What’s Better? The Book or the Movie?

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Movie Book.jpg

A huge source of debate among avid readers is whether the book is better than the movie, or the movie is better than the book.

I didn’t start really engaging in these debates until I was finally able to read/watch Harry Potter. It wasn’t until 2010 that I got to finally sit down and read the series from start to finish. There were 6 movies out at the time I started reading them, and I vowed to read every single book before watching any of the movies.

I finished them all, and then we binged the first 6 movies JUST in time to hit up the midnight release of Deathly Hallows pt. 1.

Naturally, the book fresh in my memory still, I couldn’t help but compare the two against each other. And like most people, at first, this was how I felt.

Probably didn’t help that it was only part one, but eh

Continue reading →

Monday Musings #12

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A Rant About Starbucks:

Outback

First, please pardon my lack of postings last week. February’s been a tough month, but I think we’re finally getting over the hump. At the same time, I think the last 4 months before a wedding are the worst. So we’ll see how this goes. Especially with the stress of my first dress fitting in 8 weeks. #makemeskinnynowplease

OK. A rant about Starbucks today. I’ve been a pretty loyal fan of their overpriced coffee-type beverages for several years ago. Call me your typical white girl (I did own a pair of Uggs [til the bottom ripped off], and I have an iPhone with monogrammed phone cases), but I’ve never denied my Starbucks habit. I get at least $50+ in gift cards every year to Starbucks.

I secured my gold status in like April last year to stay safe until March 2016. The way their rewards system has been set up is that each purchase gets you 1 star, and (if you’re a Gold member) after you hit 12 stars, you get a free menu item.

Ever since I started to unsuccessfully diet, I stopped drinking their Frappuccinos, mochas, etc. and settled instead for a plain old cup of coffee. Usually the blonde roast, but the Pike Place was fine too.

It was a good set up. After I bought 12 coffees, I would get a free one.

But NOT ANYMORE. Continue reading →

The Scary Things about Cat Editors (Guest Post)

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by Molly Hunt

editor cat-there are days by Rogena Mitchell-Jones Manuscript Service.jpg

Editor Cat- There are days… by Rogena Mitchell-Jones Manuscript Service

Tinkerbelle is looking me in the eyes from her bed behind my monitor where she does her best editing. She knows what I’m thinking. She knows I don’t have a clue what I’m about to write, and she knows I’m going to bull my way through in spite of that. Cats know these things, but…

How do they know?

Tinkerbelle, Prime Editor.jpg

Tinkerbelle, Prime Editor

I turn slightly and see Tink is not alone; Little is also watching. She wants to see what I do next. She looks exceedingly smug, knowing that if she doesn’t like it, she will drift her feathery fur across my touch screen and make it disappear.

“No, Little, no! It can’t be that bad. Can it?”

Little, Hands-on Editor.JPG

Little, Hands-on Editor

Continue reading →

Monday Musings #11

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On Inspiration:

Outback

I’ve had a pretty crappy month, not gonna lie. But what I’ve learned in the process of that is that sometimes when things suck, you’re opening the door to yourself as a writer to find some pretty good inspiration.

Now, let me tell you about my Friday night:

Once I knew that we were in for the evening, I popped open the bottle of wine I had just bought (funny story, while buying it, I made the cashier sad because of how young I was. Apparently she graduated from high school the year I was born. Can’t harsh my mellow though, I was already in a bad mood ha!). ANYWAY. Opened the wine, drank it and another bottle (this is not a common occurrence, I promise).

Started trying to read a book (do not recommend), and then decided that I was just going to watch TV. Normally I turn to the Food Network, but I needed something different.

Open up my DVR screen and BAM. Grey’s Anatomy was back!

I don’t know if any of you saw it, but I sobbed (no shame) and after watching it, I didn’t even delete it. I rarely watch things twice, that but episode was everything I love about thriller/drama genre type of stuff. That episode was my favorite, even beating out the Superbowl episode with the bomb, and the two-part plane crash episode, and the ferry crash episode. (I think we can sense a theme in my favorite episodes haha!)

I kept it on my DVR to use as inspiration. After I watched it, I wanted to write something so bad, but I was quite inebriated and even though I’ve written a post called ‘Write Drunk, Edit Sober‘, it doesn’t mean I’m necessarily going to DO it (not yet anyway). Continue reading →

A Crappy Valentine’s Day Poem

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to my fiance, and to all my readers out there.
Happy Valentine’s Day

Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I want you all to know
how much I appreciate you.

So eat a lot of chocolate,
drink a lot of wine,
spend time with your loved one,
or by yourself, that’s fine!

Happy Valentine’s Day
from The Caffeinated Writer,
I hope your day
is full of all your desires.

And now, a good poem!

To My Valentine:
by Ogden Nash

More than a catbird hates a cat,
Or a criminal hates a clue,
Or the Axis hates the United States,
That’s how much I love you.

I love you more than a duck can swim,
And more than a grapefruit squirts,
I love you more than a gin rummy is a bore,
And more than a toothache hurts.

As a shipwrecked sailor hates the sea,
Or a juggler hates a shove,
As a hostess detests unexpected guests,
That’s how much you I love.

I love you more than a wasp can sting,
And more than the subway jerks,
I love you as much as a beggar needs a crutch,
And more than a hangnail irks.

I swear to you by the stars above,
And below, if such there be,
As the High Court loathes perjurious oathes,
That’s how you’re loved by me.

What a sappy holiday, haha!

