Month: April 2018

Spoilers Redux

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Cast of Infinity War looking at the camera.  Image Source: YouTube

Avengers Infinity War Partially Spoiled for Me

So, my car wouldn’t start Saturday so I didn’t get to commute home as I have done every weekend since starting school.  Rather than let this defeat me–very demoralizing–I simply tried to distract myself through schoolwork, Netflix, and YouTube videos.  I was watching a video on the upcoming Spider-man video game published by Insomniac games (one of my favorite developers) and made the mistake of scrolling through the comment section to get a sense of what the gaming community thought of the game.  Right there in full view, with no warning or anything, some goofball posted a major spoiler about three characters in the movie.  I read the first two before my brain realized that it was a blatant spoiler (intentional, no less–no spoiler tag, no “spoilers,” nothing, just done to troll).  I stopped reading and didn’t see the third, but I reported the comment.  Yes, I reported it falsely–YouTube doesn’t have a report feature for “being a jack-behind,” so I reported it under commercialization.  Yeah, probably not kosher, but hey, if the poster hadn’t been such a twit, I’d have left his post alone.  It had 17 replies, probably angry responses to the spoilers, but when I reported it, it dropped off the comment section–but the damage was already done.

 Marketing through Fear of Spoilers

While it was ultimately the posters fault, I still partially fault the marketing of the movie for encouraging people to run out and see it before they were spoiled on it.  They got people into the seats and became the number one movie opening of all time by making this an “event” film, but in doing so, they created a culture where a “jack-behind” and troll out there would feel embolden, no invited, to see the movie first and then to create and post as many spoilers as possible in as many places as possible with the understanding that if you haven’t seen it yet (in the first weekend), then you “got what you deserved” if you were spoiled on the movie.  I’ve a report still to write and a Final Exam to take, so Disney and their marketing department really screwed the pooch for me.  My mother still wants to see it (although her desire was diminished once she discovered it wasn’t in Imax 3d), but mine is greatly diminished because of the spoilers and the way the movie was marketed and the release date changed.

It’s such a big topic that even the directors have asked fans to respect the movie-going experience:

Ah, well, its just a movie, right?   =/

Sidney

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Waiting a Week for Avengers Infinity War

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Avengers Infinity War Movie Poster with Marvel’s Avengers and Thanos.  Image Source: IMDB.com (Click Image for more info.)

No Avengers Infinity War for me this Week

So, as most of you know, I tend to go to the Marvel movies as soon as they are released (with some exceptions–I still haven’t had a chance to see Thor Ragnarok yet, although I’m hopeful that I will be able to see if for the Memorial Day Holiday at the end of May (fingers crossed).  While I haven’t looked to see if its being shown in Imax 3D at my local theater–pretty much the only way I’ll go to the AMC theater these days as I’m perfectly willing to wait the extra time until it is available for purchase due to the movie industry’s  desire to maximize profit by charging more for the Imax experience, but not offering movies in the 3D format as often as they used to–AMC still charges a premium price when showing movies in 2D when they’re Imax vs standard 2D.

EDIT: Did some quick googling and found that AIW was NOT shot originally in 3D.  However, it was shot using Imax cameras, a choice that happens rarely in the movie world, so it should look spectacular on the Imax screens even though the image will be 2D and not 3D.  I’m not sure how that will affect my movie going–2D is a much harder sell based on the prices at AMC.  At least with 3D, I can justify the expense by telling myself that it is something that I can’t replicate on my home theater.

It Isn’t All About the Money–Sometimes its about School

So, lest people think that I’m a poor college student (which I am at the moment, if truth be told), the expense of going to the movies (ticket prices & concessions) isn’t the primary driver of what’s keeping me away–this time, it’s school.  For the first time during my tenure as a PhD student, I have a Monday class with both a Final Exam and a Final Paper due after right as the AIW releases.  If Disney hadn’t moved up the movie by a week and kept it in its first Saturday in May release spot, then I probably would be going–2D or no 2D.  I have too much work to do and too much time and work invested in the class to throw it all away by not getting studying done or working on my paper over the weekend.

