I have decided that my very next project will be my first piece of erotic fiction. I've been thinking about it ever since I found out how many sales the genre gets for the writers at the author forum where I hang out. And since they can be really short, I have decided to do it instead of starting 'Hide From The Reaper.'
I was going to do it to try to boost my writer's ego which has taken some bruising recently. So this morning I posted a thread asking erotic fiction writers for advice. The result was 7 pages of really funny postings: http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,81964.0.html .
It turns out that writing erotic fiction that sells is a lot of work. Well, I'm not willing to put the work in because it will take me too far away from my real works. So instead, I will be writing a few very erotic stories that I will publish under a pen name. The difference in what I thought I was going to do is that I am going to write a few stories in my usual style and I won't expect any sales from them.
You may ask what will be the purpose of these since they won't help to promote my other works and they won't sell in large numbers? I'm not sure. But I have a great erotic fiction title, great characters, and a great erotic plot. And I'm not talk stupid porn story lines, I'm talking stories based on some of the most interesting sex workers that I've ever met. One of the characters in the book will be this guy i once met who was at once incredibly sympathetic as well as almost completely dead inside. The light was almost out behind his eyes but his little boy self still kind of peaked through. I imagine by now he is either in jail or doing things that only a person who was pure evil would do.
As soon as he told me his story, I knew I wanted to write about him. But I assumed that I never would because I certainly wasn't going to write erotic fiction. But I guess that everybody does masturbate so this masturbatory act is right in line with human nature.
Maybe the end result is that I will get better at writing sex. Who knows. But certainly it will give me a few extra days to think about the plot for 'Hide From The Reaper.'
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
My next book will be 'Hide From The Reaper'
Everybody vs The Ferret: 3
Editing: 8,833
Time: 11 - 12:30am (3 hours break)
Mood: Pretty Good
Impression: It is clever, but it needs one more pass
I was telling a friend about this book today. As soon as I mentioned the first part of the story, she stopped me and said "Umm, Cristian some people are not going to like this. Aren't you worried that some people will use this in the wrong way?" The answer? Yes. But after I explained all of the story, her next response was "brilliant."
Last night I explained the book to someone else and she said, "You shouldn't publish it. It will harm your reputation and the reputation of your 'Everybody Masturbates' books. She backed off a little when I explained to her that the Everybody Masturbates books weren't meant to be sacred.
But I understand what she was saying. And it crosses my mind as well. Will my Everybody vs The Ferret books make readers view me as creepy and not worthy of the trust it takes to buy my book 'Everybody Masturbates.'
I can't live in fear though. My Everybody vs The Ferret books are very intelligent pieces of satire. So I think that if you read the whole book, they are little treasures. But not everyone is going to understand it as satire. I think that there will be a backlash. Oh well, because I will publish them no matter the consequences.
On another topic, I have decided what my next book will be. It will be a sequel to Run From the Reaper called Hide From the Reaper. What finally decided it for me was that starting another series would be financially irresponsible. I need to have sequels so that I at least have a shot at making my living as a writer. And for right now, I need to write books that those who like my work will also like. That is how writers make a living.
This weekend I will put together the cover for Ferret 3. Hopefully after that I will have an editor that will take a pass on it. Then I publish. So that means that next week I start to think about what the second Reaper story will be.
I wrote the source material for Run From the Reaper about 8 years ago. I was in a different mindset back then. I am a fundamentally different person back then. I don't tell stories the same way anymore. I considered myself a screenplay writer back then. Now I'm a novelist. It's very different.
Novels are longer and fuller. The characters are richer. And since then my characters have become a lot darker. My life has become darker since then. Hide From the Reaper will probably explore some new dark secret that I would like to experience.
I'm not really looking forward to writing it, but it is still early in the process. Odds are that before I start I will find some new aspect of desire that I would like to explore. I promise to not create trash. There is a specialness to Run From the Reaper but that story has already been told. But I think there are other ways within that world to find specialness.
But I guess I can talk about it all I want. In a few month we will all see. I also wonder how many books are enough. This book makes number 11. The question is, how many does it take. Some people have 4 or 5 and do quite well. How many do I need? I think I need 4 more. 15 stories sounds like a lot of books, right? That will be enough, right?
