Movie Quote Trivia ~ Sizzling Summer Edition ~ Answers

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out my Movie Quote Trivia on Monday. Here are the answers:

1) Easy

Hooper: "Well, uh, it doesn't make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island."

Brody: "It's only an island if you look at it from the water."

Hooper: "That makes a lot of sense."

Roy Scheider played Chief Martin Brody in 1975's Jaws. Richard Dreyfuss played oceanographer Matt Hooper. And Robert Shaw played fisherman Quint. Here's a bonus Quint quote:


Quint: "Here lies the body of Mary Lee; died at the age of a hundred and three. For fifteen years she kept her virginity; not a bad record for this vicinity." 

2) Medium


Frenchy: "Beauty-school sure wasn't as I thought it would be."

Vi: "Nothing ever is." 

Didi Conn played Frenchy in 1978's Grease. Oscar and Tony nominated actress Joan Blondell played waitress Vi.

 











 





 

3) Movie Buff


Ben Willis: "Happy Fourth of July!" 

Julie: [terrified] "Please... it was an accident!" 

Ben Willis: "I know all about "accidents", and let me give you some advice: When you leave a man for dead, make sure that he's REALLY dead." 

Muse Watson played slasher Ben Willis in 1997's I Know What You Did Last Summer. Jennifer Love Hewitt played Julie.



Thanks for playing along and have a great summer!

How to Build Suspense by Ginger Simpson #suspense #mystery #writing tips

I am particularly interested in this topic because one of my current WIPs is going to be a suspense story.  I tried my hand at writing one and although I thought I did a great job of surprising the reader with the villain, reviews suggest otherwise.  The last thing you want in suspense is predictability.  Maybe using some of Elizabeth Sim's tips  borrowed by WRITERS DIGEST and an article written on how to FUEL YOUR STORY WITH SUSPENSE:

1. Elizabeth Sims is an American writer, journalist, and contributing editor at Writer's Digest magazine.
3. Born: 1957, Wyandotte, MI
4. Education: Michigan State University, Wayne State University
5. Awards: Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Mystery

1.  Point a finger.  This can work to create and maintain suspense in any genre.  You can point to anything:  financial ruin, a broken heart, a lost opportunity....

2.  Pull a false alarm.

3.  Build a forgotten place.  (Example:  Edgar Allen Poe tricked an enemy into joining him in a wine cellar then bricked him up there.  Suspense rises in trying to figure out the reason.

4.  Plant a hazard, then wait.  An example Sims gives is a snake pit in True Grit.  It's introduced but not used until Mattie falls backwards into it.  Although from the moment of introduction, it's been lurking in the reader's mind.

5.  Make panic your friend.  Have your victim stumble and fall.  Built anticipation.

6.  Water a plant.  I see your confused stare.  *smile*  Growth of the character can be incredibly suspenseful.  Think about Rosemary's Baby, Carrie, The Bad Seed.  You water a plant and wait to see what it grows into.

7.  Withhold the right stuff.  According to Sims...withhold substance but give tantalizing information as in The Valley of Fear where Sir Arthur Conan Doyle keeps a character's identity secret from the other characters and readers thus giving everyone the opportunity to interpret clues.

8.  Banish someone....as in the Bible where God throws Satan out of Heaven...or if you wish to modernize...a troublesome kid gets sent to boarding school.  Let your imagination guide you.

9.  Rip it from the headlines.  Check your local news.

10. Fray an End.  Okay, I see that same blank stare.  Leave a cupboard door open because little odd things not quite in order create suspense, although subtle.

11.  Fake 'em out.  An example given...have the guard step out for a smoke.  Readers will suppose it's a great time for an escape.  Have the guard come back, think the same thing and race to where he finds the prisoner lounging peacefully.

12.  Stash Someone.  Harriet the Spy discovered how useful hiding is.  Watch and listen undetected.  Suspense conjures up questions such as:  What is you sneeze?  What is a dog comes along and detects the candy in your pocket?

13.  Seat a pigeon on a stool.  Guess what this means.

14.  Put a mask on it.  Use disguises or impersonation to build suspense.

15.  Amp the Unknown.  Stephen King is the master and has built a colossal career by using the unknown...example:  The Shining.

16.  Put a symbol to work.  Example:  A beautiful lake can represent the water of life, or symbolize something more unsettling.  For instance....it can transgress into something cold, hard and dangerous.

17.  Flip the Hourglass, then flip it again.  I see the puzzled look again.  :)  Example A Season in Purgatory by Dominick Dunne who skillfully works with time for max suspense.  From the start, the reader knows a murder occurred many years ago, and then transport the reader back in time to when the victim was alive.  How was the crime committed?  How was it hidden or exposed?  Then flash forward again to the conclusion.

