Home.

I'm home for a few days this holiday season, and glad about it. I was home a few months ago to see my cousin off to LA, but it feels like much longer since I've visited for some reason. It's good to be back.

My dogs, who exist as the king and queen of this household, always pretend to be completely starved of attention when I wander home. I'll play with them, they'll pass out in exhaustion, then wake up thirty minutes later to start the process again. They consider a simple game of fetch to be the ultimate holiday present... the only problem being they'll have forgotten about it in an hour. Such is doggy life.

I hope to finish the Magic In Dogtown edits while here, and start The Next Thing. Research for the next project is going surprisingly, surprisingly well... when usually research always runs afoul for me. But more on that later.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Congratulations Thomas!

I just discovered that one of my friends from college got himself published! You can buy his book of short stories online here, from Amazon.

Thomas is a great guy. We lived on the same floor at a very large dormitory in college, and sometimes he would come out and read us pieces of his writing. Knowing how intelligent and talented he is, you can bet your ass I'll be ordering this book.

So congratulations, Thomas! I'll read this as soon as possible, and I hope this will lead to many more of your books being published!

VILLAINS

I found this utterly fantastic comic linked off of writer John August's twitter feed, which explores villain motivations. Read the comic here: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0763.html

John August has actually written a lot about "bad guys" and how to write them well. I highly recommend reading them if you're at all interested in writing a good villain or just find them fascinating in general. Here's a link to one of his entries on antagonists: http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/every-villain-is-a-hero

I haven't written a purely evil villain in quite awhile. Most of my antagonists are either simply doing their best to survive any way they can, are attempting to overcome a major obstacle or trauma that is blocking their way, or are just trying to live with their fundamental desires.

Someone had asked me about bad guys on a previous project of mine, and what they were like. I responded with: "There are none. No traditional ones, anyway."

But man, sometimes I have the simple desire of writing a true villain who simply embraces anarchy at its most chaotic. It can be a blast. As a reader or audience member, I usually like to root for the villains. If anything, because when they're featured in stories, there scenes have no fat in them. They really move the plot along. Plus it's easy to tell that actors have a grand time in performing the roles. Even the Academy likes a great villain.

An upcoming story of mine will have an antagonist who is a serial killer. A rather gruesome one, too, so I've been thinking about "bad guys" for the past few weeks, and how to make them fresh and engaging.

Who are your favorite villains? What bad guy scared you as a kid? Which antagonist truly challenged the main character in the story? What can we learn from these dark characters? Would Batman have been as popular a franchise without the Joker? What made Scar from The Lion King so different from other Disney villains? What made Tim Roth's character in Rob Roy such a memorable and sinister villain?

Something to think about.

The "Well... Crap" Moment

*Spoiler Alert Regarding The Novel What Dreams May Come*

I'm currently reading through What Dreams May Come by the legendary Richard Matheson. At first, I worried about the many pages of exposition used to introduce the afterlife. Then, catching me off guard, Matheson did something very rare:

He forced a tough decision upon his protagonist.

That may not seem so rare at first, but it is when you think about it for a bit. Most of the choices we're presented with in stories may appear tough at first glance, but more often than not, the right decision is obvious. Of course, the protagonist might have to slay a dragon or two in order to rescue his/her beloved, but it's apparent from the onset that this would be the good and right thing to do.

Real life choices, at least in my experience, are rarely so obvious. Many of the difficult decisions to be made are of the "fucked if you do and fucked if you don't" variety, where even inaction could have disastrous consequences. Most of the time we have to just pick one and hope for the best. Think of how many times you've read a story where that happens, or have watched it on TV or a movie. I'd wager that you'd have difficulty remembering enough instances to even count on one hand.

That, to me, is why actual tough choices in fiction -- the "Well... crap" Moment -- are very, very infrequent.

In What Dreams May Come, the main character dies in a horrible accident. Despite entering the afterlife and all the miraculous beauty it has to offer, he can't help but worry about his wife he left on Earth. The other members of the deceased tell him not to be bothered, as she'll join him soon enough, but they are all shocked to learn that, in her infinite grief of her husband's departure, she decided to take matters into her own hands and end her own life.

