Movie Review: Grudge Match **

Story: Old
Script: Sad
Jokes: Lame
Performances: Lackluster
Sentimentality: In spades
Stallones's face: Over-cooked
Nothing feels innovative or new here. Everyone's played these roles in other films and no one appears all that excited to be here. Kim Basinger, in particular, seems completely uninterested in her role although she has nice chemistry with Stallone, and she looks gorgeous.
The best part of the film is when the final credits roll - not just because it's finally over but because there's a post-credit scene with Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson. Worth waiting for.
Two of five stars for Grudge Match.

Movie Review: Inside Llewyn Davis **

If I'd been able to get inside Llewyn Davis, Inside Llewyn Davis might have worked better. I didn't get to

know or sympathize with who he was supposed to be, and it's hard to root for someone who just keeps doing stupid things. He's a guy who doesn't care about much except his music. Sort of. Otherwise, Jean (Carey Mulligan) and the cat seemed to have equal, but not immense, importance in his life.
There's lots of Oscar buzz around this film - I don't see it. But it's the Coen Brothers and the Academy seems to love them. Their films are off and on for me, Fargo and No Country For Old Men being my favorites, but I would have to say mostly off.
I loved the look of Inside Llewyn Davis. I just wish I liked the character more. Or at least sympathized with him. Or knew him.
Two of five stars for Inside Llewyn Davis.

Movie Review: American Hustle ***1/2

The true star of this film is the double-stick tape that's used to prevent us from catching a glimpse of Amy

Adams' and Jennifer Lawrence's nipples. Their breasts are in full view through most of the movie, in their cut-to-the-navel wardrobe, and you keep waiting for something to fall out. Nothing ever does, but truly, the view is enchanting.
There's a lot of Oscar buzz around American Hustle and while I don't think it has Best Picture potential the performances are all pretty spectacular. If my theory holds (read my review of The Dallas Buyers Club to see what I'm referring to), Christian Bale will get a nomination for this role because he gained 40 lbs. Also, he's really great. As are Bradley Cooper, my girl Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner. Jennifer Lawrence is good but not great in this film but she'll probably get a nomination anyway because she's the darling of Hollywood at the moment.
American Hustle is an interesting, if complicated, story. I remember Abscam but didn't remember the details so I can't say how much of this is accurate, but loved how in the beginning these word flash on the screen: "Some of this actually happened." The story drags in the middle, making me look at my watch, and some of it is a stretch - the relationship between Bradley Cooper's character and his boss, played by Louis C.K., for one. But it's a beautiful period piece and a couple of good hours of entertainment.
Oh, and Christian Bales' comb-over should get a Best Special Effects nomination.
Three and a half stars out of five for American Hustle.

Movie Review: Her *****

Her is a film about love and loss and where we find our connections. This is a perfect role for Joaquin Phoenix. He's fantastic as Theodore, a forlorn, vulnerable, lonely man who writes other people's love letters for a living at a delightfully named company, BeautifulHandwrittenLetters.com. I love the opening sequence which is an extreme close-up of his face where he speaks heart-warming words of love and you slowly realize he's speaking a letter into his computer when the camera pulls back and you begin to see and hear other cubicle people doing the same thing.
Theodore is separated from the wife he's known since childhood and falls in love with Samantha, the intelligent voice on his operating system, created from a combination of human traits to anticipate and respond to his personality. Samantha is voiced by Scartlett Johanssen, and I fell in love with her, too. She's clever and funny and charming.
The story takes place sometime in the future and if you think things are bad now, just wait. This seems very real to me, a world where people don't talk to each other, only into their headsets. It's beautifully filmed in this strange but not so strange world.
Amy Adams is Amy (the character's name), Theodore's friend whose husband leaves and who falls in love with her own operating system. There's no more appealing screen presence than Amy Adams.
Her is a very clever and creative commentary on this disconnected/super-connected world we live in, how we all strive for that human bond, and the unexpected places we might find it.
I loved this film. Five of five stars for Her.

Movie Review: Saving Mr. Banks ***1/2

Saving Mr. Banks is a sweet story about an irascible woman and the man (Walt Disney) who tenaciously cracks the code of her impossibility. The film is inspired by the true story of P.L. Travers who wrote Mary Poppins, and who was loathe to sell the movie rights to Disney until her financial situation forced her to.
The film paints Walt Disney as something of a sweet dufus. Tom Hanks is good in the role but it's not much of a part, in my opinion. Emma Thompson is wonderful as the author but I wish it had been written with a lighter hand. Paul Giamatti has an odd role as the limo driver who turns out to be the only American the author can stomach, and who penetrates the armor she protects herself with.
It's an engaging story and I was certainly entertained for two hours but I would have liked it better if it had more substance and less fancy.
Lots of 'buts' here. Three and a half stars for Saving Mr. Banks.

