Non-Literary Characters

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 7 Comments
While this blog is generally for the literary-minded, I’ve been thinking lately about characters that are written for the screen, rather than the page. Specifically, for the small screen, because I think we’d be here until the end of time trying to pin down the greatest characters in film. Anyway, I like T.V. My appreciation for a good story and strong characters is not limited to novels; in fact, sometimes I prefer to sit down and witness some truly great television writing instead. (Likewise, sometimes I watch marathons of What Not to Wear, but that’s a story for another time.)
I don’t know if you all have been noticing this, but in recent years, the quality of T.V. shows has gone way up. Shows like The Sopranos, Mad Men, Lost, The West Wing, My So-Called Life, and Firefly are (and in some unfortunate cases, were) the equivalents of literary fiction. They have depth, complexity, character development, suspense, familiarity, and they do not shy away from heightened dialogue or ideas. Also, like with a novel, you cannot start in the middle.
Speaking more specifically to the characters themselves, I’ve been trying to figure out who I think are the greatest T.V. characters of all-time. I hate coming up with “greatest” lists because everything is so subjective, so I bring you my top five favorite characters (who I secretly consider the best):
5) Ted Baxter, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I know, this is before my time. But, in my opinion, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was way ahead of its time, so it all balances out. Without Ted Baxter, I don’t think we’d have nearly the number of lovable oafs on T.V. as there are today. Since Ted may have been responsible for Phil Dunphy (Modern Family), then for that reason alone, he must be acknowledged.
4) George Constanza, Seinfeld. My love of George ended around season six or seven when I thought he became too cartoonishly evil, but the early years of George represented a perfect combination of New York neurosis and immaturity. He’s not person you’d necessarily like in real life, but you love him from the safe distance behind the camera.
3) Milhouse Van Houten, The Simpsons. With The Simpsons, it’s hard to pick just one. Sure, Homer might be considered the “best,” but Milhouse, much like in his life in Springfield, is vastly underrated and under-appreciated. Inspiration for children of divorced parents and to anyone who’s ever known the pain of unrequited romance (and friendship), Milhouse just wants to be loved. And he is, by me. “Everything’s coming up Milhouse!” indeed.
2) The Mayor, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Yes, he was only on for one season and he wasn’t a principal player. Choosing a “best” character from what I consider the “best” show is a bit like choosing my favorite child, but, to me, Mayor Richard Wilkins III was such an amazingly crafted character. The ultimate villain, an instrument of pure evil, and the square father figure who reminds you that good hygiene and manners never hurt anyone. Of Mr. Whedon’s many (many!) brilliant characters, I am always most impressed by The Mayor.

1) Brian Krakow, My So-Called Life. Brian, Brian, Brian. Is there a better character in the history of television? He’s the boy next door who you don’t really want to end up with the girl after all. He’s hardly the lovable nerd, but he can’t be called totally manipulative either because half the time he’s just too clueless. Brian is funny, sad, misunderstood, and real. He’s just, in a word, perfect.

 

Honorable mentions: Liz Lemon, 30 Rock and Sue Sylvester, Glee. These women may be different in personality, but they have this in common: they are strong, funny, and driven, and there need to be more women on T.V. like them.

 

I notice a theme in my most beloved characters. They are all people who are a little bit sad, a little bit hard to like, and impossible not to love. Complexity and originality are the keys of creating strong, memorable characters. How do you approach building your characters in your own work? Are there certain T.V. characters you use as inspiration?

Snow, Writing, and Other Good Things

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 1 Comment
Today was yet another snow day in New York, so I took advantage of being trapped in my home by working on my own writing. I may have mentioned this to you all before, but sometimes I find it’s hard to “get going” when I sit down to write. I don’t mean that I have writer’s block. To me, writer’s block is the absence of an idea, as opposed to the absence of words.
Anyway, my lack of coherent thoughts can sometimes lead me to write rather sporadically. If a scene enters my head, or even just one line of dialogue, I write it down and I find the process of building around it is much, much easier. This, of course, leads to having pages and pages of disconnected scenes.
This got me wondering what your individual writing styles are. Do you also dip from scene to scene, hoping that everything will organically work itself out? Do you have an ending in mind first and then write to get there? Or, are you a traditionalist and start at the beginning?

