Mar 30, 2006 | Uncategorized |
Woefully, I shall not be writing about writing tonight. The military is scrambling my brain with action verbs designed to make me list my accomplishments (achieved X, analyzed X, implemented X, researched X). Really this is aimed at the retiring military member, but since I'm sitting beside him and have my own workbook, I feel compelled to complete the assignments. Not for nothing did I graduate magna cum laude. (Please don't even talk to me about why it wasn't summa cum laude. I was robbed by unfair policies designed to benefit transfer students is all I shall say on the subject. Ahem.) I am an anal retentive, complete all assignments in triplicate sort of person. 🙂
Anyway, last night, in a tired stupor, I watched Capote. Oh wow. I have purposely avoided reading In Cold Blood for years. I am a wimp, a person who does not/cannot/will not watch the various horror movies offered over the years. When I was a teen, those awful Freddy movies were the thing. Not me, never watched a one. Friday the 13th? Uh-uh. I get skeered.
But now that I've watched Capote, I may have to read the book. And, in truth, as shocking as the crime was then, it's pretty routine (unfortunately) today. We hear as bad or worse in the news.
I did not empathize with the killers. But I understood how Truman did, how it tore him up, how he used them and got his story. Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved his Academy Award (much as I liked David Straithairn as Edward R. Murrow). The performance is riveting.
One of the funny moments is when Nell Harper Lee gets a contract to publish her novel. “Congrats, Nell,” says a guy at a party. “What's it called? Kill the bird? Bird killing?” Well, that's a paraphrase, but still. Hilarious. That bird book. Oh dear.
So, if you're at a loss for what to watch, rent this movie about a writer (an arrogant, queer–uh, both senses actually–little man) who obsessed his way into a book that destroyed him and changed the way people wrote non-fiction narratives. ICB made Truman even more famous than did Breakfast at Tiffany's.
And he never completed another book.
Mar 29, 2006 | Uncategorized |
My husband is retiring from the military soon, and while that sounds like he's ancient or something, he's not. Twenty years goes fast, believe me, especially when you signed up at 18. So, we're off to the military's set of briefings for the retiring and/or separating military member. The AF is enlightened enough to let spouses attend (stops all that “So what did they tell you, honey?” for the poor military person). I've sat through VA briefings, medical briefings, state briefings, and educational briefings today. Tomorrow, I get to sit through resume writing. That should be a kick for me, considering I haven't worked in a while.
Not that any of this relates to writing. Except for one thing: I do not like getting up early, showering, putting on clothes, fixing my hair, and going out into the world. I prefer getting up early, getting my coffee, and plopping in front of the computer. So I better get damn busy selling some books, because I sure as hell don't relish the alternative.
Hawaii weather report: rain, rain, and more rain. Gloomy, gray, icky. Stay home. Don't come visit us for another month.
Mar 28, 2006 | Uncategorized |
I was perusing Romancing the Blog today when I came across a post about paranormals versus historicals. This sentence caught my eye: “How is an author going to know the rules of shape shifting without first doing some research?”
LOL, that made me giggle. You can research that? I thought it was up to the individual author writing the story how this stuff worked. Man, talk about your basic ignorance (me).
But isn't it true that different writers have employed different rules on their vampire worlds, fer instance? Some let them be awake during the day, others are more traditional. I don't know how they decide this, truthfully.
I'm not a big paranormal reader, but I was first on the boat with Linda Lael Miller's vampire romances back in the day. Who could ever forget Valerian??? I admit to not sampling them much today. Heck, I don't know where to start. When Ms. Miller was writing her trilogy (or whatever it turned out to be), they were fairly unique on the market. I was sucked into the first one, Forever and the Night, and read the next three. None got to me as much as Time Without End (Valerian, sigh). I never felt the urge to write them, however, much to my everlasting regret. Still don't. But a lot of folks do.
Do you think paranormals are the new historicals? I'm not sure I agree, though OTOH, I mostly stopped reading historicals a few years ago. Too much sameness and too many damn lectures about the workings of the medieval castle or the Regency ton. (There are always exceptions, or writers who are so brilliant they can describe hay drying in the field and I'll read it.)
I know the writer has to set the scene, and I sure enough did it in Lord of the March, but to the regular reader it gets old fast. I guess it could get old in paranormals too. I read a contest entry that spent 30 well-written pages telling me how the heroine traveled through time. It was nice writing, but boring as heck. If it'd been a book, I'd have skipped to the action.
