In the Beginning...

Like most big ideas, the earliest stages of Hammerfist's development are pretty muddy. But if I think back on it reaaaaal hard, I think I can connect a few of the dots.

I had (have) a habit of frequenting obscure thrift stores with friends, not usually with the intent of buying anything, but more just looking for wacky old technology to gawk at, and wonder about the ill-fated fashion statements of forgotten decades.

As early as 2012 I remember telling my friend Nick that a terrible plastic computer monitor would be a good prop piece if we ever decided to make "a Kurt Russell action movie". At the time, I think I pictured one of us wearing a mullet wig and typing furiously at the fake computer as intense music thumped in the background. There wasn't much more substance to the idea than that, but the beginnings of something were obviously struggling to rise up. Fueled by the thrift stores, an image began to form in my mind of what such a movie could look like - an image of flashy costuming, outdated technology, and stylization overplayed to comical effect. This was Part One of the marriage of ideas that created Hammerfist.

 

Things didn't evolve much after that; at least, not until an important catalyst of inspiration would finally light a real fire under my ass.

Notably, things only took a more serious turn after a very important experiment. An experiment that unwittingly proved to me that this vague idea was just as much fun as I hoped it would be, and that with the right tone, it could work.


That experiment's name was High Five.

Filmmaker Jacob Hilger and I collaborated on the idea in late 2013. We had both just wrapped on another project, Outlawed Prospects: The End Is Near, which had proven extremely stressful and a bit over-taxing. With a simple desire to create something fun, relaxed, and easy, we looked for a new idea that we could shoot quickly and turn into something charming.

Now, going back to this - so what, you may ask, was the ever-important Part Two of the inception of Hammerfist?

Easy. Music.

I'm fairly certain that every creative idea I've had in my life has hinged on some sort of reaction to music. I've never visualized anything without a soundtrack, and I've never written anything without a loop of inspirational playlist in the background.

For whatever reason, around 2011 I had taken up listening to what was then a brand-new genre of upcoming music - back then it wasn't so easy to define, but now, we call it "Synthwave".

The movement had it's roots in neo-80's nostalgia, and many of the small, underground artists of the time produced simple music videos that were merely re-edits of period films. Many of them were cyberpunk in tone, and heavily featured cars and motorcycles (Akira proved to be a popular donor). These early videos solidified my visual association with these new sounds, forever after.

 
Somehow, I got the idea of two overstuffed 80's badasses slugging it out on comically undersized mopeds - a perfect visual representation of the overly-dramatic style that I thought would be funny. I was working at a scooter repair shop at the time, with friends that were willing to help and lend their machines, and after finding the right song to fuel my imagination...well, the rest is history.

High Five succeeded ten-fold at Jake and I's original goal. But it did so much more beyond that. It lit a spark in the back of my mind that told me that the neo-80's comedy/action idea could work. It was essentially a prototype for Hammerfist.

Keep in mind, this was 2014, and the RetroWave world was still largely unexplored. Kung Fury wouldn't release for another year, and we still had many more years after that before Stranger Things, Ready Player One, etc. We'll get into all that in another post...

But for the time being, my mind was set. I had my concept. I had visual reference. I had music to inspire me. I started writing.

No really, what the hell is "Hammerfist?"

Now it's time to answer the question I completely neglected to answer in my first post. Look at that, this blog thing is off to a great start already!

The name of my novel is "Hammerfist".

At its core, Hammerfist is a story about an angsty high-school kid that can't catch a break. He longs for adventure, and wants a chance to prove himself - but most of all, he craves purpose. Our hero's name? Jonathan Bane. We'll talk more about him in a future post.

Through a series of rather dramatic and escalatingly improbable events, young Jonathan ends up finding all the adventure he could ever want - and much more. But like all things in life, the seemingly simple pursuits come at unforeseen costs. In this case, Jonathan is forced to mature in ways that he isn't ready for. It's a dark road ahead of him, and he'll have to grow in order to overcome the obstacles.

That's the basis of the general plot. Simple, right? In fact, I'll bet you've seen it a dozen times before. And that's the point.

See, Hammerfist is one thing above all else: a tribute. The entire story was meant as an homage to one of my favorite eras in cinematic history - the 1980's. The pinnacle of over-the-top action, effortless style (or lack thereof), quirky dialogue, extraneous technology, casual violence, cringe-worthy bigotry, and cheesy acting. It was an era that will never be outdone in terms of pure fun and stripped-down entertainment.

But here's the problem: a lot of my favorite movies from that time were of drastically different tones and genres, and didn't play well together. But maybe they should have.

What if Paul Verhoeven directed a John Hughes story? What if John Carpenter adapted a Robert Zemeckis script?

What if Pretty In Pink and Cobra were part of the same series?

You see where I'm going with this?

This polarizing mix of coming-of-age teen comedies and steamy blockbuster action flicks creates a rather unique blend, and one that I think worked rather well to create something interesting. But I guess I'll let my readers be the judges there (they'll have to be, because so far, I'm the only one that's read this thing).

But this idea of mixing two extremely different tones into something resembling a single, self-contained story...well, it's a tough nut to crack. We need to find a way to organically blend teen dramedy with pulp action.

So, what's the solution?

The answer is simple: The Kurt Russell Origin Story.

What is "Hammerfist"?

Well, here goes.

I've never made a blog before, I guess because I always thought they were just something that moms used to promote their Etsy shops. But after reading a note from Andy Weir discussing the evolution of The Martian, I realized that a blog could be a powerful tool in the process of fleshing out an otherwise disconnected group of ideas.

So let's get right to it: I'm writing a novel, and this blog is gonna be all about it.

Okay, so by "writing" I mean "already written". The first draft does exist. But it's still far from being finished. So this blog will serve as a type of...I don't know, retrospective brainstorming session, I guess, as I pick apart the multiple pieces of my manuscript and put them under the microscope. What works? What doesn't? Where did the ideas come from? What ideas do I still need to come up with? What are my favorite parts? How many question marks can I legally use in one paragraph?

This blog is going to be pretty wide in scope. I guess it'll just be anything that I find remotely related to the creation of this book - from the inspirations behind the original concept, to the writing process itself, to some selected showcases within the associated Synthwave culture (did I mention the book was based on Synthwave? Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself - that's for the next post. Slow down, Dreamwalker). It's a pretty long book, and the list of contributing elements is even longer, so we'll have plenty of time to kill. Hey, maybe I'll even throw in a few charming[ly boring] anecdotes.

Overall, I'm going to use this blog as a podium to autopsy the idiocy of my mediocre ideas. The results will probably be hilariously embarrassing. And just think - it's for all the public to see. I must be a genius.