i <3 monday!

My brain is severely scattered today. I've managed to complete about 7 files... which isn't too bad, especially for how I've been feeling these past few Mondays. Plus my day isn't nearly over. I'd much rather remain asleep and start work on Tuesday. But that won't work because then Tuesday becomes the new Monday. It's a terrible cycle. Too many distractions. Right now, my grandmother is preparing something that looks like apple crisp. It looks delicious even without being cooked yet. But I feel not-so-good due to a hefty breakfast I made myself this morning. It was good, but maybe a little too good. AND I'm a little sleepy from reading too much into all five of the Saw movies. I've only seen the first two... And those movies I'm not really into. I don't care much for gore and torture. But with my overactive imagination, I read the plots to all 5 movies, and how the devices worked and what happened to all the victims. I did that for about 2-3 hours before I realized I should get some sleep... but I was a bit too terrified to do so because images like to playback in my dreams making it a little too real for me. SO after watching some Marx Brothers movies and a few Sudoku and solitaire games later, I was off to sleep with no torture-related nightmares. My waked-up time was between 6 and 7 am, and I didn't fall asleep until about 3 am. Yay!

Prior to my research into dreary doomland, I hopped back into my screenwriting chair and formatted a previously written script into a more professional-looking one. When I'm in a zone (or away from a computer that has Final Draft), I'll write a rough draft in MS Word, and just use a format I always see in high school or church plays:
BILLY: I ate a rock.
TIMMY: That's too bad.
BILLY: I know. (cries)
It's only 4 pages, but it tells quite a story. I strived for realism in the dialogue, and after having someone read through it, I think I achieved that much. Unlike what I usually write, this is on the dramatic/sad side. It's about the break up of an affair between a guy and a girl who have a secret to share with each other. Hey, it's only 4 pages, I can't give everything away.

I feel like working on one of the last projects I started back on my last writing retreat... which is coincidentally titled "The Writing Retreat." Guess what it's about! That's right... making apple crisp. Well, after sitting in bed trying to clear my mind of senseless violence, I came up with another character to add to the story. The hotel I stayed at seems like it encouraged people to live there... So I came up with a character who lived at the hotel that the main character can interact with at different occasions while he's there. I haven't really touched the story itself since a few months ago, but if I get a chance tonight, I'll rewrite it before working on the actual script itself. All of this after a quick Sudoku of course. I also want to put some time in on my Noah Madison project thanks to Jaden's latest post. I need to schedule time to work on certain projects just so no one feels ignored. (I hear your cries Fickette, I miss you too!)

I have a love/hate feeling towards the actual screenwriting process. I like writing dialogue... but it just takes so long for me sometimes--keeping track of the character's personalities, how they would speak, what they would say, and still making it sound believable... unless every character is just so outrageous, that they can get away with grunts.

I really want to see Wall-E after hearing so much good about it and it's non-use of speech. Better yet, I wonder if I could get my hands on the screenplay to see how that reads.

Okay, I must snap out of it and get back to "real work" and do some early knocking-out-of-the-park numbers so I can slack off on Thursday. We've got a meeting at the office and it's requested I be there so I can bring some food back for my mom. It's supposed to be catered with all sorts of yummies. But I'm in a Monday mood, so I can care less about going to a meeting right now. Even with free catered food. What do I really care about? I want to either be on my laptop or under the covers being unconscious. But we can't have everything, can we? Yes we can! Obama told me so.

Writer's Wretreat - August '08 [part 4]

I've been home since about 11am. I didn't appreciate my uncalled for wake-up bang at the door. No sirree. It was about 9am and the lady wanted to come clean house. I was scared half to death and almost wet the bed I was so scared. I never did get any pants on, but I went to the peep hole and she was already wheeling her cart away. Meanwhile, my heart that had burst out of my chest was somewhere on the bed, so I managed to pull myself together and breathe normally. I eventually went back to bed for a short while... very short. A friend called looking for a ride to church which I wasn't planning on attending. I gave up trying to go back to sleep, and finished packing and cleaning up, then dropped off my junk in the truck.

I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do. I never did finish up the projects like I wanted, nor did I get to read Our Uncle Sam or finish off A Purpose Driven Life. I have the rest of tonight and possibly tomorrow. I'm hoping there are no surprises, like going to Uncle So-and-so's for a cookout or something.

