2/27/07

Felt so blah this morning. Sorting out some things before I go back to classes (UGH). Sometimes talking with some people is like walking into a wall. Maybe I’m not asking the right questions.

Decided to put some of my energy into a new script. I came up with something that starts as a silly story, but has some complex overtones and undercurrents. It did allow me to see a way to “fix” a cast list for my current project. I got seven pages done. I may work on a few more.

I need to drink more water. Last night I had 48 oz. I am sure I can do 72 oz. Why? To flush out all the effects of the sugar and caffeine I ingest so easily. I need a balance, and I can’t concentrate when I’m too amped off of coffee, chocolate, and/or tea. What can I say, no writing is a bad day for me. My joy leaves me. Even if the day is dull, I at least have something to fall back onto.

I have fallen in love with En Vogue’s “Love U Crazay” from their Masterpiece Theater CD. I want to hear it all the time. No, I am not in love. The song has a vibe I’m feeling.

2/26/07

It’s been a hectic night. I got myself a latte. Yeah it costs, but I wanted something good. February has been a trying month. So much that someone pointed out a lot of people have awful Februaries. Wow. I am sure all negative effects will be washed away

Having chips and chili tonight. Wish I brought the sour cream to go with it. That cool against the heat is delicious. Digging the sounds of Mary J. Blige. “Your Child” is the song of the week.

2/25/07 The Perfect Pitch

Decided to take advantage of all the sequential art-writing magazines in the library, and see what they said about creating proposals and pitches for companies. What can I say; I want to maximize my chances of success. At bare minimum I want to hold the editor’s eyes on my pitch/proposal long enough for him to read the entire submission, and have a desire to want read more.

According to my reading, less is more. I initially created a three-page proposal. This is not counting the script, the synopsis, or the cast list I created. I decided to go to the publisher’s website and print out their guidelines. I know there are things the publisher wants. My goal becomes, how can I keep this pitch simple, within the publisher’s guidelines, while maximizing the impact?

This is what I have so far:
Cover Letter (a must)
Submissions agreement form (another must)
A complete synopsis of all six issues
The script (first eight pages-as requested)

I wonder if the cast list is needed, but then I realize that I need something so that the editor knows who is what in the story.

2-16-07

I don’t want to write today at all. It’s been a trying day, and I have gone from being calm to being upset through a series of ups and downs that is called my life. I digress. I wont give into despair. I pray for the silver lining, and I don’t give up. I have to say, this day drained me, and I felt stress coming. Now I’m on the laid back side.

Decided to hold on the typing of fiction today. I will give it a crack tomorrow, with a vengeance. Somewhere between there I will peep a movie or two. I want to put my feet up, relax and call it a night. I don’t want to get up early tomorrow. I am cooking, as I need a good meal.

2-12-07

I have yet to drink my two bottles of water. I did not eat lunch at a proper time. I have let the days past me by without the usual upkeep I need to keep going. Did nine pages of my revisions today. I am out of pep for it right now. It’s one of those days, where I put my best effort forward this afternoon, and now the muse has mellowed.

This is not a bad thing, as it gives me time to rest my mind. I am printing out a copy of the proposal, so I can revise it as well. I needed a change of pace, that’s all. I am so tired, yet working hard to get things done proper.

Questions

What am I doing to make my future better?

Not simply OK. Not getting by. Not going through the motions. How proactive am I to ensuring my dreams?

Do I even know my dreams? What could I possibly want that's real, lasting and so what I need in my life?

What does it take to get what I want?

Yeah, I Write This Blog!: I Like This Picture

Yeah, I Write This Blog!: I Like This Picture

I Like This Picture

This got snapped in the spur of the moment. The sun was beaming in my window. I was watching this noir film, The Big Heat, and decided to take it. The film has some intense moments, and is rough on one of the ladies, who in turn is consumed with revenge.

I didn't bother with Photshop alteration on the picture. I may add some filters later, but it's not important for the moment. All that matters is that I enjoyed taking it, and showing it as is.


That's my artwork on the wall, and I need to draw some new pictures, just for me.

Pitching

If writing were a sport I would dare say I would be good at it. As it stands I have been horrible at actual sports, and never thought again about what I could have missed. Can’t look back like I wish I had been a better player. My games are different, and so my speed.

I have been working on the proposal for my limited series. Here’s what I do know; I didn’t get to graduate school by not writing and presenting in a professional manner. I know how to make professional proposals, and I know how to get my foot in the door.

