What's That? You Want to Know About My Trip to New York City?!

No, I did not take this picture.  I snatched it from trekexchange.com.

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin.  The whole experience was rather overwhelming.  I guess the best place is at the beginning!

It all started with Gorgeous asking the night before I was scheduled to leave if I was positive my flight wouldn't be cancelled.  Apparently, there's been some snow in the East Coast.  I actually live near Buffalo, NY so we've been getting this too, but I live near Buffalo, NY (i.e. we tend to be like "Snow?  Yeah, what about it?")

So, needless to say, I hadn't even considered the possibility my flight would be cancelled until Gorgeous put it into my head.  Thankfully, there were no problems.  However, I heard some pretty nasty horror stories from other writers who barely made it to the conference in time.

After arriving in NYC, I came to the conclusion that no business should have the amount of profit it earns dependent on how fast one drives.  Yeah, I'm talking to you, NYC taxi drivers!  You crazy bastards.  I thought I was going to die at least three times on my way to the hotel where the conference was held.  Seriously, what is wrong with you?!  I want to live!

Ahem.

...

...

After arriving at the Grand Hyatt and thanking God the moment my feet touched solid ground, I had to accept with some horror that I was totally and completely ill-prepared for what I was about to step into.

I started wondering if every person I passed was an agent or editor and if they would recognize immediately that I was this ill-prepared writer they could prey on.  For one, I had not memorized my pitch yet.  So unlike most writers there, I'm sure, I actually spent my first few hours there hoping and praying no agents would actually ask me about my book.  Thankfully, I arrived with my sister while the intensives were underway and didn't have an opportunity to humiliate myself.

We spent the afternoon walking around NYC, seeing sights and torturing my feet with high-heeled boots.  

(Note to self: Next time bring walking shoes)

That evening, we met up with a writer friend you all may know--Ishta Mercurio.  And that right there, dear readers, is one of the best things about going to a conference.  Yes, it's a wonderful opportunity to hear from industry professionals, but meeting other writers tops it all.  Especially when you get to meet writers you've been communicating with online.

Of course, do you want to know what's even better than all of that?  Meeting other writers while also chatting with one of the most amazing literary agents for 1 1/2 hours in the hotel lobby!  

Mary Kole of Andrea Brown Literary Agency (and author of kidlit.com) was kind enough to invite all of her participating blog followers for a little meet-and-greet on Saturday evening.  We talked about movies, traveling, and (of course) the publishing industry.

Everyone throughout the conference was really nice, and though the entire experience remained overwhelming, I'm glad I did it and I'm sure I'll do it again.

SCBWI Winter Conference is Just Two Days Away?!

Are you kidding me??  I signed up for this months ago!  I had plenty of time to prepare!  Now it's days away and I'm freaking out.  

Am I ready?

Um...you tell me...

Business cards? Check!

Notebook for taking notes? Check!

Wardrobe picked out?  Eh, still deciding

Completed novel?  Check!  Oh, wait a minute...I just want to tweak this one thing...

Pitch in case I find myself in a situation where agent asks for one? Check, but not loving it.

Synopsis in case said agent likes the pitch? Not even remotely close.

So, do you think I'm ready?  No?  Neither do I!

And that's one of the reasons I've been kind of missing in action in the blogosphere lately.  I've been working on my synopsis for months, and I have one sentence written.  Months.  MONTHS!  And here I am two days away where I better have one available or I'll look like the most unprofessional writer there.

I need chocolate.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I need a glass of wine!

Any tips out there for a desperate lady? 

UPDATE: Thanks to a hard kick in the pants from Brad and words and encouragement from others, I sat down and found the words to write my synopsis!  Yay!  Thanks, everyone!  

TOP TEN COUNTDOWN--MUSIC BLOGFEST!

I just noticed this today, but I just HAD to participate!

Rules of the blogfest:


"Music moves us. It inspires us! Now, tell the world YOUR ten favorite songs of all time. The Song, the band – why does it move you?"


To see a list of all the other participants in Alex J. Cavenaugh's Music Blogfest, click here. 


