More excitement!
I was super early to Play & Screenwriting today because I'm a nerd, and when I got there, my teacher handed me my six-week evaluation. First, there were surprises- like that he liked my first terrible piece more than I thought he had (I was literally in tears over it), and that he didn't quite understand the last piece I submitted (which wasn't exactly a blow... I was never too enthusiastic about it myself.)
And then there was the awesome- when he wrote about my first ten-minute piece, he said he wanted to send it to this great theatre fesitval that my school took part in last year, and will be again this year. AHHHH!!!!!! I am so excited, because he'd already offered it to another girl in my class and I had wished that I could do that- and now I am!
Now the challenges begin- all submissions are due THIS week, and I need to get it down to ten pages (it's fifteen at the moment, though in the original draft, it was ten.) It's going to be hard, mostly because Alice shows begin tomorrow (invited dress... eek.) However, since we don't officially open 'til Friday, I have a whole night free on Thursday, so though I had thought I might go see a show, I think I'll stay in and work on this script. I'm so excited!
(And a little fact about this scene that I think is cool- I began writing it at last year's theatre festival, sitting in the middle of an auditorium surrounded by my fellow artists.)
Showing posts with label screenplay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label screenplay. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Um...
So I finally finally FINALLY had my first session of a class I've been wanting to take since before I was accepted to my school- a class for playwrighting and screenwriting. I was excited. I am excited. But here's the thing:
It's going to kick my butt.
Yes, my other writing class (Poetry & Fiction) is going to be a challenge for me because, well, there's poetry in there, and sharing/workshopping my work is always hard for me. But playwrighting... that's something totally different. I'm even more precious about my plays than I am about my novels. Maybe because there's less there to protect it? It's easier to realise that you need to cut out that overdone paragraph than hear that five lines of dialogue in a scene from a play need to be cut out. I thought I was ahead of the game, already having a good chunk of a new play written but... now I'm starting to second guess myself. I'm very, very daunted.
I guess I'm just getting to the point in my writing where I'm coming across roomfuls of people who are just as serious as I am. I had the same moment in my freshman acting classes, that realisation that there are people out there who care as much as I do.
My freshman writing classes, however, were a joke. I wrote stuff for those classes that, had I turned in while taking my high school AP classes, my AP teachers would have gone, "What is this crap?" and torn it up in front of my face. I was the star writer in my freshman writing classes largely because I was the only one who cared.
But now I'm going to classes where my classmates also read before class. They write every day as well. I'm not the only one nodding in understanding. AND IT'S FREAKING ME OUT. In a good way. And also in a what-is-this-parallel-universe? kind of way.
So here are my assignments for this week: start work on a project that discusses one of my inspirations as a writer and then produce and/or choose a piece we've written that shows how we're like them. Compare myself to my favorite writers? That seems sacreligous somehow.
And also write a five page scene with a conflict. I'm excited about this one. But scared, too.
And amid all of this writing will be lots of memorization. 'Cause guess what? I'm playing Alice in Alice in Wonderland :)
It's going to kick my butt.
Yes, my other writing class (Poetry & Fiction) is going to be a challenge for me because, well, there's poetry in there, and sharing/workshopping my work is always hard for me. But playwrighting... that's something totally different. I'm even more precious about my plays than I am about my novels. Maybe because there's less there to protect it? It's easier to realise that you need to cut out that overdone paragraph than hear that five lines of dialogue in a scene from a play need to be cut out. I thought I was ahead of the game, already having a good chunk of a new play written but... now I'm starting to second guess myself. I'm very, very daunted.
I guess I'm just getting to the point in my writing where I'm coming across roomfuls of people who are just as serious as I am. I had the same moment in my freshman acting classes, that realisation that there are people out there who care as much as I do.
My freshman writing classes, however, were a joke. I wrote stuff for those classes that, had I turned in while taking my high school AP classes, my AP teachers would have gone, "What is this crap?" and torn it up in front of my face. I was the star writer in my freshman writing classes largely because I was the only one who cared.
But now I'm going to classes where my classmates also read before class. They write every day as well. I'm not the only one nodding in understanding. AND IT'S FREAKING ME OUT. In a good way. And also in a what-is-this-parallel-universe? kind of way.
So here are my assignments for this week: start work on a project that discusses one of my inspirations as a writer and then produce and/or choose a piece we've written that shows how we're like them. Compare myself to my favorite writers? That seems sacreligous somehow.
And also write a five page scene with a conflict. I'm excited about this one. But scared, too.
And amid all of this writing will be lots of memorization. 'Cause guess what? I'm playing Alice in Alice in Wonderland :)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
WIP Wednesday
So today you get an excerpt of something I started about three years ago. It's a screenplay based off of a monologue I did during a haunted tour. My character, Catherine was happily engaged to a man and not too long before their wedding, they boarded a trolley to take them across town. The trolley crashed, killing her fiance and leaving Catherine as one of the only survivors. She ends up marrying someone else out of duty (it was the 1800s, after all), and though the man is kind to her, they hardly even ever speak. In addition to that, due to the accident, Catherine can't have any children. She spends her remarkably long life wishing she was with the fiance she loved.
