Month: June 2016

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: 6/17/16

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

This was an interesting article from the interwebs: The 22 rules of storytelling by Pixar.  My kids aren’t quite into Pixar yet, but I’ve appreciated what I’ve watched so far …

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is probably one of my favorite movies from my childhood.  While most of my contemporaries probably had a crush on Matthew Broderick’s Ferris, I was more about Alan Ruck’s “Cameron.”  And Jennifer Grey?  Pre-“Baby”?  Flawless.
And I originally emailed this piece to myself because I wanted to read the books Janet Reid recommended, but I liked the gist of this blog post all the same.  (Basically, the writer asked Ms. Reid about “overdone storylines” [ahem – vampires].  Given that I like to dabble in the paranormal, this was good advice to take to heart – write the story, give the convention your own twist.)

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Listening to: The world’s been a heartbreaking place lately.  Whether intentional or not, my YouTube choices seem to reflect that.

Reading: In no particular order: “The Black Hour” by Lori Rader-Day (current prez of Mystery Writers of America – Midwest and all around awesome person); “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger (I’m in a Facebook Book Club organized by a former co-worker of mine – we’re re-reading all of the high school / college classics); “Reliquary” by Douglas Preston / Lincoln Child. <– Why yes … that’s a Pendergast novel.  Now that I’ve binge read through them, it’s time to try to figure out what was so addictive about their narratives and re-discover pieces that I missed.

Fiction Update: Edits, edits, edits. I took some time this week to do a really high-level read through of what I have so far, noted parts that are missing or need some fleshing out, and am re-writing what is the midpoint of “AL.”  That’s taking some spade work, but I’m enjoying the process.

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: 6/10/16

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

Sorry for being MIA last week.  Work has been a little crazy lately and I was in the process of getting ready to go on a west central Minnesota roadtrip.

foxhole
And hooray! Bonus that the roadtrip involved a trip to a new microbrewery in Willmar, Minn. The beer here is fiercely good!

Here’s what’s good on the Internet:

Kris Kristofferson.  This piece by the Rolling Stone was a great read.

I read this article from Outside Online about Kay Grayson, known as “the Bear Lady.”  What I liked about this piece was the deep dive the journalist made into this woman’s life and the sense that I couldn’t put this article down when I started reading it.  A very compelling piece of work.

Another piece that came out in April from MPR News.  A goofy read.

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Listening to: I got a chance to take a deep listen to the new Monkees disc while I was on my roadtrip last weekend.  And it was really good.  Most of the album is posted on YouTube and it’s a solid listen.  (In no particular order, my favorite tracks are “Me & Magdalena,” “Birth of an Accidental Hipster,” and the title track “Good Times.”)

Reading: Yeeeeeah … I kinda burned through of almost all of Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston’s “Pendergast” novels.  (There are 15, and the latest one has a 16-deep wait list at the library, so it’s probably good for my eyes that I can’t access the last one just now.)  And honestly, I learned a lot about pacing from the “Pendergast” books, so I think I’m going to back up and read them again.  I also finished Dana Chamblee Carpenter’s “Bohemian Gospel,” a historical mystery that I similarly couldn’t put down.  I wasn’t 100% thrilled with the ending, but it was the ending that belonged to the story.  I have a sense that this one is going to stay with me for awhile, the story was haunting and the details were just sumptuous.

Fiction Update: One of the best parts about being away for the last weekend was the opportunity to get some uninterrupted time working on “AL.”  I didn’t get as far as I wanted, but considering I was in the town that originally inspired the setting for my book, I had a wonderful weekend of soaking in some of the details that I look forward to bringing to life in my story.