I won’t enlighten you with the details of his life, you can find that on the Humphrey Bogart official website. I’m more interested in Bogart and his roles as the anti-hero Hero. There are three essential writing books on my desk. Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation & Conflict, Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, and Barbara Ann Kipfer’s Flip Dictionary published by Writer’s Digest. When I’m crafting my female and male characters I’m always looking for ways to make them three dimensional, tough, cynical, willing to kill for the greater or not so greater good, and most all generate respect and sympathy by the reader.

Vogler defines the anti-hero hero as not the opposite of your typical hero but as a special type of hero. “One who may be an outlaw or a villain from the point of view of society, but with whom the audience is basically in sympathy.” The anti-hero hero appeals to me because he’s not the handsome tall, dark, rugged, handsome man who swaggers onto the first page or screen and screams hero. Whoa, that’s John Wayne another favorite actor of mine. Bogart’s face had lines, his voice was deep at times menacing. He didn’t walk with a swagger but more like a coiled tiger you best not try to pet.

Vogler describes two types of anti-hero Hero. The first is the character who behaves like your conventional hero but is cynical, wounded, and doesn’t let anyone close, and keeps their emotions locked away. Vogler even cites two of Bogart’s biggest movies, The Big Sleep and Casablanca. I’d like to add The Maltese Falcon to this list. The second type of anti-hero Hero is the tragic character who is not only not likable and we may dislike their actions. (Ah that would be Humphrey Bogart in The Caine Mutiny).

The first movie I ever saw Humphrey Bogart in was The Petrified Forest. He played Duke Mantee an escaped prisoner who held people at an out of the way cafe hostage. Duke was waiting for his girlfriend. When Bogart, as Duke, burst into the diner, I twitched. He was bad, ruthless, and scary. I rooted for his demise yet I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He stole your attention. Apparently this same plot point appeared in another Bogart movie, The Desperate Hours. His character, Glen Griffin was again an escaped convict holding a family hostage as he waited for his girlfriend. Women- the bad guy’s downfall. Duke and Glen both die in the end. Leslie Howard, the star of The Petrified Forest, campaigned hard for Bogart to play Mantee. Howard protested doing the movie unless Bogart got the part. The studios wanted Edward G. Robinson. Trivia Point: When Bogart and Robinson were in gangster movies together they made a pact. If Robinson had top billing, Bogart died first, then Robinson. If Bogart had top billing, Robinson died first, then Bogart. Thank you Turner Classic Movies for that tidbit. Also later Bogart and Robinson would team up in Key Largo.

Casablanca transcends decades. The movie holds up and should never, ever be remade. It cemented Bogart as a star. As Rick Blaine, the nightclub owner of Casablanca, he has the characteristics of the anti-hero hero. Although I think Maltese Falcon is better example of this type of hero and I’ll explain later. We know Casablanca’s plot. Rick’s old love Ilsa, who left him in Paris, comes to Casablanca. Ilsa and her husband are trying to escape the Nazis. He’s a freedom fighter, Rick’s a saloon owner. Touch choice for Ilsa. They need letters of transport to leave Casablanca and their lives are in danger. Rick has the letters. He’s tried to forget Ilsa. She left him in the city of love. I’d be devastated too. So now we have sympathy for the anti-hero hero. When Ilsa insists Sam, the piano player, play ‘As Time Goes By’, Rick explodes into the room demanding why Sam is singing a song he had strictly forbidden to ever be played. Then Rick sees Ilsa. It’s an emotional reunion and Bogart plays it just right. He keeps his cool when you know he’s seething and hurting inside. The coiled tiger. Later in the movie, Rick demands Sam play the song just for him. Then Bogart through his acting allows you to see and experience his pain. In the end, Rick sends Ilsa away with her husband. He doesn’t want to, he loves her, but for the greater good lets her go. It’s been said that the movie’s writers wrote the scenes and dialogue each night before the next day’s filming. How I envy them. To have the ability to create dialogue and to have actors who could say the words and perform in such a way to make the film one of the greatest films of all time. This year is the 75th anniversary of Casablanca.

The Maltese Falcon is by far the Bogart movie I enjoy the most. Everyone has their favorites. Vogler calls the anti-hero hero “often honorable men who have withdrawn from society’s corruption, perhaps ex-cops or soldiers who became disillusioned and now operate in the shadow of the law as private eyes, smugglers, gamblers, or soldiers of fortune. Bogart throughout his movie career has portrayed each one of these characters. I recently read Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon. The movie is faithful to the book. Dialogue, characters, and plot. Hammett in the book describes the Joe Cario character as effeminate in manner and speech. Peter Lorre is perfectly cast as Cairo. His mannerisms, speech, soft voice, and big eyes are excellent. Hammett wrote that Cario wore a chypre fragrance. Hammett never explains for the reader what chypre smells like. Today’s writer can’t do that. If I wrote he wore a chypre fragrance I’d have to describe it for the reader. Otherwise they’d wonder what chypre was and how it smelled. The reader would lose the story’s momentum. After the third chypre mention I had to Google it. Chypre is a citrus, floral and mossy fragrance with patchouli added. Trivia Point: Badgley Mischika’s fragrance, Coco’s Mademoiselle, Darling by Kylie Minogue, DKNY’s Be Delicious, and Givenchy’s Ange au Demon are top selling chypre based fragrances today.

