Meme

Edited to make it a little easier to read. Click on the images to make them bigger.

Costume p0rn and Typewriters VI

The Help
This is the last regular post I have planned in this series, though my next Netflix might get tagged on at the end and I'll probably revisit it from time to time, since by now you all know how much I love writing about costumes in general, and period costumes in particular.

I talked a bit about this movie when I first saw it in theaters, and the desire to watch it again is what kicked off this whole costume p0rn thing (with some help from Murdoch and Dr. Ogden). Unfortunately, though, I had to wait for Netflix to catch up, hence the other films and shows.

Before I get into the costumes, there are two other draws to this movie (other than cast, story, etc): number one, the sets are wonderful, particularly the mansion Skeeter's family lives in.
Case in point:



And then there's this:
Her '62 Cadillac convertible is more than drool-worthy in my opinion. Put a bow on it, I'll take it!

Allison Janney (who plays Skeeter's mother), like most of the characters, is dressed to the nines in nearly every scene. She sports some fantastic jewelry, and I love her sweater clasps, which Google images is failing me on.

Of course, in a film of this sort we have the usual 1960s style:
I love the nipped in waist lines and the full, swishy skirts. I also love that the center dress was "handmade" (at least, according to the story line) even if I don't like the woman who "made" it so much.

I guess I'm not the only one who loves the costumes from this movie, since there was a display around the time of the premier. I love the apricot dress on the right, which Skeeter wears to dinner. I hate the romper on principal. Rompers should remain in the past where they belong, but every time we get a truck in at work I get proof that they refuse to die.

This is possibly one of my favorite outfits. It's simple, business like, and very flattering (fun fact: there's one almost identical to it in the Nancy Drew movie, and Skeeter wears a similar outfit in green later in the movie. Must have been a popular style). I also adore the leather satchel that Skeeter carries all of her business papers in.

Miss Hilly might be the devil incarnate, but she does have great fashion sense, like the pink jacket and dress she wears to the association meeting.

Since this is a movie about writers, there are several typewriters that show up, though most of them are in passing and the bulk of them are available only in brief glimpses when Skeeter visits the Jackson Journal office.


I did pick up the book. We'll see if typewriters play a bigger role in the print format.

Costume p0rn and Typewriters V

The King's Speech
This is another movie I've spoken about on the blog, rather at length, so let me sum up: Great hats, elegant costumes (would there be anything else in a film about British Royalty?) and an Oliver (which seems to be eluding my image searches, along with some of the better dresses from the film).




Plus, Geoffry Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, and Colin Firth. What's not to love?

ETA: Please don't forget about the typewriter I'm trying to find a new home for. Pictures available on request.

And Now a Word from our Sponsors

I have reached a decision. I have been trying for months to refurbish the Royalite, and I really wanted to use it. However, every time I try to use it I want to throw it out a window. I don't think there's really anything WRONG or broken (except the tab key), it just doesn't work for me. I find the action frustrating and slow, and I dislike the typeface.

I did start to repaint it, but all of the decals are intact. It does need new feet. It types fine, but it's not great. I like my pre-war machines better.

I paid $10 for it plus shipping, and I am asking the same if anyone is interested. I would also be interested if anyone wants to do a straight up trade for a portable from the 1920s-40s, or possibly one of these Underwoods (the full wishlist can be found here). If you are interested, please send me an email at [knot magick AT yahoo DOT com]. Of course, that should be all one word with the proper symbols inserted.

ETA: The links have been fixed.

Costume p0rn and Typewriters IV

The Mummy
I know I've talked about The Mummy and The Mummy Returns on this blog before, way back when. Why do I love these movies so much? I don't know. They aren't even remotely historically accurate, the mythology is way off base, the plots are so-so, and I have to cover my eyes any time there's a scarab on the screen. But nonetheless, something about them resonates with me.

I'm combining both movies here, since the characters generally wear the same costumes for the duration of the films (I'm pretending that Return of the Dragon Emperor or whatever it is doesn't exist, and I'm not much of a Scorpion King fan. Besides, you can hardly call the scraps of cloth and large pieces of jewelry used in that film to be "clothing.").

I think that the easiest answer to the above question is that once again, I'm drawn to the female lead. Unlike the characters I've mentioned previously, however, Evy is bookish. She's a nerd who loves a good library and isn't necessarily out for adventure, just the next great discovery. Adventure just kind of lands in her path and she can't avoid it. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she likes it.

With a backdrop of Egypt in 1923 (then ruled by the British), the Mummy not only has great costumes, but also great sets. Check out some of the wood work:



One of my favorite costumes of all time is Evy's librarian outfit. I love the bookish, nerdy look, and I have serious case of shoe lust for those Oxford Mary Jane pumps. I couldn't find a full body shot of the outfit, but you see them briefly in this clip (when I watched it, the audio syncing was off, but that might be my computer. Even if you hit mute, the scene is still very funny):



Here's a still from the same scene:


I love women in ties. Especially when worn with a long skirt.