At this moment the choice comes: does the protagonist let his loved one endure close to a quarter century of Hell -- or the novel's version of Hell, anyway --, or attempt a one in a trillion chance of finding her and risk losing both of their souls forever.

I dunno. To me, at least, that is a pretty shitty choice to be presented with. In the first option, she's guaranteed (most likely) to rejoin her husband in heaven, but at the expense of enduring unimaginable torment for years upon years. In the second option, he can make the brazen and most-likely-to-fail attempt to reach her, at the risk of royally fucking them both over for all eternity.

What would you do, in the main character's position? Would you let someone you loved more than anything else endure hell for close to twenty five years, or make a worse-than-the-lottery chance at rescuing him/her, at the risk of damning you both forever?

See, that is what I think writers should strive for more often. Fucked-if-you-do-or-don't decisions force the readers/audience into the perspective of the characters, and allow more opportunity for empathy. The television series "The Shield" was spectacular with this during the final season, which allowed the audience to share identify with a less-than-savory character that they otherwise wouldn't want anything to do with.

So, strive for those decisions in your writing. Make it tough for your characters... and your readers. They'll thank you for it.

Flipping Out.

I would've simply posted this on my facebook page or other similar media-sharing page, but there is simply too much blargh-ness (there's really no other word that captures it) in these four minutes and fourteen seconds to safely do so.

Nope, it has nothing to do with writing. Well, one of the clips in the video does, but mainly it is pure "blargh". If only I could set this video as my alarm clock. If only.

Anyway, here it is.

This is interesting.

You know how after a movie wraps up and the credits scroll, for the "Written By" section, you usually see twelve or thirteen names listed? When I was a kid and saw this, I thought to myself, "Do they all just sit in a massive room and type it out together word by word?"

No. It's just that most movie scripts go through many, many, many re-writes before they end up on screen. If the filmmakers like the story but wish the dialogue had a little more snap to it, they'll hire a new writer that's known for witty dialogue to come in and work on it. If the story may benefit from a little more adrenaline, they'll hire a new writer who has a solid history of white-knuckle thrillers. And so on, and so on.

Very rarely do I hear about scripts that avoid that adventure, and go to appear on screen without having gone through rewrite after rewrite. However, there are currently two major movies out right now that, from what I've heard, were made from scripts that were for the most part left unchanged.

Those two movies are The Social Network and Hereafter. You've more than likely heard of them.

Here's a great interview on deadline.com with Peter Morgan, the screenwriter behind Hereafter, The Last King of Scotland, The Queen, and Frost/Nixon. He talks about the events that lead up to Hereafter being made, which even involved Steven Spielberg! Enjoy:

http://www.deadline.com/2010/10/oscar-qa-peter-morgan-talks-hereafter/

Simultaneous Submissions And Multiple Submissions... What's The Difference?

While submitting work to literary journals and magazines, it's always a good idea to read their guidelines and criteria. Every publication is different. Sometimes, though, you'll come across a few recurring terms.

"Simultaneous submissions" is one of them. Not to be confused with "multiple submissions."

When a magazine discourages "multiple submissions", that means that the editorial staff don't want you submitting all thirty of your short stories to them at once. Even if they accept multiple submissions, it's still not a good idea to bombard them like that. Be humane.

Simultaneous submissions, though, means something else entirely. If a journal requests "no simultaneous submissions," that means if you submit one story for a publication's consideration, you cannot submit it to any other publication until they decide upon the story's fate.

When starting out in this biz, a first compulsion might be to just formulate a list of attractive publications and send them all your stuff... all at once. This is a terrible, terrible idea, and a sure way to burn bridges. It's best to research each publication on an individual basis and formulate the appropriate strategy..

Submission Process

Hello all. Still'm editing Magic In Dogtown. While doing so, I'm working on sending some of my short stories to some literary magazines and markets.

