My Life Within The Margins

Why "A Christmas Story" Became a Classic

2011-12-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

Warning: if you haven’t seen the movie A Christmas Story even once, you will probably won’t get a lot out of this post and there are plenty of spoilers here to boot. If this describes you, by all means do yourself a favor this holiday season and SEE THIS MOVIE before you read this, especially if you’re one of those merry souls who feel your Christmas season isn’t complete unless you view the likes of Charlie Brown, Rudolph, Frosty and the Grinch. A Christmas Story is a modern classic that has the distinct privilege of being featured in a 24-hour marathon on TBS (the Turner Broadcasting System) and watched by millions of people every year. I watch it at least six times each marathon and love it more and more each time I see it.

A Little Background

A Christmas Story is a 1983 movie based on short stories by American author and radio humorist Jean Shepherd from his book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Set in late 1930's / early 1940's Indiana, it follows the adventures of nine-year-old Ralphie Parker and his relentless pursuit and acquisition of his heart’s desire for Christmas: a Red Ryder BB gun. The film did not impress critics in its theatrical release and had limited audience enthusiasm, in part because holiday-themed movies were not in vogue during that time. Over the years, thanks to television and in particular the TBS marathons, the film has grown significantly in popularity and ranks near the top of all-time favorite holiday movies.

Story Structure

A Christmas Story is easily contained within the 3-act story structure, with each act featuring Ralphie trying to convince an adult (his mother, his teacher and Santa Claus himself) that the BB gun would not be the instrument whereby he would “shoot his eye out” (an ongoing motif that links the acts). In all three cases, Ralphie’s elaborate methods to convince the adult in question of the safety of the toy are successfully foiled, but at the end of Act III, Ralphie’s father (the “Old Man”) comes in to save the day and makes sure Ralphie receives the gun from Santa.

The plot follows the basic pattern for all good stories: the hero (Ralphie) wants something so badly he’s willing to do whatever it takes — within reason, of course — to get it. Along the path of this journey, he is repeatedly thwarted from reaching his goal by stronger and stronger adversaries, increasing his desperation and lengths he’s willing to go until finally, when it appears his mission has failed, he gets what he worked so hard for.

Subplots Galore

If you watch the movie enough times, you become intimately familiar with the subplots. Some of them:

The Old Man’s constant war with the neighbor’s dogs
The Old Man’s constant war with inanimate objects (the furnace and family Oldsmobile)
The Old Man’s gift of creative cussing pulled out on many occasions
The infamous "Leg" lamp
Ralphie and his friends’ escalating confrontations with the neighborhood bully
Ralphie’s mother and her overprotectiveness of his younger brother
Ralphie’s finally receiving his long-awaited Little Orphan Annie decoder ring (and being disappointed by the “secret message” it provides)

All of this is played in the background to the overall theme: Christmas and Ralphie’s getting his perfect present on Christmas Day, mixed in with the odd daydream here and there, consistent with that which floats through any kid’s mind during a long and boring day.

Tying All of It Together

Unlike in lesser made films, the myriad subplots do not detract from the main story in this movie, but rather enhance it. At the end, Ralphie does get his gun — but he also beats up the bully so badly that he has to be pulled off the kid before he did him any serious damage, essentially providing satisfying closure for both dramatic points. The Old Man’s lost final battle with the neighbors’ dogs leads the family to enjoy a charming, but odd, Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant that remained a cherished memory for Ralphie (as narrator) for the rest of his life — as only delightfully strange events in our lives can do.

There are many other examples of how the subplots weave within the main story and/or the characters’ motivations and personalities. There’s not a bit of wasted dialog or action; any further editing would do irreparable damage to the overall effect of the film.

Thus the appeal of A Christmas Story: it cultivates a familiar storytelling approach with highly entertaining subplots that enhance the effect of the time and place, and thus, the overall feel.

Theme

One can speculate on a number of themes. Here are a few examples:

Persistance pays
If it’s worthwhile goal, it’s worth fighting for
Never come between a boy and his BB gun

No matter which one you decide on, though, there is plenty of subtext to consider.

Hidden Lesson?

After Ralphie gets his gun, he rushes outside to try it. An ill-advised shot nearly causes what most of the adults in the movie already warned him about: he comes close to really shooting his eye out. However, thanks to some creative storytelling, Ralphie is able to successfully blame the near tragedy on something else, only eliciting the sympathy of his ever-supportive mother. Perhaps the lesson learned is this: adults really do know better than kids, but that knowledge is certainly limited to what input the parents have access to. True to form, however, movie heroes, even kids, always win the day, even through deception and subterfuge. Didn’t we all survive childhood with a bit of that?

Final Thoughts

I’ve taken time to analyze my own feelings about what makes The Christmas Story such an enjoyable one to watch over and over again. Sure, it’s a little holiday tradition I’ve established for myself, coming from a very traditional (and large) extended family. We humans enjoy our little rituals, don’t we? ☺

However, I think it’s more than that. Perhaps it’s the realism of the sets and the nostalgia they elicit. Or maybe it is, at the end, a heartwarming story about a young boy who gets his Christmas wish, courtesy of Santa (with an assist from a bighearted father who remembered his own boyhood). There certainly appears to be genuine affection expressed by the boys’ mother toward them and even an amused tolerance of her husband’s larger-than-life personality. I’m sure it’s all that and more, for me and for the many people who camp out in front of the TV every Christmas to watch it.

Merry Christmas to all!

Michael

Playing Catch-Up (Ever So Briefly)

2011-12-11T10:43:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if I should be shocked or amused that the last post I made to this blog was back in early June. To say the year's flown by is not only a cliché, but a regular comment I keep hearing from both my off-line and online friends. What the hell is going on? Did someone speed up the timeline? I feel like it was just last week we were celebrating Christmas and here we are again, with only thirteen shopping days left.

New Book

What have I been doing, writing-wise, since June? To begin with, I decided to publish another collection of short stories again, this time without poetry. The working title is Secrets of the Foothills, which is a spin-off from the first book, In the Foothills (and yes, I have the title for the next one to follow this one). I have several stories completed, but unedited, for the new book, plus I have several stories plotted, but in various stages of completion. Needless to say, this has kept me very busy the second half of 2011. The book should be released by August 31st, 2012.

Screenplays & Television

At the same time, I've also been busy working on my screenplays (I have several in various phases of development). Writing those takes a totally different mental state and is a welcome respite from the short story writing. I've been getting a lot of interest in my scripts lately, too, so perhaps the industry is opening up a bit. Can I get a witness? No?

One of the most promising new projects I have in the entertainment genre is a TV series (a sitcom) that I think would be a hit, but as always, only with the right producer, director, cast and crew. I've already outlined a treatment with an entire season of plot lines written up. "All" I need to do is write up a synopsis for each episode and package the whole thing as a single treatment. Perhaps more to come on that later.

The Idea Jar

Finally, I made the "mistake" of opening up the idea jar. I do this sometimes and just collect random titles or phrases I read everywhere (including from Twitter), then writing them down to noodle on. From there, I just free-write a plot line based on the title alone. Amazing out of all of those, how many are viable future projects. To say I have more to write than I will have years to live is no exaggeration! Believe me, it takes a lot of discipline not to get sidetracked on any of these new ideas.

Seasons Greetings

That's all from our hill, where the wind doth blow and Christmas is nigh. Wishing you and yours all the best this holiday season (especially you Druids, from whom we get the quaint custom of dragging dead pine trees into our homes).

Peace,

Michael

What's New - Week of May 29, 2011

2011-06-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

Good evening, gentle reader. June arrived at our little enclave with little fanfare. Rather, the infamous “June gloom” stopped by for its annual visit, promising a few weeks of un-summer-like weather. After a cold, wet winter and a cooler than normal spring, I’m starting to wonder whether the sunny California weather is just a myth anymore.

On-Going Activities

Editing remains the top activity lately, though I’ve done my share of writing, too. I spent part of the week going back through some of my other WIPs (short stories, this time) and editing them as well. I’m always pleased when I revisit any of my WIPs, especially after I let a lot of time go by, to see the work with new eyes, which enables me to make the piece even better. My advice to anyone editing their own work is to put it away for a while after the first draft (at least a month, unless you’re on a deadline), the return to it. It makes all the difference as far as what the finished product turns out to be.

For example, this is a piece I began in January 2010 which I just edited for fun:

They've only known him as The American. He lived in the small pink bungalow as close to the shore as was sensible. At times, the tide lapped within six feet of his front door, leaving eddies still swirling in their wake. When the summer storms arrived, the structure appeared to pitch against the angry winds, but no matter how strong the gales pounded the shore, the bungalow stayed upright and true. At those times, The American could be seen sitting on his front stoop, rocking back and forth, watching the storms' anger, almost challenging them to wash him out to sea. For fifteen years, maybe more, the man and his shelter survived all comers and stood stronger after each battle.

The children from the neighboring towns dared each other all year long to say hello to him. Every once in a while, a brave soul or two would venture as far as the front door, but would lose their nerve before actually knocking, instead running away as though a ghost accosted them. The American could be seen standing on the front porch, surveying the hasty retreat of the brown-skinned urchins that tried to make contact with him.

Does the beginning make you want to learn more about this mysterious man?

First Lines

Sometimes I like to indulge in an exercise of creating first lines for short stories (or longer works) just to see what my mind can conjure up. It certainly helps get the creative juices flowing. Here are the first lines I came up with this week (as always, these are raw and may not go anywhere):

I came to Santa Lucia de la Terra for only one reason: to die.

Wherever Tonia traveled, bad luck could be found sitting proudly in the sidecar.

Steven walked to the open window, stuck his head outside and witnessed the end of civilization.

Many knew Peter all too well and that made him a marked man, for no one in town wanted to see him alive by the next morning.

As the explosions grew ever closer, Crystal stood up in her Mustang convertible and viewed the Pacific for the last time.

Anxious to greet the day, Bob tore out of his driveway and plowed into the neighbor's '57 T-bird, ran over a garbage can, shifted into first and laid rubber all the way down Friendly Lane.

Life had a funny way of throwing curve balls at a person, as Priscilla discovered the night she returned home and found her husband and all her belongings gone.

Three days before, Terry stood on the very edge of taking his own life, but since he found the false wall in his house, he wanted to live forever.

The excruciating pain in his torn knee caused Jim to pass out, his head hitting the solid oak table as he fell and splitting open the back of his head.

Chambliss stood on the boardwalk, watching the vendors sell their kitschy wares, and wished that they notice him just once.

Armed with her last grenade and an overused baseball bat, Loretta realized that reinforcements weren't going to arrive in time, so she girded her courage and headed out to meet the invaders head-on.

Gideon slid back the hidden panel and stuck his hand inside the small compartment, then pulled out the paper tube he knew would be there, now yellowed with age and darkened by plant spores.

If you’ve never tried this before, definitely give it a go (and let me know how it turned out).

New Story Start

I woke up this morning with a title for a short story in my head, a bit of an odd thing, called “Monty McGillicuddy Is Dead.” I’ve laid out a basic plot and a snippet of the start:

Sundays are my designated do-nothing-but-watch-sports-and-nap days. So, in honor of that tradition, I was fast asleep during the last round of the Masters when the phone rang next to my head, jarring me awake.

"Hey, John, it's Dad. Are you in the middle of something?"

I rubbed my eyes and sat up to clear my head. "No, just watching golf. Anything wrong? You and Mom okay?"

"Sure, we're fine. No, I wanted to tell you something. I don't know if you remember him from school, but I just saw in the paper the Monty McGillicuddy is dead."

Monty McGillicuddy. I hadn't heard that name or even thought of him in at least ten years.

"John?"

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, of course I remember Monty. How'd he die?"

"That's the thing. They don't say what he died from. But who cares, that jerk's dead and that's all that matters. You probably don't remember how he made your life a living hell for so long."

I chuckled. "Oh yeah, Pop, that's not something I'd be like to forget ever."

My dad laughed, too. "I suppose not. Well, it may be wrong for me to say it, but I'm glad he's dead. Seeing what he did to you, I hated him. And I don't hate anybody, you know."

That much was true. My father had unusual tolerance for just about everyone and for those he didn't, he usually reserved judgment, saving that privilege for someone else.

"I know, Pop. Look, thanks for the news. I'll check it out on the web."

I hung up the phone and walked over to my office. In a few minutes, I found a couple of obits and a piece on a midwestern law school website that discussed how Monty's sudden death was a "sad loss" and how he was an "honored member" of the faculty. So that's what happened to my old nemesis. For some reason, this revelation about his last occupation surprised me more than news of his demise. To think that Monty would be honored by anyone, the least of which being law students, caused me to laugh in spite of myself.

This is another story I just want to sit down and write, stopping all other WIPs, especially since the whole thing is more or less formed in my head. This is both a curse and a blessing, as I say (probably too often). There aren’t enough hours in the day, I tell ya!

So, with that little editorial comment, I’ll sign off. Wishing you a great week!

- Michael

What's New - Week of May 22, 2011

2011-05-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Greetings and salutations, all. Today is Memorial Day in the States (and our twelve year wedding anniversary, too), so while I wait for my wife to get primped up for our night out, I decided to write a short blog post.

On-Going Activities

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve been spending a large amount of my writing time on two things: editing my works-in-progress and writing brand new material that has nothing to do with the former. As I noted in my last post, I downloaded Celtx for the iPad and have working to get my various screenplays synced between the desktop and tablet versions. That gave me the chance to revisit some of my favorite future projects and think a bit more about what I want to do with them.

Besides Project X to which I referred last time, there’s also Projects Y and Z (also screenplays). All three of them have potential commercial appeal and I can’t wait to be working on them for real. That’s one of the challenges of having these ideas - there is not enough hours in the day to do all the writing I would love to be doing. It’s funny - there was a time I had major insomnia, but I was so zoned, I couldn’t write much even while I was completely awake. Now I’m back to being able to sleep without trouble, so I find myself stealing time from my designated sleep time to write. As we all know, eventually the piper has to be paid.

Short Stories - New Idea

A week wouldn’t be complete without my drafting a fresh snippet or three. Here is the start of a short story thriller I began a couple of weeks ago (as always, this is raw material. God knows what the final product will look like):

The instant I heard the shot, I knew the last of the guards sworn to protect me to the end met his fate like the rest of his comrades.  I'm all alone, I thought to myself.  No, not completely alone.  That would never be true so long as they roamed the island.

Death's ugly stench filled the cave, forcing me to seek another hiding place.  Theirs was a race drawn to such horrors like the stars to the night sky and I only had a little time before they'd be upon me.  Thank God they weren't as numerous as the stars - maybe I could still escape their clutches if kept my head on straight!

The guards told me that in the event I had to flee, I would find a barely passable exit at the rear of the cave.  My lantern barely put out enough light to see more than a few feet in front of me and I only had two flares left, but I had no choice.  I strapped on my threadbare backpack and took off.

The sound of my footsteps echoed as I stumbled half-blind over the slick limestone.  Behind me, I heard nothing but silence.  So far, so good.

I climbed over a four foot pile of rocks and almost fell face first into a small pool of murky rainwater. The water looked green with algae, a sure sign there would be plenty of slippery rocks to deal with as I made my way to freedom. I stepped gingerly over the water and continued along the narrow path down the end of the cave wall.

When I first arrived eleven days before, I couldn't believe how fortunate I was to find such a deserted place. My pilot landed the plane on the leeward side of the island, guiding the Cessna with the precision honed from years of landing all types of aircraft on slivers of flat iciness atop of Alaska's most delicate glaciers. He cut the engines and we both jumped out, me with my backpack and fishing gear, him with a cooler of beers and food. We both cracked open a cold one and toasted our safe landing.

"I'll be back in ten days to get ya," he told me, chugging down the rest of his brew. "Just meet me here around 1:00 in the afternoon. You'll see me coming in from the northeast."

He pointed in the general direction of his intended flight path, but I knew where he meant. I surely would be here on time to pick up my ride.

My pilot climbed back into the cockpit, started up the Cessna's engines and took off again, heading back to Guam, his home base. I watched him until the plane was a mere speck on the horizon, then looked around the beach to figure out my next move.

I spent years seeking out the most obscure spots on the planet to play survivalist, escaping the brutal corporate grind a couple of weeks every year. Nature always fascinated me and untamed nature appealed the most to my sense of adventure and deep desire to return to the basics. I certainly was no misanthrope, as my circle of close friends and business acquaintances would tell you; simply put, I needed time away from mankind to recharge my batteries. A little danger intentionally put in my way certainly helped my restoration.

What will happen to our hero? Hopefully, a lot. Will he survive? Maybe yes, maybe no. I’m not tellin’. :-)

OK, that’s all for now. I said it was going to be a short post.

Until next time,

Michael

What's New - Week of May 8, 2011

2011-05-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

Mid-May and you’d think Spring would’ve stayed sprung, no? This morning, it was cold and rainy here on The Hill, a place known for both cool weather and that famous “dry heat” the Southwest is famous for. Well, not to complain - weather like this makes it easier to suppress the demons tempting me to go outside and play. Writing’s what it’s all about. And on that note ...

On-Going Activities

I took a week off from editing Lens Flare and instead spent some time on my screenplays - both works-in-progress and those in the queue. Some of this was done in order to test out Celtx for the iPad, which I finally broke down and bought (now that they lowered the price by 50% and added a syncing function with the desktop app).

In order to test this, I exported the current incomplete draft of A Grand Delusion (the one I’m writing based on my short story of the same name) from Final Draft into text format and then imported it into Celtx desktop. It took a bit of time to format it properly (that is, to assign the correct elements to each piece of text), but once I completed, I sent it over to my iPad and it looks great! Definitely a plus, especially since I recently purchased a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad. Much better taking that to bed to write on than my MacBook Pro.

Then I decided to use Celtx for the iPad to begin the opening scenes for a script I’ve had in on my to-do list for several years. I’ll call it Project X for now, as I think the title is too intriguing to give away at this time. The app worked wonderfully and after I synched it back to my desktop, I was able to easily pick up where I left off.

There are a couple of other screenplays I have in progress (unnamed for now as well) that I started in Celtx which now reside on my iPad. This will make it so much easier to write & edit them as time permits. Once I have first drafts completed, I’ll move them over to Final Draft to polish and prep. How cool is that?

Ricochet Man - The One That Got Away

Whenever someone’s about to tell a joke, they say “Stop me if you’ve heard this one.” I’ll ask the same indulgence in the (re)telling of this story.

Back in 2005, I wrote my first screenplay called The Rebound Guy. I don’t remember the original logline (it’s in my notes somewhere), but here it is now:

After spending a lifetime bedding women on the rebound, a lothario finally falls in love and finds himself in competition with his own brother for her heart.

The idea for this came to me in a dream. We were living in our downtown LA loft apartment (our 18-month bohemian period) and I woke up one Saturday summer morning with this idea fully formed in my head. I had just bought a Toshiba tablet PC and remember writing the treatment longhand on it (forty pages worth), even including music that would work perfect at various points in the movie. I already knew who would play the main roles and everything.

I next bought Final Draft and proceeded to write the screenplay in about two weeks time. After several drafts, I asked my wife to edit it for me - she was a creating writing major, after all - but alas, she procrastinated. Summer turned into fall, fall turned into winter and finally I couldn’t wait any longer and did the final review & edit myself, then posted it on Inktip (around February 2006) and waited.

Not too long after, I got a call from a producer - the wife of a well-known DC, in fact - who expressed interest in working with me. I met her and her husband at Starbucks near their home and long story short, they wanted to option the script. Naturally, I was thrilled. This was my first screenplay and it was possible someone was going to turn it into a film!

I hired an entertainment lawyer - I didn’t have an agent - and he edited the contract. I sent it to the producer who, to my surprise, had no objections with any of the changes. We were ready to sign.

Then I got the brilliant idea to secure the domain for the movie - and when I did the look-up, I saw that Twentieth Century Fox Films already took it. No!! More research showed that they announced the pitch for a movie with that title in Variety in December 2005 - long after I wrote mine, but before I posted it to Inktip. Clearly, this was a coincidence, but the loglines at the time looked almost identical! Their script hadn’t been written yet, though the writers were chosen, and Seed Productions was going to produce it. Their executive producer happens to be Hugh Jackman, who would also be the star of the movie.

I guess I’m too honest - when I told my producers about this, they decided to pass on the opportunity and I was left high and dry. I retitled my script to Ricochet Man (a play on “rebound guy”) and altered it a bit to distinguish it from Fox’s - my producers recommended I make it about a pair of brothers instead of a guy and his best friend. Even though I’ve had interest from others in making this film since then, I’ve not gotten past the negotiations stage with any of them.

A few interesting tidbits:

Three years ago, I sent Seed Productions a letter and told them I had the completed script and wrote it before they did (if they every did). They sent a succinct reply back telling me they had no interest.
Fox’s movie has yet to be made. IMDB Pro lists it as being released in 2012 - this has changed virtually every year since it got on the site. Since it doesn’t appear that any talent is yet attached to this project, I predict it will be pushed out again.
Seed Productions no longer appears to be associated with the movie, nor is Hugh Jackman, for that matter.

And so, that’s the scoop in the nutshell. There are hundreds of stories in the naked city and that’s just mine. Will I see the movie if it’s ever made - probably.

Short Stories - New Idea

This was also one of those weeks where I had ideas that I had to start working out or I would bust. This snippet began with the opening scene just tripping in my head - I think I was daydreaming while waiting for my turn to be questioned during my recent jury duty service. I couldn’t wait to get home to capture it and then kept it going, the entire plot sketched out to complete. Here it is (so far), raw and unedited:

Harvey Biscombe stumbled and limped his way along the uneven sidewalk, stopping at short intervals to observe the most mundane things: a bird gripping a styrofoam cup in its beak, a plastic bag held aloft by the updraft from a passing car. The world's small dramas still mesmerized him, despite his diminishing eyesight and failing attention span.

Other pedestrians strode by him, almost toppling him in the wake of their got-to-get-to-work passage. Sometimes he used his cane like a bullfighter with his cape and issued a full veronica after each passing body, artistry that left no lasting impression on his conquests, but instead elicited sneers of derision. After each torrent of abuse, Biscombe would chuckle in that way old men do, dry and throaty, with a hint of a rasp from tired lungs.

At stoplights, he stood with the others, waiting for the signal to cross, but as soon as the signal changed, the sea of humanity pressed him forward and caused him to dig in until the crowd pushed past him. He then stepped off the curb in two full steps and inched across the street, just making it to the other side before traffic continued. Without fail, he would turn toward the passing cars and wave as though thanking them for the privilege of letting him share their street with him.

After walking several city blocks in this manner, the cityscape changed from busy and bright metropolis where pedestrians outnumbered the vehicles to the gray outskirts, devoid of crowded sidewalks and dense auto traffic. Instead, Biscombe would have to walk around or over the occasional transient that lay in his path. Ancient Fords and Chevys, blue smoke billowing from rusted tailpipes, snuck past him, heads and eyes turned, watching his every move, suspicious of his odd presence in their neighborhood.

Do you want to guess where Harvey is going and what happens next? You may be surprised at where this story leads him.

Next Week

I didn’t cover everything I thought I would this week, so I’ll tee them up again for next time:

Some unlikely plots I’ve dreamt up
A silly TV series idea
Doc On Loan - results from the first ScriptFrenzy
Another short story snippet

So until next time, have a great week and keep writing!

Michael

What's New - Week of May 1, 2011

2011-05-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

It’s Mothers Day, so my hat’s off you all of you who are mothers or have mothers. And now, the week that was ...

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.

“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.”

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.

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

Until then, have a great week!

Michael

What's New - Week of April 25, 2011

2011-05-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

Aloha! It’s May Day - or Lei Day (if you’re in Hawaii). Here’s a snapshot of the week that was.

Activities

I spent another week of editing Lens Flare. I remember that when I first started writing, I hated (dreaded) the editing process. Like many other beginning writers, I felt that I poured it all out on the page already and except for fixing typos and grammar nits, my work was sacrosanct. As one matures as writer, that dread you feel becomes an opportunity to approach “perfection” - certainly not in the purest sense of the word, but as close as you think you should be before putting it before an audience of critical readers.

The thing about the process of editing (and re-editing and re-re-editing) is much like a sculptor that fashions a share out of a blob of clay - at first, the substance of the finish piece is barely seen within the medium, but after cutting, smoothing, massaging and tweaking, the final product finally emerges. Oh, what a great day that is!

But how do you know when you’re really finished? After all, if one can never achieve “perfection,” then it stands to reason you can keep editing for the rest of your days. Sometimes you really do need the input from an interested third party to get feedback before calling your work “done.” Be prepared for whatever you may hear, though - if you’re squeamish about getting well-meaning critique about your new baby, you may be in for a major shock when your reader sends you a laundry list of “must fix” items (especially after you’ve invested so much time getting it right in your eyes). Advice for receiving critique on your work: take what you need and leave the rest. Similarly, if you provide critique, be constructive, but kind - tough love is great for keeping kids out of trouble, but artists’ egos are fragile things, so there’s no reason to live by the motto “it’s cruel to be kind.”

Work-in-Progress (Last): Jenkie and Me

The only novella in the bunch (and only one of three I’ve attempted to write over the years - the other two having been put on the back burner, perhaps indefinitely), this work features two young women of limited means who opt to leave high school in order to pursue factory jobs. These two women are best friends, but are very different in temperament and motivation.

Meredith, the “me” in the piece and who tells the story in her own voice, feels that completing high school is unnecessary as she has no plans to go to college - first, her mother can’t afford to send her and is already working two jobs just to make ends meet. Meredith feels compelled to contribute to the family income instead of frittering away her time in school, where she won’t learn anything useful to apply to the goal of making money now. Meredith’s mother is dead set against her daughter quitting school as she’s a bright girl with lots of promise; however, Meredith is determined to no longer be a “drain” on her mother and gets her way. Jenkie, on the other hand, has a drunk for a father and unlike Meredith, isn’t the greatest student anyway, so quitting and going to work is not a big sacrifice for her.

The two young women start out in the same place, but their personal paths diverge early at their new job, leading them both on a journey of self-discovery and clarity. Jenkie & Me captures their story.

This concludes a brief description of WIPs I want to complete this year.

Right-Brain Stimulation

Having had a technology background, I always thought of myself of being left-brained (logical) versus right-brained (creative). So how did a left-brainer find a use for his right hemisphere? More to the point, how does one stimulate that part of the grey matter that helps one produce decent writing?

In my case, I came from a family of musicians (on both sides). My Italian mother’s father, straight from the old country at eighteen, earned a living playing guitar and mandolin with some friends after he first moved to Peekskill, NY from Naples. We are related to the Carusos, thanks to my maternal grandmother (though none of us can really sing that well). On my father’s side, there are guitar players, drummers, banjo pickers and players of all kinds of other instruments as well as talented vocalists, many of them professional (or semi-professional).

