In Honor of the Fallen

Today, I wrote to my friend Kevin J. Anderson in response to his Facebook post regarding a banquet he attended in honor of the Challenger astronauts of 25 years ago. In my response to him I wrote the following, and feel that it deserves to be shared with those, who like me, were so impacted 25 years ago by the tragedy and in honor of those who didn't let it stop us from moving closer to the stars.

On 10 January 1986 I had been sent to the library to finish my homework, and I was thrilled to be there, I knew that the Challenger would be lifting off and that the library would have it on TV to record. I turned around from my cubicle, leaving my homework unattended. I counted down with mission control. At liftoff, I said a prayer in my heart for those brave astronauts--whom I hoped to emulate someday. That prayer was answered with a soft "no" as I watched as the flames of rockets became the flames and smoke of utter destruction and we lost seven heroes that day. And true to the real American spirit, we did not let that deter us from returning to space. My world has been forever changed by that day. I still hope to go to space, some day. And when I do, I will leave a copy of a book or something in orbit, to honor Christa and the other six who join Gus Grissom and the other brave pioneers whose legacy will one day lead humanity to the stars.

Google

Google's doodle today rocks! Everyone get out there and play it!

Google

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.