This Week's Writing Contest

Complete the following sentence on Twitter (or here!) for a prize:

"You know you're a writer when..."

#JunctionContests
Deadline: Wednesday, September 21st, 3:00pm

Quickie: The Soundtrack Behind Your Story

by Jacqueline Fauni

One day I was perusing the Lending Library here at The Junction (Note to members: remember to check it out if you’re in need of a book!) and came across a short story anthology called Please: Fiction Inspired by The Smiths, edited by Peter Wild.  Though I’m not very familiar with The Smiths and admit to being discouraged from reading the anthology by disappointed reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads, I was intrigued by the idea of it and thought it might be a fun and immersing experience to try writing a story in direct response to a playlist.

Instructions: Put your iPod (or iTunes, or any other kind of music device/playlist) on shuffle and listen to 5-7 songs.  Write in a stream of consciousness through the songs, but listen carefully and write in focused response to them.  Who, where, when, why, how, and what do you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel from the music?  Does a story emerge?  Would a story more cohesively emerge if you switched the order of the songs?  Do the transitions between songs coincide with turning points?

Have fun, and happy writing!

Freewrite of the Week: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things...

by Jacqueline Fauni

We had a great time at the UCLA Writers Faire last Sunday, and were intrigued by some advice given at the "Writing Your First Novel" panel. When asked about how to actually start writing a novel, mystery novelist Linda Palmer said she likes to begin by creating a cast of characters and exploring their opinions. We wholeheartedly agree with her character-first approach!

As important as the plot or situation is in a story, characters are the ones that are reacting to the situation, or even instigating it along with even more situations. Forming your characters' opinions and outlooks on life is essential because they dictate how your characters think, behave, talk to and connect with other people, and ultimately propel the plot. As interesting as a nun-in-training becoming a governess to a former naval officer's seven children sounds, it becomes a lot more interesting when the captain thinks it's best to keep his children at a distance with a strictly enforced schedule, the children think that torturing all their governesses is the only way to get their father's attention, and the nun-in-training thinks it's a good idea to butt heads with the captain to get the children the fun and affection they need. Throwing all these different opinions into the mix is what makes The Sound of Music such a great story as they interact, clash, and change each other.

Besides being important on the level of the story, your characters' opinions make up a big part of the connection between you and your reader. By creating a character with beliefs, values, and feelings, you make him/her more real, interesting, and relatable--someone your readers come to feel that they know. The "My Favorite Things" scene is a moment we witness Maria's belief in the unifying power of music, and we are swept away right along with the children in a carefree, whimsical recollection of favorite things. It's a moment when the children feel connected to Maria, and so do we.

Developing things as profound as your characters' opinions can seem daunting, but you can ease into it by thinking about fun and simple things first, such as their likes and dislikes (e.g. favorite and most despised foods, films, etc.).

Your task: In a 10-minute stream-of-consciousness exercise, list some of your character's favorite things.  And by "things," we mean anything: objects, pastimes, hobbies, interests, ideas, words, stories, songs, sounds, smells, memories, places, people, seasons, time of day, days of the week, etc. We're leaving it up to you!

*The next step: Explore your character's forms of "when the dog bites" and "when the bee stings," or situations akin to Gretel's fear of thunderstorms. What would make your character feel sad, angry, or scared? Write about an event that makes your character want to "simply remember [their] favorite things."

Second Summer Lit Marathon a Success!

Last Friday's Lit Marathon was a huge success, thanks in big part to our spectacular slate of performers.  We took it easy on the literary marathoner audience this year and brought them seven hours of entertainment instead of last year's 24-hour program.  The evening, benefiting The Young Storytellers Foundation, was jam-packed with hours of entertaining and insightful readings.  Our very own Ashaki Jackson kicked the night off with solemn, moving poetry in memory of her grandmother, laced with humorous asides.  She was followed by author Jillian Lauren, who shared an exclusive snippet of her upcoming novel, Pretty, which hits stores August 30th.