So it was only natural that I would pick up an instrument (guitar) at the age of nine and with instruction from one of my uncles - another musician, of course - learned to play. In time, I went on to learn how to play the keyboards and compose music. While I don’t play much these days (though GarageBand has given me an outlet for my composition again), I found that during the times I played, that my ability to create stories became much easier because of all the right-brain stimulation.

These days, I find I get the same kind of stimulation by studying and enjoying art. If I ever get stuck when writing, I merely pull out my two-volume complete works of Vincent Van Gogh (by Taschen) and look at the paintings for a half-hour or so before going back to the computer. Or lately, I’ve really been exploring the abstract expressionists, a group of artists I associate with bebop jazz or beat poets because of the structured “unstructuredness” of their work. Unlike with music or writing, I can’t draw or paint for spit, but I can certainly appreciate the complexities and subtleties in producing such artistic works.

My recommendation to all writers: if you get stuck, need a break, what have you - don’t turn on the TV or organize your sock drawer. Just go the Google Images and browse the millions of images from the great masters of the arts. I promise it’ll be a worthwhile use of your time.

The Period Controversy

Recently, I had a discussion (or a gentle debate) with someone on Facebook about the correctness of two spaces following a period at the end of a sentence. This person claimed that two spaces are no longer required after a period - that this is an artifact from the world of typography and now that we have computers with proper font spacing, there is no need to accommodate that any longer. In fact, I was sent a link to an article on Salon.com supporting that point of view. Admittedly, the writer did a great job supporting his position and perhaps I could be swayed but for the following reasons:

Pick up any printed (and recent) novel these days and it is likely you’ll see the two-space convention.
Most writers make a stink about one-space usage when critiquing others.
After years of typing a la two spaces, my brain refuses to let me fingers type only one.

I did experiment with the one-space method and I can’t seem to shake the notion that paragraphs look a too packed that way. I know it’s probably only psychological, but if your target readers are over the age of thirty, it’s probably a good idea to stick with the old school way of doing it. When I start seeing the one-space convention become the norm in book publishing, I may force myself to change. Until then, I’m sticking with what I know best.

Next Time

Possible topics for my next blog post:

Genesis of yet another story
A 30 Rock episode I’d love to write (and may do so anyway)
A Perfect Tenant - a movie I’d love to see made

Until next time, cheers!

Michael

What's New - Week of April 17, 2011

2011-04-24T21:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter (if you celebrate) or happy Sunday (if you don’t) ... time for a brief update from my little piece of heaven.

Activities

This was another week of editing Lens Flare. A couple of interesting things I’ve noticed in my efforts that I thought I’d share.

First, since I wrote this during NaNoWriMo, I can clearly see how I just went full out writing without a lick of editing along the way. Sometimes, the typos (or inadvertent word substitutions) I’ve found make me laugh, if not confuse me. Using homophones for words I wanted to use is a typical mistake, but in other cases, I’m downright puzzled as to what I was trying to say when I wrote it - I mean the word comes out of left field. I usually find reading the paragraph aloud helps me figure out the right word (or words) to help it make sense. It still amuses me as I think to myself what stream of consciousness was I riding when that word popped onto that digital paper.

Second, and something that requires more work, are the plot flaws I mentioned last time. While I outlined this book in pretty extreme detail before I started writing it, I didn’t have it laid out paragraph by paragraph - nor do I think that’s the “right” way to do it, at least for me. But the two plot points that need adjusting are going to take me some time to resolve to my (and the reader’s) satisfaction. Not that this bothers me, mind you - it’s all part of the process.

Work-in-Progress Time: A Grand Delusion

Last year, some writer on Facebook ran a contest to find a guest author to contribute a story to an anthology he was penning. Contestants were given the first sentence and were expected to write a story from there. Here is the line:

Jake Everson woke up one day in St. Bart's and picked up the newspaper to discover he'd died that morning in Spain.

I didn’t think about the plot too much - another one of those where I just started writing - and landed on a drama about two rivals, one of whom took their rivalry way too far. Originally, I called the story “An Interesting Exchange,” but after I was chosen as one of three finalists, the author and his editor asked me to find a different title, so I came up with “A Grand Delusion.”

While my story wasn’t chosen for the anthology, I liked it so much that I decided to write a screenplay based on it (with the same title). It’s an interesting change writing a screenplay based on one of my short stories. For one thing, I have so much of it written already, at least for a first draft. I think the story has enough surprises and plot to give the whole drama enough “legs” to make it a feature film.

Ideas - Where Do They Come From?

So as you’ve seen in my blog posts, ideas don’t typically have a single point of origin, at least for me. Sometimes they can be a single line, as with “A Grand Delusion.” Other times, it’s just a title that triggers an entire plot. Other places I’ve gotten ideas from:

Overheard comments
News headlines
Tweets
“What if” questions
Dreams (mine or from others)
Daydreams
Myths
Song lyrics
Human interest pieces
Science articles
Other stories, movies or books (without plagiarizing, of course!)

Really, getting ideas isn’t the problem, if there is one. The bigger challenge is having enough time in a normal lifespan to be able to finish the writing all that these ideas demand. I have an idea bank right now that would keep me writing well into my hundreds and that’s if I stop coming up with new ideas today. As noted in a previous post, however, the ideas never stop and sometimes I have to pause to capture the hot thought of the moment so I don’t lose it. May it always be this way!

Word Count vs. Clock

Discipline is one of the biggest challenges writers have to master. We all lament there aren’t enough hours in the day, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, we’d have to admit we fritter away many hours every week that could be invested in writing (or editing, marketing, querying, etc.). Every time you turn around, there’s another article about what’s the best way to achieve that discipline.

There’s one school of thought that swears by the word count method - write until your word count for the day is met, then you’re free to do other things (presumably writing-related things, but they never say). Start small, they say, then increase the word count until you get to a number that you’re comfortable with and more importantly, that you know you can do without burning yourself out. After all, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon (unless you’d doing ScriptFrenzy or NaNoWriMo, then it’s definitely a sprint!).

Then there’s the other school that swears that the clock method is the only way to go. Take a kitchen timer (or the timer function on your smart phone, your pick), set it for a duration, then write until the alarm goes off. Move on to another task - editing another piece, let’s say, or reward yourself somehow - then set the timer for another session and so on. The idea is to write without stopping to edit or puzzle over a particular word or phrase, but rather to muscle through and save the editing for the period designated for editing, and in this way, get as much down on paper as possible within the time constraints.

I’ve actually employed both of these methods, depending on my mood and circumstances. However, I also use another method. Simply put, I lay out what I want to get done for the day - write a chapter, a number of scenes, a first draft of a story - and keep my head down until I achieve that goal. I typically note the time I start and end so I have an idea as to my speed in case I need to schedule specific slots of time for subsequent chapters, scenes or drafts. But that’s just me - your mileage may vary - but consider the task list method.

Finding what works best for you is probably one of the most important things a writer should strive to discover in order to be successful. You may not know until you experiment over several months (or years) or you may evolve from one way to another over time. Remember, your methods for writing can be as unique as your voice. No matter what you do, just keep writing!

Contests

Someone recently asked me what contests I think are most worthwhile. The short story contests sponsored by Writer’s Digest, The Writer or other writer-oriented publications (on- or off-line) are all valuable venues to help showcase your work and get your name out there. On the screenplay side, there’s Scriptapalooza or BlueCat (or contests sponsored by screenplay-oriented magazines, both on- and off-line). I recommend you do your research before you enter anything, however - go with a legitimate organization that has a reputation of actually awarding prizes instead of just advertising that they will.

No matter which contests you enter, they’re worth the price of admission, so to speak - the entry fee is nominal - because even if you don’t win, you’ll have the opportunity to have someone else read your work and depending on the contest, you could get objective feedback from a professional. If you’re worried about rejection, there’s only one piece of advice I can give you: get over it. Unless you’re one of the superstars of the publication world, you’re going to get rejected much more frequently than you’ll hear “yes” over the course of your writing career. It’s all part of the learning process, no matter what feedback you get. Don’t let the fear of failure - or success - get in your way of being a writer!

Next Time

Topics for my next post:

Complete my description of my works-in-progress
Right brain stimulation
The period controversy

Until then, have a great week!

Michael

What's New - Week of April 10, 2011

2011-04-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday night and it’s blogging time. The content of this one is a bit different than originally planned.

Activities

More editing of Lens Flare this week, where I spent most of my writing time this week. As I go through, I’m using Scrivener’s highlighting tools to call out weak plot points and other concerns so as not to interrupt the flow of the editing process. With me, just like with writing, I get into a rhythm with editing and don’t like to pause to research or puzzle over a flaw in the storyline ... rather, I’d much prefer calling it out in with a quick highlight and note about what’s bugging about that particular area and continue on. Anyway, I’m pleased that I’m still enjoying the story and the moment I’m accumulating here will get me past the place I stopped at without holding me back.

I mentioned last time that occasionally, a story just starts forming in my head and I have to take a time out to write up what’s distracting me to get it out of the way. It could be as simple as a single line of dialog or an observation. This week, quite out of the blue, the beginnings of a short story crept out from my subconscious and as I wrote it down, I was surprised to see how fully-formed it was words just tumbled out of my brain. Here it is, in its entirety:

I first met Henry Dimple in the fall of 1921, a man of difficult temperament and an apparent lack of cultural breeding of any sort. One afternoon, I wandered into Morey's Deli over on East 53rd and seated myself at the rear table, my back facing the rest of the patrons. I only desired one thing that afternoon and that was a private place where I could collect my thoughts and have a bite to eat. As luck would have it, the bistro wasn't particular crowded and within a few moments of my arrival, a red-headed waitress, two pencils stuck in her beehive hairdo, hurried over and in an exasperated voice, asked me what I wanted to eat.

"Just a bowl of chicken noodle soup, my dear," I replied pleasantly enough.

She scribbled my order down on her pad and walked apace behind the counter to add my request to the queue. I watched her for a moment or two more, then turned my attention to the daily newspaper someone kindly left behind.

Less than a minute later, as I browsed the business section of the paper, a gentleman sitting behind me leaned over to me and grunted, "Hey, are you done with that yet?" and pointed at the newspaper in my hands.

I chose to ignore him and kept reading, hoping my frank rudeness would send him away. Instead, he stared, his beady brown eyes boring holes into the back of my head and no doubt at the same headlines I was reading. To say the matter was unsettling would be underestimating my pique.

"May I help you?" I said, turning sharply and glaring with what I hoped would be sufficient menace.

If the cad felt any remorse about barging in on a stranger's personal space, he didn't give any evidence of it. Instead, he reached out and touched the corner of the paper and waited for me to react. I didn't disappoint him.

"See here," I exclaimed, withdrawing the newspaper from his grasp. "Would you be mind enough to leave me to my affairs? How would you like it if I just reached over and touched your coffee cup over there?"

I pointed at the cup for effect, then turned around to begin reading again. The waitress stopped at my table to leave a glass of water, then scurried off to wait on some new arrivals. I took a moment to get a good look at my tormentor under the guise of watching the waitress. Just as I expected, he fit the image of a common criminal: sunken eyes, weak chin, nervous twitch in the corner of his mouth.

"Are you done with that paper yet?" he asked again, a rising urgency in his voice. Persistence walked closely with this man.

I have no clue where this came from, mind you. The name “Henry Dimple” - say what now??? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I mean, this isn’t my style of writing by any stretch, but I’m just happy to be the conduit in this case. I haven’t been reading any older short fiction as of late, so i’m wondering what the source was. Another thing I’m wondering is where will this story go from here. Right now, It’s best to leave this one to simmer for a while (perhaps indefinitely).

Besides these beginnings of a story, two other ideas, both taken from news, popped in my head. Both of them have potential as great screenplays - one is a sci-fi morality play and the other is a tale of justice long denied. I don’t want to go into more detail than this, but the lesson here is ideas can come from anywhere, so it pays to keep your eyes and ears open. In cases like this, I don’t do anything more than snapshot the related web page and write up a 1-3 sentence paragraph so I remember what this was about later.

Another Work-in-Progress

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago a short story that I wrote and needs editing called “Breathe.” I wrote this several months ago over a couple month period. It’s a retrospective by one man on his life as a teenager and how a single mistake had such far-reaching consequences and affected him so profoundly that he really never was able to recover. The theme here is universal: a single decision can have an unexpected (and undesired) impact.

The story begins like this:

At sixteen, I could swim like an Olympian. This didn't happen as a result of some cosmic accident of genetic predisposition or preternatural talent passed on to me by ancient aquatic ancestors. My grandparents beached themselves on New York's gentle shores under the watchful gaze of Lady Liberty and her offer of welcome that so many immigrants took quite literally. While the roads weren't paved with the promised gold of prosperity, their new lives turned out better than they expected their future would if they stayed in those Mediterranean fishing villages. From my grandparents’ time to my own, the inevitable march of familial sprawl swept us onto the jungle green grass of the suburbs and all that particular nirvana offered.

I may want to hold off publishing this on my blog, but instead submit this as a content entry sometime in the future.

The Trick of Aphorisms for Writers

Or if you prefer, shorthand guidance for beginning writers and how it’s somewhat misleading.

You’ve heard it all before:

Show, don’t tell
Never use adverbs
Limit adjectives
Never start a story with dialog
Never use variances on the infinitive “to be”
Use a more common word rather than a more “fancy” one when you can
Don’t end a sentence with a preposition
Etc.

With such strict “rules” (as they seem to be), it’s a wonder that anyone writes at all. Think about it: we have all these lovely words in English at our disposal and we’re told not to use about half of them!

Okay, perhaps it’s not so bad. The aforementioned writer friend (the crap-cutter from the previous post) seemed to be a slave to these aphorisms, God love him, so when he pulled out his red pen to edit a peer’s work, he’d slash and burn following the above guidance, often turning the piece into a sea of blood. When I would ask him what the story was about he had edited so liberally, he couldn’t answer: simply put, he was so intent on finding fault based on the above rules that he failed to read the story!

It’s easy to fall into the trap of no longer remembering how to read for content once you’ve written (and critiqued) a lot of work. The other other trap is to treat the above guidelines as hard and fast rules. I used to have a T-shirt that read: “Rule #1: there are no rules.” Perhaps that’s a bit too nihilistic. How about “There are exceptions to every rule” or “Rules are meant to be broken?”

So when do you break the rules then? It’s probably wise to read many works by your favorite authors - preferably those who’ve been published in the last 10 years or so - to see what the trends are in popular fiction (presuming you’re writing fiction ... if not, then you have a whole bunch of other rules I can’t help you with ... see what I did there with the preposition?). If you see the so-called rules being broken by these authors, then it’s safe to say you can do under similar circumstances in moderation and judiciously. After all, writing is all about communicating without boring your reader to death and if writing is stilt, yet conforming with all the rules, then you’ve failed, plain and simple.

More importantly: don’t forget how to ENJOY reading.

Next Time

Here are a few topics for next post (repeated from last time):

Continuing discussion on my works-in-progress
Where do ideas come from
Contests

Until then, have a great week!

Michael

What's New - Week of April 3, 2011

2011-04-10T21:39:00.000-07:00

It’s Sunday night and time to wrap up the week that was.

Activities

Another week of editing (mostly), again spending time going through Lens Flare. After being away from it for a couple of years now, I’m surprised to find out a couple of things: the story keeps my interest and I have quite a bit of work ahead of me to fill in some of the descriptive prose that is normally left out of short stories. While a novelist has a lot of room to expand on the details that address the senses, a short story writer, at least in the modern iteration of one, doesn’t have that luxury. I remember when I first started writing short stories, another writer with whom I became friends kept on me about cutting out the “crap” and leaving only what was needed to carry the narrative to its conclusion.

Well, that’s all fine and dandy if you’re only writing short stories, but when you get to your novel, that kind of approach doesn’t usually cut it. Sure, it’s definitely worthwhile to keep your narrative lean no matter what you write, there’s something to be said about describing the scene, the people, the backstory and all the rest that makes a novel truly readable. And frankly, with short stories for publication, one is typically limited to a specific word count limit, while with a 150,000-word novel, you aren’t so constrained by word count alone.

Another Work-in-Progress

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’m writing a short story called “My Life as a Serial Hostage.” This story, like many of those I’ve written or have at least outlined, came to me out of the blue. I can’t say exactly where I was or what I was doing when the title popped into my head, but when I fired up my computer and began typing in Evernote (not “Evernotes," as I mistyped last time), the following came out in a flood:

First, let me make one thing clear: despite popular opinion as expressed in the press as of late, I have never put myself in a situation to become a hostage. Never, even once. No one seems to believe that some people attract certain kinds of disasters and exclusively those. I can drive eighty miles an hour the wrong way down a busy city street and maybe walk away with a minor fender-bender. However, put me into a public place that is a likely target for criminals to hold innocent people for large sums of money, and there you'd be likely to find me. It is my personal albatross, something I came to terms with a long time ago. No one seems to understand that.

As I continued writing, I discovered the story “had legs” and I could really make something of it. Many ideas aren’t like that, at least write away. I don’t throw out my ideas, but on rare occasions I put them on the back burner, sometimes indefinitely, but always with the hope that I’ll return to them someday.

Anyway, this story is going to be a bit of a humorous piece, despite the rather ominous title. I look forward to finishing it and perhaps publishing it on Facebook or my blog.

Outlining

Every writer has his or her own preferred method for writing and for those who outline like myself, they usually are particular about how they approach. I’m a total outliner and have been since, oh, forever. I think in outlines; it helps my brain sort through the morass and sheer volume of “stuff” that crisscrosses my synapses all the time. I learned a long time ago not to shut off the spigot, but rather to get to some sort of writing device right away and outline the hell out of whatever idea pops into my head at the moment. Sometimes I get distracted from a current work-in-progress for this new one. Some authors call it getting pulled into the rabbit hole (or some such thing). I don’t know, but it seems to be a waste if I don’t jump on the idea of the moment.

So how do I do it? I pretty much have it down to a science, though it differs depending on the type of work it is. Here’s how I do it for screenplays:

Original idea in 1-3 sentences.
A single paragraph expanding on the original idea
3-5 paragraphs, expanding on the single paragraph (one for each act)
Scene descriptions - one bullet point for each scene with 1-3 (short) sentences for each

At this point, I have enough of an outline - then it’s time to fire up Scrivener and move all that into its structure (though sometimes I’ll go directly to Final Draft and use its tools to do the same thing). I like working with virtual index cards and both applications have those in their toolkit. Once I populate the index cards, I’m ready to expand upon the details of the scene description, then begin to start writing the sluglines. After that’s completed, it’s time to start writing!

My approach to outlining novels is a bit more complicated than that (I’m usually using tables for those) and for short stories, it’s much simpler.

With all this outlining, it doesn’t mean I just don’t sit down and write something beginning to end without an outline - I’ve done that before, too. However, with an outline, I don’t have to worry about being pulled off a project and then come back to no idea how to continue.

Mind-Mapping

Another form of outlining is mind-mapping and if you’ve never tried this, you ought to because it’s a great way to brainstorm. While you can do this by hand, I recommend MindGenius, the best tool for this I’ve found. Essentially, you start out with a central idea in a circle (or rectangle); from there, you draw lines to other circles (called “children”) where related ideas are written; and from there, you continue draw lines to even more circles for more related ideas.

The trick with mind-mapping is you don’t stop to edit, you just write/type. Turn the internal editor off and just get the ideas down as quick as they come to you. It’s both gratifying and surprisingly liberating to do this.

The thing about MindGenius is, unlike any other software out there, is that if you select a shape and start typing text, it automatically creates a new child idea (with its own line and circle). In this way, you can type ideas even more quickly because you don’t have to pause to click a mouse or type in a key sequence. I’ve written entire outlines to screenplays using MindGenius.

The down side about this software: it’s only written for the PC and I’ve recently confirmed with them (again) that they do not plan to write a version for the Mac. No worries, I have it on my PC laptop for when I need it.

The Other Brother - Why I Never Finished Writing It

I began writing this novel in 2002 and by 2004, I had completed 175,000 words and still had about 20% left to go. The story is about the strained relationship between two siblings and how ultimately, one of the siblings has to get past that estrangement to come to the aid of the other in a time of crisis. The problem is the story was based (in large part) on real life experiences and I wasn’t convinced at the time that I would want the story as written to see the light of day for fear of the backlash that I would receive.

Of course, I’m not planning on throwing out the manuscript, either, so I’m sitting on an incomplete novel that may or may not be worth publishing someday. That is what you call a quandary, gentle readers. And so, for now at least, The Other Brother sits languishing on my hard drive, ready for the day I decide to pick it up again.

Someday.

Next Time

Here are a few topics for next post:

Continuing discussion on my works-in-progress
Where do ideas come from
Contests

Until then, have a great week!

Michael

What's New - Week of March 27, 2011

2011-04-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

Here are updates for the week, as well as some comments and observations I wanted to share.

Activities

This was editing week, an exercise geared to reengaging me on trying to complete my first novel, Lens Flare. I have one other novel about 80% completed, but shelved that a few years ago (called The Other Brother, currently at 175,000 words), mainly because I knew it needs serious editing before I could feel comfortable penning the rest of the first draft. I wrote about 35,000 words of Lens Flare for NaNoWriMo a few years ago, but failed to meet the word count necessary by the end of November. From there, I put the manuscript to the side as ran into a plot challenge I couldn’t resolve. By editing what I have thus far, I reengage myself with the story and can reconnect with the plot points I’ve outlined, but have yet to draft into the manuscript.

Lens Flare is a novel of political intrigue, quite a departure from my screenwriting, which tends toward comedy almost exclusively. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but I will say that the theme is pretty timely in today’s climate in and around the Beltway - not to mention here in the Los Angeles area. In future blog posts, I’ll be sharing excerpts from the book to give a flavor of what’s to come. As for my timeline, I’d like to get the first draft completed by the end of the year. It will take me another three solid months of editing until I’m ready to engage an editor and a final polish will follow after that. How I plan to publish remains to be seen ... I’m tending toward self-publishing on for the Kindle right now, but it depends on whether I get interest from any publishers before I decide.

When a Title Defines the Storyline

Last week, one of my online friends expressed amusement over the title of one of my screenplays in draft called Skeeter Huggins, Rodeo Clown. Believe it or not, I came up with this title completely out of the blue several years ago (long before Paul Blart, Mall Cop hit the big screen). I don’t know where that title came from ... none of my notes from back then indicated what inspired me. Those same notes indicated some ideas for the plot, none of which survived the current storyline.

I’ve written many loglines for this script, but here’s the current one:

Tired of failing at everything, a former high school football star becomes a rodeo clown in order to win prize money and the respect of his estranged family.

Naturally, it’s a comedy and in my mind’s eye, it’s a great vehicle for Will Ferrell.

I have the entire scene breakdown written down, so the draft is progressing nicely. I hope to have a finished product by the end of August this year.

Tools of the Trade

Factoid #1: I use a Mac to write. Up until a couple of years ago, I was a PC-only kind of guy, but my wife needed a replacement Mac when hers crashed, so I decided to get a Macbook Pro when she got hers. Converted! However, I still use my PC for many other things.

Factoid #2: My favorite programs for writing are Evernotes (for capturing ideas on the go); Scrivener (for organizing and outlining everything I write); and Final Draft 8 (for the actual screenwriting itself).

Next Time

In my next blog, I’ll discuss one or two of my others works-in-progress; I’ll share my outlining technique, including a bit on mind-mapping; and I’ll reveal the real reason why I never finished The Other Brother.

Until then, have a great week!

Michael

What's New - Week of March 20, 2011

2011-03-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

I haven’t been keeping up this blog like I did when I first create it - no surprise, I’m sure there are thousands of blogs across the blogosphere that have been abandoned. With all the other writing I do, this seems to be the easiest to leave at the bottom of my to do list. Let’s see if a weekly update “takes.”

Here are some of the projects I’m currently working on:

Short story: “My Life As a Serial Hostage” (draft)
Short story: “Breathe” (editing)
Screenplay: a drama, based on one of my short stories, called A Grand Delusion (draft)
Screenplay: a comedy called Skeeter Huggins, Rodeo Clown (draft)
Novella: Jenkie and Me (draft)
Novel: Lens Flare (draft)

This is just a subset of the projects I have in various stages of completion, mostly in draft form. As I’ve noted in previous blog posts, I like to have a lot of projects going on at the same time. But the above projects I want to finish in 2011. Stay tuned ... in future posts, I’ll be more specific about where I am in each project and what I’ve done since the previous week on any/all of them.

Michael

Solving the Puzzle (a serialized short story): Part 7 of 7

2011-02-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

Author's note: I've written quite a bit lately, though I haven't shared any of it publicly. This story was written based on a single word prompt ("Solve") and it's quite different than most of the other stories I've written. I hope you enjoy it!

**********

Five more months went by before I heard anything more about Sherri. I had just arrived home from a new client’s office just when the phone rang.

“Jack,” the voice said. It was her. I turned up the volume, straining to hear more than her voice. Any background noise would help figure out where she was calling from, but instead I only heard a slight crackle of static.

“Sherri, I -- “

“I just wanted you to know I’m alright,” she interrupted. “I’m pretty sure that everyone’s gone crazy looking for me, but I couldn’t do it.”

“What couldn’t you do?” I asked her.

“Oh, all of it. Staying with you, moving in with Sam, the whole thing. I was just sick of living a life that I thought I should have and I assumed you would be the one to make that for me. But you’re too damaged to be any good for anyone.”

I almost objected, but I could see her point. “What about Sam?”

“Oh, Sam is sweet and I know he would treat me well. But he was only going to be my rebound from you and I didn’t think that was fair to him. So I just took off.”

“You know the cops are looking for you. Good old Sam told them I must’ve done something bad to you because you never showed up. Does he know you’re okay?”

She hesitated for a moment. “Yes, I talked to him this morning.”

“Where are you?”

“That doesn’t matter, Jack, it’s over. I’m not coming back to California again, ever.”

I considered her words. Sherri turned her back on a state she said was the garden paradise of the world at one time. She must’ve been really unhappy with her life to leave it all behind like this and I was the only one to blame.

“I’m painting again,” I told her, hoping that would sway her.

“Good, I’m glad. You’re a talented artist, Jack, you need to paint.”

“I’ve gotten my life back on track, too. No more drinking, at least like I used to. No more feeling sorry for myself, either.”

“That’s wonderful. Sounds like my leaving helped you break through your blockage and now you can move on, too.”

I wanted to jump through the phone and shake her. “No, no!” I insisted. “Sure, I needed a wake-up call, but I didn’t need you out of my life and I still don’t. Damnit, Sherri, I miss you! I miss us. I have no interest in meeting another woman and starting over. You’re ‘it’ for me. Can’t we try again?”

