Nanowrimo is coming up and I have a NEW PROJECT!

Hello all!

Well it's that time of year again, the time when writers and authors all over gather to speed write a novel in a month.  Some might argue this is a futile activity: you cannot write a novel in a month.

No, you cannot. 

BUT, you can force yourself to learn the discipline and work it takes to crank out 50,000 words in 30 days.  And that's what National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) is all about.  Pushing yourself as a writer to sit down and produce words.  Sure, you may not like the words once it's over, but by the end of November perhaps you will learn, or remind yourself, that novels don't just happen, you actually need to sit down and work.

That's why I participate almost every year. And this year I'm very excited to announce my project. I've already gotten a tiny start on it, but I did manage to craft a book cover, which is usually the biggest motivation for me.  Here it is:

I'm extra jazzed about this project because it's the first one in a VERY long time that isn't attached to a series. It's a book, actually a melding of two books, I've had rolling around in my head for more than 15 years.  Plus, it's a complete departure for me in terms of genre. I'm moving into a sort of psychological thriller fantasy direction.  Think, "Psycho" meets "Fantasy Island" meets "Snapped."

So okay all you authors who are struggling to get something done, okay all you writers who want to finish something, this is your time!  Signing up is FREE...(donations are appreciated and Nano has a fun little shop for you online shoppers!)

November 1 is coming up quickly! Get signed up and let's go!

A Review You Can Use: "Joker" vs. "Downton Abbey."

I suddenly understand why I love "Downton Abbey."

That might seem an odd statement. I'm pretty much the target audience for "Downton Abbey." And also it's an odd way to open my review of "Joker."

But this past week I saw both "Downton Abbey" the movie and "Joker."   I think they are both important films for people to see, perhaps side by side.  I understand that might seem like a far too weird statement. The two movies have clearly different audiences and purposes. But the success of both films is a critical commentary on what's going on in our society at the moment.

I doubt there are few, if any, movie goers out there who are NOT familiar with the basic character of Joker.  In researching both the movie and the character for this blog, I ran across a nifty little article about those who have played the painted super villain in the past. This new movie brings up, first and foremost, a comparison of past portrayals. The ones I'd like to bring up would be the ones who have done live action work as opposed to the animated voice actors.  (Sorry, Mark Hamill.)  

In live action, we can basically look at three versions: Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix.  (Sorry, Jared Leto...your demonic weirdo take in "Suicide Squad" was not only weird, it was completely superfluous to the rest of the movie and could have been left on the cutting room floor. would have made a better movie.  Plus, you're a giant jerk.)

  Jack Nicholson's divine "misunderstood genius who loves to dance" version from 1989's "Batman" gave us comedy, weirdness, and drama, plus a really cool back story that involved a vat of acid.  Intelligent and witty...the total package for a super villain.

Heath Ledger's cutting edge (no pun intended) take on Joker in 2008 led to a posthumous Oscar win. Joker's back story changed every time he spoke in the "Dark Knight" which made the character that much more eerie to watch. There was still humor. It was dark, really dark, but it was clever.  This was a Joker that was highly intelligent and witty.  For my money, this is the best Joker done to date.

Which brings us to Joaquin Phoenix.  

His performance is original and memorable. No one is going to argue that.   Whether it's Oscar worthy or not, that remains to be seen.  (Again, for me, Heath Ledger's interpretation of Joker will long stand as the gold standard.) But...is this a good movie?

Let's get all the noise surrounding the movie out of the way:  I live in a suburb of a moderately large city.  We don't have a lot in the way of violent crime.  So it was a shock to see a county sheriff posted next to the ticket taker at an 11 AM Saturday matinee.  There were signs everywhere stating that no one wearing a costume or a mask would be allowed into the theater. Our theater also suddenly changed their purse policy.  (I had to leave mine the car.)

This seems like a lot of overkill for a movie about a cartoon character.  BUT, then you have to think back to the shooting in Aurora, Colorado.  So, okay. We're all taking precautions in case someone decides they can't differ between the movie screen and real life.  

The movie itself is dark, gritty, and very violent.  (One must wonder why Hollywood, who spends a tremendous amount of time and money screaming about gun control, would continue to keep cranking out movies where gun violence is glorified.) Phoenix is backed up by a strong cast in an original take on his back story.  He does take on Joker within the guidelines of the script and gives us something memorable.  (Another howling about the movie involves the use of Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll part 2" as the back ground music to a pivotal scene.  Glitter is a convicted pedophile and apparently the use of his music in movies is a giant crime.)