If no one has informed you that writing is a job, well, I'm telling you now. It is. It even comes with its own interview process of sorts. You know how when applying to jobs, you submit a cover letter, resume, and wait to hear back from the prospective employer or Human Resources department? Submitting written stories is kind of similar.

For literary journals, you have to shop around and do your research like any other job. A good resource is Writer's Market. It's a kind of yellow-pages like listing of different agents, markets, literary magazines, and journals. Read through it, find some items of interest, and then read the journals or information on agents that interest you. When it's time, you, erm, "apply" for the job, and by that I mean submit your work.

Submission can be as easy as an online entry form, or can involve going through a routine of cover letters, query letters, and partial manuscripts even before the entire manuscript is considered. And, even after all of that, you can still get rejected. In fact, it's a pretty good idea to count on getting rejected. It's a part of the life.

I've heard that keeping a spreadsheet of your submissions is good practice, and I completely agree. Whether it be a spreadsheet you keep in Google Docs, or an Excel spreadsheet you save on your personal computer... a record of what you sent to which agencies or magazines is essential. Personally, I highlight all entries that I'm waiting to hear back from in yellow; all rejected entries in red; and all accepted entries in green. (Like a traffic light: yellow for wait, red for no, and green for go).

Problem is, like regular employment, experience matters. In cover letters and query letters, it makes a big difference if you can list past publishing credits.

But what if you're unpublished, like me and most of Earth's population? How does one get published when it helps to already be published? Therein lies the conundrum.

At this point, I don't really know what to tell you, since I'm currently fighting the same battle. Just... don't give up. The fight to get there is half the fun... I think.

D'oh!

Didn't quite make the cut on The Silver Screenwriting Competition. Still, I'm honored for even being considered. Good luck to all the Semi-finalists!

Misc.

Hello there.

First, before I get into anything else, I'll steer you in the direction of my cousin's website, as he recently posted a new short story and blog entry. Check them out when you get the chance:

-My Cousin's New Blog Entry

-My Cousin's New Short Story

Also, a script of mine is currently in the Quarterfinals round in the Silver Screenwriting Competition (Quarterfinalist List here). I hadn't entered a writing competition in awhile, so why this one? Two words:

Shane Black.

For those who aren't familiar with the name, it's almost a given that you're familiar with his work. If titles like Lethal Weapon, Long Kiss Goodnight, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, are for some reason unknown to you, go and watch them now. Right now. I'll wait...

Back yet? Yes, they're awesome. Shane Black has been a screenwriting hero of mine long before I even knew I wanted to write screenplays. They're always thrilling, hilarious, and always full of instantly quotable dialogue.

Anyway, the winner of the grand prize of the Silver Screenwriting Competition, along with a slew of other cool things, gets to have lunch with him. Winning the grand prize is a long shot, but I'd be silly not to enter for a chance to meet the man. I'm psyched and honored at the chance.

Distractions

Distractions.

With sites like Youtube and Hulu in existence, distractions are a part of life nowadays. Now that I utilize Google Reader to filter hundreds of sites into easily searchable feeds, I've become a master at scouring the internet for strange, silly oddities. Do I spend lots of time on facebook or online games? No. But are all of my internet searches relevant to what I'm writing? Of course not.

However, do I completely discourage distractions? No, not completely.

As long as I'm writing often and consistently, I don't mind a silly Youtube clip now and then. If it makes me smile and brightens my day for a few minutes, then I don't consider it unhealthy.

I've often proclaimed that boredom is the ultimate creative force in the universe. The best ideas come when we aren't actively looking for them (historical examples of this include stories about how Sir Isaac Newton and Archimedes came up with some of their most famous ideas). So, even if I'm really busy, I'll try to let my mind go blank while walking outside to run down an errand, or stay in the shower a little longer than necessary. Sometimes it helps.

Or maybe I'll look up something silly on the internet, like Merton serenading people on Chatroulette. After all, it made me smile and forget the business of life for a few minutes. Sometimes, that helps too.