There really is no “right” answer because there can be no right or wrong way to create something you’re proud of. There are probably writing styles that people have that I hadn’t even thought of…. writing upside down with an astronaut pen? using a quill and pretending you’re Shakespeare? dictating your novel to a subordinate?

Enjoy your snowy weekend, everyone! It’s the perfect stay-in-and-write weather. But if you’re one of those lucky few who live in NON-snowy places, there’s no better place to write, in my opinion, than at your favorite bookstore or cafe 🙂

Simple Joys, or Why I Go to The Strand So Much

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 4 Comments

The Guardian’s book blog has once again given me reason to pause and reflect. Last week they made me consider the most unreliable narrators in literary history (seriously, how was Tristram Shandey not on that list!?), but today they’ve caused me to marvel at the joy I get in life when I browse my favorite bookstore. I’m not ashamed to admit that I went to The Strand, one of my Top 5 NYC bookshops, three days in a row last week, and I managed to buy a book, either off their $1 rack or elsewhere, on all three days.

 
Part of the reason I love The Strand so much is because it’s incredibly convenient to get to in terms of both my home and my job. I also love that for an independent bookstore, it’s always crazy and hectic and all of the employees are unnecessarily surly. New York charm, I guess. 
 
But other reasons why I spend so much time in bookstores boil down to simply: it is an escape (not unlike my coffeehouse escape). Much like reading a book itself, browsing an old-fashioned, tangible bookshop is nothing short of therapeutic. (OK, so last week, during a particularly stressful momentary freak-out, I bought a cute little dress at the Gap – on sale! – and called it “therapy,” but usually my impulse buys, stress buys, and happy buys are books!)
 
The Guardian article discusses another joy of browsing a store: judging a book by its cover. I don’t usually do this; I’m more of a title person myself, which is a prejudice that has yet to fail me so far. It’s how I discovered David Sedaris back in the day after spotting Me Talk Pretty One Day at a Barnes & Noble, and it’s how, more recently, I bought, without hesitation, There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill her Neighbor’s Baby: Scary Fairy Tales by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya at another favorite NYC local shop, The Corner Bookstore. But on one of my recent Strand outings, I did pick up The Secret Life of Words based on the cover alone. (I mean, look at it! It’s so fun and about WORDS!)
The joys that come from entering a bookstore are endless, really. Being literally surrounded by books, the reassurance that stores that sell physical books are still needed, seeing others around you get excited over certain titles… and so on and so on.
 

So, I’ve shared some of my favorite local shops and favorite reasons for going to said shops… what (and where!) are yours?

Missing Out

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 6 Comments

Friends, I have a few confessions to make, and I hope you all can still respect me afterward. (Deep breath…)

 
I have never read anything by a Bronte. 
I have not read Grapes of Wrath or Brave New World. 
I have not read The Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Hobbit. 
I have yet to read The Hunger Games, Eat, Pray, Love, or anything by Zadie Smith. 
I probably won’t read many other popular titles that came out in the past ten years. 
I definitely won’t read an even larger number of classics.
 
OK. I feel better now. But only slightly.
 
I’ve read a LOT of books, but there will always be those certain titles that the collective “they” insist you have to read. I’m part of “they” when people tell me they’ve never read The Catcher in the Rye or 1984. I mean, how could you not have read those??? Right?
 
With so many works of literature out there, past and present, it would be impossible to attempt to read all of the good ones, let alone great. Which titles are you guilty of not reading? Or are you not guilty about it at all?

