My Pending Masterpiece

I am writing what may be my best book. It is becoming three books, actually. Its greatness is not its idea, though it is a good one. It is my rendering of the idea.

The story is many stories as one. I know how it begins and ends, and have for a long time. I have not changed my mind in the meantime, though many ideas within the gist have.

I was trying to decide whether I should write about Confederates in a steampunk story or Nazis in an alternate history. I wondered how World War Two would be different if the Confederacy won the War Between the States. I was fascinated by the idea of the 3^rd Reich and the CSA as allies. It was especially interesting if in a modern or futuristic setting.

I imagined a Confederate officer as the main antagonist of a story I would eventually write. The Confederacy lost the war but he is still fighting, using arcane technology to do it. He evolved into an SS officer I eventually named Arnold Kess. The steampunk setting became an alternate version of the modern day.

Senior Leader Kess is the Sorcerer. He commands the 13^th SS Air Assault Battalion. His daughter is his apprentice. She is the Enchantress and serves at his side as Junior Assault Leader Kess. They use magic, technology and armed forces to cleanse the world of undesirables.

The Confederacy is a world power and is sympathetic to the Nazi cause. Their enemies are the United States and the Albish (British) Empire. The Empire of Dawn (Japan) is neutral but considering joining forces with the Nazis and Confederates.

Mary Ziegler is the hero of the story. She is a freedom fighter with psychic powers, as is her part black daughter. They travel across the world to defeat the Nazis and Confederates. Mary was the lover of Senior Leader Kess. She is the mother of his daughter.

The drama of the story is about a broken family. Arnold and Mary still love each other. Their daughter thinks she is in love with her father and hates her mother out of jealousy. The girl’s half-sister still loves Arnold as the only father she ever knew… and he does care about her.

I am still going to create that Confederate officer I imagined. Though he evolved into the Sorcerer of the Realm he shall also become the Wizard of the Confederacy. His story shall be in the same universe and at the same time. His cause shall not be the Lost Cause, however. His skills shall serve a thriving empire. He may have a cameo in the books of his twin.

https://www.deviantart.com/yellowplasma

My Advice on Writing Fiction

I tell aspiring writers that their silly ideas are the best. I tell them to take them seriously, however. Turn what is ridiculous into something believable. Give substance to what is otherwise airy fairy. 

I illustrate my own covers. I create the title fonts. These are distinct from storytelling. It is unnecessary for a writer to do these things. It is good to consolidate your endeavors, however. Doing many things can spread you too thin… but not if they are all the same thing.

I encourage writers to write their sexual fantasies. I advise them to do so tastefully, however. Vulgarity is not art.

I discourage social commentary. Classics such as 1984 and Dune may seem to prove me wrong… but they do not. I read both books. They are limited by their politics. Though as imaginative and immersive as The Arkham Cycle and The Lord of the Rings they prove ultimately inferior. Unlike these other two, the message is not merely an aspect of the fiction, but the actual fiction. They are fundamentally narrow-minded accordingly.

I tell every aspiring writer of fiction that they should begin with short stories. They must keep their ideas simple and the characters few. They must finish each story swiftly and the story must be complete in of itself. I warn that striving to write an epic as the first project is doomed to failure. To try is to quit before finishing or to write something ridiculous. They need experience first.

Reading how to write is a good idea. Reading classics is likewise, and for the same reason. Researching topics is also advisable.

Do not write with movies in mind. Even if the inspiration is a motion picture, write what you write as literature. Movies are instant gratification by design. Books are supposed to be pondered. These distinctions effect depth and pacing.

DO NOT WRITE ABOUT YOUR REAL LIFE or the lives of people you know. Unless you fictionalize the stories, they are inevitably boring. SERIOUSLY! Your dramatic moments are not classics in waiting. Get over yourself.

https://www.deviantart.com/yellowplasma

480 Days

I have written SIX books since December 12, 2022. The last of these was finished on April 5, 2024. I illustrated their covers and created their title fonts in the meantime. 212,137 words worth of story, excluding headings and title pages… in 480 days.

What I finished is not all I wrote. What I illustrated is not everything I rendered.

My creativity is since childhood. Drawings and daydreams became books and covers. I did what I did from the beginning, and with no thought of fame or fortune. I always shared my work, from the beginning. There was never a point to create to keep it a secret.

I am glad when people appreciate my work. I am disappointed when they do not. My efforts were never for praise, however. I sublimate my thoughts and feelings into product. People can understand what I cannot explain if they experience what I mean in context. The art and fiction provides context.

I have perfect self-esteem. I do not mean supreme confidence. Pride is an imperfection that corrupts thoughts and feelings. I appreciate my qualities without embellishing them. I acknowledge my failings without excusing them.

My books are adventurous, violent, sexual and weird. Their covers are likewise. The characters are the stories. Their dialog is the narrative. The social commentary is flippant, part of the plot rather than a message.

