Sarvenaz Tash's Blog, page 26

Thoughts of an Apple Girl

I've been an Apple girl for a long time, and consider both my first Mac PowerBook, purchased in 2005, and my current MacBook Pro, purchased in 2009, two of my most beloved possessions. An original iPod was the first big purchase I ever made with money from my first post-college job. And I can't imagine living without my iPhone.

It might be weird to be so sentimentally attached to gadgets. In the case of my laptops, I know it's because I do all my writing on them. And in the case of the iPods a...

Movies I Love: Being Elmo

Here's something unusual about me: I almost never, ever cry at fictional movies or books. This is especially odd because, in real life, I'm a crier. I mean, I'm not in tears every day or anything, but there's usually a leaky face involved if I'm really upset.

But with a movie or book, no matter how wrapped up I get in the story, there's something that keeps me from crossing that line. I'm talking like the beginning of Up didn't even bring on the waterworks. That's kinda messed up, people.

I ca...

Oh the Humanity: The Horror of the Self-Imposed Book-Buying Ban

 This is my to-be-read pile:

And I am currently in a self-imposed book-buying ban until I finish all of them.

This is painful and I need some virtual sympathy; I had a feeling you'd understand.

I don't want to be on a book-buying ban. I hear about books every day that I'd like to pick up. I once told a friend of mine that I've basically never left a bookshop without at least buying two books.

Which means that I now can't enter bookshops. This is the equivalent of banning a caffeine addict fro...

Dear Chapter Two

Dear Chapter Two [of the WIP],

So, listen...I'm going to get straight to the point. What is up with you, Chapter Two? There I was, bumbling along through my first draft. I hit you and all seemed fine. Then I hit the middle of you and...that's it. Standstill. Road block. Possibly even dead end?

I don't know if you know this, Chapter Two, but two is a really low number. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a novel that ends on Chapter Two. Much less the middle of Chapter Two. I'm not saying you ...

The Top 7 Things I Learned From My Final Proofread [Cue Synth Music]

Yesterday, I sent off the final, final, finalest version of my manuscript for The Mapmaker and the Ghost. Whatever's in there gets printed into a hardcover book and I will never have a chance to change anything about it ever again.

That is totally not freaky. No not at all.

And this is not an image of me peeking out in horror at my manuscript from underneath the covers.
And to prove how not freaky it is, I have made a soothing list!

Here are the top 7 things I learned from my final proofread:

1) ...

When Your Fifth Grade Teacher Turns Out To Be Kinda Psychic

This weekend, I was at my parents' house and I specifically sought out something I know I've wanted to share on my blog for a while. It was this:



...which is my fifth grade yearbook.

Inside, is an inscription from my fifth grade teacher, one that I've never forgotten since the day it was written:


That says:

Dear Sarvenaz,
I expect to read a novel written by you one day. Keep up the good writing. Lots of best wishes.
Love,
Mrs. Childs

Pretty neat, huh?

P.S. Today, in trivia you didn't ask for but are...

Birthday Bash #28: The Beatles

Originally, the theme for my 28th birthday party was supposed to be something entirely different (don't worry; it was recycled for a later date). But then, Harmonix announced that it would be releasing Beatles Rock Band a couple of weeks before my birthday and that all changed.

You see, I love Rock Band. And I L.O.V.E. The Beatles. They were almost exclusively all I listened to while growing up. Except for some Michael Jackson and that one Goo Goo Dolls album that you probably owned too, admit...

Hurricane First Draft

I think all writers have a favorite part of writing and all have a least favorite part.

My favorite part is revising. I like stepping back and being able to look at the big picture, find the threads that I didn't even know were there, fit in new puzzle pieces and slide some old pieces around to make a richer, fuller, more satisfying story.

Which stands to reason that I hate first drafts. With a passion. More specifically, I hate outlining first drafts. Because my least favorite part of writing ...

Hollywood and the Conundrum of Pretty People in Ordinary Situations

Film is a visual medium. People like looking at pretty people. Therefore, most actors and actresses are exceedingly attractive. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out, right?

But I have a pet peeve. And it has to do with those actors and actresses who are empirically gorgeous, the ones that seem to have come from a different stratosphere. What happens when they play ordinary people who don't get by on their looks one way or another?

The perfect example of this is Angelina Jolie in C...

TV I Love: Torchwood, Season 3

At some point this summer when I got really into Doctor Who (somewhere near the end of Series 1), I decided to take the plunge and watch Torchwood too. All I knew about it was that it was a Doctor Who spinoff, created by Russell T Davies and starring Captain Jack Harkness (a.k.a. John Barrowman).

This is John Barrowman. You should know that he also spends most of the show in suspenders and a 1940s-era long army coat.

My boyfriend once pointed out that he looks like the exact combo of Tom Cruise...