Yesterday I went to see Kung Fu Panda 2 and was surprised at how good it was.
Normally sequels are a dicey proposition. Sometimes the writers don't understand exactly why the first movie did so well, so when they create a sequel they try to just redo the first movie, only slightly different. They replay the same gags, and the characters never seem to know what they are doing.
Happily, this did not happen in Kung Fu Panda 2. They took the characters you saw in the last movie, and expanded on them. Po is now the Dragon Warrior, and fighting together with the Furious Five to protect the Valley of Peace from bandits.
The villain comes in the form of a peacock, Lord Shen, who is not playing with a full deck. He plans to rule China not with Kung Fu, but with a powerful new weapon using gunpowder. If that sounds awesome, that's because it is.
In addition to an interesting new villain, we get an amazing origin story for Po. I can't really say more than that without giving away part of the movie, but Po and Lord Shen have some history together that instead of revealing right away, the writers instead chose to drag it out for a satisfying conclusion, since we the viewer know the answers that Po is seeking from Lord Shen.
The writing is good, they develop Po in a satisfying character arc, and once again, the music is simply beautiful. Somehow they balance all of that with Po screwing things up and laughing while he's doing it. Instead of making him seem like an idiot, to me it just makes him more human. Or more panda if you prefer.
There were several scenes in the later part of the movie, where Po is working through his personal demons to reach inner peace that had me tearing up. I can't remember the last time I saw such a poignant scene where the character searches inside themselves, through a haze of misery and pain, to find what they are truly made of.
In short, if you want to write a great sequel, be it book or a movie, you have to maintain the character you developed in the first part, but continue to develop him in new and interesting ways. You want to bring the viewer/reader back to the world they loved in the first part, without acting like nothing has changed and you're just going to repeat what happened previously. This cheapens the first part, because then it feels like the first movie or book was for nothing and now you're sitting through more events that have no impact on the character. Instead, find new ways that you can test your character.
You're all creative. I am sure you can come up with something.
What about you? What makes a great sequel for you?
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Writing As a Job
Yesterday I was talking to Liz, and congratulating myself. I'd made a lot of progress on my rewrite on Saturday, enough to hit the 20K milestone. Of course, yesterday I was tapped out and having shiny new ideas distracting me.
I made like a good writer, jotted the new ideas down, and went back to work on my rewrite. But during the conversation Liz had an excellent suggestion that I've pondered ever since.
Treat your writing like a job.
Not just in the "butt in chair every day" way, but with the benefits as well. Give yourself holidays off. Keep track of your hours worked and let that accrue into sick days and vacation. Keep a set schedule of hours and work on your main project during those hours, every work day you set, just like you go to your day job.
I think this is a fabulous idea. Not just how it keeps you accountable, but how it also keeps you sane. I have issues with guilt. I have a day job, but aside from that I have a fair bit of free time. Since writing is my joy, it's what I do during most of my time off.
Normally this works out fine. But sometimes, having "work on book" scheduled in every single hour of your free time sucks. Because if I am tired when I come home and opt to veg in front of the TV instead, I feel guilty. If I am sick, more guilt. If I just don't feel like it, because I've been working on the book for hours every single day with no end in sight, I feel guilty for not working on my book.
If instead I give myself a set schedule to follow, complete with sick days and vacation time, suddenly there's structure. I spend less time flailing around for an hour, and just get right to work. I know when I need to start and when I can stop without feeling like I am slacking off.
Of course, there will probably be days where I exceed my set number of hours, but Liz has a back up for that too. When you go into overtime, you keep track of the amount of over time you spend. This accrues into time you can spend however you want. You can give yourself the day off, or use it to work on a shiny new idea.
I think writing is so hard sometimes because you can't see the end. Writing a book seems like it takes forever, and you know when you're finished you're not really done. Rewriting is hard for the same reason. There's an obvious end to the book, but the road just seems to go on and on without an end in sight. It gets hard to measure your success and progress.
If like me, you work much better when you have a set structure in place, consider doing what I will be doing today and making yourself a writing schedule.
Sometimes it's the rules that set us free.
