Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 267
October 8, 2010
It's Not Me, It's Them
I seem to be getting gradually better. I slept until 5 a.m. before waking up coughing, and it was more of a tickle in the throat setting off the coughing reflex than the trying to expel my lungs kind of cough like I'd been having. I think when I go out for errands this afternoon, I'll pick up some cough drops to use to settle that tickle because coughing only seems to make it worse, setting off even more coughing. Even so, when I have a booksigning/meet and greet at the Balch Springs Library tomorrow (11-1), any chatting I do may have to be done in charades because I start coughing if I try to talk too much.
I was starting to worry about myself this week when I finally gave up on several TV series. After all, it's a danger sign of depression if you no longer enjoy things that used to give you pleasure. But I suspect it's not me, it's them.
For starters, I've given the new Hawaii Five-O a shot, and decided that they forgot to create characters. The actors are good, and I've liked them in other things, but the writers have to do their part, too. Danny is the only one with a personality, and I get the feeling that's mostly the actor going well beyond the script. I just can't bring myself to care otherwise. That one may fall into the "OnDemand for background noise while I'm doing the Sunday crosswords" category, unless I'm finishing up med school stuff on Monday nights. I may turn it into a game and try to finish the med school stuff before 9, then make a point of devoting that hour to writing and see what adding an hour to my writing week does to my productivity.
Then I think NCIS: Los Angeles will fall into that same "OnDemand if I need background noise for the Sunday crosswords" category. I had been taping it while I was at ballet and then watching that and the original NCIS when I got home, but now I may just watch the one show and then go to bed or read. Not only did they write out the character I most related to and add a new guy who grates on my nerves, but now they seem to have added yet another highly irritating character, and the new characters are now making the characters I used to like irritating. It has reached the point where the irritating things outnumber the enjoyable things, and I don't want to waste my time on things that irritate me. I'm still not sure what the people at that show were thinking in making so many changes so soon to a show that was so successful. It's like they were trying for the fastest shark jump ever. I've never seen a show go from fun to unwatchable so quickly and so soon in the series run. Even House had been on three seasons before they shook up the cast.
And I think I'm giving up on Glee. I taped it to watch after choir on Wednesdays, but when I got home from choir early this week, I found myself watching Mythbusters instead, and then I was going to watch Glee but decided to rewatch an older episode of Haven OnDemand, and then I felt this huge sense of relief when I gave myself permission not to watch Glee. The thing is, I don't really like any of the characters. They all seem to be selfish almost to the point of being sociopaths. The one character who truly seems to be good at heart is portrayed as being dumber than a sack of rocks and then is often sacrificed on the altar of political correctness for the few moments when he's not being saintly. I'm not even crazy about a lot of the music they've been doing lately. I guess in November when they start showing Human Target on Wednesdays, I can tape that and watch it when I get home from choir.
I'm giving Supernatural one more week to see how it goes now that they've settled back into a "normal" mode, but so far, I've realized I don't even like the main characters anymore. I liked the early seasons with the "Luke Skywalker and Han Solo travel the country fighting demons and monsters" feel to it, but those characters are pretty much gone. It does make sense that the things they've been through would change them, but that doesn't mean I have to like the changes. I also wasn't fond of the apocalypse plot from last year. It was the same thing that bothered me about the fourth season of Angel -- a lot of the fun of this kind of show is the pretense that all this stuff is really going on in our world, and it explains a lot of the weirdness of our world, but when they go so big that everyone has to notice things (like towns being wiped off the map), it removes the pretense that this is what's going on secretly in the real world and makes it quite clearly an alternate version of our world.
On things I like, I rather enjoyed the pilot episode of Law and Order: UK (otherwise known as "Lee Adama and Martha Jones fight crime in London"). I wasn't a huge fan of the original US series because I've had enough bad jury duty experiences that I can't handle the courtroom stuff and all the legal wrangling. As I've said, lawyers are real and they're scary. It seems to help when you move it to another country with a different legal system and make the lawyers wear silly wigs (I am totally in favor of lawyers having to wear silly wigs in the courtroom). I was a little surprised at how difficult it was to get used to Jamie Bamber with a British accent again, until I realized that he was doing a different British accent than he used in all the costume dramas and that is his normal speaking voice. I guess they didn't want a cop who sounded like a Cambridge graduate. Anyway, I already love the relationship between the two detectives (almost as good as Lewis and Hathaway on PBS), and it's fun playing "Hey, it's that Doctor Who guest star!" with the guest cast and trying to recognize people without the alien makeup and costumes.
The best TV news this week was the renewal of Haven for a second season. I may get withdrawal after tonight's season finale, and we have to wait until next summer for new episodes. Too bad they aren't doing a Christmas episode like with the other summer Sci Fi shows because I'd love to see what A Very Haven Christmas would look like. Holiday store displays coming to life and rampaging through town because of a kid who was traumatized by his experience visiting Santa? But since they shoot in Nova Scotia and mostly outdoors, I can see where they would have a limited filming window. This show is turning out to be like a Stealth Lost. At first it looked like just a monster-of-the-week paranormal procedural with just enough of a mythology to create a series premise and some fun character stuff on the side, but then each time they reveal a clue about the mythology, it makes you look at the character stuff in a new way, and some of the fun side stuff might actually be a major clue to the mythology. They also have my favorite cop partnership on TV and one of the few relationships I wouldn't mind turning romantic if they keep writing it this well. Every time you think they're heading straight for a TV cliche, they neatly sidestep it and do something unexpected. They've also found an interesting way to ramp up the sexual tension without resorting to conflict or bickering between the characters.
So, see, it's not just me or even me being sick and crabby. Give me something good involving characters I like and I can enjoy it.
I was starting to worry about myself this week when I finally gave up on several TV series. After all, it's a danger sign of depression if you no longer enjoy things that used to give you pleasure. But I suspect it's not me, it's them.
For starters, I've given the new Hawaii Five-O a shot, and decided that they forgot to create characters. The actors are good, and I've liked them in other things, but the writers have to do their part, too. Danny is the only one with a personality, and I get the feeling that's mostly the actor going well beyond the script. I just can't bring myself to care otherwise. That one may fall into the "OnDemand for background noise while I'm doing the Sunday crosswords" category, unless I'm finishing up med school stuff on Monday nights. I may turn it into a game and try to finish the med school stuff before 9, then make a point of devoting that hour to writing and see what adding an hour to my writing week does to my productivity.
Then I think NCIS: Los Angeles will fall into that same "OnDemand if I need background noise for the Sunday crosswords" category. I had been taping it while I was at ballet and then watching that and the original NCIS when I got home, but now I may just watch the one show and then go to bed or read. Not only did they write out the character I most related to and add a new guy who grates on my nerves, but now they seem to have added yet another highly irritating character, and the new characters are now making the characters I used to like irritating. It has reached the point where the irritating things outnumber the enjoyable things, and I don't want to waste my time on things that irritate me. I'm still not sure what the people at that show were thinking in making so many changes so soon to a show that was so successful. It's like they were trying for the fastest shark jump ever. I've never seen a show go from fun to unwatchable so quickly and so soon in the series run. Even House had been on three seasons before they shook up the cast.
And I think I'm giving up on Glee. I taped it to watch after choir on Wednesdays, but when I got home from choir early this week, I found myself watching Mythbusters instead, and then I was going to watch Glee but decided to rewatch an older episode of Haven OnDemand, and then I felt this huge sense of relief when I gave myself permission not to watch Glee. The thing is, I don't really like any of the characters. They all seem to be selfish almost to the point of being sociopaths. The one character who truly seems to be good at heart is portrayed as being dumber than a sack of rocks and then is often sacrificed on the altar of political correctness for the few moments when he's not being saintly. I'm not even crazy about a lot of the music they've been doing lately. I guess in November when they start showing Human Target on Wednesdays, I can tape that and watch it when I get home from choir.
I'm giving Supernatural one more week to see how it goes now that they've settled back into a "normal" mode, but so far, I've realized I don't even like the main characters anymore. I liked the early seasons with the "Luke Skywalker and Han Solo travel the country fighting demons and monsters" feel to it, but those characters are pretty much gone. It does make sense that the things they've been through would change them, but that doesn't mean I have to like the changes. I also wasn't fond of the apocalypse plot from last year. It was the same thing that bothered me about the fourth season of Angel -- a lot of the fun of this kind of show is the pretense that all this stuff is really going on in our world, and it explains a lot of the weirdness of our world, but when they go so big that everyone has to notice things (like towns being wiped off the map), it removes the pretense that this is what's going on secretly in the real world and makes it quite clearly an alternate version of our world.
On things I like, I rather enjoyed the pilot episode of Law and Order: UK (otherwise known as "Lee Adama and Martha Jones fight crime in London"). I wasn't a huge fan of the original US series because I've had enough bad jury duty experiences that I can't handle the courtroom stuff and all the legal wrangling. As I've said, lawyers are real and they're scary. It seems to help when you move it to another country with a different legal system and make the lawyers wear silly wigs (I am totally in favor of lawyers having to wear silly wigs in the courtroom). I was a little surprised at how difficult it was to get used to Jamie Bamber with a British accent again, until I realized that he was doing a different British accent than he used in all the costume dramas and that is his normal speaking voice. I guess they didn't want a cop who sounded like a Cambridge graduate. Anyway, I already love the relationship between the two detectives (almost as good as Lewis and Hathaway on PBS), and it's fun playing "Hey, it's that Doctor Who guest star!" with the guest cast and trying to recognize people without the alien makeup and costumes.
