Character Design – Back to Basics

Hello! Hello!

Whilst I have been spending more time at home due to the pandemic, I have also had some more time to explore the things that I love, like drawing! I thought since I am searching for drawing tutorials, I would post some examples of the ones I really like. There is this cool tutorial I found on SOS Factory featuring a quick, fun exercise about the basics of character design: shapes. You can find that tutorial here: https://www.sosfactory.com/drawing-lessons-cartoon-characters/#two

My favorite thing to draw is original characters. My brain is swimming with all sorts of shifty, cutesy, beefy characters and sometimes when I try to draw them they don’t quite convey what I want them to convey. They’re bland. Blah. Mundane. So, how do you spice up your character design? Draw a character based on a singular S H A P E. Try it out! Here is where I started.

Three basic shapes: square, circle, triangle. Now you have to use some imagination here and develop a character that still resembles the original shape. This was kind of a challenge for me since I tend to get stuck in the rut of drawing the same body/facial types. If you’re having trouble visualizing this just do several different versions until you start to get in the groove and come up with something that you feel confident with. If the first draft isn’t right, keeping going because that’s the point of the exercise.

Aaaaand here is what I came up with. So I started with the square, and I feel like the personality of my character did not quite come through here since I was trying to figure out who my character was AS I was drawing it, which I think was the wrong way to go about it. So I think he still came out quite ambiguous, but the practice of drawing a square body was still fun!

The circle was my 2nd try, and I feel like it came out a bit better, with more personality. But I think the legs are too rigid, and the pose is not quite what I would like. If I was to make this character into a silhouette, I think the pose would be confusing to the eye.

Now the third character, the triangle, came out the best in my opinion. The pose is dynamic. The personality of the character shines through as an outgoing, confident, yet wacky person. I was able to draw a body shape that I don’t think I have ever drawn before, utilizing the saggy pants as part of the design.

So if you want to challenge yourself and go outside the box definitely try this exercise. This was a great refresh that I needed to spice up my stale drawings that all had the same body type and face. Let me know in the comments below if you tried this and how you felt about it. Or if you have any other cool tutorials for me to check out.

Bye Bye!

Podcast Favorites 2

Hey all!

I have been working from home due to the covid-19 pandemic, and have really struggled with staying productive at home. There’s too many distractions! However, I do find that listening to podcasts tends to keep me somewhat on track. So, I have a few new podcast recommendations for you!

If you would like to see the first list I made a while back you can click the link here: https://livewritely.com/2018/02/11/podcast-favorites/

1.) Archive 81 – http://www.archive81.com/

This horror podcast follows Dan Powell, an archivist who has just started a new job reviewing and cataloging recordings made by the Housing Historical Committee. Through a series of mysterious interviews carried out by Melody Pendras, dark secrets are revealed about the building and beyond.

What is intriguing about this podcast is how it starts off seeming very mundane. Listening to building specs is not even remotely entertaining. But it quickly shows the listeners that there is more beneath the surface as the people that Melody interviews disappear. Some residents of the building show impossible talents, and the building itself seems to take on an actual, physical personality that controls the minds of all who enter. I think it’s a slow build, but well worth the wait when the secrets are revealed.

2.) 103.5 KISS FM Podcast(s) – https://1035kissfm.iheart.com/podcasts/

If you have a daily commute every morning in the Chicagoland area you are probably already familiar with these guys since they are the #1 hit music station here. The hosts are incredibly funny, and it feels like you’re listening in on a conversation between a group of friends each morning because of their amazing chemistry.

Now that covid19 has taken hold of our lives, a lot of people are working from home, less and less people are listening to the radio. So they decided to post their normal radio show in bite-sized podcasts online. Literally some of their podcasts are only 5 minutes long, so if you’re always short on time this could be great for you.

If you follow the link you will be getting lots of options too, because they have not 1, not 2, not 3, but 7 different podcasts to choose from (50+ episodes each!). Each one focuses on a different segment in their radio show. If you’re wondering where to start I recommend The Tangent, and the Waiting by The Phone segment as those are my favorite.

 

Stamp Out Writer’s Block

Good tidings everyone!

We’ve all had writer’s block before. Whether it is lack of motivation, or inspiration something is blocking you from reaching your potential. Perhaps there is a fear of failure? Whether or not you write the next bestseller, you just need to stop worrying and start writing. It’s tough to just let that shit go, and find it within yourself to create something from out of nothing.

Here are some ideas to help you the next time you’re stuck in a rut. They might not be ground-breaking ideas, but you never know what could come out of a fun writing exercise.

1. Look into your family tree. Is there an ancestor with a cool story? Perhaps an old family member with no information you can find?

You could research them and find out the real story for a biography, or just make up a fun explanation! Maybe they joined the circus, or went off on a treasure hunt. You decide!

