Elise Allen's Blog, page 18

Courage of Creative Convictions

So… the trailer.

I know.  I've been talking about it a long time, and you haven't seen it yet.

Well, an interesting thing happened the other day…

The trailer has actually been 99% done for a couple weeks.  Travis, my wonderful and amazing co-producer/editor/director, and I had gone back and forth, making all kinds of changes; we'd sent it out to a few trusted beta-testers who gave great notes; and finally it was almost ready.  I'd given Travis a few final tweaky notes, and we were also waiting for my generous, artistic, and very busy husband to do the image that ends the piece.  Once we got that image, Travis put it in place, answered my notes, did some final finessing on his own, and sent it to me.

I LOVED it.

I even emailed him and said maybe I'd have a teeny tweak or two, but really, I loved loved loved it.

But then I started worrying.  Sure, I loved it… but maybe I was missing something.  So I sent it to a friend whose opinion I respect.

She had notes.

"I love it," she said, "but I was thinking… maybe it would be interesting to do xyz…"

I didn't like xyz, but I do like a good creative conundrum, so I started brainstorming other fixes for her issues.  I wouldn't do xyz, but pqr would be really cool!

"Yes!" she agreed.  And then if you did that, you could fgh!"

This went on and on.  By the time I got off the phone, my head was spinning with all the notes I wanted to give Travis.  I emailed him again — those teeny tweaks I might have?  Turns out they're actually significant notes — lots of them — oh boy did we have work to do!

I was fired up with the need to change, to tweak, to embellish.  I could barely handle the drive back home from my daughter's school, I was so eager to dive in.  Finally, I leaped to my computer and started typing, but realized I needed to watch the trailer again so I could tell Travis the exact spots we were going to add these bells and whistles.  I called up the file, hit play…

…and just watched.

I LOVED it.

I watched it again.  Maybe I was missing something.  Didn't I have a head full of notes to "fix" it?

I pressed play.  I loved it.

I swear, I did this six times.  I was actively looking for the problems we'd "tackled" on the phone… but they weren't there.

The trailer was done, and it was terrific.  I knew it the second I saw it, but I didn't trust my own opinion.  I let someone else's doubts get into my head, got all caught up in the intellectual-creative exercise of the things we could do, and in the process completely lost sight of my own sensibility.

I wrote Travis back and told him what happened.  I also mentioned it would surely appear as an object lesson on the blog.

In writing, in trailers — and in life, honestly — there is a time and a place for soliciting other opinions.  But at a certain point, you need to have the confidence to tune out everyone else and stand by what you feel is right.

The trailer is done… and it's awesome.  Travis is just putting it in the proper format (it's a file change, not a content change), and then we'll get to share it with all of you!!!!

In the meantime, tell me… have you ever had trouble of letting go when something was finished?  Have you let someone else's opinion get in your head and sway you from your own creative convictions?  I'd love to hear all about it!

 

But Do I Get to Meet Pat Sajak?

I received some very cool news yesterday.  Dinosaur Train, the PBS show I write for, was nominated for two Daytime Emmys!  Particularly cool is that one of the nominations is for Outstanding Writing in Animation, an award that goes to the writers on staff of the show.  On Dinosaur Train that would be creator Craig Bartlett, story editor Joe Purdy (he plays Mr. Disclaimer on the show — why oh why can I not find a picture online???), and… OMG, me!

It's seriously awesome.

My next question is whether Craig, Joe, and I get to go the actual shindig, which is here in L.A. in June.  I think it would be a blast, especially if I can avoid seeking out fellow nominee Caroll Spinney (Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, of course!), and making a fangirl idiot out of myself… which I've already done once in the past.

If I do go, would it be inappropriate to wear a giant Populazzi T-shirt?  Hmmm….

Huge cheers to everyone involved with Dinosaur Train, and to all the other nominees.  Special shout-outs to Kim Turrisi, whom many book-world people know from her amazing work with SCBWI.  Kim's web series, Venice, was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime.  And I definitely have to give another shout-out to Craig Shemin, my writing partner for The Muppets Kitchen. He was nominated for writing Tasty Time with ZeFronk.  While I'm sure he's excited about the nomination, I think he's still more excited that he got to meet Mark Hamill doing the show.

Here's the full list of categories and nominees — any favorites on the list?

