Bonding with Band of Brothers

I don’t have cable, so my television intake consists of watching movies and renting seasons of televisions shows. A few weeks ago, Jeff and I rented Band of Brothers. We just finished watching it last night, and I want to talk a moment to rave about how good it was.

As both a history-lover and a “war-related specialist,” I was eager to watch this critically-acclaimed miniseries. When it came out in 2001, I was only about 14 years old, and was avidly watching other things. When I started taking history courses at university, my classmates couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen it. I promised I would, and now, three years later, I finally did.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the miniseries, here’s a bit of background:

The 10 episodes take viewers through the WWII adventures of Easy Company, an American volunteer paratrooper unit. It outlines their activities from the time they first jumped behind enemy lines on D-Day, to the end of their tour at Berchtesgaden, Hitler’s mountain.

All of the actors played real men, many of whom were still alive while Band of Brothers was being filmed. At the beginning of each episode, the real-life soldiers shared memories and anecdotes. Real footage of Easy Company was followed and re-created, and many of the actors even resembled the real soldiers they portrayed.

Overall, it was one of the best depictions of events during the Second World War that I have ever seen.

What about the acting?

The cast included a variety of well-known and unknown actors. Donnie Wahlberg (Dreamcatcher), Ron Livingston (Sex and the City series, Office Space), and Damian Lewis (Dreamcatcher) had lead roles, and each man was fantastic.

I was initially sceptical about Livingston in a title role, and during the first few episodes all I could picture was Berger from Sex and the City. I also wasn’t sure about Wahlberg, but I had already seen his performance as Duddits in Dreamcatcher, and knew that he could act.

I must also admit that I have a huge crush on Damian Lewis. Not because he’s some sort of hunky sex symbol, but because the man can seriously act. He made Dreamcatcher. I was truly terrified of him when he became the creepy alien guy. I was especially scared of the alien’s voice. I did a bit of research, and Lewis is actually English. He was doing an American accent, and then falling back into his traditional voice for the alien. Good work.

Other outstanding actors who stood out for me included Scott Grimes (Robin Hood – 2010), Neal McDonough (88 Minutes), and Frank John Hughes (Catch Me If You Can).

Watch Band of Brothers. It’s worth it...

The special features at the end are also seriously worth a look. Included is the documentary of Easy Company that was produced in conjunction with the miniseries. It features commentary from all of the men still alive today. They share memories and anecdotes as we are taken, step by step, through their journey across Europe.

I will warn you, though, that the documentary is pretty serious stuff. I cried my way through the last thirty minutes. Not because it was horrible to experience, but because watching men remember the war is both saddening and inspiring. It`s important to talk about what happened, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Lest we forget.

Struggles of an attempted novelist

When I started working on my book earlier this summer, there were two main challenges I was forced to deal with before I could start writing. These challenges made it impossible to move forward, and I had to resolve them quickly and efficiently. I thought it would be helpful to outline what I dealt with, in case other writers out there are facing similar situations.

The two challenges I had to deal with were tenses and names. They might seem like simple problems, but trust me, it got complicated once I started thinking.

TENSES – This was the first problem I faced when I sat down at my laptop to start writing an outline. I initially wrote everything in first person. This seemed natural, as I was writing a collection of stories about a specific person. I have read many novels, and the ones in first person always seemed to work out fine.

But, I personally couldn’t write in first person. I was writing about my aunt, and it felt wrong. I’m not her; I’m just writing about her. Using first person implied that everything I was writing was fact, and I’ve made it clear from the beginning that I don’t know all the information. I make up what I can’t uncover, so switching to third person allowed the outline to flow much easier.

NAMES – This was the second problem I faced, and it was significantly more difficult to overcome. After I decided to use third person, it didn’t seem right to use my aunt’s name at all. I was already referring to her as a character in a story, and not my “aunt” specifically, so it made sense to turn her into even more of a character.

In the end, I decided to change her name to Sophia, and it’s a decision I’m quite happy with. I might change it back later, but who knows...

There are two reasons why changing my aunt’s name has made writing easier: 1) because I am no longer attributing thoughts, feelings, and words to my real aunt, but a character, and 2) because I now have the freedom to take liberties with that character. She’s no longer exactly my aunt, but someone based on her.

I understand this must be confusing, and I’m terribly sorry if I’ve lost most of my readers...

Feeling comfortable with what I’m writing has been very important to me since I decided to take on this project. Many classmates came up with cool ideas – including going to South Africa for the World Cup, visiting all the provincial parks in Manitoba, and learning French – but I wanted my IPP to be as personal as possible. And, you can’t get much more personal than writing about the good, bad, and ugly of the life of someone you’re related to.

With that being said, changing the tenses and names in my book has made it so much easier to write. There is still a long way to go, and much editing to be done, but I'm happy about what I'm writing.