It’s time to work those skills. I know I can hold the attention of an editor if I catch his eye. I am playing to win here. I want to get published. I have worked so hard putting my ideas together, and I am so near the point of submitting my material.

For me the work is just beginning. Never say die, and never say I give up. I will have my stories published, and I will become successful.

Thank You

I want to thank my friends Beatty, Jackie and Nicole for your comments. I was really feeling down. I needed to find a way to bounce back. I do appreciate your support. Of course, I did bounce back. All I can say is that I felt that things in my life were not working out the way I expected, yet I know, as Jackie says, the blessings are on their way. I needed to hear that.

My Writing XII

The hand edits are done. All that is left is to add them to the script. It's time to put this in high gear as I want to spend the next few days doing the updates proper. Afterwards its a direct examination/revising of the cast list and proposal. I think another week will suffice.

Masters: Whenever I am done with making drafts I create master files. Its time to have some master files for this series.

My Writing XI

I am knee deep in correcting spelling errors in my scripts. I decided to take a moment to check over the things I need t in order to submit my project to a perspective publisher. I have read two companies' submission guidelines. While very different in many ways both companies are very similar in what they want. I need to maintain a high level of professionalism in my submissions. That, in part is what has gotten me into graduate school. So, I need to look like a professional, and be a professional writer. This is not an obstacle, by the way.

I am more than capable of good writing. I am more than capable of putting together a professional presentation. I am so excited and nervous about submitting this project. Excited because I love the project I created. Its something I stand behind 100%. To see my project in print would make this a dream come true for me. I truly believe submitting this material is a stepping stone for me as a professional writer. I am very nervous because submitting is a competition. I am competing with other hungry writers who want the editors time and consideration. I am not even accounting for the established creators who do have the time and consideration of the editors.

Writing a story to completion has been a very satisfying challenge. I am not stopping there. I want to try two new projects. I have a sci-fi story that I want to tell, and I want to write something more in the humor vein. When the time is right (they're completed), I will submit them for publications well.

I do have two short stories I am working on. I hope to have them published as well. I have a great artist for the projects, so I feel I'm on the right track. My friends and I agree, 2007 is our year to make things happen. I don't have to feel it. I know this. We will succeed.

Checklist for submitting my project

• Cover Letter
• Release Form
• Proposal
• Cast List
• Synopsis for all six chapters
• First eight pages of script
• Completed Script Ready to show at a moment's notice.

Getting Up When I'm Down

I have been feeling blue, and I feel I hit the bottom. All I will say on this subject is that after a series of woes and setback, I have felt as if the universe had a vendetta against me. Sometimes it weighs like a ton of bricks on my head. My stomach gets in knots, and worse I had a killer migraine, complete with nausea, and sensitivity to light. If all I'm going to do at the bottom is feel miserable, well, I need to get up from under. Well, a little misery is more than a handful. There is no happiness when I am sufferening. Sometimes I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, I say "never give into that feeling of misery." Yes I feel so bad, but I know I will get over all that ails me. I belive in myself, my talents, my heart and soul. I have passions, I have ideas. I know I can achieve greatness. That power is within me.

I'm not perfect either. No one is perfect. There are no miracle or instant cures for me to take and feel better. There is only hard work, dedication, love and support. I can't fail now, because I have all the tools God has given me available. Maybe I was meant to taste the blues, and get so low, because I'm about to get back up, and work at being strong and postive. I will become a successful author/artist. I will help nurture others' talents. We will all manage our upsets, because I know there are greater goals in life.

Just what obstacles are holding me back in life? What is keeping me from my dreams? It's time to map out some plans, chart some goals, and be happy with life, insted of fighting with life all the time.

Expect some exciting thoughts and ideas from me.

My Writing X

It's been a while since I wrote something worthwhile on my blog. Chapters one through six of my comic book have been reformatted proper. I printed them out and began searching them for spelling errors. It's easier to take a pen and mark the changes I need to make.

The next step is me making the final corrections. This will take a full day, so I will break the work down. Already edited chapters one and two today. I will work on three and four soon. Five and six will be done tomorrow.

Then I will finally make master files with all chapters. I will get the proposal, cast list and summary done as well.

The Funk is Deep

I feel very under the weather. On the blue side. I didn't write today. I did four pages last night, and will likely do four more during my break. Maybe I need another day off. I feel like I am losing some momentum. Now I'm sleepy. As if I need that now. I so need to be out of this funk. It's like a gloomy month. Febuary should be fun.