In the next to final scene in The Maltese Falcon, Bogart explains why he has to turn Brigid, his love interest, in for the murder of Spade’s private detective partner, Miles Archer. At this part of the movie I start laughing. A lot. Why? Two reasons, okay three reasons. First the dialogue is fantastic and every word defines what an anti-hero Hero is. Second is Humphrey Bogart’s delivery. It is emotional, cynical, convincing, and funny. Spade figured out Bridget killed Miles, how and why. He forces her to admit it but she doesn’t believe he’ll turn her in because he ‘loves’ her. She’s right he tells her, he doesn’t want to turn her in but he has to. He didn’t like his partner and was planning to end their partnership. So what if he was sleeping with Miles’ wife. Spade’s analysis of the situation and Bogart’s acting would make a psychiatrist proud. Bogart delivers each line with conviction.”Well if you get a good break you’ll be out of San Quentin in twenty years and you can come back to me then.” And he adds, ‘If they don’t hang you.’ Because as Spade says, he won’t play the sap for her. Spade explains that when a man’s partner is killed, he’s suppose to do something about it. He tells her to not believe the talk that private detectives are crooked. That kinda of talk is good for business, he says. Spade’s knight in shining armor is tarnished but he still knows right from wrong. I’m still laughing as Brigid is being taken away by the police. The shadows on the elevator door look like prison bars. I’m rooting for Spade and feeling sorry for him. He fell in love with a killer. Even though he has his vices, he still has a moral conviction and becomes the ultimate anti-hero Hero. Only Humphrey Bogart could have played Sam Spade. ‘Damn good acting’, as the Turner Classic Movie saying goes. The third reason I’m laughing? My cynical sense of humor.

But now back to The Chronicles of Riddick and the end of his hero’s journey. Riddick arrives on Cremetoria, much to the displeasure of the guards. The mercs don’t trust the guards and thus Riddick has the perfect opportunity to see them turn on each other. Riddick’s plan is to rescue Jack and escape. Campbell writes the hero enters a Special World “a dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession of trials.” That’s Cremetoria alright. He’s been in a lot of prisons and escaped from each of them, but this world is dangerous.

Which leads to Stage Seven: Approach to the Inmost Cave. Two places where Stage Seven occurs in The Chronicles of Riddick, Cremetoria and Helion Prime. Campbell writes the hero will encounter supreme wonder and terror. First Cremetoria’s prison is underground since the surface is close to a thousand degrees. Riddick is attacked by inmates when he first arrives, he defeats each except one. Jack saves him. She’s pretty lethal with a long, heavy iron chain. When Riddick follows her, their reunion is anything but sweet. Jack, the actress Alexa Davalos (soon to be seen in Wrath of The Titans), openly challenges Riddick. They trade dialogue from Pitch Black.

Jack/Kyra: “How do I get eyes like that?”
Riddick: “First you’ve got to kill someone.”
Jack/Kyra: “Did that, couldn’t find anyone for twenty menthol cools.”

At this point Riddick hoists her up against the bars. And she asks: “What are you going to do? Go for the sweet spot?” She slashes Riddick’s cheek and tells him her name is Kyra now, Jack couldn’t cut it and she’s a new kind of animal. Later Kyra is surrounded by guards and almost killed. Riddick comes to her rescue and kills one of the guard with his tea cup. The other guards flee. Kyra then fills Riddick in on how she left Helion Prime looking for him, signed up with mercs, was slaved out and sentenced to Cremetoria. Riddick is furious. He tried to protect her and she signed up with same ‘fake badges’ he’s been running from. After a gun battle between the guards and the mercs, Riddick seizes the opportunity to plan an escape. Campbell writes that this is a time for information gathering or getting ready for an ordeal. He says ‘gunfighters check their weapons’, Riddick tells the inmates he plans on outrunning the fire inferno rolling across the surface of the planet. ‘Don’t step up if you can’t keep up’, he informs them. The stakes are higher, but Kyra will follow Riddick so they along with four other inmates leave. As they race across the ground, the guards who are traveling underground toward the hanger where the ship is docked, take shots at them. One inmate is killed. They have to climb a mountain as the fire inferno bears down on them. Kyra is stranded and she pleads for Riddick to save her. He douses himself with water, swings out and reaches her just in time. Another inmate dies.

As they reach the hanger, Riddick senses the Necromongers have arrived. The hanger door opens, the guards meet the Necromongers and a battle between them distracts them from Riddick. Riddick, Kryra and the remainig two inmates fight a bloody battle. Riddick is shot by Vaako and left for dead. In the Director’s cut, as Riddick is about to be shot by Vaako, a Furyan warrior woman reappears and tells him he must avenge his people but first it’s going to hurt. She holds out her hand which appears to be burning and imprints a glowing hand on Riddick’s chest. Kyra has no choice but to escape with the Necromongers.

Stage Eight: The Ordeal deals with death and rebirth. “Heroes must die so that they can be reborn.” Riddick is left for dead, but he’s not alone. The Purifier remained behind. He pulls Riddick to safety and has the knife Riddick pulled from the back of the Necromonger that killed Imam. When Riddick comes to he knows Kyra has left the planet. The Purifier informs Riddick that The Lord Marshal wanted to strike a deal. If Riddick stays away from him, he’ll leave him alone. The Purifies reveals that he’s a Furyan. ‘We all began as something else.’ He wants Riddick to return to Helion Prime and defeat The Lord Marshal. The Purifier walks out into the blazing inferno to atone for all the evil deeds he’s done ‘in the name of a religion not even his own’ and burns up.

In Stage Eight, Campbell says the hero witnesses death. Riddick picks up the knife determined to return to Helion Prime. The villain also dies. Riddick returns to Helion Prime disguised as a Necromonger. Dame and Lord Vaako are surprised and frightened. Lord Vaako reported Riddick dead and was promoted. Whoops, a slight hitch in Dame Vaako’s plan. But hey she’s resourceful woman. She suggests they give Riddick a chance to kill The Lord Marshall. Her reasoning: The Lord Marshall is weak and should be eliminated. She adds that this should be done for the Necromonger faith.

