At least try to get it right

I’m talking about research. For one of my future projects I’ll need to research DNA, fertility treatments, shuttle re-entry, earthquakes, the Big Bang, extinction. And that’s just for a start. When shows, movies and books have incorrect information in them and I KNOW it’s wrong, it annoys me. I laughed at the scenes they had in NCIS when they went to Timothy’s publisher/agent. Can’t remember which. But I do remember they got a lot wrong. Ditto for Bones. Of course I’m still unpublished so maybe when I make millions of dollars from my books my publisher will buy me a Rolex or a car. And don’t even get me started on the police investigation/forensic stuff they get wrong in TV shows. Check out The Graveyard Shift for Castle reviews.

My pet peeve is the stripper thing. I’ve read ONE book that got it right. There are a surprising number of books out there that include strippers at some point. I knew the stereotypes for strippers and strip clubs. Before I worked in one (as a bartender) I believed them all. But you might be surprised at how they actually work. And the strip clubs where men take off their clothes are WAY worse than the ones where women take off their clothes.

You have to do research even if you write short stories. Who knew? Certainly not me. But then I got an idea for a short story and I can’t write it without researching – of all things – spiders. Shudder. On my short mystery loop someone was asking research questions about guns. Yay for wanting to get the facts right!

I love it when authors at least try to get it right. I know of many writers who have taken citizen police academy classes (me included) so they can get the crime stuff right. Yes, they’ll tweak things for the sake of the story. They might change something because they need to for a plot point or to help with the pacing. When they do that though I like to know at the beginning. A little note from the author saying they changed certain things for the sake of the story is all that’s needed.

So the next time you put something in your book where someone could go – Wait a minute, that’s not how it is – please, please, please research it first. And for anyone thinking of putting a stripper in their book, please do me and my walls a favour and don’t just talk to people who have been to strip joints. Actually go to one and see how it works. You might be surprised.

Off to work.

Until next time…

Cindy

Brilliant TV

Did usual errands on the weekend. Went to Canadian Tire to pick up bookcases for the library. Went to IKEA to pick up DVD cases for the living room. Grocery shopping so we’d have the necessary ingredients for dinners for the week.

Then we settled in on some television watching. I’ve always been a TV snob but for the wrong reasons. Before it was for the production value. I love being Canadian but I hated Canadian TV. Until Flashpoint and The Border. Those were good shows and didn’t look typically Canadian unless there was a shot of the CN Tower. But now I’m a TV snob for good writing. Not just good. Brilliant. British TV is the absolute best. We’ve been watching an old show called Jonathan Creek. Love it. It kind of reminds me of Murder, She Wrote only WAY better. And it’s not so hard to believe he’d be looking into the murders in the episodes. I love a good murder mystery. And these are really good.

We watched more episodes of Merlin. Love that too. I’ve always loved historicals. And King Arthur and Camelot have always intrigued me. Of course this is before Arthur is king. I’m loving it so far and my only complaint is that we don’t get the episodes here at the same time as they air in the UK.

Next up was a new show. Sherlock. All I can say for that one is BRILLIANT! The Sherlock character is great. I love the characterization. I love the dialogue. I love the interaction between Holmes and Dr. Watson. I’m so glad there’s going to be more of that show.

And of course we can’t forget Doctor Who. Amazing show. I can’t wait for that to come back. As with all the other shows my one complaint is we don’t get it here right away. I just hope we don’t end up months behind like we’ve been in the past.

Because of the boyfriend I’ve been watching a lot of British TV. And I have to say most of it is really, really good. The dramas, the comedies. Great television.

I’m off to work now. Can’t wait to see what we’ll be watching tonight.

Until next time…

Cindy

The poison dress

So it’s Friday, end of the work week and I was digging through the clothes looking for something clean to wear. Must do laundry this weekend. That prompted me to remember the urban legend of the poison dress. You know the one I’m talking about. It’s even been an episode of CSI: NY.

The story goes that a girl wears a new dress to a dance. During the evening she feels faint several times and gets her escort to take her outside for fresh air. Sometime later in the evening she becomes very ill and dies in the bathroom. Later investigation reveals the dress came from a deceased girl. The dress had been removed from the body just before burial. The formaldehyde from the dead girl seeped into the dress and then the girl at the party.

In the CSI: NY episode it was a wedding dress. And I think a man actually died first because he was wearing a suit stolen from a dead guy. I think it was also on Urban Legends (love that show) Of course the legend has been proven not to be true. But it did give me ideas for stories.

Well, this was really late and now it’s time for bed. Next week’s posts should be on time.

