I found this interesting infographic in regards to how writing helps the brain and thought I’d share with my fellow creatives.
I found the graphic here if you feel like scouring their site for other interesting tidbits, like “How to be more productive” which would probably be more easily accomplished by not playing on the internet… 🙂
Happy Friday, friends!
I don’t have a desk chair. The one I had previously was old, it wasn’t that comfortable, and it was that ugly gray office style kind of chair with thick black plastic arms. It also had wheels. My little dogs did not appreciate the terrible noise the wheels made against the wood flooring in our apartment, and neither did I for that matter. We had been through a lot together over the 10 plus years, we had written so much, but when The Sis and I decided to leave Los Angeles, I realized I didn’t want to move it again. Honestly, I didn’t want to see it again. It was time to end the co-dependent relationship, and so I chucked it into the alley behind our building, hopeful someone would find it and give it a new home – a sad fate for my faithful companion.
So now, I have no chair. I have to drag the chaise I sit on when I watch tv or game over to my desk, which is too low to utilize as a desk chair, and then have to sit on the back pillow and prop myself up like a booster seat. My dogs like it because they have more room to spread out beside me, but long bouts of writing are not to be found under such conditions.
It’s so awkward.
It sounds like I’m making excuses as to why very little writing has occurred since I determined to write more, and maybe, I am, a little, but the truth is I’m trapped on how to start Act 3. I reread the first two acts, and was empowered to finish this story properly…which is why I think I’m struggling to find the right place to start. I don’t have the time to play around with this one anymore – I have deadlines to make, and this story has been worked over so many times it’s pretty unrecognizable since it debuted many, many, many years ago.
I broke out some screenwriting books hoping to gain some insight, and I thought I’d share a few pearls I discovered. Hopefully, if you’re struggling, you’ll find them useful as well.
1. Have your hero give up just before they reach their goal. By the third act they have determined that they want “it” and they are going to go after “it”, but exhausted they give up just short of reaching “it”. The example used was The African Queen and how they tried so hard to get the boat to the open water, to give up about three feet from it. Then it rains and sets them adrift.
2. Bookends. Can the last scene be an answer to the first? The example was a couple who fall in love during war time and are married on the back of a truck, so at the end of the story they have a proper wedding to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary.
3. Make a list of all the questions asked or ideas raised throughout your script and be sure to answer them. This is something I have found to be useful so there aren’t any loose ends or plot holes by the end. It’s a great way to look back over your story as a whole and see that those ideas/themes continued throughout.
4. My last helpful tip is to talk the story over with someone. I used The Sis as a spring board and found that by voicing my ideas aloud about how I wanted the story to end was more useful than trying to work it all out in my head. She asked questions that made me reevaluate my ideas and concepts. Also, when you explain your story to someone, they can immediately tell you if something doesn’t make sense or doesn’t work.
Although I discovered all this useful insight, I’m no closer to the opening scene I need, but I’m thinking that I just need to jump in. I know the story, I’ll find a good point to start, and let the chips fall where they may.
When I asked two separate people, I received the same response…”it was a dark and stormy night”. 🙂 I’d love to hear back from all of you. Any advice on a great third act opener?
Happy Writing everyone!
Yesterday I posted the links to a number of writing contests coming up, so today I decided we could all use some encouragement to help us achieve those goals. These are not just for writers, but for anyone who is ready to do great things!
What is it you want to accomplish?
I realized that I have to make some adjustments if I want to get my writing on track and be more productive. The days pass in a blur, and I am no further to accomplishing my goals than I was a few months ago, but that all changed this weekend. I’m afraid it’s going to take a bit to get back in the full swing of things, and I don’t really have that kind of time…but at least I’ve found that spark again, and my brain turns to that instead of blank nothingness.
So, if you have any secrets you’d like to share about writing, rewriting, finding time, or working through the brain dead patches…please do so! 🙂
I wish you all well, my friends! Have a great, and productive week!
As promised, here are a couple of resources to utilize to find contests and their deadlines. While some screenwriting contests are just beginning (Nicholl, PAGE, and Scriptapalooza), others are nearing their end (Cinestory, Creative World Awards, and Bluecat is already closed). I have updated my Calendar of Events page to highlight screenwriting contests in particular, and by no means is this a complete list, but they are among some of the more notable ones.
Also, here is a link on writing loglines that you may find helpful.
Aerogramme Writers’ Studio has put together the following list to highlight those events coming up in February and March many of which are open to both experienced and novice writers alike.
If you know of any great contests and would like to share them, please leave me the info in the comments and I’ll be sure to add them to the list!
So let’s get crackin’! Let’s get our work in order and show them what we’re made of! 😉
Happy Sunday!
Let’s start the week off with some inspiration! Here are a few quotes about determination. I have found that with approaching deadlines, the fear of failure is lingering. I don’t want to encourage that kind of thinking so I decided to find a few quotes that would help not only me during my time of stress, but for those of you who may be joining me in the crazy boat. I found the following:
In the next few days I will try to ensure that I update the 
submissions section to keep you all up to date of approaching deadlines, you know, so we can stress together on a current timeline! 🙂
Wishing you all the best! And here’s to achieving those goals!
Hello, my fellow creatives!
If you’re not following Aerogramme Writer’s Studio yet, here’s their latest post, and probably a big incentive as to why you should. I have found a great deal of helpful information on their site, and this is an especially good one.
A residency in France? Scotland? Denmark? Yes to all, please!
Give it a look and Good Luck!
