tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69582263243523045012024-03-06T04:05:47.619-05:00Book EaterAn English Geek Rationalizes Pop-CultureOdessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.comBlogger385125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-63270438512628050052013-04-01T21:07:00.000-04:002013-04-01T21:07:12.821-04:00Happy National Poetry Month!I am doing something exciting for this year's National Poetry Month. I am attempting to write poetry every day for the month of April. Perhaps some days I'll be revisiting previous poems or adding a stanza to the previous day's work. At the end of the month I'll share the best thing I wrote in April.<br />
I'm inviting my college friends to join me and I thought I would extend the invitation to you as well. I'll share my best poem on my blog and would love it if you link your work in the comments. National Poetry Month isn't just about appreciating great poetry that's come before. It's also about being brave enough to try your own hand at poetry.<br />
So who of you will join me? Let's make this a productive month of reading, writing, and searching our souls.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-90376294137450731062013-03-20T17:27:00.000-04:002013-03-20T17:36:19.443-04:00College Students: So You Want to be a Writer?As a soon-to-be-graduate from an English program, I feel moderately qualified to give some advice to youngsters about embark on or early in their college career. More and more I'm meeting freshmen and students recently accepted to the English department who tell me, "I'm going to be a writer." Kudos, I'm on the same page, but sometimes it feels like they haven't really thought this career decision through. They seem to think it's an obvious, easy decision. To be honest, saying that you're going to be a writer is the wrong attitude to begin with. Either you are a writer or you aren't-- being published or paid doesn't determine that.<br />
Here's some candid advice from someone who is about to face the big scary world with the degree you're going for.<br />
1. <b>Taking English classes alone do not prepare you to be a novelist: </b>Taking creative writing classes and workshops are a great way to hone your skills. You can get great feedback from your professors and fellow students which can be incredibly valuable. In class you learn techniques and theory that are important foundations for good writing. However, if you never do any writing outside of class, there's little hope of you achieving much professionally. It's hard to make a living writing five short stories or ten poems a semester. It's when you're not writing for an assignment, but harnessing the skills you developed in class, that you can take the time to experiment creatively.<br />
2. <b>Writing a novel is not part of an English BA program: </b>Very few English programs actually have writing a novel as part of the curriculum. Most undergrads don't write novels while in college. It is a time-consuming process that few students can make room for in their busy schedules. NaNoWriMo is great fun, but most of what you end up writing probably won't be usable, not without heavy editing. I organized my own independent study to allow myself the time to really focus on drafting a novel while still a student and got academic credit for all my work.<br />
3. <b>Writing is hard:</b> I feel like I don't need to say this, but apparently I do. Writing a novel is a lot of long hours of thankless work and frustration. A first draft is not a finished novel either. You must toil through edits and revisions for more thankless hours. No one's first draft is publishable. Not really.<br />
4. <b>Selling your writing is even harder, so educate yourself:</b> Hooray! You've completed something that you are proud of and that others have given you strong feedback on. Now you have to begin the brutal task of writing queries and summaries, sending out to agents and/or publishers. Yes, self-publishing is an option, but not an easier option. If you want to be a self-publishing success you have to be willing to put a lot of time and effort into it; basically you have to be your own marketing and sales team. Whatever route you choose, you have to understand social networking, the publishing industry, and what market you're entering. Do your research. You should be as well versed in your chosen profession as a surgeon is in theirs.<br />
5. <b>You don't have to be a writer:</b> If you think you must be a writer simply because you love reading and language and aren't sure what else to do with yourself and your English degree; you're wrong. There are so many other options out there for you. Yes, there is always teaching. There's also library sciences, copy editing, marketing, technical writing. You can go on to a complimentary Masters program, English is a great starter degree if you want to move on to study law, another humanities field, or social sciences.<br />
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After all that, if you still do want to be a writer, if in fact you can't help yourself, here are a few tips that have been helpful to me:<br />
<b>Read everything</b>: I mean, within reason. So you want to be a fantasy writer, that doesn't mean you can't learn about characterization, thematic arcs, and strong writing from historical fiction, commercial fiction, or 18th century satire. Don't pigeon-hole yourself. You might be struck with inspiration for a story in a genre you've never even considered before. It might be your masterpiece.<br />
<b>Explore things beyond the English department:</b> I like to say that writers should know a little bit about everything. People don't want to just read novels about other people reading novels. If that's all you know of life, you won't have much material. Go to an art gallery, a rock concert, read a psychology journal, talk to a stranger in a bar (but be safe guys), go hiking, do something that scares you.<br />
<b>Travel:</b> One of the best things that happened to me was getting out of my home community. Along with the above tip, travelling is a great way to gather material and get outside your sphere of understanding. Travel in the country, out of the country, anywhere. Again, unless you're going to set every story in the town you grew up, you need to see what else is out there. Even if you are going to write about the area you're from, sometimes it's easier to put it in perspective when you're away from home.<br />
<b>Have a social life:</b> It's really easy to think that if you spend all of your off-hours in front of your laptop (or in true vintage style, typewriter) that it will be the most effective way to be successful. Those work hours are very important, but it's okay to have a social life. In fact, though many hours are spent in solitary confinement when you're working on a project, writing is still a surprisingly social profession, or at least it can be. Meeting with other writers and discussing your work can be really useful. Meeting with other people and discussing almost anything can help relieve some of your work anxiety.<br />
<b>Carry a notebook always:</b> Always be prepared to write down any sudden ideas. Inspiration can strike anywhere-- on the subway, in the grocery store, while having lunch with friends. Don't be afraid of looking neurotic. Scribbling furiously in public can only help in giving people the impression you're a serious writer, after all.<br />
<b>Write something:</b> Even if it's not up to scratch yet, write. Have a brilliant idea? Take the time to work on it. Don't wait until you're graduated to finally put pen to paper. Use your college years to make a start at finding your voice. Take random prompts, go to local writing groups. Just do it. Don't wait until you're "good enough" or else you will never get the practice you need to be good. You will write some crap. Everyone does, but you'll get better and you might even find that in a bad story, there's a good character or a great bit of dialogue that can be salvaged for something else later.<br />
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Best wishes fellow writers. I'll see you on the other side.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-23092468436772526902013-03-12T10:41:00.000-04:002013-03-12T10:41:25.803-04:00Italy: Il Bel PaeseI'm back from Italy. For more details on the trip, you can feel free to visit <a href="http://wanderlustified.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">my new travel blog</a>.<br />
This was a different sort of trip for me. I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. There was something slightly dangerous about it-- navigating through the streets of Rome, knowing only a few words of the language. Florence was much nicer, more romantic. Next time I go there, I'd like to be with someone I love.<br />
I spent an incredible amount of time in museums and churches. I've also discovered that while I have a good head for beer, drinking wine at dinner every night makes me a bit silly.<br />
Everything in Italy draws the eye up--domes, balconies, painted ceilings. You find your head tipped toward the heavens constantly. And I made my pilgrimage to the Protestant Cemetery to visit Keats and Shelley, then to the Keats and Shelley Museum by the Spanish Steps. We also stood at the corner around which Dante is said to have first seen Beatrice in Florence.<br />
It was all too brief, but inspirational none the less. I took many notes, nearly filling a new mini Moleskine. There is, I believe, fodder for at least two short stories and a handful of poems within these fevered scribblings. Though it doesn't perfectly match the image given to me by 19th century literature, it is country whose nature lends itself to an amorous nature. The combination of delicate beauty along with wildness stirs the poet, the artist, the architecture.<br />
It poured with rain the whole time we were in Florence, but that was beautiful too.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-81180013528663091572013-02-16T21:04:00.003-05:002013-02-16T21:06:44.053-05:00The Sounds of Storytelling When I'm not weeping over my future prospects, or doing school work, or preparing for my Italy trip (less than two weeks now!), I'm working on my new story. It's the historical fiction piece I mentioned a few weeks back. I almost always write with music. I like arranging playlists for specific stories, having music that reflects the atmosphere or some aspect of character and story.<br />
Even though this is historical fiction, it's mostly very contemporary music. Most of the vocalists are female in this playlist, quite by coincidence, but it works since it's about a primarily female group.<br />
Since I've been a little lax at posting these past few months, I thought I'd share a few of my writing songs with you. Feel free to link your own favorites for the creative process in the comments.
