The Stages of Writing a Book

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Ladies and gentlemen, I am in the process of writing my third book. Three-quarter of the way to be more precise. Which puts me at number 7 on this list. Writing and publishing a book is amazing. The feeling when you have your published book in your hands is like no other. You did it. It is not easy however. It took me years to get my first book published. Mostly due to procrastination. My next one was finished and published within five months. Not bad for someone with acute morning sickness. My third has so far taken seven days to get three-quarters of the way through the first draft. Which is not bad. You can check out the first two here. I will get into how tedious and hard it is writing a book with my list of the stages below, but before we get to the list I will leave you with this amazing quote from Amy Poehler in her amazing book Yes, Please.

“Everyone lies about writing. They lie about how easy it is or how hard it was…No one tells the truth about writing a book…the truth is, writing a book is this: hard and boring and occasionally great but usually not. Even I have lied about writing. I have told people that writing this book has been like brushing away dirt from a fossil. What a load of shit. It has been like hacking away at a freezer with a screwdriver.”

The Stages of Writing a Book

Hopefulness.
Excitement.
Despair.
First quarter done. Glimmer of light.
Despair.
Epic melt down. Tell everyone you give up and would burn the book if it wasn’t on your computer.
Resignation, decide that since you started you should finish.
Wonder what breathing in fresh air is like.
Get into the flow of it, it might be okay after all.
Finish first draft. realise it is only the first draft. Cry.
Read first draft. It’s awful. Cry some more.
Despair.
Start editing. Ignore the boredom and the fact there are so many more fun things to do than this.
Realise that it’s not actually that bad.
Finish editing first draft.
Hope
Happiness
The possibility of it all being over soon
Get draft back from proof reader.
Despair
Try to ignore the amount of grammar and spelling mistakes you made.
Final edit, go through all suggestions and edit accordingly.
Finish book: go on week-long champagne binge.
Get cover back from designer. Has spelling error. Cry.
Get cover fixed.
Get book formatted for the different eBook and print versions.
Despair.
Finally see finished book: elation.
Publish book and it starts selling: happiness like no other. Feel huge sense of achievement.
Start writing next book.
Despair.

What do you think? Are you a writer? What do you think are the stages of writing a book?

Charlize Theron Negotiates $10 Million Pay Rise After Sony Hack Revealed Male Co-Star Was Paid More

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

The Sony Hacks revealed a lot of unpleasant things, and one of them was the unequal pay between men and women, even in Hollywood. One, amazing, ballsy, actress was having none of this however. Charlize Theron negotiated a $10 million pay rise after reading that male co-star Chris Hemsworth was to be paid millions more for The Huntsman. She will now be paid the same as her male co-star. What an inspiration. We need more honesty about pay so more women can get paid what they are worth, and certainly as much as men. The pay gap between men and women is still significantly unequal.

The hacked emails from Sony showed vast pay gaps between male and female stars. In American Hustle all of the male stars, and the male director, got 9 per cent of back-end profits. The two female stars, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence only got 7 per cent. This is despite the fact that Jennifer Lawrence was an Oscar-winning actress and that Amy Adams had been nominated four times.

At Sony things were not any better. Out of 6,000 employees, only one of the seventeen who made over $1 million or more was a woman. Even worse, while Michael De Luca and Hannah Minghella share a job as co-presidents of production at Columbia Pictures, De Luca makes almost $1 million more than Minghella.

In the UK the pay disparity between men and women is so great that women effectively work from November 4th until the end of the year for free. There are a number of social and feminist movements trying to make a difference. We must join them and do what we can. Find out how much men doing the same job are being paid and negotiate a better deal.

Boombox iMusic Pillow | Cool Things

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Frostie

We think this Boombox iMusic Pillow is one of the coolest things ever and a must for music fans. It is a pillow AND a speaker.

The standard sized pillow incorporates the most melodious secret: 2 hidden speakers and an amp through which you can blast music, radio and podcasts!