Writing Tip: Does Your Opening Page Grab Your Readers?

When people peruse bookshelves, looking for something new and exciting to read, they look first at the cover (more about that in another post) and then they often open the book and read the first page. As writers we basically have those first few paragraphs to grab their attention, hold it and turn them into buyers. It's not much to go on, so it better be spectacular, right? If it's not, back on the shelf your book goes.
Somewhat more importantly, if you want to get your book published in the first place, agents and editors judge manuscripts in the same way.

Ray Rhamey, writes a wonderful column called Flog a Pro in my favorite writing website Writer Unboxed, where he analyzes a first manuscript page of a popular book to see if it passes the test. It's a given that the work must be beautifully written (Fifty Shade of Grey notwithstanding), or at least competently written (Fifty Shades of Grey notwithstanding) but after that Ray says people will stop reading if those lines don't contain these essential elements:

• Story questions
• Tension (in the reader, not just the characters)
• Voice
• Clarity
• Scene-setting
• Character

Whether you agree with him or not it's an interesting exercise. Read Ray's latest column about a David Baldacci bestseller - then do it with your own first page and see how it stacks up. 

Movie Review: Dallas Buyers Club ***1/2

Matthew McConaughey will surely get an Oscar nomination for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. The Academy loves actors who drastically alter their physical appearance, and MM is excruciating to look at in this film so...perfect! Oscar nod assured.
He's also very good in the role. Is he great? Not to me, but I'm not a big fan, though in my opinion it's one of his better roles. He melted (literally) into the part.
It's an engrossing story about real-life Ron Woodroof, an electrician/cowboy/gigolo, who's diagnosed with AIDS and fights to bring the right drugs to his fellow-sufferers, skirting right around the FDA. It's of the Rocky, Norma Rae, Rudy genre and it's hard not to root for the little guy, especially the one who fights the system and wins.
It's a great story, a pretty good film and a really good performance by McConaughey.
Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune thinks Jared Leto will also get an Oscar nomination for his role as Woodroof's transvestite business partner but I thought his performance was uneven. However...he lost 30 lbs. for the role, so who knows?
I just hope they both put on some weight before the Academy Awards.
Three and a half stars for Dallas Buyers Club.

Travel: Ireland for Thanksgiving 2013

This year I got it in my head that I wanted to go away for Thanksgiving. I had no particular destination in mind, I just wanted it to be somewhere I haven’t been and I didn’t want to spend a ton of money. 
Enter Groupon. I get emails from them all the time, for mani-pedis, restaurant discounts, bicycle tours…and there are always really attractive travel deals at the end. Does that sound scary? Groupon for travel? Anyway, Ireland had never been at the very top of my list – not that I didn’t want to go, just that there were other places I wanted to go first. But a Groupon deal came up that I couldn’t refuse, and when I told my best travel buddy Claire about it, she was in. Here’s our deal: $1099, which included air (non-stop flights Chicago to Dublin both ways), six nights at the Ritz-Carlton and a car. How could we pass that up, right?
And here’s what I found out about Ireland: Irish people are the nicest people in the world, bar none. Everyone we talked to, everyone we asked questions of, everyone we got restaurant recommendations from, any store clerk, bus driver, post office clerk…they were all wonderful. They may not be the most attractive people in the world – they’re plain people – not sophisticated, not into fashion or makeup (but very few fat people) – but they are hands down the nicest. And – bonus – they have a fabulous sense of humor. I love the Irish!

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Our Aer Lingus flight left at 7p and was uneventful, not very crowded (check out the O’Hare tram all decked out for Christmas) and landed in Dublin at 9 on T’giving day. We picked up our rental car (paying a little extra for an automatic – we didn’t need to remember to drive on the wrong side of the road AND shift with the wrong hand) and drove to Powerscourt, about 45 minutes south of Dublin, to our gorgeous hotel, near the sweet little town of Enniskerry.
After a little nap we got a bus from Enniskerry to Dublin, about an hour trip. Okay, maybe we weren’t in the best location but it was nice not to have to drive and park, and then we didn’t worry if we had a little too much Jamisons or Guinness. We did that bus trip almost every day.
While we were waiting for the bus on that first day we went into a little antique shop in Enniskerry and talked to artist and shop-keeper Brian Merry who called his daughter to get restaurant recommendations for us in Dublin, and we ended up at Brasserie Sixty6, where we ate seared tuna for Thanksgiving dinner.