I loved this monologue (though I hated myself doing it) and I wrote a lot of the screenplay branching off of the basics given in the monologue. I changed a few things- Catherine became Caroline and I changed a few of the other names, as well as bumping up the time period a bit. But I remained true to most of the story, and I did a lot of crying as I wrote it. So here, untouched for several years, is a scene that takes place after Caroline agrees to marry her obligation guy.
INT. CAROLINE’S ROOM
Minnie rushes into Caroline’s room, excited as usual. Caroline is startled but happy to see her.
MINNIE
Oh, Caroline, I’ve just heard! It’s so exciting!!!
CAROLINE
(still trying to get over Minnie’s bursting in like that)
What?
MINNIE
That you’re engaged, silly!
CAROLINE
Oh, that… yes. (Puzzled) Wait- how did you hear about it?
MINNIE
Directly from the source- Julia heard it from Margaret who heard it from Sara who overheard it when Victoria told Ellen, and Victoria’s parents heard it from Kel’s parents. So anyway, silly, I heard you were engaged, but I never found out to whom, so I rushed right over here to find out! So who is it?
CAROLINE
(without enthusiasm)
Christopher Chancellor.
MINNIE
(trying out the name)
Christopher Chancellor… Mrs. Christopher Chancellor… Mrs. Caroline Chan- wait. Christopher Chancellor, as in Christine Chancellor’s older brother?
CAROLINE
(still with very little emotion)
‘Chancellor’ is not that common a name.
MINNIE
Christopher Chancellor?!
CAROLINE
(exasperated)
Would you like me to write it down for you?
MINNIE
(for once, realizing what she’s said… maybe)
No… No, I’m sorry. I just- (with a desperate look at Caroline) Christopher Chancellor?
CAROLINE
Minnie, please. If you’re not here to offer you congratulations- or condolences- please leave.
MINNIE
I’m sorry, Carrie. I’m happy for you, really. I mean, this has to be a good sign, doesn’t it?
CAROLINE
(looking at the ceiling)
My parents seem to think so.
MINNIE
Well, that’s good then, I suppose. (Pause) I’d never have predicted you’d end up with him, though.
CAROLINE
(not looking at her, sardonically)
Funny, I had it planned all along.
MINNIE
I mean, not that you’re not a good match. It’s just you’re so- you and he’s so…
CAROLINE
What?
MINNIE
Boring. He’s one of the dullest people I’ve ever met. Never any emotion. He’s just so… placid.
CAROLINE
Minnie, next to you, a firecracker looks placid.
MINNIE
I’m just saying it’s an interesting match, that’s all.
CAROLINE
Thank you, Minnie. Your input is invaluable. Good bye.
MINNIE
(getting up, a bit confused)
All right, well… I’ll be going then…
She leaves, not sure if she’s just been insulted or not. Caroline watches her go, then puts her hands over her face and sighs deeply.
I loved this monologue (though I hated myself doing it) and I wrote a lot of the screenplay branching off of the basics given in the monologue. I changed a few things- Catherine became Caroline and I changed a few of the other names, as well as bumping up the time period a bit. But I remained true to most of the story, and I did a lot of crying as I wrote it. So here, untouched for several years, is a scene that takes place after Caroline agrees to marry her obligation guy.
INT. CAROLINE’S ROOM
Minnie rushes into Caroline’s room, excited as usual. Caroline is startled but happy to see her.
MINNIE
Oh, Caroline, I’ve just heard! It’s so exciting!!!
CAROLINE
(still trying to get over Minnie’s bursting in like that)
What?
MINNIE
That you’re engaged, silly!
CAROLINE
Oh, that… yes. (Puzzled) Wait- how did you hear about it?
MINNIE
Directly from the source- Julia heard it from Margaret who heard it from Sara who overheard it when Victoria told Ellen, and Victoria’s parents heard it from Kel’s parents. So anyway, silly, I heard you were engaged, but I never found out to whom, so I rushed right over here to find out! So who is it?
CAROLINE
(without enthusiasm)
Christopher Chancellor.
MINNIE
(trying out the name)
Christopher Chancellor… Mrs. Christopher Chancellor… Mrs. Caroline Chan- wait. Christopher Chancellor, as in Christine Chancellor’s older brother?
CAROLINE
(still with very little emotion)
‘Chancellor’ is not that common a name.
MINNIE
Christopher Chancellor?!
CAROLINE
(exasperated)
Would you like me to write it down for you?
MINNIE
(for once, realizing what she’s said… maybe)
No… No, I’m sorry. I just- (with a desperate look at Caroline) Christopher Chancellor?
CAROLINE
Minnie, please. If you’re not here to offer you congratulations- or condolences- please leave.
MINNIE
I’m sorry, Carrie. I’m happy for you, really. I mean, this has to be a good sign, doesn’t it?
CAROLINE
(looking at the ceiling)
My parents seem to think so.
MINNIE
Well, that’s good then, I suppose. (Pause) I’d never have predicted you’d end up with him, though.
CAROLINE
(not looking at her, sardonically)
Funny, I had it planned all along.
MINNIE
I mean, not that you’re not a good match. It’s just you’re so- you and he’s so…
CAROLINE
What?
MINNIE
Boring. He’s one of the dullest people I’ve ever met. Never any emotion. He’s just so… placid.