First rule of thumb for students (I tried to tell my 6th graders this time and again, but only a few listened), do your work first, then you have time to play.  This is a lesson that has been “hardwired” into me since my earliest childhood with daily “homework checks” at home.

So, all that to say that if the movie is still in Imax and it is a really good 2D movie, then chances are good I’ll try to see it next week, but I’m not going to risk my grade in my class (Plays Before Shakespeare) just because Disney moved the movie up a week in hopes that AIW would get 3 weeks to make money ahead of the mid-May release of Deadpool 2.  Something tells me that even if it isn’t in Imax, it will still be playing next week if I really want to see it.  Or–there’s always BluRay at the end of the summer.  Whenever I do see it, I’ll be sure to do a Mini-Review & add it my Marvel Movie Ranking Post.

Have a great weekend!

Sidney

 

“Just Show Up”

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Boston Marathon women’s winner Desiree Linden celebrates after she crosses the finish line on Monday.  John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images.  Image Source: NPR (All Things Considered–Click on Image for more information)

Training to Write

This will be a shorter blog post today–it is “Study Day” where there are no classes, but I want to use the day to catch up on reading and schoolwork.

“Just Show Up” is what Desiree Linden, the first American to win the women’s race in the Boston Marathon in 33 years, told a reporter in an NPR interview after the race.  Desiree tells how training wasn’t going well and that some days felt great and some days felt less great, and goes on to explain that she told herself to “just show up” and on the day of the race, to “just show up for one more mile.”  This is exactly the sentiment that we as writers and that myself in particular need to hear.

Writing to Train

One of the things that Desiree Linden said in the interview that really spoke to me as a writer was that her training phase was particularly brutal (as was the race with the poor weather conditions).  She said that some days the training “flowed” and went to plan, but that some days it was really difficult and arduous.  She, however, decided to stop thinking about it so much and to just “show up.”  She has a Twitter mantra that says that she makes a choice every day “show up” and that she needs to stop worrying about what the day gave her and to just “show up.”  This is so applicable to me and my writing life because too often, the writing doesn’t “flow” like I want it, or rejections come that are out of my control.  Like Desiree, I just need to “show up” for each writing project and enjoy the process.  Her crossing the finish line was an accomplishment and winning the race was a victory.  I need to make finishing projects my accomplishment and publication (which is out of my control except to write the best story I can) my victories.

Music Makes the Medicine Go Down

One thing that I noticed was that she had a strong love of music–it begins and ends the NPR story.  Finding a strong musical choice can help motivate you and give you the inner strength and energy to “show up.”  I’ve noticed that I don’t write to music as much as I use too (the room is silent right now even as I type these words).  I’m going to have to get back to giving myself a musical boost if I want to follow Desiree Linden’s example and “Just Show Up.”

Have a great day!

Sidney

 

Getting It Done

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Infographic of a man writing.  Image Source: Marketingprofs (Click on image for more information)

Important Note:  This is the final week of school for me and then Final Exam Week occurs Friday through Thursday of the following week.  I have a final paper and final exam (and to be honest, I’m behind on other school work as well), so the blog entries may be a bit erratic for the next two weeks.  I’ll try to be consistent, but I may not always upload a daily entry during these two weeks.

Getting it Done

So, there is a screenwriting channel on YouTube that I recently found and it has reignited my passion for screenwriting and storytelling, in general.  One of the interviewees talked about working at several jobs and working tables as a waitress while writing in order to have steady income until writing became her primary occupation.  I really liked what she had to say–the problem is, she specifically referenced writing at night after the job was over.

I really like the idea of writing while working until writing becomes your primary job as this feels a lot like what I’m trying to do even while I’m in school.  However, I’ve found that writing after class is next to impossible for me.  I usually have to expend so much energy getting ready for class (reading, writing, papers, etc.), that by the time I get home, I’m usually mentally drained.

