What have I been up to these last couple of weeks?

Still working on the novel….I seem to be working and re-working Chapter 7. Some days I only managed 300 words. It will have to do for now. It’s reading a bit stiff and clunky and I’m having a hard time moving forward until this chapter has been smoothed out. I’m not looking for perfect; the chapter just needs to work in the context of the bigger picture. The chapter is about 2,100 words long but it needs something more but I haven’t quite figured out what yet. Ergh! Anyway still focusing time and energy into it. That’s what counts.

Tonight, I bring in Chapter 4 and 5 to my writing group. Hopefully their feedback will help fuel the work on Ch 7.

Kitty sitting in the city…I’ve been in Chelsea the past couple of days kitty sitting Otis and Tessa. Otis is very demanding about food and attention in equal measures. Tessa is a shy Calico who tends to stay near the corners of the room, or hides in closets, when I’m around. She’s having a hard time warming up to me. Poor thing.

Christmas shopping…I have managed to get my family some gifts while staying in Chelsea. The shops are close by and when I get tired of the holiday crowds, I retreat to a quiet apartment.

My brain is full. I had a strange dream that Noomi Noren was sitting on the stoop to my parent’s house dressed like the character of Lisabeth Salander from the Millenium trilogy wanting to talk to me about my latest project. Not the novel but the film version of the novel. I kept telling her the screenplay wasn’t finished yet and that Michelle Rodriguez had first dibs on the lead role since the protagonist is a Latina. She told me very intently that she was part Spanish and that she liked the twists and turns of this movie. I woke up...1) thinking what twists and turns? and 2) feeling the pressure of needing to finish the novel. Hehehe!

I really have a hard time letting up on the pressure I put on myself. The problem then becomes that I don’t have enough head space to work out the problems/obstacles/issues with the novel ‘cause apparently the screenplay needs to be written too. Bah-Humbug!


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Chapter 7

I had a couple of hours to work on Chapter 7 today.  I went through a third of the chapter (~1,100 words)...but things are going slower.  Ergh!  There's 1,700 more words (still waiting) that need work.  It's interesting to read this material again after so long of a separation and trying to remember what my initial intention was for that particular chapter.  Things have changed in the story along the way and it's trying to navigate this old material and revamp with the new information so that it's coherent. But I'm plugging away. 

Peace,

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Close Up Space

Last night, I went to see Close Up Space by Molly Smith Metzler currently in previews at the Manhattan Theater Club. I haven’t stopped thinking about the craft of the play. The story has SO much potential but I don’t think it’s quite fully realized. It had some interesting and beautiful elements to it, like the way Harper (the daughter) uses the Russian language and poetry as a way of communication with her father Paul. And the great chasm between them created by Harper’s mother’s death. Rich, interesting back story.

Instead, this piece gets mired with weird office antics. There are several characters that could well be cut out and never missed, i.e. the intern. The office manager is there for comic relief but winds up coming off like a Zach Galifianakis wanna-be character.

No disrespect to Rosie Perez but she was completely miscast as the superstar writer, Vanessa Finn Adams. She shrieked through her scenes and she had trouble enunciating words that were supposed to give her an air of intellect and sophistication. Her final exit was a Shakespeare piece but I couldn’t tell you which one it was because I could barely understand her. Metzler was starting to use the character of Vanessa Finn Adams as Paul’s confidant but I think Metzler could have gone further with that relationship, shy of a consummated sexual relationship. That way when Vanessa finally leaves it’s not just a professional blow but a personal one too as another relationship slips through Paul’s fingers.

Okay, the best moments are David Hyde Pierce as Paul sitting in a tent dictating a letter to his daughter. It was painful and beautiful to witness. The other moment was Paul’s confrontation with Harper as she tried desperately to communicate with her emotionally distant father. They were by far the two strongest scenes.

Last but not least, big shout out to Todd Rosenthal for his set design. It was absolutely perfect. He worked some serious magic on this set.

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2011 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.