Jaworski becomes Grubauer

I have decided to change my character's surname from Jaworski to Grubauer, Katie, I know you'll get the reference. Reggie Grubauer. MUCH better. That is all.

Take A Walk On the Wildside...

I really enjoyed reading everyone's blogs this week. All of your stories sound so interesting, I can't wait to learn more about what's happening as we go!
I myself was immersed in the year 1991 over the weekend, trying to incorporate details from pop culture into Sarah's and my script. We uncovered an absolute gem that will be included in the pilot episode. Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch's second single, called Wildside. The most absurd, self-righteous, poorly written song of all time. But there is something decidedly mesmerizing about it... I can't forget it, and I don't want to.
Sarah and I also engaged in a long discussion about the nature those "embarrassing moments" columns that run in teen magazines for girls. Here is a list of things that are embarrassing to teen girls:
1) Anything related to menstruation
2) Actually, anything related to any sort of body function (especially if it involves Mexican bean dip or enchiladas)
3) Any embarrassment that you experience will be compounded by your shame being witnessed by either your crush, your boyfriend's parents, or, horror of all horror, your crush's parents, or oddly enough,your boyfriend's family dog- which for whatever reason, is intent on ruining your life.
It really is no wonder that women go to the bathroom in groups. They probably want backup to make sure that when they leave the bathroom they have no sanitary pads and/or tampons stuck to some part of their body. Based on the volume of mail that magazines get from teen girls experiencing this very thing, it seems to be some sort of epidemic. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, if you somehow manage to escape the washroom without a sanitary pad, tampon, piece of excrement, or toilet paper stuck to you, you can count on your boyfriend's family dog entering the bathroom after you, fishing something out of the trash, and depositing it at your feet while wagging his trail in triumph at your humiliation. It's tough being a teen!!

Anyway, here are some details about my main character and the setting:
The novel takes place over the course of only one or two days... the wake and funeral of the main character's father. This is a large funeral home, where multiple funerals will be going on at once. The nearby pub, Jackie's Place, is a refuge for the bereaved, a place to go to forget about your grief for a while.
Reggie Jaworski is a college professor in Toronto, with a very complicated relationship with her parents. Her parents have always been very aloof toward her, mainly because of a trauma that happened to the family when Reggie was a baby. As a result of her distant relationship with her parents, Reggie has a surrogate father figure, her childhood neighbour, Jack, 14 years her senior (Jack Bauer like figure). As she attends her father's funeral, Reggie will have to confront her family's past, as well as deal with the wily funeral director, and the inappropriate mortician, who keeps using disturbing terms to refer to corpses in front of the bereaved (i.e. Mr. Crispy). And of course, there is a Tim in the book... Reggie's crush. Let's all hope that she doesn't have anything embarrassing happen in front of him... lay off the Mexican bean dip, Reggie!
The genre of my novel is "dram-edy", a combined drama and comedy.

Things I Love in Novels
1. When information about the past is gradually revealed throughout the course of the novel, so that you can better understand what is happening, but only gradually.
2. Complicated characters who make mistakes, but don't forgive themselves easily.
3. Love stories, but realistic and complicated love.
4. Poignant moments
5. Beautifully written prose, when you have to stop and reflect
6. When a book leaves you thinking about it, after you have stopped reading
7. Absurdity
8. Heroism, valour, courage
9. When characters are true to themselves
10. Beautifully crafted metaphors

Things I Hate In Novels
1. People described as perfectly beautiful (but unaware of their own beauty, like f*ck off, already, Bella/SM!!)
2. Stupid characters who are self-obsessed.
3. Female characters who are always in need of rescue.
4. Sanctimony
5. When everyone falls in love with a character who seemingly has no depth, positive attributes, or really anything to recommend him/her (I'm looking at you Bella/Edward!)
6. 2 dimensional characters
7. Plot driven novels, where the characters do things out of character to carry the plot.
8. Clumsiness as a plot device
9. Excessive use of long words, in a way that comes across forced, stilted, and pretentious.
10. The fact that Lauren Conrad has a book deal in the real world.