I'd tell you how each song relates to the plot or theme, but that would be giving it away.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BK0zRR3GnxE" width="420"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yz0Vdl_SUV4" width="420"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_tl9nzZXzjY" width="420"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a7RTyNObpaE" width="420"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aazb8Rt31nk" width="420"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lncIXl7a5fQ" width="420"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ddtxv8Am8fI" width="420"></iframe>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OLBBuupdG6c" width="420"></iframe>Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-51777638038541418042013-02-15T18:49:00.000-05:002013-02-15T18:52:39.155-05:0014th Century Italian Literature: The Inferno vs The DecameronMy final seminar, the course I need to finish my degree, is on Italian Literature, and English language authors in Italy. It's an interesting syllabus full of titles and authors I'm not previously familiar with (which is always a little bit exciting). We read 20 of the 100 tales of <i>The Decameron</i> and now we are reading all of <i>The Inferno, </i>part one of Dante's Divine Comedy. I'm about to go full literature nerd. You've been warned.<br />
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In many ways, Boccaccio wrote <i>The Decameron</i> as a secular counter point to Dante. Where Dante wrote a divine comedy, Boccaccio was writing an earthy, human comedy. He uses a similar religious conceit in the structure of the story. Dante's Divine Comedy has 100 cantos (1 prologue canto, 33 within the Inferno, 33 in Purgatorio, and 33 in Paridiso). <i>The Decameron</i> consists of 100 tales told over ten days by ten tellers.<br />
<i>The Decameron</i> as a whole has a subversive feel to it. It shows authority figures to be corrupt and those with the quickest wit, not the best morals, prosper. Boccaccio also subtitled his work, "of Prince Galehaut." This is a reference to the Arthurian legend of Lancelot and Guinevere's illicit love. Galehaut arranged the tryst between the two lovers. In this way, Boccaccio is signalling his audience that his tales will be of this bawdy nature.<br />
Lancelot and Guinevere are referenced in <i>The Inferno</i>. In circle II, The Circle of the Lustful, Dante encounters a couple called Francesca and Paolo. Francesca tells him how she was deceived into marrying Paolo's brother. She and Paolo would meet to read together. They read the story of Lancelot and Guinevere which moved them to, in a moment of passion, share a kiss. Francesca's husband catches them and kills them both.<br />
Basically, by subtitling his work with a reference to the that tale, Boccaccio is saying that he is writing immoral stories. He's writing the kind of stories that can land you in Dante's hell.<br />
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This seems as good a segue as any to let you know that I'm spending the first week of March in Italy with others from the class. We have plenty of literary stops planned.<br />
I've just started a <a href="http://wanderlustified.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">new travel blog</a>, so most of my photos and whatnot will be recorded there. I'd love it if you guys would check it out!Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-40896002187872810212013-02-09T17:22:00.001-05:002013-02-09T17:52:53.513-05:00Film Review: Like Crazy (2011)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/30600000/LC-like-crazy-30622388-550-301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/30600000/LC-like-crazy-30622388-550-301.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Anna and Jacob meet in LA where they're both going to college, and they fall in love. The only problem is that Anna's from England. When she overstays her student visa and is barred from coming back to the US, they struggle with keeping their relationship alive across the distance.<br />
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The premise of this film is one I appreciated. As I'm gingerly stretching out into traveling I'm meeting great people. Keeping those connections alive, even if they aren't romantic in nature, can be challenging. A friend of mine is currently trying to make a transatlantic relationship work and I've been a sympathetic ear for her as much as possible; our friendship is also a slightly long distance one as she lives a few hours across the country from me. So the subject matter of this movie seemed relevant.<br />
Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones play the two young leads. We watch them age believably from child-like students to adults developing careers and relationships. I've enjoyed both of these actors in previous roles, notably Yelchin in the new <i>Star Trek</i> movie and Jones in <i>The Tempest</i> and <i>Northanger Abbey</i>. Alex Kingston and Oliver Muirhead appear as Anna's delightful parents who provide a sounding board for the couple's relationship.<br />
In spite of a strong cast and intriguing premise, the film was a bit lackluster. I found it to be missing something emotionally. We keep being presented with evidence of the couple's love for each other through Anna's scrapbooks and Jacob's furniture making, but something doesn't connect.<br />
It seems that the writers Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones wanted to bring realism into the scenes. The speech patterns sound like a transcript of everyday conversations (apparently using some improv on set) which resulted in conversations often lacking eloquence, full of awkward moments, and stammering. Combined with the sometimes random, choppy time lapses and montages, what ended up resonating with me most was the disconnect between the characters. Even when Jacob and Anna are in the same room together, they seem to be an ocean apart. There's something uncomfortable about much of their interaction.<br />
When they're apart they seem to quickly fall in with other lovers, making me doubt their devotion to each other even more. Yet they display jealousy at the thought that the other might be seeing someone else as well. Perhaps that's why the ending of the film leaves us with some uncertainty, it isn't a brick wall happy ending, but it isn't entirely without hope. We're unsure of how they'll end up. I do have applaud the sophisticated, mature way it was ended without crushing or soothing us, showing the audience something a little more difficult, a little more real.<br />
I wanted to like this film and it wasn't terrible, it just didn't strike me the way I had hoped. The romance it revolves around was hard to have faith in. I kept wondering why the characters didn't move on, if they were trying and force something more out of a youthful fling. It was first love, but maybe not permanent love.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-69373403198512502132013-02-01T17:09:00.000-05:002013-02-02T16:07:26.909-05:00Acquired Tastes<a href="http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/images/Virginia_Woolf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://modernism.research.yale.edu/wiki/images/Virginia_Woolf.jpg" /></a>As a child I tried a sip of wine at a wedding. After I had wrinkled my nose in disgust, my mother told me it was an acquired taste. Someday I would feel differently. Perhaps I was just a precocious or challenging child, but I had to ask, "Why would anybody take the time to acquire a taste?" And I couldn't understand why you would drink something that wasn't quite pleasant.<br />
As I grew older, I did in fact acquire a taste for many things that I initially couldn't tolerate: beer, wine, cheddar cheese, tomatoes. In fact those are practically four of my basic food groups currently. I've found that tastes other than those in my mouth have developed as well.<br />
In high school, I couldn't stand Virginia Woolf. My advanced placement English group read <i>To the Lighthouse</i>. I found it tedious. I didn't like Woolf's style. The whole thing felt rather pointless to me. Last year I came back to it. I admit that I was reluctant to revisit the novel, I only did so for a British literature class. Imagine my surprise when I found that there was something in the novel I had missed the firs time around: humor. With the space of a few years between me and my previous experience with the book, I found it to be a very different text. This summer I read Woolf's <i>Between the Acts</i> and found that to be a very interesting, if somewhat fatiguing book.<br />
