Weekend Lounge ~ Endless Franchise

Welcome to the weekend! We're back again, as always. Before we start, in case you missed it, the Patreon has both two new chapters of my newest book as well as a brand new podcast episode on genrefication! You can sign up to delve into it right here!

Following on from last week's subject, we take a look at what happened to the idea of the standalone story. In the '20s, unless you're doing endless sequels and franchises, no one wants to hear about it. It's either endless product, or nothing. This doesn't apply to even one industry, either. All anyone seems to want to produce or consume is endless amounts of bland products or content (neither of which is a very good name to describe anything of value, by the way).

It goes without saying that no only is this not sustainable, it's not even actually wanted. Talk to someone long enough and they will tell you that they prefer stories that end.

So instead, let's focus on one medium for today. Like last week, we'll stick with modern film, one of the biggest laughingstocks going.

When was the last time a movie was made without the idea of turning it into a forever series to be milked endlessly until the cow is dry? When was the last time someone just had a story to tell, told it, then moved on to a new story? Why does everything need to be part of the same tired formula as everything else with the same beats, the same crusty 20th century themes, or the same climax? Whatever happened to variety? Whatever happened to ambition?

Well, the machine itself is part of the problem. The rusting Hollywood mechanism has become too bloated, too fixed in one direction, unable to be flexible enough to adapt to the demands of a wider and less cohesive modern audience--the one they helped create in the first place. Therefore they will only continue to spread themselves too thin until all that remains are the diehards of the diehards who will never be pleased with anything less than perfection in their desired formulas. There is only one ending to this story and it's an ending we've seen before.

In other words, the industry itself both chose and created this very dead-end they are currently barreling towards. They have dug their own grave and are desperately avoiding the plot sitting underneath their lowering casket.

Of course this is just one of many problems they are currently suffering from, but its an attack on multiple fronts, all by problems they caused themselves years ago coming home to roost. It is why it is imperative that it be constantly reminded to audiences of how dead an industry it really is. It is important to remind the audience that no recovery is coming and the ship will not be righted. It would be in everyone's best interest to go elsewhere and let the ship crash into the very rocks it has always wanted to steer towards. We can find better ways.

You can do nothing but move on and let them to what the self-destruction they desire. This is the end they were always desperate to arrive at, and we should let them have at it.

A related problem to this is that of the remake--an attempt to cash-in on an old idea that once made them money when they weren't so desperate for more.

What many don't seem to get is that the remake is an excuse to make a new franchise out of something that has no room for a sequel. It's the real reason a failed product like Ghostbusters 2016 was made in the first place, especially given it was put directly into production to cash in seconds after the original creator died (after also blocking him from making a sequel to his own franchise for decades, by the way). Unfortunately, the executives eventually got their endless franchise by cloaking it in the ever-popular modern drug called nostalgia, despite the fact that with the creator is dead, this is all nothing but fan fiction. People are only watching it because of memories of the product, not because of story or the man who was the driving force in making it in the first place.

This is the true reason why remakes are so prevalent. The "late sequel" was once such a trend, but it was reserved for when there was still something left to milk. We are now too far along for this to be a relevant trend for modern audiences.

For those curious, the below video describes the process of the "late sequel" that is no longer much of a trend, for various reasons.

If you've been alive for long enough, you were probably around for Hollywood's Silver Age of success (the late '70s through late '90s) in time to see the fumes run out through the '00s and hit a wall in the 2010s. The fact of the matter is that it had its Golden Age before anyone alive today was born, and its second wind is now looking just as ancient as most of the properties the studios are still trying to suckle off of. Every human institution eventually dies, and those of us alive today are seeing just that. Putting your memories and nostalgia aside, you can tell what is happening.

We are witnessing a slow death that has been a long time coming.

Of course, modern Hollywood isn't the only source of moviemaking and never has been. It's also not the only place that has had its own rise and fall. When it comes to film there are always the classics, foreign movies, and the independents--though the creaky studio system is quickly crumbling as we speak. Despite the fact that the highwater days of the medium are over, it doesn't mean it's dead nor does it mean film can't still be successful or relevant. It only means the iron fist grip of out of touch executives from a polluted land of vice and debauchery has been lost--and no one should lament that long overdue shift.

