words_n_coffee

http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/

They have interesting tips regarding stories, screenwriting, writing, Hollywood and other items.

http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2013/06/gender-as-represented-in-spec-script-sales.html

Thanks for the hat tip to the blog at indie wire, women and hollywood, http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/the-spec-scripts-and-women

It's getting worse for Hollywood & Women not better...which I see hope for improvement because this page at the above blog...

http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/films_by_and_about_women

It looks like late 2013 and 2014 as a year might be a little better as a year for women's representation in movies goes.


(part of this post was on my lj...http://normaltrouble.livejournal.com/ ...slightly edited as well.)

I'll just find one to start out with via the webs! The maybe root around in my books and get some more going.

I was resisting having some writing ideas and feeling that I do not have enough energy , but something just propelled me to do this!

I am taking this from http://clarionfoundation.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/writing-prompt-1-2/

The number I choose is "4" .

Story Seed #4

This story takes place … DURING THE APOCALYPSE
in … A KITCHEN
found … IN A DENSE URBAN AREA.
The story centers on … A DELIVERY PERSON
who comes up against … A MILITARY LEADER.
At some point, someone discovers … A SANDWICH

...

My kitchen was like a fortress within a fortres within a fortress.
I had amassed about a hundred cookbooks--some very useful: 365 ways with a can of soup and rice.
Some pretty- Tea for one or two or a dozen? EZ!
A few were helping the teachers make sure the children didn't slip into illiteracy-- ABC--oookies! or The 25 basic meals every boy and girl needs to be able to make!

I closely knew the few and far between who could enter my kitchen- the compound had a dozen, but this was mine. I rested my guns, I left behind the swords and the bow and arrow and the careful planning to keep this handful alive, and I made a few good meals out of nothing.
We had just found a caterer's warehouse. My goddess, what an amazing find. Flour and big cans and cooking stoves and a few bbq's and yes, a still running generator with frozen beef, pork, and chicken.
So I let the seven trsuted souls into my domain, and we soaked some pork in pineapple and some beef in red wine and marinated chicken with Colonel Meacham's amazing sauce. She guarded it like I guarded this kitchen.

This was a barbeque to end it all. Carefully tested fish were included, cooked by Lillian and her crew/ Big drums of ice cream, home made by Sherle Levine and about a dozen others. The kids screamed and played and tge grownups discussed everything except war and shortages and rations and how after spring comes summer comes fall, then winter.

I didn't wear anything practical-wore a shift of deep blue-grey, I only strapped on my "day gun" and ate, and served and laughed and was advised by the general to back away from cleaning that kitchen, ma'am!

I had been more tired before, and had certainly in the last few months, had more cause to sleep solid sleep, but I walked up to my bed, and slept and dreamt of far better days.

I slept past noon. I was awakened by a tray--coffee, a big cheese danish, a huge bacon and cheese and egg sandwich, on a biscuit, orange juice, a small bowl of berries... delivered by General Munoz himself.
He had his own tray brought up and we just shot the shit, an old black op gal and an expert strategist.

"You know what, Colonel?"

"What, sir?"

"first job I had was in a distant cousin's b and b in London! Delivering breakfasts to folks who didn't want to get up and down to the breakfast room. Now one time, I had a star there, who was "roughing" it. Cannot say who--just cannot. I went everywhere to get her a few special items. Back in the very early 80's. Well she got me talking while I deliver this oddball tray- chocolates and American food and Indian curry and kippers and chai and pomegranate juice and...phew...I just told her about the perfect sandwich- and she just waved me away..."

I looked up at him. The coffee was too good. The bacon was crisped to perfection. I ate the last blueberry with regret...figuring of course, this sort of meal wasn't going to be habit.