Advice From a Bestselling Author

Found these links over at mediabistro.com, in which bestselling author David Baldacci lays out some advice to those who wish to write for a living. Enjoy.

Getting through 15 years of rejections.

&

Advice for aspiring writers.

---

Have a great Memorial Day, everyone.

Someone Walked Over My Grave

Or at least that's what it felt like.

Any of you out there who create or make things up for a living have probably had a similar experience. It's happened to me a few times, but the most recent occurrence -- a few days ago -- was the spookiest. And I never saw it coming.

I was at my computer when it happened, killing some time while my dinner brewed on the stove. I think. I'm not exactly sure what I as doing, to be honest. The situation blew everything else out of my memory. I could've been skydiving for all I know, and would've been so shocked that it'd be miraculous if I was aware enough to remember to pull the parachute.

What situation am I talking about? I saw a piece of my imagination displayed on the computer screen. In movie trailer form, no less.

It was a wild idea I'd had when I was an undergraduate. I wrote it as a high concept script, made it an ensemble piece with a lot of characters and plot-lines intersecting, and submitted it as a final project for a professor of mine. It was a challenge, and I worked my ass off on it, but in the end was only mildly moved by the result. There were some okay scenes in there, and the class had a fun time reading parts of it, but the end result was lacking. It needed serious work. I knew it, and my professor knew it too.

But the concept, the main clutch of the story, was one I was proud of. I figured I would put it to rest for a few years and rewrite it completely after coming back fresh.

That is, until I saw a movie trailer for it.

This was not an issue of plagiarism. Let's be clear on that. No one stole my idea. It's just an amazing coincidence that happened... and probably will happen again.

Whatever tree we pluck our ideas from, is something that apparently we can all share and visit. I don't understand how it really occurs in the first place, but it does, and is completely unavoidable. In some way, it's kind of cool that there is a connective tissue among all of our imaginations.

My advice if this happens to you? Write often. Create more. If and when such a coincidence happens, there will be other ideas to explore. Have faith in your own imagination, and, if you can, root for the other artist(s) who coincidentally shared a dream with you. If anything, it's a sign that we're all facing the same obstacles.

Invisible

In the drafts of the novel I'm writing, I describe a sort of rift in reality between people with and without homes. A rift which renders those who are homeless nearly invisible to those who are not. There are some fantasy elements to such a description, but sadly it seems that this invisibility actually exists in real life:

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/multiple-passersby-ignore-dying-new-york-hero-hugo-alfredo-tale-yax/19452892

This is so sad and awful.

Excellent article on drafts and the studio system.

This was just so good and timely that I had to link it. It's a brilliant examination on first drafts, rewriting, and the journey of a script though a studio system. Read it:

http://livingromcom.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/04/first-thought-best-or-worst-thought.html

New Website To Check Out

My cousin, whom I've mentioned in previous posts, built a new website that will serve as the home for his art and writing. Check it out:

http://www.onlythecontentmatters.com

If you click through the links, you'll be able to find some of the previous short stories he's written. As an avid short story reader myself, I hope he adds more!

I also laughed when I read the "About" section. His humor always gets to me.

Artwork Update

The Artist kicks an epic amount of ass. I'm not even sure planet Earth contains the sufficient amount of asses to meet her quota of asskickery. She might have to branch off into other solar systems and start kicking alien-life-form-ass, just to satiate and balance the amount of awesomeness she radiates. That's just how it is.

So why am I singing the praises of The Artist again? Well, as of today I have seen two versions of in-progress art for Magic In Dogtown. I'm blown away by them. She's pure talent.

You have to understand, I had a vastly different idea for the artwork when I first approached her with the prospect of creating something for the novel. At that point I'd seen the CD cover she designed, and a series of intricate studies posted on her website. They were very detailed and had an indescribable type of mathematical precision to them that was instantly appealing.

So when I met with her the first time, I handed her a few ideas I had for what the artwork could entail. I envisioned a series of small, quick sketches, (the main one being of a solitary vagrant under a dirty street light) which I described to her the best I could.

