Sarah Allen's Blog, page 46

Goodbye to my sister for 18 months

I don't know when this is going to start feeling real. I'm not sure what I'm even feeling at the moment.

This afternoon my sister goes into the Missionary Training Center in Provo for three weeks before flying out to serve in the Indiana, Indianapolis mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We will not see her until January or February of 2014. I will be 25.

Nobody in my family has a doubt how wonderful a missionary Becca is going to be. She is patient, long-suffering, loving, diligent, faithful, and intelligent. I know there are a lot of stereotypes about Mormon missionaries (thank you Trey Parker and Matt Stone). Stereotypes usually exist for a reason, however negative, and there are definitely some missionaries who fit well within the stereotype. But for me, what we call "missionary work" is not about persuasion or numbers or anything like that. It is about intelligent, thinking people trying to share with the world what brings to their own personal lives the most happiness and peace. Regardless of the numbers, Becca will bring love, joy and peace into the lives of everybody she talks to. That is why she will be a phenomenal missionary.

My dad commented last night that Becca and I have spent more time with each other than anyone else has with either of us, and it's true. It's been different the past few years while we've been at college, but before that we shared a room our whole lives. We got our ears pierced together, our first phones together, even our drivers licences together (I was slow, don't mock me). She is 18 months younger than me, but has always been more of the big sister, the responsible, caring one we all look up to.

This is the start of some major shifting for my family. There is of course this, as well as my other sisters recent marriage, and three boys in a row who will be serving missions when they reach 19. That means that we will have someone in the mission field, that we will not be all together again, for seven years.

This is life, and it is okay that it is bitter-sweet. We will all miss Becca desperately, but that is nothing compared to the good she will be doing in Indiana. I admire and respect her for her decision to go on a mission, and I am not sure I would be able to do what she is about to do.

Really, it is not goodbye, it is good luck, be safe, we will see you soon.

And most of all, I love you.
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Where does your wandering mind go?

While I was lying in bed a couple nights ago I spent about half-an-hour planning this post in my head. This is why I can never sleep. I'm noticing a pattern in my mind-wanderings, and I wanted to get your input and maybe get some clues as to how peoples minds work the same or differently to one anothers. I've always thought it would be a fascinating experiment to experience someone else's existence for a day, including their thoughts and perceptions. This is as close as I can get.

So, even when I'm not trying to let my mind wander, it inevitably starts projecting future scenarios. I think of something that I need to do or something that is going to happen in the future, and I play it out in my head usually to its awesomest possible outcome. If I need to tell someone something, I play out the conversation in my head. If I am planning on submitting to an agent the next day, I lie in bed and play out what I need to do to personalize my query letter, sending it, the letter that would be awesome to get the next day, the questions I need to remember to ask when I talk to the Agent-Who-Will-Love-Me-Tomorrow, etc. If it's a big deal type of thing, sometimes it will go on repeat and I can't shut it off. Or sometimes it will go to the next thing. Like I'll get done with the agent scenario and then remember that I'm supposed to have a guest post for another blog in the next couple weeks, so I'll think about that until I've basically written the whole thing in my head. Then I'll think about how it would be cool to learn guitar and play out that scenario until I end up imaging myself busking on my trusty six-string in the streets of a big city and earning some fun money.

The mind of an insomniac, I am telling you. Also the mind of a person who must be very, very careful not to base life decisions on one evening of Awesomest Possible Outcome. It can take the Real Life ground out from under you pretty fast. That's not a super fun experience, but hopefully I've learned.

Anyway, how does it work for you? Do you think about past events, reminisce? Are you one of those horribly wonderful people who spend time thinking about other people and how they're feeling? Do you make lists? Do you dwell and mentally pick at scabs? I want to know. I want to know what its like to be in someone else's head.

A penny for your thoughts.

Sarah Allen

Film Friday: Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog

It's a little bit hard to talk about Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, mostly because there is nothing else even remotely like it. I don't know how familiar y'all are with this, but it's basically a short little 45 minute movie-lette that Joss Whedon put together on basically no budget during the Hollywood writers strike, which is basically already enough for it and Joss Whedon to be considered Totally Awesome in my book. But that's not even taking into account the fact that what they put together is unique, intelligent, and insanely amazing.

There is basically one thing I want to say about Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog. Yes its a bit of a musical. Yes it's ridiculous, yes its hilarious. Yes Nathan Fillion and Neil Patrick Harris are two of the awesomest people ever. What this mini-movie does so well, though, is use the music, the comedy, the ridiculousness, to get at something much, much deeper.

