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Just Another Day

A quick note. I brainstormed my story. I think there will be a military bend to the story and that some of the unit names will be related to jinn names. Also found some interesting concepts from Wikipedia including Kefizat Haderech(probably where Frank Herbert got his idea for the name Kwisatz Haderach) and Tay_al-Ard. They are both similar ideas that mean teleportation. I want to use some of these ideas in whatever I'm going to actually call my story. I'll see what happens...

So Far, So Good

I'm going to try again to log on here daily and give updates to my progress. I still can't manage to find the energy I used to have to get up, but since I started reading Save The Cat by Blake Snyder, I at least feel that my work is a little more streamlined.

I got all my scene headings in place today. I think there is a little more leg work that needs to be done before I write the scenes, but, I started this morning and am on my way. A lot less overhead, for now, than Jeff Kitchen's method, but I'm hoping to synthesize Snyder, Kitchen, Hauge, and Iglesias into a method for me to use to accomplish this screenplay.

Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet worked, though. It helped me trim down a lot of the stuff that would have made my screenplay, now titled, SHATTERED SILENCE (again retitling thanks to Snyder), a better novel than a screenplay. I also have a good logline (perks to Snyder and Iglesias for direction on this one): In a world ruled by the deaf majority, a framed detective hopes to clear his name of a murder he didn't commit.

Let's see how it does...

The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation - LIND

I found a really interesting article while researching the OODA loop and its associated realizations and usages.

The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation - LIND

Science Fiction Movies I Love

So, I’ve been asked by a few friends what my top ten science fiction movies would be. Here they are:

1. Inception

2. Dark City

3. Primer

4. The Matrix

5. Cypher

6. Blade Runner

7. Push

8. Moon

9. Tron

10. Star Wars (Original Trilogy) I only acknowledge three movies as Star Wars

Moving out of the top ten.

11. Paycheck

12. Dune (1984 David Lynch/Alan Smithee Extended Version)

13. Serenity

14. Tron: Legacy

15. Soldier

16. Terminator

17. Philidelphia Experiment

18. Iron Man

19. Pitch Black

20. Star Trek (2009)

Okay, that’s a good start for a top twenty, when I promised ten. I’ll start reviewing them over the next while and tell you why I love the film so much.

Screenwriting helps.

Watch screenwriting lectures. Read screenwriting and playwriting books. Don’t ignore them if you seriously risk not creating a compelling story. As my uncle, the novellist, once said to me, “...Hollywood has it right.” We went on to discuss how the execution is not always right, but the story and creation is good. And I have to say, what I’ve found so far that holds true. I am currently writing a screenplay anyway so my research helps me in all directions.

I’m currently reading Lajos Egri’s The Art of Dramatic Writing, from the theater camp. I recently read Robert McKee’s Story: Substance, Style, and Structure which also supplied some beautiful suggestions for setting, character, and conflict creation. Recently I just watched Jeff Kitchen’s Sequence, Proposition, Plot from the Screenwriting Expo series. This tool he shows in his book, apparently, and it rocks. I plan to purchase his book in the future, but I have to get some money first and let circumstances stop sucking it out of my pocket.

The sequence, proposition, plot tool is helping me develop LISTENING. I’ll report how it goes.

Rediscovering a Classic Album

Sorry, I dropped out of sight for a while, been working a lot on Wild Hunt version 6. Today I listened to my recently-ripped CD of Weezer (Blue Album). I know I heard it in high school, it came out in 1994, and I still, occasionally hear the “Unraveled (The Sweater Song),” “Buddy Holly,” and, even less frequently, “Say it Ain’t So” on the radio. But, I think this is the first time I ever listened to the whole album from beginning to end. Wow! The album has deep tracks that the radio missed that make me remember high school, my mission, and college. I am grateful to own the album.

Speaking of radio, I must, here give a eulogy to a long string of wonderful, connected radio stations. It started in the 1980s with a core group of DJs at KJQ, then they moved to X96, then they moved to 107.5 The End and finally to 101.9 The End. Recently 101.9 The End, arguably my most favorite radio station on the FM dial died a painful death when Clearchannel, its parent company went bankrupt. Fortunately 104.7 picked up the slack, but I will sorely miss the End with Chunga, Cort, and the rest, especially my good friend, who should have been a DJ, Gregg. They never should have fired Parker, he could have taken the station places they never knew they wanted to go. After all, Parker, basically, started Kerli, Colbie Caillat, and Thriving Ivory on their American concert tours. He had contacts in the industry and saw that Salt Lake City could become one of the best test audiences in the nation. Mike, you are sorely missed by at least one fan, and the End and everything to do with it is missed as well.

I just emailed my friend and former End-er, Gregg, I hope that maybe we can write a book about the rise and fall of those who were the DJs that path. Let’s see how it goes. It might need to wait a little, like until after I’ve published a few things before I can afford to write it. It will probably need a lot of research, but it will be very fun.

Speaking of which, I just finished a short treatment of my story now I can, finally, outline it and script it into the screenplay. Also, I’ll get my Celtx account back this month too, yay for third paychecks.