House, DaVinci, and The Color of Passion

I love House. It's got some of the best writing in television. Witty, ascerbic, clever, intriguing... and whatever else the critics are saying, but I must confess, I was a little disappointed with the season finale. I mean - hallucinations? Really. That was so Bobby-Ewing's-dream. And what about the guy with the swollen tongue? Will we ever know what happened to him? (I am relieved, however, that the exploding testicles and the eyeball popping were just a bad dream).

The DaVinci Code. Saw the movie on opening night and enjoyed it. Full stop. No critique from me. There's been enough dissing of Tom, Ron, Audrey, Akiva, etc...
Oh, but I can't help myself! It was entertaining, it really really was. But Tom Hanks, whom I really really like, shouldn't have been cast in the role of Robert Langdon. He just didn't fit the bill and he acted tired. Hardly up for the action/adventure lead. But it was still entertaining!
I'm a bit gauled that the critics are ranting about all of the exposition and backstory. Did they read the book?? The entire novel was one big art history/religion lecture! There were so many historical references the audience needed to know in order for the plot to work. Sheesh! Poor Ron Howard stuck to the book (lest he be stoned to death by 50,000,000 readers) and is being slaughtered for it.
Oh hell, in the end all involved will earn themselves scads of money, but they won't have a statuette on their mantlepieces next March. Boo hoo.
Entertainment news is reporting that Akiva Goldsmith was just given the go-ahead to write the screenplay for Angels & Demons and Ron and Tom have signed on. Let's hope they'll learn from the few mistakes they made and produce an even better film. But I really enjoyed it.

Meanwhile, in my own writing life... 'The Color of Passion'. I'm in the process of finishing a novella. My first! 'The Color of Passion' began as a short story, approximately 5,000 words. During the final draft, I decided that my two main characters needed more chemistry, more 'screen time' so to speak, to development a better relationship before they jumped into hot monkey sex. That brought the story up to 8,000 words. I challenged myself to stretch it to 10,000 words, (a novella by Chippewa Publishing standards) by enriching the dialogue and adding more description. I succeeded in that goal, yet while going over that 'final' draft, I felt there was still more to be said. Could I push it to 15,000 words by adding a new plot twist?
(blah, blah, blah... cut to present) Copious scribbles over fourth 'final' draft and I've just passed 17,000 words. Am I enriching or ruining it now? Oh, probably the latter! I had to rewrite the opening chapter three times as it became convoluted and messy. I'm stuck in the 'just-one-more-scene' cycle!! Oh, what to do? Keep writing...
And if I DON'T manage to sell it, it's been a great learning experience (she says with crushed heart and bad case of carpel tunnel syndrome). I've learned a lot about dialogue, pacing and why I should never title anything 'final'. Draft #1, Draft #8, Draft #36, ok, but never final draft!

~Wylie~

Still no answer to the question...

The past two days had me doing very little writing and LOTS of blog reading in my quest to answer the nagging question, "Why blog?"
I found some terrific blogs devoted to celebrity shananigans (poor Britney almost DROPPED her baby! The Brangelina babe is due ANY MINUTE! And whoever Brandon Davis is, he said some nasty things about poor, skinny Lindsay), very useful blogs with writing tips, book review blogs, sex blogs, even superhero blogs. But I'm still not sure why I need to blog.
I think what I need is a topic of my own. Shall I review a book a week? Opine about fave t.v. shows? Celebrate music, share my family life with 2 little boys, discuss the merits of owning a cat vs a dog? I'll think about it,...

In the meantime, my short story "Bella Fiore" is coming soon from Chippewa Publishing. I'll be running a contest on my website (www.wyliekinson.com) beginning next Monday, leading up to the July 28th release date. Check it out!
You can also read my erotic short, "Cavern on the Green" in the Wicked Words 7 anthology by Black Lace Publishing, available thru amazon.com and virginbooks.com

Until next time, keep reading!
~ Wylie ~

Why Blog?

Everyone says I need a blog. My friends, my publisher, other writers, but I just don't get it! I'm a struggling writer who's trying to turn my inner dialogue into wonderfully rich characters and compelling plot. Why would I give it away for free? I feel like I'm wasting words, no?
On the other hand, this is good practise (or is that practice?) - this stream of consiousness writing. And I do have a lot to say. LOTS of opinions...
What if I get carried away with political rants? Will that hurt future book sales? (Look what happened to Rosie!)
What if too much of my personality comes through and my readers don't like me?
Can I keep up a mysterious personality and blog? Isn't blogging really just blabbing? And once put down on paper, or in this case online, you can NEVER TAKE IT BACK. That's a big responsibility.
What if the Bush Administration is listening to blogs too???? What if I write a story about someone who is a... shhhh.... terr*r1sT (of course he'd have to be hot and willing to have sex with my heroine) Will the pentagon start watching me?
What if I can't commit to this? Nothing is worse than checking in with one of your fave blogs just to find out that they haven't posted in weeks. You feel so let down, so ignored. Left out in the cold.
I just don't know if I want to let people down that way. I take a lot of vacations. You may not hear from me in days, weeks, months even.
Have I come across as a bit insecure? A bit neurotic.
OH oh! See what I mean? You hate me already.
Please come back. I promise to write something pretty tomorrow.

- Wylie

PS - Does spelling count? What if my favorite English teacher reads this and is embarrassed by the grammatical errors (hi Mrs. Brown!). She'd be banned from the staff room!