Tag: learning

Everything Must Move – What Watching Movies Taught Me About Writing

My dream Deskspace

This post was conceived while watching one of my favorite movies. Thus, as usual, it is based on my personal experience. So anyway, to the point…

I found myself paying attention to what was going on in the background of this particular scene in this movie instead of what the leading characters were doing. To better understand this, I challenge you to do the same. Choose one of your favorite movies, what’s going on in the backdrop? An old man is laughing with his wife. The waiter is walking away from a table, she looks down at the notepad before walking away. Behind her, the bartender throws a bottle into the air before catching it with his other hand and pouring the liquor into the long line of glasses in front of him. The waiter walks up to the bar, picks up two of the many glasses and walks them over to her table. The old man and his wife smile while nodding thank you.

What just happened? What happened is that there’s an entire event taking place in the backdrop of what’s happening in the forefront. Though not the center of attention, everyone in the scene moves. Though not the primary characters, everyone in the scene is doing something.

While working on my next project, I’ve found it helpful to make sure  that everyone in the scene from the smallest to the greatest has something to do, or has a goal they want to achieve (despite how small). There shouldn’t be any stick men and women. If we are at dinner, the people behind Nora’s table should be laughing or talking. Not so that it’s overwhelming, she is the leading lady after all, but they shouldn’t just be sitting there. There should be movement. For instance, in A Beautiful Mind, John Nash sits on a bench in front of the University. With him is his old roommate and together they sit there and talk. As they are speaking, there are people walking by, students, professors, and faculty members. And as the camera zooms in and pans around, we notice the people  are looking at John oddly.

For those of you who’ve seen the movie or who are familiar with the man John (this movie is based on a true story, Nash just passed recently matter of fact) you know that John Nash suffered from a severe case of schizophrenia. His college friend does not really exist. From the first time viewer’s perspective, John is just sitting there talking to an old friend. But if you notice the people in the backdrop, they are not just walking by, they are walking by and staring.  Why? You assume its because John has always been a little, well, off kilter. Weird. Odd. By the end of the movie however, you realize that the people are staring because John is sitting on a bench  talking to himself. They are staring because there is really no one there. Though not the center of attention, even these people have a purpose for being. In this case, they are hints that help lead up to the end of the movie so that it all makes sense.

I’m not saying writing fiction and writing a movie script is the same thing because its not. What I am saying is that everything around us can be useful to help us in our writing. Who says we can’t use non-conventional means to build on creativity? After all, that’s what creativity is anyway, inventing new ways to do things.

Since working on The Renaissance (my 2017 novel project) I’ve been using this technique (making sure everyone in the scene has a purpose) and its really been helping in my development of the story. It helps me to ensure that everything is accounted for and that there are no loose ends. From the protagonist, to the lady swatting at a fly standing behind her, everyone has a goal or a reason for being. Everyone and everything moves.

Letter to My Younger Self #MayChallengeDay 26-27

2016-05-20 01.23.57

Do not think that I am upset right now, though my speech is slow and my brow furrowed in my forehead. This is just my thinking face. We are actually pretty calmed right now, optimistic if you will. You see we’ve learned to be this way, content. I want you to know that it is OK to take your time. What you need is already prepared for you in the day that you need it. You’ve got some hard times ahead but some groundbreaking ones too. Your level of resolve will continue to be placed against your desire to endure, so pay attention then to the choices you make; they will bear fruit of whether or not you’ve chosen to be strong or held captive to your weaknesses. I want you to know that it is OK to acknowledge the good in your life; to seek good and to pursue love. The attacks to which you are set to receive are not small but they do have the potential to tear you down if you let it. But if you can instead take the time to ponder all of the good things in your life, to notice the small progressions, these occurrences will not move you nor will they alter your desire to win. I know, I know things are never easy for us, never have been. They are always hardcore, up front, and personal. I regret to inform you that this will not change and it will cause you to often, doubt. I would tell you not to doubt but you won’t listen. Experience will continue to boss you around and pain is still your teacher. However, love, joy, happiness, and contentment will not leave you. Like a mother, sister, aunt or a good friend they will not leave you. There will be temptations galore and they are not limited to the flesh. But remember that the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving desire perverts the innocent mind. Hold on to your innocence but do not be naïve. Learn to understand the world that you live in, and how to properly navigate it. If I remember correctly, we have much more important teenage stuff to do than to sit here and talk about goals but one more thing before you leave. I want you to write this down and to remember it whenever you feel hopeless. Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian journalist, once said

There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to change them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them, will we understand why they were there.”

Signed, Your Future Self

**********

I’m reposting this from a throwback Bewow post I did last year. My birthday was yesterday (yayy) and I thought it was perfect to repost as the #MayChallenge is coming to a close, which I’m sad to admit makes me excited. (Seriously, I think I was the only person who participated lol). I’ll have something much more organized next time. I don’t think I was ready. LOL.  Anyways, enjoy your weekend.

