Today I’ve got to write about how happy I am. Not only has returned to my life a major inspiration for my writing, but the one who I hope that I in turn inspire. Did I say that right? My lovie has returned from the sea. He has been gone for 7 months. In the nearly 8 years together, both of us in the military, this is the longest that we have ever been apart.
I was very happy to see him again.
It was like looking into the face of an angel that you had somehow forgotten was there.
Kissing him was like tasting something sweet when you’d been eating something bitter for too long.
Holding him was like living again when all that you can remember is surviving.
And hearing his voice was like hearing Bach after a decade of Soulja Boy.
There, are you happy? I wrote poetry. I rarely write poetry. It’s not me. But if I get the right inspiration (in this case, to be honest, is an hour or so of good ole welcome back after being gone for 7 months fun [trying to keep this PG]). But it’s still not my cup of tea. I like to throw in something silly, unexpected or whatever when I write poetry. Otherwise, it get’s too corny.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
People Just Don't Need Stories Like They Need Houses
Today I have read the most inspiring stories. Not inspiring in that they make me want to go out and do great things but…well, perhaps I do want to go out and do great things. They made me want to write children’s stories.
The book is an anthology of short stories inspired, by Japanese folktales, retold and illustrated by a Ms. Yoshiko Uchida. It just made me want to write children’s stories.
But if you know anything about me from reading my other blog entries you would know that this is just my ADD kicking in. Or not. I don’t know. I do know that I need to finish the script that I am already on. But part of me is pulling me toward the stories that I have not completed and part of me is pulling toward the stories that I have not started.
I guess this is a good thing. To always have incomplete stories at arm’s reach. This way as a writer I never have to worry about running out of things to write about.
It’s like being a builder in a market where no one has a home. There will always be work available. But of course, a builder in a market where no one has a home, will probably get paid. Whereas, a writer with a bunch of stories to keep him or her busy will not necessarily get paid for them. Hmmm.
That is why I am here trying to teach the ugly children of other people. When I took this job, I’d forgotten how much I hate other people’s children. Did I go off on a tangent?
Well, at least this class isn’t too much trouble. There is a little more cursing then I would like to hear from 6th graders, or children in general. It really could be worse.
So, I think that what I will do is, instead of taking the time to write children’s stories, I will start writing down ideas. Just ideas as they come to me. That way, when I find that I have the time to write them, I will have a bevy of stories to begin.
The book is an anthology of short stories inspired, by Japanese folktales, retold and illustrated by a Ms. Yoshiko Uchida. It just made me want to write children’s stories.
But if you know anything about me from reading my other blog entries you would know that this is just my ADD kicking in. Or not. I don’t know. I do know that I need to finish the script that I am already on. But part of me is pulling me toward the stories that I have not completed and part of me is pulling toward the stories that I have not started.
I guess this is a good thing. To always have incomplete stories at arm’s reach. This way as a writer I never have to worry about running out of things to write about.
It’s like being a builder in a market where no one has a home. There will always be work available. But of course, a builder in a market where no one has a home, will probably get paid. Whereas, a writer with a bunch of stories to keep him or her busy will not necessarily get paid for them. Hmmm.
That is why I am here trying to teach the ugly children of other people. When I took this job, I’d forgotten how much I hate other people’s children. Did I go off on a tangent?
Well, at least this class isn’t too much trouble. There is a little more cursing then I would like to hear from 6th graders, or children in general. It really could be worse.
So, I think that what I will do is, instead of taking the time to write children’s stories, I will start writing down ideas. Just ideas as they come to me. That way, when I find that I have the time to write them, I will have a bevy of stories to begin.
These Ugly Kids Don't Belong To Me
This is my third week substituting. I finally got an English class. But it is 6th grade English and the kids just keep letting me down. I wonder if I will ever get a class that gets their assignment and is just quiet and does their work. They will be quiet for the few moments that the other teacher is in here threatening to call their parents, but they do not take my threats seriously. So that they cannot take advantage of the fact that I do not know their names, I decided to write down random names. The hope is that they will not want to get each other in trouble and subsequently ending up getting themselves in trouble.
Well, one can dream, can’t they?
