Tips on Tuesday: Already Missing Robin Williams

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

Writers: let’s take a little break to consider what other artists have given us. The one I have in mind today is Robin Williams, whose passing I was so heart‑broken to see in yesterday’s news.

We could all consider the legacy he left behind that lifted us all, and come up with ways to celebrate his life, our lives, the lives of those we hope to touch. Each of us will have our own memories, but I’d like offer a list of some of my favorite films and/or TV shows starring this gifted actor — and perhaps you have some favorites of your own.

Dead Poets Society touched me as a teacher, a human being, a writer.

Good Morning, Vietnam brought me some new clarity — and even closure — about some “old news” while reflecting on a portion of my life when I, along with the rest of the country, was conflicted and confused.

The World According to Garp showed of crazy and quirky from almost every character in it, challenging my reactions to a world I knew nothing about.

Good Will Hunting brought out the teacher in me, again. And the humanity. And the writerly instincts.

Mork and Mindy was a not‑to‑be‑missed weekly jaunt into silliness and laugh‑out‑loud moments.

Patch Adams introduced me to a doctor I wish I had met and grown to know well . . . a brilliant mind and an engaging manner.

Not to mention the many, Many, MANY zany “interviews” on late‑night television.

Which of his works touched you? How can we learn to reach out, as he did, to “our” audiences?

Thanks, Robin Williams, for the zaniness, the smiles, the many laugh‑out‑loud moments, the surprisingly tender touches, and, yes, even the heart‑breaking moments, not least of which is this last one.

See you next for Thinkin’ on Thursday!

Thinkin’ on Thursday: Thinkin’ About NaNo

Easy as A, B, C . . . by BB

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) will be coming up sooner than you think. Well, OK, not November’s event, but their summer replacement: Camp NaNoWriMo.

Anyway, it’s never too late think about good advice from known writers. How about Chris Baty, the NaNo founder? In his delightful how‑to book No Plot? No Problem! he spoke about their first year. He’d talked 20 gullible friends into joining him in an experiment: try to write a book in 30 days. They decided 50,000 words was enough for a book (a short book, but a book nonetheless). He says of the 21 who started only 6 made it across the 50K line ‑‑‑ others fell short by “anywhere from 500 to 49,000 words.” But he also says they ALL came away changed by the experience.

Some realized they never wanted to write another book again. Others wanted to apply to MFA programs in creative writing. Chris, himself, came out of it with a revelation: “The biggest thing separating people from their artistic ambitions is not a lack of talent. It’s the lack of a deadline. Give someone an enormous task, a supportive community, and a friendly‑yet‑firm‑due‑date, and miracles will happen.”

He credits the experience of the “go‑go‑go” structure of the event with lifting the “stultifying pressure to write brilliant, eternal prose . . . ” The pressure of excellence is taken away and a gift replaces it: the pleasure of learning by doing . . . of taking risks . . . of making messes . . . of following ideas just to see where they lead. Moreover, he claims, writing for quantity rather than quality “had the strange effect of bringing about both.”

Apparently, everyone who finished NaNo that first year agreed: they’d only been able to write so well because they wrote quickly and intensely. “The roar of adrenaline drowned out the self‑critical voices that tend to make creative play such work for adults.”

His take‑away from year one (1999) included:

1. Enlightenment is overrated.

2. Being busy is good for your writing.

3. Plot happens. [Trust the process long enough to get to week 3!]

4. Writing for its own sake has surprising rewards.

If you want more proof, some fun reading, and lots of inspiration, check out his book, No Plot? No Problem!

See you next for Spellbinder Saturday!

Friday Friends: James Artimus Owen

EASY AS A, B, C . . . from BB

Not too long ago, we were lucky enough to hear James Artimus Owen speak at a writers’ conference.  He was brilliant.  Funny.  Touching.  Smart.   ….. I could go on, but you get the idea.  Now his ideas on How To Write A Brilliant Book were listed on The Author’s Think Tank by Lisa Mangum, a local editor who is also brilliant . . . funny . . . you know the drill  . . .