Until next time…

Cindy

Halfway there

I know this post is really late. It’s been a crazy day. Appointment, work, pick up new laptop, writing meeting. The day just kind of got away from me. I bought a new laptop yesterday and picked it up today. I love getting new toys! But this is not about that. This post is about me being halfway to the finishing line for my current novel!

I finally got all of my random scenes (aka the Nano mess) into my Write It Now software. I also inserted all the chapters I had already written when I was writing in order. I moved stuff around. Figured out what chapters the random scenes needed to go into. Created some new chapters. Chapter ten is currently only two paragraphs so that one will need some work. I was so happy it was finally all there. But then I needed to compile it into one document complete with page numbers and chapter breaks so I could see what I actually had.

I printed up the document yesterday and was pleased to see I had 207 pages. So I’m more than half finished. Now I need to add about 40,000 words. First, I need to read those pages and see where the gaping holes are in the story. I had a writing meeting last night where we discussed my book and I realized by their questions there are things I need to address in the book that I haven’t. I actually can’t wait to go through and read what I have. I can’t wait to fill in the holes and finish this sucker so I can start on the next book.

The reading will have to wait though. It’s past my bed time.

Until next time…

Cindy

Movie night

Okay so it was more like movie weekend. Four movies in two days. Saturday we took a break and did some more Hell’s Kitchen catching up. I had the house to myself Friday night so I decided to watch Twilight to see what all the fuss is about. And honestly I still don’t know.

After suffering through the whole movie I decided there was nothing remarkable about it. Nothing really new when it came to the vampire mythology except the whole sparkling thing. The story was predictable. It was over acted. The dialogue was horrible. Even though I can’t see what all the fuss is about I can see why teenage girls would like it. The movie (and I’m assuming the book) tapped into all those teenage girl fantasies. But there was so much about the story I just didn’t buy. I won’t be reading the books and I doubt I’ll be seeing any of the other movies. Somehow though I don’t think Stephanie Meyer needs my help. I’m sure she’s laughing all the way to the bank.

Next up on Friday was Paranormal Activity. I wanted to know what all the fuss was there too. And, I still don’t know. I was waiting for something scary to happen. And I kept waiting. It started off slow. They tried to quicken the pace but it never quite worked for me. The whole movie had maybe two actual scary moments. And of course the little message on the screen at the end didn’t have any shock value for me since I’ve seen the trailers for Paranormal Activity 2.

Sunday brought us Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. Loved it! It was well written, funny. I love science fiction. I love time travel. It didn’t feel like a time travel movie I’d seen a million times before. And I would probably watch it again.

Last up for the weekend was The Men Who Stare at Goats. Hmmm. Weird movie. It wasn’t overly bad. But it wasn’t overly good either. It was just okay. I think it could have been a lot better than it was. Of course I feel that way about most movies I watch.

Well, off to work. It’s going to be a crazy, busy week.

Until next time…

Cindy

Gargoyles

I don’t know what it is about them but I love gargoyles. Back in the GEnie days (anyone who was a member will know what that is) there was a writer on the critique boards who was writing about a gargoyle. I always remembered that story and wondered what became of it. I remember the gargoyle and a helicopter. Or maybe it was the cartoon in the early 90s. I loved that show. I loved the Star Trek: The Next Generation voices in it too. I loved the idea of these medieval gargoyles coming alive at night to protect New York. How can you not be drawn in by the tagline? One thousand years ago superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles.

Gargoyles have been around for a long time. A very long time. They can be traced back to ancient Egypt and Rome. But they are more commonly associated with the middle ages as well as gothic architecture. The gargoyle is actually the hollowed out stone carved grotesque used as a water spout. The carvings not used as a water spout are simply called grotesques. Commonly found standing guard on top of churches, they were believed to ward off evil. So how could they ward off evil? Well, they’re hideous and can frighten off almost anything. They come alive at night and can protect you while you’re sleeping. They return to their perch when the sun comes up so no one is the wiser.

I like some of the guesses for the origin of gargoyles on the Gargoyle Etymology & History page. The rainwater plumbing is practical. But some of my favourites include the idea that they were carved out of mischief, retribution for not paying the stone carver, caricatures of local townspeople.

I’m not going to go into all the history, religious and architectural. There’s way too much out there for this little post. But check out some of the links from the post is you want to know more. Looking into gargoyles has nudged my muse and got the creative juices flowing. Not that my muse needed any help of course. I already have enough to write about. But now I’m thinking there might be a gargoyle story in my future.

Well, off to get some work done.

Until next time…

Cindy