Wednesday, May 30, 2018

The Book to Screen Debate, part 2 by Toi Thomas

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Did you know that the book to screen debate has made it into the classroom?

Did you know that there are tons of bloggers and vloggers whose major content is simply comparing films to the books they are based on?

What does this say about the current state of cinema? Well, I think it says a lot.

First off, things are starting to come full-circle. There are now books being written that are based on movies, and yes, these books are putting a spin on things… but that’s a post for another day.

Are you having déjà vu?

No. 😜

I know I said the same thing last time about movies I thought were better than their books, but you’ll just have to wait. I’m saving all the juicy stuff til the end.

So, now back to this comparison phenomenon. So many people are consumed with getting down to the nitty-gritty of why books and their associated films are so different. I have two theories to present.

1) I think a lot of people are like me in the fact that my love of books and my love of movies is neck and neck for the total domination of my mental capacity. I love a good book and I love a good movie. When I see a movie based on a book, part of my mind feels like this has to be one of the singular greatest experiences I will have in my life. Yet, that is seldom the case.

Pexels.com
In recent years, I’ve experienced a lot less disappointment in film adaptations of books after taking into consideration the points I mention in part one of the series. I don’t look at these film adaptations as being associated with the books the way I used to and it’s helped me to enjoy many movies I fear I wouldn’t have been able to.  

Still, I sometimes find myself playing the comparison game. I’m trying to find clarity in the fog that is creative license. The fact of the matter is that movie makers have a certain amount of creative license to follow the author's guidelines (their book) or not to follow them, in order to produce something that will speak to the masses. Believe it or not, sometimes I’m glad Hollywood does this.

There are so many bestselling science fiction futuristic stories that are so compelling and riveting, yet they all tend to portray a future where only one race or ethnicity is depicted. This isn’t such a big deal in dystopian futuristic stories, but the utopia-type stories just don’t seem to make sense. When Hollywood takes it upon themselves to add cultural diversity to the film versions of these stories, I praise them for their foresight.  Hollywood is aware that the global viewing population may not buy into a futuristic film with a cast of all one color or ethnicity.

Still, there have been times when Hollywood has attempted to diversify a cast to exaggerated extremes, and the story gets lost behind unspoken political messages.

2) I think people simply like to compare things. People like to weigh the pros and cons, and they love to make lists. Reading is great entertainment. Watching TV or film is great entertainment. But in this instant digital age of reality stars, commentary and comparison are also great forms of entertainment. It used to be that only hard-core fans delved into the making of a movie or read interviews with bestselling authors, but that is no longer the case. In this day and age, free information is entertainment just waiting to happen, and if people can discuss or argue over a movie vs a book, they will. More money for the author (if they negotiated a good contract) and more money for the filmmakers.

I’ll be back on June 13th to talk more about The Book to Screen Debate. Find out more about me, my work, and my inspiration at the following links:

Amazon | Goodreads The ToiBox of Words | YouTube | See a list of my other posts here.

#book2screen, bookvsmovie,
COMMENTS

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Ruth de Jauregui via Google+

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Toi Thomas shares more on the books vs movies debate. Stop by and say hi!!
 
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Ruth de Jauregui

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Books VS movies? I usually like the book better. But in cases where the movie came first, I usually like the movie better. I guess I like whatever came first -- usually. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Except --- The Lord of the Rings could've been a six movie series!!

Great post Toi! Thank you.
 
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Chris Weigand

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Interesting article.
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Thank you.

Chris Weigand via Google+

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
A little more about the book to movie comparisons with Toi.
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Rebecca Tran

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Toi Thomas continues the book vs movie debate on Our Author Gang. Join the debate today.
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Grace Au

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Awesome article, Toi. I have a friend who has taken a Hallmark movie and turned it into a book...actually, she's done several.
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Grace I'm interested to find out how your friend dealt with copyright? Did she ask permission to write a book about the movie?
 
