure for only one of two reasons. Either the storyteller imagines himself or his son as the hero... or he is a pederast, active or not.

A little girl is the protagonist of a fantasy adventure for only one of two reasons, both of them sexual. The story is about her maturing either way.

The Ultimate Storyteller

I consider myself to be the best writer of fiction who ever lived. No one else thinks so. People laugh when I share my opinion. Even those who have read my work are hesitant to agree with me.

What if I am the very best writer of fiction ever?

I shall never be everyone's favorite author. No one is. Can anyone be the best? What quality would decide?

Our tastes are subjective. Our favorites are personal. Fiction is make-believe. How can anyone be the best of something that is so different to everyone?

I am my favorite author. So what? What if someone else was? Would that person be the very best because of me?

We cannot know who the best author of fiction is unless we understand the actual significance of fiction itself. We must know what purpose it always serves.

Fiction is artificial dreaming. It can be shared because of itself it is impersonal. It can be appreciated by readers for reasons that never came to mind as it was written. It can be loved for reasons that may offend the author. The intentions of the writer can be ignored entirely or the opposite of his intention the actual result.

Dreams and daydreams are physical manifestations of our spiritual nature. Fiction is an extension of the manifestation. Our thoughts and feelings are shaped by imagination. It is how we think and feel beyond what we actually see, hear and touch.

If there is a best writer of fiction, he is the author that inspires us the most, whether he is our favorite or not. The influence may be indirect, through the works of others who were inspired.

Books on Amazon

Arsenals of the Imaginary Future

When a fiction is set in the past or the modern day, its weapons and wars can be realistic by simply copying reality outright. Even if the setting is fictional, if its technology is historical or modern, the particulars are already established.

The weapons and wars in fiction are innately questionable if the setting is futuristic. Though they can be based on reality, the technology is “more advanced” than it actually is, thus, entirely speculative.

The weapons and wars of a fiction set in the far future are excused by default. It would be like the ancient Romans trying to imagine World War 3. If the setting is in the near future, not so much. We expect what is soon to be recognizable.

Fantastic settings makes unrealistic technology believable. The steampunk genre, for example. The technology is understood from the beginning to be thematic rather than actually speculative. The universe is accepted as an alternate reality at its base.

The science of science fiction is futuristic mysticism. Its imaginary technology is the magic of fairy tales but in the guise of speculation. Its weapons and wars are meant to be interesting. As figments of imagination, they serve no other purpose.

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Armed Forces of Villainy

I am fascinated by armies, ancient or modern, real or imagined. I love the uniforms and weapons. I appreciate the parades and maneuvers. I am thrilled by the battles and amazed by the tactics.

My fascination is as a storyteller and artist. My favorite armies are those of the baddies. They should have the most stylish uniforms and the sleekest weapons. Their insignia, badges and banners should look... villainous.

I prefer an efficient army led by competent officers. I do mean for the antagonists. It is well-trained and well-equipped. It generally outfights its enemies but is outmatched by a lone hero or small team of heroes.

An army of female baddies is an exception to my general preference. Women are weaker than men. They are cowardly and witless comparatively. Women cannot be hired for violence. An army of women would be mustered by conscription. They would only attack if they feared their boss... and vastly outnumbered the enemy. Still: for all its innate failings, I prefer an army of female baddies that is well-trained, well-equipped and as effective as such an army could be.

My favorite armies in history are those of the Assyrian Empire, the Confederate States of America and Nazi Germany. I am fascinated by the paramilitary SS and Wagner Group.

My favorite armies in fiction are those of the Amazons in Classical Mythology, the Galactic Empire of Star Wars and the paramilitary Cobra of G.I. Joe.