I couldn’t sleep before adding my first thoughts about the newest Narnia movie: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which they seem to be using as subtitle in favor of namedropping Narnia, but either way you peel it, it’s a multilayer cake of fun!

Now, you already know what it’s about, right? If not, please go read the (rather short) book (and all other Narnia books by C.S. Lewis), you won’t be sorry. Then go see the preview to whet your appetite for sweeties.

One sentence run-down, in case you’re really that lazy (like me, most of the time): The two younger Pevensie children, Edmund and Lucy, along with their useless cousin Eustace, end up in Narnia again to join King Caspian and his crew in a seafaring quest.

I was worried at first, for when the Pevensie’s (now looking like young adults) first step aboard Dawn Treader, they are greeted by a truly horrible suited minotaur — is that what they are? I’m too tired to check. A suited somebody that looked like a gorilla, anyway.

Fortunately, after that shot, they did have a bit of nice CG on the faces of the talking animals. Much better than the first movie, for sure. And the fur was much nicer on Reepicheep the mouse as well as Aslan the lion, particularly in the last scene where Lucy gets her fondest wish of a hug from Reep.

But I’m getting ahead of myself!

The movie was wonderful. All the Holy-wood adjustments were fine, even pleasant. The evil green mist resonated of the way the Harry Potter death eaters are depicted when flying. It suited the movie.

One of my very favorite Narnia scenes of all the books occurs in this one, so let me comment on that. It is when Eustace tells about being turned by Aslan from a dragon back into a boy. I’ve often read it aloud to my children, it’s a speech that begs to be done that way. It’s beautiful. The whole movie, I worried they would skip this, but they in fact gave us a nice, though short, in-person view of that happens, as well as Eustace’s words about it in a subsequent scene. I was happy. Couple more seconds of it — of Eustace uncomfortable in the dragon skin and trying vainly to remove it himself — would have had me in actual tears.

You’ll enjoy this one very much, if you’re any kind of Narnia fan. If you’re not, get on the wagon, there’s still room even after half a century.

Oh, I’m going to add one line of dialog where it was sorely missing in the movie. It happens during a scene with Lucy and a younger girl. The girl’s mother was earlier taken away in the evil green mist. The girl says that “Aslan couldn’t stop my mother being taken.” To which Lucy gives some innocuous answer that I didn’t hear because I was writing my own dialog for her. The books say this so often, surely the movies have used it at least once, but here was the moment for a repetition:

Lucy: He’s not a tame lion.

This is what they say in Narnia. Aslan is a wild lion, good, but wild. They say this when they mean that His ways are not man’s ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. But he is great and good and we can trust that he knows best and will make all things right in the end.

Ah, good literature. I sincerely hope that in spite of the entirely different cast of characters, they go back and do The Horse and His Boy, my favorite of the books. But I am content, for tonight. Good night!

Enjoy!

So, just in case you’re really out of it, I thought I’d let you know that November is National Novel Writing Month…. which they craftily munged up and made into a wonderful little event called “NaNoWriMo” and the idea, as you may have guessed, is to write a novel in a month. Criteria for adults is 50,000 words, if you make it by the end of the month, you win!

I’ve shied away from doing this in the past, worried about the quality of my writing when written in a short space of time, but this year I’m doing it. Here’s why I hope it will be successful:

1. I used a novel idea I already had stirring in my head for some time, so the big-picture decisions were pretty well made
2. I used the week leading up to November to install a new writing program (since my old one didn’t work on my new laptop and I had been lazy about that), finalize character sketches, scene outlines and setting details, as well as dress up as a witch. Well that last part probably didn’t help my success, but who knows?
3. I know a handful of other writers doing NaNo. I have that silly irrational competitive streak and a little pressure to keep up helps me. though I realize that I’m really in competition with meself.
4. I’m doing all my writing NOT in the family area where my main computer is, but up in my room on my mini-laptop, which is a boring enough place and small enough screen to keep me focused on the words. I wrote my first novel mainly at a coffee shop, but I didn’t want the extra calories or the pocketbook squeeze this round.
5. I’m ignoring the state of my home and children. Okay I can’t really ignore the kids, but I did get a few extra Netflix movies I knew they would like, and so I’m armed if and when I get desperate.
6. This month only requires a ROUGH draft. Not a ready-to-mail shiny piece of work.
7. I’m taking it one day at a time. If, in the end, I don’t have the full amount, I will still rejoice about whatever I do have. He-eyy!

I’m doing NaNo with my daughter, which is fun! If you or someone you know is a minor author (in age, not in value!) then check out the Young Writer’s Program, set your own word count goal, and write, write, write!

Enjoy!

P.S. Fun trivia: I just checked the site, and current stats have Seattle (my region) as second only to the whole of Germany in total word count. And, Seattle is several spots ahead of both LA and NY. Kind of a surprise. Does Seattle have a lot of writers, or just a lot of out-of-work idealists?

See:

Since I mentioned My So-Called Life last post, I thought it’d be fun to review the short-lived TV series that first sparked my passion for storytelling for young people.

