Whoops. Time flies, eh?
Generally the end to that sentence would be "when you're having fun", but since I've been having a somewhat difficult time lately, I wouldn't really say that's the reason why so much time has passed since my last update.
I've been really busy.
I suppose for now, I will update you on where I am in my curriculum and my personal writing. So what am I writing right now? I've just finished my first draft of my Spec Script. My next post will probably be about Spec Scripts, so if you have no idea what I'm talking about, stay tuned. It's not due until Wednesday, so I have some time to go over it again before it's due, just to tidy it up a little.
Due tomorrow night at 10pm is the first draft of my first act of my feature length film. I've just finished a step-outline for the whole thing, and I'm having the unfortunate experience of hating it more and more as I flesh it would. Ironically, the more I write, the more I like the characters, but the more I hate the plot.
I'm not really sure what to do about it. At this stage of the game, I could still do a complete overhaul. I'm kind of thinking of just going with it for now, but over the winter break really sitting down and thinking about it. I could still scrap the whole thing and go with something different. My teacher for this class, SB, is wonderful. She's very supportive but still knows what she's talking about - she tore my first draft of my short film into pieces and rightly so.
I skipped last Monday's class (due to a sudden, serious case of those blues I was mentioning earlier) and therefore have no idea if anything is due. I need to refine some scenes I wrote for last week's class, because I'm sure that I will have to have them performed to the class, which will be embarassing at best and mortifyingly awful at worst. I really wish we didn't have to have EVERYTHING performed to the class. I understand the need to hear our dialogue aloud, but why not break us into groups, have us read the pieces to one another and then discuss what worked and what didn't?
The problem with doing it in front of the class is that you:
a) Waste time and,
b) Don't get the in-depth discussion you do with smaller groups.
Having everyone perform to everyone would make sense if she needed to hear every piece. Indeed, were she to give good, constructive criticism on each piece, I would not mind much. Instead she gives a cookie-cutter review to every person, rendering her viewings of the performances relatively pointless.
Finally, I will give mention to the sheer amount of drama happening in my scriptwriting class right now. We all take the same courses, so we see each other a minimum of four days a week, and usually hang out after class. Writers, being a dramatic sort do have propensity to create drama where normally there would be none, so think of inter-class affairs and dramatize that, and you have my class.
I am, of course, not involved. This is largely for three reasons. The first is that I have a boyfriend and am very happy with him and am therefore exempt from any silly relationship drama in the class. The second is that I love drama, but only if I'm observing. I am very very seldomly involved in drama myself. The final reason is that I am "rarely there" because I usually only hang out with the group once a week (being that I work and have chores like groceries and laundry to do). For me, once a week is normal. For everyone else? I'm the person who never shows up.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Foolish Goals
So it's that time of year again. November!
Now, I'm used to November being a time of writing - it's NaNoWriMo in November, and I attempt (and usually fail) it every year. I succeeded only one year - 2009 - when I had no job and was doing very little in school.
50,000 words is pretty substantial, and given the facts that I:
a) Am in school
b) Have a job
c) Do volunteer work
d) Live away from my parents and therefore have to be a responsible adult sometimes
e) Have a lot of other shit to write
I should not be doing NaNo.
Plus the fact that it's the fifth (already?!). I am going to attempt to write some more of my novel. Now, I'm thinking I'm not going to be able to write 50,000 words. What I'm aiming for is to get my current novel up to a total of 50,000. It's at 32,000 right now.
I should be able to write 18,000 words in a month, right? Surely? Maybe?
We'll see.
If anyone else is doing NaNoWriMo and wants to add me to their buddy list, I'm awordatatime on there as well!
Are you doing NaNo? What kind of story are you writing?
Now, I'm used to November being a time of writing - it's NaNoWriMo in November, and I attempt (and usually fail) it every year. I succeeded only one year - 2009 - when I had no job and was doing very little in school.
50,000 words is pretty substantial, and given the facts that I:
a) Am in school
b) Have a job
c) Do volunteer work
d) Live away from my parents and therefore have to be a responsible adult sometimes
e) Have a lot of other shit to write
I should not be doing NaNo.
Plus the fact that it's the fifth (already?!). I am going to attempt to write some more of my novel. Now, I'm thinking I'm not going to be able to write 50,000 words. What I'm aiming for is to get my current novel up to a total of 50,000. It's at 32,000 right now.
I should be able to write 18,000 words in a month, right? Surely? Maybe?
We'll see.
If anyone else is doing NaNoWriMo and wants to add me to their buddy list, I'm awordatatime on there as well!
Are you doing NaNo? What kind of story are you writing?
Monday, October 28, 2013
The Weak Point of my Program
Hello, internet. Happy Monday.