My creative writing teacher in high-school once said that when you really want to get at the core of something, really describe it, it's kind of like looking at a star. If you try and look at it directly, it gets kind of fuzzy and unfocused. It becomes much more focused and clear if you look slightly off to one side and look at it in your peripheral vision. This is what Dr. Horrible does so brilliantly. The ridiculous humor pulls our vision slightly to one side, and what we really see underneath is one of the best portrayals of the quirky desperately lonely underdog I have ever seen. Thanks to both the writing and to the general awesomeness of Neil Patrick Harris. All the proof you need is in the very last frame.

And lucky for us, it's all on YouTube! Take a moment this weekend and bless your life, if you haven't already. You won't regret it.


Sarah Allen

Pantsing and Word Count

So I'm trying something new with my current novel. For Keeper, I had a basic outline for each chapter and I knew about how many words needed to be in each chapter to add up to the 70,000-120,000 word count range that is generally considered best for the average novel. Basically, I had the word count thing outlined so I knew it would work out.

With New Novel, I'm taking more of a pantser approach. I have the basic storyline, but I'm having a really good time just kind of letting the story take its own course. Like I've said, I've got the basic storyline and a time-frame within the story so hopefully it will still end up with fairly sound structure. And of course, any plot holes can be fixed in the editing phase.

My main worry is that I'm going to end up below or above the market word-count range. This one is YA, so it would be more like 50,000-70,000, but since I'm doing it more organically and just writing my way forward, I don't want to end up with 30,000 or 150,000 words. I definitely err on the short side, and I suppose with edits you can add scenes and fill in things to build up word count if you need it, but I don't want to have to add things just for the sake of word-count.

So here's my question: those of you who typically pants your way through novels, how do you work out the whole word-count thing? How do you make sure you're going to have enough for a whole novel, and hit within the target range?

I know that the important thing is to just write the stories you want to write and worry about this stuff when you need to. But still, I stress about things like this, and any advice or tips would be helpful.

Bequeath your wisdom, oh wise readers :)

Sarah Allen

Lessons Disneyland Taught Me

So I'm finally back. It has been a crazy, fun, busy month. We had relatives over for the 4th and it has been madness ever since. Going to Disneyland with the fam was a very needed break. Here is what I learned:

Nostalgia is very powerful. Much of the joy my family and I experience at Disneyland has to do with nostalgia. Mickey Mouse shooting off and directing fireworks at the end of Fantasmic means so much to us because it has meant so much to us for years and its something that has been a form of bonding for us many, many times. My favorite rides are the simple ones, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion, rather than the more thrilling Screamin or the flashy new Radiator Springs because the classic rides and stories have been with me since I can remember. What I think this means is that people may be entertained by flash and thrill, but what they will care about and what will stay with them are stories and characters that mean something to them. And what means something to people often has to do with their experiences growing up.

Go with the flow. Because there are ten of us, if you are super stubborn, whiny, or opinionated, you are going to be miserable, because you're not always going to get what you want. We do our best to hit on the things everyone cares about, like Tower of Terror and Fantasmic, but moment to moment, its best to just go with the flow. I was reading Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut while waiting in lines (nerd moment) and one of my favorite quotes says, "Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." I would amend that to say, "Peculiar travel suggestions are story ideas from God." Or the universe, or both. I don't know. But its worth it to say yes, be happy, and see what happens.

This includes the 3 times the car engine overheats while driving through Nevada desert, the car rental that wouldn't rent to us because my dads license had a misprint saying that it expired three months after it was issued, the 3 or 4 times Dad has to call the bank because they've somehow messed up something on the credit card, accidentally leaving the debit card at The Bear Paw restaurant, the flash flood that reached above our car tires in St. George, and the stomach cramps that may or may not have come from the shrimp gumbo I ate at Farmers Market in LA. Life is a wonderful, happy, fun adventure, and I'm learning that looking at it that way and just going with the flow is so much less stressful than any alternative. Write what you want to write, use the popular marketing tools, follow the stories and trends that interest you. Because other than overheating cars and lost debit cards, it might also mean eating ice-cream next to Alan Tudyk outside Ghiradeli Square in California Adventure. It happened, I promise.

Detail, detail, detail. If real estate is location, location, location, writing is detail, detail, detail. They don't miss one thing at Disneyland. There is never any trash, the ginormous crowds are well directed, and even the garbage cans match their respective areas. Its a hard standard to live up to, and I'm not trying to say that every other paragraph in our novel needs to be a setting description paragraph. But what I am saying is that if we take as much care and precision in our words as Disney does in their parks, it can make the difference between being a professional and an amateur.

