In my never ending quest to find fun things to do while online (my favorite thus far has been my discovery of hulu.com), I came across this fun little game:
It’s a Flash-type game where you design a Superhero. Simple, fun, and a good time waster.
Writing
What’s On the Bookshelf? Vol. 2
What's On the Bookshelf?Today’s book is Espresso Tales by Alexander McCall Smith, the second book in the 44 Scotland Street series. Like its predecessor, Espresso Tales is a collection of a Scotsman serial. The result? Short, bite sized bits about the people who live in the Georgian townhouse at 44 Scotland Street.
McCall Smith’s books are the perfect antidote to the doom and gloom of the outside world. The characters ring true, and the situations they get into are certainly entertaining.
I was happy to discover while reading this that Bertie, the over stressed hyper-intelligent six year old, is frequently featured in this collection.
On Coraline
General GeekinessIt’s definitely cute. It’s definitely creepy.
All said, I’m not sure what I think about Coraline. I definitely enjoyed it, but at the same time, was really creeped out.
I didn’t read Neil Gaiman’s book prior to seeing it (I know, bad bookworm), but I had an idea that it would be strange.
The movie kept me entertained the entire time; I never felt bored or antsy. Coraline felt like a real kid. She wasn’t perfect, like some kids’ movie heroes; in fact, I found her bratty and annoying. But that isn’t a bad thing. Her dreams were vivid and felt like real dreams.
I thought that the artwork was spectacular. I wish that I had seen Coraline in 3D. It really would have come to life then!
The worst part of the movie was the annoying little ghost kids. Their voices were bland and poorly acted. They might be dead, but Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride certainly showed that the dead can be lively.
All in all, its a cute movie. Kids over the age of 12 (or younger ones who can easily distinguish reality from movies) should enjoy it. Parents will like it too.
On Names
The Twirl and Swirl of LettersI’m on a bit of a naming kick lately. I’ve been thinking about what makes a good character name. Is it one that conjures up images of grandeur with mythological connotations? Or is it one that is bland, simple, and easy to build a character around?
These days, I favor the latter. My characters have everyday names, ones that won’t garner too much attention. Geoffrey. Julia. Will. David. Linda. When I was younger (i.e., in my early Tolkien obsessed days), my characters had slightly (to very) ridiculous names. Unlike Tolkien’s world, there failed to be any rhyme or reason to the names. My personal favorite? Random Redux. A friend and I came up with Mr. Redux while in high school. He was a space captain, out to save the world, and so on and so forth. The thing was his name didn’t fit into the universe. Not to mention it is rather silly.
Back to naming things.
These days, I name characters before I come up with their personalities. This might be a bit counter productive, but I see it as naming babies. The kid’s born, and you look at him and say, “My! He looks like a Brian!” or a Julian or a Michael. The babies have no (or minimal) personality. They’re red and sticky and look like lizards. Note that the last time I was in a delivery room was the day I was born.
Sometimes, though, I find I have to wait until I find the perfect name. When I started writing my novel (the first draft is done, but I still think of it as in its infancy), my main character didn’t have a name. He ended up being named William relatively quickly. The name just sort of fit, perfectly. I like to think of it as the characters naming themselves.
My attempts to name my characters often ends up with them throwing off these given names, and ending up with names they’ve “selected.” I tried to saddle Geoffrey with some pretty horrific pseudo-Tolkien monikers (I currently don’t have access to these notebooks), but fortunately he bucked them. It was during my freshman year of high school attempt to read The Canterbury Tales when he said, “Screw it all. My name’s Geoffrey.”
What’s in a Name?
The Twirl and Swirl of LettersGood morning campers!
I’ve decided to start posting writing prompts to help get our creative juices flowing. Even though I write a lot (every day), I sometimes find myself falling back to the same old same old.
Today’s prompt is a simple one.
Here’s a list of locations and things. Your job? Name them. Mine are in italics.
A greasy spoon type diner: Stick to Yer Ribs
A race horse: Tommy Can You Here Me
A rock band: Tears of Ophelia
A summer cottage: Sand Between Toes
A castle: Castello della Torre
Triplets: Madison, Pierce, Grant
A new religion: Followers of Manfred
An avant garde restaurant: Sushi On the Rocks
A soda: Mango Fizzle
Have fun and come up with more of your own. Feel free to post here.
This is adapted from What If? by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
Am I too perfect?
The Twirl and Swirl of LettersAs a fiction writer, I always worry if my characters are “too perfect,” namely, Mary Sues.
This is a fun little test I found that tells you if your characters are a wee bit too flawless or like yourself.
I was very pleased to see that my long term character Geoffrey wasn’t too much of an insufferably ideal little guy.
So, writers, click away!
Ned Wolfe 