F: Firefly

My theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge this year is a mishmash of books, movies, writers and TV shows that have in one way or another taught me something about writing and helped me be a better writer. Some inspired my own stories and a few taught me what not to do. Each post is a one minute lesson on writing. Over on the IWSG blog, you find some more great inspiration for all of April.

Firefly, the show known around the world as one of the best, if not the best, science fiction TV series EVER. There were so many things that made the show successful. The writing. The characters. The uniqueness of the setting, but it had other quirks that made it different. Though it took place in space, it never overburdened viewers with tech stuff. Mal Reynolds often amused us with his pretended or sometimes not false, ignorance of technology. The characters weren't always the white-hatted good guys and walked on the work side of the law. But did the viewers ever doubt they were the heroes? The settings ranged from old west style societies to wildly advance space stations and government facilities. Settlements of outcasts or those who had little to do with the central government added color and provided unique plots. Joss Whedon made something special.

Lesson: Space adventures like I write don't have to be full of scientific jargon. Political dissidents make for interesting protagonists and antagonists. If we ever colonize among the stars, people have no trouble believing that the colonies will greatly vary in their levels of technological advancements. And lastly, you might write the best space adventure ever and still get ignored by the big decision makers.

FOX network made one of most infamous mistakes in programming when they canceled this show.

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools."
Douglas Adams

And a special announcement since we're talking about space adventure.  Dragon of the Stars by Alex J. Cavanaugh is available starting today. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book and let me assure you that it belongs on your 'keeper' shelf. It has everything a space opera needs. Interstellar conflict, mysterious beings, ambitious men all thrown together in a an adventure story you won't be able to put down. The hero, Aden must find the ship of legends to secure his goals and along the way figure out what is really important. Buy Dragon on Amazon today.

What is your favorite episode of Firefly? What would you expect futuristic colonies to be like if we ever settle on distant planets? The wild west or techno-wonders? What show besides Firefly would you like to see return to TV?

Background Noise

If you speak with twenty writers you'll hear twenty different versions of how, when and where they write.  Some need total quiet and peace, some write in snippets of time, some spend solitary, uninterrupted hours at the keyboard.  Others can write anywhere, minutes or hours at a time and somehow make it work.  Some people love to work in a public coffee house or a quieter setting like a library.  A few fortunate writers can escape to a serene B&B or something similar and have near solitude, protected from the distractions of family and the noisy world.

I grew up on a farm with a full house.  Seven children, a dog and lots of family chores to fill most hours of the day.  Free time could be measured in minutes not hours.  I did my homework in front of the TV because the only hours I had to watch it and were the same few hours I had to spend on my homework.  Even with the distractions of my favorite western shows, the buzz of family conversation and usually my father snoring away, I managed to complete assignments and study for tests.  Perhaps that early training with all the background noise is why I write best when I have a movie or the TV playing nearby.  It has to be a rerun, of course, and usually I select it by theme. 

Currently I have Firefly playing on the desktop computer while I work on my laptop.  I'm not going to go into what my WIP is about but the movie gets me in the correct mood.  Later I might slap in something like Sense and Sensibility though I might have the dialogue memorized already.

So what do you need keep the writing flowing, quiet or noise? Public venues or your office with the door barred and locked? Does what you're working on influence how and where you work?