Another Hamilton post

I like the musical 1776, but it's not as exciting as it needs to be. They tried, but Broadway has always had to pull punches because it panders to the out of town crowd, which it assumes won't like certain jokes. Hamilton began off-Broadway and is a little unfettered in that regard, though it's no Avenue Q (just because it's got puppets don't mean you wanna take your kids! My favorite character is an evil landlady named Ms. Thistletwat.)

Hamilton is not boring. And tickets have opened in other cities, so you don't have to worry about ridiculous ticket prices. I saw it a week ago and I'm posting about it to annoy Dave White (whose latest Jackson Donne novel, Blind to Sin, is available for pre-order). I didn't pay above face value for tickets. If you follow them on Facebook, they announce when tickets are released, and if you're fast you can get them. Or you can wait at the door and get Standing Room Only tickets. Two people were standing right behind our last row orchestra seats, and I think they paid thirty bucks. 

I love historical fiction, or fiction inspired by historical discoveries. My latest story, which will appear in an as-yet unnamed anthology next year, was inspired by the Herxheim archaeological dig and the kurgan burial mounds (which also gave its name to my favorite villain, the Kurgan in Highlander). At Herxheim, the skulls have all been cracked open. Probably for the brains inside. It made me think for a long time, about the unpleasant realities of stone age life, and a story came from it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda has written extensively about how he wrote Hamilton, and Dave wrote about how well the story's put together. To me, Miranda's genius was in finding what was so interesting about the character. He's the most famous Founder on our currency who didn't die of old age. The duel that ended his life is well known (perhaps thanks to a milk commercial) but most of us have no idea what it was fought over, or that his son also died in a duel. I read a little about Hamilton's life when I read the excellent history of the Revolutionary War, Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer. It's not in the musical; his ability as a tactician is mentioned, but Ham led a brigade of cannon, and had a knack for creeping up on hills to catch the redcoats in cannonade, hitting their flank as they marched in row formation. And he was nineteen years old, like another war hero, Audie Murphy. 

Statue in front of his Harlem digs

Hamilton was imperfect but principled, an abolitionist like John Jay, Samuel Adams, and (later in life) Ben Franklin, but they could not get the slave states to join the union without leaving emancipation a question to be answered after the war. He had a hot temper and a sharp tongue and led a very interesting life, which you can learn in Chernow's biography, which Miranda used as a source. But it's what he chose as important that makes the story so compelling. We don't linger on his bank work, little of his politics, except for a few rap battles with Jefferson and Madison over state debt. Miranda saw him as a man who "wrote like he was running out of time," and found the human element to every milestone in his life. His orphanhood driving him to succeed and making him buck authority, his weaknesses and principles both making him easily manipulated by his enemies. 

If you can't see the show I'd recommend listening to the soundtrack, or even the new "mixtape" (which has a few cut songs which slowed down the story, even if they were important, like how he kept fighting to abolish slavery). Even if you don't like hip-hop or Broadway tunes, the songs are catchy and Miranda knows how to pen a great turn of phrase. So many of the songs have returned to me as earworms over the past week. Like 1776 did, he brings the Revolution to life, but with more passion, and a true love for its characters. I hope it inspires a lot of historical fiction set in the era.

What dueling gets you.

Maybe Your Baby Done Made Some Other Plans

Scott's Note: Angel Colon guest blogs this week.  Not that he needs any introduction, but Angel has written that most entertaining of novellas, The Fury of Blackie Jaguar, and now he has new novella out, No Happy Endings.  It's a heist novel about the robbery of a New York City sperm bank.  I figure robbing a sperm bank for supposedly choice semen would be a tough enough job, but it turns out the job gets even more complicated when a huge hurricane, super storm Sandy, hits the city.  

Intrigued? Laughing a little? I am.

Here's Angel.


Guest Post by Angel Colon

I quote a Stevie Wonder song for a handful of reasons, primarily and for the purposes of this little think piece because of that horrific, helpless, empty feeling that is letting go of a work in progress as it becomes a final draft and moves on to being its ultimate form: THE PRODUCT.

Don’t get it twisted, for all the merits of art, its final form is ultimately a product. Whether its bought, witnessed, participated in—the ultimate goal of art is to be distributed and consumed. In a bizarre way, those who create are scions of anti-capitalistic sentiment that births the very bricks capitalism used as a foundation.

