Last Night's Dream #1 Kill Zombies With Sticks

I’ve decided that since I have some really weird dreams, I should blog about it. So here’s last night’s dream.

I’m in a colony of army members that live to fight zombies. We would wait them out and whack them when they break into our base, which looks like an open area of a street in the city.

I say whack them because we literally use short sticks to kill them. Magically, we managed to wipe all the zombies out that broke into our base during the dream.

Then, I was in this crowded bunker that looked like a shop mixed café and I’m manoeuvring through the crammed space, while calling a friend by her name.

She said, “Don’t call me Ai Yu.” (Aiyu jelly… just saying)

Apparently, only one person can call her that. Funny fact, that’s not her real name. It then dawned on me and I stated her real name (which I would not say here, because she’s a really old friend and she might wonder why I’m dreaming about her all of a sudden) and she said nothing.

There was also this hot bod guy who had some rank in our army colony. He is in some form of relationship with me but I’m not sure what.

After those few things were established, the dream ended. I woke up and dragged myself out of bed wishing I could sleep longer.

The end.

Letting Loose

I was looking back at some old writing material emailed to me by a friend for a TV series script we previously worked on, and I noticed that in his emails he writes like a 15 year old.

That being said, I have nothing against it. His stories are very well written and I have learned a thing or two from some of his stuff, but the flip side of the coin is his email writing. Non-existing words such as ‘da’ (the), ‘bcuz’ (because), ‘rem’ (remember… I think), etc, are constantly used. It was basically teenage texting language in an email.

When I was 15, I was definitely guilty of such words. But when I started taking script writing seriously, I was told to respect words. So… I began writing in full, even in text messages. If I want to save space, I don’t write short forms, I kill the spaces between full stops. That is me… then and now.

But honestly, I have nothing against writers letting loose. I do it sometimes in the form of Manglish. That’s Malaysian English in which a mix of Chinese, Malay, and English words form a sentence. I don’t do it all the time of course, but I do it with ‘certain’ friends.

Now, you’re probably wondering, ‘How does Manglish sound like?’ Here are some examples of sentences I’ve actually used:

‘Reclick ah? So easy hor, like computer.’

‘Since when oh.. your memory rusty liao.’

‘Yea. The old one no more.’

‘Got bf still got time for friends ok.. where got layan bf only one.’

‘Now you say.. next time leh?’

I should stop before your head hurts. If I find a book written entirely in Manglish, I would… throw it away. It is not a language to be extremely proud of, but it is something I’ve grown up with. I don’t love it, but I embrace it.

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with taking a break and forgetting about grammar or spelling. After all, it’s always fun to let loose. But remember… do it in moderation. 

Falling In Love Again

I was rereading my second novel and spotting for mistakes when I began to fall in love with my characters again.

It has been 7 months since I completed my novel, and it felt as though I was seeing an old friend after a very long time. Memories of their personalities and how I created them just made the ‘love’ grow stronger.

Even though I know how the story goes, reading along was like entering a new magical world, or at least one that I have not been to for a long time. Simply put, it’s like rereading Harry Potter.

I’m not saying it is as good as Harry Potter, I’m saying that a writer’s connection with their characters is like a mother and her child. The fact that I know them so well, while following their story, is like seeing a child grow up. Oh, how I miss them already!

Now that my first run through is done, I find myself itching to release my second novel. I just can’t for my readers to read it! I want them to connect with my characters the way I do, and explore this world I’ve manage to create.

I know that the subsequent edits would not be as enjoyable as my last one, as I would soon find the repetition rather boring, but at least I know my characters are living and breathing… inside of me.

My hope is for my readers to get to know them sometime next year. By then, they should be ready to enter our reality to entertain and inspire.

Rose Red: My Theory Of Its Beginnings

Stephen King has a way of creeping people out without the typical horror scare. Its always strange and bizarre when it comes to him, and I'm amazed at how he does it. I wonder what goes on in his head... wait, no, I don't want to know.

So speaking of Stephen King and creepiness, I thought I should just blog about Rose Red.

The first time I watched Rose Red, I was 14... I think. My dad was about to give away some of his VCDs when I found it. So, being that I was a fan of R.L Stine back then, I decided to watch it.

Indeed.. it creeped me out, yet it fascinated me at the same time. I wanted answers... I wanted to know how and why. I read Ellen Rimbauer's diaries online and it still didn't say much. But recently, I stumbled upon The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer on Youtube, and I decided to watch it. (Someone uploaded it in 6 parts.)

It was good entertainment, and it gave me a theory. If you have watched both Rose Red and The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, then this should make some sense. If you have not, then watch these creepy shows.

My theory for the earlier disappearances is that Ellen has a split personality. Notice how only the women her husband sleeps with disappears and not her husband? She isn't strong enough to 'make him disappear'. 

When Ellen claims the house is doing the job, she is the one behind it. She doesn't know of course, but Ellen IS Rose Red. When the seance lady said the house could read her mind, it was no surprise. Hello? Split personality?

Also, Ellen probably killed or hid her daughter. Being that her son was sent away, she had no one else to love. She HAD to do something to keep her daughter with her. Ellen's obsession to continue building her house is probably her way of distracting herself from what's really happening. 

Later on, Ellen kills her husband and both she and her friend/maid disappears. Ellen might have killed her friend and lived with her daughter wherever she was till she died... or you can just make up your own ending.

The point is, I don't believe the house had anything to do with it. The Shining was somewhat similar, but the dad was nuts, remember? 

You're probably going, "Then what about the time when the group of people entered the house and stuff happened?"

Well, THAT is paranormal already. How many people have died in that house by then? The house was just a house when it started off, but after all the deaths... who knows what has become of it.

Mind you, I don't believe in ghosts, but this is a horror story so I have to get with the program. 

Anyways, do you have a theory? What is it? I want to know :)