I could say more, but I've gone too long already. I know not everybody has the same experience and love for Disneyland that I do, but no one can deny that they're successful. Might be smart to take a few leaves from their very large book.

Sarah Allen

Sufficient is the Day

So internet connections are much less reliable on vacations, apparently, and I'm sorry for the slacking. But I've greatly enjoyed your feedback, and hopefully the pictures gave you some ideas.

Instead of going on with the pictures or doing a film Friday today I wanted to wax a teensy bit religious, if that's alright. I mean, I think its a helpful thought generally, religious or not. At least it is for me.

Basically I just wanted to share a scripture that my sister and I were talking about. No, we don't usually talk about scriptures on our way to the scummy beach bathroom. That makes us sound really Amanda Bynes from Easy A. But it came up in correlation with what we were talking about. Maybe it's because she is going on a mission in two weeks (AH!!!) and she's basically a scripture reading fiend. Anyway.

Matthew 6:34: Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Ok. So here's why I thought these words were so comforting. I don't think this is supporting the eat, drink and do whatever the blank you want philosophy. We still need to be productive, proactive and responsible. I do, however, think that it's saying that all the stress we feel about what tomorrow is going to bring and about meeting all these goals and expectations that we have for ourselves is totally ridiculous and unnecessary.

I think the jist of it is that if we are doing what we know we are supposed to be doing today, tomorrow will be okay. I'll even say that I believe God will take care of us. Life gets so absolutely crazy. I've read stories on some of your blogs about the crazy, extremely difficult things going on in some of your lives, and I know my life has been more unstable and insecure these past few months then it ever has, to the point that I've had to consciously stop getting too personal on this blog just to stop myself from whining. My point, though, is that if we just take care of today and do what we know we're supposed to, then life keeps going on the right track and tomorrow will be taken care of.

From a writers perspective: there are so many things that are unknown about the future. Contests, getting an agent, getting an editor, the ending of our current project, responses from the lit mags we submitted to. All that is insecure and unknown and, frankly, terrifying, but I'm learning that worrying and stressing about it doesn't do any good at all, and in fact only keeps you from doing stuff that's actually worthwhile. Take care of today. Write. Write some more. Read, study, practice. Perfect your query letter. Submit to agents or editors or literary magazines or contests. Do all that on a daily basis and there is no chance you will not have success. Tomorrow will take care of itself, and might be way awesomer than you even imagine it. Just as long as you take care of today.

Now if I can just ingrain this in my head enough to stop being scared...

Sarah Allen

Wordless Week: Day 2

Here are three more pics. Leave your 100 word story in the comments or your blog.
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Sarah Allen

Wordless Week: Day 1

Hey guys! So I'm on vacay this week, so I'm in the mood to keep things fun and easy around here. For this week I'm going to post 3 pictures every day. You can either pick one picture and use that as a prompt or combine all three. Then take those ideas and put them into a 100 word flash fiction piece that you either leave in the comments or post on your blog and leave a link. Then on Saturday I'll take my favorite ones and post them up with a link to the authors blog. Sound fun? Cool. Here are the first three pictures:

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Sarah Allen

Film Friday: Book Trailers

So I think eventually book trailers, once I've done a little more research and had a little more experience, deserve a very in-depth post of their own, but since I'm in a bit of a rush today I thought I'd just leave you with three of my favorites. Three very different styles, everything from very high-end studio produced to very do-it-yourself, but all super fun and effective as marketing tools:

Have a wonderful weekend! And if you have any particular favorite book trailers, link to them in the comments. I'd love to see them!

Sarah Allen

Make Me A Doorway Short film/Videopoem

Hey all! So this is not my film Friday post, but I was approached by Jesse Brooks to see if I would help spread the word and give a few thoughts on their short film "Make Me a Doorway." I checked it out, and since it was a fabulous piece of work, I told her absolutely I'd share it:


It was beautiful work, and I loved the match-up of the cinematography and the narration. I thought it worked really well. And I loved the subject matter and the range of the piece as well. I think short, regular poetry may not work quite as well in video form, so having it sort of longer and more of a prose poem kind of carried you along like a story word. My only problem was that I sometimes couldn't understand the narrator, but she also added character to the piece, so it still definitely worked.

Anyway, check it out. Thanks Jesse for the great work!

Sarah Allen