I have just looked at my manuscript that is to be the second half of my screenplay. Today is the 24th and the last time I wrote was the 21st. I had a brain fart I guess. It would be different than the original story so I’m trying to rethink it. And I’m having trouble. The way that the story originally went, the guests that were coming were to determine whether the adoptive parents are fit to keep the main character. They’re like representatives from the state. But now, the adoptive parents are going to have a baby, and the guests that are coming are representatives of a boarding school where the main character will be spending the rest of his childhood to make room for the new baby.
So what she I do, or preferably, what movie should I watch? I know what I want them to say. I just don’t really know when or where to put it. And the last thing that I wrote just sounds cheesy. Another problem that I am having is that I am trying really hard not to let the characters sound like very well known characters that have graced the screen in another movie. They do not look like them in my head, but they kind of sound like them. But I guess that it is unfair to think that you own the market on evil stepparents.
I am at school now, and although I have not done anymore than change one word, cross out several others and change the date, I have used a different pen. I hope that it will be able to bring a freshness to this story that comes with changing pens. “Fresh Horses, “ I think it’s called.
Just last week I had a class that pissed me off so much that it inspired the feelings required to write at least 2 pages of prose! And it was only half the period that I was there! This first class today has turned out to be relatively reasonable. Relatively. I look around and half of them are gone! Anyway, I’m hoping that by the end of the school day, I will have felt enough emotions that will inspire me to write another 2 or 3 pages.
So, I’ve just made it through the second class period with some problems here and there. But it still has not topped the list of the worst school that I have subbed for. Well, it’s not the school but rather not the worse classes that I have subbed for. So far. Fortunately, I got a planning period. So there are no students for an hour and a half. Usually around this time they find some other class for me to sub but no one has bothered me yet.
Unfortunately, I just recently realized that I did not bring the script that I was changing, so I can’t work on it right now. I know where I am supposed to be, but I’m not sure of the order. So instead, I will read a book.
Well, one can dream, can’t they?
I have just looked at my manuscript that is to be the second half of my screenplay. Today is the 24th and the last time I wrote was the 21st. I had a brain fart I guess. It would be different than the original story so I’m trying to rethink it. And I’m having trouble. The way that the story originally went, the guests that were coming were to determine whether the adoptive parents are fit to keep the main character. They’re like representatives from the state. But now, the adoptive parents are going to have a baby, and the guests that are coming are representatives of a boarding school where the main character will be spending the rest of his childhood to make room for the new baby.
So what she I do, or preferably, what movie should I watch? I know what I want them to say. I just don’t really know when or where to put it. And the last thing that I wrote just sounds cheesy. Another problem that I am having is that I am trying really hard not to let the characters sound like very well known characters that have graced the screen in another movie. They do not look like them in my head, but they kind of sound like them. But I guess that it is unfair to think that you own the market on evil stepparents.
I am at school now, and although I have not done anymore than change one word, cross out several others and change the date, I have used a different pen. I hope that it will be able to bring a freshness to this story that comes with changing pens. “Fresh Horses, “ I think it’s called.
Just last week I had a class that pissed me off so much that it inspired the feelings required to write at least 2 pages of prose! And it was only half the period that I was there! This first class today has turned out to be relatively reasonable. Relatively. I look around and half of them are gone! Anyway, I’m hoping that by the end of the school day, I will have felt enough emotions that will inspire me to write another 2 or 3 pages.
So, I’ve just made it through the second class period with some problems here and there. But it still has not topped the list of the worst school that I have subbed for. Well, it’s not the school but rather not the worse classes that I have subbed for. So far. Fortunately, I got a planning period. So there are no students for an hour and a half. Usually around this time they find some other class for me to sub but no one has bothered me yet.
Unfortunately, I just recently realized that I did not bring the script that I was changing, so I can’t work on it right now. I know where I am supposed to be, but I’m not sure of the order. So instead, I will read a book.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Lollipop
I've just discovered what has been wrong all of this time. The reason why my writing has not been as descriptive as it should have been. Why my scripts have been so skeletal. For as long as I can remember, I have had an obsessive superstition about the pens that I use to write. If it is a paper for school or a story for my own amusement I would always use the same pen throughout the entire project. I would take meticulous care of the pen and be careful not to lose it. I would also make sure that whichever pen I would start a new project would be new enough to see it all the way through.
But recently I lost a pen. It was the pen that I have been using to write this 4 year long screenplay. Well, I haven’t been using the same pen since 2004, but whenever I start working on any aspect of it, for instance the 3 attempts at a back story, I would use the same pen. Always. Until very recently when I had no choice but to change pens when I lost my pen and had had had to write because the words come in spurts and I gotta get them down before they leave me.
