Happy Duck Soup Day everybody!
A couple of youtube clips to help you set the mood. First is the classic Mirror sequence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdQ9jh5GvQ8
And here's a personal favourite of mine, featuring my favourite Marx Brother, Harpo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWlDFRRH6yE
And of course today is the perfect day to get hold of Harpo' excellent autobiography 'Harpo Speaks'.
Hail Freedonia! Kick up a ruckus!
Oh wait, one more Duck Soup clip. It's the peanuts/hats sequence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZOlrZNIod0
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
An International Celebration of Great Importance
Is it really that time of year again? Already?
I know, you lot are already a few steps ahead of me. You've rented or bought the necessary DVD collection, you've prepared your costume, you've stuffed your duck.
Because tomorrow it is...
DUCK SOUP DAY!
What, you'd forgotten? How is that possible?
Duck Soup Day comes around every November 17th. It marks the anniversary of the original release of DUCK SOUP, the Marx brothers' classic from 1933.
How shall we celebrate? Usually I eat duck in some form (even though duck soup plays no part in the movie whatsoever), I watch a Marx Brothers movie and I spend the whole day acting just a bit sillier than normal.
Also, I greet people with a hearty 'Hail Freedonia'.
So celebrate Duck Soup Day with me, wherever you may be.
It's almost a religion now.
Oh, by the way, the 11 movies I saw in the cinema between March '08 and April '09 were:
Valkyrie
I know, you lot are already a few steps ahead of me. You've rented or bought the necessary DVD collection, you've prepared your costume, you've stuffed your duck.
Because tomorrow it is...
DUCK SOUP DAY!
What, you'd forgotten? How is that possible?
Duck Soup Day comes around every November 17th. It marks the anniversary of the original release of DUCK SOUP, the Marx brothers' classic from 1933.
How shall we celebrate? Usually I eat duck in some form (even though duck soup plays no part in the movie whatsoever), I watch a Marx Brothers movie and I spend the whole day acting just a bit sillier than normal.
Also, I greet people with a hearty 'Hail Freedonia'.
So celebrate Duck Soup Day with me, wherever you may be.
It's almost a religion now.
Oh, by the way, the 11 movies I saw in the cinema between March '08 and April '09 were:
Valkyrie
Gran Torino
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Dark Knight
Madagascar 2
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Burn After Reading
Hancock
Quantum of Solace
Wall-E
Indiana Jones and the big pile of rubbish
And you could have guessed at least half of those by checking the top 11 films at the UK box office for the same period, which were:
Mamma Mia
Quantum of Solace
The Dark Knight
Indiana Jones and the big pile of rubbish
Sex and the City
Hancock
Wall-E
High Schol Musical 3
Madagascar 2
Kung Fu Panda
Iron Man
But nobody did that, so I will keep my very small prize to myself. I will eat it on DUCK SOUP DAY!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
A Very Strange Guessing Game
Either I've lost a lot of ticket stubs or I only went to the cinema 11 times between April 2008 and the end of March 2009.
11 times. That's less than once a month!
I keep a list you see. And yes, I do realise that's pretty sad. But no, I don't care.
In previous years my number of cinema visits has been pretty steady, hovering around 18 or 19 trips to the movies a year. But in 08-09 I only made it to the movies 11 times!
I think a lot of it is to do with my subscription to LoveFilm (DVD rental service) so I'm not quite so worried about 'missing' a film because I know I'll be able to rent it. But it's still a shame not to make it to the cinema to see a film on the big screen.
I could go off on a ramble about the poor quality of today's cinema experience, the limited choice of films at mainstream cinemas in any one week or even the fact that they just don't make mainstream films aimed at non-teenagers any more.
But I won't. I'm going to get up and go to the cinema instead.
Oh, but while I'm there, if you'd like to guess any of the 11 films that I saw at the cinema between April 08 and the end of March 09 please do. If you get more than, let's say... 5 (within a reasonable number of guesses) I'll send you a very small prize.
If you get more than two I'll send you two minutes' worth of respect and admiration.
11 times. That's less than once a month!