CAROLINE
Minnie, next to you, a firecracker looks placid.
MINNIE
I’m just saying it’s an interesting match, that’s all.
CAROLINE
Thank you, Minnie. Your input is invaluable. Good bye.
MINNIE
(getting up, a bit confused)
All right, well… I’ll be going then…
She leaves, not sure if she’s just been insulted or not. Caroline watches her go, then puts her hands over her face and sighs deeply.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Melodrama and Shooting on Location
I know, I know, it's been awhile. But I swear I plan to post something for this week's WIP Wednesday, although I don't think it will be from my NaNo novel, since I'm too scared to delve into the edits. Unfortunately, I have to eventually- my friend asked me to edit his novel, which I happily agreed to, but then he said, "On one condition." "What's that?" I asked. "That you let me read your novel." Cue the needle-ripping-off-of-the-record sound that they use in movies. My novel is sooo far from being reading material. It's mostly the fact that he is a close friend of mine who has read a lot of my writing, but this novel is much different from any of my other material. It's very, very dramatic- almost melodramatic- which is most worrying. I put my characters through so much that I'm worried it's laughable. But I have promised him that he will read it one day, so I will have to start the edits sometime.
In other writing news, another of my shorts is being produced on Friday by the film company I'm involved with! I'm really excited about this one because I'm pretty proud of the script. I started it in early January and worked on it for awhile with the aforementioned friend helping out with some stuff. It's cute and romantic and I hope it turns out well. It's also exciting because a) I am acting in it as well as being the writer and b) we're not shooting in our kitchens; we actually have a location (a local and really cool, artsy cafe). I love shooting on location, especially with this crew, even though the last time we did, we almost got arrested- but that just added to the fun and gave us a fun anecdote. And on the fifth of next month, the crew is taking a non-film-related trip to New York City!
In other writing news, another of my shorts is being produced on Friday by the film company I'm involved with! I'm really excited about this one because I'm pretty proud of the script. I started it in early January and worked on it for awhile with the aforementioned friend helping out with some stuff. It's cute and romantic and I hope it turns out well. It's also exciting because a) I am acting in it as well as being the writer and b) we're not shooting in our kitchens; we actually have a location (a local and really cool, artsy cafe). I love shooting on location, especially with this crew, even though the last time we did, we almost got arrested- but that just added to the fun and gave us a fun anecdote. And on the fifth of next month, the crew is taking a non-film-related trip to New York City!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
WIP Wednesday!
Today you get a taste of something very different- a comedic screenplay!
Unfortunately, this script will probably not be produced in any way because there's not enough conflict in the story. However, I really enjoyed writing it and if I have time over the summer, I'll tweak it to see if it might work another way. For now, though, here's a snippet of a story of two men who own a successful dry cleaning business:
RICK and DAVE sit down at a table with their drinks.
DAVE
Nice crowd so far today, huh?
RICK
Yeah, I could hardly keep up.
DAVE
Sometimes I’m still shocked at how well the business is doing. I mean, who would’ve thought that dry cleaning, of all things, would make us a small fortune? (Laughs) And my mother wanted me to be a doctor.
RICK
I know, right? And I’m having an even better time with it than I thought I would.
DAVE
Me, too.
RICK
Truly amazing.
DAVE
It was a great idea.
RICK
Genius.
DAVE
Inspired.
RICK
And our success-
DAVE
Something most people only dream about.
RICK
Definitely.
DAVE
We hit the jackpot.
RICK
We really did.
DAVE
I hate it.
RICK
So do I.
A moment passes as they look at each other in amazement… and some relief.
DAVE
You, too?
RICK
Oh, God, yeah. Every day is like ten hours of slow, painful torture.
DAVE
The sounds the machine makes when it’s agitating the clothing… I hear them in my sleep.
RICK
The smell of the solvent… it’s everywhere, even when I leave the store.
DAVE
And the people-
RICK
There are so many of them.
DAVE
I mean, they’re all great, really nice people.
RICK
But there are so many of them. All the time. And for each one of them, we have to check at least two pockets per item of clothing that they give us. Do you realize how many pens we have in the back? Can’t people take them out of their own pockets? (Beat)I have a dream, Dave. A dream that one day, I will find a pen in a pocket and I will leave it there. And then I will put the coat or the shirt or whatever it is in the machine and I will close the door and I will press the start button, and through the tiny window, I will watch the ink from the pen destroy the garment beyond recovery. And I will enjoy it.
DAVE
Unfortunately, this script will probably not be produced in any way because there's not enough conflict in the story. However, I really enjoyed writing it and if I have time over the summer, I'll tweak it to see if it might work another way. For now, though, here's a snippet of a story of two men who own a successful dry cleaning business:
INT. COFFEE SHOP
RICK and DAVE sit down at a table with their drinks.
DAVE
Nice crowd so far today, huh?
RICK
Yeah, I could hardly keep up.
DAVE
Sometimes I’m still shocked at how well the business is doing. I mean, who would’ve thought that dry cleaning, of all things, would make us a small fortune? (Laughs) And my mother wanted me to be a doctor.
RICK
I know, right? And I’m having an even better time with it than I thought I would.
DAVE
Me, too.