2. Imagine you could do yesterday again. What would you do differently?

Would you really just chill on the couch all day, or maybe go to the park and find a secret cave with a cult practicing blood sacrifices. The sky is the limit!

3. There are three of you: a good one, a balanced one and an evil one. How do the three of you interact?

This could be a fun, light-hearted comedy with an opportunity for witty jokes with your 3 selves arguing, or it could take a dark turn where your evil and good selves battle for control causing you to develop real and legitimate personality disorders. The balanced one is just fighting to survive. So many possibilities with this prompt.

4. Think of a child in your life. Write a page designed to make him/her fall on the floor with laughter.

There is something totally awesome about just writing an utterly silly story just for the sake of being ridiculous. It’s nice to take a step back, and not take yourself so seriously for a moment.

5. Imagine you can travel back in time to give yourself one piece of advice. What would it be?

How would your life change if you told yourself to ask out your crush? Would you be married or divorced? Or would you tell yourself to study more? Perhaps you would be a genius billionaire? It’s interesting to play the ‘what if?’ game sometimes.

6. Imagine you’re a criminal. Write a letter to your mum asking for forgiveness.

So many possibilities to outline a great story, leaving a lot of details up to the imagination of the reader with this.

7. What is the least convenient personal habit for a detective? Write about that detective.

A detective with bad eye-sight trying to solve a murder? A detective with the inability to communicate coherently? Are they a raging drunk? Perhaps they are a germophobe, neat freak? Just roll the dice on this one, and see what kind of chaos ensues!

8. Think about the most prudish person you know. Now sit him/her next to somebody behaving inappropriately.

Are they at a dinner party? On the train? Stranded on a deserted island together? The setting for this could be fun to play with too!

9. Take the names of the songs on your favorite albums. What if they were chapter headings?

I just checked my playlist, and just to name a few I have on there…1.) Hero, 2.) Shoot Out, 3.) Stranger Danger, 4.) Shameless, 5.) Elevate, 6.) Time Keeps Running, 7.) Enter Sandman, 8.) Los Angeles, 9.) Siren, 10.) Inside the Fire

Building your own story based on the titles of the chapters is sort of like working backwards, but could lead to some interesting twists and ideas.

10. Think of a nursery rhyme. What if it was set in modern day America?

Some examples of nursery rhymes are below if you want to get an idea of how to get started.

• Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
• Mary Had a Little Lamb
• London Bridge Is Falling Down
• Hickory Dickory Dock

11. Recall the best present you ever received. Imagine it being given to somebody with different interests. How does he/she react on opening the present?

The best present I ever received was a hamster. If my brother got my hamster instead, I wonder how things would have played out. Jealousy would ensue for sure!

12. Take your neighborhood in 1000 years’ time. Write an opening describing your street.

This is very interesting because you get to describe something very familiar to you in an unknowable setting. Will your neighborhood thrive and become a booming technological environment? Or will it become decrepit and abandoned because of a zombie apocalypse? Maybe the whole neighborhood gets paved over to make way for an evil, multi-million dollar corporation?

13. Remember the last day you had outside in the sun. What would have happened if it had suddenly started to snow?

This could be a choose-your-own adventure story? Provide the reader with choices on how to survive the snowstorm! Or perhaps because of the snow, you make a snowman that comes to life? Many ways to spin this story.

14. You’re heading up a team of superheroes. What do you call yourself and why?

Bendy! Mr. Sandman! Veritas! Banshee! Fire Feet! These are terrible, but that’s what this is all about. Coming up with ideas that may, or may not be terrible and not worrying about it. Just have fun!

15. Look at the nearest object to you. What would its life be like if it could understand every word you say?

Nearest object is my pillow. It would probably hear all my embarrassing conversations with myself and judge me harshly.  You could use any object though! A clock, a candle, a book, or perhaps a knife? Making an inanimate object sentient is a great exercise.

16. You’re about to embark on a dangerous mission. Write a letter to your loved ones for them to open if you don’t make it.

Dear loved ones, you are probably aware that I am dead. There is a map here for you to follow and find a sacred object which will provide you with the clues to who killed me. Find the archaeologist. She will assist you.

Just an example from me! You could make something sad, funny, dark, futuristic. Your story is your own!

17. Imagine you’re a politician for a day. How would you spend your time?

Are you a corrupt politician? Do you start off with good intentions, and slowly make compromises that lead you down a dark path? Perhaps you forge alliances and take down some baddies, etc.

18. What if your favorite pet could talk?

I think about this ALL.THE.TIME. I hope she would say nice things about me, but who knows!? My poodle would be sassy, there’s not doubt. My golden retriever would be hyper and probably tell me to stop working and play with her.

