C. L. Norman

This new trend in movies, making them all 3D is driving me batty.

Years ago my family went and saw Jaws 3D at the 2 dollar theater and it was neat, scary, and most importantly, different. Now it is the new trend or maybe the new vampire. If a movie is in 3D, it is suppose to be cool. I don’t agree.

Movies in 3D like to show off that they are in 3D. They have shots and effects put in solely for the purpose of making the audience go “Oooo.” These shots have very little to do with the story and everything to do with planting a sign in their yard saying “Look how cool we are.” They might as well have pulled back the curtain; exposed the wires and let us see around the edge of the backdrop.

Advances are apart of life and movie tech will change and evolve. The 3D thing has to stop or stop being used as it currently is. Concentrate on the story and forget about showing off please.

        

Tuesday night, I was at an all-author planning meeting for our local Rivers of Ink writers meet readers conference. After the formal part of the meeting wrapped up, the mingling and snacking part of the meeting began. During this time, I was approached by an unpublished writer who had written a novel about a werewolf. He asked me to read it for him.

Looking at his earnest face, knowing that I am also unpublished, I felt obligated to say yes. I resisted. I had to say no. I have a busy family life, work life, and writing life already. To commit to reading this stranger’s novel was more than I could do.

In fact, I had a sudden feeling of standing at the top of a very tall slippery slope; one on which I could very easily lose myself. Lose my writing time and personal reading time to helping others with their writing.

My husband can hardly ever say no and I have difficulty with it but in this case I steeled my resolve and said it. No.

How easy is it for you to say no?

        

I’ve been getting very good feedback on my stories over the last several months. And it is giving my inner critic the power!

Folks are reading my stuff. They are liking my stuff. My inner critic wants to keep them liking my stuff and so is picking apart every little word choice, character name, plot twist (or bend), or story idea. I thought I could talk loud; just ask my kids. My inner critic? She is way more chatty and voluminous — I don’t think that word means what you think it means — than I could ever be.

She has grabbed my typing hands, stopped my ink pen, and with her words, has dried up mine.

It is a weird thing. As an aspiring writer, I want people looking at my work and enjoying it but for me, the attention gives my inner critic power. And that isn’t good. She had plenty of power beforehand, believe you me.

So let’s try this. You don’t look at me straight on. Use your peripheral vision. I’ll tell her that no one is watching and I can write what I want, when I want; maybe she’ll listen. At the very least maybe she’ll go on a vacation, a long vacation, and leave me alone long enough to get some more stories into circulation.

        

• Water cooking in the sun on a concrete sidewalk smells like my childhood.

• Annie and Auggie need to begin a romantic subplot on Covert Affairs. Their chemistry is my favorite part of the show so far.

• Writing outlines is hard. I usually am a seat-of-my-pants-type writer. A challenge/assignment for my writing group has us writing an outline for a novel due next Thursday and my brain keeps resisting it. I will do it!

• Abbie on NCIS is cool.

• Having my oldest child out of the country for the Fringe Festival makes me feel old. The first faint feelings of empty next syndrome are stirring in my heart.

• Cast in Chaos by Michelle Sagara is a great book. My one complaint with it had to do with the part just before the ending. Something about the way it was written made me feel almost like things went into slow motion. Can’t wait to hear more of Kaylin’s adventures.

• As Lie The Dead by Kelly Meding kept up the pace of the first book. Coming back from the dead never was so cool.

• Step Up 3D was a good movie but gratuitous 3D effects are annoying.

• Visiting amusement parks on a Saturday in August is not as fun as it may sound.

• And finally, keep your eye on the blankie. If you don’t, your son will make you go to extraordinary means to get it back.

        

Last night, Covert Affairs premiered on USA; and I had to watch it. In fact, when my husband saw the commercial for it he commented “I know what you will be watching Tuesday night.”; that is how ‘right’ this show is for me.

Annie Walker as played by Piper Perabo is a delight. She is funny; awkward in new situations; and a master deceiver, even on her first job. Annie hasn’t even completed her CIA training when she is pulled in for a job which sounded a little forced at first. However, by the end, it is revealed that using her had a secret second purpose, a plot within a plot. And I love those.

Auggie Anderson, the blind tech specialist played by Christopher Gorham, is a fascinating character as well. He has humor and confidence; leading Annie through the hurdles of her first day on the job with finesse that is fun to watch. Right now he is set up as the new best friend but I am hoping that there is a bit of a romance subplot in his future. The chemistry between the two characters works for me.

