Wednesday, March 18, 2015

What's Up Wednesday: Cinderella

WHAT I'M READING
I read I WAS HERE by Gayle Forman. I liked it, like I like all her books, but it was my least favorite. I had a hard time connecting to the MC. And while I liked the romantic subplot, I didn't gel with the end. I can't say more without giving spoilers. Now I'm reading SHOPAHOLIC TO THE STARS by Sophie Kinsella and it's of course very funny, if a bit long.

WHAT I'M WRITING REVISING
I finished one CPs notes on JAR OF HEARTS and I'm working another's notes.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Note cards. I don't always use them but they come in handy when you have to move scenes around. My CP has moved a lot of my chapters around in her edits, and it's hard for me to see if those changes make sense or not. So I'm going through her other notes while jotting each chapter scene onto notecards. When I'm done I'll lay them all out and hopefully see what works.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW
I saw CINDERELLA on the weekend. I thought it was lovely, although it was hard to really get into it with my six-year-old being so fidgety, the mom and kids in our row who kept getting up and going to the bathroom, and the row of kids behind me that kept kicking my chair. It was a beautiful movie though, colorful and magical. I wanted Cinderella to get a little backbone earlier on, but then again, I thought the movie did a good job of showing how a woman can be both strong and kind at the same time. (Instead of the usual strong/snarky heroines.)
 
Cate Blanchett's costumes were DIVINE.

8 comments:

  1. I can't decide if I want to read I Was Here or not - I think it'll be one of those books I need to be in just the right mood to read.

    I'm dying to see Cinderella, it looks gorgeous; I love the colours and I love the cast, too. I'm particularly looking forward to Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter's performances. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

    Best of luck with your revisions and have a great week!

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  2. I don't use note cards, but it sounds like a great way to rearrange scenes. Best of luck with the rest of the revisions! :)

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  3. When I first saw the trailer for CINDERELLA I wasn't into it but after seeing people's reactions I want to go see it now.

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  4. I've actually heard mixed opinions of I WAS HERE, some of them similar to yours. I'm curious and I'll probably read it, but it's not at the top of my list right now. I like putting things on notecards sometimes too. It's tough to really get a sense of the flow of the story when it's trapped on a computer. Hope you're able to sort it all out without too much fuss. I'm really looking forward to Cinderella. I like what you had to say about being a strong and kind all at once. Too many snarky heroines and not enough well-rounded ones, in my opinion. Hope you have an awesome week, Melanie! :D

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  5. I've used note cards (or Post-Its) before to sort out plot issues too, and it was really helpful. I write with Scrivener, and it has the note card/cork board feature, but there's something about actually switching around physical cards that works much better.

    Cinderella looks like a fun movie (especially since Rose from Downton Abbey is on it) but I'm not sure I could convince my boys to watch it with me lol. Good luck working on incorporating those CP notes!

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  6. I agree with everything you said about I Was Here. I love notecards too. I really want to see Cinderella. I'm just going to have to go by myself. Good luck with your writing goals. Have a great week!

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  7. I've heard a lot of good things about Cinderella (although fidgeting kids do distract ;) ). Good luck battling through the notes.

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  8. I had a hard time with I WAS HERE for the opposite reason you did - I connected with the MC very easily, since someone close to me committed suicide when I was about her age. Like Jess said, it probably also depends on what sort of mood you're in when you read it, since it goes some very dark places.

    I'm not too eager to see Cinderella since it's never been my favorite Disney movie (and also I'm not sure how I feel about clean shaven Robb Stark, tbh), but I'll probably see it at some point because I love pretty things. I'm more excited about it since you mentioned Cate Blanchett's costumes!

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