How do you get past that stuff when writing? Do you imply it and hope the reader follows? Or do you think it needs in depth explanations? I'm in the implication camp, but that's my preference. Do we face the same issues in contemporary novels or do we have it easier because readers are already part of our “story-world”?
[PS I'm off to *gasp* a work-like situation for the rest of the week! Okay, so there's no work involved, but I am required to wake up, get dressed in casual business attire, and be somewhere at 0800 sharp every morning for the rest of the week. This is shocking to my system! Therefore, my posts will probably be somewhat more scattered and goofy than usual. Or not.]
Mar 27, 2006 | Uncategorized |
What a busy weekend! Renee Fleming was fabulous, of course. Mike was tolerable, though he did express a desire to hear her belch (figuring it would be pretty powerful, I guess). Renee was gracious and funny, and she came back for 3 encores, finally performing my favorite aria ever: O Mio Babbino Caro. (Okay, so I'm not a sophisticated opera buff; I just know what I like.) You can listen to a comparison of Renee and Charlotte Church singing this song here. I prefer Renee. Her voice sounds more mature to me. I also like Sarah Brightman's version of the song.
Mike brought binoculars, as usual, and that always makes it more fun. Renee's jewelry could light its own universe. She wears a diamond on her left hand that must be in excess of 10 carats. It was huge. Her gowns are custom designed for her, and she looked every inch the diva in the two feathered versions she wore. As I listened to her sing, I kept thinking of Bel Canto, which I read rather recently and loved. I later found out, through reading Renee's bio in the program, that Ann Patchett listened to Renee's albums and used her as inspiration for Roxanne Coss. Cool.
Though this has little to nothing to do with writing, I did think about characters while listening. As I perused the orchestra with the binoculars, I landed on this girl playing French horn. She looked young, attractive in a European cream complexion way, and totally bored with the singing. I began to tell myself a story about her. I may take it to paper at some point, just for the fun of exploring how she could be listening to, and accompanying, one of the world's top sopranos and be so unmoved at the same time.
The other thing I did this weekend was attend a booksigning by Jennifer Archer. I'll post more on that later, including a picture. Jenny and her husband Jeff are visiting Oahu from Texas. Jenny found out, just the day before her signing, that her book The Me I Used to Be is nominated for a RITA! We had a great time chatting about writing and other stuff. 🙂
Congratulations to all the RITA and Golden Heart nominees!
Mar 24, 2006 | Uncategorized |
I did go downtown yesterday, and I did take the Alphasmart. First, I went and dropped off my Grandfather clock weights, then I swung by the Blaisdell box office for tickets to the symphony. Tonight is Renee Fleming! Mike and I are going, though he's not a big opera buff. He'll sit through two hours of Renee belting out Beethoven, provided he can have wine during the intermission. 🙂 I am happy to accomodate.
I love going to the symphony in Hawaii. No suits, ties, or evening wear here! We wear aloha attire. Men will come in aloha shirts and shorts or slacks. Women wear mu'u mu'us or dresses or slacks or shorts. Some folks dress up, some don't. Many wear fragrant leis. If you come to Hawaii for a visit, and you like the symphony, I suggest you go. Our pops conducter, btw, arranged the music and played the saxophone in the fabulous George Clooney movie Good Night and Good Luck. The man is a talent.
But anyway. I got out of the house, went to observe humanity. 🙂 I ended up in Barnes and Noble with the Alphie. I had a chai and wrote 1 page. Whoa, was I smokin' or what? I observed an old man with a dangly earring, which I thought was funny. I observed how people hog the tables in the cafe by getting one drink, piling magazines on the table, and then stay there forever. They will even get up for 20 to 30 minutes on end while they go look for other stuff. They'll leave everything piled on “their” table so no one takes it. How annoying.
And, yeah, I sat at my table for a long time after I finished the chai. I was probably there for an hour and 15 minutes or so. Staring into space, typing and hitting the delete key, and perusing the latest RWR and The Writer. No one came through looking like they wanted a table, so I didn't feel too guilty. And I don't get up to go find other stuff. I'll go to the bathroom if I have to, but I come right back. I feel guilty taking a table and then going to browse the store.
Do you go to cafes to write? If so, do you think you get more or less done that way? I think I do less, but then sometimes getting away from the house and its distractions (laundry, cats, dishes, etc) is the only way to get anything done.
[Update: Here is the official Renee Fleming website. Apparently the one linked above is a fan site. It was a great concert. I'll report more in depth later…….]
