I recently dug up an old thread on "The Artfull Writer", talking about your "day job" and how it's a means to the ends till you make that break ("IF").
So hear I sit. My day job... it makes ends meet and it's kinda in the right direction. Surfing around nothing that has to do with anything when I found the following...
"Invest in yourself first and always. Select day jobs that also move you forward and give you the experiences you want and need. Never take a job just to pay the bills. Always find a job that pays you back in some way because while you are selling your time you'll want to have something to show for it in the end."
...."Being proactive really means doing something every day to move yourself forward. This can be something as simple as practicing visualization techniques, writing an article like I do, or surfing websites that interest you."
...now, am I moving myself forward? Am I sticking to the words that are coming out of my mouth, "keep your story moving forward!". Over and over, I say keep your story moving forward, but am I doing enough? My job isn't. What chances am I giving myself? Have I defined myself? Am I reaching above the line? Did this move me forward?
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Hit and Shun
I beseech you my writers! Please stop and resist from trying to shock us with the over done. I’m not sure if it’s Halloween, the Execs not getting out enough, or if writers truly think it’s original. If you are writing a thriller, a coming of age, tragic romance, or just any thing and for some reason you need that moment, that twist, the turning point, the thing that’s going to make people feel… Scared, Sorrow, Satisfied, Sorry they ever watched. Do not have your antagonist, or protagonist, or anyone step out onto the road just when the car, bus, van, moped flash into scene and kill, mangle, toss your character on end. IT DOESN’T WORK ANYMORE! We’ve seen it. It’s been done. We are not shocked. We’ll be more surprised if it doesn’t happen… Oh wait! Don’t do that either! Don’t have the crying teen angry at the world slowly back into the street making us think, “Here’s where the car comes and hit’s the poor girl”. Then you cleverly have the car just miss her. And if for some reason you did this and then you think, “I know how to put a twist on this, I’ll just have a second car come in and hit her!” This is not a Brilliant solution!!! Another solution is to have two people sitting in a car when it is struck, killing at least one of the passengers.
I bring this up after seeing it on this past weeks Smallville, "Reunion". Which if no one has been watching, the Green Arrow has been a great addition and Justin Hartley is the perfect balance. Now if they would finally get rid of Lana Lang! But I digress…
I don’t think I could ever list the amount of times this has happened on TV or the movies (and in a great deal of Car Insurance commercials). I will admit there are times where it has worked but the time has come to stop. I’ve submitted my definitions to Urban Dictionary. I also started a site of Screenwriter Vocabular, not sure where that's going but chime in and add your 2 cents!
Hit and Shun:
The act of avoiding a better way to come up with an insightful moment or turning point, the screenwriter has the character conveniently backing into an empty road protesting their anger or the events that proceeded when suddenly they are hit by a speeding car.
Hit and Shun 2:
If the first car doesn’t get him (her) the second one was does.
Sit and Shun:
The same act as Hit and Shun but the victims are sitting in the car. In general there are two characters in the car one of which doesn’t make it. The car probably just pulling threw a traffic light, or sitting idling after a deep conversation. If there is only one person in the car they probably just hung up the phone.
From "Meet Joe Black" (warning: shocking, it worked this time)
p.s. About 10 years ago I was sitting in my 87’ Jeep Cherokee waiting to make a legal left turn when a Ford F-150 traveling 55mph re-ended me sending my truck into the air and colliding into another vehicle. I walked with two small cuts the size of a tic-tac on top of my head. As we all sit and wait in life for our “TV Moment” this was not an insightful moment or turning point in my life.
I bring this up after seeing it on this past weeks Smallville, "Reunion". Which if no one has been watching, the Green Arrow has been a great addition and Justin Hartley is the perfect balance. Now if they would finally get rid of Lana Lang! But I digress…
I don’t think I could ever list the amount of times this has happened on TV or the movies (and in a great deal of Car Insurance commercials). I will admit there are times where it has worked but the time has come to stop. I’ve submitted my definitions to Urban Dictionary. I also started a site of Screenwriter Vocabular, not sure where that's going but chime in and add your 2 cents!
