{"id":480,"date":"2017-11-27T20:10:35","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T01:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=480"},"modified":"2017-11-27T20:10:35","modified_gmt":"2017-11-28T01:10:35","slug":"nailing-the-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/11\/27\/nailing-the-target\/","title":{"rendered":"Nailing the Target"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bobby and I watched (finally) the 2014 movie Lucy<\/em> last weekend. I saw the teaser online and thought, \u201cWhat the heck?\u201d The snippet blew me away so much I texted Bobby at once and said, \u201cWe have to watch this movie.\u201d Ever the obliging husband, he brought it home from the library the next day and we watched it that night.<\/p>\n

Wow. Just \u2026 wow.<\/p>\n

The plot is based on what would happen if humans could access 100% of their total cerebral capacity. I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s a fresh idea, but the film astonished me regardless. I\u2019ve liked other movies by this writer\/director (Luc Besson), so that was no surprise. But for me, a movie or book or short story that provokes new avenues of thought is always worth a look. The story was great all by itself\u2014action-packed, dramatic, tense, lots of cool special effects\u2014but it was the profound concept behind the story that really knocked me out.<\/p>\n

What if we could<\/em> access our entire cerebral capacity? What would that do to us? How would it change us?<\/p>\n

Now before you go talking about real science and whether or not Lucy<\/em> followed all the rules in the book, let me just say that Pinocchio didn\u2019t follow the rules of logic and realism either, but it is a classic story, one that\u2019s been entertaining readers for generations, as well as teaching valuable lessons. A bazillion other movies and stories fit that same description: classics that entertain and enlighten, even without confining their plots to provable, testable science. It\u2019s fiction. Remember?<\/p>\n

And isn\u2019t it the fiction writer\u2019s job to ask \u201cwhat if\u201d? to confront us with ideas that don\u2019t fit inside that box we keep hearing so much about?<\/p>\n

Before I watched the flick, I read some of the reviews, not all of which were favorable. The Atlantic<\/em> called it \u201cthe dumbest movie ever made about brain capacity.\u201d Rolling Stone<\/em> called it \u201ca buzzkill.\u201d Others were more positive. Screen Rant reviewers called it \u201cthought-provoking science fiction.\u201d The Independent called it \u201ca complex thriller\u201d that would \u201cblow your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The point is that no story (movie, book, whatever) is going to appeal to every single audience. That\u2019s why targets are so important. Lucy<\/em> is not targeted at audiences who just want fast-paced action thrillers. Though that is part of the movie\u2019s appeal, it is more than that. Much more. The action\/thriller crowd found it \u201cdumb\u201d because Besson\u2019s screenplay also includes philosophical monologues and scientific data and clever blips of symbolism, analogy and foreshadowing, scenes, dialogue and concepts that require thought that dives beneath the surface. Besson\u2019s story was written and directed at people who like<\/em> that aspect in fiction.<\/p>\n

Me? I\u2019m still trying to nail down (in my own head) how to write to a specific target. Mostly I find myself writing material I would want to read. Not sure whether that\u2019s the right (write) way to go, but it\u2019s what I know. For now, anyway.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bobby and I watched (finally) the 2014 movie Lucy last weekend. I saw the teaser online and thought, \u201cWhat the heck?\u201d The snippet blew me away so much I texted Bobby at once and said, \u201cWe have to watch this movie.\u201d Ever the obliging husband, he brought it home from the library the next day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-7K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":636,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/13\/story-beginnings\/","url_meta":{"origin":480,"position":0},"title":"Story Beginnings","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"March 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Last January, a friend sent me a link to a short-story contest through the American Philosophical Association. The story had to have a philosophical element, and winning entries would be published in Sci-Phi Online Magazine. I read their content, really liked what I saw, and wrote my first ever short\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":335,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/09\/11\/connecting-with-my-tribe\/","url_meta":{"origin":480,"position":1},"title":"Connecting With My Tribe","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This week is the\u00a09th Annual Hampton Roads Writers Conference, an event I always attend. Between the guest speakers, publishing agents, breakout sessions, contests, critiques, and networking opportunities, it\u2019s worth every penny. While I\u2019ve been attending these for a few years, it\u2019s only been in the past year that I\u2019ve begun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6227,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/20\/mickey-7\/","url_meta":{"origin":480,"position":2},"title":"Mickey 7","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"July 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Edward Ashton \u00a9 202, St. Martin\u2019s Press 305 Pages ISBN 13: 978-1250275042 This is my first Edward Ashton book, so I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect. But the blurb fit the story perfectly and, given that first line in the book (\u201cThis is gonna be my stupidest death ever\u201d)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A man in a thick suit stands front and center, staring at the reader. Behind him, hovers a repeating image in red and grey that is too distorted to make out. Text is somewhat confusing because it makes the book cover seem like it\u2019s for the movie. It reads, \u201cMickey 17, now a major motion picture. Includes exclusive Q&A with Director Bon Joon Ho. Inspired by the novel from Edward Ashton, Mickey 7.\u201d","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Mickey7-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2145,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2020\/11\/08\/lessons-from-a-late-night-e-mail\/","url_meta":{"origin":480,"position":3},"title":"Lessons From a Late-Night E-mail","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"November 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Last year during 2019's NaNoWriMo (https:\/\/nanowrimo.org) I penned an entire medical sci-fi\/ecofiction manuscript\u2014Enthe\u00f3phage\u2014in thirty-seven days. In the months following, and with the help of many wonderful medical experts and beta readers, I honed the manuscript into a complete, focused tale. In mid-August of this year, I decided to submit the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Trash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":486,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/04\/a-picture-vs-a-thousand-words\/","url_meta":{"origin":480,"position":4},"title":"A Picture vs. A Thousand Words","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"December 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This past weekend, Bobby and I visited the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk to see a glass exhibit, and while there we discovered Giovanni Battista Langetti\u2019s \u201cPrometheus,\u201d which had been in the museum\u2019s storage vault for some time awaiting restoration. Now that it\u2019s back to full splendor, the painting hangs alone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":498,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/18\/swimming-with-the-snarks\/","url_meta":{"origin":480,"position":5},"title":"Swimming with the Snarks","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"December 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"A couple of months ago, I joined a FaceBook writers group with thousands of members. I hoped to find helpful input, guidance and handy tips from others in the biz. What I got instead was drama. Every post I saw, no matter how innocuous or innocent the question, drew dozens\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions\/481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}