Riddick attacks The Lord Marshall and discovers he’s turned Kyra into a Necromonger. The Lord Marshall offers Riddick a new life with Kyra. Riddick refuses, throws the knife and for the first time in a long time, The Lord Marshall bleeds. A fight to the death between them leaves Riddick at the mercy of The Lord Marshall until Kyra stabs him in the back. Wounded but still strong, The Lord Marshall throws Kyra against a spear. Vaako jumps down, ready to kill The Lord Marshall, who shifts out of Vaako’s reach, but materializes right in front of Riddick who stabs him in the head with the knife.

Riddick holds a dying Kyra, the last person who has sacrificed her life for him. As he sits on the throne he is surrounded by Vaako and the other Necromongers. He looks up expecting to die. Instead Vaako says: “You keep what you kill.” Everyone kneels. Riddick is now the Necromongers leader. Stage Nine of the hero’s journey is the hero reaping his reward. Riddick didn’t look too happy about his reward. Apparently we’ll have to wait for the sequel, The Chronicles of Riddick Dark Fury which is a working title, to see what Riddick faces.

There are three more stages in the hero’s journey according to Campbell. Stage Nine, Reward. The hero has overcome the Ordeal and for a moment at least savors victory. For Riddick he doesn’t have this opportunity, at least in this movie. Campbell writes that once the hero survives the Ordeal he is recognized as different, ‘part of a select few who have outwitted death.’ And Riddick has done this. So the question is: Now what?

Stage Ten: The Road Back. The hero has to decide whether to remain in the Special World or return to the Ordinary World. The movie ends on this question. What is he going to do with all these Necromongers?

Stage Eleven: The Resurrection. The hero is suppose to change. Has Riddick changed? Stay tune to the third movie.

Stage Twelve: Return with the Elixir. Campbell writes now that the hero has survived all the ordeals, the deaths of those he trusted and loved, they either return home or continue the journey. They move forward believing they are beginning a new life. So at the end of Chronicles of Riddick yes he’s about to begin a new life. Again stay tuned for what that new life will be.

Any dialogue any one want to share? Or comments? Cause this has been fun and next month I’ll pick another movie. Any suggestions?

Vogler cites two types of anti-hero: the first behaves in a regular way but has a wounded or cynical quality and the second is not admirable or likeable. Riddick is a wounded anti-hero, he gets our sympathy and our lust, but to society he’s an outcast. Vogler writes they are rebels, like James Dean or Marlon Brando (another lust inspiring male).

Okay so now back to The Chronicles of Riddick, his hero’s journey, and snappy dialogue. The Fourth Stage of the Hero’s journey is the introduction of the Mentor. I don’t consider Aereon as Riddick’s mentor. I think Imam serves this purpose. Riddick showed ‘trust’ to this one man and when he believes Imam has betrayed his trust he goes looking for him. In Pitch Black Imam at one point asks Riddick if he believes in God. Riddick says he does, just not the way Imam does. Vogler writes that sometime the Mentor must give the hero a push to get him started. Well I think Imam’s death is a hard push. While Riddick is trying to save Imam and his family, Imam sacrifices his life to save them. Riddick finds Imam’s dead body and remembers that the Necromonger who kills Imam has a knife in his back. Those Necromongers are crazy.

Imam’s death pushes Riddick into Stage Five of the hero’s journey, crossing the first threshold. “A villain may kill, harm, threaten, or kidnap someone close to the hero, sweeping aside all hesitation”. Riddick is about to enter the new world, the world of the Necromongers.

In a great hall the inhabitants of Helion Prime have been gathered to meet The Lord Marshal, actor Colm Feore, and The Purifier, Linus Roache, who went on to play DA Cutter on Law and Order. The Purifier says: “We all began as something else.” The Lord Marshall tells them this is their last chance and when one of the leaders challenges him, The Lord Marshall rips out his soul. Everyone bows and the camera focuses on Riddick who refuses to bow.
Anybody got any dialogue?

Once Riddick dispatches the Necromonger, who killed Imam, and keeps the knife, ( a very important tool) he is taken to The Lord Marshall’s interrogation cell by Dame Vaako, the actress Thandie Newton. She reminds me of Lady Macbeth, willing to do whatever is necessary to put her husband, Lord Vaako, Karl Urban on the throne. The Purifier accompanies them. It’s a trap, but now Riddick has entered the Special World of the Necromongers and he sees how Necromongers are created. Of course Dame Vaako leads him into a trap and The Lord Marshal discovers that Riddick is one of his most feared enemies, a Furyan. The Lord Marshall gives orders to kill Riddick, but The Purifier releases Riddick so he escapes. As he’s chased, guess who shows up? Toombs. Toombs shoots down a ship chasing Riddick and recaptures his prisoner.

Dialogue?
Riddick: ‘A five man crew this time?’

Vogler’s Stage Six: Tests, Allies, Enemies. Riddick has passed the first test. Now his enemy Toombs rescues him and in some sense becomes his ally by taking him off Helion Prime. What they don’t realize is they are Riddick’s pawns. The dialogue on Toombs ship is pretty good. Riddick persuades Toombs to take him to Crematoria where Jack has been incarcerated.

Dialogue?
Riddick: “I don’t know about this crew, Toombs. Maybe you should have told them what happened to the last one.”

Tomorrow we’ll finish Riddick’s journey. Looking forward to seeing you here.

