Month: November 2019

Review: Dune

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Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for…

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream. 

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

People have been telling me for years now that I need to read Dune. I think it started in response to me sharing one of my story ideas, but I honestly don’t remember which one. I ended up buying it during employee appreciation week (yay extra discount). 

I knew next to nothing about this story when I started reading it, other than a lot of people thought I would like it. I was definitely not expecting the sheer amount of made-up words. Not going to lie, I got so lost in the first two pages that I almost gave up. Half of the words looked like keyboard smashes. 

I kept going though. I decided I would give it until the end of the chapter, and if I still wasn’t following, then I would switch to another book.

Three pages later, I was totally hooked. There were still some things I did not quite get as first, and some that I am a little fuzzy on even now. But the world drew me in and the characters won me over.

The story revolves around the Atreides family. Duke Leto, his concubine Jessica, and their son Paul are preparing, in the beginning, to move from their paradise of a planet to the dangerous desert wasteland of Arrakis. There was far more political intrigue and machinations going on in the background than I expected. That is part of what had me so intrigued by the story. I simply could not put it down.

Considering how thick the book is, I tore through it pretty fast. It probably helped that I had to take my grandmother to the doctor’s office for a minor procedure, so I had 4 hours to sit around and read. Made some good progress too. 

The world-building of Arrakis is far deeper and much more intricate than I have seen in most other sci-fi novels. A prime example is how Herbert portrays the importance of water in this world. The people have designed these specialized suits to help with the preservation of water. The wealthy plant and maintain palm trees on their property to show off how much water they have. The natives view it with a reverence that seems befitting of a desert world.

And that is just on the surface. The further I read the deeper and more complex the world became, both on Arrakis and throughout the universe. There are pieces moving both in the empire and on the planet itself. 

There is also a taste of something that exists in a grey area between science and magic. I could not quite wrap my head around all of the details but I was able to understand the gist of it. It was fascinating, though, to see both the reactions of the characters who did understand what was going on versus those who did not. On my next read through I will definitely be paying more attention to the finer details of how these abilities work. 

If you want a good example of blurring the line between magic and science on a basic, human level, I highly recommend reading Dune. It does a fabulous job of this, as well as world-building. It also provides an interesting look at ecological and environmental issues. I am still fascinated by how the society of those native to Arrakis has evolved to help them not only survive, but thrive in what looks like a desert wasteland. It was very well thought out. 

Basically…

The end of the story had me hungry for more. The world is so rich and the characters have so much going on internally, that I just know there is so much more to come. More machinations. More intrigue. More of that grey area between magic and science to delve into and play around in. 

I know there are five books total in the series written by Frank Herbert, as well as a few more written by his brother Brian. I assume these were created in some sort of ghostwriting fashion. I will do more research on this when I get to them. For now, it is on to a new book. 

If you are looking for a thoughtful, immersive science fiction experience, this is the book for you.

Learning How to Learn on the Fly

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When you are creating something, you have to teach yourself how to do a lot of things that you probably never expected to need to know. There is a lot more business behind creative endeavors than one might realize at first. I will definitely dig into this later (both here and on my podcast, An Incomplete Guide to World Domination). For now, though, I am going to share how I learned a very useful skill.

How to learn things quickly.

Step one: know your learning style

Fun fact: different people learn different things in different ways. It’s shocking, I know. There are some people who can pick things up by reading, while others have to have someone explain it. I feel like most people have to actually do the thing themselves to really understand how to do it, but some have to do some research beforehand. A lot of people probably waffle between different styles depending on what it is they are trying to learn.

That is totally okay. The key is, knowing how you learn best and using that to decide how you are going to learn a new thing.

For me, it helps to be able to watch how a thing is done so that I can then go and copy it. I absolutely cannot learn anything technical by reading. I may be able to get the basics, but I need to see it to really get it. 

Step two: make sure you aren’t overcomplicating things

It is really not that hard to make things harder than they need to be. A lot of people think they need to get all of the books and take all of the classes on a subject in order to really understand it. That isn’t always the case, especially when you are trying to pick up a new skill.

Chances are when you are starting out, you don’t need to know how to do everything. It is okay to start with the basics and learn from there. 

Part of this ties in with the whole knowing your learning style. Some people (like me) can pick up new skills on their own time using the resources available to them without investing any sort of money. There is a sort of self-discipline and level of organization required for this. And a lot of stubbornness.