All of that is noise that really has very little to do with the film itself. Here's my problem with the movie:  In this take, Joker is a victim.  He's a catalyst.  But he's NOT a master villain.  He's a victim of his upbringing. He's a victim of domestic violence.  He's a victim of a crappy economy, boss, workplace, poverty, and women's scorn.  He's completely reactionary and, if I'm understanding the story arc, we are to feel sorry for him. 

Poor, poor Joker. He can't help but become evil.

And that's a big comment on what's happening in our society. We are looking at those who participate in mass shootings and we're finding an excuse for them. "He's a mentally ill guy."  "He had a hard upbringing."  "He lived on the streets."

Okay, a lot of people do, unfortunately, live hard lives.  That doesn't always turn them into criminals.  I know a number of mentally ill people, including members of my own family, none of whom have turned into violent criminals.  

In looking for a origin story for Joker, script writers Todd Phillips and Scott Silver have turned him into a victim who is hardly capable of feeding himself much less becoming an evil mastermind.  The final shot of the movie, meant to be frightening, is simply sad.

If writer Phillips (who also directed the film) wanted to make a comment on mental health care in the US, he accomplished that.  And he and I are in agreement that mental health is an area that needs a tremendous uplift in perception and practice.

But, if the point of the movie is to give us a the history of one of the most entertaining, colorful, powerful villains in comic book and movie history...then it's a fail.  There's no genius. There's no twisted, clever humor.  There's just a talentless, humorless guy who needs to get back on his meds.  Nicholson and Ledger understood the layers of the character. Phoenix simply gives us one note that gets more and more sour as the story progresses.

Initially I gave the movie 4 out of 5 stars.  I think I'm going to back off of that a little. After thinking about it quite a bit, I have to give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

But, you may ask, how does "Downton Abbey" fit into all this?

It's simple:  In a world where we have mass shootings, political unrest, class warfare, a decline in educational standards, a gap in health care, and everything else that's going on...we need a movie like Downton to remind us of a world where manners mattered.  Downton is pure escapism from the gritty violence Hollywood insists on feeding the viewing public.  Sure, there's drama, there's conflict, there's angst.  But it's quiet, it's orderly, and it's dressed to the nines.  Downton is the flipside to Joker's coin.  Every moment is shot for its beauty.

If you're going to accept Joaquin Phoenix's humorless Joker, you're going to need a good dose of Maggie Smith's wit to counter balance.  (I give "Downton Abbey a 5 out of 5 if for nothing else than the image below.)

Are movies, TV, and music legitimate sources of inspiration for authors?

Recently I was asked a question I don't hear too often:  Where do you get your ideas?

Weirdly,  I really don't get asked that often.  I mean, you're face to face with an author, wouldn't that be right up there with, "What's your book about?"

Alas, it seems like once you've answered the first question, many folks don't care to ask a second one.

In being asked, "Where do you get your ideas?"  I had to be honest.  I get many of them from other media:  TV, movies, and music.

That sounds like  a sell out, perhaps. Or does it?  As authors, we draw inspiration from the world
around us.  Why not from other media?  If it's okay to get inspired by news headlines, why not by a TV show?

For generations, books have inspired TV shows, Movies, and songs.  One of my favorites is "Wuthering Heights," which has spawned several movies, both TV and big screen, as well as a brilliant song done by both Kate Bush and Pat Benatar.  The argument about whether the book is better than the movie (generally it is) ignites every time J. K. Rowlings attaches the name "Harry Potter" to a film, or some crime drama series lends its characters to a TV show.

Now, TV has inspired books.  Look at the series, "Castle."  Good TV series.  The books...well...less so.  Which was weird for me to admit.

Is it pandering to the non-reading public to liken our work to some popular TV show.  (I've often compared the pacing and structure of my novel "Lies in Chance" to the TV show "Dallas.") Are we selling out the idea of true art in print if we try to write what we see and hear in someone else's art?

Recently I watched a documentary on the artist James Whistler.  He drew a tremendous amount of inspiration from Japanese art.  In a time where TV, radio, and movies did not exist, he looked to Japan for ideas for his own work.  Does that make his paintings somehow less beautiful, less worth our time? No, because the work, ultimately, was his.

We are told, from little on, if we want to be writers, we must "WRITE WHAT WE KNOW."  If we waited to write something fun from what we know, many books would never get finished, many stories would never be told, many voices would never be heard.  Instead, I say, start from the base of what you know. Then, look around you, reach out into the lives that surround you. Listen. Watch.  And if what you're listening to and watching is inspiring you to create something to share with others, then who cares where it comes from?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating copying anything or publishing something akin to fan fiction, literally taking someone else's idea and bending those characters to your will.  Let Hollywood do that.  Heaven knows it happens often enough. What I am saying is that if you feel something when listening to a song on the radio (does anyone listen to "radio" anymore?) or watching a movie, if some facial expression, line of dialogue, or cinematic setting unlocks a door for you, then build on it,  It's okay.

