Oh how I need the internet

 

Well here I am again at the library (thank goodness for their 1 hour of free internet/day access) to write a quick post.

My internet decided to take a hike on Tuesday morning after having worked properly for a while and then…poof…nothing.  I can’t stand it!

With a limited sixty minutes of online time for an entire day, I again realize how much I rely on this marvelous communication tool for my writing.  I could spend an hour a day just doing research, another hour reading ezines and blogs related to writing, another hour sending emails and checking listserves and at least another hour writing.

Okay, so I can do the writing part without being connected to the world wide web.  But I feel like someone has taken away my security blanket or something. 

I need my internet back!

So tomorrow my DSL provider is supposed to come over and figure out my problem and fix it.  I hope it isn’t anything too serious and that I’ll be up and running by tomorrow afternoon.

I’d love to hear how any writers out there cope when they go offline. 

Is the internet as important to your writing existence as it is to mine?

Turning books into movies

 

Just wondering what all you writers out there think about movie adaptations of books?

More often than not I’ve heard the complaints after the movie ends about how the book was “so much better” or how the movie “didn’t do justice” to the book.  I must admit, I have found that disappointment myself, particularly with some of the Harry Potter movies as well as some mad-for-TV movies from several of Mary Higgins Clark’s suspense novels.

As an avid reader, I definitely visualize what I read in books and create my own versions of the characters and settings.  But that doesn’t distract me from what film makers do in the movies.  What I find the most disconcerting is how much of the books often get left out. 

I wonder, if I only saw the movies, and didn’t read the books first, if I would still feel confused, as if important pieces were missing?

Whenever I write, particularly novels, I have such vivid pictures of my characters – where they live, what they wear, how they sound, that I imagine I would have some difficulty with a movie version, particularly if I wasn’t given some creative input.

Yet, I think it must be a real kick for an author to see their stories unfold on the big screen, complete with all the magic of Hollywood. 

Having your book made into a movie does open up a whole other audience for your stories.  Many people will not have read the book, yet want to see the movie.  Many who have read the book will also want to see the movie.

If like me you’re an avid reader, then books, with their beautiful language and distinct voices, can never be replaced by the movies.  You will always choose to transport yourself to other worlds through the prose of your favorite authors.

But…despite the fact that not all movies do justice to the books on which they are based, I still think I would like to see one of mine on the big screen one day.

How about you?