Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 266
October 27, 2010
On the Road
Coming to you live from Chicago before catching the train home. I will have a full report when I'm not typing on a phone.
I did manage to talk to Katherine Kurtz without a total meltdown and even hung out some with her, though I spent more time chatting with her husband, who is very interesting.
I've now seen a nice cross section of the Midwest by train and experienced Amtrak. I just have about 24 more hours to go. Then I'll have a lot of work to do when I get home.
I did manage to talk to Katherine Kurtz without a total meltdown and even hung out some with her, though I spent more time chatting with her husband, who is very interesting.
I've now seen a nice cross section of the Midwest by train and experienced Amtrak. I just have about 24 more hours to go. Then I'll have a lot of work to do when I get home.
Posted via m.livejournal.com.
October 21, 2010
Meeting My Heroes
In just a moment, I'll be catching the bus to the airport to go to Denver for MileHiCon, and then I'm taking the scenic route back, via train, so I'll be gone for a week. I won't be doing a writing post next week because I'm not entirely sure I'll have Internet access on a day I'll be spending on the train. I may try to post blogs or photos with my nifty new phone, but as there seems to be a learning curve, I will likely post only to the LiveJournal site, not to Blogger (unless I figure out how to copy and paste on the phone). And all that will depend on Internet or 3G access as I cross the midwest on a train. I suppose this would have been a good time to get on Twitter, but that would have been yet another learning curve I don't have time for.
One of the cool things about this convention for me will be the chance to meet Katherine Kurtz. Her books pretty much got me through high school. I was absolutely obsessed with the Deryni series. I discovered the first book in the library, fell madly in love with the characters, then immediately went and bought that book and the next two in that trilogy. I was disappointed to learn that the next trilogy was about an entirely different set of characters a couple of hundred years in the past, so I didn't bother with those books. Until, that is, a friend dragged me to her favorite place to shop for books, and the only thing that struck my fancy at all was the first book in that next trilogy. Since she'd been so high on this being the best bookstore ever I felt I ought to buy something, so I bought it. It was a while before I read it, and then I discovered that I liked that set of characters even better. In fact, that book, Camber of Culdi remains my absolute favorite in the series. My copy is tattered and falling apart, and yet that's the one I'm going to bring to get autographed. I plowed through that series, even as it got increasingly tragic.
In spite of the tragedy, danger and violence, it was the kind of fully realized world that I wished I could live in. I liked that she'd done so much world building that there were family trees in the back where you could see how the various groups of characters intersected (though those could be spoilery, since you could tell which characters were going to die in which books). For a history nut, these books were like crack, and they got me into researching the parallel periods and situations in our world.
But mostly, it came down to the characters. I think I fell in love with most of the men (well, the good guys). Rhys Thuryn remains on my list of top ten literary boyfriends, ever. I actually felt a sense of loss when I closed the covers on one of those books because it was like saying good-bye to friends. I didn't have a lot of close friends in high school, so I often needed an escape, and I liked having these imaginary friends and images of close friendship that were in these books.
I already knew I wanted to be a writer -- and a fantasy writer, at that -- long before I read these books, but I think some of my earlier stabs at the genre owed a lot to Katherine Kurtz. There were some really bad attempts at epic fantasy that spanned generations that have fortunately been lost to time and to outmoded operating systems. I still have a few ideas I hope to get back to, and I suspect they still show some of her influence.
Now, the question is, will I have the nerve to talk to her, or will I stammer and avoid her? I don't seem to be on any panels with her, so I don't have to worry about that, but on the other hand, that doesn't automatically put me in the position of "professional peer" either. I've had good luck in meeting many of my literary icons and ending up becoming friends of a sort with them, so I probably shouldn't be this nervous, but I don't think you ever grow out of being a fangirl, and I suspect I'll end up reverting to my inner sixteen-year-old who first fell in love with those books.
One of the cool things about this convention for me will be the chance to meet Katherine Kurtz. Her books pretty much got me through high school. I was absolutely obsessed with the Deryni series. I discovered the first book in the library, fell madly in love with the characters, then immediately went and bought that book and the next two in that trilogy. I was disappointed to learn that the next trilogy was about an entirely different set of characters a couple of hundred years in the past, so I didn't bother with those books. Until, that is, a friend dragged me to her favorite place to shop for books, and the only thing that struck my fancy at all was the first book in that next trilogy. Since she'd been so high on this being the best bookstore ever I felt I ought to buy something, so I bought it. It was a while before I read it, and then I discovered that I liked that set of characters even better. In fact, that book, Camber of Culdi remains my absolute favorite in the series. My copy is tattered and falling apart, and yet that's the one I'm going to bring to get autographed. I plowed through that series, even as it got increasingly tragic.
In spite of the tragedy, danger and violence, it was the kind of fully realized world that I wished I could live in. I liked that she'd done so much world building that there were family trees in the back where you could see how the various groups of characters intersected (though those could be spoilery, since you could tell which characters were going to die in which books). For a history nut, these books were like crack, and they got me into researching the parallel periods and situations in our world.
But mostly, it came down to the characters. I think I fell in love with most of the men (well, the good guys). Rhys Thuryn remains on my list of top ten literary boyfriends, ever. I actually felt a sense of loss when I closed the covers on one of those books because it was like saying good-bye to friends. I didn't have a lot of close friends in high school, so I often needed an escape, and I liked having these imaginary friends and images of close friendship that were in these books.
I already knew I wanted to be a writer -- and a fantasy writer, at that -- long before I read these books, but I think some of my earlier stabs at the genre owed a lot to Katherine Kurtz. There were some really bad attempts at epic fantasy that spanned generations that have fortunately been lost to time and to outmoded operating systems. I still have a few ideas I hope to get back to, and I suspect they still show some of her influence.
Now, the question is, will I have the nerve to talk to her, or will I stammer and avoid her? I don't seem to be on any panels with her, so I don't have to worry about that, but on the other hand, that doesn't automatically put me in the position of "professional peer" either. I've had good luck in meeting many of my literary icons and ending up becoming friends of a sort with them, so I probably shouldn't be this nervous, but I don't think you ever grow out of being a fangirl, and I suspect I'll end up reverting to my inner sixteen-year-old who first fell in love with those books.
October 20, 2010
Magical Education
After I posted yesterday about the return to curly hair and remembering wanting the long, swingy hair when I was a kid, on the noon news they had a story about the Sesame Street video that's gone viral, with a little black girl puppet singing about loving her curly hair and how the song was written by a father who'd adopted a little girl from Ethiopia who envied her Barbie doll's hair. He wanted to give her something that would help her feel good about herself. They referenced the Whoopie Goldberg routine about putting a towel on her head to pretend to have long, flowing hair. I'm about the whitest white girl who ever whited, with Norwegian and Scots-Irish ancestry, but I still related and that still resonated with me. Just once, I want a movie makeover with a curly-haired woman where they don't straighten her hair to make her beautiful.
Back to the ongoing series of reader questions about the Enchanted, Inc. series. I had a question about education in this universe, particularly about Owen's. I didn't write down the specific question, but I recall it having to do with his degree and what that might have to do with his future with the company.