I keep a list you see. And yes, I do realise that's pretty sad. But no, I don't care.
In previous years my number of cinema visits has been pretty steady, hovering around 18 or 19 trips to the movies a year. But in 08-09 I only made it to the movies 11 times!
I think a lot of it is to do with my subscription to LoveFilm (DVD rental service) so I'm not quite so worried about 'missing' a film because I know I'll be able to rent it. But it's still a shame not to make it to the cinema to see a film on the big screen.
I could go off on a ramble about the poor quality of today's cinema experience, the limited choice of films at mainstream cinemas in any one week or even the fact that they just don't make mainstream films aimed at non-teenagers any more.
But I won't. I'm going to get up and go to the cinema instead.
Oh, but while I'm there, if you'd like to guess any of the 11 films that I saw at the cinema between April 08 and the end of March 09 please do. If you get more than, let's say... 5 (within a reasonable number of guesses) I'll send you a very small prize.
If you get more than two I'll send you two minutes' worth of respect and admiration.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Increasing This World's Awesome Content
A great new review of the Jimmy Coates books has popped up on a blog, written by one of the people who matter most - a young fan of the series, rather than a critic, teacher or librarian. (OK, those people matter too, but it's most gratifying to see reviews that are actually by the people the books are aimed at.)
It's well written too, so check the NEW BOOK REVIEW.
I love the title as well: "Joe Craig Actually Increases This World's Awesome Content"
Quite a claim. Something to live up to.
It's well written too, so check the NEW BOOK REVIEW.
I love the title as well: "Joe Craig Actually Increases This World's Awesome Content"
Quite a claim. Something to live up to.
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Writing For Children 1 - don't ask children
I gave a talk the other day called something like 'Writing for Children: generating ideas and writing that children will actually be interested in.' I can't remember the exact title. It was a bit long and to be honest I have trouble remembering titles that are more than three words.
Anyway, I thought I might break down some of the things I talked about into blog-sized chunks for your delight and entertainment. Obviously you won't have the benefit of my exciting and surprising powerpoint presentation that originally accompanied the ordeal, but you have other benefits, such as tea, your own comfy chair and the invitation to imagine that I'm giving this talk in any voice you like. I suggest Yosemite Sam for starters.
So... Writing for Children, Tip 1: Don't test it out on a child.
I don't hear many published authors telling people to test out their writing on a child. However, I do hear lots of aspiring writers saying that they've done just that - they gave something they wrote to a child they know, and the child loved it. I don't recommend that strategy.
First of all, the child you test things out on is going to want to like it. Not liking it would be awkward and to tell you so would be borderline sociopathic.
Second, even if the child can identify some moments or aspects of your writing that they don't like as much, they will struggle to tell you why. That doesn't just apply to children - people in general are much better at saying they don't like something than giving accurate feedback as to what should change so that they would like it.
Third, who's the writer in this scenario? You or the kid? Most of the time (not all, but most) testing your work-in-progress on a child is a sign that deep down you know there's something not quite right with it. You probably even know what that is, you just don't want to face it. You're probably showing your story to a kid with the over-optimistic hope that he or she will smile and laugh and jump up and down and tell you that you don't need to fix a word. Because any other reaction would mean that you have a lot more work to do, right? Well, here's the bad news: that reaction would mean nothing even if you got it (see points one and two). And there is definitely more work you can do on your story. Chances are you know that already and you actually just wanted a get-out-of-work-free card from having child's seal of approval.
When I write, I write for me. I don't aim at a particular child, or children in general, or even the impression of a child that I nostalgically believe I once was.
No individual child can give you a reaction that's indicative of all children.
If you really want to test out your story on a kid you might want to try one of two things: give them a few pages to read, and WATCH THEM read it. When do their eyes wander? When do they sit forward in their seat? When are they sluggish turning the page? When do they race through the paragraphs with their mouth slightly open?
Or, even better - pitch them the story. Take ten minutes. If you can't tell a story in ten minutes, it isn't worth telling. Five is better. Sit face to face and watch as you tell the story. If you're honest with yourself about the reaction you're seeing, you should have all the feedback you need right there.