18.  Double down on the Debt.  Huh?  Anyone knows when you do favors, people are in your debt and more easily persuadable.

19.  Isolate 'em.  How about a stuck elevator or a vehicle with a flat tire?

20.  Throw a Monkey wrench.  Make the reader work for the real culprit.

21.  Get your head into it.  Live and breath your writing.  If you do, you[ll have a greater chance of having your readers stick with you with bated breath.

Note from Ginger:  I'd like to take credit for all these tips, but it's evident these are from someone well-read and experienced.   The entire article is in the November/December 2014 issue, and it's great.

Movie Quote Trivia ~ Sizzling Summer Edition

Time for another game of Movie Quote Trivia. This one is in honor of Summer! I'll give you three quotes, ones I consider easy, medium, and Movie Buff! Can you name the movie and better yet, the character who said the lines? Try not to cheat!

1) Easy


"Well, uh, it doesn't make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island."

"It's only an island if you look at it from the water."

 "That makes a lot of sense."


2) Medium

"Beauty-school sure wasn't as I thought it would be."

"Nothing ever is."

3) Movie Buff


"Happy Fourth of July!"

"Please... it was an accident!"

"I know all about 'accidents', and let me give you some advice: When you leave a man for dead, make sure that he's REALLY dead."



Good luck! I'll post the answers Thursday. Thanks for playing along!

Sunday Snippets with Ginger Simpson #SundaySnips

I'm baaackkkk, and it's time for another sampling.  Today I'm offering six paragraphs from "Odessa" a western historical that hasn't gotten much press.

Odessa Clay struggled to lift the overturned wagon off her father.  Her muscles burned and splinters dug into her palms, but Papa’s ashen face and eyes squinting with pain inspired her determination. She bit her bottom lip and struggled to stay calm.

“God, please help me,” she muttered through clenched teeth, as she pushed, shoved, and lifted with every ounce of strength she had left. The veins in the backs of her hands bulged, but the wagon didn’t budge. At one hundred pounds and barely five feet tall, she proved no match for solid wood. Her chest heaved and each breath took effort. She brushed sweat-dampened hair from her brow and knelt. All her struggling had only succeeded in setting the left rear wheel into a slow spin and creating an eerie whirring in the silence.

“Hold on, Papa. I’ll find some way to help you.”   Her nails bit into her fisted palms.

 His pale features contorted, and fear clutched her heart. She rose and stared up and down the trail. Nothing stirred except the hot wind that whipped her long hair into tangles and sent a dust funnel swirling in the distance.

Turning her attention back to her father, she again attempted to lift the wagon’s cumbersome weight and failed. 

“Can anyone hear me,” she screamed, searching the trail again.

Cover by Dawne Dominique

Find Odessa on my Amazon page.  You can also find it at http://www.eternalpress.biz

Now...hop on over to my Sunday Snippet playmates and see what they're offering:

Tricia McGill

Vijaya Schartz

Connie Vines

Jamie Hill

Happy Independence Day

Independence Day as a kid meant fireworks at night and three or four long summer days spent firing off firecrackers, poppers, snakes, and other day works. When my kids were growing up we'd always make a trip to the fireworks stand and let them choose some $$fun$$ things to shoot off. I have to admit, once they lost interest in the fireworks, so did I. These days, if I happen to look out the window and see some fireworks I might watch for a few minutes, but I don't seek them out. 

Independence Day is also the name of a song written by Gretchen Peters and performed by Martina McBride. It's the story of a family living with domestic violence and in the end, the wife sets her house and husband on fire. As she's being hauled off by the police, and her daughter gets sent to foster care, she's apparently gained her freedom. All righty, then. Catchy tune, though.

Independence Day is the name of a pretty entertaining 1996 movie directed by Roland Emmerich. It starred Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, and Mary McDonnell. The plot revolved around aliens whose goal was to invade and destroy Earth. While it has a happy ending, a lot of the earth was destroyed before the aliens were driven out. I'm sensing a rather depressing theme here!

What's the real story behind 'Independence Day'? According to Wikipedia (so it must be true):

"Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July or July Fourth, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States."

That's a bit more like it. My family 'celebrates' the fourth by spending time together and relaxing, enjoying the summer and a day off work. I'm proud to be an American and grateful to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

We'll wrap this post up with a riddle. 

Do they have July 4th in other countries? 

Of course they do. Their calendars don't skip from the third to the fifth. :)  Happy Canada Day (yesterday) and Happy Independence Day on July 4th!