Well, I can't get into the future because I don't have it entirely planned, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to spoil it. But I will get into how I see the magical educational system in this universe.
In my world, there is no Hogwarts equivalent -- no magical school system. The magical kids go to ordinary schools and then go to ordinary universities to get ordinary degrees in their particular field of interest that relates to their magical field of interest. For instance, Owen has a thing for researching ancient magical documents, so he studied linguistics and specialized in ancient languages, which he thought would be useful in deciphering ancient magical languages. Knowing the principles of the way languages work and knowing some of the root languages like Latin and Greek would be helpful in reading ancient texts. I think Rod studied psychology, since his focus in magic involves manipulating other people's minds and anticipating what they want to see so he can create the right illusion. And then that also applies to his human resources job.
In some towns like Owen's hometown where most of the residents are magical and magic is used fairly openly, there might have been a little more magical training in the school, or at least there would have been something like a magic club. Otherwise, the school focused on the usual reading, writing, math and science stuff.
The magical education is an extracurricular activity, kind of like scouting. You advance through levels by completing certain projects or mastering certain skills. Or kids might be home schooled in magic by their magical parents. Or both. Some kids get a much more stringent magical education and learn a lot about the theory and the "science" behind it, while others might just learn the basics and the spells that make life easier.
The reason I decided that Owen and Rod went to Yale was that Yale is fairly notorious for its secret societies, and I figured it would make sense that if you were going to have a magic club for elite-level training at a university, it would have to be a secret society. I liked the idea that people on the outside might think they were just another fraternity-like group doing silly rituals to make themselves feel superior, when actually they were intensely focused on mastering the higher levels of magic. Not that there weren't pranks and stunts, since these are students we're talking about. That's where Owen's highly detailed prank spells came in.
There may be a short story or two in there somewhere, like fanficition for my own universe, but I don't know when I'll get to it.
I'm almost out of questions, so if you've thought of something you want to know about this series, the ideas behind it, the universe or the characters, ask away!
Back to the ongoing series of reader questions about the Enchanted, Inc. series. I had a question about education in this universe, particularly about Owen's. I didn't write down the specific question, but I recall it having to do with his degree and what that might have to do with his future with the company.
Well, I can't get into the future because I don't have it entirely planned, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to spoil it. But I will get into how I see the magical educational system in this universe.
In my world, there is no Hogwarts equivalent -- no magical school system. The magical kids go to ordinary schools and then go to ordinary universities to get ordinary degrees in their particular field of interest that relates to their magical field of interest. For instance, Owen has a thing for researching ancient magical documents, so he studied linguistics and specialized in ancient languages, which he thought would be useful in deciphering ancient magical languages. Knowing the principles of the way languages work and knowing some of the root languages like Latin and Greek would be helpful in reading ancient texts. I think Rod studied psychology, since his focus in magic involves manipulating other people's minds and anticipating what they want to see so he can create the right illusion. And then that also applies to his human resources job.
In some towns like Owen's hometown where most of the residents are magical and magic is used fairly openly, there might have been a little more magical training in the school, or at least there would have been something like a magic club. Otherwise, the school focused on the usual reading, writing, math and science stuff.
The magical education is an extracurricular activity, kind of like scouting. You advance through levels by completing certain projects or mastering certain skills. Or kids might be home schooled in magic by their magical parents. Or both. Some kids get a much more stringent magical education and learn a lot about the theory and the "science" behind it, while others might just learn the basics and the spells that make life easier.
The reason I decided that Owen and Rod went to Yale was that Yale is fairly notorious for its secret societies, and I figured it would make sense that if you were going to have a magic club for elite-level training at a university, it would have to be a secret society. I liked the idea that people on the outside might think they were just another fraternity-like group doing silly rituals to make themselves feel superior, when actually they were intensely focused on mastering the higher levels of magic. Not that there weren't pranks and stunts, since these are students we're talking about. That's where Owen's highly detailed prank spells came in.
There may be a short story or two in there somewhere, like fanficition for my own universe, but I don't know when I'll get to it.
I'm almost out of questions, so if you've thought of something you want to know about this series, the ideas behind it, the universe or the characters, ask away!
October 19, 2010
Curly Again
My hair is now back to its more or less normal state. I was surprised to feel a bit of a pang as I stepped into the shower. I don't think I'd want straight hair permanently, but it got to be fun exploring the other side of things. I liked the swinginess. I've read in books where they described someone's hair as falling like a curtain across her face, and now I know what that's like. When I was a kid, when I was pulling a sweater, especially a turtleneck, off over my head, I'd let it stick on the back of my head for a while with the sweater hanging off the back of my head like it was long, straight hair and let it swing around for a while. This was what that was like, only with my hair. I had straighter hair as a kid, but never had it long until I was an adult and it was very curly. It was also nice being able to push my sunglasses back on my head without them getting tangled up in my hair.
Then there was a minor moment of fear that it wouldn't go back to normal. I also hadn't seen this color or this haircut the normal way, so I didn't know how it would do curly. It was with some relief that I saw that as soon as my hair was wet, it started curling up again.
So, here's the progression:
On Sunday, it had loosened up from the stick-straight mode it was in right after I got home from the salon. There was some frizz, but also more life.
Then on Monday, I think it was at its best. The ends were starting to curl a bit and it had some bounce.
And now it's back to normal and curly.
All of these photos were taken on my stairs because that was the easiest way to pose for the self-timer. I set the camera on one step, then sat a few steps down. I chose the photos for the way my hair looks, not necessarily for which was the best photo overall.
This is a short week for me because I'm leaving for Denver on Thursday and since I'll be gone a while, I have to get everything for the next couple of weeks done in these few days. My to-do list is kind of scary, though most of the tasks are relatively short and easy (like "water plants," "put scary attack neighbor on alert" and "lock back doors"). I just put absolutely everything on the list so I wouldn't forget anything. I'm trying to take care of all but the very last minute stuff today so that I don't feel frantic and rushed tomorrow.
Then there was a minor moment of fear that it wouldn't go back to normal. I also hadn't seen this color or this haircut the normal way, so I didn't know how it would do curly. It was with some relief that I saw that as soon as my hair was wet, it started curling up again.
So, here's the progression:
On Sunday, it had loosened up from the stick-straight mode it was in right after I got home from the salon. There was some frizz, but also more life.
Then on Monday, I think it was at its best. The ends were starting to curl a bit and it had some bounce.
And now it's back to normal and curly.
All of these photos were taken on my stairs because that was the easiest way to pose for the self-timer. I set the camera on one step, then sat a few steps down. I chose the photos for the way my hair looks, not necessarily for which was the best photo overall.
This is a short week for me because I'm leaving for Denver on Thursday and since I'll be gone a while, I have to get everything for the next couple of weeks done in these few days. My to-do list is kind of scary, though most of the tasks are relatively short and easy (like "water plants," "put scary attack neighbor on alert" and "lock back doors"). I just put absolutely everything on the list so I wouldn't forget anything. I'm trying to take care of all but the very last minute stuff today so that I don't feel frantic and rushed tomorrow.