"The year before I enlisted...1983...I went back and did the same job-although my distant cousin was low on help so I was more of a gopher and cleaner and server...and the star stopped by for a couple nights. She loved my cousin's place. Warm and cozy -- and then she sees me, nods and goes out. She comes back with a bag of fancy clothes--you know loud wild package with a few tufts of silken things peaking out...to think of her back then in those...well, the gist of it was was that she put a package in front of me..."Hungry. she said?" Yep" I answered...There it was. Imagine you favorite sandwich...or a few of your favorites favorite ingredients. There it was."

He left behind half a bowl berries.

"hey take the next week off, Colonel. Go and read and forget--all this for a while."

He swept his hand near the window, at the crowded ruins and the makeshift walls we had made to keep out the less desirable survivors.

"Yes, sir."

(well not exactly the prompt's perfect following but got me going!)

((rough draft...))

Color by COLOURlovers

Here's another drabble from my story project...
It is still meandering around my brain, but thereyago...

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The girl lifted her dress, once a decent pale teal green, now faded and slightly worn looking, to keep away from the step covered with muck and mud to get to the well, slightly less dirty boardwalk.
Sometime tomorrow, the sweeps would be out and the water spalshed and it would cleaned, and the muck and mud would dry, and maybe just maybe this spring and summer would see asphalt paving on this, the third most traversed street in Esperanza.

The woman who went into Brownstein's Bar and Saloon and Media Emporium doubted it sincerely.
A decade lost in this backwater town, and here she was, slipping behind a bar counter, to find a few choice bits of contraband.
Delicious.
Ahhhh.
There they were. Nice and neat and labled
For her.

Mr Brownstein was directing traffic. A trader had come by last night, and from the look of it, this trade had been extremely good, large, and with some items that would bring customers young and old, new and of record to Mr. Brownstein's establishment.

She tucked the items in her large purse, and then went over to Mr. Brownstein.

He grinned at her. Javier Chieng-Ruiz, the experienced cook who knew her well, sat on a table in front of her, black bean and chicken burritos, real coffee, real orange juice, eggs, and then sat down across from her. Mr. Brownstein sighed, shrugged his shoulders and shouted to his crew, "break off for an hour, have breakfast, and get yourself a nice piece of chocolate!Take one extra for your folks!"

Mr. B sat down, and the cook served up bacon and cinnamon buns for the both of them.

Javier said, "Good load, Mr. B. How much chocalate?"

"100 pounds First time in 3 years! Well, at least that much!! Jeeze. If only money was more...well...you know."

Javier laughed. He had noted that the trader caravansery had some very precious items for him...salt, corn, flour, and sugar! He couldn't wait to give Mrs. Chieng-Ruiz all the ingredients she needed for brownies. First time since Christmas.
"And there was coffee?"

The girl clutched her bag. She then sipped some of the coffee, and dug into her burrito and eggs. It was all so good that she forgot to talk, forgot to look around, and all she could think of was the let up in rain, how wonderful eggs were with black pepper, and that Javier's sideburns were grey but nothing else, the rest of his hair was jet black and very straight and the orange juice was sweet and fresh,and after that, there was the empty plate, the three parcels in her purse, and she looked around. Mr. B was back directing the traffic of his various goods, the women upstairs over the bar and saloon were drifting about enjoying breakfast, and the Media Emporium seemed to have a few customers wandering through.

She went to the back lounge, fixed up her hair.
Antonia Allen was there, readying her bath behind the screen.

"Girl! How are you doing?"

"I am doing. I might even earn a few silvers for whatever those visitors are looking for."

"If they need something alive...well...here I am, and Bianca, and Sally is available. Penny is indisposed, and MeiMei has a longtime visitor she is actually going to visit, out of town, an important official."

"I'll keep that in mind. And when MeiMei comes back, please ask them all over to my house, for ...tea."

Antonia eased herself into steaming water. It smelled like rose and jasmine.
"We all could use actual to goodness afternoon away from here, just talking amongst."

"I'll find some rare item for everyone, even MeiMei."

At that, after the girl fixed her hair, twisted it up and almost looked older than maybe fifteen years, she went to the Media Emporium.


