The Reel Stuff - reading

Finished "The Reel Stuff" anthology. This includes stories from Philip K. Dick, William Gibson, Clive Barker, George R. R. Martin, and many more. There are definitely mixed reviews out there about what is in this book, but for my opinion, you'll find something you like in here. My favorite was The Sandkings by George R. R. Martin. He has two in here, and in each, there are a lot of characters dying. Other stories include those that inspired Enemy Mine, Johnny Mnemonic, Minority Report, Millennium, and more. You won't be disappointed.

Flash Forward - reading

Finished "Flash Forward" by Robert J. Sawyer. Let me preface this by saying I haven't seen the series. It's a neat premise that would have made a good short story. It seemed like the novel needed something more to it. The ending was good at least.

Jupiter - reading

Finished "Jupiter" by Ben Bova. Coincidentally, XKCD just posted a topical "What If..." On the suspension of disbelief, you have to accept that they sent a manned spacecraft into the seas of Jupiter with the expectation that it would be capable of returning.

In general it was a decent story with long lulls in the action. Once things started happening it was much better of course. And the end of the story was alright, though I think the author understated the likely tensions there would have been.

Rewrite - reading

Finished "Rewrite" by Paul Chitlik." It's a decent book with two nits I need to pick.

The first is how much the author harps on using the right word. You have to know the difference among "their," "they're," and "there." Sure, true enough. And that applies to lots of words. But then the author misses the difference between "waiver" and "waver." I really thought he was going to show how he caught that little error to see if anyone reading was paying attention, but there it is in both the before (p. 91) and after (p. 98) scripts: "Raffi and Kathy waiver." As in, waiving a right or claim. No, they're vacillating.

The second is how many times he happens to recommend books that just happen to be from Michael Wiese Productions. Sure, he lists other books as well, but he starts to become a shill in my mind.

All in all, though, not a bad read. There is some good information in here. Plus it's short.

What Time There Is

We just wrapped on “…What Time There Is” (video below) and what better title to emphasize just how small 48 hours can be! This was our last practice before the 48 Hour Film Project (happening on July 31st-August 2nd), and our first road movie. There is so much to learn!

Road movie was a somewhat deliberate choice on our part. We wanted something that was not among the main genres for 2015 (and wasn’t Fable), but could still challenge us in new and exciting ways. And we were definitely challenged! Do you know how hard it is to film in a car driving down the road? We’ve got an inkling now!

Our cast and crew were amazing all weekend. We got to borrow two different houses and one Mercedes this time around, and shared the weekend with lots of energetic, creative folks. We couldn’t have done it without them!

In case you’re wondering, the title comes from For Whom The Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway. Our main character was reading this at the start of the video. On set, he opened to a random page and found the quote:

“But in the meantime all the life you have or ever will have is today, tonight, tomorrow, today, tonight, tomorrow, over and over again (I hope), he thought and so you had better take what time there is and be very thankful for it.”

With that in mind, here is what we wrote Friday, shot Saturday, and edited and posted today. After you watch it, you’ll know how appropriate it was to finish this on Father’s Day:

Following the First Star - reading - again

Finished "Following the First Star" by me. This is becoming my most read book, often for reasons other than just reading the book. I re-read it when I got the printed copy. I re-read it when I wrote "A Sky of Stars." I re-read it when I wrote "A Sky of Stone." I re-read it this time because I'm thinking seriously about revising it again.

Show, don't tell. That's the biggest downfall of this book. I'm telling you too much and showing you too little. If I were to reverse that trend, the book would be significantly more enjoyable, and possibly a bit longer as well. As it is, though, it is a quick read.

Point of view is probably the second biggest thing to fix. There are places where I the reader am not sure what's happening because I the writer changed perspective.

There are a handful of missed/misspelled/weasel words, too, but that's a minor problem.

Lots of words. Lots of revisions. I'm feeling a bit daunted.

Save the Cat - reading

Finished "Save the Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need" by Blake Snyder. As a relative novice to screenwriting, I thought the advice in this book was really good, and although it speaks to a fairly rigid formula, this is about what I was looking for when I read "Screenwriting for Dummies." Maybe Save the Cat will hold up once I'm more experienced, I don't know. Ask me in a couple years. On the bright side, it's a super-quick read and has exercises in it that you can do with just about any script to improve it and the things that go along with it. On the down side, I thought Memento was a fantastic movie.