The best TV news this week was the renewal of Haven for a second season. I may get withdrawal after tonight's season finale, and we have to wait until next summer for new episodes. Too bad they aren't doing a Christmas episode like with the other summer Sci Fi shows because I'd love to see what A Very Haven Christmas would look like. Holiday store displays coming to life and rampaging through town because of a kid who was traumatized by his experience visiting Santa? But since they shoot in Nova Scotia and mostly outdoors, I can see where they would have a limited filming window. This show is turning out to be like a Stealth Lost. At first it looked like just a monster-of-the-week paranormal procedural with just enough of a mythology to create a series premise and some fun character stuff on the side, but then each time they reveal a clue about the mythology, it makes you look at the character stuff in a new way, and some of the fun side stuff might actually be a major clue to the mythology. They also have my favorite cop partnership on TV and one of the few relationships I wouldn't mind turning romantic if they keep writing it this well. Every time you think they're heading straight for a TV cliche, they neatly sidestep it and do something unexpected. They've also found an interesting way to ramp up the sexual tension without resorting to conflict or bickering between the characters.
So, see, it's not just me or even me being sick and crabby. Give me something good involving characters I like and I can enjoy it.
October 7, 2010
This Post Brought to You by Benadryl
The plague seems to have returned and mutated. I pretty much bought the pharmacy at Target the other day, and now I have different symptoms that require the medications I didn't buy. I was rather surprised that I had to show ID to buy Robitussin. Apparently, that's one of the drugs that can be cooked into some kind of drug cocktail that gives you a buzz. I offered to cough for the clerk to prove I really needed it. I can't imagine getting high off that stuff. For one thing, it's nasty, and for another, the only high I get from it is the blessed respite from coughing. But on the upside, I only had one middle-of-the-night coughing fit last night, and it didn't come until 4:30 in the morning, so I almost got a whole night of uninterrupted sleep. Woo hoo. I'm practically well.
I don't know if it's related to the plague or to all the cold/allergy drugs, but I seem to have been living in simultaneous parallel timelines lately. Twice in the last couple of days I've discovered answering machine messages referring to the need to talk to me about something, from someone I had actually talked to about that thing at about the time stamp on the message. It's like there's a timeline where I did answer the phone and we had the conversation and a timeline where I didn't and the person left a message, and the messages are spilling over into the timeline where I answered the phone. Or I suppose the people could have called me in the very brief times when I was at the mailbox, taking the trash out or taking a shower and then they called back right away and then I didn't notice the message until later, but where's the fun in that? At any rate, it's disconcerting to realize I have a message and then find that it's from someone who needs to talk about something that we did talk about already.
I've been working on plotting a story idea, and I thought I was being easily distracted and wasting time yesterday because I was working at my desk instead of disconnecting from the Internet, and I kept thinking of things I needed to look up, which then devolved into web surfing until I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. But then when I went back to work on the synopsis, I'd have an idea that was even more fun and crazy than the direction I'd been going before I got sidetracked, so maybe it was my creative process at work. And then when I was on my way to choir (I can't sing right now, but we have to have two adults in the room at all times with the kindergardeners, and I figured I might as well stay for at least the first part of the adult choir rehearsal so I'll know what we're doing Sunday in case I can sing then), I came up with an idea that was so much fun that I was cackling with glee and saying "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh!" the rest of the way there. It still sounded good this morning and now I'm excited. I may disconnect from the Internet to really focus today. And if this book gets published, I should probably get a sponsorship from Benadryl: "This plot brought to you by Benadryl. Literally."
Finally, I have finally had success on the shoe shopping front. They weren't exactly what I wanted, but they met most of my requirements and were on sale. I'm almost ashamed to admit that this success came at Payless, but hey, it was the only place that had something like this. The current style of flats all have that sort of exaggerated rounded toe that looks like it should be more comfortable than the pointy toes, but the shoe is cut so low at the toe that it gives this Minnie Mouse look, or else makes you look like the ugly stepsister trying to squeeze your foot into Cinderella's slipper, like the shoe is totally out of proportion to the foot. But worse, it makes the edge of the shoe cut right across the big toe "knuckle," and that hurts. I kept trying on shoes that looked like they should be comfortable, only to find them painful right away. But now I have very low-heeled black semi-dressy shoes that aren't falling apart and that don't hurt, and they may hold me until styles change again.
Now time for more drugs and more liquids. I have a library event this weekend, so I'm hoping to get back to semi-normal, or at least able to talk, by then.
I don't know if it's related to the plague or to all the cold/allergy drugs, but I seem to have been living in simultaneous parallel timelines lately. Twice in the last couple of days I've discovered answering machine messages referring to the need to talk to me about something, from someone I had actually talked to about that thing at about the time stamp on the message. It's like there's a timeline where I did answer the phone and we had the conversation and a timeline where I didn't and the person left a message, and the messages are spilling over into the timeline where I answered the phone. Or I suppose the people could have called me in the very brief times when I was at the mailbox, taking the trash out or taking a shower and then they called back right away and then I didn't notice the message until later, but where's the fun in that? At any rate, it's disconcerting to realize I have a message and then find that it's from someone who needs to talk about something that we did talk about already.
I've been working on plotting a story idea, and I thought I was being easily distracted and wasting time yesterday because I was working at my desk instead of disconnecting from the Internet, and I kept thinking of things I needed to look up, which then devolved into web surfing until I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. But then when I went back to work on the synopsis, I'd have an idea that was even more fun and crazy than the direction I'd been going before I got sidetracked, so maybe it was my creative process at work. And then when I was on my way to choir (I can't sing right now, but we have to have two adults in the room at all times with the kindergardeners, and I figured I might as well stay for at least the first part of the adult choir rehearsal so I'll know what we're doing Sunday in case I can sing then), I came up with an idea that was so much fun that I was cackling with glee and saying "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh!" the rest of the way there. It still sounded good this morning and now I'm excited. I may disconnect from the Internet to really focus today. And if this book gets published, I should probably get a sponsorship from Benadryl: "This plot brought to you by Benadryl. Literally."
Finally, I have finally had success on the shoe shopping front. They weren't exactly what I wanted, but they met most of my requirements and were on sale. I'm almost ashamed to admit that this success came at Payless, but hey, it was the only place that had something like this. The current style of flats all have that sort of exaggerated rounded toe that looks like it should be more comfortable than the pointy toes, but the shoe is cut so low at the toe that it gives this Minnie Mouse look, or else makes you look like the ugly stepsister trying to squeeze your foot into Cinderella's slipper, like the shoe is totally out of proportion to the foot. But worse, it makes the edge of the shoe cut right across the big toe "knuckle," and that hurts. I kept trying on shoes that looked like they should be comfortable, only to find them painful right away. But now I have very low-heeled black semi-dressy shoes that aren't falling apart and that don't hurt, and they may hold me until styles change again.
Now time for more drugs and more liquids. I have a library event this weekend, so I'm hoping to get back to semi-normal, or at least able to talk, by then.
October 6, 2010
The Harry Potter Comparison
I have one more rule on the "If ever I am a romance heroine" list that came out of a discussion in comments:
8) Before I have sex with or even make out with a man, I will learn his name and pertinent details, like what his profession is and where he works. Oh, and marital status.
Aside from the fact that emotional intimacy should precede physical intimacy, knowing something about a man before I get up close and personal with him will prevent such embarrassing situations as getting to work the next day and finding out that my one-night stand is my new boss, employee or co-worker. Before sleeping with a man, I should also know enough about him to catch the red flags that indicate he's married -- like do I have a way to contact him other than his cell phone number, have I ever been to his place, have I met his friends, have I met his co-workers, etc.
Now back to my biweekly addressing of questions related to my Enchanted, Inc. series. One question I was asked was whether or not I like any comparisons between my series and the Harry Potter books.
Actually, my series was somewhat inspired by the Harry Potter books. When I first came up with the initial idea, I'd just gotten into the Harry Potter series. I was late to the game, as I hadn't even heard of those books until the summer of 2000, when the fourth book came out. I was on a business trip in Boston, and there was an article about the series in the USA Today left in front of my hotel room door. I realized how big it was when I passed the Borders between the office and my hotel after work on release day, and there was already a long line of people in front of the store, many of them wearing costumes. I bought the first book that fall when I was in England, but I didn't read it until early the next year. I bought the next two books the next fall (2001) on another trip to England, and then I finally read them around Christmas after the first movie came out. I really liked the whimsy of those books and the collision between the fantasy world and the magical world, with both sides being a little clueless about each other. I also liked how relatable that world was. Even with all the fantasy elements, the characters were people I recognized. I've had teachers like many of the ones in the books. I've had classmates very much like the kids in the books, I've had relationships like the ones in the books, and I essentially was Hermione.