I also know some people who need the structure and organization and the deadlines that come with a classroom environment. It forces them to stay focused while making it harder for them to be distracted. That financial investment makes it harder for them to give up part of the way through. 

If this is you, may I recommend looking into continuing education classes at a community college, or online courses? These can be more affordable while providing the structure you need.

Step three: find your people

There is a good chance, if you are reading this, that you are about to embark on a creative endeavor of some sort.

If so, I cannot stress enough how important it is to FIND A COMMUNITY. There are communities everywhere for whatever kind of thing you are looking to create. The key is finding your people and sticking with them. They will give you the support you need when going through the hard times as well as proving to be an incredibly valuable resource. 

I am currently a part of two different audio fiction podcast communities through Discord. A lot of the people on there have been doing this a lot longer than I have. They also know a lot more about the tools and technicalities of audio editing than I do.

Having those people who I have a connection with that I can ask questions and advice has made a huge difference.  We talk everything from sound design to foley work to resources to production timelines to scriptwriting to current projects to Patreon to how to create an LLC and track business expenses. We also like to goof off and talk about road trips to conventions.

Find your people. They will make your life so much easier and so much better.

Step four: free tutorials are everywhere

For someone who had no idea what they were doing starting out, I have gotten pretty dang good at audio editing. I’m also pretty good when it comes to designing graphics through Canva. Did I study either of these things? No. 

I taught myself. Using YouTube.

Seriously though, YouTube is great for learning how to do things. There are countless tutorials covering everything you could possibly want to know made by professionals. If there is anything you need to learn, you can find it on there. It may take some digging, but it exists.

There are also people who do free webinars where not only can you learn things, but you can also ask questions. You can even watch live streams of people doing things to learn how things are done.

Either way, there are a plethora of free resources out there that you can use to pick up new skills or figure out how to do something before you go investing money in a class.

Step five: libraries, meetups, and more

This one kind of depends on your area, but it is still worth looking into.

Libraries are not only home to plenty of books that you can check out and use to teach yourself things, but they also often host regular events. These events are not just about books, but about learning. They have these events listed on their website or their social media accounts (if they have them). 

My personal favorite is Meetup.com. I have had an account there for a while now. It is the perfect place to find local social groups as well as more professional/educational groups. I highly recommend creating an account of your own. A few of my groups are social but I’m also in some for social media, WordPress, and podcasting. This is a great way to meet in a neutral area with a group of people with similar interests and learn something new. 

Basically, there is a whole host of ways you can learn something new. Just remember to not overcomplicate things. Don’t let your own lack of understanding stand between you and trying a new thing. Take that first step and you will eventually find your way. If you get lost, there are plenty of people you can ask for help. 

The question is, what are you going to learn next?

One Video Every Creator Needs to Watch

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz4YqwH_6D0&t=39s

A friend of mine shared this video on his audio drama Discord server earlier this week. At first, I ignored it because sometimes the people on there can be super snarky. Then I started seeing other people responding to the video. So I watched it. And it was a giant kick in the butt.

We all go through this. We all deal with it. The toolbox fallacy. That constant fear of failure that keeps us from doing what we want to do until we have everything just right. Everything has to be perfect before we show it to anyone. Before we bring it into being.

I suffer from this myself. Constantly. I agonize over blog posts. I overthink my short stories. I rarely showed any of my writing to anyone. 

It was not until recently that I finally found the courage to just do it. Just get started. Move forward. Create my art and live my life one step at a time.  I started one podcast. And then I started another. I’m looking into audio dramas now. I spend most of my time talking to my people about doing things they are passionate about, both on and off my podcast.

I still have my days where I worry that I am not good enough. Where I worry that my plan has failed, that all of my work has been a waste. Where I start to wonder if maybe there is something else I should be doing.

On days like that, I rely on my network. My tribe. The group of people I have surrounded myself with, who support me in my creative endeavors. They are creators like me. Dreamers like me. Without them, I might not have the strength to keep going. Having that creative community keeps me going when things get tough. 

A lot of the time, the only thing between where you are now and where you want to be is your own self-doubt. We are our own worst enemies. We need to learn to set aside these silly rules we have made for ourselves about how things are supposed to be. 

Sometimes you just need to start creating and figure everything else out as you go. Trust me when I say, you never know what you will find along the way.

But, you don’t get anywhere unless you start. So just start.