I still exist!

Wow, it really has been a long time since I posted. It goes to show you that a full-time job while trying to write full-time gives things a chance to slip through the cracks. I'm going to have to get better.

What I have been working on is a new screenplay, which I'm relatively sure will go to Amazon. Honestly, it's the only place right now for an unknown writer to even have a chance -- if you don't live in Hollywood.

I'm plotting out my Blackburn Burrow rewrite that Amazon requested. It'll be a pretty big change. It will move the movie from low-budget to big-budget, which means everything has to be re-written, even if I use some of the same scenes.

I also made the finals for Amazon Studios first Script Spotlight -- I rewrote Zombies vs. Gladiators. It would be nice to win, but it's hard to tell since every writer took it in a different direction.

A Winner is Me!

I've been away from the blog so long, mainly because I've been working on a lot of stuff. Primarily, I've been whipping Blackburn Burrow into better shape. I'm happy to say, it won the March Amazon Studios screenplay contest. The award is $20,000! It's the most I've ever been paid for my writing, so I'm hoping it's only going to go up from here.

There are so many projects I want to work on, but there just isn't enough time. Work has been crazy! Not in a bad way, I've just been really busy, and it's exhausting me. I'm working on another project I want to get done, just in case I have the opportunity to get representation.

I'll try to post more regularly. It would be a good habit to get into!

Here's a link to the Amazon Studios contest: http://studios.amazon.com/contests/

So, that didn't go so well ...

Yeah, didn't make the top 6 in the Amazon contest. Again, I didn't really expect to, but it's still a wee bit depressing. I did edit the screenplay and set up a revision, which will be entered for the February contest, but I don't expect much to happen there. Still, top 50 out of 2500 or so scripts means I don't completely and utterly suck.

However, I must be a glutton for punishment as I'm entering the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. They have a young adult section, so I'm throwing Shiloh's Way into the ring.

The problem is, it's not ready. It needs massive editing. I've already cut an entire page out of the first chapter, and I'm finding passive voice everywhere. It's kind of overwhelming because the contest deadline is so close -- worse, they have a limited number of entries allowed, so it could close earlier.

So, I'm back to editing! Wish me luck!

Been away so long ...

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted here. I really should keep my blog better up to date. For those of you checking it out - my screenplay of Blackburn Burrow made the top 50 of the Amazon Studios contest. I have to say, I was pretty shocked by that. They'll be announcing the top 6 soon, I'm not really sure I have a chance at that ... Still, it's nice to be in consideration!

Everything else is pretty much the same. My mind is overwhelmed with story ideas, and no time or focus to be able to get them down into long form. I'm going to keep trying though.

I will update more often, though! Hopefully, that'll keep me on track.

Book review: Usurper of the Sun

I've been away from the blog for a couple weeks (so sad ...), but I'm back to do something new - a book review! Ok, review might be too strong a word -- perhaps, a book impression is better.

Book: Usurper of the Sun
Author: Housuke Nojiri
Translated by: John Wunderley
Published: 2003 JP/2009 US

Book Summary: The mysterious Builders have brought humanity to the edge of extinction; can they be reasoned with, or must they be destroyed?Aki Shiraishi is a high school student working in the astronomy club and one of the few witnesses to an amazing event—someone is building a tower on the planet Mercury. Soon, the Builders have constructed a ring around the sun, threatening the ecology of Earth with an immense shadow. Aki is inspired to pursue a career in science, and the truth. She must determine the purpose of the ring and the plans of its creators, as the survival of both species—humanity and the alien Builders—hangs in the balance.

Impressions: The novel is one of the staple concepts of sci-fi - a first contact story. However, it's more in the vein of Clarke, as in hard science in a fictional setting, rather than Lucas - fantasy in space. I love sci-fantasy books - warp gates, hundreds of aliens interacting, high adventure across the galaxy ... but, it's not even close to being realistic. And, the concepts that are explored, while possibly important, are extremely broad.

Usurper of the Sun deals deeply with the science surrounding awareness, intelligence, and cognition. While the physics and difficulty of space travel is presented in a highly believable manner (other than the speed of the spacecraft, though they remain sub-light) , the real core of the story is Aki and her passion to understand the aliens that they have dubbed the Builders.