I wanted more books like that, only I also wanted them to be more adult. If there could be fantasy books with people and situations I related to about kids, why not for adults? The very first thought that sparked my series was the phrase "Bridget Jones meets Harry Potter" that popped into my head one morning. That summed it all up. This was also the heyday of the chick lit trend, and I thought it would be really fun to have that relatable world with a touch of magic, dealing with careers, dating and family. If a magical school was so much fun, what could you do with a magical workplace?
As popular as the Harry Potter series was, and as many articles I read about how many adults were reading those books, I was surprised to find that there really weren't any books like that for adults. The urban fantasy I found (though there wasn't much then) was all dark, without the fun and whimsy, and the characters were so deep into that dark world that I didn't really relate to them because they were never in situations that I recognized. Eventually, I realized that if I wanted to read books like that, I'd have to write them, but even then, I was worried that the fact that there weren't any books like that meant there was no market for them. I was questioning how good the idea was. If I was the only person going there, then maybe that meant it wasn't such a great idea, because surely an idea that great would have been snapped up by everyone else.
When I did sell the series, I was all for promoting with the Harry Potter angle, since there are quite a few readers there, and I was pretty sure that people who liked those books would like my books, but the US publisher was adamantly opposed to that link. The first book in my series even came out within a month of a Harry Potter release, so it seemed like there would be a lot of publicity opportunities. I remembered from previous releases that they always did some kind of round-up of other books fans might enjoy, either while waiting for the new one or after reading the new one and waiting for the next one. The publicists were very opposed to that. They kept saying that they wanted any articles about my books to be about me and my books, not just a mention in an article about Harry Potter. I kept saying that no one would write an article about me, and if they did, people wouldn't be inclined to read it, but they were definitely going to be covering Harry Potter, and people would be reading those articles. I did some of my own publicity along those lines, and those were my most successful publicity hits. I also found that creative repositioning of my books during the Harry Potter release party was very successful. I kept casually leaving copies of Enchanted, Inc. on the front tables at the Barnes & Noble during the release party, and then noticed that people milling around during the event would pick up the book, look at it, then take it immediately to the checkout stand, so I'd then move another book. If I had that kind of success making that connection, I can only imagine what might have happened if the publisher had done that kind of publicity on a national level.
I'm still really surprised that there haven't been more Harry Potter-like books for adults. There were a lot of adult readers, and a lot of the teen readers of the series are adults now. And yet, there's nothing that really captures that feel, and they don't seem to be looking for that. I suspect it's because publishing is so compartmentalized. The Harry Potter books were classified as children's books, so they were only compared to other children's books. They didn't look into who was buying and reading those books. That's one of the reasons they didn't want to compare my books to that series and why they didn't consider that comparison even when making the decision to publish my books in the first place. They looked at the numbers for the Harry Potter series and wanted to find another children's series. They didn't seem to consider how that might spill over into adult books. Urban fantasy doesn't fill that niche for me, mostly because it usually doesn't strike me as fantasy. It's more of a horror/paranormal romance/hardboiled mystery mix. The Dresden Files series comes closest, and as Jim Butcher says, it's kind of "Dirty Harry" Potter. But there doesn't seem to have been the magical workplace kind of book like I wrote.
So, I guess that's a long way of saying that I welcome the comparison, and I think my books can hold up to the comparison. I don't think I'm going quite as deep as the Potter books ended up going (but they weren't really there by book 4, either), and I'm certainly not going for the religious allegory that they ended up being. But as an exploration of a magical society used to satirize real-world situations, I think my books hold up pretty well in comparison.
I still have a few questions in queue, but please do feel free to ask more. I'll keep doing this as long as there are questions to answer.
8) Before I have sex with or even make out with a man, I will learn his name and pertinent details, like what his profession is and where he works. Oh, and marital status.
Aside from the fact that emotional intimacy should precede physical intimacy, knowing something about a man before I get up close and personal with him will prevent such embarrassing situations as getting to work the next day and finding out that my one-night stand is my new boss, employee or co-worker. Before sleeping with a man, I should also know enough about him to catch the red flags that indicate he's married -- like do I have a way to contact him other than his cell phone number, have I ever been to his place, have I met his friends, have I met his co-workers, etc.
Now back to my biweekly addressing of questions related to my Enchanted, Inc. series. One question I was asked was whether or not I like any comparisons between my series and the Harry Potter books.
Actually, my series was somewhat inspired by the Harry Potter books. When I first came up with the initial idea, I'd just gotten into the Harry Potter series. I was late to the game, as I hadn't even heard of those books until the summer of 2000, when the fourth book came out. I was on a business trip in Boston, and there was an article about the series in the USA Today left in front of my hotel room door. I realized how big it was when I passed the Borders between the office and my hotel after work on release day, and there was already a long line of people in front of the store, many of them wearing costumes. I bought the first book that fall when I was in England, but I didn't read it until early the next year. I bought the next two books the next fall (2001) on another trip to England, and then I finally read them around Christmas after the first movie came out. I really liked the whimsy of those books and the collision between the fantasy world and the magical world, with both sides being a little clueless about each other. I also liked how relatable that world was. Even with all the fantasy elements, the characters were people I recognized. I've had teachers like many of the ones in the books. I've had classmates very much like the kids in the books, I've had relationships like the ones in the books, and I essentially was Hermione.
I wanted more books like that, only I also wanted them to be more adult. If there could be fantasy books with people and situations I related to about kids, why not for adults? The very first thought that sparked my series was the phrase "Bridget Jones meets Harry Potter" that popped into my head one morning. That summed it all up. This was also the heyday of the chick lit trend, and I thought it would be really fun to have that relatable world with a touch of magic, dealing with careers, dating and family. If a magical school was so much fun, what could you do with a magical workplace?
As popular as the Harry Potter series was, and as many articles I read about how many adults were reading those books, I was surprised to find that there really weren't any books like that for adults. The urban fantasy I found (though there wasn't much then) was all dark, without the fun and whimsy, and the characters were so deep into that dark world that I didn't really relate to them because they were never in situations that I recognized. Eventually, I realized that if I wanted to read books like that, I'd have to write them, but even then, I was worried that the fact that there weren't any books like that meant there was no market for them. I was questioning how good the idea was. If I was the only person going there, then maybe that meant it wasn't such a great idea, because surely an idea that great would have been snapped up by everyone else.
When I did sell the series, I was all for promoting with the Harry Potter angle, since there are quite a few readers there, and I was pretty sure that people who liked those books would like my books, but the US publisher was adamantly opposed to that link. The first book in my series even came out within a month of a Harry Potter release, so it seemed like there would be a lot of publicity opportunities. I remembered from previous releases that they always did some kind of round-up of other books fans might enjoy, either while waiting for the new one or after reading the new one and waiting for the next one. The publicists were very opposed to that. They kept saying that they wanted any articles about my books to be about me and my books, not just a mention in an article about Harry Potter. I kept saying that no one would write an article about me, and if they did, people wouldn't be inclined to read it, but they were definitely going to be covering Harry Potter, and people would be reading those articles. I did some of my own publicity along those lines, and those were my most successful publicity hits. I also found that creative repositioning of my books during the Harry Potter release party was very successful. I kept casually leaving copies of Enchanted, Inc. on the front tables at the Barnes & Noble during the release party, and then noticed that people milling around during the event would pick up the book, look at it, then take it immediately to the checkout stand, so I'd then move another book. If I had that kind of success making that connection, I can only imagine what might have happened if the publisher had done that kind of publicity on a national level.
I'm still really surprised that there haven't been more Harry Potter-like books for adults. There were a lot of adult readers, and a lot of the teen readers of the series are adults now. And yet, there's nothing that really captures that feel, and they don't seem to be looking for that. I suspect it's because publishing is so compartmentalized. The Harry Potter books were classified as children's books, so they were only compared to other children's books. They didn't look into who was buying and reading those books. That's one of the reasons they didn't want to compare my books to that series and why they didn't consider that comparison even when making the decision to publish my books in the first place. They looked at the numbers for the Harry Potter series and wanted to find another children's series. They didn't seem to consider how that might spill over into adult books. Urban fantasy doesn't fill that niche for me, mostly because it usually doesn't strike me as fantasy. It's more of a horror/paranormal romance/hardboiled mystery mix. The Dresden Files series comes closest, and as Jim Butcher says, it's kind of "Dirty Harry" Potter. But there doesn't seem to have been the magical workplace kind of book like I wrote.
So, I guess that's a long way of saying that I welcome the comparison, and I think my books can hold up to the comparison. I don't think I'm going quite as deep as the Potter books ended up going (but they weren't really there by book 4, either), and I'm certainly not going for the religious allegory that they ended up being. But as an exploration of a magical society used to satirize real-world situations, I think my books hold up pretty well in comparison.
I still have a few questions in queue, but please do feel free to ask more. I'll keep doing this as long as there are questions to answer.
