THE WOMAN
Lena Dunham is a household name now that her comedy TV show Girls (in its third season on HBO) is a glorified hit. The show follows a group of girls in their twenties trying to make it in New York City and is filled with the often painstakingly accurate high highs and low lows that accompany post-collegiate life. Dunham’s character, the slightly neurotic, often confused, but completely lovable Hannah Horvath is a young writer Continue reading
Foreshadowing is an important literary technique in all fiction, but it is especially useful in mystery writing. Foreshadowing hints at events to come and piques reader interest. It can create a mood of foreboding and dread, build suspense by aligning details to make the reader anticipate a climax, and advance the plot by linking present to future or past events and by planting clues that will be significant later. Foreshadowing can also be used to deliberately mislead the reader to create a surprise solution or culmination. Here are some foreshadowing examples: 1) the pre-scene anticipating a more spectacular scene (brief turbulence for an airplane flying into big trouble); 2) the unsubtle warning (“The weather was going to be bad, but he didn’t know how bad.”); 3) the irrational concern (Where’s that misplaced letter opener? With the killer, of course.); 4) the unexplained apprehension (Why is he so nervous?); 5) the blunt narrator statement (“It was the last time he would see her.”); 6) the ominous object (or “Chekhov’s gun” after the Russian playwright’s use of a seemingly irrelevant loaded gun to foreshadow events); 7) a character’s opinion (“I think he’s hiding something,” said the detective.);
8) premonition or prophecy (when that creepy fortune-teller sees danger ahead); 9) symbolism (storm clouds on the horizon and a dead bird on the porch); 10) the red herring (a favorite device in Sherlock Holmes stories to misdirect reader suspicion); and 11) the flash-forward or flash-back (a jump in the timeline that builds suspense because the complete context and connection are unclear). For a useful article covering many of the examples above, go to http://www.novel-writing-help.com/examples-of-foreshadowing.html
Listen up fellas. You missed her birthday. You forgot today was your anniversary. You didn’t congratulate her on her new promotion. Or, you just don’t know how to make her feel special. Flowers could just be the ticket, but not just any run-of-the-mill-online-flower store will do because you need HELP. David Plafchan is da man who has launched a flower business so you can “Be a Better Man” (their words not ours) when it comes to thoughtful bouquets. Plafchan has started a new company called TheBouqs.com, where you can get a higher level of flowers delivered without all the hassle and upselling that we have grown accustomed to from many traditional florists. The flowers are cut on the day you order and delivered straight from the farm so you get the freshest bouquet possible! This means delivery just 2-4 days after cut vs. 10-14 elsewhere. The volcano stems come from the equator,10,000 feet above sea level, which means one thing: sun. And more sun means more color. These Bouqs are fed by pure volcanic snow melt and mineral-rich, ph-balanced soil. And the California cut flowers come straight from eco-friendly farms on the coast!
But what about the price? A flat $40 with shipping included and no hidden fees means you can shop with confidence. . .and you get a deal. Competitors are often priced 20-200% higher. All of this is designed to make the flower buying experience much easier and much more affordable. Looks like you are all out of excuses fellas!
Watch the video below for a more in depth look into TheBouqs.com
http://youtu.be/6hm5zX0Nlno
Wes Anderson heads to Europe for the first time with this Indian Paintbrush production starring Saoirse Ronan, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, and Jude Law. Gustav H., the famous concierge at a legendary hotel situated in the Alps during the 1930’s becomes the center of a farcical whirlwind of suspicion when one of his institution’s oldest and richest patrons turns up dead, and she suspiciously leaves him her most priceless work of art — a Renaissance painting of a boy with an apple. Infuriated that she left anything of value to anyone else, the woman’s greedy and nefarious heir uses all manner of underhanded and illegal tactics to pin her death on Gustav and to silence anyone who questions his objective of inheriting every penny of her estate, leaving Gustav’s trusted lobby boy Zero to clear Gustav’s name.
I love to live and enjoy every moment of living. I desire to attain more happiness today than yesterday, and look for the coming of tomorrow to bring more joy. My happiest moments are in knowing I have something to live for. The mortgage on the little home must be paid, the furniture is beginning to look faded and worn and must someday be replaced. There are food and clothing to buy, but I am happy in the knowledge that there is something to live for. I’ve worked long and hard, succeeded in some things and failed in others, still there’s the mortgage and the faded furniture, for along with the other millions, Old Man Depression extended his long arm and gathered me into the fold. But I’m not licked; in fact, I’ve just begun to fight. Now I have more to fight for, more to live for and have learned to derive more happiness in what I am living and fighting for. My greatest happiness is in the knowledge that the girl who nineteen years ago vowed to stand by me through poverty as in prosperity has kept faith, has been my inspiration and has given me nineteen years of the happiest moments of my life. When reverses wiped our financial platter clean and I was ready to admit myself a failure, it was her sweet smile and assurance that made me realize wealth was not happiness and I possessed that which money can never buy—”a real pal with love and understanding.” This was my happiest moment. —C. L. C. Read The First Place Winner Here Read The Second Place Winner Here
*Update. David Bowie passed away from cancer on Sunday, January 10th, 2016. He was 69 years old.
Whether you believe in cosmic stardust or not, when the universe manages to bring “soulmates” together, it is a beautiful thing. Blind dates don’t often tend to work out, especially not for celebrities. But when David Bowie first saw the beautiful Somalian super-model, Iman, he instantly fell for her. And after 20 years of marriage, he’s still falling for her. Continue reading
First kisses are awkward. And scary. And uncomfortable. If you’re lucky, a first kiss can make your knees wobble.
