smiles134's recent activity
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Comment on Authors of Tildes: How well do you know your own book when you publish? in ~creative
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Comment on What if we discover the answers of the Universe, eliminate cancer, halt aging. What's next? in ~humanities
smiles134 Link ParentI think about that scene from season 1 all the time when the dude goes down to the lower city and walks among the commoners like a god as his body is rapidly decaying from disease, just to swap...I think about that scene from season 1 all the time when the dude goes down to the lower city and walks among the commoners like a god as his body is rapidly decaying from disease, just to swap into a new body right away.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
smiles134 Link ParentI just started Midnight Suns (about 3 hours in, though with a decent amount of idling). I'm finding the amount of conversations a bit tedious and wish the "base building" aspect was somewhat more...I just started Midnight Suns (about 3 hours in, though with a decent amount of idling). I'm finding the amount of conversations a bit tedious and wish the "base building" aspect was somewhat more in line with XCOM2. I do like the combat though -- it feels unique enough that it's not just XCOM2 with a marvel skin but still in that same lineage.
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Comment on Movie of the Week #26 - Aliens in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentThanks -- one of the few streaming services I'm not currently subscribed to lol. We are looking to pare down and maybe pick up a different few so Max might be one of thoseThanks -- one of the few streaming services I'm not currently subscribed to lol. We are looking to pare down and maybe pick up a different few so Max might be one of those
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Comment on Movie of the Week #26 - Aliens in ~movies
smiles134 LinkIs anyone aware of this streaming anywhere? I've been on the lookout for it on my services the last few months but hadn't seen itIs anyone aware of this streaming anywhere? I've been on the lookout for it on my services the last few months but hadn't seen it
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Comment on Quentin Tarantino drops ‘The Movie Critic’ as his final film in ~movies
smiles134 Linkoh damn that's surprising. Tarantino has always been a bit hit or miss for me personally but I was intrigued by the premise of this oneoh damn that's surprising. Tarantino has always been a bit hit or miss for me personally but I was intrigued by the premise of this one
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Comment on 'Grand Theft Auto' maker Take-Two to let go 5% of staff, scrap some projects in ~games
smiles134 Link ParentRockstar was founded as a Take Two subsidiaryRockstar was founded as a Take Two subsidiary
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
smiles134 Link ParentFirewatch is great, and I think the concerns about the ending are overblown. But I'm also someone who values narrative over player choice which I know is somewhat of a divisive opinion. Truthfully...Firewatch is great, and I think the concerns about the ending are overblown. But I'm also someone who values narrative over player choice which I know is somewhat of a divisive opinion.
Truthfully I think that any other ending would've felt incomplete or unearned.
Also, sidenote, I think you're going to love Journey based on the other games you've listed here. If you don't know anything else about it right now, don't look it up. Just play it!
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Comment on The Museum of Science and Industry abruptly closed for a day last week to allow it to move “military artifacts from archival storage” in ~humanities.history
smiles134 Link ParentSorry, I didn't mean to make it sound that way, just felt like it was worth distinguishing between something like the Smithsonian museums, which I would consider public, vs the museum of science...Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound that way, just felt like it was worth distinguishing between something like the Smithsonian museums, which I would consider public, vs the museum of science and industry, which is technically not. As far as I'm aware, no tax money is used by the state of Illinois to keep it operational.
I grew up going to the museum of science and industry, and it always gave weird corporate vibes to me. I haven't been there in years though so I can't really comment on the atmosphere now.
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Comment on Help me re-learn how to write, understand the nuances of writing, be a good writer in ~creative
smiles134 Link ParentCraft books are some of my favorites because I just love fiction and love thinking about how it all works. I'll answer your questions a bit out of order. I'm a writer and an editor,...Craft books are some of my favorites because I just love fiction and love thinking about how it all works.
I'll answer your questions a bit out of order.
I'm a writer and an editor, professionally. I have an MFA in creative writing and I've been the editor in chief for a mid tier literary journal for about 6 years. My goal is to someday teach fiction writing at a university, but I'm taking some time off to think about whether I want a PhD or not. I'm also trying to use this time to work on my short story collection that I wrote for my graduate thesis, but I've taken quite a break from my own writing and am finding it a bit difficult to get back into the habit now that I'm also working full time. My full time day job is as a technical writer on a contract for federal agency, but realistically that just means I'm managing documents and doing very little writing myself.
I always have a hard time picking a favorite book, so I'll say my favorite writers at the moment are George Saunders, Kurt Vonnegut, Aimee Bender, Alice Munro and Jhumpa Lahiri. You really can't go wrong with any of their short stories (although for Vonnegut I prefer his novels).
