Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Robert McKee talks about storytelling

This is an interesting interview with screenwriting guru Robert McKee. I read his "Story" year's ago and it changed my focus from focusing on how well something is written to how well the story is told. I especially like what he says about stories today evolving so that they are better executed, but content-wise, more shallow. Read it here ...

Screenwriting guru tells all - Charlie Kaufman - Salon.com

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The 'Flash' of Inspiration

I had a difficult time getting much work done last week after my 8-year-old broke his big toe. By Friday, I was fried and practically jumped for joy when I scored a rare tandem nap for my baby and 4-year-old. I had two precious, completely quiet hours to use any way I wanted. I had a list of potential clients to contact, 8 loads of clean laundry to fold, and an empty bed that begged to be napped in, but I decided instead to take a shot at writing a "flash fiction" story.

If you're unfamiliar with flash fiction, it is basically a very short story -- usually around 1,000 words or less. The idea is to write a complete story with a beginning, middle and end. A very famous example would be this six-word work by Ernest Hemingway:

"For sale: baby shoes. Never worn."

Not to knock Hemingway, but most of the flash stories I've read seemed more like they should be scenes from a larger work. The few I've seen that read like "complete" stories varied wildly as far as how satisfying I found them to be. But as a writer, with so much competing for my time, the idea of a small project that maybemightpossibly be finished quickly was appealing. And, weirdo that I am, the challenge of writing in so few words sounded like fun.

I decided my story would be about -- drumroll please -- a woman deciding what skirt to wear to a job interview. Zzzz. Snore. (I'll be the first to admit it falls way short on The Excitement-ometer.) To avoid the trap of writing a scene, and not a story, I knew I had to be able to clearly state what she wanted at the beginning of the story, and if she got it at the end. But to do that --, and without a clear idea of who this character was -- I zeroed in on what led to her decision to wear that skirt for this interview. I focused on her emotions -- how wearing the skirt made her feel versus another wardrobe option -- and tapped into my inner Carrie Bradshaw describing the details of the clothing. I enjoyed writing it, and discovered that by taking such a tiny moment and magnifying it, I got to know a great deal about the character, Annabelle, and -- in the process -- located my story's beginning and end.

I finished the story (and after some editing, in under 1,000 words -- Snoopy Dance Time!). But after getting to know Annabelle, I felt inspired, and wanted to know more. Does she get the job? What happens with the boss? What happens with her family? And her kids? I can easily see way more (and more interesting) story beyond the skirt. This story could easily become a short scene in a larger, longer story -- a story that never would have been inspired if I had not written the flash.

I'll definitely be writing more flash in the future -- for fun, for the challenge, and for the inspiration that comes with it. Or to sum up in six words:

Write flash stories, then write more.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

... Of the Day, April 15, 2010

Quote of the Day
Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?" Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night." Charles M. Schulz (1922 - 2000), Charlie Brown in "Peanuts"

Word of the Day
bloviate \BLOH-vee-ayt\, intransitive verb: To speak or write at length in a pompous or boastful manner

'Urban' Word of the Day

"It pays the taxes." The replacement saying for "It pays the bills" in reference to writing off a job as merely a means of income, and in no way an enjoyable or lucrative way of making a living

Scrabble Word of the Day

Alvine (9 points): pertaining to the abdomen and lower intestines

Monday, April 12, 2010

"That" Drives Me Crazy

I'm sure this has happened to everyone. I often get songs stuck in my head. It's great when it's a song I love. Today, it's the hook from Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter." But then there are those earworms that make you want to perform a do-it-yourself lobotomy so that you can pleaseGodmakeitstop. This usually happens when one of my kids is OD-ing on The Wiggles. But last week, it was a song that I otherwise enjoy -- John Mellencamp's "I Need A Lover." Here's the hook:

"I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl to thrill me and then go away
I need a lover that won't drive me crazy
Some girl that knows the meaning of
Hey hit the highway."


I love John Mellencamp. Somewhere in this house I have a picture from waybackwhen of me getting his autograph. And it's a fun song. Hey, who among us has not wished we could do the deed then be left the hell alone? The content is not my issue. My issue is that ... I mean, "That." It should be "I need a lover who won't drive me crazy." The "that" is what drives me crazy. Lovers are a 'who.' If the lover is a 'that,' then the song takes on whole different (somewhat disturbing) dimension.

