Every time I check on my blog I am always amazed, initially because it was being read and since then because of what specifically people seem to be reading the most.
So, as I hit 600 page views (thanks so much, readers!) I've decided that I'll be going through which pages have been the most viewed in previous months and try to do more posts like those.
Thank you, all of you, for coming over to check out my blog in the first place, and for continuing to come back. I look forward to hearing from you, so drop me a line to say hello, or if you've got a questions about anything I'll try my best to answer them.
Happy 600 everyone!
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
I've just joined Pinterest!
I really like the concept behind this website, and since I have an inspiration board in my office already I think its fantastic that I can now share some of those images online with my readers.
So, look up my inspiration board and follow me if you've got an account!
http://pinterest.com/rtmaurice/inspiration-board/
And my profile page is
http://pinterest.com/rtmaurice/
I really like the concept behind this website, and since I have an inspiration board in my office already I think its fantastic that I can now share some of those images online with my readers.
So, look up my inspiration board and follow me if you've got an account!
http://pinterest.com/rtmaurice/inspiration-board/
And my profile page is
http://pinterest.com/rtmaurice/
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Happy 500 Everyone!
I've reached a milestone today, 500 blog views!
I must admit, I'm a bit in shock. I never thought people would read my blog, but I'm so happy you are and, dear reader, I hope you continue to!
So, if there's anything that you want to see or hear about for me, let me know! Either post a comment or you can email me at the address listed in the 'about me' section. I look forward to hearing from you!
I must admit, I'm a bit in shock. I never thought people would read my blog, but I'm so happy you are and, dear reader, I hope you continue to!
So, if there's anything that you want to see or hear about for me, let me know! Either post a comment or you can email me at the address listed in the 'about me' section. I look forward to hearing from you!
Saturday, 3 March 2012
When you're feeling disjointed, grab a....scratch pad?
I've been feeling a little off lately, and when I've gone to pick up something or start brainstorming I've felt like something just wasn't working. Like I was missing something, so I started rummaging through my things to see if I could figure it out.
Do I need a map? A character visual? Some music?
Then yesterday I was sitting in my local pharmacy waiting for a prescription to be filled and I began to stare aimlessly at the stationary section. I don't need pens, I don't need white out tape......wait a minute!
The yellow legal pad jumped out at me. For the longest time I had used these pads for my brainstorming and outlining - they're cheap and portable and worked for me the way my dry erase board works. And it turned out that was what I had been missing. Yellow legal pad, or as I call it, scratch pad.
Now, I don't think I've ever met a writer who goes about things the way that I do. To be honest, I don't think any writer does things the same as another. We pick up habits that work for us along the way, learn things from observing other writers, and take bits from books (if we read writing books) to build our tool belt.
And I admit, my habits may make things a bit more tedious but they work for me.
A teacher I had in college told me that dry erase boards work really well for outlining and brainstorming. I'd tried the card outline thing and it didn't work, so I got a massive whiteboard on sale somewhere (and its massive, its like the size of my bathroom door). The teacher did say, the bigger the better, and its been fantastic.
Also, when I was in school and working on one of my trunk novels, I would take any free time I had to write. So, I had a pile of scenes hand written that I had to transcribe onto the computer, and this turned into a habit. Now, its the way I do everything. I'm comfy that way. I only have one brand and type of pen I use, Papermate Profile in either black or blue, its advertised as the worlds smoothest pen, and its the only pen I could use when my carpal tunnel first flared up and it is now the only pen I use. I use white out tape, the sticker like thing that acts like white out. I don't have a brand or anything, they all smell chemically, but it does the job. Scribbling things out is too messy.
So, I guess what I'm getting at is that how you decide to write is not what makes you a writer, There is no specific 'way' to do things, you just do. Do what's natural and comfortable, because that's when you'll be the most successful.
Do I need a map? A character visual? Some music?
Then yesterday I was sitting in my local pharmacy waiting for a prescription to be filled and I began to stare aimlessly at the stationary section. I don't need pens, I don't need white out tape......wait a minute!