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On Friday we went back into Dublin, had a light breakfast in the tea room at Clery’s department store and then we got a ticket for the Hop On Hop Off bus, which is a great way to tour Dublin, and did a Pat Liddy walking tour with our guide, Liam. See that needle-like structure in the middle of the picture to the right? It’s called The Spire, and Dubliners hate it. Liam told us a few of its nicknames: the stiletto in the ghetto, the stiffy near the Liffey (the river that runs through Dublin), the erection near the intersection… Seems Dubliners have clever, rhyming nicknames for everything.
On that tour we also saw Trinity College, The Church (used to be a church in the 18th century, now a cafe and restaurant), the Temple Bar area, Christ Church Cathedral. I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting.
Poppies in Enniskerry (left, below) became our go-to breakfast place. There were always locals who, after the second day, said good morning to us. So lovely. Their food is all homemade: breakfasts, quiche, scones, porridge, sandwiches, desserts, etc. On our last day we got a big hug from the lovely young lady who worked there.
Days are really short in Dublin - sunrise about eight and sunset about four. They tell us in the summer it's light til almost eleven.
I didn’t expect Ireland to be a gastronomic powerhouse but we happily had amazing meals. Every one. Before the theatre one evening we went to The Church, just because it’s so iconic, not thinking the food would be exceptional, but we were wrong. It was amazing. Other restaurants we loved: Emilia’s in Enniskerry, 101 Talbot Restaurant in Dublin, 3 Qs in Greystones.
There’s so much to do in Ireland and we only scratched the surface but here’s some of it: we saw two productions at The Abbey Theatre; a one-man show called Silent and a play about the Irish uprising called The Risen. We went to the Writers Museum, Kilmainham Gaol, Irish Museum of Modern Art, drove to Glendalough to see a 6th century monastic settlement, had lunch in the lovely little coastal town of Greystones, visited the Trim Castle built in the 1200s, saw the spectacular Powerscourt Gardens…
Enjoy the pictures but know they don’t capture the beauty.

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And finally, if you find yourself in Ireland and you’re doing a crossword puzzle and you need a 20-letter word for ‘photography,’ here you go:

Movie Review: Nebraska ***1/2

Nebraska is a really interesting-looking movie; it's filmed in black and white in a very ordinary and bleak part

of the country, and has an entire cast of unattractive people. ENTIRE CAST. The only cute person in the whole movie is Will Forte, and he's just ordinary-cute, not movie star cute.
No one else looks like a professional actor, at least not the professional actors we're used to. It's a cast of people you might see at the mall or the local diner or at a hockey game. It was striking to me, and fascinating.
Will Forte is likely to get a best supporting actor nod just because this part is such a departure from how we know him. If he does, he won't deserve it for this role - he's very good, but not great - but will probably deserve it later, after he's had more experience.
Bruce Dern is amazing as the crazy, single-minded dad and June Squibb is frighteningly real as his bitchy, no-nonsense, tough-talking, name-calling wife. Whew...she's scary.
I wanted Nebraska to be better than it was. I wanted this to be a five star review. I love Alexander Payne's sensibilities. But it missed for me. It doesn't have the depth of characters that we had in Sideways and The Descendants, it doesn't have the same kind of heart, and there are characters that seem created just to add humor (the big dufus cousins, for two).
But even though it doesn't live up to Payne standards for me, it's worth seeing.
Three and a half stars out of five for Nebraska.

Movie Review: 12 Years a Slave

I can't rate 12 Years a Slave, I cannot be objective about it technically. It was so disturbing to watch that I considered leaving many times, after each unspeakable act of violence and man's inhumanity to man, and that was most of the film.
The story opens with Solomon's life as a free man in New York - his idyllic home and family (which didn't seem historically correct to me, but maybe was intended, to contrast with what happens next) and then the excruciating horror begins when Solomon is kidnapped and wakes up in chains. The cruelty and violence never let up. Not for a second.
The film runs two hours and fifteen minutes, and two hours of it made me cringe, look away, brought tears to my eyes. It's unbearably sad. This period in our history is beyond comprehension.
Do I recommend that you see it? Yes, but be warned: It's not easy. Like the holocaust it's part of our history that can't be ignored. Pretending it didn't happen won't make it go away.

What More Could You Wish For Goes to Germany

How cool is this? My book What More Could You Wish For has been translated into German. The new title, Herzensdinge, means Matters of the Heart. Nice.

The book will be published next week, on November 22nd, and take a look at this fantastic cover - don't you love it? It made me laugh out loud with delight. I wrote to the publisher, Friederike Achilles, and she said, "I’m so glad you like our cover – I think it’s great, too! It perfectly illustrates your wonderful story, which I really, really loved very much. It is so funny and yet so sad from time to time. Congratulations for this fantastic novel!"

I wish it were the American cover as well.

If you read German you can get a Kindle version on Amazon. There's a print version as well but right now it's only on German Amazon. I'm so excited to hold it in my hands. Now I have to learn German.

