I had one goal that I wanted to accomplish today: I wanted to map out the next five chapters of "Perfect Life for Large Price" because I wanted to help myself understand where I was going, and make help light the fire for me to complete the next chapter. After a conversation with my mother yesterday, I just really felt motivated to get moving on this project and get it finished after all of the time and work I've already put into it. There is no reason it shouldn't get completed.
So, what did I do? I decided that I wanted to create a file for "Waited on a Line of Greens & Blues" and get the chapter titles going and put in order. For that novel, each chapter will be a song title, for a song that I believe would be the perfect soundtrack to that particular series of events that occur in the chapter. It's also helping me organize the flow of the story a little better. So, it wasn't a bad idea, it just trumped my original idea.
Then, as I was trying to organize all of my Word Documents into folders based on the novels they are associated with, I came across the first two chapters (well, one completed chapter and one partial) and the character bios for a story I started working on in February of 2010.
"Forever Got A Lot Shorter" was a novel that I started working on, and only abandoned because I fell in love with my concept for "Perfect Life For Large Price", if not for that Sci-Fi Novel (which I still LOVE), I'd probably be twenty-eight chapters into "Forever Got A Lot Shorter" - instead of just one and a half.
So, THEN what did I do? I spent two hours re-writing and expanding the characters biographies and personalities and interconnections and events that happen to them and the group. Now, I'm sitting here with hundreds of ideas and concepts spinning around those characters. Which is cool, and great, and I'm happy that I spent today writing and being creative and productive - but in a sad way, I wish I would have just focused all of this energy on "Perfect Life For Large Price", so that I can get closer to finishing that product, which I REALLY love. "Forever Got A Lot Shorter" actually started as a script for a feature film I wanted to write in 2001. It revolved around a group of friends who all worked in a bar (a concept that is sort of being integrated into "Waited on a Line of Greens & Blues") who had to deal with the drama of their customers, friends, and relationships. Things got complicated when one of the men got involved with one of the girls, who was more of a free-spirit and didn't take things as seriously as he did. This caused ripples and rifts in all of their abilities to work together. This script was shelved in 2003, when I began writing and working on my film "Reunion", and it never really got looked at again, until I came up with the idea for the novel. Once you read the following summary, you'll easily be able to see the evolution of the project.
So, while it's fresh in my head, here's the quick plot summary for "Forever Got a Lot Shorter":
June 7th, 1996 was the day the film "The Rock" opened in North America. It was also the day first day of employment at Clearwater Cinemas for teenagers Michael McKenzie, Leslie Newbury, and Troy Dolan. On this day, they would be introduced to their manager Damon Nelson, their co-worker Claire Clark, and a quirky projectionist named Jackson Hunter. On this day, these six individuals, from varying backgrounds, begin friendships that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Fourteen years later, the entire group has been brought back together for the funeral of one of its members.
Through flashbacks, their friendships and relationships are exposed. From their college years to all of the times when they each left the Cinema only to eventually return to working there. The group will share their dreams with each other, and stand by each other as they fail. Resentment and betrayal tear apart some members, and put other friendships into resolved states.
However, in the wake of losing someone so important to all of them, the group puts aside their problems and issues, to spend another day celebrating the years of memories they have given each other. During this time, secrets are revealed. Some small and innocent, regarding secret sexual encounters or anonymous mischief that was achieved. However, the accidental discovery of a letter, changes everything and puts their friend's life and accomplishments into a new light. But, a light that has damaging effects on some people outside of their group.
The novel opens in 2010, at the viewing for the deceased friend. This "present time" is being narrated from the first person, thus denying the reader knowledge of who the storyteller is. This fact won't be revealed until halfway to two-thirds of the way through the book. This is to keep the reader unaware of which character is actually deceased. Gradually, main characters will show up at the viewing, and eliminating them from the reader's query, until it is revealed who has passed away.
Odd numbered chapters will be set in the "present" at the viewing, and then eventually the funeral and the gathering afterwards. Even numbered chapters will begin on June 7th, 1996 and progress in chronological order throughout the next twelve-ish years. There will be some gap between the last flashback chapter and where the novel picks up. However, the important events of these two years will be covered in conversations once the plot shifts to only the "present" which will likely be the final five chapters, or so.
