Empire Falls

I'm currently reading Richard Russo's Empire Falls. It's taking me quite awhile to finish, but things are really starting to heat up with the small-town drama dynamics.

I'll admit that I'm going to steal a couple things that I've learned from the small Maine town of Empire Falls and put them in Bass Harbor, which is essentially another fictional town with how much I'm molding it for The Quietside. This is an example of something I'm "borrowing:"

"See, I cared who won that football game today. Maybe people like you think that makes me a nobody, but you know what? I don't give a fuck. Mr. Empire Falls? That's me. Last one to leave, turn out the lights, right? This town is me, and I'm it. I'm not one of those that left and then came back. I been here all along. Right here is where I been, and it's where I'll be when the sun comes up tomorrow..."

This passion and even the notion behind it fits Nate Kennedy to the point. Definitely expect a review once I'm finished. Speaking of reviews, I'm talking to friends tonight and Breaking Bad is on, so The Star Wars might have to wait another day. I want to write something helpful and insightful, not just a couple quick thoughts and call it good.

Road Trippin'

So, here it is, almost the end of the day and no character bio. My apologies. I spent today packing and getting ready for my travels to New Jersey tomorrow to see my ex-roommate and farternity (yes I spelled it wrong on purpose) brother.

One of the things we'll be doing that I'm quite excited for is comic shopping--something I've only gotten into recently and haven't discussed on this blog. I'm disappointed I didn't start reading them sooner. They get a bad reputation, for whatever reason, but they're essentially the book version of television shows, and as long as you find a good series, they're a lot of fun. I'm also a sucker for all things collectable, so maybe I'm bias. Anyways, I'll start posting some stuff about comics soon, focusing on both the vast amount of Star Wars series and The Walking Dead series.

The Star Wars, a recent buy of mine. Image from news.com.au

The main event of the visit is a concert we're going to in New York City. One of the bands is Grails, a post-rock band that both my friend and I find very talented and great to write to.

Give 'em a listen. Of course, if you're writing a comedy, they might not be great to listen to, and trust me, don't fall asleep with them on repeat. I don't really have a particular favorite song, but I think this album, Deep Politics, is their best. I'm pumped to see them live. I know it will be an experience, to say the least.

Since I have a fancy phone now, I'll try to keep updating the blog even while I'm on the road, but the posts won't be incredibly long or detailed, since I can only handle the iPhone keypad for so long before getting angry.

Back...again, for good? Let's hope so

So it's been forever since I've even logged in. For all I know, it could've been really popular...of course, that's not the case, and that's fine. This is for me, to encourage myself.
Anyways, I'm finally done with my least favorite semester of college, done with all my senior projects, done with pretty much anything that's been hanging over my head. Meaning I can finally start writing again. And I'm actually feeling pretty inspired.
It's my Christmas break, so I get to just chill and do whatever for about a month. I really want to start one of my larger projects, so that's what I'll be talking about in the next couple days. The first couple "scenes" (not writing it as a screenplay, though it was originally) are all planned out. Hopefully my hard drive won't die again, like it did last time I started this story.
On a side note, I plan to start a tumbr as well...though that will probably be more of my personality and fun stuff (not that this isn't fun) instead of my depressing blog posts and writing examples.
I've also changed a couple scenes in the small amount of The Quietside I posted...always editing :)
Here's a hint at what my next project is going to be about...I take no credit for the image. I'll probably post some thoughts on using pictures and music to help inspire stories soon too, including some playlists.

Wasting Time

Lately I've been having a difficult time managing, well, my time. I've been busy working and writing for my local paper, sure, but there's still a lot of time that gets thrown away doing worthless things. Sure, we all have to have some down time, but I enjoy writing, so why am I not doing it? Well, the answer to that is simple. I'm not writing because I'm not writing.
Wait what? Yes, I wrote that correctly. Since I have a knack for planning and crafting stories but never writing them, a large pile of ideas has simply overwhelmed me enough that I avoid writing. It's taken me awhile to realize this, but this blog has helped.

Well...I might be dramatizing it a little bit... 

So what's the first step? Well, I'm taking a shot in the dark, but I'm going to start reading instead of doing the worthless things (video games and youtube, mainly). I have a whole shelf of books that I've bought or come into possession of that I've deemed "must-reads," thinking I'll learn something from them. Well, thing is, I haven't read hardly any of them. My thought is by reading, at least I'm being productive and shooting towards my goal of writing several hours a day, like I started doing last semester while taking a class on novel writing.
Of course, reading isn't writing. I'm going to eventually just have to force myself to sit down and do it, even against the large pile of concepts, ideas, plots, partially written short stories--you get it. Reading should get me in the "mood" to write, so that I won't have to force myself to do something I enjoy.
A lot of this mess will be solved by this time next week, when I'm completely done with work for the summer. I've given myself time to collect my thoughts before heading back to school after what will probably go down as one of the worst summers of my life.
Which leads me in another direction--writing comes hard if your own life isn't in check. It's pretty hard to write about an emotionally scarred police officer when you yourself don't have a grip on things. Sometimes it helps convey the mood--especially in poetry--but sometimes it really hinders your ability to "become" your character. A great example of this is The Quietside. It's first person, so I'm completely Cole when I'm writing. Or I should be. If issues in my life keep seeping through, Cole gets pushed to the side (which he really doesn't like) and will not act himself, which leads to a failing and illogical story.

So true.

Basically, I've discovered writing is a lot like running. It may appear to depend on skill, practice, and performance (aka quality of the writing) but it's about 90% mental. You could have the best physical body (or prose) in the world, but if your mind isn't there backing it up, you might as well sit it out. The mind is capable of anything. ANYTHING. I just need to tell myself I can write for several hours each day, and I will.
Note: For those of you who don't know me, I ran for about 10 years of my life in middle school, high school and a little bit in college before I hurt my ankle--I haven't been able to talk myself into starting again for more than a week or two.
This is why I started this blog. I need somewhere to talk myself through things.
These next two or three weeks will set the tone for this next year. I hope they're productive.

The Emmy Goes To...

I know I haven't posted for awhile, but I've been extremely busy with work--all three jobs--and watching the Olympics. I want to work on Cruise and start writing The Quietside again, but I just don't have time. So I hope this quick review makes up for it.

I watched Take Shelter again on Thursday. What a great example of a drama. The pacing is perfect, the tension is always strong, the directing is great, and the results of decisions the characters make are able to create an emotional response--fear, sadness, pity--with ease. Most importantly, the acting is top notch, especially from Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. While it doesn't have the action most people look for nowadays, the power of the drama keeps you glued to the screen. For once, the dvd cover doesn't lie--this should be a new American classic. A must watch. If you're still on the edge, go watch the trailer. After that, if you're still unsure, watch this scene (keeping in mind that there are spoilers and that this tension has been building for quite some time, so you might not fully feel the power behind it) and you'll be sold. One of the greatest scenes I have ever seen in a film, period.

I've let my employers know that I'll be getting done on the 12th, so the couple weeks before school will be packed with posts and work.

A very cool blog

For anyone who's interested, I've found this blog extremely interesting. I'll send a script along, if I ever have time to finish one.
http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/

Bullit

Last night I watched Bullit with Steve McQueen and took some notes on how to direct a chase. I also really enjoyed the film--at times, I thought it could have moved a little faster, but I think the intention was to be deliberate and careful about how fast things happened, so when things did happen, they appeared even powerful than they would normally.