True Golden Opportunities
The other day, by complete accident I discovered iTunes U, which has a lot of free lectures from colleges, and universities. The curious person I am typed in “creative writing, dramatic writing, and cinema/film studies” Looked for all the MFA material and decided that I should take some time to listen and view the material. Therefore I’ve given myself something to do when I’m not working on my screenplay.
I was most fortunate that my good friend Sarah Beach, check out her link for her blog, and her book. The Scribbler’s Guide to the Land of Myth. They’re both good. I was able to brainstorm with her. The woman is a blessing and a fountain of good story structure and genre knowledge. Needless to say she gave some solid criticism to me. Love her for that. In anything she’s a blessing to help put me in the right direction. So the screenplay is more alive than ever. I have a new premise, motive/desire for the character, and a lot more to write, but I’m glad i was able to see this from a fresher perspective.
I have much to do, so if you hear me say I’m bored, that means I’m procrastinating and not writing or listening to free classes.
Getting Back to One Project
Is it possible to work exclusively on one project. Let’s find out today. Today is about one screenplay and getting all the elements together on a cohesive paper. This means rewriting. I need a character list, premise, genre info, plot and outline completed today. Normally I’d say this is a lot, but I already did this. Writing is rewriting in my world, and I insist I have it all done today or near done. It’s not like I can’t work on this tomorrow, but I need to put the effort where it’s due. I said I had a definitive focus for my protagonist, so now I need to show it. For the record this is a comedy with supernatural elements.
I do have errands, and If I have other ideas, I’m a jot them down but this is my main priority for the rest of the week. For a break I will allow gaming. I’m having dinner, and I have a few errands that need to be taken care of so now I have built-in breaks.
Getting Things Done, Like Now
I’m up and about but have yet to do some concrete writing today. At least last night I wrote down some descriptions to use in later stories. I did, however do some research and brainstorm (should write that stuff down too) for some short stories today, so I wasn’t 100% loafing. I’d rather be doing something positive with my time, and it’s not like someone else is gonna write for me. Hello, note pad and pen. let me jot a few notes down today. I need to keep writing. At the very least use the voice memo feature on my phone so I can blurt it out and save it for a later date.
Get In On The Joke
Sometimes, as I pointed out before, life hands us a series of upsets beyond our control. Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile with some things, while other times one needs to sit back and laugh. Why laugh? We’re often faced with so much and rather than be overwhelmed I think we can beat the game. We can get in on the joke and have a little humor in our lives. Mind you, this doesn’t mean all things will be perfect, but we will have at least, a wicked smile on our faces that let’s us know things will be alright.
In this case I’m trying to turn a sour parch of grapes into wine. Seem like a miracle is needed, but the power to turn some woes to some serious oh yeahs is working well for me. Gotta love life and love. Gotta work things out. No one’s gonna turn us around but us. For example, if someone tries to push you down, reclaim and rename the story, I Lie, I Cheat, I Steal Because I’m Allowed Put the Blame on You. Work that story out. It’s your comedy, tragedy, or drama to resolve till your heart’s content. Save it or scrap it. Just keep it moving. Don’t let yourself go away mad. Go away happy, delighted, and with that smile no one can erase. You’re worth it.
Inspired
It’s already a hectic day but I am glad that yesterday in spite of being distracted I had the sense to write down some ideas I had. On of them came to me while driving. I’ve got to learn how to use my voice recording feature on my phone properly. I did write them down and what i wanted to do with the story. Both have science fiction flavors so I hope to develop these ideas into full fledged stories soon. What’s more important for me is jotting down the ideas. Even if I have to use the notes feature on my phone it’s important to get them out of my head. It at least gets the ball rolling on thoughts.
Today I’m trying to get organized and that means everything from laundry to housecleaning. In the middle of that I’ll write some more. A few lines to keep me going. I need that. I am disappointed I didn’t work on a short story as planned. Time got out of my hands and after a few appointments I allowed my mind to relax a little.
Of the many things.
Of the many things I’m needing to do today is write a new short story. Something in the fantasy genre. Why? That’s where my thoughts are today. Let’s see if I can make something worthwhile. Sometimes I feel like not thinking too deeply into a project. All one needs is some solid time to write, good or bad to get my ideas out of head and onto paper and files its time to rock it out as opposed to wishing.
As I said earlier, I have a lot to do and I need to make this work ASAP so I cant tend to everything. Let’s see how much I can get done today. I do know, when I get home, the garbage goes out. No need to keep that on hold. If I wasn’t pressed for today, who knows what would happen.
Think It Over
Sundays are funny. I get a mixed sensation to not do a thing (rest) and to do something creative. I already have a sense of direction and purpose in regards to story structure and direction. I have a pal who challenged me to write something in a weekend. An off the cuff joke for a science fiction disaster screenplay. With that in mind I have a lot of stuff to get done. On top of that new upsets to the fold, which will be handled.
