Negro Brooding

Break into three

2009-08-31T16:03:00.003-04:00

So I finished plotting my screenplay and am now in the index card phase. One of the biggest problems I came across was the third act. I knew what the last scene looks likes, but the sequences that get me there was what I had a problem with.

This is a low concept script I'm working on, so I had to figure out an inevitable but surprising climax. If it was an action script, there would have been a battle. If it was a script about a struggling musician or other kind of performer, it would have ended with a song or other kind of performance. But not being able to fall on all that has left me with something so much better, so much more original.

At least in theory. I haven't even started writing the actual script yet, and I have been distracted by the world's most annoying neighbor (oh yeah, I will put him in a script or story one day). He always asks for something. Now, when I turn him down, which I have to because I'm not a 7/11, he offers to pay me back. Not only do I doubt that (again, this is a guy who continually needs to ask for stuff), but at this point I'd pay money not to speak with him. Oh, and now he's religious. Not enough to realizing attempting to get a favor from someone daily is wrong, but enough to accuse me of being demon possessed for not letting him use my phone.

But getting back to the subject, I'm really proud of this story. I don't know if that means anything because every script I've written has been better than the last and only a few have been good. I just have to sit down and write it.

Brooding of you,
Mr. Jordan

P.S.

Note the low budget progress bar at the side. That wasn't just copy and pasting; it was copy, pasting, and writing a sentence worth of code.

Hal Spacejock Ebooks - DMR free

2009-03-24T09:33:00.005-04:00

Loved Mass Effect? Hated Mass Effect for the PC? In an age where PC games are hacking your system in the quest to secure "their" property, Australian Sci-fi writer (and software maker) Simon Hayes is offering his Hal Spacejock novels as eBooks for A$5 (that's under 3.50 to us Yanks) without DRM. Get them here.

Hopefully, all my readers remember when I blogged about the first novel being given away for free. If both of you took advantage, you know how funny this series is.

Brooding of You,
Mr. Jordan

John August is a good man

2008-01-22T22:34:00.001-05:00

I regularly read John August's site. It's filled with lots of tips and tales, it even has a spec script or two. Be sure to check it out sometime.

And no, I am not getting anything for recommending it.

Cute girls in towels

2008-01-12T23:17:00.001-05:00

The cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica have shown their support for the writer's guild. This has lead to a group of women calling themselves Bamber Bunnies, after Galactica's Jamie Bamber, to support the Pencils2Moguls campaign. The fact that they decided to do so by making videos while wrapped in towels is... interesting to say the least.

Not that I'm complaining, mind you (why would I). I just want to draw people's attention to the different ways people are supporting the writers. I also found a very interesting video of Harlan Ellison that every new writer should see:

Striking out!

2008-01-12T22:52:00.000-05:00

I guess I should write about the current strike; not for the writers or anyone in the industry, but for the common viewer who may have gotten misinformation. The current strike is mostly about new media, i.e. the internet. At this moment, a writer gets nothing when you download an episode from iTunes or watch an episode online from a network's website (with paid advertisements). For the corporations, however, the internet is a source of huge profits (as they have explained to their stock holders).
Now, the fair thing to do would be to give the creators a percentage of the profits that the corps (hehe) would be making off the their creative output. But the response? The Corpses claim that they're not making any money or that the future of the internet is uncertain (unlike they explained to their stock holders).
I think this video should explain it:

Hello

2008-01-11T20:42:00.000-05:00

Hello, this is my blog. I'm a writer, reader, and I do many other things to. I plan to put my random thoughts here; I like the attention. I might even put up some freewriting. I'll definately post my thoughts on the writer's strike and other things happening at the moment.

Oh, and the title is a play on the phrase Negro Laughter.