But of course, this is an action movie. We can't have a dowdy, bookish librarian for the hero's love interest! So about five minutes into the movie, Evy promptly loses all of her clothes in a shipwreck, and must "go native":



In this scene, we also see Rick O'Connell's costume. It's pretty basic: Shirt. Trousers. Boots. Nothing really out of the ordinary, except those holsters. Which for me, really make the outfit. In his case, it's not so much what he's wearing, as how he's wearing it (okay, you caught me; Brendan Fraser fan).

Part of the reason I like this look is that while it is a period piece, and while it does involve British influences and have all the manners and niceties of the early 20th century, he's not wearing a suit. It's a nice departure.

Speaking of suites and departures, when the first board the boat (the one that sinks) he is wearing something a little fancier. Sadly, since it's shown for all of five seconds, I can't find a picture. But it's one of those light colored suits like the ones Jonathan wears throughout the film (minus the pith helmet and dorky expression).


You can see that Evy appreciates the change.

Oh, and of course there's the British Army uniform Rick wears in his opening scene. Uniforms are always a plus:


In the second movie, both Evy and Rick wear variations on their costumes from the first movie. Set ten years (or thereabouts) in the future, around 1933, Rick looks much the same only...cleaner. Well, he would have to since he and Evy are both key members of London society. The suits switch from tan and white to black (yawn) (though everyone looks very snappy in them), and Evy shows up in this:


...While I love the outfit, I can't help but think that the costume designer forgot what decade it was supposed to be. In fact, very few of her costumes from this film (mostly black dresses/skirts that harken back to her "native" costume from the previous movie) really look like something from the 30s. In fact her nemesis, Meela, dresses more to period (though her costumes are entirely inappropriate for traipsing around in the desert, at least until she gets ready for a show down and then she, too, forgets all references to time period.



And the typewriters in all of this? While there might be one lurking in the background at the beginning of the second movie, the only one I found in the first was a very abused portable machine that shows up for just a few seconds as Rick tries to get Evy out of Egypt as fast as he can. Sadly, I cannot find the clip or a still with the typewriter. You'll just have to see the movie and cringe for yourself.

---
I have two more blogs planned for this series, unless I think of another period film I want to add (which is possible. Originally, this one wasn't on the list). There are two others that MIGHT make it...it depends on how far I decide to go.

Other than the typewriters, what draw you to period films?

Costume p0rn and Typewriters III

Pan Am
Pan Am was, by far, my favorite new show of the past year. Sadly, I was one of very few who felt this way and it was axed after only one season. Still, it is available on the ABC website, iTunes, and probably coming to a Netflix queue near you sometime soon.

Set in 1963, this 14 episode series follows the crew of the new Clipper Majestic, the largest plane in the Pan Am fleet piloted by one Dean Lowrey, newly promoted and the youngest pilot in Pan Am's employ. His copilot and long-time friend, Ted, is a former Naval pilot and just a teensy bit jealous of Dean's promotion. Then there's Maggie, the trouble making purser, and Colette, the charming Frenchwoman who always falls for the wrong guy way too fast. Most of the series, however, tends to revolve around the sisters Kate and Laura Cameron. Kate became a stewardess to gain independence from her controlling, overprotective mother. Laura did much the same...after running away from her own wedding. Really, what girl wouldn't need to get out of the country after something like that?

Most of my flight experience is post 9-11. I remember meeting someone at the gate once; I don't recall ever being able to skip the metal detectors, and twice I've been flagged by security because of what I was wearing (the first time, I was thirteen, it was 6 am, and apparently tired teenage girls in pink hoodies and ball caps are threatening. The second time, it was for wearing a long skirt. No, I'm not joking). So for me, a big part of the draw to this series was that it depicts an era when traveling was more pleasurable, and assumptions weren't made about passengers before they even checked in. It shows a time when airlines actually cared about pleasing their customers rather than just squeezing every penny possible out of them.

And then, there are the cute little uniforms.

Now after my last post, I'm sure someone out there is expecting me to go into some big feminist rant at this point, what with the use of "stewardess" instead of "flight attendant", the weigh-ins the girls have to go through before they get on the planes, the way there are no women in power in the series, etc. But I'm not.

You see, my problem with Grease is that most of the anti-female commentary (ahem. "Beauty School Drop Out") were creative decisions, rather than strictly historical ones. It would be one thing if, for example, one of the T-Birds or even a teacher had told Frenchy she couldn't become a beautician, or if her parents had forbid it and forced her to go back to school. Instead, they made her "inner voice" a misogynistic jerk and allowed her to give up without trying.

Meanwhile, in Pan Am, every single one of these girls is a fighter in her own way. The weigh-ins, age limits, discrimination against women in the work place, and sexual harassment depicted in the show are all accurate.

