Directors, Take a Bow!

So, I was watching a movie recently, (Won't lie, it was Avatar) and I was watching the way the actors protray so much without saying anything. This is Show, Don't Tell at work. It's harder for directors to tell us how the character is feeling than have the actors show it.

A lot of writers have a hard time understanding the concept of Show, Don't Tell. I don't think a single writer has ever just "understood" the concept. We all have to learn it, and we all have to learn our boundaries. You can't completely show a piece of text, but you can't completely tell. Where is the limit?

So, for an excersize, we're going to watch this video clip. I want you to put it on mute, and watch it two or three times. Without music or dialogue, all we have is the visual to show us how the characters are feeling.

What can we say about this scene? How do we know Cole is upset? Well, he's gripping the blankets right up to his neck, there's a furrow in his brow. He has tears in his eyes when he speaks to Crowe.

How would an author represent this? Saying something like, "He was terrified. Cole sat and stared at Dr Crowe, wishing that the man would take away his fears. As he told the man his secret, relief settled in and he started to cry."

This is telling, and yet many authors do this all the time, seeing this as a perfectly reasonable way to handle the scene.

But, we see there's more than that. We do not, at all, have to explicitly say that Cole is upset.

"His hands were so tense they shook where they clutched at the blanket. He held Dr Crowe's gaze, the weight of his secret sitting in his chest like a pile of stones. The secret slipped past his lips, each word releasing him from its crushing hold over his life. Once all the words had tumbled free, Cole began to cry."

Easy way to add words to your MS, which is something that I desperately need. :P

I want you guys to try this. If you have trouble with showing, go onto youtube and flip on a scene, any scene, and take note of how the actor displays emotion. How do we know what this character is feeling based solely on body language? Write out a scene. Rinse and repeat until you feel comfortable enough to adapt this concept into your own writing.

By the way, what do you guys think of my new banner?

Peace,

-Katie

Writing As A Profession

I had to pimp out this video, because I adore Maureen Johnson's veiws on writing and publication. And from the pov of a YA writer.

Book Review: The Reformed Vampire Support Group

The Reformed Vampire Support Group

By: Catherine Jinks

Book Review by: K. Carson

Blurb: Nina Harrison became a vampire in 1973, when she was fifteen, and she hasn't aged a day since then. But she hasn't had any fun, either; she still lives with her mum, and the highlight of her sickly, couchbound life is probably her Tuesday-night group meeting, which she spends with a miserable bunch of fellow sufferers, being lectured at.

But then one of the group is mysteriously turned to ashes . . . and suddenly they're all under threat. That's when Nina decides to prove that every vampire on earth isn't a weak, pathetic loser. Along with her friend Dave, she hunts down the culprit ─ and soon finds herself up against some gun-toting werewolf traffickers who'll stop at nothing.

Can a bunch of feeble couch potatoes win a fight like this? Is there more to your average vampire than meets the eye?


Characters: Jinks' characters were well contructed, especially the main characters, but often they seem just too damn submissive. I get that Jinks is trying to form characters that seem weak but are brave enough to overcome it, and by the middle of the book our protagonist Nina does that very well. But by that point we are reintroduced to the other characters who lack Nina's growth, and it just becomes dull. It's actually frustrating because Nina won't, rather can't, do anythign without the consent of these characters, and all they want to do is complain. It made the book just a little bit harder to get through. Oh, wait, and can we talk about contradictory? There were times where I stopped and literally asked what Catherine was thinking. Mostly due to her antagonists, in an attempt, I believe, to bring them all to a happy ending. Some of the characters were really well constructed, but others were very poor. Very contrasting.

I decree: 2/5

Plot: I liked the plot. I really liked the idea here, and this is probably why I stuck with the book so long. The flow of the plot works quite well and kept me guessing. Jinks covers all her plot holes quite well. There were a few nitpicky things that I had about it, but all in all each event poured from the previous, made sense, and really ept me guessing.

I decree: 4/5

Fundimentals: THIS is what pissed me off about this book. I probably would/'ve loved this book if it was just written better. First, Jinks switches tenses quite a bit and in the first chapter she canges POV. I'm exceedingly strict with my POV, and the fact that Jinks switches because "Nina is writing a memoir about everything that happened and she wants to make it more her style." Not to mention that Jinks utilizes first person POV as an excuse to tell. It got to parts where I was rolling my eyes and wondering when she would just show me what was going me on instead of telling me.