Just finished my Monday class - Stagewriting. I got that anger scene done, but it was bad; really bad. The problem was that there were going to be several outbursts of anger in my play, but each one was going to be relatively short. But what she wanted from us for this particular exercise was 5 pages of one argument.
There were a lot of people missing from class today, as I think a lot of people regard our Monday class in a similar regard to me - as more or less a waste of time. Nevertheless, there were still enough other people there that it was impossible to read everybody's piece. So we didn't read mine (hooray!) and I'm going to try to rewrite it a little bit before next class just to make it longer.
There was a mixed bag with the scenes handed in today. It's amazing how "write a scene about anger" can end up with so many outcomes. Some were really good - one in particular was a play about an experimental play and it made all of us laugh. My friend and I were even quoting it all the way home. Another was about a guy with schizophrenia who hears voices which tell him to kill his sister.
It's a pity that no-one really likes this class. I think theatre is a really interesting medium, it's just the way that this class is being taught kind of makes that fade away until all we hear is, "let's waste our time now!" I really think that it's essential for professors to make sure that the work they get their students to do is relevant to their learning - and that they know how it's going to be marked and what's worth what! I have no idea if the things I'm handing in are getting a grade or not, and if so, how much of my final grade it's worth. Of course, I'll still do them without an answer to those questions, but it makes the classes so much more structured if you have an idea of what you're doing.
I also feel like we haven't LEARNT enough in that class. How do you format a script for a play? What are the Act and Scene breakdowns like? How many should you have? What sort of stage directions do you give (action lines differ between plays, tv and movies!) and how much description of the set? I feel like I have no idea how to write a stageplay and that kind of irritates me, given how much I'm paying in tuition.
This class is really letting the program down.
Anyway, I have a big assignment due tomorrow for Broadcasting class, so I will catch you on the flip side!
Just finished my Monday class - Stagewriting. I got that anger scene done, but it was bad; really bad. The problem was that there were going to be several outbursts of anger in my play, but each one was going to be relatively short. But what she wanted from us for this particular exercise was 5 pages of one argument.
There were a lot of people missing from class today, as I think a lot of people regard our Monday class in a similar regard to me - as more or less a waste of time. Nevertheless, there were still enough other people there that it was impossible to read everybody's piece. So we didn't read mine (hooray!) and I'm going to try to rewrite it a little bit before next class just to make it longer.
There was a mixed bag with the scenes handed in today. It's amazing how "write a scene about anger" can end up with so many outcomes. Some were really good - one in particular was a play about an experimental play and it made all of us laugh. My friend and I were even quoting it all the way home. Another was about a guy with schizophrenia who hears voices which tell him to kill his sister.
It's a pity that no-one really likes this class. I think theatre is a really interesting medium, it's just the way that this class is being taught kind of makes that fade away until all we hear is, "let's waste our time now!" I really think that it's essential for professors to make sure that the work they get their students to do is relevant to their learning - and that they know how it's going to be marked and what's worth what! I have no idea if the things I'm handing in are getting a grade or not, and if so, how much of my final grade it's worth. Of course, I'll still do them without an answer to those questions, but it makes the classes so much more structured if you have an idea of what you're doing.
I also feel like we haven't LEARNT enough in that class. How do you format a script for a play? What are the Act and Scene breakdowns like? How many should you have? What sort of stage directions do you give (action lines differ between plays, tv and movies!) and how much description of the set? I feel like I have no idea how to write a stageplay and that kind of irritates me, given how much I'm paying in tuition.
This class is really letting the program down.
Anyway, I have a big assignment due tomorrow for Broadcasting class, so I will catch you on the flip side!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Halloween
It's almost Halloween.
I was never really into Halloween before - I didn't really get the holiday. As a child I didn't go trick-or-treating, because that wasn't really a thing where I lived. So as I grew up it didn't really impact me on a personal level. It's a lot bigger deal where I live now, and people go pretty crazy for it. It makes me feel as though I was somewhat deprived in my childhood in terms of October activities.
To be honest, I love themed holidays. I think they're fun and a chance to do something slightly different from the norm. I'm so excited for Christmas this year that you wouldn't believe it (especially if you knew me in real life because I'm a shopping-on-the-24th kind of gal.) I want to go to a farm and play in a corn maze and carve pumpkins and drink apple cider. The only problems with this are that I'm very poor at the moment and that I live far away from most of these attractions.
I'm trying to convince some people to go with me to a haunted house this week after class sometime. I found a coupon so it'll only be $10 a person. It sucks because I would love to have PT (my boyfriend) come with me so that I can scream and latch onto him, but he's so busy that there's no way that's happening. I really hope someone with a car comes, because that would make life so much easier!