I give her credit. She stayed silent long enough to convince me she was really thinking about it, but instead she uttered a quiet, but firm, “No, Jack” and without another word, she hung up.

Right then, I saw the entire picture. Just like that crossword I childishly ruined all those months ago, Sherri only wanted to come up with a solution to our future, but I blocked her at every turn. Instead of continuing to struggle, she chose a puzzle she knew she could solve and left me to figure out my own, whether I wanted to or not. Maybe someday I’ll do just that.

Solving the Puzzle (a serialized short story): Part 6 of 7

2011-02-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

**********

For the next few weeks, I followed every lead I could find to locate Sherri. I had a copy of her electronic address book on my computer from when we combined Christmas card lists, so I spent hours calling her old friends to see if they had any ideas. Like her family, all of them had little to share with me. For a while, I thought I could tell that they were avoiding giving me information in order to protect Sherri, but after the third or fourth call, they realized the situation was serious and I wasn’t just stalking an ex-girlfriend.

I traveled by bus or train through the Bay area and even north to Oregon and Washington, then south all the way to San Diego, but turned up empty. One of her cousins suggested I check Chicago since he recalled back when they were kids that Sherri had been drawn to the Windy City at one time. My dwindling finances prevented air travel, so I held off on that trip for a while as well as any to Florida and New York, two more leads from her friends that came in.

Officer McHenry contacted me often during this time, but I had no news to offer him nor did he have any for me. One day I received an unexpected visit from a San Francisco city detective, a tall, thin-as-a-rail kind of guy with the unlikely name of Jefferson Tremaine. He walked in like he owned the place and started poking around cabinets and drawers without so much as an explanation and certainly no search warrant. For a moment, I wasn’t even sure he was really with the city, but he whipped out his identification when I challenged him, so I let him carry on with his unconventional investigation.

After he left, I called McHenry to complain and asked if I shouldn’t report this to police superiors. Much to my surprise, he almost pleaded with me to not do that. Instead, he swore that I’d never see Tremaine again unless he had a search warrant in hand. True to his word, there were no more visits from the detective until the one-month anniversary of Sherri’s disappearance. This time, Tremaine, search warrant in hand and accompanied by technicians, searched every inch of the place, dusted it for fingerprints and even used luminol to find try to find traces of blood. They spent more than two hours performing all their cop duties, then left as silently as a mime troupe. The detective thanked me at the door, perhaps a more little gruffly than necessary, but I didn’t challenge him about his attitude. I was just glad to be rid of him and his crew.

The next day, Officer McHenry called to find out if Tremaine followed protocol this time and I assured him that he did.

“Look, Mr. Gantry, I’m sorry for all this. You’re still a person of interest in this case, but unless there is any further evidence from yesterday’s visit, I’m pretty certain your status will change. In truth, more missing person cases go unsolved than solved and it’s usually because the person who’s disappeared simply does not wish to be found. Unfortunately, that means the police department and even the FBI waste a lot of manpower tracking these individual down for no reason.”

“No problem, officer, I understand. Believe me, I’m just as anxious to find Sherri as you guys are. I need closure at this point, if not for any other reason than peace of mind. But I’ve run out of ideas and also out of money. I need to get back to work.”

McHenry paused for a moment. “I don’t see why you shouldn’t do that, Mr. Gantry. If we need you, we can arrange something convenient with your schedule.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

After I hung up with him, I sat down in front of my computer. Too many months had passed since I last did anything creative or even looked for new clients and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do so in time to make a difference to my almost empty bank account. However, Desperation is a strong taskmaster, especially accompanied by his twin sister, Hunger. I had no choice but to beat my way back.

Solving the Puzzle (a serialized short story): Part 5 of 7

2011-02-25T22:38:00.000-08:00

**********

I lay on the couch and slept most of the afternoon. By the time I woke up, it was close to eight o’clock and I found myself hungry for dinner. I looked outside and saw the afternoon clouds gave way to torrential rain, so instead of going out, I called in for pizza delivery, then turned on the TV to pass the time.

An hour later, I heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it, my wallet already in hand.

“Mr. Gantry?” a uniformed policeman said when I opened the door. His partner stood next to him, a grim look on her face.

“Yeah, I’m Jack Gantry. Is there something wrong?”

“Sir, we have a report of a missing person, a Ms. Sherri, um … “ he paused, looking down at his notes. “Sherri Gibbons. Did you know her?”

“Yes, she is, I mean, was my girlfriend.”

The cop peered inside my apartment, but couldn’t see past me. Instead of blocking his view, I swung the door open and welcomed the two of them in with a sweeping motion of my hand. They hesitated.

“Look, sir, by inviting us in, you’re giving us the right to investigate. You don’t have to do that, at least until we provide you a search warrant. Also, you may want to consult a lawyer.”

I smiled and waved them in again. “Please, officers, I have nothing to hide. Come on in and investigate as much as you want.”

The male cop looked over at his partner, then led the way in. I waited until both were inside before closing the door.

“I hope you don’t mind, the place isn’t tidied up at all,” I told them. “Sherri did the housekeeping around here. Please have a seat.”

I led them to the sofa and sat down in my easy chair.

“Fire away, Officer, um … ” I said.

The cops sat down, facing me. “I’m sorry, I’m Officer McHenry and this is my partner, Officer Lauder,” the male cop said.

“Go ahead, Officer McHenry. I’m all ears. By the way, I have a pizza coming, so I may have to get up to answer the door.”

McHenry nodded and took out a pen. “I promise this won’t be long, Mr. Gantry.”

“Call me Jack, if you would. Mr. Gantry is my father’s name.”

“I prefer ‘Mr. Gantry,’ sir,” McHenry said. “Now when was the last time you saw Ms. Gibbons.”

“Last night. She packed her bags and moved out.”

McHenry scribbled notes on his pad. “Did she say where she was going?”

“No, but I overheard her on the phone with some guy named Sam.”

The female office cleared her throat. “Excuse me, why did she leave, sir?”

I looked over at her and blinked a couple of times. She wanted me to show some emotion, but I had most of that drained out of me at the bookstore.

“She was tired of living with me, I guess. I’m a disappointment in her eyes and she had enough.”

Officer Lauder nodded and withdrew to let her partner continue.

“Do you know who ‘Sam’ is, Mr. Gantry?” he continued.

“No, I only met him today. A couple of hours ago, he was camped out in front of my apartment door, waiting for me to come home.”

“Where were you before that?”

I smiled. “Looking for Sherri. Sam called me early this morning looking for her, though he never said who he was. She apparently never arrived at his house as scheduled.”

“I see,” McHenry said, then looked back at his partner and mumbled something I couldn’t hear.

“Mr. Gantry, may I take a look around while my partner continues to question you?” Lauder asked, standing up.

“Sure thing, help yourself,” I told her.

Just then, there was a knock on the door and I got up to answer it.

“It’s the pizza. May I?” I asked McHenry.

“Sure, go ahead.”

I paid off the delivery boy and put the pizza box on the counter, then returned to the living room. Lauder hadn’t returned from her inspection of the apartment, so I took my seat and waited for more questions.

“The pizza smells good,” McHenry said, looking up from his pad again.

I laughed. “I’d offer you a slice, but I’m guessing that’s against regulations.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” he said, looking somewhat depressed about that. I felt bad for him for a moment, then I remembered that he suspected I did something to Sherri.

“Any more questions?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said, looking back at his pad. “How long have you been living with Ms. Gibbons?”

“At least five years,” I said. “We’ve known each other since college, even dated then. But it wasn’t until she moved to San Francisco and looked me up that we really got serious. Shortly thereafter, she moved in.”

“When did things start going sour in your relationship, Mr. Gantry?”

I sighed. Everyone’s a couples counselor these days.

“About a year now, I guess. I’m a freelance artist and I hadn’t been getting many commissions, so I started getting depressed, then started drinking a bit too heavily. The more I drank, the less motivated I was to look for new clients or even paint anything on my own.”

McHenry looked around and took note of the bare walls. “Where’s all your work?”

“Sold or given away,” I said. “Or thrown out.”

“You throw out your work? Why is that, Mr. Gantry?”

I shrugged. “I was disgusted by some of the pieces I painted. It was either throw them out or gouge my eyes out.”

McHenry made sure he wrote that in his notes. Obviously, I was a dangerous character if I’m talking about maiming myself. Could harming another person be the next logical step?

Just then, Officer Lauder returned from her tour of my newly created bachelor pad. I waited for her to make some sort of cop-like pronouncement, but she just shook her head. Her partner nodded and stood up.

“Well, Mr. Gantry, that’s all we need right now. We don’t see any signs of violence right now, but until we find Ms. Gibbons, we won’t be able to rule out bringing in detective to do a thorough investigation of this place,” McHenry said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “Please contact us if you hear from Ms. Gibbons or learn of her whereabouts?”

I took the card from him. “Sure thing, officer, I’ll contact you right away.”

The two cops walked to the door and I let them out.

“Thank you,” I told them and watched them walk down the hall to the stairwell, then closed the door.

Later that night, I tossed and turned in bed again, occupied with concern for Sherri’s welfare. At one point, it struck me as bittersweet that here I was, caring about her when I couldn’t give a damn about her when we lived under the same roof. If God provided wake-up calls, this was mine. I had to get my life back on track, but I didn’t know if I could until I knew where Sherri was. I just had no idea where to continue looking.

Solving the Puzzle (a serialized short story): Part 4 of 7

2011-02-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

**********

I wandered around the neighborhood for a few more hours, my mood as sullen as the overcast sky above me. Fresh out of ideas, I made my way back to the apartment, still scanning the streets for Sherri’s car.

I climbed the stairs to my landing and saw a man pacing in front of our apartment door, stopping once to try to see through the peephole, the resuming his march down the hallway. No doubt this was Sam, but I wasn’t convinced I was ready for the encounter and for a moment I debated going the other way.

“Are you Jack?” I heard him call out to me. Damn my indecision!

“Yeah,” I said, striding down the hall to my apartment, keys in hand. “Do I even bother asking the obvious at this point?”

He looked confused for a second, then stood straighter, almost defiant, and looked me right in the eye. “I’m Sam.”

“Sure you are,” I said, amused. I opened the door and looked behind me. “Come on in.”

He followed me and stood in the foyer, waiting for further instructions. Good, an obedient one. No wonder Sherri was attracted to him.

“I’ve been waiting for a couple hours for you to get back,” he finally said, fidgeting in place.

“Come in and sit down,” I told him, pointing to the sofa. “Want a beer? I’m getting one for myself.”

“Sure,” he said, planting himself as I suggested. Good boy.

I brought out the two open bottles from the kitchen and handed one to him. Raising it in salute, I tipped it back and took two huge gulps. He only sipped his, an obvious neophyte to imbibing. Another plus in his column, I guessed.

“You’re Sam, right?” I finally asked, sitting opposite him in my easy chair.

“Yeah. I haven’t hear from Sherri since last night.”

“Same here. She left with her bags to go to your place and I passed out in front of the TV.”

Sam considered what I told him and didn’t respond right away, instead seemed intent in trying to peel off the label from the green bottle.

“Don’t worry, I heard her whole conversation with you last night. Anyway, I just got back from looking for her. No one has seen her recently.”

“Where did you go?”

“All around the immediate neighborhood here. I stopped at her usual haunts, but most of them are closed today.”

Sam got up, walked over to the other side of the room and stood in front of me.

“I don’t believe you,” he said, looking down at me. If he was trying to appear threatening, he wasn’t doing the best job. I had to stop myself from laughing, though I couldn’t suppress the smirk on my face.

“I said I don’t believe you!” he shouted this time, a glimmer of emotion finally flashing in his eyes.

“What part don’t you believe, Sam, that I spent the morning trying to find her, because I did.”

He shook his head, his unkempt long hair flopping in his face, sticking to his unshaven chin. “No, asshole, I don’t believe that at all. I don’t believe you don’t know where she is, either. What I do believe is you hurt her or worse.”

I stood up and brought my face close to his. “Prove it, asshole,” I said, walking away from him. “Look around, see if you see any evidence of foul play. Have at it, I won’t stop you.”

For a moment, I thought he was going to comply, as compliance seemed to be something he was good at. Then he tilted his head and looked at me, again defiant and proud.

“Sure, so I can spoil a possible crime scene?” he intoned, standing even straighter than before. Intimidating, he was not. More like comical.

“So you’re calling the cops then?”

He handed me his barely touched beer. “I already have.”

I shrugged and watched him head to the front door.

“Hey, Sam?”

He stopped and looked at me, his hand on the doorknob.

“Look, I didn’t hurt her, okay? I would never lay a hand on Sherri.”

“That’s not what she told me,” he said.

I shrugged again. “Then she lied to you, man. I’ve never hurt another human being in my life, especially a woman, at least physically. And most especially Sherri. Despite everything she told you, I really do love her. I just could never be who she wanted me to be, but she apparently found that in you. And now she’s gone.”

He seemed as surprised to see tears rolling down my cheeks as I was feeling them. I really did love her, but not enough to want to change for her.

“I hope you find her,” I said to him and turned back to the living room. I heard the front door close behind me.

Solving the Puzzle (a serialized short story): Part 3 of 7

2011-02-23T23:24:00.000-08:00

**********

I had no real game plan and my meager meanderings around my neighborhood proved that handily. Most businesses kept their doors closed even during the workweek , so I drifted in and out of dimly lit entryways, hoping to find one of the local merchants available for a short heart-to-heart about my erstwhile roommate. We did all of our shopping in the immediate area, so the storeowners knew us by name, if not by the merchandise we bought from them.

After two hours of random visits to our favorite haunts, I was fast coming to the conclusion that this exercise bordered on the pointless. The more I walked, the more I resented Sherri’s wrong-headed departure, made even worse by the fact that she had apparently not arrived at her prearranged destination.

I stopped on the sidewalk in a fit of pique, determined to dismiss her from my brain much like she disappeared from my life. At that moment, I looked up and found myself standing in front of the All-Seeing Eye Bookstore, a hang-out for mystics and misfits and coincidentally, one of Sherri’s favorite spots when she was feeling a bit put out by something I did or didn’t do, depending on the circumstances. Much to my surprised, I saw the friendly “Open” sign lighted up, so I walked up the short flight of steps to the entrance.

“Hello,” the cashier said, looking up from her magazine. “Looking for anything in particular?”

“Um, no,” I told her, heading to the bookcase farthest from her. I could see her watching me out of the corner of my eye until I stepped out of her line of sight. Two women stood behind me, talking about some book they just found.

“Yes, I saw her on Oprah,” the shorter of the two said, a redhead with a bowl-shaped haircut, her skin the color of strawberry ice cream and just as pock-marked.

“How did she sound?” her friend asked her, clearly anxious to hear how her favorite author came off on national television.

I didn’t stick around to hear the details of their heroine’s tawdry promotion to Oprah’s adoring fans and instead slunk to the back of the shop and around the other side. Another youngish woman stood browsing the titles on the shelf and didn’t notice me in her vicinity until I brushed passed her.

“Oh!” she said, a bit startled. “Sorry, I thought I was alone.”

I was about to apologize when she held up her hand and stared into my eyes. I got the sense she wasn’t all there and hoped this wasn’t going to be one of those weird San Francisco encounters I try to avoid like a root canal.

“What?” I found myself asking in spite of myself.

“You’re here for a reason,” she told me, closing her eyes, her hand still aloft in front of my face.

“Yeah, to buy a book,” I said, sliding past her and heading back to the front of the store.

“Wait!” she insisted, now holding up both hands as though she was trying to will me to stay in one place. “You’re not here to buy a book.”

I laughed, uncomfortable at being caught in a lie. “Then why would I be in a bookstore on a Sunday then?”

For a moment, she didn’t reply and I smiled, secretly pleased with my having so easily stumped.

“You are looking for somebody,” she said, her eyes shut tight enough to highlight the wrinkles on her forehead and alongside her eyes. For a moment, I tried to figure out how old she really was, but then came back to the moment, annoyed that she felt like she had to be in my business.

“Who am I looking for?”

“It’s a woman, I’m sure of it.”

I shook my head. “Look, lady, I’m just here to buy a book, okay? It’s my niece’s birthday and she asked me to get her something different.”

If she knew I was lying, this time bald-faced, she didn’t indicate that. She kept her eyes closed, continuing to concentrate on what I now guessed were my thoughts. Great, another Bay Area psychic, I thought to myself, almost sneering. That was one of many things Sherri and I didn’t agree on at all. Anything remotely connected to the occult drew her in, while it repelled me just as equally.

“You’re looking for a woman,” she repeated. “She’s gone and you’re trying to find her.”

I shook my head again, enough so she could probably hear my brains rattling this time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving you now. Have a nice day, you freak.”

Before she could say another word, I stormed up the aisle, determined to get out of that store and away from the weirdos that patronize these kinds of places.

“She left you,” the woman called out to me. “Last night, in fact, right?”

I turned around and saw her gesturing toward me, her eyes now wide opened, a smirk on her face. What the hell was going on? Did she know Sherri and this was her way of screwing with me? Am I going to go back to the apartment and find Sherri back home, her luggage sitting in the foyer, waiting to be unpacked?

“What do you know about me?” I asked her, inching my way back to where the woman stood. “Why are you bothering me?”

The woman shrugged, lowering her hands. I could see from a distance she had tears in her eyes and on her cheeks. I fought the urge to run out of there, but I had to know what she knew, no matter how painful it was.

“So tell me,” I demanded, standing right in front of her.

“She suffered a lot,” the woman continued, grabbing one of my hands and holding it between her own. “She loved you, but you treated her badly. She had no recourse but to leave you.”

I looked down at her hands grasping mine, fighting back my own tears.

“You could’ve saved her.”

“Save her from what?” I said, looking at her with desperation. “Is she okay?”

The woman shrugged and dropped my hand. “She’s in a better place.”

“You mean she’s … ?”

“That’s all I know. Good luck with your life,” she said, and with a wave of her hand, she dismissed me, sharing nothing more.

I realized I could argue, cajole, attempt to bribe and generally browbeat this woman, but she wouldn’t submit to my demand to know what she meant. Whether she had psychic powers or not wasn’t clear, but that’s all I was going to learn today. I mumbled my thanks and hurried out of the shop. No one was more surprised that I was to find myself standing outside the bookstore, crying.

Solving the Puzzle (a serialized short story): Part 2 of 7

2011-02-22T23:23:00.001-08:00

**********

When I woke up several hours later, the house was pitch black except for the illuminated cat clock hanging on the kitchen wall. I stumbled to the refrigerator and pulled out my last beer. Three gulps later, I threw the empty into the recycling bin and headed to the bedroom.

She left the closet doors wide open as well as the drawers to her dresser. Every stitch of clothing, every shoe was gone. It looked as though she never lived there. A framed photograph of the two of us at Coney Island the summer before remained on her nightstand, a painful reminder of another failed attempt at reconciliation. I ruined that, like so many other times we tried to patch up our unhealthy relationship, with excess of drink and neglect. The fact she stayed with me so long was more a testament of her commitment to me than anything on my part. Now she was gone, for good it seemed.

I stripped down to my boxers and got into bed, but I didn’t sleep. Instead, I thought of the years we spent together. I resisted marrying her, telling her that once we made it legal, the romance would be sucked out like marrow through a bone. She did not appreciate either the mental image that conjured up or the sentiment behind it. I thought I was being gallant; she thought I was just being a jerk.

That didn’t stop her from campaigning for some sort of marriage, even if we just ran away to some cheesy wee kirk in Vegas and tied the knot under the steady gaze of semi-sober paid witnesses and Elvis impersonators. Instead, I kept parrying and feinting at every turn. She jabbed, I ducked. She kicked, I blocked. Love is a battlefield, after all. In the end, we remained a pair of world-weary co-habitants, me with the bottle, her with her anguish over me and the “us” she wished we could be. We were doomed.

When the digital clock on my nightstand clicked over to five, I gave up trying to get back to sleep and instead got up, threw on some dirty clothes and headed out into the early morning fog.

If you’ve never lived in San Francisco, you cannot appreciate what weather really is. Here we don’t have weather, we live it. The fog off the bay is like a damp, woolen blanket that embraces and chills you at the same time. The smells of the neighborhood hang musky and inviting, almost like an exotic dancer from some foreign land, redolent in sex and mystery.

I didn’t see her Prius in its usual spot, not that I expected her to be parked there, waiting for me to come get her before she made some terrible decision we’d both regret. Instead, traffic seemed to have receded into to brackish mist, abandoning the street to night dwellers stumbling their way back to their urban caves to sleep off the evening’s excesses, at least for those who had a place to return to. Street people slept where they fell, usually under the cover of a torn piece of greasy cardboard or if they were lucky, a blanket of fresh newsprint.

I headed down Turk Street until I reached Taylor. Lucky for me, my favorite café had just opened their doors and I slid in before a phalanx of wage slaves beat me to the front of the line. A few minutes later, laden with a cup of coffee and a bear claw, I walked back down Turk Street to our apartment, though now it was officially “mine” alone.

Just as I managed to unlock the door without spilling my coffee or dropping my breakfast in the foyer, the phone began ringing inside. I slammed the door closed with my foot and raced to get it before it went to the machine.

“Hello?” I mumbled, my mouth still full of pastry.

For a moment, the line was silent, though I could hear a slight nasal rasp through the received. I waited.

After what seemed like forever, I heard a cough, then a man’s voice. “Is this Jack?” he asked, tenuous, almost shy. I recognized the voice immediately, but decided to play dumb.

“Yes, who’s this?” I asked, then took a swig of hot coffee. I tried to sound casually curious, but in truth, I could feel my heart pumping a mile a minute.

“Um, this is a friend of Sherri’s.” Silence.

“Sherri’s not here,” I said before he could continue. “I don’t know when she’ll be back, either. Are you a co-worker of hers or something?”

Still silent, the guy seemed to be seeking a response among the few at his disposal that would least alarm me. I felt a bit of pity for him, but I also had to admit I enjoyed screwing with his head. Then I thought of something: if he’s calling to find Sherri, then where was she?

“No, I’m just a friend,” he finally said. “I was supposed to meet her for breakfast this morning, but she never showed up.”

Never showed up, I thought. What the hell was going on?

“What time was she supposed to meet you?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Deep down, I actually was surprised to find myself feeling worried.

“Um, an hour ago.” He must’ve known I would’ve thought that was a rather odd hour to be meeting a friend for breakfast, but I didn’t call him on it.

“Well, I wish I could help you,” I said and in truth, I did wish that. “She left before I woke up and she didn’t leave a note.”

The man paused, trying to find out if Sherri confronted me before leaving. Before he had a chance to ask, I added, “Yeah, I was a little drunk last night and fell asleep in front of the TV. She must’ve seen me on the sofa and left without disturbing me.”

“I see,” the man said, sounding somewhat satisfied, but still with a question. “If you could, um, let her know I called, I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure thing. What’s your name?”

“What?”

“Who should I say called for her?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Yeah, I guess you’ll need to know. It’s Sam.”

“Sam what?” I probed.

“Um, just ‘Sam,’ She’ll know who I am.”

“Okay then. Thanks for calling, Sam. I’ll give her the message when I see her.”

“Thanks,” he said, hanging up.

I sat down on the sofa to eat the rest of my breakfast and to try to piece things together. Last night, Sherri seemed hellbent on leaving me and running to Sam. Instead, it was almost six-thirty and she’s now MIA. I didn’t know if I should call the cops or the hospitals or what.

After I finished my coffee, I turned on the television and flipped through the news channels. Nothing but the Sunday morning political shows occupied the network stations and cable news had little to offer as far as local happenings. I turned off the TV and went to take a shower. I needed to get out of that place for a while.

Solving the Puzzle (a serialized short story): Part 1 of 7

2011-02-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

**********

I slumped on the sofa, my head lolled back and near comatose when I heard Sherri stomping into the living room, forcing me to climb out of my escapist haze.

“Why did you mess up this puzzle?" she asked, shaking the newspaper in front of my face. "Couldn't you have at least tried to solve the damn thing instead of just blackening the boxes like a four year-old?”

Snickering, I took a pull from my bottle of Stella I still held like a pacifier. I lost count of how many of them I drank, but I recalled popping open my first one around five in the morning.

"Aren't you going to answer me?"

I shook my head and downed the rest of my beer. She watch me lick the foam from the mouth of the green bottle, then stormed out of the room, muttering invectives to gods unseen.

"A-hole!" she screamed when she got to the bedroom.

I heard the door slam behind her. The immediate area settled into a blissful quiet. Even the robins perched on our porch knew it was safe to be birds again and began to chirp their happiness. I closed my eyes, relishing the calm of the day.

Riiiiingggg! Riiiiingggg!

"Damnit!" I muttered, stumbling to the telephone. "Yeah, what?”

Instead of the caller responding to me, Sherri spoke up on the extension. I was about to hang up when I heard a man's voice on the other end. Placing the phone on mute, I sat down in my chair and listened.

"I've just about had it," Sherri said, a hitch in her voice. Was she crying about that damn crossword puzzle, I wondered, both amazed and impressed.

"I know," the man said in a soothing voice. "Why are you still there then?"

"Habit, I guess.”

"Sherri, I don't know what to tell you I have already said. You have to make up your mind."

"I so confused!" she said, sobbing loud enough for me to hear her through the thin walls of our apartment. "I've been in this relationship for so long, I've lost myself."

"Honey, he's not worth all these tears, is he?"

A pause. "I guess not.”

"Then what's stopping you? Pack your bags and walk right out that door. You don't need to explain yourself, you don't have to tell him where you're going, just go."

"But where?"

There was a long pause. I could hear both of them breathing, almost panting. It took everything I had not to take the mute off and tell her to hurry up and go to his place. Anywhere other than this hellhole we made together was bound to be better.

"Live with me," the man said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "We can work out the details later, but right now, you need a place to live and I need you. Come on, I'll be waiting."

Sherri's sobs started anew. "Are you sure?" she squeaked, blowing her nose, the sound a muffled, staccato burst.

"Absolutely. Come on, I'll make you a nice dinner."

“Okay, I’ll do it! I'll see you in an hour."

I heard the call disconnect and turned off the phone, then placed it back on the charger. Keeping an ear open for her movements, I turned on the TV and flipped it to the sports channel. The second day of the Masters was about to start and I could easily get lost in the game, me and my beautiful Stella. Just the thought of that started me laughing and I couldn't stop.

I was still laughing when she stormed into the living room, her eyes red-rimmed and wild.

"What the hell is so funny?" she demanded, her hands planted on her hips.

I paused from my mirth to look up at her, thinking that I disliked her now as much as I loved her once before. Still, she was pretty in a way that some women are when they don't know they're pretty, a trait that makes them even more alluring. I was still attracted to her and probably would always be so. But living with her was killing me and her, the "us" already long deceased.

"Nothing's funny," I lied, wiping my eyes. "I'm just watching the golf match."