Stage Two of the Hero’s journey is: The Call to Adventure. According to Vogler, the hero is faced with a challenge, problem and can no longer stay in his Ordinary World. Although if it were me, getting off that frozen planet would be a no brainer. But for Riddick he now knows the bounty was placed on his head by Imam, one of two he rescued off the alien planet. Someone he ‘showed trust.’ Vogler states: “The Call to Adventure establishes the stakes of the game, and makes clear the hero’s goal: to win the treasure or the lover, to get revenge or right a wrong, to achieve a dream, confront a challenge, or change a life.” With Riddick it looks like he’s out for revenge, because since he’s a wanted man he’s not really righting a wrong unless he turns himself into the authorities. Yeah right.

Once on Helion Prime, Riddick breaks into Imam’s, (the actor David Keith) home and cleans up, physically. And he’s looking really good. When Imam comes home, Riddick quietly and deadly confronts him. Imam, worried about his wife and young daughter, tells Riddick that if it weren’t for the threat of invasion he would have never revealed where Riddick was hiding. Imam’s daughter, Ziza, isn’t afraid of Riddick and asks him: “Are you going to kill the new monsters this time?” Imam responds: “Such are our bedtime stories.” Riddick wants the pay day off his head. So Imam summons three clerics who come to try and persuade Riddick to help them stop the Necromonger invaders. Then Aereon, (actress Judi Dench), an Elemental who was the one who placed the bounty on Riddick’s head. She explains her reason is because he’s a Furyan, the one race the Lord Marshal fears. As she explains the situation, Riddick says “Maybe you should pretend you’re talking to someone educated in the penal system, better yet don’t pretend.”

What’s your favorite line from this scene?

Stage Three of the Hero’s Journey as written by Vogler is: Refusal of the Call – The Reluctant Hero. Riddick is indeed a reluctant hero. He tells Imam, after he beats the crap out of the soldiers, it’s not his fight. Imam challenges him by telling him that young Jack never forgave him for leaving her and she left looking for him. Vogler says: “The hero has not yet fully committed to the journey and may still be thinking of turning back.” Riddick leaves looking for way off the planet, but witnesses the invasion.

Imam flees with his family and they are separated. Riddick saves Imam first and then his family.
Any lines from this scene?

Wednesday I’ll get to the really good stuff. Lots of Vin Diesel, Karl Urban, and the adventure begins.

Welcome Richard Riddick fans and writers. Of course you might be both and that’s fantastic. Last week a writer friend of mine Jenna Howard and I traded favorite dialogue from The Chronicles of Riddick. I have several other friends who love the movie, or is it Vin Diesel, or both, and can quote dialogue scene by scene. So as I ease my way back into writing in 2012 I thought it would be fun to discuss our favorite dialogue, the scene it’s from, and how the movie fits into the Hero’s Journey as so well written by Christopher Vogler in his book, The Writer’s Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers. Vogler’s work is based on Joseph Campbell’s most influential work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Beginning today Monday, March 12th I’ll post a scene and you can respond with your favorite dialogue from that scene. Then I’m going to briefly describe what stage Riddick is in The Hero’s Journey. Vogler in his book writes the following. “A hero leaves her comfortable, ordinary surroundings to venture into a challenging, unfamiliar world. It may be an outward journey to an actual place; a labyrinth, forest or cave, a strange city or country, a new locale that becomes the arena for her conflict with antagonistic, challenging forces.” Vogler goes on to write that the journey can be an internal journey and that the hero “grows and changes, making a journey from one way of being to the next; from despair to hope, weakness to strength, folly to wisdom, love to hate, and back again.”

Before we delve into The Chronicles of Riddick I think a short review of the first movie, Pitch Black is needed. I originally wanted to see this movie because Claudia Black was cast in it and at the time she was on Farscape, another scifi favorite series of mine. But once Vin Diesel came on the screen as the captured convict, Richard Riddick, I was hooked. In Pitch Black a passenger transport vehicle crash lands on a planet. Riddick is being transported to a penal colony. He is a murderer with shiny eyes that can’t tolerate light or sunlight. The captain is killed, and the docking pilot, Carolyn Fry is about to jettison the passengers to save her life when the navigator stops her and he is killed leaving her in charge. As the remaining passengers try to find a way off the planet they discover that the geologists died when the planet was plunged into darkness 22 years ago and it’s about to happen again. The alien creatures come out looking for food and will kill the small group. Their only chance of survival to use the old ship’s power cells and use a small craft they’ve found. Riddick is determined to get off the planet and if he has to kill or leave the others behind he will. His one soft spot is, Jack, who everyone assumes is a boy and really a teenage girl that idolizes Riddick. Finally there are only four left, Imam, a holy man, Jack, Carolyn, and Riddick. Forced to leave Imam and Jack in a cave Carolyn and Riddick make their way to the ship and Riddick tries to persuade her to desert the other two and leave with him. Carolyn refuses even engaging in a fight with Riddick. She says ‘I’d die for them.’ Riddick returns to the cave with her and rescues Imam and Jack. Jack says she never doubted him. As they near the ship, Riddick is attacked. Carolyn goes back for the injured Riddick and is killed. Riddick yells “Not for me.” He returns to the ship and is about to take off with Imam and Jack when he powers down the engines and waits until the aliens crawl over the ship. Then he fires up the engines and kill many of the aliens as he pilots off the planet. He tells Jack to tell people he died on the planet.

So now we come to The Chronicles of Riddick, the sequel. The movie begins with a narration by Aereon who explains who the Necromongers are and their leader The Lord Marshal. The Lord Marshal is determined to convert the universe to the undead by destroying planets. She says that in ordinary times evil would be fought by good, but this time evil should be fought by another type of evil. Richard Riddick is not your regular hero, he’s an anti-hero, hero. And we’ll talk about this more this week.