RICK
Truly amazing.
DAVE
It was a great idea.
RICK
Genius.
DAVE
Inspired.
RICK
And our success-
DAVE
Something most people only dream about.
RICK
Definitely.
DAVE
We hit the jackpot.
RICK
We really did.
DAVE
I hate it.
RICK
So do I.
A moment passes as they look at each other in amazement… and some relief.
DAVE
You, too?
RICK
Oh, God, yeah. Every day is like ten hours of slow, painful torture.
DAVE
The sounds the machine makes when it’s agitating the clothing… I hear them in my sleep.
RICK
The smell of the solvent… it’s everywhere, even when I leave the store.
DAVE
And the people-
RICK
There are so many of them.
DAVE
I mean, they’re all great, really nice people.
RICK
But there are so many of them. All the time. And for each one of them, we have to check at least two pockets per item of clothing that they give us. Do you realize how many pens we have in the back? Can’t people take them out of their own pockets? (Beat)I have a dream, Dave. A dream that one day, I will find a pen in a pocket and I will leave it there. And then I will put the coat or the shirt or whatever it is in the machine and I will close the door and I will press the start button, and through the tiny window, I will watch the ink from the pen destroy the garment beyond recovery. And I will enjoy it.
DAVE
Wow. And I thought I was far gone.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Uh Oh...
Wow...
How can a ten-page script be so threatening? I have about an hour and a half before I leave for my last day of filming, so I decided to work on the Assassin script a little bit. As I've mentioned, this is a mini-series of about ten or fifteen ten-minute scripts. In screenwriting, there is generally a page per minute, and ten pages is not that long. But for some reason, I am having huge problems with this project. I have a little more than a skeleton of a plot and I guess I'm just afraid of doing it wrong and then showing it to the rest of the Enscribe crew.
Guess I should just dive in...
How can a ten-page script be so threatening? I have about an hour and a half before I leave for my last day of filming, so I decided to work on the Assassin script a little bit. As I've mentioned, this is a mini-series of about ten or fifteen ten-minute scripts. In screenwriting, there is generally a page per minute, and ten pages is not that long. But for some reason, I am having huge problems with this project. I have a little more than a skeleton of a plot and I guess I'm just afraid of doing it wrong and then showing it to the rest of the Enscribe crew.
Guess I should just dive in...
Friday, March 5, 2010
Writing My Own Opportunities
This blog is about my writing... which means this blog, at the moment, is about one of the only things that is keeping me sane at the moment.
See, when I'm not being a student at college, my life is mostly focused on being an actor. Besides the fact that I'm studying acting at school, a good chunk of my free time is spent looking for auditions, preparing for auditions, going on auditions... and then waiting. The waiting doesn't really bother me because I know that's how it works most of the time. But usually, something comes of that waiting, namely a job. And lately... it's just not happening.
This very frustrating to me because when I was in high school (a mere year and a half ago), I was always in a show. Most of the time I was in two at once. I was by no means the lead in most of them, but even a chorus role made me happy because I loved being at rehearsal. When I wasn't at rehearsal, I was at auditions. During performances, I sat at the dark edges of the wings and did my homework by the lights of the stage, quickly stuffing it away when it was time for my entrance.
Last year was a little slower than usual, but I chalked it up to the fact that I was in a new town. I went crazy for one showless semester and then I got the biggest show of my life so far- a wonderful Equity show where I played a fun, constantly-crying character in a little-known but fantastic play. The small cast was the best I've ever worked with, and the same goes for the crew.
This particular show has been on my mind a lot lately, for two major reasons. A) In two days, it will be the anniversary of its closing after an extremely successful run and B) I have been showless for eight months. EIGHT MONTHS.
I wish I could say it's because I've been lazy or busy. I have been loaded down with schoolwork and stuff, but I've been auditioning constantly... and gotten nothing. I had an audition at the beginning of last month where I knew the pianist, who kept me updated on what was going on behind the scenes. For two weeks I heard nothing but "You're in the top two" "The director loved you", etc. etc. Wonderful, encouraging things... and then I didn't even get a callback.
My acting teachers have assured me that this is all "fine" and normal. And maybe it is... but I can't help but feel restless to the point where I will do anything for a show.
So how does this relate to my writing? Well, as I've mentioned before, I'm part of a film crew. I became involved with them when we were all in eighth grade. Now we're nineteen and twenty and still working together. While I started out playing bit parts in their short films, I'm now their go-to actress (the rest of the crew are boys) and writer. I've written two feature films for them- one that we shot in the summer and fall of senior year and another that we're doing this summer. I've been cranking out shorts for us to do in between feature shooting and the aforementioned Stuart (director, writer, actor, and friend) has asked me to write a series of shorts that follow the same storyline, something I've never tried before.
This is all wonderful for my writing. Writing shorts, especially, has given me a freedom I've never experienced. I'm mostly a novel/feature-length screenplay writer, and working a plot, or part of a plot, so that it fits into a certain timeslot is a new challenge for me, and a really fun one at that! So far this semester, I've written about a brother and sister on a killing spree, a long-lost romance rekindled in a coffee shop in the wee hours of the morning, an odd and comical encounter at a funeral, and the return of a prodigal sister. This is stuff I'd probably never get to touch in a novel, and maybe not even a screenplay.
