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My apologies for the ensuing confusion, but then again, right now, I'm betting no one is reading this.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Writing a Comic Script is Hard.
Or at least slow going. It is most certainly not like writing a narrative. I have the narrative. I'd like to think I'm good at writing. Which is why I'm writing this blog. I gave myself a week to write the scripts while looking at the narrative. Thinking I'm in the clear, I start in on it. Then I realize it takes about ten minutes to write a comic script page. As I realize the level of abstraction involved in translating pure narrative into comic script format, I again realize that maybe leaving myself one week to write the whole script start to finish was a bad idea. I mean, this isn't anything but my senior project, right?
Above: Derp.
I'm not finding it all too hard, however. Like I said, the process is slow going. I don't know how writers can bang out scripts left and right like this. I mean, they must be on crack.
Above: a writer, who, judging by the smile, likes his job. Or maybe its just the crack high.
Eh. Well. I'm gonna read more of The Way of Kings now. Maybe that will spark some more work effort and then I will write more comic script.
Above: Derp.
I'm not finding it all too hard, however. Like I said, the process is slow going. I don't know how writers can bang out scripts left and right like this. I mean, they must be on crack.
Above: a writer, who, judging by the smile, likes his job. Or maybe its just the crack high.
Eh. Well. I'm gonna read more of The Way of Kings now. Maybe that will spark some more work effort and then I will write more comic script.
Until next time,
Jacob.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Neon Lights are Dangerous
Especially when they fall directly overhead. Today at work (five years at a local movie theater, I am still a concessionist, and I am 21 years old, about to graduate college) my assistant manager climbed up on top of the overhang above the concession area to get rid of some hanging Harry Potter posters. Our theater is strang, since our main concession area is an island in the middle of the floor. The menu posters are placed on an overhead construction that hangs from the ceiling by steel poles. Lining the overhead "thing" (thats the only word that comes to mind for it) are two levels of neon lights. When my assistant manager made it up to the overhang (thats the word I'm looking for!) His shirt cuff tapped one of the neon lights and the whole side fell, breaking glass into a million pieces. I had to throw out all the nacho trays I had been preparing, not to mention the fact that I would have been hit had it not been for my catlike reflexes. Close call.
Whoops, I already knew the word "overhang". And used it. Must be the trauma. Ha.
It's not like I would have died or been electrocuted, though. But I probably don't want whatever powder coating the insides of the neon tubes in my blood system. That would be unhealthy.
After a meal at Denny's with one of my friends, I drove home in the snow, and almost got into an accident not even a quarter mile from my house. Thank god that guy turned left when he did, because I had my foot on the brakes, and my tires might as well have been skis for all the help they were. Phew. The adrenaline rush from that made my legs burn.
On a side note, since I have been playing Total War, I have started thinking strategically about everything. I'm starting to think high school should have required everyone to play chess, because strategic thinking is a powerful tool, in my opinion. For example, how would I generate readers in this blog? Clearly, adding labels for my post wouldn't be all too useful, and so far, it looks like most of the site referrals are from Facebook. I guess I have to keep at it, although with the sheer amount of work to look forward too this next (and final) semester may keep me from even writing a few paragraphs on a blog more than once a week.
Whoops, I already knew the word "overhang". And used it. Must be the trauma. Ha.
It's not like I would have died or been electrocuted, though. But I probably don't want whatever powder coating the insides of the neon tubes in my blood system. That would be unhealthy.
After a meal at Denny's with one of my friends, I drove home in the snow, and almost got into an accident not even a quarter mile from my house. Thank god that guy turned left when he did, because I had my foot on the brakes, and my tires might as well have been skis for all the help they were. Phew. The adrenaline rush from that made my legs burn.
On a side note, since I have been playing Total War, I have started thinking strategically about everything. I'm starting to think high school should have required everyone to play chess, because strategic thinking is a powerful tool, in my opinion. For example, how would I generate readers in this blog? Clearly, adding labels for my post wouldn't be all too useful, and so far, it looks like most of the site referrals are from Facebook. I guess I have to keep at it, although with the sheer amount of work to look forward too this next (and final) semester may keep me from even writing a few paragraphs on a blog more than once a week.