Call It a Night

I don’t want to write today at all. It’s been a trying day, and I have gone from being calm to being upset through a series of ups and downs that is called my life. I digress. I wont give into despair. I pray for the silver lining, and I don’t give up. I have to say, this day drained me, and I felt stress coming. Now I’m on the laid back side.

Decided to hold off on the typing of fiction today. I will give it a crack tomorrow, with a vengeance. Somewhere between there I will peep a movie or two. I want to put my feet up, relax and call it a night. I don’t want to get up early tomorrow. I am cooking, as I need a good meal.

My Writing IX

Working on revising chapter five now. Was very excited. Reread chapter four, and I am loving it. Hope to get three pages done before work. On my break I can do at least four pages uninterrupted. Eager to revise the proposal now, and I am more than pleased I decided to revise my work before making submitting. At this rate I may be done at the end of the week with the reformatting and revisions. it's bot exciting and sad, as I have placed much time into working with this material. It will do me good to move on from it. When I submit it, the real and nervousness can begin. ROFLMAO!

I will start a new (mini) series then.


UPDATE: I went to check the pages I revised last night. I did five pages before I went to bed. I can do more if I put my mind to it.

On Being the Man, Yes I Am!

You know, sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself. I sit and wonder about what could potentially be. I went off on a daydream and thought about an active career in feature and fiction writing. Yeah, I was the man hot damn. More importantly the vision is so close to where I am now it scared me. To be at the threshold of living a dream is truly a blessed experience.

The one thing in my dreams that touched me the most is that I did not doubt myself. I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind. I wasn’t scared of style, substance, and critiques. I didn’t want to wait for people to “validate” me as a writer. I know who I am, and I know what I want out of life. It’s time for that golden outlook.

It wasn’t about merely trusting and listening to my own voice, but rather already knowing what I was about. I saw a clear split from where I am, where I was, and who I became. In that moment I knew (though it scared me), that I have arrived. Not to the world, not to everybody else. I have arrived in my mind. I have changed. I believe in me. I simply feel like that champion I was born to be. I tell my brother all the time “we were not made for nothing, and I mean it.

Welcome to the new me. I am making the strides I dreamt about.

My Writing VIII

Got out twelve more pages, so i am please with the progress. I will keep moving until I am done, and I can send out the proposal. :-) Yaaaaay! Go me! I am so happy to work on something that's important to me, and show personal enthusiasm, as opposed to wishing it would happen. my best motivation, I told myself I could do three pages, and expanded from there. Even though i felt completely lazy, I wanted to write. i did it. i am very happy I did it too. :-)

My Writing VII

Managed to get 12 1/2 pages of revisions done today. I am tired. I wanted to stop at nine, but pressed on during my break. Afterwards I could go no further. Decieded to look at the proposal, and tweak it proper so that I can submmit the story. I feel a great desire to work on some new material, but I'd love to get the current one out of my system.

My Writing VI

Revising the tail end of chapter three. My good friend Tiara, whom I cannot thank enough, showed my how to adjust the formatting in Word. Talk about your moments of relief. What was a struggle of line-by-line editing has been minimized by paragraphs. That made finishing up chapter three a lot easier to work on.

Here is something I did not consider while writing. I have a lot of aggressive women in this mini-series.

Another friend suggested to me to be aware of this, and there is a danger of having a lot of bitchy female characters in the story. I’m thinking aggressive females are not bad in a story. They may come off as “bitchy,” but that is the perception versus the reality. Time and reader/editor reaction will tell. Let me say that my friend trusts me to make a good story.

I do think, if I wrote male characters this way, they would be considered bold and assertive. Alpha males. I’ve put women in charge of certain operations in the story. They make the hard decisions, and they are competent, skilled, and don’t take no bull. I love those qualities in them. I trust in my vision of the characters.

I think there is something dynamic in an aggressive woman. She’s not necessarily a bitchy woman. On the surface it can look like this, but there is anger, and there is pain, and that’s real. Also, sometimes being in charge means not doing what liked. People do act in accordance to anger and pain. In the end, I do want the characters to be more than know as bitchy characters.

Happy Birthday Cari!

Today is artist extraordinaire, Cari Corene's birthday. yes I am LATE with the posting, but better late than ever. Cari had this chocolate cake with chocolate icing. So good, it was bad for you. LOL. Anywhoo, she is one talented artist. Saw her designs for a character we're working on together, and WOW. They are awesome. I can't wait until we can share them with the public.