 

Leave your comments and then enjoy these two completely unrelated items to start your weekend off right:
1) The best PSA I’ve ever seen in my entire life – it teaches valuable life lessons, the most important being Read a Book! Disclaimer for those who might watch at work or in front of the kids: Contains Adult Language!
2) Corgis + a peaceful night’s sleep = the best things in life, so I leave you with this combination of the two (!!!) And now your lives are complete 🙂

 

Selling Yourself Short

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 2 Comments
On Wednesday, I read a post on Rachelle Gardner’s blog about separating one’s writing life from his or her financial life. In it, she argues that when writers put their pens to paper with only dollar signs in their eyes, their work suffers. I have to say I agree with this. Thought of being the next James Patterson or Stephen King are often delusional, and chances are you won’t write the next Twilight either. Those types of trends are often completely random, so if you trap yourself in the mindset that whatever you’re about to write will be “the next big thing,” you’ll end up driving yourself crazy. Or worse – into a writer’s block.
Now, I don’t mean to sound like Carrie Bradshaw here, but as I thought more about the relationship between writing and money, I couldn’t help but wonder – do writing goals and financial goals need to be mutually exclusive? If you’re a writer, your number one goal should be producing work that you love and are proud of. Writing is personal and therapeutic and people do it because they need to. Like any art, the best writing comes from the passion behind it.
But writers also shouldn’t be ashamed to expect adequate compensation for the many hours they put into their work. It’s not selling out and it doesn’t make you shallow. If you’re at the point of querying agents, chances are you are trying to turn “what you love” into a viable career option. And really, isn’t that what everyone wants?
I’m not going to sugar-coat the state of the industry. Unless you already are James Patterson or Stephen King, you will most likely not become a millionaire with your first six book deals, let alone your first one. Even when we’re not in/recovering from a recession, that probably wont happen. Sorry.
That doesn’t mean setting financial goals for your writing career is unrealistic. Once the scary querying stage is over, knowing you’re being artistically recognized and monetarily compensated can be a great motivator. Don’t be afraid to know your worth. Selling yourself short puts you at risk of working for way less than you deserve, and then nobody wins.
I am in no way suggesting you scream at your agents every time they come back to you with an offer. (Let me repeat: PLEASE DO NOT YELL AT YOUR AGENTS!) I am simply saying that you should choose an agent who you know will fight for you, agents you can trust to get the most they can for the work you’ve produced.
The sayings “don’t quit your day job” and “starving artists” apply, especially, to writers and they exist for a reason. It’s hard to turn your passions into your job when the competition is already high and the chances of slipping a measly query letter through a slush pile are exceptionally low. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. All it takes is for someone to believe in your work the way you believe in it.
And so I leave you for this LOVE-ly weekend (get it?) with one more affirmation, because if anyone knows what it means to get what they deserve, it’s these awesome ladies! (Warning: this song will stay in your head until President’s Day, but it is so worth it.)

The Superbowl Ups Their Game

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 6 Comments
While the best word to describe what I see when I look at a football game is “static,” I, like many, sat down to watch the Superbowl last night. (Go Saints!) Granted, I only watch the Superbowl every year for the commercials and (sometimes) the half-time show. The hype surrounding the ads this year was already high due to the allowance of an anti-choice ad and the denial of an ad for a gay dating site. So, more intrigued than usual about the content of the commercials, I was prepared for some mild irritation (Tim Tebow), some laughs (Betty White!), and a whole lotta unnecessary sexuality (Danica Patrick and that other token hot girl from GoDaddy). 

The objectification of women is practically standard in commercials, so much so that it’s now often exaggerated for comedic effect. But last night featured far fewer babes in bikinis than in previous years. (Where there any at all?) Perhaps the folks at CBS thought the hot-chicks-and-beer images weren’t for the post-wardrobe malfunction eyes of the FCC. Instead, the ads took their anti-woman agenda to a whole different level. 