What about you? How to you manage your writing time? How do you find the balance between your real life and your writing?
I made like a good writer, jotted the new ideas down, and went back to work on my rewrite. But during the conversation Liz had an excellent suggestion that I've pondered ever since.
Treat your writing like a job.
Not just in the "butt in chair every day" way, but with the benefits as well. Give yourself holidays off. Keep track of your hours worked and let that accrue into sick days and vacation. Keep a set schedule of hours and work on your main project during those hours, every work day you set, just like you go to your day job.
I think this is a fabulous idea. Not just how it keeps you accountable, but how it also keeps you sane. I have issues with guilt. I have a day job, but aside from that I have a fair bit of free time. Since writing is my joy, it's what I do during most of my time off.
Normally this works out fine. But sometimes, having "work on book" scheduled in every single hour of your free time sucks. Because if I am tired when I come home and opt to veg in front of the TV instead, I feel guilty. If I am sick, more guilt. If I just don't feel like it, because I've been working on the book for hours every single day with no end in sight, I feel guilty for not working on my book.
If instead I give myself a set schedule to follow, complete with sick days and vacation time, suddenly there's structure. I spend less time flailing around for an hour, and just get right to work. I know when I need to start and when I can stop without feeling like I am slacking off.
Of course, there will probably be days where I exceed my set number of hours, but Liz has a back up for that too. When you go into overtime, you keep track of the amount of over time you spend. This accrues into time you can spend however you want. You can give yourself the day off, or use it to work on a shiny new idea.
I think writing is so hard sometimes because you can't see the end. Writing a book seems like it takes forever, and you know when you're finished you're not really done. Rewriting is hard for the same reason. There's an obvious end to the book, but the road just seems to go on and on without an end in sight. It gets hard to measure your success and progress.
If like me, you work much better when you have a set structure in place, consider doing what I will be doing today and making yourself a writing schedule.
Sometimes it's the rules that set us free.
What about you? How to you manage your writing time? How do you find the balance between your real life and your writing?
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Ouroboros of a Blog Post
 |
| He's just having a snack. On himself. |
I had a cool post planned for today, but I just don't have the energy to type it up. I am really sore and having trouble focusing on one thing for a long period of time. So if somewhere in this post I start talking about kittens, well, you'll know why.
But! I really want to stick to my blog schedule. Really really. I want to grow my audience and give my regular readers posts they can expect on a regular basis. So just not posting today wasn't an option.
So I decided to post today, telling you all why there wasn't going to be a real post. I know. Don't think about it too hard, or your head will explode.
Even though life has conspired against me sticking to my self imposed schedule, I've still found a way to make a compromise. It's a good trait to have, especially in writing. Because life will always get in the way. There will always be something that pops up, demanding your attention. Sometimes you will have to abandon your previous goals, but sometimes you can find a way to make sure you get something done.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Do Book Reviews Help or Hurt?
This is something I've wondered for a long time. I've heard lots of compelling arguments from both points of view. The question is, does book reviews help or hurt a book?
I'm not saying that we should stop reviewing books, of course. I've reviewed books on this blog before, I just wonder how effective they are. If you were planning on reading a book, and you found a bunch of bad reviews on Amazon, does that stop you from reading the book?
Obviously there are factors to be considered. If the reviewer is someone you trust, or someone who presents clear, logical reasons why they disliked the book, then the review seems more reliable. I am sure, however, that even the misspelled, poorly thought out reviews keep some people from reading a book they might have otherwise enjoyed.
On the other hand, even if a ton of people dislike the book, you still might enjoy it. I've loved books that the rest of my friends weren't impressed with. Many people only use reviews as a gauge for the book and make the final decision for themselves. And reviews can help introduce people to a book that they might not have noticed in the store.
I think ultimately book reviews help inform people about book, despite the plethora of poorly written reviews in places like Amazon. So what do you think? It's obviously an aspect of writing with a lot of different variables.
I'm not saying that we should stop reviewing books, of course. I've reviewed books on this blog before, I just wonder how effective they are. If you were planning on reading a book, and you found a bunch of bad reviews on Amazon, does that stop you from reading the book?