The Way of Kings
There is something about the way Brandon Sanderson writes that leads you from page to page, not wanting to put the book down until you find out what happens next. But at the end of each chapter, you are faced with that same question, and the question repeats itself over and over until you've hit the last page. In a way, books involving a point of view story with multiple characters, good or evil, are perfect examples of driving you to finish the story. Each chapter is several hours out of the character's day. By the end, there's an event that causes you to desire greatly to read what comes of the event. But you don't get to, because the next chapter is about another character. And yet, you don't skip that chapter, because that chapter focuses on a character that experienced a cliffhanger event as well. Sanderson's skill is apparent in that he can write suspense into his chapters. The suspense builds slowly in the beginning, but increases in a rapid crescendo as everything comes together. Then in the last two hundred pages or so, the climax is an awe-inspiring event, only possible through years of revision and planning.
This is not to say I am anywhere near finished with The Way of Kings. I am just trying to explain (possibly to myself, so that I may be able to better understand it) how an author can move a reader through a story with conviction on the part of the reader.
In other news, a big storm hit the northeast today, and I woke up this morning to a peaceful, snow-covered landscape. My brother and sister still hadn't gotten on the bus to go to school, was school canceled? Then I remembered that it's Saturday. Silly me.
This is not to say I am anywhere near finished with The Way of Kings. I am just trying to explain (possibly to myself, so that I may be able to better understand it) how an author can move a reader through a story with conviction on the part of the reader.
In other news, a big storm hit the northeast today, and I woke up this morning to a peaceful, snow-covered landscape. My brother and sister still hadn't gotten on the bus to go to school, was school canceled? Then I remembered that it's Saturday. Silly me.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Personal Blog Day.
The book I had been waiting so long for finally came to the local library. The Way of Kingsby Brandon Sanderson. It didn't just miraculously appear, because I told them to order it for me. The weighty feeling of a large tome of a book by a great author is always reassuring, since the adventure waiting in the pages will be a grand one. The fact that this 800+ page opus has received hail from authors such as Orson Scott Card is even more reassuring. I spent the morning (12:00 PM for me) reading it. It definitely has promise. But an hour before I go to work, I get an alarming text from my girlfriend. Now, I love her. She's very precious to me. She's beautiful beyond measure. Yet before she went to sleep last night, I told her I would surprise her by coming over and cooking breakfast for her. But then I thought about the snow storm encroaching where I live, the forecasts saying it would start in the wee hours of morning. Thinking that the surprise would have to wait till Saturday, I didn't wake up very early. By 3:00 PM, there was no snow on the ground. By 3:00 PM, I have a mad girlfriend, who had been expecting a surprise all day. I tried to explain, but my explanations sounded like just a lot of words.
" Saturday," I said. "I was planning for Saturday, I thought it was going to snow today."
"Baby, I love you," I say again.
Both of us upset, we hung up, both having received words we didn't want to hear. I think back to yesterday night, Tuesday, and Sunday. I brought her to dinner on Sunday. To lunch on Tuesday. A chef came to cook a special meal for us last night.
I love her, and hate that we have to be angry at each other for miscommunication. I'm angry at myself for not clarifying my words before I hung up on her last night, before bed. But how can you surprise someone by telling them the day you wish to surprise them? Does that not ruin the surprise? Confused, I sit here writing this.
If she's reading this now, or if she reads it some time in the next month, I would tell her I love her. I would tell her she means the world to me. But I've treated her to lunch, dinner, and dinner this week. Its unfair to be angry at me for not returning the gesture of bringing over breakfast in the morning when I have given her something thrice over in the last week.
" Saturday," I said. "I was planning for Saturday, I thought it was going to snow today."
"Baby, I love you," I say again.
Both of us upset, we hung up, both having received words we didn't want to hear. I think back to yesterday night, Tuesday, and Sunday. I brought her to dinner on Sunday. To lunch on Tuesday. A chef came to cook a special meal for us last night.
I love her, and hate that we have to be angry at each other for miscommunication. I'm angry at myself for not clarifying my words before I hung up on her last night, before bed. But how can you surprise someone by telling them the day you wish to surprise them? Does that not ruin the surprise? Confused, I sit here writing this.
If she's reading this now, or if she reads it some time in the next month, I would tell her I love her. I would tell her she means the world to me. But I've treated her to lunch, dinner, and dinner this week. Its unfair to be angry at me for not returning the gesture of bringing over breakfast in the morning when I have given her something thrice over in the last week.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Books Galore and More
Every break from school, I have made it a goal to read at least two books. Generally, I end up maxing out at around seven books. Crazy, right? I mean, that's a lot of words on pages and stuff. But I still manage to read a handful. I've read four during this break. I started off with Brandon Sanderson's Elantris, then read Warbreaker by the same author. Libraries ought to have more of a science fiction/fantasy selection since what they have in that genre has been published at least 10 years ago. After reading Warbreaker, I moved onto The Hunger Games trilogy. I haven't managed to finish Book three just yet, but for those of you that haven't read it, the pace is phenomenally well done. The plot moves ever forward; there are no points where the focus is lost. The reason I haven't finished is because I have managed to get myself distracted by video games again.
