WE WON!!

Uh, yeah, so Obama is the country's first black president. And that's great, but it occurs to me that South Africa which had been run by an Apartheid government since 1948 elected its first black president 14 years ago! And if you're not familiar with apartheid, it's basically the polar opposite of democracy! Why are we so backward?

All that doesn't matter now, because Barack kicked butt. Last I checked McCain was stuck at 156 votes and Obama rose from 280+ to 333! Seems to me that with these kind of numbers, not only did people who didn't vote before vote, but perhaps people that previously voted republican changed their minds this year! Either way, Oh, yeah, we kicked butt. And by WE I mean ANYONE that was hoping and praying for the change that Obama promised and more than likely will bring about in DC.

School

It is now almost official. I am going back to school in January. I sat down with an academic councilor to discuss which classes I will be taking. My major will be liberal arts. I will receive an Associates Degree in liberal arts and then transfer to Old Dominion University for a degree in English (creative writing emphasis) with a minor in communications. I will get at least a baccalaureate, but I'm hoping to get into the accelerated Master's program. It's not too bad. You just take 4 or 5 classes that are at the 400 level, but they can also be counted for 500 level. That way, when you've earned your bachelor's degree, you have less classes to take to earn you Master's.

I will be taking Math 240 (statistics), Bio 101, Public Speaking, and Psychology 201. I'm so excited. Not so much about the classes, but just going back in general. And I'm not taking any of these courses online. I'm going to go to a real class with real students and real teachers. Did you know that you can take Public speaking online? Does that make any sense to you?

Oh, yeah. I've also cut all of my hair off. I love my hair short. I haven't cut it all off since March of 2005. I was determined to grow it long, but all I managed to do was have a whole bunch of damaged hair from perming. It looked so aweful when I went to the hair dresser. Now most of the damaged hair is gone. I think that I might wear a mohawk like I did the last time I cut it this short!

Why Should I Vote For Your Man?

This election year I have recieved several pieces of mail from the Republican Party of Virginia. Not one piece of litterature mentions McCain or Palin except for their websites. All it does is say why we shouldn't vote for Obama. This is the message I sent RPV.org. I can'r wait to read the response I get if any.

"I would like to start by saying that, although I will not be voting republican this year, I do have a lot of respect for McCain and I believe that it is sad how poorly his supporters are representing him. Let's start with you. I have recieved my 3rd piece of mail from you. Not one item has his picture on it. Not on item lists his platforms, what he stands for, what he believes in. It all just bashes Obama. It's ok to have a stance against your opponent, but don't you have anything else to say? Growing up, I was always warned against friends/aquaintances that make them feel better about themselves by putting others down. Instead of highlighting your candadate's qualities you're focusing on your apponants problems. And it's not just you. I hear it on the radio and the tv, too. It's kind of childish. What's worse is that it reinforces the anti-American/anti-constitutional/anti-democratic activities of those that threaten and harass Obama and his supporters. Two young men were discovered having plotted to assassinate Obama and black people in general until they are caught and killed if they have to. Or the email saying that republicans are to vote on tuesday, and democrats are to vote on wednsday. This is reminiscent of countries where dictators rule. And people that partake in this kind of activity/thinking are anti-democracy. They are no better than the people in countries that we are historically at war with who kill the supporters of the opposing party. Is that the kind of country in which we live? When I've spoken to republicans, their first argument is Obama this and Obama that. "Obama is anti-gun." Ok, so what is McCain's stand? Better yet, what's his running mate's stand? We all know, she has no stand because she is utterly clueless. By sending me literature about why you think Obama should not be president, you have failed in convincing me that McCain should. At the very least, you could send me something telling why Sarah Palin should be let anywhere near the White House if she couldn't even tell you what the Vice President does!"

Stupid People With Popcorn

When I was in Navy Electronics Technician School in Great Lakes, Illinois I lived in a large berthing with hundreds of other female sailors. I don't know if you know what it's like when hundreds of women required to live together in the not so optimal conditions. Four girls to a small room, marching to class in "Lake Effect Snow," bad food in the galley and annoying Barracks duty officers. Not to mention the multitude of backgrounds and cultures that must be transended to live together harmoniously.