Editing: 8,833
Time: 11 - 12:30am (3 hours break)
Mood: Pretty Good
Impression: It is clever, but it needs one more pass
I was telling a friend about this book today. As soon as I mentioned the first part of the story, she stopped me and said "Umm, Cristian some people are not going to like this. Aren't you worried that some people will use this in the wrong way?" The answer? Yes. But after I explained all of the story, her next response was "brilliant."
Last night I explained the book to someone else and she said, "You shouldn't publish it. It will harm your reputation and the reputation of your 'Everybody Masturbates' books. She backed off a little when I explained to her that the Everybody Masturbates books weren't meant to be sacred.
But I understand what she was saying. And it crosses my mind as well. Will my Everybody vs The Ferret books make readers view me as creepy and not worthy of the trust it takes to buy my book 'Everybody Masturbates.'
I can't live in fear though. My Everybody vs The Ferret books are very intelligent pieces of satire. So I think that if you read the whole book, they are little treasures. But not everyone is going to understand it as satire. I think that there will be a backlash. Oh well, because I will publish them no matter the consequences.
On another topic, I have decided what my next book will be. It will be a sequel to Run From the Reaper called Hide From the Reaper. What finally decided it for me was that starting another series would be financially irresponsible. I need to have sequels so that I at least have a shot at making my living as a writer. And for right now, I need to write books that those who like my work will also like. That is how writers make a living.
This weekend I will put together the cover for Ferret 3. Hopefully after that I will have an editor that will take a pass on it. Then I publish. So that means that next week I start to think about what the second Reaper story will be.
I wrote the source material for Run From the Reaper about 8 years ago. I was in a different mindset back then. I am a fundamentally different person back then. I don't tell stories the same way anymore. I considered myself a screenplay writer back then. Now I'm a novelist. It's very different.
Novels are longer and fuller. The characters are richer. And since then my characters have become a lot darker. My life has become darker since then. Hide From the Reaper will probably explore some new dark secret that I would like to experience.
I'm not really looking forward to writing it, but it is still early in the process. Odds are that before I start I will find some new aspect of desire that I would like to explore. I promise to not create trash. There is a specialness to Run From the Reaper but that story has already been told. But I think there are other ways within that world to find specialness.
But I guess I can talk about it all I want. In a few month we will all see. I also wonder how many books are enough. This book makes number 11. The question is, how many does it take. Some people have 4 or 5 and do quite well. How many do I need? I think I need 4 more. 15 stories sounds like a lot of books, right? That will be enough, right?
Thursday, August 25, 2011
I just finsihed Everybody vs The Ferret: 3 and here's what I think
Everybody vs The Ferret: 3
Words: 2,619
Time: 11 - 3
Mood: Pretty good
Impression: Extremely Clever
Today I finished Everybody vs The Ferret: 3. It is super clever. It is certainly the most clever of the 3. I don't know if I will ever write another one though. From a business standpoint the market of these books are a little sketchy. They were written to be stories that fans of my work could pick up for cheap. But people who are unfamiliar with my other works would probably try to get my shunned for them.
In either case, unless sales dramatically pick on them, or someone expresses interest in optioning the TV pilot, I don't see the purpose in doing any more. I am proud of the ones that I did do though. And I do hope that people decide to give them a try. They are all pretty clever satirical looks at growing up in the Internet age.
On other fronts, it looks like after two weeks I have to find another roommate. Maybe not for Sept 1st, but for sometime very soon. It's too bad. We got along well.
Words: 2,619
Time: 11 - 3
Mood: Pretty good
Impression: Extremely Clever
Today I finished Everybody vs The Ferret: 3. It is super clever. It is certainly the most clever of the 3. I don't know if I will ever write another one though. From a business standpoint the market of these books are a little sketchy. They were written to be stories that fans of my work could pick up for cheap. But people who are unfamiliar with my other works would probably try to get my shunned for them.
In either case, unless sales dramatically pick on them, or someone expresses interest in optioning the TV pilot, I don't see the purpose in doing any more. I am proud of the ones that I did do though. And I do hope that people decide to give them a try. They are all pretty clever satirical looks at growing up in the Internet age.
