Sharp Pencil

Subscribe to Writing Magazine that is. I had picked up the odd copy of the magazine over the last three or four years, but stopped short of actually subscribing because:

a) It’s £10 every three months

b) I don’t buy it every month so the total subscription cost just didn’t make sense

However, after taking the plunge in January and taking out a full subscription I’m happy to say it is WELL worth the money.

That £10 every month actually gives you two magazines every month (Writers‘ News and Writing Magazine) as well as a wealth of writing opportunities, tips and competitions.

So if you’re goal this year is to finish your first novel – take the plunge and subscribe to Writing Magazine – you won’t regret it.

You can visit the website to subscribe or pick up a copy in larger branches of WH Smiths, Borders and Waterstones!

You learn something new every day. And today I stumbled across a term I had never before heard of, so I had to share it with everyone.

‘Retcon‘ short for ‘retroactive continuity’ is the deliberate changing of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. The change is informally referred to as a “retcon,” and producing a retcon is called “retconning”.

Examples include the Star Wars trilogy, Halloween Resurrection and Spider-Man 3.

- Written to Kylie Minogue’s ‘Boombox‘

Warner Bros has announced that they are working on a ‘reboot’ of the Lara Croft movie franchise. No-one’s been attached to the role of the aristocratic ‘archaeologist’ yet, however there have been plenty of rumours that Megan Fox is front runner for the role.

Here’s a secret. I actually like the idea of Lara Croft. I think she’s a great action heroine. The last two movies did a fantastic job in casting Angelina Jolie as the video game heroine but the script left a LOT to be desired. If it hadn’t been for Angelina – I have a feeling these films would not have been commercially successful as they have been.

Hence, I greet news of a ‘reboot’ with caution. Too many times Hollywood have tried to create an ‘action heroine’ only to fail miserably. Don’t even get me started on the Catwoman movie – a painful memory to someone who has loved the feline superhero ever since Michelle Pfeiffer donned that PVC catsuit in Batman Returns.

Hollywood just can’t seem to get its head around action-heroines. More often than not, they end up as two-dimensional characters; objects to look at with barely any character development. The only memorable exceptions to this rule include Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor in Terminator 2 and Sigourney Weaver’s Lieutenant Ripley in the Alien franchise.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve made the protagonist in my novel female. I’m working to create a kick-ass action heroine with personality, character and heart. Maybe one day (if I’m lucky) she’ll make it to the big screen and show Hollywood how it’s done.

In the meantime, I’ll wait until Miss Croft reappears on the big screen in her latest incarnation. Hoping that maybe, just maybe Hollywood will get it right this time….

- Written while watching The Bill, Dr Phil and hugging newest soft toy – Creampuff

They say great minds think alike. So imagine my amusement when I stumbled across this blog post on the Guardian’s website about the revamp of that beloved 90s teen favourite – Beverly Hills 90210.

That’s right the TV gods have seen fit to rejig the phenomenally successful Aaron Spelling series with a cast of new faces – but in the same roles (i.e. bad boy, most popular girl in school, bitch, etc).

The series airs on E4 at 9pm and has been renamed ‘90210‘ (cos, like, everyone knows where that zip code is now) and is just about the same as the old favourite. Bar one critical difference. The cast of 90210 is scarily thin in comparison to the cast of its predecessor.

Being a chunky teenager who enjoyed watching the old series with a plate of spag bol, the Beverly Hills cast always seemed impossibly thin and glamorous. However, this newest crop takes the size zero debate to a whole new level.

To prove it take a look at pictures below of the cast from Beverly Hills (of old) and 90210 (of new) side by side.

It was halfway through the show that I realised there was more than one reason why this ‘revamp’ seemed so wooden. Besides the acting and the stiff as cardboard script, the kids are as thin as a bunch of Pinocchio dolls (draw your own comparisons).

