A guest! A guest!! The lovely and Talented Corey Campbell!!

Today's guest is Corey Campbell! Corey is a fabulous short story writer, and an unbelievably kind and patient Program Representative with the UCLA Extension Writers' Program.

As a student of the program, I often had the good fortune of chatting with Corey, not just about my courses, but also about writing and the writing life. It was during one of these chats that I cornered Corey into being my guest...and she agreed!! Lucky me.

Check out her terrific work here...

http://www.anderbo.com/anderbo1/afiction-032.html

http://www.newsoutherner.com/?p=2336

1.) What drew you to writing short stories? What is it about the form that you like, and what is it that you find the most challenging?

In college I ended up getting a degree in filmmaking, though 2/3 of the way through that program I realized that a) I was too shy to direct people on a film set and b) what interested me most was the story itself, not the rendering of it for the screen. After college I began taking my writing more seriously, taking workshops at the Writer’s Voice in NYC and then the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.

First starting out, I assumed I’d become a novelist, but short story workshops changed my mind. I loved entering a world for 15-20 pages, seeing some moment of emotional importance in a character’s life and moving on. I liked the freedom of it—that you could try anything in a short story, and if it didn’t work, no harm done, it’s easy enough to start another one. I think novel-writing would kill me, trying to orchestrate and sustain a plot over hundreds of pages. I don’t have the patience for it, or maybe I just haven’t found the right material yet. The challenge and joy of short stories is that they are such a distilled form, you really have to focus on the essential.

2.) Who are your influences? Are they other writers or do you get inspired by other forms of storytelling? For example, I myself am often inspired by the work of musicians, painters and modern dance. What about you?

Many, many writers are influences, or maybe I should say I like many, many writers—Flannery O’Connor, Susan Minot, Lorrie Moore, Junot Diaz, Antonya Nelson, Mary Gaitskill, Alice Munro, Raymond Carver. You can basically name all the greats. There’s so much to learn from reading their works—How do they approach a story? How do they distill it down to that essential element yet include enough texture and detail to give a sense of the characters’ entire lives?

And definitely I’m influenced by movies—David Lynch, Woody Allen, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”… I know I’m forgetting dozens of great ones. You get the sense of a great creative imagination behind these guys. Also, watching movies reminds you to write visually, to see the world you’re creating and write it in pictures. That’s been helpful—if I can’t visualize the location enough to move the characters through it, I’ve generally made a wrong turn.

3.) What kind of stories are you drawn to, and what is the single most important thing that you want your reader to come away with after having read one of your pieces?

I’m most drawn to stories that feel authentic and emotionally moving. You can think of short stories as a conduit for emotion. Maybe that sounds corny. (And that umbrella should include humor but not so much melodrama.)

I hope to think that readers see a strong sense of empathy and honesty in my stories. I generally don’t like when writers judge their characters or look down upon them rather than giving them room to be whoever (whomever?) they are. Even the sickest criminal has a human side and is worthy of narrative reflection.

4.) What does your writing ritual look like? And where do you like to write?
My writing ritual is in flux. I’m in a grad program, so lately I’ve been calibrating my writing ritual with the deadlines (which come up every three weeks). Typically, that means a few hours during the week after work and huge chunks of time on the weekends, especially right before a deadline. I definitely need to change this and would prefer to spend a couple of hours every day instead. (When I give myself 7 hours on a Sunday, for example, I tend to get the same amount of work done that I would in just two hours on a random Tuesday.) Lately I’ve been writing in my new-ish apartment in Koreatown. It’s on the 5th floor, so there’s a great view of the old 1920s buildings in the neighborhood. And my coffeemaker is nearby—very important for these never-ending sessions on deadline night.

5.) What are you working on now?
I just finished a 45-page essay about short story endings for my grad program. Hopefully, I’m finished working on it for good (advisors are reviewing it now, fingers crossed). Now I’m working on a short story I started a few years ago but couldn’t make work. I don’t want to go into the plot really, but there’s some suburban unrest and a possible element of magical realism, which I haven’t really used before. I hope I’m better equipped now to shape the story in the way it needs to be.