Simply connect your device to your pillow via the 3.5mm audio cable and turn up that tune! Available now from www.prezzybox.com for only £27.99 (Jan Sales) or £29.95 usually.

d.oh Hole in my Sock | Music News

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Frostie

Band/Artist: d.oh
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Styles: Electronic, Indie
Similar to/RIYL: James Blake, The Weeknd, BANKS, Made In Heights, Chet Faker
CD: Hole In My Sock
Release date: January 15, 2015
Accolades: Performed on Canadian Pavilion at Shanghai World Expo 2010, Toured Cuba

Members/Instruments: Daniel Oh – everything
Production: Daniel Oh

Tracklisting:
Run With Me (feat. Adam Noble-Marks)
Alien Rooster
A carver’s love song
Tear Fall
Mountains of Glory
Only to Kill

Bio:
d.oh is a musical project that was created in 2012 while Daniel Oh was experimenting with music in his bedroom. Between and during classes at the University of Toronto, Daniel has been fervently pursuing his true passion – music. Though his sound has evolved into something that is more electronic, he draws from his influences in rock, blues, jazz, and pop.

Rosie Fortescue On Trend In An Animal Print Dom Goor Coat

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Frostie

Animal print will never go out of fashion. Which is why reality TV star Rosie Fortescue has been shielding from this winter’s chill in her Dom Goor leopard print coat. The stunning coat combines rough edge cut shearling in an on-trend leopard print. It’s a real statement piece and perfect to match with a simple pair of jeans in the day or match with a dress for a glamorous evening look. Available at Harvey Nichols.

UK Women Confess Their Beauty Secrets

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Frostie

I have never been high maintenance. No fake tan, no false eyelashes. In fact, in the past my husband was lucky if I brushed my hair on the weekends. Truth is, men prefer women when they are not wearing makeup but that does not stop us being insecure. While there are certain things I will keep a secret from my husband when it comes to grooming, and from Frost readers, I was quite surprised at the lengths that some women take to keep looking gorgeous. I think we should all just relax and if your partner does not love your natural beauty, then they were obviously not worth investing time in. I doubt it will come to this though. Men are not as shallow as the stereotype suggests. In my experience, they love natural beauty.

Even in the most open and honest relationships some things are best kept a secret. So when it comes to maintaining their beauty women of the UK withhold more than a pair of spanx and a bottle of fake tan from their partners.Nearly three quarters of men have no idea the lengths their wife or girlfriend goes to look her best, a study found yesterday. Research revealed most men are completely oblivious to the extensive beauty routine their other half goes through on a daily basis.

Among the pampering habits which escape men is the waxing or bleaching of moustaches and the extensive plucking of eyebrows, nose hair and chin whiskers. Wearing push-up bras, false eyelashes and control pants were also tricks ladies confessed to resorting to. As was covertly applying fake tan and wearing hair extensions for extra volume the poll by QVS Beauty Tools Experts found. Four in ten women said they purposely hide the gory details of their beauty regime from their man, with a third of women claiming they want to keep-up the pretence that they always look great.

BIGGEST BEAUTY SECRETS

Pluck whiskers from face

Wax moustache/facial hair

Wax/shave bikini line

Pluck hairs from nose

Bleach moustache/facial hair

Wax/shave legs

Remove hard skin from feet

Wax/shave underarms

Wear Spanx/control pants

Pluck your eyebrows

Cut your toenails

Wear a push-up/padded bra

Apply a face pack

Wear tooth veneers

Apply fake-tan

Wear false nails

Wear eyelash extensions

Wear false eyelashes

Wear coloured contact lenses

Apply make-up

Paint your toenails

Wear hair extensions

Have hair coloured / highlights

The poll of 1000 women and 1000 men revealed incredibly one in twenty women have never let their husband or boyfriend see them without a full face of make-up on.

The study revealed more than a quarter of the 1000 men polled said they have no idea what elements make up their wife or girlfriends beauty routine.With seven in ten saying they would rather be kept in the dark about what she gets up to behind the bathroom door. But one in ten said they would be shocked to learn that the love of their life wore cleavage enhancing bras or pants that sucked her in.And a quarter said they would also be surprised to find out she wore false nails, coloured contacts or had veneers on her teeth. And more than one in ten blokes couldn’t believe their other half would resort to wearing false tan.

