Scaredy Pants

Since we're having movie weather in Utah and it is Halloween weekend, I'd like to share my picks for some of my favorite "nail-biter" movies. Notice I didn't say Horror movies. I can't stomach the super-gory stuff very well, although there are a some from the genre I have to give kudos to.

In no particular order:

Rear Window - A classic from the great Mr. Hitchcock with the sublime Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. Guaranteed to make you shout at the screen at least once.

Halloween - Flashes of the silent but deadly Michael Myers still invade my consciousness on occasion. I wouldn't watch this if it came out today, but viewing it with my friends as a teen evoked many girlish screams.

When a Stranger Calls - *spoiler alert*

"The calls are coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE."

The Sixth Sense - Creepy and one of the best surprise endings ever

Duel - Still hate semi trucks today because of this movie

Misery - I have adopted some Annie-isms such as cockadoodie and Mr. MAN. You authors out there better get the ending right.

Scream (only the first one) - A great job of blending humor with truly scary moments

Jaws - Who hasn't had a moment where you feared a shark would suddenly attack you in the pool?

The Terminator - I'll be back!

Psycho - Mother recommended it to me.

Pumpkins say a lot about people

I'm just saying that these pumpkins reminded me of these Inkers at first glance. Feel free to agree or disagree as you see fit.

The Tart for sure.












Blush all the way.
















Vixen and Sir Kirk A Lot...must be the ghoulish grin.










Last but not least Rose and me.

New Focus

Hello Dear Friends,

I am suffering from serious LACK OF MOTIVATION.  So I need a new drive to help me feel the love of writing . . .

So, I am going to attempt to write a short story suitable to be entered in LTUE's contest.  You can find all the info here.  It is due January 15th, 2011.  And I am going to send something in.  My 6th grade daughter is too.  Neither of us have "finished" anything, so it will be good for the both of us.

Anyone care to join me?

Sincerely,
Rose

How Convenient

The other day I went to my nearest LargeMart, you know, one of those industrial sized, one-stop stores. It happened to be when I didn't bring children and I really had the time to look before mindlessly shoving items into my cart, just so I can get out the door before someone throws a tantrum/has to go to the bathroom/starts a chorus of, "I want..."

But that's a rant for another blog.

Anything I could ever need, as long as I'm not picky about brands, stared down at me from the aisles. Everything from groceries, to linens, to toys, to books, to car parts, all packaged and waiting for my shopping cart. In one store, I can literally do all my shopping, get my oil changed, eat lunch, get my nails done, and top it off with a haircut. Convenient, right? But it makes me wonder. Are we becoming too trapped and dependent on convenience? One day, we will have some population destroying apocalypse that will take out all the LargeMarts and we will be forced to live on our own. When that happens, I'm going to DJ's house.

But until then...what is your favorite modern day convenience? Mine is my laptop. Not having to be chained when I write, surf the web, etc, is something I hope to never give up!

Standards & Practices

My most recent writing delimma involved a character needing to say something scandalous during a TV interview which would have repercussions for my protagonist. Sure, it would be easy enough to have him drop the F-bomb or similar, however, my personal standards prevent me from doing that (not trying to act holier-than-thou, just telling it like it is). And, really, it's hard to shock in our society today with language or sexual behavior. The boundaries of what is acceptable in entertainment have been stretched pretty far.

Just this month, I've heard a few things in the news which have proved this point. Example #1: A 17 year old actress named Taylor Momsen (Gossip Girl) posed for the cover of Revolver magazine wearing lingerie with thigh-high stockings while holding a couple of guns. The editor excused this during an interview by saying in essence that we all did crazy things when we were teenagers. Um, does that mean it's okay for adults responsible for publishing a national magazine to make money off the "crazy " behavior? Example #2: Miley Cyrus, also age 17, joining the club of female former-Disney stars who think the only way to continue their careers in adulthood is to make a video where they are barely clothed, writhing around on a bed and bumping and grinding male dancers to show they are now "adults". Example #3: The show Glee, which I don't watch, but is about a high school glee club and was billed as a "family show" had an episode featuring a girl-on-girl make-out session.

Turns out, the best way to shock these days is to be politically incorrect, which works well for my character in question. So it was an ongoing debate with me, myself, and I for awhile, until a discussion at our writer's group meeting this week helped lead me to what I hope is a good solution that works for the story, but doesn't cross my standards line.

With all the political correctness in our society today, many approaches could actually work. As it turns out, there is more than one way to skin a cat (easy PETA, it's just an idiom).

Mutineers vs Mutant Ears

Spell check can only take you so far. Check out this typo from one website trying to post the lyrics to "Rotten Town" from Ludo's latest album. Today's post is a cautionary tale.

Lyrics posted on the hack site:
"The mutant ears are plotting against the captain as I'm rotting in the goo"

Yep, that is supposed to say (The mutineers are plotting) of course since it is Ludo it took some research to confirm that its a typo.

Criticism

Being in a writers' group means that your work is critiqued on a regular basis.  That means sometimes you hear things you just don't want to hear.

Sometimes, it feels like they are telling you that your baby is ugly, or even that you shouldn't have had that baby in the first place, or even worse, cut that baby's arm off and replace it with a cyborg tentacle capable of pushing your OK WIP into a Best Seller.  It hurts, it sucks, but generally, these people are trying to help.

Other times, their words are amazingly helpful.  The Inkers have great capabilities and we see things all so differently that brainstorming helps end that writer's block.

Plus, even the bad critique's are better heard from someone who cares than someone who cares not.  It is an easier pill to swallow coming from a friend. 

 Many times when I am critiquing someone's WIP, I think before I speak and I am trying to help them, so when they come back with defensive maneuvers it makes me not want to speak at all.  If they know so much, why did they ask for my opinion?

(But there is the occasional time when we are having almost a debate and its fun to whip out ideas without much thought) hee hee

So, what can we do as the person receiving that critique? Here are some of my thoughts, share yours too.

• Listen, really listen without thinking up your defense.
• Take notes.  Maybe when you reread them they you will see their point.
• Take it with a grain of salt.
• Realize these people are trying to help.
• And if all else fails, eat a brownie.

Have a great day and Happy Writing.