Story C: The Student Surpasses His Masters!

                                    

INT. LA SILICON VALLEY – UNIVERSITY AUDITORIUM – DAY

AI graduate students have submitted their ideas at the entrepreneurial center of the university for consideration. There’s a pile of papers next to DR. RICHARD’S desk while he reviews the profile of his best student, JACK.

DR. RICHARD
(excited)
 

AI and math with honors, Google Academy, Johns Hopkins, Creative Writing, a thought leader with a record of repetitive innovations in the internet, screenwriter, developer, Jack… I’m impressed!

JACK
 

Thanks a lot professor, it’s an honor hearing you say it.
 

DR. RICHARD
 

So, Jack… what brings you by?
 

JACK
 

A chance to get recognized and ranked for my pioneering work!

Two other students, BRANDON and MARK gossip Jack close to one another.
 

BRANDON
(tilting his head towards Mark)
 

Moves with guts, pal…!
 

MARK
(whispering)
 

You bet they are!
 

DR. RICHARD
 

I believe you will have ample time and opportunities to prove that! That’s it, people, for today. Remember the final day for filing papers is one week from now. Mind the homework, the exams and get ready to write history. It’s your turn, now!
 

Dr. Richard stands up, packs his notes inside his suitcase and leaves the auditorium. It’s time for a break.
 

CUT.
 

INT. LA – UNIVERSITY HALLS – DAY – A FEW MOMENTS LATER
 

Students are having a break from class. The place is crowded, there’s noise, while Jack chit chats with his fellow classmate, GEORGE.

GEORGE
 

You have an extraordinary history of accomplishments Jack! Interested to explain your past and your pitfalls behind this experience?
 

JACK
 

Got fed up with going back and forth with high school math logic and reading poetry gobbledygook by inglorious professors. You know… the web!
 

GEORGE
(happily smiling)
 

Hey, hey, that’s competitive intelligence or better say… your own shadows?!
 

JACK
It’s the price of science into the applied world. There are ups and downs everywhere…
 

The two students head towards the coffee machine next to the canteen. As soon as Jack grabs a cup of coffee he replies back.
 

JACK (CONT’D)
 

You know, science and math are superficial while in high school. Being bombarded with dozens of equations, vague theories for years, bemusing your head vainly, without knowing how to use anything at all… Just for the showoff of saying I know…!
 

GEORGE
 

So, what’s the difference between good and bad science?
 

JACK
 

Time? It’s only a game of physicists, chemists and mathematicians that believe they will have to learn piles of complicated equations by-heart…
 

GEORGE
(enthusiasted)
 

So that weeee, can have a chance to change the world now, right?
 

JACK
(shaking his finger)
 

Not with your ego…! Also a contradiction to some university professors who believe the world, students, are their marionettes…

 

GEORGE

 

Marionettes of their own ideas.
 

CUT.

INT. LA – JACK’S FAMILY DETACHED HOUSE – AFTERNOON
 

Jack has called NICOLE & BRENDA - his classmmates – at his home to study together. They looked puzzled and absorbed over the table with open books and notes on entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. They have a discussion.
 

BRENDA
 

It’s big ideas and not big money that can make positive difference. Pure and simple!
 

JACK
 

Are you thinking the one without the other, Brenda?
 

BRENDA
 

No, just thinking of my sequence of steps.
 

NICOLE
 

Bigger than what you were used to in some initial schools, Jack.
 

BRENDA
 

You can’t have traction without money or money without traction, folks. Just like the chicken or the egg dilemma.
 

JACK
 

But we can focus for those, who seek to find a way to leave their world behind…! Do you remember this is a Jumanji quote?
 

NICOLE
 

You’re so Robin Williams as an artist, Jack, at many aspects of him!
 

Being baffled inside the books and the coursework, Brenda decides to throw the books on the table and take a break.
 

BRENDA
 

Anyone out in the garden for a cigarette?
 

JACK
After a few of our noble interests, but it’s actually words that change lives, right?
 

Nicole and Brenda cheerfully nibble Jack and they all go out together.
 