And also, I don't have a problem with the use of the word "stewardess." It is the feminine of "steward," plain and simple. Dictionary.com provides five definitions of the word "steward;" the later three are as follows:

3. an employee who has charge of the table, wine, servants, etc., in a club, restaurant, or the like.

4. a person who attends to the domestic concerns of persons on board a vessel, as in overseeing maids and waiters.

5. an employee on a ship, train, or bus who waits on and is responsible for the comfort of passengers, takes orders for or distributes food, etc."

French, Spanish, German, and Japanese (to name a few) all have masculine and feminine nouns, verbs, and adjectives. It's just a language construct. Perhaps at one time it was meant to lower the status of women in comparison to men, but that is not the case anymore. Stewardess is the female and I find it no more offensive than saying actress, princess, or even queen. They're too sides of a coin, and both are shaped equally even if they're painted a little differently.

Anyway. As I was saying. The cute little uniforms.

Seeing as they required the use of a girdle, I doubt the trademark blue suits were comfortable, or that it was practical to spend so many hours in heels, but it certainly does make a lovely picture.

One of my favorite things about the uniform is the hat. I just love hats with hat pins, I don't know why. I also want one of those bags for a reason I cannot explain. Normally I am opposed to anything with advertising on it, but in general I just love the shape (I have two purses that are smaller versions).

For me, Kate is the style icon of the series. True, this is probably intentional on the part of the creators/producers/costume department, since she is the main character, but it's still true. It doesn't hurt that she reminds me a great deal of a friend.


[another example, which blogger doesn't seem to want to load]

Kate is always elegant, from the tips of her shoes (which always match her bag) to the top of her updo (which I want to learn how to recreate).

Her sister, Laura, is generally a bit more casual, likely Maggie's influence since the two are very close. Still, she has impeccable taste.



Every show has it's fashion flubs. Note the furry thing posing as Maggie's hat. I have no idea what it's supposed to be, but it kind of looks like a Tribble that got into the kool-aide. As recompense, here's a shot of Maggie when she isn't wearing aliens on her head:


Of course, you can put Christina Ricci in just about anything and I'll watch it. She's been one of my favorite actresses since I was a kid and I was thrilled to see her in this series. It doesn't hurt my opinion that she's Pan Am's Rizzo, and by now you probably all know that I love the strong female roles.

Colette's style is much less flashy, but no one dresses better for an event, don't you agree?



Funny story: There's a game I like to play when watching shows or movies with Canadian cast members. It's called, spot the Quebecois. While I learned European French in high school, my mother's family speaks Canadian French, which is a little different. While I don't speak the language well myself, I'm pretty good at picking out what continent the speaker is from based on dialect and accent (and I'm pretty good at telling the difference between American, Canadian, and French Canadian just by how they speak English). Karine Vanasse is very good at mimicking the European dialect--so much so that I suspected she was a French native, or at least had a VERY good dialogue coach. Then I heard her speak Italian, and realized she was actually from Quebec. I find this hilarious, since my Italian teacher in Florence kept accusing me of speaking Italian with a French accent. It's funny the way our voices and pronunciation change (or don't!) depending on the language we're speaking.

As for typewriters, as you can imagine they are not the crux of this show they way they might be, if, say, all the characters were writers. But they do pop up from time to time, usually when you least expect it (it should be noted that Maggie "dates" two writers). As a teaser, here's a clip from the pilot (pun so intended!) that features a typewriter:



Safe travels!

Costume p0rn and Typewriters II

Grease
Okay, so this one just barely counts for this list, from the one brief glance we see of Blanche tangled up in the ribbon of her Royal.

I love this movie. But there are two things that I HATE about it. First, I can't stand the depicted bullying of Eugene. Bullying is never okay, and in the film it's played off as "boys will be boys." Yes, I know the story takes place in the fifties and that there were different attitudes and that similar things happen today--often much worse--but it still bothers me.

Second--and this actually bothers me a lot more, since it has a bigger part in the film--is the song Beauty School Drop Out.



Good things: The video itself is beautifully shot, there's a dose of humor in it, and it is used to encourage Frenchy and other young people to finish high school.

What irks me: Frenchy's so-called "guardian angel" basically spends four minutes telling her why she is too stupid to ever reach her goals. His exact words are "Why keep your feeble hopes alive?/What are you proving?/You've got the dream but not the drive/If you go for your diploma, you could join a steno pool," and then later "You're not cut out to hold a job/Better forget it."

Really? That is the message you want to send to young girls? The musical was started in 1971, the film was released in 1978, so there's at least a few years of the sexual revolution behind them when the original story was written, and they're still arguing that the best a woman could hope for was to be a secretary? Even while the principal of the school is female?

I am sure others have heard this argument before, but it's just something that really gets to me on a core level, especially since I went to a technical high school--we had career training before we'd even graduated. And yet, when I talk to others who love this film, they always cite this song as their favorite.

