Writing Without Stability

As this scantily upkept blog no doubt shows, there has been little to no stability in my life for the past while. By that I mean I have been involved in a large number of things like school and shows, family reunions and summer vacations, things like that. I've barely had any time at home, let alone time to write. I'm sure you have all experienced times in your life such as this, where you are struggling just to make it through the day without dropping too many of the balls you have in the air, and for a while time for writing just kind of doesn't exist. Here are some ideas I've thought of for how you can still be writingly productive during the insane times.

Write on the run. I've found that for me its hard to do actual writing of a piece while I'm on the run. But something that does work for me is bringing around a bigger notebook and using it for outlining and planning. I'm in the process of starting a novel, a screenplay and a short story, so for the past while I've just brought around that notebook with me in the car, to rehearsals, etc, and jotted down scene ideas and stuff. Now I've almost got outlines enough for me to get started on the actual writing.

Read. While waiting in line, in the car, for a meeting, any time, have a book with you and pull it out and read. I didn't think it was possible, but in the past week or so I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, mostly at rehearsals and waiting in the car. You can't be a good writer without being a good reader, so use your waiting time to your advantage.

Marketing. Crazy busy times often include meeting a bunch of new people, and these new people are all potential help for spreading the word about your next book. Make friends, make connections, add people on facebook and twitter, talk about your writing. You never know what these people can do for your writing career. Plus making new friends is always awesome.

It seems that my life is stabilizing itself a little bit, so hopefully I can get this blog back up and running at its best. I hope this helps. We all have busy times, but if you are serious about being a writer, you need to always be working at it, no matter what else is going on in your life. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.

Sarah Allen

Movie Review: Toy Story 3

For my 100th post, I wanted to write about something special, and this movie definitely qualifies. This blog has been a fun journey for me so far, as has the Toy Story universe. That's pretty much the only connection I can force on why Toy Story is an appropriate 100th post marker, but here goes anyway.

To start bluntly, Toy Story 3 is the best movie I've seen in theaters this year. All the characters, witticisms, and humor that we love from the old movies are back in abundance, plus some new awesomeness. If you haven't seen it yet, you're missing out.

Despite, or perhaps because of all this, Toy Story 3 needs to come with a warning. Without giving too much away, you can't go expecting a light-hearted, easy movie. On the contrary, it was pretty intense, very poignant and at some points flat-out scary. They took the story and the characters to a much deeper, more profound level than not only the other two Toy Story movies, but most animated movies in general. I would say that its up there with Up and Monsters, Inc. in its emotional intensity/poignancy level. I, for one, really appreciated the thought and depth of this particular movie, and I think its wonderful for kids (and everyone else) to experience stories and characters at that level. I will admit that I got teary eyed multiple times.

While still a movie that anyone can appreciate, it was definitely geared towards people who grew up with the Toy Story movies. There are subtle references that just make you smile. We've all kind of grown up with Andy, and there's a bitter-sweetness in seeing him move on in life and realizing that we have too. Though, I will say, since I'm admitting things anyway, I still sleep with a teddy-bear.

Sarah Allen

p.s. The preview for Despicable Me looks freaking hilarious. Check it out, if you haven't already. There's another one I want to see the day it comes out.

Memorial Day for Writers

Another holiday. If you're like me, that means you just woke up. We all probably have too many miscellaneous things on our to-do list that we're using this off-day to take care of for it to be completely relaxing, but at least there's no school or work.

So how can writers specifically use this day to our advantage? Here are three things I've thought of that writers can do on Memorial Day to make the most of it.

Networking. Find some local Memorial Day events and go. Meet new people. Rekindle some old extended family relationships, even with your crazy relatives. You never know when someone will end up being the connection of your creative writing lifetime.

Catch up on reading. We all have a mile-long to-read list, and use this off-day to catch up on it. Inside every good writer is an even better reader, and every book can teach/inspire/warn you in terms of your own writing. Take advantage of this no-work day and read.

Research for story ideas. Most of us have ancestors involved in the Civil or World Wars. Use the multitude of online genealogy resources to find out about your military ancestors. In doing that, you'll find characters and plots to inspire you and your writing. And you'll be doing family history at the same time, right?

Anway, I hope you all enjoy your Memorial Day, and use it the best way you can.

Sarah Allen

Writing Rule: Omit Needless Words

This classic writing rule from Strunk and White's 'Element's of Style' is one of the most useful of the many writing rules, and worth highlighting. So write this rule on a sticky note and stick it close to your computer: Omit Needless Words.

Keeping this rule in mind is often enough to improve your writing. If your sentences are convoluted or hard to follow, applying this rule will almost always fix the problem.

Here are some example phrases from the book:
The question as to whether/whether
He is a man who/he
Her story is a strange one/her story is strange
Owing to the fact that/because
Call your attention to the fact/remind you

I hope this rule helps, and makes your writing crisper, clearer, and more concise.

Having said all this, there are two more things I want to add. 1. I have probably broken this rule many times already in this blog, or even in this post. I'm still learning too. 2. As far as writing goes, rules are made to be broken. This is a good rule, but don't let it stand in the way of great writing.

Sarah Allen

Thoughts on the fantastic Lost finale and the wonderful Michael Emerson

Its about 24 hours since the epic 2 1/2 hour Lost finale began, and I've been thinking about it the whole time. My initial reaction was somewhere between, 'whoa, that was brilliant' and 'what the crap?' After talking to friends and reading interviews and reviews, I'm tending more and more towards the brilliant side.

So basically, the sideways existence was a kind of limbo existence between this life and the next. We see what happens to everyone in their real-life/island existence. We go from seeing Jack on the island, stumbling and dying, to him off the island, recognizing, remembering, rejoicing and meeting up with all these people who have played such a big part in his life. In this timeless, limbo existence, they have all met up to move on together.

All except for Benjamin Linus. Ben is still left in the ambiguous, gray area, which is an incredible move on the writers part. So why doesn't Ben move on with the others? There are two reasons that I like the best. One, he still feels unresolved about his life, and feels that there are things he needs to repent and atone for, in an almost Marley-esque way. The second reason, and the one that I like even better: He's waiting for Alex. And of course, every moment with Ben Linus was a moment of Michael Emerson genius.

I doubt any other TV show has ever been this successfully philosophical and spiritual. Not only that, but with the genius combination of good writing and Michael Emerson, the creators of Lost have created in Benjamin Linus one of the most complex, subtle, deep, genius anti-hero's of all time. If could create a character half as awesome as him, I could die a happy artist.

I am interested in your thoughts about the Lost finale. Ambiguous, yes, but in a good way? What did you think?

Sarah Allen