As good as it is for my writing, it's just as beneficial for my acting. As I said, this is all stuff I would probably not normally write about. It's also stuff I wouldn't usually act in. I'm generally cast as the sweet (sometimes overly-emotional) teenager (case in point- in my school's musical theatre club, I just got cast as Leisl in Sixteen Going on Seventeen.) I adore playing these characters because they're very close to me and I love them. But I won't be able to play them forever. While I'll probably always look young for my age, I won't always look sixteen (even though I'm beginning to sense that I'll always feel sixteen inside.) Writing these crazy parts is an interesting process because, as the only girl on the film crew, I know that most likely, I'll be the one playing the female parts. I could take the easy way out and only write the sweet girl characters. I could, but that wouldn't challenge me as a writer or as an actor. My teachers are school are working to stretch my range (one of them loves to cast me in roles for class where I scream and rant a lot), and I want to figure out how to do that myself.
So I'm going to continue to audition- you bet I'm going to continue- but I'm not content to sit around and wait. I'm going to keep writing and acting and practicing and maybe one day, it will all work out.
See, when I'm not being a student at college, my life is mostly focused on being an actor. Besides the fact that I'm studying acting at school, a good chunk of my free time is spent looking for auditions, preparing for auditions, going on auditions... and then waiting. The waiting doesn't really bother me because I know that's how it works most of the time. But usually, something comes of that waiting, namely a job. And lately... it's just not happening.
This very frustrating to me because when I was in high school (a mere year and a half ago), I was always in a show. Most of the time I was in two at once. I was by no means the lead in most of them, but even a chorus role made me happy because I loved being at rehearsal. When I wasn't at rehearsal, I was at auditions. During performances, I sat at the dark edges of the wings and did my homework by the lights of the stage, quickly stuffing it away when it was time for my entrance.
Last year was a little slower than usual, but I chalked it up to the fact that I was in a new town. I went crazy for one showless semester and then I got the biggest show of my life so far- a wonderful Equity show where I played a fun, constantly-crying character in a little-known but fantastic play. The small cast was the best I've ever worked with, and the same goes for the crew.
This particular show has been on my mind a lot lately, for two major reasons. A) In two days, it will be the anniversary of its closing after an extremely successful run and B) I have been showless for eight months. EIGHT MONTHS.
I wish I could say it's because I've been lazy or busy. I have been loaded down with schoolwork and stuff, but I've been auditioning constantly... and gotten nothing. I had an audition at the beginning of last month where I knew the pianist, who kept me updated on what was going on behind the scenes. For two weeks I heard nothing but "You're in the top two" "The director loved you", etc. etc. Wonderful, encouraging things... and then I didn't even get a callback.
My acting teachers have assured me that this is all "fine" and normal. And maybe it is... but I can't help but feel restless to the point where I will do anything for a show.
So how does this relate to my writing? Well, as I've mentioned before, I'm part of a film crew. I became involved with them when we were all in eighth grade. Now we're nineteen and twenty and still working together. While I started out playing bit parts in their short films, I'm now their go-to actress (the rest of the crew are boys) and writer. I've written two feature films for them- one that we shot in the summer and fall of senior year and another that we're doing this summer. I've been cranking out shorts for us to do in between feature shooting and the aforementioned Stuart (director, writer, actor, and friend) has asked me to write a series of shorts that follow the same storyline, something I've never tried before.
This is all wonderful for my writing. Writing shorts, especially, has given me a freedom I've never experienced. I'm mostly a novel/feature-length screenplay writer, and working a plot, or part of a plot, so that it fits into a certain timeslot is a new challenge for me, and a really fun one at that! So far this semester, I've written about a brother and sister on a killing spree, a long-lost romance rekindled in a coffee shop in the wee hours of the morning, an odd and comical encounter at a funeral, and the return of a prodigal sister. This is stuff I'd probably never get to touch in a novel, and maybe not even a screenplay.
As good as it is for my writing, it's just as beneficial for my acting. As I said, this is all stuff I would probably not normally write about. It's also stuff I wouldn't usually act in. I'm generally cast as the sweet (sometimes overly-emotional) teenager (case in point- in my school's musical theatre club, I just got cast as Leisl in Sixteen Going on Seventeen.) I adore playing these characters because they're very close to me and I love them. But I won't be able to play them forever. While I'll probably always look young for my age, I won't always look sixteen (even though I'm beginning to sense that I'll always feel sixteen inside.) Writing these crazy parts is an interesting process because, as the only girl on the film crew, I know that most likely, I'll be the one playing the female parts. I could take the easy way out and only write the sweet girl characters. I could, but that wouldn't challenge me as a writer or as an actor. My teachers are school are working to stretch my range (one of them loves to cast me in roles for class where I scream and rant a lot), and I want to figure out how to do that myself.
So I'm going to continue to audition- you bet I'm going to continue- but I'm not content to sit around and wait. I'm going to keep writing and acting and practicing and maybe one day, it will all work out.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Learning to Adapt
I have mentioned before my Children's Theatre and I will probably talk about it occasionally for the next few months because WOW do I love it! It's funny that I say that because I was quite scared of children's theatre before, thinking it a scary, foreign animal of acting. But in addition to finding out that it is, in fact, no such thing, I am also loving the class so much because we're talking about writing and adaptation.
