Life

On second drafts

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

My novel’s been sitting as a printed out pile of paper covered in red scribbles for a few weeks. I finished the first draft back in November and set it aside, so I could read the story without too much attachment. And guess what? The first draft was awful.

After several attempts to start the second draft, I feel a bit stuck. I’ve decided to change the time period (moving it from 1970 to 2008), and the point of view (from first person to third). So, essentially this second draft will be a total rewrite of the first.

This is a really daunting experience. I really had a case of, phew, I wrote a novel, now what? which has turned into I wrote a novel, holy crap.

So, any advice for a first time novelist getting through the later drafts?

On Wes Anderson

General Geekiness

Wes Anderson is swiftly becoming one of my go-to directors. No, I don’t have his phone number on speed dial, but I find myself watching his movies on a semi-regular basis.

Today I watched Rushmore, which while not my favorite movie of his, was thoroughly entertaining (even while conjugating Italian verbs). For those who haven’t seen this strange little movie, it’s about a kid (Jason Schwartzman) who practically rules Rushmore Academy and is put on academic probation. Crazy hijinks occur (my favorite being the prank war between Schwartzman’s character and Bill Murray, set to the tune of The Who’s “A Quick One, While He’s Away.”)

The first Anderson movie I saw was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which I thought was incredibly strange. Note that I haven’t seen it since, and am left with only vague memories of red stocking hats, David Bowie in Portugeuse and a claymation shark.

The next one I saw, and remains my favorite, is The Darjeeling Limited. It’s a strange rather colorful film, but I liked it. Random though it is, it’s a movie about family and relationships. It never forgets that.

Next up on the Wes Anderson queue? No idea, but I’m looking forward to Fantastic Mr. Fox.

More on the Who, and a little on St. Patrick’s Day

General Geekiness

The Who go Irish?

Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle team up with the Chieftains and play an Irishy acoustic version of “Behind Blue Eyes.”

There’s something refreshing and different about the song. Just makes me sigh and smile. Of course, the original version is still one of my all-time favorites, but this one is very pretty. Could be all of the Irish music I listened to during my brief stint as a step dancer.

I’d never heard that version of the song before and thought it was lovely, so, I had to share. Thoughts?

On firsts

General Geekiness, The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Today the sun was out, the birds weren’t quite singing, and it was warm enough for my mom and me to brave the outdoors.

So we made the first fire of the season. We piled sticks and logs from last winter’s ice storm into our little outdoor fireplace and let it burn. There’s no better way to dispose of dead tree limbs than to burn them.

While we were enjoying our fire, we decided to toast marshmallows as well. I’m now officially a grown up–I made not one, not two, but three perfect, golden marshmallows. The last one was true perfection, the divine come down to earth and made a toasted marshmallow. The outside was the color of toast, and the inside molten.

I can’t wait to make s’mores this summer.

On the Who

General Geekiness

My love for The Who began in my senior year of high school. It was a long, slow process, this becoming attuned to a “new” band, but it seemed like the world was kicking me in the seat of my pants to listen to them.

My first encounter was the summer before senior year. I was at a Shakespearean acting camp, and as luck would have it, I wore my Beatles shirt the same day as my friend Nick wore his Who shirt. “Who are they?” I asked. Nick listed their most famous songs–“Baba O’Riley,” “Pinball Wizard,” etc–and I stared at him like an idiot.

Flash forward three months. I sat in art class, and my teacher played The Who to get himself psyched for their concert. I liked it enough, but didn’t think anything of it.

A couple months later I was looking online at Beatles and Queen fan art, when I noticed a few of the artists also drew The Who. Intrigued, I went to the library and listened to a few Who albums–Greatest Hits, Tommy and Quadrophenia. With the opening notes of Tommy‘s “Overture” I was hooked.

On reality (or confusion of)

General Geekiness

In a strange case of life blatantly copying art, a soldier dressed as (and wearing the make up of) The Joker was shot and killed by police after he pointed a loaded shot gun at them.

This makes me wonder, do people know the line between reality and fiction? Or did the soldier want to go out of this life dressed as a creepy comic book villain? It’s a strange look into what people do.

Here’s an interesting little thing to do. Write about a character who delves into his own world so deeply, he’s uncertain of what exists and what doesn’t.