So now I’m on my third pen. And I haven’t written better than this in my entire life, I think. I believe that the reason is that my pen is like a magic wand. It is an extension of my creative self just like my brain, my eyes and my hands and every other part of me that is part of the creative process. It lives. It has feelings, and it even has thoughts and understanding. But if you use the same one over and over it loses some of its creativity. It gets stagnant because, well heck. It’s a pen. It doesn’t learn, it doesn’t grow, it doesn’t have new experiences. It only brings to the table that which it already knows. So it is limited, unlike a human. It is like eating one lollipop and expecting it to change flavors. If you want a new flavor, you must pick up a new lollipop.
Therefore, by changing pens, I allowed the influence, the experience, the creative extension of a new pen to provide the freshness that my writing desperately needed.
Sidebar: These last 4 blog posts are all dated for April 21, but they were all written on different days. It’s just that I have only today been able to get on the internet.
But recently I lost a pen. It was the pen that I have been using to write this 4 year long screenplay. Well, I haven’t been using the same pen since 2004, but whenever I start working on any aspect of it, for instance the 3 attempts at a back story, I would use the same pen. Always. Until very recently when I had no choice but to change pens when I lost my pen and had had had to write because the words come in spurts and I gotta get them down before they leave me.
So now I’m on my third pen. And I haven’t written better than this in my entire life, I think. I believe that the reason is that my pen is like a magic wand. It is an extension of my creative self just like my brain, my eyes and my hands and every other part of me that is part of the creative process. It lives. It has feelings, and it even has thoughts and understanding. But if you use the same one over and over it loses some of its creativity. It gets stagnant because, well heck. It’s a pen. It doesn’t learn, it doesn’t grow, it doesn’t have new experiences. It only brings to the table that which it already knows. So it is limited, unlike a human. It is like eating one lollipop and expecting it to change flavors. If you want a new flavor, you must pick up a new lollipop.
Therefore, by changing pens, I allowed the influence, the experience, the creative extension of a new pen to provide the freshness that my writing desperately needed.
Sidebar: These last 4 blog posts are all dated for April 21, but they were all written on different days. It’s just that I have only today been able to get on the internet.
Too Short
The script that I am working on has been in the works in at least 4 years. I recently found my original story written on two sides of three legal length pieces of paper. When I consider how much the story has grown in both length and content it’s amazing to me how bare bones the original is. Further, it makes me understand why the first script, based on that original story, is only 14 pages long! But since I’ve started on the new and improved longer script, it makes me question my writing skill in the pass.
I took Scriptwriting in college, I believe in 1997. It was a lot of fun and I developed a script that I was very proud of. That short script inspired a story that I wrote years later. I didn’t finish that new story because Hollywood released a movie that was too much like my story and it just made me angry and discouraged. I think that enough time has passed, so I will try to finish that one up as soon as I finish my courant project.
I was talking to my younger sister yesterday. She is in community college right now. She lives at home with our mom and working part time as a CNA. My mom wanted me to talk to her about what is expected from her as opposed to what is expected from you in high school. I went on and on about improving your writing skills. Reading more to not only improve your writing, but also to improve your knowledge of your subject. As I was telling her this I considered that first script that I ever wrote and how terribly under developed it was. It was only 21 pages long. The requirement was 30 pages, but I got an “A” on it anyway. Granted, I did a lot research to develop the characters the way that I would like and to improve elements of the story. But there was so much that was left out. So much that I could have expanded on to make it a better, longer script.
I just completed the back story of my current script. I’ve even completed the script version of the story. But since I’ve started working on the back story, I’ve read Oscar winning/nominated scripts. This has caused me to write a better developed story and an increase in details that I have left out in previous stories and scripts.
So now as I rewrite the original story to fit the new back story I realize that in the ten or so years of writing and reading since I took that first script writing class my writing had not really improved! Just a little, but I’m not nearly where I wanted to be. My general writing was fine, but my scripts were still skeletal. When I compare my back story script, which I wrote in March, with my original story script which I wrote in 2004 I see that I had a long way to go when I thought that I was a guru! I am glad that instead of trying to produce that short 14 page script as I had planned, I am developing it into something bigger and better that has the potential to be something great.
