|
|
||||
|
Recent Articles
Recent Comments
Recent Photos
Categories
RSS Newsfeeds
Main Page RSS
Search
Twitter Updates Who's there?
Month Archive
|
Friday, October 23
If you are in Southend on Sunday...
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 23 Oct 2009 08:57 PM BST
 If you are in Southend (England) this coming Sunday (25 October) then catch the Sundown live words and music gig at The Alex on Alexandra Street (7:30 - 10:30pm) featuring, among other things, a storytelling session by your's sincerely. I'll be premiering a brand new tale. Which could be a good thing – or maybe not. Thursday, October 22
Charles Christian to be Blogger in Residence for the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 22 Oct 2009 09:09 PM BST
 Charles Christian (hey, that's me) is to be the Blogger-in-Residence during the upcoming Aldeburgh Poetry Festival (6-to-8 November). Join me as I journey through the irresistible small seaside town of Aldeburgh. What will I make of Philip Levine’s first UK appearance for 30 years? Will I be called upon to provide harmonic backing vocals to John Hegley’s droll reflections on life? How will I react to a visionary encounter with Geoffrey Hill, widely considered the most important English poet today? Will I spot (or be) the biggest cheat at the late night Poetry Quiz? And more importantly will I make it to the front of the legendary Aldeburgh Fish & Chip shop queue? You can follow me on my Ink Sweat & Tears blog at www.ink-sweat-and-tears.com + on The Poetry Trust's FaceBook Group + on Twitter @thepoetrytrust Wednesday, October 21
Is three the magic number - a modest rant
by
Charles Christian
on Wed 21 Oct 2009 08:03 PM BST
I'm currently in the middle of reading And Another Thing – Eoin Colfer's sequel to Douglas Adams' Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy series – but last night I suddenly realised that, frankly, I didn't give a damn (copyright Gone with the Wind) about the characters or the outcome of the story. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Eoin's writing or plotting or jokes – it's just that six parts into the trilogy, I'm getting Dent/Ford/Trillian/Zaphod fatigue. The novelty value has gone, the story and the characters have been flogged to death – I no longer care – it's time to move on with my life.
Yes, I did say this was the sixth part of the trilogy – and this brings me to the nub of this rant, namely are three volumes, episodes or whatever the most any creative writer (or team) can manage before the storylines start to pall? And I'm taking here about stories etc that are written as three-part trilogies, as distinct from series of short stories, novels etc that feature or 'star' the same characters (Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Miss Marple etc etc). Look at the examples... The first three on the Hitch-Hikers Guides were great but the next two – So Long and Thanks for all the Fish and Mostly Harmless – sorry, not so memorable. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings – fantastic – but The Silmarillion ? Strictly for Middle-Earth anoraks. Another oldie – Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy in the early 1950s (Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation) – these were outstanding books. But the Extended Foundation follow-ups in the decade before his death in 1992? Strictly so-whatsville – with people like me left thinking 'actually that's spoiled my memories of the original'. Then there is Frank Herbert's Dune series – the first three (Dune, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune) – good, but getting weaker towards the end. But, after that – three more novels by Frank and another 12 by his son – sorry but the law of diminishing returns kicks in. This is overkill. And, it is not just books. In fact probably the worst example of three being the magic number but any more risks killing the franchise, is with the StarWars movies. The original 1970s-80s Harrison Ford trilogy (StarWars IV to VI – A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi) – are quite rightly rated as being among the most popular movies ever made. But the prequel trilogy – starting with The Phantom Menace in 1999 and ending with Revenge of the Sith (which I fell asleep watching on a transatlantic flight)... Oh Mr Lucas, why did you do it? (And, talking of Harrison Ford – I'm not sure the recent fourth Indiana Jones outing was such a good idea?) So there you have it – three episodes good – the classic trilogy. But go further, to a quartet or beyond – and you risk pushing the credibility of your characters and plots – as well as the interest, patience and attention of your audiences. But feel free to disagree with me on this blog's comments page. Tuesday, October 20
Back to some haikai - a new tanka
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 20 Oct 2009 08:44 PM BST
over a fish supper
my wife discusses a friend's breast reduction op i'm squeezing ketchup ...when she mentions burst stitches Sunday, October 18
New image - pretty in pink
by
Charles Christian
on Sun 18 Oct 2009 06:30 PM BST
Here's a picture I took in a car-park last week – the photo-caption spoke for itself – and after that the video-clip link was obvious...
 Saturday, October 10
Juxtapositions - October '09
by
Charles Christian
on Sat 10 Oct 2009 09:16 PM BST
So I'm standing on the platform at my local railway station, looking absent mindedly at the advertising hoardings/billboards when I noticed this juxtaposition. The caption came naturally...
 Tuesday, October 6
New street photography
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 06 Oct 2009 07:08 PM BST
Here's a photo I took about 10 days ago at a location in southern England – clue: it has a big airport nearby. I was intrigued by the preparations and then I thought "isn't there someone missing from the frame?"
 Monday, September 21
New (and seasonal) haiga
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 21 Sep 2009 09:14 PM BST
Here's a new – and totally seasonal (got to watch that kigo-factor) haiga...
 Sunday, September 6
Saturday, September 5
Rave reviews for latest work
by
Charles Christian
on Sat 05 Sep 2009 08:08 PM BST
OK, so this falls into the blowing my own trumpet category but I've been blown away by the comments my sci-fi/fantasy short stories have been receiving from editors – and I quote...
"It's a brilliant piece, the likes of which you just don't see these days. I love your stuff. It throws me way back to New Worlds but of course an updated version... What have I just said? :-) Charles, your writing is a revelation and should be more exposed. Thank you for cominig to us. Mocha seriously blew me away. I never suspected anyone would send us anything of that quality. Kastellorizon sustained that where I thought it was a one-off. If you keep it coming – for us or for anyone – it would make me happy. Just keep writing that stuff Charles. You've tapped into tha magick hoodoo." ....Dave Kelso-Mitchell, Editor Paraphilia Magazine
|
|||