Los Angeles-based filmmaker Tatia PIlieva, along with Wren Studio, asked 20 complete strangers to kiss for the first time on camera and managed to capture those, uncomfortable, heart-stopping and breathtaking moments of a first kiss. The result is a candid look at love, romance and chemistry that captures a real-life experience, but one that accelerates at an intoxicating pace. The “kissers” circle each other awkwardly at first, making fumbling small talk, sneaking looks at director Pilieva, and erupting into giggles. But once they’ve locked lips, they suddenly appear intimate, sexy, even compassionate toward each other.
The promotional video was created for Wren’s clothing and most of these strangers were friends of Pilieva and who work as professional performers, actors and musicians. It also doesn’t hurt that they are all attractive people. They were not given lines or much direction other than they had to kiss, so their reactions appear to be quite genuine. And, according to Pilieva, none of the “kissers” were paid.
Pilieva told ABC News, “We kind of grouped them together just by instinct,” Pilieva said. “I was really nervous at first, but you can see how some of the people responded.” Some of the match-ups went so well, they didn’t end when the filming wrapped. “At least one couple went to the park for breakfast after, and another couple I heard winded up going to lunch,” Pilieva said. “I’m positive at least some friendships developed. I don’t know if any romantic relationships developed, but I could just be out of the loop.”
Whatever happened, there is still something alluring and innocent about the situation they all find themselves in. Something so wonderful, in fact, that over 10 million people watched the video on the first two days alone. More than 47 million people have watched the video on YouTube since it was posted this month on March 10. People are naturally drawn to romance and true love and this video shows how easy it is to cut to the soul of us all.
Watch the video below. . and blush a little:
Bill wasn’t a bad kid, he was just mixed up. And sometimes mix ups lead to mistakes that change a person’s life forever. What you do with the life given to you after those mistakes defines you. Can Bill atone for what he has done? Will it matter?
It takes a special kind of guy to lead a battalion of Greek Warriors into battle with a Persian demi-God. It’s one of those “fate of humanity” defining moments. Lucky for us, we have Sullivan Stapleton shouldering that burden. The star of the new 300: Rise of An Empire might just be the perfect actor to fill the sandals of the mighty King Leonidas, who was expertly portrayed by Gerard Butler. Even though the mighty 300 Spartan warriors won’t be around to partake in the sequel, the trimmed down Greeks are ready to pick up their swords and carry on the fight.
Zack Snyder and Frank Miller are back behind the scenes to direct this wonderful visual treat. They cast a relatively unknown Aussie in Stapleton in the lead role and entrusted his charisma and talent to carry the franchise. Early results are positive. Fans have found themselves drawn to the sequel with an opening weekend of $136 million, as well as an affection towards Stapleton himself. “I can see it has opened doors,” says Stapleton, “As for the sequel, it’s a huge story, and those battles between the Greeks and Persians went on for years and years. I hope to God we do another sequel.”
The good news is that Warner Bros seems to like Stapleton. After using him for a key role in Gangster Squad and now 300, the studio has a couple of options with the actor, one of which most certainly will be another 300 installment, as his Themistokles comes to an inevitable showdown with Persian god king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Right now, Stapleton is focused on keeping his head from swelling, figuratively and literally, and slowly planning to test out the opportunity that a global hit will provide him.
View the Trailer Below:
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By Katherine Sharma
Good fiction writing relies on the creation of believable and compelling characters. It’s a challenging task, but writers can fall back on some tried-and-true models — as long as those models are a starting point not a substitute for character development. Most characters can be traced to an “archetype,” which, if properly developed, adds cultural and psychological resonance. An archetype is a model or prototype, often symbolic and thematic. Think of myths and fairy tales. Examples would be The Hero, The Sage/Mentor, The Damsel, The Fool/Jester, The Femme Fatale, etc. Within each category may be more detailed archetypes. For example, in a previous post, I discussed The Bad Boy Hero archetype (your James Dean model), along with other options such as The Lost Soul Hero (those sexy vampires) and The Best Friend Hero (read Tom Hanks). The key is to take the archetype’s basic outline and fill in unique personality traits and a colorful back story to create a character with depth and originality. You will otherwise end up with an uninteresting, cookie-cutter cliché. Worse, you may lard your story with stereotypes. “Archetype” and “stereotype” are terms that are often confused. A stereotype is an oversimplified representation of a group of people based on social conventions and often biased assumptions about race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. TV series are rife with stereotypes, such as the computer geek, the dumb blonde, and the effeminate, wisecracking gay sidekick. Stereotypical characters are not only trite and overdone, they risk offending readers. As one article explained, “Although both archetype and stereotype draw from a ‘type’ of person to create character, the difference is that archetype will use the template as a starting place, and stereotype uses it as an end point.” Here are some examples of archetypes, from the Jungian at http://www.soulcraft.co/essays/the_12_common_archetypes.html to the more contemporary at http://www.squidoo.com/11-common-character-archetypes.
About Katherine Sharma
Katherine Sharma’s family roots are in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. But after her early childhood in Texas, she has moved around the country and lived in seven other states, from Virginia to Hawaii. She currently resides in California with her husband and three children. She has also traveled extensively in Europe, Africa and Asia, and makes regular visits to family in India. After receiving her bachelor’s degree. in economics and her master’s degree in journalism from the University of Michigan, Katherine worked as a newspaper and magazine writer and editor for more than 15 years. She then shifted into management and marketing roles for firms in industries ranging from outdoor recreation to insurance to direct marketing. Although Katherine still works as a marketing consultant, she is now focused on creative writing.