"Whatever," she said, muttering something inaudible as she stomped back to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

I waited until she emerged again, fully prepared to see her with packed luggage in hand and ready for a showdown. She didn't disappoint me.

"I'm out of here," she yelled as she left the bedroom.

"What are you talking about?" I said, my eyes fixed on the TV, but trying to sound interested.

"I can't stand living with you anymore. I'm moving out!"

I finally turned around and looked at her posing in front of me, three pieces of unmatched luggage draped over her shoulders. She reminded me of overladen donkey I saw in an old western. For the second time today, I had to force myself to stop laughing. I was going to miss her.

"Is there anything I can say to change your mind?" I asked, finishing the rest of my beer.

She stood there, defiant and proud, trying not to let her luggage topple her over. "You just sit there and drink yourself into another coma. By the time you come to, I'll be a distant memory and you'll be sorry you ever let me go."

For a moment, I thought over her prediction. I'd feel worse about her being gone while nursing a hangover, that much was true. After my headache subsided and the queasiness in my stomach lessened, I'd want to go out and get eggs and fried chicken at Dinah’s, but she wouldn't be there to take me, thanks to the DWI conviction I still had. I guess I could always call a taxi, but that would get old real quick.

"Maybe you're right," I said, gauging her reaction. If my words moved her, I couldn't tell. That setting of her jaw and squinting of her eyes looked pretty final to me.

"Is that all you have to say?" she said, standing over me now.

I looked up at her and shrugged. "Where do you want me to forward your mail?"

She clenched her fists and for a moment, I thought she was going to hit me. On one level, I hoped she would so I would feel something, anything. Instead, she gave me a look that fell somewhere between hatred and pity, which is pretty much what I deserved, then she struggled to the door.

"Hey, you want some help?" I asked her, standing up and putting my bottle on the glass coffee table.

Sherri stopped and turned toward me. "Don't you have any regrets about me leaving? Aren't you even going to try to talk me out of it?"

She started bawling, her body shaking with each sob. For a moment, I began to reflect on all the unkind things I had ever done to her over the years. I reached out to touch her shoulder, but she pulled away from me as though I tried to infect her with some fatal disease. She wiped her eyes on her jacket sleeve and made her way to the door.

"Good-bye," I managed to say in a soft voice. If she heard me, she didn't respond and left.

I stared at the closed door for several minutes before returning to the sofa. The golf match no longer seemed very appealing anymore, so I turned off the TV and lay down for a while. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought to myself that I'd be pretty pissed off at myself later, but I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to care at the moment.

Final Countdown with Keith Olbermann - Keith Signs Off

2011-01-21T19:45:00.000-08:00

The backstory behind the termination of Keith Olbermann has yet to be told, but the smart money says it has to do with the Comcast/NBC deal that recently got approved by the various government entities that oversee these things.

Regardless on which side of the political spectrum you are on, you should be chilled at the thought that this obvious left-leaning, but well-meaning, commentator could be bounced from his job for speaking out against and being a counter voice to the rantings from the conservative talk radio and TV pundits. This country needs to hear a variety of opinions or we are not fulfilling the promise made by our forefathers. The First Amendment applies to everyone, not just Fox News and their ilk.

This action should be a warning to all of us: guard your freedoms carefully, because you never know when they could be snatched from you in the blink of an eye.

Good-bye, Keith, and good luck to you.

I Want To Be a Screenwriter

2010-12-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

15 Movies That Stuck With You

2010-09-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

From a shared note on my Facebook page, this is my top 15:

1) To Have and Have Not: Lauren Bacall's first film role and the chemistry between her and Bogie is palpable. I think it's their best movie together. Also interesting that the credited screenwriter is William Faulkner.

2) Groundhog Day: The premise is completely relatable, the screenplay is tight and the acting - in particular, Bill Murray's - was spot on. One of those movies I can watch again and again (which is quite ironic, I guess).

3) Lost in Translation: A completely different Bill Murray vehicle, I was totally hooked from the very beginning and really got absorbed by the storyline. Both Murray and Scarlett Johansson light up the screen and Sofia Coppola's direction is superb.

4) Star Wars: I'm referring to the entire series here, not just the original offering. Classic themes abound in this (loss and redemption, unrequited love) and classic heroes and villains. To me, Darth Vader is the best bad guy ever, at least in sci fi flicks.

5) Adam's Rib: Another of my favorite movie couples, Tracy & Hepburn, in a movie that broke a lot of ground on the screen - two professionals who are at odds philosophically and literally. Both entertaining and thought-provoking, this movie shed light on women's rights more than any other of that era.

6) The Shawshank Redemption: Probably one of the best movies I've ever seen only ONCE. Some of the finest acting ever on the big screen (though I only watched it on video), I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to see the "good guys" win in the end.

7) The Godfather: I've only first seen this movie (and the ones that followed) in the last ten years and now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. OUTSTANDING acting, great characters, superb directing and a storyline that's a total win for me. Oh, and the violence (despite what some say, not gratuitous in the least).

8) Pulp Fiction: One of the most imaginative films I've ever seen, there isn't one part of this multi-part movie that isn't a winner - and the weaving is truly movie magic. Tarantino really shows his brilliance here and it was good to see John Travolta in such a great role.

9) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Loved the book, loved the film even more. I think Nicholson really shows why he's a master of his craft in this role. This peek inside a mental institution is frighteningly real.

10) As Good As It Gets: What characters! The acting is incredible in this unlikely plot, but it does showcase Nicholson's ability to play a great antihero. This is the movie I wish I wrote!

11) Casablanca: Okay, I'm a fanboy of Bogart, that's no lie. This pick may be a bit cliché, but it's a classic film for any screenwriter (or actor or director, I imagine) to deconstruct and learn from. Besides Bogart masterfully masking his seething jealousy and regret beneath a mask of cool indifference, the tragic sadness of Ingrid Bergman really leaves its mark.

12) Psycho (the original): I think this is Hitchcock's masterpiece and Anthony Perkins sells it as a deeply disturbed young man. Probably one of the first movies that kept me up at night with nightmares.

13) The Shining: Back in the day, I was a huge Stephen King fan, so with some trepidation I went to see this at the theater and man, I was NOT disappointed AT ALL. Again, Nicholson plays the insane person with such force and realism, you are left wondering if he really isn't a bit "off" in real life.

14) To Kill a Mockingbird: Such a great dramatic production, this was Gregory Peck's finest showing on the big screen and one of those movies that still resonates today. When I read the book, Harper Lee's only novel, I was amazed how well it translated to film.

15) Amadeus: This one is probably the least likely for this list, but for a number of reasons - the acting, Mozart's music, the period costumes & set design and the storyline itself - convinces me it should be in the top 15. This movie shows that Mozart would've been Mick Jagger - or Iggy Pop - if he lived in the 20th century.

Gennaro's Son

2010-04-11T15:14:00.000-07:00

"Father Espirito, it’s time."

The old priest nodded and sat up straight in his high-backed chair as he waited to be lifted by his four attendants. He stared ahead at the statue being raised ahead of him. At his signal, the doors of the Most Precious Blood Holy Church swung open. The procession began.

The clock hanging from the ancient oak tree struck two o'clock and the noise from well-wishers who packed the surrounding sidewalks several layers deep began to rumble with anticipation. The din grew to a frenzy as the lead altar boys stepped onto Mulberry Street, then crescendoed to a deafening roar when the blessed statue came into view.

Father Espirito’s pallet left the church last and he waved to the cheering crowd as the procession continued. Turning left, then right, he extended his blessing onto the faithful. The most pious of the observers, old women in black dresses with silk veils to match, crossed themselves and bowed in respect as their priest brought God’s beneficence upon them.

The market umbrellas of the food vendors dotted Little Italy’s streets in a pointillist's palette of red, green and white. Moments later, the aroma of frying sausage and onions almost overwhelmed the old priest, for the memories of his mother's kitchen seemed more vivid now than any other time in his life.

"Father, we love you!" cried one girl, no more than twelve years old. He smiled benignly and waved to the familiar-lookinf child, one of many young people who passed through the doors of his house of God every Sunday. How he loved the innocent and unabashed exuberance of these children!

As the procession passed Grand Street, Father Espirito spotted the Original Tony's pizza cart parked at its traditional location on the northwest corner.

"Hey, Father, how about a slice?" called out the boy that worked the cart this year, waving a large piece of pizza in the priest’s direction.

The priest shook his head and turned away. Watching the young man, he felt he was looking at an image of himself sixty years before. He was so strong and handsome then, he thought, his lower lip trembling.

By now, the crowd at Canal Street had followed the procession as it headed north. Father Espirito could sense the impatience of the human wave pushing them forward to Houston Street, past the cannoli vendors, the pasta sellers and the dozens of other purveyors of traditional Italian cuisine. If Heaven exists, its streets will be lined just like this, the priest mused.

"Are you having a good time, Father?" Sister Angelina asked him, seeing his faint smile.

"Oh yes, Sister, I am. The festival is good for the body and soul, isn't it?"

The nun laughed and nodded, then added, "I'm having so much fun, I already can't wait until next year."

The old priest nodded, but didn't reply. He sensed that this would be his last San Gennaro festival. The delicious aromas around him today were like those that visited his sleep most nights now. Soon, he would be home. He hoped his mother was ready for his return.

Copyright (c) 2010 by Michael C. Cordell. All Rights Reserved.

Adventures in Writing-Land

2010-03-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

It’s been quite a while since I updated this blog with what’s been going on vis-a-vis writing, so this is as much for readers as it is myself to put everything in perspective since January 1st.

I completed the first draft of a 14,000 word “longish” short called “Breathe,” a retrospective of a man in late middle age. Some life experiences never fade with age and the protagonist, Jon, shares the story of his early life as a champion swimmer and what event changed him forever. I expect to have this piece edited by March 31st and posted in this blog or on my website by mid-April.

I just finished an even longer “short” story that is tentatively entitled “A Grand Delusion” (originally a much shorter work called “An Interesting Exchange”). I wrote this story in response to a competition to have a piece featured in Sevastian Winters’ anthology called Bonfire Stories, which is scheduled to be released in e-book format on March 17th. The challenge: write a story with the following introductory sentence: “Jake Everson woke up one day in St. Bart's and picked up the newspaper to discover he'd died that morning in Spain.” As it turns out, he liked my entry along with two others, so we three finalists are waiting to find out which of our stories will be selected. While it would be nice to have a piece published in another anthology, I really just entered for the challenge - though, of course, I’m not going to decline should I win. More on this soon . . .

Another piece I just wrote and published to my website is called “The Packet,” a bit of historical fiction mixed in with a touch of conspiracy theory. I admit, the rumor that inspired the story is difficult for me to believe, but I put that aside to write this story, a tale set during the early 1900’s about man struggling to excise the sins of the past.

Besides these short stories, there are many other works-in progress, including several more short stories, my fourth spec feature-length screenplay and a novel. Thankfully, I’ve been on a creative juggernaut as of late; the down side of that, of course, is there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to do it all. However, I’m not complaining!

May your Muse be kind,

Michael

Ode to a Recluse: Thoughts on Salinger

2010-01-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

As many other readers (and writers) did this week, I mourned the death of Jerome David Salinger at 91 years old. On Twitter, I posted that he was one of my primary literary influences, but perhaps not for the reasons a writer growing up in the 60's and 70's would typically have. After a Saturday morning of reading the musings of others about Salinger in various blogs, I thought I'd throw my offering into the collection plate of public opinion on this subject.

I was never really moved by The Catcher in the Rye as so many of my contemporaries were. It was mandatory reading for me in high school honors English and I'm sure I thought I wrote a good book report, even though I didn't share Holden Caulfield's rebellious spirit or cynicism and couldn’t relate to him on any level. How could a Catholic school-educated, first-born son ever hope to rebel and not break the hearts of kith and kin? One may think by virtue of that one-line description alone, I would have plenty of reason to raise hell, run away, commit acts of unkindness or even hate the world. Nope; I was destined to be a good boy, leaving for later the "acting out" phase of my life.

When I got older and began to buy the classics for fun instead of obligation, I read some of Salinger's best short works and was finally seduced into believing the somewhat mythic hype about him that had grown during his self-imposed exile from the publishing world. I was convinced that Franny and Zooey was one of the best pieces of literature I ever read up to then (and still insist on that today). Because of Salinger’s new influence on me, I hungered for something that went beyond mere love of his prose: I wanted to be able to move people with words like his work did to me.

When I took those early tentative steps, first writing for myself and later for others, I would take note of the occasional news story that mentioned Salinger and his (even then) famous reclusiveness. The thought disturbed me at the time because while I was striving to find my literary voice, one that others would want to hear, there was Salinger, shunning the world, claiming to enjoy being out of the maelstrom, only writing for his enjoyment alone. How could anybody with such a gift do that? The idea that an artist would almost willfully mute himself, leaving his readers to wait and wonder, seemed almost cruel.

And yet, even in his reclusiveness, Salinger was a genius. Regardless of his reasons for becoming a hermit, his fans always remained hopeful that something new from his pen would someday hit the bookstores. Certain to be his final work, it would be the most magnum of all opuses, a swan song that couldn't be scripted any more dramatically. To my eternal sadness, though, every teasing suggestion that he would publish again was quickly snuffed out. Thus, for many, his reclusiveness became a bigger story than the art he produced. Not for me; in the end, the man became less important than the oeuvre he gave us.

The truth is this: while unlikely to happen in my lifetime, to be able to read a new work from one whose craft was honed over years of being out of the public spotlight would be like hearing a lost symphony by Mozart or viewing a never-seen Van Gogh masterpiece. I suspect Salinger would call that assertion hogwash (or worse), but I would hope he would still be pleased with the comparison.

RIP, J.D.

More on Rules (of the Email Kind)

2009-10-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Like many busy people, I receive hundreds of email every week, much of it I want to keep, but have no time to read at that particular moment. If you're somewhat computer savvy and motivated to clear the clutter in your mailbox, you have learned to use the Rules tools in your favorite email program. However, I remain sorely disappointed with the top programs as they have not seemed to figure out how to make creating these rules intuitive and easy. So here are the rule features of what I call the Perfect Mail Client (PMC).

Allow the user to enable/disable an option to prompt for creation of a rule as soon as an email is dragged into a folder. This prompt should contain the most logical criteria for recognizing the email (the sender and subject are the most likely candidates).
If an email arrives from a contact in your address book, prompt to create a folder for that sender and to create a rule that would automatically place that sender's email into that folder. Again, this feature could be enabled/disabled at will be the user. Bonus points: address book contacts should never be categorized as spam.
Another user-selectable option: prompt to automatically create a new contact or update an existing one from an email that you determine to not be spam. Some email clients do this to some degree, but hardly perfectly.
Whether a rule is created manually or by the automatic drag feature, the rule processor should recognize that some rules can be combined into a single one in order to intelligently reduce the number of rules. For example, if there are two separate rules to move email from two different senders to the same file, those rules would automatically be replaced with a single rule that uses the OR construct on the sender names.

Can you think of any other Rule features you would add? Maybe if enough people spoke up about what they're looking for, we can get some enterprising programmer to write the software. Wouldn't that be something?

Best,
Michael

Photo Credit, Viagallery.com

Writing Rules and Breaking Them

2009-09-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

"You are so beautiful," he burbled cleverly, staring in awe at her exquisitely tailored, sapphire blue evening dress. "Will you run away with me?"

"Not as long as your dialog is so trite," she sniffed, turning on her six-inch stiletto heels and storming out of the room.

I can almost see the looks of despair and hear the sound of rolling eyeballs from those writers among you who read the above exchange. Basic parts of speech, such as adverbs, adjectives and dialog identifiers have been almost excoriated by modern writing instructors. Authors are told to banish such words from their vocabulary, as use (or more fairly, overuse) of that language is banal or worse yet, moribund. How did this happen?

At one time, English prose was filled with all manner of the these three dreaded language parts of speech. Ernest Hemingway and others popularized the trend toward more succinct prose during the early 20th century. In a world of sound bites, "elevator pitches," microblogs and flash fiction, readers - allegedly - only want to read material bereft of as much clutter as possible.

As a reader, I've noticed a lot of color missing in modern writing as a result of this boycott of modifiers and have found it unfortunate. Compare the works of Dickens, one of the most popular writer of his day and beyond, with today's literary fiction. Therefore, as a writer, I attempt to conform to the modernist ways, even though it irks me to do so.

When is it okay to break these supposed "rules?"

My first rule on rules: it's your writing (or painting or sculpture or musical composition), break the rules (or not) whenever you want. That freedom comes with a warning, though - your audience may get turned off by what you've created, so if you're not about collecting eyeballs and all about expressing yourself, then break away!

My second rule on rules: like most things in life, moderation is the key to success, even when it comes to following rules. An adverb here, a creative dialog identifier there won't destroy your prose. However, too much of anything isn't a good idea (though you may be able to think of some exceptions that have nothing to do with writing).

My third rule on rules: there are no rules. However, there are some guidelines (don't challenge me on my semantics, please!) that I'm following and will share here:

Before you resort to an adverb, think about a better verb that eliminates the need to use it. For example, instead of writing "He quickly ran to the neighbor's house," you could write, "He sped to the neighbor's house."
You can reduce the number of adjectives in your prose by either choosing a more descriptive noun ("jalopy" instead of "old car", for example. As Mark Twain said in regards to adjectives, "When in doubt, strike it out."
While "said" is the preferred dialog identifier, there are a couple of points to consider here: first, "he said, she said," ad nauseam, is tiring to read, even if you're fully engaged in the dialog (though most readers have learned to ignore them anyway); second, the occasional "groaned," "muttered," "exclaimed," "cried" and the rest are fine, but they can be just as distracting as the constant parade of "saids" and "replieds."
One final observation is worth noting: in my travels, I find that writers no longer know how to read as a reader. Rather, most writers, especially the less experienced ones, overanalyze every bit of text in a piece, with both eyes open for errors and "gotchas." Every writer learns how to be a critic as they are developing their craft, a useful tool when self-editing and somewhat desired in writing groups. The problem is many lose their ability to get lost in the tale for all the over-concentration on grammatical misuse! Give me a good story and I can ignore the occasional slip; however, if the story is dull and lifeless - as some may argue happens when you make certain parts of speech "illegal" - then I close the book and put it in the Goodwill pile.

Perhaps a lesson learned here is for writers to regain the very pleasure of reading for content and to concentrate less on seeing who is violating which modernistic rules.

No matter what you do, make sure your writing is enjoyable and not a tedious chore. Have fun!

Works In Progress

2009-09-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Following up on my post from yesterday about how being a serial starter is my current personal challenge, I decided to trot out the truth for my own eyes to see. Sharing it only further illustrates this malady.

Currently, I have the following works in some reason state of progress. These do not include all those ideas sketched out in brief synopsis or even bulleted form ... I have dozens of those just ripe for further exploration (some day, maybe). No, these are just those that I have in development beyond a story idea (usually a full story treatment is written out)

15 short stories
6 screenplays
5 novels
2 novellas
1 stage play
1 non-fiction book

So what to do first? I'm going to edit my short story called The New Forty and publish it on my website (target date is 10/1). The first draft is completed, which is why I'm starting there - the proverbial "low hanging fruit."

Stay tuned for further developments.

Confessions of a Serial Starter

2009-09-05T16:46:00.001-07:00

In my internet wanderings, I have the occasion to read articles by writers, both professional and aspiring, who lament that they are in some creative box at the moment and can't find the hidden door that would lead to their escape. This impasse is nothing like a mere speed bump in their creativity; those are barely worth mentioning, as everyone (regardless of their means of expression) has those. No, these are full-fledged, "I am so stuck it hurts" moments, whether it's in their current piece-in-progress or the ability to conjure up something from the idea machine located somewhere in the gray matter.

I can empathize, even if I cannot share their specific pain. As far as I know, I don't have attention span issues, either. I'm fortunate to have the ability to focus on a particular effort for long periods of time, blocking out the interruptions of life that are the death to any author's productivity. As all writers will tell you, life goes on in spite of the creative effort and even though the Muse is a demanding harpy at times, the dog still needs to be fed, the groceries still need to be purchased and the taxes still need to be paid. I can say this with utmost certainty: ADD isn't my personal demon.

I'm not really a procrastinator, either. If it's on my "to do" list, I don't make up higher priority tasks in order to avoid the inevitable. You won't find me rearranging my closets so as not to face the dreaded blank page. Quite the opposite, actually ... mundane and (but eventually) necessary tasks take a back seat to anything I do creatively. Like many other writers and artists in other media, the need to create is a driving force that can nearly consume one at times. I think that it's that unyielding determination that can eventually consume us, whether it results in the well running dry or spigots are fairly overflowing and cannot be contained.

Organizational skills, I have those in spades. I have a great electronic filing system and I'm near obsessive about following it. I'm not saying I don't have those moments where I run around in the real or virtual worlds, looking for something I misplaced because I failed to file it in its proper place. When it comes to my writing, though, I have a very simple and logical system for maintaining all of my drafts, ideas, notes and other tidbits that would require a filing cabinet if I moved it all to paper.

This electronic filing system I employ may be the source of my serial-starter behavior. The number of works I currently have in early stages of construction is somewhat daunting and while all neatly cataloged in my tidy little virtual folder structure, there is just so MANY of them in this state of incompletion. Let me give you the stats: under the category of works in progress, I have five novels, one non-fiction book, twenty-eight short stories, three screenplays, two novellas and umpteen other types of works. With some disdain, I note that my writing world reflects my reading world, as I have a many books, magazines, journals and the rest all similarly "in progress."

Why I am like this? Part of it is due to the wellspring of ideas which I have somehow tapped and continues to pay out, much like a rigged one-armed bandit. The problem is stopping long enough from dropping coins in new machines until the jackpots finish paying out. Perhaps another (and more revealing) reason is I'm thrilled with the very beginning, but lose that level of fire to carry me through to the end. No matter how little I procrastinate, how organized I am or how many creative ideas are there for the taking, getting to the end isn't easy. But finish I must.

They say confession is good for the soul and perhaps it's also good for the Muse, too. Are you listening, you harpy? And by the way, this piece is finished.

Why Blog, When You Can Microblog?

2009-04-25T01:02:00.001-07:00

Strange days, indeed.

For some reason tonight, "Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These," by John Lennon keeps going through my head. Usually when I get a song stuck in my cranium, I find that there is more to it than it being just a meme (or "ear worm," as some call them). Maybe it's all about the economic doldrums we're in or maybe the way the political winds are blowing up in Sacramento and over in the Beltway.

I've been beyond remiss in updating my blogs over the last year. I can't blame it on anything other than just general busy-ness. Writing is both a joy and a curse, as anyone who pens for a living can tell you. I've said it many times before, but it's hard to turn off the idea machine when you're in the middle of a piece … and then you're torn between capturing everything that you've created before you lose it among the gray matter and continuing on your self-assigned schedule. I don't have ADD, at least I don't think I do, but if anything can whipsaw my attention span, it's a new creative thought.

So, instead of my weekly blog posts, I've been captivated in the last year with Twitter, the even-more-famous microblogging site and have been using Twitter to get my blog on, so to speak. I'm not a Twitter addict – I'm sure of that – but I find it more than a little convenient to tweet my musings in 140 character chunks as they come to me during the day. When I'm not telling the Twitterverse of my every little thought, I'm sharing video and other online links as well as playing DJ, courtesy of Blip.fm.

Social networking is clearly in its infancy and yet it has become a big part of my life and that of others. As I approach my fiftieth birthday, I remain amazed at the creativity and ingenuity of others and gratefully embrace the new technologies that are provided for our amusement.

Strange days, indeed?

NaNoWriMo Winds Down

2008-11-29T23:11:00.001-08:00

I won’t be “winning” NaNoWriMo this year, but this was a great exercise in getting one’s word count advancing. Currently at near 26, 000 words, I’ll be pleased to hit 27,000 words by tomorrow night’s deadline and with any luck, at the same rate, I’ll have the first draft finished by the end of the year.

That brings me to ScriptFrenzy, the other writing month sponsored by the same group of folks who do NaNo. I already have several screenplay ideas, so all I need to do is pick one, plot it out and get ready for that extravaganza.

To all the competitors this year, especially to those who made the 50,000 word minimum, I say congratulations. If any of those instant novels become bestsellers, I think the whole NaNo community will be pleased.

Best,

Michael

On Breaking Resolutions and Other Year-End Activities

2008-11-23T18:14:00.001-08:00

This morning, one of my Twitter buddies announced that she was "considering how many new Years resolutions I can break between now and December 31." In reply, I advised her to "be creative, break them alphabetically."

Later, I started thinking about how a bizarre resolution list would read:

1. Aardvarks, limit my annual kills to twelve
2. Aarons, stop drunk dialing strangers with that first name
.
.
.
185. Zzyzx, refrain from sneaking into the California town under an assumed name

Yes, folks, it's officially that time of year when I lose my mind. Last year's scheduled insanity break was deferred, thanks to a little extended stay at Chez Glendale Adventist. The truth is I love the holidays and last year's detour had me doubly bummed for that reason. I'm making up for lost time now that I'm not all out of it.

Meanwhile, back at the keyboard, NaNoWriMo has become an unattainable target. I realized I have a higher priority than writing … sleeping. As much as I wanted the joy of being sleep deprived -- you know, the suffering artist thing -- I felt the call of Morpheus a little too alluring for my book's own good.

So what does that mean for Lens Flare, then next great blockbuster novel? I now have a new goal … finish the first draft by New Year's Eve. I really believe I have a solid plot and the material is complex enough to keep the reader guessing (hell, I'm still trying to figure it out and I created it). No worries, good things come to those who persevere.

What this also means is I have to go back to editing the first draft of my non-fiction book, The Year I Lost November. It's rather difficult at times reading the emails between my wife and my parents they exchanged during my illness (which will be incorporated into the "story"). As much as I hated it, I couldn't prevent those closest to me from worrying so much.

Meanwhile, my marketing "blitz" for In The Foothills has been on hiatus due to all of the other writing projects. More on this next time, hopefully.

So, have a great Thanksgiving, everyone! By the way, if you want to tweet me, I'm on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/socalvillaguy.

Best,
Michael

A Year Later

2008-11-09T22:57:00.001-08:00

Greetings, friends ...

I'm glad to be able to return to this blog after over a year of inactivity. In case you weren't aware, I had gone a couple of rounds with a disease called dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disease in which the white blood cells attack the muscle cells as though they are foreign invaders. It's similar to many AI diseases ... for example, MS is an AI disease where the immune system attacks the central nervous system.

The upshot of the story is I ended up in the hospital for all of November and the early part of December in 2007. I was better by early January 2008, then ended up relapsing in February and didn't recover 100% until early June. Thanks to good medication, a great rheumatologist and the world's greatest wife, I am here and writing again. All of this is chronicled in a book I'll be publishing in early 2009 called The Year I Lost November. Profits from that book will be donated to The Myositis Association.