I do consider myself to be one of the best writers ever. Of course I am probably wrong. I may also be right. My work is what it is regardless.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/Shawn-OToole/author/B07C28S75Z?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

The Holy Ghost Writer

If the Holy Spirit wrote a book, what would he write? Would it be about the Jews beings stupid? Would it be letters to cities? If he wrote about Jesus, would it be from the perspective of anyone but himself? 

Would the Holy Ghost have a ghost writer?

The Bible was written by sinners, to be clear. It was not written by the Holy Spirit. When Jesus spoke of him, he spoke of a person, not of people. The Spirit is an individual, not a collective.

Non-fiction is about this failed reality. It is a failure, to be clear. That is why it shall be burned away and replaced with a new heaven and a new earth.

Jesus taught in parables. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus. Parables are fiction. The Holy Spirit would write fiction.

What would he write?

It is often asked, “Why does God allow suffering?” or “Why does God allow evil?” and children are often cited as the innocent victims. The answer is quite simple, “Why not?”

Humans fret unfairness… but insincerely. Their “fairness” is what suits them, not what is just. They tout “social justice” but such a “justice” is as corrupt as anything else in society.

Our best fiction is about murder or war. Our best video games are likewise. These things are especially interesting if sexy, and strangely sexy most of all. Humanity was made in the image and likeness of God. The interests of our species are from God himself. This is why he “allows” what he does. By making it real, we have a canonized basis of comparison.

If the Holy Spirit wrote a book, it would be fiction about murder and war, and it would be strangely sexy. Children would be victims.

You may be horrified by my claim. Perhaps you assume God is gentle… even though he kills people… a lot of people. If you disbelieve in God then why are you scared?

TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR: It is not the will of the Father or of the Son that any should perish. They shall see to it, however, on Judgment Day. There is only one sin never to be forgiven, and that is for love of the Holy Spirit. The Father has endorsed and the Son shall condemn to damnation to satisfy the anger of the Lord of Spirits.

Where We Imagine

I bask in a fantastic yet believable setting. I favor sleek and futuristic or cyclopean and archaic. I love a deadly paradise, especially if overgrown ruins are to be found. A desert with ruins poking out of it is just as lovely. A ghost town is always interesting.

I write stories. The settings matter. They provide ambient context.

I do not provide elaborate descriptions. I instead imply things, to establish the gist. The ambiguity is to allow the reader to customize what they envision to their own preferences-- or to make it familiar by default.

A story is its characters. They are the actors. The world is their stage. The stage settings are the costumes of the world.

Sleek and futuristic is modernity as an ideal. Even if a story is dystopian, if the environment is utopian, it shall be appealing. The evil shall be sexy.

Cyclopean and archaic is the grandeur of myth and legend. Even if a story is grim, if the environment is awesome, we shall bask in its glory. The severity shall be thrilling.

Forests and deserts are wilderness. They are nature. Ruins within them are civilization as the artificial humbled by the natural. A ghost town is the loneliness typical of every society.

I am a tourist when I read a book or comic book or watch a show or movie or play a video game. I enjoy where the stories happen as much as what happens. I write and render my own fiction accordingly.

https://www.deviantart.com/yellowplasma

Full Circle

I grew up daydreaming entire stories. I do not mean about myself. I imagined scenarios involving characters I saw in shows or movies. I later, still as a child, imagined original characters. I crafted entire worlds of my own making.

I drew pictures during these early years. I started writing stories when I was in 6^th grade. I illustrated and colored my own comic book pages. As I matured, I focused on writing. I stopped drawing.

I did more than write and draw what I imagined. I also made costumes and toys. I painted and sculpted. Alas, I was eventually doing nothing but write.

Since childhood, context meant everything. An interesting picture was only interesting if it had a story. If it did not, I imagined one for it.

I still write. My stories are now books. I illustrate the covers. I create the title fonts. My creativity has come full circle.

https://www.deviantart.com/yellowplasma

In All Sincerity

I criticized people for assuming I am like them… only to realize I tend to assume they are like me. It is something we do actually have in common.

I am an artist. I always was. Since childhood, I fancy things from an artistic perspective. I drew pictures to express my strange insights. I now write books and compose music. I still draw pictures, but usually to illustrate the covers of my books.

Every sight, sound and feeling is with the idea of how it can all be shaped to optimize their various qualities. I cleanse my inspirations of their uninspiring aspects. I redesign the world to my preferences, and turn it all into stories.

Other people see and hear what suits them, for better or worse.

My idea of perfection is not idealism. Problems are not a problem if they are interesting. My art and fiction are not wishful thinking. They are matters of interest turned into toys of the mind.

Other people expect a perfection they do not expect of themselves. They judge hypocritically. They make excuses for useful idiots… so long as they are deemed useful.

I have perfect self-esteem. I am not proud… but I am not ashamed. I appreciate my strengths but acknowledge my weaknesses. I do not pretend to be someone I am not.