Okay. I said I loved Grease, but by this point you're probably wondering why. Well, as I said, it starts with the music (I just fast forward though that one). When I first saw the movie as a kid, my favorite song was "Greased Lightning." Now that I'm a little older though, and have a better understanding of some of the themes presented in the movie, I find the term "pussy wagon" offensive. Now, my favorite songs are "Summer Nights" since it shows the two perspective and how Danny keeps trying to boost his image. It's very tongue in cheek, which I love. Another favorite is "You're the one that I Want," because it shows a balanced relationship--both Sandy and Danny are willing to make changes for the other. These aren't changes that were demanded by the other. They were done with free will. While I do think that Sandy was forced to bend a little more, I think this is tempered by the fact that she came to the realization on her own, since how things were before just weren't working for her. She knew that in order to have the kind of life she wanted, she had to work to make some changes, take some risks, and she took them (unlike Frenchy, who gave up).



Despite this, my favorite character has always been Rizzo. She stands out and isn't afraid to do so. She speaks her mind, calls it like she sees it, and never backs down. I love her solos "Sandra Dee" is hilarious and "The Worst Thing I Could Do" is just heartbreaking--and once again points out that Bullying is Bad. Throughout everything, she never once apologizes for being who she is.



And then, of course, there are the costumes.

Once again, I love the way Rizzo is dressed--she's the only female character to regularly eschew skirts and dresses, even at school, and I love her favored highwaters and the pencil skirt she wears on the first day of classes (left).

In general, I love fashion from the 1950s. The cuts are so flattering, and the full skirts are so much fun to wear.

And don't even get me start on the dance off scene; oh my gosh, I love the dresses. In particular, Marty and Rizzo's picks. They are form-fitted without being revealing, and the colors are bright, eye catching, and just right for both the actresses and the characters.





















Well, I think I've waxed poetic enough about this one--especially since it's probably one film that almost everyone (at least in the US) has seen (and now someone is going to comment and prove me wrong. :) Please do).

Costume p0rn and Typewriters I

I love historical costumes. I'm interested in most eras, but I especially love the Victorian period up through the early 60s--and it just so happens that those years were a typewriter heyday. Over the next few posts, I'll explore some of the shows/movies that I've seen recently (or would like to see again) that bring them together.

The Murdoch Mysteries
This Canadian series recently wrapped up it's 6th (and as far as I can tell, final) season. Seasons 1-3 are out on DVD, with season 4 just released in the past week.

Set in Victorian Toronto (mid 1890s-early 1900s), the titular character of Detective William Murdoch is played by Yannick Basson, a scientifically minded member of the Toronto Constabulary. Pioneering the use of techniques such as UV fluorescence, tracing phone calls and recording conversations as well as the use of psychology to catch criminals and garner confessions, Murdoch is changing the landscape of the police force. To aid him in his endeavors is Constable George Crabtree (Jonny Harris) and the coroner, Dr. Julia Ogden (Helene Joy).

I love the costumes in this series, especially the ones they choose for Dr. Ogden. She always looks extremely elegant, but always approachable. Another thing that I like--you frequently see her in the same costume or reusing costume pieces. Yes, I know it is a mark of budget constrictions, but it always bothers me in a tv series when every time a character pops up, they're wearing something different. I frequently find myself wondering, "Exactly how many coats does she have? Where does she keep all of those dresses?" I feel that by giving her a staple wardrobe for day-to-day use, it makes her character more realistic. [Historical Note: Dr. Ogden is based on the real-life Dr. Julia Byrne, who worked in Toronto around the same time period.]

The men's fashion isn't quite so stunning as the ladies, but this is generally the case. I will say, however, that I love all of the waistcoats and cravats. I love a man in a waistcoat.

For the most part, typewriters only get a passing glance in this series, but on several occasions (in later seasons; I don't think it even shows up until the second half of season 2) we do see Murdoch using an Oliver. A number 5, perhaps? Mostly only the arched typebars are visible, not enough for me and my piddly knowledge of the machines to be able to identify it.

If you love history, you will adore this series. Episodic characters include Tessla, H.G. Wells, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It's a must watch.

Contest

No, not my contest. Though I am donating one of the prizes.

Missouri is giving away a copy of her new book, The Hanged Man's Ghost, on her blog. Also included in the prize pack is a set of knitting needles and some handspun yarn (made by yours truly).

A quick summary: Detective Fynn Adder's life is quickly sliding out of control. Since the death of his longtime partner, Fynn has been plagued by the ghosts of the dead, and thanks to his drinking habits his job with the Chicago Police Department is hanging by a thread. Now, neck deep in a new investigation, it appears that the latest victim is tied to his partner's death and to make matters worse IA is sniffing around, and Agent Voight is determined to make anything he can stick to Fynn.

With suspense, romance, and even knitting, this book is sure to be a crowd pleaser!

To enter the contest, just visit Missouri's blog for details.