6.) What advice would you give to other writers?
Be kind to yourself. (In other words, beating yourself up over lack of discipline can be way counterproductive.) But at the same time, respect your writing enough to give it time and attention. It is and should be a priority. And when it’s really working, can be fun.

7.) Anything else that you would like to add...
Thanks for the interview!

What day is it?

We have dear friends in for a few weeks visiting, and as Monday was Presidents Day and a holiday, we took advantage of the fact that the phone wouldn't ring by going away for an overnight visit to wine country.

Monday we drove up to Solvang, (a 3 hour trip thanks to traffic) visited some gorgeous vineyards and then had dinner overnight in a cute little town called Los Olivos. The weather was perfect, the wine was delicious and the setting...gorgeous. Tuesday we visited a beautiful organic winery called Sunstone and then headed to Santa Barbara for lunch, a walk on the beach and the sunset...stunning. It really does help to remind myself that California, isn't Los Angeles, and that there is so much more to do and see outside of the city. I still can't really believe that I live here, surrounded by mountains and ocean and having friends see the sights with fresh eyes, really reminds me, just how amazing this place is.

Of course having friends stay with us, also means that my calendar is all off whack, and so is my blog, so apologies for that. I want to visit when people are good enough to make the long trip down here to see us, and I want to keep moving forward in my writing. This is easier said than done of course, but one thing that seems to really help me, is to keep my characters alive with me and when I go to sleep at night, try and dream what is going to happen to them next. Well, I am having some crazy dreams, not all about my novel, but about complicated stories with great plots and twists and turns, and I can only think that my subconscious is working out problems in my novel, doing test runs with these dreams. I hope. Now if I could only write in my sleep, that would be something!

Guests?

Who out there would like to be my guest? We can talk about what you do, we can talk about what you like, we can talk and talk and talk...and then I will transcribe it and share it with everyone! Come on, don't be shy....you know you want to! Let me know...

Last night our first houseguest of 4 this month, arrived. I had spent the day doing crazy, we-have-a guest-coming- things! These usually include small projects like cleaning the house,transforming my office daybed to guest bed, arranging flowers, doing laundry and grocery shopping, to larger ones like obsessing over the garden, trimming the trees, mulching, raking, washing front steps and windows. At about 4:30, I finally showered and then sat at my desk and did homework, critiqued a fellow writer friend's excellent pages and stewed about my own writing. By 10:00pm I was done and our friends plane was delayed. I wanted to stay up, so I made another homemade soup, hoping that the cleaning and chopping would help me stay awake, and it did. Finally, just before midnight our friend Frank arrived and it was just after 1:00am when we all got to sleep. Six and a half hours later, I am up and back at it. The house is quiet, the guys have gone golfing and I am ready to have a day tackling a huge scene in my novel. I want to work my butt off, so that I can play tonight. That's the thing about guests, their visits are like sweet rewards that make all the effort worth it!

A picture is worth....

All of us have had our pictures taken. Some of us love it, and some of us hate it. But I think, no matter how we feel about the way that we look in a photo, we are all glad for a physical record that was able to capture a time and place in our lives. As an actor I have had my picture taken many, many times, and no matter how often it happens, the process always makes me feel a little bit exposed, a little bit vulnerable, and a lot wary about seeing what the camera sees. Inevitably the questions...Do I really look like that? Is my face actually that long? When did those lines appear? always spring up. But I would never let my vanity or my insecurity trump the wonder and pleasure that I feel being able to look at a picture and think...oh I remember when...

My guest blogger today is the fabulously talented and generous Megan Edwards. Megan is an actor/writer/photographer and she has a great blog http://www.charleystar.typepad.com
and a gorgeous website at http://www.charleystarphoto.com

I pestered Megan with some questions...over the holidays, none the less...and she graciously responded, no doubt up to her eyeballs in proofs and assignments. Megan told me that she found these questions to be tougher to answer than they appeared, although you would never know this, based on her eloquent answers. Further proof that she is a great writer as well as a great artist. And she is beautiful too. But before you start to hold all this against her, read on and then lose yourself in her gorgeous pictures.
What got you into photography?

