Script Frenzy starts very shortly. I’m talking on the order of minutes here. I’m excited it’s come back around again. It’s the entire reason that I’ve found screenwriting again. After many years of half finished projects I’d mostly given up. Using Script Frenzy as a launching pad I plowed on through an entire 100 pages in nine days. That little bit of a boost got me up and running. I’ve done a lot of good, relative in this context as in good to me, since my first Script Frenzy.

I find it funny that as much as I have ideas kicking around in my head I still haven’t committed to one. I don’t have any clear plan even when I do pick one of them. I have two at the forefront and a small part of me is seriously considering whether I can jam through both of them in 30 days. Even if it’s just to get them done, on to paper, and out of my head.

I just don’t know.

I typically keep a journal with all my writing projects. There’s some self destructive and slightly mentally ill impulse in there that I must document everything. I’m sure I’ll keep my private journal alone with my writing project but I think I’m going to do a bit of documenting here as I go.

david shute - 31.03.10 @ 23:39 - permalink

As I’m holding off on any major screen or stage projects in preparation for Script Frenzy I’m trying to find some projects to hold my attention. Part of that has been revisiting some of my old short fiction work. I’ve never been a strong person with it as far as I would say. I find it agonizing writing fiction.

I’m very content writing dialogue. I can feel it in a way that I can’t with descriptive content. It’s very easy for me to get a couple people to read dialogue. Most times I can feel out the issues without them. Staging/screen directions I’m also really comfortable with. There’s a minimalism required. I enjoy the subtle balance between being terse and descriptive. There’s a lot of fun to be had within that boundary.

Perhaps it’s because I haven’t studied fiction writing and writers in the same way that I have film. Perhaps my English skills just aren’t up to the level I think they should be. Perhaps it’s just slightly uncomfortable and I’m a sucker for the path of least resistance.

I can jam through pages of screenplay relatively quickly but can get hung up on a single word in the first sentence when working on fiction. I really shouldn’t. There’s an editing process for a reason and I’m fairly confident large portions will be fixed but I can’t help it. I just get stuck there. It feels a lot like everything the follows hangs on this one word. If the word isn’t right then there’s no point in proceeding since it won’t be what I want anyway.

I understand how completely neurotic and self defeating that is. I’m not sure if it’s one I’m going to be very good at overcoming.

david shute - 22.03.10 @ 00:18 - permalink

I am currently about knee deep in preparation for Script Frenzy along with everything else I’ve got going on. If you’re not familiar with Script Frenzy it is a friendly competition, mostly with oneself, to complete a 100 page screen play during the month of April. The point is to break through those procrastination habits and get words down to page.

I first took part in Script Frenzy in 2008. At that point I’d been in a serious funk as far as writing is concerned. I went years between completing feature length scripts. I had started several but issues finishes. After completing Script Frenzy in 2008 I went on to finish first drafts on three other scripts. I’d never written four first drafts in four years, never mind in a single year.

That simple act of words to page with a deadline and for reason helped create some really good writing habits that I lean on heavily anytime I start work on a script. If you’re a screenwriter or just like the idea of writing a movie Script Frenzy is a fun and valuable exercise.

david shute - 21.03.10 @ 01:44 - permalink

download Fake at manybooks.net

There’s a frantic, almost desperate, nature to the writing that is compelling. It sets a rhythm separate from the narrative itself and compels you to continue reading. It’s also a detriment as the frenetic nature of the writing appears to be in part to how raw it is. Stumbling across those errors that a spell checker just doesn’t catch is off putting and always pulls me out of the page. Another reminder of the trend of many creative commons licensed materials missing comprehensive proofing and editing.

The length is it’s best friend in this case. The story and it’s method of delivery have great potential to become tedious against a high page count. It unfolds from the different perspectives of the main characters through what is essentially a first person confessional. It’s an interesting delivery and adds to what is a fundamentally simple story. Just, in this case, fairly well told. There’s the gritty, underhanded, and vengeful nestled right alongside a bit of the serendipitous.

I enjoyed this particular work and plan to move on to some of the authors other offerings in the future.

The author’s site is at moxiemezcal.com.

david shute - 19.03.10 @ 22:39 - permalink

I really like reading but I have a hard time finding the time to actually sit down and read a book. I’ve always got other things to do. As I look down my desk I see two books right now, one fiction and one non, that are about half read and have been in that state for three and six months respectively. I really wanted to change that and started looking for options last year when I found software from my BlackBerry for ebooks. Mobipocket Reader is what I ended up finding. It’s basic but functional free software that allows you to read formatted ebooks.

With my attention turned on to Creative Commons licensed material I started seeking out books released for free. This led me to ManyBooks that largely mirrors the Gutenberg archives as well as hosting public domain and CC licensed works.

This all comes together in a nice little ball. I don’t always have free time to sit down and read a book but I frequently have free time here and there. I always have my BlackBerry with me and I have access to an incredible amount of material any time I want it. What it all means is that I’m reading a lot more than I have in years.