Adaptation is something I've been interested in since... before I knew what it was. It's natural for children to mimick, and naturally I gravitated toward my favorite stories. As I grew older and continued to be an avid reader, I found myself wanting to play certain characters from the books I devoured, and this led me to adapt the stories.
In the past few years, there are certain books that really jump out at me for adaptation. The biggest one is For Freedom, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. I have a half-written screenplay based off of it and one day, I would love to get the rights to truly adapt it (I think it would make a wonderful stage play as well as movie; I'd love to do both, but especially the stage version.)
I always thought this dream was one that I'd secretly stew over, secretly and illegally adapting bits and peices of novels into plays that would never be mounted on a stage. But this class is showig me that perhaps I can actually do this- and what a wonderful class to discover this in! Our teacher is a produced and published playwright herself, so who better to teach us about the subject? I have a new hope about what I can do... and maybe one day, I'll just succeed :)
Adaptation is something I've been interested in since... before I knew what it was. It's natural for children to mimick, and naturally I gravitated toward my favorite stories. As I grew older and continued to be an avid reader, I found myself wanting to play certain characters from the books I devoured, and this led me to adapt the stories.
In the past few years, there are certain books that really jump out at me for adaptation. The biggest one is For Freedom, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. I have a half-written screenplay based off of it and one day, I would love to get the rights to truly adapt it (I think it would make a wonderful stage play as well as movie; I'd love to do both, but especially the stage version.)
I always thought this dream was one that I'd secretly stew over, secretly and illegally adapting bits and peices of novels into plays that would never be mounted on a stage. But this class is showig me that perhaps I can actually do this- and what a wonderful class to discover this in! Our teacher is a produced and published playwright herself, so who better to teach us about the subject? I have a new hope about what I can do... and maybe one day, I'll just succeed :)
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Writing Meme
I've been seeing this meme on other writers' blogs and wanted to try it out myself. It was actually quite hard because while I think about my writing all the time, I guess I never looked at it from these angles.
1.) What's the last thing you wrote?
A few pages of a story idea I got from the Adopt a Plot section on the NaNo boards. While I really like the idea, another girl saw that I had remarked that I liked it and was worried that I'd write the story, as she had "claimed" it first, so I was forced to abandon it. I might return to it here and there, though, just because it's been fun to write.
2)What's the first thing you wrote that you still have?
I have a "story" from first grade about how much I "lyke ladebugs". You can't deny my writing talent from the start :p
3) Write poetry?
No, never. I've never really enjoyed poetry- writing or reading it.
4)Angsty poetry?
Nope.
5)Favorite genre of writing?
Young adult, historical, mystery... or all three combined!
6)Most annoying character you've ever created?
Ooh, wow... probably Angelina from an untitled story about summer camp. She was based on someone I had actually gone to camp with previously, and it didn't take much embellishment to up her annoying factor.
7) Best plot you've ever created?
Probably Remembrance. It still needs some work, but I really do love it.
8) Coolest plot twist you've ever created?
Hm... I quite like Gloria's double-crossing in Remembrance.
9) How often do you get writer's block?
Quite, but I try to work through it, especially since I think it's caused by lack of confidence as opposed to lack of ideas.
10) Write fan fiction?
I guess I have, in a sense. I used to do written role-playing online, which I suppose is a form of fan fiction. However, I've never sat down with the goal to write about characters already in existence; even my RPs involved characters that rarely met the people from the original story.
11) Do you type or write by hand?
Both. Ultimately I type, but when I'm without a computer, which is about 50% of my writing time, I get it all down by hand, and then transfer it onto the computer.
12) Do you save everything you write?
Yes, including different drafts. I like to see the evolution.
13) Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it?
I don't think I ever really abandon ideas, but I do return to writings I've left for a long time. I enjoy the changes I'm able to make as I change as a person and a writer.
14)What's your favorite thing you've ever written?
Ooh, tough. Probably the comedy screenplay I've been co-writing with my friend Katie since the tenth grade.
15) What's everyone else's favorite story you've written?
Well, I don't write strictly stories, and I don't show my stories to anyone... But out of the rest of my writing, people seem to really enjoy the aforementioned screenplay, Crosse's Time.
16)Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
I'm not very good at writing romance, but I've tried to integrate it here and there. I hope to God I've never written angsty teen drama, as I don't enjoy reading it.
17) What's your favorite setting for your characters?
I seem to write them outside a lot. There's a lot of freedom outside.
18) How many writing projects are you working on right now?
About 5. I'm editing Remembrance and Crosse's Time, still writing Caroline's Story and Q/Quarantined, and a screenplay of mine (Requited) is being produced by my friends and I, so I'm sure I'll have tweaks for that too.
19)Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Yeah, I got an award in eleventh grade for a screenplay I wrote... the work is embarassingly bad, though. I can't even look at it now.
20) What are your five favorite words?
Quintessential, deplorable, serious, melodious, deign.
21) What character have you created that is most like yourself?
Lexa Harris from my NaNo attempt last year, For the Stage. Basically the Victorian me.
22) Where do you get your ideas for your characters?
