I’ve been thinking a lot this past week about what I need to do to move forward with several of the projects that I’ve been wanting to complete. I’ve loved blogging for these past few years and I will still be coming in from time to time with announcements, book reviews, and featured books and artists.
Life is full, busy, and wonderful and I need to be spending my time doing what’s going to make the biggest impact.
See ya around!
One of the toughest parts of the writing process is getting started on a new project. While the easiest way to overcome white page paralysis is to embrace the “crappy first draft” idea there are other options. Today’s writing exercise comes from WritingExercises.co.uk where you can find hundreds of prompt generators, randomizers, and all other sorts of golden nuggets.
The exercise:
The beauty of this exercise is that it allows the brain to make abstract connections between three unrelated objects which often generates fresh characters, places, and stories.
Freewriting is best with a timer and an atmosphere free of distractions. I prefer 15 minute chunks. It’s long enough to form a few concrete ideas and begin running with them. Often it feels like nothing but drivel comes from the exercise until I go back and read what’s there and find a few gems that I can use.
Check it out – here’s a handy three noun generator, just for you!
Check it out! I actually made it to a show before it left the theaters! Yippee! And the kids sat through the whole thing, which means I got to watch the whole thing from beginning to end without having to leave for a potty run or break up a fight. This, my friends, is a small miracle in itself.
What can I say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? Being a Disney, it’s gotten more than it’s fair share of media attention. People are calling it revolutionary and unique. And they’re right. We haven’t seen anything like this before.
The story of Inside Out is layered. The inside layer is a story all about Joy, one of the emotions that live inside of Riley’s head. Joy is determined to help Riley always be happy no matter what happens. Joy lives along side her fellow emotions anger, sadness, fear, and disgust. Each of these emotions can use the master control panel that control how Riley reacts in any given circumstance.
The outside layer is Riley’s story, a happy eleven-year-old, who loves her family and being silly and playing ice hockey. However, everything changes when Riley’s family moves from the Minnesota to San Francisco. Riley finds herself in a new school and new surroundings, everything is different and for any child, different is stressful and scary.
Still, Joy is determined to make things work and help Riley put on a happy face, even when she has some very real problems that need to be addressed. Joy forces Sadness to stay out of the way and refuses to let her take the controls. Joy’s efforts only make things worse and she and Sadness accidentally both get sucked out of headquarters and down into long-term memory storage.
This means that Riley can’t feel either joy or sadness and is stuck with fear, disgust, and anger.
Joy and Sadness must find a way back to headquarters before Riley makes a decision that might destroy her life.
My Review:
I thought Inside Out was adorable and perfect for my young kids. It opens up avenues of discussion about what different emotions are and why each are important at the right time. The movie is clever, funny, and poignant and will send you home thinking about it for a long time.
One of my favorite parts (don’t worry, no spoilers here) is when we are allowed to see the headquarters inside different people’s and animal’s heads. Everyone and everything has the same set of emotions but each act very different depending on who or what they are. It comes at the very end of the movie and is hilarious.
If you like cute, imaginative, feel good movies with a message then you will love Inside Out. It’s not just for kids, it’s good for anyone who likes to think and feel.
However, there is a silliness warning. There are a few parts that do get a bit silly. If you get uncomfortable with things that are silly or childish then you might want to proceed with caution.
All images are used here under Fair Use for discussion, review, and educational commentary. They belong to their respective copyright owners.
It’s that wonderful time called summer where the heat and the outdoors is calling and I’m surrounded by my kids who are out of school. I’m leaving this weeks writerly post for Writing Wednesday to Zara who discusses writing without worrying about marketability. Enjoy!
Winning the Special Judges Award for Craftsmanship, and crazy happy about it!
Partners-in-fun Rachel and Robert
Quick, strike a pose! Check out how awesome this costume is!
For those who attend the cons, here is a special note to you from Rachel:
I wish more people would take the time to look at the costumes people put together. I am an attention whore. I love getting my picture taken and talking to people about my costume and who my character is. My problem is, my character is obscure, she is not from DC or Marvel. She does not have a big movie. Hardly anyone knows who she is…they just think I am a random steampunk girl. I don’t have a big or flashy prop. Bob has both of those things going for him (well-known character, with an interesting twist and a flashy, catch your eye prop) so everyone wants to get a pic of him or with him. No one wants pix with me
Robert as Steampunk Green Lantern with his friend, Rachel, dressed as Lady Mechanika
Today, Robert Smith from Utah is joining us and sharing some of his cosplay pictures. Robert and I have known each other a little more than a year now and have enjoyed swapping stories about our various experiences, his in the comic con and cosplay world and mine with working with fiction writers who create the various fandoms.
Robert is a 45-year-old book collector who is proud to say that he most definitely does not live in his parent’s basement. He’s a toolmaker/moldmaker by trade, which comes in handy when it comes to creating his costumes. He’s also part of a super cool secret society.
A life long lover of dressing up for Halloween, Robert’s introduction into the world of cosplay happened in 2000 when he took first place in a costume contest. The winning outfit? An old lady.
Since then, the costumes have become more unique and Robert has attended countless events and conventions and has entered in many contests. His most memorable experience happened at the Denver Comic Con when he took the stage in front of 1600 people all cheering him on in his second place win in the novice category.
Robert and Christine at Fantasy Con. Check out the detail on the gloves and lantern!
