Beware the Ides of March Party 2023 on Undawnted's A Novelist Idea Newsletter

Have you ever wondered where the phrase: Beware the Ides of March, originated? Who was Julius Caesar? Why did Shakespeare write a play about his life? 

The answers are a click away! 

Join A Novelist Idea Newsletter and learn about Julius Caesar, just one of the many perks to joining Undawnted's growing community of creators. Not only do you learn how this man and his contemporaries changed history, but how this history has affected literature. 

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Movie Review: Submergence is a Modern Retelling of Romeo and Juliet with an Equally Modern Message

Granted, there are no feuding families over the characters Danny Flinders and James More, but the star-crossed lovers are still archetypes of this romance-tragedy genre. 

Contrary to popular belief, the genre was not begun by William Shakespeare. These stories persisted over centuries before he wrote his play and culminated in tales such as the Tragical History of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke (1562) as well as Palace of Pleasure by William Painter (1567). Decades later, Shakespeare restructured these narratives into his famous poetic play. 

*****

Submergence

In a room with no windows on the eastern coast of Africa, a Scotsman, James More, is held captive by jihadist fighters. Thousands of miles away in the Greenland Sea, Danielle Flinders prepares to dive in a submersible to the ocean floor. In their confines they are drawn back to the Christmas of the previous year, where a chance encounter on a beach in France led to an intense and enduring romance. 

IMDB

 *****Spoiler Time***** 

The Breakdown

Submergence is about a man and woman who meet on vacation in France. Both waiting to go on their own professional adventures. Both unknowing of the consequence to ensue.

James More, played by James McAvoy, is a British intelligence operative. He has discovered a link between Kismayo, Somalia and an operational bomb unit in Europe. He makes the decision to return to the area under his water engineer alias. As soon as he arrives, he is taken hostage and tortured as a CIA/MI6 spy. Later, as the movie progresses, James More discovers that a couple of militant leaders of jihadists have taken command and control of the operation. In order to save his love and homeland, James activates a location device hidden in a tooth (bridge). An American strike team is sent to eliminate the threat. James dies at the scene. 

Danielle "Danny" Flinders is a bio-mathmetician, played by Alicia Vikander, who gathers samples from the Hadal layer of the mantel near the bottom of the ocean. She has trained to ride in a submersible for a chance of a lifetime: go to the depths for herself. She knows the risks yet is spurred on by the fact that her hypothesis of life being from the scum of the ocean floor has merit and must be taken seriously. However, the submersible has mechanical and technical issues, leaving the crew and herself stranded. With only five days of oxygen for them to breathe, the hope of a rescue is shattered as Danny is in the only one found in Europe. She dies of suffocation.

*****

The Review

James More: "Death. It gets very real when you're watching somebody die in front of you. You're thinking, is this all I am? Is this all I added up to? And all the clichés are true. You're thinking, why now? Why did it have to be... this happen, before I realize what life truly is? It's direct, it's immediate, and it's their whole life exposed to you."

This movie allows the characters in their most vulnerable and desperate hours to console themselves with the love the two of them shared and continue to lament. The story is a cautionary tale to those people who watch and understand the message: life is too short; take love when you can get it and never let it go. 

James More and Danny Flinders allowed their compulsion to work at any cost to cost them their enduring love to one another and also their lives. 

Was their sacrifices worth it in the end? 

Is this not a modern conundrum? Work to get ahead but to do so is to miss out on living a good life? 

There are some good points the characters make while falling in love with each other. What is death? Is this life of what we become the only thing we have amounted to? What is the life you want to live? Then why aren't you living your best life? 

To sacrifice yourself in the name of service or profession, is that not a disservice to humanity? To yourself? What is too much to ask of someone?

This film has been rated: 5.4/10 Stars on IMDB. 

The one consolation that the audience is given is after James More's death in the ocean, Danny Flinders is there to greet him on the other side. Star-crossed, yes, these two characters are, but James and Danny are afforded an ending Romeo and Juliet never received: an eternity in love with one another. 

What could any hopeless romantic ask for?  

Watched free on IMDB.

*****

The Tally 

My review will be posted on Prime as well as IMDB. 

Prime... 4 out of 5 stars

IMDB... 8 out of 10 stars

Submergence gives us many questions to ponder about the balance in our lives and the worth we place on every waking hour. Is love or work more important? Maybe we should ask ourselves these types of questions. 

If we want a better world, then isn't it up to every single individual to live a better life that creates a better outcome than violence, hate, and criminality? 

The hero's journey... be on it. 

Let love guide your path. 

*****

The Writer's Workshop

Movies for Writers: Submergence the classic retelling of the Greek myth of a mortal man falling in love with a sea goddess. 