People I know, other characters I like, names, songs... everywhere, I suppose.
23)Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Yeah! There is one in particular, an untitled comtemporary YA that was my first and only venture into the supernatural, that I had dreamed the ending to. However, because those were my days of writing linearly, I never got the the end.
24) Do you favor happy endings?
No, not exactly. If it fits, I won't fight it, but both as a reader and a writer, I like endings that make you think, which usually aren't the happy ones.
25) Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Yes, definitely. I don't know how you can't be.
26) Does music help you write?
Yes, most definitely. I do need it to be the proper mood/time period, though, and preferably just intrumental or I tend to write the lyrics.
27) Quote something you've written. Whatever pops in your head.
To choose something randomly from Q/uarantined:
Eliza stopped and looked behind her. She couldn’t see the headlights yet, but she was certain a car was coming. Sure enough, a few seconds later, twin lights crested the hill. When the car got nearer, Eliza waved her arms, hoping to catch the driver’s attention. It worked, and the car slowed.
“You need help, honey?” The bearded man behind the steering wheel leaned over to talk to her through the passenger seat window.
“Could you give me a ride to St. Claire’s Hospital?” Eliza asked, widening her eyes and hoping she looked innocent.
“Of course. Are you sick? Should I call an ambulance?”
“No, it’s not me,” Eliza lied. “My mom was just rushed there and my aunt and uncle are out of town. There’s no one to take me to see her. I’ll pay you for gas, if that’s what you want.”
“No, no, don’t worry about it. Hop in. I’ll get you there as fast as I can,” the man said, reaching across to unlatch the door.
“Thank you so much.” The gratitude in Eliza’s voice was real as she climbed into the car. She closed the door and put on her seatbelt. As she secured the buckle with a snap, she heard a second click behind her. She turned her head and froze at the sight of a gun aimed straight at her head.
“Don’t move,” Abigail commanded, placing her finger on the trigger.
And now I must go figure out how my brown hair dye turned my hair black...
1.) What's the last thing you wrote?
A few pages of a story idea I got from the Adopt a Plot section on the NaNo boards. While I really like the idea, another girl saw that I had remarked that I liked it and was worried that I'd write the story, as she had "claimed" it first, so I was forced to abandon it. I might return to it here and there, though, just because it's been fun to write.
2)What's the first thing you wrote that you still have?
I have a "story" from first grade about how much I "lyke ladebugs". You can't deny my writing talent from the start :p
3) Write poetry?
No, never. I've never really enjoyed poetry- writing or reading it.
4)Angsty poetry?
Nope.
5)Favorite genre of writing?
Young adult, historical, mystery... or all three combined!
6)Most annoying character you've ever created?
Ooh, wow... probably Angelina from an untitled story about summer camp. She was based on someone I had actually gone to camp with previously, and it didn't take much embellishment to up her annoying factor.
7) Best plot you've ever created?
Probably Remembrance. It still needs some work, but I really do love it.
8) Coolest plot twist you've ever created?
Hm... I quite like Gloria's double-crossing in Remembrance.
9) How often do you get writer's block?
Quite, but I try to work through it, especially since I think it's caused by lack of confidence as opposed to lack of ideas.
10) Write fan fiction?
I guess I have, in a sense. I used to do written role-playing online, which I suppose is a form of fan fiction. However, I've never sat down with the goal to write about characters already in existence; even my RPs involved characters that rarely met the people from the original story.
11) Do you type or write by hand?
Both. Ultimately I type, but when I'm without a computer, which is about 50% of my writing time, I get it all down by hand, and then transfer it onto the computer.
12) Do you save everything you write?
Yes, including different drafts. I like to see the evolution.
13) Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it?
I don't think I ever really abandon ideas, but I do return to writings I've left for a long time. I enjoy the changes I'm able to make as I change as a person and a writer.
14)What's your favorite thing you've ever written?
Ooh, tough. Probably the comedy screenplay I've been co-writing with my friend Katie since the tenth grade.
15) What's everyone else's favorite story you've written?
Well, I don't write strictly stories, and I don't show my stories to anyone... But out of the rest of my writing, people seem to really enjoy the aforementioned screenplay, Crosse's Time.
16)Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
I'm not very good at writing romance, but I've tried to integrate it here and there. I hope to God I've never written angsty teen drama, as I don't enjoy reading it.
17) What's your favorite setting for your characters?
I seem to write them outside a lot. There's a lot of freedom outside.
18) How many writing projects are you working on right now?
About 5. I'm editing Remembrance and Crosse's Time, still writing Caroline's Story and Q/Quarantined, and a screenplay of mine (Requited) is being produced by my friends and I, so I'm sure I'll have tweaks for that too.
19)Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Yeah, I got an award in eleventh grade for a screenplay I wrote... the work is embarassingly bad, though. I can't even look at it now.
20) What are your five favorite words?
Quintessential, deplorable, serious, melodious, deign.
21) What character have you created that is most like yourself?
Lexa Harris from my NaNo attempt last year, For the Stage. Basically the Victorian me.
22) Where do you get your ideas for your characters?
People I know, other characters I like, names, songs... everywhere, I suppose.