One last thing: if you're thinking of testing things out on a child, why not test something out on an adult instead? After all, adults are really just stupid children. You'll get most of the same feedback. But make sure to tell them not to try to work out whether they think the story will work on a child. Eliminate second-guessing. Just let them enjoy it for themselves.
A good story is a good story, whatever the intended audience.
Anyway, I thought I might break down some of the things I talked about into blog-sized chunks for your delight and entertainment. Obviously you won't have the benefit of my exciting and surprising powerpoint presentation that originally accompanied the ordeal, but you have other benefits, such as tea, your own comfy chair and the invitation to imagine that I'm giving this talk in any voice you like. I suggest Yosemite Sam for starters.
So... Writing for Children, Tip 1: Don't test it out on a child.
I don't hear many published authors telling people to test out their writing on a child. However, I do hear lots of aspiring writers saying that they've done just that - they gave something they wrote to a child they know, and the child loved it. I don't recommend that strategy.
First of all, the child you test things out on is going to want to like it. Not liking it would be awkward and to tell you so would be borderline sociopathic.
Second, even if the child can identify some moments or aspects of your writing that they don't like as much, they will struggle to tell you why. That doesn't just apply to children - people in general are much better at saying they don't like something than giving accurate feedback as to what should change so that they would like it.
Third, who's the writer in this scenario? You or the kid? Most of the time (not all, but most) testing your work-in-progress on a child is a sign that deep down you know there's something not quite right with it. You probably even know what that is, you just don't want to face it. You're probably showing your story to a kid with the over-optimistic hope that he or she will smile and laugh and jump up and down and tell you that you don't need to fix a word. Because any other reaction would mean that you have a lot more work to do, right? Well, here's the bad news: that reaction would mean nothing even if you got it (see points one and two). And there is definitely more work you can do on your story. Chances are you know that already and you actually just wanted a get-out-of-work-free card from having child's seal of approval.
When I write, I write for me. I don't aim at a particular child, or children in general, or even the impression of a child that I nostalgically believe I once was.
No individual child can give you a reaction that's indicative of all children.
If you really want to test out your story on a kid you might want to try one of two things: give them a few pages to read, and WATCH THEM read it. When do their eyes wander? When do they sit forward in their seat? When are they sluggish turning the page? When do they race through the paragraphs with their mouth slightly open?
Or, even better - pitch them the story. Take ten minutes. If you can't tell a story in ten minutes, it isn't worth telling. Five is better. Sit face to face and watch as you tell the story. If you're honest with yourself about the reaction you're seeing, you should have all the feedback you need right there.
One last thing: if you're thinking of testing things out on a child, why not test something out on an adult instead? After all, adults are really just stupid children. You'll get most of the same feedback. But make sure to tell them not to try to work out whether they think the story will work on a child. Eliminate second-guessing. Just let them enjoy it for themselves.
A good story is a good story, whatever the intended audience.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tweety Me
I’ve been trawling through piles and piles of books lately – oh poor old me. Yes, it’s a very tough life.
My mission has been to prepare my top ten children’s book recommendations for this winter. I’m not going to tell you why right now, but I will eventually. It wasn’t just for fun. Somebody asked me to do it. Somebody important – she has a real job, and everything.
Anyway, before my list is revealed I thought I’d recommend one that hasn’t quite made it onto my top ten, but only because my ‘top ten’ was forced down to a ‘top eight’ at the last minute. I blame the Nazis. (Sidenote: would the Nazis have been more successful if they’d called themselves Naxis? It’s just as punchy, but with 20 per cent less evil. Might have fooled a few people for a bit longer.)
SCAT by Carl Hiaasen
I’ve read a couple of Carl Hiaasen’s adult books and really enjoyed them, but hadn’t checked out his children’s books until now. The one thing that struck me is that the only real difference between them is the lack of a sex scene. Which is to say, Hiaasen brilliantly makes no allowances for the age of the intended audience other than removing the downright unsuitable. His plotting is just as complex and sophisticated, his dialogue just as juicy, and his cast of characters just as engrossing.