Is it too much for me to call it an “agenda?” Maybe. But when I think back to the Dodge Charger commercial titled “Man’s Last Stand,” I think… maybe not. In the ad, the inner voice of “Average Man” goes over everything he does not want to do during the course of his day, which includes doing his job, coming home from said job, and spending time with (presumably) his wife. Because he behaves the way a human adult should, he totally deserves a car that looks like a huge penis.

Two more ads – I forget what they were for, but then, does it matter? – were especially tactless. One featured Jim Nance announcing that any man who agrees to shop with his girlfriend has “had his spine removed” and obviously needs to get it back by buying something damn manly! The other ad simply listed what “real men” should do during their lifetimes, which include falling in love with woman (subtext: and only a woman!) and then proceed to do much of what the man in the Dodge commercial complained about.

What’s interesting here is that, yes, these ads are obviously offensive to women, but they’ve managed to now include a whole other group of people to offend: men! If I were a man, I would be rightfully horrified at these ads’ portrayal of the such a blatant stereotype of the male psyche. However, if I were a guy, I’d probably think they were speaking directly to me because I, too, would feel trapped and burdened by the annals of life. Guys, if you need a car or other product to assert your manhood, I have news for you – you’re not a real man yet, and buying that car won’t change that. This is a new brand of misogyny. Just because it offends everybody doesn’t mean it counts for equality.


So, to sum up, I’ve learned that yes, I am one of those stereotypical women who are confused by football, but I also learned that women, football fans or otherwise, only exist to look pretty and emasculate men. Likewise, all men secretly hate their lives and resent their girlfriends, wives, children, and even jobs for making them forget their true nature… which is apparently “being fifteen.”

Sort of makes one miss the days of “Open a Bud Light, Have a Stripper Land in Your Lap,” doesn’t it?

Inspiration & Motivation

~ SarahLaPolla ~ Leave a comment
To my fellow writers… 

Yes, I say “fellow” because I am in the process of reclaiming my roots in creative writing. I’ve been so busy thinking my MFA was useless and not worth the debt, that I haven’t thought about actually using it. While my go-to style is personal essay, I’ve been trying my hand at (gulp!) fiction. It’s pretty terrifying. Right now my idea is heavily based on a friendship I had in high school, and, as expected, the sections that come more naturally to me are scenes involving those two characters. I find I’m less motivated to write the straight-fiction parts, which will account for 75% of the novel. 

The easy solution is to make this a memoir, but then I’d be stuck with having to make it truthful, and frankly, this story would be very boring if I start and end it where it did in real life. I want to take it further and explore areas in that time period without having to worry about things like facts. The only problem is – I just can’t make myself sit down and write it.

I’m curious about what happens after the inspiration. It’s hard enough finding a muse and putting an idea down on paper. But, once you finally map out where you want to go, what makes you get in your car and drive there? I apologize for the weak metaphor, but you see what I mean. Any advice out there for me or to the other writers out there?

One last word on MFAs – despite my gripes, I don’t regret getting one. I know being in the program made me a better writer and I definitely learned more in those two years than I did in the four years I studied creative writing before that. However, they are expensive!!! I do not suggest going for the MFA right after college unless you are 100% certain that the only career for you is “author.” Even then, they’re not super necessary, but you do meet some great professors (many of whom have connections) and form a decent writing circle that will be super necessary later in your writing life.

Voices of Your Generation

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 2 Comments
I’m still reeling from the death of J.D. Salinger, and have wondered if 2010 is going to be for writers what 2009 was for actors (it’s still January and we have already lost Robert Parker, Louis Auchincloss, Howard Zinn, and J.D.). The term “literary lions” has been popping up in various articles, as it had when Mailer and Updike died last year. It got me thinking about what this phrase even means, and if there are modern-day, or future, lions out there. 

I had a conversation with my sister yesterday and she told me with sad resignation there were no more Salingers writing today, as in, there are no more “voices of a generation” whose work has the same cultural impact. I disagreed by saying it’s impossible to name of voice of the current generation because it’s not over yet. We need time to determine what’s been said and how it reflects that time. Our judgment of our own generation is automatically, and involuntarily, biased. 