I'm still planning to do a pumpkin. PT and I bought these little mini pumpkins for $1.25 each. They're adorable and we're planning to carve them on Monday. If it turns out well, I'll post a photo on here. If not, well...maybe I won't.
This weekend I have a few assignments to do for writing school. One is for my playwriting class. I'm supposed to write part of my play and hand it in, but it needs to be an "angry scene". I need at least two characters being angry with one another for a minimum of 5 pages. I kind of take issue with this because I'm not sure that I'll be able to do 5 pages of anger, given what my play is about (it's a murder mystery). I can definitely think of some intense moments, and some arguments, but not a single scene of anger lasting 5 pages (which in acting time is 7.5 minutes, as a page of a play is equal to one and a half minutes stage time).
This is definitely my least favourite of my classes, largely because it always feels like we're wasting time, but also because I couldn't think of ANY good ideas for my play. This assigment is a prime example of wasting time - not writing it, because writing is a matter of practice - but the fact that everyone in the class is writing this very specific kind of scene with a prescribed length (did I mention that I take issue with it having to be both from my play and 5 pages long?) and that we won't get any real feedback on it from this professor. We'll read every one of them out in class (and there will be 30), and then that will be it for the class. What feedback we'll get will be from our peers, and given our existing friendships, it will be somewhat on the biased side.
I suppose I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also writing a feature-length film, a short film, a spec script for a television show and other things this semester. More info on those will be forthcoming as I run into problems and feel like complaining about them!
I was never really into Halloween before - I didn't really get the holiday. As a child I didn't go trick-or-treating, because that wasn't really a thing where I lived. So as I grew up it didn't really impact me on a personal level. It's a lot bigger deal where I live now, and people go pretty crazy for it. It makes me feel as though I was somewhat deprived in my childhood in terms of October activities.
To be honest, I love themed holidays. I think they're fun and a chance to do something slightly different from the norm. I'm so excited for Christmas this year that you wouldn't believe it (especially if you knew me in real life because I'm a shopping-on-the-24th kind of gal.) I want to go to a farm and play in a corn maze and carve pumpkins and drink apple cider. The only problems with this are that I'm very poor at the moment and that I live far away from most of these attractions.
I'm trying to convince some people to go with me to a haunted house this week after class sometime. I found a coupon so it'll only be $10 a person. It sucks because I would love to have PT (my boyfriend) come with me so that I can scream and latch onto him, but he's so busy that there's no way that's happening. I really hope someone with a car comes, because that would make life so much easier!
I'm still planning to do a pumpkin. PT and I bought these little mini pumpkins for $1.25 each. They're adorable and we're planning to carve them on Monday. If it turns out well, I'll post a photo on here. If not, well...maybe I won't.
This weekend I have a few assignments to do for writing school. One is for my playwriting class. I'm supposed to write part of my play and hand it in, but it needs to be an "angry scene". I need at least two characters being angry with one another for a minimum of 5 pages. I kind of take issue with this because I'm not sure that I'll be able to do 5 pages of anger, given what my play is about (it's a murder mystery). I can definitely think of some intense moments, and some arguments, but not a single scene of anger lasting 5 pages (which in acting time is 7.5 minutes, as a page of a play is equal to one and a half minutes stage time).
This is definitely my least favourite of my classes, largely because it always feels like we're wasting time, but also because I couldn't think of ANY good ideas for my play. This assigment is a prime example of wasting time - not writing it, because writing is a matter of practice - but the fact that everyone in the class is writing this very specific kind of scene with a prescribed length (did I mention that I take issue with it having to be both from my play and 5 pages long?) and that we won't get any real feedback on it from this professor. We'll read every one of them out in class (and there will be 30), and then that will be it for the class. What feedback we'll get will be from our peers, and given our existing friendships, it will be somewhat on the biased side.
I suppose I'll let you know how it goes. I'm also writing a feature-length film, a short film, a spec script for a television show and other things this semester. More info on those will be forthcoming as I run into problems and feel like complaining about them!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Who Am I?
Who AM I? That's a good question. Who are any of us, really?
No, now's not the time for a philosophical discussion on the nature of who we are as people. Now is the time for me to explain just what I'm doing posting on this blog, just incase someone reads it (which would be shocking to me, to be honest).
Anyway, my name is Alex. I'm 23 and I'm going to try to be a writer.
Yes, I know, I'm one of many (thousands? hundreds of thousands?) who want the same, and very few people succeed. Still, I can't get bogged down in the likelihood of my dreams coming to fruition. All I can do is work to try make sure that they will in fact come true. While I do so, I'm going to try to keep up this blog. I kind of want to document this journey for myself, and I hope that maybe someone might end up reading it and perhaps I can make a new friend or two out of it. I'm also hoping that perhaps someone with a similar goal might end up reading this, and perhaps it might help them in their journey. That would be nice.