So, YEAH. Now I've got these gears turning and I'm coming up with all kinds of ideas to continue this novel.
Sadly, all I really want to do is finish up "Perfect Life For Large Price", get a couple of people to proof it for me, make some revisions and get it out there and try to move a few copies. It would get me to my goal of being paid for my writing. And once I hit that point, and actually got a few dollars for all of my hard work on that novel, it would be much, much easier to knock out the next two.
I'm hoping I don't come up with anymore ideas. I think this will be a nice trilogy of novels under my name.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Friday, July 08, 2011
The Criterion Collection of Cathartic Comics
For five hundred and eight straight weeks, I was in the employment of four different movie cinema corporations between Indianapolis and Los Angeles. I was an 18 year old kid with no direction in my life, who just really enjoyed films, hanging out with cool people, and spending time in the booth of Castleton Arts writing my first film with Jason.
I first became aware of the webcomic Multiplex in the spring of 2007, when Jason L. Maier told me about it. I remember spending my entire shift that night at G14 in the manager's office, reading every single strip that was available. For a while, I did a good job of keeping up with them, but over time I completely neglected the strip. And once I parted ways with a certain theatre company in 2008, I considered it a wake up call that I was never again going to settle for theatre job again. Sadly, after dedicating ten years of my life to the business, and never achieving more than fourteen college credit hours, I found myself in the nightlife of the bar-tending industry, where I lasted for two years.
Which brings the story to October of 2010. With a total lack of career options, I was forced to return to yet another theatre company, finding myself back in the booth after seven previous years of management, and I was once again a lowly booth monkey to thread and start films, and change trailers. Previously, my life revolved around working Wednesday and Thursday nights for changeovers. I found that those services weren't even required at this theatre. I was seriously just there to fill some booth shifts, as a favor granted to me by some old friends from previous theatres.
It was a pretty depressing time in my life, and I was not in a very good mental place, but then one day I was on my iPhone and in the Apple Store, when I saw the Multiplex App available for download.
So I did. And within two booth shifts, I read all 528 comics in the library at that point. I can not even begin to describe the effect that it had on my psyche. It reminded me of how much I used to enjoy working in this business. For my first two years in the industry, I'm pretty sure I spent everyday of my life at either Clearwater, Castleton, or Eastgate - and watched at least one film almost everyday. It was a great time in life. Then, I was blessed with working for Mann in California, and had the pleasure to make some really amazing friends in the industry that I still keep in contact with ten years later. It wasn't until I returned from California and jumped into management, that I began to lose my love of this job. When I went to work for Kerasotes, it was the first time I went to work at a company that I did not have friends at, and coming in directly into management, I chose to keep a distance from employees and not make friends with them. And from then on, I just made friends with others in management. It was a career at this point, I started making good money and it wasn't about the love of the art, it was about a paycheck.
But reading all of the comic strips on my phone, it brought me back to a place that I had lost, and always loved. My first three years in the business were some of my favorites, and I remember that family of friends that we had, and all of the late-night screenings, going to Perkin's until 6am, and all of the hours we spent discussing and debating films. All of these wonderful memories were perfectly captured in the characters and situations of the strips. The characters were easily identifiable for me, and I related to almost every conversation that Jason and Kurt had in the comic - to conversations that I remember Jason (Maier) and myself having at different times. Reading those comics helped put me in a better place mentally and reminded that I really do love movies, and working in this industry isn't so bad after all. Those who know me, are very well aware of the extent of escapism that I have through films and novels. Now, I will always have the Multiplex comics to reflect on, and put multiple smiles on my face.
Which brings us to my recent purchase of:
Multiplex: Enjoy You Show (Book One) by Gordon McAlpin.
I am seriously so happy to now have it on my bookshelf, sitting next to the likes of Charles Schulz books, Gary Larson collections, and Kevin Smith trade paperbacks. The book just looks beautiful. At over 200 pages, it's a nice, thick book, whose bright green spine pops out and catches the eyes of anyone who it perusing through any collection. As you flip through the pages of the book, the colors pop brightly off the page and look really great.