October 18, 2010
Straightening Out My Life
I had a rather eventful weekend. I did get a new smart phone and am now learning how to use it. Oddly, making a phone call seems to be the most challenging task for me. It was a gorgeous weekend, so I went with my friends to a lakeside restaurant and sat out on the patio over the lake. When I got home, I still wanted to be outside, so I went to the park across the street and sat by the pond, then later sat on my patio and had a glass of wine. And then had to repair my screen door when it got out of the track, which was really interesting after a glass of wine. Sunday morning, my children's choir sang, and they were just too cute for words. At that age, "cute" covers a lot of stuff, but I think they were actually good while being incredibly cute. We did have a few who refused to wear choir robes. Sometimes I wish I could get away with that in adult choir. And then I took a nice, long walk Sunday afternoon. The leaves are just starting to turn and there was a smell of wood smoke in the air (probably more from grilling than from fireplaces because it was too warm for a fire).
But the big thing about the weekend was that I spent it with straight hair. I went to a new stylist, and for some reason they always want to straighten my hair on the first appointment. I tried objecting and said I didn't want it, but this guy kept going, and I figured it wasn't worth making a huge scene and stalking out of there, which it would have taken, since I could undo it by taking a shower (still, it may be my last appointment with him because I don't consider it a good sign when a stylist blatantly disregards the client's preferences). It was the first time a stylist has successfully straightened my hair, so that it actually looked straight and did that swingy thing straight hair does. Before, it's always just come out kind of weirdly frizzy. At first, I was all ready to take a shower as soon as I got home, but then I decided it counts as research. I haven't really had straight hair before, and definitely not long straight hair, so I didn't know what it was like, and yet I've written all these straight-haired characters. Since it's best not to wash your hair for a while after getting it colored, I decided to keep it as long as I could and see what it was like having straight hair.
Here I am right after I got back from the stylist. Compare it to the photo in my books:
One thing I learned is that my hair is really, really fine. The only body it has is from the curl. Without the curls, it's like baby hair. It won't hold hair pins, barrettes or ponytail holders. I tried putting it in a ponytail for a walk, and the holder -- one of the supposedly "no slip" ones -- just slid off my hair. I did enjoy being able to swing my hair. I felt like I was in a shampoo commercial. And I could run my fingers through my hair without getting trapped. There was one minor challenge when I realized I don't have a hairbrush. You don't brush curly hair. You can comb it with a wide-toothed comb when it's wet, but after it's dry, you don't touch it. With straight hair, a brush is necessary. I finally found a travel-size brush that came in one of those makeup bonus packs, where you get sample/travel-size makeup and accessories when you buy a certain amount of makeup.
I think the most interesting thing was the reactions from people. I posted a picture on Facebook, and everyone seemed to love the straight hair on me, while I felt it wasn't even really "me." Even my mom loved it. I guess I shouldn't have expected my friends and family to say it looks horrible, but no one said anything about liking the curls better. That then reminded me of all those movie makeovers where the woman is considered less attractive while she has curly hair, but then when she becomes beautiful and glamorous, she has straight hair. I've always felt like the curls are one of my more striking features and I'm just ordinary without them. The straight hair feels really alien, like a costume, almost. I expected some reaction from the little kids because they have no filter, and if they think something, they'll say something, but none of them said anything. A couple did give me funny looks, like they thought there was something odd about me but weren't sure what. Oddly, none of the adults I saw Sunday commented on the change (and the color also changed pretty drastically).
I'll be going back to normal tonight because I'm taking a make-up ballet class, and that will require a shower afterward. Today the straight hair probably looks its best because it seems to be trying to revert to normal, and that means the ends are curling a bit, so it's not stick straight and flat anymore. It's not the individual ringlets I normally have, but it does have body. If I could get it to this point, I could probably deal with it occasionally, but the straightening process isn't something I'd want to go through very often. It took at least half an hour of blow drying and then flat ironing, and then it was more than two days before it got to where I like it, just before I'm going to have to wash it.
I'll have to post an "after" picture, and maybe the daily progression pictures, tomorrow.
But the big thing about the weekend was that I spent it with straight hair. I went to a new stylist, and for some reason they always want to straighten my hair on the first appointment. I tried objecting and said I didn't want it, but this guy kept going, and I figured it wasn't worth making a huge scene and stalking out of there, which it would have taken, since I could undo it by taking a shower (still, it may be my last appointment with him because I don't consider it a good sign when a stylist blatantly disregards the client's preferences). It was the first time a stylist has successfully straightened my hair, so that it actually looked straight and did that swingy thing straight hair does. Before, it's always just come out kind of weirdly frizzy. At first, I was all ready to take a shower as soon as I got home, but then I decided it counts as research. I haven't really had straight hair before, and definitely not long straight hair, so I didn't know what it was like, and yet I've written all these straight-haired characters. Since it's best not to wash your hair for a while after getting it colored, I decided to keep it as long as I could and see what it was like having straight hair.
Here I am right after I got back from the stylist. Compare it to the photo in my books:
One thing I learned is that my hair is really, really fine. The only body it has is from the curl. Without the curls, it's like baby hair. It won't hold hair pins, barrettes or ponytail holders. I tried putting it in a ponytail for a walk, and the holder -- one of the supposedly "no slip" ones -- just slid off my hair. I did enjoy being able to swing my hair. I felt like I was in a shampoo commercial. And I could run my fingers through my hair without getting trapped. There was one minor challenge when I realized I don't have a hairbrush. You don't brush curly hair. You can comb it with a wide-toothed comb when it's wet, but after it's dry, you don't touch it. With straight hair, a brush is necessary. I finally found a travel-size brush that came in one of those makeup bonus packs, where you get sample/travel-size makeup and accessories when you buy a certain amount of makeup.
I think the most interesting thing was the reactions from people. I posted a picture on Facebook, and everyone seemed to love the straight hair on me, while I felt it wasn't even really "me." Even my mom loved it. I guess I shouldn't have expected my friends and family to say it looks horrible, but no one said anything about liking the curls better. That then reminded me of all those movie makeovers where the woman is considered less attractive while she has curly hair, but then when she becomes beautiful and glamorous, she has straight hair. I've always felt like the curls are one of my more striking features and I'm just ordinary without them. The straight hair feels really alien, like a costume, almost. I expected some reaction from the little kids because they have no filter, and if they think something, they'll say something, but none of them said anything. A couple did give me funny looks, like they thought there was something odd about me but weren't sure what. Oddly, none of the adults I saw Sunday commented on the change (and the color also changed pretty drastically).
I'll be going back to normal tonight because I'm taking a make-up ballet class, and that will require a shower afterward. Today the straight hair probably looks its best because it seems to be trying to revert to normal, and that means the ends are curling a bit, so it's not stick straight and flat anymore. It's not the individual ringlets I normally have, but it does have body. If I could get it to this point, I could probably deal with it occasionally, but the straightening process isn't something I'd want to go through very often. It took at least half an hour of blow drying and then flat ironing, and then it was more than two days before it got to where I like it, just before I'm going to have to wash it.