Knitting and Typewriters

If you have been following this blog for any period of time, then by now you've probably figured out that I tend to do things in phases. Sometimes, this blog is all about writing, or typewriters. Sometimes it's all about what I'm reading or drawing, sometimes sewing. It seems that lately, it's knitting.

As promised, I have pictures of some recent acquisitions:

This is the Malibrigo Lace I picked up last week at The Yarn Shop in Clintonville (I would link to their site, but it seems to be down for a revamp). I don't go up that way too often, since I have a difference of opinion with both the owner and most of the regulars, but the last time Missouri and I went in, there were several new people sitting around the work table and they were all very lovely to talk to--enough that I'd love to make another trip in the near future.

I do apologize for the poor photographs. My camera is driving me up a wall right now, but a new one is not in the budget. I have no idea where the glare keeps coming from, but it seems my camera has a very low tolerance for imperfect light.

The colors are Whales Road and Saphire Magenta, though honestly, I'm not sure which is which since one has blue (saphire) and the other has the magenta. I'll have to look that one up.

My second yarny purchase in the last couple of weeks was some spinning fiber from Fiber Optic Yarns. I wanted something brightly colored and easy to spin to take with me to Steampunk Symposium, and decided that as much as I prefer to use fibers like silk, I wanted something a bit grippier and easier to work with while at the busy convention, so I settled on some superwash merino. I usually don't spin or knit with wool unless it's in a blend that is at least 50% something else, but I can use superwash. I suspect that whatever chemical treatment makes it superwash (i.e. removes or "glues" down the follicles on the individual fibers so that it can't felt) also removes the lanolin or whatever it is that gives me problems with it. I might not be able to rub my belly and pat my head at the same time, but it is a very good thing to be able to spin and breathe at the same time.

Again, the colors didn't come out as true in the photograph as I would like--it's much brighter and leans more on the red/orange side of the fence than shown. The colorway is "Hot and Spicy."

I've been meaning to write more about typewriters on here (since it's been so long since I have), but since I live in something of a typewriter vacuum, that hasn't happened. Budget cuts have prevented new machines from coming home, as well as the purchase of the supplies I need to continue working on the Royalite. I've also been attempting to come up with a way to combine knitting and typewriters, and ended up resorting to Google, where I found this, a typewriter that knits, and then I found this page, which is a collection of knitted/sewn/crafted retrotech.

While I haven't gotten that ambitious yet, I have been combining typewriters with my knitting in another way:

I've got the ribbon color selector, caps lock, and (on my right hand, which did not photograph as well) the tab and semi-colon keys. In retrospect, I realized it would have been cool to use Magic Margin instead of the caps or tab keys, but maybe for next time. This is more of a dry run, anyway. I'm not crazy about the base color, and I need a larger color pallet before I can attempt the glass keys I originally wanted to do. I also had to redo the lettering. The first time, I asked Missouri to do it but it rubbed off before I could apply the clear coat. Once I get the chrome/metalic I need, I'll try again in more detail.

Knitting Status and the Manicure of the Week

It seems that I've spent the bulk of the past two months waiting on people to get back with me about various things, mostly job related, which has lead to a lot of anxiety knitting. Mostly, this has been on the livingroom afghan, which has had several rows added this week as Missouri and I work our way through season two of The Murdoch Mysteries. Of course, being that it is a massive project done almost entirely in stockinette, you can't really tell.

I've also been attempting to finish the Christmas socks, but have hit that point of knitting purgatory where they don't seem to be getting any longer, no matter how much I knit on them. I've decided that they have until April 1 to reach the desired length, and then regardless I'm doing the cuff, casting off, and then going back for the afterthought heel. Really, four months for a single pair of socks is far, far too long.

Since I've been concentrating on the socks, I haven't been working as much on the cardigan as I would like. I did start over, and have finished the three-ish inches of ribbing around the hem (I actually don't remember how much ribbing the pattern calls for, but it was in that neighborhood) as well as the first cable repeat. I'm staring at it right now, fighting the desire to work on it some more before I have to leave for my day job.

The Mario nails seem to have gotten me hooked. I've been giving myself decorative manicures every couple of days. Currently, it's a deck of cards inspired by watching Missouri play Alice: The Madness Returns. I did these a couple of days ago, so they're not as fresh and clean as they could be (my sock needles rubbed off part of the thumb). I also discovered that my clear coat seems to cause the other colors to bleed. It's not as noticeable on a darker base color, but you can really tell on the white. I do have a typewriter themed manicure planned in the future, but I'm sure I can do lettering with my left hand. I might try a stencil of some kind. Maybe contact paper would work.

____
Anyone know anything about Photoshop? I keep getting an error message every time I try to save, and it's the only software I have that will let me resize images.

Pretty Stuff

Remember this?

Well, it's finished now.




