and other meetings, random and not.
I don't know if I can forgive you for making me read that.
-- Darin, on a piece of writing from my Novel Writing class. Not one of mine. Running news:
5.3 miles.
Timo was in town this past weekend, getting some stuff from his parents' house (they're moving and this was his chance to rescue "stuff"), so he stopped by our place on Monday and we had brunch.
This disrupted our schedule so much--I admit, it taketh not much to disrupt Darin and me if we're really not trying--that we decided to go see a movie in the afternoon, EdTV.
EdTV is the story of a cable station, Truth TV, which decides to boost its sagging ratings by going to 24-hour coverage of a real person's life. They hold auditions and end up not with ebullient, in-your-face Ray (Woody Harrelson) but his quieter, more "normal guy" brother Ed (Matthew McConaughey). What starts out as a wacky lark to earn some quick money turns everybody's lives upside-down, forcing Ed and his family to face some family problems they'd rather leave dormant--such as the fact that Ed is in love with his brother's girlfriend Shari (Jenna Elfman). At the same time, the producer who thought this whole shindig up (Ellen DeGeneres) has a revelation about what, exactly, it is she has done not only to Ed but to herself.
Most of what I've read about EdTV compares it to The Truman Show, to which it bears some resemblance, but the two movies are really different. One of the major differences is in their premise--Ed chooses to be on TV. He decides to enter into this situation, even though he doesn't quite know what he's going to get. So it's not Truman redux. It is more a meditation on the pursuit of fame in the US than on the problems of controlling your own life (which is what I thought The Truman Show was more about).
I liked EdTV but it didn't overwhelm me. In fact, I found it easy to leave during one scene (that turned out to be pretty important)--I was not glued to my seat, which is a bad sign when I'm at the movies. The movie takes a lot of easy routes out. The ending, for example, is the most juvenile thing I've seen in a while.
One of the problems, I think, is that Ed is such a regular guy I didn't really cotton to him. I can see how this device probably worked for a lot of people, so I can't exactly say that it was the wrong device for the movie. I found myself underwhelmed by Ed though and not particularly involved in his struggle.
The worst thing about EdTV is the portrayal of the women, from the ineffectual Shari to the venal Elizabeth Hurley to the seriously pathetic mother (Sally Kirkland), who was by far the most irritating character. All of the women are seriously two-dimensional in a way that the men are not. Which I am so tired of.
After the movie we went to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch, and after lunch, I asked Darin if he wanted to stop in Barnes&Noble. He said--wait for it--yes. ("Hey, little boy: want some more heroin?") He bought a ton of computer books and one novel, which he asked me to buy for him with my novels, so that he could have a nice, tax-friendly entry for the Quicken records.
I went to the mystery section, which always faces the romance section in B&N, I've noticed. So I checked out the backs of a few romance books--I was beginning to think I've already found every single Regency available--when I suddenly hear from behind me: "Oh, you've got to try Judith McNaught."
A woman was animatedly pulling some books off the shelves. I wondered, briefly, if this was Ms. McNaught. After all, when I'm an author, I'm likely to do exactly that: pounce on unsuspecting buyers. Buy this, damn you.
"I've read all these," she said, loading up on Judith McNaught.
I politely asked why she was buying them, in that case.
"Oh, in my romance novel writing class, we're making a lending library, so that everyone can try out different books."
I thought about this for about half a second.
"UCLA Extension?" I asked.
She smiled up at me. "Yes!"
She's taking the Romance Novel Writing class. They have to start out by writing the blurb that would appear on the back of the book--a highly capital idea I think I may suggest in tonight's Novel Writing class--and then hand in full outlines and know which subgenre they want to write in and what fantasy (she whipped them out so quickly I'm quite sure I don't remember them correctly: missing baby, mistaken identity, taming the reluctant male, etc.) they want to use... It sounds like a highly organized class.
I mentioned I was taking the Novel Writing class.
"You started out highbrow," she said.
"I'm writing a mystery," I said--in order to dispel that notion, I guess. "Which Judith McNaught should I buy?" I had mentioned I liked Regencies.
She handed me Something Wonderful and Almost Heaven. Then she said: "Oh, and Kathleen Woodiwiss! But make sure it's early Kathleen Woodiwiss, and not late Kathleen Woodiwiss."
I opined as how I wouldn't know the difference. So she proceeded to go get four Kathleen Woodiwiss (early, not late) for me. Then she said, "I'm on break right now, so I really have to go buy these and get back to work!"
This kind of thing doesn't happen on Amazon.com.
(I was underwhelmed by the description of the Kathleen Woodiwiss novels, so I put them back. Perhaps I will brave them later.)
I went home and checked the website for UCLA Extension. Turns out there is also a Crime Novel Writing class, in the Fiction Writing II category. Something to look forward to, I guess.
That night Aaron, Linda, and I met in writing group. Gonzo didn't show up and didn't send me e-mail, which is annoying--if you can't be dedicated, be polite. We didn't have much to discuss, so we talked movies and about Aaron's meeting with an agent.
In Novel Writing class we went over everybody's stuff. Everyone has to comment on everyone's work now, I've noticed. Which is good. There will be no slacking!
I have to bring in 15 pages for next week's class. Which is fine, as I'm already on page 20.
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Copyright 1999 Diane Patterson
Send comments and questions to diane@spies.com