Movie Cave - Insidious Chapter 2

As in true fashion, the critics didn't like it so much and I loved it.  It's the perfect sequal.  I'll admit that it's not as scary as the first movie, but there are still plenty of jumps and screams.  A movie like this needs to be seen with others in the theater to make it even more enjoyable.  Chapter 2 gives us some back story for both the good guys and the bad guys that we didn't get in the first installment.  The family is still dealing with everything they went through.  The emotions and the characterization are real and you will cheer for the family to get out of this nightmare. James Wan is perhaps the best horror director working at the moment and some of the most chilling parts are due to his keen directing.  Wan also teamed up with the original writer, Leigh Whannell, which is why the characters are in depth and true to their original characterization.  Thankfully, the story doesn't take off on some tangent from the brains of another writer.  The one thing I did miss was the demon from the first one.  I don't think you can have such a strong, spiritual evil as portrayed in this movie without demonic influence.  To sum it up, if you go in expecting this to be better than the first movie, you will be disappointed.  If you go in with an attitude of, "Okay, let's see what you've got."  You will enjoy this movie.  I give it 4 out of 5 bats.

Movie Cave Review: You're Next



I'm going to post movie reviews from my movie cave.  Here's a thing about me and the movies.  If the critics like the movie, chances are that I won't like it.  If the critics hate the movie, chances are that I will like it.  I don't know why that is.  As with any form of art, a lot is a matter of taste.  That being said, reviews will be based on my take on the movie.  Take it with a grain of salt.  Please respond with your own opinion of the movie.  I try hard not to give spoilers, so please don't give any in your comments or they will be deleted.  A person can only see so many movies at the theatre, the rest of the time we have to wait months for the DVD/Blue-ray release.

You’re Next looks like an intriguing movie from the previews.  A family comes together for a weekend in a secluded country home when they are attacked by people wearing animal masks.  That’s about where the intrigue stops.  Once the movie opens, you realize this is a B level movie with substandard acting.  The plot doesn’t quite make sense with how the people react to the deaths of loved ones and the terrors that surround them.  There is definitely a problem when the audience moans at yet another act of stupidity from the characters.  One redeeming part of the movie is that you do find yourself cheering for the hero/heroine.  The problem is that you’re not sure who that is until about halfway into the movie.  The movie serves as a platform for splatter scenes of flat characters that need more development for us to care about them.   Don’t waste your time and money on this one.  Save it for the Blue-ray when all of the movies you want to rent are checked out.  This movie gets 2 bats out 5. 

 

 

 

A Dirge for the Malice Coming Soon

 

I'm amping up for the October release of my debut novel A Dirge for the Malice.  The story is set in my hometown of Science Hill, Kentucky.  The first half of the book centers around a group of friends and their adventures on Halloween night 1987.  The second half of the book has them dealing with the consequences of invoking a witch's curse. 

 

To the right is a picture of the back cover of the novel.  I'm reading through the digital proof right now and I just received an email this morning that my hard copy proofs have shipped.  Once I go through those and make the appropriate changes (let's hope there aren't many), the book will be ready for the public.  On a personal note, let me say that I really enjoy this novel.  Even though I've been through it many times now, I still laugh at some of the things that happen and I feel the tension the characters feel as they try to overturn the curse.  I labeled the book as horror, because there really wasn't anything else to call it.  It reads more like a piece of Southern fiction with dark twists along the way.  Horror is my genre of choice, but there is a lot in this novel to appeal to most people, except for those looking for romance elements.  It's written from a 19 year old male's point of view.  So, you can guess where the "romance" lies with him and his friends.

James A Michener Insights 4

from The World is My Home: A Memoir by James A Michener

“For whom did I write as I sat night after night fighting the mosquitoes with those little bombs of insecticide the Navy gave us and pecking out my stories on the typewriter? Not the general public, whom I did not care to impress; not the custodians of literature, about whom I knew little; and certainly not posterity, a concept that simply never entered my mind. I wrote primarily for myself, to record the reality of World War II, and for the young men and women who lived it” (266).

