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Ode to Woody Allen

Posted on Aug 10th, 2008 by Kaius Maximus : muse Kaius Maximus
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So........  

Last night I went to the Director's Guild to see the pre-release of Woody Allen's new movie, Vicky-Christina-Barcelona. My friend Johnny and I got the last two seats in their gi-normous theatre, and MGM's lion roared the instant we sat down to start the show.  

Now, I have to admit that Matchpoint and Radio Days are two of my favorite films of all times. But that said, I think Woody has also done a few of my least favorite films of all times, like Celebrity. So I didn't get my hopes up. But, I have to say, the entire audience was rolling like the waves of the North Sea all through the show. Not only was this the best Woody Allen I have EVER seen, but maybe even one of the best films I have ever seen. I thought I might piss myself. I guarantee that in your own life you know at least two of the four main characters personally. Or maybe you dated one. Or possibly have one in your family. Lordy. God save you if it's Juan Antonio.  

Woody tackles the two extreme polarities of love leaving nothing in between.... Love: passionate, unpredicatble, and destructive...... and Love: stable, sensible and well, vanilla.  

Javier Bardem plays the irresistable Spanish artist (he was the serial killer in No Country for Old Men). Co-starring Scarlet Johansen and Penelope Cruz who out sizzled everyone else in the film.  

Oddly enough, I think this breaks the bounds of comedy in that none of the actors are even remotely funny. They all play it straight. But the lines, and the moments, and the story are just hysterical.  

There are about 10 very quotable and memorable lines in the film. We laughed for hours afterward remembering them. My favorite being:  

"But I still don't understand what your language teacher was doing with a gun."  

Go see it. Maybe I'll see you there, cause I'll definitely see it again.
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Novel writing tip #1: resolve to deepen your characters

Posted on Aug 15th, 2008 by Kaius Maximus : muse Kaius Maximus
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I always feel disappointed when I encounter two dimensional characters in fiction.  I can see the writer's lack of awareness immediately.  A character, when fully formed, simply resonates.  Like a fine wine, the more layers, the more intricacies of interacting subtleties, the better.  That's not to say every character should be complex, yet even the most simple characters will benefit from the following technique.

Whenever I encounter a new character, I immediately switch to writing a character history.  If the character appears at age 14, this takes a little less time than if the character appears at age 65 (or 425 if you write about immortals.)  I literally put my book on hold and pull out a spiral notebook.

The technique:

Step one:  Write the character's full name at the top.  You can add relatives if you like.

Step two:  establish his/her zodiac sign.  This is important.  Even if you don't speak astrology, learning this for your writing will be something you lean on time and time again.  A character that is a fire sign has different traits than a water sign.  A scorpio is not a leo.  Not even remotely.  To know that scorpios are extremely private people is different than your center stage leo who craves the spotlight.  If you get into it, you can give your character a rising, sun, and moon sign.

Step three:  the wound.  Villains and heroes both have wounds, they simply handle them differently.  In my first book I have a strong supporting hero whose first wife had died.  He was madly in love with her.  He was twenty five at the time, but in my novel we meet him at age 72.  If I didn't do his history, I would never have known this about him.  Villains often act out on their wounds, but it is imperative to know them nonetheless.  Then they become human, and you start to feel for them in a many layered way, like say, for Hannibal Lecter, a very well-formed villain.

Step four:  Write the history, and start with birth.

What will begin to appear is the psychology of each character in depth.  You will understand who they are on levels that far exceed your work.  And then you can pepper in this back story in your work in ways that give the reader the sense of your character's fullness.

I almost never use more than 5% of a character's history in the novel.  My first novel has 8 major players, and a number of minors.  I need each character to be as resonant as possible.  Even my cook, Jamir, has a history that matters, knowing that he was born in Antioch and sold as a slave gives him deep emotional connection to an incidence that happens in the city of Alexandria years later.  The reader can feel it without knowing why.

Currently, I am re-writing the history of my character Alizar, the Gnostic alchemist of my first book, for the second.  I actually wrote his history 7 years ago, but the book is missing.  I saw it a few weeks ago, but now I can't find where.  I suppose the shelf elves have stolen it.  No matter.  I can discover more detail by doing it again.  Today I learned his mother was a midwife, and so as a boy brought him to all the births she attended, and so later in life, he always had a profound respect for women, and never could bring himself to visit the brothels like his fellows.  I cannot think to write the next novel until his thorough history is complete.

And let me warn you, I can spot an undeveloped character a mile off.  Undeveloped characters wreak of amateurism.  If you rush ahead with your characters, you will disappoint your reader without knowing it.  They will seek another book to read without even knowing why yours let them down.

Character is fate.  Once you have character, you have story.  But character first and foremost.  Story is actually second.  If you have a great plot, but readers don't care who it's happening to...... uh oh.  But if you have no plot and an amazing character everyone is in love with, well, just look at half of Cary Grant's enduring movies.

I wish you luck with this technique.  Be patient and willing to discover.  Go slowly.  Even if you don't write novels, it's a fun exercise to create a character.

Good luck!