But the greatest obstacle was the stupidity that many of us displayed when preparing food. Being a barracks for mainly E1-E3s there were no real cooking facilities. Just a couple of microwaves where the vending machines were located. So needless to say, there was a lot of popcorn being made.

Then, unfortunately, many a sailor would leave a bag of popcorn in the microwave unattended assuming that the directions on the bag would work on any microwave, despite the fact that the directions also say "microwave ovens may vary." Right?

So after several microwave fires they banned food from the barracks completely. Originally, it was only banned from the original berthings but ok in common areas. The result was many girls ouside in the Lake Effect Snow freezing their butts off eating delivery pizza at the picnic tables.

So, anyway, an hour ago I pulld up in front of the local 7-11 when I saw this lady writing down the name and phone number that you call when you have a complaint. I noticed that she had a Connecticut lisence plate. I was hoping that she was military and not really from CT because she had a stupid "Uncle Sam Wants You To Speak English" bumper sticker. I never found out.

I went inside and I heard the manager and the cashier talking with another customer about what had happened. Apparently this woman got a bag of popcorn, didn't pay for it, popped it in the store microwave, burned it and brought the bag to the counter wanting retribution of sorts. Apparently, the directions on the pack did not work with that paticular microwave. That's why anyone over the age of 14 aught know that you listen for the pops and you stop it when they only come one every five seconds or something like that, reguardless of the minutes it's been in there.

So of course the question was, did she expect her money back, or another bag of popcorn? She never paid for the pack she burned!! Isn't that theft? Is she going to call the number and say that she didn't get a refund or a replacement? Doesn't she realize that they will probably ask for a receipt number and when she can't produce one it will make her out to be a theif?

OK, that's all.

A Bit More On That Last Post

I've started writing the faerie tale on my computer. Usually I do all of my primary writing in a notebook. I like how my computer tells me how many words I have written.
The biggest challenge has been that I have decided to write this in the first person. Of course you know, that is, if you read my blog, you know that I've been writing a screenplay for so long that writing in this manner is a huge challenge. What is really difficult is not writing everything in the present tense!
Anyway, I think that I addressed this issue in an earlier blog. So I won't go on about it.
Also, I have to take a break from writing all together with the exception for an occasional spurt of idea writing. I have an advancement exam to take in February and I have a lot of studying to do.
Ok, that's all.

New Story and Newly Found Friends

About 15 months ago (I only specify the number of months instead of "a little over a year" because the subject came up earlier today. Someone wanted to know the exact number of months ago an event that took place around the same time occurred. So, yeah, about 15 months ago I got an inspiration to write a dark faerie tale. I won't talk about where I got the inspiration because it takes me back to a dark time in my life that I do not wish to relive.

I had some basic idea of what I wanted to write. I then started writing an outline. After a few pages of outline, ADD kicked in and I put that notebook away. I started working on the Jonathan Livingston project of course. I always went back to that when anything else failed to keep my attention. I believe that I even, at some point, forgot about my faerie tale. It sat in its notebook on my bookshelf for over a year, waiting for me to remember it and to get the inspiration I needed to develop my ideas and start working on it again. Of course, I needed to complete Jonathan Livingston, which I did, sort of, recently.

But a couple of months ago it all came to me. I hadn't written in a while so I pulled out that old notebook and started reading over my old notebook. I started thinking hard about the story that I wanted to tell. There were still gaping holes that I could not fill. So I got the idea to read the masters of dark faerie tales: The Germans and the Russians. Thinking hard about my story, I realized that basically what I had written, or rather the premise that I wrote, could be kind of a reverse Sleeping Beauty. The princess is being raised by a kind uncle, the kingdom falls asleep, the prince is the bad guy and the princess must go complete harrowing tasks to save the day by confronting, and defeating the witch who had no part in bewitching the kingdom in the first place!