Oh, visit Cari's sights. She has a portfolio page, 3Heavens, and a web comic, ASPS. Go. I insist. :-)

The Day

Decided to rest a day. Did nine pages last night. Will continue after a day of rest and get back to business. Played video games (hadn't done that in a while). Tried some real tart grapes (YUCK). Nothing syas get up like tart grapes. LOL

Robot Chicken-Higlander Parody

Because this is so damn funny.

Chili Recipe

Asked by a good friend, I told her my chili recipe(s). Now I'm sharing with all readers. :-) Glad you liked it J. :-)

Chili Recipe

Ground Beef (or chuck, or turkey)
Chili beans (2 cans)
Diced tomatoes (2-3 cans)
Onions
Jalapeno
Chili seasoning
Tomato sauce (1 can [optional])
Sour cream
Tortilla chips
Sour cream
Cheddar cheese
Sugar

Brown and season meat
Add onions and jalapenos (can sauté them ahead of time in separate pot)
Add beans, diced tomatoes & chili sauce.
Add a dash of sugar to cut the acidic taste.
Reduce heat and stir.

Serve over tortilla chips with cheese. Top with sour cream.


Alternate method (more contrast of salt and sweet-less spicy)

Ground Beef (or chuck, or turkey)
Chili beans (2 cans)
Ragu spaghetti sauce
Onions
Bell pepper
Mushrooms
Tortilla chips

Sauté mushrooms, bell peppers and onions.
Brown and season meat.
Add spaghetti sauce
Add a dash of sugar to control acidic taste.

Serve over tortilla chips

My Writing V

I corrected all of chapter two. Expanded where needed, and let it go. Worked on nine pages of chapter three. The revisions have been simple so far. I did add some lines of dialogue. I am not tired, but I need to rest so that is what I will do.

My Writing IV

Working on Chapter two. Trying to figure out what to do with the two pages. Maybe I can expand a page or two. Otherwise I will have to make new scenes. Would rather expand than make a new scene. I think what I have is now good. There's no need to break the flow.

***BRAINSTORM: I have the perfect solutions. The first is so gonna be a slash page, and the second, I will expand a character's actions. The reader will see that character progress from bad off, to worse. I worry about her fate. Characters are getting emotionally complex and unpredictable on me. You have to love this process because its taking me through some motions. I got a lot of work to do tonight.

Have the first eight pages of chapter three to reformat. I don't have much to change with them other than a few names, and a possibly a little more detail to the action. Chapter three has two of my favorite scenes in the story. All I can think of, as I read it back tonight, is how I potent the actions and reactions of the characters are. I need to be sure the reader is getting what I know will happen.

i can say that the changes I made in chapter two will affect later chapters. Not major changes, but I have been made aware of some story issues through re-reading.

My Writing III

I did my pages written last night. I am happy for that. Today I will again tackle four pages, 18-21 respectively. A side note is, that I misnumbered the pages of chapter two, so I have to write more pages just the same. I will get all the pages reformatted first, look it over, and move on. :-)

I like what I did add last night, as it expands the story better than I thought it would. Let's hope chapter three rocks, and it will be like chapter one.

My Writing II

Is it wrong to say I am frustrated with naking the content of my story more expressive, and I don't know what to do next?

I know I'm not giving up though.

UPDATE: Pushed through to page 13. If I can get 14-17 done, then I will have done some good work.

My Writing

I was working on my reformatting of my mini series. Oh I love chapter one. Chapter one was so good, all I had to do is tweak a few lines, and add a few more sentences of details for the artist to follow. Chapter one is DONE. I don't even worry about it anymore.

Chapter two is a bastard child from hell. As I checked it over, I noticed that certian elements in the story don't add up at the end. For example, two major charactors are going through some big changes, but you don't see it. At least not enough to see a transition. One character will be betrayed for sure, and I need for the reader to feel this, more than know it happened. In other words, I need to express these happenings. There is a third character who gets into an awful situation, but she doesn't express her pain and trauma. How can a reader belive in her pain if they don't see her pain?

Decided that chapter 2 will have some parts re-written to convey depth to some scenes, and elaborate on some parts of the story that I feel will help the characters get their situations and emotions across. I am also learning to put more empahsis on descriptions into stories. What are the characters doing as they speak?

I thought more research must be done, as there are some office scenes, but I'm like, wait, I was an office assitant. I know this part of the job. I can describe this with authenticity. I als have some library orinted situations in there. I can work this too.

