When Sunday morning rolled around, we weren’t sure what we were going to do. We had originally intended on spending the day at the Con, but the one main event we wanted to see, George R. R. Martin discussing Game of Thrones, had been cancelled by George the day before (and what a hassle that was to find out – It was listed in the printed program but then Ruta had shown me the Con’s app for making life easier and it was not listed there so we ended up at three different locations and talked to four different people before someone confirmed it had indeed been cancelled). And while there were bits of programming we wanted to see, we also wanted to see more of London (it’s a big place, after all). Continue reading “London 2014: Day Five – Hitching a ride with Hugo”
London 2014: Day Three & Four – LonCon3
Ostensibly, the reason we were in London in the first place was to attend LonCon3, the World Science Fiction Convention for 2014. As reasons go, it’s not a bad one. Especially since I’m a dues paying active member of the Science Fiction Writer’s of America (SFWA) and make such little use of that it barely registers as more than a line on my CV. So, knowing I was going to the con (that’s what we in the “know” call conventions) I volunteered to be on a panel when they had an opening and got an invite to the SFWA reception and had decided to attend the SFWA informational meeting. I figure if I’m gonna get back into this writing thing, I need to start hanging out with people again. Continue reading “London 2014: Day Three & Four – LonCon3”
London 2014: Day Two – Walking the walk, talking the talk…
Thursday started bright and early with breakfast at the hotel, which was kind of weird. Most hotels, if they offer breakfast, it’s usually a continental style, with pastries and coffee. Hostels often offer similar. This place had a kitchen so you could make what you wanted and offered up eggs, bread, cereal and some fruits. So we had scrambled eggs and toast before heading out for our day.
First stop, as planned, was the British Library. There was an exhibition on about British Comic Books until the 19th and since we didn’t know when we’d get another chance, today was our day for it (Monday and Tuesday were already blocked out due to the London Pass – to be explained later). Continue reading “London 2014: Day Two – Walking the walk, talking the talk…”
London 2014: Day One – Getting there is half the fun
This trip actually started a few months ago when AAron and family couldn’t make it to LonCon3, the World Science Fiction convention, this year held in London. Since they couldn’t go, but had already gotten memberships, Rasa and I took them over and planned a tourist trip around the con.
Of course, this wasn’t the only way AAron was involved. See, we were flying RyanAir which is notorious for how cut-rate they are. Until very recently, they would only allow one carry on bag, no more than 10kg, and anything else would be charged an exorbitant fee. They’ve since loosened policy a bit, but not much. In any case, we still weren’t checking any bags, but we had the ability to take two onboard. Continue reading “London 2014: Day One – Getting there is half the fun”
“It doesn’t have to be good, it only has to be finished.”
Yesterday I did something I haven’t done in quite a while – I finished an original script (first draft) for a TV pilot. 60 pages written in 23 days, from starting the outline to typing “Fade Out.” In those 23 days, I wrote a total of 16,514 words – in addition to the script, I wrote two lengthy blog posts, an original short story for David Magazine (which will be out on September 1) and a book review.
Now, the blogs and reviews, I do those with regularity, so no need to mention them in any detail but the other two, that’s what I want to talk about, for my own sake, not necessarily for any one else’s. Continue reading ““It doesn’t have to be good, it only has to be finished.””
The Stones of Anykščiai
A few days back, my friend Monika asked what my weekend plans were and if I wanted to go to Anykščiai, a village of about 12,000 people in the north midwest area of the country. Now, for those playing at home, Monika is a great friend and in the past we’ve done some great road trips like to Tallin and Finland, just to ride the roller coasters (of course, that trip was before I was blogging so no good record of it exists outside of incriminating photographs). Now, though, Monika has a car so there’s a whole new world open to us. Add in the fact that LAST year for my birthday, she gave me a stuffed creature and a book of 100 sites to see in Lithuania in which I had to take pictures of the creature and I was falling behind due to my lack of independent transport. Continue reading “The Stones of Anykščiai”
What I did on The Assets
Remember last October when I filmed a tiny little scene for the ABC series The Assets? The show was supposed to air in January – in fact, my episode was supposed to air the week I got back to the States. Would have been fun to watch it with the family.
