When I'm 84

Last night, the 84th Academy Awards http://www.imdb.com/ were easier on the eyes and ears than last year’s debacle. Billy Crystal had a few good moments, such as when he said, “Nothing eases the world's economic woes like watching millionaires give each other gold statues!”

Although my movie picks didn’t make it, there were few surprises.  I was pleased for Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris winning for Best Original Screenplay but disappointed with his no-show. I wanted War Horse to win for Best Soundtrack but it didn’t win anything. I was glad to watch as Christopher Plummer (whom I associate as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music) gave the classiest speech.  Octavia Spencer looked terrific but was a bundle of nerves and unprepared. Meryl Streep desperately needs a stylist, but acknowledging her husband as she did, I overlooked her matchy-matchy look because her words brought tears to my eyes (unlike Michel Hazanavicius who didn’t mention his wife Bérénice Bejo on receiving his Directorial award) and because she is talented and likable, I have no doubt that she will be up there again.   

Maybe next year I’ll be more in sync, but in any event I’ll have my opinions. What were yours? 

Make it Easy on Yourself

I’ve been thinking about why students don’t ask for feedback and are highly sensitive when they receive it.  I got over my hurdle when I discovered that by not accepting constructive criticism I would not grow as a writer. In that vein, I’m sharing why this 
happens along with my recommendations.

You worry that the feedback will be negative. Many people avoid asking others what they think about a piece of writing because they have a sneaking suspicion that the news will not be good. If you want to improve your writing, however, constructive criticism from others will help. Remember that the criticism you receive is only criticism of the writing and not about you.

You don't know whom to ask. The person who can offer the most effective feedback on your writing may vary depending on when you need the feedback and what kind of feedback you require. Keep in mind, though, that if you are really concerned about a piece of writing, almost any thoughtful reader (be it someone whom your respect and understands your mental process) can provide useful feedback that will help you improve your writing. Don't wait for the expert; share your writing with a few select readers.

You don't know how to ask. It can be awkward to ask for feedback, even if you know whom you want to ask. Asking someone, "Could you take a look at my story?" or "Could you tell me if this is OK?" Can sometimes elicit wonderfully rich responses. Usually, though, you need to be specific about where you are in the writing process and the kind of feedback that would help. You might say, "I'm really struggling with the structure of this story. Could you read these pages and see if the ideas seem to be in the right order?"

You don't want to take up anyone’s time. You may be hesitant to go to a friend or mentor because you don't want to bother him or her. If you can't meet during another's time schedule, try making a special appointment. If you find that you aren't able to schedule a time to talk with a specific person, remember that there are plenty of other people around you who can offer feedback.  Keep in mind you are not dependent on solely one person and be open.  

You've gotten feedback in the past that was unhelpful. If earlier experiences haven't proved satisfactory, try again. Ask a different person, or ask for feedback in a new way. Experiment with asking for feedback at different stages in the writing process: when you are just beginning, when you have a first draft, or when you think you are finished. Figure out when you benefit from feedback the most, the kinds of people you get the best feedback from; the kinds of feedback you need, and the ways in which to ask for feedback effectively.

In a Man's World

It’s no surprise that there are more women in my classes than men, and when I refer to classic texts I get blank stares.  This is a result of women choosing to read popular books, or material that doesn’t teach or enlighten, and time-fillers such as celebrity bios.  Please don’t send me emails defending your intellectual decisions- I understand that everybody is entitled to their taste and I don’t judge anyone’s choices, but to be a writer you must be a reader and it is imperative that you read a diverse selection of material as a reference point to distinguish what is well-written from what is written poorly. Men readers often concentrate on non-fiction and under-estimate the literary power of fiction. However, today being President’s Day I’m going to focus on men. 

As I see it, there are books you read, and then there are the books that change your life. We can all look back on the books that have shaped our perspective on politics, religion, money, and love. Some will even become a source of inspiration for the rest of your life. From a seemingly infinite list of books of anecdotal or literal merit, I have compiled a list.  A list that will shape a mind and in my opinion also defines broader cultural ideas of what it means to be a man.

Whether a book is a tale of adventure, war, or history, there is so much to learn about life’s great questions from these gems. Let me know by your comments which of these you loved, disliked, and the books that meant a lot to you and should have been included(you can even get indignant about your favorite book). Here is my list.

The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

Bluebeard, Kurt Vonnegut

The Lord of the Flies, William Holding

Catch 22, Joseph Heller

Call of the Wild, Jack London

Moby Dick, Herman Melville

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

For Whom the Bells Toll, Ernest Hemingway

Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli

1984, George Orwell

The Republic, Plato

Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand

Les Miserables, Victor Hugo

The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

War and Peace, Tolstoy

The Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas

The Prophet, Kahlil Gibran (poetic essays)

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Stranger, Albert Camus

The Cairo Trilogy, Naguib Mahfouz

Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck

Mephisto, Klaus Mann 
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwuO2dfqrF4

All you need is love

Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you. We all remember scrawling this, in some form or another, and folding a red sheet of paper in half to make a heart; an incredible discovery when you make your first one. Valentine’s Day remains ingrained in most of us as we’ve grown up. 

 














I’m one of those who think that the secret to surviving Valentine’s Day when you’re single isn’t about finding a significant other for this special day, but about remembering those who significantly affect you every day.