October 5, 2010
If I'm Ever a Romance Heroine
Romantic comedy movies get a bad rap, probably because there really are a lot of bad ones and the people who make them seem to think you can churn out any old garbage and get away with it. But a serious student of them, like myself, can pull out many life lessons from them. Hey, maybe I ought to write an advice book on the subject! At the very least, I could do the romance heroine version of the Evil Overlord List. So, here are the life lessons I've pulled from romance novels, romantic films and romantic comedies.
If I'm ever a romance heroine ...
1) If I meet someone I really like, I will exchange contact information with him.
I won't trust in fate to bring us together again. I won't arrange a meeting at a certain date in a certain place, with no plan B, in case I want to meet up but can't on that day. Things come up that may be entirely outside anyone's control, and I don't want to miss my chance at happiness because someone has a death in the family on the appointed day or gets hit by a taxi on the way to the rendezvous or he doesn't find the used book I scribbled my number in and then sold. It sounds lovely to say that it's up to fate or the will of God, and that if you're meant to be together, you'll find each other again, but that's actually wimping out and avoiding making your own choices. I can just hear God saying, "Hey, I brought you together in the first place. What more do you people want?" I'll set up the romantic meeting a year from now, but I'll have a backup plan in case something happens and we still want to see each other again.
2) I will make my decision about who I really love before the wedding ceremony.
The wedding ceremony is not the time to be wavering about which person I really love. If I'm wavering at all, then maybe I shouldn't be planning a wedding. If I'm still pining over someone I believe to be unavailable, maybe I shouldn't be planning to marry someone else. Not that I should put my life on hold while waiting for the unattainable person to become available, but if I'm able to be that sidetracked by the idea of someone else, it's probably a good sign that I'm not really into the person I'm planning to marry. If I know that I'd leave the person I'm marrying if the one I really love became available, then I won't get married. The other person deserves more than to be a consolation prize who'll get tossed aside as soon as the real prize comes up.
3) I will listen to the explanation.
If someone I love or even really like tries to tell me something, I will listen. It's probably important. If I don't listen, then I don't have the right to be angry at him for not telling me when I hear it later from someone else. If I get a piece of bad news about the person I love, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and give him the chance to explain. It may not be what I thought, and it doesn't say much about what I think about him if I'm able to leap directly to the worst possible conclusion. Before taking action based on an assumption, I will ask about it, even if I'm afraid of the answer. Better to ask, "So, who was that woman you were having lunch with today?" and then give him a chance to answer than to cancel the wedding and return all the gifts because I think he's cheating, and then find out it was just his sister.
4) I won't make assumptions based on superficial appearances.
This applies to first impressions -- the "gardener" I meet when I arrive at the grand estate almost always turns out to be an earl who takes a great personal interest in the grounds of his estate -- as well as to things like that lunch with the sister. Seriously, this lesson has been showing up since ancient mythology, it's a staple in folklore around the world, and fictional characters still manage to entirely miss the possibility that the poor person might be a rich person/king/god in disguise. Meanwhile, that person he's having lunch with is almost never a fling. If it were a fling, I wouldn't catch him so easily. If I find him in bed with the other woman, then yeah, I'll have a hissy fit and call things off, but if I see him in a restaurant with someone, I will go up and talk to him and introduce myself to the other woman before I call off the wedding. (I don't know how well this one holds up in real life, but I don't know that I'll run into that many grubby gardening earls. I might run into nerdy software billionaires, though.)
5) I won't get hung up on differences in one particular thing.
So I love weddings (I don't, but I'm being hypothetical here) and he hates them. How big a difference would that really make in our day-to-day life together? And does it really mean what I think it means about the kind of person he is? Maybe he just hates making a big fuss in public. It doesn't mean he can't be romantic. Likewise, I won't reject anyone offhand just because he doesn't like my favorite movie, doesn't like my favorite band, went to the wrong school, cheers for the wrong team, has money, doesn't have money, etc. Though I might make an exception if he went to Texas A&M. Some mixed marriages just don't work. And if he doesn't like Firefly, then we might not be very compatible. Okay, maybe there is something to this, after all, but only for important stuff, not for something silly like whether you like weddings. And if he is otherwise perfect, he probably would enjoy Firefly if he got the chance to watch it.
6) I can probably wait to tell him I love him.
Unless he's moving out of town forever or getting married to someone else that day, I don't have to chase him across town to tell him right now. And if he is moving out of town forever or getting married that day, isn't it a little selfish to expect him to change his life plans at the very last second, just because I've suddenly decided I love him? If I follow rule #1 and have exchanged contact information, then I can take my time to work things out and make a decision that's not a spur-of-the-moment thing. If he's following rule #2 and he's still getting married, then that means he's made his decision and disrupting his wedding to tell him that I love him would be tacky.
7) Sex can probably wait, too.
If I hated someone until just a second ago or was deeply involved with -- even engaged to -- someone else until I had a big epiphany a few minutes ago or if I've just run away from my own wedding, jumping into bed with someone else right away might not be the best idea. If I've only just now decided that I don't really loathe this person, after all, then there's a strong possibility that when the heat of the moment fades, I'll go back to loathing that person. Meanwhile, rebounds seldom go well. If it's for real, it can wait, and maybe taking some time to get used to the idea of this person and how I feel before we take the relationship to a sexual level will make the relationship more solid. I'll be able to tell whether it's really love or just lust.
And now I seem to have ruined the plots of most romantic comedy movies, especially the more recent ones. But if you eliminate all these things and then force yourself to come up with some new conflicts, maybe you'll get something good.
If I'm ever a romance heroine ...
1) If I meet someone I really like, I will exchange contact information with him.
I won't trust in fate to bring us together again. I won't arrange a meeting at a certain date in a certain place, with no plan B, in case I want to meet up but can't on that day. Things come up that may be entirely outside anyone's control, and I don't want to miss my chance at happiness because someone has a death in the family on the appointed day or gets hit by a taxi on the way to the rendezvous or he doesn't find the used book I scribbled my number in and then sold. It sounds lovely to say that it's up to fate or the will of God, and that if you're meant to be together, you'll find each other again, but that's actually wimping out and avoiding making your own choices. I can just hear God saying, "Hey, I brought you together in the first place. What more do you people want?" I'll set up the romantic meeting a year from now, but I'll have a backup plan in case something happens and we still want to see each other again.
2) I will make my decision about who I really love before the wedding ceremony.
The wedding ceremony is not the time to be wavering about which person I really love. If I'm wavering at all, then maybe I shouldn't be planning a wedding. If I'm still pining over someone I believe to be unavailable, maybe I shouldn't be planning to marry someone else. Not that I should put my life on hold while waiting for the unattainable person to become available, but if I'm able to be that sidetracked by the idea of someone else, it's probably a good sign that I'm not really into the person I'm planning to marry. If I know that I'd leave the person I'm marrying if the one I really love became available, then I won't get married. The other person deserves more than to be a consolation prize who'll get tossed aside as soon as the real prize comes up.
3) I will listen to the explanation.
If someone I love or even really like tries to tell me something, I will listen. It's probably important. If I don't listen, then I don't have the right to be angry at him for not telling me when I hear it later from someone else. If I get a piece of bad news about the person I love, I will give him the benefit of the doubt and give him the chance to explain. It may not be what I thought, and it doesn't say much about what I think about him if I'm able to leap directly to the worst possible conclusion. Before taking action based on an assumption, I will ask about it, even if I'm afraid of the answer. Better to ask, "So, who was that woman you were having lunch with today?" and then give him a chance to answer than to cancel the wedding and return all the gifts because I think he's cheating, and then find out it was just his sister.
4) I won't make assumptions based on superficial appearances.
This applies to first impressions -- the "gardener" I meet when I arrive at the grand estate almost always turns out to be an earl who takes a great personal interest in the grounds of his estate -- as well as to things like that lunch with the sister. Seriously, this lesson has been showing up since ancient mythology, it's a staple in folklore around the world, and fictional characters still manage to entirely miss the possibility that the poor person might be a rich person/king/god in disguise. Meanwhile, that person he's having lunch with is almost never a fling. If it were a fling, I wouldn't catch him so easily. If I find him in bed with the other woman, then yeah, I'll have a hissy fit and call things off, but if I see him in a restaurant with someone, I will go up and talk to him and introduce myself to the other woman before I call off the wedding. (I don't know how well this one holds up in real life, but I don't know that I'll run into that many grubby gardening earls. I might run into nerdy software billionaires, though.)
5) I won't get hung up on differences in one particular thing.
So I love weddings (I don't, but I'm being hypothetical here) and he hates them. How big a difference would that really make in our day-to-day life together? And does it really mean what I think it means about the kind of person he is? Maybe he just hates making a big fuss in public. It doesn't mean he can't be romantic. Likewise, I won't reject anyone offhand just because he doesn't like my favorite movie, doesn't like my favorite band, went to the wrong school, cheers for the wrong team, has money, doesn't have money, etc. Though I might make an exception if he went to Texas A&M. Some mixed marriages just don't work. And if he doesn't like Firefly, then we might not be very compatible. Okay, maybe there is something to this, after all, but only for important stuff, not for something silly like whether you like weddings. And if he is otherwise perfect, he probably would enjoy Firefly if he got the chance to watch it.