The first stage in the hero’s journey is: The Ordinary World. According to Vogler you show the hero in his ordinary world. Riddick for the past five years has been living on a frozen planet, hiding from ‘mercs’ who are trying to collect the bounty on his head. This isn’t my idea of a normal, drab existence, but for Riddick it must be. He’s deflecting the mercs from Imam and Jack whose lives would be in danger if he’d stayed with them. So the story opens with Riddick being chased across the frozen tundra by a spaceship commanded by Toombs, portrayed by Nick Chinlund. Riddick lures Toombs into a cave and dispatches one by one Toombs’ crew.

One of my favorite lines is Toombs when one his crew suggest the cave is too tight to follow Riddick. Toombs says: “So throw on a fresh pair of panties and let’s get this right.”

So what’s yours?

My first ‘hint’ this was not going to be easy was Saturday, February 5th. I eagerly sat at my computer waiting for 11am PST so I could buy tickets. Easy, peasey – not. The ticket vendor Ticket Leap, whose logo is a frog, didn’t leap, it didn’t even jump, or twitch. It crashed, croaked. Over and over and over. What a new and terrible experience. But thanks to Twitter posts from Comic Con veterans I learned how to exercise my index finger and the F5 key, over and over and over again. So while Ticket Leap continued to crash/croak I multi-tasked, kept an eye on on my bank account to make sure if I ever got pass the shopping cart my account wouldn’t be debited for additional tickets. Four hours later, I had individual tickets for each day except Preview Wednesday and Saturday and I made it to a friend’s daughter’s baby shower with a story to tell. Of course my friends had no clue what Comic Con was or why I’d spent half the day trying to purchase tickets, but they listened, smiled and nodded in the appropriate places. When it came time for hotel reservations, I had the sinking feeling I was going to be online for hours. No crash, no croak. You are provided a list of all the participating hotels and then you rank them according to where you want to stay. I wanted something close but not too pricey. We stayed at the Doubletree in Mission Valley – easy, peasey. I’m willing to stay there again, located next to a strip mall that had a Starbucks, Joe’s CrabShack and Applebees. One suggestion DoubleTree Hilton – free inroom wifi please. Booking our flight with Frontier Airlines was easy and their flights were on time, our connections smooth and they served warm chocolate chip cookies.

We arrived in San Diego Wednesday afternoon safe, exhausted but excited for Thursday to arrive. The time change was a massive adjustment, one my twenty year old son didn’t have a problem with. Since we came from Central Standard time, we gained an extra two hours. This played havoc with me. I’m an early riser, 6am, so waking at 4am was rough. Thursday morning the first shuttle took us to an off site where we could pick up our badges. We did and I discovered I had a slight badge problem which almost sent me into cardiac arrest. My ticket wasn’t in the system!! Suggestion: When Comic Con sends you the final email right before the convention begins and tells you to print the confirmation pages. Print the confirmation pages. I did but left it in the hotel room and the last two digits on Thursday’s ticket had changed. The staff told me to go to the badge help desk in the convention center and they’d straighten it out. So we took the next bus to the center, my heart pounding, my brain freaked out but once we got there the problem was solved and our badges were printed for every day. When I put on my lanyard, I felt like I’d become a member of a very exclusive group.

Let me back up to our arrival at the San Diego Convention Center. After the second bus dropped us off, across from Petco Field, we crossed over the Pedestrian Bridge. What I saw was so eye opening and overwhelming that television doesn’t do justice. The camera may add ten pounds, but it doesn’t show what thousands of people really look like up close. I was overwhelmed, confused and eager to be a part of it. And I don’t do crowds. I stood there and marveled at all the people, families, and those dressed in costume. After the badge solution, I was given my Comic Con bag big and deep enough for grocery shopping, carry a small child, or an inflatable mattress (not a bad idea by Saturday). Cartoon characters on one side, actors from various programs on the other. Life size almost. On Twitter there was a picture of one woman who’d turned hers into a dress. I scored a Supernatural bag with Sam and Dean Winchester on one side and was approached by a young lady who wanted to switch. No way, child. I am a Supernatural fan. That’s another great thing, if you get a bag you don’t want, ask around someone may be willing to swap.

First Day at Comic Con

The convention book is almost half an inch thick – and in small print. Study it. In a corner. Standing. You’re going to do a lot of standing. You can’t sit against the walls, fire hazard. Electric outlets are a premium, you’ll need to find them to recharge your phone. Comic Con gives new meaning to ‘hurry up and wait’. I’ll be glancing through the 2011 edition in preparation for 2012 probably while waiting online to purchase tickets as inspiration to keep pressing F5. The convention is held in several of the hotels, not just the convention center. The Exhibit Hall was were all the vendors, television stations, stars who come for signings, free game playing took place and is equal to three football fields with every inch covered. Buy your Comic Con tee shirt early, they’d sold out by Sunday. Sold Out? Really? I purchased River Song and the Eleventh Doctor’s sonic screwdrivers, a Tardis that lights up and makes sounds and a Tardis usb hub.

So as a first time, but will return Comic Con devotee, here’s just a little of what I experienced.

1. What happens in San Diego, doesn’t stay in San Diego. Especially when you’ve got Twitter and a smartphone with a camera. Constant tweets provided minute by minute updates as to who was where, what to do, who’s doing what, and how to find it. With pictures. Panel video uploads were available right after a panel ended. Just in case you didn’t get in to see it live. Which is possible, check #3. I didn’t go to the Cowboys and Aliens screening at the Civic Center, but there were plenty of other movies being shown at hotels.