Hit and Shun:
The act of avoiding a better way to come up with an insightful moment or turning point, the screenwriter has the character conveniently backing into an empty road protesting their anger or the events that proceeded when suddenly they are hit by a speeding car.
Hit and Shun 2:
If the first car doesn’t get him (her) the second one was does.
Sit and Shun:
The same act as Hit and Shun but the victims are sitting in the car. In general there are two characters in the car one of which doesn’t make it. The car probably just pulling threw a traffic light, or sitting idling after a deep conversation. If there is only one person in the car they probably just hung up the phone.
From "Meet Joe Black" (warning: shocking, it worked this time)
p.s. About 10 years ago I was sitting in my 87’ Jeep Cherokee waiting to make a legal left turn when a Ford F-150 traveling 55mph re-ended me sending my truck into the air and colliding into another vehicle. I walked with two small cuts the size of a tic-tac on top of my head. As we all sit and wait in life for our “TV Moment” this was not an insightful moment or turning point in my life.
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
What do you do for a living?
Upon reading Aury Wallington’s most recent entry on the frustrations that come with answering the question; “What do you do for a living?” I had to commiserate and thought I would now share that here as well. Not sure if it’s the curse of the creative but you’ll probably be beat up with criticism and an “I can do better, could ya help me?” response.
My wife and I both work I Children's Animation, hear in NYC, and are clawing our way out. Not that we haven't enjoyed our tour of duty. After all it's how we meet, while working on Nick Jrs. "Little Bill". My wife is a writer, and for myself I'm a Storyboard Supervisor. My back ground is that of an Artist but I'm a storyteller and my job deals more with making a story work then drawing. So what happens when I'm asked "What do you do for a living?" the simple answer is I work in Children's Animation, as most people are clueless as to what a Storyboard is? 99% of the people say, "Really? I wrote a Children's Book, you should illustrate it!" The other 1% well... "You should do a Children's Book; I have a great Idea for you!"
Now I've taken my share a shoots of whiskey over this. You got to be careful though because I have a sneaky suspicion the Bar Tender also wrote a Children's Book.
I am now at the cross roads of my carrier and as mention above both my wife and I are moving into live action. We have a few scripts we're working on together and she is prepping a spec script as we speak. So I now tend to be even more sensitive when I'm asked what I do for a living. Don't want to go down the road of hearing the bar tender lean over and say, "I wrote a script!" verses "I wrote a Children's book". So I option for "I'm in transition", and then leave it at that. This is dangerous because you don't know who knows who and all that.
But just when you think it is safe, it gets you! The following situation of how my wife, her High school boyfriend, his roommate (ten years younger then us), and myself came to be in a strip club in San Francisco is a whole other story. However... the night was going well and we where all having a good time. A few drinks, some laughs, getting along with the "entertainers". We actually spent more time hanging out and chatting with the strippers then anything. And then it happens. I swear, I'm sitting there talking to a stripper, my wife sitting next to me and the question comes up. Katie leans over and asks, "So what do you do for a living?" My guard is down; no reason to over think anything "I work in Children's Animation". Not a single beat missed, "Really? I wrote a Children's book!" I sit in disbelief, waiting for the next line, where they ask me if I am interested in illustrating it. Oh no! Not this time. "It's being published next month. You'd love it; it's about an alcoholic teddy bear." I am not making this up! I can only imagine it's a small independent press in the bay area. But apparently it's for kids.
From that day on, I stopped telling people I work in Children's Animation. Now don't you worry, I still have neighbor's approaching me about there Children's Book. As soon as we got back home from our trip our neighbor across the hall stopped by to pitch it to me. And then there's the neighbor that lives on the back side of our building... And the guy that lives at the main entrance. And I'm sure if I talked to anyone else in the complex I could rack up another half a dozen books for the list. I've resigned that this will go on for the rest of my life, no matter where I end up.