6) I can probably wait to tell him I love him.
Unless he's moving out of town forever or getting married to someone else that day, I don't have to chase him across town to tell him right now. And if he is moving out of town forever or getting married that day, isn't it a little selfish to expect him to change his life plans at the very last second, just because I've suddenly decided I love him? If I follow rule #1 and have exchanged contact information, then I can take my time to work things out and make a decision that's not a spur-of-the-moment thing. If he's following rule #2 and he's still getting married, then that means he's made his decision and disrupting his wedding to tell him that I love him would be tacky.
7) Sex can probably wait, too.
If I hated someone until just a second ago or was deeply involved with -- even engaged to -- someone else until I had a big epiphany a few minutes ago or if I've just run away from my own wedding, jumping into bed with someone else right away might not be the best idea. If I've only just now decided that I don't really loathe this person, after all, then there's a strong possibility that when the heat of the moment fades, I'll go back to loathing that person. Meanwhile, rebounds seldom go well. If it's for real, it can wait, and maybe taking some time to get used to the idea of this person and how I feel before we take the relationship to a sexual level will make the relationship more solid. I'll be able to tell whether it's really love or just lust.
And now I seem to have ruined the plots of most romantic comedy movies, especially the more recent ones. But if you eliminate all these things and then force yourself to come up with some new conflicts, maybe you'll get something good.
October 4, 2010
Weekend of the Plague
I had all kinds of plans for the weekend, and we had glorious fall weather. And I came down with the plague, so I spent the weekend on the sofa, coughing and whimpering. After my remarks a few weeks ago about the Lord of the Rings movies, that ended up being what I watched because I didn't want anything that would make me cry -- the sinuses were draining enough already -- and I didn't want anything that would make me laugh -- laughing made me cough. This was about the only thing I could come up with, and it meant I could go for nearly (or more than, in one case) three hours without getting up to change DVDs. The movies are less silly when they're in context, though I still think they went overboard with earnest speeches and close-ups of weepy eyes. They work especially well when you're on cold medicine and using them as background noise while reading Terry Pratchett. My experience pretty much consisted of enjoying the music, glancing up from time to time to enjoy the New Zealand scenery, and wishing I could jump into the screen with a bottle of shampoo and a pair of scissors. I can understand not having shiny, bouncy hair while in battle, but all that long, flowing hair just doesn't seem practical in those circumstances. They all got bad cases of helmet hair, all that hair would be uncomfortable under a helmet, and it seems like it would make a nice handhold for the enemy, or was there some warriors' code that forbade hair-pulling, and how did they get the Orcs to sign it? There is a reason the Marines go for the buzz-cut.
Yeah, that was pretty much my thought process while watching the movie. And I kind of want a Hobbit house. They look so cozy. Watching the movies made me want to re-read the books again (I've still read the books more times than I've seen the movies), but I'm a little afraid to. When I first read them in sixth grade, I plowed through them. They seemed so fast and exciting. I re-read them a year later and still loved them. I re-read them in college and found them to be an awful slog. I'm worried that I'd really spot all the flaws now, and that might diminish the memory of that time when I was eleven and thought they were amazing. Or I could discover depths I never noticed before.
I did get a slight vicarious taste of some of the weekend plans. We were going to go to the Lebanese Food Festival, and my very awesome friends brought me a baklava from the festival.
Now I'm in the annoying state where I'm well enough that I don't have an excuse for not doing the things I should be doing, but I don't feel well enough to do what I really want to do.
Meanwhile, I need to contemplate Halloween costume ideas. This will be something I wear to a party, where the main point of the costume is pretty much to show up and show it off, maybe get a few pictures taken, and then you go on to enjoy the party. So, nothing too elaborate or uncomfortable for sitting around, and I will likely have small children climbing on me, so probably nothing that might be damaged by sticky or greasy fingers. A couple of years ago, I did the Generic Urban Fantasy Book Cover, which involved pleather pants, and that worked well, as I could sponge off the little handprints. The costume catalogues stuck in the newspaper advertisements remain depressing, as all the female costumes for anyone older than about eight seem to essentially be French maid outfits, just in different colors and with different accessories to convey various characters. Whether you're a witch, a princess, a nurse, a vampire or a Viking warrior, you'll be wearing a corseted top, thigh-high stockings and a full skirt short enough to show the tops of the stockings. It's enough to make me want to see if I can find a costume idea that is as un-sexy as it's humanly possible to be (without actually being ugly -- I'd rather not buy into the idea that if you're not sexy, you're ugly).
Yeah, that was pretty much my thought process while watching the movie. And I kind of want a Hobbit house. They look so cozy. Watching the movies made me want to re-read the books again (I've still read the books more times than I've seen the movies), but I'm a little afraid to. When I first read them in sixth grade, I plowed through them. They seemed so fast and exciting. I re-read them a year later and still loved them. I re-read them in college and found them to be an awful slog. I'm worried that I'd really spot all the flaws now, and that might diminish the memory of that time when I was eleven and thought they were amazing. Or I could discover depths I never noticed before.
I did get a slight vicarious taste of some of the weekend plans. We were going to go to the Lebanese Food Festival, and my very awesome friends brought me a baklava from the festival.
Now I'm in the annoying state where I'm well enough that I don't have an excuse for not doing the things I should be doing, but I don't feel well enough to do what I really want to do.
Meanwhile, I need to contemplate Halloween costume ideas. This will be something I wear to a party, where the main point of the costume is pretty much to show up and show it off, maybe get a few pictures taken, and then you go on to enjoy the party. So, nothing too elaborate or uncomfortable for sitting around, and I will likely have small children climbing on me, so probably nothing that might be damaged by sticky or greasy fingers. A couple of years ago, I did the Generic Urban Fantasy Book Cover, which involved pleather pants, and that worked well, as I could sponge off the little handprints. The costume catalogues stuck in the newspaper advertisements remain depressing, as all the female costumes for anyone older than about eight seem to essentially be French maid outfits, just in different colors and with different accessories to convey various characters. Whether you're a witch, a princess, a nurse, a vampire or a Viking warrior, you'll be wearing a corseted top, thigh-high stockings and a full skirt short enough to show the tops of the stockings. It's enough to make me want to see if I can find a costume idea that is as un-sexy as it's humanly possible to be (without actually being ugly -- I'd rather not buy into the idea that if you're not sexy, you're ugly).
October 1, 2010
Going for Goals
I'm in the plotting stage for something (a book, not world domination, at least for this week), and I find that this tends to make me really scattered, like that takes all my mental energy. But ideas are flowing, and it's a fun process of discovery.
My shoe-shopping trip yesterday was something of a failure. I didn't find anything that was what I really wanted. There were a couple of options that fell into the "okay, this could work" category, but they were more expensive than I liked, and I didn't like them enough to consider them worth the money. Instead, I ended up at the bookstore next door to the shoe store, where I found a CD set of complete Glenn Miller recordings for four bucks, so at least it wasn't a wasted trip. I hit the mall briefly, but it appears that this fall's fashions are mostly made up of strips of rags put together with a hot glue gun, and in such charming colors as "oatmeal" and "gray." Maybe it's supposed to look eco-friendly? There was one dress that intrigued me because it was a stunning design, but on closer inspection it proved to be made of shoddy material and with poor worksmanship, and it was not inexpensive. I guess I'll be shopping my closet this season, and maybe I'll hit the import shop to find some interesting scarves to change things up a bit.
Sometimes I find strange congruences in things I'm watching or reading, though that could be because I like finding patterns in things. Lately, I seem to have stumbled upon the theme of goals, or lack thereof.
I recently watched the movie Flashdance on HBO (would you believe, I'd never seen it?) and found it remarkably boring, but then realized that it was essentially a movie about someone who was actively not pursuing her main goal. The heroine wanted to be a professional dancer with a dance company, but she kept chickening out because she wasn't a "real" dancer, since she'd never taken a dance class. She'd learned only by reading books and imitating what she saw on TV. It wasn't exactly a realistic goal, at least not in the way it was presented in the movie. She might have been able to do modern dance that has a less-formal structure, but everything they showed her watching was classical ballet, and whenever she went to get the forms to audition for the dance company, all the other dancers she passed were wearing pointe shoes. Not to be a dance snob, but classical ballet is one area where you pretty much have to have formal training. You're not going to be able to do a glorified aerobics routine for a classical ballet company audition and get in. But the thing that got me is that there was an obvious solution to her dilemma. Every time she whined that she couldn't be a real dancer because she'd never taken a real dance class, I screamed at the TV "Then take a dance class, idiot!" She'd talked about having money saved, and while ballet training isn't cheap, the community college here lets you take the dance major classes as a non-credit course for very little (if I didn't like my class so much, were younger and were more serious, that's what I'd be doing). Plus, most dance studios let you take an initial class for free and then offer a pay-by-the-class option, so she could get a fair amount of training just by going around town and taking free classes or picking up a class whenever she had time or money for it.