That's the strange thing about novels. They may not be factual, but they tell us truths. Usually truths about ourselves. Many readers will have one book they return to over the years that stands as a sort of gauge for that. The text remains the same. We're the ones who change.<br />
Literature is not entirely unique in this way. I've had similar experiences with music as well. When I first heard The Decemberists, I wasn't sure about them. There was something odd about their sound. It was like my ear needed to be calibrated to their music. And eventually it was. Now they're one of my favorite bands.<br />
Perhaps that's the difference between disliking something and needing to acquire a taste for it. Things that you acquire a taste for are unsettling. You don't like them at first, but there is something intriguing about them. Something deeper to the taste, the sound, the text. When you spend more time around it or return to it later, you begin to uncover that depth. It's almost like you have to work for your appreciation of that that thing. That makes your attachment to it greater in the long run. Maybe it's a little like falling in love? But, matters of the heart are not my area of expertise.<br />
What things have you had to acquire an appreciation for over time? Or what things have you considered trying again after finding it initially unappealing?<br />
<br />Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-32468293588420781342013-01-18T16:04:00.000-05:002013-01-18T16:04:33.602-05:00Ironies AboundSo in the interest of transparency, I should tell you that I'm graduating in May. I'm on the cusp of embracing my adulthood, taking responsibility for myself, and figuring out what these years of study are truly for. No pressure.<br />
If any of you have followed this blog for a while or read my sidebar -->>>> you'll know that I rejected the idea of being a high school English teacher fairly early in my academic career. Last week, thanks to a number of factors, I settled on what I want to do when I graduate.<br />
Ironically, the plan involves teaching (and oh, how my father teases about that). But not quite in the way most English majors do it. I've decided that I want to live abroad for the next few years and support myself by teaching English as a second language. I want to travel and write and unfortunately, that needs funds. Teaching ESL might be the way to it. I think that might be more enjoyable for me anyway. I won't be convincing bored American teens to care about Shakespeare and <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>. No, I'll be sharing language and culture with students around the world. And yeah, some of them will be bored, but I feel like in an ESL curriculum there's more room to be inventive and incorporate technology and digital culture. If they're bad in class, I can always Rick-Roll them.<br />
The job climate in the US is depressing to say the least. I don't want to run off to NYC to intern at a magazine or be an assistant at a publishing firm like every other graduating writing student on the east coast. Confession: I don't even like NYC that much. I'm more of a country girl.<br />
Of course the hope is that I'll start publishing my fiction and make an income from that. But I don't live in fairy land (or even the world of Hemingway's <i>A Movable Feast</i>). Writing doesn't pay that well. Even if you're good. You have to be both prolific and popular<br />
I know I want to write and travel and I'm afraid that if I don't do it now, I never will. I'll fall into some job that I don't really like that will sap my energy and my time to write. I'll get too settled to leave. Like most of my family, I'll end up living the rest of my days within 20 miles of the place I was born. That's why I have to go now. I can't give myself a chance to fall into a rut because I'll stay there.<br />
And yes, I know that this lifestyle I'm describing has many drawbacks and challenges. Arranging visas, tax forms, language barriers, being far from the familiar, not being able to have many material possessions, etc. I'm not saying I'll do this for the rest of my life. I feel like I should spend the rest of my 20s with rich eyes and poor hands. I should sleep on other peoples' couches around the world. When I hit 30, I'll reevaluate and see if it's time to buy my own couch.<br />
So that's my manifesto of the moment. Updates on this painful process of arranging my future will trickle in. Thanks guys.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-53271379193432178902013-01-08T23:43:00.002-05:002013-01-08T23:43:42.712-05:00"...Or you'll end up in my novel"<b>"You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should've behaved better."</b><br />
<b>--Anne Lamott</b><br />
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The first time I came across the ethical question of blurring the line between fiction and nonfiction was as a teen. A slightly paranoid friend in high school told me that her ex-boyfriend based a character in his play off of her and that she thought it was morally reprehensible. More recently, while reading the manuscript of a friend, I came to the realization that one of her characters was based off me. An odd sensation to read a fictionalization of yourself, but she was just a side character with my physical traits who would occasionally slip in literary words of wisdom to the narrator (in fact, the worst thing I might say is that I read a bit dull as a character).<br />
In my own writing, however, after leaving behind the sadly autobiographical stories I wrote in childhood, I've tried to avoid basing characters directly off people in my own life. Working on some of my more recent projects however, I've discovered that it's inevitable. As writers, our minds are our landscapes. Everything we've read, seen, or experiences is what we funnel into our stories. Most importantly, the people we meet shape us.<br />
I doubt there is any writer who can honestly say that nothing they've written has some basis in an experience they had or a person they've known. I think we often end up playing the "what if?" game. You start with an amusing or interesting situation from life and invent from there. Say, a late night volleyball game on the beach with your friends. Now you say "what if a treasure map had washed up on the shore that night?" or possibly, "what if Gary and I hated each other more and took out our animosities during the game?" There must be a story in that. The game in real life might have been tame, but throwing in those other variables makes it plot.<br />
Some characters will become a composite of people I know. They might have one person's occupation, another's penchant for compulsive cleaning, but I develop completely fictional relationships for them within the story. Sometimes, if a close friend is being used as any sort of basis, I'll clear it with them first. I'll let them know that I'm lifting a bit of their physicality, or a circumstance from their life and using it in my story. So far no one has objected.<br />
In most cases, I doubt someone reading my novel would pick out what they had been the inspiration for. I do have ethical qualms about making a direct transcript of a real person from my life to a character. But I can't pretend that my stories don't have the occasional non fiction basis. As a writer, I feel I have a sort of duty to capture the reality of human experience. Fiction is real in that sense, it can be a recognizable truth about life from a story that didn't happen, at least not exactly. It didn't happen, but it's still true.<br />
Even more problematic can be injecting a "me" character into stories. It can be so easy to slip into writing about a hero that is basically your own self, especially when writing in the first person. I think a little bit of yourself will always be present in your characters. After all, what they say and do are filtered through you. But, sometimes it's really liberating to write from the perspective of someone totally different. A different background, different stance on issues, different race or gender, different age: I think experimenting with that can help you get outside yourself as a writer. And that can be so good for the work.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-39695413796424981262012-12-27T15:16:00.000-05:002012-12-27T15:16:22.318-05:00Beyond the Barricade: Les Miserables (2012)I'm a massive theatre geek. I even flirted with the idea of making my living in the performing arts at one time (instead I've decided to go the much safer route of writing... ha). <i>Les Mis</i> was one of my favorite musical scores growing up and I was excited to see how it would be brought to the main screen.<br />