NaNoWriMo is coming, my friends... what you need to ask yourself is this: are you ready?

Here's What I Think About Writing

I listened to an audio book on my way to and from Windsor. It was an excellent book called Ghostwalk that I highly recommend. It is so beautifully written, and such a compelling story. In one part, the narrator, who is a writer, talks about how writing can be like being haunted. The character notes that this is a cliche about writing, but just because something is cliched, it does not make it untrue. My first experience with being haunted by a character occurred when I was co-writing with Sarah... our television program. One of the male characters would not get out of my head. He was originally intended to only appear in a small (though pivotal) role, but he just wouldn't accept that. He wouldn't leave me alone until Sarah and I figured out the larger story.
Last summer, when I was writing about Annie, Tim, and Jay, it was Jay who haunted me the most. Though Annie did her share. After the novel was finished, in editing, I wrote about what happened when Annie went to see Jay after everything had happened. That part of the novel was painful to write, and I didn't want it to happen. For days after, I was almost depressed about it, and so angry with Jay for doing what he did. Matt asked me why I wrote it if I hated it so much, and I could only reply that Jay did it, I was only telling about it. It was hard to explain, but Jay took on a life of his own and did things I didn't want him to do. In this novel, the narrator describes 'haunting' in this manner.
"You make a character from nothing, a few words, fragments of people you know or have seen from afar. And once they are up and walking, they don’t just come and go at your will. They begin to be demanding, appearing at awkward times, doing things you wouldn’t have dreamed they could. They come upon you suddenly when you’re asleep or making love. And I’m not talking about the sudden apparition of ideas for plots or new episodes. That happens, too. I’m talking about people who exist only in your head but who appear in your living room when you have temporarily forgotten they existed. When you have closed your study door on them. It’s a kind of possession. You begin to feel you are being watched."
I find writing both exhilarating and also difficult and painful. I look forward to meeting some new characters this summer, and spending some time with old friends, like Seth (the 20s version), and Olga and Fernando. Above is a picture of Jay, my spectre from the summer of 2008.

An 'Annie' Moment

I, like many of you, have been neglecting my blog to the point of shock and horror, but, to be fair, I have been busy to the point of shock and horror, and like you, indigo, often feel too tired to blog. But, here are a couple of updates... we still have no band name. Thanks for the suggestions, they are all good, but nothing has been quite right, yet. Two names came out last night during practice... Bandstorm (when I was so tired I messed up saying "brainstorm band names", by saying "bandstorm"). And the other one is something like "Fluffy Pink Bunny Outlaws" or some such nonsense. Perhaps you could chime in on this and let me know what you prefer. Or if you have other ideas.
Now, I have a very funny anecdote to report. I had a complete "Annie" moment last night- before everyone freaks out and thinks I tried to sleep with my therapist, this is related to soccer. As you may or may not recall, Annie reconnected with Tim O'Shea when he coincidentally turned out to be her son's soccer coach. Well, last night I received a call from Liam's soccer coach. When the name came up on the call display, I almost threw the phone across the room because it was the name (last name and first initial) of an old boyfriend (ish). I was expecting a call from the coach, and thought it was a horrifying case of life imitating art. Because, unlike Tim O'Shea, who had spent every single moment since high school becoming incredibly hot, this dude has spent every moment since high school losing his hair, growing a beer belly, and generally consuming an excess of carbs, judging by the horrifying case of bloat face. Because this person (who shall not be named) seems to be connected in some way to a number of people I know, I have seen photographs, but have not spoken or seen this person since I was 17. In any case, it was a false alarm, it was NOT the person I feared it was going to be, which I'm sure would have led to many hilarious and humiliating moments, but not something I really want to live through in the real world. So, to sum up, Fantasy on the right, Reality on the left. Ew.
Gearing up for soccer has reminded me so much of NaNoWriMo, because soccer was such an important part of my plot construction... it made me really excited for all of those moments of insight and inspiration, when you are so excited to find out what happens next.