Obviously there are factors to be considered. If the reviewer is someone you trust, or someone who presents clear, logical reasons why they disliked the book, then the review seems more reliable. I am sure, however, that even the misspelled, poorly thought out reviews keep some people from reading a book they might have otherwise enjoyed.
On the other hand, even if a ton of people dislike the book, you still might enjoy it. I've loved books that the rest of my friends weren't impressed with. Many people only use reviews as a gauge for the book and make the final decision for themselves. And reviews can help introduce people to a book that they might not have noticed in the store.
I think ultimately book reviews help inform people about book, despite the plethora of poorly written reviews in places like Amazon. So what do you think? It's obviously an aspect of writing with a lot of different variables.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Not Enough of a Good Thing
Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our one year anniversary. They weren't kidding when they said time would fly, because it feels like yesterday we were planning the wedding.
We decided to watch a movie, and I picked out The Brothers Grimm. I'd bought it used a long time ago, but hadn't gotten around to watching it yet. The movie was called things like a "gothic fantasy" and a "Monty Python-esque dark comedy".
This sounded very promising. I LOVE fairy tales, gothic fantasy, and dark comedies. I figured this movie was right up my alley, but I was sorely mistaken.
All of the right elements were there. It was very visually stunning, great actors (Health Ledger (RIP) and Matt Damon), and decent script. But halfway through the movie, I couldn't take it anymore, and shut it off. I've only shut off a few movies in my life, mostly because I need to know what happens. When I realized I could just look up the synopsis on Wikipedia, I shut off the movie. There was literally nothing that made me want to finish the movie.
So here then is a list, of how avoid some of the problem I saw in The Brothers Grimm and other movies like it.
1. You must bring balance to the force.
Your book, just like a movie, is comprised of many different elements. The characters, the plot, your actual prose. But more than that you have the elements that make up your genre. Even if you're writing regular fantasy, you still have various elements to juggle. Elves or not? Low magic or high? Medieval setting, or something more progressive? Even within the broad expanse of your genre there is plenty of room for error. The trick is to balance all of these elements so they complement each other.
With the Brothers Grimm, there was too much of slapstick silliness. There was a French torture scene that bordered on ridiculous, and not in a good way. You can't just throw in a bunch of humor and not support it in the characters and the design. The end result just made the characters look really stupid. There was too many elements out of balance in the movie to make it enjoyable.
2. You must represent accurately what the book is about.
Some of this is out of your control (cover art being an example). But most marketing departments are right on par with how to properly market your book. A summer beach read's cover looks completely different than a dark fantasy cover. We can look at the book, read the blurb, and know what to expect. Is the book going to be funny, or serious? Witty or plain? Action packed or a slow methodical journey?
You signal this to potential agents and later on, reader, through your word choice. "The Fantastic Tale of Mr. Gregory Hatchshell" as a title reads totally different than "Dark Moors". Both of them conjure different images in your mind. Match sure the image you are projecting with your book matches the actual content.
3. All the parts must fight together.
Not only do you need to ensure that you've balanced each element of your genre, you need to make sure they fit together. They must compliment each other, like an outfit.
This is tricky. Because there are such things as "dark comedy" that still work. You would think "funny" and "dark" wouldn't fit well together, but there are some instances where it works. Gallows humor comes to mind. It's not just a simple question of "do yetis fit with my alien spacecrafts?". You have to look at the entire book as a whole.
Using The Brothers Grimm as an example, most of the action and characterization was comedic. The characters acted like a bunch of buffoons. They were constantly tripping and stumbling over branches. The French general and guard were similarly acting in a comedic fashion. But most of the other characters acted more serious, which led to a disconnect with the characters.
Likewise with the setting. The setting was beautiful, and the costumes and props all complemented each other, but not the cast and plot. The setting was "gothic fantasy" and the characters and plot was "slapstick comedy". It was as though they existed as two separate parts.
The key is blending them together. If you really want your yetis in space, there should be reasons outside of the alien spacecraft that the yetis belong there. It's like a stew of elements, all mixed together.