*****

For more Movie Reviews, check out Undawnted's Critiques and Reviews page as well as her IMDB and Amazon Prime profiles. 

Have a great and wonderful day.

Macbeth: Writing is About Inner Reflection and Exploration

The authentic soul of a writer cannot be defined by psychology or sociology. 

Writers who delve into the mysteries of the ages, read the depths of knowledge, and wallow in the forgotten landscape of ancient words are the writers of conscious. These individuals make up the heart of the writing community. Fads come and go but the true writer remains. 

Often sidelined for not being in the in-crowd, authentic spirits continue in their journey to enlightenment. Restless, these writers write what others scoff at: chivalry, morality, and fortitude. 

What do you write? 

In our quest to understand human nature, do we remember our own? Or, do we succumb to the voices without and ignore the voices within? 

Writing Exercise

How is Macbeth a victim of his own choices? to the external voices? 

How can writers learn from this Shakespearean tale? Are we in danger during these current turmoils to succumb to the hysterical cries of the mob? 

Write an essay using examples on how Macbeth is the symbol for the modern protester. Compare and contrast the idea. 

Is modern culture that different from the stories told hundreds of years ago? Have we changed for the better or the worse? 

For clues, ask Macbeth!

Have a great and wonderful day. 

 

_____

*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.

A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms. Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet. This year, DL Mullan has begun sharing her knowledge via A Novelist Idea Newsletter. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe to her newsletter on Substack.

Her innovative style teaches writers how to reach their creative potential, and write more effectively.

Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted. 

Fearless Workshop: The Scottish Play

Ready for some Shakespeare?

Macbeth - Part 1

 

Macbeth - Part 2

_____

*Update: all workshops and special engagements have now been concluded, and new projects are now under Undawnted's Substack.

A writer at heart, Undawnted's own creative spark, DL Mullan, began writing short stories and poetry before adolescence. Over the years, Ms. Mullan has showcased her literary talents by self-publishing several collections of her poetry. She also writes novels, designs apparel, and creates digital art. Ms. Mullan‘s creative writing is available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. As an independent publisher, she produces her own book cover designs as well as maintains her own websites. She is an award-winning digital artist and poet. This year, DL Mullan has begun sharing her knowledge via A Novelist Idea Newsletter. If you too want to become a Fearless Phile, then subscribe to her newsletter on Substack.

Her innovative style teaches writers how to reach their creative potential, and write more effectively.

Learn. Grow. Master… with Undawnted.

Storytelling: What is Love? Can We Read Our Way to Fulfillment or Should We Demand a Refund?

As a writer, I am faced with making life choices for my characters and how love affects their lives. 

Do they have Eros, or erotic love? A fancy, an admiration? Or is their love quest something deeper? Perhaps even unrequited? 

How a writer views love in their own reality often reflects how characters in their imagination view the concept. Have you been thwarted by love? Been love sick? Maybe even a hopeless romantic? 

Eroticism can be written and sold like an old hooker in the night. No one sees. No one cares. The reader just needs a fix like an addict. Sex, please. Served in fifty shades of something.

RomComs are always fun to watch on the screen. For some reason, we [the audience] do not get tired of the retelling of Shakescpeare's Taming of the Shrew. 

Then there is the unrequited variety. We see someone from across the room we would like to hold and cherish but never do. We sit in our own delusion while life passes us by. That can be so dissatisfying to the audience. 

The next category is my favorite one besides the Taming of the Shrew, and that is the hopeless romantic. I agree with Jane Austen's assessment that every girl should marry up. I qualify that statement with a handsome, generous soul with means and connections. If a girl is going up in the world, she might as well go all the way. Shouldn't we say? 

No matter the love genre, a writer needs to write the characters as people and not as literary devices just for a boring sex scene. We want the meat and potatoes! The audience expects a well rounded couple for a good old fashioned romp! Ups and downs, heartache and pain, finally the reward for the faith and fidelity of their hearts. 

Unless of course you just want to stare at him or her from across the room for the rest of your life?

If you want to experience the beginning of a budding romance, then check out my first book in the vampire series, Nocturnal Redemption: In the Eye of the Beholder. 

Ryan Blackburn is a mythology professor. She has studied and built her life around her family legend: the protectors of humanity from the creatures that walk the night. One slight catch: she actually meets a pack of werewolves and a lone vampire on his nightly rounds. Her legends weren't so mythical after all.

In the coming days and weeks, Ryan is lured into the vampire's world called: The Lair. A slow but strong bond is formed between the vampire captain, Jeremy, and Ryan. Just as the politics that brought them together could easily tear them apart. 

Will Jeremy and Ryan choose each other? Or, will they go their separate ways? 

So when you write about love in your stories... what color of love are you? Black and white? Gray? 