So, just to warn you, my taste tends to be a tad eclectic.  As you're listening, you might wonder how the same person could like all these different songs, but I assure you, I have my reasons!  :)


1. Favorite Romance Song: In This Life, by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
This song is one of my favorites because it's the song my husband picked for our first dance together at our reception.  He completely surprised me with it, too!







2. Favorite Battle Scene song: O Fortuna
I've literally looked for this song for years.  Every time I heard it in a movie, I always wished I knew the name.  Well, I found out just a few weeks ago and my battle scenes thank me! (by the way, this one is the shortened version)





3. Favorite Kick-butt song (and yes, this is different from battle scene song because this is appropriate for non-battle type situations that are equally kick-butt): The Beautiful People, by Marilyn Manson
This one has become a favorite since I started writing MORCAH.  If you are trying to write dark, this is the song to listen to.

Warning:  I didn't realize this before actually reading the lyrics, but there are some swear words in this.  So if there are kiddos who read this blog, or even anyone who might be offended, I suggest you not hit the play button on this song.



4. Favorite '80s song: Sweet Dreams, by Eurythmics
Okay, how can you not love this??  It's got a great beat and, and...it's got a great beat!  Okay, yes the lyrics are cool, too.



5. Favorite Party Song: Celebration, by Kool & The Gang
Again, how could you not love this? Every time I hear this, I just HAVE to dance. :)



6. Favorite bring-you-almost-to-tears Song: House of the Rising Sun, by The Animals
My parents were hippies (the real kind, not the drugged-out stereotypical kind portrayed by the media), so I grew up loving a lot of this kind of music.



7. Favorite Song From a Movie: The Last March of the Ents from LOTR
There's just so much hope portrayed in this song.  I love it!



8. Other Favorite Romance Song: I Need a Hero (from Shrek 2)
This is my song to Gorgeous because, well, he's my hero.  :)




9. Favorite Techno Remix Song: Phantom of the Opera
This needs no explanation.  Just listen. :)



And...

10. ANOTHER Favorite Song From a Movie: Dancing in the Streets All Night, by Robbi Rob (from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures
When I took ballet in college, my partner and I choreographed a song to this.  I've always loved this song.  It's so beautiful, and it's in my favorite movie of all time.



Well, I hope you guys enjoyed my selections!  Now I'm off to see all the other posts in the blogfest!  Have fun!

Review--American Screenwriters

Normally, Fridays are for book reviews, but after some thinking, I decided screenwriters needed some love too!

From, The Office:

Michael: (to Meridith) What are you going to do when you come into work tomorrow, and you're dead?

Dwight: I'll shove a wooden stick through her brain.

(cuts to Dwight talking to the camera)

Dwight:  There are many ways to kill a zombie...


AHAHAHAHA!  This is brilliant!  And yes, the actors delivered these lines wonderfully, but it's the screenwriters who came up with these lines in the first place.

In the movie and television industry, actors and directors tend to get all the love.  A brilliant storyline is accentuated by good acting, while that same brilliant storyline could potentially fall flat with bad acting.

But the writing remains brilliant!  So, today I'm celebrating all the screenwriters out there who don't always get the recognition they deserve.  And to do that, I share with you some priceless Office moments:








And because we can't ignore the classics:



Seriously, Mel Gibson gets the credit for this speech, but we should really honor the writer. :)

Any other lines you'd like to share?

Accidental Allegory

I loved all the great comments from Monday's post on happy endings!  You guys have put a lot of thought into this.  I'm sorry I didn't get back to everyone.  Yesterday was my birthday and I decided to take the day off from the internet.  But I'm going to answer here!

I'm not against happy endings.  In fact, I'd have to say I like them as much as the next person.  The thing is this: I think human beings are very impressionable, and when we start putting happy endings on everything no matter the content, we can start to think that that's how the world works.  And when we try to write something that represents reality, we should try to stay as true to that reality as possible.

I recently read a book that, though very well written, it just didn't jive with me.  The MC kept on making bad, life-altering decisions that, if done in the real world, might have potentially (and most likely would have) destroyed her.  But instead of destroying her, these bad decisions ultimately worked out in her favor.  When you write a story like that, you risk convincing your readers that bad decisions don't have consequences.

