Bah and Humbug!!!

Bah and Humbug to rewrites, frozen fingers, chocolate cookies, free lunches, and good advice.
Yeah, its been one of those days.

On a completely different topic...DJ's work with Mr. Scrooge in the play she is directing this week paid off, and he did a great job. Congratulations and 'break a leg' tomorrow. Don't know why they think its a jinx to say good luck in the theater.

I love Christmas!!

(The raving ramblings of a overtaxed mind. Welcome to my world.)

Let it Snow...

Holy Moly! It has snowed buckets here in Reno since yesterday afternoon. My kids had a snow day on Monday PLUS a two hour delay today. And, while I love the snow and the hot chocolate and the awesome winter food (chicken fricassee, chili and cornbread, roast and mashed potatoes), I don't know how much more I can take of kids stuck inside all day. My son was literally swinging off the kitchen cabinets last night. ahem! Adam. All I'm saying is, can the kids please go back to school so I can resume writing?

Pickiness Never Was Happiness

I am a picky person. Is it inherited? Honed after years of viewing an imperfect world? I don't know, but the truth is that I rarely read a book or watch a movie without having some sort of criticism.

Example:

Hubby: That was an awesome movie.

Me: Yep (trying hard to repress any complaints).

Hubby: (clearly seeing through my struggle to keep quiet) Why didn't you like it?

Me: I did like it. I just thought the ending would have been better if...

See what I mean? I am a picky person.

As I think back on movies, books or shows that I LOVED, loved enough to overlook any weaknesses, I wonder what made them special. Great character development? Awesome plot? New and exciting ideas? A combination of the three? I don't have the answer, but I do know when I walk away amazed, someone else's creation has changed me.

The pickiness is, in part, what can hold me back as a writer. I am not perfect. I know many of my weaknesses. But how can I overcome the weakness enough to finish my book?

I want to know how you can overcome and go forward. I want to know what element you think makes a book or movie special. I want to know if someone else's creation has ever changed you.

So, come on. Spill it!

Bring on the Banter

One skill that I would love to hone as a writer is the ability to write witty banter. I am a big fan of classic movies from the 1930s and 40s. One of my favorite movies of all time does this to perfection - Bringing Up Baby, a Howard Hawks film from 1938 starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant. The story is about a wacky heiress who takes a liking to a mild mannered scientist and gets him involved when she is entrusted with the care of a leopard. Much madness ensues.

For those who haven't seen it, reading random quotes from the film doesn't do it justice, but here are a few of my favorite lines:

David Huxley - Now it isn't that I don't like you Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I'm strangely drawn toward you, but - well, there haven't been any quiet moments.

David Huxley - (David tripped and sat on his hat): I might have known it was you. I had a feeling just as I hit the floor.

Susan Vance - That was your hat.

David Huxley - But Susan, you can't climb in a man's bedroom window!

Susan Vance - I know, it's on the second floor!

I highly recommend this movie as a case study for dialogue and pacing. And, I guarantee you'll laugh out loud at least a few times.

The Devil's Eye, by Jack McDevitt

Jack McDevitt delivers again.

The Devil's Eye starts off with Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath receiving an enigmatic message from an interplanetary bestselling horror novelist. Author Vicki Greene tells them that she's gotten in too deep, talking about all the people who were dead. By the time Alex and Chase get back to their home planet, Rimway, Vicki has already had a memory wipe performed on her: an invasive procedure that completely wipes a person's personality and memories away, leaving them free to start a new life without hinderment from the past (usually only performed on repeat-offender criminals).

But before Vicki deep-sixes herself, she deposits two million dollars into Alex and Chase's account (which thousands of years in the future is still about what it's worth now; apparently in the future they find a way to stabilize inflation for good). Vicki wants them to discover what she did--what was so disturbing that she decided she couldn't live with the memory.

The last place Vicki had visited before sending Alex and Chase the message was Salud Afar, a borderland planet known for horrific legends and home to a recently overthrown dynasty of dictatorship and ruthless cruelty--the perfect place to research her next novel.

And off Alex and Chase go to unravel a deeply disturbing mystery on the edge of the Milky Way.

I thoroughly enjoyed Seeker, McDevitt's Nebula Award-winning novel preceding The Devil's Eye, so this novel had a tall order to fill. The mystery element was as strong as in Seeker, with the mystery almost as heavy as the sci-fi elements. As with Seeker, McDevitt uses the tools of science--astronomy and astrophysics especially--to unravel and solve the mystery.

Chase and Alex's characters developed more of an spark in this novel than in Seeker, giving the reader a sense of possibility while they still explore other options. McDevitt tries to make in Chase a female cavalier; she's her own woman and is tied down to no man. This role fits her as the pilot of the archaeology operation, but sometimes you just want to see her find love--the stuff which you're not sure will ever grow between her and Alex. Alex tends to come across as a rich collector who doesn't truly have an interest in people as he does in relics from a long-dead age. This hampers their three-dimensionality as characters, but ultimately they are enjoyable characters--Chase more so than Alex.

The Devil's Eye throws some twists into the story that I didn't see coming and that at first I was disappointed about because I was expecting something else. The twists were well-executed, though, and finally created a better ending that I predicted would happen. He did this with Seeker in a much better way, but it still works for TDE.

The Alex Benedict series is very standalone in the truest sense. I started on book three in the series, Seeker, and missed nothing. He's good at bringing you up to speed and only makes a handful of minor allusions to the previous books. For anyone who hasn't tried the sci-fi mystery genre yet, I'd strongly recommend McDevitt as a starting point.


The Devil's Eye, by Jack McDevitt. Ace Books. 2008. 368 pp. $7.99 (PB).

P.S. DJ, it's not too scary for you. :)

Writing Conferences in 2010

It's been an exciting week. Most of the Inkers have signed up for or committed to attending the LDS Storymakers conference in April in Provo. The line up of presenters is amazing and the classes are always so informative and organized. It is always a great conference. I first attended Storymakers in 2008. It was my first writing conference since attending college and I loved it. Candace Salima, Tristi Pinkston, and Julie Wright were just a few of the fantastic authors who took the time to befriend me and make me feel comfortable.

Lately, we have been planning the conferences we all plan to attend next year. We are looking forward to getting together with friends and other people who understand the rollercoaster ride of being a writer.
We have discussed "Life, the Universe, & Everything' at BYU in February. That is coming sooo soon! YAY. Writing for Young Readers is on the agenda this year as well.

What conferences are on your agenda and what are you most looking forward too? Spill it we're making travel plans right now!!!

Bah Humbug!

After all those mushy Holiday Greetings, I say BAH!

By next week I may be saying, "God Bless Us, Everyone." But today was
the first dress rehearsal for A Christmas Carol and it was a disaster!
There are still costumes to be made (by me), set pieces to be
acquired (by me), photography items to be arranged (by me), you get
the picture.

So, right now, I am feeling rather Scrooge-ish. This is the third
year of production and I should know by now that it always comes off
great . . . but I still lose sleep.

For any who are local and interested, Charles Dickens' A Christmas
Carol will be performed at Eagle Valley Elementary School on Dec 9th &
10th at 7pm. Tickets are on sale in the office.

Mr. Chops, you should come so Debbie can introduce you to that
teacher. It is all Bah and Humbug!