This is where the world ends . . and mine begins . . .

I am a lover of Sc-Fi and Fantasy. To me, so much can be done with them. Unfortunately, over the years there seems to be an unspoken and unwritten set of rules for both genres. I aim to fix that.

The two genres seem to have lost all originality. People stay within certain limits and reuse older ideas and notions far too many times. I even feel, sometimes, like I cannot do certain things with my stories. Then I remember: This is fiction . . and it is my story.

As an example: With science fiction people seem to reuse the same rules and ideas, as previously stated. Such as with many Sci-Fi television shows and books, the main race will gain certain technologies, or even owe every advancement, to an ancient, extinct, race. I've remedied that with two of my stories Emperia and Terran Blood. Another irksome fact is that many weapons are overused. I find that one of the advantages of science fiction is that you can create any kind of technology that you can think of. At least that's my opinion. I could go on longer, but i'll just move on.

Now to fantasy. I love fantasy. But I've actually found that it's easier to create with Sci-Fi than with fantasy. Fantasy has the most unofficial regulations out of many genres. So much has been done with it that there's almost nothing left to be original with. Still, many authors find a way. I especially love when Sci-Fi and fantasy are combined into one genre. It combines the epic feel of fantasy with the open expanses of Sci-Fi. My greatest, favorite, idea is a combination. I will not say what it is called.

I think politics can add a very good twist to any story. Especially Sci-Fi. Political turmoil can go hand-in-hand with Sci-Fi. A political conflict is a backbone in Emperia and plays a small role in Terran Blood. Political conflicts can shape the fate of governments in an intergalactic war. Most of the time it signifies the end of an alien regime. Other times it is the rebirth of an empire.

One of my bigger concerns is that of antagonists. Nowadays, many villains seemed to fall short of what they could be. Many are cliche and unoriginal. In my opinion villains need to be as enigmatic as possible. You should never truly know all of the enemy's motives and intentions until very near the end of the story. Many of my own villains enjoy building up the protagonist, make them think they've won. Then they crush them. I like it when the enemy has alterior motives from the ones originally thought. A villain similar to this is Saint Dane from D. J. MacHale's Pendragon.

Horror, the genre that had been done to death. Most, but not all, horror novels and movies are stuffed full of cliches and other things that make them predictable and make them lose their ability to scare you. The few horror novels that are truly original are actually frightening. As such, I highly recommend The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray by Chris Wooding, and Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. While these are not the greatest horror novels ever written, they are very good. True horror would come from authors like Stephen King.

Some of my favorite authors include D. J. MacHale, Nick Sagan, Richard K. Morgan, Orson Scott Card, Ted Dekker, Rick Riordan, Eoin Colfer, Michael Scott, Anthony Horowitz, J.B.B. Winner, Kenneth Oppel, Conor Kostick, Joseph Delaney, and Pat Frank. My favorite author is Garth Nix.

I am an aspiring writer. The series that I mentioned earlier, but would not name, is the one I am currently working on. That and a horror novel called Sandman. The other mentioned ideas are just that, ideas. They have plots, characters and all that, maybe even a few test chapters written, but they are not currently works in progress. I may post those test chapters, maybe even stories relating to my main idea. I may even post the first chapter of Sandman. I am mainly writing on this site for honest criticism. Heck, I may even post some of my poetry. I have what could be called an ADHD imagination. My brain is always on autopilot. I may come up with two to three new ideas a week. Some I toss, others I consider. I have a blog on Xanga, under the name rushed_luck. I have neglected it for quite some time, but small tidbits of random, not so good, writing have been posted there. Much of what I post here will be one chapter, oneshot, deals.

Characters I Have Created

River Marilyn - Unnamed Story

Eric Vaughan - Emperia

Cpt. Brannon Savage - Terran Blood

Cadence Delaney - Sandman

Arradell Falchion - Unnamed Story

Thank-you for reading what I have posted. I really do appreciate it.