Will Sing for Plot

If you're like me, coming up with a good plot is one of the hardest parts about writing. I appreciate anything that can help inspire me, and here is an idea I thought of about using the music in your iTunes to get a plot.

It's a simple idea, really. Just put your iTunes on shuffle and click play. Every song has its own characters and situation, right? So the first song you here is the way things stand at the beginning of your story or novel. Listen to the song, get a feel for how the characters are feeling and why. After you've gotten a feel for it, go to the next song; that song is your novel's end. The way your characters and story ends up. Again, listen to the song and get a feel for the how and why.

Here's an example, from my own playlist:

First song: 'Thank You for the Music' by Abba
Second song: 'You Can't Always Get what you Wan't' Glee Cast

So you could make a story from those like this: Maybe there's a shy, very unconfident girl who doesn't feel like she can really do much, except she's brilliant at the piano and she actually has small, but piercingly good voice. Maybe she was even abused by one of her mom's many boyfriends or something, and she's kind of given up on ever finding love in her life, and basically devotes her existence to music. She even gets in to Julliard. Then maybe she gets hit by a car or something and gets damage to her brain such that she loses feeling her left hand. Obviously this means she can't play music anymore, and this devastates her. So then what happens is she decides to teach music at a local private school, and becomes close with the widowed father of one of her students. At first she obviously has trust issues with any guy, but eventually they realize that they can heal each other by loving each other.

Anyway, you may not have gotten that story from those songs, but work it out however it works best for you. I'd love to know what you come up with!

Sarah Allen

Genre Exploration: Cowboy Poetry

Yesterday in my American Folklore class we talked about cowboy poetry. My professor showed us some clips from the cowboy poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada. It was actually some great stuff, and definitely worth looking into.

As a beginning, general thing, here is a great cowboy poetry site with a big collection of poems.

I wanted to highlight a couple of my favorite poems, and put them here for easy access, but to keep safe from any copyright issues, I'll just have to link to them. Here are my two favorite:

The Pearl of Them All by Will Ogilvie

Anthem by Buck Ramsey

(On each of those pages there are several poems, so you may have to search for those specific ones).

Much of their poetry is put to music, so here is a link to The Riders in the Sky website, a very fun band who I think sang Woody's Roundup in the second Toy Story movie.

Other poet recommendations are Badger Clark, Baxter Black, Joel Nelson and Gwen Peterson. See if you can find something you like.

So why cowboy poetry? Well, its rhyming and often sentimental, which usually aren't good things in my opinion, but much of this poetry shows how sentimentality can be done well, and that is a good thing. I believe its good to read in tons of genres to round out your own writing. Plus cowboy poetry is just fun. I really enjoyed, and was moved by it, and that's the point of art, right?

Anyway, let me know what you think of this. I hope it will brighten your day as much as it did mine.

Sarah Allen

My poem is being published in the Tipton Poetry Journal!!!

I just received the awesome news! I came home from classes to a rejection from Versal magazine, which is the norm, but I just barely got an email from Barry Harris of The Tipton Poetry Journal accepting one of my poems called "Night Terrors"! I've been published in BYU's literary magazine Inscape, but this is the first time regular, old-fashioned researching and submitting has gotten me accepted, and it is definitely my first success outside of Utah. I am ecstatic! My work has never really been published in print magazine format, so I am so excited to get the contributor copy in the mail. The magazine is also posted online, so I will, rest assured, announce when that is up. I will forever remember and bless Indiana for being the first to let me in.

So let this be a lesson to all: if I can do it, you can! I sent them a batch of poems, and the one they chose isn't the one I would have picked, so you never know what will work for certain people. Don't let that stop you, let it encourage you! Have confidence in yourself and just get your stuff out there. Just keep submitting.

Thanks anyone who reads this for reading it. Even just knowing that my blog is read is encouraging. So thank you.

And keep writing!

Sarah Allen

Lost Premiere Part II: Ben Linus/Michael Emerson is still genius

Ok, sorry for the delay, but I am here now to emote with all you Losties about the season 6 premiere. Which was, may I say, FREAKING AMAZING!!!

