F. P. Dorchak

Speculative Fiction (New Weird) Author

writing

My New Goal In Life

by

Since we’re into winter, and I can’t always head out into the park I leave nearby to get my hikes in, and since I don’t want bulky exercise equipment again taking up interior home space, I’m getting back into rope jumping.

Yeah the very same jumping of rope we all did as kids.

Over the years, I’d also done “heavy rope” jump rope, which was, literally, a heavier rope (I think the rope was about an inch in diameter), and I got pretty good with it. But after some serious use, the handles kept coming apart. I never understand how manufacturers never dealt with obvious equipment flaws like this, or perhaps they did so on purpose to get you to buy another—but that makes no sense to me, cause if’n it broke the first time, I’m certainly not going to buy another. And I haven’t.

So, I bought a new speed rope, and I began using it—and quickly found out, wow, it’s, uh, been a while. Not only in technique, but in cardio fitness level. It looks easy, not much effort whipping that rope around you with simple flicks of the wrists, but let me tell you, it takes good cardio to do that for any length of time, the way it ramps your heart rate up and in no short order. But there’s also technique. I thought my cardio was in “decent” shape, given what I currently do, but, it’s not the same. So, I’m quite looking forward to getting back into this, and if you are too, check out this site for some great tips on buying a rope and using it.

But this guy, man, he takes it to a whole new, over the top trick-jumping level!

Now, I could (Karen L.!) make all kinds of allusions to rope jumping and writing, in that both need development of a “cardio system,” and the building up of that “system” into a well-honed, well-oiled machine. That writing and rope jumping are all about “baby steps,” small steps, few leaps (except for the few exceptionals who can produce “trick jumping,” as illustrated above), constantly picking at the effort every day to get better and better; about both involving larger, greater issues at hand, like overall fitness levels and huge manuscripts and complex story lines, emotional intricacies, and that all begin and are created with small steps (“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…”). That both involve learning and mastering techniques. Becoming “One” with the medium. And that both are fun in the pain that comes with the burn….

But, nayyy…I won’t bore you with all that.

Enjoy the video.

Dearly Departed

by

Writing
“Dear…ummm…Mr….” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dear Reader:

I found this article last week and really sympathized with it. When the whole “e-mail thing” began waaay back (yeah, I can remember those days…), I, too, felt the tension.

Use…or not to use?

No, it never quite felt right, using it in e-mail, but did always feel right on good old-fashioned, “old school,” paper. But, even then…well, let’s just say I’ve never been a “formal” guy. I mean, sure, I’d use proper names and all, on salutations on letters, but I wasn’t above just saying “Grandma and Grandpa,” and be done with it.

I’m all for proper respect and all, but I saw nothing wrong with addressing my salutations without a “Dear.” I do, however, not think they’re necessarily appropriate in e-mails, but that depends on the situation. Typically, e-mails are more “memo” formats, less formal. But, even when I wrote letters (full disclosure:  yes, I do still [occasionally] write letters…),  always thought—to me—that “Dear” sometimes too formal. I aways wondered, when I wrote to guys, would that seem, you know—très efféminé?

“Mr. Kalamazoo” always sounded much better. More Manly. More apropos.  “Dear Mom” was fine, but why wouldn’t just plain old “Mom” suffice?  What the heck was it with having to use “Dear”?! The Question Everything in me always took issue with that. But, to see it now seemingly go by the wayside, well…it brings back the nostalgia of it all. When paper was made of wood and letters were more frequently penned and actually endeared onto the medium, when people took a little more time and respect in addressing each other. I can’t say that I never addressed a salutation with “Hey,” but I doubt I did so. And probably only with my siblings.

Should “Dear” be relegated to the anachronism compost pile? Methinks, not. If you like it, continue using it. Heck, if you have to, consider it a zombie term: perhaps mostly dead, but still alive and twitching? Use it because others aren’t using it. I’ve always found it rather amusing, may or may not continue using it, but I like what it stands for, and it works really well for those you really care about.

Most Humbly yours,

F. P. Dorchak

Stage Persona

by

Many think you are what you write.

For some, that may be true…but for others it may not be. It may be more of a case that they just really get into what it is they’re writing. Become the story. Or perhaps it’s more that the story is part of the author. Or there are elements of the story within the author. All may be true…and I’m sure other reasons also exist. But in any case, to categorically state that one who writes about evil is evil is a hasty generalization.

