The new season brings us a lot of changes. A new actor (Matt Smith) plays the Doctor. We have a new companion (Amy Pond played by Karen Gillan). And most remarkably, writer Russell T. Davies was replaced by Stephen Moffat as lead writer. It is this last change that I think has sent the series off the rails.

What made previous seasons of the series (since it was revived five years ago) so entertaining was the remarkably creative writing, especially the larger-than-life character of the Doctor (e.g. the line “Nice to meet you, Rose. Run for your life!”). Companions with strong personalities also brought vigor to the shows.

While Moffat has been on the writing team since 2005, the latest incarnation of the Doctor lacks that wild, whimsical energy that Davies (and actors Eccleston and Tennant) brought to life. No outrageous lines delivered with powerful energy. No swagger.

The new doctor is bumbling and mumbling (half the time I can’t understand a word either Smith or Gillan are saying).  And the plots are rehashes of previous episodes, paling in comparison to the original.

This is not sour grapes from losing David Tennant. While I thoroughly enjoyed Tennant’s version of the Doctor (as I did Christopher Eccleston’s), I was looking forward to where Matt Smith would take the character. But either he is too shackled by lackluster writing or he simply lacks the charisma of his predecessors.

In short, Doctor Who 2010 needs a doctor. Or I’m cheering for the Daleks to exterminate the whole milquetoast mess.

In my short story “In Between”, Martina Glover is in the process of transitioning from male to female. But she’s not a girly-girl. She identifies as a butch lesbian. This leads to problems with her therapist who has strict standards about who should be allowed to get sex reassignment surgery and who shouldn’t. What’s a girl to do?

I want to thank Mila and Jayna Pavlin of the Trans-Ponder podcast for discussing the issues of self-determination and the control of the medical community over trans-identified individuals.

I hope you enjoy the story. If you haven’t done so already, be sure to subscribe to the podcast via iTunes. And please, leave me feedback!

When I write rough drafts, I have a tendency to leave out a lot of internalization.  I’m more interested in getting the skeleton of the scene (primarily the action) on paper. But as I was reminded yesterday at my writer’s group, the skeleton isn’t enough. A skeleton with muscles isn’t enough. If I want my scene to really pop, I need to really flesh it out and that means nailing the internalization.

For those not familiar with the term, internalization is when you share what’s going on in your POV character’s head. This is important because it helps the reader see more of the conflict that this character is dealing with and what the potential consequences might be. You can set up foreshadowing and build tension.

Why not just demonstrate that in dialogue and action? Because what a person does or says may be different than what they are thinking. It adds an additional dimension to the character and also the story.

In the prologue of the story I’m working on, my POV character is trying to comply with requests made of her by another character. At the same time, she is trying to figure out why that other character is acting so strange. She comes up with a plan to manipulate the other character, plans that will soon be dashed. Drama! Tragedy!

Providing internalization also helps the reader understand why your POV character makes a sudden change in behavior. If you character has been going along with things, but suddenly rebels, internalization can keep your reader from losing the connection to the character. You don’t want to pop that believability bubble.

Not all stories require a lot of internalization. You will find more in some genres (literary, women’s fiction, romance) than others (spy thrillers, hardcore sci-fi). But more often than not, a little can draw your reader further into your make-believe world.

As I mentioned earlier, writing rough drafts is tough most of the time. So many decisions on what the story should be, how to make it unique and how to tell it.  It takes a while to build up some momentum, but once I do, I find some brief moments when the writing gets a little easier. It’s almost fun! LOL.

In the past 24 hours, I’ve written a prologue and the third chapter of my novel Desert Witch. I’ve also made progress on a short story titled “Chaperone”. I like times like this.

• What does this character want?
• What is preventing her/him/hir from getting it?
• How can I begin the story so that the reader is immediately intrigued?
• How do I introduce the character’s “ordinary world” in a way that is far from ordinary?
• How do I bring these characters to life ?

I tend to go into this thinking that failure is not an option. However, that stifles my brainstorming because I criticize every idea before it has a chance to become something. What I need to realize is that failure is mandatory.  In other words, I have to allow for a whole host of bad ideas in order for me to find the ones that will make my story shine.

Today, I’ve been working on another short story. This one is set in a fictional town in southern California. It’s been like pulling teeth today, but it’ll get easier. Maybe I need another latte.

If you haven’t already done so, please take a listen to “Sappho” and let me know what you think.