I'll have to post an "after" picture, and maybe the daily progression pictures, tomorrow.
October 15, 2010
TGIF
I think I may have settled on a cell phone to get. I went to the AT&T store and played with their phones for a while, and it came down between the iPhone and the Sony Ericsson Xperia. They're pretty similar and cost the same, but the Ericsson phone seems to be more open, so that I can get things from my computer to it without having the latest Apple software. I can just export MP3s from my computer to the phone to put music on it instead of having to sync it through iTunes. I don't necessarily even want my phone synced with my computer. I might put a little music on it just to have it but will likely eventually get a music-specific device. The big surprise was that with the current plans, getting the data plus voice may actually end up costing less than I'm paying now. I may go back early next week and take the plunge.
While I was in the area, I walked on over to Wal-Mart for a few errands. I'm not a Wal-Mart fan, but there aren't too many places where I can order contact lenses, get a spool of thread to hem some pants and get an onion for making dinner all under one roof and have all that within walking distance. However, I think I may be allergic to Wal-Mart. I'd been doing fine, but soon after I got inside, I started coughing, and by the time I left, I was in a full-on coughing fit. I got an ice cream cone at the McDonald's in the store for the walk home because I thought maybe the cool stuff would soothe my throat, but while I was waiting for it and then just getting from there to the exit, I was coughing non-stop and my eyes and nose were running. Soon after I got away from the store, I was fine again. So something in there must have set me off.
And then I got lazy and didn't even make what I had planned with the onion. But hey, I've got it for tomorrow. I also needed lemons, but they didn't have any other than one two-pound bag where the mesh had been torn. Not what you want when you're walking a mile home. I wasn't impressed with their produce.
Now I need to take care of a few more tasks as I get ready for a trip. Sunday will be a big day for me, as the combined four year old and five year old choirs will be singing in church, and I got volunteered out of all the leaders for those classes to direct the choir, since I'm the one who sings in the chancel choir. And yes, directing kids that young to sing in unison is rather like herding cats, but they're absolutely adorable. My class is the five-year-olds, but I seem to have impressed the four-year-old boys because I talked to one of them about his Star Wars t-shirt and could discuss Star Wars with them. I found my people. I'll have to show them the lightsaber on my keychain.
Ooh, if I get the new phone before then, I can get one of the other teachers to take video of them.
While I was in the area, I walked on over to Wal-Mart for a few errands. I'm not a Wal-Mart fan, but there aren't too many places where I can order contact lenses, get a spool of thread to hem some pants and get an onion for making dinner all under one roof and have all that within walking distance. However, I think I may be allergic to Wal-Mart. I'd been doing fine, but soon after I got inside, I started coughing, and by the time I left, I was in a full-on coughing fit. I got an ice cream cone at the McDonald's in the store for the walk home because I thought maybe the cool stuff would soothe my throat, but while I was waiting for it and then just getting from there to the exit, I was coughing non-stop and my eyes and nose were running. Soon after I got away from the store, I was fine again. So something in there must have set me off.
And then I got lazy and didn't even make what I had planned with the onion. But hey, I've got it for tomorrow. I also needed lemons, but they didn't have any other than one two-pound bag where the mesh had been torn. Not what you want when you're walking a mile home. I wasn't impressed with their produce.
Now I need to take care of a few more tasks as I get ready for a trip. Sunday will be a big day for me, as the combined four year old and five year old choirs will be singing in church, and I got volunteered out of all the leaders for those classes to direct the choir, since I'm the one who sings in the chancel choir. And yes, directing kids that young to sing in unison is rather like herding cats, but they're absolutely adorable. My class is the five-year-olds, but I seem to have impressed the four-year-old boys because I talked to one of them about his Star Wars t-shirt and could discuss Star Wars with them. I found my people. I'll have to show them the lightsaber on my keychain.
Ooh, if I get the new phone before then, I can get one of the other teachers to take video of them.
October 14, 2010
Distractions
I think I'm making real progress on the health front. I made it through a choir sectional rehearsal last night (but left before the main rehearsal because the voice was gone), and then I slept without medication last night and didn't wake up in the morning coughing. I did have a few nighttime coughing spells, but it seems like now the coughing is more of a reflex or even a habit than a real need. It feels weird to be almost back to normal again, like I'd forgotten what that feels like.
However, I'm not making progress on the work front. That writing binge I was talking about? Hasn't happened. On Tuesday, I read through the rest of what I'd written, did some re-plotting because I realized I'd gone down a rabbit hole, then did some serious cutting to what I'd most recently written and planned the next scene. Yesterday, not much happened. I got off schedule in the morning, then got sidetracked by some business stuff and some things I needed to think about for my trip next week, and finally got around to working just before I had to leave for children's choir. I mostly rewrote the last scene before my re-boot, then did a little more planning. It was almost like I was afraid to go back to writing new stuff. Today I will make myself dig in and get on it.
One of the distractions was that I've realized I probably need to get a new cell phone, and since the main time I use my cell phone is when I travel, now would be a good time. The one I have is barely holding a charge anymore, and they recently sent me a note saying my phone would no longer support text or data services (not that it was ever much good at data services -- it sort of did it, but it was such a pain to do that I almost never used it for that purpose). The phone is six years old, which is a lifetime in technology years. Now, though, I need to figure out which direction to go. I know a lot about cellular telecommunications from my PR days. I did PR for Ericsson, mostly on the network side, but since I did trade show media relations I did deal with devices and some of the very early prototypes of the Internet-capable smartphones. And I did the PR launch of PrimeCo, which is now Verizon. But although I can tell you how the stuff works, I'm not sure what would be the best for me, especially since so much has changed.
I seldom leave the house and I mostly use my cell phone for long-distance, since that's part of the plan. I use it when traveling, mostly to let my parents know I made it safely, and then occasionally for logistics planning when meeting up with friends when I'm out and about or when I'm at conventions or conferences. And then there's having it in case of emergency. I've seldom used the text messaging feature, though I do like the text notifications from airlines when I'm traveling. But it would be nice to be able to send and receive e-mail from a mobile device and maybe have some Internet access without lugging around a computer. I could see where having e-reader capability might be nice. I don't much care about a camera or being able to listen to music on it. But since my usage is so sporadic, I don't know that I'm willing to pay the full-on data plan prices. I wonder if you can get that sort of thing pay-as-you-go.
And when I ask people for recommendations, it does seem almost like religion, with real emotional bonds to service providers or manufacturers or else antipathy to service providers or manufacturers. I've been with AT&T forever (it started as a work account because of the Ericsson connection, and AT&T was pretty much required because they used Ericsson's network equipment, and you had to have an Ericsson phone in the Ericsson trade show booth) but am not under contract, so I can change providers. AT&T is handy because my parents also have it, so we can call within the network without using up minutes. Not that using up minutes is an issue for me. I think I have about a zillion rollover minutes right now. Most of the time, my phone lives in the bottom of my purse and I have to remember to charge it and turn it on when I go out.