One Person's Take on the Chicago Writers Conference

I met Shala Howell at The Chicago Writers Conference in September. Well, I'm not sure I actually met her in person (sorry, if I did, Shala...it's been a while now and my memory isn't what it used to be). I think we may have met on social media while Tweeting and Blogging about what was going on, and I love that - how many people in the writing world I've met through social media.
Anyway, Shala embraced that conference and everything she learned from the panels and presentations; social media, self-publishing, what agents and publishers are looking for, and she's making it work for her. She's new to Twitter but is doing a fantastic job, and we all know we need an online presence if we want to connect with readers. And she's writing smart, useful copy on her blog. Take a look (by the way, I'm not just posting this because she mentions me, but it didn't hurt):

“My book’s done. What’s next?” 

Notes from the Chicago Writer’s Conference, Part 2

by Shala Howell

If you’re just joining us, I’m in the process of working through my notes from the Chicago Writer’s Conference and turning them into digestible, topical tidbits on the publishing process. Last week I talked to you about how writers can tell when their book is ready to send out. This week, I want to talk about what comes next: choosing whether to pursue traditional publication or publishing your work yourself. 

I’m going to start this post off by saying that as I haven’t even made this decision for myself, I can’t possibly presume to make it for you. All I am going to do today is summarize what was said at the conference about the choice between traditional and self-publishing, and point you to a few reliable sources where you can learn more about both options.

 What traditional publishers had to say about self-publishing 

At the Meet the Publishers session, Jonathan Messinger of featherproof books frankly admitted that the stigma long associated with self-publishing is gone. In fact, demonstrated success through self-publishing can be very attractive to a prospective publisher. 

“Simon and Schuster may hate you,” Messinger said. “A small press will not.” 

Of course, there’s a caveat: If you were very successful marketing your previous book(s), your traditional publisher will probably want a new book from you. They are less likely to pick up any books you already have on the market on the theory that those books may have already saturated the market.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

You can connect with Shala on Twitter: @shalahowell

Movie Review: Captain Phillips *****

Tom Hanks will assuredly receive an Academy Award nomination for his role of the title character, and deservedly so. And so will the guy who plays the captain of the pirates. Man, that guy was authentically frightening.
I saw Captain Phillips right on the heels of Gravity, and I needed anti-anxiety meds when it was over.
Even though I knew what was going to happen (it's a true story, in case you, somehow, don't know this) my heart was pounding from the moment Captain Phillips spies the pirate boats advancing quickly toward the ship, and that's the very beginning of the film. You think, how can these little boats and these skinny, little guys be a danger to this gigantic (but unarmed) ship and crew? As soon as you see them up close, see their eyes, and witness their determination and fearlessness, you know.
Every performance feels real. The emotion of this terrifying real-life incident is raw and relateable, and you can't help but get caught up in it. Your breathing will quicken, your heart will palpitate, you will feel like you're there.
There's a particular scene late in the film when Hanks' character is at the end of this harrowing experience, when his emotion and relief come to a boiling point, and this is the scene that will win him his nomination. Not that it's the only reason - his entire performance is flawless - but this scene is haunting. You'll see what I mean. If you haven't already, go see this film.
Five out of five stars for Captain Phillips.

Movie Review: Gravity ****1/2

Gravity is not just a film, it's an experience. I watched with a hand to my mouth for most of the film, and while it's not exactly believable it's not unbelievable either. But it doesn't matter either way, it's a story that will grab you.
Gravity is a survival story, a story about fighting against dire circumstances, and how one finds the resources to endure. The characters are likable and vulnerable, and Clooney and Bullock play their roles with charm and magnetism. It's hard to extract Sandra Bullock from any character she plays - her personality is always front and center for me - but still I was caught up in her struggle and emotion. She delivered in this roll where there are long moments where she's all you see.
Even though I'm not a big fan of 3D that's what was playing when I wanted to go, but you'll get the full effect either way. The only thing you'll miss if you don't see it in 3D is flying space debris (there's one time, in particular, where the entire audience ducks), but the effects and the beauty of it will amaze either way.
Four and a half stars out of five for Gravity.