If you work in television and have found yourself with the same frustrations that Aury has found when asked what you do for a living, I sympathize on many levels. I daily deal with the tribulations of making a show work and watch the good bits recede into the dark (most by S&P and the bloody research department, for us). That crowd of 99% that asks you "How come your show is so unfunny? Don't you guys realize how bad it is when you're writing it?" well let them try and do better. For the 1%, tell them your agent only works with sitcom writer's that write unfunny scripts. For me, I'm going to except my fate and tell the world I write Children Book's and cut them off at the pass!
Thank You Aury for letting me share. Or should I say thanks allot for reminding me!
p.s. Although I have played with the idea and I do in fact belong to the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, I do not in fact write Children Book’s. And that's not from a lack of ideas, I have files full of ideas. I have credit as an Illustrator on a book and at a time it looked like it might be my Carrier path. Maybe trying on my fait bestowed among others. I much prefer to work with an older audience.
p.p.s. The info at Amazon does not list me as an Illustrator, that's another story! My name is on the actual book cover and the title page.
My wife and I both work I Children's Animation, hear in NYC, and are clawing our way out. Not that we haven't enjoyed our tour of duty. After all it's how we meet, while working on Nick Jrs. "Little Bill". My wife is a writer, and for myself I'm a Storyboard Supervisor. My back ground is that of an Artist but I'm a storyteller and my job deals more with making a story work then drawing. So what happens when I'm asked "What do you do for a living?" the simple answer is I work in Children's Animation, as most people are clueless as to what a Storyboard is? 99% of the people say, "Really? I wrote a Children's Book, you should illustrate it!" The other 1% well... "You should do a Children's Book; I have a great Idea for you!"
Now I've taken my share a shoots of whiskey over this. You got to be careful though because I have a sneaky suspicion the Bar Tender also wrote a Children's Book.
I am now at the cross roads of my carrier and as mention above both my wife and I are moving into live action. We have a few scripts we're working on together and she is prepping a spec script as we speak. So I now tend to be even more sensitive when I'm asked what I do for a living. Don't want to go down the road of hearing the bar tender lean over and say, "I wrote a script!" verses "I wrote a Children's book". So I option for "I'm in transition", and then leave it at that. This is dangerous because you don't know who knows who and all that.
But just when you think it is safe, it gets you! The following situation of how my wife, her High school boyfriend, his roommate (ten years younger then us), and myself came to be in a strip club in San Francisco is a whole other story. However... the night was going well and we where all having a good time. A few drinks, some laughs, getting along with the "entertainers". We actually spent more time hanging out and chatting with the strippers then anything. And then it happens. I swear, I'm sitting there talking to a stripper, my wife sitting next to me and the question comes up. Katie leans over and asks, "So what do you do for a living?" My guard is down; no reason to over think anything "I work in Children's Animation". Not a single beat missed, "Really? I wrote a Children's book!" I sit in disbelief, waiting for the next line, where they ask me if I am interested in illustrating it. Oh no! Not this time. "It's being published next month. You'd love it; it's about an alcoholic teddy bear." I am not making this up! I can only imagine it's a small independent press in the bay area. But apparently it's for kids.
From that day on, I stopped telling people I work in Children's Animation. Now don't you worry, I still have neighbor's approaching me about there Children's Book. As soon as we got back home from our trip our neighbor across the hall stopped by to pitch it to me. And then there's the neighbor that lives on the back side of our building... And the guy that lives at the main entrance. And I'm sure if I talked to anyone else in the complex I could rack up another half a dozen books for the list. I've resigned that this will go on for the rest of my life, no matter where I end up.
If you work in television and have found yourself with the same frustrations that Aury has found when asked what you do for a living, I sympathize on many levels. I daily deal with the tribulations of making a show work and watch the good bits recede into the dark (most by S&P and the bloody research department, for us). That crowd of 99% that asks you "How come your show is so unfunny? Don't you guys realize how bad it is when you're writing it?" well let them try and do better. For the 1%, tell them your agent only works with sitcom writer's that write unfunny scripts. For me, I'm going to except my fate and tell the world I write Children Book's and cut them off at the pass!