<a href="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/les-miserables-marius-and-enjolras.jpg?w=800" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://turntherightcorner.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/les-miserables-marius-and-enjolras.jpg?w=800" width="400" /></a>For those of you unfamiliar with the story, it's based off Victor Hugo's novel about the later years of the French Revolution. It follows the lives of impoverished people of France looking for a better life, for redemption. The main character is Jean Valjean, a convict who spent 19 years at hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread to save his sister's starving child. After he's released, an act of kindness makes him decide to turn his life around and he breaks his parole, changes his name, and starts again. Javert, a police inspector with a black and white view of morality makes it his mission to recapture Valjean.<br />
The production had a very impressive cast on the whole. Stage and screen veteran, Hugh Jackman plays a sympathetic Valjean. He presents the aging of Valjean in a realistic manner. The sound of his voice seems to shift as time passes, especially in the finale of the film, you hear the sound of weakened, elderly man. Eddie Redmayne and Aaron Tveit are very strong as the young revolutionaries, Marius and Enjolras. Redmayne is not known for his singing, but has a clear voice deeply laden with emotion. The song "Heart Full of Love," (which isn't one of my favorite of the show due to its slightly cliche' lyrics) feels strangely genuine, giddy, and comical in Redmayne's hands. Tveit's theatre experience comes across in his commanding performance as leader of the students. I'm dissapointed he wasn't featured more on the posters and other press for the film.<br />
The female cast was generally strong as well. Anne Hathaway was surprisingly adept at marrying emotion with vocal quality. Samantha Barks, familiar to Les Mis fans from her performance in the 25th Anniversary concert reprises her role as Eponine to good effect.<br />
The only person who seemed miscast was Russell Crowe as Javert. Not a natural singer, he handles all his solo work decently, but at times it seems like he's putting to much focus on his singing. He has trouble balancing the acting in a scene while he's singing. Not that he's particularly bad, but when so much of the rest of the cast shines at that balance, it's easier to notice his deficit.<br />
Overall, the film was very strong and emotionally resonant. There were many sniffles among the audience as early as a half an hour into the film. The score is extremely powerful. That's the quality that has brought theatre going audience to their feet for the past twenty five year and it continues to be effective in film. As the press for the film has made clear, the actors sang on set instead of pre-recording their music. It gives a more organic feel and allows for the actors to experiment and really perform the songs as they would in a theatrical setting.<br />
The film medium allows them to explore the scale of the story more and even find some gritty moments about the poverty people live in. The death scenes (of course there are are death scenes) are handled well. One particular death of one of the barricade boys is done especially well, as he is draped out of a window like a flag.<br />
Fans of the musical and of historical dramas will find many things to enjoy about the newest adaptation of Hugo's classic 19th novel.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-27047537708105143642012-12-22T00:51:00.000-05:002012-12-22T00:51:23.320-05:00Brevity is the Soul of Wit: In Defense of Slim Novels<a href="http://whatsbecomeclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/book.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://whatsbecomeclear.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/book.jpeg" width="320" /></a>I see more agonizing over how long a novel "should be" than I feel is needed. My mystery novel (shiny new draft recently completed) clocks in at about 53k words. Short, but still above the prescribed 50k it must be to be considered a novel.<br />
I suppose I find it frustrating when I see blog posts telling me that suspense and mystery novels should range 65k to 80k. Why? Not all agents and publishers adhere to these guidelines strictly, but it's still worrying to think that others may be discouraged by my manuscript length. Many classic mysteries like <i>And Then There Were None</i>, by Agatha Christie and <i>Hound of the Baskervilles</i> wouldn't make that 65k requirement.<br />
I think much depends on the author's style. Do they luxuriate over scenery or stay with a starker viewpoint? I personally write dialogue heavy pieces, allowing character and plot to explain itself in interactions between the characters. I simply prefer that way of conveying information to the audience (probably leftover from all the time I spent doing theatre and working with scripts).<br />
I think many of us can agree that quantity doesn't automatically equal quality in a first novel. In creative writing classes, exercises where you shave away all your adjectives and exposition often prove liberating. I've been in my share of creative writing workshops where a little trimming did wonders. Young writers especially have a tendency to "clear their throats" at the beginning of pieces. Their first paragraph, stanza, or chapter can sometimes be eliminated entirely. I suppose I'm trying to write as tightly as possible. I don't want to give myself room to clear my throat.<br />
That's not to say that many breathtaking novels haven't soared over 100k words. Some stories simply call for longer books if they have complex plots spanning over long periods of time or the author has to build an entirely new world on the page (in the case of fantasy).<br />
Through subsequent edits, I may bulk out some characters or subplots of my novel and add a few thousand words. I just don't see the point in adding bulk for the sake of it.<br />
Never write just for the sake of meeting a word count. Unless you're just having fun with NaNoWriMo. Or meeting a requirement for one of those creative writing classes. Even then, I feel like you should be working towards something with those words.<br />
I'm sure that as readers, we've been equally touched by a slim novel (Ahem-- <i>The</i> <i>Great Gatsby</i>) as we have by a thicker text at some point in our lives. I suppose I'm trying to convince myself that ultimately it won't matter so much. That no one will try to pigeonhole me to YA fiction if I can't break 60k. That savvy literary agents know it doesn't really matter.<br />
It's just hard writing between the standards. I wrote a novella last winter that I'm really proud of. It was my grand experiment trying to write layers of plot and character to follow a musical pattern (with refrains, variations, and harmonies). I love that piece, but I'm not sure what to do with it.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-69111565263881454112012-12-17T22:58:00.002-05:002012-12-17T22:59:26.981-05:00Shiny New Drafts and Breathing SpaceThe semester is officially 100% finished. I've just sent off the shiny new draft of my mystery novel to my favorite reader: my English professor. She read my previous draft and gave me some very enthusiastic and thoughtful feedback.<br />
So now I'm working on my Oxford story as well as the historical fiction piece I started in the spring. Aha, yes those of you who are keeping track would be correct, the count is now up to three major projects. That's right, I've been secretly working on a piece set at the turn of the century. Didn't know about that, did you? Enigmatic me. I suppose the piece is both historical fiction and crime fiction, but not in the usual way.<br />
However, for the next few days, I've decided to take a much needed breather. I have serious end of semester fatigue. I haven't even been able to do any lengthy reading. Light reading, long walks, hot tea, and a Scrabble evening with my friend: that's what I need. And this week, that is what I shall endeavor to make time for. Then back to the manuscripts. Also back to my ever-growing reading list.<br />
In my endeavor to write the kind of books I like to read, I've been trying to read as much literature that falls within my genres as possible. I've been working my way through piles of contemporary and classic crime and suspense literature. Then I began amassing Oxford based literature-- a more herculean task than I originally suspected. Of course this is also nerve wracking when seeing exquisite examples of writing and noting how crowded your genre is. Though, to be honest, most genres are crowded these days.<br />