But the research showed a quarter of women said they would be left embarrassed if their partner caught them carrying out certain preening tasks, with shaving their bikini line, waxing or bleaching their facial hair and plucking nasal hairs being named as the most mortifying. Fortunately three quarters of women said the longer they remain in a relationship the less they are concerned with keeping up a less than perfect image. With women claiming after being with a man for an average of one year and seven months, she begins to relax about her appearance. Having said that, a devious 61 per cent of females polled said if they receive a compliment from their partner they never confess to any ‘cheats’ they have undertaken, preferring to remain tight lipped.

What efforts do you take when it comes to beauty? Would you let your other half see you without makeup?

Stupid Things People Write In Acting Casting Breakdowns

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Catherine Balavage

Ah, casting breakdowns, audition notices. Whatever you want to call them, they sure can frustrate. An actor will generally spend more time applying for acting roles than acting or even attending auditions. Acting is a game of numbers and applying to casting calls can be soul destroying indeed. Especially when they include any of the criteria below. Luckily I can find the humour in it. Like my dad says, ‘If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.’

Must be able to convey emotion. Jeez, that will be hard, it’s not that actors are trained in conveying emotion or anything.

We want real people, not actors. Really? Then why advertise on an ACTING JOB SITE. Idiot.

Nudity is required. All of the time but generally only for women.

Payment for lead actor only. Great, everyone else can just live on fresh air and pay their rent with fairy dust. That’ll work.

Female wanted. Character name: “The Girl”. Because in real life women are not known by their names, only by their gender. Oh, and they are ‘girl’ no matter how old they are apparently. Which is fine, because most of the people behind these castings want an 18-year-old. I wrote an article on this problem in the acting industry here.

Must be able to act. Really?

For women: Must be slim. Because a persons body mass impacts directly on their acting talent apparently.

For women: Must have long hair: Read: must be fuckable. So many castings just suit a stereotypical male ideal of female beauty. It is so sad

No acting experience needed. Because why hire actual actors when you can just hire someone off the street? It is not like we are trained professionals or anything.

These came just off the top of my head. I will continue to write about silly things in casting breakdowns in the hope that they improve somehow. Please add your own casting breakdown fails below or email them to frost magazine@gmail.com and I will include them in the next post. Let’s try and change the industry, even if we have to use tiny baby steps.

If you are an actor then check out my book How To Be a Successful Actor: Becoming an Actorpreneur. It is available in print and in all eBook formats on both Smashwords and Amazon.

Golden Globe 2015 | Red Carpet Round Up

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Frostie

We love fashion and Hollywood glamour at Frost. Following the Golden Globes 2015, Styloko.com have teamed up with Frost to unveil the most popular trends and looks searched by UK users within the last 24 hours.

Editor in Chief, Emily O’Brien provides insights into how Styloko.com users reacted to the trends and styles as worn by the world’s most glamourous women;

Most clicked products:

– With a range of celebrities wearing stunning evening gowns, maxi dresses with an eveningwear focus accounted for 50% of the most clicked products from Sunday night;

– Celebrities including Sienna Miller and Joanne Froggatt looked incredible in detailed gowns. This was reflected with Styloko.com users searches which included embellishment, evening fabrics such as lace and glamourous details were a key focus for shoppers; embellishment accounted for 75% of the overall clicked dress styles.

The most popular Golden Globes trends translated from the red carpet back to Styloko.com were:

– Black

– White/nude

– Black searches by Styloko.com users outweighed white/nude 65% to 35%,

Other colours searched by Styloko.com users in the last 24 hours include blue and red which appeared to be a key trend on the night. Celebs such as Felicity Jones in teal Christian Dior and Alison Jones in her incredible red embellished strapless gown by Armani Prive showed off these trends with aplomb;

Lastly…

Styloko.com has seen a 300% MoM increase in number of jumpsuits clicked on site. Leading actress and fashion maverick Emma Stone continued to buck the trend with her stunning embellished jumpsuit by French fashion house Lanvin.

Who do you think was the best dressed at The Golden Globes?

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