MCS #1: 101 Dalmatians

101 Dalmatians (1961)

IMDB BLURB
When a litter of dalmatian puppies are abducted by the minions of Cruella De Vil, the parents must find them before she uses them for a diabolical fashion statement.

Puppies!

Lots of puppies.

And I really want to know what kind of sick woman thinks skinning dogs is okay.

Apparently Cruella De Vil (cruel devil, for anyone who’s slow like me and didn’t figure this out until years later. Don’t look at me like that. I never gave it much thought) does.

This movie is adorable. There really isn’t any other way to describe it. There are a bunch of lost pups trying to find their way home. It’s a journey plotline. (My MFA tuition at work, there.)

Seriously, I learned quite a bit from this movie. Aside from not to trust strange men who show up at your door with a sign that misspells electric, there’s a lot of family-oriented stuff in this movie. Take care of your own and they’ll take care of you. Sitting in your house all day makes for a lonely existence. I gest, but don’t let people into your home. Don’t trust everyone who has a semi-convincing story to tell. (Not that Jasper and Horace were semi-convincing, but you know what I mean.)

It’s these kinds of classic films that remind me what Disney is all about. I’m glad this one came first in the lineup. It’s a good place to start. It’s the perfect mix of old and newer Disney, and it has 101 built-in reasons to smile.

Moment of Digression – Did anyone else own the play-along-with-the-movie computer game? I had it on Windows 98, I believe. Talk about the Stone Age. Anyway, I need to mention the segment where the Dalmatians all roll in the soot to disguise themselves as black labs. This was my favorite scene in the movie. It was great. After forever of traipsing through the snow, hiding, and generally being exhausted, the puppies get to play. And not only do they get to play, but they have mom and dad’s approval to get dirty. Every kid’s dream.

This segment in the game, however, was far from entertaining. For those who don’t know, the puppies got disguised through the following method. Player clicked on the pile of soot, and the mouse turned into a smaller pile of soot. The puppies then came on screen (one at a time, mind you), and you clicked on each of them with the soot pile. It colored the puppy black, and said puppy ran to the truck.

This had to be done for 99 puppies.

That’s 99 times.

I was five (eight at the oldest). What five, six, seven, or eight-year-old has that kind of attention span? I didn’t, but I did color all 99 puppies once. I was curious. I was rewarded with the following exchange set to a black screen.

One puppy: “Are we all here? Guys, count off.”

All the other puppies in unison: “One.”

Writer’s Lockbox

I started this a while ago, and it sort of died. Well, I’m bringing it back for MCS because I’m a writer, and I blog about writing. Disney movies can be related to writing. So each Saturday I will end with one thing the given movie can teach us about the craft.

For 101 Dalmatians, it is suspense and action. This movie moves. Puppies are kidnapped (boom). Search begins (boom). Puppies try to escape (boom). Mom and dad come in at the right moment—in an awesome scene—I might add (boom).

And on and on. This movie hits all the beats. You’re sitting on the edge of your seat till the very end. You want these dogs to get home, and you want to see that wanna-be-dog-skinner-woman lose.

That’s what I’m talking about, people.

Join me next week for A Goofy Movie.

Thanks for reading.

Mary
@desantismt on Twitter

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My book blog

Secondary Character Appreciation...Few Weeks (1/3)

Good Wednesday,

As a 5 (fifth-res student) at Seton Hill, I was required to give a forty-five minute teaching presentation on a topic relative to writing. I chose secondary characters, and since my presentation went well, I will now share what I learned with the internet. Because that’s how I roll.

Let’s get started.

Writing a Well-Rounded Cast of Secondary Characters

Dumbledore is to Harry Potter as Obi-Wan Kenobi is to….

***---***

If you said Luke Skywalker, you would be correct. (Sorry, people who said Chewbacca.)

Excellent, you know this. Now why do you know this?

I’ll wait.

***---***

Done?

Okay.

You know this because Dumbledore and Obi-Wan are both memorable, well developed secondary characters who perform specific roles in the story.

What’s a secondary character?

I’m so glad you asked!

Secondary characters are characters in a story who perform the following functions:
-support the main characters
-help main characters drive the plot
-play a variety of different roles to the main characters

But be that role mentor, friend, or partner in crime, all secondary characters need to be memorable and realistic. And they need to interact with the main character as people in real life do. After all, we don’t know everyone in our lives equally, and not all people in our lives help us through each episode we face in the same way/amount.

To illustrate this concept, I created three types of secondary characters. And here they are with examples from Harry Potter.

-Light second (McGonagall) – A light character’s “identity” (who they are) is somewhat important to the story, but their here and now is all that really matters. These characters may have a moment or two where they interact with the main plot. It’s more likely, though, that they’ll interact with subplots.