She was in touch with Hallmark. If you go to Hallmark's website and look, you have to nose deep, though, there is a section about how to submit to them. My romances are too racy for them.

Lorraine Carey via Google+

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
It's a hard call. Great post here!
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Thank you.
 
+Toi Thomas You are most welcome.

Toi Thomas via Google+

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today, I continue the Book to Screen Debate and explain why the comparison itself is a form of entertainment.
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Erika M Szabo

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
The film adaptation is always different than the book, some slightly, and others where the story is almost unrecognizable. I loved the Moonlight series when it came out and I wanted to read the book that it was based on. Well, the book was totally different and I didn't like it. "There are now books being written that are based on movies, and yes, these books are putting a spin on things" I'm looking forward to that post :)
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Yeah, I have two examples I'm excited to share.
 
+Toi Thomas Looking forward to it :)

Nikki McDonagh via Google+

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Nikki McDonagh

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Great post Toi. So difficult to get an adaptation right.
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I agree. Some are done well, while others make no sense.

Mary Anne Yarde

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
This is such an interesting series, Toi. I am looking forward to reading The Book To Screen Debate!!
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Thank you.

Joe Bonadonna

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
I like this series, Toi, as movies are the main lover of my life.
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+Joe Bonadonna Thanks
 
+Toi Thomas -- you're very welcome! 

Joe Bonadonna via Google+

8 months ago  -  Shared publicly
 
Today on Our Author Gang, Toi Thomas continues her talk about books as a source of cinematic inspiration.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

My inspiration for creative use of language in novels. Nicola McDonagh #OurAuthorGang




Nadsat, Newspeak and Bubchat


This post was originally written several years ago when my book Echoes from the Lost ones was published by Fable Press. I decided to include it after I wrote my previous post about Amazon putting a warning sign on Whisper Gatherers, the prequel to Echoes because someone complained it had too many typos.

You can read the post here:

There were no typos just my slang-based use of language which sometimes combined words to make one. It seemed appropriate now to include this post as it continues the theme of creating a language that best suits your story, especially if it is set in the future.

I have begun to question why a lot of writers choose not to modify the language they use to create a sense of another time and place. It seems that in the future, vocabulary will remain the same and people will talk to each other exactly the way they do now. Which doesn’t really make sense, does it? The spoken and written word has changed over the years, and most authors have reflected this in their work.



In his novel, 1984, George Orwell introduced words and phrases that were not familiar to readers of that era, to create a futuristic realm where language is used as a weapon to subjugate the masses: duckspeak, thoughtcrime, bellyfeel, doublethink, and speakwrite. Would it have been such a powerful read if the author had not employed the use of such evocative words? Who can forget ‘Newspeak’, or ‘Big Brother’?


In A Clockwork Orange, the use of slang is vital to the narrative to give credibility to this dystopian future. Alex speaks ‘nadsat’ a language that sets him and his friends apart from the rest of society.

“These grahzny sodding veshches that come out of my gulliver and my plott,” I said, “that’s what it is.”

“Quaint,” said Dr. Brodsky, like smiling, “the dialect of the tribe. “

So, bearing this in mind, when I came to write my Sci-Fi/Dystopian series The Song of Forgetfulness, I made sure that I used words that were appropriate for the world I was creating. Since it is written from the viewpoint of a seventeen- year -old, Adara, in the first person, it was imperative that her voice rang true in order for the characters to maintain credibility in this vision of the future. I created ‘Bubchat’.


“I showed respect and bowed, then turned toward the not-right teen. He gave me a tiny smile, and for reasons I know not, I took his hand and said, “Show me where you splosh.” His face went redder than a bub about to plop and everyone, including me, let out a merry guffaw. I hadn’t meant to use such a nursery word, but when I looked at his soft brown eyes and slender arms I went all mumsly. Not like me at all. I began to wonder if the ‘dults had palmed a soother into my stew.”