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor…

I got an email yesterday from a friend of a friend.  I met her on the most amazing bachelorette weekend ever, filled with incredible women, delicious food, and mass quantities of Prosecco.  (It's particularly good when you float berries at the bottom.)

Elise (nope, not talking about myself in the third person — her name is also Elise) wrote to me because she has a thriving business called Go Coffee Go, selling fresh-roasted artisan coffees online, and she was hoping I'd help by becoming an affiliate.  She wanted me to place a banner on this site, then I'd get a percentage of any sales from people clicking through.

I told her no, not because I'm against that kind of thing, it's just not what I'm about on this site (the links to her on this page are not affiliate links, they're just links).   But while I'm not about selling products, I'm all about promoting things that are great, especially if I love the people behind them.

Given all that, here's what I said I'd do — I told her I'd blog about our chat here, then order some of her coffee online and try it.  If I love it, I'll rave about it in another post, officially add her site to my Links page, maybe use the coffee as a prize in a giveaway… all that good stuff.

So while we're on the topic, here's a question: what do you think about sponsored ads on book-world blogs?  Personally, I think it depends on the blog.  If it's an author site, I'm not a fan.  The author site is already promoting the author and his/her books and projects.  Not only would outside ads muddle the message, but they would also make the site seem very sales-y and offputting.

Book bloggers, however,  put extraordinary amounts of time and effort into their blogs without any commercial upside.  They're not promoting their own books or other goods, they're just sharing their passion because they love it so much.  If they want to earn a little revenue to help them finance this passion, I think it's great, especially when it's handled with taste and class.

Kristi The Story Siren has perfected this balancing act.  The blog ads on her site are subtle and effective, take nothing away from her gorgeous layout and detailed content, and give her the chance to take the financial edge off running her blog.  I don't know what she makes off the ads, but I can all but guarantee that they don't come close to compensating her for the many hours she dedicates to the site.

What's your take on blog ads?  And what's your take on the coffee list at Go Coffee Go?  I'm trying to figure out which kind of coffee I should order for my little taste test, and I'm kind of overwhelmed (in a good way) by all my choices.  If you were me, which would you choose?

 

 

TINA'S BACK!!!!!

"Does Tina just come in here and cry when she sees how we've turned all her hard work into a disaster?" my husband asked.

It was a valid question.  You might recall my posts about hiring an organizer, and the organization process.  I was wildly into it… but then I had to stop because life just got too busy, and I couldn't dedicate the time.

Well, I won't say things have exactly slowed down.  As my friend and fellow Deb Ball member Kim Stagliano says, "We all have more than we can handle, and none of us are Mother Teresa."  Still, I have a little breathing room at the moment, and the minute it opened up, I called Tina from Methods Organizing and begged her to come back.

There might have been a couple tears in her eyes when she saw the disarray of the house, but the truth is that the bulk of what she and I had accomplished so far was out of sight: closets and drawers that had been completely reorganized.  They're still organized, which is a huge victory for me.

It's just the clutter we hadn't yet organized that has spread all over the house and multiplied.

We're on a roll now, though.  We spent three hours putting together a massive IKEA bookcase for Miss M's soon-to-be-completely-redone room.  The finished piece looks almost exactly like the one in the picture… except for the giant rubber-mallet hole I accidentally pounded into its side.  Oops.  Happily, I've convinced Miss M that the side would look amazing covered with pictures of her and her friends, so no one will ever know.

Any favorite organizational tips?  I'm on a roll now, so bring 'em on!

 

THREE MONTHS!!!!!

OMG!!!!

That's pretty much my reaction every morning, when I wake up and realize the release of Populazzi is now just THREE MONTHS away, and there's still A ZILLION things I need to do!!!!

One of the main things I'll be doing is launching a sister site to this one.  It'll be more specifically about Populazzi and its world.  I'd hoped to launch it May 1, to officially kick off the three month mark, but… um… hm.

That didn't happen.

That's okay though — June 1 is great!  It's a TWO month countdown, and more than that, it will kick off the SUMMER OF POPULAZZI!

Plus, now that I've laid it out here for you, I have to make it happen, no excuses. 