2 Wear comfortable shoes. I mean really, really comfortable shoes with support.

3. Lines, lines and more lines. I underestimated the long lines. I don’t do lines. But this was Comic Con so yes I stood in lines. I stood in line for Ballroom 20 on Friday probably longer than my flight from Chicago to Denver. I started way, way back near the water and finally gave up right outside the center. By that time I knew I wasn’t going to get in for Torchwood which was the first panel. I wanted to ask Jane Espenson, a writer for the series questions. Seeing John Barrowman would have been a bonus. If I’d gotten in, I would have stayed in that room all day. The line up after Torchwood was The Walking Dead, Big Bang Theory, Eureka, Warehouse 13 and then True Blood. The rooms are not cleared between panels. You can get bathroom passes and food vendors are located right outside the door. If you don’t get a pass, then it’s back to the end of the line, where ever that is. Back near the pier maybe? I did get in for True Blood, ain’t saying how. It was awesome, no spoilers given.

Anyway since I didn’t get in for Torchwood, it was time to find another panel, another shorter line, one less than a mile long. So what time should you arrive to get in line? Well if the panel begins at 10am and the actors and programs you’re interested in are wildly popular I suggest 6am. And that I think doesn’t get you into the convention center itself. No I’m not kidding. One trick is if you want to see a particular panel, but there are three or four panels ahead of it that you may not really want to see, get in line, get in, sit down and wait. There are no boring panels. After NCIS LA with LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell I stayed for the Worst Cartoon Ever panel. It lived up to its name. My son was off at the Marriott Hotel which was much quieter. Gamers don’t talk, they play games and watch anime.

Sunday I wanted to see SuperNatural and Doctor Who in Hall H bigger than Ballroom 20. I got up early, arrived at the convention center around 8am and was in line across the street from the convention center. Glee was the first panel and I got in standing room only. I kept an eye on people as I stood in the back, when the panel was over, I hoped a lot people would leave. I stared at chairs at the end of several rows. When the panel ended, people left and then it became a game of musical chairs. I bolted for the first chair open I spotted, sat and didn’t move. During the question and answer period for Doctor Who there were two absolutely amazing Dalek costumes that must have taken days to construct. Life size with a person inside. Matt Smith and Karen Gillan took time out to sign the creations.

4. Misery loves company or geeks love geeks. Long lines at Comic Con creates bonding if only for a few hours. There is also a sense of ‘Boy did I get here in time. Do you see where they are?’ when you see how long the line is behind you and you’re happy to be where you are. People are polite, talkative, and will hold your spot if you have to make a break for the bathroom. But don’t try to cut in line, pretend you were there all along. You’ll be reported to the nearest usher. Experienced that. Not me, someone else. Somehow I ‘wandered’ into Thursday’s Batman Arkham City line. Someone I’d met at the hotel told me about it and seriously I just kinda found myself in line. I learned a lot about the characters, actors who do the voices, Mark Hamill, the game, and the trailer was awesome. May have to buy it and play.

The line goes on

5. Hydrate, sunscreen, a small chair, blanket, pillow and camera. I will pack a small folding chair next year maybe put it in my convention bag. The weather was absolutely perfect. I did remember to bring an umbrella which helped while standing outside. Camera and extra batteries are necessities because of all the costumes. People go to great lengths to realistically dress up. It’s fantastic and they love to have their pictures taken.

I loved her costume and she was so beautiful

6. Keep track of Twitter, kept me up to date about happenings and where.

7. If possible a Comic Con buddy is essential. You can’t be in more than one place at one time. My son didn’t count because he headed to the anime and gaming hotel and wasn’t seen until he was hungry or the room closed down for the night. There is so much to do. I got Jim Butcher’s autograph and took a picture with him. And I had my picture taken with Richard Hatch, the original Apollo on the original Battlestar Galactica. He’s still hot and damn nice. There’s a system for getting autographs and it’s written in the guide. I’m going to read it for next year.

He's still got it.

8. Where can you sit? Almost anywhere you can find a chair and those are rare. There’s seating in the the Sail Pavilion, I finally figured out where that was because I was sitting in it. I actually took a short nap, but kept waking up to watch a different costumed person walk by.

9. I wish I’d had tickets for Saturday. Sherrilyn Kenyon was there, plenty of authors. A number of publishing houses, Tor, Del Ray, Simon and Schuster also had booths. When I’m published I want to sign at Comic Con.

9. Tickets for 2012 Comic Con were sold at this year’s convention at one of the hotels. Again long lines. I’ll wait for my index finger and F5 in February.

We did venture out into the Gaslight area, across the street from the center. Streets were packed and we had lunch at Cafe Diem, the Eureka restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel. There were plenty of activities going on there as part of the convention. I definitely want to explore the area more next year. I’m pretty sure I experienced not even one tenth of Comic Con which why I need to go back. I still don’t do lines, but I’ll stand in a Comic Con line. I don’t like crowds, but at Comic Con it’s not a crowd, it’s a large group of people like me who are having a good time.

So my question is: Have you already failed in any one or more your goals for 2011? If you said you weren’t going to eat chocolate until RWA New York, have you had a twix bar? Exercise daily? Did you commit to writing every day for a certain amount of time and so far only written two days a week? Maybe one day and no longer than an hour? Does this mean you’ve failed for 2011? No. There are eleven months, three hundred and twenty-six days by my math. I’m including January thirty-first but not counting Christmas, Thanksgiving, fourth of July, RWA (five days), and your birthday.

I believe in not setting yourself up to fail, but make goals that challenge you when you’re thinking straight and not at the end of the year when happy chaos reigns. After the revelry dies down, people go back to work and school, the house is clean, and you catch up with yourself, then this is the time to set your goals. You have a clear head, clean paper, and can see what you want to achieve in the upcoming months. By the second week of January I had my writing goals written down, put each project on a calendar and began fulfilling each goal. Write, revise daily – check. Have more than one project going on at a time – check. Submit at least once a month beginning in February – check. Enjoy the process – double check. Comic Con – triple check. Enjoy and spoil my granddaughter -quadruple check. Play tennis – okay only a double check. Yeah exercise is a goal, twice a week at the health club – half a check. I spread my goals over twelve months, ending January, 2012 and applied a lesson learned when I was a banker. Many large retailer’s fiscal year ends January after the holiday season ends. So why not do the same thing?

