Seen Any Good Movies Lately?

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie trailer that gave me a legitimate desire to see a new movie. Those that I have viewed? I was disappointed in most of them.

You might wonder why a writer would blog about movies. The reason is quite simple. I’d like to see a good old-fashioned mystery movie – one where “they” don’t concentrate on gore, sex or foul language. I’ve read so many good mysteries lately and thought, “Wow! That would make a great movie.”

An Old-Fashioned Movie

 Call me a prude – and you might – but I’m tired of hearing the “F-bomb” and some of the other offensive words. I understand they’re not offensive to everyone, but come on – do they really add to the story? Are they an integral part of the dialogue? Okay, sometimes it gives flavor to a bad guy’s character, but it’s not necessary in every other sentence.

If I want to see gore, I’ll drive to the site of an accident next time I hear sirens. Personally, and this is just me, I’ve seen enough blood and guts on television. It’s often worse in the movies. I hate to see kids, and adults, getting used to seeing this stuff. At the scene of an accident, are you going to say, “Oh. I’ve seen this kind of thing a hundred times on TV. Big deal.”

And then there’s sex. I don’t need to see the details of someone else’s sex life. (It’s actually sexier when ”they” leave what happens to the viewer’s/reader’s imagination.)

If I spend the money to go to the theater and watch a mystery, I want to see a mystery. And I want it to be a good one. Yeah, I know. Who cares what one person wants? Well, it’s not just me who would like to see a good movie, a classic mystery. It would be even better if it didn’t involve a serial killer. That storyline is becoming a bit old. Oops! I wrote a book that involved a serial killer. Bad me!

Oh, and to make the mystery movie even better, I’d love to see one that makes me laugh. Of course, in some mysteries there’s no room for humor. That’s okay, too.

I’ve read plenty of entertaining mysteries lately. When you finish a book do you close it and sigh, thinking, “Ahhh, that would make a great movie.” Instead of coming up with some good new material, it seems to be the in thing to remake old movies (and TV shows), and honestly? I’d like to see something new and fresh.

A screenwriter made a presentation at a conference I once attended. He made the comment that if your book is picked up for a movie, don’t hold your breath while you wait to see your story on the Big Screen. Just about everyone involved in making a movie has the right to ask for changes. The movie may end up not even resembling your story.

As an author, am I spouting sour grapes? No, I’ve never had anyone offer to make a movie out of one of my books. However, as someone who enjoys a good movie, a mystery in particular, for the time-being I’ll stick with the old black and whites.

Well, I guess I have to laugh a little. When someone got shot in the old movies there was no bullet hole and no blood. Someone just fell down. Period. But at least the bullet hole didn’t spurt something red and there wasn’t any brain matter flying across the room.

Okay, I’m stepping down from my soapbox now (again). All I’m really saying is there are a lot of good books out there that would make great movies, and I’d go to see them in a heartbeat.

I know some of you don’t have a problem with language, sex and gore. If that doesn’t bother you, what does? What are some of the issues with today’s movies that would prevent you from spending your hard-earned money on a theater ticket? I’m honestly curious.

Until next time, read a book this week that you’ve been meaning to read but haven’t gotten around to, and decide if it would make a good movie nor not.

Marja McGraw’s website is in the process of being updated.

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Old Murders Never Die – A Sandi Webster Mystery takes places in a deserted ghost town and this is the one that included a serial killer – dating back to the late 1800s.

Speaking of Dialogue

I’ve posted about this subject in the past, and the time has come to mention it again.

I was watching a movie the other night. The suspense was high, a bad guy was trying to catch a young woman, and she needed to run and hide. She happened to be with a friend while all of this was going on. She said something like, “I have to run and hide. He is going to catch me if I don’t hurry.”

Okay, in a time of high stress I’d probably be more likely to say, “I’ve got to get outta here. He’s going to catch me if I stand here and talk about it.”

My issue? The formality of her statement. If someone was chasing me, I probably wouldn’t say, “I have to do something and I need to do it in a hurry.” In a moment of stress I probably wouldn’t be thinking about using proper English. I’d be thinking in terms of getting out of there. I wouldn’t be saying, “I have…,” but more likely I’d be combining words and saying, “I’ve…” just to hurry things along.

“There is a killer after me, oh dear, oh dear, and I must hurry to a safe place where he cannot find me.” That kind of makes me cringe. I’d rather hear the character say (breathlessly, of course), “There’s a killer after me and I can’t let him find me. Is there a back door here?”

Does that make sense? In fact, I might just run and not say much of anything. But we’re talking about a movie (or a book). You often need dialogue to further the story.

You could say, “I have to go to the store and after that I am going to run a few errands.” More likely, if it were me, I’d say, “I’ve got to hurry to the store and then I’m going to run a few errands. Be back later.”

My point is, keep it real. Think about how you might say something, or how your neighbor or a relative might say something. Does combining words make us lazy? I don’t think so. I think it makes us real.