To catch the love bug, share the love with your friends.  As most children are aware, Valentines are given to family members and friends.  Teachers are the recipients of the most home-made cards during classroom construction paper activities.

For those who love to witness romance through a visual medium, tonight TCM http://www.tcm.com/schedule/ will present Summertime directed by David Lean, starring Katherine Hepburn and the Italian bello, Rozzano Brazzi. Look at Brazzi’s European old-world sensibility and charm. I made reference to it on my website http://www.lindalaroche.com/arts articles.htm in a Bittersweet Musical with Carol Lawrence and Anthony Crivello who has gone on to be the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera playing in Las Vegas.  The film is compelling and reflects a woman searching for love, yet once found has a hard time accepting it in a form that she is not familiar with culturally. My favorite scene is where Hepburn seductively shops for a pair of red high heels for her last date- “with him” an occurrence that so many women can identify with. 

Whatever your activities are this day, share love- and let the love begin with you!  

Looking out is looking in

I was once sitting at the window of a Berne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bern coffee shop, idly watching the passing throng, when a man tapped on the glass and asked if he might take my photograph. I declined his request, and later thought about the freedom to photograph the faces of strangers and how very human it is to watch one another and to photograph one another mentally or with a camera. But I suppose the more poignant I imagined his picture of a woman drinking coffee alone with a floral vase in front of her might be, the less I wanted that person to be me. 

The moral question of whether one should capture someone’s likeness without their permission or knowledge – a practice for many photographers has become second nature – and has been debated since the birth of the hand-held camera, but these are challenging times for the street photographer.

It’s been a long time since that incident and with anti-terrorist legislation the police have greater powers to challenge photographers, while public suspicion towards those lurking behind the camera also seems to be increasing.

Still I am fascinated by candid shots and prefer them over a pose. Having acquired a taste for medium sized cities, I’m also drawn by the dynamism of city streets where people go about their business told through images as a mirror to a society.  

City life gives an opportunity to meet a diverse bunch of people, in every aspect, and is engaging even if it is only for one fleeing moment.   

Say It Isn't So

As every writer knows rejection is a necessary part of the creative process, and one-line rejection letters from literary agents and editors can be discouraging and impersonal.  More often than not you’ll get something like this:

Thank you for your query or submission to x Company, Inc.  Please forgive this form response.  The number of queries and submissions currently being received prevents us from personally responding to each.

Creative writers should know how to interpret the information they receive (if at all) and then use this knowledge to improve their submissions.

Keep in mind, writing is a business, and writers must remember that agents and editors have nothing against them personally.

Agents’ jobs depend on the choices they make, and if they don’t feel the work will sell—or they simply don’t feel any enthusiasm or passion for the piece—they don’t have time to argue or explain why.

Here are some standard phrases used in their form letters:

Doesn’t meet our needs
Doesn’t fit our plans
Have to pass on this
Isn’t resonating with me
Isn’t something we’d like to pursue
No room for more clients
Not a right fit
Not suitable for us
We are not enthusiastic about this work
We are not certain we could be effective in placing your work
We do not have a place for this
and the list goes on!

You may feel deflated and wonder why you are being rejected, if the writing or concept was so great.

Take the time to analyze any comments you’ve received. Is there a common thread? If one editor says- you should have written this in third person, you may want to wait to hear if another editor has the same comment before making a drastic revision.

When choosing to make revisions based on feedback, think carefully and evaluate the advice that is thrown your way. As you consider the comments thoughtfully, follow your heart—avoid hasty reactions.

Keep in mind that what one agent dislikes, another agent might enjoy! That said, if you are fortunate enough to receive multiple comments that critique the same elements, it’s time to revise.

Above all else, trust your own instincts.

Times are changing

Last summer I blogged about the closing of Borders and my memories of the Pasadena store as a place I enjoyed going to. Not only did I find good coffee and good conversation but two of my friends as community relations directors brought in off-beat bands that offered alternative music. Now another yet harder blow; the Bodhi Tree bookstore in West Hollywood my home away from home since 1979, has closed its’ doors.  

There was no other place like it and for decades it served as a world-renowned spiritual mecca for seekers of all persuasions — including Ringo Starr, Governor Jerry Brown, and actress Shirley MacLaine, who chronicled how her metaphysical journey began at the Bodhi Tree in her memoir, Out on a Limb.

To me, the bookstore represented a repository in the likes of the Library of Alexandria, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria

gathering all of the world’s ancient wisdom traditions.  And like many of my haunts, it was a place where I could go spontaneously on my own and I’d find unexpected intellectually stimulating dialogue.

I thought of the owners whom I knew personally and they told me they were optimistic that the bookstore would be reborn at a different location just outside of the city and are in negotiations with a potential buyer for its name, website and database.

Still, I shall feel its loss.  Gone are the available good karma pennies, the burning incense and the enjoyable herbal tea you could help yourself to, but most of all I will miss the wonderful books I came across as only one can find in an independent bookstore.  It symbolized an inhalation of fresh air as one of the starting places where my interest in spirituality blossomed.  Not only am I sad to see it go, but I also recognize that esoteric books have been replaced by more mainstream material as entrepreneurs enter the field of books wiping out knowledge in favor of materialism.  

But all has not vanished; named after the place where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, it may still  — ‘Rise from the ashes of a Phoenix.’