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!
So in keeping with my goals of getting back on track, I offer you the following image for this week’s Writing Prompt. I have really missed these…and I can’t wait to see what you create!
For those of you unfamiliar with the purpose of the prompt, I find what I think are interesting pictures, post them, then ask you to share whatever you create from the inspiration I hope you find in it. I also share my own writing; short stories that I like to call flash fiction – under 200 words with little thought or editing. And I fully plan on writing a few this week, because this non-writing thing is nonsense. 😉
Happy Writing!
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!
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!
Life can be funny sometimes. After two years of struggling to find a job in Los Angeles, any job, applying for any film related position I was even half qualified for and those I was overqualified for – 200+ resumes later, I only ever received two calls. A week back in Vegas and I had two interviews, thanks to a friend with contacts. To be honest (and hopefully my friend doesn’t ever see this), I didn’t really want either, but who was I to complain? So I sucked it up and decided which of them would be the lesser of two evils. After two promising interviews, a week passed without any word. Again I was faced with the prospect that I might continue to be jobless, and although yes, I was new to this market, I wasn’t sure how much more rejection I could take (especially when it’s not in reference to my screenwriting for which I know I’ll have to develop a thick skin).
I started another round of job hunting and ground my teeth in silence. I won’t go into the recent economic downturn and how so many people lost their jobs and homes, because this isn’t about that, but the thought that you might have to take any job for any pay is neither encouraging nor appealing.
I want to be a writer. I want Hollywood to come calling and for studios to get into bidding wars over my scripts, but that’s still a little ways off. 😉 So I figured I could try to find something within the realm of creativity and crossed my fingers as I searched the employment sites yet again. And then there it was…content writer wanted. I completely rewrote my cover letter, scoured my blog for a couple decent writing samples (one of which was my insight into Doctor Who which I would later discover was probably one of the best choices I made), and sent it off a little excited by the prospect.
And then I saw them.
Using my sister’s computer, so I could remain in the vicinity of my crazy dogs who are still not comfortable because they don’t have any of their own things (we’re still in my friend’s living room), for some unknown reason, her computer did not recognize two misspelled words. Not big errors, two missing “i’s”, but there it was, strike one. I had one friend try to reassure me by saying I probably didn’t want to work there anyway, but what an idiotic mistake. I should know by now to never send anything off without another pair of eyes taking a pass. As writers we all know we never see our own errors.
The following day, I received an email saying that they liked my samples and wanted to meet with me. Score! (I don’t know why I just said that. I promise to not use it again.)
I called the office and asked to speak with the woman who had sent me the email, and had misread her name so I said it wrong, like really wrong…strike two. I shook my head for some time after that one.
Set up the interview for the same day, and I was not prepared for that so I was running a few minutes late…strike three.
I was pretty sure that was it for me, but the interview was with the two heads of the department, and they’re fellow geeks, so my interview questions were not only based on my writing and capabilities, but who I thought might win in a battle between Godzilla and some weird hybrid of a terminator-like being made up entirely of crocodiles that had hive mentality. When I sighed and said, “Why couldn’t you ask me about Captain America or Buffy?” they laughed. I quickly discovered they were fellow Dragon Age enthusiasts, and that was it for me. I knew I wanted to work with them.
A half an hour later I received a phone call, I got the job. Seriously?! I just got a job? A real job, writing? YES! The only catch, I had to start the following morning at 8:30 am. In the morning?
A few things – I hadn’t been up at 8:30 except if it was from the night before, and I had absolutely no clothes for an office environment. I hadn’t worked in one in some 15 years, so it was off to every store in a 5 mile radius to find at least one pair of pants. Besides the fact that about 75% of all my clothing is in storage, I really didn’t have anything to wear. Luckily after four stores I found two pairs of pants and they will now be my staples until I can afford to buy a few more. I forewarned those I work with about my limited attire, I know, such a girlie thing to be concerned about. I doubt anyone will even notice as I’m seated at a desk for 8 hours a day.
So there it is. I am now being paid to write. How strange is that?
Now if only I could find a place to live, get settled in, and get familiar with this new routine, then all would be right in my world…well, almost. 😉 I have to figure out how after spending all that time in front of a computer writing I will want to write my own stuff? Any tips are welcome and appreciated!
I wish you all well and hope you are working towards your goals! Best wishes, my friends!
Hello, my friends!