I was a big fan of this show when it first aired in 1994, and was devastated when it was pulled after a mere 19 episodes, leaving the romantic storyline forever frozen in a sad cliffhanger. Apparently they were looking for another 90210, when what they got was a non-glamorous, tender, real portrayal of one teen girl’s life, including all the people that surrounded her. The show was neither glitzy nor gritty. It walked the extremely-fine line of averageness — even made it beautiful — so that it has become a treasured favorite of regular-ole people like myself.

I don’t understand how the studios messed this up: when they hired Winnie Holzman — who had worked on The Wonder Years and thirtysomething — to create My So-Called Life, they should have known they’d get something more nuanced and deeper than your average teen drama. I have a favorite scene in the series, where Angela removes her new-looking boots to trade them for a homeless girl’s shoes. It shows her thinking about it, then unlacing and switching the pairs of shoes. Sounds pretty ordinary, doesn’t it? But it was cinematic music… it held the beat just a little long to emphasize something without even saying a word.

So, in case you were too old or too young, or too busy or too male to enjoy it on first run, please go add it to your Netflix queue today. Don’t be afraid of a little flannel and a lot of “like”s and “I mean”s. It’s the Pride and Prejudice of its era, transcending the trends of its day, just as enjoyable today as when it first came out. See the episodes in order, and tell me what you think!

This modern classic gets an unabashed five nods from me:

Not really for kids. Deals with teen issues of sexuality, guns, drugs, so it’s great to see as a teen or with a teen.

Here, I’ll get you started. Enjoy:

I was first introduced to Neil Gaiman — or perhaps I should say, Neil Gaiman’s works — when a full-size cardboard cutout of Claire Danes stared glossily down at me at the movie theater. I hadn’t seen her in a few years, and never satisfyingly since her brilliant role in short-lived TV series My So-Called Life*.

So here she was, dressed head-to-toe in a silver gown with long, silver-blonde hair, obviously starring in a magical story of some sort. Well, I was more than right, as she was playing a LITERAL star, in a quirky fantasy based on the novel Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Check out the movie if you haven’t, you’ll be treated to Robert De Niro in a corset and Michelle Pfieffer with one sagging breast.

I later picked up my first Neil novel of the same title and enjoyed it very much. Technically, I listened to it, and he is an excellent reader of his works, as well. I went on to sample a few more of his works for children, but didn’t get into much of his adult fiction.

Until this past week.

I needed more audio for my trip to Yellowstone, and on the library shelf was Anansi Boys. I was hoping for the flashier, much-talked-about American Gods, but I grabbed Anansi Boys anyway.

I was disappointed when I put in the first CD and realized Neil was not reading this audiobook, but in time I realized that it was perfect having it read by Lenny Henry. His voicing of the Carribean accents was wonderful.

But on the story itself — I get the feeling that this book is not people’s favorite Gaiman story. It’s strange, it’s quirky, it deals with the gods of African tales and ghosts and sweet old-lady witches. I get the feeling there’s been some confusion about where to shelve this book, though it is clearly adult fiction with an adult main character, Fat Charlie. Fat Charlie is leading a kind of ho-hum life, but he loves and wants to marry a sweet girl who insists on him reconnecting with his father for the upcoming wedding. He soon finds out that his father has died, and when he goes to Florida for the funeral he finds out that the father he was always so embarrassed by was actually the trickster god Anansi — the spider.

From there, a major can of spiders is opened when Fat Charlie invites the “brother”** he never knew he had to come visit him. Interspersed in the narrative is the occasional story about Anansi the spider and the other gods, and I have to say, the first one left me and my family roaring… gales of laughter, I tell you. It was then we knew this was a specially-woven fabric of story. It’s not just about one man — though you do cheer for this poor guy by the end — it’s about a bunch of ordinary people experiencing extraordinary things. It ties up neater than a professional gift-wrap at the end, too. I loved it.***

* Note that I don’t  usually link you to some boring summary of media I reference in my reviews… I usually hand-pick a youtube clip that I feel represents it… and so it is, here. So follow them, often! (they open in new windows)

** You’ll see why I quoted “brother” when you read (or hear) the book.

*** I’d say this is a 14 and up read for language and some sexual inferences. Didn’t bother my kids, though.

Family and I are on a wild and crazy trip to Yellowstone National Park this week. Having an absolutely spiffing time!

I keep noticing something, as we see these rather unearthly structures and vegetation and all-around ruggedity. “Wow!” I thinks to meself, “This should be in my next book.”

But the next thought is quite often this: “Hmm, doesn’t this remind me of something?” And in this context, something means some story…

Like the natural hot springs, steam vents and geysers reminded me a bit of the Bog of Eternal Stench from Labyrinth, while the strange fields of low-growing greyish shrubs are obviously snide fields from my favorite Dr. Seuss story.*

So, while I am perhaps not the first writer to want to include Yellowstone’s wonders in my fiction, I’m at least among good friends this week.

Truly, it’s all been done. But never by me, and so I guess I’m okay.**

Enjoy!

* “What was I scared of?” short inside The Sneetches.
** Dark secret about being a writer — you really must have a strong, healthy opinion of yourself to believe that anyone will want to pay money just for the privilege of hearing your lies.