We've got much change to look forward to in the years and decades ahead, especially as collapsing and unraveling old systems lash out on their way to the grave they were destined for, and while there will be some nostalgia popping up among our number as they finally go, in the end everyone is going to realize exactly why this all had to happen this way. It was always inevitable, even if we wanted to pretend it wasn't.

Until then, enjoy a classic, find an indie doing something interesting, or look to distant lands, and support accordingly. You won't find anything remaining in the modern zeitgeist (if such a thing exists) except a zombie system that refuses to be laid to rest in the grave it is already being lowered into as we speak.

Art never dies, but human institutions always eventually do. All we can do is prepare for what is coming next.

And something is always coming next.

That's all for this week, and I'll see you next time as we head into August! The heat isn't letting up, and we won't be, either!

Check out the Wild Stars campaign! The space opera adventure series has reached the 40th anniversary and Cirsova is putting out the seventh book! It's already two thirds of the way there. Jump in today and help put it over the top!

Weekend Lounge ~ The Death of Movies

Welcome to the weekend! We're back again with a nice relaxing post.

I hope you've been having a great summer. The weather around here has ping-ponged quite a lot, but it's currently very pleasant out so I want to use the opportunity to talk about something fun. Well, something that can be fun.

Everyone is well aware that movies are not quite what they once were. Newer movies suffer from production bloat, terrible casting, broken sound design, muddy visuals, poor costuming and dress, confused and mumbled acting, and writing that can do little but repeat the same tired tropes of the last two decades. No one really argues with this knowledge, but there is disagreement about where the industry should go next from here.

No one wants to see movies anymore. How do we get out of this rut?

If you want a really detailed account about how bad things have gotten, I recommend the above video from Red Letter Media. The fact of the matter is that the movie theater, once the hub of human activity in the West, is on its last legs and no one has any answers on how to fix it. If the audience doesn't care what you're selling, no manner of price cuts or killer deals are going to lead them back in again. The obvious truth is that mainstream audiences have no interest in movies anymore and they haven't for a very long time.

Yes, part of the problem is streaming explosion from the 2010s that culminated in lockdown world, but that's only part of it. What we've come to realize is that before streaming even became feasible, most people were only really going to movies out of habit and little else. Aside from the big tentpole releases like Pixar and Marvel (before they became the tired punchlines they are today), one would be hard-pressed to think of any movie from the last 20 years that made any sort of impact on the wider cultural sphere. The industry just wasn't what it used to be.

This also goes in well with the fact that when boutique movie labels advertise the decades of the films they release on Blu-ray and 4K UHD, there is a hard cutoff around 2000 when the number of movie re-releases drop off a cliff before outright disappearing by 2010. People get excited when a movie from the 1980s gets put on a 4K UHD--no one cares when a 2011 movie does. The obvious conclusion is that this problem isn't recent, and film has been bad off for quite some time. No one just cared to really take stock in it until the issue became blatantly obvious. The fumes in the tank have just finally run dry. We can admit it now.

At the same time, CG no longer wows, studios have been indulging in AI to the point that people only realized it when they become bored enough to look closer, and star power and charisma is completely lacking in the newer generation of actors brought in either through nepotism or taking the ticket. In other words, everything now is objectively worse than it used to be. Entropy is the undefeated king of modernity, now and always. There is no reason to be excited for new things that aren't as good as similar old things.

So then, what do we do? How do we bring back the film medium in a way that makes it matter, that makes it vital again? The answer is simple, but it's not easy. You already know what the solution is, we just need to say it louder. The way forward, is backwards. It's looking back and reclaiming what works while ejecting what doesn't.

For an example of what I mean, I suggest the below video from GoodBadFlicks talking about the "remake" of the 1950s movie called The Blob. I put remake in quotes because aside from the idea of the monster, nothing else about the movie is the same. It's a completely original movie otherwise. This is, in fact, how one creates a remake--not just to cash-in on something old. It's also why modern remakes are such trash.

But I digress: you can watch the video here:

It's a great video, showing exactly what film once was and can be again.

