It’s time to start a new book.
NaNoWriMo begins on Sunday, and the word is that some 150,000 adults and 35,000 kids and teens will be up for the challenge of writing 50,000 words in a mere 30 days (damn, that’s a lot of zeroes in one sentence). I’ve registered twice for this crazy thing, but I’ve never gotten around to actually doing it. But I’m up for it this year. The timing is perfect. I need to work on something new so I don’t have the energy to obsess over every rejection and wonder whether I should be writing at all.
I have a pretty concrete idea for the next novel, which, under normal circumstances, would be enough to get me started, but with a goal of 50K in a month’s time, I’m going to have to flesh it out a bit more before I start writing. So that’s this weekend’s project (in between giving out candy and watching horror movies). I need a beginning, middle, and an end. I’ve tried writing a novel before with no idea of where it was going, and it was a gigantic mess. A little planning is good.
Speaking of candy and horror movies, it should be no surprise to anyone that Halloween is my favorite time of year. October in general, actually. The leaves turning yellow and orange (God, I miss the view of the Credit River from the Burhamthorpe Road bridge where I grew up – someone email me a picture, please!), Thanksgiving, Halloween, the way the air smells as it turns from cool to cold… October is the best month ever.
And boy do I love Halloween. Ghosts and ghouls and goblins, oh my! My favorite horror writer is, obviously, Stephen King (and when I was younger, Clive Barker, who wrote the Books of Blood series). Favorite horror books are IT, Pet Sematary, Thinner, Carrie, Salem’s Lot, Misery, and Interview with a Vampire (by Anne Rice).
Favorite horror movies are The Exorcist (which gets my vote for Scariest Movie Ever), Carrie, Interview with a Vampire, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Others, and The Silence of the Lambs (which could be classified as a thriller, but it’s scary as hell, whatever the genre). Oh, and Witchboard, a B-movie groaner that scared the shit out of me when I was 16. I watched it alone one Saturday night when my parents were at the cottage for the weekend… so not a good idea. Don’t play with a Ouija board, kids! A Ouija board is not your friend!
What are your favorites?
And on that note…
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By the way, if you’re dressing up this year, please try to do Halloween justice and be something evil. I’m so tired of people – girls, especially – using Halloween as an excuse to pair a slutty outfit with some kind of animal ears. Ladies, we have all year to dress like Playboy Bunnies (and I say this without malice or judgment – back in my club days, I rocked the midriff top, mini-skirt, and platform heels, as did most of my girlfriends).
But Halloween is special. When else can you walk around in public with brain matter all over your face? When else can you walk into a grocery store with ragged, bleeding stumps instead of arms, and have people smile at you appreciatively?
It’s Halloween. Go scare someone.
I do not like scary movies. I am a sponge for images and sounds that will cause nightmares for weeks. Not to mention I am afraid of EVERYTHING. Murderers in the basement, lurking in the backseat of the car, under the car, under my bed, standing creepily on the other side of the window, waiting behind the shower curtain in the bathroom, in my closet waiting to pounce, sneaking up behind my computer chair… see? i just froze and had to turn around to check. (All clear – phew!). I've made myself nervous just thinking about this stuff. I got through about 4 pages of "IT" – in a crowded, well-lit high school library, no less – before surrendering the book to braver souls, and yet I still hop a little every time I pass a flood drain. It's ridiculous. My friends tricked me into watching the Exorcist (I didn't realize what movie it really was until about halfway through – admittedly, one of my dimmer moments), and I cried when I saw the first scary face pop up on the screen, curled into fetal position with my eyes and ears covered and proceeded to LALALALALLALALALALALALALALA loudly until I was sure the movie had to be over. I refused to drive home (it was, after all, the dark hour of 6:15) until the next morning, and then only with someone to accompany me. Not only did the experience scar me for life, but now I'm totally paranoid about seeing movies that other people choose – i run background checks on plotlines and parental advisory ratings, and if that movie has images in it exceeding the scariness of a Care Bears episode, i will NOT be watching it. Actually, come to think of it, I've always been scared of Lord No-Heart too. Damn.
I so miss the view as well. Every fall, the Credit River Valley is what I think of.
Alberta pretty much stays green because all of the pines trees. And the ones with leaves just turn yellow. Thought it is still pretty, nothing beats Southern Ontario in the fall.
So…movies you say. Just saw Paranormal Activity. Parts gave me goosebumps. Though I fell asleep easy, once I woke up at 4:30 am, I couldn't go back to sleep!
White Noise is freaky and the original Final Destination creeped me out. And that doesn't happen very often! Any thriller is good but too much gore does not interest me (Saw).
I wish you a wonderful Halloween!
Trick or Treat!
I'm a scaredy cat too, but I still find something delicious in being scared. A heightened sense of awareness maybe? There's a deliciousness about it I can't quite put my finger on.
Oooh, Paranormal Activity. Definitely one I want to see, but I'm too chicken to see it on the big screen. Will have to wait till the DVD comes out so I can cower under a blanket while I watch it (don't want to embarrass myself by bringing a blanket to the movie theater).
Seattle in the fall is like Alberta then, in that it stays green all the time with some dots of yellow, orange, and red. It's beautiful in a whole different way than Southern Ontario… but I do miss the spectacular colors. Nothing's quite like it.
I personally love scary movies but at the same time I am very jumpy during movies and this annoyes Jenny very much. I usually forget them shortly after so I don't worry about nightmares too much.
That being said, Cujo (Stephen King) scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. I liturally couldn't watch the whole movie. I am surprised I love dogs so much.
Now Jenny and I just rented 3 horror flicks for Halloween, maybe one will stick as a future favorite. Unfortunately we just watched Saw 5 and it was not that memorable. Jenny actually feel asleep. Not a good sign!!!
Now as for women being slutty on Halloween. Personally I agree with Jenny that you should always lean towards the disgusting, bloody, gross costumes but I am ok with combining the two styles.;) There is no reason you can't be a Slutty Nurse Zombie or a Hot Playboy Bunny who has just been murdered and is missing a limb or two.
So Happy Halloween everyone!!!