Trading dreams?

I feel bad (no, I don't feel an adverb, so I am not going to write 'badly' there; I feel an adjective, so 'bad' is the correct word) that I haven't been paying as much attention to this blog as my new one. I am finding that http://gruntandsweat.blogspot.com/ is turning into a real joy to maintain. I'm posting literature, videos, poetry, and even recipes there. So today I shared an excerpt from John Adams, a book I have just begun reading. I long for a real statesman (or woman) to step up and seek the presidency.

But then I remember what I heard in The Dark Knight. It seems that in Rome, when the place was in dire need or under attack, they suspended the rule of law and appointed a single person to get them out of their mess. Sure, as Rachel Dawes said, they had some real bad apples there, but it seems an interesting concept.

The other issue being, of course, that if a person seeks power, that automatically should, in most cases, disqualify them from the office they seek.

Anyway, I am going to forgo my sales calls this afternoon and work on The Cabin. So I'm not trading dreams. Sure, my work with ChartedCourse will likely be what enables us to get into an appropriately-sized house, but I am a writer. I have to remember that.

Gotta remind myself: carpe somnium

Oh, I wanted to sell a little soul for hits, so here goes:

Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen, Scarlett Johannsen, Scarlett Johanssen,

Writing, writing and writing...

I didn't get my goal last night. I was out watching The Dark Knight with some family and didn't get back until after midnight. No excuse, but it is my reason.

Today I am going to write two articles for http://www.helium.com/, rate for a half hour, and then work on The Cabin. Check out my other blog at http://gruntandsweat.blogspot.com/

I'll be back.

On Writing, Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale

Let's start with Christopher Nolan, shall we?

But before I do that, I want to remind you to check out my other, new, blog at http://gruntandsweat.blogspot.com

Anyway, Christopher Nolan is the co-writer and director of both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. These are two of the greatest superhero movies of all time. Sure, Spiderman 2 has a place of honor as the movie that finally really got down to what being a hero really meant, but then number 3 sort of lessened #2's impact.

But these two Batman movies by Nolan are beyond impressive. They deal with the grittiest of superhero themes: the fact that a hero often becomes or is an outcast, the vigilante nature of superheroes, the line that superheroes cannot cross unless they want to become what they are fighting against... all of this is dealt with, particularly in The Dark Knight. This movie pulls zero punches, allowing the Joker (Heath Ledger) to inject chaos, remarkable social experiments, and maniacally clever evildoings into what may be the best movie villain ever.

Ever.

So I applaud Christopher Nolan, his co-writers and his producers who have made a new kind of superhero movie. I think this is the beginning of a new direction. After The Dark Knight I have hope that if they really do a fourth Spiderman, they will get deeper into Spidey's psyche. There's a lot to him that the movies don't get into.

If you have yet to see The Dark Knight, go see it. Now. But before you take off running, remember that you need to listen very closely to the dialogue of the final five minutes. These lines answer the main problem of Batman and most superheroes better than any other movie has ever done.

Christian Bale deserves some acclaim as well, truth be told. He has had a remarkable career arc, with his start coming in Empire of the Sun, and his ensuing movies including Newsies, The Machinist, Hard Times, Swing Kids, Rescue Dawn, The Prestige, Reign of Fire, Equilibrium, Little Women, 3:10 to Yuma and quite a few more. These are all great movies, with the notable exception of Reign of Fire, which was about thirty to forty-five minutes short of being a great movie. Seriously, that movie ended too abruptly.

Anyway, he is a marvelous talent. But now Christian Bale's been arrested in England for abuse of his mother and sister. That bothers me. I hope he hasn't let the adulation go to his head.

By the way, I saw a teaser for the new Terminator. I am excited. Christian Bale's in that too... interestingly enough.

As for writing, I would like to get 1000 new words done in The Cabin today. First, however, I need to rework the first three chapters into 2. Anyone reading this, feel free to e-mail or comment and hold me accountable.

Be back later.

carpe somnium

First writing group meeting last night...

and it was neat-o. Nobody tried to force romance into anybody else's book, everybody gave advice to Mike about fatherhood, the salsa was excellent, as was all the rest of the food, and I think we all gained from the meeting.

I personally benefitted on a global level for The Cabin. Good thoughts about tone, tightness and characterization came my way. We had Liz, Kristi, Mike, Melinda, Kaye and me in attendance. Hopefully more will show up next time. We've decided on the 16th of August at 10 AM for our next meeting. I have promised to bring some zuchinni (spelling?) and some of my garden blender salsa.

So today while Annemarie, Emma (my lovely sister who is visiting) Benjamin (my newly minted lad) and I were out to lunch and such, the main kickstand on my scooter broke. That will complicate the parking of the wicked little beasty some, so that's nice. :-$ (This is me gritting my teeth...)

On the writing front, I will be condensing the first three chapters of The Cabin into two in order to tighten it up some and get the first few scenes more powerful. I plan to have queries out by the end of the month. Also, I haven't yet heard back from the editorial team at the company that bought The Mars Betrayal, so I will continue to focus my fiction efforts on The Cabin.

The people in my writing group are very impressive writers. I am in august company.

I need to get some work done now, so I will sign off.

By the way, tonight I and my sister will be going to see The Dark Knight. That should be fun.