On other fronts, it looks like after two weeks I have to find another roommate. Maybe not for Sept 1st, but for sometime very soon. It's too bad. We got along well.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Everybody vs The Ferret: 3 might actually cross the line
Everybody vs The Ferret: 3
Words: 3,323
Time: 11 - 6 (1hr break)
Mood: Okay
Impression: It possibly crosses the line
Today was the first full day of writing that I put into Everybody vs The Ferret: 3. I thought that I would do more than did, but it's not too bad. The important thing is that even if I did more tonight, I wouldn't finish until tomorrow anyway. So I decided to call it quits today and play some touch rugby tonight.
When I was writing today, I definitely feel like I may have crossed a line. As I wrote it I could see the responses that some readers will have. There are people that thought my book Fixing Cupid was too much for them. Geez, this is way beyond that. And my only defense is that these aren't real kids. There animated characters with fruits for heads. That should give me a certain level of creative license. The story is clever though, so I have that going for it.
And this morning I was also giving some thought to Light Rider or Lightening Rider (I will have to choose one as a working title. Lightning Rider is a little more compelling and sound less like Knight Rider.
So I was thinking about Lightning Rider and there might be another good reason not to write it. The audience for the book would be teens. The way most authors make a living writing is that they write books that attracts readers that can go on to purchase their other books. Let's say a 14 year old reads Lightning Rider and they like it. That 14 year old checks out the rest of my books. What other book of mine can they buy?
If they thought oh, this is a YA writer so Samurai Zombie Hunter must be kid friendly, they would be pretty shocked when they read the book. Even Fixing Cupid and Run From The Reaper aren't kid friendly books. The question is why would I go after a completely different audience that wouldn't be able to just move onto one of my other series?
It seems that even though I am continuing to develop the story in my head, this series doesn't seem like a smart I idea from a business perspective. Hmmm...
Oh, I just checked. There are already 2 books called Lightning Rider. So Light Rider it is.
Oh, and I forgot. I got a new review for Fixing Cupid today on all sites. The title of the review is 'Laugh Out Loud Funny!' It's a great review in spite of the fact that it was three stars.
Words: 3,323
Time: 11 - 6 (1hr break)
Mood: Okay
Impression: It possibly crosses the line
Today was the first full day of writing that I put into Everybody vs The Ferret: 3. I thought that I would do more than did, but it's not too bad. The important thing is that even if I did more tonight, I wouldn't finish until tomorrow anyway. So I decided to call it quits today and play some touch rugby tonight.
When I was writing today, I definitely feel like I may have crossed a line. As I wrote it I could see the responses that some readers will have. There are people that thought my book Fixing Cupid was too much for them. Geez, this is way beyond that. And my only defense is that these aren't real kids. There animated characters with fruits for heads. That should give me a certain level of creative license. The story is clever though, so I have that going for it.
And this morning I was also giving some thought to Light Rider or Lightening Rider (I will have to choose one as a working title. Lightning Rider is a little more compelling and sound less like Knight Rider.
So I was thinking about Lightning Rider and there might be another good reason not to write it. The audience for the book would be teens. The way most authors make a living writing is that they write books that attracts readers that can go on to purchase their other books. Let's say a 14 year old reads Lightning Rider and they like it. That 14 year old checks out the rest of my books. What other book of mine can they buy?
If they thought oh, this is a YA writer so Samurai Zombie Hunter must be kid friendly, they would be pretty shocked when they read the book. Even Fixing Cupid and Run From The Reaper aren't kid friendly books. The question is why would I go after a completely different audience that wouldn't be able to just move onto one of my other series?
It seems that even though I am continuing to develop the story in my head, this series doesn't seem like a smart I idea from a business perspective. Hmmm...
Oh, I just checked. There are already 2 books called Lightning Rider. So Light Rider it is.
Oh, and I forgot. I got a new review for Fixing Cupid today on all sites. The title of the review is 'Laugh Out Loud Funny!' It's a great review in spite of the fact that it was three stars.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Reconsidering my YA book series
I spoke to 2 early twenties female YA book readers yesterday and now I'm questioning whether or not I should do the YA book series. Both liked the concept but questioned the Sci Fi aspect of the book saying that not a lot of girls like sci fi. That's a problem. I am actually very concerned about this. The absolute last thing I want to do is to spend months writing books that very few people want to read.