The yellow legal pad jumped out at me. For the longest time I had used these pads for my brainstorming and outlining - they're cheap and portable and worked for me the way my dry erase board works. And it turned out that was what I had been missing. Yellow legal pad, or as I call it, scratch pad.
Now, I don't think I've ever met a writer who goes about things the way that I do. To be honest, I don't think any writer does things the same as another. We pick up habits that work for us along the way, learn things from observing other writers, and take bits from books (if we read writing books) to build our tool belt.
And I admit, my habits may make things a bit more tedious but they work for me.
A teacher I had in college told me that dry erase boards work really well for outlining and brainstorming. I'd tried the card outline thing and it didn't work, so I got a massive whiteboard on sale somewhere (and its massive, its like the size of my bathroom door). The teacher did say, the bigger the better, and its been fantastic.
Also, when I was in school and working on one of my trunk novels, I would take any free time I had to write. So, I had a pile of scenes hand written that I had to transcribe onto the computer, and this turned into a habit. Now, its the way I do everything. I'm comfy that way. I only have one brand and type of pen I use, Papermate Profile in either black or blue, its advertised as the worlds smoothest pen, and its the only pen I could use when my carpal tunnel first flared up and it is now the only pen I use. I use white out tape, the sticker like thing that acts like white out. I don't have a brand or anything, they all smell chemically, but it does the job. Scribbling things out is too messy.
So, I guess what I'm getting at is that how you decide to write is not what makes you a writer, There is no specific 'way' to do things, you just do. Do what's natural and comfortable, because that's when you'll be the most successful.
Monday, 27 February 2012
My thoughts on the movie 'Anonymous'
Hello all!
Let me start by saying I had been waiting a long time to see this movie.
I was not disappointed. I didn't know what to expect, really, and I must say that the trailers did not do a good job explaining the plot of this movie.
Which is, at its core, what if the plays attributed to William Shakespeare were, in fact, not written by William Shakespeare?
The movie itself was presented like it was a play. It's a bit hard to explain, it opens as if its being presented as a play then dives into the actual movie and I thought that was pretty brilliant. The appearance in general was amazing, it was quite the visual of late Tudor London.
I won't give too much away, but the movie takes us through a journey of what if the plays were written by a nobleman named Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford and apparent lover to Elizabeth I. There's many controversies presented, including the much debated idea that Elizabeth I had lovers and, in fact, multiple illegitimate children that were hidden by her adviser William Cecil.
The only problem I had with that was the particular boys they picked to be Elizabeth's children - was the Earl of Essex not Robert Devereux, the child of Lettiuce Knollys, great grandson of Mary Boleyn, and stepson of Robert Dudley? The incidents that happened imply that this is the same Essex, but they seem to have forgotten these facts....
Here's the wikipedia link, with many more details, a full cast list and some comments about the critical reception:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_%28film%29
I loved the feel and the presentation of this movie. The filmmakers did a fantastic job in creating an atmosphere that really felt like late Elizabethan London. The casting was fantastic - Rhys Ifans was brilliant as the elder Edward de Vere, but I have to say that Ifans has been good in every movie I've ever seen him in. Vanessa Redgrave was fantastic as the elder Elizabeth I, and the casting of Redgrave's daughter Joely Richardson as the younger Elizabeth was so spot on it it was impressive. (you may remember Richardson as Katherine Parr in tv's The Tudors). I could not name the actor who played Shakespeare, an opportunist actor who took it upon himself to make himself appear to be the author of these plays as opposed to another and milk it for everything he could get, but he was very good.
And, the young man who played Arthur in the most recent tv version of Camelot played the young Edward de Vere - he was fantastic as Arthur, but not given enough screen time to do much in this role. It was nice to see his face, and I expect to see more of him.
Other than that little thing about Essex, this movie was lovely. Totally worth watching on a variety of levels - for historical fans, for conspiracy fans, and for Shakespeare fans. And for Rhys Ifans.
