On-Going Activities
Editing dominated the week’s work, as has been the case for the last month (I’m up to chapter 5 right now). Lens Flare remains the novel I’ll most likely publish first among those I’ve already invested a lot of time in, which is why I’m being particularly fastidious about the editing process with this partial manuscript. I stopped at chapter eight before and from there I’ll pick up the writing. I can’t wait.
The Genesis of Yet Another Story
As I’ve noted before, it’s easy to become distracted from your task list to chase another “really great idea.” I encourage everyone not to be so rigid as to dismiss that burst of inspiration, especially if you’re like me and think they’re gifts from your Muse ... she doesn’t like being rebuffed, trust me. Instead, take a little time to jot down some key information or a snippet of prose so you can come back to it later. That is, unless the idea is fully formed, of course - then you may need to sketch out the entire thing before you lose it all.
Case in point - last Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:30 and as always, our almost fifteen year-old beagle mutt observed me lift my head and in a blink, she stood in front of the sliding glass door of our bedroom, wanting to see if the Food Fairy left her anything overnight - only to be disappointed, I assure you. I watched her trot to the other side of the house, then meander her way around the back deck, exploring her queendom and trying to decide where to leave her Morning Deposit. A pretty stiff wind rose unexpectedly and shook the trees, something that caused her to be distracted and standing, sniffing the air for whatever interesting smells the wind brought her way. For whatever reason, the phrase “Idiot Winds” popped into my head, so I got up out of bed and walked down to my study to capture this (note this is very raw):
- Fired up Evernote
- Created a new noted and entitled it “Idiot Winds,” adding “Titles” as the tag
- Launched Google Chrome (my new browser preference) and went to Amazon.com to check the title. It turns out, Bob Dylan has a song called “Idiot Wind,” but I’m not worried about that.
- I wrote down the premise: “A freak windstorm buffets a small rural town, causing the residents to behave as strangely as the weather.”
- I then wrote the opening scene:
“I bet I can beat you to that ridge,” Jenny yelled, looking back at Toby. She pointed to the spot for emphasis.Will this go anywhere? Maybe. I already know what’s going to happen in the next scene, but before I write that, I will plot it out. This is definitely a short story, nothing longer - and at least it will be fun to write.
“You never have before,” Toby said, holding his horse in place. “What do I get if I beat you?”
“The usual, I guess,” Jenny said with a wicked smile. “But what do I get if I beat you?”
Toby laughed. “I never thought about it. We’ll figure it out if that ever happens.”
Jenny trotted Chestnut over to Toby and slapped him on the arm, then took off for the ridge at a full gallop.
“Cheater!” Toby shouted as he and Liberty set out after her.
The pair spurred their horses repeatedly, jumping over dips and ruts at a frenzied pace, nearly caroming against each other several times. Their horses knew the drill and galloped as fast as they could, each wanting to take their rider to victory.
A thousand yards from the finish line, Chestnut slowed up without warning, almost causing Jenny to pitch headlong over the horse’s head. Moments later, Toby passed her and raced to the ridge’s edge. He stuck his fists in the air and let out a war whoop to declare victory. When he turned to await Jenny’s late arrival, he saw her standing next to Chestnut, holding him back by the reins as he strained to get away.
In a moment, he reached her and got off of Liberty, then grabbed Chestnut’s reins along with her.
“What’s going on?” he asked her as they both struggled to calm the horse down.
“No idea,” Jenny replied between gritted teeth. “Something spooked him awful.”
“Was it a snake?” Toby asked, scanning the thick grass. “I don’t see anything around here.”
Jenny didn’t answer, but pulled harder on the reins, cooing softly to her horse. After several minutes, Chestnut got the message and relaxed, still panting, a look of panic in his eyes.
“We’d better go back,” Toby said, mounting Liberty. “I don’t like it when these horses start acting skittish.”
Jenny climbed back on Chestnut and the two trotted back toward the ranch.
