Here are two sample Gothic fiction stories I wrote as a contributor for WikiHow. They page they're on is "How to Write Gothic Fiction."
"Death On The Rocks"
http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Short-Gothic-Story
"Cold As Ice"
http://www.wikihow.com/Sample/Modern-Gothic-Excerpt
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Most Badass Fictional Characters
Warning: This post contains minor spoilers. Most of what follows is general character profile, but there may be plot points included, especially in the video games section. This post is intended to be a recommendation for readers, not to ruin the stories mentioned. No endings are revealed.
Television
Walter White - Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston is currently the greatest actor on television. For the first three years of Breaking Bad he won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. His high school teacher turned major meth dealer is possibly the most devious scheming character ever on screen. The viewer can't help but remained glued to the screen as Walter quickly spirals downward, overtaken by greed and power.
Spike Spiegel - From Cowboy BeBop, the single best animated series ever created, Spike is a bounty hunter in the future who travels the solar system to earn enough bounty to get by. He is a master at a very zen form of martial arts which requires minimal effort on his part while using his enemys' excess force against them. He's also a skilled spaceship pilot and marksman with his pistols. Spike is obsessed with the figures of his past, but puts on a cool, often sarcastic demeanor around his crew.
Dr. Walter Bishop - The mad scientist from J.J. Abrams' Fringe, Walter Bishop means well but must always overcome feelings of guilt at his past actions and his own mental deterioration. He is a man who carries the weight of having kidnapped a version of his son from an alternate universe after his own son dies of disease, an act which sets in motion a chain of events that begins to rip the other universe apart. Walter may be losing his mind, but he is still a genius in all fields of fringe science, from telepathy to scientific necromancy.
Literature
Achilles - "Sing, O Goddess, the ruinous wrath of Achilles, / Son of Peleus, the terrible curse that brought / Unnumbered woes upon the Achaeans and hurled / To Hades so many heroic souls, leaving / Their bodies the prey of dogs and carrion birds." How much more badass could an opening be? The Iliad is easily the best war story ever told, and fleet-footed Achilles is its main character. Fated to choose between a path of long life, happiness, and obscurity, or a short, but heroic life which would assure him eternal glory. The vain, arrogant Myrmidon would be an awful character if he wasn't literature's greatest warrior, but he is, so he earns the respect of his peers and fear of his enemies, and his story is still told toady.
Logen Ninefingers - From Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, Logen Ninefingers, or The Bloody Nine, is the most feared warrior in the North. He is possessed of a berserker rage which makes him dangerous to even his allies in battle. In such rages he often cannot get enough killing and will rip through anything in sight until he is satisfied. Logen also has a very unique world-view for such an infamous killer, and often says things like "You have to be realistic about these things."
Roland Deschain - Stephen King's Dark Tower series has a cult-like following, and its central figure, Roland the Gunslinger, is a man obsessed with his quest of reaching the Dark Tower. Traveling through multiple universes and through nightmare worlds, Roland never hesitates to do whatever's necessary to reach his goal.
BONUS!
Gerald Tarrant - From the little-known Coldfire Tilogy by C.S. Friedman, the Neocount of Merentha was once a leader and gifted sorcerer in the Church but turned to darker masters in exchange for immortality to pursue his studies and remake the world in his image. Tarrant is possessed by a vampire-like curse which prevents him from interacting with light and heat. Instead, he draws his power from the forces of death, darkness, and cold, powers which he is beyond proficient in crafting.
Graphic Novels
Michonne - The world of fiction in all its forms is full of ditsy, vain leading ladies. It abounds with annoying Skylar Whites and Faye Valentines, arrogant Egwene al'Vers, and emotionally unstable Elayne Trakands. Even the rare female leads who do not fall into one of these character pitfalls can often be outshone by their male counterparts, as Olivia Dunham is by Walter Bishop. Michonne does not fit into any of these categories. Instead, she is arguably the most badass character in The Walking Dead.