I have to admit, I highly enjoyed the book. Between all the hard science, there was enough adventure to keep the plot moving. I did break down the book into chunks, as the concepts were worth dwelling upon, especially when deal with theories regarding self-awareness and intelligence that I had never been presented with before. To get the most from this book, you really have to open yourself to somewhat high-level conceptual frameworks. I wouldn't say it's difficult to read, however the concepts are more along the level of grad school than high school. However, they're presented well -- you're taught the information through dialogue and example rather than having an info dump or the author just expecting you to just get it.

It's hard to write about an author's style in translation, because you never know if the writing is more like the original author or the translator. Still, the book is well written and easily understandable - I never felt like something was lost in translation. Some of the dialogue had that odd floaty feel that seems unique to Japanese in translation; this may raise the eyebrows of a few readers, but the characters still feel distinct even though it is really just Aki's story.

I'm purposefully not delving into much of the plot other than the summary provided on the back of the book because you really don't know exactly what's going to happen. I had a few good guesses, and I was pretty close. Still, I was served with several surprises. The flow and all the events of the book seemed very natural -- even the extended time span the book covers.

That is, except for one event. One little thing happens in the book that, while it was set up earlier in the novel, still feels a bit like Star Trek -- you know, everything is going bad then suddenly Spock or Data says, "I now have this one piece of never seen before technology that will solve our problems, and it just so happens to be right here in my hand." Like I said, it was mentioned earlier, but that it suddenly works like it supposed to at the very last second feels a bit manipulative, but it didn't ruin the book for me. It was just one small, weak point in a very strong story.

Recommendation: Worth reading - especially for those liking real sci-fi.

Writing is actually more than just the story

Here is a conundrum that I often face: do I follow the naturalist path in writing or the artificial god route? If you've never really tried to write a sustained fictional narrative you may have never even have thought to consider this question. Me, I think about it all the time. Now, these terms are pretty much my own, because I'm not well educated in the lingo of graduate level literary studies ... so, let's start with my own little definitions.

When I'm talking about the naturalist path in writing, I'm expressing a desire to make the story (regardless of how crazy the situation may be) flow in a natural manner. This means the reader may not know everything that is going on and not every situation has a tidy ending. It's more like life. Sometimes, we just don't know things. Situations are sloppy.

You have to understand, when you read a story or watch a show where the situations seem chaotic and that it's like real life, the writer meant it to be that way. It was crafted -- it's something fake trying to take on the appearance of reality. When done well, it can really draw you into characters and make you a part of the story.

Another option is the writer as an artificial god, clearly manipulating the situation to make it simple or exciting or self-contained. As I mentioned, all stories are artificial - the difference here is that the writer doesn't really follow the pretense of the narrative being true to life. A lot of your action films follow this route - you create a circumstance that forces the main character to clearly define who they are, you create these set pieces that don't seem natural at all -- but they're really, really exciting. As a reader or viewer, you're overtly being manipulated, but when done well -- you just don't care, because it's so much fun.

Horror movies often follow this path: hey, there is some supernatural mofo stalking and killing all of us, but let's leave the group to go have sex in that secluded spot with only one exit. I mean, we all KNOW what's going to happen, but we accept it as part of the framework and go along with it.

So, I'm often torn by which path to follow. Most people prefer stories in the artificial god mode -- they like being taken on a ride, and they don't like to have to work for it. This is what sells and what is successful. Heck, some of my favorite books and movies definitely follow this route. At the same time, I'm so drawn to creating worlds where the reader just doesn't know everything, where things are spoon fed.

Anyway, the point of this post is just to let non-writers into what someone like myself thinks about when creating. Stories aren't just "there" -- writers have to make a whole bunch of conscious decisions on how to sculpt them.

It's really so much work. I'm tired just thinking about it! :)

Jennifer Knapp is back! Yay her! Here's a video from one of her recent live performances:

Any road works

I keep being confronted with the stupidity of mankind at the same time I'm trying to write something that actually portrays our race as getting it right in the end. Sometimes, that makes me feel like I'm taking a cup of water out of the ocean to lower the tide. There are just things about people I just don't understand sometimes.

I don't understand people that refuse to learn. I don't understand how people would rather be ignorant than learn something just because that information might force them to change their opinion. I don't understand how people can cling to falsehoods when presented with the light of truth just so they can remain angry.

I know this is all abstract, but every time my mind goes over specific instances, I feel myself getting angry and annoyed. I've been irritated all day over so much foolishness that I can see all around me that so many people seem blind to. What bothers me the most is that people can't seem to comprehend that there are things that they don't know they don't know. Think about that for a bit.

In any case, I'll leave you with a quote ... it's good thing to remember when we're lost, I think. Lewis Carroll said -- If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.