In the comments for my last post, Bill M. asked what the difference between embroidery and needlepoint is. Embroidery uses a variety of stitches to create a single motif to embellish a piece of fabric. Needlepoint uses a single stitch type to create an image on a canvas, covering the entire material (which is usually much heavier than the fabrics one would hand embroider on). This is an example of what needlepoint looks like, and in some of these macro shots you can see a few of the stitch types I used to embellish the fabric Missouri provided.



Think of it this way: Embroidery is like pinstripes and decals on a typewriter, while needlepoint is more like going for full on silver surferdom (is that a word?).
















Another thing I finished this morning:



Mario Manicure! Because I am just that much of a geek. And no, I did not do the above needlepoint myself, but since I know someone will be wondering, I just had to use it since it was the first image that popped up when I Googled "needlepoint" for an example.

Loose Ends

1. It's official: I will be attending the Steampunk Symposium in Cincinnati next month. Costumes are mandatory, and I suspect that a typewriter and possibly my spinning wheel will be tagging along.

2. I have become addicted to a Canadian series called The Murdoch Mysteries. As far as I know, it doesn't air here in the states, so I've been watching it on Netflix, but only season 1 is available on streaming. I might just break down and buy the boxed sets, though I was rather unhappy to discover that even though 6 seasons have aired, only 3 have been released on DVD and season 4, for some reason, is only being released as a region 2 DVD set. Frustrating.

3. I finished Missouri's embroidery project last night, but have not been home during daylight hours, so I haven't gotten a good picture of it yet. Maybe this weekend.

4. I really enjoyed doing that series on writing. As you might have noticed, it made it easier to for me to focus my thoughts. So if there's something else you want to hear about, let me know.

How do you write? Part IV, Excetera (Conclusion)

To wind up this series, I thought I'd mention some of the other legwork that goes into my writing process.

Just about every story I have on my computer has a file to accompany it. In this file are all of my internet research notes, deleted scenes, first drafts, and other notes. Some examples:

1. Never, ever delete your old drafts. If rewrites require severe deviation from the original, copy it into a new file and work from that. Listen to the voice of experience. Don't delete anything. Ever.

ETA: I should also note that for archiving purposes, I also print off a hard copy now every time I finish a manuscript, usually the first draft and the final.

2. Internet research--This goes for book research as well, but doubly so for the internet. Always save the webpage so you know where to find the information again. In fact, if you can, hit ctrl+s to actually save the entire page as a file on your computer, which can be viewed offline. This way, you'll have all of the information and images in context, and won't spend hours combing through your notes trying to figure out where that Norse symbol you used in chapter two came from and what the hell it was called. (Again, learn from my mistakes and save yourself the trouble.)

ETA: For more complex stories, I also tend to have a notebook going with handwritten scenes, lists, and research done from books.

3. Family Trees--I generally don't include these for shorter works, but Cassie and Evie both have them. This helps when your referencing obscure relatives that become unexpectedly important later, or in the case of Cassie's love interest, who have large families or obscure middle names that you won't remember in another thousand words.

4. Notes for future volumes--this happens a lot with Cassie. I'm working on a really exciting scene, or an intriguing villain, or, with Evie, I'll have a loose thread that just won't tuck neatly into to ending I'm working up to, so I'll make a note for a future volume. I keep a running list of potential titles, characters that should pop up again and events that might need referencing later.

Well, that is it for me. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments. I hope you found this a refreshing break from the usual typewriter/knitting posts. More knitting pictures and maybe even a typecast coming soon.

How do you write? Part III, Crafting a Plot

This is probably not something I should admit as a writer. Don't tell anyone, but plot is usually the last thing I think of when developing a story.

Combine that with my trouble with setting, and you have my two greatest weaknesses when it comes to writing. In both cases, I've discovered that the solution is simple in theory, and more difficult in practice: preparation.

For me, the general writing process can be broken into two parts: the easy part, and the hard part.

The Easy Part
This is the beginning. It's that flash when the idea comes in the middle of the night, the new character that walks into my head brandishing a sword and demanding to be put on the page immediately.

Sometimes, this phase only lasts a few paragraphs. Sometimes, it lasts most of the novel, like it did during the marathon that was the writing of the second Cassie Tanner novel (ten weeks, the fastest I've ever written anything longer than a school essay). During this portion I write quickly, passionately, using up every spare moment to get the ideas out before they get scared away by things like my day job or sleep.

The Hard Part
This is where the research and the planning take place. Once that initial burst of creative energy wears out, I turn away from the computer and usually go to either a notebook or the typewriter to work out the next phases (I've also been known to switch the fonts on my computer temporarily to something period or story appropriate. Currently, Olivia is being written in Pages' Kokonor, an italic serif font that borders on script).

Sometimes, I start with research, trying to find out more about the historical or geographic setting I've chosen (or that the characters have chosen, as the case might be). Other times, the problems lie in the actual construction of the story.