23)Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Yeah! There is one in particular, an untitled comtemporary YA that was my first and only venture into the supernatural, that I had dreamed the ending to. However, because those were my days of writing linearly, I never got the the end.
24) Do you favor happy endings?
No, not exactly. If it fits, I won't fight it, but both as a reader and a writer, I like endings that make you think, which usually aren't the happy ones.
25) Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Yes, definitely. I don't know how you can't be.
26) Does music help you write?
Yes, most definitely. I do need it to be the proper mood/time period, though, and preferably just intrumental or I tend to write the lyrics.
27) Quote something you've written. Whatever pops in your head.
To choose something randomly from Q/uarantined:
Eliza stopped and looked behind her. She couldn’t see the headlights yet, but she was certain a car was coming. Sure enough, a few seconds later, twin lights crested the hill. When the car got nearer, Eliza waved her arms, hoping to catch the driver’s attention. It worked, and the car slowed.
“You need help, honey?” The bearded man behind the steering wheel leaned over to talk to her through the passenger seat window.
“Could you give me a ride to St. Claire’s Hospital?” Eliza asked, widening her eyes and hoping she looked innocent.
“Of course. Are you sick? Should I call an ambulance?”
“No, it’s not me,” Eliza lied. “My mom was just rushed there and my aunt and uncle are out of town. There’s no one to take me to see her. I’ll pay you for gas, if that’s what you want.”
“No, no, don’t worry about it. Hop in. I’ll get you there as fast as I can,” the man said, reaching across to unlatch the door.
“Thank you so much.” The gratitude in Eliza’s voice was real as she climbed into the car. She closed the door and put on her seatbelt. As she secured the buckle with a snap, she heard a second click behind her. She turned her head and froze at the sight of a gun aimed straight at her head.
“Don’t move,” Abigail commanded, placing her finger on the trigger.
And now I must go figure out how my brown hair dye turned my hair black...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Chapter Thirty: A New Beginning?
At the end of tomorrow, I will lock my novel away for a month. In order to keep myself from taking it out of the drawer (because it doesn't really lock), I will be editing a fellow WriMo's novel and working on a few of my own projects.
The first project is the novel I began around September to keep myself from starting my NaNo novel early, entitled Q (or Quarantined... I haven't quite decided). It's about a fourteen year old girl, Eliza, who is afflicted with the Attentuate Virus, or AV. Only 24 people worldwide have ever been affected and no one has lived longer than three years with it in their system. Eliza was diagnosed at age twelve and as her fifteenth birthday approaches, Eliza can only hope that a cure will be discovered. On the eve of her fifteenth birthday, she is visited by Jonah, a seventeen yesar old high school drop-out who announces that a team of chemists (of which he is one) has found the cure to AV. Eliza is not sure whether to believe him or not, but she decides that between death and adventure, she chooses adventure. I've already got 25,000 words of it and I really like what I've got so far. I can't wait to get back to it.
The second project is a screenplay I started a few years ago, untitled as of now. It was inspired by a monologue I performed in a haunted lantern tour. My character was named Catherine, a woman of 80 years old who had had nothing to live for since she was about twenty, when her fiance was killed in a trolley accident. She ends up marrying a guy who's nice but not terribly interesting (or interested in her). I renamed the character Caroline in my screenplay and had lots of fun creating the characters of her fiance (who I eventually fell in love with) and her two best friends, Keladry and Minnie. I haven't touched this screenplay for a really long time because it's so sad and I just looked at it tonight for the first time in awhile. I really want to work on it again.
Now, I must ask you, Reader- are you interested in hearing about any of this? Or shall I close down this blog until next year's NaNo? I'll have a lot more to write about since I'm working on three projects as opposed to one.
And now, I must to homework!
The first project is the novel I began around September to keep myself from starting my NaNo novel early, entitled Q (or Quarantined... I haven't quite decided). It's about a fourteen year old girl, Eliza, who is afflicted with the Attentuate Virus, or AV. Only 24 people worldwide have ever been affected and no one has lived longer than three years with it in their system. Eliza was diagnosed at age twelve and as her fifteenth birthday approaches, Eliza can only hope that a cure will be discovered. On the eve of her fifteenth birthday, she is visited by Jonah, a seventeen yesar old high school drop-out who announces that a team of chemists (of which he is one) has found the cure to AV. Eliza is not sure whether to believe him or not, but she decides that between death and adventure, she chooses adventure. I've already got 25,000 words of it and I really like what I've got so far. I can't wait to get back to it.
The second project is a screenplay I started a few years ago, untitled as of now. It was inspired by a monologue I performed in a haunted lantern tour. My character was named Catherine, a woman of 80 years old who had had nothing to live for since she was about twenty, when her fiance was killed in a trolley accident. She ends up marrying a guy who's nice but not terribly interesting (or interested in her). I renamed the character Caroline in my screenplay and had lots of fun creating the characters of her fiance (who I eventually fell in love with) and her two best friends, Keladry and Minnie. I haven't touched this screenplay for a really long time because it's so sad and I just looked at it tonight for the first time in awhile. I really want to work on it again.
Now, I must ask you, Reader- are you interested in hearing about any of this? Or shall I close down this blog until next year's NaNo? I'll have a lot more to write about since I'm working on three projects as opposed to one.
And now, I must to homework!
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