All of his books seem to be underpinned by a love for Florida and its natural wilderness, but I’ve come to like that. He doesn’t preach or campaign, he just uses the conflict of development and wilderness as a backdrop for a cracking plot.
My favourite line: There was a pause that got lengthier with each passing second.
The whole book sparkles with lines like that, masterful twists and a pace that zipped things along like a panther through the tall grass.
Meanwhile, in other news…
I’ve finally joined TWITTER. I hope it might somehow improve my life if thousands upon thousands of you sign up to ‘follow’ me, which you can do here: www.twitter.com/joecraiguk
It's like my blog, but in miniature. If this blog is the sprawling epic of the Aeneid, my twitter 'feed' is a haiku. If this blog is the Empire State Building, my twitter is Somerset House. If the blog's a feast, twitter's a morsel of pure delight. If... OK you get the idea. Blog = big. Twitter = the same but littler. Also more often.
My mission has been to prepare my top ten children’s book recommendations for this winter. I’m not going to tell you why right now, but I will eventually. It wasn’t just for fun. Somebody asked me to do it. Somebody important – she has a real job, and everything.
Anyway, before my list is revealed I thought I’d recommend one that hasn’t quite made it onto my top ten, but only because my ‘top ten’ was forced down to a ‘top eight’ at the last minute. I blame the Nazis. (Sidenote: would the Nazis have been more successful if they’d called themselves Naxis? It’s just as punchy, but with 20 per cent less evil. Might have fooled a few people for a bit longer.)
SCAT by Carl Hiaasen
I’ve read a couple of Carl Hiaasen’s adult books and really enjoyed them, but hadn’t checked out his children’s books until now. The one thing that struck me is that the only real difference between them is the lack of a sex scene. Which is to say, Hiaasen brilliantly makes no allowances for the age of the intended audience other than removing the downright unsuitable. His plotting is just as complex and sophisticated, his dialogue just as juicy, and his cast of characters just as engrossing.
All of his books seem to be underpinned by a love for Florida and its natural wilderness, but I’ve come to like that. He doesn’t preach or campaign, he just uses the conflict of development and wilderness as a backdrop for a cracking plot.
My favourite line: There was a pause that got lengthier with each passing second.
The whole book sparkles with lines like that, masterful twists and a pace that zipped things along like a panther through the tall grass.
Meanwhile, in other news…
I’ve finally joined TWITTER. I hope it might somehow improve my life if thousands upon thousands of you sign up to ‘follow’ me, which you can do here: www.twitter.com/joecraiguk
It's like my blog, but in miniature. If this blog is the sprawling epic of the Aeneid, my twitter 'feed' is a haiku. If this blog is the Empire State Building, my twitter is Somerset House. If the blog's a feast, twitter's a morsel of pure delight. If... OK you get the idea. Blog = big. Twitter = the same but littler. Also more often.
Friday, October 16, 2009
A Glowing Box Story. Again.
I wrote what they call a 'Story Starter' for an amazing project called 'Write Path International Connections'.
The idea is that a whole load of writers provide the beginnings of stories, then students at schools all over the world log in to the website on the same day and continue the stories. And my Story Starter has gone live today!
Here's the bit of the story I provided, but to see how the students have continued it you should swing over to http://writepath.ning.com/profiles/blogs/friday-story-4-joe-craig...
---
Kris was already half way up his street before he noticed anything weird. He pulled his earphones out and hitched his school bag higher on his shoulder. Why was there nobody else around? Usually when he got home from school his road was pretty busy. There should at least have been one or two people who’d got off the bus with him. But there was nobody.
He walked more quickly, peering into the homes as he went, searching for a sign of life – something that would tell him he was just being paranoid. Then he noticed the only sound – the insistent wail of a car alarm. Chris jogged the last few steps to his front door. He was so busy looking around him and reaching for his key that he nearly tripped on the object that was sitting on the front step: a box. A sealed cardboard box, planted squarely in front of the door.
