Where I Tried to Write a One Panel Comic Scene

I love to read graphic novels and mangas but I just can't draw. Even if my life dependent on it (isn't that just sad!).  But I came up with this one panel scene, even though writing comics is new to me, and if I knew how to draw I would've sketched it.

Enjoy! And if you think you can draw it, I would love to see it.

PAGE ONE (ONE PANEL)
A black and white splash. We see a park. We can tell it’s fall by the way the leafs are falling down due to the breeze. There’s a bench in the middle. BRENT, a bum, is laying down on it facing the sky. A newspaper is on his chest, but he’s sleeping.

SFX:
Swoosh!

1 CAP:
It’s not that I am a bum. The economy is just not helping me find a job.

~*~*



Till next time,

Eva

FADE IN:

INT. SAM’S STUDIO APARTMENT - NIGHT

SAM, attractive and a aspiring writer, sits on the floor, her head resting on the wall. A bottle of wine and a cigarette box are her companions--both empty.

SAME (V.O.)

I believe that there’s a moment in everyone’s life were they have reached their limits.

 I think, I had just reached mines.

A SIGH escapes her. 

I like Lily Allen's music and as I was listening to "Who'd Have Known," this scene came to me. I appreciate feedback!

Till next time,

Eva

When One Journey Ends a New One Begins

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing 

themselves--in finding themselves." ~Andre Gide

It's been a while since I las blogged. A very long while indeed. There's a lot I need to write about, but we all know that might not happen. So, why not move on, right?

I will finish with my M.F.A in Creative Writing from Full Sail University next month, and that means that I have officially completed my first full-lenght movie script. It was an interesting journey. I had the opportunity to master Final Draft, experiment with Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, and become familiar with Timeline 3D. All of these are great programs, and yes, I now see the benefits of using them for writing purposes.

I was able to experience my own writing adventure. I was able to feel the ups and downs of creating characters, a story, and doing the research. I went through a rewriting process and received useful feedback from peers and instructors. My pride was also swallow somewhere along the way.

And now, after so many doubts and fears, I am ready.

Now, I'm ready to create more scripts and go as far as I can.


Eva

The Week in a Post and Something Else

So this week I started my Script Analysis and Criticism class; I had to read three scripts: The Princess Bride, Taxi Driver, and The Sweet Hereafter.

The Sweet Hereafter was for this week's class discussion, which was something else. I haven't seen the movie, so it was an interesting read since it jumps from one event to another. I will not lie to you, there were times when I was reading that I would get SO confused. 

I did do some research on the movie though, and it was well received actually, so that was a surprised for me. Am I going to watch the movie?

Well, no. It wasn't one of those, "OMG! I have to see it" type of script. Then again, we all have different tastes .

Now the reason for the three scripts was because I then had to choose between Taxi Driver and The Princess Bride for this week's analyzing assignment.


And I chose........

 Yeah, I went with The Princess Bride and loved it! In fact, I rented the movie through Amazon.com, which is a great resource when I can't wait for Netflix, plus the price was decent.

The funny thing is that I just recently stumbled upon Amazon's Video on Demand!

Since when has it been there?

Anyways, the assignment was fun to do and I was exposed to a different way of looking at a script. Actually, I don't think I would mind analyzing scripts as a freelancer later on!





Now for the Something Else


So I finally had time to read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (I'm halfway through the book!!!!!!) while I was working earlier today, and as I was reading... I don't think I would've been able to deal with Spider the way Fat Charlie did! and then there was Spider just came and turned Fat Charlie's life upside down. Gosh... what a drag! came to mind.


I'm a Neil Gaiman fan, it can't be helped!

Have a wonderful week.





Till Next Time

Sometimes You Need a Second Take...

During the month of December I pitched my story to the Creative Writing Masters of Fine Arts (CWMFA) Thesis Committee. They are the ones that say whether your story is a go, or if you need to tweak it, or if you just need to come up with something entirely different.