It reminded me of a Dr. Phil show I saw once (back in the early days before he went into the reality-TV-style freakshow approach). A mother had written to him about her pre-teen daughter who desperately wanted to be a cheerleader and who was planning to try out at the end of the school year. The daughter was obese and couldn't do the physical things required of a cheerleader, like gymnastics or even making it through a whole dance routine, and the mother was asking where to draw the line in supporting her daughter's dreams. Should she encourage and support her in trying out even though she knew it would only lead to failure and humiliation, or should she not let her try out and stomp on her dream while sparing her the failure and humiliation? Dr. Phil pointed out that these weren't the only options, then talked to the girl about her dream, asking her what she'd done toward achieving it. It turns out that all she'd done was talk about wanting to do it, and he said that was a dream, not a goal, because if it's a goal, then you have a plan toward achieving it and are taking steps toward it. So he worked through with her what she'd have to do to be a cheerleader, including getting in good enough physical shape that she had the necessary endurance, taking gymnastics classes and going to cheerleading camp. That's stuck with me so that whenever I catch myself dreaming about something that would be nice, I give myself a reality check about whether I'm doing what it takes to get there.
So, it seemed like this character in the movie had a goal she wasn't doing anything about. She was avoiding the audition because she didn't think she qualified, but wasn't doing anything about qualifying. Not that this was the most ridiculous thing about that movie. I was cracking up about the regulars at a blue-collar Pittsburgh bar avidly watching artsy, message-laden modern dance routines performed in silhouette by decently clothed women.
Meanwhile, I've been reading the novel Villette by Charlotte Bronte. This whole books is about someone who refuses to have goals or dreams because she's afraid of the pain that comes with goals and dreams. If she doesn't want anything, then she won't be hurt, but then that means a very constrained life that doesn't really suit her. The spoiler-laden introduction (that I read last) hailed this as a great achievement in writing to convey this kind of character and how it represented the options available to women of that era. I guess this would be the literary novel compared to the more "commercial" Jane Eyre, which actually has a plot. As a character study it was interesting, and there seemed to be good reason for the heroine's fear. Plus, she didn't whine about it or use it as an excuse. You had to read between the lines to figure it out. But not the most entertaining of books.
Which is why next in the queue is a new-to-me Terry Pratchett.
My shoe-shopping trip yesterday was something of a failure. I didn't find anything that was what I really wanted. There were a couple of options that fell into the "okay, this could work" category, but they were more expensive than I liked, and I didn't like them enough to consider them worth the money. Instead, I ended up at the bookstore next door to the shoe store, where I found a CD set of complete Glenn Miller recordings for four bucks, so at least it wasn't a wasted trip. I hit the mall briefly, but it appears that this fall's fashions are mostly made up of strips of rags put together with a hot glue gun, and in such charming colors as "oatmeal" and "gray." Maybe it's supposed to look eco-friendly? There was one dress that intrigued me because it was a stunning design, but on closer inspection it proved to be made of shoddy material and with poor worksmanship, and it was not inexpensive. I guess I'll be shopping my closet this season, and maybe I'll hit the import shop to find some interesting scarves to change things up a bit.
Sometimes I find strange congruences in things I'm watching or reading, though that could be because I like finding patterns in things. Lately, I seem to have stumbled upon the theme of goals, or lack thereof.
I recently watched the movie Flashdance on HBO (would you believe, I'd never seen it?) and found it remarkably boring, but then realized that it was essentially a movie about someone who was actively not pursuing her main goal. The heroine wanted to be a professional dancer with a dance company, but she kept chickening out because she wasn't a "real" dancer, since she'd never taken a dance class. She'd learned only by reading books and imitating what she saw on TV. It wasn't exactly a realistic goal, at least not in the way it was presented in the movie. She might have been able to do modern dance that has a less-formal structure, but everything they showed her watching was classical ballet, and whenever she went to get the forms to audition for the dance company, all the other dancers she passed were wearing pointe shoes. Not to be a dance snob, but classical ballet is one area where you pretty much have to have formal training. You're not going to be able to do a glorified aerobics routine for a classical ballet company audition and get in. But the thing that got me is that there was an obvious solution to her dilemma. Every time she whined that she couldn't be a real dancer because she'd never taken a real dance class, I screamed at the TV "Then take a dance class, idiot!" She'd talked about having money saved, and while ballet training isn't cheap, the community college here lets you take the dance major classes as a non-credit course for very little (if I didn't like my class so much, were younger and were more serious, that's what I'd be doing). Plus, most dance studios let you take an initial class for free and then offer a pay-by-the-class option, so she could get a fair amount of training just by going around town and taking free classes or picking up a class whenever she had time or money for it.
It reminded me of a Dr. Phil show I saw once (back in the early days before he went into the reality-TV-style freakshow approach). A mother had written to him about her pre-teen daughter who desperately wanted to be a cheerleader and who was planning to try out at the end of the school year. The daughter was obese and couldn't do the physical things required of a cheerleader, like gymnastics or even making it through a whole dance routine, and the mother was asking where to draw the line in supporting her daughter's dreams. Should she encourage and support her in trying out even though she knew it would only lead to failure and humiliation, or should she not let her try out and stomp on her dream while sparing her the failure and humiliation? Dr. Phil pointed out that these weren't the only options, then talked to the girl about her dream, asking her what she'd done toward achieving it. It turns out that all she'd done was talk about wanting to do it, and he said that was a dream, not a goal, because if it's a goal, then you have a plan toward achieving it and are taking steps toward it. So he worked through with her what she'd have to do to be a cheerleader, including getting in good enough physical shape that she had the necessary endurance, taking gymnastics classes and going to cheerleading camp. That's stuck with me so that whenever I catch myself dreaming about something that would be nice, I give myself a reality check about whether I'm doing what it takes to get there.
So, it seemed like this character in the movie had a goal she wasn't doing anything about. She was avoiding the audition because she didn't think she qualified, but wasn't doing anything about qualifying. Not that this was the most ridiculous thing about that movie. I was cracking up about the regulars at a blue-collar Pittsburgh bar avidly watching artsy, message-laden modern dance routines performed in silhouette by decently clothed women.
Meanwhile, I've been reading the novel Villette by Charlotte Bronte. This whole books is about someone who refuses to have goals or dreams because she's afraid of the pain that comes with goals and dreams. If she doesn't want anything, then she won't be hurt, but then that means a very constrained life that doesn't really suit her. The spoiler-laden introduction (that I read last) hailed this as a great achievement in writing to convey this kind of character and how it represented the options available to women of that era. I guess this would be the literary novel compared to the more "commercial" Jane Eyre, which actually has a plot. As a character study it was interesting, and there seemed to be good reason for the heroine's fear. Plus, she didn't whine about it or use it as an excuse. You had to read between the lines to figure it out. But not the most entertaining of books.
Which is why next in the queue is a new-to-me Terry Pratchett.
September 30, 2010
Hey, It's Thursday
The bad thing about these delightfully cool mornings is that it makes it nearly impossible to get out of bed. I wake up at the usual time, but then I'm so comfortable that I want to stay where I am and enjoy it. I suppose there's no reason I have to get up. I just feel lazy for lying around like that.
I need to do some brainstorming/outlining today as well as some writing, but I think I feel a shopping excursion coming on. I have a trip in a few weeks that will require at least one business-type outfit, most of my fall wardrobe focuses on the color black, and due to long-term wear on most of my black shoes, my current most comfortable pair of black shoes is 3-inch stilettos. I haven't been able to find decent, comfortable flats, so maybe I'll look for something low-heeled or wedge-heeled that I can walk in.
Actually, I might need to shop for other stuff while I'm at it, as I'm meeting with my agent, and I can't think of many of my fall/winter good outfits that she hasn't seen me in. Considering I haven't seen her in two years and I generally see her once or twice a year, at most, and half of those times are in the summer, that doesn't say much for my wardrobe. And yet my closet is totally packed. I suppose that means it's time for a purge.
Updating the fall television scorecard:
The new Hawaii Five-O is turning out to be surprisingly boring. I may give it one more episode before it gets relegated to "if I'm bored, I'll watch it OnDemand" status. The characters just aren't clicking for me, aside from Danno. Although I like the other actors, their characters aren't grabbing me.
House is teetering on the brink. I'm hoping once they deal with the relationship stuff they might go back to the medical mysteries.
Chuck is turning out to be very fun this season. I hope the Old Spice Guy sticks around in the Buy More alongside the old staff.
I remain baffled by the changes in NCIS: Los Angeles. It was at the top of the ratings and only one year old, so why mix up the cast? The new guy is totally Poochie from that Simpsons episode where the committee of network executives created a new hip, edgy character to bring in their chosen demographic on the Itchy and Scratchy Show. It's not a good sign when you're cheering for the bad guys to shoot one of the good guys. It's an even worse sign when you get the feeling the other good guys are cheering for the same thing and might even do it themselves. And it's a still worse sign when it would improve my estimation of any character who did shoot this guy, just because it would shut him up. He's irritating enough that he may trigger my remote control finger. Fortunately, I have to watch this OnDemand or on tape due to ballet class, so fast forward remains an option.