Adjusting to Make it Work for You

So, for me I really need to do my writing before going to class, to work, or wherever/whatever I need to do, otherwise I do a lot of thinking about writing, but I never actually seem to write.  Writing at the end of the day just doesn’t seem to work for me and since the writing process is so individual, you have to take whatever advice you think will work for you, try it, and then adjust it as you need to do so.  For me, writing before is better than writing at the end.  Just like for the interviewee in the above YouTube video, I really like writing and my projects.  I’m just not a “night-owl,” so I’ll need to adjust my way of thinking and incorporate her advice so that it works for a “bright-eyed, up-and-at-’em” type of morning person that I am.

Whatever works is a good motto to have if you’re a writer–you just need to make sure to adjust and apply (writing) advice to your own unique process and situation.  Something that I need to remember and be reminded of from time to time.

Sidney

Celebrate Good Times

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An example of a CSW at TAMUC.  Image Source: Pinterest (click on image for more information)

Important Note:  This is the final week of school for me and then Final Exam Week occurs Friday through Thursday of the following week.  I have a final paper and final exam (and to be honest, I’m behind on other school work as well), so the blog entries may be a bit erratic for the next two weeks.  I’ll try to be consistent, but I may not always upload a daily entry during these two weeks.

Celebrating Student Writing

I missed Friday’s blog entry because I attended an event at my school, MTSU called the Celebration of Student Writing (CSW).  This is the second year that it was held and it is a really neat event for student writers.  Imagine a Science Fair, but instead of science projects, the students talk about the writing projects that they’ve been working on in class.  While some students used technology (one presentation that I listened to was a Podcast), for the most part, it is a decidedly old school affair with tri-fold poster-boards and images to help illustrate the topic.

I’m including a link to a video that Dr. Detweiler of MTSU and his students helped to create last year about the CSW.  Fun fact: I’m actually in the video (unknown to me before I saw it–see if you can find me)

Student Writing

This event is important in that it gives students a chance to talk about their writing in an authentic writing environment.  Too often, papers are just that: “papers” written only to be turned in or read by professors/teachers.  Events like this gives students a chance to interact with an audience to be able to engage and explain their writing work and choices.

Not to go too political here, but this is where politicians err when it comes to funding of higher education and education initiatives.  They complain that higher education is too liberal (or conservative, or whatever is popular to “hate” on in the moment), and complain about the quality of students’ reading/writing/learning (the whole “Why Johnny can’t read” motif), but when events such as the CSW are planned and initiated, they neither show up, nor provide funding, nor talk about them as successes to counteract the stigma that they themselves have created.

This event was dreamed, planned, and executed by a core group of English professors, graduate students, and of course, the writers of the future–student writers.

Have a great day!

Sidney

Going Loud (but not Stupid)

Going Loud

I guess the theme is going to be mostly about characters this week. One of the things that I really want to do is to make my characters become more distinctive. I’m trying to address a concern that I have about my characters being too passive, not in that they do not act, but rather they’re too reserved and don’t emote. I need them to become more distinctive and to stand out more.

Being Stupid

So, I’m probably going to step on some toes here, but I hate stupidity in ALL its forms. There are people on YouTube/Twitch who do “drunk ” streams and I can’t click away from their content quick enough (and in some cases, block them entirely). So I have to make sure that as I’m creating my characters and trying to push them out more and give them more distinctive traits, that I don’t overdo it and push them into “stupid” territory. Hopefully, my beta readers will let me know if my characters become too farcical rather than the real emotive beings that I imagine them to be.

Sidney

Larger Than Life

Image Source: IZQuotes.com

Reserved by Nature

I am a reserved person by nature. You’ll never find me gadding around being the life of the party. I am quiet and most definitely an introvert. However, as I’m writing Project Poet, I’m finding that maybe my characters really aren’t ciphers, but rather maybe they are too much like me– very quiet and reserved.