-Moderate second (Neville Longbottom) – This is the center “catch-all” category. Moderate seconds’ backstories are fleshed out to varying degrees. Actions and context clues give an idea of who the character is. These guys interact with the main plot and are important for the story in varying ways/degrees.

-Deep second (Snape) – These guys are almost primary characters. Their backstories are fleshed out for the reader to see, and they are important (maybe even integral) to the main plot.

Let’s try this.

Below are 3 characters. Which category do you think each falls into? Feel free to drop your guess (and reasoning, if you’d like) in the comments. I will go over them briefly next Wednesday before moving on to Practical Application.

Bob Cratchet – A Christmas Carol
Haymich Abernathy – The Hunger Games
Igor – Frankenstein

Ready, go.

And join me next Wednesday for more secondary character fun.

Thanks for reading.

Mary
@desantismt on Twitter

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10 Things I Learned About SHU

I am not too proud of that title. (Ok, maybe I am. Just a little. … Shut up. )

Anyway, hi, people.

Another residency gone, and another post-residency get-back-in-touch-with-the-world survived. That makes time #5, which means…yes. Only one more.

I may cry now.

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K, didn’t cry, but I will. Give me time.

I won’t dive into how much the program and the people in the program mean to me. Then I will cry, and that’s best left for after the final res. Instead, I’ll take a stab at light-hearted and list ten things I learned this res.

1. Showing up a day early is actually a really good idea, especially when one decides their teaching presentation needs final, minor, changes the day of orientation.

2. I am not as terrified of the horror genre as I previously believed. Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 and a friend’s thesis reading taught me this.

3. I stand out, apparently. People I’ve spoken to once or twice know who I am, and I don’t really understand that. I also feel very awkward when they say “Hey, Mary! How are you?” and I’m left standing there wondering who I’m talking to. (Joys of legal blindness and such.) 

4. I can, in fact, write science fiction. It just takes a lot of brain/will power.

5. Evenings with writers are some of the most fun, entertaining, interesting, amazing times I’ve had/will ever have.

6. People can surprise you.

7. Magic, ritual, and religion take a lot of work to create and use well. I’m willing to put in the effort. And that’s a good thing. (Or is it?))

8. “Candle in the Wind” can be very inspirational if the lyrics are recited in the right way.

9. The Game of Thrones theme song can be warped in the most hilarious way possible.

10. To everyone who has graduated since I began the program in January 2012, I miss you. It gets a little harder to let you go every semester. This past class…I don’t know what res will be like without you in June, and I’m not sure I want to know. But like our word counts that march on, unstoppable, toward “The End,” life and time move forward. June will come. I’ll find out, and then I, too, will leave those behind me to fill the slot of “soon to be gone.” The class behind them will then fill the slot of “holy crap, we’re next, The 6s are leaving.” And so on it will go into infinity (or until the cycle is stopped by unforeseen circumstances). There are no words. Just know that you’ve left your mark—each and every one of you who has graduated. And know you will be missed, remembered, and cherished.

And I said I wasn’t going to get emotional.

*deep breath*

Think I’d better stop there. SHU, thanks for another week of awesome. I will see you in June. Till then, I will whip this thesis into shape for final deadline, and I will pass my other two classes. I will do this because it is “do or do not, there is no try.”

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ANNOUNCEMENT

2014 has begun, and I have survived res. I want to be more active. You may have noticed the existence of a new page at the top of the blog—My Animated Movies. That’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a list of all the animated movies (Disney and otherwise) I’ve seen. I’m dedicated, or crazy, or both.

Starting this Saturday and for every Saturday until I’ve done them all, I will do a brief (or not-so-brief) post about the movie. There will be humor. There will be animated philosophy. Most of all, there will be blasts to the past and, hopefully, a new way to appreciate all that animated movies do for us.

Join me. I begin Saturday with Disney’s 101 Dalmatians.

NOTE: If you previously read this post and would swear up and down it said Friday, you would be correct. What I get for writing blog posts while still sleep deprived from residency. I was originally going to do Friday. Then it dawned on me that Saturday morning was the time for this—in honor of Saturday morning cartoons and such. So I’m officially calling this series CMS (Cartoon Morning Saturday), and it all starts tomorrow.
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As always, thanks for reading.

Mary
@desantismt on Twitter

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-Kit ‘N Kabookle
My book blog

Off I Go into the Wild Blue Yonder…Again

Greetings,

It’s that time of year again. That time of year when I go to PA for a week, party (cough) hang out and learn with my fellow writers, and then return sleep deprived.

Translation: I leave for my second to last Seton Hill res tomorrow.

Yeah, second to last. Where did the time go? I was a “1” last week. K, I wasn’t because I was revising my 100,000+ word thesis last week, but still. Time, gone.

