Voice Journal

I was supposed to post yesterday, but I remembered that fact at 11:58 pm, so I decided to put it off until a more appropriate hour today.

The Harry Potter film was good. I re-read it that week before the release so it was all very fresh in my brain. I think they did a great job – it was very exciting and epic. They glossed over some of the sub-plots, but I guess that is to be expected. I love going to the midnight showings with my dad. It has been a fun tradition. My mom and her friend decided to go this time too, since this was the last shot. We saw it in 3-D, but my mom thought that might make her sick, so they stuck to the old-fashioned way. I warned them not to worry about how loud the theater was, that as soon as the movie begun the theatre would be silent.

Afterwards, they said it was so quiet they were afraid to sniff! I loved the cheering when Bellatrix was finally snuffed out and the clapping at the end of the movie. I’m glad I had the opportunity to be a part of this fun again and have special Harry Potter 3-D glasses to boot!

On to other writing fun. I have been reading a handy little reference book called The Art of War For Writers by James Scott Bell. It’s a great easy read that has some wonderful tips for all stages of the writing process. One of the best suggestions (in my opinion) is the idea of using a voice journal to communicate with your characters. I have read other writers suggest this, but I love Bell’s suggestion of keeping this journal where you can dialogue with your characters. It helps to work out issues in the plot and helps to keep each character unique and less like you.

I’m starting one today for one of the characters in my wip. His name is  Charles and I’ve decided that he is the first character I’m going to tackle. I’ll be writing his arc first. He has been leaving me little bread crumbs about his background and his motivation, but I think the voice journal will open up the channel even bigger.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

How do you communicate with your characters?

Count Down Begins

It’s almost here!

Yes, I am a HUGE Harry Potter geek – which you already know if you’ve read any of my previous blog posts.

I know this is from a previous movie, but I like this picture.

I’m gearing up and I’m getting excited. I am a bit sad. It will be sad to see if all end. It feels a little like when the last book came out. That was much more upsetting, obviously, but this feels sad as well.

I have gone to the midnight showing with my dad to all of the movies except Sorcerer’s Stone. This is an end of an era as well. It has been something fun to share and do together.

We’re going to try to go to The Wizarding World theme park next year, so at least I have that to look forward to 🙂

Harry Potter Chair

I have been obsessed again with all things Harry Potter. It started with the brilliant exhibit in Chicago. Since, I have re-read the series, seen Half-Blood Prince and watched a great documentary on Jo that was filmed the year before Deathly Hallows was published.

I am so moved by Jo and her story. I think she is funny, fascinating and I hope to meet her in person some day.

Today I saw that her chair is on EBay and it’s so cool! I believe that objects hold energy. Just as it was a once in a lifetime experience to sit in Hagrid’s chair, I can’t imagine what it would feel like to sit in this. Some lucky person (with loads of pounds) will get that chance soon enough.

I think I am so fascinated with her because she represents everything I am working for. She is the beacon at the top of the fourteener. She represents all the reasons I am scaling the mountain. She has such a Cinderella story. You can’t help thinking that if it could happen to her, it could happen to me too!

Working on Sat – Yeah!!!

It was soooo difficult to get up this morning, because I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept waking up for no reason. Unfortunately, the best rest I got was right before the alarm went off. I grumbled off to work and now, with two cups of coffee already buzzing through me – I am slowly turning into a human again.

Saturdays are ten hour days for me – but so far it has been pretty quiet. I have been working on revisions (shocking, I know!) and they are going really well. I think I will be done this week. I will be spending some time with the woman who is illustrating this weekend so I am excited to discuss her plans.

I just finished re-reading the first Harry Potter book. I hadn’t read it in a couple of years and I am still so blown away by it. I have been in HP mode after Chicago and with the movie coming out soon. It is hard to imagine what we did without Hogwarts and all that.

I am sure there are oodles of writers out there who feel this way, but I feel like I owe TCC to J.K. Rowling. I had all but given up on writing for children, writing in general until I read this book. Her imagination and genius really got my wheels turning. I hope some day I get to thank her in a more meaningful manner, but this will have to do for now!