Now, did you take stock of how much effort was put into the above film? From writing, to casting, to stunts, to special effects, to even the setting, all of it had tremendous thought and ambition in regards to everything involved.

Computers were minimally used to enhance what already existed. Both sets and real locations contributed to create the world of the movie. The monster itself had a detailed process in order to be brought to life that clearly had much thought put in. There was no committee or chart involved in telling everyone what arbitrary lines they were or weren't allowed to cross. Everything about the movie exists the way it does because it was made before the focus-testing corporate culture Hollywood began constructing in the 1990s.

No movies are made like this anymore. It just doesn't happen anymore. If you want movie made like this again, you will simply have to throw away everything the industry has done since movies like Mannequin were made through strict focus-testing demographics, movies like 3 Ninjas were edited down to reach a G rating that it should have already had in the first place, and Marvel products were slapped together through formula guidelines. In order to reverse all the problems of today, all of the above has to go away again.

Do you want to compete with AI, with the fact that eventually everyone will be able to use it to make their own Hollywood slop in the near future? The only way to compete with this unavoidable future is to do what a computer simply can not--to do what cannot be automated or processed through computer software.

This means stunts, practical effects, real locations, built sets, creativity, real scripts based on personal anecdotes and ideas, and casting with a vision beyond greased palms. It means going back and starting from zero again before moving in a new direction, away from this dead end mutation we've let ourselves fall into.

If you want art to feel real again then it has to be real. It has to be made with purpose for the reason of communicating with the audience, to reach and grow. There must be more to it than finding and monetizing formulas and tweaking them to get slightly fatter wallets. Art doesn't exist to make the line go up--it exists to help people go up.

This is the case with every art form. In order to move forward, you need to be continuing on from something, on a path already laid out before you by those who came before. When you stumble off the trail and get lost, the only way back on is to go back and retrace your steps. That requires a level of humility we're going to have admit going forward-- we have to first admit we even went off in the wrong direction to begin with.

Don't worry too much about art forms, they never really die, but they can be lost or warped beyond recognition by those who have lost their way. As long as we're here we can always bring it back around again.

And that's because, to quote an old chestnut, nothing ever really dies. It just goes away until the right moment to be brought back again. And this is the right moment! All we have to do is finally knuckle down to do it. That's what these new alternative industries are all about, after all. The energy is with us now.

Hop on in and start digging with the rest of us. We're going to strike oil eventually. But you can't do it if you never start in the first place.

Have yourself a good week and I will see you next time.

Chapters 4 and 5 of Phantom Mission are up on the Patreon! Join to read them today!

Weekend Lounge ~ Knights of Legend

Welcome to the weekend! It's been a while since the last one of these, and I've been dying to put out another.

As you can tell, I've been busy with building the Patreon recently, including put up new chapters of the Phantom Mission serial as well as a new episode of the podcast talking about that exact subject. Sign up now and get many exclusives you will not get anywhere else!

We're up to chapter 3 in the story where our heroes have landed on the island and are ready to explore, and things are already starting to heat up. At the same time, the first Patreon exclusive episode, as mentioned above, goes into the early parts of the story as well as the influences behind what started in the first place. It's a long one!

For those who might have missed the last update, Phantom Mission will be updated twice a week for July, so if you join now you will not only be getting the podcast but also a large chunk of the story right off the bat. As I mentioned on the podcast, it gets wild!

The most recent chapters:

Next week we really go into it with the next two chapters!

So for today's weekend post, here is a fun little video I found on YouTube talking about King Arthur and some of the best and most unique adaptions of the legend you can find out there. Considering there are fifteen or so adaptions to sort through in this video, there's going to be something that strikes your fancy. There's also a chance you might have missed a few or others you might otherwise not have considered.

You might notice a couple that aren't even really brought up much these days. Watch the full video and see for yourself. It's a good watch.

I hope the summer has been treating you well. I know the heat around here has been relatively annoying. Be sure to keep cool and sane and we'll get through it soon enough. There's still plenty ahead to be excited for, and much more fun to be had.

Sorry for the short one this week, I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things while also dealing with some IRL events at the same time. Hopefully we'll be back to business as usual soon enough. Regardless, there's still more coming. Yes, even on top of the recent release of Sidearm & Sorcery Volume Three. You'll just have to wait at a bit longer to see what it is!

