Archive for October, 2015

Creating Your Writing Ritual – How To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, How To, Writing on October 30, 2015

Life is full of rituals. It can be a simple morning routine — a shower, a cup of coffee and a half hour of exercise — to get you going after you wake up, or a very specific act that has to happen before you can accomplishing something, like double-checking all the doors are locked before going to bed at night. Whatever it is, you can’t help it; it’s ingrained in your subconscious to help you feel happier, healthier or more secure. I’m sure, as writers, we all have certain rituals we must adhere to in order to find that creative groove and churn out that next great American novel. It doesn’t matter what that ritual might be; everyone has a different personality, so no one ritual will ever be the same. However, if you’re finding it hard to find the time to write, or when you do, you just don’t have the energy to put any words to paper (which most would call writer’s block), here are some things you might add to your current rituals to help get the juices flowing before sitting down to write. Create Your Ritual

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Movie Mayhem – The Last Witch Hunter

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 25, 2015

Vin Diesel has always done his best work when providing his voice to iron robots and giant trees, characters that have very limited dialogue and emotive capabilities. When it comes to fleshing out a live character, there’s a distinct disconnect in his interpretation that bleeds through to the audience. Okay, let’s be frank — if it weren’t for that deep, gravelly voice of his, I’m not sure he’d have much of a career outside of fast cars and alien bounties. The Fast and Furious franchise (in association with Riddick) made Diesel a star and is the only thing (aside from his voice-over work) that keeps him afloat in Hollywood. Without it, he’s left wading among the depths of mediocre to terrible projects. Then again, if we were to remove him from the equation, would he still be the considered at fault for the failure of his non-Fast roster of films? As evidenced by The Last Witch Hunter, there may just be more to it than that. Read Full Review

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Movie Mayhem – Goosebumps

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 20, 2015

From what I can tell, whenever Jack Black does a kids movie, it can go one of two ways:

1. It rocks! As in the School of Rock, which was one of those films that takes you by surprise by how good it is; or

2. It’s too big for its britches. As in Gulliver’s Travels, which was a huge disappointment to say the least (but, then, not all that surprising in hindsight).

When I first saw the trailer for Black’s newest kiddie adventure, Goosebumps, it didn’t impress me all that much, but neither did the trailer for School of Rock. Let’s just say, I was really hoping the film would rise above the so-so trailer and prove itself to be monster fun, but was afraid it would crash and burn in a pile of melted goose flesh. It turns out to be somewhere in between — not great, but fun nonetheless. Read Full Review

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Art Imitates Life: Real-Life Character Creation

Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Entertainment, Novel, Writing on October 16, 2015

From the scrawny hacker with an inferiority complex to the thick-headed jock with an impotence problem, the single mother of quadruplets who desperately needs a spa day to the neighbor who smiles on the outside but cries on the inside, characters are the spine of any good novel. You can have the greatest, most original plot ever, but without well-drawn characters to keep readers interested in what’s going on, no one will ever know about the stunning twist because they’ll have walked away from the novel way before they get to it. And no writer wants that. But how do you write compelling characters that aren’t a boring, cliche-riddled, over-the-top mess that leave your reader turning the next page in fear of their eyeballs falling out of their sockets from too much eye-rolling? Learn How To Create A Character

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Movie Mayhem – The Walk

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 11, 2015

Whether or not you’ve read Philippe Petit’s book, “To Reach the Clouds” (for which The Walk is based), or seen the 2008 documentary Man On Wire, which takes an in-depth look into Philippe Petit the man, as well as the amazing tightrope act that occurred on August 6, 1974, you basically know how The Walk will play out. However, even though that fateful walk is an awe-inspiring moment, one you wish you could have witnessed when it actually happened, it’s not the end of the film that matters; it’s the journey, and Zemeckis does a terrific job formulating the high wire act that Petit must make to get to his point of infamy. Read Full Review

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A Little Story About Me

Posted by Bryan Caron in Books, Commentary, Entertainment, Novel, Personal, Writing on October 8, 2015

It’s been a little over two years since I started this blog, and with some of the changes I’ve been making recently to my social media activities, I thought this would be a good time to give my fans a little taste of who I am and what makes me tick as a writer. Learn About My Journey

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Move Mayhem – The Martian

Posted by Bryan Caron in Entertainment, Film, Movies, Reviews on October 4, 2015

Over the years, there have been several “man trapped by himself” stories (not sure why it always has to be a man, but…), which include Tom Hanks being isolated on a deserted island in Cast Away, Sam Rockwell marooned on the moon in Moon, and both Robert Redford and Suraj Sharma fighting nature in All Is Lost and Life of Pi, respectively. What all of these movies have in common — besides the obvious — is the overwhelming commentary on the human condition and what it takes to survive, both mentally and physically, when you know your isolated with no chance of rescue. The power of these films comes from the strength of the main characters to overcome the deep wells of their own consciousness and rise above their conflicts in order to find triumph in their pursuit to get back home. Without a strong core, there would be nothing to grab hold of and connect to within the harrowing experiences no sane person would ever want to have to face. Ridley Scott attempts to invoke that same feeling in his new film, The Martian, but although the film as a whole is inspiring and captivating, the turmoil and struggles the main character must face aren’t digested enough to explore the deep sense of loneliness and madness that is tantamount for this type of film. Read Full Review

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