Since it's a nice day, I may hike up the hill to the AT&T store and do some research, maybe hint that I'm thinking of changing carriers and see what they'll do for me. It's also fun to scare/impress the sales guys with my technical knowledge.
However, I'm not making progress on the work front. That writing binge I was talking about? Hasn't happened. On Tuesday, I read through the rest of what I'd written, did some re-plotting because I realized I'd gone down a rabbit hole, then did some serious cutting to what I'd most recently written and planned the next scene. Yesterday, not much happened. I got off schedule in the morning, then got sidetracked by some business stuff and some things I needed to think about for my trip next week, and finally got around to working just before I had to leave for children's choir. I mostly rewrote the last scene before my re-boot, then did a little more planning. It was almost like I was afraid to go back to writing new stuff. Today I will make myself dig in and get on it.
One of the distractions was that I've realized I probably need to get a new cell phone, and since the main time I use my cell phone is when I travel, now would be a good time. The one I have is barely holding a charge anymore, and they recently sent me a note saying my phone would no longer support text or data services (not that it was ever much good at data services -- it sort of did it, but it was such a pain to do that I almost never used it for that purpose). The phone is six years old, which is a lifetime in technology years. Now, though, I need to figure out which direction to go. I know a lot about cellular telecommunications from my PR days. I did PR for Ericsson, mostly on the network side, but since I did trade show media relations I did deal with devices and some of the very early prototypes of the Internet-capable smartphones. And I did the PR launch of PrimeCo, which is now Verizon. But although I can tell you how the stuff works, I'm not sure what would be the best for me, especially since so much has changed.
I seldom leave the house and I mostly use my cell phone for long-distance, since that's part of the plan. I use it when traveling, mostly to let my parents know I made it safely, and then occasionally for logistics planning when meeting up with friends when I'm out and about or when I'm at conventions or conferences. And then there's having it in case of emergency. I've seldom used the text messaging feature, though I do like the text notifications from airlines when I'm traveling. But it would be nice to be able to send and receive e-mail from a mobile device and maybe have some Internet access without lugging around a computer. I could see where having e-reader capability might be nice. I don't much care about a camera or being able to listen to music on it. But since my usage is so sporadic, I don't know that I'm willing to pay the full-on data plan prices. I wonder if you can get that sort of thing pay-as-you-go.
And when I ask people for recommendations, it does seem almost like religion, with real emotional bonds to service providers or manufacturers or else antipathy to service providers or manufacturers. I've been with AT&T forever (it started as a work account because of the Ericsson connection, and AT&T was pretty much required because they used Ericsson's network equipment, and you had to have an Ericsson phone in the Ericsson trade show booth) but am not under contract, so I can change providers. AT&T is handy because my parents also have it, so we can call within the network without using up minutes. Not that using up minutes is an issue for me. I think I have about a zillion rollover minutes right now. Most of the time, my phone lives in the bottom of my purse and I have to remember to charge it and turn it on when I go out.
Since it's a nice day, I may hike up the hill to the AT&T store and do some research, maybe hint that I'm thinking of changing carriers and see what they'll do for me. It's also fun to scare/impress the sales guys with my technical knowledge.
October 13, 2010
The Hero's Journey: Crossing the First Threshold
I managed to sleep more or less through the night without Benadryl, so either the removal of large amounts of dust from my bedroom helped or I'm just on the upswing. Or maybe making it to ballet helped. It was rather alarming how dusty the carpet was behind the nightstand. The nightstand is almost flush against the wall, so I hadn't thought of needing to move it, but I got rather zealous about moving furniture and vacuuming once I got started
I'm continuing the discussion of the stages of the hero's journey, as discussed in The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. We started in the Ordinary World, then the hero received the Call to Adventure. Initially he Refused the Call, but after a Meeting with the Mentor, he's ready to move on. That brings us to the next stage, Crossing the First Threshold.
This is when the hero commits to the quest and takes action that moves him into the special world of the story. In the three-act structure used by screenwriters, this is usually the first major turning point of the story. Sometimes this is triggered by the actions of others that force the hero onto his journey. If the bad guys are after him, then he doesn't have much choice. In Star Wars, it was the stormtrooper attack on his home and the murder of his aunt and uncle that sealed Luke's decision to go off on the quest with Obi Wan, since he no longer had any reason to stay. In The Terminator, the killer robot from the future coming after her forced Sarah Connor into the story. There was no decision to be made when she was told "Come with me if you want to live." Frodo didn't have a lot of choice about leaving the Shire after he learned that the Ringwraiths were looking for him there, though later he did make the choice to go on the quest to destroy the ring.
In other cases, it's a choice the hero makes for internal reasons, out of a sense of duty or a realization that his life isn't what it should be. He may even have ulterior motives, so that he sees that taking on the adventure may get him closer to getting what he wants. The kids make the journey through the wardrobe into Narnia to see what's there. In Stardust, Tristan enters Stormhold to retrieve the fallen star because he thinks that will help him win the love of the girl he admires. In the first Pirates movie, Will Turner goes off with Jack Sparrow to rescue the woman he loves, even though he doesn't trust pirates. Indiana Jones agrees to the quest to get the head of the staff mostly because he doesn't want his rival to get to the Ark first (though he's also worried about the consequences if the Nazis get it).
During this phase, the hero may run into the Threshold Guardian character, someone who tests the hero by blocking the way at this key turning point, especially if the hero is choosing to cross the threshold. This was done humorously in the movie version of Stardust, where the ancient man guarding the hole in the wall turned out to have ninja skills and Tristan had to resort to magic to get where he needed to go.
The big part of this phase of the story is the crossing from the Ordinary World into the special world where most of the rest of the story will take place, that world that will test and try the hero and ultimately change him. In fantasy stories, this may be a literal crossing to a new world, like going to Narnia or Oz. In action stories, this may be marked by the hero going to a new location, like James Bond heading off to the exotic locale of his assignment. In the classic quest story structure it's a movement from the safe and familiar world into a more dangerous, more exciting place. But this can also be a metaphorical transition, and to challenge myself to come up with examples, I decided to focus on romantic comedies because these are generally very mundane and more or less based in the real world, and they aren't very action-oriented. Most of the journey in this kind of story is internal, so you really have to look for the transition to a special world when it looks a lot like the ordinary world.
There still can be a change of scenery. You see this a lot in fish-out-of-water stories, where the new world of the story is the new location for the hero or heroine, like in the movie Leap Year, which landed the spoiled city-girl heroine in rural Ireland; in Legally Blond, in which a California sorority girl goes to Harvard Law School; or in The Holiday, in which an Englishwoman and a Californian swap homes for the holiday season. Or the hero could move into a different world within the same setting by associating with a different kind of people or moving in different circles. In the movie Moulin Rouge, this was the poor writer moving into the glamorous world of the nightclub. In Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, it was the vicar's daughter governess going to work for the flighty actress and landing in a world of fashion shows, salon makeovers, swanky cocktail parties and decadent nightclubs. In While You Were Sleeping, an orphaned loner lands in the middle of a large, noisy, loving family.