19. Think about the last good decision you made. What would have happened if you’d made the wrong choice?

My last good decision was probably moving out to my apartment. I love my new apartment so much! So what if I never moved and stayed with my parents? Or what if I moved into a haunted house? Or maybe I moved to a location where all my neighbors were cannibals? That’s just my own personal example. What would your story be?

20. You pick up somebody else’s coat accidentally. Something in the pocket makes you suspect the owner of a crime.

Something similar actually happened to my mom. She got a new phone, and she was getting texts and calls from strangers that she didn’t know. The owner of that number was clearly a drug dealer of some kind because she was getting texts from people asking her to meet up for a deal. But there was one very chilling picture of a tied up boy in a dark place, and she was absolutely terrified to be suddenly in the midst of a possible kidnapping and all of this illegal activity.

So now that you have looked at these writer’s block prompts I hope at least one of them has peaked your fancy. I challenge you to pick at least one and write something right NOW. Take your writer’s block and spit in it’s face as you defeat this beast with a short story that hopefully sparks more creativity down the line.

Do you promise?

I’ve been suffering from a severe case of writer’s block, and this quarantine has been begging me to get back into writing. I googled “Short story prompts” and I’m not proud of it, but that’s showbiz baby!

 

“I have a secret.” 

Winnie and I were sitting in the fort that my Dad had built in the backyard. The moon was bright and the stars were plentiful. She wore her captain america onesie that was starting to fit just a little too small in the chest area, a fact that I was jealous and intrigued about, and I was wearing my oldest brother- Jim’s- high school football t-shirt that he had given me before he went off to college. There were candles flickering on the side-table, and subtle music playing on the google-home that my step-mom insisted I keep in there. “Julia, Call 911 if you hear something weird out there.” It was her compromise to letting Winnie and I sleep in the treehouse. 

“What is it Winnie?” I could tell that she didn’t want to tell me, but the way she fidgeted said that she needed to tell someone. 

“My mom says I’m a witch.” 

I tried not to laugh. “Are you sure she said witch?” she couldn’t say the b-word, and Winnie was a good enough kid not to swear when her parents weren’t around either. 

“Forget it-” Winnie reached over to grab her bag and scoop her pillow up.

“Wait, I’m sorry.” My heart started racing. “How are you a witch?” I had to force that word out. I didn’t even know the right questions to ask. 

Crickets started chirping outside the little window, and I could see bats darting around eating the bugs that straggled in the air. It was warm, but the gentle breeze that lent us its hand was soothing. 

Winnie pulled the necklace from out of her shirt and dangled it in front of her. It was the same opal one that she wore every day, normally hidden in her shirt. She always grabbed onto it when she was nervous or excited. “You have to promise not to freak out.”

I nodded. 

“You have to promise!” She practically squealed. I shushed her, looking out the window to make sure my step-mom hadn’t turned the light on in their room. 

“I promise.” I felt nervous tension pull my eyebrows together. “I won’t freak out.” 

Winnie closed her eyes and started mumbling something under her breath. I couldn’t tell if it was english or some made up babble, but they made sense to her. That much was obvious.

The necklace churned in the air, slowly at first, but eventually was moving fast enough to actually create a small breeze. Winnie opened her eyes and smiled.

“That’s i- Holy Shit!” 

We were in the air. Levitating off of the ground. I felt like a genie with my legs crossed, bobbing slightly like a heartbeat. 

“How did you do that?” Put me down put me down put me down!

Winnie closed her eyes and exhaled gently, dropping us back to the wooden floor of the treehouse. 

“I told you, I’m a witch.” 

“You’re a witch.” I was stunned. Devoid of thought. There was literally nothing swirling around in my head. 

“You have to promise not to tell.” She stared at me without blinking, tucking the necklace back in her shirt. 

“What is that for?” I couldn’t focus.

“It’s my talisman. It was my great grandmothers.” Winnie was still smiling, but I could see her shoulders settle with relief.

“She was a witch too.”
Winnie nodded. “Promise me.” 

“I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good,” Winnie pinched me hard enough to draw blood. And then she licked the blood from her finger. “It is sealed.”

“What did you do?” 

“Julia, if you tell any living soul that I am a witch, I will know it. And you will pay greatly for it.” Winnie’s eyes went dark. 

My heart raced harder, but this time because I was scared. 

“Winnie, are you a good witch?” Was that a good question to ask? I had never encountered a witch before. Even reading corny lines like that from a book felt so out of place. But I knew that I had to ask. 

Winnie’s grin grew wide, her teeth sparkling from the candlelight. I knew her answer before she even spoke, but I needed to hear the words out of her mouth.

“No, I am not. Go to sleep Julia.” She blew out all of the candles with one breath, plunging them into darkness. Winnie layed down on her own layer of blankets and closed her eyes peacefully. 