Once I got home, I went directly to sleep. I still don't feel I slept long enough. Friends and family apparently missed me, so they felt the need to tell me so with text messages, phone calls, and more knocks at the door. There is no rest for the weary.

I said it before, but next time I'm serious. I will write out a schedule, if you will, or a to-do list, of things I must complete or at least put some chunks of work into. And I probably need to schedule time for all of the projects that I started that still aren't fleshed out. I think I was holding off because I wanted to retreat with someone else whom I could bounce ideas off of, help in the story building process or someone who could read something freshly written. I already know that you can't let just anyone read your stuff. They need some sense of how screenplays work, and how to tell a good story.

My allergies have been killing me all weekend. My nose needs to be detached. Just for a few hours. Please? I'd like to breathe without being tickled at the same time. I'd also not want to have feeling of sneezing, or that look like your face is about to explode, every 5 mins... or less. Not cool.

Overall, I had a good time this weekend. I did get some rest. I got to do absolutely nothing for a couple hours. I did some hardcore typing for many hours (sounds so vulgar), and I watched things I already saw but enjoyed even more. I even caught some sunrise, which is always beauty at it's best.

Writer's Wretreat - August '08 [part 3]

It's the crack of dawn early Sunday morn... I'm just now realizing I have the perfect view of the sunrise. I think I neglected that fact before due to it being rainy and cloudy yesterday morning. It's hard to determine the sunrise when the cloudy clouds are blocking the sunny sun, no? Maybe I'll draw back the light blocking curtains and watch the sun rise live. That almost sounds like a concert. Ooo... That's a good idea. Have a musical concert from about 5am to 8am or something... No one steal it! I claimed it here first! Growl.

Even though I've been sitting in the same spot for about... 7 hours, I still haven't done much editting to Sam's One Night Stand. I think that's what I'm going to go with as a title. I got some feedback from a friend I sent the initial script to. I just sent her the newer version, but it's not the final completed version. If I still have energy, I may just get that over with and call it a night. Or morning. Or day. I think I'm going to start preparing to go home. With a suite like this, do they expect me to wash my dishes? I brought the wrong camera to document my stay here. I would've had some awesome shots of the silverware, food I ate, amazing stunts I did that people should never do in their own home. I jest. Like last time, I mostly sat at the desk.

Ocean's Thirteen came on HBO 2 unexpectedly. What's even more uncanny is Ocean's Eleven was on TBS at the same time! What a choice to make. I went 13 since it was uncensored and commercial free. I lucked out though because 11 came on a 2nd time... So you know where I was for about 4 hours. Yep, in the ugly brown recliner that is nowhere as comfy as the one at home. And I munched on my complimentary bag of buttered free popcorn that I almost burned, and decaf coffee that I brewed myself. Aren't I special?

So that was part of my vacationing, and it was good. I had to get back into workmode which was a little difficult. I was distracted and inspired by reading my new favorite blogs and the comments people make. Then I decided to get snacks. All of that helped me to... [insert drumroll]

Write a brand new story! I haven't started the script, I don't know if I will do it now... but either way, I'm feeling accomplished. What is it called? Working title would be The Writing Retreat. I like puns... and there really isn't one in that title. Concept: A struggling young writer taking a weekend off at a hotel to focus on writing new material, meets an unexpected muse that changes his life forever. The fun thing about that concept alone, it's based on a true story. As for the story itself, well, it's partially based in truth, but later in the story, my imagination takes over. But it's not like crazy imagination. It's a story I could easily film if a bunch of actors were in the room next to me and they worked for free and on a whim.

Speaking of neighbors... what is with the people about me??? Who does that much walking?! Seriously! At least they are sitting now, I hope. I may have to write that in the script, what my character would be thinking is going on in the room above his. A dance party? Musical chairs? A ballet performance chef? People warming up for a marathon?

Good God in the sweet heavens above me, I would like a nap.

I was going to have a Seinfeld marathon... but I've stuck with Psych. This show makes me happy. I thought I'd get through both seasons, but I'm still on season one. And the movies I rented? Didn't touch them since I've been here. Go fig. I know why though. I couldn't write something new and watch something new at the same time. Plus, watching familiar things that I love, inspires me to write, and hopefully it's up to par to whatever I'm watching.