Who do you write for? Who is the audience in the back of your mind as you weave your tale? Is it family? friends? colleagues? the literary world? God? yourself? The list could go on and on. This really is a loaded question, because the answer to it determines your goals and aspirations. If you’re writing for other people, you may never find success. People are fickle. What they like today, they discard tomorrow. If your goal is to please God and yourself, then you will find more satisfaction as a writer. And if other people also enjoy what you have written, then that is just cherries on top of the sundae. Don’t try to please others to the point where you lose yourself and your purpose. Write what is in your heart to write.

James A Michener Insights 3

from The World is My Home: A Memoir by James A Michener

The next paragraph that I want to discuss has two major points. So I’ll discuss one today and one tomorrow.

“What I did was what I would do in all my later books: create an ambience that would both entertain and instruct the reader, invent characters who were as real as I could make them, and give them only such heroics as I myself had experienced or found credible” (266).

What does he mean by ambience? Ambience refers to the atmosphere of a setting. It has to do with the environment and the vibe it gives off. Every story must have a credible setting that puts readers into that scene. If you’re at the ocean, then let the readers hear the water break upon the beach, smell the salt-filled hear, and feel the hot sand beneath their feet.

Characters should always be real. Real people have faults and hurts and joy and goals and a host of other things. People are not one dimensional. Characters in a story should be well rounded and readers should be able to relate to them. Why is Spiderman more popular than Superman today? Because we can relate to Spiderman. We understand that being a hero is a curse for him. We understand that he must deny some of the things that he wants just so he can be this hero. Who can relate to Superman? Nothing can stop him, except kryptonite, which is some rock from outer space. Superman has no other fear. He has no faults. He is perfect and is therefore unrealistic.

The heroics part is completely up to you. It depends on the purpose of your story. If your hero needs to discover the ark of the covenant and beat the Nazis while he’s at it, then more power to you. The story calls for it. But if your story is a real life tale, which is what Michener wrote, then your stories have to be real. Stories don’t have to be fantastical to be great, but they do have to be real.

James A. Michener Insights 2

from The World is My Home: A Memoir by James A Michener

“But at nine-thirty each night I would repair to my darkened Quonset hut, light a smelly lantern . . . and sit at my typewriter, pecking out with two fingers the stories I had accumulated as I traveled the Pacific” (166).

If you want to be a great writer, you have to have some type of writing routine. It may not seem like a lot to write, let’s say, two hours a day. Do that for five days a week and you have 10 hours at the end of the week. At the end of the month you have worked 40 hours on your writing. You can get a lot done in 40 hours. No matter your schedule, the important point is that you write. Write as often and as much as you can. Some days will go better than others, but that’s okay. That’s part of the process.

James A. Michener Insights 1

from The World is My Home: A Memoir by James A Michener


“Years from now the men who complain most loudly out here will want to explain to others what it was like. I’m sure of it, so I’m going to write down as simply and honestly as I can what it was really like. And then I reassured myself: No one knows the Pacific better than I do; no one can tell the story more accurately” (165).

Be confident in the stories you write. If what you are writing is something that you must write, something that is deep in your soul, then be confident that you are the one to write it and that no one can write it as well as you can. This is why it’s important to be true to yourself. Write what you know - to a certain extent. Write what you like to read and what you want to write. Don’t write what the world expects you to write. You have to write what is in your heart, what is buried in your soul. Only you know what that is, and only you can write it most accurately.

Wisdom of Sherwood Anderson 4

“Anderson’s own assessment of his early writings was that they were too much the product of his reading, that he had ‘come to novel writing through novel reading’” (67-68).