As the pressures of moving and all things associated set in, I find myself a little scattered. So I will apologize in advance for the sprinkling of posts over the next few weeks. Of course this all occurs after celebrating blogging for a year, when I’d like to keep up the momentum, but you know how life can be funny like that sometimes…
To tide you over in the interim, here’s this week’s Writing Prompt. This image inspires a few different ideas for me, so hopefully I’ll be able to find some time to write. Wanna join me?
Happy Writing!
Sometimes knowing a decision has to be made does not make the action occur any quicker. Nor make it any easier. Sometimes you need an external persuasive element, and sometimes you don’t want it or need it at all, but it happens nonetheless. In the face of such challenges, we, not only as writers, but just as people, need to maintain our perseverance.
Yes, this is relevant to what is happening in my own life, as a decision was made for me and The Sis, one we had been kind of trying to avoid for as long as possible.
It is necessary to remind ourselves that bumps in the road, detours, and change are just part of the journey.
And the “little something extra” is a freebie! Gotta love that!
I met with an entertainment career coach at the beginning of the year, Shawn Tolleson, here in LA. She helped to put some things into perspective, something I needed at the time. Something I may need again. 😉 She is offering a free online class. Here is the link to sign up.
Happy Wednesday!
When I shared this image, redgypsophila of Adventures in Writing decided to do something different and challenge herself by writing multiple pieces from the one image, conveying a different mood in each; 1. Contentment, 2. Isolation, 3. Betrayal, 4. Terror, and 5. Wonder. For her final piece, entitled Mood #6: Editing, she joined them altogether, and recently shared it. I’ve been following along and enjoying each one, and am pleased to share it. I really liked this concept and how she chose to portray it, by showing the newly added sentences in red that would help join the moods more seamlessly and crossing out the now defunct text – a fun read!
Congratulations on completing your challenge and thank you for joining me!
As for me, I don’t have any new flash fictions to share, but I thought I’d share a little of the new chapter in the Dragon Age fan fiction I’ve been working on. It’s sort of a continuation in the forest, where the previous chapter took place, because I was trying to figure out a way of joining the two together, and this is what came out of that…
*For those of you new to what I’m doing, I shared a Writing Prompt image of concept art from the video game Dragon Age (one of my fixations) and found that I really enjoy writing fan fiction. You can read Chapter 1 under Excerpts. This is the start of Chapter 2 (or perhaps the actual end of Ch. 1) –
Our time in The Brecilian Forest had had this strange side effect of separating us from the rest of the world; sheltered under the imposing canopy, removed from the impending threats, distanced from other people, and fighting trees, werewolves, and every other thing the forest housed had left us disjointed. A few weeks trekking through that unforgiving forest, discovering the source of the curse and its repercussions, had left us reeling in the aftermath. The first sight of the bright red sails of the Dalish’s landships were a welcome sight and the first sense of relief we had felt since we had last seen them.
Since the incident in the cave, I had steeled myself a bit in regards to my emotions, especially those toward Alistair. I had allowed my feelings to blind me to the task at hand, well not completely, but it had definitely been a distraction, and that was something none of us could afford. A mage with a lack of focus was not a companion anyone would wish for; my magic would be stunted and ineffectual, my aim would be off, and I could inflict harm to anyone nearby, even if unintentionally. I could be dangerous all the same, or more so. I had to do my best to reclaim some modicum of my level-headedness if not for anything but the safety of my friends.
It had been difficult to distance myself from Alistair, but our circumstances were such that we had to stay together as a group at almost all times, which left little time for private side conversations. It was only when we were spread out as we made our way carefully through the forest that we sometimes paired off, but even then, I would stay near either Morrigan or Leliana while Alistair and Keiko led and Sten took up the rear.
At times I had heard Alistair talking to Keiko and Keiko barking a response. The mabari were an extremely smart breed, and made for wonderful companions in part because of their understanding. They were also intuitive, resourceful, and lethal. So when I would hear the two of them having a sort of conversation, I had to swallow back the emotions that would inevitably surface at such a show of affection. It was clear they liked one another, and such devotion from a mabari was a testament to a person’s character. Keiko liked everyone in our party, which only led me to believe further in each of them. I had known on some level that I could trust them, and if Keiko did too, then they must be worthy, but he had taken a special liking to Alistair.