Movie Review: Enough Said ****

It's impossible to watch James Gandolfini in a romantic comedy as the big, huggable, vulnerable guy with the broken heart, and not feel sad that he died before his time. I could be wrong but I imagine that's what he was like in real life.
Albert (Gandolfini) and Eva (Julie Louis-Dreyfus) meet at a party and while it's not exactly love at first sight they delight in making each other laugh. Gandolfini and Louis-Deryfus play off of each other well as this unlikely couple, although Gandolfini is the stronger actor here. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who is a really strong comic actor, is endearing in this film when she's not staring off into space trying to appear emotional. At times she was relaxed and real and other times her performance felt forced. Not that it's bad, but it's uneven.
It's a sweet film to watch and I would have given it five stars if I'd had an easier time buying the premise that Eva's new client (Catherine Keener) turns out to be Albert's ex-wife (a poet, of all things, and a seemingly successful one at that, which I believe is an oxymoron), and Eva doesn't know it until halfway through the movie. I have a hard time believing the woman never used his name when that's all she talked, and bitched, about. Might have worked better if his name were Bob or Jim, and she could use the name without raising any red flags.
Regardless, it's an enjoyable film and a pleasure to watch them both and the ending is perfect. Too bad his
ending was so soon.
Four out of five stars for Enough Said.

Movie Review: The Immigrant *

Can you see the organist on the left there?

The Chicago International Film Festival opened last night at The Chicago Theatre. When we walked in there was a giant pipe organ on the stage and an organist playing things like "That's Entertainment" and movie theme songs. Very cool.
My BFF Bill Kurtis was the emcee for the night (if you don't remember when he had me over to his house for dinner click here).

My BFF Bill Kurtis

I digress.
It was a lovely venue for this event and there was a fitting tribute to Roger Ebert who, if you live on Pluto, died this year. His wife Chaz Bono...oops, I mean Ebert...spoke about her husband in a way that had the woman next to me rummaging in her bag for tissue. Oddly, even though it was very touching, I remained dry-eyed.
Then, director James Gray spoke and he was very funny and charming as he introduced his film The Immigrant to open the festival. If only his movie had been half as charming. It was the most interminable two hours I've spent since We're The Millers.
One thing I learned about the legendary Chicago Theatre is that it's not a good place to watch a bad movie. The rows are so close that you can barely cross your legs, let alone excuse yourself to get past people to get the hell out of there, so I had to sit through the entire thing. Oh. My. God.
It should be called The Immigrant Arrives On Groundhog Day because the same thing happens over and over and over again. The exquisitely beautiful Marie Cotillard is the immigrant Eva who arrives at Ellis Island with her less beautiful sister but the sister has to go into quarantine because she's ill and so Eva spends the rest of the film saying, "I have to do it to save my sister."
She hooks up (no pun intended) with Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix) who runs a local theater and who falls in love with her but doesn't mind pimping her out and then being remorseful. So she runs away from him, but then the authorities find her and she's going to be deported and Joaquin saves her and then she tries something else and the authorities find her and she's going to be deported and...well, that's the story. People are always finding her. What? Was she implanted with a GPS tracking device at Ellis Island?
This film tries so hard to be a period piece that it's almost a parody of one. It's beautiful to look at but the music and the burlesque shows are cartoonish. People are always chasing each other like Keystone Cops, trying to create tension that simply doesn't exist.
I didn't care about any of these characters, not even Ivan (Jeremy Renner), another love interest (because of course everyone was always falling in love with the beautiful and sullen Eva). I was just hoping someone important would die so the damn thing would end.
One out of five stars for The Immigrant.

Writing Lessons from Breaking Bad

As a writer I study everything I read and everything I watch. Not consciously. Well, sometimes consciously, but whether I'm aware of it or not, everything informs my own writing. When something's really stunning (like Gravity, which I saw today...review to come) I analyze the story arc and the characters. What makes it so good? When was I bored (I wasn't, during Gravity) and why? What turns me off? What makes me cry? What makes me laugh? When am I confused and is that good or bad?
Breaking Bad is a great vehicle for a writer to study. It's deservedly wildly successful, and there's a reason. It has all the essential elements; great writing, stellar acting, amazing direction, humor, the element of surprise...and the list goes on. And it does it all in spades.
To me it's a lesson in how to draw people in to a story they wouldn't ordinarily watch. I mean, who wants to learn more about drug dealers and guys who cook meth for a living? But you do, because the characters are unique and ordinary, interesting and vulnerable. And there's the dramatic element: want, obstacle, action, over and over again, keeping us riveted.
I came late to the game, I'm on season four (thanks, Netflix) and I'm a huge fan.
If you don't believe me, read the article below. It'll have you signing up for Netflix in a nanosecond.

Top 5 reasons BREAKING BAD was insanely good BY GUY BERGSTROM

The usual reasons don’t cut it. BREAKING BAD wasn’t great because of brilliant cinematography, writing and acting, though Bryan Cranston deserves an Oscar or three instead of an Emmy. It wasn’t great because of the gritty subject matter. In fact, it was successful in spite of the topic of meth dealers, which made many people not even give the show a chance. Let’s dive deep, and dig hard, into what really made this show so different and so flipping good. 