Somewhere on this blog, there is a photograph of a flow chart I created some time ago for Threadbare, back when it was still Fortuna Mulibris, or possibly even before. I can't find it now, and I usually throw out my notes once I've either written the sections they cover or made such drastic edits that the manuscript no longer bears any resemblance to the notes, so I don't have anything recent to show you.

Anyway, the flow chart is my basic form of plotting out the actions of a character. It's usually sketchy and brief, and takes up no more than two pages. It frequently does not reach the end of the manuscript and more of a stream of consciousness outline of what I would like to happen than an actual route for the story to follow.

More recently, I've begun using an outline. Just like you learned in school, I start with a chapter heading and move chronologically through the events that should happen in that chapter. I've been writing long enough that I usually have an idea of how long each of those scenes should be, and have an idea of where to put the chapter breaks in advance. In most cases, I'm pretty accurate. Sometimes though, the story decides to take a wild left turn and I end up being way off. But again, these are only guidelines.

As I'm working on the outline, sometimes I think of things that need to happen, and I'll add them in the margins. If the notation needs to go in a specific place, I simply draw an arrow from the note to the proper place in the timeline.

Once I have the timeline worked out, I can go back to the manuscript and continue following my bullet points to construct the story.

***

I have one more short blog planned on this subject to cover the miscellany I haven't talked about yet, but if there is something specific you would like to know, leave a comment and I'll try to work it in.

Out Sick, or, Fueling the Writerbeast

Other than writing, there is one thing that writers frequently excel at: procrastination.

Case in point: I should be working on one of my ongoing projects (two of which need written and two need editing), or one of my knitting projects (two of which are so far past the deadline it's not even funny anymore), or finishing the library book that I've exhausted the renewals on and am still less than half done with, or refreshing my memory on The Hanged Man's Ghost so I can write that review I promised Missouri ages ago, or working on the next "How do you write" blog post that should have gone in this space instead.

But instead, I thought I'd talk to you all about tea.

This is partially because I have only left my bed to go to work this week, having been laid up with a fever and sore throat that necessitated a lot of tea and ice water drinking. I've spent most of this week writing and knitting and need a bit of a break--a tea break, if you will. I'm also in the middle of sampling a new tea I picked up at work, and, well, I thought I might warn you all.

This is the tea corner of our little apartment:



Into that cramped, awkward space we have no less than fourteen varieties of tea, plus three different kinds of hot chocolate (this is what comes of having two writers/anglophiles in the house).

One might argue that this is an awful lot of hot beverage options. After all, don't most people just buy a bag or a can of their favorite coffee and leave it at that?

Like a woman and her shoes, never come between a writer and her tea, unless you want to hear a justification of every single one (but I'll be nice and just give you the highlights):

One of my favorites is this vanilla creme spice I bought at work and have not seen since. It's very sweet and just perfect on it's own. I like to have a cup before bed sometimes, or when I want something sweet without resorting to junk food.

Around that same time I bought a can of pumpkin spice. This one I drink mostly in the fall for obvious reasons, and with a little cream and sugar it tastes like pumpkin pie.

Inside that blue tin is a selection of green teas, my favorite of which is the mint green. These were a gift, and I don't drink them often. There is a packet of oolong in there though, that I've been wanting to try.

Most of what is left is the result of our Never Ending Quest for True British Tea, which is difficult to find in our corner of the world. For the uninitiated, let me explain:

While traveling the UK and Ireland in college, Missouri and I developed the habit of stopping every day for a cup of tea at various cafes around London, Bath, Dublin, and Edinburgh. It's a wonderful tradition that we happily took up, sampling the various treats that afternoon tea entails. On our return to the States, we were devastated to find that none of the teas available in the grocery store were up to par, coming out bitter when allowed to steep, and too weak when the bag was removed early. Thus began our quest.

Thankfully, I work for a retailer that gets a lot of imported snack food, and that allowed us a chance to sample several varieties. For a while the favorite was Oxbridge Afternoon Tea (for which I cannot find an online purveyor), until Missouri was gifted with a box of Ahmed by a client, and it is amazing. Our one remaining concession to American black tea is the Luzienne, which is reserved only for iced tea. (Missouri's recipe, which is WONDERFUL: 1 kettle boiling water, poured over 2 trays of ice, 4 tea bags, and 1.5 cups of sugar. Stir until everything melts/dissolves. Slice 2 clementines in half, squeeze the juice into the pitcher and drop the halves in. Put in the fridge, and serve chilled).

Whatever you do, don't let that box of London Cuppa fool you. It does not taste like the English tea a know, and has the bitter aftertaste of teas from this side of the pond.



My favorite way to drink tea? Black tea with two sugars with cream, if you please, or just honey for an herbal or green tea out of one of these cups. They're imitation, but the pattern matches an heirloom set of my mother's almost exactly. I found the set of six, plus two creamers and sugar bowl at a local thrift store for $10.

