Reason #4: Calvin and Hobbes

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 35 Comments
Bill Watterson commented on this strip in THE CALVIN AND HOBBES TENTH ANNIVERSARY BOOK: “People will pay for what they want, but not for what they need.”

Calvin and Hobbes is one of the funniest and most intelligent creations on the planet. Honestly. Bill Watterson is a genius.

Whenever I’m feeling unhappy or upset, I can always count on Calvin’s witty comments to cheer me up. Sometimes I feel as if I know Calvin as a person… although I suppose if I did, he might drive me crazy!

You know, it must take real skill to be a cartoonist. I mean, a good cartoonist. All you get is a few panels to tell a story. To draw some people and speech bubbles. But to create these characters – Calvin and Hobbes – that have their own personalities, that are so lifelike yet so comical, that are witty yet not annoying… that just blows my mind. I can flip to any random strip and I’ll love it.

It just amazes me. I must admit, when I was younger, I did try to draw my own comic strips. I thought they were hilarious at the time… but looking back, I’m a little embarrassed by them. 😛

I guess cartoonists are just generally underestimated. Comic strips are works of art. Well… if they’re done correctly. I’ve flipped through the funny pages in newspapers now, and some of those comic strips are just horrible! They’re not funny at all, and the art is nothing to be proud of. It’s just a bunch of talking heads. But the artwork in Calvin and Hobbes is amazing. Especially the dinosaurs. And of course, Spaceman Spiff.

And another thing. About Bill Watterson. I am so thankful that he did not allow Calvin and Hobbes to become commercialized. You can read about that here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes#Merchandising

Basically, Bill Watterson refused to commercialize Calvin and Hobbes because he felt that it should stand on its own as an art form, and any commercialization or merchandising would take away from the beauty. So there’s pretty much no legal Calvin and Hobbes merchandise.

The reason I am so glad Bill Watterson protected Calvin and Hobbes against commercialization is that he was right: it takes away from the beauty.

The best example I can think of is Harry Potter. I love the Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowling is a fantastic writer. But looking at how ridiculously commercialized Harry Potter has become, it’s hard to believe anyone cares about her writing style anymore. Does anyone care about how well-written Harry Potter is? How cleverly, skillfully, and fluently written it is? Or do people get all crazy and hyped up just because it’s Harry Potter?

I don’t know. I guess at the same time, you have to ask yourself: If you were J.K. Rowling and had the potential to make millions off of this stuff, wouldn’t you agree to commercialize Harry Potter? It’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’d be pretty cool to watch the whole world go crazy because of your idea. To be perfectly honest, I might choose to do it too. But… I mean… this is a bit much:

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

At any rate, this post is getting a bit long, so I’d better wrap it up. If you’re not already familiar with Calvin and Hobbes, then I suggest you head on over to the nearest library or bookstore and go straight to the comic section… or graphic art section… or whatever section it is in which Calvin and Hobbes resides.

Trust me, you won’t regret it.

URL for the comic: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1992/07/31

Dialogue

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 7 Comments

One of the most important parts of writing is making sure you have true-to-life dialogue that actually fits your characters. Unless your main character is a smartypants who loves using big words all the time, don’t have him/her speak like this:

“The means by which I concluded that something was out of the ordinary was the fact that my mother was wearing a red silk sequined blouse instead of her usual loose t-shirt.”

Awkward, huh? Even if your character does like using big words or has a know-it-all way of expressing himself/herself, it’s probably best not to overdo it. Your readers may get sick of reading pages of that gibberish. Or they may get sick of your character altogether.

But writing good dialogue doesn’t always mean writing simple sentences. It just means writing the way your characters would speak. In Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl is a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind. The way he speaks is much different from the way an ordinary twelve-year-old speaks.

When I’m writing dialogue, I like to picture myself as the character I’m writing about. I put myself in his/her mind. It also helps a lot to read aloud what I’ve already written. I speak with the same tone and inflection as I imagine my character would. If anything sounds unnatural, I know I have to change it.

If the dialogue in your story isn’t believable, it creates a distance between the characters and the readers. It’s harder for the readers to care about your main character because they can’t really identify with him/her.

Another great way of knowing whether your dialogue fits your characters is to get feedback. Don’t defend your work – just let the people reading it tell you whether it is believable or not.

Good dialogue shapes who your characters are just as much as descriptions of your characters do. Whether a character speaks in short, choppy sentences or long, wordy ones makes a difference. In Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery, Anne loves to talk. She loves using big words and imagining things, so her sentences tend to be long ones.

Basically, it all comes down to this: True-to-life dialogue is not just important, it’s necessary if you want to tell a good story. It makes your writing stronger, and it shows us who your characters really are.

Book Review: All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 8 Comments

First off, let’s pretend that it has only been two days since my last post. All right. Now that that has been established, let’s continue.

So I read this book a while back, and it really made me think. About life.

The book is a collection of short essays by Robert Fulghum, and he basically sends the message that all we really need to know we already learned in kindergarten (surprise!). But in all seriousness, it’s kind of true. We learned to play nicely, share our things, clean up our messes, etc.

And even though I don’t agree with every single thing he writes, I do agree with most of it.