This Monday is off. I must admit my sleep pattern has gone haywire and I’ve been sleeping later than usual and staying up late. I’m a mess. Some good has happened. I turn the TV off often. I like my mornings with either some music or silence. I don’t know how productive I will be, but I hope I keep up a decent pace. I need my hot tea. Did I mention I gave up coffee? It’s a shocker. I don’t need it.
In Other Words
Never let it be said that I’m not without ideas. Ideas come to me swiftly and I love them. it’s time now, however to make the ideas work within story structure to present to all quality entertainment. From my last post I discussed my desire to grow as an artist. Now I feel a need to discuss what I’m currently addressing in this part of story structure, which is theme. After exchanging thoughts and ideas with a friend, we both thought of our writing and how we express our ideas. Theme gives a story focus in a way that isn’t always there in the raw ideas and with me a story meanders for a bit before we arrive at the theme. What I sometime think is mood is me trying to make the express theme.
Theme can be hard to discuss, so for my sake I decided to treat this as a lesson and look the term up in several books. Theme is also referred to as premise. It’s sort of like a thesis statement in a research paper. Although that’s technical, it does have merit and can be looked at as such. Your protagonist in a story embodies the theme in some way. These are the things I need to look at when writing.
Part of what I talked about is how to make my stories a lot more different and diverse so that my voice is heard over any perceived influences. For example, I love action and superhero stories but when I thought of how to write them, I saw myself often plotting stories as slugfests. That is to say I wrote all stories and they lead to a violent confrontation, but there’s no reason for the violence. This was a constant mistake on my part. First I’m not negating any action a story should contain. What I’m advocating is I didn’t fully understand the writing process and oversimplified my viewpoint, thus limiting the scope of my skills.
What I thought about theme-wise is different needs/wants of the characters. What if the protagonist lacks confidence? The theme of the story should reflect this (note this is the way of many stories). What if the protagonist allows their ambition to override their capacity for reason? What if the protagonist dreads meeting their father for the first time after 10 years? These are but samples of what a theme does, as they all yield excellent ideas and strengths for the story no matter the format. Of course as we all no writing is rewriting, so I would have the chance to refine my themes, but starting off with a genuine theme works better, stronger, and with focus.
For today my exercise is to look at a few of my ideas and determine what my character wants/need s and that should push me in the direction of what my theme could be. Writing got more complicated, and that feels good.
My Experimenting Phase
For those in the know, I sometimes write entries via my phone’s Notes application. I find it quick and breezy, much like texting, which I’m used to. I’m not using that feature now, as I’m in bed with my laptop open, but it made me think to get more into using applications to write while I’m laying on the couch or on my bed. Needless to say in spite of having some insulation, the laptops warm up so quickly. It can go from ok to discomfort, depending on how I feel. If I’m relaxed I don’t want to be distracted.
I don’t know how much productivity can be done, but it can’t hurt, now can it? I’d like to think I can make more of my day if I use the products more available. For example, while my voice is still suffering from congestion, I might still find a way to use the voice recording feature on my phone. I want to write more. I need to do so.
None of my experimentation replaces pen and paper for me. I keep them near because sometimes my hand needs to glide across the paper and fill pages with words. Also theres’ something authentically charming about looking back at a notebook filled with ideas and passages. Well, off to try some new apps for productivity, and some standby ones as well. May your day be productive and creative.
Me and Hot Ginger Tea
The allergies are dancing on my system, and the sinus pressure is faint, yet present. It needs to remind me that I’m not out of the woods as far as recovery. Still taking my allergy medicine. it’s at these times I miss my insurance and need it. Chronic allergies are a mess. I digress. Did minimal writing, but I did write, so I am pleased with that. Today starts different since I am at the laptop writing and listening to “Falling in Love” by Faith Evans. I love her debut self-titled CD, Faith. Very slow jams heavy, but so good to my ears, unlike the sinus pressure which thinks it’s all that.
Sipping on some hot ginger tea, hence the title of this post. it’s working on me in a positive way, at least it’s having a smooth, soothing effect on my system. Can feel the sinus pressure easing back off me. Thank the Lord. I need to get myself together and keep it moving. Time for some more writing.
I had some lucid dreams last night about how to resolve my outline. I should look at the ending as well, and work my way backwards. What do I believe the ending is to my story? How did I get from point A to Z? I say lucid dream cause I knew I wasn’t awake. Also I had some ideas reoccur for some animate programs I wanted to develop (those were already written down) in fact ,the concept was still on my desktop-I have a folder for those. This does not ignore yesterday’s concept which I need to transfer from my “notes” to a wWord file. I have a lot to do as always.