Goals are broken, sometimes it’s inevitable. They’re made to be pushed back another month, if necessary. Life gets in the way, you get in the way. Something always happens. If nothing happened and you could work through your goals without a hitch you’d be worried the world was about to end. Goals are made to be changed if the original one isn’t working out. Be flexible, realistic. Be accountable to yourself, don’t give up if you wrote twenty days in January and didn’t the rest of the month. Ask why, assess what you did right, dust your ego off and get back to work.

Laurie made me promise that if I missed a goal, I wouldn’t be depressed. Since I just received a rejection Saturday, we were able to quickly put my promise to the test. I was dejected, upset, and decided that this rejection was for work last year which has been greatly revised since I submitted it, so the rejection belonged in 2010. The past. It’s a Lion King thing. I’ll move forward and submit elsewhere, I’ve got a quality list of agents and editors to send my work to. And I came up with my way to deal with rejection. I’m buying a sterling silver stackable ring for each 2011 rejection. A thin band I can wear on each finger. This could get ugly so let’s hope that I only have twenty or less rejections before my first sale.

This question came to me as I finish revising my completed manuscript. First, let me say here that I will never write a full manuscript again without some type of ongoing revision schedule in place. I looked at 350 pages and cried. What the Frack had I done? So once I dried my tears, I sought a better more sane way to do this with future work. Which then brought up the question: Where do I do it (revisions)? I’d read published authors advise not to revise in the same place you write. Reason being you’ll get a clearer, fresher perspective on your work if done in another room or another place. Sounded reasonable so I decided to ask authors available on online groups I belong to where they did it (revisions).

The answers I received can be applied to whether you are a plotter or organic writer (which is a much better term than panster). And the consensus was: wherever you feel comfortable and just do it (revisions).

Two authors do it (revisions) in bed. Alone. They print out the entire novel or pages, and work page by page and then input changes on their computer. One stated ‘Is there a better place to write romance than in bed?’ She said she felt special surrounded by books, dictionaries, thesaurus and paper. She also said she locked the door. I considered their method and the Goldilocks in me said I’d be asleep in ten minutes. I don’t find my work, even in its crappiest form dull, but a bed is way too comfortable. I admire their discipline. It also means you don’t have to make your bed.

Another author said she did it (revisions) whenever and wherever she could. Given she worked and had two small children, she’d learn to do mini-edits at doctor’s offices, sport practices and could shut out the distractions. Me I’m too damn nosy you never know when someone might provide a potential juicy plot. However once a woman behind me in the grocery line was sobbing on her cell phone to a man about how he done her wrong. I was extremely uncomfortable and got the heck out of there quickly as possible. When my son had tennis lessons with his pro, I was too busy making sure every bit of my money was rung out him on the court to concentrate on revisions. Another published author did it (revisions) on the morning train to work. It worked for Scott Turow and it works for her, she’s multi-published.

So it came down to this, where you do it (revisions) is a matter of choice and where you can achieve the most success. I’ve held several revision sessions on the computer but everyone agreed it was best to print the pages. So now do I and use a purple, green, or purple pen to mark it up, then input changes on my computer. As for where I do it (revisions) it boiled down to my writing room. I confiscated the living room six years ago and remodeled it into my domain. It is a ‘relatively unchanging environment’ as one writer said why she preferred her writing space. It’s my space and my children have felt my wrath if they enter without knocking or use my computer to check Facebook.

The reason I put revisions in parenthesis is to keep your mind on what I mean by ‘where do you do it’. You know how a romance writer’s mind works.

As 2011 draws to a close and the holiday season is on us, keep doing it (revisions) so when 2012 blasts in you’ll do it consistently and in the right place. Keep writing.

Oh I was going to write about Weight Watchers and writing, but since they changed the program that subject will be tackled in 2011. Still good stuff.

Happy Yule,
Yasmine

The site is colorful, the Phoenix’s ribbons of flames are mystical and the links are user friendly. Look around, it’s still a work in progress as I’m adding more information for readers and authors. So if you don’t see your link email me and I’ll add it. There was one major hiccup, a hacker. A Facebook friend saw it first and emailed me. Panicked, I emailed Emily and it was resolved as I was warning my multiple groups not to click on my site.

The second event is more personal and life altering. Last year, 2009, I had two major surgeries. The first was elective. I play tennis, have arthritis and needed left knee replacement surgery. The surgery went well and I was up and around; well on my way to a full recovery, looking forward to walking without pain and playing tennis in the fall. However, it seems fate had something else in store. Labor Day, I experienced severe abdominal pains that resulted in my lying on my bathroom floor, screaming – alone. Well my trusted beagle was by my side, but she couldn’t do much except stare. My husband had driven our son to DePaul University. I called him; he hurried home and I was more than eager to go to the hospital. Paramedics took me and I figured it was my appendix. By early morning, after several tests, I was prepped for surgery. My surgeon said there was an unidentified mass in my abdomen. I began to think, ‘What if I don’t survive?’ My husband looked worried, something I have rarely seen in our twenty-seven years together. I thought about my son and my daughter, of friends I’d leave behind; stories I hadn’t completed and rejections I’d never receive. Strangely I thought about being reunited with my deceased parents.

