That Inevitable Post…

You knew it would happen, ladies and gents. Eventually, with all of the yammering on and on about the series, you knew that I would eventually cave and see the second film. So I took a Friday night with my two best friends and went to see “New Moon”. I’ll give you a moment to get over your surprise.

Let me begin by saying that this sequel to “Twilight” was quite a bit better than the first film. The script was in closer keeping with the book, for one thing. (And there was no Great Stammering Scene, hallelujah.) There was a lot less Edward-Bella-deep-eye-staring-drooling-and-so-forth as well, which was lovely. Again, tip of the hat to the cast. Throw a fit over it if you will, but 99% of the casting was spot on, take that in what sense thou wilt. I have to say, also, that I am delighted with the director swap, because, hey! The first film was a bit dry by comparison. So, thank you, Chris Weitz, for not making the film suck (pun most definitely intended). I will now have to go and re-read the book, because there were things that were kept in the film that I’d forgotten were in the book. When a page-to-screen film makes you want to go back and re-read the story, you KNOW it’s a great adaptation!

Granted, yeah, there were a few times where it got mushy and we all had to restrain ourselves from getting sick in our purses, but then, they have those scenes in EVERY romantic flick. (Reason #684 why I’m not a fan of romance.) They were tolerable. I was delighted to see that the werewolf aspect of the series finally came into play; I was looking forward to that. Hats OFF to the visual effects team for making the wolves so believable!

Granted, there were a few things that bugged me. You’d think that, if Bella and Edward were just so dang in love, and the actors playing them were so dang in love, that would be able to better show that on the screen. They did a better job with this in “New Moon” than they did in “Twilight”, but still, it could still step it up just a little. Not to an unnecessary degree, but the infrequent smiling is a bit too much of an understatement of their feelings. There was a bit more kissing in this film, but the transfer from blank-faced conversation to sudden snogging was a bit of a lurch in the film. The emotion should be a bit more consistent. The effect of Victoria’s murders were a bit too understated as well; Charlie looked hardly panicked when Bella went missing. There should have been a bit more concern there. Other than that, the film was great!

I will say that the fact that we were in a theater full of people with a sense of decorum was nice. There was no shrieking when Bella fell off of her motorcycle and Jacob “lost” his shirt over it (though I did hear a faint “woo!” from the back of the room.). Nor was there a lot of gagging over Ed and Bella’s PDA scenes. Truly, the atmosphere in a theater affects one’s enjoyment of the film. Everyone seemed to handle all the shirtlessness (thank you, La Push!) and so on quite nicely.

Now, obviously, this is a film that has been massively hyped up. Between the posters, pictures, cardboard cutouts (didn’t know you could buy them things), Sweetheart candies, action figures (I kid you not), and Burger King fanpacks, I think we’re all getting more than a wee bit sick of the “Twilight” craze. I mean, they may as well start a cult following at this point. But for those of us who enjoy the series and its movies for what they are- an entertaining read and a fun film series- we should just enjoy them, despite the madness. So, if you like the book, it’s safe to see the film! I give it an A overall. Don’t miss it!

De-Roughing a Rough Draft

I will admit it; when it comes to my writing, I am a perfectionist (even with this blog). As in, after about five years of work, my story is nowhere near completion. In fact, when I first began, this story was very different from what it is now. Characters have been dropped and changed, and new ones have been added. Places have been renamed. Entire races have been added and removed. So how does a story change so much over the course of the writing process?

Now, the concept of a rough draft was one I loathed from the beginning. With a passion. So I didn’t expect what I thought, at the time, to be a great story to turn out to be nothing more than a rough draft for the finished piece (which has yet to materialize on account of I type slowly.) But that’s precisely what has happened. So, realizing that, I began “de-roughing”, as it were, my rough draft. So how does one go about “de-roughing” a rough draft?