“By the way, I won,” Toby said with a snicker. “We’ll discuss the terms of your surrender later.”
30 Rock Idea
If you’ve never seen this comedy, you’re missing one well-written, funny show. What’s interesting is I’ve mostly only watch it on Netflix as I have other things going on when it airs (and believe it or not, I don’t have a DVR - don’t ask).
Anyway, if you’re not familiar with the premise, Tina Fey (from SNL fame) plays the head writer of a variety sketch show, in charge of a group of “characters” who are tasked to produce this live show every week. Fey (as Liz Lemon) spends a large part of her time trying to get the writers, acting talent and others to create something watchable while the remainder of the time, she obsesses with her less-than-stellar personal life.
My idea sprung from my recent addiction with Angry Birds, the computer game sensation that’s really captured a lot of eyeballs (and money) from the ever-hungry gaming community. In my plot, Liz belittles her staff who have become obsesses with a computer game, mocking them every chance she gets about how lame it is. At some point, they challenge her to try it and she goes about proving how dumb it is - only she realizes it’s not as simple-minded as she originally thought. The more she tries to prove her point, the deeper she gets into it until she becomes even more addicted than anyone else in her office.
Liz’s addiction moves to dangerous levels. She starts neglecting her hygiene, her job, her relationships, and mostly everything else just so she can play this game. At some point, she goes head to head with an online opponent who taunts her and as a result, brings Liz’s game up several notches. When she finally reaches the last level, she discovers she’s made it into the top ten players and that all of them are invited to compete for the championship trophy. Unfortunately, that championship coincides with a deadline for a two-hour special she and her team have to finish and air that same evening. Liz has to choose between this big show and the championship. The question is what does she do?
It’s unlikely I’ll write this episode - fan fiction really isn’t my thing - but if someone from the 30 Rock writing team wanted to steal this, I’d be happy to look the other way.
A Perfect Tenant - A Movie I’d Love to See Made
I’ve written three feature-length screenplays (so far), one of which is called A Perfect Tenant. Here’s the logline:
“When a couple takes in a conniving boarder to earn extra money, it’s up to their ten year-old son and Great Dane to convince him to leave.”
Think of it as a comedic Pacific Heights, the movie starring Michael Keaton as a crazed tenant who is bound and determined to force his landlords (played by Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine) to abandon the property so he can buy it cheap, using the California tenant laws in his favor. In my version, Robin Williams would play the tenant who moves from house to house, taking advantage of naive landlords by faking injuries in order to gain free room and board. Unfortunately for Charlie Pound (the tenant), his new landlords have a bratty son, Kyle, and his destructive Great Dane, who are hellbent on expelling the usurper. Hilarity ensues when Charlie falls victim to Kyle’s pranks time and again until the joke goes to far and Charlie really gets hurt, forcing Kyle to kowtow to Charlie’s every whim.
Maybe some day ...
Next Time
That’s all for this week. Possible topics for next time:
- Discussion of Ricochet Man (another feature-length screenplay I wrote)
- Some unlikely plots I’ve dreamt up
- A silly TV series idea
Michael
2 comments:
I like your Mother's Day wish catch all. Unless you were born via test tube, you had a mother. ;-)
You don't have a DVR? Neither do I. I've talked about getting one someday, but now with my subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu Plus, the purpose of needing it has waned.
There's been a lot of movies that have had roommates and tenants as the main story topic. My favorite was Floyd from "True Romance" (played by Brad Pitt), which then became the premise for the movie "Pineapple Express" (what would happen if Floyd left the house).
And I like that your creative side created a new story based on your dog's morning constitutional. The rest of us need to open our horizons. ;-)
LOL @ the test tube mama!
About "A Perfect Tenant," I think they idea came to me after seeing Robin Williams in that movie trailer with him working in a photo developing place (forget the name of it). That's how so many ideas come, seeing someone else's art (or watching the dog do her "business."). :-D
Thanks for reading, Marty!
Michael
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