Crap in a hat... my eyes are too weary to continue. I've seen too many words in one sitting. I'm going to clean up a bit, open the curtains, enjoy more Psych, as I float off to La La Land. It's nice, they like me there.

Oh yeah! Bounty towels are really awesome! They really are as tough as the commercials say. And yes, I'm amazed by the simplest things in life.

Writer's Wretreat - August '08 [part 2]

Woot woot! Yes, yes yall... I have all, or most of the written words needed for my script to be at it's completeness. I'm going to go through later tonight to do some revising before I'm satisfied with the main results. I'm currently at 36 pages, which is a little less than I expected, but in screenplay terms, that still qualifies as a short film, and technically equals about 40 minutes. But the album itself is about 36 mins long, so clearly, the movie will be longer than that. Clearly.

I had a great sleep by the way. I want to smuggle these pillows out because of their awesome fluffiness. I am reminded of a Seinfeld episode with George being annoyed that his sheets are tucked in too tightly. I sort've had the same issue, but I dealt with it... and slept peacefully from about 6am to noon. Now here it is just about 3pm, and I am mostly complete. I need a quick nap before I do some hardcore reading... and probably some food too. But I have the rest of the night for that, and I can probably work on some other back burner projects OR start a brand new one. And by brand new, probably something that has been in my head but hasn't seen the light of a laptop, or been heard by any ears other than the one inside my head. That makes me sound all kinds of weird, doesn't it?

What's weird is who else is up at the wee hours of the morning walking around constantly? And no, it isn't sounds of beds moving way more than they should, it's actual footsteps. Believe me, I know the difference and I don't wanna talk about it. Anyway, the footsteps went on and on all night. It's a good thing I wasn't trying to sleep! Man, some people. My other deductive reasoning would have me believe that it's because my room is right next to a stairwell. So, that could be the reason for all the footsteps. Still... why so much walking at 3 - 4 am? And my TV goes off every few hours. I'm thinking it's an energy saving thing, but still... it's a little creepy sometimes.

Well, 'tis time for a wee nap. This is a partial vacation, I should be able to lounge around and do absolutely nothing for a little while, enjoy some free cable and a big comfy bed. But the productiveness shall continue indefinitely.

[Writers] WRETREAT!!!! [august '08 - part 1]

I pretty much came up with the idea of getting away to do some hardcore writing last night. I've been wanting to go away for the past couple months. I've been annoying people about it for weeks. So much so, they were ready to kick me out already. It's too bad. All my plans to go here or there all fell through, and I'm left vacationless. Hence is why I never left. Did I use "hence" correctly there?

I have a more relevent question. Is it considered a "staycation" if I'm still in the same city? I'm going to pretend I'm in another country by watching BBC America. Monty Python is on. Good stuff. Bloody hilarious, actually. But I brought half of my DVD collection with me, so I'll have some familiar backgrond noise to keep me going in my writings. And this time, I'll be staying long enough to actually get some sleep. I tell you, when I get serious about writing, I don't think sleep is that important. Maybe I should take a nap now.

Since I'm on a retreat, I'll report a bit more frequently than I have been just because I can. I also brought my camera, so I may do some recording as well as document with pictures of what I've been doing while here. I'll leave out the parts with the college party with illegal narcotics, harlots, and booze galore.

running out of time... and days off

I'm almost at the finish line of this script that I've been talking about for... a month to a year I suppose. Honestly, this was a script I never thought I'd be writing until years from now. Why? It's one of those projects I didn't want to attempt until I was well established and somewhat known and trusted to get the financing to handle it. But the other thing I keep forgetting is I can always write it now and save it for later. I must remember what my screenwriting teacher at Middlesex taught me. "All of the leading ladies can't be hot latin women!" Wait, no, she didn't say that. Build up a portfolio, then worry about selling and production stuff like that later. And to get an agent after. Which means I should go back to my other plan of writing scripts strictly for selling. Wow, strict scripts is as hard to type as it is to say out loud. I'm going to blame the pizza.