Because of my disease, I couldn't publish my first anthology of short stories and poetry until July 2008, called In The Foothills. The collection covers material I've written between 2005 and 2007. If you like short stories, I invite you to take a test run.

Besides editing the new book, I've been particular busy with NaNoWriMo this year. Unfortunately, because of my illness in 2007, I couldn't participate in the novel-writing fall classic. This year, I'm definitely in the hunt. As of this post, I have over 12,000 words written in my own someday bestseller (entitled Lens Flare), an action-packed thriller of arson and political intrigue.

That's all for now, folks. I hope your respective Muses are kind to you this week.

Best,
Michael

Lethargy, I See That You Torture Me

2007-10-14T22:42:00.001-07:00

Torpor. Ennui. Lethargy. Killers for any writer, but thanks to an unknown physical malady, I am now confronted with the specter of inaction. It's interesting how distracting pain can be and in what ways it manifests itself. I have good concentration for proofreading, but as far as creation is concerned, my attention continues to be interrupted with each new wave of discomfort.

For what it's worth, I'm going to the doctor this week. I already have confirmed I have a hernia (from another doctor), but I suspect there's something more profoundly wrong. Typically, I wouldn't disclose any of this, but because it is affecting my writing, I'm including it. Writing is normally a distraction from the mental stresses, but hasn't done a good job with this other problem.

What does all that mean? I wrote a couple of flash pieces this week, started writing a satirical short work for fun and edited some existing work (and that of others). But nothing of major to note this time.

I received a notice to sign up for NaNoWriMo, which I'm still planning on doing, in spite of how I'm feeling. I'd like to get 50,000 words and my first novel completed this year. With all the work on the short story collection and the screenplays, time for the novel hasn't been found. Not complaining, mind you . . . I'm all for overload when it comes to creativity.

And so, I end this short entry with a note to all . . . a tried and true platitude, but still is important . . . guard your health. Without it, much suffers.

Best,
Michael

Clean-Up Time

2007-10-07T21:29:00.001-07:00

This week was a series of small accomplishments writing-wise.

I printed out and sent Doc On Loan to the Copyright Office. It's a cost-effective way to protect your creation, so I do it even though I already register my scripts with the WGA. Speaking of my screenplay, I had a few online companies check out the logline for my screenplays this week, even had some look at the synopses and my resume, but no one has download the script. It's somewhat maddening . . . I want to find some way to convince them to read the damn things, but the only thing I can do is to make the screenplays sound appealing enough to make them want to read them.

I wrote a couple of flash fiction pieces and a couple of poems (for fun). There are plenty of places that publish the former, I just need to get off my butt and submit them.

As far as outstanding submissions, October 15th is when the Glimmertrain will be announcing their contest winners. I just checked the status on "Macdougal Street" since I hadn't heard from them yet and see that the status is set to "Complete," which means it hasn't been accepted for publication. That's good, because the darn thing has been on Helium since May, back when I thought I could remove any piece I put up there. Glimmertrain demands first publication rights; had I known I couldn't pull it from Helium when I wanted to, I never would've posted it there. Right now, it's #11 of 130 in the category I submitted it in on Helium, so I guess I have nothing to complain about. Next time, read the fine print, Michael!

I've picked up the short stories I've started and plotted out so I can finish them. Right now, I'm continuing with "Bones Under the Bed." At the same time, new ideas for short stories keep popping into my head. I've said it many times before, but if I had the luxury to write all day, every day, I have enough material to do it for at least ten years straight - just with what I have on file to write at the moment.

Nothing more to include this evening. All the best to you and yours in the coming week and happy writings to you!

Michael

Next!

2007-09-30T21:56:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the final edits on Doc On Loan, my latest screenplay, and I uploaded it on InkTip.com. Again, I'm going to see if I can trap lightning in a jar a second time, though this time, I'm not going to remove the lid. And with that comes the work on my next screenplay. I decided to return to Original Idea for my next one, with the plotting scheduled to begin this week. With any luck, I'll be ready to start the actual screenplay itself by 10/15.

I didn't edit my latest short story, "Sweet Freedom," this week due to decision to go back to all of my in progress short stories and plot them out from where I left off with them. There are four in various stages of completion and at least another three in development. My intent is to have no more than a dozen for the book, but it will really probably come down to a page limitation instead of a story count that I'll use to gauge. November 1st is the deadline for completing the stories and begin assembling the book, In The Foothills, for publication.

That's all there is for this week. I hope you have a great first week of October and I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
Michael

A Melange

2007-09-23T21:52:00.001-07:00

This will be a short report this week, mainly because I've been only concentrating on a few writing projects.

First, I finished the first draft of a short story I've tentatively entitled "Sweet Freedom." It's based on a true story from my childhood and I'm hoping to have a working version (after a few key edits sessions) by next weekend. I've also plotted out the rest of my work in progress short story, "The Bing Wong Motel." I started writing that a few weeks ago, but I got sidetracked.

I didn't get a chance to finish updating my screenplay Doc On Loan with my editors suggested changes this week. Too much going on in my 3D life has kept me kind of busy. I need to get this done so I can start my next one. I'd love to get a third one finished in this calendar year.

I started laying out the basics of a couple of longer pieces: "Dark Confessions" and "New Utopia." Both of these could possible go as long as novella length, but I won't know for certain until I finish plotting them out.

More flash pieces this week, too. Always lots of fun with those.

And that's all for the writing update for this week. I wish you all a great last week of September and I'll see you next time.

Best,
Michael

Relatively Out of Control

2007-09-16T20:45:00.002-07:00

This has been a busy week, writing-wise, to say the least. I'd like to say I finished a lot, but the best I can crow about is a did quite a bit of starting . . . new stories, new longer pieces. All this, in conjunction with stories already in progress, and I'm just going crazy writing during every free moment I can eke out of my day.

I did complete one thing of note this week . . . entering one of my more recent stories into the Raymond Carver Short Story contest. Who knows what will happen, I only did it on a lark; really didn't think about it much, actually. Twelve bucks and I'm in by the due date. We'll see if anything ever comes of that.

More flash writing this week, too. Those are difficult not to complete since they're usually so short. As always, they remain useful as an exercise to keep my prose tight, even if there isn't a word limitation for those non-flash pieces. It's all good.

I'm waiting for my editors to give me their final critiques on Doc On Loan before I copyright and submit it to InkTip.com. The next one is waiting patiently in my brain to get down on "paper" (so to speak), but I won't start until the other one is completely in the can.

It's that time of year when I should be submitting my stories to the appropriate literary magazines. It would be nice to get just one sold this year . . . good advertising for the book, of course, and a good shot in the arm to motivate me next year.

And that's the end of this report. I hope all of you are well and I look forward to hearing from you if you're so inclined to drop a line.

Best,
Michael

Screenplay Finished

2007-09-09T21:18:00.001-07:00

After four drafts, Doc On Loan, the screenplay I wrote for Script Frenzy, is now in the hands of my trusty editors, on the way to becoming the latest of my completed scripts (the third, to be precise). I have to admit, it was painful to whittle it down from 155 pages to 131 -- I had to cut whole scenes, some decent gags and removed fat from dialogs -- but it's pretty much as finished as I could get it. Once that has been copyrighted and registered with the WMA, I'll upload it to InkTip.com and once again, see if I can get any decent nibbles. If lightning could only strike twice and I could get this one optioned for real.

So, that means it's time to start the next one. If you've been reading this blog, you know I have a few more screenplays in the queue. The one I'll most likely start back on is entitled Original Idea. I think I'll take the same approach I did with Doc On Loan by laying out all the scene summaries and then writing the first draft in a 4-6 weeks. Stay tuned,

On the short story front . . . I waiting for final feedback on the 5,000 word piece I mentioned last week. Still cranking out flash pieces as the inspiration moves me. I'm still working on another longer piece that probably won't be included in In The Foothills, but one I need to get out of my system.

I've been neglecting my two fiction blogs after a lot of enthusiasm at the start. To some degree, my day job has started to cut into my writing time (long story), but my energy is being sapped from my writing time. I'm hoping that things calm down on the J*O*B soon. Wish me luck.

And on that note, I wish you all a creative and productive week.

Michael

Editing Weekend

2007-09-03T21:51:00.001-07:00

I finally started editing my screenplay, Doc On Loan, this weekend. As you may recall, I was procrastinating because I didn't know how I was going to trim my 155 page magnum opus down to 120 acceptable pages for a comedy (and that's pushing it, too).

The good news is I've been able to trim it down to 132 pages while maintaining the integrity of the script and most of the gags. The bad news is I don't think I can get it any shorter than this. Version 3 is my current draft and I'm going to sit on it a few days before making a fourth version. After that, I surrender and will turn it over to my trusty editors for spit and polish.

Besides that, I wrote a brand new short story (a little under 5,000 words) that came to me all of a sudden and was based on a real life event that occurred for a friend of mine. I'm currently workshopping it now and hope to have that ready for submission. I also wrote a short piece of 1,000 words based on a sermon I heard at church yesterday. So far, I've received some good feedback from my editors.

Speaking of my editors, they have given feedback on some other recently written short stories and I've implemented those suggestions. Right now, I have more than enough stories to choose from for the book, but I'm going to keep writing them until November 1st. Then, I'll decide what goes in and what doesn't and edit accordingly.

Just a side note, but my story "Macdougal Street" is currently #8 out of 112 in its category on Helium. It never broke the top four in its posting, but it's been up there for a few months now. Every so often, there's a wave of new stories posted and it drops down in the ratings (as low as 28th), but soon it bounces back up again into the top ten.

I'm still writing flash pieces like mad, too. They've been an enjoyable exercise and I've learned a lot when doing them.

No work on the larger pieces, unfortunately, but I'm not complaining. This has been a productive week, including this long weekend.

Until next time, stay creative!

Michael

The Value of Flashing

2007-08-26T20:19:00.002-07:00

The value of writing flash fiction, I should've said in the title. This week, I decided to try my hand again with several flash fiction exercises and found I really enjoyed tightening my prose down to the requisite number of words. I think it's an excellent way to improve your writing in the general case as you really don't know how many wasted words you include in your work if you don't care about the word count.

As a result, I've been editing some of my short stories, trying to apply what I've learned from the flash piece editing as well as what some of my loyal reader-critics have been telling me. All this is critical now because when it comes time to start assembling the book (around November 1st), I don't want to spent two months editing again. I'd rather make one final pass through the chosen stories and poems, then spend most of my energy actually creating the book.

I'm still working on my unfinished short stories right now as well as Novel #5. In the latter work, I've started to fill in a calendar so I can better map out the timeline. This way, I won't get confused in the plot nor will the reader (hopefully).

The rest of the time I've been updating my two new fiction blogs. They've been a lot of fun because I've just opened up my mind and let my imagination pour out unto the electronic medium. I'm hoping to get some feedback on both of those to make sure I'm just not writing for myself. This time I'm looking for an audience :-)

And on that note, I'll close out this post for the evening. As always, I hope your week will be a creative one!

Michael

Blogging for Fun

2007-08-19T22:17:00.001-07:00

Once again, in the category of "I don't have enough to do, do I?" comes two new blogs I started this past week. Both of them are fictionalized accounts to from the viewpoint of a made-up narrator.

The first one is called "Jimmy's Pizza Connection," the story of a non-existent pizza joint in the non-existent town of Lester, MA as told by Sal Palmeri. The blog description says "Welcome to Jimmy's Pizza Connection©, the friendliest pizza place in all of Lester, Massachusetts!" You can find it at http://jimmyspizzaconnection.blogspot.com.

The second one is entitled "Across the Narrow Divide" and tells the story of Steve Bolin who plans to travel across the USA and tell stories of America and Americans (a la Steinbeck in Travels With Charley, to name one in the genre). The blog description for this one says "
One man's fictional trip across the USA to meet the people, see the sights and discover the hidden treasures of America. You may read this one at http://travelingdays.blogspot.com.

Jimmy's was born of a longing for further tales in this mythical town by a character I enjoyed on an internet forum. The writer had a really good hang of satire for a while, but eventually lost his way. I decided to come up with my own situation to write about.

The travel blog actually started out as an idea I had for a long time for a book. I always loved books such as Blue Highways, but never have been able to take such a long time away from working to actually do it. This blog is the next best thing.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on my latest short story called "Family Obligations." I'm still editing some of my more recent short stories, thanks to input from some very helpful writer friends. Also, I had an idea for a short story this morning that I can't wait to write tentatively titled "A Look Back."

Besides the story writing, I've recently written a few poems that I think are passable (and a couple that were just experiments).

No further work on Novel #5 this past week. I hope to make some headway with it this coming week.

That's all from here. I hope you have a creative week and if you have any thoughts on my new blogs, please feel free to comment on them.

Thanks!

Michael

Scenes from Real Life

2007-08-12T22:15:00.001-07:00

I didn't get much writing done at all this past week due to the death of my father-in-law and all the traveling and such that was involved going back to Indiana and returning to LA. Things should be back to normal this week, I hope.

I did collect a large amount of material for future writing, that's for sure. I met a number of interesting characters and saw some very interesting sights which will definitely play a role in something I write.

I did start to write a new short story based on some of my experiences this past month. It's called "Family Obligations" and it promises to be full of many ironic twists and turns (I hope).

Meanwhile, I'm getting fantastic feedback on some of my other short stories from my editors, which is extremely helpful. What I discovered is I write what I like to read, but because I have such unique tastes, I may be writing for an audience of one sometimes. Part of developing as a writer is to write in a manner most appealing for the general reader and accepting you may not be the target audience to whom you're trying to appeal.

One thing I do know is I have a lot more to write and not an infinite amount of time to do it all. I'm hoping my production picks up now that our current family crisis is behind us and the long awaited (and dreaded) family reunion is off the table.

Until next time, I wish you all the creativity you can muster.

Michael

Scraps

2007-08-05T20:00:00.002-07:00

There's not a lot to report this week on the writing front, at least worthwhile enough to blog. I penned a couple of poems to get the juices flowing. I finished edits on my latest three short stories and I now have my trusty editors hacking them to shreds (go, hackers!).

The next editing assignment I'm going to tackle is my screenplay, Doc On Loan. Yes, I'm procrastinating and for "good" reason, too. (sigh) It's never easy killing your darlings (as the saying goes). I have to get through this, though, do I can move on to the next one. They new scripts are chomping at the bit to get written!

Meanwhile, I've been working on Novel #5 and it wasn't until this weekend that the whole thing (sort of) came together for me. Now it's a matter of laying out the scenes and continuing the writing.

On the reading front, I've been consuming Janet Evanovich's "Stephanie Plum" novels. They are breezy reading and have the same tone as I'm trying to capture with Novel #5.

So, this is a short post this week. I have a sofa with my name on it and I'm planning on napping as soon as I finish typing this. Until next week, then, keep being creative!

Michael

Fresh Eyes

2007-07-29T16:32:00.001-07:00

I finally settled down to edit the three short stories I wrote a couple of weeks ago. I have to admit, going through them the first time after they sat for a while certainly makes me enjoy the editing process a lot more. Another guilty admission: I like my own stories.

I realize that I may have broken cardinal rule #1 for any artist, which goes something like this: you must HATE anything you create. The more other people like it, the more you should despise it, yourself and even your ancestry (which you wouldn't know anyway because you're a bastard). Now, self-loathing has never been my forte and at 48 years old, I'm going to guess I'm not going to start working on that skill. I may never been a best selling author, but if I even hate this writing thing or myself for what I create, then I'm dropping it altogether. That's not me.

Doc On Loan, my latest screenplay, still sits in first draft status. I'm not looking forward to cutting 30+ pages from it to get it down to "acceptable" size, but I know I have to grow a pair soon and start slicing. I'm only crying on the inside, I swear.

My newest novel, Novel #5, kept me somewhat busy this week, though I'm writing it at the same intensity as I did Doc On Loan. There's definitely a different energy and finesse needed to write both types of work, as I've discovered. I'm enjoying the process, but it's definitely a major change in pacing and technique.

Needless to say, I didn't hear from Bombastic Bob this week. I figured I wouldn't even follow up with him until September 1st. Yes, I can be that patient especially since I'll be going out of town soon and will be FAR away from email.

Okay, back to editing. I hope all of you have a wonderful and creative week. I know I will.

Michael

A Novel Broke Out The Other Day

2007-07-22T17:34:00.001-07:00

I swear, I don't have attention deficit disorder when it comes to most everything else. But while I was in the middle of writing my latest short story "Games of Chance", I had an idea for a novel which I decided to explore. I should be more accurate … it was a idea for a start of a novel because I didn't have a bloody thing planned out, but I just wrote an introduction out of thin air. I won't reveal the title (yet), but this week, the only thing I've been writing is that book. I will say it is a murder mystery, but an amateur ends up being the "detective" … and that it's based in Los Angeles. The book will have many of the components of a traditional mystery with some unique features thrown in. By the way, I'll be referring to this masterpiece as Novel #5, since I have four others in various stages of completion.

Other

I did no editing on any of my first draft stories or Doc on Loan, my latest screenplay, this week. Summertime and this writer is lazy ….

No word from the Bobster, my crack(ed) attorney. I'm not sure, but I'd say that's not the best news in the world. Bombastic Bob, attorney-at-law … maybe he's run away with my option money?

One of my articles written under my real name (which is becoming difficult to keep straight) finally got published in one of the tech industry magazines I write for. It was supposed to be in the July edition, but got bumped. As always, it's great to see your hard work on paper - real paper, not a webzine.

I've decided I will remain on sabbatical from writing for American Chronicle for the rest of the summer. I'm having too much fun with my fiction writing and besides, I have no contract with them.

Helium is an interesting online magazine and my experience with them is a lesson in how you should actually READ the user agreement before you click "I agree." I decided to post one of my short stories there, with the idea I would leave it there for a while to see what kind of reaction I got, then pull it to submit to another magazine. Unfortunately, all articles submitted there remain there in perpetuity, even if you quit the site. They don't insist on exclusivity, but most other publications do … so if you publish on Helium, forget about publishing anywhere else. Bummer, since one of my favorite stories is now locked in there.

That's it from here. A bit of a mélange this week, wouldn't you say?

Until next time, I wish you all well.

Michael

Life's A Comedy

2007-07-15T16:45:00.001-07:00

I recently joined an online forum (unrelated to writing) for the sole purpose of developing a persona that is a fragment of my own (my wiseass side, to be precise). The idea was that I would push the bounds of written comedy because I have found that that genre requires significant exercise to strengthen its effectiveness.

Well, I can report that I've been having a blast pushing that envelope and establishing this avatar as loony and from what I can tell, humorous. That's not to say I'm going to be hitting the stand-up circuit anytime soon. But now I've created a lot of new material to use in my work (not to mention a method for creating more).

Short Fiction

The "The Bing Wong Motel" still sits waiting for me to return as does "Bones Under The Bed." Instead, this week, I wrote a whole new story called "Terminus" and started another new one, entitled "Games of Chance." My editing still sits waiting for me and eventually I'll get back to it, but while I'm on a roll, I might as well pump it out!

Screenwriting

I submitted A Perfect Tenant to the Bluecat screenwriting competition. This one will be judged in November, but I got mine in early because of a few added benefits. I'll write about those down the road should any of them actually come to pass. Meanwhile, I haven't touched Doc On Loan to edit it … soon, I swear.

Other

No word from Bombastic Bob, my MIA attorney. I'm fantasizing he's in meetings with all kinds of producers who are just FIGHTING to get their hands on one of my masterpieces. Yes, I'm delusional. Anyway, I'll follow up with him in a couple of weeks.

Finished all James N. Frey's books I had on writing novels, now I've returned to a book I started a while ago, The Writer's Journey, by Chris Vogler. I also have an audiobook of him presenting on this subject which I will be adding to my playlist very shortly.

Okay, my post ends here, friends. I hope all of you have a fine week and are able to get your projects done or at least moving forward.

Keep writing!

Michael

When Ideas Strike

2007-07-08T16:20:00.001-07:00

Did you ever have one of those weeks where you had ideas coming in left and right and you have to write (or paint or sculpt) what's in your head or your brain will explode? Okay, maybe it's just me, but this week was one of those weeks. Carrying on the theme from the last blog post, it was nothing that I planned to work on, either. This time, I decided to ride the wild horse and see where it would take me instead of trying to direct the thing myself. It made for an enjoyable week.

Short Fiction

I temporarily put "The Bing Wong Motel" to the side. Instead, my muse told me to write a story called "Wandering." I was just "musing" (see how that works?) about how I never see anybody hitchhiking around these parts and voila, the germ of a story popped into my head. I start the story off with a quote from William Blake and the sentence "Nobody hitchhikes anymore." The rest of the plot filled in as I wrote. I had the entire 6,500 words written over a three day period.

Once I printed off the first draft of that one, I intended to go back to one of the stories in progress. Instead, I got my hair cut yesterday (I go to a "real" barber instead of a salon). There was this little boy there about to get his first haircut and I had front row seats at the event. As I watched, another story idea popped into my head and I couldn't wait to get home to get it onto my computer. As of this writing, I'm probably another page or two from the end, called "The Deepest Cut."

The goal here is to write more short stories (and poetry) than I'll need for the book so I'll have something to choose from when it's time to pull the book together. I'm going to have twelve stories and six poems in the final manuscript. Right now, I have twelve stories either completed or started, so I should have fourteen or fifteen ready by later this year.

Other

Still waiting to hear from my attorney (I'll call him "Bombastic Bob," a nod to Johnny Carson's own real life attorney, Henry I. "Bombastic" Bushkin). The reason Bob is "bombastic" is because of what he charges me per hour. Oy! Aside from that, Bob is a great guy and I'm hoping he'll be even greater and hook me up with a producer or two. We'll see.

By the way, I've been reading the rest of the books in the James N. Frey "series" of "damn good novel" instruction books. Jim has a lot of good practical advice for novelists and as I've found, no matter what I've learned from my own experiences or other writers, it's always worthwhile to read books and magazines which are geared to helping writers out. I always get something useful out of it. Right now, I'm working out the idea of "premise" (v. theme or moral) and making sure I have a solid one before writing my stories. Very helpful stuff, I'd say.

That's all for today, friends. I hope you're having a creative week and I look forward to hearing from you or at least, reading your own masterpieces.

Until next time, write on!

Michael

Attention Span Issues

2007-07-01T16:33:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that when it comes to other facets of my life, I can be very focused. In fact, in a world of significant distractions, I can't think of anyone more single-minded than me. I'm not bragging … in fact, I would call it a curse more than anything else. Writing, however, is a different story. Here is an example of such a week.

Short Fiction

I did nothing this week with "Bones Under the Bed," my current short story in progress. Instead, I started a new one (one that was sort of in the queue) called "The Bing Wong Motel." Simply put, it's an offbeat story of discovery. I've only written a few pages of that one so far.

Screenplays

Doc On Loan remains in the "to be edited" mode, which was intentional because I wanted to look at it with fresh eyes for the second draft. Meanwhile, I didn't make any progress on Original Idea nor did I look at Thirty Years in any significant fashion. Instead, I started outlining the scenes for a new screenplay I had in the queue (Untitled here, for now).

Why this one? It was one of those shower epiphanies I have. I've always seemed to have gotten my most creative ideas while in the shower. I don't know what possessed me to think about this particular screenplay idea I had, but the scenes started dropping into my brain so fast, I couldn't wait to get out to write them down. I'm not done yet with the scene outlining, but I was able to capture all I thought of for now. Untitled is yet another comedy featuring a popular comic actor (in my head, of course). I'm looking forward to writing it.

Non-Fiction

Nothing on the American Chronicle front again this week. I seemed to have lost my momentum there (for now).

Other

I decided to email my entertainment attorney (the guy I hired last year to review the option contract for The Rebound Guy (which became Ricochet Man) to find out if he had any contacts - producers, literary agents, etc. - that he could hook me up with to look at my two completed screenplays and the reality show treatment my wife and I wrote. Sure enough, he wrote me back and invited me to send him what I had; he will read them and decide whether he will pass any/all of them on to the producers he knows. He claims he's done this for other clients and some have walked away with projects options. I can only hope :-)

Also, I decided to use Vistaprint.com to turn the cover of my book into postcards, all for just the delivery charge (less than $6.00 … they were having a sale). I got them the other day and they turned out MUCH better than I could've hoped for. I will be using these to help me market the book before I publish In The Foothills next February.

Okay, that's all from hot So Cal to your home. Have a great 4th!

Michael C. Cordell

20,000 Words in Twenty Days

2007-06-24T21:58:00.001-07:00

Script Frenzy.

Nailed it.

Best … contest … ever.

Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but not the title claim itself. Made the 20,000 word quote in twenty days, but completed the first draft of Doc On Loan today. It ways in at a heft 27, 885 words (or 155 pages, fully formatted). To give you an idea, the rule of thumb is one page of script for one minute of movie, bringing this bad boy in at two hours and thirty-five minutes of hilarity. WAY too long, especially for a comedy (which are generally recommended to be shorter than two hours).

(Conventional wisdom suggests that scripts be between 110 and 120 pages, with some sources citing 117 pages as an ideal page count … why that number?).

Anyway, I got a certificate for my Script Frenzy accomplishment, suitable for framing or at least keeping hidden in my desk drawer somewhere.

Several things came out of this exercise … first, such a feat can be done (and I proved to myself it could be done and still live my normal life). Second, I really enjoy the self-motivation and challenge to complete the contest. Third, I REALLY love screenwriting. I may be the most successful screenwriter in Hollywood, but I feel confident I could hold my own in the prolificacy department.

What's the future hold for Doc On Loan? I'm taking a two week sabbatical on it and will be working on other projects. Then, I'll be editing the first draft with the goal to cut thirty-five pages by September 30 (I have a vacation in mid-August which will encroach on my editing time for several days). By the end of October, I'll have it posted on Inktip.com.

As far as other writing projects, it's back to my short stories … the one in progress is "Bones Under the Bed." I need to complete a few more for the collection and my goal to have all of them edited and ready for inclusion in the book's first draft is by November 1st. February 1st is the target release date.

On the screenwriting front, I still have Original Idea to start outlining as well as Thirty Years, my first drama. I'm trying to decide which one I want to write first, with the goal to write that script's first draft in a month as well … perhaps starting as early as July 7th.

With the non-fiction writing, I need to start writing articles for American Chronicle again. I have to admit I enjoy writing fiction much more, but it's good to do non-fiction, too, if for anything else, the satisfaction of getting something published on a regular basis.

I'd love to go back to outlining some of my novels in progress, with the ideas of writing one of them for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, sponsored by the same people who sponsored Script Frenzy). That will happen in November. If I have a proper outline by then, I think I can churn out 80,000 words in 30 days.