First of all, the alternate reality thing is genius. It took me a while to get everything straight, and I probably annoyed my friend who I was watching it with half to death, but I think I get it, and its brilliant and fascinating! Its one of those moments of creative genius that make other creative's want to do something similar. Didn't it make you want to write an alternate reality book or something?

What I'm realizing with Lost is this: everyone has their own quirk/reason for participating in something like being a Lost fan. When you read or watch something like this, you become a part of it for a very specific reason, almost waiting for something very specific to happen. For example, I watched Frasier waiting for Niles and Daphne to get together. I'm watching the Office waiting for Holly to come back to Michaels life. And with Lost, I am waiting for Ben to have something good happen in his life.

That's what I think is brilliant about his character. He may be manipulative, dishonest, and a murderer, but its more complex then that. Remember when Sayid shot young Ben and the boy was taken to "the others" who said they could save him, but he would never be the same? And thats only the beginning of the crap that has been thrown at Benjamin Linus. Think of it: his father was a jerk, every girl he has feelings for disappears or outright rejects him, he got cancer when it shouldn't have been possible, his daughter was gunned down in front of him, and he has spent his whole life working loyally as almost a pawn for a man/spirit/thing that has just sort of ignored him. Look at his situation as it stands right now: he has absolutely nothing. Everything has been taken away from him. So what I'm waiting for is for something good to happen to him.

And Michael Emerson portrays this brilliantly. This episode we really saw the confused, desperate, and lonely side of Ben, and those are my favorite moments. It makes you feel like, even though he has done some crappy things in his life, its more situational then anything else, that he really has a good and passionate heart, and that despite the crap he deserves something good to happen to him. I think this is a combination of a brilliantly written complex character, and its genius, stunning portrayal.

Here's my big Lost question right now, and it has to do with the alternate reality thing. We know that in the crash version, Ben is on the island with Sun and a being who looks like John Locke. But where does Ben come in if the plane doesn't crash?

I'll leave you with that. Again, more rambling then clear analysis, but thats kind of all you can do with a show that is basically complexity and excitement. What are your thoughts on this?

Sarah Allen

LOST Premiere Part I: No Ben=No Lost, or the genius of Michael Emerson

Less then 24 hours until the premier of the final season of one of the best dramas on television. I think the premise, writing, and directing are particularly brilliant on Lost. I will admit, I think season 3 was kind of a let down, but things have picked up, and this final season promises to be stunningly brilliant.

Ok, so here's the real reason I am a lostie: Michael Emerson, aka, Benjamin Linus. Something about him just draws you in. The crooked smile, the blue eyes...and the stunningly brilliant incredible acting. What I think it is about him, is that he is utterly and completely vulnerable. That seems weird to say about one of the most successfully manipulative characters on television, but its true. Especially recently, when his character has been losing his power. Moments like when he sees his daughter killed, when he confronts the smoke monster, when he confesses his feelings for Juliette, and when he confronts Jacob all reveal how truly vulnerable and lonely is Benjamin Linus. And it wouldn't work nearly as well as it does if it weren't Michael Emerson playing it brilliantly. His character is much more complex then any of the others, at least in my opinion, making him more interesting.

So what are the lessons to take from Michael Emerson as Benjamin Linus? Complex, imperfect, vulnerable, desperate and lonely characters stick with you. They make for exciting and intriguing stories. But another awesome trick is to have sort of "foil" characters, like Hurley. Ben and Hurley are the best characters on the show, and completely different. They are both very vulnerable; in fact we've seen both of them romantically vulnerable, which, for me, is the best. This is why we love characters like Snape and Linus Larraby. Because under their exterior, they are utterly alone and vulnerable. That makes us feel for and hope for them.

I hope this rambling makes sense. What do you think? What about Lost do you like the most?

And tune in tomorrow for LOST Premier Part II, a review of tomorrows show. I'm expecting a lot!

Sarah Allen