 

It’s a Novel Idea (Guest Post)

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by Jade Sutton

castle

One hot summer evening, a couple walked up to a splash pad in the park and decided to go skinny dipping so they could cool off.  After the couple had removed most of their clothing, they began running and jumping in the cool, crisp water.  Suddenly, the jets turned off and on the ground was a very well-dressed woman laying face down with stab wounds in her back.

Next on the scene is New York’s finest homicide detective, Kate Beckett (played by Stana Katic) and the famous mystery novelist Richard Castle (played by Nathan Fillion). The two work together to solve crimes in New York City. After Castle killed off his main character, Derek Storm from his previous series, Castle needed a new muse to inspire him.  Kate Beckett was the inspiration for his new character, Nikki Heat. Sometimes Rick Castle and Kate Beckett are stumped by a case and Castle asks his Poker buddies, James Patterson and Michael Connelly how they would write Castle’s hypothetical story/case. These cases later become the bases for his Nikki Heat series.

The fictional character Richard Castle has written a series of Nikki Heat books.  Just like the TV show the book jacket reads, “Richard Castle lives in New York with his mother and daughter.” The real author of these books is unknown. If you would like to read more, you can find Richard Castle’s books in your local library (I’ve also linked to each book via the image below).

The Nikki Heat series is as follows:

                         

You can watch Castle on ABC Monday nights 10pm EST.  Also, you can purchase past seasons of Castle on Amazon.

Jade Sutton lives in eastern North Carolina with her husband and 2 beautiful feline fur babies. She is an educator by day and an artist by night and her current interests are art journaling, mixed media, scrapbooking, making cards and photography. If you would like to see more of her art, Jade Sutton’s blog is jadesuttonart.com

 

Want to write a post and have it featured on The Caffeinated Writer? Submit your pitch here!

 

When You Get an Idea You Don’t Know How to Write

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Never let the fear of striking out get in your way..jpg

I encountered this problem a few weeks ago where I had this awesome dream that I felt needed to be a story, novel, movie, SOMETHING. I won’t divulge what it was (yet) because I’m still sitting on it pretty hard trying to figure out what to do.

This is only an issue because the the piece would be some pretty hard fantasy, and I do not write fantasy at all. I’ve only read it briefly. I struggled with the people in my creative writing classes who wrote really high fantasy pieces because it’s not my genre. I just don’t personally get it. I have a hard time reading it because I get lost in all the world building.

But I’m not here to talk about why fantasy isn’t my favorite genre, I’m here to talk about writing in genres that are uncomfortable to us. Continue reading →

Book Review: Night Driving: A Story of Faith in the Dark by Addie Zierman

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Synopsis: How do you know God is real?
 
In the emotionally-charged, fire-filled faith in which Addie Zierman grew up, the answer to this question was simple: Because you’ve FELT him.

Now, at age 30, she feels nothing. Just the darkness pressing in. Just the winter cold. Just a buzzing silence where God’s voice used to be.

So she loads her two small children into the minivan one February afternoon and heads south in one last-ditch effort to find the Light.

In her second memoir, Night Driving, Addie Zierman powerfully explores the gap between our sunny, faith fictions and a God who often seems hidden and silent.

Against the backdrop of rushing Interstates, strangers’ hospitality, gas station coffee, and screaming children, Addie stumbles toward a faith that makes room for doubt, disappointment, and darkness…and learns that sometimes you have to run away to find your way home.

Review // It took me longer than I’d like to admit to finish this book. I’ll admit that this is one of the first nonfiction/memoir-type novels that I’ve read in quite awhile. My typical choice of book is a thriller of sorts.

Night Driving is not a thriller, but rather it’s a book that pulls you from page to page with its raw emotion. Continue reading →

Monday Musings #10

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500 Words or Less:

So there’s this writing contest that I’m trying to enter. The challenge for me? A captivating, complete story in 500 words or less. I’m not always the most wordy person, but there’s a reason I have more novels (finished or not) than short stories in my personal portfolio.

To me at least, writing short stories is harder than writing a novel. Especially 500 words or less. Flash fiction I guess you could consider this?

I did take one January-term seminar on flash fiction, and it never got easy for me. I hardly ever feel like my story hits its potential in 2 pages.

I did write one piece to try submitting, but I had 3 people read it, one who was also an English/CW major, and two who aren’t, and got some interesting feedback. Confusing too, because everyone has a completely different opinion about it. Everyone read into it differently (although that was intentional). And everyone thinks it’s a different stage as far as being turn-in ready. Gah! What am I supposed to do now? Hm. Continue reading →

Coffee Shops – My Therapy

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coffee therapy.png

Friday, you got the pleasure of reading a wonderful guest post by Brent Jackson (if you didn’t read it, make sure you do!) about how for him, coffee shops are his second office.

After my mental breakdown on Wednesday (I call it that, but I don’t think it was that bad), I needed to recuperate. On Thursday, I don’t go into work until 2pm, so I stopped in at Starbucks (just a mile from work) and got up to the counter pondering what was going to give me the best start to my workday.

Deb (I seriously love her) was working, and she asked if I wanted my usual – a grande blonde roast, with room for cream. “It’ll have to be a pour over though, is that okay?”

I have no problem with pour overs, I get them all the time! But I wasn’t sure I was feeling the plain coffee thing today though. And I think she could sense my hesitation before I said yes.

She asked if I wanted her to use less coffee grounds or something, and that’s when I told her that I’d had a bad day the day before, and wanted something different. Continue reading →