I first got into photography in high school, but then an interest in acting took over and I dropped it for a while. Eventually I started shooting again as a hobby and fell back in love. I worked as a graphic designer for many years while I was acting, and would sometimes photograph for my clients as part of my graphic design work, but mainly photography was something I did for myself. I was always working on an art project (I do text-based photographic imagery) or some photographic essay, but i never really considered becoming a professional photographer. It wasn't until my daughter was born and I started photographing her that lightning struck that I really got into photography in the sense that I am now. It was a natural progression to start photographing other babies and children. One thing led to another and soon I found myself shooting weddings and the occasional commercial job. All of it is great, and I feel blessed to have found a second calling beyond acting.


You have also worked as an actor and a writer...how is telling your story with photography different?

My years working as an actress certainly influences my photography and I think -- I hope -- I am a better photographer for it. In acting, I was always trying to get inside the character, and with photography, I am also trying to get inside the character, or really, inside the moment. I strive for those images that seem like I, the photographer, wasn't even there, like the image just magically appeared, from the inside-out, onto the paper or screen-- much like how in film the best directors are not heavy-handed, but know how to let the story -- not the director's cleverness -- take center stage. In acting, also, you are trained to embrace the full gamut of human emotion -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- and not to judge your characters. And so I find that I gravitate toward images that capture this emotion, and I don't judge them based upon the normal conventions of beauty. But of course, many clients have told me that vanity reigns :) and they have had to nix some of my "photographer selects" because in certain images where as I see a story or an archetype of The Human Condition, all they see is a funny expression on their face or too many wrinkles. Which I understand, I do -- when we look at images of ourselves we are incredibly self-conscious and it's hard to see the bigger context. But I do find myself encouraging clients to see beauty in a broader way, and to consider their images in a more artful way. And when I can capture an image that is both artistic and feels somehow... eternal and universal and personal AND makes them feel beautiful... then I have done my job well.

What is your favorite subject to photograph? And why?

Oh, kids, for sure! I just love their sense of joy, their lack of self-consciousness, their beauty... I just find them incredibly intriguing and have a deep respect for babies and children and this special time in their journey of life. I love discovering their uniqueness, and all the ways that this little tiny person can, even at such a young age, express such a wide range of emotions. And I love the happy-go-lucky bubbly kid-shot as much as the next person, but I also love images that convey the quiet mystery in a child's face.

Dream subject and dream location to photograph!

Oh man, this is a hard one. Well lately I have been dreaming of a photographing a magical, beautifully designed, winter wedding somewhere in the snow... and I have always wanted to shoot in Morrocco!

I constantly have about 2 or 3 images floating around in my head for some of the fine art projects I'm working on, but just haven't had the time to photograph them in between my family and wedding shoots to because they involve a bit of production, so I would love the time to create some of those images. I also want to start doing more editorial and commercial shoots, especially those involving children. I love the company Wovenplay (http://www.wovenplay.com) and would love to collaborate with them, or some other children's clothing company where I could conceptualize a whole story around the line.

Thanks Megan for taking the time to be on Sorell Says!! And Happy New Year to everyone!! May 2010 bring you much love, laughter, health and happiness!! xo

Full Disclosure: I slept with My Guest!!

It's true. I did. And I have been sleeping with today's guest for the last 15 or so years, it's allowed, he's my husband...fabulous guy and actor extraordinaire Jeff Clarke. Jeff has agreed, volunteered even, to be the first guest in this section. So...gloves off.

Gina waits in her office, after being told that her subject needs an additional 5 minutes. Coffee? Facebook? Fantasy Football? It could be any of these things that delays him.

Gina: Please come in my office. Sit on the daybed and chat. Is the coffee okay? Yes? Oh good. It should be, you made it. Not for me that is, I made my own. I was up earlier, but never mind. It's the Starbucks VIA you bought me, which is delicious, by the way, although boiling water first thing in the morning can be difficult for me.

Gina: Jeff you are an incredible actor and have been acting professionally for 20 years or so. Tell our readers, what makes you a better actor than me?

Jeff: (he laughs, nervously) I'm not distracted by being such a brilliant writer.