I swear, I am only doing this to witness a story so that I may write better stories of my own, so that I may become as good a writer as an artist. Honest.
The videogame binge started with Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which is pretty awesome, especially when you can climb up landmarks such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon in Rome. But since it is designed as a sandbox game with markers to dictate where the story moves forward, I lost interest; Ezio's character build didn't interest me enough to stick it through. Its the one complaint I have about the game; it's central character doesn't show more than an intense interest in bringing the Borgia brothers down. It's an alright plot for an exceptionally well rendered game, one that sells based on just how fun gameplay is, and the awesome multiplayer, but the story behind it is hard to follow. Ezio just doesn't have enough flaws to make him interesting, and neither does Desmond for that matter.
This is why I decided to splurge a little and buy a used copy of Alan Wake. Going from open-ended format to linear story-telling was a bit of a shock, but the well-rendered settings as well as the well-told story kept me occupied. I beat the game in a day, and returned it, not sure whether I was satisfied. The game was too short for my liking. The character showed changes, yes, but they were subtle, if anything. I exchanged Alan Wake for a copy of Final Fantasy XIII. Knowing I was in for it in a huge way, I started in slowly. Unfortunately, like any good book, movie, videogame, or TV show will do to you, the characters kept me playing for days. Final Fantasy XIII is truly an epic game, with a well thought out plot, along with likable characters capable of human emotions. Each has a flaw that one can relate to, and after a few hours of playing, every character seems like an old friend. Well, maybe with the exception of a way too bubbly redheaded girl.
That's it, other than the fact that today, I found out about a town in New York called Tuckaho. Boy, I bet that gets vandalized a lot.
I swear, I am only doing this to witness a story so that I may write better stories of my own, so that I may become as good a writer as an artist. Honest.
The videogame binge started with Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which is pretty awesome, especially when you can climb up landmarks such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon in Rome. But since it is designed as a sandbox game with markers to dictate where the story moves forward, I lost interest; Ezio's character build didn't interest me enough to stick it through. Its the one complaint I have about the game; it's central character doesn't show more than an intense interest in bringing the Borgia brothers down. It's an alright plot for an exceptionally well rendered game, one that sells based on just how fun gameplay is, and the awesome multiplayer, but the story behind it is hard to follow. Ezio just doesn't have enough flaws to make him interesting, and neither does Desmond for that matter.
This is why I decided to splurge a little and buy a used copy of Alan Wake. Going from open-ended format to linear story-telling was a bit of a shock, but the well-rendered settings as well as the well-told story kept me occupied. I beat the game in a day, and returned it, not sure whether I was satisfied. The game was too short for my liking. The character showed changes, yes, but they were subtle, if anything. I exchanged Alan Wake for a copy of Final Fantasy XIII. Knowing I was in for it in a huge way, I started in slowly. Unfortunately, like any good book, movie, videogame, or TV show will do to you, the characters kept me playing for days. Final Fantasy XIII is truly an epic game, with a well thought out plot, along with likable characters capable of human emotions. Each has a flaw that one can relate to, and after a few hours of playing, every character seems like an old friend. Well, maybe with the exception of a way too bubbly redheaded girl.
That's it, other than the fact that today, I found out about a town in New York called Tuckaho. Boy, I bet that gets vandalized a lot.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Introduction
Why don't I just start right in and say that I'm a senior in college and about to graduate. But, like everyone else out there, except for a few individuals, I fit right into the current mold. I have no job prospects except for a general direction in which I intend to direct myself. I still have the job I got in high school. I work at a movie theater. A position that offers no upward mobility except for the rare twenty dollar bill found stuck to the theater floor. And when I'm not serving popcorn and soda to the general obese, I'm cleaning up grime and mucky food remnants at the dining hall in my dorm at school. On that topic, I'm majoring in Illustration, you see, and well . . .
The job market sucks. The only thing I have to keep myself from falling apart in shambles is distraction. Movies, books, video games, TV shows, anything to deviate myself from thoughts on the future.
So this blog will be a rating blog of sorts: my thoughts on video games to books. Anything goes.
Signing off,
Jake.
The job market sucks. The only thing I have to keep myself from falling apart in shambles is distraction. Movies, books, video games, TV shows, anything to deviate myself from thoughts on the future.
So this blog will be a rating blog of sorts: my thoughts on video games to books. Anything goes.
Signing off,
Jake.
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