Larger Than Life Characters

People want distinctive and memorable characters. I personally am not distinctive or memorable unless I truly want to be–my choice (heck, yes would be hard pressed to find an image of me online) . However, in writing characters who are just extensions of various parts of my psyche, I’ve unwittingly been writing boring characters rather than dynamic and unique ones.

Living La Vita Loca

So, a way to fix this is to give my characters a one-word trait to describe the character’s behavior. For instance, the character for Project Poet just wants to have fun–so “frat-boy”/”party-guy” would get that fun loving personality with a little bit of immaturity & insecurity. Now I just need to characterize (show how these traits manifest themselves in the story) him better and make sure he is larger than life. I also need to make sure his backstory reflects his fun loving outlook on life.

To steal from a popular saying: “go big or go home!”

Sidney

Stop Signs

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Stop Sign.  Image Source: Amazon.com

Writing Advice (Stop Signs)

So, as I’m sure that you’ve probably already guessed, I didn’t get a lot of writing done.  As a matter of fact, I got exactly 0 words done last week.  I’ve resolved not to worry about it and just to continue on this week.  I read in a book on writing–I think that is was On Writing Science Fiction: The Editors Strike Back, but I could be mistaken–that one should be mindful that sometimes life gives you “Stop Signs” in your writing life.  I don’t rightly remember, so if this advice isn’t in this book, my apologies (I wrote a list that includes many writing notes from several sources, but I didn’t note exactly which piece of advice came from which source).

When to (Temporarily) Stop Writing

Sometimes life and the writing life don’t align.  Last week was one of those times because the sinus pressure and sneezing made just being upright a real pain (both literally and figuratively).  Again, I did have the app on my phone for WordPress and for SimpleNote, so theoretically I could have worked on blog posts and drafting, but the pain was such that it was next to impossible to even watch TV, let alone focus on creating anything close to a coherent blog entry or work on a story.  My personal approach to stop writing (at least temporarily) is not when I’m “distracted” from writing, but when it is impossible to focus for even a few minutes.

You Shouldn’t Look for Stop Signs Everywhere

The second piece of the writing advice is that you shouldn’t be looking for “stop signs” all over the place.  Rather, you should try very hard to minimize your stop signs and make sure that you put your “behind-in-the-seat” in order to get writing done.  That is my plan this week.  I’m not going to try to “make-up” the lost writing time, but I’m going to try to find another writing time a way to get 250 words down on paper each day this week.  We’ll see if I’m able to get it done.  Wish me luck!

Sidney

Back on the Mend

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Man with a tissue.  Source: Wall Street Journal WSJ.com.  Click on image for more information.

Getting Better

This post will be a shorter one to basically let you all know that I’m feeling better and will resume my normal blogging schedule (hopefully).  I had some sort of Sinus Infection last week that came with all of the usual sinus infection symptoms (google sinus infection for a fairly exhaustive list of issues that I was dealing with last week).  I felt not my usual self on Sunday afternoon, but it wasn’t until Sunday night that I actually felt the first signs of a sore throat.  From there, the sore throat intensified, and the symptoms progressed until they were pretty much unbearable.

Blogging While Sick

I had already written the blog entry What’s on My Bookshelf earlier that weekend. WordPress has a nifty feature (YouTube has it as well) that allows you to “pre-write” a blog entry (or in YouTube’s case, pre-record/pre-upload a video) and set the time/date you want it to go active.  However, I felt so bad last week, that I couldn’t manage another major blog entry at all.  Even writing the short “update” talking about my illness was done on the WordPress app on my phone–something I hate using because I’m not a “thumb-typist” and typing on a phone (for me) is a slow, laborious process compared simply typing on my laptop.  Long story short, blogging and pretty much everything else, came to a halt last week.  The upshot is that I feel better this week and I plan to utilize WordPress’s prewriting/preloading feature more so that (hopefully) the next time I’m sick, I’ll already have several blog entries scheduled and ready to upload automatically.  So, while I’m not truly back to 100%, I’m at least back to writing and blogging on regular basis.  Huzzah!

Sidney

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