I'm very excited to have started a new book this month. It's my very first full-length novel, and so far, the writing is going very well. I'm playing with a concept of what people's perceptions of hell are. Doesn't that sound like devious fun?!
Wonderful relationships (that go nowhere) with great but flaky, non-committal men would rank very high up on my list of what hell is like.
Sitting in traffic on the Southern California freeways in a Lambourghini would be another....all that power, all that possibility...but you never get to do anything with it. You might as well be sitting in a Yugo!
And what about orgasmless sex??? Talk about delicious torture!
I'm going to be away next week, so I won't be blogging....I'm flying to California to surprise my grandma for her birthday, and I can't wait!
Spending time with my granmda is much more my idea of heaven than hell, but hopefully my time away will give you folks a chance to come up with some real doozies of your idea of hell.
See you in two weeks!
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
FINALLY - Juno!
I'm getting over a cold, and I've felt like crap for several days in a row. I haven't been writing, and that makes me feel even more like crap.
But I decided yesterday that I was going to do something positive in the midst of all this goopy, sniffly, coughy crud, so I hit the matinee of Juno, knowing that very few people would likely be there (indeed, there were only 2, and they sat in the wheelchair area) and that I'd finally get to sate my curiosity about Diablo Cody's first screenplay and Ellen Page's first role outside of that spandex-clad spin in X-men 3.
I was really, really, REALLY impressed.
The story was adorable and endearing. The characters were real, resilient, and easy to sympathize with. The dialogue was quirky and unique.
I have to say that Cody has a way of writing dialogue that I would liken to Q. Tarantino or Kevin Smith. I admire it a lot. It differs from the way most people speak, but it's so effective and powerful (and downright entertaining) that you don't care.
I probably pay more attention to dialogue than a lot of folks. Speech is my strength as a writer (I credit my theatre/acting background and intense vocabulary study for the ACTs) and my primary interest when I tell a story. I spend a lot of time alone and NOT speaking to others, so that when I do finally emerge from my cocoon and interact with the general populace, I feel a heightened sensitivity to words and tone.
Some of my fave movies for dialogue: Dogma, Shirley Valentine (although that's mostly monologue, but it's still speech), Ghostbusters, Pulp Fiction, Resevoir Dogs, Jacki Brown, Firefly (series)/Serendipity, While You Were Sleeping, and Stranger Than Fiction.
Some of my fave authors: Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennifer Crusie, Christopher Moore, and Janet Evanovich (has anyone on the planet ever made better use of the word "Babe"???)
So how about you? If you make a habit of studying/paying attention to dialogue, what has been a movie/book/author that's impressed you?
But I decided yesterday that I was going to do something positive in the midst of all this goopy, sniffly, coughy crud, so I hit the matinee of Juno, knowing that very few people would likely be there (indeed, there were only 2, and they sat in the wheelchair area) and that I'd finally get to sate my curiosity about Diablo Cody's first screenplay and Ellen Page's first role outside of that spandex-clad spin in X-men 3.
I was really, really, REALLY impressed.
The story was adorable and endearing. The characters were real, resilient, and easy to sympathize with. The dialogue was quirky and unique.
I have to say that Cody has a way of writing dialogue that I would liken to Q. Tarantino or Kevin Smith. I admire it a lot. It differs from the way most people speak, but it's so effective and powerful (and downright entertaining) that you don't care.
I probably pay more attention to dialogue than a lot of folks. Speech is my strength as a writer (I credit my theatre/acting background and intense vocabulary study for the ACTs) and my primary interest when I tell a story. I spend a lot of time alone and NOT speaking to others, so that when I do finally emerge from my cocoon and interact with the general populace, I feel a heightened sensitivity to words and tone.
Some of my fave movies for dialogue: Dogma, Shirley Valentine (although that's mostly monologue, but it's still speech), Ghostbusters, Pulp Fiction, Resevoir Dogs, Jacki Brown, Firefly (series)/Serendipity, While You Were Sleeping, and Stranger Than Fiction.