Check out the Patreon for an exclusive serialization and podcast you won't get elsewhere!

Phantom Mission has Begun!

Note: my next book has begun serializing on Patreon! Check it out here!

Hey all, I'm sorry that I've been focused on this one project so much recently, but as you can tell, there is a good reason for it. And we've got an update in time for the weekend! As of Friday, the first chapter of my next book, Phantom Mission, is now out for patrons of the brand new Patreon! It's been a long time coming, but it is here.

What I wanted to do with today's post was describe what exactly Phantom Mission is, what it's about, and why exactly I've decided to release it this way. I'll try to not get too into the weeds about it, after all, reading is part of the fun, but I still need to get across the general intent.

First off, this is that "crazy project" I've been teasing for awhile on the blog and elsewhere. I'm finally able to unveil it to you all today. It started as a lark one day, a decision to make the most "me" story I ever could, tempered with my interests as a kid, teenager, young adult, and even now, and turn it into a book. In other words, I wanted to put out the most high octane weird adventure action tale only I could. Every single trope and cool thing that stuck with me, recontextualized and made into something original and exciting.

And that ended up being the project known as Phantom War.

If you're confused at the title, don't be. Phantom War is the name of the series; Phantom Mission is the name of the first book of what is looking to be three (though the second one has taken on a life of its own, so we'll see what comes next) and its kind of overwhelming me a little as to what this story seems to want to become. That's one of the reasons it took so long to release. That and everything else going on in the real world over the last couple of years.

The story covers a race of beings called Phantoms that landed on Earth half a century ago during the Dark Year when humanity slept, unaware of what occurred or why they were put there. Phantoms seem to be just like normal people only with a weird purplish tint to their skin, but there are rumors that there is more to them than originally thought due to their strange alien-like knowledge. They are practically human as it is.

However, despite nearing 50 years of supposed unity, things still seem to be falling apart at the seams. The fragile peace that has held things together is breaking down. Phantoms are starting to disappear, leaving half-bloods as the most common Phantom you will see, and an indescribable menace is bubbling below the surface of the planet. Were the Phantoms really the saviors of humanity, or are they something more sinister at play?

Phantom War takes place in Miami II, post-reconstruction, on Menace Beach (formerly Miami Beach before the new location was built and expanded over the ruins of the old) where the Outlaw Games are held. This legendary location, once a paradise for wanderers and starry-eyed travelers, is now little more than a slum for the broken down and forgotten, where gangs fight over territory and the old buildings are remnants of a better age that never came. Now, as the world looks to be ending--this Golden Age of unity might truly never arrive at all.

Phantom Mission stars a team of four Mavericks, participants in the Outlaw Games, who are tasked with going to Peace Island to find a mysterious doctor that should already be dead by now. The completely man-made Island, based on the reconstructed Menace Beach, at least initially, was formed into a walled city where the two races were meant to coexist as one. However, decades back a terrorist blew it to hell and everyone inside supposedly died, leaving nothing but an empty oversized city sealed off from the world. And now the four Mavericks are being sent in, unofficially and unarmed, to broker a peace with this supposed doctor.

What will they find on the scrapped island in the middle of the sea? Will it bring the peace they desire, or will they unearth a past that should have stayed dead with the old world?

You'll have to check out Phantom Mission and see for yourself!

But that's not all. For non-patrons, I've recorded myself reading the beginning of Chapter One. It's not the whole thing, but a decent chunk to get an idea of the tone of the tale and where exactly I'm planning to go with it.

This is also to help give you a tease of what is to come:

Please excuse my reading. I'm not built for voice work!

I hope that gives you all you need for now, because this one gets a little wild, and book two even wilder. But we're not there yet so please enjoy this sampling of the new dish I'm preparing for you all. I promise it's going to be worth the wait. Have I steered you wrong yet? After eight years of putting out books, and a decade of Wasteland & Sky, I'm not planning on stopping anytime soon. We've got more worlds to visit!

Regardless, if you want to read more, check out the Patreon! I'll also be talking more about Phantom Mission itself in the proper Episode 1 of the podcast which is coming out next week. And in case you missed that bit of news, Episode 0 was released for free on the 4th! Everyone can listen to that one right now on the Patreon!