I took Scriptwriting in college, I believe in 1997. It was a lot of fun and I developed a script that I was very proud of. That short script inspired a story that I wrote years later. I didn’t finish that new story because Hollywood released a movie that was too much like my story and it just made me angry and discouraged. I think that enough time has passed, so I will try to finish that one up as soon as I finish my courant project.
I was talking to my younger sister yesterday. She is in community college right now. She lives at home with our mom and working part time as a CNA. My mom wanted me to talk to her about what is expected from her as opposed to what is expected from you in high school. I went on and on about improving your writing skills. Reading more to not only improve your writing, but also to improve your knowledge of your subject. As I was telling her this I considered that first script that I ever wrote and how terribly under developed it was. It was only 21 pages long. The requirement was 30 pages, but I got an “A” on it anyway. Granted, I did a lot research to develop the characters the way that I would like and to improve elements of the story. But there was so much that was left out. So much that I could have expanded on to make it a better, longer script.
I just completed the back story of my current script. I’ve even completed the script version of the story. But since I’ve started working on the back story, I’ve read Oscar winning/nominated scripts. This has caused me to write a better developed story and an increase in details that I have left out in previous stories and scripts.
So now as I rewrite the original story to fit the new back story I realize that in the ten or so years of writing and reading since I took that first script writing class my writing had not really improved! Just a little, but I’m not nearly where I wanted to be. My general writing was fine, but my scripts were still skeletal. When I compare my back story script, which I wrote in March, with my original story script which I wrote in 2004 I see that I had a long way to go when I thought that I was a guru! I am glad that instead of trying to produce that short 14 page script as I had planned, I am developing it into something bigger and better that has the potential to be something great.
Am I The Only One With Any Sense?
I did not originally intend to use this blog to air my feelings about current events. But then I considered that sometimes writing is occasionally about current events. So here I go.
In a top article that I wrote for the website Helium I discussed finding different sources for writing inspiration. Some of my favorite sources are news articles. Especially the News Of The Weird column written by Tom Tomorrow. People do the craziest things. But there is always more to any news story that you don’t hear or read about. Yes, the fool wrote his stick up note on the back of an envelope addressed to him. But what was he doing yesterday? Does he have any kids? What does he eat for breakfast? What events lead up to that moment of stupidity? Those questions, in my mind, make for excellent fodder for a short story.
So, my question is, what makes an attractive, assumingly intelligent, 17 year old girl take a job as a nanny in Rob Lowe’s house? I understand that at the age of 17, you would not have been around when Rob Lowe got in trouble for inappropriate relations with 17 year old twins (they were 17, right?). But before taking the job, you must have heard about it. Was there not someone in your family that said, “Hey, wait. Are you sure that you want to do that?” Wasn’t there someone who cared enough to ask you to think twice?
This is right along the lines of letting your 14 year old daughter go to R Kelly for a job as his personal assistant, or sending your 7 year old son to Michael Jackson for a job to clean out Bubbles’ cage. Or maybe even, anyone really, going to Bill Clinton for a job as his personal cigar tester. Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything better.
So what was she thinking? And why does she come out now complaining about an outcome that was inevitable from the beginning? What events lead up to this moment? What events lead up to the moment when she decided to accept the job? And most importantly, was there a video camera involved this time?
If anyone is reading this, it would be great if you could write a little short story in the comments area describing your idea about this girl’s background. I don’t mean whatever you read about her on MSN or Yahoo. But the stuff that they leave out. They’re always going to leave out any kind of negative things about her. She’s the victim. They’re not going to make her look bad. I’m not asking you to make her look bad. But just interesting.
Just a sidebar, here. I was just watching the movie “8 Seconds” with Luke Perry. I couldn’t help but wonder, do cowboys where cups when they ride those bulls? And if so, how do they fit it under those tight jeans? And if they don’t how do they subsequently have children?
Talk amongst yourselves.
In a top article that I wrote for the website Helium I discussed finding different sources for writing inspiration. Some of my favorite sources are news articles. Especially the News Of The Weird column written by Tom Tomorrow. People do the craziest things. But there is always more to any news story that you don’t hear or read about. Yes, the fool wrote his stick up note on the back of an envelope addressed to him. But what was he doing yesterday? Does he have any kids? What does he eat for breakfast? What events lead up to that moment of stupidity? Those questions, in my mind, make for excellent fodder for a short story.