On the other hand, I also like the concept of my YA books and I was looking forward to exploring the worlds. I could potentially make the girl a boy. But the problem with that is that girls are the YA readers. But I guess what those girls are reading are vampire stories, so Sci Fi or not, it still won't go after the bulk of the YA crowd.
The other problem is that I wonder if my style of writing is conducive to YA readers. I feel most comfortable writing emotive characters driven by sexual desire and the need to connect. I think that that would work if the characters were 16, but who reads books about a 16 year old boy? Other than 'I A Number Four' what other sci fi books are there about 15 or 16 year old boys?
I just took a look at the top teen books and the list is dominated by action adventure books. But of the top 20 books, only 6 have boys as the focus. Granted 4 of the other 14 are from one author, but still, out of those 6 only 2 books from the 'I Am Number Four' book series is about a 15 year old boy.
I don't know. I have to think about it some more. I'm kind of leaning against it right now. But I could always change my mind. I'll have to see. Certainly an idea would be to make the book less sci-fi and more fantasy, as in elves and woodland creatures and stuff. That would be more female oriented. But other than Lord of the Rings, and The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, I'm not into fantasy.
The other thing is that I know that my book concept would make a great TV series if I made it a boy. I think that it's less appealing as a TV show if it's a girl character.
Oh, but I just thought of a potential name for it "Light Rider". What do you think? It's would be about a 15 year old that is having a horrible life and decides that he would pray to the universe to end it all. He gets his wish when he slips into a white light and wakes up in the body of another kid on a distant planet. But it turns out that the inhabitant of the body exited because he too was having a horrible life. But where as the Light Rider couldn't deal with his own life, his difficult life has prepared him exceptionally well for the challenges of this new life which includes... it could be
a dystopian world that involves romance and teenage love. That part is a little flexible. But I would want it to be action adventure. 8 of the top 10 books are action adventure and I think it would be the most fun to write and read.
But I don't know. I really have to reconsider this. I really don't want to waste my time with this book when I could just start on the sequels to Samurai Zombie Hunter or Run From the Reaper.
On the other hand, I also like the concept of my YA books and I was looking forward to exploring the worlds. I could potentially make the girl a boy. But the problem with that is that girls are the YA readers. But I guess what those girls are reading are vampire stories, so Sci Fi or not, it still won't go after the bulk of the YA crowd.
The other problem is that I wonder if my style of writing is conducive to YA readers. I feel most comfortable writing emotive characters driven by sexual desire and the need to connect. I think that that would work if the characters were 16, but who reads books about a 16 year old boy? Other than 'I A Number Four' what other sci fi books are there about 15 or 16 year old boys?
I just took a look at the top teen books and the list is dominated by action adventure books. But of the top 20 books, only 6 have boys as the focus. Granted 4 of the other 14 are from one author, but still, out of those 6 only 2 books from the 'I Am Number Four' book series is about a 15 year old boy.
I don't know. I have to think about it some more. I'm kind of leaning against it right now. But I could always change my mind. I'll have to see. Certainly an idea would be to make the book less sci-fi and more fantasy, as in elves and woodland creatures and stuff. That would be more female oriented. But other than Lord of the Rings, and The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, I'm not into fantasy.
The other thing is that I know that my book concept would make a great TV series if I made it a boy. I think that it's less appealing as a TV show if it's a girl character.
Oh, but I just thought of a potential name for it "Light Rider". What do you think? It's would be about a 15 year old that is having a horrible life and decides that he would pray to the universe to end it all. He gets his wish when he slips into a white light and wakes up in the body of another kid on a distant planet. But it turns out that the inhabitant of the body exited because he too was having a horrible life. But where as the Light Rider couldn't deal with his own life, his difficult life has prepared him exceptionally well for the challenges of this new life which includes... it could be
a dystopian world that involves romance and teenage love. That part is a little flexible. But I would want it to be action adventure. 8 of the top 10 books are action adventure and I think it would be the most fun to write and read.
But I don't know. I really have to reconsider this. I really don't want to waste my time with this book when I could just start on the sequels to Samurai Zombie Hunter or Run From the Reaper.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
I think the 17 yr old Cristian was a little shit who ruined my life!
