A lesson learned?

Writer guy

This was the least productive writing week of the past six months. Unfortunately, the sentence rings very hollow; I logged a similar claim last week. Still, the latest doldrum marks a new personal record. Five hundred words. Oh, how did this happen?

Edits bare some blame. I beat three chapters quite severely. Launching a new website ate a day, book buying and listing, another. Perfectionism aggravated the shortfall. I revised one chapter nine times in a single session, though certainly the streak explains no more than one off day across seven.

So, I examined differences between the past two weeks and more productive ones. The motive is self-serving.. In the name of finishing the book this year, I’d like piles of the latter, and very little of the former.

A common thread found among better weeks: a successful week begins on Monday, immediately after breakfast. Prolific, tight, readable writing occurs first thing in the morning, or not at all. At least for me, that is truth. When responsibilities are sloughed, the chores, the errands pushed back into the afternoon, and the writing assumes precedence, it happens. A clear mind drives a ship great distances, so to does writing early and often.

Therefore, I’m altering my sleeping patterns. After feeding the cats at 5AM instead of returning to bed, I’ll rise, write until 9AM, then handle life.

The new schedule starts Sunday.

Summer Reading List

Writer guy

Stephen King makes a very good point about writing. To paraphrase: if you don’t find time for reading, you will find writing difficult. He recommends a diet of two to four hours of reading per day.

I concur resolutely with this advice. As simple and obvious as it appears, his guideline makes sense. Reading someone else’s words is a reminder that the business of turning sentences into stories is not rocket science. If one person writes a book, certainly a second can, and maybe the process is not so tricky. Books also confirm another fact. Rough drafts do find a home after completion.

My preferences are varied. Here’s a few books I enjoyed this summer:
1) On Writing – Stephen King
2) Master of the Senate – Robert Caro
3) Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path – Nancy Pickard and Lynn Lott
4) From Nobodies to Somebodies – Peter Han
5) Reading People – Jo-Ellan Dimitrius
6) October Dreams – edited by Richard Chizmar and Robert Morrish
7) The Devil Wears Prada – Lauren Weisberger
8) Logan’s Storm – Ken Wells
9) The Interview with a Vampire – Anne Rice
10) Power Broker – Robert Caro

The list is far from exhaustive. Of the rest, I either can’t recommend them, or consider them forgettable. Although in the case of Anne Rice’s Vampire Lestat, I wish I had a fireplace.

BTW, I shaved the mustache off yesterday. The furry caterpillar haunts my upper lip no more!

The Transporter 2

Writer guy

Fight based action movies come in the good, like last year’s Hero, the eh, such as most films starring former football players, and the very ugly, crafted by directors who believe audiences prefer stars in Spandex and perfect hair over blood and respectable body counts. Fortunately, The Transporter lives in the first neighborhood.

Looking for a guy who kicks ass on camera? And legs, and stomachs, and evil women assassins? And pilot a sweet ride like its the last night on earth? Step right up, my friend. Jason Statham is calling collect.

A straightforward plot offers no surprise twists or turns. The simplicity doesn’t detract from the movie at all, because car chases and physical aggression drive this train. Without exception, the stunts are top shelf. Of the characterization, the actors do better than the average punch-em-up-and-kick-ass excursion.

What works about this movie:
1) Fight sequences. Creative, and strongly influenced by masters like Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
2) Situation. For a premise, it delivers as advertised.
3) Jason Statham. Balding openly is cool again.
4) Budget. Wise decisions in location, salaries and direction brought this film in at the bargain sum of 32 million. The results roll on screen like just the right amount. Nothing appears lacking, and what is there works.

Verdict: If you like fights, car chases and explosions, check it out on DVD, or matinee. Definitely a movie for action fans.

Skeleton Key

Writer guy

A rare breed of thrillers deliver more than the average movie, and deserve greater box office business and word of mouth than they earn. Skeleton Key, staring Kate “Don’t call me Goldie Hawn” Hudson is an excellent example.

Set in the backwoods of New Orleans, the story follows a hospice care worker who develops close – breaching on enmeshed – ties with dying patients. Frustrated with hospital procedures, she responds to an ad for the resident based care of a terminal stroke victim. The clients accept her with as much reluctance as she approaches the job. Much of her unease comes from the strange, plantation home and odd, and some say unnatural, manner of the patient’s wife.

And then there’s the matter of a key that opens every door in the house, save one. But, that’s delving a bit far into the plot. And that’s exactly why Skeleton works: it draws the viewer inside the story, and carries them along, like a good thriller can.

What works about this movie:
1) Cast – the right actors for each role, and all did their job well.
2) Story – a unique take on an old voodoo legend.
3) Plot – well executed and realized.

What needs an improvement:
1) There’s subtleties about the characters that could stand further visual clarification. A few insights about the story hit one in the parking lot of the theater, or the ride home, instead of as they unfold on screen. Nothing so glaring that it makes the movie less enjoyable, however.

Verdict: As Skeleton Key is disappearing from theaters right now, buy the DVD in a few months.