I went to Lewis Carol for inspiration. I remembered I had a favourite poem from my childhood, The Jabberwoky, from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found. It is a delight in the creative use of vocabulary. The language is rich and full of evocative words that create a unique setting where his story unfolds.


’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

Science fiction and fantasy are the ideal genres for authors to invent new languages, different ways of speaking, and to shake off the confines of correct word usage by playing around with the narrative form. But not everyone warms to such experimentation, and critics often chastise authors for breaking the rules of grammar that ‘The Elements of Style’, by Strunk and White, have branded into the English language. You can download a PDF copy http://www.jlakes.org/ch/web/The-elements-of-style.pdf

So, don’t be put off experimenting with vocabulary. Let your imagination fly and write from your heart, not your head. (Then go back and edit it.)

You can view all of my books on my Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Nicola-McDonagh/e/B00D4NAH0S/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1



Want to know more about my books? Go to my website and have a look around.


Or visit my Amazon page:



Sign up to my newsletter and get a free download of Changeling Fog – a short story from The Song of Forgetfulness series:


Monday, May 28, 2018

Memorial Day -- A Tribute to My Grandpa

Ruth de Jauregui

1909 or 1910

Memorial Day honors those who paid the ultimate price for their service. While many didn't come home, there are also many who came home and the war came with them. They battled injuries, PTSD and permanent disabilities until their last breath. We honor those fallen warriors too.

My Grandpa was one who made it home after WWI. But that's not where his military service began.

Born in 1889 in Beelog, North Carolina, he was a twin. His brother, Doctor O Pate, died shortly after their birth.


Grandpa's first enlistment took him to what we now call Glacier National Park. His unit guarded the surveyors as they resurveyed the Lewis and Clark Trail and established the boundaries of what would become the national park. He was stationed with Company L of the 2nd U.S. Infantry at Fort Assinniboine, Montana, in 1909 and 1910. We know, because he saved the 1909 Christmas menu and 1910 Thanksgiving napkin.


After completing his military service, Grandpa went to Arkansas, where his father had fled with the family after shooting a man (who died when the surgeon removed the injured arm). In Arkansas, the family was known as Shelton for obvious reasons. He homesteaded, but later left the state. Though Grandpa went by Shelton in Arkansas, his legal name remained Pate, probably due to his military service.


Grandpa's second enlistment was during WWI. He volunteered and ended up going to France. He worked in the forests and barely survived the Spanish flu epidemic. He left for France on January 2nd, 1918. 

(Note: His diary were transcribed by Grandma and Mom in 1983, after Grandpa had passed. He wrote it in pencil in the dark at night. I've inserted paragraph breaks to make it easier to read.)

They boarded the USS America late on January 4th, 1918. It was a miserable trip, Grandpa was horribly seasick. Though many of the men were ill, they all had to watch for subs.

"11 day we begane to keep a sharp look out for submarines putting a double sentry at each post 11th day out we had a little Bit of excitement in the early morning we sited a ship to South East She give a Distress signal. The signal was ansered and responded to by the Battleship Seattle going to find her. Finding it a Porteguese Tramp being at distress 
USS America in Boston 1919
U.S. Naval Historical Center

"12 day and the crew almost worked to death They taken the crew aboard the Seattle and set the Tramp ST. John on fire and leaving her to sea That afternoon, We had a little more excitement as our convoy didn't reach us. Being lost from our ships course thir was subs also reported to be in our vinicity so they lined in battle form and continued that way until the next day." 

After landing in France, his company marched to Pleyes. It was a difficult job, exasperated by the lack of food and shelter.

"This being the 27 of Jan we pitched our tents as the Best we could-Thinking we would get a chance to make us some beds But next morning the 28 and Monday we started to work That Licked The Hunger All we had to eat for 6 weeks was hard tack and bacon Sleeping on the gravel. 9 men to a tent the first work to pull the underbrush we had only 6 axes and 2 saws for 200 men Pulled Brush for 3 to 4 Days Then we got 60 axes and six saws We begane to fall timber and trim it with clubs Then they got some machates--they was but little better. The first order for timber was for trench poles No horses so the only thing was to carry them in We carried many train loads only having hard tack and bacon to eat while sleeping on the ground." 

