Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category

Aftermath and the Grindstone

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

MUSIC: Rolling Stones

As I have said in previous posts that I listen to variety of podcasts and music on my MP3 player. In fact, if it ever fell into the wrong hands it could be held against me at the hearing for my mental competency. There is no way a sane person would ever possibly put those together on the same MP3 player. They say, “Variety is the spice of life.” So maybe you should try it on your own MP3 player, IPod or whatever. One the podcasts, I listen to on a regular basis is NPR’s On Point. There are many times that I have no idea about the topic but I will listen to it anyways. It is a chance to broaden my perspective on things. I know many people who need to try something like this. I listen to this show the other day on Randomness. It is about mankind’s perspective on how events happen to them. How mankind tries to predict and control the outcomes to events. It also had some points on picking good movies. This story is takes an approach similar to Freakonomics to the topic. It talks about statistics without going heavy into the math behind them.

My circumstances like many of you are finding out for yourselves are changing. The rhetoric about that is getting worse every day. This being a Presidential election year only makes it worse. I used to feel it was required for a person to be aware of current events. I am beginning to rethink that policy. The problem is the rhetoric is becoming the equivalent of high fructose corn syrup. It may be very filling. But it was no real nutritional value to it. To sum it up, I am totally burned out by the news. My recommendation is watch or read the news in moderation. Better yet watch it at a bar. Homer Simpson said it best. “Better the cause of and solution to most of life’s problems.” Change is always with us. For example, I was looking forward to a vacation at the end of July. However, current economics and logistics are slowly making that slip away for this year. It is disappointing. But I have to accept the honesty of living within my means and capabilities. And I want a life within those means at the same time. So that most likely means staying close to home. And that is not necessarily a bad place to spend some time. There are a few projects I have put off too long. I guess this summer is beginning to look like it is more based on re-creation rather than recreation. This opportunity is the undertone to American society when you think about it.

The big thing is I need to figure out how to improve and grow this website. I have been looking at the stats meter on both my website and my blog. Sadly, I wish I was getting more traffic and feedback for both of them. I have been trying to figure out how to gap the divide between myself and the readers. And please DO NOT think that I am mad at anyone who takes the time to read and go through my site. I am just trying to figure what is hitting and what is missing. I am going paraphrase Stephen King who said, “First Draft the door is closed”. The door is open for everything else after that.” In a way it means in the beginning tell no one but then you have to show everything to some degree.

I have also posted my latest script entry from MoviePoet.com. It was my April entry. The script could not contain any dialogue or narration. This means the story had to be told using only visual action. My script is entitled “Last Call”. And here are the comments on it. As I have said before my writing is very much a work in progress. It is very much a learning process that keeps going. I have to said, I became somewhat disappointed on the results for this entry. I need to get back to the “grindstone” and rework this script. I wished I had come across much better than I did. Please Do Not be offended by the following term. I call this being “artistically autistic”. I am trying to create or in this case write something. However, I came up short or failed in trying to communicate this “idea” in my writing. And typo errors seem to be like ants. You never seem to be able to kill them all. In the end, I have still have to keep that chair in front of the “grindstone” or in this case the computer. Hopefully, my May entry of an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe short story does better. June entry may be tough for me. It has to be a family friendly script. I am definitely not a “G-rated” person.

Finally, I have to pass this along when it comes down randomness. Check your Junk E-mail folder carefully before you delete the contents of the folder. I found a pleasant surprise in it last night. I do not want to go into details about it at this point. I feel that if I talk too much about it then I will over analyze it. And that can lead to it becoming “cursed”. I am trying to get into the “Zen” of it. In other words, I am going to try to “go with the flow” on this one. Let it be what it is. And hopefully see what it may be become. I hate (I really do) to be vague but I am trying to manage the expectations of it by not getting wrapped up in the hype.

The Phrasing of the Question

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

MUSIC: R.E.M.

I know I have to get myself back into the discipline of writing (especially blog posts) on a more regular basis. But as I said in my last post, I have a lot of projects coming together at once. And for the most part I am a “crew of one”. But I do not want to go any farther on that point.