How do you write? Part II, World Building

I have a confession to make: I have a LOT of unfinished manuscripts on my computer. I used to have a lot more, until we discovered that the backups from my first computer had been corrupted and there was no way of salvaging the severely outdated documents.

It actually was not until recently that I discovered one of the major reasons why so many pieces I began went unfinished. A college writing assignment pointed out the error to me. The subject was "A Sense of Place," as was basically about identifying key points in our surroundings and how they affect us as people.

You see, as a younger writer, I focused mostly on character development, adding layer upon layer to the backstory of my main characters and creating histories and motivations for the lesser players, but I never took took the same care with the set and the props. Since I write mostly fantasy, my stories frequently involve alternate or parallel worlds. I might have a rough idea of what this world with mermaids and mages looked like, but some of the details were frequently lost even on me, because it wasn't the focus of the story.

The end result of this carelessness was that one of several things would happen:
1. I'd write myself into a corner I didn't know how to get out of. My characters would find themselves in the literary equivalent of a darkened room with just a flashlight and no idea where the exits were. Until I found a way to shed light on the rest of the setting, I was going to be left with a very boring story.

2. I would skip certain aspects of the world altogether (such as government, politics, and social problems) because I didn't feel adequately equipped to write them in an interesting, effective manner.

3. For one reason or another, I'd walk away from the manuscript for a few days, come back, and then have no idea what to write next because the world the story existed in was so foggy that I didn't know where they should go next.

Obviously, this was quite problematic. You see, settings are something I'm just not very good at creating. There are so many nuances that have to be just right, so many tiny things that don't seem important, but that really are.

For example, architecture. What kind of house does the main character live in? Is it a rambling Victorian, an old farmhouse, a cookie cutter suburban development or an ultra-modern mansion? Or something else altogether? What about the neighborhood? Is it full of these older homes? What kind of people live in them? Is it near water, or farmland, or a forest?

Things get trickier the further from reality the setting is removed. Legality was always tricky for me. If your main character lives in kingdom run by wizards and guarded by knights that ride dragons, what kind of laws to they have? It's been my experience that in fantasy novels, even the good guys don't exactly follow the law. What happens when they get arrested? What do their police look like? Are there trials? Are they fair? Would they appear in front of a judge, or would their crimes require an appearance in front of the king?

As they say, realizing you have a problem is the first step to finding the solution. Becoming aware that I was crap at writing effective backdrops for my stories was one thing; fixing it was something else entirely.

Over the last few years, I've developed four stages to writing good settings.

To start with, I cleared the decks, so to speak. When I began working on Threadbare, I decided for the first time that rather than using a generic setting (up to that point I hadn't specified any locations in my stories, preferring to use a trick taken from many young adult novels that allows the reader to imagine the story takes place in his/her hometown) I knew very definitely that the story was set in Montreal. I chose the city for several reasons: I was in Montreal at the time, I loved the city, and it was just far enough removed from my own small town experience to feel like an adventure every day.

I wrote a little last time about how I developed Evie as a character. In creating the physical world she lived in, I based it heavily on the world I was experiencing. The bus route she she takes is the same; she lives at the end of the street where I was staying, and I worked my favorite land marks and hang outs into the story.

After many rewrites, the first full draft of Fortune's Fight (Threadbare's initial incarnation) was finished in 2009. Though the story would see many changes after that, I had the bones down and was able to build on them for the most recent draft. Though some of the plot points changed and characters were added and removed, the basis of the story is the same, as is the setting.

The second stage involves taking what you know and creating a world that is slightly removed from it. I did this for my Cassie Palmer series. While her address would read Plain City, Ohio, I've made some adjustments, adding many things that can't be found on any map of Union County.

The third part is to write a place you know exists, but have never seen. For A.J. Marshall's story, I chose 1920s Chicago. A.J's world is very different from true history (for one thing, her world is powered by clockwork and steam, rather than diesel and electricty, and I made a few minor adjustments to Al Capone's timeline). This gives me a basic framework to go from, but I can add buildings, politicians, and historical events as necessary to further the story.

The last step is creating a world from scratch. I've started to do this with my newest character, Olivia. I began by creating the building that she lives in, her family, and her friends. From there, I can work my way out to their political connections, which helps define the political and economic structure of her world.

Basically, what all of this boils down to is thinking of the world you're writing as another character. There are the physical aspects to consider. What does it look like? What kind of architecture are the buildings? What are they made of? Why? What resources are commonly found in the area? If they use stone, then it follows that they probably have a lot of quarries or mines. Wood buildings are generally cheaper, more flammable, and surrounded by forests. If everyone lives in a circular tower, why? Do the circles conduct magical energy better than squares? What kind of furniture to they need to compensate for the awkward angles? What about property lines? Are they circular, too? These are all key things to consider, and your characters and your readers will thank you for it.

Is there another aspect of writing or development that you want to hear about? Leave a comment and let me know.