I decree: 2/5

Overall: I enjoyed the story, and some of the characters bothered me as well as her incesant telling, but the story wasn't bad. I will probably never pick up another of Jinks' books though, just based solely on her writing style.

8/15

Greats and Greatness

As some of you may already know, J.D. Salinger has passed away at the ripe old age of 91.

Most of you may know Salinger from Catcher in the Rye. Who doesn't know the infamous story of Holden Caufield, who believes the world is full of phonies and never wishes to grow up? Most of us read the story in school, where we were introduced to other classics such as 1984 and the works of William Shakespeare.

I did not like Catcher in the Rye. I didn't like the way it was done, I didn't like Salinger's narrative style, I didn't like Holden Caufield and as a plot driven writer I couldn't stand the fact that Holden, although he had many conflicts, never had a real solid plot.

Does that mean I didn't understand the themes Salinger was trying to present? No. Does it mean that since I don't apprecate this classic that I'm a bumbling fool? No.

I think the term of being a great writer is often thrown around. What constitues a great writer? I consider Shakespeare to be one of the "greats" because I adore his work. I have a friend who will fight tooth and nail about this because he does not believe that Shakespeare is a great. He believes that Shakepeare's work is outdated and like "trying to eat plastic." He's very intelligent and has read and understood Shakespeare, but it doesn't resonate with him.

So what constitues greatness?

Some will argue that Meg Cabot is One of the Greats, not J.D. Salinger. I consider James Patterson a hack, but a lot of peopel worship him.

Again, where does it all lie. Does greatness involve the amount of people who enjoy your story? Does that make Stephanie Meyer great despite the amount of people who hate her? And what about enjoying a story, when you find a book you absolutely love, does that make that author one of the Greats?

I think the answer to most of these questions is no. When you enjoy a book, you praise the book, but you don't hoist that author up on a pedistol and proclaim them as the greatest author of all times. And I think many acedemics would argue that SM is not a great author.

So what is it that constitues greatness? Is it lasting power? The loner people appreciate your work the longer you are considered a great writer?

No. It's what rings true with you. It's what resonates with the very pit of your soul.

Salinger's story resonated with so many people across fifty years. In the instance of Holden Caufield, it made them feel like they weren't alone. There was someone else out there who felt the same loneliness and depression, who felt that everyone around them was fake, who felt lost in a sea of actions or moments that didn't seem to string together to create an overarching theme or meaning.

But for me? It was just a whiny little kid who needed to stop being such a baby and actually do something.

Hamlet rang through with me. Here was another whiny kid who wouldn't take action, and yet I identified with him more than I did Holden. Why? What makes that resonance? What makes a reader feel that appreciation for a character and make them buzz with excitement? This goes beyound making a character sympathetic. This is about making him so real, so very powerful that a reader will actually ache to be that person or help them.

I think for someone to achieve greatness, they have to summon that resonation within so many people so it begins to grow until it become an orchestra of sound. They have to make something beautiful.

RIP J.D. Salinger. Whether you are truly a great, you did contribute something truly wonderful to a world you despised so much.

Peace,

-Katie

Book Trailers

Frankly, I'm a huge fan of book trailers. I know there are a lot of others out there who don't like the idea of making a trailer for a book/don't think the marketing will work. Based on the arguements I've seen, there are three things that keep coming up: this form of marketing won't appeal to book readers, you can't get a good taste of the writing through a trailer and it's making people think of books in movie format.

Honestly, I think marketing will always be forced to change with the society. Marketing has to appeal to the consumer. I still think that one of the best way to get a message across is through advertizing on TV, but coming up second is advertizing on the internet. A lot of teenagers in North America spent a great deal of time on the internet, on Facebook, on Youtube. Musicians are getting record deals off of Youtube and Myspace. Hollywood is paying to have their movie trailers featured on youtube. This is the direction that the world is going and marketing is following along like the good little dog it is.

There's nothing wrong with marketing a book. I'm sick of seeing would-be authors talk about how writing is an art form and an author shouldn't be concerned with making money. Yeah, writing is an art, but publishing is a business. If you talk to successful authors, (And I mean people who've published a few books, not Stephen King... although I'm sure he'd agree) then it's not about art. You're selling a product. You have to be able to deliver on deadlines and do your job even if you've got "writer's block." Authors are encouraged by agents and publishing houses to get out there, make a name for yourself. Nothing sells a book more than that name on the cover. People eat up Stephen King and James Patterson, no matter what they seem to write. Nothing will sell you better once you've established that solid foundation.