Let me start by saying I had been waiting a long time to see this movie.
I was not disappointed. I didn't know what to expect, really, and I must say that the trailers did not do a good job explaining the plot of this movie.
Which is, at its core, what if the plays attributed to William Shakespeare were, in fact, not written by William Shakespeare?
The movie itself was presented like it was a play. It's a bit hard to explain, it opens as if its being presented as a play then dives into the actual movie and I thought that was pretty brilliant. The appearance in general was amazing, it was quite the visual of late Tudor London.
I won't give too much away, but the movie takes us through a journey of what if the plays were written by a nobleman named Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford and apparent lover to Elizabeth I. There's many controversies presented, including the much debated idea that Elizabeth I had lovers and, in fact, multiple illegitimate children that were hidden by her adviser William Cecil.
The only problem I had with that was the particular boys they picked to be Elizabeth's children - was the Earl of Essex not Robert Devereux, the child of Lettiuce Knollys, great grandson of Mary Boleyn, and stepson of Robert Dudley? The incidents that happened imply that this is the same Essex, but they seem to have forgotten these facts....
Here's the wikipedia link, with many more details, a full cast list and some comments about the critical reception:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_%28film%29
I loved the feel and the presentation of this movie. The filmmakers did a fantastic job in creating an atmosphere that really felt like late Elizabethan London. The casting was fantastic - Rhys Ifans was brilliant as the elder Edward de Vere, but I have to say that Ifans has been good in every movie I've ever seen him in. Vanessa Redgrave was fantastic as the elder Elizabeth I, and the casting of Redgrave's daughter Joely Richardson as the younger Elizabeth was so spot on it it was impressive. (you may remember Richardson as Katherine Parr in tv's The Tudors). I could not name the actor who played Shakespeare, an opportunist actor who took it upon himself to make himself appear to be the author of these plays as opposed to another and milk it for everything he could get, but he was very good.
And, the young man who played Arthur in the most recent tv version of Camelot played the young Edward de Vere - he was fantastic as Arthur, but not given enough screen time to do much in this role. It was nice to see his face, and I expect to see more of him.
Other than that little thing about Essex, this movie was lovely. Totally worth watching on a variety of levels - for historical fans, for conspiracy fans, and for Shakespeare fans. And for Rhys Ifans.
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Happy Birthday Princess Mary, Queen Mary I of England!
Hello, and a very Happy 496th Birthday to Queen Mary I of England!
Let me start by saying, I am used to referring to her as Princess Mary, because that's how I came to know her and begin to study her. She has been a huge inspiration to me, as I said in my previous post titled The Influence of Mary.
And to mark her birthday I thought I would put up some interesting links and and some of my thoughts on the various interpretations of Mary that I have seen over the years.
If you have no clue who I'm talking about, here's the wikipedia link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_England
Now, I haven't read a biography of just Mary alone yet but Alison Weir's The Children of Henry VIII is a fascinating read. Six Wives of Henry VIII by David Starkey is a brilliant look at all the wives and many other things that were going on, including some information about Mary in relation to the women her father chose.
I have heard David Loades's biography on Mary is the one to read, but I have also heard good things about Linda Porter's work. I sincerely hope that David Starkey does something on Mary, I heard there was a tv program about her and Edward but I have yet to find it.
The Anne Boleyn Files does fantastic reviews of Tudor related books, here are the links to a few about Mary, I hope to be picking up some of them soon
http://reviews.theanneboleynfiles.com/mary-tudor-by-david-loades/772
http://reviews.theanneboleynfiles.com/mary-tudor-the-first-queen-by-linda-porter/74
There has been lots of fiction written about Mary, and I can't say enough about I Am Mary Tudor by Hilda Lewis. Carolyn Meyer has also written a fantastic book called Mary, Bloody Mary, done from the perspective of Mary as a teenager. But, I think my favorite piece of fiction right now that includes Mary is The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory. Its sympathetic but not syrupy, doesn't get too much into the religious aspect and has other interesting characters that made the story appealing. I have yet to read Jean Plaidy's In The Shadow Of The Crown.