Among many things that will appear on the sister site is the Populazzi trailer.  I know — I've been talking about the trailer for a long time now, and it's one nagging frame at the end (a photoshopped piece that has nothing to do with my amazing crew and everything we shot) that's holding things up.  It's coming though, I promise.

Also in the works is Populazzi swag (at last!), and some more special surprises I'm excited about… but have to jump on already!!!!

Three months… the sprint to release day is starting… ready… set… go!!!!

 

 

SWAG IT UP!

I am WOEFULLY behind on a major part of my POPULAZZI promotional package.

SWAG.

I'm getting on it, I swear, and I have some ideas for things I want to make.  But I'd love your input.

What SWAG do you like best?  What have you not seen, but would love to see?  What would you love to see for POPULAZZI in particular?

I look forward to your thoughts, and to getting the SWAG machine rolling!!!

What Makes Great Entertainment

I'm going to geek out on Glee for a bit here, but before I do, I want to let everyone know this isn't just a Glee recap or fan post.  I'm going somewhere with this — a big-picture epiphany I had after the show.

But of course it starts with the fan girl moment. 

I LOVED the most recent episode of Glee.

That's not really accurate.  The real truth is I love Kurt.  And I love Blaine.  And I'm unhealthily obsessed with Kurt and Blaine as a couple.

{Warning — slight spoiler ahead.}

So when Kurt returned to McKinley and the Warblers came to serenade him — which really amounted to Blaine serenading him with the song "Somewhere Only We Know," I was riveted.  More than that — I was involved. I watched Blaine's pained face reflecting the bittersweet moment.  He was thrilled he'd found a boy to love, thrilled Kurt would be happy at McKinley… but devastated by the losing Kurt on a daily basis at school.  Then they hugged, clinging to one another, and Kurt whispered, "I'll never say goodbye to you…"

I had chills.  I wanted to stop time and live in that moment (which of course I can do with TiVo — awesome invention).  Then, when they showed the promos for next week's episode and there was a scene that hinted Kurt and Blaine could be in trouble, I was furious.  Furious!  Surely the promo was a red herring, but what if it wasn't???  What if they were really going to break up Blaine and Kurt?!  How dare they?  Kurt just said he'd NEVER say goodbye to Blaine!!!   It would be COMPLETELY out of character for Kurt to even THINK of cheating on Blaine!!!  How could this possibly be???

As you can see, I got very worked up — and I'm getting even more worked up now because I'm listening to the Warblers' CD, and they sing "Who's Sorry Now," which makes me think something ugly could indeed go down.  It's been quite an emotional roller coaster.

This despite the fact that I'm well aware that neither Kurt nor Blaine is a real human being.

Even if they were real human beings — which I promise I know they're not –  their relationship and the tumult therein would have no bearing on my daily life.

None.

And I had the epiphany that that is the definition of Great Entertainment.

Great Entertainment makes you care profoundly about something that has no impact on your life whatsoever.

Great Entertainment doesn't have to be "high art."  When I think about books that hit me emotionally, that mattered to me, they're not necessarily pieces of literary genius.  MOBY DICK did not matter to me.  THE SCARLET LETTER, while a great book that I enjoyed, did not matter to me.

The TWILIGHT series?  I'm sorry, I know it's not the most brilliantly written book, but yes it mattered to me!  I devoured those four books in four days, and I actively cared whether or not Bella and Edward would get together.

THE HUNGER GAMES mattered even more.  I still daydream about the last lines of the series, feeling chills and shivers all over again (note that I'm not giving away who those chills and shivers are for).

Stephen King is a genius for many reasons, but the main one is that he combines great writing with Great Entertainment.  The relationships between the lead characters in IT are so deep and profound that years after reading the book, I drift into daydreams about them.  That's time I could be spending thinking about something with actual bearing on my life, but I think about those friends because Stephen King made them matter to me.   That's genius.

Great Entertainment isn't restricted to fiction, either.  For me, the Philadelphia Eagles are Great Entertainment.  When they lose a playoff game (something that happens waaaaaaay too often), my day is a shambles.  I'm a wreck.  Why???  The Eagles have nothing to do with me at all!  Doesn't matter — I care about whether they win or lose, and I care passionately.

