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Movies and writing rambles
I saw Surfs Up on Saturday in a cinema full of amazingly quiet children. It's a nice film. Nice is the right word. It's not particularly innovative, nor particularly witty but it does tell a complete story and it's a diverting tale. I generally avoid kids films but the mock-documentary style of this one intrigued me enough to go see it. Blair-Witch-style camera work in a CG-animated movie? It's not overdone and actually, I really enjoyed the "interviews" with various characters.
Plus - surfing penguins! How can you lose? LOL!
Last week's movie was Waitress and that was...well, a tad disappointing. Good script, good story, fantastic lead actress (Keri Russell), and I did love the ending. I can't tell you why, 'cause that would be a spoiler, but it's the same reason I adore Halle Berry's Catwoman...not that the two films have much in common.
But the male romantic lead was Nathan Fillion and, hell, I know he can do better than this. There was very little chemistry between him and Keri and he darn-near sleepwalked through some scenes.
Like most films marketed as "romantic comedy" I was left wondering which parts were supposed to be funny, but that's probably just me. I recommend it for the story, but maybe not if you're a Nathan fan.
(BTW, I go to the movies just about every weekend - would you guys want to read my reviews on a regular basis? I can make more of an effort if it's something my friends would like to read.)
As for the rest of my weekend...
I am really regretting posting my latest SPN story as a WIP.
I have a rule: until I know how the story is going to end, I don't post anything. I don't even talk about it.
In the case of STB, I knew the ending a few days after Asylum con: inspiration hit while I was at Pizza Hut with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
garretsuze61 and I scrawled it down on the back of...no, it wasn't a paper napkin, but one of those little "extra" leaflet-type-menus they put on all the tables. So I was pretty confident, going in, as I always am, that I'd be okay to post. I'm not.
It's not that there's anything specific wrong with what I've posted, but I'm really not happy with this story. I'm not saying I won't finish it. I will. But when I finish a fic I always go back and re-edit. Usually, I don't make huge changes, just tighten up the prose, fill in plot holes and suchlike. In this case, I have a feeling I'm going to run into some big revisions.
Part of the problem is I'm most comfortable writing in pairings. STB is a threesome: not in the sexual sense, but in the sense that I have to give all three characters equal time. You know that saying "three's a crowd"? It really is. If I hadn't already posted three parts, I'd go back and change the beginning to kill Dean off, so I can tell the Sam/John story without him getting in my way. I did consider that when I started writing, but I thought it was the wrong way to begin. I can't do that now: it would change the story way too much. Dean is a wildcard; I can't predict what he's gonna do next in this story and it messes up my ability to plan ahead. He can't affect the ending: that's there, safe on my Pizza Hut leaflet, but he's changing how I'm gonna get there.
And each time I get an unexpected twist, I see places in the earlier parts where I should have laid groundwork, or done something differently.
I suppose if I hadn't already started posting, this might end up in my production hell folder. Starting to post is the closest thing I have to a guarantee that I'll finish the story. But I'm really wishing I hadn't.
Plus - surfing penguins! How can you lose? LOL!
Last week's movie was Waitress and that was...well, a tad disappointing. Good script, good story, fantastic lead actress (Keri Russell), and I did love the ending. I can't tell you why, 'cause that would be a spoiler, but it's the same reason I adore Halle Berry's Catwoman...not that the two films have much in common.
But the male romantic lead was Nathan Fillion and, hell, I know he can do better than this. There was very little chemistry between him and Keri and he darn-near sleepwalked through some scenes.
Like most films marketed as "romantic comedy" I was left wondering which parts were supposed to be funny, but that's probably just me. I recommend it for the story, but maybe not if you're a Nathan fan.
(BTW, I go to the movies just about every weekend - would you guys want to read my reviews on a regular basis? I can make more of an effort if it's something my friends would like to read.)
As for the rest of my weekend...
I am really regretting posting my latest SPN story as a WIP.
I have a rule: until I know how the story is going to end, I don't post anything. I don't even talk about it.
In the case of STB, I knew the ending a few days after Asylum con: inspiration hit while I was at Pizza Hut with
garretsuze61 and I scrawled it down on the back of...no, it wasn't a paper napkin, but one of those little "extra" leaflet-type-menus they put on all the tables. So I was pretty confident, going in, as I always am, that I'd be okay to post. I'm not.It's not that there's anything specific wrong with what I've posted, but I'm really not happy with this story. I'm not saying I won't finish it. I will. But when I finish a fic I always go back and re-edit. Usually, I don't make huge changes, just tighten up the prose, fill in plot holes and suchlike. In this case, I have a feeling I'm going to run into some big revisions.
Part of the problem is I'm most comfortable writing in pairings. STB is a threesome: not in the sexual sense, but in the sense that I have to give all three characters equal time. You know that saying "three's a crowd"? It really is. If I hadn't already posted three parts, I'd go back and change the beginning to kill Dean off, so I can tell the Sam/John story without him getting in my way. I did consider that when I started writing, but I thought it was the wrong way to begin. I can't do that now: it would change the story way too much. Dean is a wildcard; I can't predict what he's gonna do next in this story and it messes up my ability to plan ahead. He can't affect the ending: that's there, safe on my Pizza Hut leaflet, but he's changing how I'm gonna get there.
And each time I get an unexpected twist, I see places in the earlier parts where I should have laid groundwork, or done something differently.
I suppose if I hadn't already started posting, this might end up in my production hell folder. Starting to post is the closest thing I have to a guarantee that I'll finish the story. But I'm really wishing I hadn't.
no subject
When people risk reading pieces of stories in lj, I think we are all prepared for the story never to be finished. It happens all the time. It happens so much I am hesitant to read WIPs unless the writer is known for always finishing a tale, but then I am old and need closure. Most peeps here do not.
In the end, babe it is your journal, your story, your brain, passion and desire. You don't get a dime for writing the story. Let it go and don't finish it if you don't want to write it any more. Life is too short and you are too talented to torture yourself with a story you don't enjoy writing.
Do what you want to do!
no subject
You've intrigued me. What's your job?
In the end, babe it is your journal, your story, your brain, passion and desire. You don't get a dime for writing the story. Let it go and don't finish it if you don't want to write it any more.
Oh, god, no. It's not that I don't want to finish. It's the format. It's like, if I hadn't already posted parts, I could go back and change stuff that I can now see needs changing. But having posted parts of the WIP, I can't really do that. Or, not until its finished.
But, you know how you see really crappy fics with loads of comments saying "this is amazing, write more!!!" - I'm kinda feeling like that about this fic at the moment. I'm getting some great comments and that's great, but I'm feeling like...no, it's just not that great, so why are you telling me it is? You know?
no subject
But movies...
My tastes run to b/w classics and I just enjoy so few contemporary (2000+) movies. Plus I am way highly critical of comedy, especially and have not really found a funny movie since "Young Frankenstein" - I have to roar all the way through or forget it.
I have seen every movie on the AFI top one hundred but my library system acquires all of the current movies and so few excite me - the last exciting movie I saw was "Memento"... so I like having other people's insights to fall back on to help me along.
So much of library service is getting people to leave the building with something they at least think they want...
So thanks ; )