The series needs so much work, not because its unrelved as far as the plot goes, its that the story feels like bare bones when it could be so much wealthier

The Awful Eyeful

Today, when putting my contacts in, I accedently dropped one lens down the drain. Talk about upset! Let me back up a little. Too often I was not taking them out, and that was wrong. I would fall asleep without remembering to walk to the bathroom and simply taking them out. You can say I got too comfprtable with having them in my eyes. Now I have made mysef take them out before bed. That is so not me. Well that's where I arrive at this post. I am so pissed. I am getting over that.

Made BBQ ribs. It was a multi-day process I did not care for. I marinated the meat for two days, then I par-boiled them yesterday. Didn't get up early enough, so I broiled them today. I let them cool, then put in the fridge for the night. All i can say is I am going to eat good for the next few days. The steaks I marinated are delcious. I still have another peice to cap off tomorrow for dinner.

Came up with some new concepts for stories. Someone told me one of the ideas was too dark, but my line of thinking is that its supposed to be dark. One of my HS teachers once thought I weould write horro novels (wondere what happen to her). She thought I had the personality type for horror. Reserved personailty, and kind. She noted that hooror writers were more meek than dynamic in personality. I like dark fantasy novels. Read enough of Anne Rice's novels to enjoy the mood and feeling. Sometimes I feel dark, but I am a man of color, so I am always dark. ;-)

I need some new topics to work on. I'll explain in a seperate entry. I'ts just that deep.

New Self-Portraits

Because I demanded it. As usual, ran it through Photoshop filters. I may work some more on the cleanup (expect an update), but that's not going to be tonight. I love both images.

Ummmm... Yuck

Ok, you want to wear your pants sagging. So you don't care if your undies are showing. Good for you. Here's the problem. Please, please, please clean your filthy, nasty, dirty drawers. When you're in public, and the white of your shorts has changed to a nasty brownish dull color, well, those drawers should be bleach washed, and not seen by other people. Cover thyself.

Likewise, men who come into buildings and expecting professional service, but their pants is off their ass, and their drawers are showing…tsk. I suspect the goal is to show off the shape of the ass. I can't tell. Weird.

For those who like to have their drawers and pants off their ass, please lotion your backs and behinds. There is nothing worst that a man in the bright of the day walking around with white ash on brown skin. Also, put on a larger shirt, and don't you feel that draft on your skin?

Steak and I: My Torrid Love Affair

I am a steak fiend. I love steak. Yes Ribeye costs too much, but it tastes so good. Well done please. I so marinated two steaks last night. I was going to cook those suckers today, however I didn’t feel like it. I must wait. Steak must be made with proper time and care for the meal. Steak cannot be rushed. The taste of a well-done steak is truly the best part of a meal. I feel it. I feel it all over. I become the steak. Steak is love.

Remember my entry on preparing steak? Here it is again, to remind you of my fave meal.

Geek Chic

I have all these odd crazy ideas that never fit into the superhero universes that I wanted to write so badly as a teen and twenty-something. I wanted to write the next big crossover where the heroes were never the same again, after endless battles, only to find out they were manipulated buy the villain. At the last possible moment, the heroes would stop fighting each other to realize they needed to pool their resources and fight the real enemy. It was going to be fun, and I would cram every hero and villain I could think of, in that mega series, and it would be huge, and spectacular.

Well, that tapered off, and then something weird happened. I had ideas for other stories that were not fitting into the super hero universes I so loved. I was embarrassed. Mind you, as novice writer I wrote some pretty lame concepts, but the ideas I had that were different, were the ones I loathed. So needless to say, I totally ignored my own creations in favor of cliched concepts that only I appreciated (I swear at one time I thought, if only the submissions editor could see my brilliance...).

I was embarrassed, and often signored my creativity based on what I thought people would think of me, or not liking my creations. I also had my own concept of what is geek cool. Why read Stacy's dumb book when you can read book Z by this other creative team? I dropped the baton, yes I did. I am so not geek chic.

Well, I find myself jotting down notes and ideas, and leaving them alone for a long while. I looked back at them, and realized I liked what I was looking over. The concepts were funky, for sure not all of them are mainstream super hero material. I think Superman would fly on the other side of Metropolis to avoid some of these characters I created. Well, the concepts have heart to them. They have their own world and rules.

Maybe, just maybe, looking at my own ideas is about self-acceptance, which I have denied myself so many times.

Blog Makeover

I decided I wanted a new look for my blog. Change is good, and I love this layout. I am starving and my break is an hour away. Rain is everywhere outside, and its very cold.

Guest Columnist at Sequential Tart

I wrote this month's Redirected Male column. I am very excited, and happy to have been chosen for publication. I want to than Corrina for offering me a chance to write for ST.