For me, the Holy Grail of Great Entertainment is the TV show "Moonlighting."  Not only did I care so deeply about the characters that it was sometimes difficult to watch (in a good way), but the show was also laugh-out-loud hysterically funny.  And clever.  I maintain that their Taming of the Shrew and Film Noir episodes are among the best hours of television ever created.

What books/TV shows/movies are your favorite Great Entertainments?  They don't necessarily have to be the ones that inspire you the most, or that you most admire (though they can), but the ones that really get under your skin and impact your thoughts and feelings beyond all sane proportion.

While you're thinking, I'm going to surf the net and see if I can find spoilers to make sure Blaine and Kurt will be okay…

 

 

Super Sisters

I don't actually mean this kind of Sisters...

So my sister is currently crashed out fast asleep, after traveling for a full day and being run ragged by Miss M, so she's not up for guest blogging her own top five sisterly tortures.

Instead — and since I have sisters on the mind — I'm going to post my Top Ten list of fictional sisters.  These aren't in order, nor are they kept to any genre — they're just some of my faves.

1. Beezus and Ramona.  I LOVED Beverly Cleary's Ramona books as a kid.  Reading them to my daughter, I fell in love with them all over again.  Beezus and Ramona are Bert and Ernie, the perfect comic foils for one another, and their relationship is a perfect mix of love and exasperation.

2. The Andreas Sisters, the creation of Eleanor Brown for her book THE WEIRD SISTERS.  I loved following these women as they came back to their childhood home and immediately reverted to their childhood quirks and pecking orders.

3. The All-of-a-Kind Family.  I haven't read this series about five sisters since I was a kid, but I adored it.  The Amazon summary has a great line in it:  "There's something to be said for a book that makes you wish you'd been part of a poor immigrant family living in New York's upper east side on the eve of World War I."  It's true.  It also made me want to be an Orthodox Jew, which is something I've never even approached.  The books enchanted me as a kid, and I think I'll have to buy them to read to Miss M.

4. Laura, Mary, and Carrie Ingalls.  Goes without saying.  Happy to spend many long hours with these sisters, and can't wait until I can convince Miss M to read them and give me the perfect excuse to dive back in.

5. The March Family. I read LITTLE WOMEN so long ago, but was completely engrossed by Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy.  It's another one I'm dying to revisit.

6. Lindsey and Alex Rose, from Sarah Pekkanen's THE OPPOSITE OF ME.  Lindsey and Alex are twins, but absolutely nothing alike. We see the story through Lindsey, who thinks she has all the answers when it comes to herself and Alex.  Yet when she retreats back home and is forced to start digging deeper into their relationship, she's stunned.  Sarah renders both sisters beautifully, gradually adding layers and complexity as each one learns more about herself.

7. Susie and Lindsey Salmon, from Alice Sebold's THE LOVELY BONES.  Given that Susie narrates this story from beyond the grave, the sisterly relationship isn't exactly typical.  It is, however, stunningly eternal.  Much of Lindsey's life is defined by Susie's missing place in it, and Susie's big-sisterly eye is always watching over Lindsey.  The whole book is brutally wrenching, but magnificent and a must-read.

8. Emerson and Frida Watts, Meg Cabot's AIRHEAD series.  The two girls couldn't be any less alike.  Em is all about gaming and couldn't care less about her looks, while Frida could spend days in the pages of fashion magazines.  Yet when Em's brain ends up in supermodel Nikki Howard's body (I swear, it makes sense in the story), the two sisters can see each other through different eyes.  The series isn't first and foremost about Em and Frida's relationship, but it's a very funny and charming thread throughout.

9. Katniss and Prim Everdeen from Suzanne Collins' THE HUNGER GAMES.  The entire trilogy hinges on the bond between Katniss and Prim, and how desperately Katniss wants to protect and care for her little sister.  I won't say more because I'd hate to give anything away for those who haven't yet read the series.  All I can say is if you're one of those people, pick up THE HUNGER GAMES and start reading.  Immediately.  You won't be disappointed.

10. Stephanie Plum and Valerie.  For me, the Stephanie Plum series jumped the shark around book eight, but up until then, it was pure gold.  Especially delicious was Stephanie's eye-rolling about her "perfect" sister Valerie… who eventually moved home after a failed marriage, and proved she was just as hysterically flawed as the rest of the clan.

Okay, those are my ten… any literary sisters you love?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHANIE!!!!