I tried a new pizza place that was recommended to me today. They already won points by getting here in 20mins. I feel bad I gave them a lousy tip. When I order from them again, I'll make up for it. I'll give them a Hallmark card that says "Thank you."

Anyway, I received Our Uncle Sam yesterday from author Erik Greene, who is the great nephew of Sam Cooke. I was already hooked by the beginning. It's exactly what I was looking for to help with my script. I'm going to see how quickly I can read it. But I want to finish one thing at a time, of course. Which means the pizza is first on my plate... literally. Well, if I was eating from a plate. I normally just take the box and run.

I also managed to watch a slew of movies, which I've reviewed all on my Myspace blog. Movies recently reviewed? 21, Park, College Road Trip, Penelope, and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. I will probably continue this movie span in the next few days. This helps in my writing process in so many ways. "How to make a movie that doesn't suck." Speaking of movies that will probably go down in flames, isn't Disaster Movie's title really just punctuate the movie itself? I've seen enough trailers that have me convinced I want to cry if I had to pay to see this movie.

Someone is drumming very badly next door. They really should stop or I might sneak in their house and fill their drums with cement.

Speaking of which, I still haven't received word from Dr. Bob... So I may once again hold off until NEXT week, possibly Friday, to get Sam (the car) out of the hospital. So this weekend, I may finally get a wee retreat. I need to spend time away from this house. I'm thinking back to Candlewood Suites. It's nice there. Plus I never really got to sleep in the bed since I only stayed for one night and practically sat at the desk the whole time I was there. I only slept for 2 hours there. I melted into the mattress before I had to peel myself out when the cleaning lady came a'knockin. So yeah, $300 should cover a couple nights wherever I choose to go for a couple nights.

Methinks I need a nap now. Which some would see as odd since I didn't do anything today. On the contrary, last night I typed out Bible study questions for my dad. About 7 chapters, all in one sitting. Oh, my poor fingers. I wanted to detach them and sit them in some cooling waters, then hang them to dry. But sleeping for about 7 hours worked too. All I want now is just 15 mins of a nap. Or more. We have to sing tonight in Middletown at some service that I think is outside... It might not be... I'm not sure. But I need to rest. So rest I shall. And drink plenty of fluids. And don't call me in the morning.

have a seat

I got scared because I received another "Unavailable" call on my cell today. Usually, the trend has been that I'd get Bank of America looking for a car payment when it's like 5 hours past due. Quite annoying. Then on a rare occasion, it was a crank caller posing as a girl I met at a club the previous Saturday night, wanting to hook up later that day to meet at a cafe and grab a cup of coffee then have sex. Little do crank callers know, not everyone is easily disturbed or annoyed, especially if they employ improv tactics to said crank call. The trick? The "yes... and..." method. Basically that means to just agree and go along with it, kind've adding to the story. I've kept this up for about an hour with one guy. He was so pissed. It made my night, though.

Anyway, my chair will be arriving next Thursday. Well, me and my mother's chairs will be arriving. So the dining room can have it pinkish bizzare chair back. It's soooo not my style. Although I hope these chairs are good and comfy. My chair here at work is poop.

How is my countdown looking, you mgiht ask? One week to the day. Does it look like that will be happening? No. So shall we bump it another week? Let's! 8/28/2008.

Speaking of that week... One of the sysetms that's vital to our work ethic with be down from the 22nd to the 2nd of September, which means that's a lot of downtime for us. Our manager has told us we are welcome to use any personal time off we want to escape for the week or so, and she'll waive the policy that says a certain number of people must be here during the work hours. My only issue is, I don't want to use my PTO. I'm stingy. I want to use it on something big! And I want to still have some left over for like, emergencies. I do want a vacation though, but I have no where to go. Plus I can't afford one right now anyway.

Which brings me to my next topic... My next Writer's Wretreat... I hope to also have at the end of August. I haven't chosen a hotel to stay at, but I will stay longer than one night. I was going to pick a hotel close to a Pizza Hut. I don't need a place that has a great view of anything, or is near some attraction. I'm going to be inside at my laptop anyway. Probably watching movies and/or TV shows on DVD back to back for hours on end. More than likely Arrested Development and Psych will be involved. Good times indeed.

Well I need to close out my nubmers for the week. We'll see if we make it.