Ho.Ly. Crap.

​Perfect movie for holiday time.

If you haven't seen this film yet, go. Now. Don't even finish reading this post. Just go and see it. I'll wait.
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Ok, now that you're back, didn't you just LOVE that? I for one, am very much looking forward to many more movies from Damien Chazelle. I loved Whiplash, and I loved this one. And there's nothing else out there like it. And now, for the film nerdery.

This is the most beautiful love letter in a film, and not just a love letter to people. It's also a love letter to Los Angeles, classic musicals of the 30s and 40s, and to artists trying to stay true to their art everywhere. I can't wait for the inevitable tours to start up that take you to all the haunts of these two from the movie. And there are many. Griffith Park, for one. Who doesn't love Griffith Park? The opening scene of a traffic jam is one that all Angelenos can relate to, and the song and dance number calls out an understanding that yes, we have traffic, but we also have lots of sun, lots of struggling artists, and the most amazing mix of culture and people you can find in the world. That, all by itself, is enough for me to keep coming back to see the film over and over again. The unadulterated hope in the opening scene was enough to bring tears to my eyes and make my heart skip a beat. 

The homage to old classic Hollywood is hard not to see, and is so lovely and tender. Note that this is a true homage, with the quick cut to an old movie scene driving up to Griffith Park, then Chazelle recreates that exact shot, making the viewer well aware of what he's doing, rather than simply stealing the shot and calling it his own (like some other directors *cough* Tarantino *cough* have done). The colors, the music, the love story, it's all Old Hollywood, except it's new and reimagined for today, when things are definitely different.

The love of art and creativity. Ah, such love. It's the most doomed kind of love, even in this, the most hopeful of love stories. Success is never guaranteed, and always comes at a price. But we love it and feed it regardless, and this film pays its respects to those that dare to dream in complete Technicolor landscapes and rich melodies without apology. I couldn't help but find myself catching my breath, since I'm one of those doomed fools. 

Lastly, I have to mention the most amazing shot I have seen in a film in a long time, and I could watch it over and over again: the acrobat doing a full twisting back flip into a pool at a fancy party. That. Was. Amazing. It seems to capture the feeling of the whole film: the exuberance, the color, the motion, the danger, the triumph, the precision, everything. And if you don't care about the love story, at least watch it for this shot. You won't see another one like it for quite a while.

Or at least until Damien makes another movie.

​I've had this book on my kindle for a couple of years, and finally got around to reading it. It kept popping up when I was buying other books (even though I'd already bought it), so I took that as a hint from the universe that I really should get around to reading it. And I'm glad I did.

First, about the author. I didn't do any extensive research about her, but I did enough to know that this is the only book she has written up till now, and it's been translated into several languages and is a best-seller. Given how difficult it is for authors to ever become known, even with a complete body of work, the fact that this book is so popular is pretty remarkable. So it must be good, right?

One of the first things that struck me about this book was the storytelling structure. It seems to bounce around in time and place in a way that should be jarring, but somehow it hangs together to advance the story in a very unique and magical way, which also serves to strengthen the ethereal tone of the book.

The characters have a magic about them (literally and figuratively), and this feeds into the narrative in a way that builds complexity and wonder. I zipped through the first half of this book, turning every page with excitement about what was going to come next.

However, that was where things started to break down. As amazing and wondrous as the first half was, that was how frustrating and slow and complicated the second half was. The narrative stalled, the characters' motivations became unclear, and there was such a cast of characters, it was difficult to keep up with them and care about what they were doing. 

I'm not going to say this book was awful. It was interesting. And it illustrates how difficult a first book is to write. Starting is easy, finishing is hard. I think this book could have been a lot shorter than it was, and with some clever and ruthless editing, would have been a page turner from beginning to end. It does maintain its sense of wonder throughout the narrative, but I want to care the entire way through. So if it had about 100 pages cut out of it, I think it would have been great. I don't know if this writer is going to write another book, but I sincerely hope that she does. She's got the things that make me want to read a book. The next one, if it ever comes, will surely be amazing. Give it a shot.

Welp, November came and went, and somehow I managed to write 50,000 words in those 30 days. It was a trying time, in light of the staggeringly disappointing election (yes, I went there) that made me wonder if I should even bother continuing with NaNoWriMo when stuff that is actually important was going on, but after a lot of soul searching and wine, I went ahead with it anyway. Here's a few things I learned.

1. 50,000 words does not create a novel.
To be fair, most novels clock in around 80K-100K, so really, 50,000 is more of a novella. But aside from that, a novel isn't just typing up those words. In preparation of NaNoWriMo, I spent a lot of hours figuring out what I wanted to write, plotting it out, figuring out where it would go, and gaining inspiration for the story. Maybe October should be called OctoPlotMo or something, because I basically took the entire month of October to flesh out the idea so I wouldn't have to figure out where I wanted the book to go when I really just needed to type.

2. Preparation doesn't guarantee anything.
Yes, I prepared, and plotted and outlined and all that stuff. I was excited about my idea, and I couldn't wait to write it. And then, somewhere around 3,000 words or so, my brain started to slow down. It got rough. I mean really rough. I was so over it, and I kept thinking about the book I put down (temporarily) to start on this one. I wanted to write the other damn book! (I guess it really is true, about the grass and whatnot.) I couldn't stop thinking about the other book. All that preparation and excitement and I found myself slogging through a book that I didn't want to write. Surprise, surprise.

3. Taking time is okay.
I don't know that I will participate in NaNoWriMo again next year. The first time I did it, it ended up being my first novel, and that was exciting. I had no idea what I was doing (I still don't, for the record), and I was just trying to have fun. But now, I want to get better. I want to have better ideas and massage them and fix them when they are broken. And that's tough to do when you're just writing words as fast as you can. Sure, I made it to the word count, but I knew that something was wrong in the first 10,000 words. Something was off in the plot; there wasn't enough conflict, people were gettting along too well, and the main character didn't seem to have any real flaws, other than just being a bit naive. My book was broken. But there was no time to fix it, since I had to keep writing. Now I'm 50,000 words in, and I KNOW the book is broken, because I couldn't right the ship without changing the outline dramatically, cutting things out, adding new things, and shifting perspectives. This book is not a lost cause. It just needs more time to cook. That's okay.

4. I'm an extroverted introvert. Or interoverted extrovert. Whatever.
One of the things I love about NaNoWriMo is the sense of community in knowing that there are thousands upon thousands of people doing the exact same thing you are. It's thrilling, and makes me feel like I have allies. But the thing is, I don't bother to reach out to any of them. How lame is that? There are forums, and get togethers, and all sorts of groups of people who are connecting throughout the month, and I just sit and read that there will be a gathering of writers, and go "Huh, I wish I could go to that." True, most of them are not at times and places that I can attend. But still. I do have a desire to be a part of the community and learn about other writers and maybe even (gasp!) meet them. But something tells me NaNoWriMo isn't what's going to get me there, unfortunately.