When I did wake in recovery I found two nurses working over me and a huge open incision down the middle of my abdomen. Drugs are wonderful, when prescribed, I went back to sleep and the next time I woke, I was in a hospital room with tubes coming out of every orifice, and one created by my surgeon. Needless to say it wasn’t my appendix, but Doctor Johnson removed it anyway.

I had acute diverticulitis, a severe infection in my large intestine. There was a significant amount of inflammation in my colon and called for a bowel resection. I’ll spare you the details, lets just say six months later I required a second surgery for bowel reconnection. I have a deep respect and admiration for individuals who have to live day to day for the rest of their lives with what I only had to endure for a short period time. They have full active lives and no one has a clue as to their health issue.

I spent a week in the hospital the first go round and almost went to ICU because my blood pressure refused to respond to the different medications. I was completely incapacitated. I don’t like not being in control of my body and I don’t like being scared. There was only one thing I could do, relax, watch the second week of The US Open, allow my body to heal, and accept my doctor’s prescribed treatment. I’m not a very good patient. Once home at my first office visit with Dr. Johnson I asked specific questions, beginning with ‘What did you do to me?’ Thankfully my husband was along to ‘ah diffuse’ my direct questions. Dr. Johnson handled my attitude very wel. I’m not sure he looked forward to my followup visits.

I was anxious to have the second surgery and six months later, all my plumbing was reconnected with no problems. I was tempted to put a smiley face post-it note on my belly pre-op , just for laughs. Hubby didn’t think it was a good idea, Dr. Johnson saw the humor and said it would have been fine. Recovery this time around proved to be a bitch. After eleven days, blood transfusions and the insertion of a pic-line because they couldn’t find a vein, I went home and crawled into bed and in a deep depression. Instead of fighting it, I wallowed in it. I laid in bed, couldn’t eat, food had no taste and I gagged when I took small bites. I couldn’t even drink half a cup of Starbucks. My behavior worried my husband and basically I didn’t care. I balled up into a fetal position and let the days and nights pass. I didn’t watch tv, tv watched me. My faithful beagle remained by my bedside and even when my home care nurses tried to cheer me up I remained unresponsive. My daughter called every day from Atlanta. My son came home from college on weekends. My husband, who should have been at his office, worked from our kitchen table. I. Didn’t. Care. What no one including me could understand was how I bounced back so easily from the first surgery and not the second when everything had gone well. My good friend, Nellie, understood and left me alone, not like after the first surgery when she called and added me to her Sunday prayer circle. I did appreciate her themed get well cards, dogs. Nellie is scared of dogs so that was about as close as she was going to get to the little four legged creatures. Laurie text me on a regular basis, encouraging me to get up. Good thing she couldn’t see me roll my eyes at her.

Sometimes it’s good to just allow yourself to go blank. And I’m not recommending my solution for those who suffer serious medically diagnosed depression. The fourth week a nudge of clarity poked me. I spent more time out of bed. The taste of food returned. Bitter first I went through a jar of kosher dill pickles. I lost over twenty pounds bedridden and have found ten of them again. The sun seemed brighter, my mood improved and finally I found myself back in my writing space. Not really doing much, checking emails, reconnecting with friends, Internet shopping. My energy picked up, I drove my car. I put on makeup. I played tennis. I GOT MY HAIR WASHED!!!

Then like the bird that is my Muse, I, Phoenix, rose from the ashes and returned to my world. Just in time to attend my Chicago North RWA conference. I was nervous, but it soon disappeared. I was among friends who missed me and I’d missed them. I volunteered, attended fantastic workshops, drank a beer, and got a request for a full copy of my manuscript. I was ‘whole’ again, but the difference this time was a real eye opener. I’d come to the edge of a cliff, peaked over and realized you can’t just put off until tomorrow something you want today. With good health, a better grip on Weight Watchers, and an appreciation for all those who had my back, I’ve challenged myself to attain my goals. Write, be rejected, be published, be prolific. To write, polish, edit and submit the stories that shout in my head, characters that want to tell me explain their motivation, create plots that are imaginative, colored with a dose of reality and delve into the question: Would you commit a bad act for a good reason? My tag line is ‘Where good and evil can turn on a dime’.

Yasmine Galenorn once wrote a blog about her near death experience when no one was around. She’s a fantastic author. Her incident was a wake up call for her also. Now look how she’s succeeded. Success is not a one time thing. It’s an every day work in progress.

If you want something you have to work not one hundred percent, but two hundred percent. Find the time to write, even if it’s twenty minutes while sitting on the toilet, because that’s the only quiet place, or 2am in the morning when your eyes are so heavy with sleep they feel like weights, but your Muse is saying ‘One more word, just another sentence, add that paragraph, your villain needs your input, sleep is overrated’.

I’d said 2010 was the year of hard work, I thought I meant hard work as in writing. What it’s turning out to be is the year of the hard work of learning myself all over again.

This Phoenix is back. Next week – How Weight Watchers ten points can be used for writing. Until then enjoy my new site (I love the links page) and above all – write.

It’s time for this Phoenix to update her website and by April all the changes will be complete.

So what have I been doing since my last blog?
1. Coaching a girls tennis team. Now that was fun.
2. Rewriting my novel because of a hard drive crash and my not backing up my data like I should have. That was not fun, but I added more to the story this time around, so I count this as editing.
3. Watching Battlestar Galactica. The series finale is next week and as much as I don’t want the program to end, like a great series written, you have to know when to end it. I suppose this means I’ll have more time to write Friday evenings.
4. Okay I’ve been playing tennis. This passion has moved down the list due to injury, my desire to write and pursue publication.

One of the changes to my site will be I will no longer blog. Past blogs will be archived. I’ve thought of something different and more interactive.

So see ya later. Keep writing, enjoy life, and celebrate spring.