I watched the Undercovers pilot, and it looks like it will be good Saturday-night or Sunday-afternoon viewing. I like the characters, though I must admit I didn't pay much attention to the plot. I like seeing a married couple on a show, so it can get romantic without going for the "I hate you but I'm hot for you" thing.
This week, Human Target starts up again, completing my Friday-night viewing, along with Supernatural and, for two more weeks, Haven. Supernatural was rather boring last week. I'm still loving Haven because they keep doing things that go against the usual TV tropes and surprise me. They started with what seemed like stock characters, but then they've gone in unexpected directions with those characters. And there's a new Phineas and Ferb this week, which I will have to tape for post-Haven viewing.
The first show canceled this season, Lone Star, is filmed practically in my neighborhood, just down the street (that's where the studios are, but I'm sure they also used some other locations in the area). That still didn't make me want to watch it. There are several shows being filmed around here right now. Maybe I should look into extra work. I could be part of a crowd.
And that's all I've got for today. I think I'll go take a walk, then take a shower and hit the stores, then do my work tonight as there's not much on TV other than The Office and Life on Mars on PBS. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a serious work day, after a morning excursion to the library.
I need to do some brainstorming/outlining today as well as some writing, but I think I feel a shopping excursion coming on. I have a trip in a few weeks that will require at least one business-type outfit, most of my fall wardrobe focuses on the color black, and due to long-term wear on most of my black shoes, my current most comfortable pair of black shoes is 3-inch stilettos. I haven't been able to find decent, comfortable flats, so maybe I'll look for something low-heeled or wedge-heeled that I can walk in.
Actually, I might need to shop for other stuff while I'm at it, as I'm meeting with my agent, and I can't think of many of my fall/winter good outfits that she hasn't seen me in. Considering I haven't seen her in two years and I generally see her once or twice a year, at most, and half of those times are in the summer, that doesn't say much for my wardrobe. And yet my closet is totally packed. I suppose that means it's time for a purge.
Updating the fall television scorecard:
The new Hawaii Five-O is turning out to be surprisingly boring. I may give it one more episode before it gets relegated to "if I'm bored, I'll watch it OnDemand" status. The characters just aren't clicking for me, aside from Danno. Although I like the other actors, their characters aren't grabbing me.
House is teetering on the brink. I'm hoping once they deal with the relationship stuff they might go back to the medical mysteries.
Chuck is turning out to be very fun this season. I hope the Old Spice Guy sticks around in the Buy More alongside the old staff.
I remain baffled by the changes in NCIS: Los Angeles. It was at the top of the ratings and only one year old, so why mix up the cast? The new guy is totally Poochie from that Simpsons episode where the committee of network executives created a new hip, edgy character to bring in their chosen demographic on the Itchy and Scratchy Show. It's not a good sign when you're cheering for the bad guys to shoot one of the good guys. It's an even worse sign when you get the feeling the other good guys are cheering for the same thing and might even do it themselves. And it's a still worse sign when it would improve my estimation of any character who did shoot this guy, just because it would shut him up. He's irritating enough that he may trigger my remote control finger. Fortunately, I have to watch this OnDemand or on tape due to ballet class, so fast forward remains an option.
I watched the Undercovers pilot, and it looks like it will be good Saturday-night or Sunday-afternoon viewing. I like the characters, though I must admit I didn't pay much attention to the plot. I like seeing a married couple on a show, so it can get romantic without going for the "I hate you but I'm hot for you" thing.
This week, Human Target starts up again, completing my Friday-night viewing, along with Supernatural and, for two more weeks, Haven. Supernatural was rather boring last week. I'm still loving Haven because they keep doing things that go against the usual TV tropes and surprise me. They started with what seemed like stock characters, but then they've gone in unexpected directions with those characters. And there's a new Phineas and Ferb this week, which I will have to tape for post-Haven viewing.
The first show canceled this season, Lone Star, is filmed practically in my neighborhood, just down the street (that's where the studios are, but I'm sure they also used some other locations in the area). That still didn't make me want to watch it. There are several shows being filmed around here right now. Maybe I should look into extra work. I could be part of a crowd.
And that's all I've got for today. I think I'll go take a walk, then take a shower and hit the stores, then do my work tonight as there's not much on TV other than The Office and Life on Mars on PBS. Tomorrow I'm hoping for a serious work day, after a morning excursion to the library.
September 29, 2010
The Hero's Journey: Meeting with the Mentor
I had another pleasant breakfast on the patio. It's a busy day today and more "normal" for weather -- less magical -- so I suspect that breakfast will be the only Fall Fest element being enjoyed today, though I may do some of my reading/research work outdoors.
I'm continuing the discussion of the stages of the hero's journey, as described in The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. We've covered the Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call. The next stage is the Meeting with the Mentor.
This stage is usually about preparation -- getting the tools and information needed to go on the quest. Joseph Campbell refers to this stage as Supernatural Aid because in myth and folklore, this stage is usually about the hero receiving magical gifts -- powers, amulets, magical swords. This is the meeting with the fairy godmother in fairy tales or the wise old mentor who used to be the hero of his own story sharing his experience with the hero and passing on his tools or weapons as the hero picks up the figurative torch.
This stage can actually go in a number of places. It often comes during the Refusal of the Call because it's a talk with the mentor that helps the hero put things in perspective so he can make the decision about answering the call to adventure. The Mentor may also give the hero some critical information or some tool to help the hero on his quest once he's past the refusal point. When the mentor is the one issuing the call to adventure, the Meeting with the Mentor may coincide with that. The mentor may also show up when the hero has crossed the threshold and is on his quest or even later during the crisis points.
Sometimes, the hero will look for a Mentor to give him guidance, either before committing to the quest or along the way instead of the Mentor showing up, and the Mentor may be reluctant to share information. The Mentor doesn't have to be a character. This phase of the story could come from the hero consulting books, maps, folklore, oracles and stuff like that. The hero can encounter a false mentor, someone he relies upon but who steers him in the wrong direction -- like the wolf in the Red Riding Hood story who encourages her to go off the path. The Mentor meeting may recur throughout the story. The Mentor may join the hero on his quest (though usually is separated from the hero before the climax of the story because the hero has to learn to stand alone) or the mentor may show up at critical points.
As I mentioned when I was discussing archetypes, it's really easy to fall into stereotype with the Mentor character -- that white-bearded old wizard like Gandalf, Obi Wan Kenobi or Dumbledore. But any character who provides guidance, information or tools can serve that purpose.
Some examples of this phase of the story include:
In Star Wars, this is Luke's time at Obi Wan Kenobi's home, when he hears the (false) story about who his father really was and gets his father's lightsaber.
In the movie Stardust, this was when Tristan's father told him about his origins and gave him the gifts from his mother.
In the James Bond movies, this is usually the scene where Bond meets with Q and gets the latest gadgets and gizmos before he heads off on his mission.
In fairy tales, this is when the hero runs across the old man or woman, and when he chooses to help, he gets advice or some magical device that helps him succeed in his quest.
In romantic comedy stories, this may be the scene where the heroine talks to her friends about the guy she just met. Think of Bridget Jones's Diary, where she meets her friends at the bar (and this might count as a false mentor because they're more clueless than she is).
In The Wizard of Oz, Glinda appears to give Dorothy directions and gives her the silver (or, in the movie, red) slippers. She also pops up again when she's needed.
In the Harry Potter series, this is when Hagrid shows up and tells Harry about his parents and who they really were. We tend to think of Dumbledore as Harry's mentor, and he does serve this role in the rest of the books, but for this particular phase of the story, when Harry is on the brink of entering the magical world, Hagrid is the one who provides the crucial information and then takes Harry to get the tools he'll need -- his wand, the owl and his school books.
In the Narnia stories, Aslan plays the role of Mentor and usually shows up early in each story to direct the kids once they arrive in Narnia, then pops up again when they're at their most lost.
In cop/detective stories, this is the briefing about the case where the hero gets the information he needs to start solving it. Or the detective may meet with the (usually older and more experienced) medical examiner or with the lab staff to get the critical information about the victim so he can then delve into the victim's world.
In war, spy or military stories, this is generally the mission briefing where the weapons may be checked or issued.
Next, we finally get started on the journey.
I'm continuing the discussion of the stages of the hero's journey, as described in The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. We've covered the Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call. The next stage is the Meeting with the Mentor.
This stage is usually about preparation -- getting the tools and information needed to go on the quest. Joseph Campbell refers to this stage as Supernatural Aid because in myth and folklore, this stage is usually about the hero receiving magical gifts -- powers, amulets, magical swords. This is the meeting with the fairy godmother in fairy tales or the wise old mentor who used to be the hero of his own story sharing his experience with the hero and passing on his tools or weapons as the hero picks up the figurative torch.
This stage can actually go in a number of places. It often comes during the Refusal of the Call because it's a talk with the mentor that helps the hero put things in perspective so he can make the decision about answering the call to adventure. The Mentor may also give the hero some critical information or some tool to help the hero on his quest once he's past the refusal point. When the mentor is the one issuing the call to adventure, the Meeting with the Mentor may coincide with that. The mentor may also show up when the hero has crossed the threshold and is on his quest or even later during the crisis points.