As the evening progressed, guests trickled in and out of the Library, listening to the performances from the Lounge while mingling by the open bar (our lovely bartender's recommendation: UV cake-flavored vodka + root beer = extra delicious root beer float!  Thanks to UV for this donation!) and buying scrumptious pastries from the Miss California contestants' charity bake sale.  The atmosphere was very relaxed and social.  Ben Weber, our honorable MC, kept the good times rolling with light, easygoing banter in between acts. 

One of the night's highlights was the TV writers' panel, moderated by Jay Gibson and featuring Deirdre Shaw Gibson (JANE BY DESIGN, LIFE UNEXPECTED), Liz Tigelaar (ONCE UPON A TIME, LIFE UNEXPECTED), Bruce Miller (EUREKA, MEDIUM), and Jami O'Brien (HELL ON WHEELS, BIG LOVE).  The panel shared insights about how they got their start and what it's like in the writers room from assistant to showrunner perspectives.  As a creator, Liz shared her own perspective of assembling a team of writers that would work well together.  Deirdre and Jami, as current staff writers, emphasized the importance of an encouraging environment with a showrunner who, rather than shooting ideas down without producing alternative solutions, helps in massaging the ideas into kernels that can be used.  Bruce shared his experience from ER to Eureka, including the roller coaster last-minute cancellation (read more here from Deadline Hollywood) of the show just days before the panel.

Towards the middle of the evening, it was my (Jacqui's) turn to go up on stage!  I performed three of my songs, "Angry Welts," "Love Song for the Hopeless Romantics," and "Giddy."  The warm reception from the audience paid great testament to the vibrant, enthusiastic, and supportive writers' community I'm honored to be a part of here at The Junction.  :)  *Junction note: Singer-songwriter Jacqui is awesome and delightful -- if you get a chance to see her play, don't miss it!

As the night wound down, the stage was graced by spoken word artists and writers who shared sneak peeks at their working novels.  In addition to the talented David Francis, Rita Williams and Nicole Wells, late night was highlighted by Rich Ferguson's spoken word, including one of our favorites, "To The Judgmental Rushing-to-Conclusions Cashier at My Local Supermarket."  From humor to deep thoughts: "And when we kiss... present, past, future -- with my love, I never know in what tense I exist."  Rich was followed by his fellow The Nervous Breakdown writer Anne Walls, who channeled a young adult hypochondriac from her debut novel.  Return Literary Marathon warrior Sean Hill then charmed the crowd with his stage presence and spoken word pieces on love, and Anna Metcalf shared a second excerpt from her novel about house-sitting an abandoned mansion on the Tennessee/Kentucky state line.  Finally, the night closed with Brooke Bastinelli, who gave voice to damsels in distress with tongue-in-cheek poems about just wanting to be "kept."

All in all, we had a grand time at this summer's Lit Marathon.  Many thanks to all of you who joined us, and stay tuned for posts of the videos on our YouTube channel!

Only TWO DAYS LEFT until the 2nd Summer Lit Marathon!

Revisit last year’s wildly popular 24-hour literary marathon in redux with new & returning stars.  This event will feature some of the literary, entertainment, & music world's best & brightest.  Take a look at our stellar line-up:

7:15PM- Ashaki Jackson*- poetry

7:30PM- Jillian Lauren author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem- excerpt from upcoming novel Pretty

7:50PM- Mark Sarvas* author of Harry, Revised- fiction

8:10PM- Inside The Writer's Room: A Panel – get the inside scoop on a television writers room with showrunners & staff writers including: Liz Tigelaar (LIFE UNEXPECTED, ONCE UPON A TIME), Jami O'Brien (HELL ON WHEELS, BIG LOVE) , Bruce Miller (EUREKA, MEDIUM), Deirdre Shaw Gibson (LIFE UNEXPECTED, JANE BY DESIGN) & more!