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rough draft, copyright Kay Dawson, 2011.

I would need to write 2589 words per day to complete.

Hmmmm.

My biggest obstacle:

Coming home after swing shift, feeling slightly "wan" and worn after work.

My biggest concern:

Hey! This story is all over the effen place! OMFG!

My best hope:

I am actually finding out what I want to write.

My Biggest fear:

I will find out I don't have anything to write.

2nd biggest fear:

I will find out I cannot write above around an 8th grade level.


Soooo...I've never tried to 2500 words in a day.
Curious as to whether I can actually do this, at all!!

I am finding that by the end of my push for "around 1000" words---I get to a new place in my meanderings and can almost figure out what I might be writing about ;)

I might be very brave tomorrow and try to write something--which would be like, only the 3rd or 4th chapter in my very roundabout story---to share by "sometime mid-Sunday".

Maybe 2500 words to share!! He! Maybe even 5000!!

I need to do around 2100-220 words per day if I want to get to 50,000 by the end of November.

I think I can do this! let's see how close I can get to the recommended words per day tomorrow.

Things that caught my attention today and the last few...days.

The whole Chaplin time travel meme.
Love it.
Of course it is a weird little hand held hearing aid thingie.
But fun.
What if time travelers in Ms. Willis's books popped up in photographs?

I'll be reading :All Clear by Connie Willis. Very soon.

I keep bouncing around time travel and ghosts in my mind.

Could I be changing the focus of my novel just a few days before I start writing it?

I am going to dig up something with prompts, sounds fun to crack open some inspiration when I write.

I might change my layout to a Nanowrimo one. Maybe.

I just finished Blackout by Connie Willis.

I kept reading and reading, and in a record for me lately, finished it in 3 days!

I highly recommend this.

I've got 3-4 main ideas wandering through my head.

I have to hone down the ones I feel have most staying power for me, however, these are 3-4 stories I've been thinking of for a long time.

Time to launch one of these into the wild! Let it forage and find its way.

So to speak.

I plan on making this my main journal from Oct 22-Dec 6.
Then I'll take a break from what I've completed, and come back after some set amount of time, with freshness in the air and all that!

I need this kind of challenge in my life, and I need to complete something of a creative nature.

One of the instructors asks her class to name 10 things they like to see in a novel, well, I am paraphrasing.

Let's see.

1. Character arcs. I like a change. People change. I want the person to be active, sure, but I also like the fact that people do change through others' actions, environment, illness, death, birth etc.

2. Some detail about clothes, but not the whole description every single time.

3. I admire really well written action scenes, sequences, because this is one of my weakest spots in writing.

4. I want to be involved in the world, to know where I am, not be taken out of it. However, this is sort of subjective, sooo...

5. Dystopia.

6. Dystopia with a side of road trip.

7. Steampunk...but with emphasis on the "punk" which means something not cut and dry, not rote, but something...a little...off. Odd. Quirky.

8. Like art, like movies, like inventions, I love the feeling of an inevitable story. A story that exists out there, just for the author to find it.

9. I cannot lie...I love costume dramas in movies and yep, in books.

10. I also like future thingies...from the breath away "day after tomorrow" (not the movie...) to 1 million years from now...

So. that's just partiallly what I love.

And I quite like at least one character to be very fond of coffee.

Nanowrimo this year, yes, once again into the fray!

I haven't successfully completed one.

Tried once with gusto, another time with some feeling and sorta halfassed last year.

I have a coolio little instructor's pdf about how to do some of this, so I am going to attempt the attempt to do it with gusto.

I may keep the actual novel 1667 words per day stuff "private" but will of course, share pre nanon warm up and suchlike.

First task :
Find myself into a commitment of 1.5 hours per day for writing.

I spend some hour and half doing this and that that doesn't add to my life or progress at all, so I am going to just kick the doors open and let some daylight in.

Yes, I can work Bruce Cockburn into anything!