Authors write about their topics for many reasons. Some to learn more about a burning issue, some to work out personal issues. Personally, my life is pretty tame…my imagination, on the other hand…not so much. I love to What-if things…play with might be–what might be behind events. To that end, sometimes I take on topics that aren’t pretty…as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, to be true to the story. But in all cases I do try to take on a story that holds some kind of “resonance” with me. I try to only take on topics that have some inherent value to them, because, after all, I am going to be spending a lot of time in that topic, writing that topic, describing that topic.

So, next time you approach an author of a book of something that might offend you, instead of attacking that author…try to understand why that author took on that topic. Why was it important enough for that person to spend so much of their life working that particular story.

After all, we don’t (necessarily!) look down on those actors who act out violent scenes in movies, do we? We look at them in awe of their ability to actually carry out that part not only “on-screen,” but in front of an audience of many actors, camera and stage workers, as well. We may, however, still wonder why they took on such a part….

And that’s what went through my head as I watched Rooney Mara in a pivotal and quite violent scene in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

Why I Blog

by

One of the members of a writing group I belong to asked:  why do some of us blog and how does it affect our writing?

First and foremost, I do it because it’s writing and communication-both of which I love! When I went to college and had to do a paper, I loved to sit before an empty sheet of paper (yeah, when I went to college, we didn’t have the ubiquitous lap- nor desktops). To me it represented limitless possibilities, and I couldn’t wait to fill it!

I feel a deep, inner drive to communicate. Growing up, one of my family nick-names was “Motor Mouth.” Yeah, I was (and still can be) quite talkative and can strike up conversations with pretty much anyone who’ll talk back. My blog title reflects that.

I do not post blogs because I have to, to create followers nor a readership nor a platform, though I understand the need for all of that, and that posting does, indeed, further those goals. Writing of any kind is a deep, inner, communicative need for me. Is it brought on by some past or future reincarnational issue?  Who knows.  All I know is that whether through genetics (my mom is a writer/poet/editor), I just have to scribble things down on paper and on electronic media. Can’t help edit everything damn thing I see (cereal boxes, signs, books). And I post blogs because it’s simply yet another form of writing, and (if you missed it) I love writing!

It’s a journey.

Blogging is a short, extremely immediate form of writing, instantly available to the world. As I’d mentioned in a recent post, I’ve discovered my posts are literally read all over the world (as I’m sure all blog posts are).

How cool is that?

In blogs, there are no extra-personal editors–just you–so readers get to see the writer first-hand, no  middle-folk.

And blogging’s friggin fun! It’s whatever’s important at the moment! From the gut! Shootin from the hip! As my mantra goes (if you’re gonna have a mantra…), I truly believe all forms of writing helps all forms of writing. It helps you write quicker, more succinctly. Don’t know about the rest of the blogosphere, but that’s what I strive for, anyway.

I also try to approach things differently, attack issues from a different POV than I see normally posted elsewhere. But that’s how I’ve always operated: trying to show another way things could be.  I don’t intentionally try to stir up controversy, but inherent to what/how/why I write, that is inevitable. I look at it this way: so many out there are so free with dispensing their own views on everything from religion and politics to diets and whanot, why can’t I also be afforded the same respect, courtesy, and right? I’m not saying anyone has to believe as I do, but I do ask that within everyone’s personal belief systems each questions what they believe…perhaps consider that something else might be going on in the background…that not everything is at it would outwardly appear.

To be tolerant of other views.

There you go.  Feel free to comment your reasons for posting–and enjoy it!

On The Vulgarities Of Writing

by

***THIS POST CONTAINS A GOOD EXPLETIVE OR TWO. UNCOMFORTABLE IMAGERY.  IF ANY OF THIS OFFENDS THEE, DO NOT PURSUE ANY FURTHER!  THOU HAST BEEN DULY WARNED!***

But you’re curious, aren’t you?

Yeah, me, too.  I don’t even know what I’m gonna write about, yet, so…

Hide your children!  Check your condoms and diaphragms!  And warm up the heavy bag!

Hold the phone! You mean there really are those still out there who can’t stomach freaky shit, a well-crafted evisceration, or a good fuck?

Say it ain’t so.

Well–to a degree–I’m one of those.  Qualified.

I don’t like to read or watch movies with nasty and graphic content (though sex is always a bo-nusss…), especially if it’s in there only for the shock value. Don’t watch them slasher flicks with numerals after them, and the Saw flicks utterly flabbergast me in their popularity. Great work for the SFX staff, but geesh….

However. I do understand the occasional and measured use of the graphic depiction to “swear, fight, or fuck,” as I’ll call it.  In my writing, I, too, have also been there. Many times, actually.

