Year: 2009

On reading recommendations

General Geekiness

Earlier this week, I attended a lecture given by the actress Kate Burton, otherwise known as Dr. Ellis Grey (from Grey’s Anatomy) and Hedda Gabler.

After the lecture, I spoke with her briefly about working on a play by Martin McDonagh. She performed in his play The Beauty Queen of Leenane a few years ago. I mentioned that I had performed the opening scene of The Pillowman for my acting final.

To make a short story even shorter, it ended with Ms. Burton recommending the rest of McDonagh’s works to me.

I listened and I heard music in a word, and words when you played your guitar

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Pretty much, Pete Townshend is a lyrical god.

That said, a lot of inspiration can be pulled from music. Inspiration for writing and visual arts, and other music as well.

One of my biggest inspirations is the album Quadrophenia. This was a major influence (along with All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes) on my first novel. I found the ideas expressed on the album weaving their ways through my writing. In the case of the latter, it could have been because I had that album on perpetual repeat during the drafting process.

Quadrophenia in particular provided a lot of ideas because what the main character in the album, Jimmy, goes through similar emotional and personal revelations that my character Will goes through. Isolation, alienation, and, of course, the difficulties of progressing into adulthood.

Sometimes I’ll listen to an instrumental or a foreign language piece to get into a different mood. If I’m writing a particularly emotional bit, I might switch to listening to a track from the Atonement soundtrack (possibly “Elegy for Dunkirk”) or “The Galapagos” from the Master and Commander soundtrack.

Music takes a completely different route in my mind. The different sounds influence how I feel at a moment, or bring back memories.

More on this later.

On races, running, and pain

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

To anyone who ever competes in a scavenger hunt race–stretch first. Otherwise the next day you’ll be hobbling around with the grace of a 90 year old but without the walker.

I was genius enough to do just that.

But as my legs burn and ache, it got me thinking. In stories, we rarely ever see the physical pain characters go through after (and while) running for their lives. I for one would like to see this written more often.

Writing should evoke the discomfort that characters go through. It’s one thing to say that “His legs hurt from all the running.” It’s a completely different beast to say, “With every step, he felt as though sharp sticks forced their way into his shins. His knees didn’t want to bend, and he walked with one hand against the wall for support. At least he could breathe with relative ease.”

So, the moral of this story is to stretch and keep in shape before attempting to run over a mile (and walking several more). And if you don’t, incorporate your pain into writing.

On character development (part III)

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

The Character’s Voice
1. Does your character speak in a high or low pitch?

His voice is tenor in pitch.
2. Are they a loud or soft talker?

He is a soft talker.
3. Is there a wide range in the voice in volume, pitch, quality, or is the voice consistent and even?

His voice is very consistent, except for when he gets very emotional. Then it gets higher in pitch.
4. Is there good resonance to the voice? Is the voice throaty, chesty, heady, or nasal?

His voice is very full.
5. Is there tension in the voice? Anxiety? Emotion?

He tries to speak tension free, but emotion often seeps into his voice.
6. Is there an accent? Anything unusual in pronunciation? Emphasis? Phrasing?

His voice definitely has an American accent, leaning towards New England. Not quite Boston. He sometimes mispronounces words, like “intestine” as “in-test-teen” or “epitome” as “epy-tome.”
7. Is it a trained voice or just natural? Does the character “try” to speak well or just “however it comes out”?

He tries to speak well.
8. Is the speech clear or muddy? Do they mumble? Are they distinct?

Despite his best efforts to speak clearly, he mumbles a lot.
9. Is the voice comforting or irritating? Reassuring or disturbing? Are they self-conscious when they speak to others? How large a group could they speak to before they become self-conscious?

He is very self-conscious and shy, but has no issue speaking in front of people he’s never met. Through him in front of his classmates and he stumbles over what he says. His voice is pleasant to listen to.
10. What is the first thought one might have after hearing your character speak?

That kid has a voice? He sounds nice, I guess.

Free concerts? We like free.

General Geekiness

Photo by me. Do not use without my permission.

Photo by me. Do not use without my permission.

You’ve wanted to see this band for months. You can’t wait for the concert; you’ve stalked their myspace or official page for months. But—surprise!—they aren’t stopping in Boston.

Or are they?

Local music and comic chain Newbury Comics have a solution. Several times a month, local and international bands perform free shows at one of their stores.

Not impressed with the thought of seeing up and coming bands like The Kooks or The Lonely Island for free? Maybe old stalwarts like Alanis Morissette or Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys are more your speed. Either way, all are acts who have played one of the local Newbury Comics stores.

The shows fill up quickly, so head on down to the Newbury Comics store in question early enough in the day so you can get a neon wristband. The store closes while the gig goes on (for about 45 minutes), and only those with a wristband get in.

At the Newbury Street location, it can be very difficult to see anything, so get there early. Camp out. Hang out all day. You’ll get a better patch of carpet.

The best part? The shows are free, so it may only cost you T fare to listen to Alanis Morissette sing about a jagged little pill.

I’d call that a bargain!