I have a few other ideas on breaking into other genres, too. More on that later.

So, it's no rest for the wicked, I'm afraid … and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Have a creative week, all …

Michael

Writing on the Road

2007-06-17T18:50:00.001-07:00

I just returned from four days away, so this will be a fairly short post. Not only that, but I've pretty much eschewed all writing since last weekend except for Doc On Loan for Script Frenzy and the blogs I write. No American Chronicle articles, no "Bones Under the Bed" (my latest short story) … just me facing 20,000 words by June 30th.

I'm happy to report that I have over 12,000 words logged on Doc On Loan, thanks to the long plane trips and time in the hotel waiting for my wife to wake up (she's a heavy duty sleeper, especially when traveling). I credit a lot of this production to spending time in the early part of the week writing out the scenes all the way until the end. As much as I was hoping I could just write it from start to finish from my head, with all the characters I was introducing and the multiple story lines, I was getting confused.

I figure I'll finish this by June 30th, edit it through the month of the July and then post it on Inktip.com by August 1st.

Meanwhile, I came up with a great screenplay idea on my trip and already started writing out key scenes and dialog. After the first draft of Doc On Loan is completed, I may put this new one ahead of Original Idea. Strike while the iron is hot, I always say! Anyway, I'll reveal more about that one sometime down the road, but the working title is Thirty Years.

Nothing more than that to report, folks … have a great week to all of you (including those now residing on one of our islands in the Pacific).

Michael

PS Happy Father's Day to all the papas out there.

Working Without a Net

2007-06-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

Progress being made on the Script Frenzy front. As of this writing, I have 6,000 words done on Doc on Loan, "only" 14,000 more to go! I'll be traveling this week and I hope to be able to get a lot more done on the long, boring plane flights. I figure I should have four page a day written to stay on track … so what, I'm about twenty-one pages behind, that's all!

My production is a little low anyway this week, thanks to a head cold I got out of the blue the other day. I hope to shake it by Wednesday because I'm flying out of town. If you've never flown while suffering from a cold, consider yourself lucky!

American Chronicle

I'm finished the piece entitled "The Crisis at Walter Reed: Outrage In Absentia." Though I got a decent number of hits on it, I was amused by one piece of feedback. Obviously, the reader took issue with what I wrote, but could hardly express himself coherently. I particularly liked the comment about how he wished my toilet paper would be replaced with sandpaper.

I welcome all points of view and certainly know I'm my opinion is just that, my opinion, but when I use the Army Times as my principal source material, you pretty much have to figure I've gone right to the source for my facts. Anyway, I chose not to respond to the author of the letter because I don't look at this writing as a debate, but rather I'm expressing my point of view. If you disagree, get your own gig and take me on.

I haven't decided on a topic for my next article yet. It will either be an article: criticizing Vladimir Putin for his overreaction to the proposed missile shields in eastern Europe; urging a fresh look on how we interact with Cuba; exploring the death penalty in this millennium. Let's see how many fans I can win with my views on one of these topics.

Short Fiction

"Macdougal Street" continues to do well on Helium.com. Right now, it's #4 of 47 in the "Short Story / Life" category. It hasn't gotten any higher than #4 since I posted it, but I'm pleased it's doing as well as it is.

I made some progress with the first draft of "Bones Under the Bed," but the new screenplay has been taking most of my time.

Other

Out of the blue this week - and probably as an homage to The Sopranos (one of my favorite television shows ever) - I started writing scene summaries for a Mafia novel I'd like to write. It has quite an interesting twist and I'm enjoying preplanning the work. I usually don't have attention deficit issues, but one thing that writing has done for me is to open up my mind to every possibility. As I said in my interview with E.I. Johnson, I'm feel just like a kid in a candy story sometimes!

Thanks for your kind comments, friends. Wherever you are (or on what island you landed), I extend maximum greetings and good things to you.

Michael C. Cordell

Script Frenzy

2007-06-03T17:33:00.001-07:00

It's not like I don't have anything to do or anything. Yesterday (June 2), I heard about Script Frenzy, an event put on by the same people who sponsor National Novel Writing Month (in November). This time, participants have the entire month of June to write an original, complete 20,000 word screenplay (or stage play). No winners, but one gets a certificate of completion if you make it. Naturally, I decided to do it (more below).

American Chronicle

I completed the piece I was working on last week which was published. I originally entitled it "The Follow of Nation-Building," but I found out there was already another article on the Internet by that title. I changed mine to "Iraq - A Misadventure in Nation-Building."

I'm currently working on a new article I hope to get published by the morning, current entitled "The Crisis at Walter Reed: Outrage In Absentia." I hope that this article will get some people reengaged in addressing the scandal at our premier VA hospital.

Short Fiction

After implementing suggestions by my editors, I submitted "Macdougal Street" to GUD Magazine and Glimmertrain. The former already turned down the piece (I love the fact that I got a decision in only a few days), but I'm still waiting to hear from the latter. I also posted it on WritersCafe.org very briefly, but got very few views and no comments. After that, I decided to post it on Helium.com, my first piece on there since I joined several weeks ago. So far, it's #6 of 37 in the Short Story / Life section and going up every time I look at the placement! The story is also posted on Writing.com, but to date, I haven't gotten any feedback. It seems that site's been pretty dead as of late (at least for me).

I'm still writing the first draft of "Bones Under the Bed." This one will be an interesting piece and I hope that the twist appeals to readers.

Screenplay

No progress on Original Idea this week.

As mentioned in the introductory paragraph, I started a brand new screenplay just for Script Frenzy. This one is called Doc On Loan and I describe it as "Doc Hollywood meets Deliverance." The competition website is very interesting … you post your own word count up there during the month, but at some point, you submit the completed work for the official count. Right now, I've completed 782 words and have the basic plot in my head worked out, but unlike my normal approach, I haven't laid the scenes out. No time!

Other

I joined AssociatedContent - The People's Media Company - another online site which accepts writing of all types. I love the fact the Internet has become such a vast marketplace for writers to be read.

That's all for this week, folks. I wish you all a great week and keep writing!

Michael C. Cordell

Memorial Day

2007-05-27T18:57:00.001-07:00

Happy Memorial Day to you all! Today's post will be relatively light, mainly because there's nothing juicy to report.

American Chronicle

I submitted the piece I started last weekend on France's new president, a straight journalism article this time. I think it came out pretty well and even though I didn't get direct feedback, I got a number of hits on it and the count still is climbing. Because of the holiday weekend, though, I only wrote one for AmChron. My next one will be entitled "The Folly of Nation-Building" and I hope to have that submitted for publication by Monday evening.

In Verse

I'm currently working on a new poem entitled "Near Myth." It's a work in progress at the moment.

Short Fiction

I completed my drafts on "Macdougal Street" and now it's in the hands of my loyal editors. I decided to preempt completion of "Death Perception" for a new one that popped into my head called "Bones Under the Bed." That one is going quite well. I should have the first draft done by Wednesday.

Screenplay

No progress on Original Idea this week, but I did get some new play on my three posted works listed on Inktip.com. It's hard to get excited by the hits right now, mainly because no one is calling me about them. The farthest they've gotten lately is the synopses are being read. I don't know how much they charge producers and such to read complete works, but it seems no one wants to pull the trigger that way.

Other

The link to the interview I did with E.I. Johnson can be found here.

I decided to join WritersCafe.org, another site dedicated to writers and providing them a facility to share their work. It is a much better designed site than EditRED, but only time will tell whether it has the same community feel of ER. I like the camaraderie, but I like the quality feedback more. We'll see.

So, in closing, let me say that if you're a veteran or family of one, thank you for your loved one's service to this country. We're lucky to have such brave men and women watching our backs and they should know they're appreciated by all of us.

Michael C. Cordell

www.michaelcordellauthor.com

Competition Time?

2007-05-20T17:29:00.001-07:00

This has been a busy week outside of the writing world, so I don't have much to show for it in today's blog.

American Chronicle

Only one article this week (so far, anyway) for this online news and opinion site. This time I wrote a scathing retrospective on the Bush Administration's record on global warming. The article, entitled "Washington's Weird Science," shows Bush's record on addressing the crisis. The one I'm writing for tonight's submission is a piece on France's new president and what it means for that country and the world.

In Verse

No poetry this week.

Short Fiction

I finished the first and second drafts of "Macdougal Street" and I'm pleased with how it's turning out so far. The next short story in the queue is called "Death Perception," which I should be starting this weekend.

Screenplay

After not hearing from the producer about A Perfect Tenant, I posted it on Inktip.com. I've gotten some activity on it. I'm going to watch it for a while and if it dies on the vine, I may break down and get some coverage. I'm also going to see if I can still enter this script into a contest (need to research this first).

Didn't touch Original Idea this week, I'm sad to say. I'll see how the coming week goes.

Other

I'm continuing to expand my MySpace network, meeting new authors and other artists.

I got an email this week from a writer named E.I. Johnson who has a blog where she interviews writers of different notoriety - and she asked me if she could interview me! I agreed and she sent me questions to answer. The results should be published on her blog on Tuesday. I'll post a link next week.

That's all for this week's entertainment. Until next time, be well!

Michael C. Cordell

Back on Track

2007-05-13T19:51:00.001-07:00

No earth-shattering news this week, but I'm happy to say I got back to my short story "Macdougal Street" and now I'm off and running.

American Chronicle

I wrote another two articles for AmChron this week. The first one, entitled "Reason and the Eternal Abortion Debate," discusses many of the ambiguities and arguable points made by both sides of the abortion issue. The other article I wrote, called "September Showdown - Last Chance for Bush In Iraq?" goes into extended detail about the timeline of the Iraq war and shows how the White House changed the message to fit the circumstances since even before the war. As always, at the very least I hope I'm making my case and raising a few eyebrows in the process.

In Verse

I wrote one poem this week, but I haven't posted it anywhere. As I mentioned last week, I plan to start posting poetry on my site http://www.michaelcordellauthor.com in the very near future. In fact, I have an idea related to that, but I'm not going to mention it until I have the energy to follow through.

Short Fiction

As I mentioned, I made a lot of progress on "Macdougal Street" and I even have an ending set up in my head. All I have to do is finish the first draft and read it.

This week, I bought a book to help me target my stories for the right magazines. It's called The Best Magazine Markets for Writers 2007 and it has great descriptions of all the magazines that I may want to pitch to.

Screenplay

I registered A Perfect Tenant with the WMA and sent it to the US Copyright Office for registration. Also, I sent an email to the producer I spoke to last year to see if she was interested in this new work, but I haven't heard from her. I'm going to wait until next Sunday before giving up and posting it on Inktip.com.

No progress on Original Idea this week, but I have been keeping busy.

Reading

Still reading Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey. It's not a fast read and my falling asleep when I read anything doesn't help.

Other

My MySpace friend count is now over 700! This is good from a networking perspective. I pity those poor people when I send a bulleting announcement touting my new book come February of next year.

I continue to refine my new submissions tracker I created in Microsoft Excel. Who knows, maybe I'll give it away some day (after I tart it up a bit).

That's all for this installment. Have a wonderful week!

Michael C. Cordell

Fire When Ready, Gridley!

2007-05-07T21:14:00.001-07:00

This week's news … I finished A Perfect Tenant, my new screenplay and now I'm ready to peddle it. The other news … I decided to quit EditRED.com. As I've mentioned before, editing others' work was taking too big a bite out of my writing time. I found that my production schedule was faltering as a result Now with the completion of my screenplay, I don't have time for much non-writing work. Marketing my script is going to be a large part of my efforts.

American Chronicle

I wrote two articles for AmChron this week. The first one, entitled "In The Aftermath of May 1st," is a piece about one of my strong beliefs, the problems caused by illegal immigration. The other article I wrote, called "Homing In On The Homeless Crisis" discusses my suggestions for addressing a major societal issue. These two pieces show my significant differing views on issues of our day and that one does not have to follow the party line one way or the other. I believe what I believe and don't apologize for it. No one else should, either.

I joined the Yahoo group for AmChron writers. Hopefully I'll be able to make good contacts there, too.

In Verse

No poems this week, though I have an idea about poems that I'm planning to launch on my website http://www.michaelcordellauthor.com in the very near future. As I mentioned, I left EditRED, so I don't know if any of my poetry submittals would've made their anthology, but I didn't want to pay for another quarter to find out.

Short Fiction

I'm still working on "Macdougal Street," but haven't made a lot of progress since last week. That's near the top of my list this week.

I did hear from Glimmertrain about the three short stories I submitted earlier this year - "Baylor," "Shad Fishing in Northern Connecticut" and "Street Life." Unfortunately, none of them made the cut, so I need to accelerate my submissions and spread them around to other magazines. I've been rather lax doing that, I'm afraid.

Screenplay

I completed all four drafts of A Perfect Tenant and like I wrote in the preamble, I'm getting it ready to sell. I'll have it registered with the WMA in the next day or so, then it will be off to the US Copyright Office for registration. Meanwhile, before I put it on Inktip.com, I'm going to see if the producer I worked with last year on The Rebound Guy (now called Ricochet Man) is interested. I've already written several loglines and a tight synopsis to see if I can gain any interest.

Meanwhile, I pulled out the long treatment for my next screenplay, Original Idea. More on that whole process in the coming weeks and months.

Reading

Still reading Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey, though admittedly I'm taking my time with it.

Other

I decided to increase my MySpace friends and I'm near 700 as of this writing. I want to make it to 1000 by August. It doesn't hurt to network!

I created a great submissions tracker using Microsoft Excel. It's better than what I used on EditRed and eventually, I hope to include an income tracker with it, too. First, I need to sell something.

That's all for this installment. Have a wonderful week!

Michael C. Cordell

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

2007-04-29T16:50:00.001-07:00

Great news … I decided it was high time I designed the book cover for In The Foothills, the collection of short stories and poetry I'm planning to published next February. I think it came out great (see the topic bar on the right). I'd love to get YOUR feedback, though, so please comment or email me with your thoughts.

American Chronicle

I wrote two articles for AC this week. The first one is called "No Conflict Here," a piece where I defend that one can both be against the war in Iraq and still support the troops. Without presenting my entire premise here, the two concepts are definitely mutually exclusive. The other article, entitled "PC or Not PC - The Scourge of Political Correctness," is fairly self-explanatory.

I enjoy writing for American Chronicle and hope to be able to keep up my level of production with them in consideration of my other projects.

In Verse

I completed three poems this week, but have not published them yet. My self-imposed retreat from uploading work to EditRED continues. As long as I have all these writing commitments, I have no spare time to critique others' writing. No new uploads, no critiques are needed. Also, I'm still waiting to find out if my story "Gennaro's Son" won the City Smells competition (or my other pieces will be published in either of their anthologies).

Short Fiction

I temporarily put aside "Dylan's Prayer" and instead, I've been working on two other pieces. One, called "Macdougal Street" is a story that takes place in NYC. The other, called "Tiny Treasures," is a flash fiction piece based on a challenge I put out to the other EditRED writers. Here it is:

"Here is a flash fiction challenge that may be a bit unique for some of you.

A "MacGuffin" is a plot device that was first cited by Alfred Hitchcock that his studio used to create storylines. It's a person / object / information / place of crucial importance to characters in the work (and often for different reasons). The item isn't important so much as what the characters will do to get the item (different motivations, desires, etc.)

Example: the falcon in The Maltese Falcon.

Challenge: 500 words or less where the MacGuffin is an old toy car made of tin. You must have a minimum of two characters. To make the story interesting, they should want the tin car for different reasons, preferably in contrast with the other(s). Whether any one of them ends up with the car isn't important, but what they do to get it (and the underlying reason why they want it) is.

Anyone interested?"

Unfortunately, it wasn't one that caught the imagination of too many people. Maybe when I post mine …

Screenplay

I'm back to editing A Perfect Tenant and it seems it was a good thing I took time away from it, too. In the pages I reviewed so far, I found errors I can't believe I didn't see in the first round of edits. The experts are right … sometimes you need to put the work away for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. My goal is to get the second third draft ready for review early this week.

Reading

I'm back on Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey, which I had set aside for a while.

Other

In my real life, I completed an article and submitted it for publication. My editor only made a few changes and it will be in the June edition of the magazine. As has been my custom, I'm keeping that part of my writing separate from this one (Michael C. Cordell is my pseudonym). Someday, the real me will reveal the fake me, but that won't be until I have commercial success with the latter and I'm ready to retire from the former's career.

That's all for this week. Thank you for your feedback and encouragement, as always.

Michael

American Chronicler

2007-04-22T22:35:00.001-07:00

As I already mentioned last time, I got a new writing gig this week. Okay, it's not a paying one, but it's one that will get my (fake) name out there, this time in the non-fiction world. My wife sent me a link to American Chronicle, an online news/opinion site which said they were looking for writers. I emailed them and soon had my own account. I've already published two articles there and I have ideas for several more. You can find my site at American Chronicle.

In a similar vein, I signed up with Helium, but I have yet to submit an article to them. I'm trying not to over-commit myself, one of my flaws. I get so enthusiastic about things I love that I tend to go overboard.

In Verse

I completed four poems this week, but have not published them yet. A few trusted readers have had a chance to read them, though, and I got some good feedback. This was especially important since I was experimenting quite a bit this time out. Why not? It's not like I can't test some ideas or anything.

I completed pulling all the poetry I had published on EditRed save for the few pieces I mentioned last week. This has been a good way to cut back on my reading / critiquing, too, since I'm not getting new reviews of my own work which oblige me to do the same for others. One method to avoid over-committing.

Reading

I put Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey, aside for a while. Instead, I finished reading Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. This was an outstanding book - hell, I wish I wrote it! I emailed Moore to tell him what I thought of his novel and he was kind enough to reply.

Other

This week I finally designed and uploaded my website, MichaelCordellAuthor.com. I decided to take the easy design way and used the web builder program on godaddy.com's site. Eventually, I hope to be able to post press releases about my books and such (and excerpts, etc.). One step at a time.

As you can see, it was a pretty light week of writing for me, at least compared to previous weeks. I've been a bit under the weather, I'm afraid, and I've been less than enthusiastic about writing as a result. All I can say is appreciate your health when you have it, friends. All too often, it slips away and then you have nothing.

That's all for this week. Thank you for your feedback and encouragement, as always.

Michael

On Tap: Production

2007-04-15T13:04:00.001-07:00

This was the week of major crises in the non-writing front (see http://villa-hilla.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html for details), so good scribbling time has been lost and therefore, some impact on production. Ah yes, production is the word of the day here on this blog.

After outlining "Mexico, NY" and estimating the length - a true novella, I think - I decided to return to "Dylan's Prayer," the piece that was originally supposed to be a flash fiction story, but I decided to take it to the next level. I outlined that one, too, and now I'm writing 'er down. It's going to be a couple more weeks until I have a draft for review. I'm trying to make this one sort of a message piece, but I hope I don't get too tangled up in the details and forget the flow. It's hard for me to be objective about that kind of thing. I'm sure I'm not alone.

In Verse

This was a big week for poetry for me. I completed "Jabberwocky 2007," a political satire based on the poem by Lewis Carroll. This was the only one I uploaded this week for public consumption. All the rest I've kept in "private" mode until I'm ready to trot them out. Other titles include: "Concrete & Cactus," "Tormented Boulevard," "City Slumber," "Genesis Reborn" and "Concrete Silhouette."

I also write a piece in memory of Kurt Vonnegut, one I call "Good Night, Dresden." I didn't make that piece readable by others, either, at least not yet.

In addition, I've been pulling some of my pieces from availability that have been up on EditRed for a while. These are works I completed and either got few critiques, never ended up on anyone's bookshelves or I hadn't submitted them to the EditRED anthologies.

Novel

Nothing to report again on On A Gelding's Trail. In fact, I haven't given it too much thought since I was so gung-ho on it a few weeks ago. Part of my production issues (see Editing below), but also I want to write everything I can when I have the time and there is only so much time to write.

Screenplay

Not one blessed edit on A Perfect Tenant this week. Too many personal crises to manage and some lack of ambition in that department. I swear, though, I'll be hitting it hard this week.

Editing

I cut back on my reading significantly this week, including turning down several reader requests on EditRED. I found my production was SO down compared to what it was before I joined the site and that wasn't good for my short story collection. As much as I appreciate getting (and giving feedback), there has to be a balance. Spare time is a premium and I don't want to spend it all reading and critiquing the work of others. At the same time, I appreciate the feedback, too, for my own curiosity and self-checking. Anyway, it is what it is.

Reading

Still going through Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey, though it's been slow going. The book is very informative and insightful, but it's not a casual read. I'm learning as I go through it, which is good. Meanwhile, for fun reading, I started Lamb, The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. I love irreverent religious parodies. This one is right up my alley.

Writing for Hire

My wife sent me a link to American Chronicles, an e-zine. They are soliciting contributors for no pay, but an opportunity to get published and get some notoriety. I decided to take a shot at it and sure enough, they emailed me they were interested in adding me to their stable. I don't know how much I'll be talking about that here since I may just end up publishing under my given name, but at the very least, I can describe some of my experiences.

Other

As I mentioned above, Vonnegut died this past week and it makes me sad in a way. Not the kind of sad you feel when a close family member dies, of course, but more like an uncle you see from time to time who always makes you laugh or think long after you part company. I read many, many works of Vonnegut and he wasn't overrated in the least. He was a genuine writing phenomenon, one whose shoes won't be possible to fill. We just need to buy new shoes and make sure someone can occupy them.

So for you, Kurt: you lived; you wrote; you died. So it goes.

That's all for this week. Thank you for your feedback and encouragement, as always.

Michael

A Weak Week

2007-04-08T12:45:00.001-07:00

Like many other writers, I'm prone to procrastination. This week, it's been all about that for me when it came to my new short story, "Mexico, NY." I think it's because I know it's going to be complex with all the characters I'm including and it probably won't end up being a short story anyway (more like a novella). I think I'll continue writing the other short story I started ("Dylan's Prayer"), one I started writing for the flash fiction challenge about "omnipotence," but I think I want to make it longer.

With "Mexico, NY," I'm outlining the plot now since it's going to get a bit crazy at some point. I'm only bringing in the characters right now so the reader gets to know them. I will be writing a brief character sketch for the main characters, too, in order to help me along.

In Verse

One poem I wrote, "Slender Island," was about Eleuthera, our favorite island in the Bahamas. I felt experimental and wanted to stretch my alliteration chops in this one (several metaphors and double meanings, too).

"Slender Island" is definitely more complex than the other one I wrote, "Chocolate Jesus." This one was inspired by an article I read about the life size, anatomically correct, Jesus exhibit at some museum that caused a ruckus. This poem has some wryness to it and the feedback I got from my EditRED friends was positive.

Novel

Nothing to report with On A Gelding's Trail. It sits like a comatose soldier, waiting patiently for me to awaken it in time of war.

Screenplay

I was able to make some progress editing the second draft of A Perfect Tenant. I consider that to be a good thing in light of all I didn't get done this past week.

Editing

I continue enjoying my editing that I'm doing for other EditRed writers (and I appreciate their critique of my work). I've taken to copying the recommended changes to OneNote so I don't forget them. I'm still amazed by the broad base of talent in the amateur writing community.

Reading

Still going through Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey. The two other James N. Frey books on writing arrived, so they're in the queue, too.

Other

I decided to break down and buy Alphasmart's NEO, a mini word processor. My tablet, though small, is too big for typing on the bus or in bed, so I decided it was better I get this device and transfer the text to the computer than doing it by hand. I'll still be handwriting ideas and such, but the NEO should give me what I'm looking for in portability and convenience. When it comes, I'll give a more detailed review.

That's all for this week. Thank you for your feedback and encouragement, as always.

Michael

Then There Was a Micro Flash

2007-04-01T19:39:00.001-07:00

Lat week I mentioned the joy of writing flash fiction. In fact, not only did I write a 1,000 word piece in answer to another EditRed writer's challenge (I called it "Under His Thumb"), but I decided I wanted to take on a second response in the same vein. The topic: write a story about someone (an average person, it is assumed) who finds himself / herself omnipotent one fine day.

So, what about this micro flash as far as fiction is concerned? I don't know if there are any hard and fast rules, but on the EditRed site, the challenge was to write a piece of fiction in exactly six words. Apparently, Hemingway was an aficionado of the art form (or he downright invented it, not sure), but an example of one of his:

"For sale.
Baby shoes.
Never worn."

These were the ones I came up with:

"Are you sure this is lava?"
"I thought YOU checked the parachutes!"
"Bob, meet Larry. Bob, it's over."
"initiate sequence." "Launch missiles." "It's over.
"Man the lifeboat! Oh no! Leaks!"
They kissed. She sighed. He woke.
"Touché! And me, without my sword.'

Other Short Works

I'm currently in the midst of writing my newest planned short story "Mexico, NY." I decided that this piece will have several cast members and the challenge will be to not have them trip over themselves and still keep the length reasonably short. I tell you this, though … if it turns out to be too long, I just may turn it into a novel or even a treatment for TV show. That would be interesting.

As I mentioned earlier, I started writing another flash fiction story on the same topic of suddenly acquired omnipotence (called "Dylan's Prayer), though I suspect it could go longer than 1,000 words. No worries, though, if it comes out okay, I'll add it to my anthology to be published next February.

Today I wrote a 500 word piece - the limit on this fiction challenge sponsored by the owners of the EditRed site called "Gennaro's Son." The topic was to focus on "city smells." After getting excellent feedback from another EditRed writer, I posted it for review by the court of public opinion.

Poetry

I wrote three new poems this week: "Dark Silence in Morning Light," "The Girl She Never Was" and "Plastic Metropolis." In this latter poem, I decided to play with structure a bit. As always, I'm enjoying writing poetry and reading the work of others.

Screenplay

Yay! I finally finished typing in the redlines I had one, leaving me with the second draft ready for editing. I'm still debating whether I need to have a professional read and edit it for me. It would be a major step in my development, but would cost me some serious money to do it. We'll see.

Editing

I decided to make everything I have on Writing.com private and concentrate exposing all my new stuff to my readers on EditRed. The problem is that the former site is very sterile (not really a community, probably because they're too big), while the latter includes a number of closely connected writers. Besides, I don't have time as it is to read and edit the works the EditRed writers publish there let alone take on the duties for folks at another site.

Novel

Woe is me, I haven't gone back to my novel in a few weeks now. I'm ashamed and I admit, I could be better at time management.

Books I'm Reading

I'm really enjoying Chris Vogel's book, The Writer's Journey. I recommend to anyone who is planning to write long pieces (novels and especially screenplays). It's all about the different archetypes that are found in most good storytelling, beginning with the earliest written epics.

I liked James N. Frey's How To Write A Damn Good Mystery so much that I purchased two other of his books written in a similar vein. I'll be sure to report on them once I read them.

That's all for now from here, folks. I appreciate all your input and love to hear more about your own creative ventures.