“Frederick, will you not come to the party with me? You will liven things up,” or “Freddie, won’t you go with me? You’ll make the party fun. Love your sense of humor.”

I wish I could recall more of the lines from the movie, but it was so annoying that I began tuning it out. No, not all of the examples above came from the movie. I made them up, but that’s what I do.

However, there are times when using both words is the right thing to do, as long as you’re emphasizing something. “I will not sit here like a ninny and wait for the bad guy to catch up to me. Now get out of my way!” (I’m assuming someone told our heroine to sit down and take a deep breath before overreacting.)

Do you pay as much attention to dialogue as I do? Does it kind of bug you when it sounds too contrived instead of natural? Is it just me???

Changing the subject, but I’ve been writing a weekly blog since 2010. Maybe I need to take a vacation from it. I’m running out of ideas. Hopefully something of note will come to me soon.

Until next time, listen to the way people around you speak this week. Decide what sounds natural and what doesn’t. Maybe I should actually be suggesting you watch a current movie and pay close attention to the dialogue. Well, your choice.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Nervous Laughter and Alfred Hitchcock

The other day I watched a rerun of an old Dick Cavett Show. His guest was Alfred Hitchcock, and it was a wonderful interview.

I’m probably one of only a few who’d never heard Mr. Hitchcock interviewed. He had an understated and droll wit, and I found myself laughing at his comments. I love a dry humor.

What amazed me is the insight he had into people and what makes them tick. For instance, he talked about fear and that people love to be frightened. He was right. He used a roller coaster ride as an example. People ride up and down at extreme angles and scream throughout the entire ride. When they get off? They’re laughing and giggling. 

Yes, people love to be frightened. Why else would they enjoy reading about haunted houses, ghosts and monsters, and secret rooms? Why else would they watch a horror movie and find themselves talking to the television, saying, “Don’t open that door!” “Don’t go outside alone!”

One time my mother was home alone and there was a scary movie on TV that she wanted to watch. So she called me on the phone and had me turn it on, and then she wouldn’t hang up until the movie was over. I had to laugh at that one, and so did she.

We write mysteries. We’re not directors or actors. However, we can write scenes that will keep the reading audience on the edge of their seats. Interestingly, we can write suspenseful and frightening scenes that will make the reader laugh, regardless of whether it’s nervous laughter or humorous giggling. Our characters can feel the fear that makes them giggle, just like real honest-to-goodness people, and we can include this trait in their reactions.

Like many people, I have a fear of spiders. I once lived in a very old house with a black widow issue. I was cleaning the entryway floor and wearing slippers, and all of a sudden a black widow dropped from the ceiling onto the toe of my slipper. I kicked, trying to throw it off, but as I backed up it followed me. I was being stalked by a black widow! And I started to laugh. I laughed so hard that I cried. Maybe it was really hysteria. Anyway, I finally realized that the spider had attached itself to my slipper with a web, and when I moved, it moved with me. That poor ol’ spider ended up as nothing but a grease spot on the floor. After all, I had two slippers. Maybe it’s not a good idea to mess with someone who’s scared.

Mr. Hitchcock also explained how certain scenes were filmed in his movies. I guess you’d have to call the procedure early special effects. We can include special effects in our books, too, through descriptions.

Remember the shower scene in Psycho? I know a couple of women who, to this day, won’t take a shower. Hitchcock knew how to terrify viewers.

Years ago I read a book written by an author who happened to use the area where I lived as her location. Because I recognized the places and streets she described in her book, it frightened me. It was familiar and scary, and it was about a serial killer who was stalking the small town where I lived. Maybe that’s one of the keys – using a location people can relate to.

Scenes that are too graphic generally don’t make me laugh. It’s the anticipation leading up to a frightening event that can make me chuckle nervously. I have to admit that I’ve read stories in the newspaper that were so bizarre and terrifying that they made me laugh.

How about you? Does fear make you laugh? Did Alfred Hitchcock know how to push your buttons?

Until next time, I hope you have a carefree week with no black widows or monsters to worry about.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

 Try Me

Black Butterfly - A Bogey Man Mystery

 

How Much Good Would a Website Do...

 How much good would a website do if a website could do good? That reminds me of the old tongue twister, “How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

Does a website really help a writer? What purpose does it serve? Is it worth the time and effort of keeping it up?

I recently had to rebuild my website and for a brief moment I thought about discontinuing it. However, I believe a website is an absolute necessity in this time of Internet marketing and promoting. Even if an author does nothing but personal appearances, the website still matters. If you’re an author without a big presence in the book world and someone sees you’re going to make an appearance, they’re likely going to try to look you up on the Internet. But what if there’s no website? They might find bits and pieces about you, but they won’t see enough. You may have just lost a potential fan.

Your website is your chance to tell readers about yourself, about your books, about your hobbies and interests, your publisher, or whatever you think the public should know about you. For instance, Sandi Webster, the protagonist in one of my series, enjoys vintage movies. Consequently, I added a Vintage Movie Page to my website. It not only gives me an excuse to watch old movies (mysteries, in particular), but it gives guests on my site something different to check out. I won’t put a movie on the page that I didn’t like, sticking with films I enjoyed. Even if a visitor tries one of the movies and doesn’t like it, at least it gave them something new (but still old) to try. And it’s a way to connect with people.