Obviously my opinion on the movie is just that: an opinion. But I think it's a good idea to analyze what exactly about a movie we didn't like, so we might avoid it in our own work.
What do you guys think? Did you love the movie? Think it was stupid?
We decided to watch a movie, and I picked out The Brothers Grimm. I'd bought it used a long time ago, but hadn't gotten around to watching it yet. The movie was called things like a "gothic fantasy" and a "Monty Python-esque dark comedy".
This sounded very promising. I LOVE fairy tales, gothic fantasy, and dark comedies. I figured this movie was right up my alley, but I was sorely mistaken.
All of the right elements were there. It was very visually stunning, great actors (Health Ledger (RIP) and Matt Damon), and decent script. But halfway through the movie, I couldn't take it anymore, and shut it off. I've only shut off a few movies in my life, mostly because I need to know what happens. When I realized I could just look up the synopsis on Wikipedia, I shut off the movie. There was literally nothing that made me want to finish the movie.
So here then is a list, of how avoid some of the problem I saw in The Brothers Grimm and other movies like it.
1. You must bring balance to the force.
Your book, just like a movie, is comprised of many different elements. The characters, the plot, your actual prose. But more than that you have the elements that make up your genre. Even if you're writing regular fantasy, you still have various elements to juggle. Elves or not? Low magic or high? Medieval setting, or something more progressive? Even within the broad expanse of your genre there is plenty of room for error. The trick is to balance all of these elements so they complement each other.
With the Brothers Grimm, there was too much of slapstick silliness. There was a French torture scene that bordered on ridiculous, and not in a good way. You can't just throw in a bunch of humor and not support it in the characters and the design. The end result just made the characters look really stupid. There was too many elements out of balance in the movie to make it enjoyable.
2. You must represent accurately what the book is about.
Some of this is out of your control (cover art being an example). But most marketing departments are right on par with how to properly market your book. A summer beach read's cover looks completely different than a dark fantasy cover. We can look at the book, read the blurb, and know what to expect. Is the book going to be funny, or serious? Witty or plain? Action packed or a slow methodical journey?
You signal this to potential agents and later on, reader, through your word choice. "The Fantastic Tale of Mr. Gregory Hatchshell" as a title reads totally different than "Dark Moors". Both of them conjure different images in your mind. Match sure the image you are projecting with your book matches the actual content.
3. All the parts must fight together.
Not only do you need to ensure that you've balanced each element of your genre, you need to make sure they fit together. They must compliment each other, like an outfit.
This is tricky. Because there are such things as "dark comedy" that still work. You would think "funny" and "dark" wouldn't fit well together, but there are some instances where it works. Gallows humor comes to mind. It's not just a simple question of "do yetis fit with my alien spacecrafts?". You have to look at the entire book as a whole.
Using The Brothers Grimm as an example, most of the action and characterization was comedic. The characters acted like a bunch of buffoons. They were constantly tripping and stumbling over branches. The French general and guard were similarly acting in a comedic fashion. But most of the other characters acted more serious, which led to a disconnect with the characters.
Likewise with the setting. The setting was beautiful, and the costumes and props all complemented each other, but not the cast and plot. The setting was "gothic fantasy" and the characters and plot was "slapstick comedy". It was as though they existed as two separate parts.
The key is blending them together. If you really want your yetis in space, there should be reasons outside of the alien spacecraft that the yetis belong there. It's like a stew of elements, all mixed together.
Obviously my opinion on the movie is just that: an opinion. But I think it's a good idea to analyze what exactly about a movie we didn't like, so we might avoid it in our own work.
What do you guys think? Did you love the movie? Think it was stupid?
Friday, June 17, 2011
My Top Ten Guilty Pleasures
In no particular order:
2. Music from the 80's. I have a deep love of "hair bands". Especially those 80's power ballads like Reo Speedwagon, Poison, Foreigner, Journey, and Whitesnake.
3. Licking the batter from the bowl. Yes, I know I am an adult now. I don't care.
4. Trashy romance novels. The ones that are really badly written. Feeling sad? Read one of those, and you're guaranteed to start laughing (for the record, I love well written romance novels, but for different reasons (wow, that sounds wrong. I meant that I like the stories in them, not the...urm...sexy parts. Although that's nice too. Okay, I am just digging myself a bigger hole here, I am going to shut up now.))