FADE OUT.

Story B: Shades Of TV Taste!

                                     

This is a story about Anna, an ambitious storyteller who finally learns that opening up about her preferences, her interests and her culture in her personal and professional relationships might be more important than her ego.

 

Opening up the YouTube she feels allured by the shows and the interests and the performances that have played their part in her almost breaking-up mode with her boyfriend, Mark.

 

American Idol, America's Got Talent, writer's room in TV studios and plenty of examples around art and culture have forged her by being the continuous choices in her professional endeavors.

 

Walking away from Mark's worldview boosted by the bodification of emotions, she will seek of creative luck. What does the future hold for her?

 

INT. LA CALIFORNIA VILLA – SLEEPING ROOM – DAY

 

ANNA, an ambitious storyteller has just woken up in her room and watches TV. Opening up the YouTube she feels allured by the shows and the interests and the performances that have played their part in her almost breaking-up mode with her boyfriend, MARK.

 

ANNA 

(looking angry and disappointed)
 

Boys, boys, boys… Such a jerk!

 

Anna watches the audition of a 17 years old girl in America’s Got Talent, singing and playing the piano simultaneously that gifted her the golden buzzer. After a few moments the phone rings. It’s Mark.

 

MARK

 

Hey, what’s up girl? Changed your mind? Wanna hear me now?

Anna tries to get up while holding the phone.

 

ANNA

 

I’ve been a witness of your mentality for years Mark… What makes you think you come first now?

 

MARK
 

I’m just missing of what we had… You drove me nuts with your world, Anna…!
 

ANNA 

(abrupt and outrageous)
 

Keep thinking you have a world asshole…! End of story…

Anna hangs up the phone as she eventually breaks up. She stands up while putting on her clothes.
 

ΕΧΤ. CALIFORNIA – VILLA GARDEN – DAY
 

Anna is having her breakfast while her best friend, ELIZA is enjoying a cocktail lying onto their hammock.
 

ELIZA 

(a little bit sarcastic)
 

You did everything you could again, Anna, right?!
 

ANNA
 

As you fall in love, or making friends you become a witness of their culture, their worldview, if you get my point…
 

ELIZA 

(a little bit ironic)
 

So, it must definitely be American Idol?
 

ANNA
 

The same it goes with mobile phones, the same it goes with platforms and data entry, the same it goes with art exhibitions, the same it goes with model shows, theater, it’s always the same with anything that goes against their economistic perception, or worse, their own anatomy and negligence towards culture. Sometimes I believe they got some money and started to shit everyone…
 

ELIZA
 

Of course it’s so as long as you correlate him with yourself! Must you be the same?
 

ANNA 

(losing control)
 

Forget it! We broke up now…
 

ELIZA 

(skeptic)
 

I truly hope you will find what you search for, Anna, one day…
 

Anna finishes her breakfast and leaves the house.
 

INT. LA - TV WRITER’S ROOM – AFTERNOON
 

Anna works in the development of a TV pilot together with directors and producers and becomes the receiver of angry feedback from management.
 

DIRECTOR
 

You don’t need to become Whitney Houston to mirror interests and preferences in your scripts…
 

MANAGER
 

Hold on a second, JOHNNY (DIRECTOR). My biggest criticism – reflecting your art as well - is that unless you open up your interests to what’s truly inside your heart, you shouldn’t be expecting of breakthroughs in Hollywood or TV…!
 

ANNA
 

I guess my character should open up artistically, right?
 

DIRECTOR 

(Winking)
 

You got it kiddo!
 

EXT. LA RED-CARPET EVENT – PREMIERE TIME – NIGHT
 

Anna and the production crew of their musical “He’s going Hollywood” are celebrating their premiere posing excited at photographers. There’s electricity in the atmosphere as well as gossiping the performance with endorsements.
 

ANNA
 

It’s been a long road, folks! Do you believe it?
 

DIRECTOR
 

This film will reap awards in the future, you bet it!
 