It’s a new year! Still can’t get over that. As I mentioned in my New Year’s post, I’m not one for making resolutions. I think that you can decide to change your life, make new goals, do something different whenever you want, and just because it’s January 1st it does not somehow magically help you decide to make the change. You have to want to do it.
Although for screenwriters in particular, the beginning of a new year is the beginning of a new process to sending our work out in the hopes of being discovered and becoming a professional, so in that regard some resolutions have to be made early in order to be effective. This has been a source of concern that I may lose out on another year…there are a number of factors I can lay blame upon, but the truth is, it’s my own fault for not being better prepared. 
The move consumed me for a number of months, from packing and prepping to living in temporary accommodations until we found our own place, job hunting, etc. the time just escaped me and my routine was nonexistent.
The end of another year is cause for some reflection. I have been thinking about the move and the changes that have come with it. I’ve been thinking about the job I was so relieved to get, and how it’s not all I had hoped it would be. Especially how it has sapped all my creative juices and I haven’t written a word on any of my own stuff since I started it. I have had sparks of inspiration, just last night I thought of an interesting new detail to add to a rewrite – it’s nice to know things are still brewing on the back burner.
So, as the new year starts and with it a new series of goals to achieve, I offer these quotes as a source of inspiration! (You all know how much I love a good quote.) Try to remain positive and focus on the small improvements and steps you can take forward every day that will lead you to your bigger goal.
Let’s make this the year we do great things!
Every so often I need to remind myself that life is a journey, things happen for a reason, I need to be thankful for that which I have, and that all troubles are temporary.
We laid my dear friend to rest last week, then I had another friend confide in me about his struggles with depression and his current suicidal thoughts. I’ve had a lot of time to think on how fragile we all are, and how precious life truly is. We sometimes take it for granted, because we think we have time, but, as time continues on (and it somehow begins to move faster and faster), I’ve started to look at things differently. This is something that comes with age, I think. Suddenly you’re further along in your life and you don’t remember getting there.
There really is no reason to wait for the right opportunity. If you want something go after it. I keep using excuses, and here it is the end of another year and the last few months have been a blur. I’m hoping after this week, when we finally get into our new place, things will start coming back together.
So I’m sending out the positivity today! With the holidays upon us, our time slips away amidst all the small tasks that will fill up our days from now until the new year – so remember to take time for yourself, do a little each day, and eventually we’ll all get where we want to go. 
Wishing you all the best! Here’s to making our dreams a reality!
It’s been a while, I know, and I have missed this part of my blog. I like finding images I hope you’ll find inspiring, and when I decided to take up the Writing Prompt Challenges myself, I was encouraged to continue…and here we are, No# 40.
I’ve been doing some soul searching the past few days as I lost one of my dearest friends on Thursday. We had been friends 25 years and since my moving back to Las Vegas, we had talked about getting together and reuniting our old group of friends, but just hadn’t made it happen. I was taken aback on Friday morning when I popped on Facebook for a quick minute before doing work and the top post was in regards to his passing. It hit me hard, and really got me thinking about life in general. I suppose that’s natural when someone dies unexpectedly.
Tomorrow isn’t promised. We shouldn’t wait to do the things we want. Everyday is a new beginning to make changes. Appreciate the ones you love. Find your passion.
So you may be wondering what this has to do with my writing prompt. I’ve been slacking. I’ve lost my passion for my writing, and I’m blaming a job, and the fact that we’re still staying with my friend because we haven’t found a place to live. I don’t have my normal routine, things are sort of chaotic, and hence my writing has been relegated to the furthest recesses of my mind. I don’t even think about it most days, and that is sad. I’m not going to get philosophical, but my friend’s death did put some things into perspective for me, and (more) changes are coming.
So in my continuing effort to get back on track it’s time to start writing again and rekindle my love! Here is this week’s prompt that will hopefully inspire –
I wish you all well, my friends!
I’ve been meaning to post something, anything, for days, but every time I sit at the computer I’m compelled to do other things that a relocation requires, i.e. new home search, job hunt, moving company comparisons, purging and packing. My thoughts cannot turn themselves toward anything creative, and hence, I’ve written very little over the last week or so. The only thing I have been able to write is a little fan fiction while at my writer’s group last Monday night. I know, I know. Pathetic.
What I’ve discovered is that because it’s not really “mine”, I can slip into this particular story anytime and escape. There’s no pressure. As writers, we’re so compelled to put the exact right words on the page for every word, sentence, paragraph, etc. that we sometimes stumble around writing very little in the end because it is ours. We want it to go out in the world and do great things. It has to be perfect. This is one reason I’ve been willing to stick with the fan fiction. Besides really enjoy the story, which is why I was inclined to write it in the first place, I have found pleasure in the writing because of its freedom.
As you all know, I love my routine, so this is really wearing on me. I don’t care for not having enough brain capacity to be able to split my focus and concentrate for a few hours every day on the thing I love, my writing. So, I decided that today, on a lovely Sunday afternoon, I would sit for a little while and chat with my friends for a bit…
Hi friends! I hope I find you all well.
…and maybe do a little writing. We’ll see if I can muster up some focus.
On a side note, as this current Los Angeles chapter draws to a close, I’m thinking of doing a few reflection-type posts; a reminder for myself and maybe a cautionary tale for others, with some helpful tips (and not just about writing).
So as I continue down memory lane with each packed up box, and the desire, albeit a small one, to just chuck everything into the trash…
I wish you all the best, and hope you’re working towards your goals!
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 