An obstacle to that romance appears in the form of the mysterious ex from Annie’s past. She met him in Sri Lanka and he disappeared one night leaving a cryptic note. Ben Mercer, played by Eion Bailey (I remember him from Dawson’s Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will be coming back. Count on it. And when he does, sparks will fly; and I don’t mean just the romantic ones.

There was a lot of potential in the pilot for this series and I found myself setting my DVR to record this series, upgrading it from record this episode after the first ten minutes.

        

Hope you all had a happy 4th. Here I am with another list of movies being released this month that I want to see. Maybe after I tell you which ones I am looking forward to, you can tell me which ones you want to see.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice opening on July 14th: I know only three things about this movie; 1. Nicholas Cage (with some cool hair) stars in it, 2. A lot of eye candy is on display in the trailer, and 3. There is magic in this here movie. Those three things are enough to get me to the theater to watch, with my mouth hanging open and my hands fisted in excitement.

Inception opening on July 16th: As I have mentioned before Leonardo DiCaprio’s name is enough to draw my attention to this movie. Throw in the special effects revolving around a strange ability to delve into people’s dreams and I am intrigued. Include the information that Leonardo’s character is a cop trying solve some sort of mystery and I am so there.

Salt opening on July 23rd: A spy movie! I love it. Mistaken identities and action scenes; I hope that I get a chance to see this in the theater as I love this kind of movie.

Charlie St. Cloud opening on July 30th: This stars Zac Efron (who I am rapidly becoming a fan of) and looks like a tear-jerker to me. Most of the time, I am not interested in tear-jerkers but this movie, about losing a brother but holding onto his memory, hits close to home. In fact after seeing the trailer for this, I am seriously considering buying a copy of the book it is based off of despite it being outside the normal genres I am attracted to.

So what movies are you looking forward to?

        

This week can be summed up in one word “Busy”.

I don’t have much to report unless you are interested in hearing about all the mommy duties and extra hours I worked this week. However there are a couple neat things to report.

Work

I work at the nook desk one to three times a week and this week was no exception. Monday the news came down that the price on “nook original” was being dropped and a new “nook lite’ was coming in and it’s price was even better. So lots to learn about at work and now nook is even more tempting. I find it incredibly easy to spend money and my job is one big temptation and they keep sweetening the pot.

Proud of my Brother

My baby brother graduated from Perry Technical Institute on Thursday and I am so proud. He has always struggled with school and to see him walk up in his cap and gown; receive his certificate; and walk with a smile on his face  was a great moment. My baby sister graduated last month and now the youngest of us (and there are 8 in the family) has made it through some form of higher education. It is a very cool moment for the family.

Hopefully next week will be a bit more interesting to share. At the very least I’ll be wishing you a Happy 4th. Have a good week.

        

Happy Father’s Day to all you Dads and Dad-like folks out there. I hope your loved ones showed you their appreciation today with cuddles or food or a phone call. I just finished making my husband breakfast for dinner; I worked this morning and wasn’t able to make him breakfast in bed. He eyeballed the bacon and promptly made himself a bacon sandwich. <shrugs> At least he enjoyed the food.

Reading

Eat, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss: I’ve been reading this book during my breaks at work for the last few weeks and I finished it up today. I’ve been told several times “you should read it” and I finally did. It is a hilarious look at those pesky punctuation rules, trends, and history. I found myself laughing out loud, literally, many times. As an American, I also found it very interesting to look at writing from a British perspective. To sum up, you should read this book.

Writing

Writing group met this week and, while it wasn’t my turn to submit, I learned some things from the critiqued pieces. Both of them were too heavy on backstory, in my opinion; my stories have been lacking on the world-building, or at least on communicating the world building. I detest info-dump-type sharing of the setting and history of the story. I suppose in response to that I have been leaning too far the other direction and not sharing enough of the details of the setting with my readers. Seeing the other end of the spectrum was helpful. Maybe my writing will improve.