Spectators of the event as well as teen audience cheerfully scream and are being pushed to get autographs. There’s a majestic view of Anna smiling with satisfaction in her ballgown while signing autographs.
 

INT. LA – VILLA – LIVING ROOM – AFTERNOON
 

Anna and Eliza discuss in Anna’s home by making a journey of consciousness in terms of their personal and professional relationships and successes. They look calm and thoughtful.
 

ELIZA
 

Always remember it was these wars that revealed the true face of yours, Anna…!
 

ANNA
 

No matter what it costed, right?
 

ELIZA 

(looking reluctant)
 

Well I can’t fully agree with you, though… When you make criticism, you better look yourself in the mirror. Cos they will always judge your ego and not just what you believe.
 

ANNA
 

It’s my time to disagree now, I guess… Being work-centered with a career holding pattern is 1-dimensional when it comes to movies and Hollywood. We’d better search for ourselves in the ‘area of destiny’…
 

ELIZA 

(giggling)
 

Eventually you learned to win, didn’t you?
 

The two women hug each other with satisfaction.
 

FADE OUT.

Story A: The Transfigurations Of A Poetically Inspired Scientist!

This is a story about the things that change, a story of transfigurations that depicts how from the old occur the new...! 

 

Biblically inspired, writer and physicist Noah discusses with his son Robert inside the abyss of his leather-bound books into the library of his study office.

 

Visions and rebirths take place and suddenly Noah and Robert are witnesses of the re-animation of Noah's past. The entire set of characters he once interacted with are there, into a unique space to interact with him and lead to enlightenment...

 

Will he manage to accept the power of his past and his ideas?

 

INT. NY – STUDY ROOM – DAY

NOAH sits on his leather chair at his study office in his apartment. As a background, including the two side walls, there is a library with leather-bound books on the shelves of which there are numerous wooden constructions and sentimental cultural items including scientific equipment.

VOICE OVER

This will be a story about the things that change, a story on transfigurations, to portray how from the old occur the new, a poetic testament of NOAH revealing how one man’s vision can be shifted into the universe of words and change lives! A physicist and a writer, that is Noah, is found at the in-between of his past life with the future exploiting the precious love of his family to change perceptions. Who is to say about destiny in front of God’s eyes?

NOAH is discussing with his son, ROBERT, at his office. They read John’s Revelation. ROBERT closes his eyes to start envisioning the city of God. There’s an otherworldly electricity in the atmosphere at the shades of dark brown and creamy light pink, equivalent with the interior decoration of the office.

ROBERT

And out of precious stones, gold and several other artifacts there will be created a Heaven in which there will be no anathema and people there will reign as kings forever!

Robert soliloquizes. Noah stares at his son with an approbative look. Immediately afterwards Robert slightly opens his eyes and uses his imagination to start transforming the environment around him.

ROBERT

At the beginning, there is only word. And word will become the poetic tool of God to create a universe that is not made up by atoms but by tiny stories…

NOAH (passionate and inspired with his son)

You know it, Robert! The power of God is inside of you! What is it that’s keeping you from accepting God into your deeds and actions and transform your life?

ROBERT

Our life, father, is a far cry from what once it could be. The question is, are we willing to fight and adapt and struggle to get back to our own Belle Epoque of creativity?

NOAH 

(disappointed)

Naaah… We got disappointed once but life is for those who keep trying!

VOICE-OVER

There was always a vision inside Noah’s head, the windswept sperms of which were being reflected into the environment and were being got back through the prism of words inside his online diary. As if this was a canon that perhaps, what he once thought it could be his own identity was not what it seemed and there were always paradigms and humans from the outside, with the same common basic needs with him that were guiding his thoughts and actions. Even though not the perfect decision maker, he was a great listener. But now, there was something in both of them and their thoughts that was being rebirthed around them, as an invisible miracle or an act of Renaissance.

INT. NY – LIVING ROOM - DAY

Paintings and figures were being reanimated, leather-bound books onto the tables were being opened to emit stardust, men from the past were being brought back in his memory and even this fatal period of being an entrepreneur would remind him the bittersweet days of his glory but also the other side of doom.