To be a good writer, you have to read. But reading can also be dangerous to the writer. You don’t want to imitate your favorite writers too much. You are the only you there is. You have a distinct voice that God gave you and that only you can provide to the world. You are short-changing yourself if you’re trying to be the next Stephanie Meyers, or John Grisham, or Stephen King, or J.K. Rowling. You have to be yourself. You have to use the talent and skills that God gave you and that you have worked to develop. The world needs your voice, your style, your view of life. Don’t lessen yourself by becoming a cheap imitation.

As a writer, when you read you are learning how to write. How does the writer move from scene to scene? When does the author use dialogue and when does he/she summarize? How does the author show and not tell? How is the character developed? How is the scene set? These are just examples. You’re not looking to copy them point by point, but you’re learning how to write, how to make your own style better. You need to know your own weaknesses and read authors who are strong in those aspects. Description is a weak part of my writing. And I hate reading long descriptions, but I have to if I’m to learn how to write those descriptions. If I don’t want to write descriptions, then I just need to stick with drama. I also read popular writers who aren’t that good at description, but I see how they work it out as well.

Read to learn - not to imitate.

Wisdom of Sherwood Anderson 3

“He wrote versions of two novels, perhaps drafts of two others, and incalculable amounts - pages, reflections, dialogues, descriptions, notes - that cannot be categorized or retrieved” (65).

Not everything you write is for the public’s eye. You save the best of your best for that. What is important is that you are writing. Write what is on your heart. Write a much and as often as possible. Let me use this analogy. Let’s say you’re a baseball player and you want to make the major leagues. Can you do that if you never play? Of course not. You have to work at your game, getting better, working on weak aspects of your game. And you’re always up to play. You don’t get better by watching TV while other major league hopefuls are out there working at their game. You have to get out there and do whatever it takes to make yourself better. Don’t beat yourself up because every at bat doesn’t turn into a home run. Sometimes you have to strike out, so you can learn what to change for your next at bat.

Wisdom of Sherwood Anderson 2

“When (Sherwood Anderson) felt he could steal the time, he wrote at the office. In his room at home he acted out his life and sat in silence, but he spent most of his time there - often most of the night - writing” (65).

To be a writer, you have to write. That’s all there is to it. You can’t spend all of your time watching TV, playing video games, or hanging out with friends. You have to write. And if you’re serious about it, you will write every time you have a chance to do it. There are way too many things that can get in your way. Even our own procrastination will get in our way. Sometimes, we just don’t feel like writing. We like to use the excuse of writer’s block. If you’re blocked on one story, work on another one. Anderson wrote all types of things.

Wisdom of Sherwood Anderson 1

I’ve been reading Sherwood Anderson, a Biography, by Kim Townsend. I always try to glean as much wisdom about the writing life as possible. And I was able to glean some words of wisdom from Anderson’s life.

“Anderson had been writing for years, and about himself, but a few years after he arrived in Elyria, he began to do so in order to bring himself into being. . . . Beginning in Elyria, he wrote in order to put one life aside and to discover another. Writing, he later said, was ‘curative’; it helped him face himself, to talk to himself. Reaching others with his writing, even the writing itself, these things were secondary. What mattered was that putting words down on paper enabled him to live. He would give up anything to be able to do it, lose it all - his business, his family, what was left of his sanity if need be. Nor would he pause to consider others’ feelings. . . . writing was his only salvation” (65).

First, let me say that I don’t think writing should be such an extreme effort as Anderson undertook. There needs to be balance in your life. And with that, God should be first, then family. If writing is before either of those, forget about it. You will live a miserable life. Is it no wonder that so many writers turn out to be alcoholics?

Now, on to my points. A true writer can’t help but write. It’s a part of who we are. As a writer, if you don’t write, you cease to exist (or at least you feel that way). Publishing is secondary to the true artist, because an artist will continue to create his/her art, no matter if the public likes it or not. We’re told today that we have to do this and do that; we have to create a platform; we have to have a resume for why we wrote this book. What happened to just letting an artist be an artist and writing what he/she feels the need to write. Sure, it helps to write what others want to read. But should a writer sell out? I say no, but let me write a couple of best sellers and I might change my mind.