I enjoy photography, even though I’m an amateur. I’ve put a Photo Page on my website. I put up some of my photos, and occasionally I include historical pictures of interest taken by others.

I try to add things to my website that might keep people coming back to see what’s new. As you can see it’s not totally about books, although that is the main focus.

I’ve added a video on the Home Page that quickly shows the viewer all of my book covers, and on The Books Page I’ve included some movie trailers. I have to admit that I’m not a professional, but the trailers were a lot of fun to build. Also, not as a professional, I’ve taken to creating my own book covers. Also fun, and frustrating at times.

Is it worth the time and effort? It sure is. I don’t know that my website promotes the sale of my books, but I have had enough comments from visitors so that I know I’m at least entertaining and connecting with people.

I’m not a computer guru, nor am I an Internet expert, so building my website and updating it is time-consuming and takes a great deal of effort on my part. I just spent the better part of a week rebuilding my website. There were some frustrating moments, but I finally put it all together.

If you’re reading this post, please take a moment to check out my website at http://www.marjamcgraw.com/, if you haven’t already seen it. You might find it entertaining and informative. If you’re contemplating going to a book signing, check out the author’s website first. You can certainly learn something about the author’s style by the way they’ve prepared their site.

As a reader, how do you feel about websites? Do you feel they add something to the author’s promotional efforts?

Now I need to check out a site because I’m contemplating attending a book signing soon.

Until next time, wishing you a week of good reading and interesting websites.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

Remember, Choosing One Moment – A Time Travel Mystery, is a mystery, and has time travel added for flavor. Hmm. Maybe I’ll do a book trailer for this story. That might be fun.

 

Proud American

Enjoying Those Goosebumps?

Many people love a story that makes the hair on the back of their neck stand up, sends shivers down their spine, or gives them goosebumps.

I recently watched a movie, The Uninvited (1944), starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey. The uninvited individual was a ghost. By 1944 standards, I’m sure it had a few people on the edge of their seats. There was no gore, no blood, and they used a minimum of special effects. It held a couple of surprises, too. It was a fun movie, even with ghosts.

How could a movie such as this give you goosebumps? You’d have to ask someone who saw it in 1944. (I wasn’t even a twinkle in my parents’ eyes yet. Just thought I’d throw that in.)

Everyone has something different that makes them uneasy. Thick fog or a moonless night can make one’s blood run cold because of the unknown element that might be hiding just out of sight.

In my opinion, a book can create the mood better than a movie because once again, the reader’s imagination is in play and might be working overtime. Imagination can actually be scarier than watching a blow by blow story on the big screen.

In real life, fear can be devastating. In a book, it can make you get up and make sure the windows are closed and the doors are locked. It can make you fidget in your chair. It can even cause a nervous giggle from time to time.

Certainly it’s not just ghosts, but a hidden room, a monster, a shadow (of course, it would be elongated for more drama), or a vicious animal can set the scene for fright night. Ordinary everyday things can cause alarm, too. Noises, a brief glimpse of something, a book that’s been moved and the character knows he or she didn’t move it.

I have two large yellow Labrador Retrievers who scare easily. The smoke detector started softly beeping the other night because it needed new batteries and one of the dogs barked furiously while the hair on her back stood on end. Even after we took the batteries out, she was nervous. My husband once stood in the dark and made a snorting noise at the dogs. Their yellow streak, and I don’t mean the color of their fur, was front and center. You would have thought they were being chased by a bear.

Many readers love the mystery of the unknown. They purposely search out books that will make them feel ill-at-ease. When they finish the book and put it down, they go in search of another such story. How many times have you patted your chest, willing your heart to slow down because of a fright?

The blood and guts portrayed in movies doesn’t scare me. It’s the unknown that leaves so much to our own thoughts. The phone might ring in the middle of the night, but when you answer it, the line is dead. A noise outside the window that turns out to be a branch blowing in the wind can set someone’s teeth on edge.

When I was a kid there was a show on TV (and earlier on the radio) that started with the sound of a creaking door. As soon as the creaking started, I ran out of the room, stuck my fingers in my ears and sang at the top of my lungs so I wouldn’t hear it. True story. If you’d ever heard me sing, you’d probably run out of the room and stick your fingers in your ears. That creaking door struck a chord in me that scared me and gave me nightmares. It figures that I can’t remember the name of that show. If anyone has an idea, please enlighten me.

The element of surprise can make me jump easier than anything else. What scares you? Do you like the graphic scenes or would you rather let your imagination take you to the heights of fear? Or do you find you don’t enjoy frightening moments?

Until next time, check your doors and windows, close the blinds while you’re reading a scary book, and don’t – I repeat don’t – look behind that creaking door.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website

CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com