I found several Russian faerie tales that gave me some ideas where I'd been stuck before. She has several tasks that she most complete before she can save her kingdom. The idea was for three. I could only think of 2 the first time i stopped writing it. Coming up with the 3rd is part of what held up this story for so long. Not only did reading classic Russian faerie tales help me figure out how to write the third task, it's helping me develop the witch that she must defeat.

Ok, enough about that. The second thing that I wanted to talk about is something that happened to me the other day. It is one of the things that makes me MOST happy in life. I found a friend that I have lost. Actually I found 2. One that I have known since middle school. The other I have known since first grade. I wanted to take this time to tell them that I really appreciate that they continue their friendship with me. It has always been treasured and finding them, thanks to the internet, has been a serendipitous surprise. I hope that I never lose touch with them again.

Did that come out too mushy? I hope not.

Kimya Who?

I am so not writing about writing in my blog. Or am I?

So, I was looking through other people's blogs as I am tempted to do when I need a break from the daily grind. What grind you ask? Well, I don't know either 'cause I really am not doing much. Writing, studying, stuff. But I need a diversion from nothing once in a while. Anyway, I came across this music player in someone else's blog and it was playing this song that totally caught my ear (does anyone say caught my ear? well, I did.) So I listened to it a few times, looked up the lyrics, sang along. It was fun. So then I googled the artist. Aparently she's an antifolk songstress, whatever that means. But this one song I loved too much not to share. It's not the one from the blog, but just as, if not more interesting. And how does this relate to writing? It does, I promise. I now want to pick up a guitar, learn to play, grow out my natural hair into a big afro again (I promise, I did have a big afro once) and write really cool songs like this one. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfbqrNPJXlQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKBS7YPNLPU&feature=related


Ok, so I couldn't embed the video into my blog. You will just have to go to youtube yourself, please and enjoy these two songs.

I had to, just for a moment, wonder away from my usual banter about writing to give you guys a treat for your funny bone. Well, I thought it was funny. I may get in trouble for posting it here as I do not have permission to use this photo. Well, not in trouble, but it may get pulled. Or not; I don't have a whole lot of traffic to this sight. Who'd know? Anyway, it has delighted me to notice over the years that those in the fitness industry (something that very much interests me) have moved away from tanning their entire bodies and leaving their faces pale for competition. For those of you who do not know why they ever do it in the first place, a nice tan makes your muscles really pop. You can better see deffinition and striations if there are any. Although it has always been and still is rather ugly and over done, or the colors are unnatural, it is nice to see that people are starting to use tanner on their faces, too. This makes the overall affect less comical, I think. But this picture that I found recently really gave me pause, before laughing hysterically. Ok, maybe not that hard. But I did think it was funny. My question is, why would someone go through the trouble of tanning his face and neck but completely neglect his ears? It's just funny to me!

Not Writing a Screenplay Right Now, But How?

I have been straying away from my Jonathan L. project for some time now. I've needed a break from my screewriting. I've also needed to explore other genres. First thing was that I started writing was a horror story that I have been telling for years. This is actually old news, but I haven't written here since May 18th! I'm such a slacker! Anyway, I started a story a little while ago that was inspired by a Writersdigest.com forumite. I just suddenly got the idea to write down this story that I've had in my mind about how to get rid of my husband's body should I actually kill him. And of course, how to kill him.

It was going great. I was submitting sections of the story in 1000 word spurts. I originally thought that it would only be about 1000 words, but I am on Part 5 and every part has been +1000 words. But the best part is that I got a lot of good feed back by the critiquers in the forum.

Now for the worst parts: The story is extremely disturbing. Apparently not by those that are reading it on WD.com. It has been kinda difficult because the story contains a lot of nonfiction. There are a few things that didn't really happen, my husband's death being one of them. But the main characters being me and my ex husband, it makes it very difficult to seperate myself from the story and write it without letting my emotions and my stomache getting in the way.