Last weekend, I went on a Ghost Hunt. It was a really cool experience. And “Yes” I did see things. I am still reviewing my photos of the event so I may have more about it later. But I want to talk about something else. It is about how people react to what I am up to. I am trying to grow as a writer. I am trying to write characters that seem real. So I listen to not only what people say but how they say it. And it is all in the phrasing. So this is what I have noticed over the last few weeks. This example relates back to my Ghost Hunt experience. Whenever I told people (the few) what I was about to do. This is what I heard almost 100% of the time. “Why would you want to do that?” Take a good look at the phrasing of the question. Here is what I have come to realize about the phrasing of that question. It is a negative response. It shows a person who is most likely not willing to accept whatever is going on. But what phrasing would make the question a positive inquiry? It goes like this “Why are you doing that?” Can you see or read the difference between the two? The first is a person is seeing the world through his own filters. The second is a person trying to understand your filters.

This is what I have learned about people from my experiences. If a person cannot “accept” whatever you are doing until they “understand” what you are doing is a person who will “roadblock” you more often than not. A person who is willing to give some to “benefit of doubt” to you as you are doing your thing is exercising some “faith” in you. Is not the basis of “faith”? Is that not the base for “acceptance” based in “faith” which is not necessarily based on a complete “understanding”?

It is not just what people are saying. It is also how they are saying it.

And by the way. Why did I want to do the Ghost Hunt? Why not? It was something different to try.

Engine Tune Up

Sunday, April 27th, 2008

 MUSIC: Creedance Clearwater Revival

There is probably nothing more ominous than that dreaded Service Engine Light. It really tells you nothing more than “you may have a problem soon”. It has not been a fun week for me when it comes to needing the service technicians. The phone company that moved the phone line on Monday and forgot to reconnect my service. I cannot wait for the future when placing a call to call center is done as video conference. I want to be able to put a face with the “dumb ass” responses I get to my problem. Plus, I print a screen capture of the service representative (Which is an oxymoron. Heavy on the moron.) so then I have something new for the dartboard. And on Thursday, I went to have my oil change only to find the hood latch was broken and on top of it my service engine light came on. (Broken oxygen sensor)

If things come in “threes” then I am afraid to get out of bed. And touch anything important.

Gas prices are like a reverse emotional stock market. As the prices rise my hope sinks. I was told as child is was important to be informed and aware of current events. Little did I know that message was underwritten by the alcohol industry. Every day the media seems to be reporting that this is it. It has reached a point of the worse. It cannot sink any lower today. But wait until tomorrow. There is trouble coming your way. Here is a special report. Beware! The President needs to declare a special day called “Take a deep breath and calm down America”. But in a Presidential election year everyone from the candidates to the media has to keep relaying the message that “America is screwed.” So the bad news is we have at least 6-8 months more of this shit. Sorry. Beer? Anyone?

We live in a media world that needs to make money. And nothing makes people want more media than having the shit scared out of them. It is all about ratings. The real “truth” is becoming a very distant second.

Another “engine” I have been working at is my writing. I am working on those pain in the ass little details. I have been working on a short screenplay for a contest entry at MoviePoet.com. The thing is you cannot use dialogue or narration to tell the story. Film is a story using visuals. I had to remember the basics. The following may seem a bit “geeky”. I read a few comic books. X-Men to be exact. Comic books are good thing for people who are interested in film. You get to see how words and images come together. It is just another way to storyboard a story. I also have been reviewing and relearning scriptwriting from Syd Field who has written many books on the subject. I also loaded a podcast for the MP3 player. It is a good way to keep at the lessons while I have to be at work. Multitasking on a whole other level.

I also have begun to realize there are a few things in the writing that need work. I am not good at coming up with character names. I also need to be able to work faster. I agonize a lot over my work. It has probably lead to “paralysis by analysis”. But with limited if any feedback it makes me “second guess” myself. I go back trying to find that detail that prevented what I wrote from coming across. I know I have to start by writing for myself. But I need to make the next step from there. I also need to declutter my apartment and make a better writing space. I need a maid. Sadly I do.

The other thing is I rather be at the “grindstone” aka my computer typing out ideas. I rather be here than somewhere talking about it. And I know that this comes off as being “antisocial”. But it is what it is.

