Marval Movie

Well, Dr. Gupta (from previous blog post) would be proud of me. I did something scary. I was the speaker at the Abilene Writers Guild Workshop, thanks to Sheryl Nelm's invitation.  I titled my talk "Soundtrack of a Writer" and my little snippets of tunes brought some chuckles. Best laugh from Three Dog Night's "One"  i.e. "one is the loneliest number.....NO is the saddest experience..."  Writers with rejections understand. Here I'm chatting with Ginny Green - hadn't seen her in...

Here's the grand finale from my talk.  Play the song and think about it............enjoy! 12. Seasons of Love from Rent Henry David Thoreau wrote “The author’s character is read from title page to the end.” Whether it’s a memoir, flash fiction, poetry, or a movie review – I know there’s a piece of me in the pages. Each of us is unique and as writers we share bits of ourselves through our words. As we journeyed today through soundtracks of a writer, I hope a piece caught your attention,...

Look out Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games – you have a serious rival in this age of heroines. Beatrix in Divergent looks mild and meek in her Abnegation gray drab outfit. But her conversion to Dauntless, name change to Tris, and new workout regime has her in full fight mode.  I gave a review of the Divergent trilogy in a previous post, and I do recommend reading the books. However, the first movie is worthy and you’ll be caught up in this futuristic world.   Chicago...

Enjoyed a walk in the park yesterday for a good cause. Actually I didn't walk - I volunteered and helped at registration. But Fort Worth's Trinity Park was THE place to be. Gorgeous day. Energy and enthusiasm abounded, and hopefully funds were raised for research, wellness programs, and other ways to help folks living with MS. I have two friends whose husbands have MS. One developed it after college back in the 1980s. The other learned a year or so ago he had it and he's in his 50s. Both...

It's that time of year - April - and I'm taking the 2014 http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com as created by Alex Cavanaugh. My theme - character names. I've got the Complete List of Baby Names (editor Lesley Bolton) in reach and we shall explore the alphabet. As a rule, I've been horrible at picking names for characters. My guys always seem to be called Nick. My female names are bland.  I'm hoping this month of discovery will kick start some character development and give some oomph...

and we are off and running in the challenge. Most popular names of the 1920s - Betty for girls Betty and Barbara in the 1930s and in 2010 - Boys names with B - Benjamin, Brayden, and Brody Girls in 2010 - Brianna, Brooklyn, and Bella as for my B character names - Drat -  Beatrix is taken thanks to Divergent Thus I shall pick Blair - it's Scottish and means "from the field of battle".  This young lady will have cropped red hair, piercing green eyes, and she carries a sword...

I'm casting characters based on a name book. I tend to get bogged down in boring, so this April I'm looking at options.  Hope you enjoy my journey and feel free to pipe up with an awesome name. From the way past - my grandmother's name was Clarissa My husband's grandmother was Cleo Not a lot of those running around these days 1920s - no popular girls names.   Charles for boys 1930s - no girls.  Charles hung in there 2010 - Christopher, Christian, and Caleb for boys Chloe,...

I'm trying to come up with names that mean something for characters in my future books. April is a good month to explore. Popular in 1920s - boys - Donald (rather bland) Girls - Dorothy and Doris (Ray's (my husband)  great aunt Dorothy is a pip, so much to be said for that name) How about in 2010?  Boys - Daniel, David, and Dylan (all three are nice and conventional. Maybe Dylan is poetic) Girls - Destiny (rather daring), Let's dig into my list and make some bold choices Female:...

D was a tad Dull.  Let's hope some E names prove to be Ebullient 1920s popularity - no boys or girls 2010 - Ethan, Elijah, and Evan for boys Emma, Elizabeth, and Ella for girls Let's kick the E names up a notch: Young ladies - Ebony (Egyptian)  A dark beauty - no doubt enigmatic Edel (German) A clever woman Esen (Turkish)  Of the wind Young men - Egan (Gaelic)  A little flame. One who is fiery.  (Kick-ass!) Ezio (Italian)  resembling an eagle (how can you go wrong...

Greetings to F day. I'm deviating slightly from my normal pick character names. Since our last name is Faries, I decided to bring in a guest picker: my husband Ray Faries. When I met him, he already had two boys - from 1979 - Christopher Ray and from 1981 Kevin Michael - now stalwart upstanding young men with families. "So Ray, let's look outside the box. What boy names would you pick today?" (admittedly he'd stick with Chris and Kevin, but let's pretend he goes crazy. Yes I made him pick) ...

G equals lots of Goddess types. This can make for some fun characters. I'm going out on a limb with some unpronounceable names, but let's just GO with it Boy names from 1920s and 1930s - George.  That's my father's name and he's bemoaned the fact that often George characters are wimpy. But - 2013 brought us the new Prince George - now very cool. "Hold your head high, Dad." No girl names from the 1920s or 30s In 2010 - Grace, Gabriella, and Gianna get a nod Here are my picks for...