The other problem is that I have been writing a screenplay for so long that I am having trouble writing from someones point of view. No first person, no getting inside of someones head. Even using past and future tense is becoming a challenge. One of the most important critiques that I recieved is that they want me to get into my main character's head. It's not only difficult for me to do that because it's not the kind of writing that I would do for a screenplay, it's difficult because that main character is me. And if you read it, you would be just as scared as I am to journey too deep inside of my head.

I wrote another "horror" short story for the Friday the 13th contest that has been extended for the second time to the 20th. It could be so much better if I could write it in first person from the main character's POV. But I no longer remember how to write like that. The story is already written, but I would like to rewrite it before I submit it because it could be so much better.

I think that what I will try to do is spend the good part of tomorrow reading short stories so that I can rewrite with a fresh understanding of how to write like that again.

Not Quite Done

I substituted for the first time in a couple of weeks this past Friday. While in class I managed to complete my screenplay. Well...sort of. I had decided that 74 pages would be acceptable. I had completed the script from the story as is. But it isn't enough.
What's driving me crazy is that I feel like I added so much to it today and yet it still isn't adding up to much.
And I was very careful to make the additions relevent and not filler. I wrote and wrote but it only added up to a couple more pages. But thankfully, they were significant additions that really mean a lot to me.

Good Mommy Cat(?)

The last blog I posted I mentioned how wonderful a mother my cat is, despite her youth. Well, today she tested my confidence in her motherhood. She and her babies sleep in my boys' room. Usually. Well, apparently she go the idea last night that she doesn't like it in there anymore. I think that it's because of their friends coming over often.
So this morning at some point she went outside because I know that she was in the house when I went to bed last night. Since I'm not the first one up in the morning, it didn't surprise me to see her outside. So I let her in.
When she came in, I realized that I hadn't checked on the babies yet. So I went into the boys' room and looked under the bed and they were not there. I turned to Thierry and asked her where her kids are. She just looked at me and meowed. We walked all over the house looking for the little 4 musketeers. What bothered me was that she kept calling to them. Even in the spot where they were when I went to bed last night.
Crazy cat didn't know where her kids were!
Granted, they do like to wonder, but I've never seen them wonder further than a couple of feet from their mother. Although, at least 2 of them are very adventurous and I wouldn't put it passed them to venture a little further out on their own. But we really couldn't find them.
Finally we found them in my daughter's bedroom on the otherside of her bed. Her bed isn't on a frame so we really had to look for them. But we found them. Happy and healthy.
So why have I wondered from my blog toppic again? These 4 little bundles and their crazy little "adventures" that never happen are inspiring the children's stories that I was talking about before. And my script is almost done!

Finally Done Except For Apendices

I just this morning completed the story of my screenplay. Erm... that is, I have finally completed the story that will be a screenplay. Well, it was a story that I wrote based on another story that someone else wrote. Then I turned it into a screenplay. Then I wrote the backstory, then I adapted my backstory into a screenplay. Then I rewrote the original screenplay into a story (which is what I just finished doing) and I will now turn this rewrite of the original screenplay into a new screenplay! And you wonder why it has taken me 4 years to write this! Well, I am now on the fast track to "complete screenplay under my belt" land. And hopefully soon after that I will be on a fast plane to "sold screenplay" country. And then maybe oneday there will be people actually interested in reading my blog.

My only fear is that when I am finally done with this, will I miss writing it? Will I think that there is something that I should have said? Nah, if someone buys it, I will be for certain that it is the way that it is supposed to be. But if no one does, I will just.... You know what? I need to just concentrate on getting it complete and shopped. I fear nothing.

The appendices can wait until I get to those moments in the script to worry about, I think. I don't even know if appendices is really what they are supposed to be called. It's just stuff that I thought about later that I needed to add and I was going to write them later and add them to the final script as I am writing it. Whatever. They'll come when they come.

Happy Mother's Day Thierry!