You see, thing is…when writing (but not in the workplace nor freely flourishing anywhere in polite society where great offense might be taken…), writers try to do the best we possibly can in setting mood, tropes, and moments. Have to be honest to the story. And sometimes in setting these things one has to get, well…dirty. Yes, roll up the sleeves, slog around in the mud, and say to ourselves:  do I cheat the reader? Whimp out? Look the other way?

Pretend my people (“Characters?” Ha!  These are real people, I tell you!) in my book don’t swear nor how to spell it?  Don’t have sex nor masturbate? Everybody’s good and has only good thoughts and intents? Puppies and kittens?

Or do I face the music head on and crank that bad boy up?!

No one wants to read about the daily grind, unless the daily grind involves conflict, sex, or a well-thrown punch or two. Conflict. That’s the word. I’m paraphrasing, but David Morrell once said that the/a secret to writing was to just not bore the reader. Well, writing about waking up, making your coffee, and heading to work (even in rush hour) doesn’t usually cut that mustard. And when trying to cut “that mustard,” weird, intense, sometimes quite offending events happen, and that’s where “interesting” begins, as should stories.

No longer can writing be flowery and flaccid (if it ever could), with a lot of “blanks” conveniently overlooked and not filled in. Readers want more real in their works, or, perhaps more to the point, “verisimilitude“:  the appearance of reality (we, do, after all, in fiction, anyway, have to make the story appear real just enough for us to believe it, even if trying to escape reality…). So if you have certain characters, some are going to swear, fight, and fuck. And being a writer, we have to weave all these elements into our work in the best possible way, as Stephen King says, to be transparent to our readers. To write our work well enough so readers forget they’re reading.  They’re living.

This, also, can apply to other areas of writing…like blogs.

Now, most of the time, I post pretty clean material…but every now and then I tend to use a choice expletive or two. Yes, I said “choice” for a reason. Sometimes when you’re slinging words around, a certain turn of phrase just begs to be used…is a perfect fit for what you’re posting. Do you use it, or select another word choice to show you’re far smarter than the little fuck?

There’s a certain…energy…to the use of the chosen expletive that better drives home a point, or makes a statement. Now some writing simply doesn’t allow for the “fucks and shits” other writing allows, and that’s okay. We all have our place, we all have our superpowers. But, for the most part, most writing does allow for them, and when using them, the same rules apply as they do for everything else in writing: don’t over use. Use for effect. There are so many other words to use in any language (well, except maybe Hawai’ian…?), pick and choose! On a Zen level, words are created for use. I don’t use fifty-dollar words to sound elevated and stuck up…I use them because they exist and I want to use as many as possible!

But…my parents! They read my blogs! My children!  They don’t know this side of me! And-and I grew up tasting so many variants of soap I’m near blind!

My friends and co-workers!

I’ll be banned from my a) church, 2) car pool, thirdly) Home Depot.

Well, do what you gotta do to survive, but, one way or the other, as a writer globally projecting thoughts, ideas, and words out into the world…you are going to piss someone off. It’s inevitable and unavoidable. You just can’t please everyone–no harm in trying–but sooner or later you come up against your own energy and who and what you are. As a writer, it’s your responsibility to go beyond “nice” and portray whatever it is you’re portraying in the most compelling, readable, unboring manner possible. Assert your independence and grow. Reach beyond and strive for bigger and better.

And, yeah, sometimes we just get mad and are prone to potty mouth (and research does indicate that the use of expletives does help in dealing with pain, BTW).

Of course you can always chose to not write things-offensive. Case closed; no harm, no foul. Look, unless you’re still under the roof of whoever’s rearing you, you have a right to assert who you are–even to your parents.

Think your parents never cursed? Had sex?

I’m not saying to walk around carelessly launching expletives hither and yon like rose pedals at  wedding, but you gotta pick and choose your venues–and in writing, that’s all you. Know your readership. Use wisely.

And get over being so easily offended!

In today’s world it’s become vogue to call out one’s offended status far too fucking frequently, IMHO. Get a tough skin and let the occasional fuck fly past without so much as a second glance. Move on. Go around the rocks. Get on with your life. There are other offensive words out there, and I’m not going there, because they go off into other territory I feel is far beyond the scope of what I’m trying to demonstrate…I also don’t want to get into a possibly really nasty debate. That is not my issue. Though all I’ve said certainly may apply to some of them, I’m more concerned with the more generic variety and their application that doesn’t carry other connotations that are best left to other discussions I will not enter into on this post. Use them at your own risk.

So, please understand that in writing, writers choose their words, and sometimes we use certain words for specific effect. We don’t just “throw down” without due consideration.

I hope I’ve managed to put this into better perspective, and I thank you all–in advance–for puttin up with my shit.