A new person can also change the Ordinary World into the Special World of the story -- or, more accurately, the arrival is the Call to Adventure, and the hero crosses the threshold to the special world when he accepts the change that person brings to his life. In The Philadelphia Story, when the heroine decides to go along with the pretense that the cynical, down-to-earth reporter there to cover her wedding is a wedding guest, her world and the way she sees it changes due to his influence. The arrival of a glamorous woman changed everything for the hero of Four Weddings and a Funeral, especially after he impulsively went to the inn where she was staying after the wedding. The hero's world was never the same when he accepted a Hollywood superstar's invitation after she showed up in his bookstore in Notting Hill. The hero of Breakfast at Tiffany's entered a new world when he accepted the cocktail party invitation from Holly Golightly.
It can also be a changed relationship or even just a changed mindset. The commitmentphobic loner of About a Boy gets into a whole new world when he pretends to be a single dad in order to pick up single moms and finds that he can't break up with his date's son as easily as he breaks up with the woman. In When Harry Met Sally, Harry enters a new realm when he strikes up a friendship with Sally after believing that men and women can't be friends. Bridget Jones enters a new world when she makes the decision to try to get her life under control -- or at least record how out-of-control she is.
The main thing to remember about this stage is that it's a turning point. From this point, things aren't the same, and even if the hero gave up now and turned back, the old world wouldn't be the same for him. Even if the world is the same, he's already a little different or sees himself and the world in a different way. His only choice now is to keep going. Something needs to change at this point of the story to reflect the hero's movement into the adventure.
Next, the hero deals with this new world by encountering Tests, Allies and Enemies.
I'm continuing the discussion of the stages of the hero's journey, as discussed in The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. We started in the Ordinary World, then the hero received the Call to Adventure. Initially he Refused the Call, but after a Meeting with the Mentor, he's ready to move on. That brings us to the next stage, Crossing the First Threshold.
This is when the hero commits to the quest and takes action that moves him into the special world of the story. In the three-act structure used by screenwriters, this is usually the first major turning point of the story. Sometimes this is triggered by the actions of others that force the hero onto his journey. If the bad guys are after him, then he doesn't have much choice. In Star Wars, it was the stormtrooper attack on his home and the murder of his aunt and uncle that sealed Luke's decision to go off on the quest with Obi Wan, since he no longer had any reason to stay. In The Terminator, the killer robot from the future coming after her forced Sarah Connor into the story. There was no decision to be made when she was told "Come with me if you want to live." Frodo didn't have a lot of choice about leaving the Shire after he learned that the Ringwraiths were looking for him there, though later he did make the choice to go on the quest to destroy the ring.
In other cases, it's a choice the hero makes for internal reasons, out of a sense of duty or a realization that his life isn't what it should be. He may even have ulterior motives, so that he sees that taking on the adventure may get him closer to getting what he wants. The kids make the journey through the wardrobe into Narnia to see what's there. In Stardust, Tristan enters Stormhold to retrieve the fallen star because he thinks that will help him win the love of the girl he admires. In the first Pirates movie, Will Turner goes off with Jack Sparrow to rescue the woman he loves, even though he doesn't trust pirates. Indiana Jones agrees to the quest to get the head of the staff mostly because he doesn't want his rival to get to the Ark first (though he's also worried about the consequences if the Nazis get it).
During this phase, the hero may run into the Threshold Guardian character, someone who tests the hero by blocking the way at this key turning point, especially if the hero is choosing to cross the threshold. This was done humorously in the movie version of Stardust, where the ancient man guarding the hole in the wall turned out to have ninja skills and Tristan had to resort to magic to get where he needed to go.
The big part of this phase of the story is the crossing from the Ordinary World into the special world where most of the rest of the story will take place, that world that will test and try the hero and ultimately change him. In fantasy stories, this may be a literal crossing to a new world, like going to Narnia or Oz. In action stories, this may be marked by the hero going to a new location, like James Bond heading off to the exotic locale of his assignment. In the classic quest story structure it's a movement from the safe and familiar world into a more dangerous, more exciting place. But this can also be a metaphorical transition, and to challenge myself to come up with examples, I decided to focus on romantic comedies because these are generally very mundane and more or less based in the real world, and they aren't very action-oriented. Most of the journey in this kind of story is internal, so you really have to look for the transition to a special world when it looks a lot like the ordinary world.
There still can be a change of scenery. You see this a lot in fish-out-of-water stories, where the new world of the story is the new location for the hero or heroine, like in the movie Leap Year, which landed the spoiled city-girl heroine in rural Ireland; in Legally Blond, in which a California sorority girl goes to Harvard Law School; or in The Holiday, in which an Englishwoman and a Californian swap homes for the holiday season. Or the hero could move into a different world within the same setting by associating with a different kind of people or moving in different circles. In the movie Moulin Rouge, this was the poor writer moving into the glamorous world of the nightclub. In Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, it was the vicar's daughter governess going to work for the flighty actress and landing in a world of fashion shows, salon makeovers, swanky cocktail parties and decadent nightclubs. In While You Were Sleeping, an orphaned loner lands in the middle of a large, noisy, loving family.
A new person can also change the Ordinary World into the Special World of the story -- or, more accurately, the arrival is the Call to Adventure, and the hero crosses the threshold to the special world when he accepts the change that person brings to his life. In The Philadelphia Story, when the heroine decides to go along with the pretense that the cynical, down-to-earth reporter there to cover her wedding is a wedding guest, her world and the way she sees it changes due to his influence. The arrival of a glamorous woman changed everything for the hero of Four Weddings and a Funeral, especially after he impulsively went to the inn where she was staying after the wedding. The hero's world was never the same when he accepted a Hollywood superstar's invitation after she showed up in his bookstore in Notting Hill. The hero of Breakfast at Tiffany's entered a new world when he accepted the cocktail party invitation from Holly Golightly.
It can also be a changed relationship or even just a changed mindset. The commitmentphobic loner of About a Boy gets into a whole new world when he pretends to be a single dad in order to pick up single moms and finds that he can't break up with his date's son as easily as he breaks up with the woman. In When Harry Met Sally, Harry enters a new realm when he strikes up a friendship with Sally after believing that men and women can't be friends. Bridget Jones enters a new world when she makes the decision to try to get her life under control -- or at least record how out-of-control she is.
The main thing to remember about this stage is that it's a turning point. From this point, things aren't the same, and even if the hero gave up now and turned back, the old world wouldn't be the same for him. Even if the world is the same, he's already a little different or sees himself and the world in a different way. His only choice now is to keep going. Something needs to change at this point of the story to reflect the hero's movement into the adventure.
Next, the hero deals with this new world by encountering Tests, Allies and Enemies.