Currently, Robert is working on a Teifling costume from the Dungeon’s and Dragon’s universe. Teiflings are humans with a demon somewhere in their ancestry and have made bargains with devils to increase their powers, very nasty fellows indeed.
All cosplayers have their favorite character. If Robert had the chance to meet a character in real life he would choose Hugh Jackman as Wolverine – but then again, who wouldn’t!
In addition to having a ton of fun with cosplay, Robert is also an avid comic book collector and has been collecting for 30 years.
Robert at Salt Lake Fan X showing off his custom-made green lantern.
A huge thanks for Robert for coming to join me here at the blog today, I hope that he had as much fun as I did!
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Are you a cosplayer? Would you like a mini feature here at my blog? Send me a line in the comments!
The story behind this surreal image is that in 1914 a boy left his bike chained to a tree, then went to war and then never returned. As it is writer Wednesday, let’s use this as a writing prompt and create something even more awesome.
Your challenge:
Best entry wins a mini-featurette to be posted next week!
Rules:
It can be dangerous picking books from a list and hoping that they live up to the hype. The Night Circus has appeared over and over on book lover Pinterest boards so I decided it would be worth seeing what the big deal was about. I’m glad to say that this is a book that delivers.
Not too long ago I wrote a post discussing what Magical Realism meant. The Night Circus is a terrific example of magical realism. The story takes place in an ahistorical Victorian London and follows the lives of two young magical proteges. These magicians can perform actual magic and not just feats of illusion. These proteges and their masters create the Night Circus – Le Cirque des Rêves, the Circus of Dreams. A reality defying collection of curiosities that is only open from dusk to dawn.
The circus itself is surreal enough to make for intriguing reading. Among the expected acrobatic acts and contortionists there are tents that are full of the impossible. One is a garden created entirely from ice. Another, a cloud maze where you can fall from incredible heights without the fear of being hurt.
The story weaves it’s way through the lives of two magical proteges. Through the years, Prospero the Enchanter and Mr. A.H. have been locked in a rivalry to prove who is the better, more powerful magician. Their students, Celia Bowen and Marcos Alisdair are the pawns in a dangerous competition in which they have been groomed their whole lives to play. Except, they are never given the rules of the competition. They must push to find what must be done and are never sure what the next step must be.
My review:
It’s not often when a book takes me by surprise. The Night Circus has an otherworldly quality that makes for perfect escapist reading. I was transported into this alternate world where magic is indeed real and palpable and filled with wonder. The story itself is fresh and full of ideas and creativity that haven’t been seen before, which is a feat in itself seeing how most stories I read are beaten dead from over use.
The best part of the book is the circus itself, the wonder and the thrills contained therein continually change and evolve to captivate and delight both reader and the characters that walk the pages.
I recommend this to anyone who likes magical realism, Cirque du Soleil, and surrealism. For those of you who like their fiction to keep both feel solidly on the ground, this might be a touch cerebral for you.
Like book reviews? Here are a few of my others:
My dear friend Barbara was so kind to post this, go check it out!
I’m excited to celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day. I’ll be thinking about and honoring all the service men and women this weekend. Thank you to all who cared enough to serve our country. Military service affects parents, children, spouses and friends. I appreciate the sacrifices made by families along with the soldier’s. For the families who have lost their loved one because they gave the ultimate gift, their life, I recognize the noble and courageous cost.
I’m proud to be an American and I hope it shows in the way I live my life. Independence Day always fills my heart with gratitude and a desire to give back by serving others.
How will you celebrate July 4th?
We’ve come around back to writer Wednesday once more and today we are talking about using rites and rituals in fiction. When I say rites and rituals, I’m referring to any choreographed set of actions performed by several people that is meant to add importance to an event. For the sake of this post we will use the term “ceremony” to include all rites and rituals and related events. These events include formal religious rites and public occasions such as awards, weddings, anniversaries, coronations, and funerals.
Some ceremonies are simple. For example the Japanese Tea Ceremony is performed by one host and is meant to show respect for the honored guests through a demonstration of grace and good etiquette. This isn’t to say that is is easy, the ceremony takes years to learn and a lifetime to master.
Large ceremonies can require hundreds of well-trained individuals to do their part. The success of the ceremony depends on how well each person can perform their part. A coronation, especially when it is also meant to be a display of power, is a perfect example of ceremony on a massive scale. There is a military presence in dress uniform, a religious order also in ceremonial dress, the members of government, and the people of the country. They all have specific roles to play, symbolic gestures or actions to perform, and often a prescribed set of words to say.
Including ceremony in your fiction, when and if the story calls for it, will do several awesome things for the story itself. First, it deepens and broadens the world where the story takes place. If there is a ceremony, then it must mean that the world has a deep rich history. It makes everything that much more real.
Second, a ceremony transforms a scene into a formal event and brings with it deeper and more poignant emotional notes. It forces the reader to read closely and think about symbolism and ideas in a more abstract way, which draws them deeply into the story.
Lastly, a great ceremony will bring a sense of awe and wonder. Everything from the costuming to the venue itself is eye candy. The characters will have plenty to react to and their reactions become the readers experience. There should be beauty and mystery paired with decorum and a sense of importance.
The Southern Oracles of Neverending Story
A fictional ceremony should contain some, if not all of these elements:
How will you use ceremonial rites and rituals in your writing? What are your favorite fictional ceremonies? Share in the comments!
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For more inspiration, check out some of these unique ceremonies:
Jodi L. Milner, Author 