I guess it goes back to why a person writes to begin with. Is he/she doing it for the money or because it’s a part of them and have no choice? That is where the real issue lies. I have always been a writer. As a kid I wrote stories on my lined paper that was supposed to teach me how to form my letters the correct way. In high school a creative assignment would turn into a ten page tale with all of the pieces of a great tale. In high school I started writing poetry that was disguised as song lyrics. As a kid I wrote plays that were performed in my backyard and at church. A writer is who I am and if I never published a word, I would still write.

Word from Matthew Pearl, author of The Last Dickens

Dear friends,

 

My novel THE LAST DICKENS (Random House) is out in paperback today in the US and Canada! If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, this is a great time to show booksellers support for the book at your local store or online. (You can order at www.matthewpearl.com/dickens/order.html)

 

If you already have the hardcover, I hope you'll consider picking up the paperback as a gift for someone, and do pass along this email to anyone who might be interested. There is a Readers' Guide in the back of the paperback perfect for book clubs. Your support for the books, as always, means everything.

 

THE LAST DICKENS, a National Bestseller and an Editor's Choice by the New York Times Book Review, is a literary thriller that begins when Dickens's sudden death leaves his final mystery novel unfinished. His young American publisher James Osgood sets out on a quest from Boston to England to discover how Dickens's novel was going to end, unleashing a real-life puzzle that becomes a matter of life and death. Lots more at www.MATTHEWPEARL.com! A companion volume is also out today: a new edition of Charles Dickens's THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD from Modern Library for which I wrote an introduction and served as editor (more at www.matthewpearl.com/dickens/edwin.html)

 

If you're in New England, come celebrate the publication of the paperback of THE LAST DICKENS with me at the Westford Library in Westford, MA on October 8 and the Peabody Institute Library of Danvers, MA on November 9, as well as at the first literary luncheon for Literary Matters in Old Greenwich, CT on October 27. I will be honoring the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe's death by speaking about THE POE SHADOW in Attleboro, MA on October 7. After this summer's trips to Italy and Spain, I'll continue talking about THE LAST DICKENS in translation when I go to Guadalajara, Mexico at the end of November. I will also be in the Plano, TX area (October 14-16) and Irving, TX (October 20) for speaking events about THE POE SHADOW, and will be back in Texas at the end of April/early May when I go to Mansfield, where THE LAST DICKENS will be the city's Book in Common. Details on all of these events and others as they're added at www.matthewpearl.com/news.html ... Because I don't like to clutter inboxes, I only send emails for book publications or events in your area, so check my site for other updates.

 

Please register and join in the conversation about THE LAST DICKENS at my LibraryThing chat (http://www.librarything.com/topic/74513), where I'm answering questions, and at the full-blown book club discussion at SeniorLearn (http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=840.0), where they are reading the novel section by section and I'm giving my two cents where I can. Plus, I've been blogging! I post my entries--about my books, writing in general and literary history--simultaneously at my Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthew-Pearl-author/29977879540) and MySpace pages (http://www.myspace.com/quentinclark), so please join one of those and chime in on anything that interests you. You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MatthewPearl

 

Looking for more reading choices? See below for my latest recommendations.

 

Happy autumn,

 

Matthew

 

Back to School This Week

As I look at going back to school this week, I am forced to ponder all of the things I did and didn't accomplish this summer. I guess the biggest frustration is not finishing one of the novels that I set out to complete or finish the typing on some other works. I have been writing a lot as of late and actually have quite a bit done on a novel I hadn't planned to start until the fall. I have come to realize that the key for me is to have a routine and carved out times to write. During the summer, I had so much free time that I didn't focus my energies on my writing. It seems that when I get back into the teacher mode and have less time, I am more focused and get a lot more done. I also think I am inspired more by talking about writing with my students and studying some of the great pieces of literature. So, I am excited about the new school year, working with new students, and getting my writing back on track.