Hercules, Hades, Harper - names evoke emotions 2010 popular names for boys - Hunter, Henry, and Hayden Girls - Hailey, Hannah, and Hayden Let's see what catches my eye in the H category: Males - Heathcliff (English) from the cliff near the heath. I can't do justice to Wuthering Heights, but it's a great name and I'm using it. Heaton (English) from the town on high ground.  Sounds like money to me. Hewett (French) the small intelligent one.  could have fun with this fellow as he...

I  - singular. It's all about the person. 2010 popular names - boys: Isaac, Isaiah, Ian girls: Isabella  (prettiest Isabella in my opinion is Isabella Rossellini - her mother was Ingrid Bergman - good genes all around) For characters - actually I've always liked Ian (Gaelic) from John, God is gracious Ignatius (Latin) - a fiery man, one who is ardent. He's going to lead the fight Ingram (Scandinavian)  a raven of peace.  He's going to quietly battle Ignatius and...

 Selfishly I shall share J with no other names.  I am Joanne. I've always liked my name. It has caused no issues through the years. My father liked Joanne Woodward - excellent actress, married to Paul Newman (my mother's fave). Thus I was their first born and named Joanne. Apparently no argument at all. I'm fine with this. Joanne Woodward, now age 84, was superb and smart.  Check out the pics below   Here I am at the Abilene Writers' Conference in March.  Do...

K has a shorter list of names than other letters. A lot of the names have C counterparts, but I'll dig deeper than that. K shall contribute some interesting characters. Women: Kizzy (African) an energetic woman. Someone needs to get a group up and moving. Kisha (Russian)  a genius.  Quiet and alert, she'll provide data that leads to solutions for the group Keiki (Hawaiian) resembling an orchid Men: Kantrava (Indian) resembling a roaring animal.  But does he really...

L - I shall start with Lee - my middle name and my uncle's name. He was my mother's eldest brother. It's from the English and means from the meadow. No L names from the 20s or 30s for kids 2010 - boys - Liam (oh yeah - Liam Neeson or Liam Hemsworth, both yummy), Lucas, Levi (love the jeans), and Luis. Girls - Lily (I'm guessing Modern Family), Lillian, Layla (Eric Clapton - you've got me on my knees). Let's explore the labyrinth of L names - female first - Lachlan (gaelic) - from the...

M - Marooned on an island?  Married with ten kids? Morose?   What characters evolve from the letter M? 1920s popularity - no boys, Margaret for girls.  2010 - boys - Michael, Mason, Matthew girls - Madison, Morgan, Maya, Mackenzie, Madelyn, Madeline, Melanie, and Mariah We have a grandchild named Makyla.  She's awesome smart at age five almost six. But my rule that I joke about is you should name a child if you can get a Christmas ornament with that name. Not custom...

Nothing in 1920 2010 - boys - Noah, Nathan, Nicholas (oh my beloved Nick appears) Girls - Naomi, Natalia Let's explore N Naama -(Hebrew) an attractive woman Nabiha (Arabic) one who is intelligent. Could these two women work together? Nyura (Ukranian) A graceful woman Nousha (Iranian) a sweet woman Men - Nael - (Gaelic) - a celebrated birth  My guess is this guy is an ass Nagid (Hebrew) a great leader Namdev (Indian) a poet or saint.  He's going to annoy Nagid to no end Nordin (Norse)...

O dear, no O names in 1920s. Not even Ophelia - you would think that Shakespeare name could stand the test of time 2010 - Boys - Owen and Oliver made the cut Girls - Olivia  is it What shall I pick?   Females: October (American) born during Autumn. Indeed - I'm an October gal, so this is a good name Ode - (English/Greek) traveler of the road.  I love to travel, so this hits my heartstrings Opal - (Sanskriti) a treasured jewel.  I have an opal from Australia - we traveled...

P should be Perfect or Prissy or Party-on Dude Nothing from the 1920s 2010 - Boys - I am shocked - not even Patrick makes this list.  What? Girls - Peyton, Payton, and Paige. It's a sorority. I've got good friends named Patricia but they go by Trish.  P's get no respect Pacifica (Spanish) a peaceful woman Pacquita (Latin) - unbounded and free Palani (Hawaiian) free and independent Paradise (English) from the perfect place Men - Pitt (English) from the ditch. He's going to have...

Q is very unique. Nothing from 1920s, 1930s. or even 2010. Hmmmm. No surprise But there are some very cool Q names. Look at James Bond movies - just the letter Q is enough. so, girls - Qi (Chinese) a life force Querida (Spanish) one who is dearly loved Quinby (Scandinavian) from the queen's estate Quorra (Italian) from the heart boys - Quadir (Arabic) a capable man, one who is competent Qing (Chinese) of the deep water Quaid (Irish)  commander of the army Quinn (Gaelic ) one who provides...

 It was a choice between rapscallion or Ray day. Guess I shall salute my husband who is a bit of a rascal, with a tweak of rogue, and a sweet romancer. Popular in the 1920s - Robert and Richard and Ruth 2010 - Ryan, Robert for boy names Riley and Rachel rule the girls Ray (means a wise protector) is actually his middle name, but that's what everyone calls him. Let's see what else he could be - does he look like a? Rad (English) one who provides counsel Rafe (Irish) a tough man Rafferty...