 5) A complete story In the normal world, 99.9 percent of TV shows cling to life from week to week. The creators and actors are happy if the pilot gets funded and made, then nibble on a diet of fingernails to see if a network picks up the first season. Then they live in fear of not getting a second season. If they get a second season, they stay up all night worrying about some network executive moving their show to a night and time that guarantees doom, or keeping their show in the same slot only to have it slayed in the rating by some hot new thing from CBS or HBO. Successful shows have different problems. Lead actors who were nobodies can suddenly do no wrong and start demanding the GDP of Spain per episode, or bail from the silly little show that turned them into a star to make a go at movies. The ending of a series is often sudden. There’s no time to wrap up the series with a true finale. Even when a series has time for a planned ending, you often get something muddled and maudlin, like a retrospective. Or the writers do something artistic and ambiguous (SOPRANOS facepalm) or go all the way and pull a LOST, causing us to curse their names for eternity.
Read the rest of the article

10 Things I Learned At The Chicago Writers Conference

1.   If you don't think your work can benefit from editing then self-publishing's probably for you. ~Doug Siebold.
2.   Once you define social media as a marketing tool you are totally screwed. ~Shannon Downey
3.   Figure out what social media works for you and then be awesome at it. ~Shannon Downey
4.   When you're presenting, don't use "like" throughout your presentation. (an observation)
5.   You can't really teach people to be funny. (an observation)
6.   Keep it briefer than you need it to be. ~Ian Belknap
7.   If you feel the need to write, do it! ~Rick Kogan
8.   Bobbleheads can sabotage your writing. ~Randy Richardson
9.   In literature sex illuminates something. ~Patricia Ann McNair

10. Pop Chips are DE-licious. ~Shannon Downey

THE Rick Kogan Wrote an Article About...Me!

My 15 minutes of fame! This appeared today in the Sunday Chicago Tribune, Printers Row Journal.
A big thank you to Rick Kogan, who is a very generous man and extremely supportive of the Chicago writing community, whether it's author icons like Sara Paretsky or newbies like me.

By Rick Kogan

September 22, 2013

“I like to think I have been a writer my whole life,” says Samantha Hoffman.

She had written through childhood in Toledo, while working in the sales business and as a personal assistant for the last five years (one of her clients was the actor John Cusack), and through three marriages. The results were modest: a few published stories, in print and online, and a very lively blog.

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This piece first ran in Printers Row Journal, delivered to Printers Row members with the Sunday Chicago Tribune and by digital edition via email.Click here to learn about joining Printers Row.

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But now her first novel, "What More Could You Wish For," has been on shelves for a while, and her second, "The Ones You Left Behind," is in the hands of her agent.

"I have started to feel like a member of the community," she says, mentioning such writer friends as nonfiction author Arnie Bernstein, and novelists Renee Rosen and Kelly O'Connor McNees.

"What More …" came in the wake of her father Oscar's death in 2000. He was 90.

"He was my hero, and I was just reeling after his death," she says.

She was 50. She quit her job, sold her house in the Jefferson Park neighborhood and married a man (at the Palmer House) with whom she was not in love.

The marriage was over in a year, and she began to write her novel. The first draft was "so cathartic," she says, "and the second was much less autobiographical." That version was sent to publishers and agents. A lot of rejection letters later, she decided to self-publish and self-promote in such innovative (if not lucrative) ways as handing out free copies to people on Michigan Avenue and sending them to friends.

One of those passed the book along to a bigwig at St. Martin's. The bigwig loved it, and it was published last year. It's a love story and love triangle swirling about a compelling character named Libby Carson, who is forced to reassess what she considered a pretty good life. It might be called a coming-of-age-at-50 tale, written with style and maturity ("Night seemed hardest of all with its silence, and the sorrow that pulled at my body.")

"My dad?" she says. "He would be so proud."

Rick Kogan is a Tribune senior writer and columnist.

"What More Could You Wish For"

By Samantha Hoffman, St. Martin's Griffin, 256 pages, $14.99

Copyright © 2013 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC

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Movie Review: Short Term 12 *****

Brie Larson, the actor who plays the lead role of Grace, is reason enough to see Short Term 12, but there are many more reasons; John Gallagher, Jr. (if you watch The Newsroom you know who he is), the script, the emotion, the story, the realism... Like I said, there are many reason to see this film.
The story is about Grace, who manages a facility that houses abused/neglected kids, kids with drug problems - troubled kids of all sorts - until they are eighteen, while she's trying to manage her own life and her own issues. Mason (Gallagher) is an employee at the facility and also her boyfriend, and how he deals with Grace mirrors how she deals with the kids; with compassion, understanding and sincerity.
Brie Larson is truly amazing. Her face tells the story even when she's not saying a word. I'd be surprised if she's not nominated for an Academy Award for this film.
The kids' stories are heart-wrenching and could easily turn sappy, but they don't. It felt real and raw, right up until the end, which I won't give away but which just seemed too good to be true and not in keeping with the grit of the rest of the movie, but I liked it anyway.
Short Term 12 earns every emotion you will feel, and you will feel many as you get involved with these characters. And you will get involved.
My advice: GO SEE SHORT TERM 12.
Bring Kleenex.
Five of five stars for Short Term 12.