Horribly pretentious, no?

But that’s a deep bar discussion for another time. For this bit of time I’m stealing from you, let’s talk about what it feels like to be a hair’s width away from your product being consumed, judged, and ultimately “digested”.

I’ve been through this mess a few dozen times by now (short stories, articles, and long form releases) in only three short years. The feeling of immense dread, that expectation someone will turn on me hard enough to give us all whiplash and scream, “FRAUD” is a constant. It’s never enough that gatekeepers and people you respect within the craft have given you the green light, nope, now the reader is coming to the party. This is the person willing to part with money to put eyes on something you’ve worked hard on and they honestly give no fucks about how the sausage was made; only that it’s tasty, tasty sausage.

And that’s a tough one. Some folks dig breakfast sausage and others like hot links. There’s no way to please everyone and you know this but it doesn’t matter. The idea that anyone is going to openly hate or, worse, PRIVATELY HATE something you worked so very hard on is mortifying.

Now I’m craving beer brats…ANYWAY.

So how do we handle that? How do we move past our own egos, because let’s be honest, this fear is utterly soaked in the flop sweat of our ego, and allow the product to stand on its own wobbly legs while we close the door on it forever?

Well, I think for one you don’t do that. I think you need to watch your darling be accepted or torn to shred by the dogs. You need to accept that once things are out of your control there’s an opportunity to learn at hand. I’m not talking about assessing where flaws were in writing/promo/overall sales; we can all suss that out well enough. I’m talking more about building thicker skin—allowing the scars to build up and be able to tackle all feedback and lessons with as little emotion possible. Too often we allow our emotions to bleed out more after producing than we do during production. It’s a flawed approach. Scream, cry, and laugh while you create. Become stone when you present. Still take the bits and pieces that improve your craft but don’t anchor, be ready to move on to create the next big project.

That’s the only way to keep the screaming and crying from starting. And hell, maybe all that pent up anxiety and frustration helps your next work become something better. That’s the goal: to always grow and further perfect your craft. Never become complacent, never become satisfied.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to hide someplace and ignore I have a new novella out. You should go buy it and judge me while I pretend not to care.

You can buy No Happy Endings by clicking HERE.

Angel Luis Colón is the author of NO HAPPY ENDINGS, THE FURY OF BLACKY JAGUAR, and the upcoming short story anthology; MEAT CITY ON FIRE (AND OTHER ASSORTED DEBACLES). He’s an editor for Shotgun Honey, has been nominated for the Derringer Award, and has published stories in multiple web and print pubs. Find out more at angelluiscolon.com or on Twitter by following @GoshDarnMyLife.

The Overlooked Gift

During this season of festive cheer, it's easy to think about the gifts that are bought and exchanged on a fixed date, and come in a pretty bag or shiny paper.

For the creative writers, thoughtful storytellers, and those who appreciate a story of substance with less action, that probes the depths of a broken soul, there's been a gift out there for the last four years, and it's coming to an end in ten days.
I speak of arguably the most overlooked show on television. Rectify. We have been sharing Daniel's journey since the beginning, and I have no idea if it will end with some glimmer of hope, or with gut-wrenching heartache, but I do know this: I will have tissues handy.

Rectify is the story of a man who, at the age of 18, was sentenced to be put to death for a rape/murder. It begins with his release from prison after DNA evidence calls his conviction into question. As we move forward with Daniel's journey to adjust to a world where people use smart phones instead of Walkmans, to adjust to being out of isolation, to grapple with having choices and the ability to walk outside or sleep in or decide what he wants to eat for breakfast, we share his recollections about his experiences in prison.
We see how he was broken inside, and we watch as he's broken on the outside.

I don't know how else to describe this show, other than to say that it's one of the most haunting, sad and beautiful shows I've ever watched. I know I felt Tatiana Maslany was overlooked for far too long before getting her Emmy, but it is an absolute tragedy that Rectify has not received those accolades.

Remember the preacher from Deadwood? This show was created by that actor, and Ray McKinnon has demonstrated his storytelling genius with a show that is arguably one of the greatest series ever to date that should be on every top 10 list out there.
 "What was real to you, Daniel?" "The time in between the seconds. And my books. And my friend."
 The first three seasons are on Netflix, and you can catch up on season 4 on the SundanceTV website. Time to call in sick and cram to catch up for this Wednesday's penultimate episode.