Friday, February 25, 2011

Scriptfrenzy Mania-It's An ML!!!

I am proud to say that for this Scriptfrenzy Season I am the Louisville/Bullitt County Region's Municipal Liason aka ML!

Honestly this Region always shows poorly during this time. I don't think it's because there aren't people who aspire to be great comic book writers or teleplay scribes or Oscar winners but something has to be done to bring the people out in April. You're often competing for people's time which is so limited. There are people who go to school both High School and College. Some are even going for their Masters and their Doctorates. Yes there's a bit of a movie lover in all of us. Of course there is that other category: the Scriptfrenzy Rebel.

Yes. One hundred pages. But of what? Perhaps short stories are more your thing. A memoir maybe? Or yes, even a novel or 100 poems. Scriptfrenzy is for that dreamer in all of us who ever dared to dream of writing one day for a living..

I am proud to announce two dates have been declared official for my region so far: Saturday March 26th, the Kick Off Party at the Hurstbourne Rave Movie Theatre in Louisville,KY! And the Wrap Party in the Meeting Room at the Ridgeway Memorial Library in Shepherdsville, KY on Saturday April 30th from 1-4! Deets to come in the Regional Forum at http://Scriptfrenzy.org.  Till then, keep on keepin' on.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Oscars Are Coming! The Oscars Are Coming!

I am by trade, a writer. In my lifetime I have written well, I have written badly, and then there are those stories that are, as Chris Baty puts it, only good for doorstops or table stabilizers. My last NaNo was like that lol. A million starts. Zero finishes. I was a bloody mess. But I got the point. I needed to rewrite my last book before I went on to the next. Thanks Julie! :)

But I am as in love with the movies as I am with books. And while some will always say the book was better than the movie I say this and I will always say this: after being on both sides of the coin a movie is simply a different experience than a book. And the movie that captures the SPIRIT and not the LETTER of the book is the movie that makes even the greatest critic say WOW that was awesome. Apples & oranges.

In the spirit of storytelling and all its forms I am here to help celebrate the movies on its biggest night.--the OSCARS!

The nominee I wish to highlight as my favorite, but definitely the dark horse of the night is Winter's Bone. A thrilling yet harrowing tale of one teen's efforts to find her father so that the land she and her family depend on is not confiscated by the local law takes you into the dark world of the meth underbelly of the Ozarks. It's chilling, breathtaking, with stark directing. Brilliant acting by all, especially the revelation of local Louisville girl Jennifer Lawrence, and her co-star John Hawkes, who not only the local sheriff fears, but even the drug ring wants no part of. The writing is tight, clean, and unfettered. They all deserve awards Sunday night. Here's hoping  :)

And not to mention there is a wonderful book that the movie is based upon. Warning, this reading and viewing isn't for the feint of heart. But it is highly rewarding. Leave your picks for Best whatever or just chat about your favorites of the year. Storytelling is storytelling.

Monday, February 21, 2011

A 50,000 Word Challenge Awaits...If you Dare Take It On

Your mission, should you choose to accept it is simple: Write a 50,000 word novel in 31 days. Yup. I said it. 50,000 words in 31 days. Anyone can participate. But find a critique partner. One that you trust to be honest without crushing your spirit. Because anything written in 31 days is truly a wonderful hot mess with great things about amidst some really crappy things. Be sure to leave a comment when you finish your opus about your experience. Be creative too. The funnier the better, you might even do a mock up of a cover featuring your muse. Those with the best comments and those with the best cover will receive a small mystery gift of appreciation.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

DigiCon Rocks the Present and Embraces the Future/Contest

As DigiCon comes to an end today allow me to just say a big THANK YOU to writing conference host Savvy Authors for bringing in some of the biggest names and some of the most unsung heroes of the publishing industry. I have learned lots, made some new friends, (probably alienated some with my uncharacteristic outburst over the show LOST, sorry ladies, I am a total Lostie and have been known to lose my head over that show lol. No disrespect intended.) and made some invaluable connections, pitched my brains out and gotten more requests for my work than I ever have in the past and all because of some info I had gotten from Bob Mayer from Twitter over a year ago. (He was a guest at DigiCon too, if I didn't love him before, I adore him now!)

The message of the conference was clear: the e-revolution was here and you can either embrace it or fight against the current. Not that print is dead, but with Borders filing for Chapter Eleven bankruptcy and Barnes & Noble depending heavily on its e-book sales and its future uncertain, shelf space is going to be at a premium and that leaves unknown writers like me out in the cold unless they take a long hard look at where they stand in the publishing world and its landscape.

E-publishing has been around since, well, since Ellora's Cave pioneered the way showing people it's a viable way to do business close to ten years ago. Around that time the publishing industry was changing. And thanks to Bob's no bullshit approach to teaching he said those of us at the conference taking his class were ahead of the curve. Because like everything else, eventually the market was going to reach saturation levels, and things which were difficult now would just be harder then.

If you aren't a member of Savvy Authors now go register at least as a Basic Member. Everything was free this week! They will be putting transcripts and recordings of everything they offered at DigiCon on the site for use. You can register for the last class and final chat and raffle. They're giving away craft books, promotional books, & writers have donated their work as well to be given away. Premium Membership at Savvy Authors is optional but they are a year round site that offers loads to both Basic and & Premium members. So sign up.

In honor of my good time at DigiCon I will be hosting a contest this week. Who is your muse(s) and why? Winner will get receive a mystery writer's gift bag. Remember post early and post often :)