Ninety percent of the time, when I buy a DVD, I buy it for the special features. If it's a movie I really love, I don't mind buying a bare-bones copy, but it's those "Special Editions" and "Collector's Editions" and "Director's Cuts" and the "Criterion Collections" that really get my attention. The bonus features, the behind-the-scenes documentaries, the interviews, the deleted scenes, and specifically: the director's commentaries. Those are what I want. It's those extra pieces that make the purchase worth it. Taking me beyond what I've already seen, and giving me more.
The Multiplex book gives me as much as I could have hoped for, and more. You've got a great collection of Character Bios that are just hilarious one page comics. You've got a ton of comic strips that are all drawn by other webcomic artists, which is really cool to see these characters as interpreted by another artistic mind. Then, you've got an amazing collection of additional comic strips that I had never seen before. And one of them titled "Context is King" is now my favorite strip of the entire run, as Jason and Kurt are exiting the film "Serenity" had Kurt tries to explain to him how it would have made more sense if Jason had watched "Firefly", and then he discusses the idiocracy of FOX - which is a conversation I've had over a hundred times in life. Reading that strip for the first time, it was basically the epitome of perfection in my opinion. Finally, the thing I love most about special editions are the director's commentaries. I love hearing the thought process and ideas that go through any artist's mind as they are creating their work. Almost every single strip in this book has some kind of comment following the final panel. Sometimes it explains a pop culture reference, sometimes it draws attention to something specifically put into the background, sometimes Gordon just tells you what was on his mind that lead to the joke/gag/concept of the strip. It's the icing on the cake, in my opinion. There's a wonderful Introduction by the Real Life Kurt, which reads great, and is then followed a great Foreward from Gordon.
Last November, I dropped Gordon an email, because I wanted to let him know what a positive influence his work had on me. We exchanged a few emails, we've exchanged a few tweets, and this is one of the coolest dudes I've talked to. He's down to earth, he's appreciative of support, and he's just the kind of dude I want to support.
Since I consider myself an artist, I attempt to do my best to support other artists who I enjoy. Thus, I try to tell people about the iPhone app, when a specific strip reminds me of a friend, I'll post it on their Facebook wall, and I implore anyone that I know who collects comic books to purchase this book and support a solid dude who writes some amazing stories set in a very fun place to work. Personally, this strip hits me on a deep personal level, and now I need and want Gordon to get as much publicity and sell as many copies as he can: because I'm craving Book Two. I've already made room for it on the bookshelf, and I can't wait to see and read all of the great bonus materials that will be included with that collection.
If it were possible, I would put in my application at the Multiplex 10, even if they would only hire me to run the projection booth. Because they are some great characters who I truly enjoy having in my life.
I first became aware of the webcomic Multiplex in the spring of 2007, when Jason L. Maier told me about it. I remember spending my entire shift that night at G14 in the manager's office, reading every single strip that was available. For a while, I did a good job of keeping up with them, but over time I completely neglected the strip. And once I parted ways with a certain theatre company in 2008, I considered it a wake up call that I was never again going to settle for theatre job again. Sadly, after dedicating ten years of my life to the business, and never achieving more than fourteen college credit hours, I found myself in the nightlife of the bar-tending industry, where I lasted for two years.
Which brings the story to October of 2010. With a total lack of career options, I was forced to return to yet another theatre company, finding myself back in the booth after seven previous years of management, and I was once again a lowly booth monkey to thread and start films, and change trailers. Previously, my life revolved around working Wednesday and Thursday nights for changeovers. I found that those services weren't even required at this theatre. I was seriously just there to fill some booth shifts, as a favor granted to me by some old friends from previous theatres.
It was a pretty depressing time in my life, and I was not in a very good mental place, but then one day I was on my iPhone and in the Apple Store, when I saw the Multiplex App available for download.
So I did. And within two booth shifts, I read all 528 comics in the library at that point. I can not even begin to describe the effect that it had on my psyche. It reminded me of how much I used to enjoy working in this business. For my first two years in the industry, I'm pretty sure I spent everyday of my life at either Clearwater, Castleton, or Eastgate - and watched at least one film almost everyday. It was a great time in life. Then, I was blessed with working for Mann in California, and had the pleasure to make some really amazing friends in the industry that I still keep in contact with ten years later. It wasn't until I returned from California and jumped into management, that I began to lose my love of this job. When I went to work for Kerasotes, it was the first time I went to work at a company that I did not have friends at, and coming in directly into management, I chose to keep a distance from employees and not make friends with them. And from then on, I just made friends with others in management. It was a career at this point, I started making good money and it wasn't about the love of the art, it was about a paycheck.