For now,

Michael

Flash in a Pan

2007-03-25T09:28:00.001-07:00

I've been avoiding writing flash fiction simply because I didn't quite understand the purpose. Even Wikipedia's definition isn't very clear, which basically means it's in the eyes of the beholder … or in the case of contests, in those of the rule-makers.

One of the writers on EditRed.com proposed a flash fiction challenge: in 1000 words or less, write a story about someone who is given omnipotence. That's all, no other rules. So, being the experimental fellow that I am, I wrote a story about a second-grader who suddenly discovers he has the gift of omnipotence and uses (misuses) it against school authorities. I called it "Under His Thumb" (sorry Mick and Keith!).

The funny thing is that I came up with a totally different story for the same flash challenge while showering this morning, so I HAVE to write and post that one, too. I am such an overachiever!

Other Fiction

So, besides the world of flash, I've been continuing on my short story creations for my collection. I'm on the fourth draft of "A Cage Door Swings" and should have that to my editors (aka, my parents) this week, perhaps as early as tonight. I like the way this one concluded, but it's not what I like so much as it is what my readers like. We'll see.

I already started writing the next story, "Mexico, NY." This would will have the largest cast of characters I've had in any of my stories. It's possible that this may be the basis of a television pilot I'll write, but I don't want to jump the gun right now. More on this story later once I publish it.

In Verse

I published a couple of poems this week (plus I have two in progress right now). One poem is really prose written in multi-stanza, four line verse which I call "Dinner Party at 8 P.M." This one was in my head when I woke up last Sunday, almost completely formed. Interestingly, I haven't had many comments from my regular readers. Regardless, this one is my new favorite of mine. The other poem I published is "A Call To Vincent," a poem in honor of my favorite painter, Van Gogh.

Editing

I continue to be impressed with some of the other writers on EditRed. There is definitely a lot of talented people in this world and the Internet is such a wonderful vehicle to expose their work. Hopefully, my critiques for others' writing has helped them make their prose better; I know their input to me has helped me in that way.

Books on Writing

I just finished reading How To Write a Damn Good Mystery Novel by James Frey. I want to get some of his other books (he refers to them repeatedly throughout this one, so it seems like if you didn't read those, you missed out on a lot).

Meanwhile, I start to read Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey, long believed to be one of the best instructional books for writing (especially screenplays) that is out there. A number of books and magazine articles I've read have referred to Vogler's book, even going as far as to heap shame upon writers who haven't read it. I'm a good Catholic boy, I respond to guilt very well.

Now the excuses

No time this week to edit my screenplay or continue on my novel. If I could write full time, believe me, I'd be plenty prolific, but life does require met to do other things (like go to a job to pay those bills).

Should I dare to make a promise (let alone eat a peach) that I'll at least get the second draft completed of A Perfect Tenant? Sure, okay, I'll do that.

So, that's all from my desk this week. Thanks for the emails and such, I really appreciate those who have taken the time to read my ramblings.

Best,

Michael

http://www.editred.com/socalvillaguy
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/socalvillaguy
http://myspace.com/socalvillaguy

Is It a Good Sign When ...?

2007-03-17T17:50:00.001-07:00

Is it a good sign when you go back to read the first draft of your own screenplay and find yourself laughing at your own lines? Or is it just a sign of self-absorption to the highest degree?

Yes, I finally made a first pass through A Perfect Tenant - while lying in bed while my wife browsed the Internet for inspirations with our construction project. I have to admit, I enjoyed reading it for the first time. That's not to say I don't have a lot of corrections to make - not at all. The second draft should be ready for another editing session in a week or so.

Poetic Creations

I'm forty-seven years old - no, I'm not confessing that, exactly, though it's still odd hearing / reading that. I never have felt my age before and with any luck, I've inherited the long life and good health genes that both sides of my family have enjoyed. Both of my grandmothers died in their nineties … on maternal grandfather wasn't that far from ninety himself (and his sister lived to be ninety-eight).

No, what I'm confessing is that I could kick myself for wasting so many years eschewing poetry. Perhaps it was uninspired literature teachers who didn't ignite the love of verse in me (though I always did love Shakespeare, even in high school). My only love of poetry when I was younger came in the form of music lyrics … Dylan, Morrison, Lennon and their contemporaries.

But self-flagellation isn't the answer - at least to this question! Reading poetry is what I'm doing and better yet, I'm writing it. From the feedback I've gotten, I think I'm touching people with my verse, which is obviously what I want to do.

Poetry has another purpose for me, though. I find that by writing poems, I am able to reach even more creative places within me that I'm sure I never would've even grazed had I not started writing it.

This week, I uploaded two new poems to EditRed.com and Writing.com … they're called "Saints in Solitude" and "Paper, Pen & Ink." In addition, I submitted my poem "The Value of Imperfection" to be included in EditRed's next poetry anthology.

Short Story Updates

I finished the first draft of my sixth short story entitled "The Cage Door Swings" this week. I should have that published online in a week or two. Meanwhile, this weekend, I plan to start my seventh short story which is entitled "Mexico, NY." This new one will be a satire and is bound to offend everyone, so stay tuned!

For the EditRed short story anthology, I submitted "Animal Control" for consideration. I think I've gotten a lot of good feedback on that one so far and it's not one I've submitted for publication yet anywhere (unlike the first three which I submitted to Glimmertrain).

I had a couple of my EditRed readers give me feedback on my short story "Baylor" which was both flattering and helpful. I plan to create another draft and republish it this weekend, too.

Other Tidbits

I've been spending quite a bit of time critiquing other EditRed writers' works over the last few weeks, taking extra time with the longer pieces. This website, unlike Writer.com, seems to consist of a very close-knit group of writers, both experienced and new … very supportive and helpful. I've really enjoyed my time there.

Yes, Lucinda is waiting patiently for me to return to On A Gelding's Trail. I'm hoping to at least get to the character bios this weekend and perhaps further expand the stepsheet.

I got a great idea for a new screenplay, courtesy of my assistant at work. I sketched out the idea enough to be able to expand upon it when I'm ready.

I decided to limit my published works to readers on both EditRed and Writing.com. This way, I won't run into a problem with submitting "already published work" to magazines and such. All of my works now will have a limited online audience, at least to start with.

And that's all there is for today, March 17th, Saint Patty's Day. For you, an Irish Blessing (one of my favorites):

"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand."

Michael

The Funny Thing That Happened to Me on the Internet

2007-03-11T15:31:00.001-07:00

Even as a tech guy, I marvel at how much the world has changed since the advent of the Internet. Whenever I read those articles suggesting that the Web is the final step toward Armageddon, I want to both laugh and scream. Without dusting off my soapbox, ANYTHING good can be misused / abused and people can get hurt. That doesn't mean the world has to stop progressing. Rather, we all have to be smarter.

A Tale of Internet Friendship #1

As I mentioned in my last post, there were a couple of online acquaintances of note from my early days online. I was a regular denizen of AOL chat rooms back then. I was single and thought that would b a good way to meet women without going out to bars (which I hated to do) or anything else that silly.

One person I met seemed nice enough at first. Her named was Carol. She was an accountant, older than me and studied French on her own like I did. She lived in the LA area, so we decided to meet in real life. I forget what we did that first meeting - probably went out to a movie or something.

Anyway, we both realized right away that we weren't going to have anything more than a friendship, which was fine with both of us. We had dinners, saw movies, went to museums - all of that. Eventually she met a nice guy, but still wanted to "hang out" with me even though I was sure her new beau wouldn't be happy.

Long story short, I felt uncomfortable going out with her when her boyfriend was busy with his other friends and slowly started to withdraw from the relationship. Honestly, I think she was taken with the idea of having two steady men friends. She was quite disappointed - hurt, really - that I didn't want to spend any more time with her. No matter how I tried to explain that I didn't want to mess up her real boyfriend relationship, she couldn't understand why she couldn't have both of us in different ways. My only response - I told her to ask her boyfriend how he felt about it. Needless to say, I never heard from her again.

One interesting story about Carol … one day, she called me to tell me her car was stolen. She had driven to a park near her house where she would go to walk/run some laps, then drive home. I felt bad for her as she had to go through that whole insurance mess. Since I had had that happen to me once before, I was able to give her a truly empathetic ear.

Two weeks later, she called me to tell me that the police had found her car. I thought that was great news - until she told me that the car had never moved from where she originally parked it, she just forgot where she parked it! She went through all that trouble with the insurance company and the DMV and in the end, she was just lost!

A Tale of Internet Friendship #2

One evening, I met someone in an AOL chat room called "Divorced Only," a place I frequented nightly simply because I was divorced and was looking to meet a woman who had been through that same rollercoaster. There was one person - new to the room - with whom I had an immediate connection. She wasn't divorced at the time, but had been divorced before her current marriage.

As it turns out, her second marriage was ending and she just happened to go online for the first time EVER. Her business was broken into and the crooks stole their computers. She had to buy new ones - quick, too, since she had clients to attend to. The new computers came with a free AOL account, so she decided to try it. She only went into the chat room on a lark, mostly to distract herself from her marital woes.

The story is rather long, but the upshot is this: we fell for each other online, moved to the phone, then she came to the west coast (from the Midwest) on business. We spent the whole week together and spent the next couple of years flying back and forth to spend time with each other. She moved out here in 1999 when we got married. The rest, as they say, is history.

Writing Contests

One of the ways one can get exposure is by submitting works to writing contests. So far, I've submitted "Ricochet Man" (formerly "The Rebound Guy") to Bluecat and Scriptapalooza. Even though I didn't even come in the quarterfinals in either, I was glad for the experience.

With Bluecat, by the way, you get feedback on your submission regardless of how you do in the contest. Not so with Scriptapalooza … so, if that's what you're looking for, try somewhere else.

I believe I mentioned in a previous blog, but my wife and I got as far as the semifinals in the ScriptapaloozaTV contest for a reality show treatment we submitted. I'm not mentioning that one by name for the time being; we're hoping that it will catch the attention of someone in the business. We're pursuing marketing efforts, though.

Writing Progress

This week, I finished editing "Prized Possession" and after getting feedback from my parents, I posted it online. Even though it's almost 50 pages - 11,200 words - the three people who read it thought it was a fast read and had very nice things to say about it.

I've only made a little progress on "The Cage Door Swings" and I've started a new poem as well (title to be disclosed when complete).

Speaking of poetry, I just posted all my completed poems to a new website called Poetry With Meaning (http://www.poetrywithmeaning.com/).

This week, I've started writing a character profile for a totally new character. I'm reading a book by James Frey (not THE James Frey of the recent book scandal) called How To Write a Damn Good Mystery Novel. He insists on using this profiling method - both as a third person bio and in the character's void - to learn about your character better. This will help in the backstory as well as the dialog, he claims. I believe him, too. I need to write one up for Lucinda Dreyer, the heroine of my short story, "Animal Control" and my novel (in progress), On a Gelding's Trail.

I admit that I've been procrastinating on starting the edit of my screenplay, "A Perfect Tenant." I SWEAR I'll get through some of it this week.

That’s all from here (no previews right now). May every one of you enjoy your week now that Spring is fast approaching.

Michael

http://www.editred.com/socalvillaguy
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/socalvillaguy
http://myspace.com/socalvillaguy

On Feedback

2007-03-04T16:28:00.001-08:00

Michael Cordell here, aka SoCalVillaGuy … back at you with another exciting blog post about my life as a writer-in-residence (okay, at my house) and more importantly, a writer who would like to be able to make a few bucks doing it so eventually I can quit my current day job.

This Week

Due to my cold, I didn't write as much this week as I hoped. I definitely was lethargic most of the time and by the time I got home from work, I just wanted to rest, usually going to sleep extra early.

I did make some progress on "The Cage Door Swings," my fifth short story. I also outlined a novel that Leia and I came up with that I hope will come to fruition some day.

In the coming week, I need to make strides in editing "Prized Possession," the fourth short story and A Perfect Tenant, my new screenplay. Also, On A Gelding's Trail, my new novel, has been sitting and waiting a bit impatiently for me to return, too.

So much to write and so little time!

Writing Sites

I've been spending quite a bit of time on a couple of writing sites, notably Writing.com and EditRed.com, and I've come away with a much deeper respect for those of an artistic bent. I've had the pleasure of "meeting" some very interesting people who are quite talented and inspire me to try to be like them.

On these sites, folks submit their works for public review and critique. As a writer - especially a fledgling one - you are deathly afraid of anyone reading your work for fear of ridicule. The thought of letting a perfect stranger pick apart your scribblings line by line goes against what all of us fear from birth - rejection.

And yet, it's not so bad. I was surprised to find myself so ready to embrace this type of environment because (1) I'm sensitive and fear criticism (2) I'm a perfectionist who hates be caught in a mistake. In the end, the feedback I've gotten has been kind, considerate and helpful and I've abandoned the idea that I have to be perfect before I let anyone else read my work.

How liberating!

So, I send an enthusiastic shout-out to all my friends on both sites and thank all of you for taking the time to give me your input. I hope that my feedback on your work has been equally helpful. I can honestly say I look forward to reading all of your contributions because to see such creative people so diligent about their craft gives my own work a lift.

Epilogue on the Rebuttals

No onslaught of emails came since the rebuttals to my article were published. I'm quite surprised, actually. I would've thought that the anti brigade would've come out in full force once they saw they weren't alone in their decrying of my somewhat heretical stance.

I haven't been motivated to write another article for this magazine, though. I've just been so busy with my fiction, that the non-fiction side has taken a backseat. One of the reasons I chose to start writing the latter was to get my name "out there" and find a stream of income I could add to my regular one. As it turns out, I'm using a pseudonym for my fiction and the magazine I'm writing pays nothing except additional print copies.

The Cone of Silence (Part 2)

Speaking of pseudonyms, one of my writing site friends teased me about using a nom de plume. I wasn't sure if I explained this before, so I apologize if this is a repeat.

I'm using a pseudonym because I work in a small industry, I'm not anonymous amongst my peers. Anything I write, whether it's fiction or a blog, can be used against me. The industry I work in is rife with wonderful and strange anecdotes that will be too tempting for me not to use them in a screenplay or other work someday.

Besides, folks, the reality is people have been fired for blogging about their job and even though I don't really talk much about that aspect of my real life - paranoia can be your friend - I don't want anyone to find an excuse to terminate me. Bottom line, until I'm ready to retire and write, I can't tick anybody off.

Movies of Note

In the last few weeks, I've seen a couple of somewhat obscure movies I'd like to describe here.

"Pi" is a thriller filmed in black and white and it's quite stark in its visuals. It's about a mathematician who is trying to find the right numeric pattern to crack the stock market. In the process, he is pursued by a ruthless Wall Street investment company and zealous Hassidic cabalists who want the secret for their own devices.

"Haiku Tunnel" is to law firms what "Office Space" is to regular office work. This movie is told from the perspective of a neurotic legal secretary who is hired as a permanent employee only to find he is working for attorney that many consider to be Satan incarnate. His inability to complete one of his first major assignments - the mailing of seventeen very important letters - becomes the centerpiece for the shenanigans.

Another Lost Novel

Every time I write about my first lost novel, the next one that followed pops into my brain. Yes, there is a second lost novel out there, again, the electronic and paper copies have gone the way of the four winds. This one was a thriller (the plot of which I won't give away here because I have a suspicion I'll eventually start over again), but the circumstances around why I was writing about it will be briefly described here.

Back in the day, AOL was a hobby of mine. I was newly divorce and not ready to start dating yet. Instead, I would go into chat rooms - very respectable ones, not those that were dedicated to getting folks "hooked up," as the kids say.

In one of the chat rooms, I met a young woman who was a nurse somewhere in Michigan. She had a child out of wedlock (while still in high school) and was living with her mother and her baby. She decided she wanted to become a doctor, so she would do her nursing during the day and go to medical school at night … and still had time for AOL. I admired her for her effort and even though I had no romantic leanings toward her, we became friends, even talking on the phone sometimes.

Anyway, for whatever reason, I started writing a novel - probably to kill time during those nights alone - and decided to integrate her into the plot line. The book was based on a fairly complex mystery with the "I" character being the center of the intrigue.

Long story short, my Internet friend (let's call her Meg) was oddly weirded out by my story - not because she was a character, she actually was flattered by that - but because the story was so true to life (to her, anyway), that she wondered whether I had direct experience with this kind of intrigue.

Needless to say, despite my convincing her otherwise, our friendship sort of went south, mostly because I realized how naïve she was (and figured her attempt to go to medical school was a pipe dream, if anything). To end the story - true enough - she flew to LA with her sister (unexpectedly) and tried to find me. She knew I lived around LAX and had my phone number and kept calling me the whole week she was here, but I ably screened my phone calls throughout after picking up the first time.

Next time

I tell people that is my only Internet stalking experience. However, it's not my only experience with meeting people from the Internet. Next time, I'll discuss two others … one whom I married.

Also, in my next post, I'll discuss writing contests and my direct experience with them.

So, may you all have a creative week and thanks for reading.

Michael

http://www.editred.com/socalvillaguy
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/socalvillaguy
http://myspace.com/socalvillaguy

Through the Portal

2007-02-25T08:41:00.001-08:00

When I wrote "The Rebound Guy" (now called "Ricochet Man") back in 2005, I had no idea that I would be still here in California today, writing about my neophyte attempts to build a professional writing career. In fact, even though I aspired to writing for a living back then, I thought it was going to be a while until I found my voice, get inspired, what have you.

While I'm still at the beginning stages of the dream, the dream has taken more shape in the last several months. First, we ended up staying in California after all, thanks to a series of misadventures and life twists. Second, once I began writing down ideas for screenplays, books, etc., I realized I could easily write every day for years to come and never run out of material.

It was this week, when I was casually penning the beginnings of two new short stories, finishing the first draft of "A Perfect Tenant," and completing chapter two of "On A Gelding's Trail" that I realized what the profound change in me in the last eighteen months. It's like the portal to my right brain has been opened WIDE and the flood of whatever was stored in there is flowing out uncontrollably.

Did I find my voice? I don't know about that. Am I going to be a commercial success as a writer? Who knows, there are so many OUTSTANDING writers out there and so many of them aren't published. Still, I think I have as good a chance as any of my fellow aspiring authors of making it in this business. After all, I'm not looking for fame or fortune, though I'm not going to turn them away if they come knocking at my door. What I am looking for is a way to supplement my income so I can take early retirement from this daily grind I live.

Writing is giving me a chance to express my creative brain that music and even computer programming used to let me do. So, as along as I stay healthy, I should be able to continue to crank 'em out until it's time to cremate my sorry carcass and send me to the Great Spirit. I hope I can entertain others along the way.

Houston, We Have Some Progress …

Big announcement: as of 2/24/07, the first draft of "A Perfect Tenant" is complete! I thought it was going to run WAY long, but it came in at a perfect 114 pages (including the cover page).

The conventional wisdom is that one minute of film time is equivalent to one page of script, so you need to get the final draft down below 120 pages for a standard two hour movie … usually less for a comedy, sometime more for a drama. This is a comedy, but there is more action than in my last script, which was definitely dialog-intensive, which makes sense, since this one is a physical comedy to some degree.

The other big announcement … I submitted three of my stories to a literary magazine! This is my first submission and one of the reasons I did it with them was they took online submissions. The whole idea of sending paper letters and manuscripts in this electronic age doesn't appeal to me, but I'll do it to get published, of course.

They Put the "Butt" in "Rebuttal"

On the non-fiction front - which, if you haven't been paying attention I published on my given name - I had an interesting surprise regarding the last article I wrote. While I realized my comments were going to be somewhat controversial, especially to my peers in my industry, I didn't realize how strong those counter opinions were going to be.

The emails I received after it published, while 9-1 in favor of my point of view, still had strong dissenters. I forwarded all the emails I received to the editor as she requested. Lo and behold, in the most recent issue of the magazine, they published a number of letters, pro, con and in between! The editor never gave me a heads up about this.

Being a good sport, I sent her an email commenting that there would be more to follow after these rebuttals. I even sent her a blurb in response to publish should they want to stretch it out one more issue, though I believe they'll only publish that and follow-ups on their website.

Meanwhile, I prepared for the onslaught of further emails (both pro and con), but got nothing. As controversies go, it was more of a tempest in a teapot, I guess. But in the interests of fair and balanced reporting, the responses I received were 9-1 in favor of my point of view. Not saying I always have to be right or anything, but still, it's nice to know I struck the right chord with the readers.

My Lost Novel (one of two)

In one of my blog posts, I made reference to a novel I started in 2002 which has grown over 820 pages and still is one chapter shy of completion. In my references to this work (called "The Wrong Brother"), I said that was the first novel I ever tried to write. Then I realized I forgot one.

Back when I first graduated from college, I moved to the Jersey shore to work for an engineering company there. I got an oceanside apartment and tried to live the "cool" bachelor lifestyle for a while (at least as cool as a software engineer could ever be). This was back in 1981, before personal computers were so ubiquitous and well before MS Word ever saw the light of day.

I would say my college experiences were less than positive, especially since I was a transfer student and was trying to make the best of my last two years of college while trying to stuff three years worth of credits in my major into the time I had left. That made it very hard to live on campus with the typical party people you find in upstate NY schools and get any work done. Regardless, I had my share of interesting experiences (mostly from an observer's point of view), many of which would be entertaining in print.

So, in my new beach apartment, I one day sat down in front of my blue Smith-Corona with a box of Co-raseable bond typing paper and began to write a novel chronicling a young man's days in college. I wrote about 100 pages (or about six chapters) and gave it to some friends who gave me feedback, all telling me they loved it.

The problem? It was too racy, even for my tastes and I wrote it! More importantly, it was nothing like the truth (at least for me), but instead came from my fevered imagination. I really didn't like the way the novel was going, so I put it to the side.

When I moved from Jersey, I had to clear out a bunch of junk and came across the wrinkled pages in a manila folder. Not thinking I'd want anyone to ever see it, I threw it out. I THREW IT OUT. I could just kick myself, since it would've been nice to have, if only as a bit of nostalgia.

Next Time

I realize this blog post is running long and since I'm a bit under the weather this weekend (thanks to some visitors from our Chicago office who decided to bring their sickness with them), I'm going to defer one topic until next time. So, to come …

The Cone of Silence (part 2) … the movies "Pi" and "Haiku Tunnel" … tales of another lost novel, this time from the PC age.

Have a creative week and keep writing - you deserve it!

Michael

http://www.editred.com/socalvillaguy
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/socalvillaguy
http://myspace.com/socalvillaguy

When Bad Computers Happen To Good People

2007-02-17T17:46:00.001-08:00

Gosh, it really shouldn't happen to me of all people. Here I am, a technology manager with many, many, many (okay, I'll stop now) years of experience and there I am, my laptop - the connection to my muse - is paralyzed.

Thankfully, it wasn't serious or permanent. I was without my instrument of obsessions because of the most mundane of problems … a dead battery charger. That's what I get for wrapping tightly and then unwrapping them, day after day. The wire, well, she break!

So, that means my progress was a bit impacted this week, but I have a few bits to report.

The Wayback Machine

There was a time in my life where I expected (not hoped) to be a rock star. I was born into a family where that music gene was strong on both sides and unlike my sister, I ended up taking advantage of this happy coincidence of twin bloodlines.

I was also born with more than a modicum of practical sense and realized while I may be able to make a living as a modern troubadour, I was never going get beyond yeoman first class - especially compared with so many of my peers. They started earlier than I did and more importantly, wanted it more.

However, during those halcyon days of yore when I was deluding myself, I was also writing music. Writing music is infinitely harder (for me) than writing fiction or anything else for that matter. It doesn't come naturally to me … I don't hear random tunes in my head like I come up with story ideas. As for song lyrics, I wrote exactly one song on my own - at the tender age of twelve. All of the other songs in my original repertoire were co-written, with most of my contribution coming on the music half of the song sheet.

My Life in Verse

So, how surprised am I that I've developed a strong affinity to reading (and writing) poems these days. Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? Is it you? Huh? Huh?

Yes, not only have I really never explored writing poetry much except when forced to in school - the same with reading it, I may add - I'm now having a total blast with both activities. My return to writing after so many years has been so helpful in opening my mind to an art form I long eschewed.

All of my poems - five of them now - are posted on my writing sites, so there's no reason to explore them here beyond mentioning that if you're interested, I'd love for you to read them and give me your feedback. Even if you don't, don't count out the old dog in your life (or yourself for that matter).

Meanwhile, Back At Short Story Central …

I finally finished the first draft of short story number #5, aka "Prized Possession." That was my original title, but my wife suggestion "Prized Possessions" (note the plural). In the end, I removed the "s" and when you read it, you'll understand why.

Anyway, this sucker is forty pages right now and I suspect I'll do some trimming before I call it "done." I think this one is humorous, perhaps darkly so. As always, I hope it entertains.

This story - and another seven to be written - will be included in my short story collection, tentatively entitled "In The Foothills" and expected to be published (by me, myself and I - the Three Wise Men) next February. Right now, I'm trying to decide if I'm going to include my poetry in there, too, or publish it separately ("Songs of Montrose" is my working title for that).

Closer to the Brass Ring

Scriptapalooza TV finally announced their 2006 contest winners and guess what? Leia and my reality show treatment made it into the semi-finals! We're hoping this will open up some doors for us … at the very least, we can get the idea sold.

To help in that regard, I posted the treatment on Inktip.com. It would be nice to get one interested party to take a look at it. Part of the thrill of doing this writing is getting discovered, at least as much as a 47 year-old man can be "discovered" these days doing something legal.

On Tap For This Week

Beginning this week, I return to On A Gelding's Trail, my first Lucinda Dreyer novel. Also, I will be starting act three of A Perfect Tenant my second screenplay. I won't start editing "Prized Possession" until next weekend … it needs time to ferment.

Next Post Preview

My lost novel … the cone of silence (part 2) … they put the "butt" in "rebuttal"

So, keep busy, keep reading and writing and have a wonderful week (and holiday weekend, those of you who have some extra time away from the daily grind).

Michael

http://www.editred.com/socalvillaguy
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/socalvillaguy
http://myspace.com/socalvillaguy

Double Dipping

2007-02-11T15:27:00.001-08:00

This week wasn't one chock full of writing accomplishments, but what I did do, I'm pleased with the results.

Concurrency

As I wrote last week. Lucinda Dreyer is making her second appearance in my new novel On A Gelding's Trail. I call this my "third" novel because the first one (the 820+ page affair) is the one I have closest to completing and the second one (called Those Who Live In Shadows) is well-outlined and the first draft started. Something tells me, though, that this third novel will get completed before any of them. It certainly has been a blast to write so far.

So, with this short story turning into a novel, I needed an idea for another short story. This one may be a little moralistic, I don't know - I'll leave it to those who review my work, if I'm fortunate to have someone to do that. Regardless, I'm quite far into the story right now (called "Prized Possessions"). I should have the first draft of this one done by next Sunday (2/18).