So, my question is, what makes an attractive, assumingly intelligent, 17 year old girl take a job as a nanny in Rob Lowe’s house? I understand that at the age of 17, you would not have been around when Rob Lowe got in trouble for inappropriate relations with 17 year old twins (they were 17, right?). But before taking the job, you must have heard about it. Was there not someone in your family that said, “Hey, wait. Are you sure that you want to do that?” Wasn’t there someone who cared enough to ask you to think twice?
This is right along the lines of letting your 14 year old daughter go to R Kelly for a job as his personal assistant, or sending your 7 year old son to Michael Jackson for a job to clean out Bubbles’ cage. Or maybe even, anyone really, going to Bill Clinton for a job as his personal cigar tester. Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything better.
So what was she thinking? And why does she come out now complaining about an outcome that was inevitable from the beginning? What events lead up to this moment? What events lead up to the moment when she decided to accept the job? And most importantly, was there a video camera involved this time?
If anyone is reading this, it would be great if you could write a little short story in the comments area describing your idea about this girl’s background. I don’t mean whatever you read about her on MSN or Yahoo. But the stuff that they leave out. They’re always going to leave out any kind of negative things about her. She’s the victim. They’re not going to make her look bad. I’m not asking you to make her look bad. But just interesting.
Just a sidebar, here. I was just watching the movie “8 Seconds” with Luke Perry. I couldn’t help but wonder, do cowboys where cups when they ride those bulls? And if so, how do they fit it under those tight jeans? And if they don’t how do they subsequently have children?
Talk amongst yourselves.
Wanna Ride a Bike?
Today I was going through the notebooks on my bookshelf. I think that there were five. Each one contains the beginning of a story that I have not started. This does not include the notebook containing the script that I am currently working on. Let me tell you why this is a problem for me.
I have adult ADD. I have never been diagnosed, and I am sure that there are a lot of us out there who have it but have never been diagnosed. For various reasons I’m sure. Perhaps we are afraid of the stigma that comes with seeing a head doctor, or the possibility that it will be determined that some drug may be prescribed whose side affects outweigh its benefits. My reason is that I am hard headed and believe that since I know about it, I have some control over it. Well, there’s the conundrum. I know that I have it, I think that I have control over it, but in the back of my mind I know that I don’t have control. But, like I said, I’m hard headed and keep trying to convince myself I do.
Anyway, the reason that all of these notebooks are a problem is that in the front of my mind, the part that thinks that my ADD is under control, knows that I need to finish my current project before I try to complete anything else. But that little monster in the back of my mind, the one that knows better, keeps drawing my attention to the stories on the bookshelf.
So, maybe I don’t have to finish my script before I work on the other stories. The others would be so much easier to complete, and I could knock them out quickly. Then I could concentrate on the script, right? It’s a logical solution, but unfortunately, I my mind doesn’t work logically all of the time.
For instance, at the moment, I have several jobs. I am always changing my career ambitions. At the moment, I am a referring travel agent. It’s a work at home job. I have not given it the attention that I should. I am a substitute teacher for the public schools here. I love this job, but it is over during the summer. I have already gotten excited about what kind of work I could do during the summer. I am also a Navy reservist. Other work combinations that I have done are Real Estate Agent/Cabbie/Navy reservist, Navy reservist/call center. All of this while trying to write and go to the gym and raise 3 kids (not necessarily in that order!)
But through all of this work but not truly succeeding 100% in anything, I will see a commercial for a local vocational school and I still feel myself drawn to it, thinking that maybe I can go to that school in the summer and make that vocation my new job! It’s a thought that I have to fight.
Which is why I am saying that the idea of finishing off the stories on my bookshelf and then work on my script sounds like a great idea. But it will just delay the inevitable. Another story idea will come to mind and I will be right back into a similar situation. Maybe, even before I finish those other stories. And I will be no closer to finishing my script.
The script is roughly based on a book. A very famous book. It is not an adaptation. I wrote a very short version of this script about 4 years ago. Only about 14 pages. It needed a lot of things explained, such as the sudden science fiction in the end. Also, the reasons for the relationships between the characters was not clear. And at 14 pages, the script had plenty of room for explanation. In 2005 I started working on a back story. The third attempt at a back story was finally completed satisfactorily last month. I adapted this into screenplay. I am now working on a rewrite of the original script to coincide properly with the new back story. When that is complete I will work on making it into screenplay format. Hopefully it will be at least 90 pages. But so far I am not so sure.
