Who keeps you up at night?

Oh, Jane.  You did it again.

I remember our first time.

Mr. Darcy and I stayed up all night and watched the sun rise together.  My husband woke up once, told me I was crazy, and went back to sleep.

Others are also guilty of my sleep deprivation, too.

But Jane...you get me almost every time.


It's not just your books. It's also the movie adaptations.

Most recently, I watched Emma, the miniseries with Johnny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley.

Sigh.


Mr. Knightley and I did not watch the sun rise, but we did flip the calendar since I watched the entire miniseries after the kids and my hubby were in bed.


I could say I regret those nights Jane took from me.


But I don't.


What about you?  What authors/stories/movies/characters have you willingly skipped sleep for?

Friends or Seinfeld?

 You can tell a lot about a person of a certain generation based on one simple question:

Do you prefer Friends...

or Seinfeld?

The characters of Friends met in a coffee shop. They lounged on the arms of sofas, practically inviting the other customers to join them.  With the exception of Ross's place, the group came and went freely and comfortably in their apartments.They knew they were always welcome. They were inclusive. What's theirs is yours and what's yours is theirs. It's the whole bff/roomie/family/gonnaget marriedorhaveababytogether concept.

The characters of Seinfeld made fun of people. A LOT. They didn't allow people into their inner circle.  My friends who prefer Seinfeld have a little harder edge to them. They mock the love fest. They are a little zany. They covet their alone time. They respect space and expect you to do the same, but if you make a Kramer entrance into their day, that's cool. After all, you may be flawed, but you're friends.

I would love to watch a show where the two sets of characters interact. Anyone write fanfic out there?

No matter what show my friends prefer, they remind me most of...

...with their sassy hair cuts, great shoes, and ability to save the day.

So, dear reader, what show do you prefer?

 

Alexandra's World vs. Christina's World

Alexandra experience grass for the first time recently. After luxuriating in the texture, she looked longingly at her brother, scampering about the lawn.

 

 Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World immediately came to mind.

Christina's World is in the style of magic realism. Something about my kids that day made me feel they were, too.

TV Tuesday: Sitcoms

The New Girl

LOVE IT!

Zooey Deschanel is as quirky and funny as ever.   My guess: Douchebag Jars popped up all over apartments with obnoxious roomates everywhere. My wish:  The two dumped people fall in love. My hope: The chemistry of the cast remains hilarious without Damon Wayans, Jr. who is already committed to Happy Endings.

Two and a Half Men

WAITING AND SEEING


I was so done with the show a season and a half ago that I removed it from our DVR. The jokes were reruns and, based on his history with prostitutes and alleged spousal abuse, it seemed like we were watching Charlie Sheen's life. After the events of the summer, the world discovered perhaps we were. Out of curiosity, we added it back to our DVR. I'm not sure how I felt about Ashton Kutcher's character.

My guess: Kutcher's character is a dumb pretty boy like he mastered in That 70s Show.
My wish: He has more original substance--like he has Aspberger's or something.
My hope:The characters grow and change with clever writing.

2 Broke Girls.  
SHOWS POTENTIAL

I was pleasantly surprised, and it wasn't just because the dirt bag boyfriend had incredible abs.

Which he did.

Admit it: His abs are worth watching the pilot

My guess: Sex will continue to be at the forefront of this show since it is from the creators of Sex and the City.
My hope: The characters stay fairly realistic in their financial status--unlike a certain waitress with an incredible apartment on Friends.
My wish: The creators of the show continue to remember that a comedy's purpose is simply to make viewers laugh.

Friday Favorite: Returned!

Weeks ago, I gave my critique group copies of Lucky Charm to critique.  In return, I offered swag to help them get through the work I hoped wouldn't inspire suffering.

 four-leaf-clover cup, M&Ms and a lucky charm

Today my sweet friend and critique buddy Lisa of the Lake--she's also our lake neighbor--brought three revised manuscripts.

critiques

Look at all the ink on those pages. I love it! I'm looking forward to sorting through their comments and making my book the best it can be.

I'm also nervous about whether or not they liked it and think it has value.

It deals with some dark situations. Heck, I had nightmares while writing it.  (If you've read my blog enough, you know I get nightmares from commercials and fairy tales, so that's no real testimony.)

So anyone expecting a book just like Glamour is in for a surprise. This one, folks, has edge. When I wrote Glamour, I feared people would confuse me with my characters, so I kept them all...acceptable. This time, I tried to stay true to what these characters would say or do--without my filters of propriety. As a result, they led me to realms much darker than I would choose myself.

I'm nervous to see how that went over with readers.

And there's only one way to find out.

Journal: Collections

Cookie jars fill the window of a local antique and collectibles shop. On the second shelf is a mouse cookie jar like one we had when I was a kid. We didn't have it long. Maybe the idea of having a mouse around a bunch of crumbs bothered my mom the same way it did me.Waiting at the stoplight, I always glance over at the cookie jar display and wonder where the collection came from and where they will go next.

When I was a child, my grandmother was extremely concerned I didn't collect anything. My brother collected buttons. And he kept boxes of unopened Star Wars action figures in his closet. Grandma believed every child should collect something, so she began bringing me spoons when she went on a trip. She was a tad flustered when I asked her why anyone would collect spoons without a fork and knife. Many years and a lot of spoons later I realized I collected coins. I loved when people brought me money from far away lands like Canada or Mexico and was thrilled when I'd discover something as ancient as a wheat penny or buffalo nickel. I wanted to savor the possibility of travel and keep history safe. I'd just never thought of my little stash as a collection. They were simply something I kept in a tin in the top drawer of my dresser.

What people collect reveals something about them. The serial killer for which the tv series Dexter is named collects blood samples of his victims. He's a blood spatter analyst.

Journal: Do you have a collection? Write about it. What does your collection say about you? OR Create a character interacting with his or her collection.

Journal: Stress relief

Some people cage fight.

I play the piano.

Ever since the sixth grade, I've played the same repertoire when I've had enough of the world. I begin and end with Hayden's Gypsy Rondo. In between is a lot of Beethoven--the man's extremes complement my moodiness. When I calm down, I turn to Clementi's sonatinas, which remind me of songs that should emit from a delicate music box. Who can be stressed when your fingertips are creating happy, playful music?


Journal: Write a slice of life where we see a character's method of relieving stress. Next, write a scene where the character encounters a need to relieve stress...and that option is not available. What happens?

journal: find your passion

Michael had a knack for turning any conversation towards roller coasters. The dimensions and history of these massive machines were ingrained in his memory. People who didn't know him by name knew "the roller coaster kid." His dream was to create an amusement park consisting entirely of roller coasters he designed.

Click here for a variety of roller coaster pictures across the USA.

Not everyone takes their passions and lives them as fully as Michael.

But what if they did?

Journal: Identify your passion. Create a character fully dedicated to this passion. Explore the conflicts and benefits involved in wholeheartedly pursuing it.

Journal: the town character

If you've ever lived in a small town, you know its characters. Town characters are those people few know, but everyone knows who they are. Something makes them distinct.

From my childhood, I recall Charlie and Josie, who went to all the high school athletic events--even though away games required driving a car with no doors. They were a couple of our town characters.


I'm still learning the characters in my new town. I have a couple of nominees, though.Definitely in the running is the guy riding the unicycle in the pouring rain, wearing a backpack with blinking lights.

Journal: Write a scene from a town character's point of view. Be sure to hint at, if not explain, the behaviors that make him or her unique.