Make Way for Boston...

Make Way for Ducklings statues in Boston Public Garden (photo by Jan Siebold)

"'I like this place,' said Mrs. Mallard as they climbed out on the bank and waddled along."
                                                 -from Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

I love you Boston, and I know that you'll keep marching forward....

What's in a Name? Bad Working Titles...

The crooked door at The Crooked Door in Albion, NY (photo by Jan Siebold)

  I admire people who come up with catchy names and titles.  We recently had a delicious lunch with friends at a restaurant called "The Crooked Door" in Albion, NY.  A favorite local restaurant was called Billy Ogden's because it was located on the corner of William and Ogden Streets in Buffalo.  On vacation we saw a laundromat called "The Missing Sock".  Clever. 
  My first two children's novels had really bad working titles.  I called my first book The Assignment. The problems with that title are too obvious to even write about here.  Luckily it did very well as Rope Burn.  The original title of my second book was O.L.D. Friend.  The letters stood for "On-Line Discussion", which referred to the premise of the book.  My editor pointed out that there would be confusion over what to call the book when saying its title out loud.  After a telephone brainstorming session we decided to call the book Doing Time Online. 
  After doing a little research about working titles I don't feel quite so bad.  It seems that Eric Carle's beloved book The Very Hungry Caterpillar started out as A Week with Willi the Worm.  John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men went by the title Something that Happened.  Couldn't that be the title of any book?  Would the movie E.T have done as well if its title had not been changed from A Boy's Life?  Even The Beatles came up with a clunker of a title now and then.  Their hit song Yesterday was originally called Scrambled Egg.
  Thank you to the editors who see past those bad titles and are willing to read further.  Hopefully the name of my blog earns me a few kudos.  Jan's Pencil Point.  A pencil has a point and my blog has a point.  Get it?  
 

A Writer's Wish

      I hope that my words provide ....
                                                         clarity,
                                                         comfort,
                                                         support,
                                                         peace,
                                                         moments of joy,
                                                         understanding,
                                                         surprises,
                                                         discovery,
                                                         hope.

     

 

Just Enter through the Gun Barrel

Bathing suits worn by Daniel Craig and Sean Connery in James Bond films. (photo by Jan Siebold)

     I recently attended the opening of "Designing 007", an exhibit of James Bond movie props, costumes and sets in the Toronto International Film Festival's Bell Lightbox space.  "Just enter through the gun barrel'" the museum attendant directed us, pointing to a large cylindrical opening in the wall.  Among the exhibit  highlights were the montage of opening James Bond movie clips/theme songs, a room dedicated to Bond villains, a tour of Q's department (where 007's supply of life-saving gadgets were created and tested) and a gallery dedicated to the inevitable casino scenes featured in the films.
    In one room we saw props such as James Bond's passport and a complete medical report describing his broken collarbone.  I was amazed at the amount of care and detail that went into the creation of these props.  Surely a movie viewer wouldn't even be able to read the print on these items when seen in the final product.
     It occurred to me that such painstaking care could be attributed to the film makers' desire to create a completely authentic experience for all involved in the process.  Such attention to detail serves us well in any type of work that is important to us.  The difference that details can make is like night and day, or even like a martini shaken, not stirred. 

Thank You, John Lennon

The John Lennon Wall in Prague is an ever changing reminder of our basic right to freedom of expression.
(photo by Jim Siebold)

"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948)

     October 9 is the birthday of John Lennon (1940-1980).  Let us remember his voice, his words, his music and his passion, as well as the message of hope and peace that he brought to the world. 

 

Explore Contradictions!

photo by Jim Siebold

  I was walking down a Chicago street and saw a man painting a beautiful mural on the side of a gray house.  Or so I thought.  Upon closer examination it became clear that he was in fact covering the mural with gray paint.  It took a few moments for that fact to register because it was inherently opposite of my initial reaction to the scene. 
  Exploring the contradictions in characters can give them depth.  Imagine a hardened criminal who still takes to heart a scolding from his beloved mother.  Or think of a shy, timid student who musters enough courage to face a bully head on.  The complexity of human nature is at the heart of most stories.  It never fails to fascinate us.

Ready, Set, Draw!

photo by Jan Siebold

Often when I sit down to write I find it hard to focus.  It's difficult to shake off the events and encounters of the day.  One technique that I've found helpful is drawing.  I'm not a skilled artist by any means, but I enjoy sketching.  It quiets my thoughts and helps me to concentrate.  Sometimes I sketch something that is around me at the moment; other times I draw from memory or from imagination.  Treat yourself to a nice sketchbook and some good pencils ... ready, set, draw!