Back on the Wagon

It's been a while since I've posted some regular items to the blog.  I've added a few things here and there for the past few weeks, but nothing of substance.

I just posted my book review of Bone, and soon I will post my review of A Christmas Carol (that's how behind I have become).  I am still very much interested in completing my list of 52 books, but because of several events as of late the schedule has been thrown out the window.  I was doing well for the most part, but unforeseen circumstances can be a detriment to the most avid timekeeper.

With the help of my buddy Spencer, I am working on weekly goals for writing.  This includes my blog, so to answer to him I am working on being a better blog writer.  This isn't an apology or a resolution, just an FYI to the two or three people that enjoy reading the nuggets of inspiration up here.

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BONE by Jeff Smith

Bone: The Complete Cartoon Epic in One Volume by Jeff Smith

Synopsis:
Three Bone cousins are kicked out of Boneville and stumble upon a world they never knew existed. Their presence in this magical land awakens an evil that had long been forgotten and starts the course of a war that involves a royal family, dragons, and the fate of the entire world.

Thoughts:
At first glance I wasn’t quite sure what this whole thing was about. What are these weird bone creatures and what’s with this weird land? It was all strange and confusing, especially when friends tried to pitch it to me.

After the first few pages, I was absolutely hooked. It is so wonderfully written and beautifully drawn. There are elements of Disney, Bill Waterson, and The Lord of the Rings influenced throughout the work. I’m really grateful I picked up the full epic, because each book ends with a gut-wrenching mystery, compelling me to keep reading. It is definitely worth your time, and it is most definitely worth the $25 you will spend on Amazon to get a copy of the full epic. I highly recommend.

What I Learned:
Mystery is best revealed piece by piece. End each scene or act on a strong mystery and keep the audience guessing.

Also, start your story as late as possible for it to make sense. Don’t worry about the audience being able to know your characters because they will know them through their words and actions. Just get into the story as late as you can and leave as soon as it is finished.

Up next: A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens

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Thought you should know...

Chindo-gu is the Japanese art of inventing ingenious everyday gadgets that, on the face of it, seem like an ideal solution to a particular problem. However, chindo-gu has a distinctive feature: anyone actually attempting to use one of these inventions would find that it causes so many new problems, or such significant social embarrassment, that effectively it has no utility whatsoever.

via Wikipedia

Now go to this website and view the catalog: http://website.lineone.net/~sobriety/

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Writing Goals 2011

Hey folks, it's that time again.  Time to discuss how you did last year and how you intend to do better now.

I myself have done fairly well this past year.  My goal was simple in 2010 (as was my childish understanding of this business one year ago... oh silly, naive me).  Last year I wanted to complete five (5) full-length screenplays - also accepting two complete pilots to count towards a screenplay.

Here's how I did (in sequential order):

1. THE GILLIAM EFFECT (co-written with Spencer)
2. SEVEN GLADIATORS (co-written with Spencer)
3. THE FRIEND ZONE
4. DINNER TIME (co-written with Spencer)
5. LOST & FOUND Pilot
6. BAND OF THIEVES Pilot (co-written with Spencer)
7. SPIRITS Pilot

And that doesn't include all the really great projects that I pitched, outlined, and threw out mid-keystroke.

For 2011 - I want to go on record with my goals so I can look back and cry about not fulfilling expectations as I did last year.  Here's the lineup:

• 2 Features - One with my bud Jacob Parker and another with my oft-times writing partner Spencer Holt.  Actually, maybe three if I decide to do Scriptapalooza this year.
• 3 Pilots - Two Drama (I'm already outlining one drama with an element of sci-fi).  One comedy (probably with Spencer).
• 3 Short Stories - Two sci-fi(ish) and one dramatic.  Not sure where to place them once finished though - any ideas?
• Novel Outline - Only going to do the outline.  I have a project that I'm excited about and I've written a great deal already, so this should be a lot of fun to get through.

So that's it!!  What do you have planned?  Anything I should know about?

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Tried to remember this quote verbatim for my friend Tim, but couldn't.

To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy, one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness.

Sonja, Love & Death by Woody Allen (1975) 

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