5. Anything sweet. Chocolate cake. Cookies. Chocolate. I have a huge sweet tooth. It's a good thing I am as fond of fruit and veggies as I am sugar, or I would be huge. I also don't have a huge appetite, so I usually eat a few bites and I am full, so that's also a waist saver.
6. Scratching a mosquito bite. I know, I am weird. I can't explain it, I just love scratching the red circles until they get big. Don't judge me.
7. Laying in bed while watching TV and eating sweet potato chips. I know. The bed is for sleeping, but if I want to stretch out I have to do it on the bed, because of the position of the couch.
8. Having a chocolate milkshake for dinner. I don't make a habit of this, but here in Georgia it gets pretty hot. Sometimes you just don't feel like eating a meal. That's where ice cream comes in.
9. Sleeping in. I try to get up at a decent hour, so I can get some writing in before I have to go to work in the afternoon, but sometimes the lure of rolling over and going back to sleep is too strong to be resisted.
10. Working on another project while editing/writing another book. Sometimes I need a mental break away from my current work in progress. Sometimes I take a little time to indulge in whatever ideas on the back burner before getting back to work on the main project.
Okay guys. Time to spill. Go forth and write your own guilty pleasures and then link to your posts here. It's true confession time.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
My Blogging Schedule (Also, Plans for World Domination)
From this day forth, I will be blogging three times a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
I've noticed that I have been irregular with my updates lately, which is a Cardinal Sin of blogging, right after posting all of your vacation pictures of the Grand Canyon. So I have decreed on this here blog that posts will be tri-weekly. I may blog on Tuesday or Thursday about shorter, more random things.
Since I am on my soapbox, and feel like decreeing more things (it just has a nice ring to it) I also decree the following:
1. Chocolate shall be moved to the bottom of the food pyramid.
2. Every Friday will be casual Friday. Pants are optional.
3. You shall read in class.
4. People driving ten miles UNDER the speed limit must stay in the right hand lane.
5. There will be a mandatory nap/rest time starting from 3 in the afternoon and ending at 4:30.
6. You shall get off of work at 4:30 every day to spend more time writing and seeing your family/spouse/kids/dog/pet hamstar.
7. Likewise, you shall sleep in and get to work at 11:00.
8. Lunch time is from 11:00 until 12:00.
9. There shall be a relaxation area for my blog followers. Area shall include pool, sauna, hot tub, refreshments stand, and a napping couch. Also a few computers with internet access for your writing. Here on "Myself without the Shell" we take care of our followers.
10. Followers shall rise up and overthrow the world governments. We shall remake the world under our image, "Booknation".
That is all for now.
I've noticed that I have been irregular with my updates lately, which is a Cardinal Sin of blogging, right after posting all of your vacation pictures of the Grand Canyon. So I have decreed on this here blog that posts will be tri-weekly. I may blog on Tuesday or Thursday about shorter, more random things.
Since I am on my soapbox, and feel like decreeing more things (it just has a nice ring to it) I also decree the following:
1. Chocolate shall be moved to the bottom of the food pyramid.
2. Every Friday will be casual Friday. Pants are optional.
3. You shall read in class.
4. People driving ten miles UNDER the speed limit must stay in the right hand lane.
5. There will be a mandatory nap/rest time starting from 3 in the afternoon and ending at 4:30.
6. You shall get off of work at 4:30 every day to spend more time writing and seeing your family/spouse/kids/dog/pet hamstar.
7. Likewise, you shall sleep in and get to work at 11:00.
8. Lunch time is from 11:00 until 12:00.
9. There shall be a relaxation area for my blog followers. Area shall include pool, sauna, hot tub, refreshments stand, and a napping couch. Also a few computers with internet access for your writing. Here on "Myself without the Shell" we take care of our followers.
10. Followers shall rise up and overthrow the world governments. We shall remake the world under our image, "Booknation".
That is all for now.
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