My body mechanically moved to my pile of blankets and settled in. Like I was doing what I was told. My eyes even clamped shut, forcing out the light. And forcing out my view of Winnie. While my body slept, my mind panicked. What had I just become a part of?

***

I didn’t mean to make this dark. I was going to make this story actually kind of innocent and sweet, but suddenly there was darkness. Dammit, me. Why am I like this.

Anywho, leave your thoughts in the comments, and come follow Live-writely for more sporadic content! 

Scary Story Competition thing

I wrote this an hour before the deadline. And I didn’t edit it. 

Whoops!

To Meagan and Brandon: *cheers*

 

05:39

I should have paid better attention to the time. 

My legs were weak from sprinting, a bruise forming where my backpack had been hitting against my spine. My lungs hurt, but the inhaler would have to wait. 

I’d be lucky if I made it out of the field. 

The base of the sun had already crowned against the top of the field. It was my visual timer. 

04:59

The whispers started. 

I wasn’t sure if I had tears in my eyes, but I know I wanted to cry. 

Was the fairytale real, or was I creating it in my head?

I wasn’t too keen on finding out. 

Finally, another child. This one must be brave.

One voice stood out in particular. I gasped, choking on a mixture of my own spit, air, and some dust from the corn stalk that I had just ran into. 

But now I was on the ground. And this time I was sure I was crying. 

Precious seconds were ticking by as I got to my knees and started to limp into a run again, ignoring the choking in my lungs. 

3:20

The sun was more than halfway hidden by the stalks on the field. 

If I had seen this image in a museum, it would have been mesmerizing. The way the sunlight drowned out the color of the stalks, turning them into shadows against the skyline. 

But now I had to panic. 

My feet were bleeding in my shoes. It slid in between my toes and created a barrier between my socks and my skin. If I looked down, my white gym shoes would be covered mud, but blended with the burgundy-red color of blood. 

2:59

I was slowing down, but not by my own choice.

Don’t look. 

She knew what would be back there, but looking meant that it was real. 

I could live in my own fantasy, on the fence of knowing that I had made a mistake and knowing that I was not going to be sitting in my 1st period 8th grade math class tomorrow. All thanks to a sleepover story that I had taken too much of an interest in.

I’m so stupid!

My backpack was yanked and I almost stopped.

I looked without thinking. 

There were many hands. 

And Eyes.

And whispers.

I think I screamed. I opened my mouth and air came out, but I couldn’t hear anything. 

2:10

There was little sunlight left, but I could see the edge of the field finally. 

Finally!

I cried more.

But the hands got stronger the closer to the end I got. 

Stay with us for a while. 

The sunsets are pretty here. 

You can play with the others.

1:59

My phone started to ring in my back pocket. 

I reached for it, sparing a quick look to make sure I was grabbing the right thing. 

I didn’t want to grab one of the hands that were grabbing harder and harder with each passing second. 

“Mom help! I’m at Katzke’s farm! In the field! I need help!”

Beep beep beep Signal lost. 

No! 

1:31

The end was right there. Almost within reach. 

There was a sliver of sunlight left, and the sky was that blue and pink mixture that meant the day was almost over. 

Or, in my case, my life. 

No one escaped the fields of Katzke’s farm after 8pm.

My vision was starting to blur and the sound of my own breathing was drowning out everything else. 

My feet hurt and my lungs hurt and everything hurt. 

I wasn’t going to make it. 

00:59

See if you can beat us, girl. We’ll play nice.

Boo! The face popped out of the field right next to hers, the putrid smell of death lingering on its breath. It laughed, and I screamed. 

Where are you going? He stood right in front of me. He was there one second and gone the next. 

00:40

She was on my shoulders. I could feel her weight slowing me down. She was drooling on my neck and soaking the collar of my shirt. I felt her tongue run up the side of my face and slither inside my ear. She tastes so young! She growled. 

I couldn’t cry or scream anymore. I just pumped my feet as hard as I could.

00:10

It was right there. Only a few more steps.

00:09

The hands jerked me back harder, almost making me trip.

He laughed.

00:08

Someone struck her in the face, leaving a slimy trail across her cheek. 

00:07

There was laughter. 

I wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t my own.

You can’t make it! Just come stay with us.

00:06

I barrelled into someone. 

Or, rather, through someone. I felt crunching, like I was walking through a thick brush of trees, and a cold shiver run down my spine. 

00:05

I couldn’t breathe. 

Stupid asthma! 

But I pushed forward. I could hold my breath for 5 seconds.

00:04

Someone else jumped on my back. They started gnawing at my arm over my clothes. It felt like a teething child.

00:03

Several people stood in front of me. Their eyes glowed and they growled and laughed. 

I tried to gasp.

00:02

I could touch the world outside of the cornfield.

I reached my hand out, feeling the beauty of the first few drops of moonlight.