ROBERT

As a writer and a scientist haunted by the excitement but also the ghosts of the past, I believe dad you possess the perfect raw material to refine your future. The question that remains to be answered is…, are you willing to?

NOAH

It’s still… it, Robert! Notions and words and ideas isolated and personified can be the best argument when we read literature for example but I still can’t explain it in real life.

ROBERT

Then perhaps it’s the interpretation that you give. A selfish approach with which you complete the entire work as a team, on your own thoughts and then cancel the other side…

NOAH

A team… Or an imagined dream team… I guess it’s just a matter of time and mind…

A sudden shift into Noah’s and Robert’s study office and John’s Revelation that was being left onto the desk was being opened to create apparitions in the room. As if all the people that Noah interacted with at the past, were being brought back as avatars from parallel universes, his beloved ghosts, and they would interact with him, emerged from the spacetime of Revelation, only to lead to catharsis.

FIGURE 1

You’re being lost inside the flow Noah…! Management should be all about spirituality!

FIGURE 2

These should be moments of great decisions…!

FIGURE 3

Congratulations! I wish only distinctions for you Noah!

FIGURE 4

I can’t found a theory if I don’t accept a hypothesis externally defined! For Einstein, this was the speed of light…

As a stream of consciousness and memories, a light beam risen from the book and travelled up to the living room, these apparitions into the air had come back, so now Noah’s mind was being bombarded by a mixed reality of emotions and thoughts.

ROBERT

I believe mocking is a repetitive motif when it comes to your history dad… Dirtying the sacred maybe?

NOAH 

(shocked and reactive)

I don’t know! I just don’t know!

ROBERT

Any idea of how to honor your past and the memory of all those you left behind?

NOAH 

(shocked)

Words and patterns… Scientists are makers of patterns…

Noah immediately afterwards started to touch and play with the wooden constructions and the scientific equipment that was found in their living room. A wooden globe standing in the middle of it, a small telescope onto a shelf, a ship resembling the boat of Columbus, a kaleidoscope, Noah would turn around the medium size space and would fight with his ideas and emotions.

NOAH (CONT’D)

I guess we shouldn’t put the blame to men that did everything they could and they just had no more to give, right? Or it’s just that they couldn’t give…

ROBERT

The future holds secrets only the past can reveal… And in this journey, nothing is what it seems and nothing lasts forever!

VOICE-OVER

Noah has been a scientist and a writer who would lack the motivation to acknowledge the good that was being done to him and only accuse others based on their weaknesses and personal attacks! Not until the revelatory experience had he realized destiny was only known to God and unless he could find a way to reconciliate with him and his own stories, he couldn’t be expecting of more to come… And even though perfection belongs to Him and only, force majeure is a reality of humans, right?

The Entire Education Is Theater "For Writers"...!

Hello all creatives and social networkers around the world. Today’s title implies a very important discussion, hence I will take care of presenting it so, as well! Today I will try to pose the educational, experiential as well as artistic sides of getting into the minds of characters, walking in our characters’ shoes and find out what makes them believable for writers, as well as general tips of … what actually works (you have a first taste by the title 😉)

I have been taking very analytical lessons by ScreenCraft, an organization located in Beverly Hills, California, on developing dramatic movie ideas. So, this is where the origin of the wonder “getting into the minds of characters” actually began. Did they bite the forbidden fruit? No. Did they say something they shouldn’t have said, heard something they shouldn’t have heard, did something they shouldn’t have done? It depends on the viewing angle…!

 

Those of us who have seen La La Land, would probably give everything to feel and live like its main protagonists, Sebastian & Mia, even if it deals about the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams. Today’s discussion is about the analytics all around it, not just the film but the experience of any of it. You may have seen High School Musical, or Step Up 2 The Streets, or Good Will Hunting, or Dead Poets Society or many more films independent from the genre and now many of us are writers. When we create an experience with scenes and narrative action, we ideally need first-hand experience about those scenes and actions. Ideally, we should reveal as much information as possible in our scene headings that play an organic part in the entire screenplay, it’s how we set up a story dealing basically with personal, indirect (relevant) or in our best of options, educational experiences, this actually means first-hand knowledge. Let’s find out where this leads before we draw our first conclusion. Many of us when we eventually have to explain the conflicts of character development and actually develop characters with scenes and structures, we come up with topics, ideas and analyses that we have to experience them to make them believable, how could we possibly know how the character acts and behaves? 