Words: 469
Time: 11 - 11:30
Mood: Bad
Impression: Not great
I wrote before I headed to the set of 'The Closer.' But I had a very short time before I left. I have to go back over it to add more one-liners. On Monday, I don't have anything scheduled. Hopefully I can sit down and crank out most of it.
On another topic, yesterday I was thinking about my life. I have stated before that I was never as spiritual and connected to everything around us then I was when I was 17. No other time in my life compares. I also openly state how much I truly hate my life. But here's the kicker, this life is what the 17 year old version wanted for me. He would very much approve of everything about who I am. He might even consider my life a success. How fucked up is that?
But I have to say that he was never clear about the details of what he wanted for me. He looked at things in big pictures. And he was such that he didn't care for money, or material possessions. The only thing he cared about was that I would create things that helped to make other people's lives better. How fucked up was he?
He gave up all that was good and blissfully happy about who he was so that the me of today would end up here. He would have probably have been cool if I lost a limb, if it meant that I could then use that disability to inspire someone else. He was prepared to live a life with nothing as long as I was doing things to leave the world better than I found it. And I think I can definitively say that he had absolutely no regard for me and my happiness. What a fucking shit he was! Just an absolute shit!
But here's the thing that I don't get about how my life has turned out, it was his conscious plan to allow himself to fade away so that the me of today could emerge. But the thing I don't get is how he has been able to keep such a tight grip over my life for the 20 years that followed. He faded away. Did he plant something in my brain so that I couldn't get away from the path that he wanted me to live? Is he still steering me now even though he is barely even a memory to me anymore?
Ok, since I view 17 year old Cristian as responsible for everything I hate about my life, I'm officially putting him on my enemies list. So far, my list of enemies include: My life; and 17 year old Cristian.
The other day I was also giving some thought to why I hate my life so much. And I think that I've narrowed it down to one thing; hope. It's funny I say that because 17 year old Cristian had a lot to say about hope. He even had a saying about it that he would say as often as he got the opportunity. He made it up himself and was very proud of it. It goes: Hope is a concept created by society, to maintain the premise that there is no god; and their is a god.
Often after he said it, it would inspire conversation and he would go on to explain it. He believed that the essence of hope is forward looking. Hope is about believing that tomorrow could be better than today. And at the heart of what 17 Cristian believed was that today/right now was good enough. And if we looked past the satisfying moments of right now when we aren't hungry or thirsty, where we have somewhere to sleep and aren't in mortal danger, if we looked past all of that, we will miss the glory of the universe. Because in the truest sense, there is no future or past, only a continuous series of right nows. And the more we focus on how great right now is, the more wonderful our life would seem. And for that reason, 17 year old Cristian railed against the concept of hope.
Putting that aside, I have completely lost all hope for my life. I no longer believe that my life will get any better than what it is right now (you know, the one I hate). In fact, if I were to chart out my life for the last 5 years or so, what it would lead me to believe is that it will get progressively worse.
So if you ever wanted to know what it's like to be me, imagine waking up every morning and then thinking that today will be worse than the previous day. Now imagine what it's like for me to think about my life in a week, or a month or a year. To be quite honest, when I think of life in 3 or 4 years I become overwhelmed by how much worse it will be than the horrible today and all I could do is pray that it never comes. I pray that it will all come to a merciful conclusion as quickly as possible, yet still it lingers on like a medieval torture device.
So, that's my life. To me my life is in a permanent state of decline which in spite of my intelligence and everything else, I can't slow down, much less reverse. And for those of you who wonder what's up with me. That is what's up with me and why I so intensely hate my fucking life. Oh yeah, that plus stuff that I would never write about. Now let's all bow our heads in prayer.
Time: 11 - 11:30
Mood: Bad
Impression: Not great
I wrote before I headed to the set of 'The Closer.' But I had a very short time before I left. I have to go back over it to add more one-liners. On Monday, I don't have anything scheduled. Hopefully I can sit down and crank out most of it.
On another topic, yesterday I was thinking about my life. I have stated before that I was never as spiritual and connected to everything around us then I was when I was 17. No other time in my life compares. I also openly state how much I truly hate my life. But here's the kicker, this life is what the 17 year old version wanted for me. He would very much approve of everything about who I am. He might even consider my life a success. How fucked up is that?