Now, I have to admit, I haven't seen very many Tudor related movies. I'm waaay behind in that regard. But, I will say that I LOVED Sarah Bolger as Mary in the tv program The Tudors. After being so irritated at how badly they boggled up Henry VIII's sisters I was beyond pleased with the representation of his daughter. I remember a scene from the second season, when Mary has been sent to live with the baby Princess Elizabeth and has had everything stripped from her and she is sitting alone in her room, stunned and horrified by all that has happened to her, and she still gets up and tends to the poor baby Elizabeth when she's crying. And when she's at Jane Seymour's bedside, asking her not to die....oh, she nailed it! I think that there is a tenderness to Mary that so many people have missed, and Sarah Bolger's facial expressions were spot on for conveying the emotion she must have felt.
I don't remember Mary in 'The Other Boleyn Girl', movie or book. The lady who played her in the 80's movie 'Lady Jane' was marvelous.
The depiction of the older Mary that I most enjoyed was from the BBC movie about Elizabeth, with Anne Marie MacDuff playing Elizabeth. That production was marvelous on a variety of levels, but I thought Joanne Whalley handled Mary quite well, where she seemed too much like a lunatic in the Cate Blanchett version of Elizabeth.
Now when I just feel like reading a little something about Mary, I turn to this fantastic blog, Mary Tudor Renaissance Queen
http://mary-tudor.blogspot.com/
The post about Mary's coronation was wonderful! And there is a very interesting review of a book about Mary's husband Phillip of Spain currently up that's work looking at.
But, I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you'll take some time today to learn something new about this much misunderstood queen. If you want to know more about why I admire her so, please see my previous post The Influence Of Mary.
Let me start by saying, I am used to referring to her as Princess Mary, because that's how I came to know her and begin to study her. She has been a huge inspiration to me, as I said in my previous post titled The Influence of Mary.
And to mark her birthday I thought I would put up some interesting links and and some of my thoughts on the various interpretations of Mary that I have seen over the years.
If you have no clue who I'm talking about, here's the wikipedia link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_I_of_England
Now, I haven't read a biography of just Mary alone yet but Alison Weir's The Children of Henry VIII is a fascinating read. Six Wives of Henry VIII by David Starkey is a brilliant look at all the wives and many other things that were going on, including some information about Mary in relation to the women her father chose.
I have heard David Loades's biography on Mary is the one to read, but I have also heard good things about Linda Porter's work. I sincerely hope that David Starkey does something on Mary, I heard there was a tv program about her and Edward but I have yet to find it.
The Anne Boleyn Files does fantastic reviews of Tudor related books, here are the links to a few about Mary, I hope to be picking up some of them soon
http://reviews.theanneboleynfiles.com/mary-tudor-by-david-loades/772
http://reviews.theanneboleynfiles.com/mary-tudor-the-first-queen-by-linda-porter/74
There has been lots of fiction written about Mary, and I can't say enough about I Am Mary Tudor by Hilda Lewis. Carolyn Meyer has also written a fantastic book called Mary, Bloody Mary, done from the perspective of Mary as a teenager. But, I think my favorite piece of fiction right now that includes Mary is The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory. Its sympathetic but not syrupy, doesn't get too much into the religious aspect and has other interesting characters that made the story appealing. I have yet to read Jean Plaidy's In The Shadow Of The Crown.
Now, I have to admit, I haven't seen very many Tudor related movies. I'm waaay behind in that regard. But, I will say that I LOVED Sarah Bolger as Mary in the tv program The Tudors. After being so irritated at how badly they boggled up Henry VIII's sisters I was beyond pleased with the representation of his daughter. I remember a scene from the second season, when Mary has been sent to live with the baby Princess Elizabeth and has had everything stripped from her and she is sitting alone in her room, stunned and horrified by all that has happened to her, and she still gets up and tends to the poor baby Elizabeth when she's crying. And when she's at Jane Seymour's bedside, asking her not to die....oh, she nailed it! I think that there is a tenderness to Mary that so many people have missed, and Sarah Bolger's facial expressions were spot on for conveying the emotion she must have felt.