 

For example, in the first draft of my 3rd book that needs plenty of work, I talk about a ballerine. A ballerine by whom I feel attracted, so if I’d like to describe how she communicates, behaves and acts with her dancing students I would have to come up with relevant descriptions… Perhaps someone else would like to describe the acrobatics of Cirque Du Soleil, or if it's a musical or a film with dancers, it’s the setting of a “screenwriting story” that determines what’s necessary and what’s not. For example, the screenwriter in La La Land is not expected to come up with lyrics, he talks about music numbers but someone else will come up with writing music. Eventually though, the writer has to deal with the method, the research, the atmosphere, the imagination and the acting of the script. As well as beginners say, we have to be familiar with the material…

1.) What would my character do in this situation?

2.) What would hurt my character most?

3.) How would my character react to this conflict?

4.) How would my character shine in this situation?

 

That’s The Magical If  😉

 

Conclusions rise from the fact that to develop characters effectively we must deepen in their psychology, we must deepen in their worlds and their routines, we must deepen in their dreams and nightmares and wonders, we must deepen in their habits and tastes and we do not have such an expertise. All the above define the limits of where writing what we don’t know of stops, and we have to come up with writing on what we feel familiar with. This will give us a sense of our repertorie, but again, to make quantum leaps we need to work with concrete paradigms. 

 

In the competitive world of USA actors in America, the big names that are professionals are not mere professional actors but professional celebrities. Projects and writers have bombarded us with Hollywood’s next flair of the week relevant with an artist’s journey, musicals, melodramas, etc but like writers, both actors and writers have to get along with agents, have to market themselves, have to do public relations, have to give interviews, have to work with publishers and the internet and these movies describe the overall feeling and excitement of growing up as an artist… If we’d like to portray hunting fame in a screenplay and put an actor socialize, are we aware of public relations? Do we get the overall atmospheres of festivals and journalists surrounding them? Eventually we will come up with scenes and subtractive logic in a screenplay, but “can we”, though? If we possess the experience, it’s fine. If we don’t possess the experience, we should seek something relevant (indirect) that we possess. We should definitely count on reading books, watching movies, talking with people and the ideal is that we could be educated on these things. If La La Land deals with Mia becoming an actress, what’s the dimensionality of being an actor?

 

In ancient Greece the paths of knowledge had been parallelized with drama. The entire education was a theater according to ancient Greece. This took place for no matter what happens with our educational lives, our professional identities and our expertise, when we have to portray characters doing all the previous we eventually have to come up with our most fundamental conclusion for today that “right education” means “right theatre”…! For example, those of you that will take a look at my profile:

 

A.) Communication

B.) Conflict Management

C.) Emotional Intelligence

D.) Public Relations

E.) Marketing

F.) Writing – Screenwriting

G.) Psychology Elements

H.) Logic

I.) Career & Strategy

J.) Scaling Up

K.) Fantasy

L.) Being an entrepreneur of one’s self

 

All the previous dimensions have been part of my educational profile and are also part of an actor’s life as well…! In The Words of Emily Logan, Joel & Emily begin as student actors in high-shool and later on Joel will deal with professional drama and Emily with English literature. Developing a screenplay requires a packet of things. Do my characters portray that packet? If I’d like them to deal with personal development, it’s very easy to theorize but eventually, how can our previous dimensions help us in terms of building up their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in their profiles? Better visualization at the end of the day for the actors, means better visualization of my profile, direct or indirect.