Writing Tip: The First Draft is The Foundation

I went to a gallery event last night, admiring the work of Bill Bartelt and his students of watercolor; drinking wine, eating cheese and sausage, schmoozing with the artists. When one found out I was a writer and had a published book she told me that at one time she wanted to be a writer. She said she wrote two books that were terrible and so she decided to move on to other things. She became an architect, and she creates beautiful art.
There's a misconception that if you write a book and no one wants it, that means you're not a good writer. So not true. It only means you haven't finished. Wouldn't it be wonderful if writing a novel were as simple as sitting down, putting words on paper, doing maybe one revision, it's totally awesome, we send it off and the next stop is the New York Times Best Seller List?

Okay, disregard that guy without the shirt

I wish.
I told this woman (Meredith is her name) that the difference between a writer and a published author is that the author didn't quit. I told her it took me eight years to write/revise, write/revise, write/revise (you get the idea) my first book before I finished it (actually, I thought I'd finished it long before that but when I sent it out to various agents they disagreed).
The first draft is not a finished product, not for J.K. Rowling, not for James Patterson, not for me and not for you. The first draft is the foundation of a house, nothing more. It supports everything else but it's just the beginning. Once the foundation is laid then you add the studs and the walls and the floors and the windows and the roof  and the plumbing and the electrical, and then you paint and wallpaper and lay hardwood floors and install crown molding and put in granite countertops...and all that takes time, but that's what makes it beautiful. That's what makes it something you can live in.
By the time Meredith and I ended our conversation she thought she might dust off those manuscripts and take another look. I hope she does. She's written two books, for chrissakes, which is an amazing accomplishment.
About a month ago I sent my second novel to my agent. It was the first draft, written beginning to end, with one revision, and I felt good about it. Did I think it was perfect? Hell no, but I thought it was damn good.
My agent didn't quite agree. It's not that she thought it was bad - it's just unfinished. She said the writing's good and I have the chops to pull it together, and she spent a lot of time going through it and making suggestions and telling me what she thought needed help.
I feel immeasurably lucky to have someone like that; someone who's in my corner and who has a vested interest in making it "awesome." She said in the old days there used to be an adage, "Seven drafts to final." Well, I sincerely hope it doesn't take that many, but whatever it takes, it takes. I want it to be the best it can be.
I've got the foundation poured - now on to making it something I, and my readers, can live in.
Excuse me while I get back to draft number two.

Writing Tip: How Watching Kids' Movies Can Improve Your Writing

I've never seen The Lorax, but after reading this article by Lydia Sharp I think I'm missing out on something. It's true, there are writing lessons to be learned in everything we see, watch and read.
Henry James said, “A writer should strive to be a person on whom nothing is lost.” 

The Lorax is not lost on Lydia Sharp. Read her funny but relevant take on the movie.

Everything I Thneed to Know About Writing and Publishing I Learned from THE LORAX by Lydia Sharp 

School is officially out for the summer in my part of the world. For those of us who are parents working mostly from home, this is both a joy and a curse. I love having my son home with me, but it is much more difficult to work. Which is approximately 56 hours of any given day. Living in a single-level, two-bedroom apartment only exacerbates the issue, especially when my son decides to watch his movies at full volume in the room adjacent to my “office”, aka this sad little corner of my kitchen table. There is not even a wall between my work space and the living room.

Despite the insta-migraine this creates, my brain adapts to the situation by attempting to make every bit of data it collects from my environment relevant to my work. A few days ago, my son was watching The Lorax which is a brilliant movie based on a brilliant book. But it’s very colorful and loud and not very conducive to the quiet time required to get my work done. After I’d downed a shot of Excedrin between jovial exclamations of “Thneedville! Thneedville!” the mind meld began. Everything I saw and heard in the other room was suddenly relevant to what I was doing in my sad little corner of writing and editing.  

1. When a story begins with seemingly happy characters in a seemingly perfect world, there had better be Utter Doom ahead.

2. According to O’Hare Air, people will buy anything in a plastic bottle. So put your books in plastic bottles and watch your sales soar!

3. Don’t let anything stand in the way of your author dreams. Unless those dreams require deforestation. In that case, eBooks!

4. When the going gets tough, the tough eat marshmallows.

5. The Once-ler repeatedly cut his story short and told Ted that if he wanted the rest of the story he’d have to come back another day. Give the reader what they want, but not all at once. Holding back the juicy bits until just the right moment can draw out the tension.