That was last year. Since then The Artist has read sections of the story to get a sense of the mood, and has come up with a portrait of a gritty, urban cityscape that, even in her preliminary drafting stages, completely bowled me over. I've stared at them for hours and my eyes still pick up new cool details and secrets. If I could, I would post them up here, but I want them to remain hers and not the property of "The Internet". Thus, their reveal shall have to wait.

In the meantime, I can say this though: The Artist totally kicks ass.

My Moments of Madness Sometimes Amuse Me

So I'm reading through my rough draft for the first time, marking all the things I want to change with pen, when I stumbled upon something towards the end of the book. It was just one word, but it caught my attention:

blarg

Written just like that, in a paragraph entirely of its own. No capitalization or punctuation. It had nothing to do with the story or dialogue or... anything, really. But it's in there, and I definitely wrote it. It's also in the first printed draft that I packaged for the girl the book's dedicated to, who's probably scratching her head over it just like I am.

Thing is, I have no memory of writing it, nor do I have any idea as to what idea I was trying to convey.

You have to understand... by that point, the birthday deadline was looming, and I was up writing around 5,000 words a night on top of a full-time job. I was hip-deep in madness and exhaustion. I was probably seeing leprechauns dance across my computer screen at the time. Playing the bagpipes while dancing naked in the streets were most likely distinct possibilities to my fried brain that night.

Still, when I read it just now in my first read-through of the rough draft, I burst out laughing. It's definite proof that writing and insanity are one and the same. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

First Draft Done

Yup.

The past few months have been insane in the push to get it finished in time, "in time" being the birthday of the person the novel's dedicated to. To write it by the deadline, I had to kiss instant messaging, facebook, and a few of my other favorite distractions goodbye for a little while. This decision, in turn, positioned me to take the brunt of a few "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" rants. My apologies go out to those people! It wasn't personal!

Also, because the girl who the book is dedicated to reads this blog, my online writing got pretty slim there for awhile, because I know she would be smart enough to pick up any hint or slip whatsoever that would reveal my intentions. I wanted it to be a surprise, and luckily I was successful in that respect.

So, was it worth it? Most definitely, because she is worth it. If it weren't for her, the novel wouldn't exist in the first place. She deserves all of it and more. I'm so happy and relieved it all worked out.

So now that the rough draft is done... what now? Well, for starters, a MASSIVE amount of editing and rewriting. First drafts are always shitty, and I will be spending a lot of time, erm... de-shitifying the story as much as possible. The first draft is about getting the damn thing written, now I can concentrate on the voice, flow, pacing, and detail of the story. As much as I love writing, I enjoy this part of the process as well.

Also, since the secret's out, I'll be updating this site more often. I'm sure all of the two or three people who actually read this are overjoyed.

Stay tuned. More updates soon.

The Saint of Fort Washington

Homelessness being a reoccurring topic on here, I thought I'd bring up an excellent film centering on the topic that recently got a huge boost in availability via Netflix.

I'm talking, of course, about The Saint of Fort Washington.

Talk about an under-appreciated gem. I heard about it from a friend through facebook who saw it outside of the U.S., but when I went to look for copies of it... there were none to be found. Try looking it up on Amazon sometime. The only copies you'll find (if there are any left to be found) of the movie are non-USA import discs. I had to buy one of the import DVDs and play it on a multi-region player. The Portuguese subtitles and picture quality were a little distracting, but the movie blew me away regardless of those minor nuisances.

The performances all knock it out of the park. The cinematography is extremely effective. Some of the shots of the homeless shelter are a hit in the gut; both amazing in scope and heart-wrenchingly sad. The story is both grim and inspiring. It really should've got more attention than it did. I get frustrated whenever I think about all the awards it should've received.

It's still not available on Region 1 USA DVD, but recently Netflix was awesome enough to make it available on Instant Watch, which means if you're a subscriber, you can view the film directly from your computer.

So yep... go and watch it. You won't regret it. Here's the trailer if you want a taste.