So, here's where I try to make some brain space.<br />
Enjoy some music by The National.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/S97xQKZDV_4" width="560"></iframe>Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-75689126036018819702012-12-08T00:17:00.000-05:002012-12-08T00:17:01.309-05:00Let's Get ThematicSo, as my story is coalescing more fully in my mind, I am starting to think ahead about what the story will really be <i>about</i>. Sometimes I'm very focused on thenplotmand the characters and it's not until I bang out the first draft that I start to analyze what the meaning is or could be. Sometimes I start toying with the deeper meanings earlier.<br />
I don't write with the intention to have a "moral" or an incredibly philosophical comment on life come out of my story, but I think what makes a good novel good is that there is something said about life underneath the basic story. That is what will resonate with us, what will make us remember it more.<br />
So what will my Oxford story be about?<br />
I suppose what I'm interested in exploring is the idea of presumed love as a negative force. If love is something true, then it should be pursued in the least selfish terms possible. It ideally should purify us. We should become our best self under the influence of the object of our affection. Yet, so many people (especially young people) let what they think is love consume them. It devours them, they forget who they are or who they want to be. A positive thing, when applied incorrectly becomes a poison. Chasing an idealized relationship with an incompatible person is such a waste, such a trap people fall into.<br />
That's a cynical thought, isn't it? I don't want to write an entirely cynical book, though. I think there is something about the fleeting beauty of being young and bright, with a world of potential ahead of you. Beauty is always more apparent when it is fleeting, of course- at least in retrospect. I think the story must be a somewhat realistic contrast of highs and lows. Sometimes those high points are positively euphoric, but it ebbs quite low in response. It should be a balance.<br />
My main character, Ben, will have a classic source of tension, that aching desire to follow whatever it is you want from life, but getting caught up in the expectations others have of you.<br />
I want a collage of experience from my characters. In some ways it will be a classic "dormitory" novel. The mixing personalities and backgrounds put into an academic pressure cooker. It breeds some of the best and worst moments of a person's life. But I want to go beyond that, I want to show what happens afterwards. I keep falling back on <i>Brideshead Revisited</i>, Waugh captures so well how the little incidents and the relationships you form can echo through the rest of your life as much as you try put it in the past.<br />
Anyway, my semester is nearly done, so I'll be able to put some more time into this story over the next month.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-14264275740010533722012-12-01T23:36:00.002-05:002012-12-01T23:36:40.331-05:00Crossing into the Mind of the MaleAs I'm drafting my Oxford story, I've realized that for it to function properly, it must be in the first person. When I mentioned this to my father (I often press-gang him into being a sounding board) he said, "But your main character is male!"<br />
I suppose there is a gap, a divide that one must cross when writing from the perspective of a character of a different gender. However, I'm not sure if there's any more of a gap when you're writing from a character of a different ethnic, economic, or cultural background. Though I believe most writers leave markings of themselves on their characters, most of us would say our characters are quite distinct from ourselves. This certainly breaks that age old trope that everything is autobiographical, though fifty years from now, undergrads will try and apply that theory to your work in essays they wrote the night before.<br />
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<a href="http://www.yourengagement101.com/daily-101/files/2010/03/male-mind-300x262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.yourengagement101.com/daily-101/files/2010/03/male-mind-300x262.jpg" /></a></div>
This will be my first time writing such a lengthy piece from a male point of view. I've decided not to make a fuss about it. I think that if I over-analyze and try to "sound masculine" that it will feel artificial. I just have to be true to the character. Maybe I have some confidence because I've been around men all my<br />
life. I grew up with a pack of brothers, have mostly male friends, and I am a daddy's girl. I feel like I have a small advantage over some females when it comes to how men speak, think, and interact.<br />
This character in particular also fulfills a sort of Nick Carraway role. Like Nick in <i>The Great Gatsby</i>, Ben (my character) is in many ways, an observer. He's an outsider and we gain insight into this world through his introduction to it.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-77016576707362187192012-11-27T12:54:00.000-05:002012-11-27T12:55:05.181-05:00A Touch of Transparency; or What a Blog is ForI've been regaling, or boring you for the past three years with this blog. I wonder what you can surmise about me and my work from its contents.<br />
What I've also been wondering of late is why I have this neurotic compulsion to be secretive about my writing. I've even been quite secretive about this blog in the past. For the first year I never told anyone I knew that I was a blogger.<br />
Perhaps what is pushing me toward greater transparency is my realization that I really want to launch my writing career and that my blog might be a helpful tool in this regard. I should talk about my writing, share excerpts from it, get feedback. I can get rather phobic about people reading my unedited work (or even my edited work) and it needs to stop. This year I took a major step by letting my professor read my extremely rough manuscript and I found it to be a rewarding growth experience.<br />
She didn't rip me to shreds. She realized that the piece was in its early stages. Instead she gave me enthusiastic feedback and support. I realize this is the internet and that there are plenty of people who have nothing more fulfilling to do with their time than criticize and wound, but the people who have opinions that actually matter aren't here to do that.<br />
So here I am, about to do my last semester at college. I've just set down my mystery manuscript after a round of major revisions. I'm realizing that it is a hard book to boil down to a query letter. I'm trying to give myself some distance from the project, hoping it will be easier for me to be objective about if it's not so fresh in mind.<br />
Instead of stagnating though, I'm starting work on a new project. I suppose that the secret to my eventual success is, quite simply, that I'm always working on something. I'm writing a poem or a short story. I'm outlining a sequel or drafting a new novel. It's all the honing of a craft. Working on characterization in a short story can help me realize why the motivation feels forced in my novel. Playing with language and description in a poem lets me practice developing a sense of atmosphere.<br />
In the midst of all my course work I wrote four chapters of a new novel this week. It's going to be an Oxford story. And maybe I don't have the right to attempt to follow in the footsteps of Evelyn Waugh or Dorothy Sayers, or Philip Larkin, but Oxford lends itself to stories. I couldn't help but start forming ideas while I was there, and recent conversations with friends I met there has assured me that this is a story I need to write.<br />
I'm trying to write the kind of book I love to read.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-42341782283091885792012-11-14T15:55:00.000-05:002012-11-14T15:55:30.147-05:00Poetry: Billy Collins, "Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes"While reading the new Writer's Chornicle, I came across a reference to this poem. I thought it was lovely, so I decided to share it with you all. It certainly evokes a more sensual view of Dickinson. It also playfully describes the searching feeling readers and scholars have when sorting through the many layers in her work, but also the layers of information about her as a person.<br />
<br />
"Taking Off Emily Dickinson's Clothes"<br />
<br />
First, her tippet made of tulle, <br />
<br />
easily lifted off her shoulders and laid<br />
on the back of a wooden chair. <br />
And her bonnet, <br />
the bow undone with a light forward pull. <br />