Self-Publishing: MAYbe I’ll Start My Own Publishing Company #MayChallenge Day 2

file

So for those of you who are familiar with me, you know I am on the journey to start my own publishing Company one day. Technically, this company already exists. However, right now I am just using it to publish my own books. Why is this important? I love the way Justin T. McCain put it. He’s someone I’ve had the pleasure of working with recently and a couple of weeks ago his Twitter status read:

I think we become so enthralled with the novelty and idea of some things that we often miss the actual cultivation of them or how to do so.” Justin McCain

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’ve been working at this goal, officially, for a couple years now and I’ve gotten lots of inquiries and questions into when I will officially launch. The truth is that I don’t want to rush it. Right now I am just polishing my skills and perfecting my goals. Thing is, if you’re thinking about MAYbe starting your own publishing company, you MAY want to start by perfecting the publishing process of your own books first. At least this is the advice I’ve taken to heart. After all, how can I assist anyone in an area in which I am not deeply familiar? If I am going to be trained to play Basketball then I MAY as well learn from a former basketball player. Likewise, I want to offer you the best of the best. A Self-Publishing Company that is unique in more ways than one with a team that will stop at nothing until your book is just the way you want it. I’m talking superb Book Cover Design, Editing, Formatting, and MAYbe throw in some tips on making sure the title of the book is just as eye catching as the cover. After all, these are the first two things that attract readers: The Book Title and the Book Cover. As you can imagine, there’s a lot to do and unless I break my goals down into tiny steps it can get overwhelming. After all, I’ll need to hire a Graphic Designer, Editor, the list goes on and on. So any-who, this post is just an update to let you know that I have not given up on the vision! This is still one of my primary goals. I know it may seem like a huge step but that’s just the kind of person I am. I love writing and publishing but I would like to take it a bit further. What good am I if I cannot pass my skills on to someone else? Like the saying says, “Let each one teach one”. Or in my case, since this is the MAY challenge, “MAY Each One, Teach One! So right now I’m just cultivating this knowledgeable soil about the industry, and really examining and structuring my goals. Speaking of goals, I hope to have the business plan finished by years end! I cannot do anything until that target is knocked down because that is how I can finish the financial process of looking for grants and things of that nature. MAYbe then I’ll start by offering Self-Pub services. As Self-Publishers there’s a lot of help that I know we need in general. Many of us do not have a team of professionals to assist us in the process. MAYbe I’ll build one. Until then, I’ll continue to perfect the craft of publishing and use my own books as a catalyst for how it MAY be to represent someone else.

What about you? Have you started your own publishing company where you represent others? What was your motivation to start? Do you like it? How did you get out there? Any tips? I’d love to hear from you!

Writing 101: Weekly Wrap-Up 11-15

weekly-wrap-up2

Assignment #11: If We Were Having Coffee Right Now
Assignment #12: Critique a Piece of Work – “We Real Cool”
Assignment #13: The Third Eye: 203- Word Story
Assignment #14: Recreate a Single Day
Assignment #15: When Music Becomes Movement

For your convenience, I have added a page to my Writing 101 Assignments to make them easier to find even after the course has ended.

file(1)

Writing 101: Assignment #2 – Write a List –Things I Learned

unnamed

1. I’ve learned that music is better than medicine, and that the sound of laughter is better than music.

2. I’ve learned to be humble in confidence, but courageous in character.

3. I’ve learned that to love and to be loved is the true measure of success.

4. I’ve learned that goals must be directly related to purpose.

5. I’ve learned that childhood is precious; things actually don’t get better after 21.

cropped-seal_v2-036. I’ve learned to respect elderly women as mothers, men as fathers.

7. I’ve learned that to fall and to overcome is better than to not have known struggle at all.

8. I’ve learned to appreciate the small things first, the insignificant, the lowly, and the taken for granted.

9. I’ve learned that with great authority comes greater responsibility.

10. I’ve learned that everyone has something to teach me.

The Application of Knowing

istock_000018020135xsmall-300x199

Knowing is not enough. We must apply.

 

 

 

For those of you who are among my friends list on my personal Facebook, you’ve seen this before because I’m a big advocate of doing. This means I am really cautious of people whose actions do not match their words. I am also a big advocate of noticing the small progressions that take place in our lives so it’s not just about “doing it big”, but just doing in general and learning to appreciate the small steps as well as the large. How can we continue to move forward if we cannot value the small changes?

I believe like the quote says, “you are not what you say you’ll do, but what you do”. It is for this reason that I can appreciate transparent people and why flattery gets you nowhere with me. The problem with the world is that people claim to have great intentions. We walk around and we measure our knowledge up against others. We walk around and we water the insatiable appetite to know. And while I’m an advocate of education, I also recognize that knowing is just not enough. Learning is not about acquiring information; it is about applying information acquired. The world calls it Authentic Learning, I call it common sense. Authentic Learning is basically a term that describes learning through applying knowledge in real-life contexts and situations. It’s not enough to know about something if you can’t apply it to the real world. Everyone speaks of love, for instance, but only those who actually implement love into their lives can really claim to have possessed it.

Knowing something then, is very different from acting on what you know. And this basic understanding is what can often keep us from moving forward or even starting to begin with. I don’t consider myself a successful blogger, but I do take lots of risks. Sometimes they fail miserably and sometimes they don’t. I do this because of my desire to apply what I know to my life. And I suppose this is the purpose of this post. I thought about using my quote for a number of things, but settled instead on a simple thought, no prompts attached. Whether we are learning to blog or learning to write, as you move about your day, or rather your week, concentrate not on information you know, but the application of knowing because this is what will get us where we want to be in every aspect of our lives. Whether we are growing in relationships, building online communities or cooking a meal, understand that knowing is irrelevant and even stagnant without action, and that faith without works is dead.