When she first appears in the graphic novels, Michonne wields her classic katana, and drags along the chained, mutilated zombies of her boyfriend and his friend. From there she only gets more badass. Skilled with her sword and subtlety, Michonne is rarely afraid of zombies or other humans, and often gets the jump on her opponents before they can react.
John Constantine - The witty, asshole magician created by graphic novel mastermind Alan Moore appears throughout the DC universe, but first appeared in Swamp Thing and currently stars in Justice League Dark and his new series Constantine. Constantine is not liked by anyone else in the DC universe, but his allies often put up with him for limited periods of time. He is self-motivated, and often requires "something for his troubles" before he'll act on anyone else's behalf, even if the world is in danger.
Rorschach - Masked vigilante from Alan Moore's Watchmen, Rorschach has his own methods of cleaning the scum out of the streets, and they're not pretty. He often kills or brutalizes the criminals he pursues, and continues doing so even after vigilantism has been officially outlawed. At one point characters in Watchmen tell a joke about a "villain" who used to beg them to punish him. One character asks whatever happened to that guy and is told that he tried the same thing on Rorschach and was thrown down an elevator shaft.
Video Games
Kratos - Warrior of Sparta, God of War's Kratos was granted inhuman fighting powers by Ares, the God of War, but these powers came at a terrible price. Kratos was turned into an unstoppable killing machine with his blades chained to his arms and burned into flesh. Now he seeks revenge on Ares, but he must find the power to kill a God.
Dante - Devil May Cry's lead character, Dante is a nephilim who wields demonic powers. He uses multiple weapons including swords, guns, gauntlets, nun-chucks scythes, and hammers, but his trademark weapons are Rebellion the sword and Ebony & Ivory, his pistols. Dante doesn't believe in not being flashy, so even simple actions like putting on his jacket become showmanship
Vincent Valentine - A hidden character in Final Fantasy VII and the star of Dirge of Cerberus, Vincent is a former Turk (an elite division of Shinra) who was experimented on by the mad scientist Hojo. Now a demon lives within him which he struggles to control. In FF7 Vincent wields a triple-barreled shotgun and can transform into a number of demons, including a Jason-like monster with a hockey mask and chainsaw. In DoC the shotgun is customizable but the demon Vincent transforms into is always Vincent's Chaos Form, which is his final demon form in FF7.
Television
Walter White - Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston is currently the greatest actor on television. For the first three years of Breaking Bad he won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. His high school teacher turned major meth dealer is possibly the most devious scheming character ever on screen. The viewer can't help but remained glued to the screen as Walter quickly spirals downward, overtaken by greed and power.
Spike Spiegel - From Cowboy BeBop, the single best animated series ever created, Spike is a bounty hunter in the future who travels the solar system to earn enough bounty to get by. He is a master at a very zen form of martial arts which requires minimal effort on his part while using his enemys' excess force against them. He's also a skilled spaceship pilot and marksman with his pistols. Spike is obsessed with the figures of his past, but puts on a cool, often sarcastic demeanor around his crew.
Dr. Walter Bishop - The mad scientist from J.J. Abrams' Fringe, Walter Bishop means well but must always overcome feelings of guilt at his past actions and his own mental deterioration. He is a man who carries the weight of having kidnapped a version of his son from an alternate universe after his own son dies of disease, an act which sets in motion a chain of events that begins to rip the other universe apart. Walter may be losing his mind, but he is still a genius in all fields of fringe science, from telepathy to scientific necromancy.
Literature
Achilles - "Sing, O Goddess, the ruinous wrath of Achilles, / Son of Peleus, the terrible curse that brought / Unnumbered woes upon the Achaeans and hurled / To Hades so many heroic souls, leaving / Their bodies the prey of dogs and carrion birds." How much more badass could an opening be? The Iliad is easily the best war story ever told, and fleet-footed Achilles is its main character. Fated to choose between a path of long life, happiness, and obscurity, or a short, but heroic life which would assure him eternal glory. The vain, arrogant Myrmidon would be an awful character if he wasn't literature's greatest warrior, but he is, so he earns the respect of his peers and fear of his enemies, and his story is still told toady.