<br />
Then the long white dress, a more<br />
complicated matter with mother-of-pearl<br />
buttons down the back, <br />
so tiny and numerous that it takes forever<br />
before my hands can part the fabric, <br />
like a swimmer's dividing water, <br />
and slip inside. <br />
<br />
You will want to know <br />
that she was standing<br />
by an open window in an upstairs bedroom, <br />
motionless, a little wide-eyed, <br />
looking out at the orchard below, <br />
the white dress puddled at her feet<br />
on the wide-board, hardwood floor. <br />
<br />
The complexity of women's undergarments<br />
in nineteenth-century America<br />
is not to be waved off, <br />
and I proceeded like a polar explorer<br />
through clips, clasps, and moorings, <br />
catches, straps, and whalebone stays, <br />
sailing toward the iceberg of her nakedness. <br />
<br />
Later, I wrote in a notebook<br />
it was like riding a swan into the night, <br />
but, of course, I cannot tell you everything -<br />
the way she closed her eyes to the orchard, <br />
how her hair tumbled free of its pins, <br />
how there were sudden dashes <br />
whenever we spoke. <br />
<br />
What I can tell you is<br />
it was terribly quiet in Amherst<br />
that Sabbath afternoon, <br />
nothing but a carriage passing the house, <br />
a fly buzzing in a windowpane. <br />
<br />
So I could plainly hear her inhale<br />
when I undid the very top<br />
hook-and-eye fastener of her corset <br />
<br />
and I could hear her sigh when finally it was unloosed, <br />
the way some readers sigh when they realize<br />
that Hope has feathers, <br />
that reason is a plank, <br />
that life is a loaded gun<br />
that looks right at you with a yellow eye. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-43340271052269235702012-11-12T23:33:00.000-05:002012-11-12T23:36:46.445-05:00Cold Weather: Cold Blooded MurderSomething about the fall makes me want to read more mysteries. And write more mysteries. It's true that any time is a good time for a detective novel (I'm currently making my way through <i>Redbreast </i>by Jo Nesbø). And nearly any story I write has a body show up somewhere.
Still. The cold, the colors changing, the flora, it's suggestive somehow.<br />
I wonder if we don't still sense the slightly more desperate circumstances that cold weather brings. That somehow it is harder to survive, more dangerous in the coming winter. We can sympathize with the danger faced by the protagonists more readily.<br />
There's also something to be said about cold weather being reading weather. Winter is defined by thick books and steaming tea cups.<br />
The ancient Celts were no strangers to long cold winters. The tradition of story telling was incredibly rich in the culture. They say the Celtic bards dedicated themselves to their craft and could tell a different story every winter night.
If you've read or heard any Celtic myths or lore, you'll know they were not strangers to betrayals, battles, and blood. So, perhaps not so very different from what we spend the winter amusing ourselves with today.<br />
Do you find that you also read seasonally? Or perhaps escape into a sultry summer story in the depths of winter?Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-74188797195383880972012-11-08T11:54:00.001-05:002012-11-12T23:06:00.375-05:00Downton Abbey Series 3-- A reveiw<a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/classic/images/poster_downtonabbey3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/classic/images/poster_downtonabbey3.jpg" width="320" /></a>Everyone's favorite Sunday night guilty pleasure just finished its third season in the UK. It hasn't officially aired in the US yet, so I'll be marking spoilers.<br />
<div>
Audiences certainly had plenty to look forward to. We had the promise of a smack down between Lady Violet and Cora's American mother, played by veteran actress Shirley McLaine. We had the teaser that there would be two wedding and that Sybil and Branson would be returning to bring the first grandchild to Downton Abbey.</div>
<div>
The question is: did it deliver? In many ways it did not.</div>
<div>
The first and second seasons had very different atmospheres which to some degree was appropriate, it showed the way the world was drastically changing. To compensate (sometimes over-compensate) for the gritty war element, sometimes the stories became a bit over romanticized on the home front. Still, it was so well woven that audiences were riveted and engaged on the whole.</div>
<div>
This season seems to struggle with finding its footing. In a post-war world everything can't go back as it was. For the first few episodes, there isn't much of a driving plot. We have the news that Downton is in some financial trouble. We have the wedding of Mary and Matthew, we also have Edith reaching for her own love story. Downstairs, there is a new footman and Mrs. Hughes fears she may be seriously ill. There is an awkward love polygon between some of the younger servants as well. None of this really seems to coalesce at first. We randomly shift between these disconnected plots.</div>
<div>
I had expected the interaction between Shirley McLaine and Maggie Smith to really take center stage in these first few episodes, but it didn't. It fell a bit flat. McLaine's character felt like set dressing more than a necessary character. Even Maggie Smith's dowager countess felt underwritten this season. Her famous quips and subtle manipulation were in short supply.</div>
<div>
Another character that felt like a prop for most of the series was Sybil. She was one of my favorite characters in the first two season, but when she returns pregnant from Ireland, her only job seems to be bringing back Branson so he can clash with the family.</div>
<div>
Finally in the last few episodes we seem to be moving toward something resembling a through-line to the story. They make many character damaging missteps along the way though. Downton Abbey is still of higher quality than many shows on television, but this season it loses some of its luster, and indeed, breaks some hearts.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
****Spoilers***</div>
<div>
I felt that Edith's marriage plot was especially badly handled. I defended the program last series when some said it was turning to a soap opera or melodrama. The war setting made it somewhat acceptable to have larger and sometimes unbelievable stories. It didn't feel too inappropriate. Having Edith jilted at the alter and experience such a grand scale of humiliation felt cheap.</div>
<div>
Another unbelievable element of the story telling was Matthew's inheritance. It was neatly and conveniently tied in a bow and placed in his lap just when Downton needs cash. And of course, being a deus ex machina as it is, it comes with a letter absolving Matthew of all guilt about Lavinia.</div>
<div>
The most serious misstep in my opinion, however, was how they killed off Sybil. As I said before, she drifts along in this series without a plot. Fiery, opinionated Sybil does nothing much but have a baby. And that kills her. For a light Sunday night drama, her death was unnecessarily graphic and horrific. Even when showing death in wartime, the series has never showed that level of horror. It seemed like a cheap attempt to make the series grittier at the expense of its viewers.</div>
<div>
Sybil becomes a plot device to bring Branson to Downton and facilitate some sort of alliance between him, Matthew, and Lord Grantham. I think the alliance worked well in the last few episodes, but it was a cheap way to do it and unfair to the character. A character who has been so strong and known her own mind was left helpless with men talking over her, deciding her fate.</div>
<div>
I thought this season was very weak compared to the previous two.</div>
Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-53539767583389240092012-10-21T23:29:00.003-04:002012-10-21T23:33:30.302-04:00Things are looking up...Perhaps. I've just put in some applications, though of course I don't know if I'll get anything from them, but the act of putting them in gives me a sense of accomplishment and control. I hope to get some sort of response (from at least one of them) soon<br />
I also won a drawing I entered months ago on the PBS website. I won series one and two of Sherlock on DVD. That certainly cheered me. I barely even remember entering-- another example of me not expecting to much, but actually getting something.<br />
At the literary society event tonight I dressed as Jane Austen and served tea. That was fun. My kooky friend Jess dressed as Henry David Thoreau. Somehow our interactions during the evening led us to the decision to tag-team a NaNoWriMo about the two of them. Not sure how that's going to turn out.<br />