Okay, that's all for this one, folks. I want to thank you for being patient with me as I get this new project sorted out. I've also had some personal stuff get in the way a little, but I'm still trying to put my best foot forward on this. I've been wanting to share this one with you all for years, and now it's finally happening!

Thanks for reading, and I will see you next time!

You can check out Patron for both my new serialization & podcast!

Letters from the Wasteland is Go!

Hello, all! It's a short update this time. The reason for that is that I have an entire podcast episode to share with you today!

It's also completely free to give you an idea of what the podcast included in the Patreon will be about. So give it a listen and let me know what you think.

You can hear the premiere podcast episode for free on the Patreon here!

I'll also take this time to mention when of the things announced in the podcast regarding the next book, since it pertains to here as well. It's no big secret, but it's coming out this week.

On Friday, July 5th, the first chapter of Phantom Mission, my next work will be put up for serialization on Patreon. Every week after that, for all of July, there will be two chapters a week. Really getting into that summer spirit for a book that is very summer influenced. It will then drop down to one chapter a week until we reach the end. All of this is beginning this week! So you can see why I've been so quiet around here recently.

That's all for today, I hope you had a great fourth of July and I will see you again very soon!

Don't forget that Sidearm & Sorcery Volume 3 is out! Classic action in a modern setting!

Ten Year Celebration!

Did you notice the changed banner above? We've got a lot to celebrate!

In case you haven't noticed the slight renovation to this place, I suppose I should let you in on it. We've reached the tenth anniversary of the Wasteland & Sky blog! Hard to believe it's been so long. We've come a long way since that unassuming initial post a decade ago.

Wasteland & Sky's first post went up on June 13th, 2014, and was originally meant to be a silly little project I wasn't expecting to last very long while I was still learning to write. I'd tried starting blogs before over the years, as anyone older than a Zoomer has at some point, but they'd never gone very far because I simply got bored of them and had little to say in those younger years. But as I was learning to write at the time (and it would take two more years to publish my first proper book, Knights of the End in 2016), I thought it pertinent to try and communicate with any potential readers and putting myself out there.

Over 750 posts and 10 years later and it seems as if I've succeeded in doing that much! Hard to believe it's been a whole decade since I finally made that decision to begin. So much has changed in that short time and yet so much more is still to come.

I wanted to bring this up last month, but there was still preparation to do to get ready for it. For one, I didn't want to do anything right after Star Wanderers had just finished funding and waited specifically until shipping had already begun and was underway. I didn't want to keep to many irons in the fire or confuse readers. I seem to have a bit of a problem doing that, though at least it should be much clearer going forward. But now that Star Wanderers is in the middle of fulfillment I can finally announce the next project.

As of this post, I have published 13 books (14th coming very soon, keep reading on!) and have published over 20 short stories and have no plans to stop anytime soon. All have been written in the years since Wasteland & Sky began. However, despite the amount of material put out, I have just as much more without a proper avenue for release. There just isn't enough places to put what I want to put out.

For instance, short stories only have so many opportunities to be submitted to magazine markets during the year and others have hard word limits for their submission guidelines. At the same time, funds for editing books and commissioning artwork for book covers not only takes much time but also takes funds on a razor tight budget. (I wouldn't have been able to complete Gemini Man without all of you! Thanks for all your assistance!) This leaves a lot of material in a bit of a limbo and a lot of things I just plain can't do without setting it aside for some nebulous future release.

Aside from that, a lot of the mechanisms in the industry for reaching wider audiences are in the process of falling apart. As an example, I've had many writers and behind the scenes personnel tell me that Amazon is burying their books and getting reviews is becoming more and more difficult, despite however many sales they might have. At the same time interaction on the site has been dwindling in number which also hampers the ability to reach new readers. These things that were so straightforward and obvious a decade ago are now very quickly no longer becoming viable. Even OldPub authors are now dipping their toes into NewPub waters. In other words, we need to start thinking outside of the box a little.

So what do we do moving forward?