And just to clear this up now, authors are artists, but they should also be businessmen. And like businessmen, they have to enjoy what they're doing. Everyone should love their job. I think writers should more so because they may not make a big enough paycheck to satisfy that urge.

We're not all going to make Stephen King's paycheck. So? We've still got to market ourselves. We've still got to sell ourselves. One way is to get out to those stores and sign, sign, sign those books. Shake hands. Kiss babies. Whatever. Just market yourself. A good way to do that is to make a book trailer. Spend a few hours on movie maker. Take your time, make it look good. Then shove it up on youtube. Marketing isn't just about seeing one thing, but generating an interst. If someone keeps hearing an author's name, they're more likely to go to the bookstore to see what the big fuss is about. Keep a website, blog, and grab a camera and have some fun. Generate an interest out there.

Now, the idea that you can't tell a writer's ability from a book trailer is true. Sure, there may be quotes or passages, but that still doesn't say much. But let me ask you, can you tell a writer's ability from an interview? Or from Amazon? No. But together it generates that interest. It may make a reader pick up that book in a store and see if they like the writing. Like I said, marketing is not about one thing, it's about a lot of things.

And as for making people think of book in movie format, well, people have always thought as books as movies. How many times have you caught a friend who doesn't read much say, "Hey! This book would make such a good movie?" And personally, I'm a fan of seeing books adapted into films. It's a completely different setting and I like seeing the way directors interperate each text. Sometimes it's horrible, sometimes not. I do not believe in any sense that these book trailer will make books themselves seem less appealing than movies. On the contrary, I think this will make heavy movie-goers more likely to pick up a book.

But that's just my opinion. Honestly? Book publishers are trying it out as well, and that's a definite sign that publishers think they're worth the time and money. From a homemade trailer or go for something more professional they're fun and informative. I really can't see the harm in them.

Of course, book trailers are still developing, and they may change over time. But as they stand, I doubt they're going away anytime soon.

Peace,

-Katie

Book Review: Three Days to Dead

Three Days to Dead

By: Kelly Meding

Book Review by: K. Carson

Plot: Honestly, I was surprised by how unimpressed I was by this plot. It had such an interesting premise, a Dreg hunter is killed and resurected by her Handler/would be lover and has three days to solve her own murder. But sadly, a lot of the plot twists in this book were sadly predictable. There was nothing wrong with them, but nothing took me by surprise. It was rather average. The thing that mostly bothered me, however, was the confusion the entire way through the book. Everything seemed to be disproved, making it very difficult to understand what was going on. It frustrated me. Of course, it kept me reading, so I guess that says something, doesn't it? Also, I felt there was an unneeded amount of death in this book. Characters we didn't know were dying, so when important characters did die it was dull and on multiple occasions I rolled my eyes. It seemed that when a character became unnecessary they died.

I decree; 3/5

Characters: I'd like to say that I grew attached to the characters, but I really didn't. They were the typical kickass fantasy heroine and her sidekick lover. They were well built characters, but I didn't find myself growing attached to them at all. Not in the least. I think this is what made this read so much harder for me. The only character I had an interest in was nearly killed off, brought back, and then killed off and brought back again. Also, I had a slight interest in her villian, which I thinkshould have had a bigger role. He was killed off too quickly for an interesting villian with an interesting power.

I decree: 3/5

Fundimentals: I did notice a few mistakes that made me pause and re-read, but it was not a poorly constructed book. Things made sense in the order that they appeared and there was nothing that threw me off too terribly. (except that it was written in first person, but hey, I can forgive my grievances)

I decree: 4/5

Overall: It wasn't a terrible book, and I'll probably read more of Meding's work, but I just found this book to be horribly... ordinary. Nothing made it stand out to me, which was really too bad.

10/15

Dream Agents

I think this is a pretty popular sets of words in the writer world. Every querying writer has an agent they wish would rep them. There's a million different reasons why a writer may want that agent. But what I keep seeing as I make my rounds is that writers are too blinded by their dream agent to really expand their options.

Don't just query your dream agent over and over, because if they don't want to work with you, that's tough love. There are plenty of other agents in the sea, and a lot of them are perhaps a better match for you than your dream agent.

Don't get bummed when your dream agent gives that polite 'no.' Open your doors. Don't let your depression limit you. You'll probably find that the agent that finally does say yes is that dream agent you've been searching for.