One night as we all huddled together around a small fire we had built in the alcove of the remains of a structure, Keiko had stood guard for a short while. Occasionally, he would make a round to make sure we were all well, then return to his post, alert and ready. I didn’t sleep while he was on duty, but I soon discovered none of us had. It was not that we didn’t trust that he would alert us to trouble, or protect us if necessary, but there was something about keeping him company that we all silently agreed to. When he would make a round, he would sort of nudge each of us, and we would all smile in return and give him a pat or an encouraging word. At one point, Alistair finally agreed to keep him company and the two of them bounded off into the darkness.
I felt my heart constrict in that moment. I watched Keiko walk proudly beside Alistair, whose chainmail glistened in the light of the fire, with one hand sitting casually on the hilt of his sword, the other patting Keiko as they discussed their strategy.
“There is no need to fight so hard against it.” Leliana whispered. Her insinuation was coupled with a slight of her head in Alistair’s direction.
“There is every reason.” I countered, barely keeping the edge of my emotions from my voice. I could feel them bubbling to the surface, along with the hundreds of thoughts I had had since that episode in the cave. There were too many unknowns, and we were surrounded by danger and death at every turn. It was unlikely either of us would survive until the end, whatever that actually meant.
I swallowed hard and pushed all those emotions and thoughts down. This was neither the time nor place, if such could even exist. We were duty bound, and every thing else was a foolish notion, a daydream. It didn’t seem a bad idea to have something to hope for, but the threat of loss was too great, and the subsequent pain might be too much to bear, depending on how long things carried on before they came to an abrupt halt.
Morrigan interjected. “When at war, certain…relationships occur, for the sole purpose of their necessity to maintain a sense of stability in a violent world. Perhaps you could look at Alistair in that regard. You need not look beyond the need for comfort, although I would recommend someone, well, less him.” There was the faintest hint of amusement teasing her lips.
We were all taken aback when Sten joined in, “He would most likely take instructions well”, to which we all laughed. Our giggles prompted even the gruff Qunari to break a smile, or what could be considered a smile, as none of us had ever seen one on him before.
And now…on to Redcliffe. 
This one spoke to me today…Are you inspired?
Join me in my Writing Prompt Challenge series. If any of the images get those creative juices flowing, share it with us!
Happy Writing!
The other night when I was talking with my fellow writers at group, one of them mentioned the “10,000 Hours Rule” by Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Outliers. The idea behind this is that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery in any field. I would love to be able to figure out where I am on that scale. How many hours have I put into my writing and when do those hours start? Did they start when I was a kid telling stories, or when I was a teen trying my hand at my first novel, or when I finally made the decision to go back to school and found screenwriting? If we start from the moment I started calling myself a writer, I probably have a few thousand hours still to go.
I have seen how my writing has changed over the years, and even in the short time I’ve been blogging. It has helped to hone my voice. So a big THANK YOU for helping me do that! Clearly, I still have a little ways to go.
As writers, we have to continue to learn and grow through practice, reading, and just being a part of the world – where we probably get most of our material. I have binders full of notes, and every once in a while, I’ll flip through them and stumble across some useful tidbit like the one I’m going to share today: the “Be a One-Hit Wonder” theory.
Yes, it sounds like a negative, but it’s really not. The idea is that we prioritize our work. Something I need to learn to do.
The theory is two-fold. 1) Evaluate which pieces are time sensitive; have deadlines (actual or self-imposed), or need lead time. And 2) Finish shorter pieces first as that boosts confidence and gives us closure.
The idea is to make consistent, manageable progress on those things we can control.
I think this concept is one of the reasons I’ve been escaping into flash fiction and fan fiction, the sense of accomplishment. And I even called one of my blogs “An Odd Sense of Accomplishment” when I talked about finishing my fanfic piece. There is a sense of relief at seeing a final product after long stretches without one.
Screenwriting is my passion, but sometimes it is a struggle to get the words on the page. I think it has to do with the awareness that I am passionate about it, I want it to be the very best it can be, and that every word matters so the value of its importance is heightened and therefore a harder end to find.
And this directly relates to last night’s late post. I have a third act to finish. That’s it. Completely manageable. Once I find that closure on this particular piece that I have long (long) sought after, I will evaluate all the other pieces in my portfolio and create my One-Hit Wonder list. Which projects will offer me that sense of accomplishment in a shorter amount of time and lead me further along my journey towards professional writer? I look forward to finding out.
What do you think of this idea? Is it something you might implement?
Best wishes!
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 