But I fell to the ground, the edges of my vision blurring together.

So I started crawling.

00:01

Mom’s minivan roared around the corner and I could see the panic in her face. I screamed for her.

With the last little bit of oxygen and energy that I had, I leapt forward, plunging myself from the field.d

And onto grass.

Grass!

I was free!

00:00

“Mom!” I felt the word leak from my lungs.

The flesh scraped from my stomach and chin as I was yanked back into the dirt.

She left her foot in the field. 

“Tell Aunt Maggie I love her!” Mother yelled as she collapsed to the ground. 

I loved you too, sister. 

It was the woman on my back. 

Welcome to the tale of Katzke farm, girl. Now lie still, this is going to be agonizing. 

 

 

 

Do You Hear the Bells?

Jingle….Jingle….Jingle

You blink awake groggily to the sound of bells. It’s still dark. Your eyes take a minute to adjust in the pitch blackness of your room. 

“Sammie…” You call into the emptiness of your room, the tiredness heavy in your voice. 

Groaning you throw the covers off, and slowly get out of bed. Your door is ajar because you like to keep the air flowing through your room. Walking forward, you reluctantly poke your head outside your room to listen for the jingling sounds. 

Your little brother has sleeping problems, and tends to roam throughout the house while deeply slumbering. He was bumping into stuff, and getting lost. One time he managed to make his way outside without anyone noticing. In the morning when his bed was found empty a search party was formed, and he was located in the nearby woods. So your parents decided to tie bells to his feet so they could always find him if he gets up in the night.

Following the sounds of the bells, you make your way to your brother’s room. You squint your eyes, trying to locate him. You spot his dark silhouette standing, swaying slightly. You can tell he’s asleep. He walks forward, and bumps into the wall, jingling the bells.

You sigh as you walk towards him, rubbing your eyes. 

“Hey Sammie, get back into bed.”

He turns to you, head lolling to one shoulder, and arms swaying at his sides. He seems to walk in a semi-circle, not quite sure where to go.

“Dude you’re asleep just lay back down.” 

Seemingly he nods at you, and flops back into bed luckily. You scoot his feet fully onto the bed, and fling his covers onto his body. Feeling that your brother was sufficiently calmed down, you eagerly make your way back to your room. You sigh in relief as you finally get to lay your head back down onto your pillow, and nestle into your sheets. 

Jingle….Jingle….Jingle

You’re not sure how much time has passed. You think you slept some, but can’t be sure. It’s still too dark to see clearly so it’s probably dead of night. Something feels wrong, and that feeling is what stirred you awake. Your entire body just goes from 0 to 100 as every muscle within you tenses.

Standing above you is your little brother. With eyes unblinking, and pale face deadpan, he is a statue looming over your bed. The sight is eerie, and just about had you falling out of bed. You still have the feeling of wrongness within you, but you begin to relax the slightest bit since your waking mind recognizes it’s just your little brother caught in a dream of some kind.

“Sammie. What the hell are you doing? Go to bed.” 

You’re more than a little irritated, but you know it’s not his fault he has these problems. Unsurprisingly he doesn’t respond. What is more unsettling than anything is how the normally expressive features of your brother are transformed into a lifeless mask, similar to that of a mannequin.

“Come on Sammie. I’ll take you back to bed again.” 

You notice something in his hand, and freeze. Your 7 year old brother is holding a very…sharp…knife in his hand. 

“Sammie, why do you have a knife?” 

You try to speak as calmly, but with as much force in your voice, as possible. 

“Put…the knife…down.” 

You stare at him, pleading silently, for what seems like an eternity. His eyes, resembling dusty marbles, do not move.

Eventually, he starts to turn slowly, and exits your room as if he was under water. Thankfully he drops the knife as he exits, but in a way that suggests he just forgot what he was doing rather than listening to any instruction from you.

As the knife clatters to the floor, you heave a great sigh of relief. Your brother has been known to become violent when he took his nightly walks. Holes in walls, and items slashed to bits for the family to find in the morning. One time they found blood on the ceiling, and to this day they have no idea how he managed to get up there or where the blood originated from.

You carefully grab the knife, and stash it under your mattress so he can’t get to it again. At this point, you close your door and lock it. You have been woken up twice tonight, and your parents can deal with any future disturbances caused by your wandering brother. You’re too tired to try to put him to bed again. 

Jingle….Jingle….Jingle….THUMP.THUMP.THUMP.

You startle awake for a third time. Your body is alert, with your heart beating furiously through your chest. But your mind is more sluggish to respond with the lack of sleep not helping it function properly. You stare at the black void of the door to your room for a long moment, expecting your brother to ominously float in any moment.

But then you remember…you closed and locked that door before you went to bed. How is it open? The shadows of the open entrance seem to stretch endlessly before you as your mind comes to terms with this fact. 

