Call to Papers progression

Ever had that sudden inspiration from a movie hit you?  Every now and then it hits me like a wall, and it becomes all I can think of.  On Friday night I watched Oblivion, and it is still like a drug to my brain, the end credits song has been my go to song for quite a few tasks, and I think it even affected what call to paper ideas that I gravitated to.  I chose the call to papers of Progressing Technology, and the Force of Fiction.  Both I think followed my love of science fiction, and the realm of creating things from ideas that are already in existence.

If you are in need of an interesting song, check it out, but I think the end credits had such a profound effect on me, because it also worked in some cartography parts, mapping out the world of the movie, and I had a nerd moment.  I'm pretty bad when it comes to things like that.  It just shows how much effort went into the idea of a story, and I have to say that I'm a little jealous that I don't even want to try things like that.

  Oblivion End Title Sequence Video

I guess the main reason for this post is to track the progress of my drafts of the call to papers, though this inspiration is definitely a part of this progress.

To start out, I really just stuck to the Murray cards, which were kind of like my first rough draft, my laziness at rethinking an idea coming out full stream.  I liked the idea anyway, so why fix something that clearly works?  To help connect the different ideas, and writings I added in some filler sentences, connecting my ideas on technology.  For finalizing I re-checked the actual call to paper, and made sure I followed what they were asking.  This one had less to log, but that was mostly because I had technically already done it, so there wasn't much to report on.

For the second call to paper, I did my own, The Force of Fiction.  I just love fiction, and while I really want to get it known for influencing the world around you, there's also this lighter side, another version of the truth is probably a good way to describe fiction basically.

Since I didn't start a set of Murray cards on the Force of Fiction draft, it took some time to start, because while I made the call to paper, I hardly remembered what I had asked for.  Long weekends breed horrible memory, and this was just one of those things that decided to be forgotten.  Once I figured out what I exactly had asked for, I created a sentence to start off with.  Of course that sentence would describe fiction as part of my lifestyle.  I'm seriously heading down that nerd hole when it comes to my writing, if my obsession with Oblivion doesn't already show my nerd tendencies.  

To end my progress report, I think I stuck with my gut on this one, and didn't try to do it on Oblivion.  Instead I did Lord of the Rings, which has had a much longer lasting effect on me.  I grew up with it, I learned from it, and it's one of those things I connect with my dad with.  It's a classic to put it simply.  Boromir just seems to get to me when I think of the trilogy, and the lesson he represents was definitely something I could talk about for the call to paper.  That's what I love about fiction, characters aren't just random people.  They're life lessons, and above all else, they're your mistake makers.  You learn from their mistakes, so that you can seem that much more flawless in real life.  The fact that it's entertaining is just an amazing bonus.

To end it, I think in all, Oblivion really did help me with prepping for these drafts.  It's music, and art was just impressive on all accounts, and it quickly became my muse for my creative work this week.

All pictures and video owned/copyrighted by Universal Pictures, Monolith Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, Relativity Media, and Radical Studios.

Reflecting on the Toyhack (Fiction and Science)

This make was a little different for me.  It definitely took me a while to come up with an idea that I could use with toys representing it.  The inspirations were harder to pinpoint than last time, because it spanned over several weeks, even a week before the actual make.  Here's a list of some of the media I went through that helped me come up with this idea:

Books/Authors/Characters
-Boromir (Lord of The Rings)  I think the whole growth he had just when he was dying teaches the reader that they should have an open mind, instead of being so heavy handed with your own opinions.
-Frodo (Lord of the Rings)  Don't wish to get away so much.  Live in the moment.
-Tolkien
-Galdoni by Cheree Alsop:  Her Galdoni people inspired the idea for the clone fight, and people being forced into a life by other humans.
-Insurgent/Divergent by Veronica Roth:  These books brought the idea of too much power, and losing part of ones humanity to mind.  Her thoughts on how when Tris had to shoot a gun she had to lose herself in order to do it.
-Rebirth by Me (Lauren Price)  With Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) coming up in November, I've been thinking more and more about my own series, trying to decide what to do with it.  That said, it's no surprise it inspired part of the toy hack.

Songs
-Laura Palmer by Bastille
-Pompeii by Bastille
-My kind of love by Emeli Sande
-Things We lost in the Fire by Bastille
-Lost in the Echo by Linkin Park
-Castle of Glass by Linkin Park
-117 from Halo 4 soundtrack

All of these songs had a profound effect on my writing in Rebirth, and scene ideas, so in the long run it affected the make too.