Other people lack self-esteem. Whether they are proud or humble, they are ashamed. They exaggerate their strengths and excuse their weaknesses. Their humility is virtue signaling. They pretend to be what they want to be or what they think others want them to be.

I am better than everyone else. I do forget this. I assume people are like me, and I like them accordingly. They are unlike me. They remind me with their flippant remarks, nasty actions and shameful inactions. I dislike them accordingly.

I admire myself. My admiration is not pride. I was tricked to be ashamed of myself only to admire what I did not know was referring to me. I judged myself unknowingly, and did not find myself wanting.

HE WHO JUDGES HIMSELF SHALL NOT BE JUDGED!

My sincerity availed me.

Sexy to Me

I am the member of a creative group, the Figments. We were together discussing my latest book, The Wayward School for Girls. It was written to be erotica. My friends laughed, telling me that it was not erotica. Its sexual themes were not the story. They were not explicit or gratuitous.

A friend explained that I was asexual. He did not mean that I can reproduce without a mate, of course. He was not saying that I was uninterested in sexuality. His claim was that I am uninterested in copulating… and he was right.

I did not understand myself until someone else explained me to me. I realized I am totally disinterested in plugging myself into other people. I am disgusted by the idea… though I am aroused by fantasies of monsters raping women. The monsters are not me, however. They are not my representatives. I am the unseen observer who delights in watching the worlds I create play out.

I have played tabletop role-playing games. They greatly inspired my writing of fiction. I never played a character based on an idealized version of myself. On the contrary: I chose to play characters very distinct from me. One of them, one of my best, was a coward. He was a loveable coward, however. I loved him and the other players loved him.

My fiction is not wishful thinking. My favorite thing is the easy killing of normal people… yet I do not enjoy the actual killing of real people, whether they deserve it or not. The victims in my work are the armed and uniformed foot soldiers of villainy. They are typically conscripts, however, not hirelings or followers. The villainy is not their own… and that aspect makes what happens to them especially gratifying.

Most of what is erotic to me is nothing of the sort to other people. The sexiest thing to me, ever, is three panels in a comic book. A big and hairy monster grabs a clueless sentry in full armor by the shoulder and over the top of his helm. The monster swings the masked face past the shoulder, snapping the man’s neck with pathetic ease. The sentry is left sprawled at his post, forgotten by the monster who killed him.

My imagination is sexual, but I think in ways unfamiliar to most everyone else. This is probably why my “erotica” is erotic to me but not as the genre.

Me, Myself and You

I wrote a short story that became a 66,266 word novel. I illustrated its cover in the meantime. Determined to write a short story, I decided to write a collection of such stories in the same imaginary universe. I illustrated its cover first. I am now writing the stories.

My creative genius is not in planning. On the contrary: I exceed what I intend as I go along. I create beyond what I first imagine.

It is good to plan. Though nothing goes according to plan, I still have an idea to work with. The plan is the clay I shape and without the clay, there is nothing to make.

I often design a book cover before I write the book. The illustration is for its own sake, as visual art. I then write a story to match it.

The unimaginative wonder why my work is weird. They typically suggest I write non-fiction or historical fiction instead, especially since I am so knowledgeable.

The sanctimonious are offended that I write and illustrate supposedly provocative things. No one who actually reads my books, from beginning to end, is ever so indignant.

I do not enjoy writing books and illustrating the covers. On the contrary: It is hard work upon hard work. I love having written a book and illustrated its cover. The product is my satisfaction. I am proud of what I have done… and that is why I flaunt it.

Forgive me.

Sweet Courage

The Wizard of Oz (1939) 

Dorothy Gale is one of the greatest heroes of all fiction. She is loving and gentle but stronger for it, not weak. She is fearful when threatened but fearless when others need help. She literally kills the wicked with kindness.

Judy Garland was perfectly cast for the role. Her performance made the character believable. We loved Dorothy Gale because of her.

Dorothy’s adventure is the legendary Hero’s Journey. Her quest to go home not only tests her character but fully develops it. She finds courage in the face of danger, hope when things are uncertain and she learns to appreciate the little things that mean everything. Her story is a lesson for us all.

The Wicked Witch

The Wizard of Oz (1939) 

The Wicked Witch of the West is among the greatest villains of all time. Not only does she have magical powers and a private army but she is crafty. Not only is she willing to kill but she delights in personalizing the doom of her victims. She is passionate yet always in control. Her hatred for the protagonist is arguably justified.

The Wicked Witch has the generic look of a wicked witch… yet it is very distinct. The actress who played her matched the look with such memorable gusto that she set the standard. Her character now defines the archetype.

The Wizard of Oz was a musical fantasy for general audiences. It was and is family friendly, suitable for children, yet its villain is scary. When she dashes the hopes of a young girl with a cruel trick of sadistic mockery, we are terrified. The scene is scarier than most in actual horror movies.

The greatness of the Wicked Witch of the West as a fictional character can be proven. Her movie was generations ago… yet you all know who am talking about by her nameless name alone.