I have adult ADD. I have never been diagnosed, and I am sure that there are a lot of us out there who have it but have never been diagnosed. For various reasons I’m sure. Perhaps we are afraid of the stigma that comes with seeing a head doctor, or the possibility that it will be determined that some drug may be prescribed whose side affects outweigh its benefits. My reason is that I am hard headed and believe that since I know about it, I have some control over it. Well, there’s the conundrum. I know that I have it, I think that I have control over it, but in the back of my mind I know that I don’t have control. But, like I said, I’m hard headed and keep trying to convince myself I do.
Anyway, the reason that all of these notebooks are a problem is that in the front of my mind, the part that thinks that my ADD is under control, knows that I need to finish my current project before I try to complete anything else. But that little monster in the back of my mind, the one that knows better, keeps drawing my attention to the stories on the bookshelf.
So, maybe I don’t have to finish my script before I work on the other stories. The others would be so much easier to complete, and I could knock them out quickly. Then I could concentrate on the script, right? It’s a logical solution, but unfortunately, I my mind doesn’t work logically all of the time.
For instance, at the moment, I have several jobs. I am always changing my career ambitions. At the moment, I am a referring travel agent. It’s a work at home job. I have not given it the attention that I should. I am a substitute teacher for the public schools here. I love this job, but it is over during the summer. I have already gotten excited about what kind of work I could do during the summer. I am also a Navy reservist. Other work combinations that I have done are Real Estate Agent/Cabbie/Navy reservist, Navy reservist/call center. All of this while trying to write and go to the gym and raise 3 kids (not necessarily in that order!)
But through all of this work but not truly succeeding 100% in anything, I will see a commercial for a local vocational school and I still feel myself drawn to it, thinking that maybe I can go to that school in the summer and make that vocation my new job! It’s a thought that I have to fight.
Which is why I am saying that the idea of finishing off the stories on my bookshelf and then work on my script sounds like a great idea. But it will just delay the inevitable. Another story idea will come to mind and I will be right back into a similar situation. Maybe, even before I finish those other stories. And I will be no closer to finishing my script.
The script is roughly based on a book. A very famous book. It is not an adaptation. I wrote a very short version of this script about 4 years ago. Only about 14 pages. It needed a lot of things explained, such as the sudden science fiction in the end. Also, the reasons for the relationships between the characters was not clear. And at 14 pages, the script had plenty of room for explanation. In 2005 I started working on a back story. The third attempt at a back story was finally completed satisfactorily last month. I adapted this into screenplay. I am now working on a rewrite of the original script to coincide properly with the new back story. When that is complete I will work on making it into screenplay format. Hopefully it will be at least 90 pages. But so far I am not so sure.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Welcome To Myself and To My One Day Readers
This is my first post to my blog. I have no more time so I will have to make this short. I will write more tomorrow.
This is actually the second blog that I have ever created. I used to blog in myspace. I liked that because people would generally read it because I convinced the friends that I already had there to subscribe. I would then write pieces that involved them or were about them. For example, for Christmas, 2006 I gave a digital gift in the form of a picture or something written to everyone who subscribed to my blog. It was always an attempt at something humorous that would be a private joke between the two of us. Or it would be a very public and/or obvious joke that anyone would get. But in the long run, they were hand picked gifts specifically for the receiver.
This blog, however will be dedicated to my writing. I am currently writing a script that I have been working on since at least 2004. It was originally only 14 pages and I was planning on producing it myself. But upon further consideration, I realized that much of it did not make sense. For one thing, there was scifi in the end that was never justified in the rest of the story. So it took me several years to write a back story that was satisfactory to me. I completed the back story on March 17th. It was my 3rd attempt. I completed the script for the back story just 3 days ago. Now I am working on rewriting the original script to fit in with the new back story and to make it feature length. The goal is 90 pages.
I also have at least 3 other stories that I have been working on over the years that I have never completed. I will most likely use them as short fiction rather than screenplays. I would like to complete this first screenplay, get it over with and then work on the other stories. I mean, it's been forever!
Lastly, I would like to explain the name of my blog. Down Off the Dragon. It starts with a joke:
When I was in high school I was a Future Farmer of America. Vocational Agriculture. Every year we had Vo Ag day where we would set up all of our animals and tractors and plants, whatever. We'd put it all on display and kids from schools all over the county, and of course our own school to look at our displays.