As for A Perfect Tenant (my second screenplay), it's still idling at the end of the second act. My concurrent efforts described above have kept me from returning to it, but I'm not worried. I have that one completely outlined and it's only a matter of sitting down and cranking out the pages.

On-Line Efforts

I've completed posting all my works - my stories, essays and poems - on Writing.com (as I had done on EditRed.com). Right now, I've tentatively titled my short story collection "In The Foothills" and a collection of my poetry will be called "Songs of Montrose." I'm debating right now if I will publish them as one work.

A major part of the online experience is reviewing others' work as you expect them to critique yours. Both of these sites I mention strongly encourage that (and in fact, reward that behavior in various ways). I'm really enjoying interacting with other creative types. My God, there are a lot of them, too!

Same with MySpace … I've been concentrating my networking with writers and artists, because that right part of my brain craves the give and take creative people have. While I'm very technical, I need the balance that art gives me. My wife has said from when she first met me that I'm half science, half art (or as I like to tease her, she's really just saying I'm a half-wit).

Blogs

I'm pleased I've been keeping up with my blogs every week. Besides this one (which I mirror on my MySpace blog), there's one called "The Villa on the Hill-a" (http://villa-hilla.blogspot.com/). This is one about our life in the foothills and our house we bought last may that reminds us of a Tuscan villa.

Another blog is really just a transcription of my journal I kept when we went to Eleuthera (in the Bahamas) in 2004. You can find it at http://eleu2.blogspot.com/. I've gotten some comments from other lovers of Eleu on the blog site, which pleases me.

So, I close now with my fond wishes to you all. Have a creative and satisfying week!

Michael
http://www.editred.com/socalvillaguy
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/socalvillaguy
http://myspace.com/socalvillaguy

A "Novel" Idea

2007-02-04T10:30:00.001-08:00

Okay, I know the title isn't exactly "novel" … especially for a writer, I guess. However, I REALLY, REALLY mean it, I promise!

Some of this I blogged last week …

After writing "Animal Control," I began a new one which I tentatively entitled "On A Gelding's Trail" (in fact, I had no plot initially in mind, as often happens). I started with an interesting character name and put him in a situation, then started a dialog in my head and before long, I started the steady progress of writing it down.

In this particular case, I started looking ahead and realized the story was going to die on the vine at some point, or wouldn't be very interesting. I almost put it to the side to start a new one. Then I remembered Lucinda Dreyer from "Animal Control," a woman I hoped to use again as a main character in a novel. Voila! She then entered the story as a pivotal character and made perfect sense at the point where the tale was going.

I wrote this new short story with some frenzy for a couple of days and at twenty-two pages, I thought I'd better start laying out the scenes to keep from getting confused with my own mystery. That was Friday and by yesterday afternoon, I was convinced of two things: I had a good plot for a novel (now in progress) and this could never be a short story, even if I excerpted a part of it.

So, "On A Gelding's Trail" will be the first novel in my Lucinda Dreyer series. I am very pleased!

For me, a lot of the fun of writing is watching in my mind's eye the story as it unfolds. I've found outlining is just as effective as scene summaries for me - and sometimes, I just write freeform and let the plot just evolve. If I open up my mind enough, I find that pieces fall into place without my pushing them there. It's only when I try to force it that it becomes a problem. I might as well be trying to carve mahogany with a plastic knife.

The bonus, by the way, is that I came up with an entire plot for the short story I "should" be writing for my collection. That's in the queue.

Posting My Creations

This week, I started posting my short stories on EditRed.com. I also wrote two more poems that I posted there as well. Also, for the first time since I joined, I started posting material on Writing.com.

Finding Neverland

Leia and I finally watched the movie we've had at home from Netflix. I'm annoyed with myself for waiting so long to view it! It was really well done - great set design, script and acting along with an engaging storyline. I'm not a big fan of Johnny Depp, but I give him props for this flick. If you're a writer, then I recommend you watch how a great writer finds and dances with his muse.

A Perfect Tenant

No, I haven't forgotten my second screenplay. I've found if a take a week off between the end of one act and the beginning of the next one, I come back to the table much fresher. However, I really like the progress I've made and the process I used to get there. It allows me the chance to step away without losing the thread of the plot. One thing for certain, though … this one will have to be cut down quite a bit.

So, my from desk to yours, may you have a creative week - whatever you do!

Michael

http://www.editred.com/socalvillaguy
http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/user_id/socalvillaguy
http://myspace.com/socalvillaguy

The Font and The Muse

2007-01-28T14:26:00.001-08:00

I read Stephen King's On Writing and found it to be quite an interesting and useful book. King not only chronicled his writing career from the early days, but he gives a lot of practical advice to aspiring writers on many aspects of writing, editing and publishing.

No matter what you think of Stephen King and his books (and many "serious" writers dismiss his efforts, unfortunately), his thoughts on his muse is quiet different. In On Writing, King describes his muse as a guy, not a woman as thought of typically - a big, rough character to boot, certainly not very refined.

I doubt I'll ever be able to personify, even for creative purposes, my muse. Where does one get ideas on which to write? Fortunately, I'm blessed with a good imagination and have the potential to be prolific - not great, mind you, but voluminous. So, for me, my creative spark isn't at the behest of some sentient being. Rather, I look at it like an overflowing font … a wellspring of creativity that I hope translates accurately from brain to pen.

Therefore, in that mindset, I give you this week's progress report, gentle reader.

I have one more draft to edit for my fourth short story, "Animal Control." I'm a little more nervous about trotting this one out because it's quite different than the first three and if it "works," then I'll have my first recurring character for other short stories or even novels. In fact, I like her - Lucinda Dreyer - so much, I'm making her one of the main characters in short story #5, tentatively entitled "On A Gelding's Trail."

The other good news to share … I finished act II of my second screenplay, A Perfect Tenant. I'm quite pleased with the way it's progressing thus far, but I KNOW it's going to be too long and will need to be trimmed. My first screenplay, The Rebound Guy (now called Ricochet Man, for reasons explained in past posts), came out to be the right length when I completed the first draft. That was a different situation … the font was overflowing when I wrote that one (from idea to first draft was three weeks).

I just joined EditRed.com, a site for writers to post their work and get feedback. I decided to post "Monument" as my first offering for public comment and shortly after posting it, I got a very nice compliment from one of the members. Poetry - I didn't know I had it in me - but now I'm encouraged to explore that area further.

MySpace has provided a wealth of author contacts, some of whom have been regular correspondents already. I recommend to anyone who is aspiring to be a writer to take the opportunity to use vehicles like MySpace and EditRed to get out there, get your creations read by others and network with people sharing the same personal journey that you're experiencing.

I wish you all the best in your pursuits, whatever they may be. Keep striving!

Michael

Experiments in Poetry

2007-01-20T10:31:00.001-08:00

A few months ago, I wrote my first poem since being assigned the task of doing so in high school. Poetry was never my thing back then. I was always aware of the lyric flow of the lyrics of Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan and even Bruce Springsteen. Read without their music, the words and wordplay speak to the reader looking for more meaning in what the artists are saying.

Yes, I call them artists. They paint pictures with words. Look at Townsend, Lennon, Jagger / Richards … all of them, great artists. Kurt Cobain, another one … tortured artist, wanting to be heard, but not idolized … wanted to express himself, but did not set out to speak for a generation. He did. Did any of them want to have their words pored over like so many grains of gold in a pan of detritus?

I was inspired to write this poem, both as a way to express feelings, but also to paint pictures with words. A bus trip into the office, another mundane day of politics and BS, and this is what I came up with (entitled Monuments):

Bleak, winding roads lay before me,
No one in sight as I hug each bend on this journey.
I exist, I don't live, yet I have the one thing only I can lose, hope.

Nothing about this daily subsistence is life-affirming.
I go through the motions without emotion.
I strain even as I am constrained by my self-created prison, walls.

The dragon dares me to dance, but I demur.
I stand ready, but for what? For whom?
How I will get there is for greater minds than my own, self.

I'm only the docent on this tour I've chosen.
Standing perfectly erect, yet imperfect as I am.
I hear words murmured all around, still I walk purposefully, away.

I posted this on a literary forum site, but only got a few comments, all positive for the most part. Unfortunately, that particular forum serves those ten years old and older and I realize that it wasn't the best place to showcase my fledgling attempt at verse. There will be other places.

This week was fairly productive, thanks to the extra day off on the 15th. I finished the first draft of "Animal Control," SS#4. It turned out to be twice as long as my typical short stories (23 pages), but at first blush, I don't think I can shorten it. The goal is to finish the second draft this weekend (in spite of the two championship football games on Sunday).

I also wrote about six or so scenes in the second act of "A Perfect Tenant," SP#2. I'm pleased with the way it's unfolding right now. I would like to complete the second act this weekend, but it may be pushing it.

I've been good about keeping my three regular blogs up to date. I also added a new post to my Eleuthera Journal (http://eleu2.blogspot.com) blog, the first one in a few months. It's so difficult to read my own handwriting as I'm transcribing my words from 2004. Admittedly, I have to guess when filling in some of the indecipherable ones.

Another blog chronicles my attempt to lose weight - 55 pounds - by August 1st. That's pretty straightforward, though I do give more information than the number of pounds I lost since the previous week.

I really haven't started my book review blog except for posting the introductory text. I've completed two books I want to review, but I just haven't taken the time to write notes before doing the reviews.

No query letters written yet … admittedly, I'm a little intimidated. I'm not necessarily concerned about being rejected (I expect to be, many times). I just want to make a good first impression and do everything right. Obviously, once I do one, the others will come easier. It's on my list for this weekend.

I'm meeting some very nice people on MySpace, published authors who are very willing to extend words of encouragement or advice to a new writer like me. I would love to be able to meet with some of these people in person a couple of times a month, just to exchange ideas or share experiences - sort of an Algonquin Roundtable West, perhaps. Alas, I doubt it could ever be so. Knowing LA, if such a thing were formed, it would be overridden by star authors, Hollywood wannabes, and generally turn into a pretentious freak show.

I'm really a positive guy, really. Living in this town for over twenty years has made me a WEE bit cynical :-)

And so, I conclude this week's post and sign off as Garrison Keillor does in his daily The Writer's Almanac recordings on NPR: "Be well, do good work and keep in touch."

Michael

Distractions

2007-01-13T15:24:00.001-08:00

I pretty much can avoid watching television most of the time. There are a few programs I watch regularly … The Simpsons, The Apprentice, House, The Sopranos. That's pretty much it for "must see TV" (sorry, NBC).

Now I've never been a real big sports nut, though I've gone through my fan-atic periods with basketball, hockey and football in the past. However, I'm not one of those guys that lives for the NCAA championships or the World Cup or the Olympics. Sports viewing can become a full-time hobby or even an addiction … admittedly a fairly innocuous one. To be honest, my free time is taken up by my pursuit of a writing career. Who needs the distraction?

Then the football play-off season arrives and I'm lost. Even as I write the, the Colts and the Ravens are playing on the big screen TV in the living room and I'm able to watch it, courtesy of a strategically placed framed picture on the wall ahead of me. It's a sickness, I tell you.

I've been trying to make the acquaintance of writers and others who aspire to be through my MySpace account. I've been fortunate to meet some very nice folks so far, some of whom I will end up corresponding with occasionally as I chase this dream.

Meanwhile, back at the writing desk ….

My parents and my wife read my third short story (called "Baylor") and all liked it. Now, it really shouldn't be noteworthy that they liked it. After all, these are the people who love me the most in this world. However, my mom said the story caused her to shed a tear or two. That gives me a little more to work with as far as feedback is concerned.

I'm in the middle of my fourth story now, called "Animal Control." This one is going to be quite different than the first three … more Stephen King-ish. I'm still working out the plot twist(s).

Since it's a three day weekend, I'm trying to be really ambitious. Besides finishing the first draft of "Animal Control," I'm going to try to complete the second act of my second screenplay, "A Perfect Tenant." The first screenplay, "Ricochet Man" hasn't gotten much action on InkTip.com lately, but I intend to renew its registration on the site when it comes due in February.

Also on tap for this week … I'm going to try my first pitch letter of one of my stories to some literary magazines (and perhaps others, too). I ordered a few copies of Porcupine Magazine so I could understand their editorial preferences better. However, Writer's Market is chock full of possibles. I just need to be judicious on who I send the stories to.

There are other projects … transcribing my journal from our 2002 trip to Eleuthera to a blog I started; typing up letters from an old friend dating back to when I first went to college that went through until our thirties; transcribing a memoir from an interesting fellow I never met in Eleuthera, but sought me out through a mutual friend to write up his life story and maybe get it published or produced as a film.

Finally, I just started a new blog, one that I'm devoting to book reviews. Besides giving me a chance to look at writing from a different perspective, I hope it will lead to meeting some of these great authors I've been reading. It doesn't hurt to have friends in the industry.

Okay, that's all for now. Back to the game!

Michael

Starting Out On the Right Foot

2007-01-07T08:35:00.002-08:00

Progress. I completed the first act of the first draft of SP#2. I'm quite pleased with this tale I'm telling right now. It's a comedy, even a little slapstick at times. This is a bit different than my first one, which is more of an adult "romantic comedy." The only thing I'll say about this new one is it stars Robin Williams (in my mind, anyway).

Speaking of SP#1, I've gotten no more feedback on InkTip.com. At least it's now copyrighted, a standard practice I'll employ in all my works. This was advised to me by my entertainment attorney. I might as well take advantage of the high-priced legal help I've already paid for!

I've started using a dedicated Outlook calendar to plan out my writing "assignments." Since I'm so task-oriented, I know this will be the best way for me to keep my progress where it needs to be to achieve this year's resolutions. Updating this blog and two others is on the list for today; so is completing the first draft of SS#3.

I finished editing the third draft of SS#3 yesterday. I'm really enjoying writing these short stories. It gives me the opportunity to experiment a bit and try out different genres and literary devices.

Literary devices? Who the hell is this guy? Sheesh …

The books I've been ordering to help me in my writing career are finally arriving (and more are on the way). Who DOESN'T like to get a package in the mail? Besides some "instructional" books, I also ordered some short story collections, including Hemingway's entire oeuvre. In so many of the writing magazines, they cite Papa as the quintessential short story writer, bar none. I've read Hemingway's works, but I'm certainly no expert.

Keeping to one of my other resolutions - about reading this time - I finished one work of fiction already this month. It's a real page-turner … Paranoia by Joe Finder. I highly recommend it.

On the marketing side of things, I've been expanding my literary "friends" on my Myspace.com account (http://www.mspace.com/socalvillaguy). I want to be able to associate with all kinds of people in the publishing / film business, including aspiring writers of fiction and screenplays like myself. Networking is key to getting published or having a film produced and I'm internet-savvy enough to market myself using the web.

So far, then, it's been a good start to the New Year. If I can make a regular living in this writing business - somehow - I'll be able to segue to doing this in 7 years or when I'm 55. That's the game plan, folks, and I'm sticking to it!

From my pen,

Michael.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T08:30:00.001-08:00

Greetings! It's officially 2007 now and I have a whole lot on the plate this year. They say the first step toward making resolutions "real" is to write them down, plan them out and then just do them! Also, they (the ever wise "they", that is) say that you should advertise your intentions to everyone so as to more or less oblige you to completing what you set out to complete.

With all of this sage advice behind me, here are my 2007 resolutions (at least my writing ones):

1. Write 10 more short stores and submit each one for publication:

SS#3 by 1/31/07 (in progress as of 12/25/06)
SS#4 by 2/28/07
SS#5 by 3/31/07
SS#6 by 4/30/07
SS#7 by 5/31/07
SS#8 by 6/30/07
SS#9 by 7/31/07
SS#10 by 8/31/07
SS#11 by 9/30/07
SS#12 by 10/31/07

Each one submitted for publication within the month immediately after completion. Prepare to publish collection by 2/28/08.

2. Complete SP#2 - SP#5:

Spec SP #2 by 2/1/07
Spec SP #3 by 5/1/07
Spec SP #4 by 8/1/07
Spec SP #5 by 11/1/07

3. Complete Novel #1 (N#1) by 12/31/07

4. Read at least two books a month

One of the problems with writing all the time is I don't take time out for leisure reading. I do read a lot of non-fiction, particular books related to how to write better (or magazines for writers). These same helpful resources also say in order to write better fiction, you need to read a lot of it and from a lot of (good) writers.

Meanwhile, this week was busy.

I'm continuing to get positive feedback on my non-fiction article published in the industry trade magazine. A pleasant surprise is I'm hearing from former colleagues and employees who moved on to greener pastures. The challenge is to figure out how I'm going to best that effort in my next article!

I finished the second draft of SS#3 and I'm still waiting for feedback from my parents and Leia on SS#2. I've researched magazines for SP#1, but have yet to send it to any. See my resolutions for further plans.

I sent SP#1 to the US Copyright office to be registered. I also wrote several scenes for SP#2. On the latter, I'm pleased with the progress so far, though I need to spend more time on a daily basis putting down the words.

One of the writing articles I read (an interview with a known writer, actually) which averred one doesn't need all the sleep they get and could do fine with one less hour every day. Sure, try to convince me of that at 5:00 in the morning when I'm just hoping that that the 45 minutes I have left will turn into a couple more hours. Okay, we'll give it a try.

And so, I close this lovely New Year's Day - with the sounds of the Rose Parade emanating from the TV in the adjoining room - to wish you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2007. May you get everything you ever wanted in life!

Michael

Holiday Post

2006-12-23T22:33:00.001-08:00

There are a few interesting things to report this week in my writing life.

First, the non-fiction article I wrote for an industry trade paper was released in print and I was surprised to receive a number of positive comments from readers, most of whom were effusive in their praise. My editor congratulated me and told me she loved my writing - and that I had an open invitation to write any time. I was quite flattered, to say the least.

I printed off the revised SP #1 and posted it on Inktip.com again, replacing its predecessor … the one that conflicted with a major studio's planned movie which basically is exactly like mine. Even if no one gets interested in this version, at least I'm not in conflict with anyone (that I know about) - and I reserved the domain name this time to try to protect it even further. Nothing's guaranteed, though.

I made the final pass on SS#2 and sent it to my folks for their input. Leia never got around to looking at it, so I bypassed her and went right to my parents. Meanwhile, I finished the first draft on SS #3 today. Another good thing, I have the beginnings of SS#4, this time more in the Stephen King genre, I think (from the start of it, it appears that's what I'll be doing … sometimes these stories take to you to places you aren't planning). I decided I want an even dozen before I consider putting together a collection for self-publication.

I started going through the Writer's Market 2007 to see where I can start pitching these short stories I’m writing. There are a number of literary magazines that pay a little money, but more importantly, are willing to publish new authors. I'd love to develop a following and then be given "commissioned" work to write.

I returned to SP #2 and plan to complete the first draft of that no later than January 31st. I'd like to get it posted on Inktip.com by March 1st, but that's only if I can get someone to make a read through / comment for me. I may have to hire someone to do that!

I have yet to start designing either of my two websites devoted to writing - one will be my "professional" writing calling card and the other will be a writer's forum. Maybe this weekend, since we don't have any holiday plans to speak of. Dinner at our favorite restaurant for Christmas Eve and dinner at home on Christmas Day. The best part - A Christmas Story marathon all weekend long!

And so, from our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

Michael.

Rainy Day Writing

2006-12-16T12:36:00.001-08:00

It's been raining on and off all day, a good day to sit down and write. We don't have many days like this in Southern California and since I have outside chores beckoning, the inclement weather comes as a welcome friend.

This morning I was able to finish the fourth draft of SS#2. I'm quite please with how I changed the ending. I hope it will leave readers thinking a bit.

I put the finishing touches in SS#1 and now I'm going to sit down and figure out to whom I should pitch it for commercial publication. I just joined the Writer's Digest Book Club and among my initial book deliver was the Writer's Market for 2007. I ordered this in order to have access to the most up-to-date information on the publishing literati. Now that I'm armed for battle, it's now time to figure out how to fight!

Oh, I'm not too surprised that my parents liked SS#1. After all, I'm their "little kid" (47 years old and more than a tad paunchy these days, so neither little nor kid applies). Nonetheless, their comments were very encouraging, even if they lack objectivity.

No work this week on SP#1 or SP#2. Sometime this weekend, I'm going to head over to Kinko's to print the former so I have a new hard copy to red line.

On the non-fiction writing front, I saw the web version of the industry article I wrote this week. I should get the print copy next week. I already have an article for my third article for this professional magazine, my most controversial yet and will most likely be the one that will be rejected by my bosses as being too negative. We'll see.

I just dug up a mini-autobiography of an interesting fellow with whom I became acquainted through a friend who lives on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. While I never met the man in person, my friend gave him our phone number a couple of years ago and he called me out of the blue to chat. It seemed that he wanted to get some seed money to start a business and figuring I was an American, I must be rich enough to fund him.

While I wasn't able to satisfy his request for money, I did let him bend my ear to tell me the brief story of his interesting life. I was so taken with the tale that I suggested he write it all down and send it to me. If he did that, I told him at the very least I would transcribe it for him and perhaps even use it as a basis for a book or screenplay. Naturally, if something like that came to pass, I would share the profits with him 50/50.

Through all the moves over the last several years, I misplayed the story he wrote, but found it in this last move. I plan to keep my promise of transcribing it for him, though I have enough on my plate to turn it into a major work. Just rereading it, though, makes me want to go back there. Eleuthera is beautiful, as are the people.

Okay, that's all from here, folks. Please feel free to comment if you are so compelled. One way or the other, I will be keeping these weekly updates coming.

Best,
Michael.

A Brief Respite

2006-12-16T12:25:00.004-08:00

Since my last post, I completed the first draft of my second short story (SS#2) and the first redline of my first screenplay (SP#1). I needed to let them sit for a while so that I could go back to editing them fresh. SS#1, draft 4 has been with Leia for a couple of weeks now and I decided to take it back because I need to finish it before pitching it to some magazines. I completed the initial sluglines for SP#2; with that project, I just need to start writing!

While many writers dread the editing project, I happen to enjoy it. Every time I draft something new, I look at the result like an unfinished blob of clay. It has some form, but it is so raw and unfinished that it cries to be molded into something wonderful. Every stage of editing remove unnecessary lumps of the useless stuff, some huge, but most small and strategic. The end result: something I can live with and hopefully for others, it's something to enjoy.

I decided that I have enough ideas for short stories to (at the very least) publish a collection at some point down the road if I can't sell them individually. There's no market for short story collections, so it will end up being self-published. I'll hold off making that decision until I see how they sell as articles.

I came up with a great idea for a children's book (or even a series of them). I already have sketched out an idea for another children's book already - the earlier one is for younger kids. This new concept would be for kids 8-12, I think. I've been fleshing out the basics on the characters and such over the week.

Leia (my wife) and I outlined an idea for a screenplay over dinner a few months ago. She's been researching related facts in her spare time for this project. Meanwhile, we already came up with a treatment for a reality show - actually, hers was the basic idea (including the title, which is brilliant for the concept), but I wrote out the whole treatment. We submitted it to the Scriptapalooza TV project. The winners will be announced in February.

TV writing is the only genre that doesn't interest me, at least now. I understand that sitcoms are particularly easy to write - very formulaic - but they're hard to sell because so many of them get pitched and discarded just as easily.

I estimated that if I could write full-time, I would be occupied for at least 10 years with all the ideas I have on the books. That's why OneNote has been so useful to me. Without it, all of my thoughts, writings and such would be difficult to keep straight.

OK, back to the drawing board (my other blogs have been neglected long enough!).

Best to you and yours,

Michael

Finally, the Next One

2006-12-16T12:25:00.003-08:00

It's been a busy week, writing-wise. The big news (in my little world) is I finally mapped the outlined scenes in my Mind Map program for SP #2, then started writing the dialog! I actually thought up this script's concept shortly after I finished SP #1, but it was only after we moved into our house that I finally got it together and laid out a detailed scene description for the entire movie.

Writing a screenplay is very much like watching a movie, at least for me. I have to envision real actors that I imagine will play the roles and then have them act out the scenes. The first draft is usually just to get the whole thing down on "paper." The second draft is usually where I punch up the dialog, fix grammar errors and such. The third draft is where I reconcile any inconsistencies, tighten up weak plot points or enhance any other part of of the draft that needs work.

After that, I try to get someone to do a read through and give me their honest critique. My wife would be a good choice, but by her own admission, she lacks the attention to read anything of more than a paragraph or two at a time. In my last screenplay, she was able to get through half of it only, mostly with my working with her on it.

Meanwhile, I've started the second draft of SS #2. As is my modus operandi, this draft is to spice it up a bit, correct obvious errors in grammar, etc. Drafts 3 through the final are to reread and rewrite as needed, concentrating on flow, consistency and tenor.

I sent SS #1 to my parents to read and give me feedback, since Leia has yet to even complete skimming of the thing. Fiction just doesn't interest her - and she went to college on a creative writing scholarship!

Speaking of my wife, I was able to get her to send me her notes on the screenplay we informally outlined a few months ago. That one will prove to be a thriller in the same vein as The DaVinci Code or Déjà Vu, I think.

Meanwhile, on the idea front, I came up with a great idea for a comedy to showcase Will Ferrell, one of my favorite comedic actors. I wrote the synopsis for a plot of a murder mystery (this one will be kind of violent, not my usual genre). However, if it works out, it will be a difficult whodunit to crack. A concept for a children's book appeared one morning before we drove to my office. This place we live in is such a creative inspiration for me.

I swear, if I could only make money doing nothing, I'd be writing all the time!

OK, that's all for now. The other blog has been updated, so it's time to get to other assignments. I hope you have a great week.

Michael.

Finally

2006-12-16T12:24:00.002-08:00

I decided to stop procrastinating this weekend and start redlining screenplay #1. The goal is to incorporate suggestions made to me by the producer/director that originally expressed interest in my screenplay and to try to edit the script to distinguish it from the Fox project that is so like mine.

I've had friends tell me that I was ripped off and should take some sort of action. What I tell them is that if Fox hadn't registered the domain name before I wrote my screenplay, I would approach Fox with an offer. After all, I have the forensic proof that I wrote the script first. As it stands, though, I really have no case and Fox would eat me alive.

So the red lines are coming along. I'm making a few passes - pass one is to handle the obvious changes. Hopefully, by the final pass, I'll have come up with a sellable title like my original one was!

A note on specifics ... because I wish to stay anonymous until I sell something big, I won't be mentioning any titles or premises of my projects in this blog. I'll come out of the "closet" (so to speak) if it looks like I'll have a published major work as a result of my efforts.

I finished draft #4 of short story #1 and gave it to Leia to read. Meanwhile, I continued the first draft of short story #2. This has been keeping me busy this holiday weekend.

That's all for today. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Michael