Whatever you are writing, it's far more important to feel something and believe in it than it is to have drawn the idea from some high end intellectual place.  Real life doesn't work that way.  And if we are supposed to write what we know, shouldn't we write the way our real lives work?

A Review You Can Use: Can You Ever Forgive me?

Every once in a while a movie comes along that doesn't just entertain, it makes you think about the future.  Such is "Can You Ever Forgive Me?"

This is not a film that's going to appeal to everyone, to be sure.  Melissa McCarthy plays against type as Lee Israel, noted celebrity biographer whose work falls out of step with literary style in the early 90's.  With the help of her ne'er do well friend, Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant), she sells forged letters from past literary greats to collectors to pay her bills.

The movie is based on a true story, written by the author Lee Israel herself.  At moments the movie is hilarious and at moments it's very funny.  Anyone who has had to struggle with bills will understand the need to do whatever it takes to make money.  Anyone with a creative mind will feel a connection with Lee as she fights the urge to just give up writing for good while at the same time finding an outlet, no matter how criminal, for that creativity.

Ultimately, by Hollywood standards, this movie was not a great success, even with its Oscar nominations.  But that's not why I found it interesting and not why I think it's a movie worth checking out.

We as writers and authors do what we do to make our mark and be remembered.  Our books, our stories are concrete evidence that we were here, we did something.

But in an age of computers and deleted files and emails, and digital downloads, will that be enough?

The magic about the era of Dorothy Parks, Noel Coward, F. Scott Fitzgerald and the like is their paper trail. They didn't just write books. They didn't just create music and poetry. They lived on paper.  They wrote actual letters.  They signed things.  They kept their early manuscripts because they couldn't just hit the DELETE button.

And these things, these letters, these early manuscripts, these physical books with signatures in them...these are the things people keep. They hold on to the physical items with an author's name on it.  They pass bits of paper, envelops, napkins with scribbled notes on them from generation to generation, framed, under glass, a forever reminder that this author once was...

Our generation has automated. We've made it easier to publish, to distribute, to get our stories in front of people, and that's just fine. It's great, in fact, for those of us who are storytellers.  We're telling stories. No worries.

But what is our legacy?  There will be few, if any written letters saved and framed in a collector's shop.  (I doubt my thank you notes from my high school graduation count.)  Without these physical tokens of our personal lives, will people look back and say, "Ah, the wit of Sarah Bradley..."

I'm not sure they will.

And that makes me a little sad.

But that said, the movie is a solid bit of entertainment, especially if you are a writer.  I give it three and a half stars.

NEW YEAR NEW NOVEL!

Hello friends!

If you haven't been directly connected to my life lately, that's my fault! I've been finishing up my fourth and final Nora Hill novel.

FINALLY I'm able to announce the release of my 9th novel and my 14th book overall,  FREED ON THE FOX!   "Freed" completes the four book NORA HILL MYSTERIES, and I'm quite excited about how this one turned out. I've never completed a book series before.  (Oh, does this mean there might be a NEW Rock Harbor Chronicles novel on the way???? MAYBE....) So this fourth Nora book, for me, was a new experience all the way around.  I finally understand what "Breaking Bad" writer, Vince Gilligan, felt when he wrote the final season of that brilliant series.  (Not that I'm comparing my inspirational cozy mysteries to that gritty crime drama!  LOL)  I now understand what it is to say good-bye to characters I've been with for several years.  I also know what it's like to lock myself in a room and cry and write and cry and write until it's done.

Hopefully this means I'll be able to blog here a bit more often, discussing the writing life.

I will say this, the weekend of May 4th is going to be busy. I'll have my big unveiling of "Freed on the Fox" at the Waukesha Farmer's Market.  I know that seems like an odd place to launch a book, but the city of Waukesha, the Downtown Business District, has been good to me, and to all local and e-pubbed authors.  They are my home when it comes to book sales every year.  I love those folks!  Also, I'll be doing a personal appearance that weekend as well.

Wait, an author that does personal appearances?  Oh yeah!  School groups, church groups, women's groups, (in May I'll be doing a talk on motherhood for a nursing home group), book clubs.  Get a handful of people together, pick a topic, and I'll come over and entertain!  (I'll also sign and sell books!)  You can reach me via email at momauthor@aol.com OR on facebook at SJB books.

Meanwhile, enjoy the final installment of Nora Hill!