Aridi Writes

…it is done.

Now I need to edit this thing. Oh good lord.

The first book is mere pages away from complete. God I’m pleased.

It’s been a hell of a long time since I posted here; for that, I apologise. The writing has been fairly slow as of late, but I hope that will accelerate.

To that end I’m taking part in a monthly prop writing exercise, nicknamed A Quiet Word. General order is maintained by my good friend David Hughes, a very talented writer himself. More talented than me, I think. He must be removed…

You can catch up on it here: A Quiet Word.

Minute Silence progresses. The decision to remove a plot – a plot somewhat too big to act as a secondary arc – has…shaken things up. I’m taking it in a different direction. If I can work out how to finish the first book, the second should flow a lot easier, hopefully leading to the third.

I need to ramp up the political unease. Easy enough I suppose. Mark catches the headline of a newspaper, or Cory has a phone call with the Mayor, or those NOT watching security tape at Cory’s see the news. Maybe when they find Bass…that’d be an interesting phone call. And from there, we have the police case at the beginning of the second book; but how to actually BEGIN the second book is eluding me, since Portent doesn’t exist anymore.

On top of that, planning a new Diabolic vid with my resident film-maker extraordinaire TJC Martin. You can catch his original here on vimeo. It’s a tasty piece of reel.

Stay tuned, cats.

As of right now I’m listening to a Spotify playlist made up for my current book project, Minute Silence. (Specifically book one, subtitled The Death Of Stars.) It’s got me thinking about how I pick songs for playlists, how they affect what I write and inform my choice of scene and character.

This has basically led me to pick out each song on that playlist and put it into context – where am I going to use it? What scenes, what characters does it apply to? One or many? Why is it thematic? If Minute Silence ever makes it to a movie, will this song be used in it for this scene?

Here’s a smattering…

30 Seconds To Mars – Kings And Queens

Aside from having a deep personal love for this song, it applies to the world of the Enhanced in a very poignant fashion. Singing about the cast-off slice of society, a group that nobody quite knows how to handle, Jared Leto probably didn’t have my motley collection of super-powered people in mind when he wrote it; but talking about those who were the “kings and queens of promise” and the “victims of ourselves”, it puts me firmly in the Enhanced frame of mind – simply as a collective of outsiders. Also I get chills when I hear about the age of man being over; truly, the point of view of more than one Enhanced. Perhaps, in the movie, this would make an ideal End Credits song.

Alter Bridge – One Day Remains

Perhaps a no brainer. One Day Remains is about living as if it was your last day on earth; leave the fear and the ennui behind and do something. Don’t give up, don’t stop, just go, go, go. Fast-paced and powerful. There’s a scene that goes with this song, a running battle on the highway of Steel Mountain between Cory “Trailblazer” Mallory (who can run at 300mph) and Mark “Juggler” Jugg (fast, strong, flies), against two or three other Enhanced – Renegades, bad guys – who are abducting a comatose man from a hospital. The fight is fast, and the two good guys need to be both strong AND fearless to win. The song is perfect.

Down – On March The Saints

As well as being as heavy as a panzer column driving through a steel mill, the song is about gritting your teeth, digging in your boots and rising above the tragedies and frustrations that litter life. The connection between the song and Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans is up for debate, but the chorus – “We have been through change, by the season of storms” – implies the steadfast refusal to buckle under great duress. A real mark of a hero. No scene in particular exists for this song, yet, but I’m sure one will come about.

Five Finger Death Punch – Bad Company

Aggression, a somewhat mournful realisation that one is a violent outcast, but an unrepentant reliance on the gun and the fist to get the job done. The original song – by the band Bad Company, on the album Bad Company – is good enough; but the Five Finger Death Punch cover is awesome; and when one William McMillan and his squad of mercenary asskickers get their hands on several suits of powered armour, well…let’s just say them mounting up and moving out would be best served by this playing in the background. McMillan (played by Ray Winstone in an ideal world) used to be a Royal Navy Commando. He knows he’s a badass. And he hates the Enhanced because they don’t need to try to be better than everyone else – so when the opportunity comes along to get even…he’ll happily crack the skull of any that get in his way.

Try this one at home, kids.

A) Take twenty songs that you are listening to on and off at the moment. You can either stick your playlist on Shuffle and pick the first twenty, or choose twenty out of your current flavours, or even pick twenty songs that you just can’t live without. Your choice.

B) List the songs on a piece of paper, or for those that don’t want to kill trees, a document on your machinery of choice.

C) Listen to (or think about) the first song on the list.

D) Use the song to inspire a scene that could occur in the book (or other piece) you are currently working on. The song doesn’t have to be involved – simply note down whatever the song makes you think of, in reference to your work.

E) Repeat C and D for each song on the list.

Maybe this will provide a little kick up the jacksy for anyone stuck in the doldrums. (Like me.)

The videos are for audio purposes. Some of them aren’t my cup of tea. But they let you hear the songs, dammit!!

Mark Jugg (Juggler) : John Mayer – Bigger Than My Body

Elizabeth Tamworth (Warhorse) : 3 Doors Down – Citizen/Soldier

Cassandra Crozier (Portent) : Thrice – Of Dust And Nations

Cory Mallory (Trailblazer) : Shinedown – Fly From The Inside

Troy Keller (Dis) : CKY – Close Yet Far

Scout Lee (Sleight) : Cake – Comfort Eagle

Max Kowalski: Asher Roth – I Love College

More soon.

The new beginning has started to go swimmingly. A bit slow going here and there. Mark is going to be hard to get into his stride again, but I’ll do it. I like the self-conscious little dweeb!