Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and superhero books » Eccentric Tangent

Anti-zombie research is proceeding apace

B. McKenzie — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 02:16:06 +0000

The U.S. Army bought about 100,000 M4s last fiscal year, improving the nation’s zombie readiness levels from “doomed” to “screwed.” In your face, zombies! Also, the Navy is working on a electromagnetic railgun. When the zombie dolphins are upon us, we’ll be ready.

Other exciting military technology that could mess some zombies up:

Nuclear rifles
Flying jeeps
Chain-saw robots. Brilliantly, these would be powered by biomass furnaces, which would keep fallen humans and plants from turning into enemy combatants. (Also, gasoline would surely be in shorter supply than bodies).

How Rowling organized one of the Harry Potter books

B. McKenzie — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:01:31 +0000

One of the things that strikes me about her organizational scheme is that she kept track of the month of each event, information that’s was rarely referred to in-story but is very important to maintaining coherence. If you’re not sure which month you’re depicting when you’re writing a scene, even the weather becomes a potential continuity hazard. She and her editors were freakishly good at keeping everything logically consistent. (The closest thing to a continuity error I found in the HP series was a student showing up at Hogwarts the year after she should have graduated, and some religious texts have pages with more continuity errors than that).

B. Mac, 1–Bee, 0

B. McKenzie — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:03:29 +0000

After a sting to the head and a precautionary shot of Epinephrine, we can conclusively say that I am alive and the bee is not. In your face, Mother Nature!

My most important advice ever

B. McKenzie — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:42:20 +0000

When you do a barrel roll, try to flip your vehicle an even number of times rather than an odd.

RIGHT

WRONG

Huah!

B. McKenzie — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:52:35 +0000

I passed the Foreign Service Exam. Getting closer! The Personal Narrative Questions are next.

Math Comedy? Michael Jackson Proves That 28/7 = 13

B. McKenzie — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:41:27 +0000

Overheard in Washington

B. McKenzie — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:33:20 +0000

“I hate reality television. If I wanted to see conmen humiliate themselves, I’d watch C-SPAN.”

A quick bit of academic wisdom!

B. McKenzie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:44:59 +0000

Overheard at a college tutoring center…

No, the Underground Railroad was not the world’s first subway system… I don’t care what Wikipedia told you.

The Best of #Queryfail on Twitter

B. McKenzie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:59:35 +0000

The query is a letter written to an agent or publisher explaining what you’re writing and why they should want to represent/publish you. #Queryfail collects amusing anecdotes about authors that need to work a bit more on their pitch.

“The only thing worse than ignoring guidelines because you think you’re special is actually telling me that in the query.” — AgentGame
“Querying for a book you admit isn’t great, but saying you thought you’d take a shot at getting an agent anyway? Obnoxious.” — AgentGame
“REMEMBER 50k words is not enough to get your novel published – most pubs want 75 – 120k novels!” –EelKat [B. Mac adds-- most of the advice I've seen in this field suggests that first-timers should stay south of 100,000 words, but some genres are more forgiving than others.]
Before you query, read your first few pages aloud and tape-record yourself. I bet you’ll identify problems.
All agents who received “Book Query 51″ today, raise your hand.

Hah, I liked this…

B. McKenzie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:48:16 +0000

The author behind My Writer’s Block got off lucky with this one– it definitely wasn’t that easy for me to get rid of Vista.

This reminds me of my freshman year, when Dell computers suddenly started melting (and at least once bursting into flames) across campus. I signed on as a marketer for a team of computer guys who were selling homemade computers that were suddenly desirable. Our motto was “one melted computer is a tragedy; a hundred melted computers are an opportunity.”

Comic Books in the Courtroom

B. McKenzie — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 07:16:13 +0000

Here’s an amusing excerpt from a Washington Post article…

“We are at a point where no one could have even imagined 15 years ago,” said Albert J. Lurigio, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University who has written about electronic monitoring and privacy since a New Mexico judge, inspired by Spider-Man comics, became the first to sentence a defendant to home confinement with an electronic monitor.

Does this mean we’re on the verge of surgically implanting explosive nanites in dangerous parolees? In your face, recidivism!

Comic-Con Travel Advice

B. McKenzie — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:33:27 +0000

I’m just getting back from San Diego. If my brother had had the foresight to schedule his wedding a week later than he had, perhaps we could have done Comic-Con. (Because comic books are obviously awesomer than real life… haha). Here are some San Diego tips that might help you if you’re going to Comic-Con.

1. Traffic wasn’t awful, but the street names are horribly similar. If you’re going to be driving, make sure you know the exact street names. In particular, La Jolla loves to use street names like “La Jolla Rd.” and “La Jolla Drive” and “La Jolla Colony.” My brother would like to add that “traffic in the areas around the convention will be nightmarish.”

2. Pretty much every hotel room in town is already booked up for the convention. (According to the concierge at my hotel, they’ve been booked for about 6 weeks now). At this point, your best option is to look at rooms outside of SD proper.

3. California’s restaurant chains are beyond bad. I’d recommend hitting independent restaurants sooner rather than later. In particular, I’d recommend staying away from Jack in the Box, Carl’s Jr., In-and-Out Burger and California Pizza Kitchen. Rubio’s was okay, I suppose.

4. Best cheap non-convention attractions: I really enjoyed the Maritime Museum and the beaches. Also, a boating trip through the bay was unexpectedly the highlight of my trip because we saw a ton of fireworks and the USS Nimitz in port. (Did you know San Diego has bridges big enough for an aircraft carrier to fit under? Yeah…)

5. I was underwhelmed by the San Diego Zoo. Parking was nuts, admission was $35 and the only attraction I would recommend is the sea-lion show.
TRAINER: Do you think this sea-lion knows what a shark looks like? He’s never seen one before.

KID ON-STAGE: No way!

*The loud-speakers suddenly start playing the Jaws theme*. The sea-lion hit the deck and put one of his fins up, making him look just like a shark. Haha!

If you have that much money to spend, I’d recommend something like Sea World instead.

6. San Diego’s drivers are fairly dangerous. On the plus side, it was more like “I’m kind of blind” than “I’m trying out for NASCAR!”

7. Wash your hands, especially if you go to the beach. Three members of our wedding party got swine flu.

Okay, that’s enough travel advice for one lifetime. I’m excited to get back to superhero writing advice.

Angry Students at Penn State

B. McKenzie — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:07:49 +0000

Penn State recently released a workplace orientation video about potentially angry students, such as veterans. But which angry students did they miss?

Football Fans

Angry because: After getting ruined by the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl, Penn State will suffer through a year of horrible double-entendres. “Penn State tried to penetrate, but the Trojans coverage completely blocked it from the end-zone.” It practically writes itself!

Business Majors

Angry because: deteriorating economic conditions mean that there will be long lines in soup kitchens.

Philosophy Majors

Angry because: those soup kitchens are theirs, dammit!

Poets

Angry because: it’s a graduation requirement.