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Hey guys, what’s
up? I’m guessing that a bunch of you are
getting into the holiday spirit (or lamenting its mere existence and the
contaminating effect it has on society and media at large). And what better way to celebrate the season
than with a much-needed update on the Spirit Showdown?
Now, don’t flay me with
your trusted javelins just yet. I’ve
been cooking up some new stuff on the Showdown front, and if you’ve been
keeping up you may have noticed it.
There’s a story arc a-brewing within the confines of that segment, and
if things go as they have so far, the entire world -- and worse yet, the
internet -- is facing a complete meltdown!
What’s a blogger to do? You can
bet I’ll have my hands full trying to figure out an answer, but time’s running
out…and characters that I once considered allies may turn out to be the most
dangerous of all! Breathless gasp!
So yeah, if the
original character (DO NOT STEAL!) angle isn’t doing it for you, rest assured
that there IS something bigger going on in the long run, and if I can summon up
the proper skills, I can give it a hopefully-satisfying conclusion. That aside, I’ve prepared another four-minute
recap to bring any newcomers up to speed on the “Speed Trio”. Observe:
And of course, the recap on the “Power Trio” is still up and ready for viewing. You can pop over there at your leisure and see that video if need be. Alternatively, you can read the in-depth
stuff on Cobalt, Shino, and FX whenever you’re ready -- or just place your
votes at the bottom of this post, or once it appears on the sidebar in a day or
two.
That aside, I want to
take steps here and now -- while there’s a slight reprieve -- to open things up
for at least SOME form of discussion. As
I said when I started this thing, I’m not just doing this to show off my
super-duper characters or my so-so at best art.
This is a way to get people thinking about what they can do and want to
do with their own work…or at least think about the things they like in a new
light. A good story, in my opinion, has
a strong and definable spirit -- an essence, or an array of ideas and proofs
that helps to give a story a genuine and unique feeling. I think it’s something that is pretty easy to
point out, when you think about it; to paraphrase Mr. Plinkett of Red Letter
Media, “You may not have noticed, but your brain did.” So I’ll go ahead and leave a question for you
visitors to my virtual space:
What’s your spirit?
I would assume that
there are a handful of would-be writing heroes who have my blog on virtual
speed dial, so if you’re one of them (or have inexplicably come here by virtue
of searches for sauerkraut), then tell all.
If you’ve got a story in mind, talk about its essence. What makes it tick? What makes it special? What makes it your own, and your best?
And for you
gamer-types, don’t think you’re off the hook either. Even if you’re not actively writing a story,
you still have easy access to tens, hundreds, or even thousands of them across
at least a half dozen mediums. So in
your case, I’ll ask you this:
What kind of spirit gets you excited?
I’ve made my distaste
for gritty stories known, but maybe that works for you. Maybe there’s something you see in them that
I don’t -- not just aesthetic and tonal choices, but the one-word essence that
sums up everything that makes the tale what it is (I’d argue that the spirit of
Looper, for example, is “selfishness”). Basically, you can gab on about why you like
the things you like; if you’re anything like me, writing about what you enjoy
will give you a better perspective and appreciation of it. Or just make you hate it more than the limits
of human emotion and decency can allow.
Could go either way, really.
In any case, the stage
is set. There are six characters up, and
four more to go. The story arc is
starting to motor. Soon enough, the Hero
of Heroes will be crowned. But we’ve
still got a ways to go before we reach that point.
In the meantime…
And that’ll do it for
now. See you guys around.