Some of my fave authors: Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jennifer Crusie, Christopher Moore, and Janet Evanovich (has anyone on the planet ever made better use of the word "Babe"???)
So how about you? If you make a habit of studying/paying attention to dialogue, what has been a movie/book/author that's impressed you?
Friday, January 25, 2008
Oscar Buzz & Diablo Cody
Every year when the Oscars get announced, I usually pride msyelf on having seen at least 2 of the nominees, yet, this year, my schedule has been so bogged down, I haven't seen ANY movie since the summer rush.
I honestly think HP5 (Order of the Phoenix) was my last flick I saw in the theatre (what a way to see a movie, though....first showing at midnight, squeeing and squealing with fellow authoress Natalie Damschroder!).
I'm dying to get out to see Juno, though, and not just because it's gotten Oscar buzz. Some of you may not know that the screenwriter is Diablo Cody, a funny gal who first broke into writing with her autobiographical tale of a year spent as a stripper: Candy Girl.
I did manage to read Candy Girl, and I love Cody's voice and sense of humor, but given how slammed my writing schedule is these days, tell me what movies make the cut. What have you seen that is not to be missed this year?
BTW, my numbers are way up:
I honestly think HP5 (Order of the Phoenix) was my last flick I saw in the theatre (what a way to see a movie, though....first showing at midnight, squeeing and squealing with fellow authoress Natalie Damschroder!).
I'm dying to get out to see Juno, though, and not just because it's gotten Oscar buzz. Some of you may not know that the screenwriter is Diablo Cody, a funny gal who first broke into writing with her autobiographical tale of a year spent as a stripper: Candy Girl.
I did manage to read Candy Girl, and I love Cody's voice and sense of humor, but given how slammed my writing schedule is these days, tell me what movies make the cut. What have you seen that is not to be missed this year?
BTW, my numbers are way up:
Releases available for reading: 7 (all from Amber Quill)
Myspace Friends: 235 (195 last time)
Facebook Friends: 21 (12 last time)
Friendster: (I give up on this one...it's kinda clunky and sucky compared to the other two; although, the "fan" feature really is unique and helpful)
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Oooops, I Slipped (New Release Hits eShelves!)
I honestly don't know what happened to my December.
Well, okay, I do know SOME of what happened to my December. I spent 2+ weeks travelling to and from Southern California to visit family and friends for the holidays. Then when I got back, I had to prepare to go to the grad school residency at Seton Hill University to teach a couple classes/workshops on creative writing.
So, while I had every intention of blogging for December, I somehow missed it. So sorry!!!
What I really want to talk to you about is.....thimbles.
(You have to watch Eddie Izzard's The Definite Article to get that...so, if you haven't seen it, GO NOW and watch him. You'll get numerous smiles and chuckles out of it, and I still have one more class to teach, so I can't write more now.)
To keep you busy in the meantime, check out my new release, A Little Lift: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/LittleLift.html
Isn't that cover gorgeous?!?! I love it!!!
--Jacki
http://www.readjackiking.com/
Well, okay, I do know SOME of what happened to my December. I spent 2+ weeks travelling to and from Southern California to visit family and friends for the holidays. Then when I got back, I had to prepare to go to the grad school residency at Seton Hill University to teach a couple classes/workshops on creative writing.
So, while I had every intention of blogging for December, I somehow missed it. So sorry!!!
What I really want to talk to you about is.....thimbles.
(You have to watch Eddie Izzard's The Definite Article to get that...so, if you haven't seen it, GO NOW and watch him. You'll get numerous smiles and chuckles out of it, and I still have one more class to teach, so I can't write more now.)
To keep you busy in the meantime, check out my new release, A Little Lift: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/LittleLift.html
Isn't that cover gorgeous?!?! I love it!!!
--Jacki
http://www.readjackiking.com/
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