The above realization is why I've been working on my next project, hinted at in the preview video a while back, called Phantom War. It's a three book series, though it's different than the books I've done to this point--in fact, it's actually a serial in many parts split into three volumes. I'm planning to put it out in chunks to get it out to readers more easily and to help make them the best books they can be. The first book is called Phantom Mission.

This is where I will announce how these books will be brought out: through Patreon! I'm planning on starting with putting out the first chapter of the first book within a week of the Patreon launching. I'm planning on putting out two chapters a week for July then one a week until we hit the end. Then after the first book is done, we will take a break until the second is ready to go and we will commence again until it is done. When the project is ready to go I will go into the story details itself on the blog and talk in greater detail on the Patreon. There will be a lot of writing on the way!

Author Brian Niemeier called this process Neo-Patronage, and I believe it's the best way going forward in the ever-changing market.

But I also want to focus on the fact that my next work isn't the only thing coming to the Patreon. Yes, there's more!

It's also going to be the place where I put out my essays first. I've been spending so much time writing scattershot for awhile that I want to get back on track again, but it's difficult to find the time balance between everything I have to juggle. In order to do focus, I want to make a centralized spot to write towards and an audience who knows exactly what they want from me.

This doesn't mean anything else stops. Posts will still come out here (and the Weekend Lounge posts will continue here as usual), books will still become available on Amazon, and short stories will still show up in magazines and anthologies. This is just a centralized place where the majority of it will be available first far ahead of time.

On top of the above, I am planning on creating a podcast called "Letters from the Wasteland" which will be available exclusively on the Patreon. If you've listened to Cannon Cruisers or my appearances on other podcasts/streams then you probably know what to expect. The difference with this one is that it will feature exclusively myself and be centered around the modern scene of art and entertainment as well as my takes on what works and what doesn't. I will also discuss my own work and advice/opinions on general NewPub activity ala The Pulp Mindset. If patrons desire it we might even answer some viewer questions at the same time. I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile and I think using Patreon to do it is the best way forward.

I also included a free copy of Two Adventures Across Eternity for backers at every level as a welcome gift. So not only are you getting a free book, but a new serialization, a podcast, and posts (though these might slow down during serialization periods--there are only so many writing hours in the day), and you will get the finalized eBooks of anything serialized on the Patreon when the time comes. In my opinion, I think it's a better deal than waiting to pick up one eBook from Amazon every half year or so. Though I suppose I'll have to let the readers decide that.

Of course, this is just the beginning. If anyone has anything they might want to see added to the Patreon itself then please be sure to let me know. Comments are always open. You can find the Patreon page here! *Just keep in mind that the Tip Jar level is only for tips! Aside from a copy of Two Adventures Across Eternity there are no other extras--you want the Maverick tier for that.*

I've now got a Patreon!

So what does all of this mean going forward? It simply means more. I will still be working with publishers like Cirsova, and submitting to anthologies like Sidearm & Sorcery, as well as magazines like Anvil, and I will still put books on Amazon, so nothing really changes for anyone who doesn't want to join up. That work continues on as usual.

However, I'd much prefer having a centralized place where I can produce as much as I can, so it is most definitely a good option for those who want more everything of what I do. I'm also eager to try a new challenge, something that will give me an opportunity to spread my wings and soar new skies. And anyone who backs will be a part of it--they won't even need to go to Amazon to get the eBooks (at least the ones I publish on my own without any publisher involvement.) Everyone wins. This is why I believe it's the best course of action going forward.

I'd also like to say that none of it would be possible without any of you. Back when I started Wasteland & Sky I had no idea what I was doing. I hoped I might get someone reading eventually but I never expected much to happen, so I just focused on doing whatever I could. The fact that it lasted this long--easily the longest lasting project I've ever indulged in online, never mind the writing world, has been incredible to think about.

And we're going to keep moving forward with plenty of projects on the horizon. Thank you for helping me make a whole decade on the blog. Here's hoping for another decade ahead! God willing, we'll go far.

You can join the brand new Patreon here!

*For Star Wanderers backers, I have to remind you to fill out your surveys so Cirsova can get your address to send it to you. The eBooks are already out, next comes shipping! You'll be getting your books very soon!*

Twelve Tales of two-fisted adventure through the darkness of modernity!