I don't remember Mary in 'The Other Boleyn Girl', movie or book. The lady who played her in the 80's movie 'Lady Jane' was marvelous.
The depiction of the older Mary that I most enjoyed was from the BBC movie about Elizabeth, with Anne Marie MacDuff playing Elizabeth. That production was marvelous on a variety of levels, but I thought Joanne Whalley handled Mary quite well, where she seemed too much like a lunatic in the Cate Blanchett version of Elizabeth.
Now when I just feel like reading a little something about Mary, I turn to this fantastic blog, Mary Tudor Renaissance Queen
http://mary-tudor.blogspot.com/
The post about Mary's coronation was wonderful! And there is a very interesting review of a book about Mary's husband Phillip of Spain currently up that's work looking at.
But, I hope you've enjoyed this post and that you'll take some time today to learn something new about this much misunderstood queen. If you want to know more about why I admire her so, please see my previous post The Influence Of Mary.
Friday, 17 February 2012
A Bit About Mechanics and The Road to 30
Well, the road to my 30th birthday is getting shorter, only 3 more days. In some ways I'm looking forward to it, my 20's really, really, sucked and I feel like my 30's are going to be big. My first novel will be out shortly after I turn 30, and I can't imagine that won't be the starting point for great things. I can leave all the nonsense of my 20's in the past an emerge like a phoenix into my 30's. On another hand I'm nervous and I'm worried, I mean, I'm going to be 30 for christ's sake!
Also I wanted to talk a bit about novel mechanics, since I have decided for the first time to write something in the 3rd person. I'm a bit nervous about it, but that's a good thing! It's good to step out of your box and I think its good for a writer to try something different, it could be really good. It could also be really bad, but I'm not allowing that idea to pop into my head.
So, how does one prepare for such a story? Well, mechanics pay a huge part in it. You need to plot, and (sigh) outline, especially in historical's some form of outline is important. You need to use your mechanical writer brain to decide how these stories will weave together and how, for the love of god, you're going to make it work.
Can you tell by how I'm explaining this that I'm nervous about it? I've never done alternating view points, and third person is very hard for me. So, I'll just have to write it and see how it goes.
It also gives me the chance to get into the head of some of the other characters, and that's what I'm really looking forward to.
I'm not going to talk about how I plan/outline, because I think that process is really individual to every writer. You have to do what's comfortable for you, and its taken me so much time to get used to it in general that I don't talk about it much, since I feel its really mashed together and I would never ever want to have to show them to other people. But no matter how scatterbrained they may seem and look, that's what works for me.
Also I wanted to talk a bit about novel mechanics, since I have decided for the first time to write something in the 3rd person. I'm a bit nervous about it, but that's a good thing! It's good to step out of your box and I think its good for a writer to try something different, it could be really good. It could also be really bad, but I'm not allowing that idea to pop into my head.
So, how does one prepare for such a story? Well, mechanics pay a huge part in it. You need to plot, and (sigh) outline, especially in historical's some form of outline is important. You need to use your mechanical writer brain to decide how these stories will weave together and how, for the love of god, you're going to make it work.
Can you tell by how I'm explaining this that I'm nervous about it? I've never done alternating view points, and third person is very hard for me. So, I'll just have to write it and see how it goes.
It also gives me the chance to get into the head of some of the other characters, and that's what I'm really looking forward to.
I'm not going to talk about how I plan/outline, because I think that process is really individual to every writer. You have to do what's comfortable for you, and its taken me so much time to get used to it in general that I don't talk about it much, since I feel its really mashed together and I would never ever want to have to show them to other people. But no matter how scatterbrained they may seem and look, that's what works for me.
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