We as writers can try to convince ourselves that we write to entertain, not educate or sway, but it's not as simple as that.

And here's the tie-in to the title of this post!

Despite all our intents to simply write an entertaining story, we usually end up with an accidental allegory.  Whatever we write, we put our own life views, morals, and (sometimes) even politics into it.  These things are so ingrained into who we are that it's almost impossible to keep them OUT of our stories.

Perhaps it's not as obvious or clear-cut as works that are intended allegory, such as C.S. Lewis's THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA series, which was written with the intent to teach children the Gospel.  However, despite our ideas otherwise, our readers will ingest our words and be affected by them.  If most books that are published feature a group of people who are portrayed as bad, chances are people will start to think that group of people really is bad.  If most books end happily despite the severity of the content, readers can start to think that Human Will can overcome all the bad in life.

Sadly, I've known people whose lives have been ruined or they've actually died because of bad choices made when  they were teenagers.  Unfortunately, they didn't get the happy endings so many things teach us they should have had.

Now, I know the argument that there's so much pain in this world already, we should write stories to give people a release from that.  And I agree with that argument.  The problem isn't that there are happy endings out there, it's that ALL (if not the vast majority of) stories out there seem to end happily.  Sometimes we need an escape, but sometimes we also need a wake-up call.

So, what do you dear readers think?  Can you think of something you've read recently that really made you think?  How about a book where the author's views on the world were more obvious than other books you've read?

You Tell Me: How do you feel about happy endings?

It seems that with today's literature, no matter how bleak the outcome looks, there's always a light at the end of the tunnel; the MC always gets what he/she was after.  

This had not always been the case with books.  Some of them didn't have feel-good endings that made the reader smile and/or shut the book with satisfaction.

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, by Jonathan Swift was one of those books that ended rather sour.  Sure, the MC got home, but by the end that WASN'T what he wanted.  He had wanted to stay with the Houyhnhnms.  So when he got back, he spent the rest of his life estranged from his family.  The only happiness he found was when he talked to his horses.  This was not a happy ending.

And though most literature a few decades ago could go either way (happy or sad), dystopians ALWAYS ended badly.  That was the point of them.  More than just entertaining, they were warnings to readers that if we go down a particular path, we WON'T be able to dig ourselves out.

Today, though, it seems all the books I've read have happy endings, even the dystopians.  Now, I'll be honest and admit most of my reading material has been YA, but I'm kind of surprised that ALL of them end happily.

Even THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy had a happy ending in its own twisted way.

But do you want to know what entertainment medium doesn't always have a happy ending?

Movies!

And a few decades ago, that was almost unheard of!

It seems books and movies have switched places.  Now why is that?  I have my own theory.

When movies first came out, they were fresh and exciting sure, but more than that, they were NEW.  People needed to be convinced to spend their money to watch something for an hour or two out of their day.  So they had to be, ultimately, happy (or end happily).  As the years went by, and an audience became more dependable, movies started becoming more experimental, trusting they'd get the viewers.  Now, a good portion of movies end rather badly with the MC dead or otherwise ruined.

Books, on the other hand, had been around for thousands of years and had already earned their place in the ranks of education and entertainment.  And more often than not, books were both educational AND entertaining.  They'd earned their audience and could afford to be written in a way to make readers think.

Nowadays, though, readers have become harder to come by.  Books are being run through the happy meal conveyor belt, and though they're still high quality, they've lost that educational finesse they used to have.  If dystopians don't end badly anymore, was the story world really hopeless?

I'm afraid not.

Though I do enjoy a satisfying ending as much as the next reader, I'd love to read a new book written in the same style as 1984 or BRAVE NEW WORLD, and leaves me terrified of what we as humans can do to ourselves.

What do you, dear readers, think?  Do you like all the happy endings?  Have you read anything new lately that DIDN'T have a happy ending?

Dezzy's Party!

It's that time of year and you're very own Emily has glammed up for the occasion!  To have a good time and hobnob with celebrities, stop by Dezz's place for The Glamorous Hollywood Spy's Annual Awards!