In taking free books I’ve been trying to give something back. As I finish a book I go back and review it. These aren’t exhaustive reviews and I am far from a literary critique but I try to be honest as I go. Since I’m already writing these reviews it seems silly not to maintain a copy here as well. They won’t be very close together but at least you’ll know why they pop up from time to time.

david shute - 18.03.10 @ 18:27 - permalink

I quit drinking pop a couple weeks ago. That’s not to say that I’ll never have any but coming from a minimum of 2L a day to nothing is huge leap and I’ve been noticing a pretty big number of changes because of it.

The first has been in my sleep. I get to sleep much more quickly than I used to. I’ve had nights where I’ve tossed for two hours despite being exhausted. I sleep more soundly. I don’t require the same amount of sleep that I did previously and feel more refreshed afterward. I’m not sure if this is because I’m moving less in my sleep or my snoring has decreased but something has changed for the better in that respect. I’m also finding I have much less difficulty in getting out of bed in the morning. I’m still not a morning person but I’m less likely to hit snooze for an hour these days.

The second, and arguably more important, has been in my eating habits. I’ve been drinking large amounts of pop daily for well over a decade. Somewhere along the way it completely destroyed my hunger and satiety impulses. It was not uncommon for me to go out for lunch with coworkers and watch as their bill came to $10 or $12 while mine went over $20.

After lunch I’d feel bloated and full but not satisfied. I’d inevitably hit the vending machine once and the pop machine twice. The chocolate bar I’d get from the vending machine would be gone before I’d even have a chance to open the pop. My taste buds dutifully seared away so no amount of sweetness would be unpalatable.

Then, more often than not, I’d pick up something on the way home for dinner.

Typing it out and reading over it… That’s fucked up. It’s baffling to me that I’m not well over 300 lbs, though I’m sure I was well on my way there and may have hit it before 35.

Since I’ve replaced pop with water I’m never dehydrated. That’s in comparison to almost always being dehydrated. This along with the sugar and caffeine could have been a motivator in my overeating. I’m actually hungry three to five times a day. It took me a couple days to readjust to what actually being hungry felt like rather than just wanting to eat all the time. I have a really hard time eating chocolate bars now. The sweetness level seems obnoxiously high and they’re eaten over time rather than in three massive bites. I’m generally full and getting bored of my meal before I’ve finished the entire thing. I don’t order the biggest thing I can find because I feel ravenous even when I’m not actually hungry. That impulse is gone and it disappeared quickly.

It’s still a work in progress but it has been worth it so far.

david shute - 17.03.10 @ 23:09 - permalink

I’ve always been interested in DIY bookbinding. It’s the appeal of being able to have a completely customized notebook. With my fetish for all things stationery it’s not entirely surprising that I would want to be able to do this.

I’ve toyed with it in the past. I tried out some simple stitch binding books. I didn’t really have the right tools which led to loose stitches and pages mangled at the spine. It pulled the wind out of my sails and allowed my three second attention span to wander elsewhere.

I’m not sure why it popped in to my head last week to look it up again but it did. I found some info on perfect binding (glued spines like a paperback novel) and got to working. I managed to hack out a pretty chunky 16 page blank notebook using a modified version of the info I found. It wasn’t anything special, a couple pages of legal paper folded in half and glued together.

I wasn’t really expecting it to work very well. It was such a basic method and I was using standard white glue. Considering the limited space being covered in glue I half expected it to fall apart as soon as I removed the clamps. It did not.

I’m happy it exceeded my expectations as well as it did. So much so that I quickly began work on a basic jig so I could try out binding more stuff. Moleskine has a very sexy storyboarding notebook that I just can not justify paying for. Instead I took a shot at making something along the same lines.

Same process as before, some legal pages folded in half and bound. Unlike the previous one I printed a bit on these so I have guidelines for my storyboards. I’m really looking forward to getting back to the storyboarding phase for THE NEW FACE OF SECURITY so I can give it a spin.

david shute - 16.03.10 @ 23:51 - permalink

It always feels like I’m finding my feet. I get a few steps forward, feel good about everything, and then shortly wonder why I’m slugging my way back out of the mud again.

THE NEW FACE OF SECURITY is back up and somewhat running again. I’ve unfortunately had a key person that needed to bow out for personal reasons. Picking up their work load on top of my own responsibilities is a bit of a pain but better than leaving it on someone who isn’t available to do it.

We’ve been in a bit of a holding pattern with it as I’ve been waiting to get a location. We’ve found something that is going to work for our needs. It presents a whole new group of challenges but nothing we can’t work around.

In case you were wondering about the credit card debacle from a couple weeks ago it has been resolved. I went and got a line of credit from my bank for a quarter the interest rate I was getting on the credit card and summarily paid the card off. So long, suckers.

david shute - 15.03.10 @ 23:41 - permalink