Dann & Raymond's Movie Club 2008 By Morgan Mandel

Dann Gire, film critic for the Daily Herald in blue, Raymond Benson, former James Bond novelist, in brown, hosts of In The Library, No One Can Hear You Scream.

Silent screams, scary monsters, familiar and unfamiliar screen images...what a great way to spend a Thursday evening at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.

Along with short film clips of horror films, Film Critic, Dann Gire, and Mystery/Thriller Author, Raymond Benson, filled the audience in on little known facts about Universal Studios, talented cinematographer, Karl Freund, and ever-popular actors, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and others.

Lights and shadows, musical scores, and monster makeup application were some of the topics discussed, along with types of monsters, such as werewolves, vampires, things with no names, and ghosts.

With so much information to impart, the deadly duo had only enough time to cover the '30s. On the third Thursday of October, at 7:30 pm they'll return to go through the '40s to the present day.

Also on their agenda is a political movie evening the third Thursday of November and a Holiday movie theme in the same time slot for December.

Anyone in the Arlington Heights area, come on over to the library at 500 North Dunton Avenue, Arlington Heights, Illinois, and join the fun. These two hosts are not only entertaining, but also quite knowledgeable.

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com

BREAKING NEWS!! CUBS WIN!!! CAN YOU SAY SUBWAY SERIES??

Cubs are Division Champs!! As of this very minute, the White Sox are 7 games out.

Subway Series anyone?

If so, we may have a Chicago Civil War on our hands. (G)

What does this have to do with writing?

I don't know. Just thought I'd throw it in.

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com

Overpacking by Morgan Mandel

We've got one more trip left to visit our cottage in Wisconsin next weekend. Before we owned one, I thought if we had our own place I wouldn't need to pack as much.

Wrong. I pack even more. Not only that, I overpack. Then I get to the cottage and have to unpack. Since it's not a large place, finding room for everything presents a challenge.

The same thing can happen with manuscripts. It's easy to make an exception here and there. Pretty soon the manuscript is loaded down with adjectives, adverbs and those little no-no words, like just, that, so.

There's little room for them. Remember to get the majority of them them out before you send your manuscript off on a trip to an editor.

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com
http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com

It's the little things by Morgan Mandel

Little things mean a lot. They can make the difference between a good and bad day.
On the way to work this morning, one of my shoelaces was loose. Since I'd run out the door at the last minute and trains don't wait if you're late, I didn't have time to tie it. So, all the way to the station, I kept thinking of how loose my one shoe was.

Waiting at a restaurant to be seated. That's another thing that's irritating. If there's more than a fifteen or twenty minute wait, we usually leave.

Someone bumping into me on the street and not apologizing. Someone honking a horn too loud, even if not at me - another little thing.

A lot of these little things add up to a miserable day.

Same thing with a manuscript. Watch out for the little things. Make sure you put your commas in where you should. Check your spacing. Check for those little words like a, an, the. Did you forget to insert one? Use an easy to read font, one that the editor you submit to likes.

There are many other little things to watch out for in a manuscript. Try to catch them all or you'll get a rejection letter which means a lot.

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com

I'm A Twit. Are You? By Morgan Mandel

I confess. I'm a twit. There are lots of us.

We're the ones who pop in with 140 or less character messages, and pop out again.

Some of us cheat and leave more than one message in a row, sometimes about the same thing, sometimes not.

We like to follow people and be followed.

Some of us have fancy backgrounds, some of us are plain.

We often repeat what our friends say. We send replies and put funny @ marks in the post.

We use links and website urls, hoping someone will check them out.

We play favorites and put stars next to special messages.

We may seem clandestine, but we're not. Anyone can join us.

Just go to http://twitter.com and sign up.

Then you can tweet like the rest of us in twitland. Be careful, it's addictive.


Morgan Mandel
http://twitter.com/MorganMandel
PS Please follow me and I'll follow you.