Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A. Cook

Can Watching Movies Make Us Better Writers?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Over the holidays I spent a lot of time watching Hallmark Christmas movies while getting over a series of colds. After about 3,000 of those little gems, it was time for a change. Seems I’ve put myself on a tv diet. What we put in our head affects how our writer brains work and my imagination was sick and tired of bad news and grim times, including my favorite tv cop shows.

What to do? Movie-therapy!

http://youtu.be/P1coDNUdV74

We all have our favorite movies, but I have a special group I call Kim’s Classics. These are movies I pull out like old friends to come visit; I know we’re going to have a great time. The trailer for “The Hallelujah Trail” above is one of my go to movie picks. It’s got comedy, romance, military strategy, Brian Keith, drinking, miners and Irish teamsters, just to name a few things.

When I first read Syd Field’s “The Screenwriter’s Workbook,” he made the three act screenplay structure so clear and understandable. When I discovered how Chris Vogler took the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey and put it together with the three act screenplay structure in “The Writer’s Journey; Mythic Structure For Storytellers and Screenwriters,” First Edition, page 18 – I felt I’d discovered the Ark of the Covenant! “Raiders of the Lost Ark” – gang. (Vogler is up to the Third Edition now, I own all of them.)

Using Syd and Chris’s combined structure outline is how I plot my fiction books. It makes plotting very simple for me. I’m one of those “give me the framework pantsers” and let me run with it type of writers, but only after years of writing too freely in all directions and then having to do major rewrites. Not a big fan of major rewrites – my inner journalist gets quite testy. This way I get the turning points and the Hero’s Journey events outlined and then I know where I start, end and avoid the mush in the middle.

The screenwriting classes I took helped me write better dialogue and even more with book structure. Now when I watch movies I look for the turning points and how the Hero’s Journey propels the movie along. See, learning by watching movies can be fun and educational. If you’re having issues with structure, I recommend reading those two books and maybe tattooing parts of them on your body; they’re that good.

Not every writing tool works for every writer, we have to find what works for us by “Trial and Error,” another Kim Classic movie. So dust off those DVDs and VHS tapes and study! Make a batch of popcorn and fire up the remote. What are your favorite classic movies?

Guinea Pigs To The Rescue!

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by Kimberly A. Cook        (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

There may not be much creativity in Washington, D.C. these days, but this country rocks when it comes to up and coming filmmakers. Found this gem on YouTube and it made me smile. Besides a good three act storyline complete with character arc, these GPs have got some darn good firing skills.

When the going gets crazy in this country, the crazy go to the Guinea Pigs! Happy Quirky Friday everybody!

Adapting Skills for Writers, Veterans And Rhinos

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by Kimberly A. Cook            (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

When I left the Army I joked I could work for Barnum & Bailey Circus or Mayflower Moving and Storage; supply and logistics training comes in very handy after the military. While we writers are constantly adapting to changes in the publishing world and upgrades in technology, basic skills and training help us to shift our careers and stay relevant in the marketplace.

The same could be said for the military skills of many veterans today. On Thursday night the Animal Planet will start a three-part mini-series about former military members called in to help stop poachers from decimating the White Rhinos in Africa. Once again, adapting.

Watch the video preview here: http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/battleground-rhino-wars/videos/rhino-wars-taking-down-the-bad-guys.htm

I’ve always thought military veterans would make the perfect animal rescue teams specially trained by Humane Societies to work here in the United States and around the world during disasters and wartime situations. The challenges the troops faced fighting in Iraq and coming across the Baghdad Zoo, with some animals caged and some loose, comes to mind.

I wanted to spread the word about this program which I support on many levels; our veterans working after their service working to help save the world’s Rhinos. As animal guardians of the planet, not only must we protect, witness and record animal’s stories, we must make sure the Rhino’s story does not end forever.

If you have time, check out the show Thursday night at 9 p.m. on Animal Planet. For more information about the series go to  http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/battleground-rhino-wars

It’s Doggie Dance Friday!

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

It’s been a weird and wild week here and now the sequester-mess. While D.C. tries to get its act together, here is a hard-working little dog showing folks what a true work ethic really means! He does the doggie dance with style and stamina. Let’s salsa!

Hope you’ve had a great week. Happy Quirky Friday!

http://youtu.be/qUzqcPJfbng

Are Writers The True Crown Jewels Of Content?

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by Kimberly A. Cook               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

A peculiar thing seems to happen when I buy or like something; the item gets discontinued, cancelled or the new model is released a week later. This happens with everything from nail polish to tv series and Mystic Mint cookies.

Crown jewels at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey during my 1983 visit.
Crown jewels at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey during my 1983 visit.

So imagine my chagrin at Sunday’s article in the New York Times about Barnes and Noble turning their focus from making Nook hardware to providing digital content – aka books and writing. I recently purchased the Nook tablet, right before the new HD ones came out, to add to my first generation Nook.

While my office closet looks like a graveyard for tech gadgets and I just found out I need to drown my old Blackberry phone in salt water for a week and then drill it to make sure no one ever gets my data – one quote in the article gave me hope. At the end the person states that content distribution is one of Barnes & Nobles strengths and content is their crown jewel.

Guess who the real crown jewels are? Us writers and authors! Because without us, there are no stories and no content. Felt like buying myself a new tiara. (I have a plastic one from Party City, but I think real jewels are needed for it to be an official crown jewel.)

While all these big companies fight over who is coming out on top in the ereader/cell phone/tablets wars and AT&T wants to charge us for making our future cars rolling wifi hot spots, when it comes to true software – writers rule. Without our imagination and brain software there is no content for these mega companies to dispense or we can sell it our own selves with the advent of Indie publishing.

It’s always a good business decision to take stock, sit back and realize while the big conglomerates fight over hardware production, we can go about our empire building by using our very own imagination brain software to write our tales and entertain and educate our readers. We are the crown jewels!

Read the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/business/media/barnes-noble-weighs-its-nook-losses.html?_r=0

Otter Eddie Shows Us How To Keep In Shape

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

With writing being a sit down occupation unless you have a standing desk, keeping in shape is important for our brains – not to mention our butts.  More oxygen in, more creativity out. Then there is the ever-present writer hazard of turning into a capital C from being hunched over the keyboard. For those of us with carpel tunnel or arthritis, moving is the answer to ease the stiffness and stay in shape.

Otter Eddie at the Oregon Zoo showed off his moves this week to help with his elbow arthritis. He took up basketball to keep his joints mobile and I think our Portland Trailblazers could use him on the roster.  Check out his video clip and know it was such a hit, Eddie ended up on the main CNN web page this past Wednesday. Now that’s otter style! Happy Quirky Friday!