Today I decided to break away from the theme of my blog. Today is mother's day and I would like to acknowledge a very new mother today. She is my cat. Her babies were born on April 27th. I have heard of cats, and other animals rejecting their babies or not having a natural instinct to motherhood. But Thierry is very protective and aware of her babies. When it is time to eat she licks them gently to wake them and position them. There have even been times when I would ask her about her babies and she would look in the direction of the room where they sleep and meow. As if she knows what I am asking her.

It is not the fact that she is actually a good mother, but the fact that if you were to look at her, you'd think that she is a baby herself. We've had her for a year and she was about the same size as she is now, then. I believe that she is still a kitten, but I couldn't tell you how old she is exactly. But she seems so young, so small. And when her babies are asleep she plays and jumps around like a kitten.

I think that my fascination with my new mother cat is that she is much like me. When she is in mommy mode, she is MOMMY. But when she has time to herself she is still the kid that she really is inside.

This picture show only 3 of her kids. She still had one more that wasn't born until we all went to bed thinking that she was done. This one is black like his mom with white paws and belly. They all sleep under a bed so it is difficult to take a new picture with all five!

Man With His Head in a Box!

I am less than 3 pages from the end of the original script that I am rewriting. I am very excited because that means that I am almost done with it. When I am done with the rewrite of the story, I can work on converting it back into screenplay.

But knowing that I am almost done; seeing the end of the road, the other side of the rainbow, I managed to get myself distracted as usual. Fortunately, this time I got distracted with something that has to do with the story. And although I was sure that I would be done with the rewrite tonight I let another element distract. So now I will not be done until tomorrow. But let me tell you about what distracted me. Because I am very excited about it.
About a year ago, I guess. I'm sure that it was less than a year ago because I lived at the other place and I was only in that lease for a year. So, about a year ago when I was on revision #2 of my script's back story I decided that I would try my hand at conlanging. For those of you who may not know, conlanging is the art of "constructing a language." If you are familiar with movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy or tv shows like Star Trek, you may already have heard other writers' conlanging. It is the business of writing a language that does not already exist. Elfish, Ramulan, Klingon. You know, stuff that forty year old virgins are made of.
Anyway, I am not a forty year old virgin. Well, I haven't been a virgin in a while, and I'm not quite forty but writing is a passion and writing a language makes for a wonderful challenge. I at first wrote "made for a wonderful challenge" but it is an ongoing process. You will likely ever have a library of vocabulary that includes the entire scope of words in your mother language.
So, I wrote this language for 2 reasons. The first was that I had studied so many languages that all had their own positive points but many things about them make me crazy. For instance, German and its many cases and articles. Or Welsh and its crazy sentence structure. So I created a language that completely lacked those difficulties that have stumped me on each successive language I have studied.
The second reason that I wrote this language is to add a different dimension to the script that I am writing. The back story involves ancient folks, magic and other stuff that made me think that it would be wonderfully appropriate to have a constructed language as part of the script.
So, what distracted me was that got to a point in my script, the third or fourth point probably, where I would need to use the language. So I got a hold of the notebook in which I wrote the language and started translating dialogue. I did not intend on writing the whole script in this language. Just key dialogue. But most specifically, a song that is sung several times.
The song was originally a poem that I wrote for Writer's Digest.com's April's poem of the day, day 30. I took out a few lines out of it to make it shorter and I have started translating it. It's very exciting. But now I have to finish writing the story tomorrow.
And now I bet you're wondering what inspired this language. You're going to laugh. You know that geni from Pee Wee's playhouse? The one with his head in a box? You remember when he would say Mekalekhay mekahaineeho? I created a language based on that silly little phrase. It combines elements of Spanish, German, Japanese and Arabic. It borrows and adapts words from Spanish and German. It uses Arabic's word structure and a lot of Japanese pronunciation and concepts. It flows the way that I would like to hear a language and is easy to learn, I believe. And if any of you have ever read my myspace blog, you had to know that this one would eventually revert back to dialogue involving Pee Wee Herman. And I'm sure you know that it won't be the last.

Welcome Home To My Lovie

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.