Well, inevitably, we'd get the kids that were 4H kids. And for some reason, the 4H kids thought that they were better than us. I think that it was because a lot of FFA kids were just there for the extra science credits or because they wanted to go to my school instead of the local public school where ever they lived. While the 4H kids were genuinely interested in farming and had been since they were 2.
So, this one 4H girl comes up to me, and honestly, I don't remember what she was saying. But it occurred to me that she thought that she knew much more about animal husbandry, or whatever, than I did. And she probably did. But I did not let that stop me.
I say to her "You know a lot about horses, don't you?"
"Well, of course I do. I've been riding horses since I was four!" Or something like that. Very snooty.
So I respond "So...I guess you know how to get down off a horse, then, don't you?"
This must have pissed her off because then she got really huffy. "Of course I do. That's stupid."
I looked at her here, very seriously. And said "But you don't get down off a horse, you get down off a duck."
And of course being the better farmer than I was, she understood that perfectly and stomped off for being made a fool of.
The down off the duck joke has always been one of my favorites, especially since this day. So when I started "Producing" images and writing, I started calling my company DOTD or Down Off the Duck. But I've recently changed it to Dragon because of the dark fantasy theme of most of my writing. Also, I've called myself a dragon forever. First of all, my high school mascot was a blue dragon and because my Chinese horoscope says that I was born the year of the dragon. So it is a combo of both.
Ok, I said that this would be short. So i will end it here. Hopefully I will see(?) you later. Come back soon.
This is actually the second blog that I have ever created. I used to blog in myspace. I liked that because people would generally read it because I convinced the friends that I already had there to subscribe. I would then write pieces that involved them or were about them. For example, for Christmas, 2006 I gave a digital gift in the form of a picture or something written to everyone who subscribed to my blog. It was always an attempt at something humorous that would be a private joke between the two of us. Or it would be a very public and/or obvious joke that anyone would get. But in the long run, they were hand picked gifts specifically for the receiver.
This blog, however will be dedicated to my writing. I am currently writing a script that I have been working on since at least 2004. It was originally only 14 pages and I was planning on producing it myself. But upon further consideration, I realized that much of it did not make sense. For one thing, there was scifi in the end that was never justified in the rest of the story. So it took me several years to write a back story that was satisfactory to me. I completed the back story on March 17th. It was my 3rd attempt. I completed the script for the back story just 3 days ago. Now I am working on rewriting the original script to fit in with the new back story and to make it feature length. The goal is 90 pages.
I also have at least 3 other stories that I have been working on over the years that I have never completed. I will most likely use them as short fiction rather than screenplays. I would like to complete this first screenplay, get it over with and then work on the other stories. I mean, it's been forever!
Lastly, I would like to explain the name of my blog. Down Off the Dragon. It starts with a joke:
When I was in high school I was a Future Farmer of America. Vocational Agriculture. Every year we had Vo Ag day where we would set up all of our animals and tractors and plants, whatever. We'd put it all on display and kids from schools all over the county, and of course our own school to look at our displays.
Well, inevitably, we'd get the kids that were 4H kids. And for some reason, the 4H kids thought that they were better than us. I think that it was because a lot of FFA kids were just there for the extra science credits or because they wanted to go to my school instead of the local public school where ever they lived. While the 4H kids were genuinely interested in farming and had been since they were 2.
So, this one 4H girl comes up to me, and honestly, I don't remember what she was saying. But it occurred to me that she thought that she knew much more about animal husbandry, or whatever, than I did. And she probably did. But I did not let that stop me.
I say to her "You know a lot about horses, don't you?"
"Well, of course I do. I've been riding horses since I was four!" Or something like that. Very snooty.
So I respond "So...I guess you know how to get down off a horse, then, don't you?"
This must have pissed her off because then she got really huffy. "Of course I do. That's stupid."
I looked at her here, very seriously. And said "But you don't get down off a horse, you get down off a duck."
And of course being the better farmer than I was, she understood that perfectly and stomped off for being made a fool of.
The down off the duck joke has always been one of my favorites, especially since this day. So when I started "Producing" images and writing, I started calling my company DOTD or Down Off the Duck. But I've recently changed it to Dragon because of the dark fantasy theme of most of my writing. Also, I've called myself a dragon forever. First of all, my high school mascot was a blue dragon and because my Chinese horoscope says that I was born the year of the dragon. So it is a combo of both.
Ok, I said that this would be short. So i will end it here. Hopefully I will see(?) you later. Come back soon.
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