In Search of... a MacGuffin

Hitchcock employed the term "MacGuffin" as the mechanical element that crops up in any story, usually of no importance, simply driving the plot along, whereas George Lucas describes it as powerful, the audience caring about it as much as the heroes and villains.

I subscribe to the latter. JauntWorld, being essentially a sci-fi thriller, needs the strong MacGuffin to be the impetus for the plot to develop, and the protagonists and antagonists to struggle over.

The timebending alien jewels in Jaunt are more powerful than any technology humanity had yet developed, and of course are threaded throughout the story. How I invented these jewels are lost to the crooks and folds of my brain, but they were an early story device from the first sketches of what was then "Temporal Retrieve."

Ether needed its MacGuffin, and that is provided by the suitably mysterious property of spacetime termed "dark energy," its effects first described in 1998.

Until the MacGuffin decides to rear its head, there is no story, simple as that. Although, a kernel was recently planted for the finale....

Further Reading:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macguffin

Handling Criticism

I don't claim to be perfect—far from it. Anyone who places a work in public opens him or herself up to criticism, be it constructive or negative. I value any review of my work; it makes me a better creator. Learning from constructive criticism is part and parcel of the creation process, just as much as picking up that pen or pencil, typing on that blank page or computer screen and all the way to the final product, framed or bound.

I am just a small-time writer/artist, wanting to contribute back to this world, so I refuse to subscribe to the viewpoint that creators should be above criticism, particularly the wealthier and more famous one becomes. That doesn't mean a negative review doesn't sting. Questioning grammar, syntax and other aspects of writing construction are valid criticisms; some people just don't read the words on the page like I write them in my head. I suppose a good editor is called for in that instance, and in my case, yes, I do not have one at my disposal, which is my call (or better yet, my savings account's). I recently read a critique questioning choices I made in regards to writing Jaunt, one of which goes beyond constructive criticism to pondering my subconscious as I was writing the story. I will take that into consideration.

So I say, thank you. Thank you for strengthening my creative suit of armor. I am certain there will be more critics out there pondering my subconscious in the future as I create better, more self-satisfying stories. Because, in the end, that's what it is all about. I can please only one person in this world, and that person is me.

Jaunt and New 2 Shorts (+1) on Smashwords

JauntWorld has joined the burgeoning ranks of Smashwords, a new site for a multitude of ebook formats (ten, at last count). The technology is still in its infancy, and while I'm not quite satisfied with the formating issues I've faced presenting Jaunt and 2 Shorts on Smashwords, embracing the new and getting exposure is the way to go. And as an added incentive, 2 Shorts has an exclusive new weird short added to it, "Neptune Diamond," so I've retitled this collection 2 Shorts (+1) to distinguish it from its Lulu original. Price is whatever you care to pay, so check them out!

Fantasy Debut

The first chapter of Jaunt is currently being featured on the Fantasy Debut blog's Discovery Showcase for first-time and self-published authors! While not a strictly fantasy blog, it gives those of us with genre fiction titles a chance to be read, and potentially, to have the word spread of our efforts. Check it out!

And thanks to Tia for showcasing Jaunt!

Korean Finger Trap

1991 saw the collapse of the USSR into its constituent republics, a victory for the Western world, or so we all thought. Nearly twenty years on and Eastern foreign policy is a nightmare of dozens of regional crises all ruled over by a spectrum of fairly friendly governments (at least capable of doing business with) to downright hostile regimes. One more Cold War relic, however, has yet to thaw: North Korea. And when it does, some year, the consequences could be dire, not just for South Korea, as everyone assumes, but China as well.

Kim Jong-il's recent, still rumored, stroke put him out of the "public" eye for a few months this past autumn and winter. While he rules as Commander-in-Chief (his late father, Kim il-Sung, is still technically President of the state) the Dear Leader can't live forever, despite his "divinity." I postulate in my JauntWorld timeline a disaster effectively removing the Kim Dynasty from power some time in the nearly distant future, a vacuum filled by the military. This would have repercussions not just politically, but economically. No country with its lid welded on as tightly as North Korea's simply goes from bad to good; a real-life lesson was the ex-USSR; we've all seen how well that's worked out. If the various cadres and parties in North Korea were to be suddenly freed from the Kims, chances are the People's Republic would be carved out into dozens of fiefdoms at the mercy of any strongman (generals, perhaps), a medieval scenario no respectable or responsible outside country would want on their foreign policy plates. China and South Korea would be flooded with refugees and old scores would be settled (post-America Vietnam, anyone?). The chances China or even Russia would intervene to "keep the peace"—as those two nations have done so brilliantly in the separatist Uighur and South Ossetia enclaves—are quite high.

We ignore the Kim succession plan at our own peril.

Update, 04/09: He's appeared in public, and he's not looking too hot.

Further Reading:

Who Will Succeed North Korea's Kim Jong-il?

Profile: Kim Jong-il

North Korean Leader Appears In Public

Kremlinology

The world today sometimes seems eerily eager to be the prologue for the fictional world of tomorrow. Russia's recent "August War" in Georgia and President Medvedev's pronouncements of military rearmament are clear signs that the Bear is desperate to show it still has teeth, albeit in need of serious dental work. This does not mean, though, that Russia has ceased to be a threat or to become the one they are presented as in Jaunt. The "Confederation of Independent States" were borne out of internal collapse and external strife, mainly economic, political and environmental. Seen in the light of the world's economic recession—the burst bubble of credit and profligate greed—the dire circumstances in the JauntWorld backstory don't seem to be all that unreasonable, or unfathomable.

Further Reading:

Russia Announces Rearmament Plan

Advancing, Blindly

Poor Little Rich Kids

Russian Military Rearmament Plan Pits Politics Against Economics

IPTP Agent Maya Is Ready For Action!

Over at IPTP Agent Maya, the long-awaited first two adventures of Agent Maya are now for sale! Go on over and check them out!