9:10PM- Sarah Monson- comedy

9:30PM- Brad Listi author of Attention. Deficit. Disorder- fiction

9:50PM- Jim McCaffree- humorous excerpts from self-help blog

10:00PM- Tatiana Blackington- excerpt from The Sanctuary, winner of The Nervous Breakdown's Novel Contest

10:15PM- Mark Rizzo* TV/film writer & storytelling veteran

10:35PM- David Francis author of Stray Dog Winter- excerpt from new novel

10:55PM- Rita Williams author of If the Creek Don't Rise

11:20PM- Rich Ferguson- spoken word

11:40PM- Anne Walls- comedy

MIDNIGHT- Neal Brennan* co-creator of Comedy Central's CHAPPELLE'S SHOW

12:20AM- Nicole Wells- personal essays

12:30AM- Sean Hill- spoken word

12:50AM- Anna Metcalf- humor/memoir

1:10AM- The Dub Collective acoustic band featuring Jacqui Fauni*

1:30AM- Brooke Bastinelli- poetry

And of course, your most honorable Master of Ceremonies...

Ben Weber* actor, writer, Geico Caveman

Performances will be going for 7 (not 24!) hours straight, as will the food, drinks, & revelry.  There will be a silent auction, giveaways, & you can check out the amazing workspace that is The Writers Junction.  We will donate a portion of the evening's proceeds to The Young Storytellers Foundation.

Buy your tickets now for $8 each:

junctionlitmarathon.eventbrite.com

or roll the dice at the door for $2-12 admission.

*notes Writers Junction member

No Romance in e-Reading: The Heartbreak of Closing the Shop Around the Corner

by Jacqueline Fauni

When Borders first announced they were filing for bankruptcy back in February, I was devastated, but still held out a bit of hope since they were only closing some of their stores, and fortunately the one in Torrance (my local store) would remain open.  Call it optimistic or naive, but I thought maybe -- just maybe -- taking this step would help them eventually turn around.  Alas, they are closing all their doors for good.

I've read lots of different opinions on the matter -- some chalking it up to mismanagement, some calling it poetic justice because Borders was responsible for a lot of independents going out of business (like Tom Hanks' Fox Books to Meg Ryan's Shop Around the Corner), etc.  But as my fellow card-carrying (though those cards are useless now, except maybe as collectors' items in 200 years) Borders Rewards members would attest, many of us are deeply saddened.  One particularly disheartening reason Borders is closing up shop is that they couldn't keep up with the "e-volution" of books, with their Kobo getting left in the dust by Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook.

Yet another reason for me to despise e-readers.  Grr.

Sure, they save trees, space, time and money (at least in the long run), and as a Millennial, I'm supposed to covet all sorts of cool technology, but as a rather old-fashioned gal myself, I just have no desire to buy an e-reader.  Where's the romance in pressing some buttons instead of being able to turn a page and relish its strangely satisfying texture under your fingertips?  Where's the communal spirit in shopping for books online (besides the reviews... which I must admit are incredibly helpful)?  Where's the serendipity in instantly clicking "purchase" rather than spending a Sunday afternoon idly perusing the shelves for hours and stumbling upon a book that seems to be made for you?

Just as there's something about the act of grappling in an empty post office box that doesn't quite translate to checking your e-mail, the e-reading revolution lacks the organic shopping experience offered by bookstores like Borders.  Of course, I don't think Borders' closing is a sign that all brick-and-mortar bookstores will be going extinct anytime soon (knock on wood) -- but I sincerely hope the e-books revolution doesn't completely take over and wipe the society and romance out of reading.

What do you think about Borders' closing?  Are e-readers the bane of any other book lovers' existence out there?  Or have you made the switch?

I AM THE GREATEST: Meditations on Swagga

by Jack Solowey

Swagga.

Brian Urlacher has it. He advertises a dank (good smelling) deoderant by that very name. He also has over 1,000 career tackles in the NFL – both cause and consequence of his undaunted swagga.

Muhammad Ali is a swagga O.G. Correction: triple O.G. He murdered a rock and injured a stone. He made medicine sick.

He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee. Down goes Frazier! Up with Muhammad Ali.

Bill Buckner does not have swagger. LMFAO 1986 World Series.