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Open letter to Stephanie Meyer --author of the Twilight Saga

Posted on Aug 27th, 2008 by Kaius Maximus : muse Kaius Maximus
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Dear Mrs. Meyer,

As a novelist myself and avid reader, I was intrigued to discover your Twilight Saga for teens, and, always one to be curious where energy in our culture is flowing, I was excited to check it out.

But I was just as quickly disappointed.

First let me say that your characters are fabulous.  They are alive in a very real way.  This is certainly an accomplishment, and not one to be overlooked as so many books today are lacking in characters that hold our attention in any lasting way.  Also, yours is a book of feelings.  Feelings of desire, longing, hope, sorrow, and loneliness..... the full gamut of the most private aspects of our human experience, throbbing on every page.

But I must be honest with you, and say that I have sincere concern about your protagonist, Bella, and the example she is setting for young teenage girls about what is truly important in life.  

Bella is quirky, beautiful, intelligent, insightful (very), and honest..... but the only interest she has in life is Edward.  She has no talent for anything at all, not sports, music, writing, ANYTHING, other than creating a romance with a rather unavailable boy.... Oh, and becoming a vampire.  But that's just so she can be with him, so I guess it's technically still about him.  Even her brief dabble in photography is focused 100% on him.

And this romance quickly spirals into pure obsession --from the beginning.  Day in, day out, she obsesses, and allows her obsessive thinking to guide her every action.

By book 2 in your saga, she shows no interest in college, friends, music, culture, or anything other than....... Edward.  Oh, and Jacob, who, it  is noted in the prose repeatedly, is merely there to distract her from the pain of losing Edward.

I am seriously CONCERNED by the message you are giving young girls about their power, about who they can grow up to be if they apply themselves to something they absolutely love, namely, a passion.  A passion for art, for music, for writing, for healing, medicine, math, astronomy, teaching...... ANYTHING.  Anything at all that is not just a man.  

Now, I think men are great.  And I've been lucky enough to fall madly in love with several brilliant men in my life, but I also know that men are not a substitute for a woman having an authentic life with interests of her own.  In fact, more often than not, men would prefer that women have lives of their own so that they don't end up becoming their soul focus.  

Here's my confession:  You see,  I was Bella.   I was that quirky, uncoordinated girl who devalued who her talents and obsessed on every guy I ever loved when I was a teenager, and then into my twenties.  

In fact I was so convinced during my mid-twenties that my undying love of my then boyfriend would give me all the sustainence in life I needed, that I dropped out of college to be with him, a decision I regret enormously to this day, because, guess where that obsession led me?  To a break-up, of course, and competing for jobs against other women more qualified than I am.  

As I understand it,  all healthy relationships require balance to function.  Which means both people engage in passions of their own, and maybe even mutual passions.  But if one or both people hang their entire world upon the other, then both are in extreme emotional danger.  I know,  I have been there.  Eight years of therapy and I am finally seeing the light, and finding some balance within myself so that I can bring who I am, including my passions and talents for writing, playing guitar, and practicing yoga, to a relationship.

The books you have written are an unhealthy example of womanhood.  Especially since Bella is so clumsy, and Edward is always having to save her.  Did you write this book in 1955?  I mean, she can't even dance?  Noted is that once she loses him, she throws herself into as much danger as she can find to win him back.  Somehow this reminds me of my dear friend whose girlfriend recently overdosed on painkillers so that he wouldn't break up with her.  And he loyally sat by her in the hospital until he could get home and throw all her stuff out.  Because obsession is INSANITY, and should not be encouraged.  Men hate it.  And women suffer.

Your character is a girl with no talents, no interests, no hobbies, skills, or passions whatsoever aside from her love interest.  I think you need to ask your conscience if this is really the message girls need today about their power.

I noticed also that Edward,  her on and off boyfriend, is a both a brilliant musical composer and a talented athlete.  Why did you give him all the gifts?  Because as an author, it was your choice to make her helpless and clumsy, and him powerful, talented, and godly.

Here in Los Angeles where I live, we are in the era of the "pin-up princess", where women like Paris Hilton get six digit  paychecks to attend parties.  That's her JOB.  I will leave it to you to decide if she has cultivated any talent.  And young girls everywhere look up to that and aspire to be just like her.  I mean, at least Lindsay Lohan can act!

If you had a daughter, what would you dream for her?  Would you encourage her to cultivate her strengths and interests over any fleeting romantic interest?  OF COURSE you would.  You would want her to have a wonderful boyfriend AND an inner life.

I just want you to think about the example you have set for young girls.  Obsession is not love.  Neither is desire.  Obsession is a dangerous drug that takes the place of genuine passion and interest in life, and ultimately, it doesn't win the hearts of any of the talented, intelligent, handsome men I have ever met.

I realize that the success of your books has hinged upon how well American teens relate to your characters, and I just encourage you to plant some seeds in a healthy direction, for them, for our culture, to show both the beauty AND the wisdom that women have.  I mean, we are in an age where a woman just ran for president.  Aren't you just a little concerned that even politics are setting a better example for young girls than your books?

That said, I genuinely think you are a talented writer, and deserve the success you have achieved.  I just pray, from one woman to another, from one novelist to another, that you take responsibility for the messages in your work.

Sincerely,
Kaia Hollan Van Zandt
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Tagged with: twilight, vampire, saga, Edward, Bella, novel, bestseller, Stephanie Meyer, letter