Here’s what Owen had to say this time:

1)      write most of a pretty good book

2)      get smart feedback from editor, rewrite half of what’s been written

3)      write more

4)      realize that it’s awful, and needs rewriting

5)      write more

6)      realize it’s actually pretty great, but needs to be finished

7)      almost finish it before your computer is stolen; be grateful your notes, outlines, and the best dialogue is all in longhand on yellow legal pads and post-it notes

8)      agonize over what you’re sure is a new horrible recreation of what was once an awesome book and finally . . .

9)      acknowledge that all of the above (except the computer theft part) is pretty much how it always goes before you end up with the brilliant book.

It’s not done yet – but the work so far is good enough now that I can actually sleep tonight. Can’t ask for much better than that.

Are you a serious, committed writer?  (Actually a few of us are serious.  Others are seriously funny.  And many of us should be committed!)  Are you interested in becoming an Author’s Think Tank member?  As it’s by invitation, write me here or at benschwensch@yahoo.com

Which of Owen’s ten steps are you on?  I’m on #1 with Crystal Cracked, Shattered Shards; mid-#2 with Glass Mountain Princess, trying to get to #3; and stuck on #6 with a too many others.  I need even more “serious” and I’m working diligently on “committed.”  🙂

See you day-after-tomorrow for “Sunday’s Snippets”

TUESDAY’S TUTOR: Hungry for the Hunger Games?

Easy as A, B, C . . . from BB

Last February, one of the panels at Life, the Universe and Everything (LTUE) took on an interesting question: why the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins had become so popular.  Patricia Castelli, Bree Despain, Allison Hymas, Diann T. Read, and J. Scott Savage all had interesting opinions.

Have you read the series?  Actually read all three?  Personally, I couldn’t put it down—which was amazing, as I was pretty traumatized at the time, having just found out I had cancer . . . again.  After 25 years of being clean.  I handled it well on the outside: teaching, participating in my life, taking care of business.  But on the inside I was apparently a bowl of quivering jelly.  And that gripping series got me through the biopsy, the surgery, the beginnings of radiation, along with the Holidays—Thanksgiving on into Christmas/New Year’s.  Well, they didn’t take me that long to read, but they stayed with me.

As writers, we can learn something from that.

The panel in question opined that YA is usually about HOPE.  One reason for popularity within dystopian literature is that in a dysfunctional, broken world, the reader can HOPE for even the little people to effect a change.  The Hero/Heroine will have the strength/skill, etc., to change his or her world.

The Hunger Games series offers several lessons:

— Katniss was sympathetic, volunteering in order to save her little sister

— The role “reversal” made it interesting: the girl with the bow and arrows; the boy with the bread

— Even with the female author and heroine, boys still liked it because fighting, etc., were so strong; while the “romance” became less and less important

— The “triangle” was handled believably

— Damage to survivor characters was realistic: after such traumatic incidents, they would be damaged

— Katniss is broken down in a different way in each book because of the difference in her trials

Spoiler alerts: (I’ll be a non-specific as I can.  READ them!)

— an Assassination was well done

— when one major character dies saving another, the motivation was brilliant

Which of the points above can we writers emulate today, without being derivative?  Appeal to male and female readers with sympathetic characters; keep the story riveting; handle human relationships in realistic, believable ways; be sure characters’ reactions synchronize with the events happening to them; give your major characters a variety of challenges throughout the story; keep your characters motivated in a consistent way.

There was some opinion that the series was modeled after Spartacus.  As a teen, I think, I read the book before the movie starring Kirk Douglas was made—yikes, I’m old!  I kept waiting for something to “happen” in the book, which I hated.  But I remember the film as being one of the few ever that was better than the book—so I had a rather visceral reaction to that opinion, though I might change my mind now if I either read or saw them again.  Well, I’m not going to.  But they recommended a few other books which might serve as models: the “early” dystopian, The Giver, by Lois Lowry (though the sequels weren’t considered as good); The Book Thief by Markus Zusak; and Suzanne Collins Overlander series.  Happy Reading, Happy Learning, followed by Happy Writing!

See you day-after-tomorrow for Thursday’s Thirteen!