Springing up from the bed you stride quickly to your half-open door and peer out of your room. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary you listen for the jingling of your brother. You can hear him moving around towards the kitchen. Begrudgingly, you feel like you must go to settle him back down again because he could be trying to get another knife. And if he can apparently pick locks while sleepwalking, you would prefer to avoid that altogether.

Walking through the house, you try to move carefully so you don’t startle him. You never startle a sleepwalker, because that can cause unpredictable behavior. Passing by your parents’ room you see their door shut. You try to jiggle the handle to wake them up. The door is locked unfortunately, and there’s no use trying to knock. As heavy sleepers, they won’t wake up for anything less than an atomic bomb going off. Lucky them.

You see your brother’s door is open, and just briefly look inside to see if he stored any other sharp objects for later. Your breath catches in your throat, and you stop in your tracks so fast you feel your heart slam into your chest.

There, in your brother’s bed…you see a black figure. Their chest was rising and falling slowly. Whoever is in there, is asleep. You try to make out the features, and recognize the form as…Sammie. You can tell by the pajamas he was wearing that it was indeed your brother just sleeping normally for once.

You look at his feet, and see the bells are still attached. 

Jingle….Jingle….Jingle echoes just down the hall….creeping…closer.

But..who?

…What?

YOU – Season One in Review

A few days ago a rant I was on was compared to “Joe Goldberg”.  It was a joke and a minor reference, but it caught my attention.  I had no idea who that was at the time, and was obviously curious so I looked into it.  Found the show You on Netflix, and was told by that same person to watch it.  They said I’d love it.  And given the crazed stir that this show has around it online, I figured I didn’t want to be left behind on pop culture.  So I started it up the other night.

And now I was going to start season 2 immediately, but I wanted to take some time to really put together what I liked and disliked about the show.  I realize that I’m not it’s target demographic, so I’ll run with what I have.  And this is by no means a comprehensive review.  Just some things I noticed while watching the show that I wanted to mention before I go into Season 2.  I won’t put any real spoilers here, just in case you haven’t seen season one, but if you haven’t just go watch it.  It’s going to join pop culture cult following levels and you’re going to want to be a part of it.

 

The first thing I want to mention with season one is that the cinematography was wonderful.  I don’t know much about cinematography, but I enjoyed what little things I could point out.  The shaky cam and blur effect they used when Joe was freaking out helped the audience (or just me) feel the exact same way without putting words to it.  It was a casual way of keeping the audience in his head.  And it was effective.  Every shot felt in some way meaningful and direct, little felt forced.  But the few shots that DID feel forced felt very forced.  You could almost tell what was going to happen in a scene just from how the shots were managed and laid out.  It wasn’t bad, but it occasionally broke immersion.

The soundtrack was good.  I think the most effective part of the music throughout season one was that I barely noticed it was there.  It effectively conveyed emotion and tensity throughout but never drew attention from a scene by interrupting.  As I said I barely noticed it, this is really the only thing I can say on it.

The acting was interesting.  The good things about the acting I could say detracted from the overall performance, yet the bad things helped keep it fresh and flowing.  So even the negatives weren’t all bad.  Outside of the main characters, it felt like the acting was lackluster in this season.  Characters didn’t seem to have any identity outside of their written dialogue, and that was sometimes delivered flatly.  But that helped draw attention to the more animated figures at the center.  In addition, it could be actors and actresses just caught by badly written scenes that they did their best with.   The main cast seemed on pitch throughout but had moments of overacting or non-delivery that left a line or scene wanting.  But I think worst of all, there were moments (and I will say moments, the majority of the show didn’t suffer from this) that I just didn’t buy the character of Joe Goldberg.  Be it writing or acting, it just didn’t work at many times.  But I’ll talk about this later on as well.  I think some of the best performances came despite lackluster writing, such as done by Shay Mitchell who played Peach Salinger.  Her character’s writing just didn’t work for me.  I didn’t like much about it, but Shay Mitchell brought meaning behind every line.  Her performance kept her character important in my eyes even when I didn’t believe a thing happening around her.

 

The writing for You was both brilliant and disappointing.  The complexity of character established with your main cast meant that these characters were alive.  They were fun and enjoyable to watch, knowing that they had feelings and reactions to the world around them.  The secondary cast, on the other hand, felt flat and uninspired.  Like they existed only to serve the plot.  One particular case of this being the character of Peach Salinger.  I couldn’t stand a thing with her character.  I didn’t buy much of it, she felt forced, her dialogue and behavior often didn’t make sense.  I can appreciate the attempt at making her dynamic, but she just felt like a flat character given botox to add depth after the fact.  I have nothing to point out here as evidence, I just know I couldn’t stand her character.  But as stated before, her portrayal by actress Shay Mitchell DID sell much of it to me while I was watching.  Its really only after finishing it that I have a problem with it.  As a concept, the show almost doesn’t work.  There just doesn’t seem like there’s enough story to be told there.  Not only did they make it work, but they also did so in a meaningful way.  They expanded on their base and made the story feel organic and true development of circumstances and evolution of character.  It worked.  Down to the fact that Joe’s involvement made almost no difference in the story until the end.  None of the things he “had” to do needed to be done at all.  Which is a stark contrast to other similar characters we’ve seen in recent years.  Joe could have done nothing, been truly normal, and possibly prevailed the same way he had throughout season one.  Now the end of the season turns that on its head, but it was a brilliant way of portraying it none the less.