Gina: Good one. But seriously. You have a BFA in theater performance and a MFA in acting , do you believe in the importance of training, or were you just trying to avoid getting a real job?

Jeff: Both.

Gina: Alright, enough kidding around. You are somewhat of a commercial superstar, can you tell us, how you view commercial acting in comparison to film and tv acting?

Jeff: Commercial acting is the framing houses of the fine carpentry of acting.

Gina: Are you talking broad strokes vs detail?

Jeff: In some ways, yes. In Film and TV you are building a whole house. In commercials, you are building just one room. You get more script and time to tell the story in film and television, than you do in commercials.

Gina: I once heard you describe commercials as a snapshot of a moment? Is this what you mean? Could you talk more about that?

Jeff: The commercial industry spends an enormous amount of time, research and skill distilling the cultural needs of a particular product into several well crafted moments and it is the actors job to fully realize those moments.

Gina: Are you talking about distilling the message in 30 seconds or less?

Jeff: I'm just talking about living in the moment and not making mountains out of molehills.

Gina: That must be hard for you.

Jeff: You have no idea.

Gina: I'm teasing. You make it sound so easy. But it isn't, I know.

Jeff: I don't mean to make it sound easy, but it's just not complicated. The business is complicated, the process is complicated, it requires a lot of patience, a thick skin...but one that still needs to be porous. You still need to feel, to be an artist.

Gina: What was your most challenging role? And don't say being my husband!

Jeff: I was going to say being your husband. But lately, the role of John in the independent movie I just shot, "Dinner with Friends".

Gina: Why?

Jeff: On an emotional level the character was very complicated and selfish and deeply unhappy, and his awakening and working his way out of that was a very exciting process, but also involved doing things that I found terrifying, like...learning to play the guitar and sing in public.

Gina: That was terrifying for all of us! I kid, I kid. I actually never knew that you played guitar, what else are you hiding? More on that later.

Gina: What role do you wish you had been cast in? Any role.

Jeff: I have to say secretly...

Gina: It's not a secret anymore...

Jeff: The lead role in the tv show "Castle" would have been fun...

Gina: I thought you were going to say Omar from The Wire.

Jeff: I would have given my left nut, to do anything on that show. (pause) Just my left one.

Gina: Tell me your Dream project.

Jeff: It's an action/romantic comedy, starring me and Penelope Cruz. It shoots in Paris in the Spring...and there is at least one of the following; a chase scene, a 14 course French Dinner, and a long steamy shower scene.

Gina: Nice. I'll see what me and my writing partner Daniel Craig/James Bond can come up with, we'll be in our Central Park Penthouse office working ... A hem. Next question: If you hadn't been an actor, you would have been...

Jeff: A know it all social worker.

Gina: Egads! Thank goodness this worked out.

Gina: Finish this sentence... Acting and writing both...

Jeff: Fulfill the dream.

Gina: Anything I didn't ask that you would like to tell me?

Jeff: I really like your blog.

Change the sheets! Next guest arrives at noon!!

My dear friend Kim left yesterday after a truly wonderful visit. I have known Kim for eight years now, when she directed me in a show that was a really big deal for me. I had been doing lots of sketch comedy and working with Second City and Kim not knowing me had asked me to come in and read for a part in a play based on the recommendation of one of the cast members. She needed a fast talking Noir Dame, a genre I adore, and I needed a great gig! Much to my surprise, Kim gave me the role, and that summer I got to work with some unbelievably talented actors. Our play got rave reviews, the cover of a newspaper, a 2 page spread, was the 'Hit of the Fringe' and sold out every single show! Professionally, it exposed me to an audience that had never seen my work, personally, it was the start of some great friendships.

Now all these years later it is amazing to see just how much each of us has grown and accomplished and talk about where we want to be in the next eight years. Even though we are on different career paths, the dreams for our careers and ourselves are not that dissimilar...to keep being artists, to keep challenging ourselves, to thrive and prosper, and yes to have a pied a terre in NYC! The onus is now on Kim for that one, after all, she also loves the ocean... but I got that part covered!

Time to change the sheets! My mother in law arrives at noon...I hope I can get her green thumbs into our garden.