6. The Once-ler: “How nice to see someone so undeterred by things like, reality.”

Author, defined.

7. The Lorax: “Nobody’s gonna buy that thing.”

The Once-ler: “Well, fortunately, you’re not the target market. Weirdo.”

Ignore the haters. You aren’t writing for those weirdos.

8. The success of the Once-ler’s Thneed comes out of nowhere.

No one knows why certain books take off and others don’t. But when a book does skyrocket, people are going to notice, and then they have to see what all the fuss is about. And then everyone thinks they need to read that book, even if they know they won’t like it, just so they can have an opinion on it. This can work in your favor. It can also not work for you at all. As was the case with the Once-ler, a jolt of unexplained success is not always good for the long run.

Read the rest of the article.

And BTW, if you're a writer you should subscribe to the online publication Writer Unboxed. I don't know how they manage to come up with so many wonderful contributors with so much valuable info and writing tips but they do, consistently. It's one of my favorite writing sites. 

Writing Tip: Connect With Other Authors, Like: Amy Sue Nathan

Amy Sue Nathan is the most generous of author friends. If you remember, we did our first (and thankfully last) video interview on Amy's blog last year when my book was published. Amy was a big promoter of my debut novel; writing reviews, linking to it on her blog, telling her friends about it...and we barely knew each other at the time. We connected because we share the same editor (the amazing Brenda Copeland) at the same publisher (St. Martin's Press).
Since then, through Amy, I've connected with other authors in the Chicago writing community and elsewhere. It's a she-tells-two-friends kind of thing, and I've found the author community to be amazingly supportive. And Amy's one of the best. She's a tireless supporter of authors everywhere.
Amy's book The Glass Wives debuted in May and you need to read it!
Meanwhile, get to know Amy. Here's an interview we did together:

SH: How did you come to write The Glass Wives?  

AN: I started writing The Glass Wives to see if I could write fiction, something I'd not done since I was a child. Once I was into the story I had to finish and shoot for publication. Probably because I'm stubborn and once I start something I have to finish and see it through. 

SH: Who is your favorite and why?

AN: I enjoyed writing all the characters, but my favorite characters to write were the men, Scott and Sandy. I am well-acquainted with the thoughts and ways of all different kinds of women and translating that to fiction wasn't easy, but it was natural. Making sure the men were believable was a challenge for me and a lot of fun. I liked writing the characters who were a bit selfish or nasty, like some of the Lakewood moms who showed up at soccer games and the grocery store, but if I met them in real life I wouldn't like them at all. 

SH: How do you create your characters? Are any of them based on real people?

AN: I don't base characters on real people but I do use real people and situations to help me create characters. A hair style, walk, laugh, tone of voice. All of those things and more can come from real life. Or not. I love totally making up characters too. And the best part is when someone thinks they're real.

SH: As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

AN: I always wanted to be a teacher which is one of the reasons I wrote that profession for Evie Glass. And now I'm teaching some writing workshops! But even with wanting to be a teacher I was a writer always. 

SH:  What was the hardest part of writing The Glass Wives?

AN: Definitely letting go of it and realizing I couldn't and shouldn't explain it (or even defend it) to every reader. 

SH: What do you do when you’re having a hard time moving the story forward?

AN: I usually procrastinate and do something else. I'm not a muse person, I don't have writing tricks or gimmicks I use to jumpstart my words. I just wait.

SH: Do you have any writing quirks?

AN: I need to write in the quiet. I can't write in a cafe or coffee shop or even the library. No music at all. I can get to the point where even the dogs walking around the house bugs me and I have to cover my ears, which makes it hard to type. 

Writing Tip: Promoting Your Work: First Radio...Now TV!

First I got my book published by St. Martin's Press, then I did a radio interview with Bill Moller on WGN Radio (listen here), then I did a radio podcast (listen here) and now I'm on TV! Holy crap, what could be next? I can only think it'll be my Broadway debut.

Until then (I'll make sure you get free tickets), check out this great interview about the Chicago Writers Conference, with creator Mare Swallow, social media guru Ines Bellina and yours truly.

And be sure to register for the conference. It's going to be fantastic. Incidentally, I'm curating an evening of reading so if you want to share your work with an audience you're welcome to send your submission.

Movie Review: We're the Millers NO STARS

OH. MY. GOD. I'm not going to waste my time writing a review of We're the Millers.

Take a pass - that's my review.

I love Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Anniston. What the hell were they thinking?

Stupid plot, lousy writing, jokes that make you groan. Sudeikis does his best with the part but Anniston is just sleep-walking. 

Appallingly stupid film. Complete waste of time.

I left about an hour and a half in, and that was generous.

No stars for We're the Millers.

The end.