Jubilee Days

Today is our town's celebration called Jubilee Days. This will be the first time we've been able to go in a couple of years, because we are usually out with my wife's family for the weekend. We had that weekend last week, so we will be able to share in the communities celebration. It's always good to get out and talk with friends and just say, "Hi," to those we haven't seen over the summer. Who know how many story ideas are lurking around the corner?

Reflection on our History Trip to the Greenville, Ohio Area

As a writer, everything become grist for the mill. You pour as much knowledge as you can into your head so you can use that knowledge to make your writing better. To write historical pieces, you need to see it , experience it, and see the interlocked connections of culture, environment, and history. There are stories on every corner, and when you are learning about the past, or experiencing new places, you have added to that great filing cabinet in your head. As I’ve said before, you need to take advantage of the historical places around you and learn as much as possible. Use that knowledge to create more in-depth works. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my trip into Greenville, Ohio. It’s a time the kids and I will not soon forget and hopefully, it will encourage you to get out and expand your knowledge.

Early Days in Western Ohio

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about all of the sights we visited, but there’s one more thing I want to say about the Garst Museum. The museum also took the history back to ice age times. There was even the fossils of a mastedon. I had Kaleb pose by them just to show how big the mastedon’s jaw was.

The following is from a pamphlet provided by the museum:
The first people here were nomadic hunters called Paleo-Indians who left flint spear points and tools. Glaciers receded and the climate warmed as people of the Archaic Tradition settled more, cultivated plants, ground seeds and invented the atlatl. Glacial Kame Indians had complex funeral ceremonies and more extensive trade.

I know there have been some novels written about this time period, but it’s neat to actually see the artifacts from that time period. There are two series that come to mind: North America's Forgotten Past series by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'neal Gear and The First Americans series by William Sarabande.

Lowell Thomas

Until visiting the Garst Museum in Greenville, Ohio, I had never heard of Lowell Thomas. And on top of that, I always thought Lawrence of Arabia was a fictional person. Boy was I wrong.

I even had my picture taken next to a manaquin of Lawrence of Arabia because I felt so ignorant about this great man. Lowell Thomas was great himself. You can get a glimpse of his life at the Radio Hall of Fame. On another interesting note, if you've seen the movie Public Enemies, Lowell Thomas is the guy on the radio. I believe it's the actually audio of Thomas' broadcasts about Dellinger.

Annie Oakley

Also in our visit to Darke County, Ohio, we visited the Garst Museum. The museum had an entire section devoted to its hometown hero Annie Oakley. There were all types of artifacts from her life, even down to her chinaware and nightgown. There were guns that she had used and many publicity posters from the Wild West Show. There was also a case of Annie Oakley-inspired memorablilia. I was surprised at all of the books, even modern books, that featured Annie. It amazes me how writers can find so much to write about with these historical figures and when that wasn’t enough, they could bring that character into modern times and create all new adventures.

Homesteading in Ohio

Also at the Shawnee Nature Center is a log cabin, much like what would have been here in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. See yesterday's post for a picture I took from the wetlands to show what kind of work the homesteaders had in front of them.

These people had to tame the land as they made a living as best they could under tough circumstances. It was a life that was hard and very far removed from our ways of life today.

The Wetlands

Western Ohio actually marks the beginning of the prairies that extend all of the way to the Rockies. This early part of the prairies was a slow transition from the eastern woodlands, so most of the time the land was swampy and very hard to homestead. Pioneers really had to battle the land to cut out fields and homes. One spot at the Shawnee Nature Center gave information about the plants and how because of the wet grounds, the plants had roots that dug very deep into the ground. So, as a homesteader, it would be very difficult to pull up and cut up those deep rooted plants.

The pictures I’ve included yesterday and today show what this wetland would have looked like. It’s easy to look at this place and envision all of the animals that would have filled this area. I also see the homesteaders trying to tame this land and make it a place to raise a family and make a living in this new land of the free.