Critiques are done. Read Joe Hill’s NOS4A2. This semester I get to do a teaching presentation. My brain is pretty prepared. My stomach is not. I’ll be giving a 45-minute “lecture” on writing realistic, well-rounded secondary characters. I use the term lecture loosely because my students will be moving around and talking and such. Either way, if the entire thing goes well I’ll share my info.

And now I leave you for a week. Do not cry. I shall return. And not to cut the goodbye short, but I’ve still got a ton of stuff to do today.

Until later,

Mary
@desantismt on Twitter

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My book blog

Wording It Up for 2014

So the trend this year seems to be not to make New Years resolutions. Instead, the thing is to pick one word for 2014, one word you want 2014 to be.

I’m stuck.

Go figure. I would get stuck on one word. I use several of them daily (being a writer and all), but I can’t decide on one word for 2014.

At least I’m only stuck between two. Help?

Productive or fun?

I like both. I want 2014 to be both. But I feel like I have more control over fun. I can make fun. I can participate in fun activities with those around me. I can say “let’s go to the movies/play a board game/hang out and talk.”

By contrast, I can’t say “let’s get my book finished.” I have to do that on my own. And it’s a lot more work.

I also can’t say “let’s get this book published by [insert big-name publisher] this year.” That is, outside of sending the query, out of my control.

It’s looking like productive is going to be my word for 2014. I want the year to be productive. It’s something to hope for. By contrast, I want the year to be fun, but that’s something I can make happen.

Though, I suppose I can make productivity happen to a point, too.

Then again, I could always combine them to make funductive…but that just doesn’t sound right.

What’s your word for 2014?

~~~

If you haven’t, join me at my book blog, Kit ‘N Kabookle, for a new year of discovering awesome books!

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Post #201 - 2014

It seems like just yesterday it was 2013.

Told you I’d say that.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Is it December 31st Already?

Yes, I purposefully put this post off until New Years Eve so I could finish 2013 with 200 posts even.

Moving on.

~~~

Tomorrow, I’m going to say “Seems like just yesterday it was 2013.”

No, really. I’m going to say that.

I wait all year for, well, the end of the year so I can say things like “what are you waiting for? Christmas?” on December 23rd.

Inevitably, though, as fun as these little phrases (that aren’t quite as amusing the rest of the year) are, they mean goodbye to another revolution of the Earth. The end of another 365 ¼ days (unless it’s a leap year, which this isn’t). And every year, as is custom, I recap.

So 2013, how did we do?

Pretty good actually.

I participated in three reading competitions, two of which I won, which was awesome. But not quite the point. I had a blast at all three, and that’s what it’s about. Winning is great, and it fills one with a sense of excitement and accomplishment. But it’s the fun that counts.

I survived another year of grad school. This is no small feat. Really, this deserves a metal of some kind. (K, maybe that’s pushing it.) Truthfully, though, I really feel as I improved as a writer this year. Looking at my work from January compared to now…night and day. I fell in love with my thesis (finally). It only took me almost two years. I completed my final draft! Now it’s just onto the edits, which are going pretty well. I’m in decent shape for my final deadline in April. More on that to follow.

And an excerpt for the daring

I won my first NANOWRIMO. #feelingaccomplished. Granted, I used it to write 50k of my thesis, but that still counts. Believe me.

I met and passed my goal in the 2013 Goodreads Reading Challenge, clocking in with 127 of 125 books. Go me. I read some amazing material this year. Some of it was for school. Most of it was for fun. Between Brandon Sanderson and David Eddings, I refound (is that a word?) my love for epic fantasy. They helped in the “learning to love my thesis” project.

Perhaps most exciting, though, I learned to get along where I live. Mid 2012, I left my home of 23 years and followed my family (due to lack of funds) about 800 miles south. I was resistant to this change, very resistant. I hated it here for a long time. Then, this past February, I went to a writer’s group meeting. It took some time, but I adopted these people into my life. I made friends out of them, and now we do the friend thing—movies, parties, general funnies. We’re doing the New Years Eve thing tonight, and I’m grateful for every one of them.

And, of course, thank you to my family for putting up with me for another year.

Looking forward. I’ve got one semester left at Seton Hill. I’ve got lots of edits, two great critique partners, and a group of fellow June 2014 prospective graduates to make the last hurrah…hurrah. I’ve got ideas for new projects. My thesis is going to end up being expanded into a 3 or 4 book series (fingers crossed). Things are gonna happen next year.

And so without further typing of words, let’s welcome the new year.

Folks, thank you for sticking with me this year. Hope to see you back next year. Has been a bumpy but fun ride. I thank you for reading.

Mary
@desantismt on Twitter

And if you haven’t, join me over at Kit ‘N Kabookle in 2014 for book and author fun! 

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