Having finished season one I will say I’m hesitant on season two.  I’m not sure how well the character of Joe Goldberg holds up into the future.  And saddling the entirety of the series on his shoulders feels a little weak to me.  BUT I’ve heard over and over again how good season two was in spite of this, so maybe I’m being unjustly critical of him.  I just didn’t like him much.  But again, I’m not this shows target demographic.

I didn’t like the show.  I didn’t dislike the show.  There were things about it that I was captivated by, and things I was repulsed by.  But I couldn’t stop watching it. I wanted to learn more.  And it wasn’t until around episode 8 in the season that I realized the show wanted me to believe certain things.  That it was pushing for me to believe one thing in particular, which of course turned out to not be true at the end.  I fell into it pretty easily and enjoyed my time watching the show.  It was entertainment, and I was entertained.  I feel almost obsessed with it, despite the fact that I can’t quite bring myself to say I liked it.  It was good.  Very good even.  But I don’t think I liked it.  But I HAVE to watch season 2?  I’m not sure.  It’s strange.  Another nod to good writing on their part.  If I’m drawn to keep watching, I know everyone who loved or even liked the show is too.

I’ll probably do one of these for Season 2.  Maybe write a bit for every episode and see what I thought / think.  Not sure yet.  Just keep the content coming as best I can as I journey down this rabbit hole.  We’ll see.

 

See you all next time.

 

Brandon Cliffe

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I’m a poet, and didn’t even know it

I was sifting through some of my old blog ideas, trying to find something to spark my inner creative nature, that has been bogged down lately. You see, I started focusing on projects that sat on my desk, and while I am doing well to finish those, I have forgotten that there, at the edge of my own sanity, sits a need to be personally creative. It’s one thing to write and edit, to throw in your own little flare. But it has been so long since I have been able to pull something organic out of my noodle and put it to “paper.”

While, this is not something new, it is mine. I wrote it in 2018. I had tried my hand at Poetry, and back then I thought it was trash. That I was trying to focus on something that was unpolished. But I find myself forgetting that I wrote it, and getting lost in the stanzas.

Don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not sitting here thinking that this is gold, or that I’m some Maya Angelou or Edgar Allen Poe type. I am aware that this is not great, and there are flaws. But the point of writing is to bleed, right? Or, so the internet tells me.

Love it, hate it, ignore it. Whatever. But as always, come back and visit Live Writely for more content.

 

“She was a meadow, you told me. 

Her hair was the wild strawberries and her eyes the bark on the trees.

She was the freedom of wind making the grass dance.

She was as careful as the doe and as carefree as the fawn.  

 

Then she was a waterfall, you told me.  

She was beautiful to look at, but tragic at the touch.

Her skin was smooth like the rock at the bottom of the river. 

She was the excitement and the fear when you heard the crashing.

She was calm, like the stream that the falls turned into.

 

Above all she was the skies, you told me. 

She was everything you dreamed of.

She was what you looked at when you were happy, sad, irate. 

Her voice was the clouds that covered the sun when it became too much to look at.

She carried the world with her.

She carried  your world with her.

 

At last she was a graveyard, you told me.

She was peaceful at rest, but still twisted hearts. 

She could tell a story with only a few words.

She was hard to forget. 

You look like her, he told me.

“Loving Daughter, Mother, and Wife. Forever a meadow, dangerous and cunning as a waterfall, and as open as the skies.””

The Definition of Success and the Dangers of Contentment

Today I want to discuss the definition of success.

 

I realize that to individual people that definition is going to change.  But something that annoys me in people is contentment.  Again, the definition of which is going to change slightly from person to person when it comes to their lives.  And I most certainly don’t mean to shit on people who are happy with where they are or people who have reached where they want to be.

I would say that, to me, the definition of success is being happy with where you are.  It has nothing to do with the money in my eyes.  If you make a difference, are doing something you love, or even just ok with the effort to payout ratio of what you’re doing in your life, I would say you are successful.