Infiltrating the Manitoba Writers' Guild

I have always wanted to be a writer. This summer, I actually am playing the part of a writer, so it made sense to join an organization for writers. Before school ended in April, I paid $25 to become a member of the Manitoba Writers’ Guild, and yesterday, my membership card arrived in the mail.

There are a few perks, of course, but the real reason why I became a member was so I could gradually unite myself with other writers. A published, accomplished author can provide insight and support like no one else. They know what it is like to deal with writers block, tension headaches, and problematic character development. They don’t think that it’s stupid to spend an entire day deciding between first or third person. And, they will spend hours discussing outlines and plot points.

This, of course, is all speculation. I have never been fortunate enough to sit down and have a detailed conversation with a published author. My goal is to do so – now that I have some sort of access to them – but who knows if I’ll ever actually get the conversation I desire.

I’m excited to be a Guild member, because it’s something else to cross off the quickly-expanding IPP checklist. Now I just need to get myself invited to some events so I can schmooze my way to the top!

Writing forward

It’s always rewarding to complete a written draft of a project. It’s also rewarding to discard the old draft, the notes, and the scribbles, replacing them with the new.

While in university, I developed a strange yet satisfying habit. I would write essays by hand, and then re-type them into Microsoft Word. After I finished typing, I would take one, two, sometimes five minutes to rip up each page of the initial draft. Carefully, and meticulously, I would throw the small pieces in the garbage, ensuring each piece was too small to read.

I started doing this for a few reasons...

First, because I can ensure no one will find my rough work. I am very serious about allowing people to read what I have written only after I have edited once. It would be embarrassing to allow a stranger the opportunity to get a hold of my raw, unedited thoughts.

Second, ripping up the draft is symbolic because, at least to me, it represents moving forward. I am getting rid of unnecessary papers that tie me down.

Of course, ripping up my old work also ensures that no one will find it and plagiarize it, but that’s another story...

After three months of hard work, I have finished a completed draft of my book. It is 82,000 words (and counting). I wrote most of the draft on my laptop, but there were moments when a computer was unavailable. Many times, in an attempt to find inspiration, I would bring a notebook and pen to the park and sit by the river. Other times, when I felt like I needed some human interaction, I would jot down notes on the back of napkins while sitting on a patio somewhere.

Now, all the random notes and papers have been typed, ripped up, and discarded, leaving me with a draft that I am proud of.

I know that eventually I’ll rip up this draft as well, and replace it with something better. But for now, it’s nice to take a moment and reflect on all the work I have done, and acknowledge how far I have ventured as both a student and a writer.

Till next time,
Amanda.

Surprising (and simple) ways to cut calories

I usually pay attention to what I eat, but it’s become much more difficult to be healthy since I’ve moved out. Fruits and vegetables aren’t the cheapest things to purchase, and having fresh, usable produce on hand at all times means visiting the grocery store every few days.

There was an article in Chatelaine magazine awhile ago that caught my eye. It discussed many ways to cut up to 500 calories a day. I’ve included some of my favourite...

• Save 50 calories by eating an actual orange instead of drinking glass of orange juice.
• Save 50 calories by using light mayonnaise instead of full-fat on a sandwich.
• Save 75 calories by mixing salad dressing with water.
• Save 100 calories by thickening cream soups with skim milk instead of cream or 2% milk.
• Save 200 calories by eating a grilled chicken burger at fast food restaurants.
• Save 125 calories by sautéing vegetables in broth or wine as opposed to oil.
• Save 75 calories by eating a frozen pudding cup instead of ice cream.
• Save 250 calories by eating biscotti instead of a muffin. Just don’t eat one completely covered in chocolate!

I hope some of these tips are helpful. I’m going to try the sautéing tip tonight, and I think I’ll use wine!

I love summer...

... but I absolutely hate the pile of beer bottles that has accumulated in my kitchen.

And, because I’m stubborn, I refuse to get rid of them myself.

Stupid, stupid beer bottles...

English novel prompts tea party

Recently, I’ve started reading books by John Harvey. He’s pretty much the UK’s version of John Grisham or Jonathan Kellerman, and his books are fantastic if you’re looking for something in the “whodunit” genre.

The only problem with Harvey’s books it that everyone is always drinking tea. Every chapter, on almost every page, the characters are downing enough English Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Orange Pekoe to fuel a small army.

This probably isn’t an issue for most people, but the more I read about tea, the more I want tea. English Breakfast especially is a guilty pleasure of mine, and in the winter I drink it every single day. Halfway through the book I couldn’t stand the craving anymore, so earlier yesterday evening I made a very strong pot of my favourite tea.

And, I thought it would be fun to do it with all the accessories.

The great thing about moving out for the first time is that people are more than willing to give you stuff to help you get on your feet. In my case, I acquired enough kitchen items to fill three households. Included in the many boxes I unpacked were teapot, tea tray, cup and saucer collection, and crystal milk and sugar holders.

If I was going to make tea, I was going to do it in the proper English style.

My boyfriend was a good sport, but I don’t think he appreciated the gesture. Oh well, I tried.