Sometimes, the hero will look for a Mentor to give him guidance, either before committing to the quest or along the way instead of the Mentor showing up, and the Mentor may be reluctant to share information. The Mentor doesn't have to be a character. This phase of the story could come from the hero consulting books, maps, folklore, oracles and stuff like that. The hero can encounter a false mentor, someone he relies upon but who steers him in the wrong direction -- like the wolf in the Red Riding Hood story who encourages her to go off the path. The Mentor meeting may recur throughout the story. The Mentor may join the hero on his quest (though usually is separated from the hero before the climax of the story because the hero has to learn to stand alone) or the mentor may show up at critical points.
As I mentioned when I was discussing archetypes, it's really easy to fall into stereotype with the Mentor character -- that white-bearded old wizard like Gandalf, Obi Wan Kenobi or Dumbledore. But any character who provides guidance, information or tools can serve that purpose.
Some examples of this phase of the story include:
In Star Wars, this is Luke's time at Obi Wan Kenobi's home, when he hears the (false) story about who his father really was and gets his father's lightsaber.
In the movie Stardust, this was when Tristan's father told him about his origins and gave him the gifts from his mother.
In the James Bond movies, this is usually the scene where Bond meets with Q and gets the latest gadgets and gizmos before he heads off on his mission.
In fairy tales, this is when the hero runs across the old man or woman, and when he chooses to help, he gets advice or some magical device that helps him succeed in his quest.
In romantic comedy stories, this may be the scene where the heroine talks to her friends about the guy she just met. Think of Bridget Jones's Diary, where she meets her friends at the bar (and this might count as a false mentor because they're more clueless than she is).
In The Wizard of Oz, Glinda appears to give Dorothy directions and gives her the silver (or, in the movie, red) slippers. She also pops up again when she's needed.
In the Harry Potter series, this is when Hagrid shows up and tells Harry about his parents and who they really were. We tend to think of Dumbledore as Harry's mentor, and he does serve this role in the rest of the books, but for this particular phase of the story, when Harry is on the brink of entering the magical world, Hagrid is the one who provides the crucial information and then takes Harry to get the tools he'll need -- his wand, the owl and his school books.
In the Narnia stories, Aslan plays the role of Mentor and usually shows up early in each story to direct the kids once they arrive in Narnia, then pops up again when they're at their most lost.
In cop/detective stories, this is the briefing about the case where the hero gets the information he needs to start solving it. Or the detective may meet with the (usually older and more experienced) medical examiner or with the lab staff to get the critical information about the victim so he can then delve into the victim's world.
In war, spy or military stories, this is generally the mission briefing where the weapons may be checked or issued.
Next, we finally get started on the journey.
September 28, 2010
Introducing Fall Fest
I had a minor epiphany this morning. It was lovely, crisp and cool, so I decided to bake scones for breakfast. Then I thought it would be nice to have breakfast on the patio. But that was one of the things I have planned for my hypothetical "staycation" that I'm thinking of taking this fall, and I'm not really ready for vacation yet. And then I had to wonder where these rules came from. Who said that eating on the patio is only a vacation thing?
I think when it comes to stuff like this, my procrastination tendencies collide with my perfectionism tendencies and my fondness for anticipation to create a big, unholy mess. I do like having something to look forward to, and if I'm going to vacation by staying at home and relaxing, then I do need to have different things to make the vacation special. But on the other hand, if I keep waiting for the stars to align and for things to be perfect, I'll never actually take that vacation. Meanwhile, there's something to be said for ordinary pleasures, little things that can make any day a little more special. Like, say, starting the day by having tea and scones on the patio on a cool, sunny morning.
I think some of that procrastination/anticipation thing is a legacy of my grandmother, who was fond of keeping things "for good." That is, some things were too special to be used for ordinary occasions, so they were set aside for special occasions, and that meant they were never actually used because no occasion was deemed special enough. I do have a few things like that, but with me, it's mostly actions and experiences that I want to save for some special time when I have something to celebrate instead of "wasting" them on an ordinary day. And that means I never actually do all these things. I set up all these conditions for this perfect hypothetical stay-at-home vacation, then those conditions are never met, and so it doesn't really happen, or if I make it happen, it's kind of half-hearted because I don't do most of the stuff I had planned.
So, I have decided to rethink the fall vacation. I am hereby declaring Fall Fest. Since I'm not on an urgent deadline at the moment and can be flexible about most of my workload (aside from weekly deadlines for medical school stuff), I am going to enjoy my favorite season as it comes. Fall in Texas can be fleeting or sporadic, so when it's a perfect day for something I want to do, I will give myself permission to declare a spontaneous vacation day and do it. That's the nice thing about being self-employed. Back when I had a regular job, I used to wish I could call in on vacation on those perfect days that would be wasted in an office. If I didn't have anything scheduled, why not? But vacations had to be planned in advance. Working for myself, I can declare vacation whenever I want. I can eat breakfast on the patio on a cool, crisp morning. If it's one of those sparkling, not-too-warm/not-too-cool days, I can pack a picnic in my backpack and walk down to the riverfront for a picnic (and bring paper and a pen because I think better alongside moving water). If I notice the butterflies flying, I can run across the street to the butterfly park and watch them. If it's a cool, rainy day, I can curl up with a book and a pot of tea. I don't have to wait for a designated vacation time to do all the fun things I want to do at this time of year. And on other days or at other times of the day, I can work. This is probably better for my productivity than taking a week off. I'm in an idea-generation mode anyway, so getting out and living life is what I need right now to help me think.
Meanwhile, I need to decide if I'm going to Worldcon next year. The registration price goes up this week. It's in Reno, which isn't one of my favorite places, but it's not like there's much sightseeing going on during a convention. I have no idea what will be going on with my career by that time, whether I'll need to be promoting or whether I should be in cave mode. I suppose I could register, and then transfer the membership if I change my mind.
I think when it comes to stuff like this, my procrastination tendencies collide with my perfectionism tendencies and my fondness for anticipation to create a big, unholy mess. I do like having something to look forward to, and if I'm going to vacation by staying at home and relaxing, then I do need to have different things to make the vacation special. But on the other hand, if I keep waiting for the stars to align and for things to be perfect, I'll never actually take that vacation. Meanwhile, there's something to be said for ordinary pleasures, little things that can make any day a little more special. Like, say, starting the day by having tea and scones on the patio on a cool, sunny morning.
I think some of that procrastination/anticipation thing is a legacy of my grandmother, who was fond of keeping things "for good." That is, some things were too special to be used for ordinary occasions, so they were set aside for special occasions, and that meant they were never actually used because no occasion was deemed special enough. I do have a few things like that, but with me, it's mostly actions and experiences that I want to save for some special time when I have something to celebrate instead of "wasting" them on an ordinary day. And that means I never actually do all these things. I set up all these conditions for this perfect hypothetical stay-at-home vacation, then those conditions are never met, and so it doesn't really happen, or if I make it happen, it's kind of half-hearted because I don't do most of the stuff I had planned.
So, I have decided to rethink the fall vacation. I am hereby declaring Fall Fest. Since I'm not on an urgent deadline at the moment and can be flexible about most of my workload (aside from weekly deadlines for medical school stuff), I am going to enjoy my favorite season as it comes. Fall in Texas can be fleeting or sporadic, so when it's a perfect day for something I want to do, I will give myself permission to declare a spontaneous vacation day and do it. That's the nice thing about being self-employed. Back when I had a regular job, I used to wish I could call in on vacation on those perfect days that would be wasted in an office. If I didn't have anything scheduled, why not? But vacations had to be planned in advance. Working for myself, I can declare vacation whenever I want. I can eat breakfast on the patio on a cool, crisp morning. If it's one of those sparkling, not-too-warm/not-too-cool days, I can pack a picnic in my backpack and walk down to the riverfront for a picnic (and bring paper and a pen because I think better alongside moving water). If I notice the butterflies flying, I can run across the street to the butterfly park and watch them. If it's a cool, rainy day, I can curl up with a book and a pot of tea. I don't have to wait for a designated vacation time to do all the fun things I want to do at this time of year. And on other days or at other times of the day, I can work. This is probably better for my productivity than taking a week off. I'm in an idea-generation mode anyway, so getting out and living life is what I need right now to help me think.
Meanwhile, I need to decide if I'm going to Worldcon next year. The registration price goes up this week. It's in Reno, which isn't one of my favorite places, but it's not like there's much sightseeing going on during a convention. I have no idea what will be going on with my career by that time, whether I'll need to be promoting or whether I should be in cave mode. I suppose I could register, and then transfer the membership if I change my mind.
September 27, 2010
Fall Has Fallen
Fall has finally arrived, for a few days, at least. It was cool enough last night for me to put the real comforter back on the bed instead of the down throw I've been using in the summer. Then this morning when I took a walk, I got to wear my new hoodie. It's one of those perfect fall days, with a crisp, cool morning under cobalt-blue skies, and it will be just slightly warm this afternoon. I'll have to see if I've got the willpower to resist the siren song of the Internet this afternoon beca...