But reading all of the comic strips on my phone, it brought me back to a place that I had lost, and always loved. My first three years in the business were some of my favorites, and I remember that family of friends that we had, and all of the late-night screenings, going to Perkin's until 6am, and all of the hours we spent discussing and debating films. All of these wonderful memories were perfectly captured in the characters and situations of the strips. The characters were easily identifiable for me, and I related to almost every conversation that Jason and Kurt had in the comic - to conversations that I remember Jason (Maier) and myself having at different times. Reading those comics helped put me in a better place mentally and reminded that I really do love movies, and working in this industry isn't so bad after all. Those who know me, are very well aware of the extent of escapism that I have through films and novels. Now, I will always have the Multiplex comics to reflect on, and put multiple smiles on my face.
Which brings us to my recent purchase of:
Multiplex: Enjoy You Show (Book One) by Gordon McAlpin.
I am seriously so happy to now have it on my bookshelf, sitting next to the likes of Charles Schulz books, Gary Larson collections, and Kevin Smith trade paperbacks. The book just looks beautiful. At over 200 pages, it's a nice, thick book, whose bright green spine pops out and catches the eyes of anyone who it perusing through any collection. As you flip through the pages of the book, the colors pop brightly off the page and look really great.
Ninety percent of the time, when I buy a DVD, I buy it for the special features. If it's a movie I really love, I don't mind buying a bare-bones copy, but it's those "Special Editions" and "Collector's Editions" and "Director's Cuts" and the "Criterion Collections" that really get my attention. The bonus features, the behind-the-scenes documentaries, the interviews, the deleted scenes, and specifically: the director's commentaries. Those are what I want. It's those extra pieces that make the purchase worth it. Taking me beyond what I've already seen, and giving me more.
The Multiplex book gives me as much as I could have hoped for, and more. You've got a great collection of Character Bios that are just hilarious one page comics. You've got a ton of comic strips that are all drawn by other webcomic artists, which is really cool to see these characters as interpreted by another artistic mind. Then, you've got an amazing collection of additional comic strips that I had never seen before. And one of them titled "Context is King" is now my favorite strip of the entire run, as Jason and Kurt are exiting the film "Serenity" had Kurt tries to explain to him how it would have made more sense if Jason had watched "Firefly", and then he discusses the idiocracy of FOX - which is a conversation I've had over a hundred times in life. Reading that strip for the first time, it was basically the epitome of perfection in my opinion. Finally, the thing I love most about special editions are the director's commentaries. I love hearing the thought process and ideas that go through any artist's mind as they are creating their work. Almost every single strip in this book has some kind of comment following the final panel. Sometimes it explains a pop culture reference, sometimes it draws attention to something specifically put into the background, sometimes Gordon just tells you what was on his mind that lead to the joke/gag/concept of the strip. It's the icing on the cake, in my opinion. There's a wonderful Introduction by the Real Life Kurt, which reads great, and is then followed a great Foreward from Gordon.
Last November, I dropped Gordon an email, because I wanted to let him know what a positive influence his work had on me. We exchanged a few emails, we've exchanged a few tweets, and this is one of the coolest dudes I've talked to. He's down to earth, he's appreciative of support, and he's just the kind of dude I want to support.
Since I consider myself an artist, I attempt to do my best to support other artists who I enjoy. Thus, I try to tell people about the iPhone app, when a specific strip reminds me of a friend, I'll post it on their Facebook wall, and I implore anyone that I know who collects comic books to purchase this book and support a solid dude who writes some amazing stories set in a very fun place to work. Personally, this strip hits me on a deep personal level, and now I need and want Gordon to get as much publicity and sell as many copies as he can: because I'm craving Book Two. I've already made room for it on the bookshelf, and I can't wait to see and read all of the great bonus materials that will be included with that collection.
If it were possible, I would put in my application at the Multiplex 10, even if they would only hire me to run the projection booth. Because they are some great characters who I truly enjoy having in my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)