Kris reached over it to open the front door, but has he pushed his key into the lock, the door swung open.“Mum?” Kris shouted. “Dad? Tami?” His voice was blown away along the street. Kris shivered and went to edge round the box and go inside. But that’s when he noticed that coming from the cracks in the corners of the cardboard box was a soft blue glow...
----
So what happens next? Check out what everybody thinks at http://writepath.ning.com/profiles/blogs/friday-story-4-joe-craig
The idea is that a whole load of writers provide the beginnings of stories, then students at schools all over the world log in to the website on the same day and continue the stories. And my Story Starter has gone live today!
Here's the bit of the story I provided, but to see how the students have continued it you should swing over to http://writepath.ning.com/profiles/blogs/friday-story-4-joe-craig...
---
Kris was already half way up his street before he noticed anything weird. He pulled his earphones out and hitched his school bag higher on his shoulder. Why was there nobody else around? Usually when he got home from school his road was pretty busy. There should at least have been one or two people who’d got off the bus with him. But there was nobody.
He walked more quickly, peering into the homes as he went, searching for a sign of life – something that would tell him he was just being paranoid. Then he noticed the only sound – the insistent wail of a car alarm. Chris jogged the last few steps to his front door. He was so busy looking around him and reaching for his key that he nearly tripped on the object that was sitting on the front step: a box. A sealed cardboard box, planted squarely in front of the door.
Kris reached over it to open the front door, but has he pushed his key into the lock, the door swung open.“Mum?” Kris shouted. “Dad? Tami?” His voice was blown away along the street. Kris shivered and went to edge round the box and go inside. But that’s when he noticed that coming from the cracks in the corners of the cardboard box was a soft blue glow...
----
So what happens next? Check out what everybody thinks at http://writepath.ning.com/profiles/blogs/friday-story-4-joe-craig
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Writing in the Present Tense Makes Me Tense. Not in a Good Way.
In a couple of weeks I'm running a workshop for adults on how to write for children. So this afternoon I've been composing my thoughts and putting a few things together.
There's a lot that I don't know, but there's also a lot I won't be able to fit in. I've decided to focus on the stuff that I do know and will also be able to fit in. I think that's a good tactic.
Which leaves a couple of things for me to rant about here, which I'm going to call, 'Writing that really annoys me.'
1. My biggest one is beautifully summed up by a cartoon I found a week or so ago:
Why can't we stop people writing novels in the present tense?
Why can't we stop people writing novels in the present tense?
Sometimes I can see what the writer is trying to do, and, yes, there are some very good novels written in the present tense. Not many, but some. And they are good despite being in the present tense.
They would be even better if they were written properly, in the past tense, the way that humans have understood stories for centuries. I know it's just a convention, but it's pretty well entrenched and there is no good reason to muck about with it.
2. Journals. I have read (or tried to read) so many children's books which at some point near the beginning have a passage that goes, roughly, something like this:
I'm writing this to set down exactly what happened in my amazing story. Maybe someday, somebody will read it. Who knows. There are parts that I couldn't possibly have seen myself, but those bits I've pieced together from what other people told me. Or I've just made them up.
Just tell me a story. Don't pretend that somebody has written all about it in a diary and that I've somehow found that diary and I'm reading it. That didn't happen. Nor did the things you're writing about in the book - it's fiction - so can you please just tell me the story without all that diary rubbish?
A variation on this is the 'Police Report Narrator'. Books that use that little trick have a passage near the beginning that goes something like this:
I've been a detective for 27 years but I'll ever forget this case. I'm going to set everything out in this official report, hoping that my seniors will know what to do. I promise this is all true and I'll try to be fair to everybody. I was at my desk late one night when I got a strange phone call...
To top it all, this week somebody gave me a children's book to read which began with the Police Report Narrator trick, and then the policeman writing the report very quickly explained that he'd found a diary, and that the whole story was set out this diary that I really needed to see if I was ever going to understand what really happened...
I threw the book against a wall.
At least it wasn't all written in the present tense.
To end on a plus, the best present tense book I've read, and the only book I've ever come across where I think the present tense might in some way contribute positively to the tone and the story, has just been published.
It's called Hell and it's by Robert Olen Butler. I urge you all to read it:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