Logen Ninefingers - From Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy, Logen Ninefingers, or The Bloody Nine, is the most feared warrior in the North. He is possessed of a berserker rage which makes him dangerous to even his allies in battle. In such rages he often cannot get enough killing and will rip through anything in sight until he is satisfied. Logen also has a very unique world-view for such an infamous killer, and often says things like "You have to be realistic about these things."
BONUS!
Gerald Tarrant - From the little-known Coldfire Tilogy by C.S. Friedman, the Neocount of Merentha was once a leader and gifted sorcerer in the Church but turned to darker masters in exchange for immortality to pursue his studies and remake the world in his image. Tarrant is possessed by a vampire-like curse which prevents him from interacting with light and heat. Instead, he draws his power from the forces of death, darkness, and cold, powers which he is beyond proficient in crafting.
Graphic Novels
Michonne - The world of fiction in all its forms is full of ditsy, vain leading ladies. It abounds with annoying Skylar Whites and Faye Valentines, arrogant Egwene al'Vers, and emotionally unstable Elayne Trakands. Even the rare female leads who do not fall into one of these character pitfalls can often be outshone by their male counterparts, as Olivia Dunham is by Walter Bishop. Michonne does not fit into any of these categories. Instead, she is arguably the most badass character in The Walking Dead.
When she first appears in the graphic novels, Michonne wields her classic katana, and drags along the chained, mutilated zombies of her boyfriend and his friend. From there she only gets more badass. Skilled with her sword and subtlety, Michonne is rarely afraid of zombies or other humans, and often gets the jump on her opponents before they can react.
John Constantine - The witty, asshole magician created by graphic novel mastermind Alan Moore appears throughout the DC universe, but first appeared in Swamp Thing and currently stars in Justice League Dark and his new series Constantine. Constantine is not liked by anyone else in the DC universe, but his allies often put up with him for limited periods of time. He is self-motivated, and often requires "something for his troubles" before he'll act on anyone else's behalf, even if the world is in danger.
Rorschach - Masked vigilante from Alan Moore's Watchmen, Rorschach has his own methods of cleaning the scum out of the streets, and they're not pretty. He often kills or brutalizes the criminals he pursues, and continues doing so even after vigilantism has been officially outlawed. At one point characters in Watchmen tell a joke about a "villain" who used to beg them to punish him. One character asks whatever happened to that guy and is told that he tried the same thing on Rorschach and was thrown down an elevator shaft.
Video Games
Kratos - Warrior of Sparta, God of War's Kratos was granted inhuman fighting powers by Ares, the God of War, but these powers came at a terrible price. Kratos was turned into an unstoppable killing machine with his blades chained to his arms and burned into flesh. Now he seeks revenge on Ares, but he must find the power to kill a God.
Dante - Devil May Cry's lead character, Dante is a nephilim who wields demonic powers. He uses multiple weapons including swords, guns, gauntlets, nun-chucks scythes, and hammers, but his trademark weapons are Rebellion the sword and Ebony & Ivory, his pistols. Dante doesn't believe in not being flashy, so even simple actions like putting on his jacket become showmanship
Vincent Valentine - A hidden character in Final Fantasy VII and the star of Dirge of Cerberus, Vincent is a former Turk (an elite division of Shinra) who was experimented on by the mad scientist Hojo. Now a demon lives within him which he struggles to control. In FF7 Vincent wields a triple-barreled shotgun and can transform into a number of demons, including a Jason-like monster with a hockey mask and chainsaw. In DoC the shotgun is customizable but the demon Vincent transforms into is always Vincent's Chaos Form, which is his final demon form in FF7.
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