October 12, 2010
Impending Writing Binge
I actually made it through the whole day yesterday without any medication. Then it ended up being a very rough night. It seems like nights are worse no matter where I am in the house or what position I'm in. If I'm staying up late and sitting on the sofa, I start the coughing at the same time I do when I'm in bed. Even so, I'm doing a bit of a bedroom purge today to remove any obvious allergens and see if that makes things any better. There's a corner near my bed where I have an old-fashioned hat rack that I use to hold hats, scarves, belts and purses, and it hasn't been moved in ages. I'm currently running all the cloth items through the fluff cycle of the dryer to see if that removes any dust, and then I'm moving the rack out of the way and vacuuming that corner.
Meanwhile, I seem to be back in the saddle, work-wise. I wrote a synopsis yesterday, and I really hope I get to write this book because it should be tons of fun. Then I held true to my decision to give up Hawaii Five-O and devote that time to work. I didn't accomplish a lot in that time that I wouldn't have done while watching it, but I did get back to the book I'd been working on and I worked a while after it would have ended, which might not have happened otherwise. Right now, I'm rereading what I've written so I can then jump back into it. I'm kind of tempted to go on a writing binge and see how much I can pound out in the next week and a half before I leave town. It's the kind of story that I think would benefit from that kind of rush because it will generate the adrenaline and enthusiasm it needs. There seems to be a vibe a book gets from being written quickly.
Of course, the books that get written that quickly usually need a lot of rewriting, but getting the bones of the story down quickly still creates that sense of enthusiasm.
Though I don't know how a writing binge is going to work, considering I'm leaving town next week and will be gone for a whole week, and that means some preparation. I still have a little shopping to do to get ready for that (both clothes and travel reading material), and then there's laundry and cleaning house because the last thing you want to come back to when you're gone that long is a mess. So, yeah, I picked a bad time to suddenly get the writing itch. Ah, well, since I still haven't heard what my agent thinks of the proposal, finishing the book isn't necessarily urgent at the moment.
Meanwhile, I seem to be back in the saddle, work-wise. I wrote a synopsis yesterday, and I really hope I get to write this book because it should be tons of fun. Then I held true to my decision to give up Hawaii Five-O and devote that time to work. I didn't accomplish a lot in that time that I wouldn't have done while watching it, but I did get back to the book I'd been working on and I worked a while after it would have ended, which might not have happened otherwise. Right now, I'm rereading what I've written so I can then jump back into it. I'm kind of tempted to go on a writing binge and see how much I can pound out in the next week and a half before I leave town. It's the kind of story that I think would benefit from that kind of rush because it will generate the adrenaline and enthusiasm it needs. There seems to be a vibe a book gets from being written quickly.
Of course, the books that get written that quickly usually need a lot of rewriting, but getting the bones of the story down quickly still creates that sense of enthusiasm.
Though I don't know how a writing binge is going to work, considering I'm leaving town next week and will be gone for a whole week, and that means some preparation. I still have a little shopping to do to get ready for that (both clothes and travel reading material), and then there's laundry and cleaning house because the last thing you want to come back to when you're gone that long is a mess. So, yeah, I picked a bad time to suddenly get the writing itch. Ah, well, since I still haven't heard what my agent thinks of the proposal, finishing the book isn't necessarily urgent at the moment.
October 11, 2010
Another Movie Monday
I had a really great book event this weekend at the Balch Springs library. Due to a glitch, there were no actual books at the booksigning, but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. If there had been books there, I'd have just sat at a table and signed books or waited for someone to want books signed. As it was, there was a decent-sized crowd, so I just did a talk. The host was well-prepared to give an introduction and turned that into an interview, then I took questions from the audience and read an excerpt from one of the books the library had. I was raspy and took frequent cough breaks and sipped punch constantly, but I got through it. I was impressed with the turnout, and one of the city council members was even there. They definitely go on my local book tour list for the next time I have a book out, whenever that may be.
I haven't done a Movie Monday in a while, but since I've been sick for so long that I've forgotten what my normal voice sounds like, I've watched a few movies lately. Most of these were HBO.
First, (500 Days of) Summer -- I was rather skeptical of this one because it seemed a bit arty and pretentious for its own good, and I was prepared to dislike it when the narrator announced at the beginning that it wasn't a love story. I was expecting the arty/literary attitude that happy endings and true love aren't realistic and you're being a sellout when you do a happy ending, but that's not exactly the way the movie goes. The relationship in the movie does have an unhappy ending, and that's not a spoiler because it's the first scene in the movie, but I don't think the message of the movie is that there aren't any happy endings. The thing I liked about it was that it was told out of order, just in random days throughout the relationship, so you could examine the relationship on that day, out of context. There would be a post-breakup day followed by a just-met day followed by a high-points day followed by an on-the-decline day. It was a fascinating structure, and I need to watch it again now that I have it all worked out. My problem with the movie was mostly with the female lead, and I'm not sure if it's the writing or the actress. There was something very Mary Sue about the character, who was one of those inexplicably beloved by all (even though she's actually kind of a passive-aggressive bitch), overly cute and quirky people, but Zoey Deschanel seems to be typecast into that part (or else she plays everything that way). Maybe it's because I'm a straight woman, but I don't see what's so special about her that all men fall instantly in love with her. I did like the main character and most of the supporting cast, especially his sister and his relationship with his sister.
Then there was City of Ember, which is hard for me to discuss coherently because I was on Benadryl at the time and kept drifting off. Mostly I was noticing the production design, which was spectacular. It kind of reminded me of the movie Brazil, that sort of retro-futuristic Forties meets Steampunk, but made out of found objects, look. The gist of the story is that hundreds of years ago (in the story timeline), there was some cataclysm on earth, and the only way for mankind to survive was to move underground for a couple of hundred years. To keep people from going mad and trying to get to the surface, it seems they started with children who wouldn't have known the surface and created this whole story to celebrate the life underground. The full information about why they were there, how long they had to be there, and how to get out was put in a box with a countdown timer on it that each mayor was to pass on to the next major, and when the box opened, they'd know what to do. But then one mayor died unexpectedly without passing on the box, the box was lost, and now no one knows about the surface or how to get there. Meanwhile, the city, which wasn't meant to last this long, is falling apart. Then a girl finds a strange box in the back of a closet in her family home ... It's sort of a dystopian (yet optimistic) adventure story. I wasn't that into it from the beginning, but by the end I was caught up in it.
I watched last week's PBS production of Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart, on Sunday afternoon, and I liked it enough that I may get the DVD. They turned Macbeth into a war movie, which totally works. It's a vaguely WWII setting in a somewhat Stalinist country (when Macbeth becomes king, there are all these banners with his face on them). It worked so perfectly in that context. It was Macbeth with machine guns!