Movies
-Gladiator
-The Fellowship of the Ring

Video Games
-Halo 3 Odst
-Halo 4

Other Videos
-Trailer of Divergent
-MV of Divergent: Laura Palmer

The only difficulty that occurred during the make were the speech bubble apps, which I went through three or four before finding one that would let me insert more than one bubble without a fee.  Not really a difficulty, but a hindrance that happened during the last scene was my cat knocking over the legos, because he was hungry, and figured that was the only way I was going to feed him.  My brother on the other hand, was happy to help since it was his lego sets I was using.  That's probably why I chose legos over any other toy, because we had an abundance of them, and they are better at portraying some of the emotions I wanted to get across.

Inspirations

One thing I noticed when I finished up Divergent (Veronica Roth) last week was that she had written about some of the things that had inspired her to write her series, and create the idea of the factions.  Of course I thought about the fact that she listened to songs I hadn't, but I also thought about how these things can affect you, as well as your writing.  I figured I should share some of the most recent music I've listened to.

-Pompeii by Bastille
-Laura Palmer by Bastille
-War of Change by Thousand Foot Krutch
-Against the tide by Celldweller
-Runnin by Adam Lambert
-Shattered by Trading Yesterday
-Right Here by Ashes Remain                                          
-Radioactive by Imagine Dragons                                    
-Never close our eyes by Adam Lambert
-Clarity by Zedd ft. Foxes

It's a small selection for now, but I think these songs really made me think about what I was writing, and where I would go with some of my characters.  Against the tide has been my go to song for anything about the relationship of my main character and his brother.  With Nanowrimo coming up in less than a month I am in the process of setting up my characters and plotline/chapter guide again.  Maybe this time I can stay strong enough to focus just on Imminent Wars, and not editing for once.  What do you think of music and writing?  What inspires you?  Feel free to share some good song titles as well, I love checking out new stuff!
And any writers out there, what gets you prepped for writing?

Short Stories are Murder on your Brain

Another week has gone by in my life, and there's a voice in the back of my head that is judging my inactivity with my writing.  You know how writers are supposed to write everyday?  I've written for my series maybe once this week.  Is it my fault that my classes have bombed me?  But nope, my brain is slamming me with guilt.  A solution?  I thought I would do a submission to a literary-Arts magazine on campus.  The only problem is that it has to be a short story, and most of the ones I saw in their magazine were life stories, and romance.  This is where I worry about the little things like my violent writing which sometimes doesn't have an ounce of romance, and may not have a happy ending.  It doesn't help that I usually create story ideas for the long haul, not a few pages.  This could become difficult, but maybe if I succeed I can find the motivation to aim for that goal of publishing.  A writer can dream, right?

I'm still wondering if I want to do Nanowrimo this year.  November is National Novel Writing month, but the one question is if I have the time to put towards 50,000 words for that month.  Last year I tried, and I got bombed with projects during that month.  Maybe I'll try again, and have a death wish for my brain.

The Dreamworld

There's a concept of an idea I've been thinking about ever since I figured out the name of this blog.  When is it bad to dream?  When have we gone too far, and it begins to hinder us?  I say I want to be an author, and I get a few laughs from the person I said it to.  Do they not believe me?  Did it seem funny?  In a world where the publishing industry is choosing to go digital, I stick with my paperback and hardback books, dreaming of a world where they can't disappear.

I think that for many, some goals seem too high to even ponder on.  J.K. Rowling was living off the government when she was writing Harry Potter, and don't get me started on the life of an artist.  They are paid almost nothing, and as if a miracle has hit the world, people go out and buy their stuff.  The only thing is, it can't help that starving artist anymore, they're kind of dead.  The dreamers get hurt by the non-believers.  It's a fact that's sort of out there.  What kid hasn't been told, "sure, you can do that," in a sarcastic tone?  I know I've gotten it.  I'm okay with people not wanting to believe me, but it's the ones that try to tell you it isn't possible that make me upset.  They tell you it can't be done, and to boot some people just try to discourage you overall.  To get to the point, why are some so bent on not believing in something?  To dream is to think of a better future, a point where you are truly happy, so why do they object to someone finding that destination?  I realize some kids dream of being some pretty wild stuff, but support the idea of their dream, they're still innocent, or better yet, just give them something to be proud of themselves for.  Who knows, maybe that dreaming kid reading a book just might be the next J.R.R. Tolkien.  I know I want to be given the support, and backing necessary to write a series, because honestly, it isn't the easiest task to complete.

Sorry if this sounded like a rant, it just crossed my mind.  If this made an impression on any of you, you can comment, though if it's only anger, please just hold back for me.  I think this post was mainly to address my idea of dreaming, dreaming for me is essential to how I write and create.