MELODRAMA

Melodrama is the stuff of old movies, old stage plays, and many old romance novels.

It's hard, sometimes to spot it in my own writing, but for some reason, it screams out to me in my clients' work. And not in a good way. Why does it matter? Don't we all know what the back of a hand on the forehead means? Is it not relatable. No, frankly it isn't.

Do you ever watch old movies? Can you picture Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Mae West, Joan Crawford, and Ronald Reagan (just checking to see if you are still reading) swooning or opening their mouths in perfect circles, eyes bulging?  Isn't it somewhat laughable today to think they were expected to overact like that?  But that was how they made things bigger than life to excite the viewers.

 

Now it is authenticity that draws viewers in. Think of Nicole Kidman or Meryl Streep at their best. We can see numerous emotions cross their faces in a matter of minutes as something dawns on them. It is often the music itself that sounds melodramatic or old school. To see an amazing example. Watch this clip from Birth, beginning at 1:50.  You'll see so many emotions cross Kidman's face. Can you even count them?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpJj9c2OV-0

Incredible right? It didn't take exaggerated emotions to get the ah-ha moment across. Her revelation appeared much more like it would in real life if a boy was claiming to be her reincarnated husband (especially her old beau Tom Cruise)... only to end up being true.

Next time your character wants to express undying love, fear, surprise or any number of other emotions, instead of making the dialogue big and unrealistic, use the words or feelings that your character would really have. Method act on the page.

 

Do the hand on forehead test and say the lines.  Do you feel like you are in a soap opera? If so, make the emotion come from the inside, from real dialogue, real narrative. Let it arise out of your Point of View. And give us the real thing.   Good Writing! - From the Inkpot

     

Secondary Characters visit Catherine Hamrick's Blog

By way of my guest post on her quite popular blog, I'd like to introduce you to Catherine Hamrick.  She's one of those rare writers who take your breath away, even before it's captured by one of the big publishers. I describe her writing as Haven Kimmel if she wrote from the South.  She's not only a seasoned editor and writer, she's an accomplished cook and a keen observer of culture and the beauty of down-home folks. What more is there in this world?  Riding on her coattails, I selfishly hope others will read my post.

I'm honored she featured me and doubly honored that she calls me a "Triple-Threat-Talent..." Wow, figured I had to use that description in a post of my own!

http://randomstoryteller.com/2015/09/05/pump-up-your-secondary-characters/#respond

Do come, read up on my take on Secondary Characters, then tool around on Catherine's site.  She has an eclectic blog; no doubt you'll find something there that will fascinate you. 

What’s platform?

I have no book out in my own name yet, after 26 years of writing, but I've explored many other realms, gone on many tangents. I've taught in a variety of venues, published short fiction, poetry, articles, and essays. I've gotten paid to blog, done work-for-hire screenwriting, ghostwritten, have been super involved in a variety of social media - general and on my topics. I've professionally edited / midwifed many books and scripts and shorts and...  All those endeavors have put bricks in my "Platform." What is platform?  Frank Dorchak's recent post about platform made me think on the subject.

And this is my thought on it -- this week.


Maybe this isn't flattering, but platform seems to be a modest way of saying pedestal, as in: put you on a pedestal... look up to… find admiration enough to buy your product. At least that’s one way to look at it… the higher your pedestal, the more people will see you. The more people see you, the more people will likely buy your product. Getting yourself up on that platform is said to be one key to success now.  I'm building one hell of one!   - Inky

 

 

 

Congratulations to Runners Up Joan Johnston and Cindy Myers. 

And a whopper of a congratulations to the RMFW Writer of the Year Susan Spann.

We had a great time at the BookBar!

Fun seeing everyone who could attend.  Quite a crowd!

Ghostwriting - Caution

Cautionary tale from one who has taken the ride.

Today I got word from my attorney that my celebrity collaborator on a ghostwriting project has an attorney that doesn't respond.  Things went sour thanks to a betraying agent WHO I BOUGHT IN ON THE PROJECT.  She wanted said celebrity to push me off the project so she could put another "more seasoned" ghostwriter in my place.  I was not an employee, I was a collaborator.  I didn't cooperate in my own ousting.   I may name the top agent sometime in the future, but for now I'm being discreet.

Helping others tell their stories can be fun, advance your skills at interviewing and delving deep into POV, give you the opportunity to midwife great stories.  It can also be lucrative.  But beware of the pitfalls.

http://btsemag.com/editorials/karens-writing-detours-july-2015/

I write a column for BTS Book Reviews and coincidentally the disappointing
call from my attorney happened on the first day of my ghostwriting series.  Instead of earning a sizeable amount of money (as per my contract), I'll end up going in the hole for my attorney's retainer, my travels to the celebrity for interviews, rental car, etc.  Not to mention my lack of income as I turned down new editing clients. 

It was a writing debacle and a lesson learned.  But perhaps a subject for a book I can write in the future.  The question is, do I write it as nonfiction from my perspective going into a very big project and having it yanked away from me through interference with a contract?  Or do I write it as a murder mystery and leave some blood behind on the page. 

A question to ponder. 

You can see the list of all the subjects I cover on my BTS teaser page:
http://btsemag.com/editorials/category/columns/writing-detours/

-  Inkpot

 

Friends of the CU Libraries, Just Desserts presents Shannon Baker!

Authors Speak about Howard Fogg's WWII and Art Careers

Thank you again, one and all, for the invitation to speak, for attending, and for the terrific articles about Howard!

May 6, 2015 Left Hand Valley Courier:

April 22, 2015 Left Hand Valley Courier:  Howard Fogg's Railroad Painting Career Remembered