        

• DO come in with a smile. Your’s might be the only one the bookseller sees that day.
• DON’T come in in the middle of a conversation on your cell phone and ask for help: or talk loudly on your blue-tooth. We don’t care to hear about your personal life and we will hear it.
• DO bring as much information about the book, you are looking for, as possible: title, author, and, for the best results, the ISBN.
• DON’T ask for the book with the red cover, about this big, that was up on one of the tables about three months ago. If you can’t remember the specific book, don’t expect someone who handles hundreds of books in a day to remember.
• DO feel free to be cleverly funny. We all like a laugh now and again.
• DON’T approach the customer service counter and say “I’m a customer. Service me.” and smirk. Especially to a female employee. It’s not funny. It’s creepy. Eww.
• DO browse the shelves and take your time. You never know what you might find.
• DON’T rearrange the books on the shelves as a joke. It isn’t a joke, it’s annoying.
• DO feel at home in the store. Books are friends. You want to be comfortable bringing your choice home with you.
• DON’T leave your used gum anywhere near the books; or anywhere other than the garbage can. Please.
• DO ask for help; either by phone or in person. Putting the book in your hands is the best part of working at a bookstore.
• DON’T say “I’m looking for a book.” and stop. We know you are looking for a book. You’re in a bookstore.

        

Hi, guys. Another week, another post.

Reading

Daemon’s Mark by Caitlin Kittredge. The fifth in the Nocturne City series and another heroine shapeshifter. Luna Wilder is the main character in these books and she heads up the Supernatural Crimes Section of the police department. In this book, (despite the mistake on the cover blurb) Luna gets caught up in an investigation into a Russian sex slave ring. Young supernatural women are going missing and Luna is compelled to help them. An ex makes an appearance and her new boyfriend asks a question complicating Luna’s already full plate. This book is one I could not put down, and why would I even try? It is that good.

Revenant by Phaedra Weldon. Mental note: Ask Zoe Martinique how she keeps track of all her mental notes. Zoe Martinique started off this series as a plain old investigator who just happened to have the little talent of being able to go Out of Body (OOB) and spy on people incorporeally. Handy trick that. By this time, as a result of a connection with a certain Vin Diesal look-alike from the Abysmal plane, she is now Wraith. Wraith with a capital W, complete with scary black wings and killer bunny slippers on her feet. Irreverent and funny, Zoe’s friends are being threatened by a series of attacks on Revenants AKA vampires (but not the kind you’ve been reading about) and is off to save them. By the way, you can blame Zoe for my Sunday post being posted on Monday morning.

TV

Lie to Me. Cal is back in business, rooting out the liars and having fun doing it. In the season opener, Cal is after a serial killer. Everyone else doesn’t see it, but Cal pushes forward and proves himself right, again. Doctor Johnny Fever saw a UFO and his career was saved. Ok, so maybe it was the actor, Howard Hesseman, playing a professor who saw the UFO and as everyone thought he was crazy his career was in jeopardy. This show is one of my favorites. The team dynamic, the irreverent Cal, and the “who-done-it” aspects of this show hit all the right notes with me and I am happy it is back for the summer.

Good Guys. I’m on the fence about this new series. On one hand it is a cop and partner show. Two partners who are completely different are out there solving crimes. On the other hand it is a tongue-in-cheek spoof of a cop show, poking fun at the genre with a lot of strange, but funny, flashbacks.  ”I finally figured out how to use the computer machine.”–Dan Stark as he wedges the laptop into the car to hold down the accelerator.

Stargate SG-U. Wow. Season finale and it won’t be coming back until October. I think there were tears in my eyes when I knew how long it would be before I FOUND OUT WHAT HAPPENS TO EVERYONE! The season finale has the potential for new faces (and another faction) to be added to the Destiny. It also has the potential for several favorites to be leaving. I am loving this show and I am going to be counting the days until the next season starts.

Writing

You might think with all this reading and watching of the TV, I didn’t have time to write. You would be wrong. While my word count might not be that impressive, I did make progress on my current story. I am also seeing the path I want to start down with the next scene or two which is always nice. The path is fog shrouded and murky, and I think I hear some creepy music playing, but there is some excitement down there I can’t wait to explore.

Movies

Karate Kid. I told you that I wanted to see this movie and so I took the family with me to celebrate the kids’ last day of school. I really enjoyed it. There was enough of a balance between the familiar and new, that everyone could have fun with this movie. Jaden Smith has a lot of his dad in him (or at least a lot of what his dad shows on the screen) and Jackie Chan is, as always, awesome. Fun, fresh, and most importantly, this movie teaches kids to do their chores and respect their elders. You should see it.

How was your week? Any summer plans you are jumping into already?