In Just Six Words

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

I never want to really “pigeon-hole” myself as just being one type of specific writer. I want to attempt to write in many forms. Writer’s Digest
published their annual list of the Top 100 websites for writers in this month’s issue. I came across one for the Six Word Memoir. The point of this exercise is to write some autobiographical about yourself. It is to be starting point for a story. The only mandate is you have to do it using only Six words. It is not as easy as you might think it is. This exercise forces you to be as efficient as possible in what words you use to construct your thought. It also helps with sharpening your editing skills. In writing, editing forces you to become very “cold hearted” towards the value of your ideas. Just because you wrote it does not mean that is automatically “good”. Write. Rewrite. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

So I decided I had to come up with 10 attempts for this exercise.

  1. Daily testing God’s sense of humor.
  2. Quiet in person. Rocker by night.
  3. Easily confused as being a psychopath
  4. I got up for this crap?
  5. Pizza and beer: Underrated romantic dinner.

    (NOTE: But a damn fine weekend breakfast meal)

  6. Finishing housework is just an illusion.
  7. Size matters? Always answer with “Yes”.
  8. Easy maintenance means “No One Cares”
  9. UFO’s, Bigfoot, Experts and other myths
  10. It’s debatable what is strange here

 

 

And sorry about the change in fonts on the site. I write the blog in Word 2007 and post from there. The new version of Word Press did something “funky”. So I am working on yet another thing now.

Mining Ideas

Friday, April 4th, 2008

MUSIC: Devo

I heard a thought in a podcast last week about the need for companies to generate that “One Big Idea”. And it was stated that there is no such thing. Companies should generate many “Little Ideas”. I think that the same mentality should be applied to writing. I have yet to come out with “The Big Bestseller” piece of writing. And that is all right. So right now I have been just writing smaller things. Like blog postings. The goal is to exercise the “writing muscle”. I need to keep at it to build up to bigger pieces. So I have been just writing down ideas and thoughts lately. I may take these thoughts and build them into something bigger at a later time. It is better to write them down because I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to keep the ideas in my head only to forget them. It feels bad than I may have forgotten the idea for good. And to be a bit egotistical for a moment let me say they were “Damn Good”. I consider them to be a warm up for a possible first draft. And as I said in another post that I do not talk about them in the first draft phase. But I will give you a hint. I had ideas for 2 science fiction type stories and one about a tavern. And please do not ask about the “what and why” about these ideas I had. And I am also not taking anyone’s input at this time on them either. These ideas may lead to something in the future. And then again they may not. I will not know for sure until I go “mining” into them.

Generating ideas is a never ending process. Sometimes I see a picture and want to write a few sentences about it. I may hear a song that invokes images that tells a story. Or I am cutting articles out of newspapers that caught my attention. Sometimes the ideas work out and sometimes there is not as much as I thought with the idea. There is no way to deal with “Too Many Ideas Syndrome”. It makes you more “honest” when it comes to ideas. Remember the saying, “You cannot polish a turd”. To get an idea of how the process goes listen to Act 1 of Tough Room from the This American Life website.

I think that is why calling my blog here “Some Assembly Required” really fits as a title. It is about the ideas I have and the process of putting them together. It is about the process of writing to put them out there. I hope this triggers some thought in the readers out there. Which I hope someday will turn into feedback. And go from there with even more thoughts and better writing to produce even more.

On another note, I wish I could be better at detecting those damn typo errors. I swear I check for them before posting. And yet they still pop up.

Another thing I want to mention here. As I have said in previous posts that I listen to a lot of various podcasts. I found another from WFMU website. It is called The Dusty Show. The host Clay Pigeon (what a cool radio name) goes around NYC area interviewing people on the street. It is all random who he talks to. Listening to this is another way for me to gain some insight into people to help write “real” characters. The other part, I like is that he asks questions to get conversation. He is not in people’s face and he seems like he really is listening to responses. This is quite the opposite of too many talk shows on the airwaves today. I like that he does not try to angle in some personal agenda. This has become another source for ideas to “mine” into writing.