In other words they were the ones who said if the story was good enough or not.

Unfortunately during the beginning of January I was told my pitch wasn't approved, that it was missing something, but I sort of knew that too.... 

Flashback

After I finally got my bachelor's degree I didn't know what I wanted to do next. Like many other recent graduates I was at a lost, especially in this economy, so I started to focus a lot more on my writing... and the words of of my 5th grade teacher and from one of my English professors came to mind, "You should consider English or writing for a Masters..." and "Eva should just become a writer, she has the potential to do it."

I was hesitant at first. Am I good enough? I asked myself quite often, even though I knew that there were readers out there who liked my storytelling. But like all writers, I wasn't confident...

But when I found out that my sister was getting her Masters in Architecture... well that  made me want to go after one as well. Only that this time it was going to be something I wanted (not like my bachelors), so writing was the first thing that came to mind.

I wanted a Masters in Creative Writing. I wanted to write.

Now I should know that things never go as planned, and that's what happened. I stumbled upon the school I am in right now, but when I asked for information I was informed that this school was for the entertainment business. Sure I was hesitant at first, but I went for it in the end. After all, I wanted to write my own comics someday.

So here was another dilemma, I didn't have an idea for a script in mind... In fact writing for movies, television, games, and even animation had never crossed my mind!

I had entered the UNKNOWN.

But the unknown might be what I'm good at. Well that's what I've noticed recently....

Present

So after finding out my pitch was rejected I started to question myself. I wanted to know what I did wrong. What I didn't understand.

With the help of my instructor I was able to see my mistake(s). You can say I had an AHA moment (one of many actually) and I rewrote my entire story paradigm; I changed my entire idea and created something a bit different. Something I was confident in...

So earlier today I was informed that my pitch was approved. The best news EVER!

This is when I realized that it's not that it's not good enough, it's just that it CAN be better...

So no matter how crazy it is.

 Or how many times you might be rejected. 

Don't give up but find out how it can become what it HAS to be...

Because in the end,  there are times in life when you need a second take.

Till Next Time

Finished Character Development and Other News...

I will admit, this was one of those courses that by the end you are "I'm not taking this professor again" or "Let me know when you take this class so I can tell you who NOT to get as an instructor..." Frankly I didn't like my professor's method of teaching. Yes, I did learn a thing or two, so I guess the class did count for something, but other then that I disliked his choice of textbook and the way he came about the class. Personally I believe it had to do with the fact that his wife just gave birth to their first child and he wasn't really there.

I mean, why not get a substitute? I think that would've worked better... just saying....

I am hoping my new class goes better... which starts tomorrow! :chuckles:



In Other News...

My sister and I will finally start a comic project we have been thinking about for a while now... so I am hoping to fix my schedule and make everything fit somehow...

 I see this as practice since in truth I want to work with animation and comics... that's what I want to do...

A short entry (once again....) but I do hope to start writing more...

"please! don't!"


Hmmm..... I hope that's not what you are thinking... and if you are HA! sucks 'cause I will continue writing random stuff that you know... random and weird people tend to write about .


Till Next Time


:)


Before I forget.. My Reading Now has been updated ----->

So What School Do I Attend Anyways!

So as many of you can see, I've done a few changes to my blog. But the biggest one is somewhere on your right. I have placed a 'Reading now' and 'I recommend' column. The reason is because as readers and writers we should all share with each other some of our favorite books or comics as well as reference books that we go to when needed.

As many of you know, I am in the process of getting my Masters in Creative Writing online. So far I've had some ups and downs, but I am learning quite a lot. In fact I've been having many 'AHA!' moments and I've been enjoying them.

But what you don't know is what school am I attending or how I get my books and such. Well I figure I let you all know today .


"Finally you are telling us!"


I know! I know! I'm sorry... :chuckles:


Anyhoo! I'm attending Full Sail University and it's not the easiest. I'm in an accelerated program so every month I have a different course. The courses I have had so far are the following: 

• The Art of Visual Storytelling 
• Multimedia Terms and Genres
• Literary Research (which is a pain!!!)