Unfortunately, ABC decided to cancel the show during it’s initial run and it wasn’t until this summer that it ended up airing all 8 parts.
But now, rather than put you through that grinding ordeal of having to watch all 8 hours, here’s my scene (I’m the guy with the silly mustache – the other guy is the wonderful stage and screen actor Jonjo O’Neill who has enormous street cred as McGillop on the Doctor Who episode – “The Day of the Doctor“)
DAVID • Think: Good Night
This month I delve into something we all do every day… sleeping and dreaming. It was a fun piece to write, and the dream? It was real.
What’s good for actors (may also be good for writers)
Quora: What Are Some of the Telltale Signs of a Bad Actor?.
There’s some great advice here for actors, both in your own performance or in watching/evaluating another’s performance.
That said, as a writer, I think there’s an awful lot to be said for some of these observations. The ability to reveal yourself on the page, to make your characters face uncomfortable situations and honestly deal with truths is what will define a good character and by extension, make you a better writer.
Mostly, I’m posting this for me to remember. One of the hardest things for me is to be cruel to my characters, to let them not be nice people, to put them in circumstances where the easy thing to do might be the least honorable.
Wet and Wild
On my birthday I got a gift certificate to go and spend a few hours at the Vichy Water Park in Vilnius and yesterday, we decided to go.
Now, for me, water parks are a bit of a double edged sword. About 29 years ago (’85 or so), I was in Salt Lake City and happened to make friends with a guy whose mom ran a scuba shop. Continue reading “Wet and Wild”
The Writing Tools of 20 Famous Authors – Flavorwire
The Writing Tools of 20 Famous Authors – Flavorwire.
As someone who has written longhand (and not really that keen on it) I appreciated this look at how writers write – the actual physical process itself. Especially since I’ve just jumped on the Scrivener bandwagon.
That all said, the Levenger catalog still qualifies as writer porn and if you find yourself in Vegas, there’s a pen shop over at the Wynn with pens only about half the writers in this list could afford.
Happy Birthday, Marcel Proust: David Bowie Answers the Proust Questionnaire | Brain Pickings
Happy Birthday, Marcel Proust: David Bowie Answers the Proust Questionnaire | Brain Pickings.
Bowie has always been one of my heroes – not so much for his music (of which I enjoy a fair bit but certainly not all) but as a person. I love his chameleon like nature and his creativity. He’s always been an inspiration and role model and these answers just solidify that for me.
Review: 105 Creative Writing Exercises for the Obese Writer
105 Creative Writing Exercises for the Obese Writer by Ben Hicks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
While the concept here is fine, it’s not really worth the $2.99 price tag. Basically, its a list of writing prompts, organized into almost arbitrary categories with “witty” introductions.
You can find most of these online for free but I’d be willing to spend .99¢ for the organizational effort.
Review: Walking on Sunshine
When you watch Walking on Sunshine one thing seems obvious: The budget lines for the music rights and locations were by far the largest numbers on the spreadsheet. This isn’t to say the film is bad. It’s exactly what you expect a film with the tag line “If you liked Mamma Mia!, you’ll love this” to be. It’s a plot barely held together with connecting 80s music set against the backdrop of Puglia, Italy, a beautiful seaside village.
Of course, the reason this film isn’t compared to the equally 80s Rock of Ages is because it’s a much lighter film with much peppier message. So Mamma Mia! it is and the opening confirms what we’re in for. Continue reading “Review: Walking on Sunshine”
The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland | Brain Pickings
The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland | Brain Pickings.
Anyone who knows me, knows I love Alice. I have two different Alice themed tattoos and back in Vegas in storage there are three or so boxes full of different editions of the book along with various paraphernalia and collectibles so this article definitely strikes my fancy.
That said, while I agree these are some great illustrations, I think there are some classics being left out.
Continue reading “The Best Illustrations from 150 Years of Alice in Wonderland | Brain Pickings”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 