I’m not really sure which generation I’m in. I know I’m the “one after Generation X,” but whether that’s Gen Y, Millennial, or The Twitter Generation (which I read once and cringed), I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t matter. I was born on one of those weird “on the cusp of either generation” years anyway, so I’ll just go where they tell me. But, for the purposes of finding someone who speaks for me, I’ll make “me” be anyone between the ages twenty-four and thirty-four.

I suggested to my same-generation sister that Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney, could have been the-post Salinger novel of that time (again, that one “right before” our own), but as for our generation, I wasn’t sure. I think Cormac McCarthy is #1 on the current “literary lion” list, and Michael Chabon will probably win “Most Likely to be Studied in High School English” among his generation (sorry, Franzen). But, do either authors speak for me, child of the Clinton-era, pre-Internet 1990s and adult of the post-911, iTech new millennium? Not really.

Despite having declared finding a voice to my own generation a futile attempt, I’m still curious about your thoughts. Who do you think has the best appeal right now to the young, modern-day experience? There are several characters to whom we can relate our personal triumphs or tragedies, but what about those who represent our place in the world? If other generations can claim them for their collective lives, then there must be at least one out there for “me.”

Glass Cases

~ SarahLaPolla ~ Leave a comment
One of the great writers of his – of any – time has died today…

J.D. Salinger was one of my favorites, as evidenced by the name of this blog and my never-ending affection for Holden Caulfield. I am truly saddened by his death, but am somewhat comforted to know that the world’s most famous recluse is finally at peace.

I hope those phonies who battle for his estate treat his works with the respect they so deserve.

We will miss you, J.D.

Things to Avoid

~ SarahLaPolla ~ 11 Comments
In the late ’90s and early ’00s, I noticed that the use of the rhyme “faded” and “jaded” appeared all-too-frequently in song lyrics and it made me want to scream. While (I hope) you don’t resort to rhyming in your prose works-in-progress, there are several words, phrases, and devices that show up in literature that I beg you to steer clear of. (Ending a sentence with a preposition is NOT one of them.)

1) Doing anything “with a start.” This phrase is most commonly used when a character wakes up. Has anyone ever used this phrase in real life? If it’s not said in life, it should not be said on the page.

2) “Ravenous.” In general, I’m a fan of this word. It always implies intense hunger, lust, or both (!). But, I see it so often in all genres of literature that it’s beginning to lose its impact. The thesaurus is your friend, which is how I assume the use of this word came about in the first place, and now it’s time to find a new “original” and amplified way to say hungry.

3) Describing silence as “deafening.” It’s not.

4) Wearing Cutoffs. Part of the reason why Tobias’ cutoffs on Arrested Development were so funny is because cutoffs in general are ridiculous and haven’t been worn since the days of Wham. Yet, more authors than you would think often describe their characters wearing cutoffs.  No gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc. are spared. Sorry, but unless your M.C. is attending a Village People reunion concert, painting a house in 90 degree heat, or is a never-nude, cutoffs are just not acceptable.

5) Prologues. This might be a personal preference, but I think using this device to tell your story should be abolished from literature. 99% of prologues can be turned into the first chapter and the other 1% can be revealed throughout the work in flashbacks, background info, character building, etc.

6) Pillow-fight fantasies. This is for the men out there who are attempting to write in the voices of women. Very rarely do I find a male author writing from a female POV who doesn’t make their M.C. get her period, masturbate, or look at herself naked somehow. Fellas, really? Do you think we all sit around drinking cosmos while talking about shoes and multiple orgasms too?

7) “Needless to say…” I attribute my dislike of this phrase to a former journalism professor who simply said, “If you don’t need to say something, then just don’t say it.” I completely agree.

Feel free to add to this list. I’m sure there are many more cliches and pet peeves to know and avoid.