But I have to say that he was never clear about the details of what he wanted for me. He looked at things in big pictures. And he was such that he didn't care for money, or material possessions. The only thing he cared about was that I would create things that helped to make other people's lives better. How fucked up was he?
He gave up all that was good and blissfully happy about who he was so that the me of today would end up here. He would have probably have been cool if I lost a limb, if it meant that I could then use that disability to inspire someone else. He was prepared to live a life with nothing as long as I was doing things to leave the world better than I found it. And I think I can definitively say that he had absolutely no regard for me and my happiness. What a fucking shit he was! Just an absolute shit!
But here's the thing that I don't get about how my life has turned out, it was his conscious plan to allow himself to fade away so that the me of today could emerge. But the thing I don't get is how he has been able to keep such a tight grip over my life for the 20 years that followed. He faded away. Did he plant something in my brain so that I couldn't get away from the path that he wanted me to live? Is he still steering me now even though he is barely even a memory to me anymore?
Ok, since I view 17 year old Cristian as responsible for everything I hate about my life, I'm officially putting him on my enemies list. So far, my list of enemies include: My life; and 17 year old Cristian.
The other day I was also giving some thought to why I hate my life so much. And I think that I've narrowed it down to one thing; hope. It's funny I say that because 17 year old Cristian had a lot to say about hope. He even had a saying about it that he would say as often as he got the opportunity. He made it up himself and was very proud of it. It goes: Hope is a concept created by society, to maintain the premise that there is no god; and their is a god.
Often after he said it, it would inspire conversation and he would go on to explain it. He believed that the essence of hope is forward looking. Hope is about believing that tomorrow could be better than today. And at the heart of what 17 Cristian believed was that today/right now was good enough. And if we looked past the satisfying moments of right now when we aren't hungry or thirsty, where we have somewhere to sleep and aren't in mortal danger, if we looked past all of that, we will miss the glory of the universe. Because in the truest sense, there is no future or past, only a continuous series of right nows. And the more we focus on how great right now is, the more wonderful our life would seem. And for that reason, 17 year old Cristian railed against the concept of hope.
Putting that aside, I have completely lost all hope for my life. I no longer believe that my life will get any better than what it is right now (you know, the one I hate). In fact, if I were to chart out my life for the last 5 years or so, what it would lead me to believe is that it will get progressively worse.
So if you ever wanted to know what it's like to be me, imagine waking up every morning and then thinking that today will be worse than the previous day. Now imagine what it's like for me to think about my life in a week, or a month or a year. To be quite honest, when I think of life in 3 or 4 years I become overwhelmed by how much worse it will be than the horrible today and all I could do is pray that it never comes. I pray that it will all come to a merciful conclusion as quickly as possible, yet still it lingers on like a medieval torture device.
So, that's my life. To me my life is in a permanent state of decline which in spite of my intelligence and everything else, I can't slow down, much less reverse. And for those of you who wonder what's up with me. That is what's up with me and why I so intensely hate my fucking life. Oh yeah, that plus stuff that I would never write about. Now let's all bow our heads in prayer.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
I watched Judd Apatow direct a movie and here is what it taught me
Words: 1,324
Time: 10am - 5pm (lots of breaks)
Mood: Pretty good
Impression: It was pretty good
Yesterday I did some background work on a Judd Apatow's new movie 'This is Forty'. Judd Apatow wrote and directed Knocked Up, Forty Year Old Virgin, and either wrote or directed Pineapple Express, Funny People and a ton of other stuff. It was an eye opening experience watching him work.
Apatow has a unique way of working. What he does is point 3 cameras at the actors and then he has the actors say the lines in the script. And after that's done, he comes up with lines on the fly and yells it out for his actors to say. The lines that he came up with just got funnier and funnier. I write comedy, of course, and I was intimidated by how he was able to come up with line after line on the fly.
The more experienced comedic actors (Paul Rudd and Robert Smigel) re-interpreted the lines given and then improvised on top of them (especially Robert Smigel). I'm really glad I saw it. I learned a lot.