The one class I will begin on Monday is Character Creation and Development


The courses I have left in the program are:

• Script Analysis and Criticism
• Film Screenwriting and Storyboarding
• Writing for Games (I like games =o)
• Storytelling and Storyboarding for Animation
• Editing for Film, Games, and Animation Scripts
• Creative Writing Portfolio (Gah! I must have started on my script >_<)
• Creative Writing Portfolio (I must have my script completed by now! )
• The Business of Creative Writing

Yeah, it might be overwhelming since so much is required from us, but the instructors are always there for you and they are willing to hear you out and help you as well. 


For those of you who might have an idea about Full Sail know that it's not cheap, but I see this as an investment. Besides this is like everything else... I need to sell my talent and let everyone know that I am capable of doing the work.


And believe me, in the small amount of time I've been here I have learned so much! 


As for textbooks, I get a shipment every month of the books I will need; of course some instructors prefer ebooks.


So far some of these books have been helpful, others have not made an impact, so I'm thinking of creating haul videos about the books I get each month or the books I personally get for fun and for reference reasons. There aren't many of them on YouTube :laughs:


This is a long post as is, so I will break down why I chose the books I did on a following blog. So that's all for today and wish you all a great week!


 Till next time,



Eva

Reminiscing on fanfiction

Have you ever had one of those moments when you begin to reminiscing about a particular subject and what not? Well I did not so long ago.

Even though fanfiction isn't like by some writers of well known books, I personally appreciate it. In fact, fanfiction is what made me come back to writing.

Of course the first time I wrote fanfiction it wasn't successful, but I didn't give up and just kept on trying. I soon began to get reviews that said how they liked my stories and other reviews that said that I needed to keep on trying.

And I did.

A year a go I made this one particular 15 chapter fic for one of my favorite fandoms. I had my ups and downs; there were also times when I just wanted to drop the project, but knowing that there were readers out there waiting for my writing is what kept me going.

Once I had finished, I received a large amount of reviews (something I never had expected!) and some of those reviews are what encourage me to enroll in a creative writing program.

I guess in a way, fanfiction is what made me come back to writing. Well there is that, and also knowing that I have the support of my readers and fans.

Now that I look back I know for a fact that because of fanfiction I was able to find my writing voice and I was able to experiment with different writing styles; some worked, other's didn't. But the most important thing was that I had fun.

So I would like to say thank you to all my dearies out there that had been with me since the beginning and I hope I don't disappoint you.

Till next time,

Eva

Looking Back

I suppose I  am a born novelist, for the things that I imagine are more vital and vivid to me than the things I remember.--Ellen Glasgow

2010 was an interesting year for me; it showed me what exactly it is that I needed to do and what path I needed to take...

Ever since I was young, my elementary teachers (my 5th grade teacher most of all) would always tell my parents that they should encourage me to continue on writing. I will admit, I did write interesting stories, but that's because I really didn't think my life was as exciting as the ones my classmates had.

Well, or so I thought.

Yeah, I was rather odd--I still am, but when I was young I was an introvert, and I preferred a good book  that would take me to far off lands or sit down and write on my journals and watch my stories unfold...

Of course I come from an artistic background so everyone was into music and arts, which till this days most of my relatives are, but not me... In fact, I wanted to be noncreative. I really don't know why that was... but in the end, after taking the long path and not enjoying it, I came back to where I was once.

I came back to my writing.

So in a way, my New Year's Resolution might consist of many goals, but the one thing I want to focus on the most is my writing.

Sure I'm not introvert anymore. In fact, I'm not who I was, but who I am now is what will help me on this path I have finally decided to take on. The one path I was avoiding for a few years now actually...

I have so much to learn, but that's okay since I'm actually willing.

So 2011, I guess I've been waiting for you the most.


Wish you all a Happy New Year!