Screenwriting Torture

Over the last week, a group of colleagues, and myself, wrote, shoot, and is currently editing a short. It was traumatic. The short is just one torture scene, in which, essentially, I batter a friend of mine with brand name products. Somehow, he ended up being more okay with everything than the rest of the film crew. It probably had to do with us blitzing takedown to make it to Joe's Crab Shack. The theme of the project is horror comedy, and I sincerely hope the finished project makes you both laugh and vomit (ideally at the same time). I know that we sure did during production. I'll keep you updated and when it gets published! - Cheers!

Regarding Work Load And Schedules

          As a writer, it is common to maintain a steady job working in-house at a publication, while also freelancing. This can mean fighting to complete multiple projects within certain deadlines. There is a way to avoid this, however, and I call it constructive procrastination. Most people just call it a work order, but most people are dumb. In a certain cases, freelance work will not have a deadline that is set in stone. One should still try to complete the work as soon as possible, but one should also avoid burning oneself out. If one's attention is divided creativity will fade, the work will seem rushed, and there will more errors than Triple H has sledgehammers. Focus on the in-house work alone, get that done before its deadline, and take a break from writing. Giving one's creative side a rest will give one time to unconsciously work out plots, characters, and figure out where the story should go.
          I cannot tell you the amount of times I had put a project on the back-burner, and blasted out an analytical report, requisition form, or proposal, and then wrote half, or the last quarter of a project over night just because I was fresh creatively. I am currently doing just that. My upcoming novel accompaniment to Zardonic's AntiHero album is currently being postponed. During this time I am working on a serious of short stories, and scripts that will probably pop up on here. These will be around a 2000-4000 word count, so they should offer a quick read for your lunch break. I sincerely hope to hope to have at least the first act of the novel up for free on halloween. The rest will released in the novel's entirety as an ebook on Amazon, and other major ebook retailers. Cheers!

In Which I Complain About My Profession

          Writing schedules are a pain. While it is true that this an occupation that often times allows one to work from home, and keep the hours they choose, it also has some of the strictest deadlines. Some writers who have managed to land in-house jobs at publishers, studios, or magazines do maintain a nine-to-five work day, but they also have to spend most of their evenings either corresponding with other writers, working on their own projects, or, in most cases, both.
          Those who strictly write also have to take time to communicate with editors at these establishments since that provides them with updated deadlines, and suggestions to keep their work on track and in theme, but they also have to manage their own daily completion schedule on whatever it is they hope to have published. This is done by maintaining a word count, and it is the bane of my existence. A writer usually has an idea of how many words they want their work to be. Usually it's a rough estimate rounding up or down to the nearest ten thousand, or hundred thousand words. Then divide this by the number of days between now, and a week before you want to get it to your editor, (trust me you still won't have it done in time) and you have an idea of how many words you need to write each day. As a daily goal it's great, it serves as a simple, achievable goal to do whenever throughout the day. In most cases, however, your personally set deadline is a matter of weeks, and if you are doing anything bigger than a small novella, your word counts will give you carpal tunnel just by looking at them.
          God forbid you go grocery shopping, meet up with a family member, or do some dumb adult thing during the normal hours of the day. This will, most likely, cause you to stay up until two, one eye tracking the words you write, the other looking at your counter in the bottom of your screen. Sooner or later, we all go a little cross-eyed. For our editors who have to deal with similar problems, and maintain a nine-to-five schedule, my heart goes to out to you. Of course, most of us don't complain, without a little tongue-in-cheek. We have one of the best jobs in the world, we get to create worlds, and give people fun. This is something I, and many of my peers, are very passionate about.
          We usually lose track of time when writing, and I find myself, more often than not, going over my word count at three in the morning. This still does not mean the work gets done on time. Usually our visions are more grandiose than time permits. If you recall, or simply rotate your eyes to look at paragraph two, I said that it's good practice to set your personal deadline at least a week before your actual deadline. That week will be you frantically trying to tie up lose strings in the story, condensing and revising chapters, and giving your story a conclusion that doesn't feel as abrupt as it actually is. Of course the time for this varies. If it's a short fiction, or novella one to two weeks should suffice. If you have written a full novella, you may want to give yourself a month for damage control, as you probably forgot a character you introduced in chapter two by the time you wrote chapter five.
          This job is a lot of not sleeping. Whether you're writing comics, films, games, or books you will dedicate yourself to perfecting each work, while your publishers believe you can crap each one out in one night. It's an amazing ride though, so grab some coffee, find a place with a view, and start smashing your keyboard for weeks at a time.

A Literary Review And Interpretation of Zardonic's Antihero

In my previous post, I stated that Zardonic's Antihero album is the inspiration for an upcoming short fiction story I have slated to publish on Halloween. I also made a quick comment, about my theories regarding music and literature, but I would say that the Antihero album, as with many others, is a form of literature. This will not be me raving, or reviewing the music itself, but, rather, me starting a discussion about the merits of this album that could make it appeal to the literary crowd, in as few points as possible.

First, and foremost the album tells a story. Each track contributes to this arc that appears to be obscure. There may not be any characters or clear plot points described in the lyrics, but that is because obscurity is where the story is found. It is left open ended with each track conveying a tone and message that the listener's imagination uses to tie together their own story. This is what defines all great stories. 

The reader is given the freedom to interpret the meaning and emotion conveyed without having it shoved down their throat. Parables and myths serve their purpose to educate the young, by giving them a strict moral guideline, but once someone grows into adulthood it is the duty of creators to allow them to think for themselves, lest we make a society of slaves to one man's ideology. 

By creating an album that explores tone, and offers titles and lyrics that suggest themes and action, but do not give away the whole story, Zardonic has made a work that allows the listeners own minds to feel the anger, excitement, and will to fight in their own way and gives them a sense of ownership. This is done in a way that still allows the artist's original emotion to move with the listener, without taking full control of their response.

The other leading factor in Zardonic's Antihero that also lends itself to the literary art form, is the face that album's arc can be divided into acts, with each one carrying a different mood. The following is an interpretation of the story told. It is solely to convey the point, another listener may have gained something completely different, and I encourage you to share it.

The prolog sets the scene with a sense of unease, and the feeling that something big is coming. Then we jump right into the action of the first act with 'Against All Odds'. The story begins with a fight that cannot be won, but the determination and motivation to find a way through gets injected with 'For Justice'. As the story moves through the next track the drive slows, and gears begin to shift as we move into the second act. 

'Vigilante' takes the story to a more subtle place, as the conflict becomes personal and internalized. The hero puts the desire to win before any other consideration. Then the sense of dread is realized in 'Override' as the big thing finally arrives, and the story begins to look dire. The energy and will are still there, however, for the third act, which opens with 'Pure Power' as the listener's hero finds a way to fight back and push through, but now their mission has become selfish, and they walk a darker path. At this point, we find ourselves rooting for the antihero. 

The final battle begins with 'The Time Is Now', and the antihero is bent on the ultimate destruction of their villain. Emerging victorious the hero who has taken the destructive path to victory is now blamed for the fallout of the battle. Now they must fight for their own survival as they have become the villain, but that is what happens when you make a deal with the devil.

The album is out now, and I highly recommend you pick it up. The artist and the label have clearly put time and effort into making a quality experience, and deserve the compensation.