Thank You Aury for letting me share. Or should I say thanks allot for reminding me!
p.s. Although I have played with the idea and I do in fact belong to the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, I do not in fact write Children Book’s. And that's not from a lack of ideas, I have files full of ideas. I have credit as an Illustrator on a book and at a time it looked like it might be my Carrier path. Maybe trying on my fait bestowed among others. I much prefer to work with an older audience.
p.p.s. The info at Amazon does not list me as an Illustrator, that's another story! My name is on the actual book cover and the title page.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
And reach... Now with the left...
So how is that going?
Seem to have ducks in rows but now we need to move them forward. Tonight we (the wife and I) are going to a WGAE meeting. It's the one that we either get further into Animation or it's our out! last night we went a gathering of old work mates in order to celebrate a producers new gig (I loved that book as a kid, "The Producers New Gig"). It was a good warm up for tonight and a reminder how the creative and the meet-n-greet are such polar opposites. Tonight should be interesting for that. Last year we found our selves huddling in a corner not certain what to do or say or... This year, I have direction so I am looking forward to it.
Finished reading "The Shinning" last night, as well. It's a great book, very rich and full of background. I've always heard there was more indication that the house was tied in with native American Indians... Not! I think there may be more symbolism in Kubrick's take then in the book. I have the screen play and will be sitting down with that this week. I really enjoyed the book however I like the ending of the movie much better (of course it's been ingrained in my head since childhood). While reading yesterday I meet a woman in her late 50's who commented on how much better the book was (I was about 30pgs. from the end and things where unfolding), and how "They never understand him (King), in film, and they just ruin his work". I have to say I found Kings ended much more Hollywood, then Kubrick's. My wife has never been partial to the way Halloran is killed off so quickly and I think she will be pleasantly surprised and then left completely flat there after. I love the Father and Son relationship, and understand King was upset that Kubrick didn't focus on that aspect. So again, excited to review the screenplay and look for undertones. Why, "The Shinning"? Halloween around the corner sounds like the obvious, but in fact I am studying for a project that I am working on. In case you wanted to know.
Seem to have ducks in rows but now we need to move them forward. Tonight we (the wife and I) are going to a WGAE meeting. It's the one that we either get further into Animation or it's our out! last night we went a gathering of old work mates in order to celebrate a producers new gig (I loved that book as a kid, "The Producers New Gig"). It was a good warm up for tonight and a reminder how the creative and the meet-n-greet are such polar opposites. Tonight should be interesting for that. Last year we found our selves huddling in a corner not certain what to do or say or... This year, I have direction so I am looking forward to it.
Finished reading "The Shinning" last night, as well. It's a great book, very rich and full of background. I've always heard there was more indication that the house was tied in with native American Indians... Not! I think there may be more symbolism in Kubrick's take then in the book. I have the screen play and will be sitting down with that this week. I really enjoyed the book however I like the ending of the movie much better (of course it's been ingrained in my head since childhood). While reading yesterday I meet a woman in her late 50's who commented on how much better the book was (I was about 30pgs. from the end and things where unfolding), and how "They never understand him (King), in film, and they just ruin his work". I have to say I found Kings ended much more Hollywood, then Kubrick's. My wife has never been partial to the way Halloran is killed off so quickly and I think she will be pleasantly surprised and then left completely flat there after. I love the Father and Son relationship, and understand King was upset that Kubrick didn't focus on that aspect. So again, excited to review the screenplay and look for undertones. Why, "The Shinning"? Halloween around the corner sounds like the obvious, but in fact I am studying for a project that I am working on. In case you wanted to know.
Friday, October 13, 2006
Chocolate Fortune Cookie
So... After completing my fake Steak-n-Cheese Bar-B-Q sub at Red Bamboo a Chocolate Fortune Cookie was tossed upon my table. Odd.. I've never had a Chocolate Fortune Cookie before (To my recollection any way). I snapped open the cookie excited to see if I finally received the lucky numbers I have been looking for. Sadly...no. I did get the 15, but that's it. Turning the slip of paper over I would receive my fortune: ":) You should be able to undertake and accomplish anything. :)"
I should be able to... I should...
Well we're going to!
I should be able to... I should...
Well we're going to!
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