I've nearly finished this round of edits on my mystery novel and I'm taking a break from it while figuring out how to attempt getting it published. I have some very specific ideas about what I want from all the research I've done, of course I'm still looking for some guidance from those who have been there before. Right now I'm focusing on shorter pieces for my multi-genre writing workshop. I had a great batch of drafting last night.<br />
And I've been listening to a lot of Seawolf. Maudlin music always has a cheering effect on me.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gUuOq8NInkE" width="420"></iframe><br />
So thanks for bearing with me through all the crazy.<br />
And I'm going to Italy in the spring. If that's not a sign of things looking up, I'm not sure what is.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-52505868960004364962012-10-19T17:31:00.000-04:002012-10-19T17:42:06.648-04:00The Lizzie Bennet DiariesI was skeptical at first. To be honest though, I'm always skeptical, it lesson the likelihood of disappointment. Yes, I always have been a little rain cloud. I digress. My kooky and wonderful friend Jess (who may be doing her history masters focusing in Viking history-- I know some amazing people), showed me this vlog called "<a href="http://www.lizziebennet.com/" target="_blank">The Lizzie Bennet Diaries</a>."<br />
The premise is this: Elizabeth Bennet is a 21st century woman. She lives in California with her sisters Jane and Lydia, their father, and their southern belle mother who is constantly trying to get them settled. Lizzie doing her MA in Communications while living at home and making video blogs with the help of her best friend Charlotte.<br />
The way they adapt <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> to a modern setting is very clever. It's probably one of the better modernizations of Austen's work I've seen. Perhaps because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Rather than getting too caught up on the "Romance" genre constantly imposed on Austen's work, it's very funny, but occasionally hits some serious notes. There are allusions to Austen throughout as well.<br />
Overall it's very fun and makes for perfect guilty pleasure viewing (I needed new literary shenanigans since <a href="http://www.strindbergandhelium.com/" target="_blank">Strindberg and Helium</a> haven't updated in ages...). Each video is 3-7 minutes long and they update quite regularly. I believe the team is up to about 55 videos and the story is just beginning. Here's the first:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KisuGP2lcPs" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-90626270505976336112012-10-15T21:58:00.001-04:002012-10-15T21:58:11.075-04:00Writing for Money and other Different Skill SetsSorry for the silence on this end.<br />
I'm getting to the point in my life where I have to seize adulthood, independence, etc. I also have to get used to writing for different reasons. No longer am I simply writing essays for classes, stories and poems for myself. Now I'm writing to convince people to give me money, accept me into programs, buy my creative writing.<br />
Application essays, query letters: they're a different skill set. It's a balance between informative and interesting. Between confidence and cockiness. No little artistic flourishes such as stand-alone phrases allowed (see previous sentence fragment). Suddenly I'm a slave to the basic rules of punctuation and grammar. They're no longer gentle guidelines I can bend for emphasis or fun. My bad habits (I tend to overuse commas) are glaring errors that need immediate attention.<br />
Writing a novel is not the same as writing a query. Receiving an English degree doesn't mean anyone's going to pay you to use it.<br />
The big dream would be for me to spend next year working/studying abroad. By the end of that year I would hope to have something in the works for getting my novel published.<br />
The big dream is to live by my pen. Not grandly, but just enough to take care of myself.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-34845409745456029112012-09-28T17:35:00.000-04:002012-09-29T13:33:06.184-04:00Elementary.... Sherlock Holmes in 21st Century New YorkWhen it was announced that CBS would be doing their own modern take on Sherlock Holmes (after the BBC wouldn't allow them to remake <i>Sherlock</i>) fans of Holmes were startled and alarmed. Especially when it was announced that Watson would be played by Lucy Liu. It certainly goes against tradition.<br />
So was it worth all the kerfuffle?<br />
In some respects no. In last night's pilot of <i>Elementary</i>, Lucy Liu proved herself very adept at being the every man foil to an unhinged detective. As the element people were most worried about, she was a pleasant surprise. From a design point of view, she also had a very good "look." I also don't mind the New York setting. It can work.<br />
<a href="http://www.thefutoncritic.com/images/shows/key_elementary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.thefutoncritic.com/images/shows/key_elementary.jpg" width="210" /></a>I suppose my main criticism of the show thus far (and I realize most network shows need to settle in over the first few episodes) is that it's sort of bland. Johnny Lee Miller's Holmes is an arrogant detective and recovering drug addict. Yes, he may have the capacity to be an interesting character, but he's not yet. Nothing is really screaming "Holmes" about him either. He keeps bees, that was the one token quirk they threw the audience last night. The possibility of Holmes' father is new to the pastiche genre and may have some possibility, but I'm still not convinced by the writing or Miller's portrayal of the character. He doesn't have the mystique or the charisma yet.<br />
The NYPD is also really boring. So far we've seen Captain Gregson who worked with Holmes while he was abroad attached to Scotland Yard. Their history and relationship doesn't really read at this point. Detective Abreu seems like someone Holmes might rub the wrong way. In their first scene, Holmes disproves the Detective's assumptions about a crime scene. Yet, later in the episode he does Holmes' bidding with little trouble. Right now the police are just placeholders, filling a function, not real people with internal lives and the possibility for conflict.<br />
I wish they hadn't advertised this as a Sherlock Holmes adaptation. If they had changed everyone's names, I would have no trouble enjoying it as a new "consulting detective" show on CBS. We could have had a show that pays homage to Holmes in its inspiration instead of a "Sherlock Holmes" show that never quite delivers.<br />
There is a good possibility that the show will find its footing and be quite decent. But nothing so far says it's Sherlock Holmes to me. Sherlock Holmes wouldn't have kinky ladder sex with a prostitute. I also don't believe that he would ever have a "temper tantrum" to the extreme he does in this pilot. His mind is always in control. He may do bizarre things, but it's for a purpose, a master plan. So far, I'm not certain Miller's Holmes is capable of the "long-game," if you will. How will he cope when a Moriarty is eventually introduced?<br />
Some fans are rejoicing the fact that Miller is an attractive and competent actor that they can enjoy in the role for twenty or so episodes per season. Yes it's hard to wait a year and half for each set of three episodes from <i>Sherlock</i>, but they are more than episodes, aren't they? They're really mini-films. "A Study in Pink" held up side by side with this first episode creates a sad comparison. Really, there is no comparison. <i>Elementary </i>is.... HolmesLite. We'll be getting a decent, Sherlock Holmes-ish series in great quantity, but nowhere near the quality and detail of <i>Sherlock</i>.<br />
So will I watch it? Probably. At least unless they do something that's unforgivable to me. It's just an entirely different beast from <i>Sherlock</i>.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-32835059377569177272012-09-26T23:56:00.000-04:002012-09-26T23:56:11.290-04:00Passing Thoughts on Finding Inspiration"How do you get your ideas?"<br />
It's inevitable. If you write, or paint, or compose, or do anything creative, people wonder where the grain of that idea comes from. Even creative people wonder about where the ideas of other creative people come from. There's something mystical and secretive about the creative process: no wonder the ancients believed in the Muses arriving and blessing the artists with ideas. It's as good an analogy as any.<br />