What do I do with my life at the moment?
I live in a small apartment in a high rise with my boyfriend, who is amazing. I go to school in Scriptwriting, and there I learn how to write movies, tv shows, plays and advertisements/training videos. I work part time at a mall and feel like I never have enough time to myself. I'm one of the cheapest people you'll ever meet and I love to watch tv and movies, play video games, read, draw and write, obviously.
So, about me and my goals (basically: what is this blog going to be about?):
My ultimate goal in being a writer? Well, there's actually two, depending on into which arena I end up taking my writing. One is to write a movie or television show that actually gets produced (and preferably is well-received) and the other is to write a novel that is published by a major publishing company and which does "well" (the requirements for "well" is something that I'll discuss at length in a later post). I once read that 81% of Americans believe that they could write a best-selling novel, but somehow I don't think so. Here's hoping that I'm one of the few that can. Not that I'm American, but you get the idea.
Meanwhile, I'm also cultivating fall-back plans, because although I believe that you should pursue your dreams with all as much gusto as you have in your body, you should also be prepared for the eventuality that they won't work out. Most dreams are dreams because they are unrealistic. No-one dreams of having a crappy office job or retail job, but they make up huge proportions of the adult work force. So what I'm saying is - going after your dreams is important (hey, that's what I'm doing!), but don't make your happiness contingent upon achieving them - and don't make your survival contingent either - you need money to eat and to have a roof over your head.
I'll also write a bit about general life struggles, I think. It's been a tough time for me recently as I've suffered a lot of depression and anxiety, related to other things, but also related to my age and my place in society. It's tough to be in your early twenties.
I have so much more to say, but I'll leave it here for now, otherwise this post will be too long for anyone to bother reading, and I'll have nothing else to say later.
I guess I'll finish it by saying that I'm super friendly and always willing to chat with people. So if you like me or what I say, or want to know more, please send me a message or comment on my blog. Thanks for reading, internet people.
No, now's not the time for a philosophical discussion on the nature of who we are as people. Now is the time for me to explain just what I'm doing posting on this blog, just incase someone reads it (which would be shocking to me, to be honest).
Anyway, my name is Alex. I'm 23 and I'm going to try to be a writer.
Yes, I know, I'm one of many (thousands? hundreds of thousands?) who want the same, and very few people succeed. Still, I can't get bogged down in the likelihood of my dreams coming to fruition. All I can do is work to try make sure that they will in fact come true. While I do so, I'm going to try to keep up this blog. I kind of want to document this journey for myself, and I hope that maybe someone might end up reading it and perhaps I can make a new friend or two out of it. I'm also hoping that perhaps someone with a similar goal might end up reading this, and perhaps it might help them in their journey. That would be nice.
What do I do with my life at the moment?
I live in a small apartment in a high rise with my boyfriend, who is amazing. I go to school in Scriptwriting, and there I learn how to write movies, tv shows, plays and advertisements/training videos. I work part time at a mall and feel like I never have enough time to myself. I'm one of the cheapest people you'll ever meet and I love to watch tv and movies, play video games, read, draw and write, obviously.
So, about me and my goals (basically: what is this blog going to be about?):
My ultimate goal in being a writer? Well, there's actually two, depending on into which arena I end up taking my writing. One is to write a movie or television show that actually gets produced (and preferably is well-received) and the other is to write a novel that is published by a major publishing company and which does "well" (the requirements for "well" is something that I'll discuss at length in a later post). I once read that 81% of Americans believe that they could write a best-selling novel, but somehow I don't think so. Here's hoping that I'm one of the few that can. Not that I'm American, but you get the idea.
Meanwhile, I'm also cultivating fall-back plans, because although I believe that you should pursue your dreams with all as much gusto as you have in your body, you should also be prepared for the eventuality that they won't work out. Most dreams are dreams because they are unrealistic. No-one dreams of having a crappy office job or retail job, but they make up huge proportions of the adult work force. So what I'm saying is - going after your dreams is important (hey, that's what I'm doing!), but don't make your happiness contingent upon achieving them - and don't make your survival contingent either - you need money to eat and to have a roof over your head.
I'll also write a bit about general life struggles, I think. It's been a tough time for me recently as I've suffered a lot of depression and anxiety, related to other things, but also related to my age and my place in society. It's tough to be in your early twenties.
I have so much more to say, but I'll leave it here for now, otherwise this post will be too long for anyone to bother reading, and I'll have nothing else to say later.
I guess I'll finish it by saying that I'm super friendly and always willing to chat with people. So if you like me or what I say, or want to know more, please send me a message or comment on my blog. Thanks for reading, internet people.
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