 

Of course, if someone writes action, or thriller or sci-fi, it’s both an actor’s educational dimensions (he will have to sell it to actors eventually) as well as education relevant with helping the genre of the script deal with the important things of its subject matter and make the script shine. Can we? Personally speaking, attending not just introductory classes on screenwriting, but the analytical art presented by ScreenCraft, made me realize my education is the other side (the real one) of an actor’s life, as a writer and by being both me and the actor who we truly are! Actors need a very strong inner life to counterbalance their fantasy life and quite often, this means being well-searched on the above fields…

 

Realizing that right education means right theater, we realize that the building blocks of a writer’s art and creative profile are the building blocks of his/her artistic materials. Someone who is keen on history will develop historical novels. Someone who likes science will engage in science fiction 😉 Someone else will produce courtroom drama because he has experience with law and justice, like in A Few Good Men, or A Time To Kill or Erin Brockovich. To come up with material we have to put ourselves in our characters shoes and find out ourselves, how the heck are we going to put them in believable situations that seem real. If someone wants to get to know a character really well, it’s the writer’s subjects and expertise that need becoming aware of it, building it as well as refining it… Have you felt that in your interactions and feedback? Quite often, it’s about people we assume to know, but we do not quite know really well after all… Have a great time folks!

On 'When Magic Truly Happens' Short Story To Film Adaptation!

Dear friends, I feel delightful to say my fairytale fantasy 'When Magic Truly Happens' is now included into a complete and signed contract of producing a 25 minutes long animated film, based on the adaptation of the short story. Collaborating with an experienced Indian writer that will create the screenplay, this means we will discuss the potentials of the story (in terms of genre, narrator's voice, plot, writing format, characters, setting) so that short story to film portrayal will be as effective as possible. Before Hollywood-nature evaluations and transformations of considering the product for the big screen it all begins with storytelling. Sooner or later I will present to you analytical details of this collaboration of mine. Stay tuned!

On Complex Characters & Their Dialogue

Hello folks, we’ve been discussing art and writing from a more existential point of view so far. Meaning, essential and elemental organic concepts about the world of scripts and writers’. One such has been character creation. So far, I’ve stated the necessity that all characters are being portrayed and displayed through their profiles and these being demographics, psychographics, education, economic background, relationships, strengths and weaknesses, goals, etc. Nevertheless, discussions being made so far relevant with many topics should include the writer’s ambition to reach closer to execution and not just an intellectual discussion. After all, it all ends up to characters in screenwriting. In pure literature for example, the majority of sheet space is devoted to advanced descriptions outside the characters’ arena so what is left for a well-developed cast is much smaller. Or maybe we should judge the script as literature and not a final draft for the movies to seek different target audiences.

But what about flat versus complex characters and their dialogue, in general? Flat is the opposite of complex. Complex characters are real and multi-layered 3D characters whereas flat characters are one-dimensional characters. Many writers as we write, we expose our knowledge and experiences and ideas as a whole and right afterwards we distribute this model to everyone, in later stages this might be wrong especially if the majority of this displaying occurs at the dialogistic level. Better examples may be understood by you in terms of earlier discussions on the unification of literature with screenwriting. When it comes to characters information delivered is not valid unless it is delivered in a physical fashion. It doesn’t matter how characters talk but the necessity of them being absorbed in specific building blocks of writing, into specific scenic spacetime with scene headings and themed activities better elaborated by analytical discussions and advanced vocabulary dependent on these specific structures…!

All I am trying to venture today is to discuss closer to execution… Still, do the above guarantee the writer’s memory on everyone? You would say there should be characters’ development not in our minds but on arguments by design. Multiple characters’ development where if so far, this meant the single distribution of the writer’s idea and the sharing of his ego multiply, now we have to come up with independent character analyses and independent creative development, where such descriptions should be bound by mentioning exact scenes where characters’ attributes are visible. With this and that, discussions judge the necessity of development not in the script but surrounding to its nature and dependent on the writers’ notes and notebooks, online or offline. Wouldn’t it be wise after all to spend more time on development and feeling successful than thinking overnight and still feel stuck eternally? Have a great time folks!