As for where to start, there's not one right path through these books, really. Writing Fiction and The Triggering Town are probably your best bets for starter books. They're definitely geared toward beginners. Writing Fiction is organized a bit oddly in my opinion, but it makes sense when you read through it.
Bird by Bird is more about the practice of being a writer than actually writing, but it's so so useful and reassuring. "Shitty First Drafts" was a foundational aspect of the first year writing courses I taught in grad school.
From Where You Dream is an interesting book that takes pretty much a polar opposite approach to writing compared to the rest of the books. Robert Olen Butler really truly believes in divine inspiration for writers, more or less. He talks about his process of "dream storming" as an organizing principle for early drafts, and he's a big believer in the "yearning" of fiction. I took a workshop with him in grad school where all we wrote were the first pages of stories. He then read that first page and would tell you whether to continue with the story or not. If it didn't have yearning, in his read, by the first 750 words, it wasn't worth continuing. I disagree with his about a lot of things, especially where craft is involved, but his process works for him and I know it's worked for others too.
The Art of Fiction is another good one for getting started. It's a bit older than the other books I listed, but Gardner writes really well about things like perspective and narration and voice, and these are things that writers often really struggle with.
This Won't Take But a Minute Honey is short but so worth reading and re-reading. In a couple hundred words, Almond really captures the essence of the points he's making. His sections on pacing and Suspense vs. Surprise are the ones I most often reference.
The rest are a little more geared toward novel writing or editing but are absolutely worth it even for short story writers, where it comes to understanding when to start and when to stop with a story (narratively and in terms of actual drafting and revising).
The anthologies are good to just have on hand and read and reread as you work. They're fairly varied in their styles and content, and there's something that every writer will find appealing or inspiring in there. The Scribner has a story by Robert Olen Butler that I first read in undergrad, and I remember that moment where it clicked for me like This is what I want to be doing, what I want to be writing. (The story is "Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot" from his collection Tabloid Dreams, which I think you can find online.)
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
smiles134 LinkI finished Baldur's Gate 3 on Friday which had devoured essentially all of my playing time over the last 2 months. I'm in awe of the scope of the game and can't really wrap my head around all the...I finished Baldur's Gate 3 on Friday which had devoured essentially all of my playing time over the last 2 months. I'm in awe of the scope of the game and can't really wrap my head around all the complexities of the story, with all its branching possibilities. I'd read an interview with the studio head, I believe, who talked about the N+1 design philosophy, ensuring that even if the player did the most insane off the rails things, they'd still be able to complete the story.
I completed most of the quests that I activated, though a couple I accidentally locked myself out of (like basically all of Karlach's quests because the guy I needed to be alive had died before I even met Karlach) and a couple I decided weren't worth my effort, especially once I realized there was a level cap. Still, there's so much of the game I didn't experience, like having Minthara as a companion. I didn't even meet Minsc in my playthrough. All of that took 88 hours according to the save file, and 110 according to steam.
Sometime way down the road I'll do another playthrough, but games of that magnitude take a lot out of me, so I don't have much interest in going back to it right now.
Now that BG3 is off the table, I'm looking forward to getting into some games I'd set aside. I started Baltaro this weekend and am definitely feeling the hook already. I also started Max Payne 3 for the first time, looking for something both dumb and action filled. It's certainly scratching that itch.
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Comment on The Museum of Science and Industry abruptly closed for a day last week to allow it to move “military artifacts from archival storage” in ~humanities.history
smiles134 Link ParentFor what it's worth, although the museum is a non profit organization, it is privately owned.For what it's worth, although the museum is a non profit organization, it is privately owned.
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Comment on Help me re-learn how to write, understand the nuances of writing, be a good writer in ~creative
smiles134 (edited )LinkIn addition to the great suggestions from @paris, I can suggest -- once you're comfortable -- adding in books on craft to your reading list. There's a pervasive but misguided belief that writing...In addition to the great suggestions from @paris, I can suggest -- once you're comfortable -- adding in books on craft to your reading list. There's a pervasive but misguided belief that writing can't be taught. This is like saying you can't teach someone to paint or to draw. Understanding how your genre works, its various parts, what the "rules" are, is extremely valuable so that you know when and why you're breaking from convention.
These are books that I recommend to every writer I work with, but it's important to note that these are all supplemental material, not substitutes for the primary texts you should be reading, and they are all guides who offer sometimes conflicting advice. There's no one way to write, no right or wrong way, but learning how others approach their craft -- and how they deconstruct the craft of others -- is extremely valuable.
Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway
The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo (primarily for poetry, but absolutely useful for writing fiction as well)
From Where You Dream by Robert Olen Butler
This Won't Take But a Minute, Honey by Steve Almond
Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow by Steve Almond (this is brand new and I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but the earlier cited collection of micro essays is by far my most referenced resource)
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont
A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Spiral, Meander, Explode by Jane Alison
Refuse to Be Done by Matt Bell
The Modern Library Writer's Workshop by Stephen Koch
The Art of Revision by Peter Ho Davies
The Art of Fiction by John GardnerThese are more for writing exercises:
Naming the World and Other Exercises for the Creative Writer by Bret Anthony Johnston
Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Flash Fiction
What If? by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter (this book is rather old, so some of the exercises feel a bit dated. But they still can be useful for generative practice.)I'd also recommend picking up a couple of anthologies for contemporary examples of excellence in craft -- my focus is on fiction if the above recommendations don't make that obvious, but I'm sure equivalents exist for poetry.
Scriber Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction
The Norton Anthology for Short Fiction
Gotham Writers Workshop Fiction Gallery
New Sudden Fiction -
Comment on Save Point: A game deal roundup for the week of April 7 in ~games
smiles134 LinkThe System Shock remake from Night Dive is 55% off on Steam until the 25th: https://store.steampowered.com/app/482400/System_Shock/The System Shock remake from Night Dive is 55% off on Steam until the 25th:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/482400/System_Shock/ -
Comment on What cooking techniques need more evidence? in ~food
smiles134 Link ParentThe brand of pasta we get suggests making a box (16oz of pasta I believe) with a gallon of water. Which just seems insane to me.The brand of pasta we get suggests making a box (16oz of pasta I believe) with a gallon of water. Which just seems insane to me.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 (edited )LinkSometime last year, I watched Rise of the Planet of Apes which I hadn't seen since its initial run in theaters in 2011. I remembered thinking it was a bit cheesy but enjoyable overall, and I did...Sometime last year, I watched Rise of the Planet of Apes which I hadn't seen since its initial run in theaters in 2011. I remembered thinking it was a bit cheesy but enjoyable overall, and I did enjoy the rewatch. However, my impression of the movie at the time was not enough to get me back to theaters to see the sequels. This time, though, I wanted to follow through. Unfortunately, even though I checked every couple of weeks, I could not find the sequels streaming anywhere.
And then finally last week Hulu added them! I sat down last night and watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and was kind of blown away. This movie surpassed its predecessor in just about every way. This is a legitimately good movie -- not just a good Planet of the Apes movie or a good sci Fi movie, but just good cinema. The score is excellent, the story is well paced and tense all the way through, the acting --especially the voice/mocap acting -- is terrific.
I wish the movies didn't have such dumb names though. I get the first two confused constantly because Dawn really sounds like it should be the prefix for the first movie in a trilogy, not the 2nd. Anyway.
My only little quibble is that I don't really believe that Caesar and only Caesar saw Koba with the gun in the camp. That's easy enough for me to overlook though.
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentI haven't but I'll definitely check it out!I haven't but I'll definitely check it out!
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Comment on Midweek Movie Free Talk in ~movies
smiles134 Link ParentI'm assuming you know this but just in case, Whiplash and La La Land were both written and directed by Damien Chazelle. I unabashedly love La La Land. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are two of my...I'm assuming you know this but just in case, Whiplash and La La Land were both written and directed by Damien Chazelle.
I unabashedly love La La Land. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are two of my favorite actors and they just ooze chemistry in this movie. The soundtrack rules and the choreography owes so much to classic musicals. It feels very timeless to me. The ending makes me tear up every time -- perfectly bittersweet, just the way I like it.
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Comment on Star Wars Outlaws | Official story trailer in ~games
smiles134 Link ParentI think this looks kind of like Star Wars: Uncharted, and for the longest time I didn't play the Uncharted games because I thought they looked kind of dull, but I was gifted the Nathan Drake...I think this looks kind of like Star Wars: Uncharted, and for the longest time I didn't play the Uncharted games because I thought they looked kind of dull, but I was gifted the Nathan Drake collection and breezed through them all in like a week.
If it hits that for me, I'll be happy for sure.
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Comment on Slay the Spire 2 | Reveal trailer in ~games
smiles134 Link ParentRight, I understand why, I'm just impatient lolRight, I understand why, I'm just impatient lol
I wrote a short story collection for my graduate thesis, and I worked pretty tirelessly on it for about 6 straight months, on edits, redrafts, etc.
I haven't looked at it in almost two years because I was just so tired of it by then and needed a break. I'm working my way back to it soon and though I know the beats of the stories by heart, I am going to be surprised by the prose itself, I think. I've also been thinking about them a lot without looking at them, to try to work out some issues I have with some of the stories, so I may also be surprised at what state they're in.