“As sure as night is dark and day is light” Johnny Cash has swagga. Nowadays we might not immediately see the swagga in a lovesick countrysinger. But come on people, far lesser men than Mr. Cash could have crooned the copper off a coin if only they had Johnny’s voice.

Does Bob Dylan have swagger? You may now be shaking your head, Muhammad Ali and little Bobbie Zimmerman on the same list? What’s the weight differential there?

But I say, is being scrawny a crime? Joan Baez didn’t think so. Mmmmmm. Alright Bob, ok.

Lest we forget that Bob Dylan stood side by side with Muhammad Ali saying “Hell no we won’t go!” to the virtueless and vexing violence that were the Vietnam War and Cambodian clusterf***. Furthermore, Johnny Cash GAVE the man his guitar. I mean Johnny Cash literally went over to Dylan, took the guitar off his back and said, “Here Bob, take it. Just have it bro.”

I rest my case.

Frank Sinatra? The man did it his way. He flew us to the moon.

You better believe Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin have swagga. Even that third guy that nobody remembers, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins has it. The man left the planet. Have you?

Werner Von Braun?

He built some pretty sweet rockets. But the sonofab*tch was a Nazi.

“Vonce ze rockets go up who cares vhere zey come down said Werner Von Braun.”

Werner does not make the cut, but Tom Lehrer sure does!

Nazis, by definition, are antithetical to all other human beings on this list.

Killin Nazis, however, now that is a different story. Sgt. Donny Donowitz makes the list. You may know him better as the “Bear Jew.” “He bashes Nazi’s brains in with a baseball bat ‘swhat he does.”

As for the real life version, have you heard of Yonatan Netanyahu?

Lemme tell you ‘bout my boy Yoni.

This Israeli paratrooper landed in Uganda dressed as Idi Amin, busted into a terrorist controlled airport guns ablazin. Thrice Uzi-ed to death a score of terrorists, and saved 100 hostages. He had more than a little help from the Sayaret Matkal. They all make the list.

Yoni also made the Dean’s list at Harvard University, but I won’t hold that against him.

This brings us to the issue of using swagga for good. Now Peter Parker’s uncle, Ben, understood the subject well. Peter Parker himself contains the dichotomy of swagga-morality. Whereas Spiderman represents the use of one’s innate swagga for good, Venom represents its use for evil.

Kanye West has been portrayed as having dealt with the Peter Parker dilemma.

He did sing the song on swagga, so he should be a shoe in.

One day, on the corner, Kanye West surveyed his surroundings and came to the realization that no one else in the general vicininty possessed the same degree of swagga. T.I., M.I.A., and Jay-Z all came to the same conclusion, and without question have got swagga.

Kanye, however, has been villified in the press for allegedly having been impolite to Taylor Swift at some awards ceremony or something. Let me go on record here and say that Taylor Swift’s melliflouous narration of the struggles of a teenaged girl dealing with the pressures of popularity and image-consciousness deserves a swagga nod.  But Kanye was right, so too does Beyoncé. It should go without saying that she makes the list. I’m sure all the single ladies agree.

Now closing the book on the Kanye is simple. The man loves his mama. If you don’t understand why this gives Kanye an unequivocal thumbs up, then you don’t deserve an explanation.

Speaking of Mamas, Margaret Thatcher has sooo much Swagga (eventhough the British Miners union wouldn’t think so).

The Lady survived an assasination attempt, and told the commies to kiss her arsenal.

So, you might now be saying, alright Jack, I see what you did here. But who are you? I mean, who gave you the right to declare who has swagga and who doesn’t?

First off, let me respond to that query by saying, these fine ladies and gentleman do not have swagga because I say they do. They just do. I am but politely directing your attention to the high concentration of swagga particles in these individuals. I mean, these men and women are 99^th percentile, 3 whole standard deviations above the mean.

Second, if I myself did not have swagga I might say something like: I’m sorry mister, I’m just a kid with poor to mediocre hand eye coordination, please don't hurt me. 

My real answer to your question though is: That was me, then I started using swagger from Old Spice. 

Who’s laughin now?

Me.