Honestly, if more people could remember the things they learned in kindergarten, the world would be a better place. If politicians could learn to play nicely, if presidents could learn to clean up their messes, if people in general would just say “please” and “thank  you” – what a world of difference it would make.

Aside from the content, I just loved Fulghum’s writing style. I felt as though he was right there, talking to me. I think that’s what made it so enjoyable to read.

One of my favorite essays that he wrote was about crayons. Crayola crayons, in particular. All the different color names – seriously, razzle dazzle rose? – and whatnot. There’s just a certain pleasure that comes from scribbling with crayons. And Robert Fulghum captured it perfectly.

During finals week, I spent much of my time coloring with crayons. I just brought my crayons to school, and my friends and I had a fine time coloring. There’s just this joy, this childlike satisfaction, this relaxing feeling that comes with a box of crayons. It’s included in the package. Free.

I could do a whole blog post just about crayons. Maybe another day. But for now, I just want to say that All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is a beautiful book. One of the nicest I’ve ever read. Like the cover says – uncommon thoughts on common things. And you know what? It made me realize that I don’t have to be some amazing person who travels the world and learns anything and everything there is to know. I can learn things and make my own discoveries by doing the most mundane of tasks if I want to. (Although, I do love traveling.)

One last thing. About crayons. In case you were wondering (which I’m sure you were :)), Wikipedia has a list of all Crayola crayon colors under the sun:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Crayola_crayon_colors 

Look at the “magic scent” ones too. I mean, really, can you believe there are crayons that smell like leather jackets?

The Ocean

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 4 Comments

I’ve been meaning to share this for a long time now, ever since I stood on the shore in Florida and watched the ocean.

That was in December.

And now, it’s April.

But it doesn’t matter. Because even now, I can close my eyes, and I can still hear the waves rolling, and I can still smell the salty sea air. It’s dark, and I’m a part of it. A part of the ocean. It rises and falls in my heart.

The ocean is big. Really big. I know that sounds painfully obvious, but it didn’t strike me until I stood on the shore and watched it for a while. It’s just so vast and endless… especially at night. You know something? When the ocean is all you can see for miles and miles, and it’s dark and ominous instead of a happy tropical blue, it’s a pretty scary place. All you can hear is the splash of the rolling waves, and it’s hard to tell what’s water and what’s sky… kind of makes you realize how insignificant your GPA really is.

One of the most relevant moments I had when I went to Florida was just watching the ocean. Seriously. Yeah, it was calming, but that’s not all. I felt small and unimportant when I stood on the shore… but I also felt free. Any worries that might have clouded my mind were gone. The smell, the sound, the sight… I felt more human, more alive than I had ever felt before. And yet… still different. Still me.

I don’t know… maybe this doesn’t even make sense. Maybe I’m just rambling on about something crazy, and maybe you don’t think the same way as I do.

But it doesn’t matter. Because either way, I know what I felt when I stood on that shore, and I know what I heard, and I know what I saw and what the air smelled like. And I know that I’ll never forget it.

That’s what matters.

Edit: The ocean photo is from Key West. Southernmost point of the United States.

Each Word Carefully Chosen

~ Sarrah Hakim ~ 4 Comments

I read this poem once, and I wish I could remember what it was called, or at least who wrote it. I can’t even remember how it went exactly. But the reason I bring it up is that one thing stood out, and that one thing is something I’ll never forget, something that I’ll keep in mind for the rest of my life. Whether I’m giving a speech, talking to my friend, or writing an email. It doesn’t matter. That poem had a beautiful way of saying it, and it was something to the extent of this:

 Every word that comes out of your mouth is like an arrow shot through the air. You don’t know where it will land, and it could easily pierce someone’s heart.

Sometimes we say things too quickly, without bothering to think about how someone will feel. You could carelessly toss a word away, thinking nothing of it, but to someone else it might mean a great deal. Maybe you say something, thinking it’s a joke, but your friend doesn’t feel that way at all.

I’m not saying that you have to think carefully about every single word that comes out of your mouth. But just be aware that what you say might affect someone, even if you don’t think much of it.

I was taught in elementary school – and I’m sure you’ve heard it at some point in your life – the golden rule. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

But here’s the thing: what might not affect you might affect someone else. Maybe you wouldn’t mind if someone made a joke about the way you look or speak or act, but maybe someone else would mind. But… how the heck are you supposed to know what the other person is thinking? You can’t read minds. How do you know if what you say will make someone feel bad or not?

Obviously no one is perfect. No one expects you to be. But as you talk to people, as you talk to your friends… you notice what people’s personalities are like. Especially among people you know really well or are close to – you know if someone is more sensitive than you are, you know if someone will be able to handle the joke or not. And if you’re not sure… then maybe it’s best not to say it.

Choose your words carefully… try to anticipate where the arrow will land.

But you know something? It’s true the other way around, too. Maybe you say “hello” to someone, just to be polite, but to that person, it means a lot more than just “hello.” I know for a fact that my friends have done seemingly small favors for me, but those favors have meant a lot to me.

A birthday gift, a letter, a small handwritten note… they all mean a lot. A kind word from someone can mean a lot too.

I think you have a choice with your words: either you can shoot arrows, or you can bestow unexpected gifts. It’s up to you.