We have to remember when we write about the heart, that we must write that the love story is the heart of the matter. And what matters is how the readers see us reflected in our respect for the affairs of the heart. I want to mirror the hopeless romantic in all of us. Love is a gift. When two people find love then we should nurture their inquisitiveness. No one is ever satisfied with a love that is unrequited. 

We as writers have to be the love Santa for a love starved populace. We have to write that great love story to keep our love Santa from getting stuck in the chimney of life. What did you expect? Cupid wasn't helping this along anyway...

Speaking of which, Valentine's Day is only 46 more days away!

Have a great and wonderful day.

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Nocturnal Redemption: In the Eye of the Beholder's Additional Marketing Images Released

New images for the released novel, Nocturnal Redemption: In the Eye of the Beholder are available, including the full book wrap, a website banner, and cover piece.  

 Have a great and wonderful day!

A Brief Discourse in Myths and Legends of Writing and Resources

"All the stories have been told!"

~the oldest known suicide note from a writer

I learned a small stone tablet lamented words similar to the above quote was found by archeologists when I studied literature at the college level. Was the instructor joking? Who knows? But the story still holds water, just read what scholars have discovered about Shakespeare.

According to a New York Times article, Plagiarism Software Unveils a New Source for 11 of Shakespeare’s Plays, Shakespeare used an earlier source study for helping to mold his characters and plays:

The findings were made by Dennis McCarthy and June Schlueter, who describe them in a book to be published next week by the academic press D. S. Brewer and the British Library. The authors are not suggesting that Shakespeare plagiarized but rather that he read and was inspired by a manuscript titled “A Brief Discourse of Rebellion and Rebels,” written in the late 1500s by George North, a minor figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth, who served as an ambassador to Sweden. 

For any new writer, this information may seem like a blessing and a curse. 

Have all the stories already been told? 

What writers can learn from historical data, sources, and books is that story inspiration can manifest from the unlikeliest of places. Research into the past is not for naught and should be encouraged. 

My fiction and poetry writings here on Undawnted are inspired by a combination of Shakespearean dramas and comedies, Joseph Campbell's comparative mythology and the hero's journey, and Jane Austen's tenets of good matchmaking as well as her realism perspective in her social commentary. 

Just like Shakespeare, modern writers can be influenced and inspired by earlier works of fiction and nonfiction alike. A seasoned writer knows how to balance the past with the present to make the most of the future. Writing should entertain and inspire others in turn.

What book or author has inspired you? 

Have a great and wonderful day!

Beware the Ides of March

Caesar:
Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue shriller than all the music
Cry "Caesar!" Speak, Caesar is turn'd to hear.

Soothsayer:
Beware the ides of March.
Caesar:
What man is that?
Brutus:
A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.
Julius Caesar Act 1, scene 2, 15–19

Source: Shakespeare Quotes 

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Hummingbird Graduation Day

It's Graduation Day at the my house.

Baby hummingbirds are taking their first flights this morning... awww! 

I did take some pictures this weekend of the babies because they were getting too big for their nest. I knew their time to investigate the wider world was not far away. Today was that day.

So I went out and all the babies were gone from their nest. As I stood around the gazebo, the last of the babies buzzed up to me. She wanted to show me she got her wings. I put my hand up for her to land and she decided to go another direction... which she smacked into my six foot fence wall. 

She bounced a few more times until she hit the ground. Irene, my outdoor cat, pounced on that stroke of good luck and proceeded to get the baby in her mouth... but Irene listens to me. I kept repeating NO! until my cat released the baby bird. It must have been quite the mental struggle for Irene to let go of such a tasty treat, but she did.

Even Ivanka, my indoor calico who gets a free pass to the outdoors a few times a week, wanted to capture the baby hummingbird. It was such a scene of me yelling and running around to save that baby bird from two feisty felines. In the end, I was victorious.

I gathered that little bird into my hand and made sure she wasn't bleeding anywhere. Then I moved my wrought iron loveseat so I could bring down the planter with the nest in it to my level. I placed the baby back in the nest and hung the planter back up so mother hummingbird could take a look for herself... 

Boy, was she concerned. I think more that I touched her baby then about the cats. Anyway, the baby is good, being refueled by mom, and encouraged to take another flight. I am staying inside as to not create another incident. The baby's wings got tired too easily when confronted with a challenge.

I'll just watch from my glass security door... but those first few seconds of "look human what I can do!" was priceless and to make me apart of their Graduation Day was sweet of them.

See what happens when you help out your fellow creatures? You get rewarded in ways that are too emotional for words. I hope tomorrow is a better day for the baby hummingbirds and that they spend a few more nights in their nest. 

Sometimes saying good-bye is such sweet sorrow.