Many people will say that success is measured by how much money or impact you make.  To some people, that paycheck or your name in records and history books is all that matters at the end.  So be it.  To each their own.  But that discounts the people who work their asses off at jobs they hate to put food on their table or take a pay cut because the work is meaningful to them.  I don’t want to leave any of these people out so I’m not going to list positions with the exception of two – Nurses and Teachers.  Many people in these two professions don’t stay for the money.  There is little chance of them being world-famous with what they do.  But they do it, day in and day out.  When you make decisions like that, to help people and to teach, your giving your time and to some extent, your comfort for the benefit of the people around you and those are professions of love.  When you are happy with something like that, you are also successful in my eyes.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t want more, and these aren’t the people I’m frustrated with in my life.  It’s the people who are unhappy with their jobs, unhappy with their family, unhappy with their lives and yet the effort needed to better themselves and their lives is too much for them.  They are content with being in those situations, yet they continue to complain about it.  These kinds of people I don’t understand.  I don’t understand people who don’t want more.  Not more money, but more from themselves.  There is always more that you can do, more money to make, more people to help, more things to do.  Whatever it is you want to do, you can do it, and do more of it.  When there are people who cannot find work or are working at something that they hate or is killing them just to push to their next level, how can people see an opportunity to be more and say no? Just to turn around and complain about not being able to do more.  You don’t get that right anymore.  When so many people don’t have an opportunity or a chance to move forward without immense amounts of work, you don’t get to complain when you turn down a chance at the same.

There is always more to be done.  Chasing your dreams doesn’t mean giving up on success.  But to be successful you need goals or a purpose to push towards.  If those goals are as simple as surviving this month, then good for you.  But to drift day to day in your life, with options, and complain about what you have without making any effort to change I just don’t understand.

If you want something from your life, you can build it.  It doesn’t matter how far off it may be, you can start somewhere.  It just takes time and effort.  You have to want it.  And if your not willing to give that effort, then I don’t think you want it very much.  If you CAN’T give that effort, for whatever reason, I get it.  But when you are fully capable of giving the time and the effort, and you chose to watch more Netflix instead, I don’t think you want it.

Let’s say for example that you want to be a streamer or YouTuber.  Everyone these days does.  Yes, that goal is a ways away.  But it starts now.  If your rig isn’t perfect that’s fine.  No one expects this small channel to be of high quality right away.  What they expect is personality and effort.  You have to try.  Go live with no viewers and play something you like.  Record and release those videos of you talking about something you care about for 3 views in a month.  Build yourself, and your brand from the ground up.

But keep doing it.  It’s slow to build from the start.  But people will come because of you and the content you create.  Keep doing it.  Schedule when you’re going to stream and follow that.  Release your videos when you say you’re going to.  Your audience may be small but if you don’t take yourself seriously neither will they.  You will slowly be able to build up to where you want to be and hopefully make it a full-time job.  You’re not going to blow up in two weeks and make bank.  It takes time and it takes effort, but that’s how you’re going to grow.  If you are not going to give it that, or you’re going to be off and on, then you’re not serious about it and you won’t ever make it there.

I know people on both sides of this.  People who say they want to get into the industry but they don’t have the software they need or the PC to do it well.  And people who have kept at it and keep going despite a slow growth.  The difference is how much you want it.

If you’ve accomplished everything you want in your life or you’re happy with where you are, then to me you are a massive success and I envy you.  Pursue other goals, or don’t, that’s up to you.  But if you’re not happy with your life, and you want something that feels out of reach, you owe it to yourself to try for it.  To really try, and to give it you’re all.  Don’t quit your job right away, but give it what you can.  Take a leap of faith and put yourself out there. But you have to start by taking yourself seriously if you want anyone else to.  Hold yourself accountable as if you had that 1.5 million subscriber channel.  Because someday you will.

 

Just follow your heart and do what YOU want to do.  If you want a change in life, make it happen.  If you’re not willing to make the change, then you don’t want that goal very much.

“Don’t talk about it, be about it.”

 

End rant I suppose.  This was sitting in my drafts for a while now, written when I was irritated at some of the people I had seen around the web and my real-life complaining about circumstances that they actually have the power to change, and when given the opportunity to change them, refused because they would rather play video games alone.  They made excuse after excuse and didn’t change anything.

I do realize now after all this time that there is a place in this world for that life as well.  It’s just not one for me.  So I’m going to release this with a different hope.  That you can recognize that your success is personal to you and that only you can determine what that means.  And to encourage you all to go out there and try something new in pursuance of your goals.  A small stream of consciousness rant that I wrote out and didn’t release.

With me trying to come back and post things like this more often, without fear of what people think, I thought it pertinent for me to be able to live up to my own advice.  I want to be able to post things like this that are real, to me or to you.  And this was a very real argument I faced in my real life.  I wrote it to justify things in my life, and hope to justify them in yours.  And now, I’ll release it to the public to judge and decide what they think.