What really sealed the deal was a scene at lunchtime in the cafeteria, where students and teachers alike lined up to get their ‘generous’ portions of salad. i.e. one cup full of lettuce with two strategically placed tomatoes. It was enough to make me poke my eyes out when one of the lead characters delicately nibbled at a cherry tomato while gushing about the ‘totally hot’ guy who was ‘totally’ checking her out.

What happened to Nat’s Peach Pit and his infamous ‘mega burgers’ which played so prominent a part in the old series?

Body image issues aside it was safe to say that this latest remake of an old favourite did nothing for me.

The old series brought something new and fresh to television (especially UK television) that at the time was full of gritty realism. It was a ray of sunshine to the blood soaked halls of Casualty on a Saturday night, and Cilla Black’s ‘ta-ra love’ on Blind Date.

This new series attempts to revive something that should be looked back on with fondness by a generation of 20-somethings, who no doubt, like me, wish that E4 had just run repeats of the Beverly Hills 90210 of old. Instead of foisting what now appears to be a Gossip Girl/The O.C. wannabe on us all.

The cast of Beverly Hills 90210 (1990)

The cast of 90210 (2008)

The Hollywood sign, California

- Written to Beyonce’s ‘Hollywood‘

So last week was spent in the land of the rich and famous – Los Angeles – with a brief sojourn to sin city Las Vegas.

When I boarded the plane on 14 January (Virgin Atlantic at Heathrow) I was hoping to come back having had the creative spark further reignited. To be further inspired.

It kind of happened, but not in the way I imagined. I imagined stepping of the plane and inhaling the same air as the brilliant writing geniuses who inhabit the sunshine state - Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams, David Goyer – and coming back ready to charge at the laptop with a purpose.

This did not happen. What happened instead was my first experience of going on holiday with a group of girls. Now don’t get any ideas, I am not in ANY way dissing the lasses I went on holiday with (also known as the LA4). It was just that seven days away and more than 20 hours on an airplane provided enough drama to rival any script, novel or short story I could have EVER come up with.

The make up shopping trips, the confessions, the conflicts, the lip gloss, the scandal, the hurt feelings, the snoring, the conflicts….

It reminded me that you just need to keep to the basics when writing fiction. It isn’t all about people leaping buildings in a single bound, amazing kung fu skills or wondrous wizardry. It’s about basic human interaction. We know Harry Potter as the boy wizard and even as ‘The Boy Who Lived’ , but what makes his story so interesting is his relationship with his friends Hermione and Ron, his pseudo-father Dumbledore and ‘the prophecy’ that hangs over Harry and Voldemort.

Without any of this all the spells and magic in the world would not have enticed the millions of readers who have so faithfully embraced JK Rowling’s vision.

So here I am again – back in the UK, albeit with a weeping credit card, but a determined soul who wields her writing tools anew.

P.S. – I’ll upload more pics of my trip later on in the week once they’ve been properly censored by the LA4!

- Written to Michael Jackson’s ‘Why You Wanna Trip On Me’

My love affair with The Rock continues!

I saw this on Rebecca Humphry’s fantastically well-written blog The Jackson Humphry files. She nicked it from someone else’s blog and now I’m nicking it from hers. There’s just no honour among thieves…

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

- Took a leap of faith that appears to have worked out.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

- I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I quit that last year. I do, however, carry out an annual ‘life audit’ and give myself a set of goals. I met most of them last year: I passed my driving test, I paid off some of my debts, I got another job, I lost weight (only to put it back on again!) and I’m going on my holiday to LA in four days! Not bad going then. I won’t tell you what my goals are this year – I’ll leave that to 1 January 2010!

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

- Yes!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

- No.

5. What countries did you visit?

- None. That will change this year!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

- More confidence, more balance and more fun.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

- None really.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

- See question number two.

9. What was your biggest failure?

- There are no failures – only lessons (deep huh? Not sure where that came from!!)