Most writers have a process, a schedule, a pattern, for when they're writing. That initial burst of thought: that unraveling of images that somehow gives you a character, or a plot, or a theme, that's much less scientific.<br />
Writers can provoke inspiration by exposing themselves to things that have the capacity to be inspiring. By reading, watching films, traveling, or trying something new, you expose yourself to new people, ideas, and sensations. Sometimes things just randomly align for no reason.<br />
What's most important (in my young, limited experience) is not dismiss small inspirations. Just because you don't have a fully formed idea doesn't mean you might not have something important. Keeping a little notebook on you at all times is essential. Write down that unusual name you heard, or that fragment of a line that occurred to you while in line at the grocery store. When you flip back through your notebook, you might realize that some of these little things might go together. You might have your big inspiration after all.<br />
I wrote a short story almost two months ago. I wasn't entirely happy with where it ended up, so I put it aside. Tonight while sitting in a linguistics class watching a video of Noam Chompsky talking about Universal Language, I suddenly knew. I knew how I could fix that story.<br />
The mind is an amazing thing. Sometimes it might be working on a problem in the background, in the subconscious. We just have to live our lives and work on other things. The inspiration will come. And if it doesn't.... well, we do something else until it does.<br />
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had a weird breakthrough in the middle of something totally unrelated.Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-89893116082089726852012-09-16T18:22:00.000-04:002012-09-16T18:22:59.368-04:00Bill Bryson: The Mother Tongue<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPGa9_Dcn7rVd6JcEatZyjPKgULFlIvLOeE1EYlOBHmL7lrtOcz_GuUI4CialXJna6TU9ZCnK6KFegJNgOVs4wuIGiXv1djwpHhju-Eldi7jyZ8TQZneuSaLid3y2Ve3JOKaRAwbAcWXw/s1600/Mother+Tongue+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPGa9_Dcn7rVd6JcEatZyjPKgULFlIvLOeE1EYlOBHmL7lrtOcz_GuUI4CialXJna6TU9ZCnK6KFegJNgOVs4wuIGiXv1djwpHhju-Eldi7jyZ8TQZneuSaLid3y2Ve3JOKaRAwbAcWXw/s320/Mother+Tongue+cover.jpg" width="210" /></a><i>The Mother Tongue: English and How it got that Way</i> is a delightful book. Anyone interested in language, etymology, or history will love this book. Anyone vaguely curious about why English can seems so strange or confusing will find it enlightening and amusing.<br />
Bryson works his way through some of the basics of the history of the language: how a bastardized peasant tongue somehow became one of the dominant languages of the world. Some of the sketchier bits of history like "the great vowel shift" are skirted over with good reason: there is no definitive understanding of that strange happening to this day. Dialects, American and British are discussed, as well as how the names of places and people came to be, and also the origins of swear words.<br />
What always rings clear in this book is the fact that language is not a permanent thing. English is strangely malleable, constantly shifting, picking up bits of other languages, and changing. Where some languages have change very little in the past thousand years (so much so, you could read ancient manuscripts with little difficulty), old English is nearly unrecognizable to modern readers. Though Bryson admits English has its failings and that other languages are more expressive or sensible in certain areas, his love of the language is seen on every page. He reminds native speakers that the language they speak is beautiful, expressive, and unique among world languages.<br />
Perhaps he is a little biased in his love of English, and doesn't go into all the textbook definitions. It's not a textbook, and it never feels like one. Overall, it's a book that is both fun to read and will teach you dozens of new things about the English language. Something about Bryson's voice is engaging and personable. You feel like you're chatting with an incredibly smart friend while having a drink together on a lazy Friday night.
I'm currently in a Linguistics class at the moment, and I must say, that though <i>The Mother Tongue</i> seems light on the science, it was a fantastic book to read before the class. Nearly all of the topics on our syllabus were touched on by Bryson. I feel much more prepared than going into the class cold. Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6958226324352304501.post-20318326038622352342012-09-07T21:06:00.001-04:002012-09-07T21:15:50.455-04:00No Room For You (in the workforce)<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps it's my own fault for keeping an email account with Yahoo. It seems like every few months they post a new story about "useless" college majors. They're not the only culprit, plenty of news sources print and post such articles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In their most recent article, they discussed the usual "worst" majors (mine, English, included). When discussing the poor job prospects for philosophy majors the writer said,"Our philosophy, at least, is to look into a major with a better return on investment."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hilarious. It seems that this is the mindset toward education now. We treat it like a product. Commercials for online degrees are a perfect example of this. "I want to get my degree faster." "I don't want to take classes I don't<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>need.</i>" If only we could streamline it and have people line up to get implanted with a micro-chip labelled "bachelor's degree."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style= font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't understand how anyone can call something that enriches your mind a waste. The concept of the Renaissance Man is now outmoded. People want to take the classes that give them a specific set of skills that will enable them to do a specific job that will bring home a certain sized paycheck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style=font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's true that perhaps if I had gone into the sciences I would have a more certain job when I graduate, but I prefer language and literature. Obviously most of the people pursuing the "worst" degrees are doing them because they love them. They are more interested in feeding the soul than feeding the wallet. These constant articles in the media beating down the Arts and Humanities are basically saying to me: "There's no room for you."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style=font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's no room for the poets, the philosophers, the painters. There's no room for the people who appreciate beauty or show us society in a new light. There's no room for people who try to give us greater understanding and consciousness. We don't need them as long as we have doctors, lawyers, scientists, and investment bankers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style=font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You shouldn't go to school to become a smarter, better person, you should go to school so you can make lots of money. Even if you do it by studying a subject you don't love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know that I won't be a Warren Buffet. I will never live in a mansion or have servants. I will live in an apartment and cook Ramen noodles over a hot plate. So what? There are more important things in my opinion. I'm a story teller and I don't have a choice. I came out of the womb that way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style= font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I've gained something from every college course I've taken-- even the courses that weren't in my major. Thanks to our liberal arts curriculum, I've take classes in biology, sociology, mathematics. I don't think they were a waste. Learning something new can only improve your mind for whatever it is you plan on doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<<span style=" font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't help but wonder if the writer of that article is just a frustrated English major stuck writing for Yahoo now. And consider: would the world be any richer had Shakespeare chosen the more sensible profession of fishmonger or become a glover like his father?</span></div>Odessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01255208766374206735noreply@blogger.com0