In the one movie I directed there was comedy but it was situational humor. The humor in my movie was actor proof. They just had to do what was in the script and I edited the situation together to make it funny. But what Apatow was doing was on a whole other level. I tip my hat to you sir. I'm impressed.
So between filming I would go back to holding and write a little for 'Everybody vs The Ferret: 3'. Today when I reviewed it, I was actually surprised that I had written so much. It was extremely difficult to block out all of the talking and music to write. But I'm happy with what I did. After re-reading the outline, I realized that the outline is pretty great and makes me laugh. I don't have to add any more humor to it. But if I am worth my salt, I will add funny lines within the situational humor to really make it pop.
But watching Apatow work I kind of wish that I wrote with someone else. Sure Apatow came up with funny lines, but what really made the comedy sing was what the comedic actors added to it. That is a partnership. I imagine that the movie is funnier because of the collaboration. Oh well.
On another topic, today was D-day on that thing that I wasn't looking forward to doing. It seems that I've gotten permission to kick that can further down the road. Is it a good thing? Odds are no. But seriously, who wants to live forever?
One of the great lines in 'This if Forty' involves Paul Rudd fantasizing about the glory of the imaginary "The Second Wife". Judd says "a second wife wouldn't always nag me to eat healthier". Smigel says "Yeah, but maybe if you were on your second wife, you might want to eat healthier. Can you imagine actually wanting to live longer?"
So funny! And they came up with that after Apatow yelled something out to them. All of that was improvised! That is how it rolled out of their mouth. Damn!
Well, I say, maybe if I had my fantasy second wife I might actually want to live longer. But since I don't. I'll focus more on the time that's in front of me. So, there's the can, there's the road and here's my kicking. Bye bye can!
Time: 10am - 5pm (lots of breaks)
Mood: Pretty good
Impression: It was pretty good
Yesterday I did some background work on a Judd Apatow's new movie 'This is Forty'. Judd Apatow wrote and directed Knocked Up, Forty Year Old Virgin, and either wrote or directed Pineapple Express, Funny People and a ton of other stuff. It was an eye opening experience watching him work.
Apatow has a unique way of working. What he does is point 3 cameras at the actors and then he has the actors say the lines in the script. And after that's done, he comes up with lines on the fly and yells it out for his actors to say. The lines that he came up with just got funnier and funnier. I write comedy, of course, and I was intimidated by how he was able to come up with line after line on the fly.
The more experienced comedic actors (Paul Rudd and Robert Smigel) re-interpreted the lines given and then improvised on top of them (especially Robert Smigel). I'm really glad I saw it. I learned a lot.
In the one movie I directed there was comedy but it was situational humor. The humor in my movie was actor proof. They just had to do what was in the script and I edited the situation together to make it funny. But what Apatow was doing was on a whole other level. I tip my hat to you sir. I'm impressed.
So between filming I would go back to holding and write a little for 'Everybody vs The Ferret: 3'. Today when I reviewed it, I was actually surprised that I had written so much. It was extremely difficult to block out all of the talking and music to write. But I'm happy with what I did. After re-reading the outline, I realized that the outline is pretty great and makes me laugh. I don't have to add any more humor to it. But if I am worth my salt, I will add funny lines within the situational humor to really make it pop.
But watching Apatow work I kind of wish that I wrote with someone else. Sure Apatow came up with funny lines, but what really made the comedy sing was what the comedic actors added to it. That is a partnership. I imagine that the movie is funnier because of the collaboration. Oh well.
On another topic, today was D-day on that thing that I wasn't looking forward to doing. It seems that I've gotten permission to kick that can further down the road. Is it a good thing? Odds are no. But seriously, who wants to live forever?
One of the great lines in 'This if Forty' involves Paul Rudd fantasizing about the glory of the imaginary "The Second Wife". Judd says "a second wife wouldn't always nag me to eat healthier". Smigel says "Yeah, but maybe if you were on your second wife, you might want to eat healthier. Can you imagine actually wanting to live longer?"
So funny! And they came up with that after Apatow yelled something out to them. All of that was improvised! That is how it rolled out of their mouth. Damn!
Well, I say, maybe if I had my fantasy second wife I might actually want to live longer. But since I don't. I'll focus more on the time that's in front of me. So, there's the can, there's the road and here's my kicking. Bye bye can!
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