It's my little sister's birthday today!!!!

In honor of the big event, I'm going to list the top ten ways I tortured her when we were kids.  Today I'll start with my top five.  Tomorrow, Steph comes into town to visit, and if she's willing, I'll get her to continue the list with five more ways I scarred her for life.  Yay!

These aren't in order of the dose of torture, they're just all part and parcel of the hell it is being a little sister.  Or at least, my little sister.

Ready?  Let's dive in!

1. I'd start salacious conversations with her, i.e., "Steph!  You'll never believe what happened at school today!  I was standing in the hall, and I heard Kelly and Jenny saying…"  Then I'd cut myself off, walk away, and lock myself in my room, leaving her banging on my door and screaming, "Elise!  Tell me!  What did they say?!?!?"

2. I swore a picture of 2-year-old me smooching 6-month-old her wasn't proof of affection at all.  I wasn't kissing her, I was tasting her.  Why?  Because I thought she was a meatloaf.  I liked this story so much that I have now been calling her "Loaf" for over twenty years.

3. In AP Biology, I got to dissect a fetal pig.  Best part?  I put severed pieces of the specimen in her school mailbox.

4. When she was barely post-pubescent, my sister was very sensitive about her startlingly ample chest.  I knew this, but when we went to our grandparents' apartment to swim, I chided her mercilessly until she agreed to take off the giant T-shirt she was wearing over her bathing suit.  She was being ridiculous, I said.  No one would even notice her chest.  The result?  She emerged, sans T, and my grandmother gasped loud enough to wake the whole building.  "Irv!" she cried to my grandfather, "Look at Stephie!  She's developed!!!"

5. I never ever ever let her live down her most embarrassing moments, my favorite of which is so embarrassing to her that I can't even put it down on this blog without her permission.  I'll just say it has something to do with chocolate-chip cookie dough, and it still makes my friend Allison and I laugh so hard we can't breathe.

To my possible credit, I would like to point out that I did not torture Stephanie by posting a goofy picture of her as a kid on this page… even though I really really wanted to.  Maybe when she's here tomorrow she'll give me her blessing on that one, 'cause I've got some great ones.

Do you have younger siblings?  Did you torture them properly when you were kids?  I wanna hear all about it!!!!

Love you, Loafy!  Happy Birthday!!!!!

 

Bless My Scales and Feathers — It's a New Book!!!

Working on Dinosaur Train, I have met some incredible people.  The place is crawling with both dinosaur toys and amazingly talented, funny, and kindhearted individuals.  Yet as a writer, I normally don't meet the actors, who record up in Canada.

At least, I thought I didn't get to meet them.  Turns out one of them, Phil Hayes, has a daughter who goes to school with mine.  They were in class for a year and we never knew.  Now the girls are close, and I get to enjoy both Phil's company, and the fact that he kinda looks like King Cryolophosaurus.

More recently, I got to meet Ian James Corlett, who plays The Conductor.  I ran into him on Twitter, which is similar to bumping into someone at a cocktail party, except I didn't have to worry about spilling wine on my dress when I squealed with delight.

Ian told me about his book, and I had to pass along the information.  It sounds fantastic, and I can't wait to get it for Miss M.

The book is called E is for Environment, and it's actually a follow-up to his 2010 book E is for Ethics.

As a fan of the letter E, I'm already on board.  I'll let the book's press release explain what it's all about:

E is for Environment features Elliot and Lucy, the same brother and sister team from the first book.  {Ian knows from brother/sister teams — his son and daughter play Buddy and Tiny on Dinosaur Train!} The two kids star in 26-read-aloud stories that teach kids how they can be environmentally-friendly.  Everything from brushing their teeth with the water off to taking canvas bags to the grocery and more.  Parents and kids alike will learn easy ways they can be more Earth-friendly.

Knowing Ian's sense of humor, this will be one of those great books where you learn without realizing you're learning.  I can't wait to see his quirky charm in book form, and I'm sure it'll be a read-aloud classic in our house for a long time to come.  It's on Amazon.com, which is where I'm headed after I publish this post!

"So come on along with me on the Dinosaur Train!  All abooooaaaard!"

Oh, sorry — that was a non-sequitur.  My fingers just want to type all that when I'm writing about Ian. 

Happy Earth Day!