• I hate to say it… start with an outline. Why? Because an outline is the easiest thing in the world to alter. Yo can easily delete a section of an outline and replace it as the writing process moves along. Sometimes I wish I had begun with an outline from the get-go, rather than waiting around to write one when I was halfway through the rewrite.
• Let me capitalize for emphasis: GRAMMAR CHECK. Basic issues with grammar are big issues. This is not to say that the Microsoft Works Word Processor Grammar Check function is all-powerful and always right. Sometimes what it may see as an error is, in fact, a cleverly artistic play on words or the like, but it will pick up on words you may have skipped in a flurry of fast typing. It’ll also pickup on those run-on sentences you wrote and then forgot about. Just PAY ATTENTION to what it’s picked up as an error before you hit “Change”. (BTW, for those of us who are not so versed in the ways or Microsoft Works Word Processor, all you need to do to find the Grammar Check, really, is type something along the lines of “hhgvfgeufygf” and then hit Spell Check. When Spell Check pops up, check the box in the lower left corner of the Spell Check window that says “Check grammar”. Very simple. Make sure you delete “hhgvfgeufgf”, by the way, unless of course that’s the name of a character.)
• Grammar Check’s best friend (and again I emphasize): SPELL CHECK. Even easier than Grammar check, this function picks up typos and misspellings (duh). Now a side note: Spell Check may identify certain character’s names as typos, so PAY ATTENTION and don’t simply zip through Spell check’s LONG list of supposed spelling errors. Spell check, like Grammar Check, is NOT God. Here’s a tip: If Spell Check continuously ID’s a character’s name as a typo, add it as an accepted spelling. When the name comes up as an error in the Spell Check window, hit the “Add” button rather than “Ignore”, “Ignore All”, or “Change”. The word will no longer appear as a typo.
• As with writer’s block, ANY and ALL bits of action and dialogue that you come up with should be written down. They may seem asinine at the time, but I guarantee that much of the dialogue and such that you write down will, eventually, find its way into a story. This goes for names as well.
• Having trouble naming a character? Check out www.name-meanings.com for an EXTENSIVE list of names from all over the world, as well as their meanings. Try to find a name whose meanings can be related to a character’s personality or actions (such as a name meaning “defender” for a soldier). Do not fear making up names!
• Write it out in longhand if it helps. Often, when you sit down to type it, you will find that much of what you wrote needs to be rewritten. DO NOT THROW OUT THE ORIGINAL!!!! You may find out that bits you dropped out of the second draft may make it into the final. I have a friend who wrote an entire play out in longhand, and it was helpful for him. As with typing everything, however, it all depends on you. If you find typing is easier, by all means, type away! Just print out copies of each draft, in case you want to use something from the first draft that you dropped from the second draft in the final draft.
• Write as many drafts as you need until your story is where you want it.
• Have a friend read your first draft, and take criticism in stride. Consider the person to whom you give the draft to preview to be part of your audience, because they are. If they are confused by a passage, chances are anyone else who reads it will be confused there as well.
• Rewrite if you must. Feel free to start over completely! Just make sure that you save your first draft. I rewrote a good portion of my work, and it helped a LOT.

Most importantly: PERSERVERE. Never set a deadline for yourself. That kind of pressure distracts you from your writing. Enjoy the writing process! It’s the best part of the author’s experience.

Writer’s Block!

So what do you call it when you get up in the morning, sit down in front of your computer, open up the document you’re supposed to be working on, then stare aimlessly at it for about ten minutes? That would be writer’s block. What do you call it when this happens consecutively for about thirty days in a row? My personal hell!

Writer’s block is the most frustrating part of writing. I’ve gone for months on end without writing a thing, even when I want to, because I can think of how to properly word things, or dialogue refuses to come into my head. (Matter of fact, I had a mini writer’s block when it came to writing that last sentence!)  So what do you do when that happens?

Here’s some things you might try:

1. The fact is, when you have writer’s block, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have NO ideas. So carry a notebook around; that’s what I do. Sometimes just scribbling down ideas or random bits of dialogue will prompt you to write more. I have notebooks with pages of random dialogue that I haven’t found a place for yet, but writing it all down has helped.
2. Yes…. I’ll say it… and you’ll hate me…. but outlining seriously helps! Even if you just scribble down some bullet point of basic parts of yor plot, you’ll have guideline that you can refer to if you ever think to yourself, “Where was I going with this?” Nothing too elaborate; keep it simple. Your outline isn’t meant to tell the whole story. If it was, you wouldn’t have to bother writing the book. (It took me about three years to realize, “Dangflabbit, my English teacher may have been right!”)
3. Go back and re-read what you’ve already written. You may find that you’ll have to change some things to make the next part of your story fit. (Trust me; I’ve done this a dozen times!)
4. Though not always advisable, (and ONLY try this after you’ve tried #3), skip ahead! If you have a section in mind, write it out. Just remember to go back and fill in the story later!
5. DON’T THINK ABOUT IT. Just let it come to you. You can’t force inspiration!

That’s about all I have for now. But honestly, writer’s block is awful, but it’ll pass.