Your Chance for Immortality

[MenteReligieuse]

Yeah the Rambo type characters really got out of date. She has to be flawed in some way. Love sifufei's post, the environment defines the characters.

[Nick_UKWC]

Streetfighter 2 The Animated Movie has lots of little bits like that, you could watch it for inspiration.

 

And yes, I'm serious.

 

And yes, it's actually quite good lol

 

although not from a serious MA point of view

[Writer]

First of all, this story moves alojng pretty fast, so there isn't time to go back and review at length this person's past. Sometimes doing something like that can detract from the effect. Sometimes a little mystery about someone's past is good. What did you know about Decker's background in Blade Runner? He had some old photographs. (I'm still convinced he was actually a cyborg). Anyhow, I'm not trying to bring a MA style to life here. The actions she takes are more predicated by the situations she's in and what will tickle the reader's (or George Lucas') fancy. I just want to mention that she had training in the deadliest, most kick-* MA known to man.

 

In fiction, if you work hard enough, you can make anything believable. A person doesn't have to have to be brought up in a hovel to get into underground fighting. She could be a rich person who rebelled against her family's values.

 

FYI, the future will be much like it is today. Winners and losers in the game of life. Plenty of each, all trying to make ends meet. There are new technologies which effect our everyday lives. Good guys, bad guys and interesting situations. Things happen, people get thrown together and fall in love and/or die.

[Writer]

By the way, regarding her imperfections: she has demons of sorts. She's alone. She delivers final justice without trials, and it bothers her. And she's starting to fall for, of all people, a corporate computer geek (who is actually pretty cool). Just how good she is is revealed as the story goes along. I don't think anyone will be bored.

[SevenStar]

First of all, this story moves alojng pretty fast, so there isn't time to go back and review at length this person's past.

 

It's a book - I have all the time I need. If alot of people are as picky as me, they will do the same. I really contemplate alot about the things I'm reading - I like authors who tend to have an idea of what they are talking about. I do that with movies as well. For example the movie "hackers" - good concept, but they knew NOTHING about hacking. as someone who really gets into hacking culture, I hated that about the movie. On the other hand, I absolutely LOVED "wargames".

 

 

Sometimes doing something like that can detract from the effect. Sometimes a little mystery about someone's past is good.

 

I agree mystery is good. But completely unverifiable can be completely unbelievable, unless more is revealed as time goes on, a la "the bourne identity", "point of no return", etc.

[Drunken Monkey]

you don't need to include the character's entire backstory into the actual book

 

BUT

 

it has to be there.

 

you have to know it or else you're gonna be making things up as you go along and before you know it,

 

you've just written another incoherent mess.

 

"she has demons of sorts. She's alone. She delivers final justice without trials, and it bothers her. And she's starting to fall for, of all people, a corporate computer geek (who is actually pretty cool). Just how good she is is revealed as the story goes along"

 

these are things you have to address.

 

why is she alone?

 

why does she 'deliver final justice'?

 

how do they meet?

 

what is the computer geek like?

 

what is it about him that she likes?

 

what kind of attraction is it?

 

what do you mean by good?

 

it's starting to sound like she is the kind of invincible judge type charcter "little fly fly" was talking about and those things you wrote were just nifty sound-bites.....

 

incidentally, i have a little story/film script i'm kinda writing for my own amusement.

 

in my story we have a boring spy-guy.

 

not the hollywood, one man army guy but a more realistic button tapping, paperwork, spends more time at a desk but does at times participate on field missions (surveilance, bodyguard, covert information gathering).

 

he's quite comfortable in his job and he's quite good at it and more importantly, he really likes it.

 

he doesn't have many friends because of an overprotective upbringing.

 

as a result, he doesn't/hasn't kept contact with his old school/uni friends.

 

at his job, he doesn't really socialise with his colleagues either and because of his type of job, he doesn't/can't talk to many people outside of the job either.

 

his life is routine.

 

get up, shower, breakfast, get on the tube, get to work, sign in, work, go home/dinner, sleep.

 

the basic premise of the story is that he bumps into someone from his old life, as it were, a girl taht he used to be really good friends with but as things progressed, they lost contact.

 

this girl is also someone he had feelings for.

 

as they get to know each other again, he finds himself falling back into that deep pit and it eventually leads to interfering with his work.

 

it's the usual old life/new life meet and fall apart.

 

he has to choose between something he has grown to love (his work) and someone he has never stopped loving (the girl).

 

the old 'honest spy?' story is in there somewhere.

 

boring?

 

maybe but i didn't want to do another generic action hero story....

[kchenault]

Go read a novel by James Byron Huggins. I suggest either CAIN or HUNTER. Both fast paced, combat oriented, slugfest, shootemup, guy novels! They are some of my favorites for just escaping reality and "reading" an action movie, because that is what his books are like. THE RECKONING is another good one, more along the lines you are going for I'd wager.

[Rathe]

This is referring to earlier post in this thread... Everyone bashes Ninjitsu and then its the first art that everyone thinks he should use. (referring to a Ninjitsu post on the Getting Started section)

 

Hey Writer, any questions about Ninjitsu PM me or email me at sensei@swordtraining.com. Or heck ask here so I can educate the misinformed masses.

[Writer]

Okay, so you don't think ninjitsu is so hot, or at least not the hottest. So what about Jet Li? What are his MA roots?

 

Speaking of going into a lot of detail about training, did they do that in Kiss of the Dragon? No. It just isn't necessary to attract a large audience. And that was a kick * movie! Anyone who doesn't think so probably didn't see it on the big screen.

[Drunken Monkey]

no.

 

kiss of the dragon is a very bad martial arts film.

 

the reason it was so bad was that jet li was basically playing the typical invincible hero... again..... yawn.....

 

i mean, take all of the jet li characters from the hollywood films, put them in a bag and jumble them up.

 

you can now replace the charcters randomly and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

 

fact is, that film was aimed at a very specific audience; specifically, the 'jet li fan club'.

 

that group typically wants to see jet li fly about kicking bad guy behind.

 

none of his Hollywood films have been anything that i would call good but they have their audience and that audience isn't too demanding.

 

one of the best martial arts films out there is wheels on meals.

 

one of the best bits, the opening training sequence comes back to haunt jackie chan later on in the film when he squares off against benny urquidez.....

 

details kid.

 

it's all in the details.

 

or how about rumble in the bronx?

 

not a brilliant film but the little bit with jackie working on the dummy instantly says: 'i know kung fu and it might be wing chun',

 

no need for any actual 'story telling' but it gets the info across.

 

i personally think the whole 'going through her file and reading that shes xxx grade in xxx style' is cheesey and just plain lazy/bad writing.