And then, I was finally able to get my hands on a copy of Penelope, which was recommended here when I was talking about looking for paranormal/fantasy romantic comedies. I'm not sure I'd entirely classify this as a romantic comedy, since it was more about the individual growth of the two characters and they were barely together in the movie, but it still sort of scratches that itch. It reminded me a lot of Pushing Daisies in tone and look -- that sort of contemporary but still kind of retro style, the fairy tale tone, the color saturation and then the city that's essentially "Everycity" -- all the elements we look for in a city for a story like that, while not being any particular place (it was fairly obviously filmed in London, but most of the cast was either American or British playing American, which helped give it that everywhere/anywhere effect). The movie was utterly delightful. It's essentially a gender-switched beauty and the beast story, which I love because I've gotten tired of all those stories where the woman is expected to fall in love in spite of appearances, but the guy is always getting a beauty. In this case, a curse on a blue-blood family means that the next daughter born will have the face of a pig, and the curse can only be broken by someone of her kind falling in love with her. When a daughter is born, more than 100 years later, the family keeps her hidden while trying to find the blue-blood guy who won't run screaming from her. Meanwhile, she's getting tired of being locked up and wants to live life. I got it from the library but may buy a copy because it's a real feel-good movie.
Meanwhile, the season finale of Haven totally blew me away. It doesn't necessarily fall into the "paranormal romantic comedy" category, since it isn't strictly a comedy (though it can be very, very funny) and isn't really romantic, but the main relationship is one of my favorite ever and seems to be doing a slow enough build to wherever it's going that it's exactly the kind of thing I like. That's one of the things a series (whether book or TV) can do, build a relationship gradually over time by pulling the people together and putting them through things that strengthen their bond. It's like the writers have looked at all the cliches of every TV partnership ever and either subverted them or dropped them entirely. They got the "partners draw guns on each other" thing out of the way in their first meeting. They've had an outside romantic interest without jealous hissy fits. They've had secrets that were then revealed without heavy drama and with them understanding why the secrets were kept for a while. They've had fights and arguments that didn't lead to major rifts but that were resolved with an apology. It's like the way I write characters and relationships put in a Stephen King plot, which sounds like some unholy hybrid, but now I'm kind of wondering how that would really work. Hmm, I wonder if Stephen King would be interested in going the James Patterson route and working with a writing partner.
I haven't done a Movie Monday in a while, but since I've been sick for so long that I've forgotten what my normal voice sounds like, I've watched a few movies lately. Most of these were HBO.
First, (500 Days of) Summer -- I was rather skeptical of this one because it seemed a bit arty and pretentious for its own good, and I was prepared to dislike it when the narrator announced at the beginning that it wasn't a love story. I was expecting the arty/literary attitude that happy endings and true love aren't realistic and you're being a sellout when you do a happy ending, but that's not exactly the way the movie goes. The relationship in the movie does have an unhappy ending, and that's not a spoiler because it's the first scene in the movie, but I don't think the message of the movie is that there aren't any happy endings. The thing I liked about it was that it was told out of order, just in random days throughout the relationship, so you could examine the relationship on that day, out of context. There would be a post-breakup day followed by a just-met day followed by a high-points day followed by an on-the-decline day. It was a fascinating structure, and I need to watch it again now that I have it all worked out. My problem with the movie was mostly with the female lead, and I'm not sure if it's the writing or the actress. There was something very Mary Sue about the character, who was one of those inexplicably beloved by all (even though she's actually kind of a passive-aggressive bitch), overly cute and quirky people, but Zoey Deschanel seems to be typecast into that part (or else she plays everything that way). Maybe it's because I'm a straight woman, but I don't see what's so special about her that all men fall instantly in love with her. I did like the main character and most of the supporting cast, especially his sister and his relationship with his sister.
Then there was City of Ember, which is hard for me to discuss coherently because I was on Benadryl at the time and kept drifting off. Mostly I was noticing the production design, which was spectacular. It kind of reminded me of the movie Brazil, that sort of retro-futuristic Forties meets Steampunk, but made out of found objects, look. The gist of the story is that hundreds of years ago (in the story timeline), there was some cataclysm on earth, and the only way for mankind to survive was to move underground for a couple of hundred years. To keep people from going mad and trying to get to the surface, it seems they started with children who wouldn't have known the surface and created this whole story to celebrate the life underground. The full information about why they were there, how long they had to be there, and how to get out was put in a box with a countdown timer on it that each mayor was to pass on to the next major, and when the box opened, they'd know what to do. But then one mayor died unexpectedly without passing on the box, the box was lost, and now no one knows about the surface or how to get there. Meanwhile, the city, which wasn't meant to last this long, is falling apart. Then a girl finds a strange box in the back of a closet in her family home ... It's sort of a dystopian (yet optimistic) adventure story. I wasn't that into it from the beginning, but by the end I was caught up in it.
I watched last week's PBS production of Macbeth, starring Patrick Stewart, on Sunday afternoon, and I liked it enough that I may get the DVD. They turned Macbeth into a war movie, which totally works. It's a vaguely WWII setting in a somewhat Stalinist country (when Macbeth becomes king, there are all these banners with his face on them). It worked so perfectly in that context. It was Macbeth with machine guns!
And then, I was finally able to get my hands on a copy of Penelope, which was recommended here when I was talking about looking for paranormal/fantasy romantic comedies. I'm not sure I'd entirely classify this as a romantic comedy, since it was more about the individual growth of the two characters and they were barely together in the movie, but it still sort of scratches that itch. It reminded me a lot of Pushing Daisies in tone and look -- that sort of contemporary but still kind of retro style, the fairy tale tone, the color saturation and then the city that's essentially "Everycity" -- all the elements we look for in a city for a story like that, while not being any particular place (it was fairly obviously filmed in London, but most of the cast was either American or British playing American, which helped give it that everywhere/anywhere effect). The movie was utterly delightful. It's essentially a gender-switched beauty and the beast story, which I love because I've gotten tired of all those stories where the woman is expected to fall in love in spite of appearances, but the guy is always getting a beauty. In this case, a curse on a blue-blood family means that the next daughter born will have the face of a pig, and the curse can only be broken by someone of her kind falling in love with her. When a daughter is born, more than 100 years later, the family keeps her hidden while trying to find the blue-blood guy who won't run screaming from her. Meanwhile, she's getting tired of being locked up and wants to live life. I got it from the library but may buy a copy because it's a real feel-good movie.
Meanwhile, the season finale of Haven totally blew me away. It doesn't necessarily fall into the "paranormal romantic comedy" category, since it isn't strictly a comedy (though it can be very, very funny) and isn't really romantic, but the main relationship is one of my favorite ever and seems to be doing a slow enough build to wherever it's going that it's exactly the kind of thing I like. That's one of the things a series (whether book or TV) can do, build a relationship gradually over time by pulling the people together and putting them through things that strengthen their bond. It's like the writers have looked at all the cliches of every TV partnership ever and either subverted them or dropped them entirely. They got the "partners draw guns on each other" thing out of the way in their first meeting. They've had an outside romantic interest without jealous hissy fits. They've had secrets that were then revealed without heavy drama and with them understanding why the secrets were kept for a while. They've had fights and arguments that didn't lead to major rifts but that were resolved with an apology. It's like the way I write characters and relationships put in a Stephen King plot, which sounds like some unholy hybrid, but now I'm kind of wondering how that would really work. Hmm, I wonder if Stephen King would be interested in going the James Patterson route and working with a writing partner.