Grandpa told Mom that after the Spanish flu struck, he was so sick and weak that it took him all day to get to the work site and then get back to his base. In his diary, he wrote, "Goying in the same way till August when the Spanish Flu struck the camp Everyone being underfed and overworked we were in bad condition for any kind of dissease. In about a week thir was 120 men down 8 died Some were disabled for life and had to be sent back home The Doctors got after the officers and made them feed us better-in about a month the most of the men was able to go back to work."

Grandpa finally returned to the U.S. and was discharged. His last sentence in his diary was, "I landed home May the 2nd I agree with Sherman WAR IS HELL"

Mom said, "Dad Pate always said the most beautiful sight in this world was the Statue of Liberty greeting him on the way home from France. He said, 'I will never see her face again unless she turns around.'"

After he made it home, he married Grandma and eventually they made their way to Oregon. His cousin drove them across the nation; Grandpa never learned to drive. He and Grandma were among the last homesteaders in Oregon.

 When WWII began, apparently every man had to enroll for the draft. He wasn't called to go.

 Grandpa had a long life with many adventures. Happily, he made it back from France, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

Grandpa passed in 1975 from emphysema and pneumonia. I believe his battle to survive the Spanish flu damaged his lungs, he suffered from emphysema for most of his later years and was a disabled Veteran.

Thank you Grandpa for your service.

DodgertonSkillhause / Morguefile.com
All phtotos are from the Pate Family archives unless otherwise credited. 

#MemorialDay  
#FamilyMemoirs  
#OurAuthorGang  
#RuthDJ

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Our Guest Today is Darlene Kuncytes #OurAuthorGang

So glad to have you with us today, Darlene!


     Darlene Kuncytes is the best-selling author of The Supernatural Desire series. She was born and raised in Ohio, and still happily resides there. She's a complete smart ass with a wicked sense of humor who has been told on more than one occasion that she is irritatingly chipper in the mornings. And, honestly-she really couldn't care less! She is the eternal optimist, and you can usually find her with a coffee mug in hand and a smile on her face ~ causing all kinds of trouble.
     Because of the content of her novels, they are best suited for readers 18 years of age and older. She loves hearing from her readers and may be contacted...
http://www.twitter.com/VampireEmbrace
https://www.facebook.com/AVampiresSavingEmbrace/
https://www.facebook.com/darlene.kuncytes
www.DarleneKuncytes.com


     What do you get when you mix a dragon, a witch and a tumble into the arms of fate? Can love find a way?
     Wynter's Kiss is part of the Stoking the Flames II: Tales of Legends, Lore, and Everlasting Love anthology.
     Find everlasting love in the clouds. Go back in time. Spring into the future. Soar on the wings of magic. 
Discover Legends of Fate, Destiny, True Mates, and Forever Love that’s written in the Stars.
     Take flight with fifteen amazingly talented bestselling authors as they bring these special Dragons to life. In each life-changing journey you will see that the heart gets what the heart wants, happily ever after is so much more than simple words at the end of a Fairy Tale, and Dragons prevail no matter the time, place, or obstacle. 

     This is Stoking the Flames II – spread your wings and soar with our Dragons. Once you’ve touched the clouds, felt the wind in your hair, and held the power in your hands, you will forever fly high.

Kelly Abell
Grace Augustine
Solease M. Barner
Kathi S. Barton
Linda Boulanger
Isobelle Cate
Dara Fraser
L.J. Garland
Darlene Kuncytes
Andi Lawrencovna
J.C. McKenzie
Julia Mills
Kate Richards
Kali Willows
Victoria Zak

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