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

- Oh god yes. Back pain, colds, asthma – you name it I had it last year. This year will be about achieving and maintaining optimum health and fitness.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

- My lovely new, superfast, supercool MacBook Pro – god bless Steve Jobs. The man is an absolute legend. My old Mac (about 8 years old) was slowly dying.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

- My Mum’s. The way she took on 2008 and the big 5-0 with such enthusiasm and zest was something to behold!!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

- Hmmm, apart from President Bush (or as I like to call him ‘Jethro’) I couldn’t say.

14. Where did most of your money go?

- Paying off debt.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

- Passing my driving test, getting my new laptop, going on holiday.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

- I’m a music junkie so I couldn’t possibly choose.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier thanks.

b) thinner or fatter? Definitely a few pounds fatter.

c) richer or poorer? A bit richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

- I have to concur with Becs on this one. More exercise. I wish I’d done more exercise. I started off the year right but got sidetracked as time went on. Oh yeah and reading books instead of magazines.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

- Watch TV.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

- With friends and family.

- 21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

no <sigh>. Actually, I might have fallen in love a little bit more with myself (that’s no bad thing if you’re generally lacking in self-esteem!).

22. What was your favorite TV program?

- Supernatural. Genuinely scary and stars the super hot, super sexy Jensen Ackles. Can’t wait for it to return on 25th January. Also Sarah Connor: The Terminator Chronicles surprised me. Lastly, god bless Diva TV for showing the most up to date episodes of the Oprah show.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

- Nope.

24. What was the best book you read?

- The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

- Lady GaGa. And Estelle’s ‘Shine’ album – brilliant.

26. What did you want and get?

- A new computer! And a new car!

27. What did you want and not get?

- Nothing. Trust me I know how blessed I am.

28. What was your favorite film of the year?

- The Dark Knight hands down. Chris Nolan did a fantastic job, while Heath Ledger was genuinely fantastic as The Joker.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

- Ate too much! And I turned 27 – three years away from another milestone!

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

- Winning the lottery?!!!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

- If I can button it, and it’s clean – I’ll wear it.

32. What kept you sane?

- Music.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

- My ongoing (and completely imagined) affair with The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, continues. Also Barrack Obama has to best the best looking president since, well ever.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

- Zimbabwe, the economy.

35. Who did you miss?

- Auntie C.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

- Everyone at Yahoo.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

- Diets don’t work. Scratch that. They do – the work for the diet industry who earn MILLIONS of pounds from us. Oh yeah and sugar REALLY messes you up. It should come with a cellulite health warning!

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

- Again I can’t say. Although I love T.I’s ‘Live Your Life’ for lyrics.

I love New Year’s. Of course there’s the usual reasons – to eat, drink and party in excess to forget the previous year.

But when you wake up the next morning you’re confronted with something both terrifying and promising. A brand new year. And with a new year comes this feeling (I wish I could bottle it!) that life has handed you a new page in the chapter of your life. You can do anything you want with it. You can paint on it, sketch on it, make paper planes out of it or if you’re a masochist – completely shit all over it.

As a writer, I choose to pick up the pen and fill my page with words. Words that will result in my long-awaited opus being born by the end of the year.

Yes, yes you said that last year I hear you cry! It was going to take you six months to research, develop characters and bang out the first draft by the end of the year.

Well that was last year and this, this – is this year. The difference being not just in time, but expectations. A famous novellist once said (I can’t recall exactly who at the moment) that it takes them six months to research, three months to write the first draft and three months to subedit and rewrite.

It puts it all into perspective. It’s been years since I picked up a pencil or sat at a computer and wrote a full length piece of fiction (whether a short story otherwise). So who was I to think that I could turn out an immaculate piece of thriller writing in six months. It was me at my best – all or nothing!!

This year I’m going to approach things a little differently. My goal is indeed to finish a first draft by the end of the year – but if it doesn’t happen by then I’m not going to cry about it!

The real success will be in the journey to that point. Last year, although I got nowhere near even starting a first draft I did many things which will bring me one step closer to doing it this yea: regularly reading books again, starting my heroine’s character development and even beginning this blog!

So, there you have it. A new year, a new page. What will you be doing with yours?