I'm not a tight-ass buzzkill. Or a 'fun vampire.' Depending on what I'm trying to accomplish, I play fast and loose with words, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure -- All. The. Time. Some of the greatest, most-quoted song lyrics ever written are anything but grammatically correct. The Rolling Stones' "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" would be ruined if the grammar police came along to change "no" to "any." Pink Floyd's "We Don't Need No Education" is a lyric that plays right into the whole theme of The Wall. When proper grammar is bent and broken to conform to the needs of the music, it usually leads to great, new and original expressions.

But "I Need a Lover?" That drives me crazy.

Shameless Plug Time

I just want to take a brief moment to shamelessly plug my business, WordNerdGirl Writing and Editorial Services. If you need content for your website, feature stories for your publication, or copy editing services of any kind, please contact me or visit www.wordnerdgirl.com.

...of the Day, April 12, 2010

Quote of the Day:

It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues. -- Abraham Lincoln

 Word of the Day

eologism \nee-OLL-uh-jiz-um\, noun: 1. A new word or expression. 2. A new use of a word or expression. 3. The use or creation of new words or expressions.4. (Psychiatry) An invented, meaningless word used by a person with a psychiatric disorder. 5. (Theology) A new view or interpretation of a scripture.

'Urban' Word of the Day

Drum Driving: While you are driving and listening to music, you bang on the steering wheel as if it were a drum set.

Scrabble Word of the Day

Schmaltz (24 points): Excessive sentimentality

Friday, April 9, 2010

...Of the Day, April 9, 2010

Quote of the Day

"Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool Opotamus?" -- Mitch Hedberg

Word of the Day

indefatigable: \in-dih-FAT-ih-guh-bul\, adjective: Incapable of being fatigued; not readily exhausted; untiring; unwearying; not yielding to fatigue.

'Urban' Word of the Day

bootyism: sexy religion often confused with Budhism

 Scrabble Word of the Day

sleight: deftness (11 points)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Too Cool: Mixtape for Word Nerds

Courtesy of Roderama's Noreen, check out this very cool collection of songs about grammar and vocabulary at flavorwire.com. All inspired by a Weird Al Yankovic video, also included.

...Of the Day, On This Day, April 8, 2010

Word of the Day
interlard \in-tuhr-LARD\, transitive verb:
To insert between; to mix or mingle; especially, to introduce something foreign or irrelevant into; as, "to interlard a conversation with oaths or allusions."

'Urban' Word of the Day
Bitchen: The term for the room in an urban apartment in which the bathroom is located in the kitchen.

Scrabble Word of the Day
SLEDGE (8 pts)


On This Day in History
1979 - The last episode of "All In The Family" aired.
1994 - Nirvana's Kurt Cobain's was found dead, a shotgun next to his body along with a suicide note. A high concentration of heroin and traces of Valium were also found in Cobain’s body.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

'Lost' in Sideways World

I am a huge fan of 'Lost' and I've been having an ongoing discussion with a friend of mine about the merits/drawbacks of the controversial 'sideways' stories that have been featured in the final season's episodes. (For the uninitiated, Lost has used flashbacks and flashforwards to tell the stories of the show's characters off-island. This year, they are showing what the producers have called "sideways" stories, which are stories in which the characters are living in what seems to be an alternate universe, one in which they never crashed on the island.)

All season, the sideways stories have seemed to have little-to-no bearing on the main story of 'Lost.' While I have enjoyed seeing the character's "If-Only" lives, I've also been hoping that the writers would somehow tie the two universes together. As the season has worn on, we have been growing more impatient with each episode, because the writers were choosing to make almost no connection between the two. But last night's episode, which featured my boyfriend Desmond (Henry Ian Cusick), finally tied the two together. While it was great to learn that the sideways stories do have relevance to the main plot, I did think it was jarring the way it was revealed. (I'm trying to talk about this without giving out spoilers.) My feeling is that the writers could have more clearly foreshadowed how the sideways stories fit.

So if you're a 'Lost' fan, what do you think about the sideways stories? Have you been as impatient as us? If you were writing the show, how would you have handled it?

Work in Progress

I sometimes feel like my entire life is one big forever incomplete work-in-progress. One thing you should know about me -- if you don't already -- is that I have four children, ages 10, 8, 4 and 8 months. This being spring break week, I've been hampered in getting my business website, wordnerdgirl.com, up and running because I spend all my time breaking up fights and tripping over toys. The oldest kid has a movie outing planned with her best friend, so today's goal is to get the site published, and possibly write a little, during what I hope is a well-coordinated naptime.