Thoughts On Length

My mini-review on the movie version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Awesome!

David Yates, director, and Michael Goldenberg, screen writer, not only have taken the longest book and turned it into the shortest of the movies so far (which you've probably already read somewhere else if you're a fan), but they've heightened the tension and action. I loved the book because it showed the characters becoming the people they would be. They made the choices that would impact them in the final two installments. But a lot of the internal struggles were--how to say it?--pounded home.

So how did the movie deal shorten the book so much but maintain the key elements?

By using the medium. We can see the character's reactions on screen. It helps that the actors are older and have become decent actors. But by using what's on the screen, a scene near the end in Dumbledore's office that goes on for pages in the book is handled in a couple lines in the movie. Another big part of the book is also handled in a few carefully constructed scenes or lines within scenes that focus on something else. The issue (and this isn't a spoiler) in the book is Mrs. Weasley thinking that Siruis is confusing Harry with James, Harry's father and Siruis's best friend. It is brought up several times in the book. Not so in the book. But you get it anyway.

What does all this mean to me as a writer? That I need to work on writing in such a way that it doesn't take pages to convey an emotion. To pick the right words to make my point without beating people over the head. I'm not saying Rowling does that, but Books 4 & 5 could be tighter. And I say that with love, to quote Jenny.

Maybe I do need to write some more short stories. I struggle with the format. I always try to cram in too many characters (a recurring issue with my writing) and too many plot points for the words allotted. I've avoided flash fiction like the plague. It might be just what I need.

Is there something you other writers do to help you hone that skill of conveying a lot with just a few words? I'd love to hear about it. And then steal it.

It's Close

I need to warn anyone going to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with me that the scene shown here will cause loud and prolonged blubbering in Yours Truly. I tear up just thinking about it.

On Sunday morning some friends and I will be seeing the moving. However, I realized today that I am infected with the Immediate Gratification germ and must see the movie tomorrow. So I'm going right after work.

I guess I could say it's an Artist's Date. So I will. It's an Artist's Date.

This also means that I have about 100 pages to read between now and then if I want to finish the book before the movie. It's not a requirement, but would be nice.

Time Off

I took a week after my feedback to be away from my writing. No working on MMG or on TNN or, as you may have noticed, the blog. I thought it would be hard, but it was fabulous. I must have needed it.

So what did I do?

I read, a lot. I watched the special edition Long Way Round DVDs. And then I read some more.

And after a week of forced distance from my writing in all its forms, I'm raring to go. You've gotta love that. So what are the goals for this month?

---Revise MMG after receiving feedback (Jenny, I acknowledge your opinion and, respectfully, diagree)
--Submit to at least 12 agents
--Write editorial for PPW NewsMag
--Complete Writer's Life for PPW NewsMag
--Write up mini-bio for PPW NewsMag
--Stay current on submissions to Apollo's Lyre

I detect a trend. I knew becoming editor of the NewsMag would impact my time, but that looks a little scary. I do, however, think it looks worse than it will be to execute. Look to future posts.

That Wasn't So Bad

So last night was the big feedback meeting. Not too many bruises to the ego. But then they are a nice bunch of people.

What made me feel good is that almost everything that was said was something I already thought. That's a good thing. I'd be really worried if what they had problems with actually blindsided me.

Jenny's trying to convince me to wait at least a month after getting all the feedback before I start the final revision. I don't think that's going to happen. I'm a strike-while-the-iron-is-hot kinda writer. I've got to go with it when I'm in the mood.

Until the rest of the feedback comes in, I'll work on TNN. Armed with what I've got so far on MMG, I know what to watch for in TNN. Of course, the trick is to have that information but not let it stop me while I'm writing. Too much editing as you go can be fatal to a project.

"Trust your process." I made that comment to Nicole last night, and I need to heed it myself.

Feedback

It's essential for a writer. My first reader is always Carrie, the woman who cuts my hair. What's great about her, aside from her skill with a pair of scissors and a blowdryer, is that she reads a lot. So I get feedback from the reader's perspective, not the writer's. I think we sometimes get too caught up in what other writers think and forget about the majority of the readers out there.

But, on the other hand, writers see things that a casual reader won't, but that an agent or editor might. So it's also very important to put our words in front of other writers. Then to listen to their feedback. Another thing I've noticed in my years of being a member of a critique group is that the ones who tend to need the most revisions are the very ones who don't listen. They argue back. Or, worse I think, you see them shut down. Just stop paying attention. In some cases, they quit the group altogether. Maybe this life isn't really for them.

So tomorrow night I get my feedback on MMG. And I'm just a little nervous about that. I already know it needs work. Quite a bit, in my opinion. But I need to hear what The Group says. I need to listen to what The Group says. Take notes. Answer questions. But don't talk back or explain or argue. Process it all for a few days--should be easy since Miss Elizabeth and her parents are visiting from Wednesday through Saturday. Then dive in and fix.

Carrie has decided to sit in. It'll be nice to have the Readers represented. She's fascinated by the process and The Group all want a Carrie of their own. She may soon have more reading than she knows what to do with. I think she'd like that.

Research

I'm a huge believer in doing research. And I love it. The problem tends to be that I'll be writing along and think, "Hmmm. What river would he be near?" or "Would 'Whole Lotta Love' have been released by then?". So then I stop and look up whatever I'm pondering about. Which would be okay if I stopped at the one thing. But inevitably, a comment on the page I'm looking at brings up another question and off I go again. Three hours later, I haven't written another word.

Lately, I've tried to put in brackets where the missing info is and make a note to myself in my handy-dandy notebook to look up whatever it is I need at that point. Seems to work okay, although I still feel the pull to go look, right now.

Today I had some free time at work which wasn't long enough to do any real writing so I did some research on a book that may be the one after TNN or it may be the one after the one after TNN. In either case, I found some great stuff that I'll already have at hand when I get ready to write. One less interruption during the process.

New AL Submission Trend

For almost a year, the number of submissions to Apollo's Lyre was low. And so was the quality of most of those submissions. I went to The Group on more than one occasion to beg for stories.

Within the last six weeks, I've received several really good submissions. A lovely trend to be sure. But there's a trend within the trend. Many of them are from overseas, particularly Israel. Which raises an interesting question: Why?

Bret, if you're out there, can you answer? Are we targeting this market?

And why is the writing so good? Or is it? Am I just impressed because the style is different from what I receive from 'local' writers? Or is there really a quality difference?

I'll leave that to you to decide when the next issue of Apollo's Lyre is published.