Interested to find out about the projects that started it all? Get to know my work through Amazon Author Page and my website at Independent Authors Network (IAN):
Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/makersdust
The Independent Authors Network: https://bit.ly/39chSSQ showcasing Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo & Walmart as well as the diversity of some of my professional pages!

On The Real-World Implications Of Creativity!

Hello folks, creatives and social networkers! Deep character questions arise for all writers so today I would like to expand this topic from the writing arena to the real-world arena. It’s all about the real-world implications of creating by first of all looking at ourselves… Additionally, looking at ourselves suggests that characters should mime a few patterns based on how the writer sees the world, their physical profiles, their social background leading to educational background, working background, economic background, demographics, psychographics, relationships, goals, etc. Easier said than done… From the one side of things, a creator should focus on the parallel development of analysis, multiple index cards and notes after the end of the first or second draft of his script being brought for consultancy.

Nevertheless, I promised to discuss the real-world implications of the above that brings us to the terrain of a guided principle mined from the book of Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. For this reason, I will shift the excerpt of the book from the company perspective to the individuals’ perspective. Here it goes;

“What makes an individual tick, why do some become built to last (while others fall), and why do some thrive in chaos?” One of our key findings is the idea of “Preserve the Core / Stimulate Progress”; no one can become or remain truly great without a core set of principles to preserve, to build upon, to serve as an anchor, to provide guidance in the face of an ever-changing world. … Covey found a similar pattern in personal effectiveness; first build upon a strong core of principles that are not open for continuous change; at the same time, be relentless in the quest for improvement and continuous self-renewal. …

Battling the super-productive model, Covey later in his book writes;

“But is there a chance that efficiency is not the answer? Is getting more things done in less time going to make a difference – or will it just increase the pace at which I react to people and circumstances that seem to control my life?”

The daily clock, the counter, I suggest it should hit zero. Notions of developmental psychology including the rationale of this book, are very heavy to be grasped by mere reading… Individuals wonder, should I step out of it? And later come back to face the facts stronger and rejuvenated? Here, the answer for those that do not seek temporary results is no. Writers should first of all be able to distinguish the ego from the shadow, the way these things are described in the area of several mentioned archetypes that form the techniques of our model of thought. Cumulatively, there are archetypes for the ego and archetypes for the shadow presented as interdependent opposites being described below;

Ego; great mother, old wise man, animus, meaning, centrality, order, opposition, time, sacred, light, transformation

Shadow; Tyrannical father, trickster, anima, absurdity, diffusion, chaos, conjunction, eternity, profane, darkness, fixity

Every archetype of the ego is interdependent with an archetype of the shadow that could be described with two columns, the ego and the shadow. Writers now want to search and figure out the essence of bringing our work to the light of day successfully by defeating the ever-changing shadow. This could possibly mean, based on the two columns that time is not infinite and those who believe that the entire infinity and the entire eternity should be quested at this point of our lives are not welcome.

In the book I write, a fairytale fantasy novella, words couldn’t be clearer: “…where nothing is what it seems and nothing lasts forever…” But how can such a concept be visualized? By thinking collectively! That’s right folks, the ego and the shadow exist as a collectivity of things and dimensions brought to surface through a spectrum of different prime emotional needs for all individuals. These ideas including the set core which cannot be subject to continuous change constitute the notions as well, of how the fixed and the fluid, the variable parts of literature will become one fixed body of reached greatness! Meaning, that up until standards and accomplishments have been maximized, performance scores of pieces of art indicate the binary value of scripts, meaning that scores are based on what other screenplays got. Meaning, again, that judgement comes always by comparison and that we have to mime patterns and a few all-star masterpieces to reach standards. For me and my book that has been brought for evaluation at WeScreenplay, Hollywood’s #1 Script Coverage Service, this standard is La La Land with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. Of course, that’s the creative standard and not the dimension of distinctions 😉

Can the above mean more when it comes to how mindsets should focus their writing on getting real world reflections? Meaning, are there more than talking about the dimensionality of characters and scripts in real life? Time concerns, is one such. Creativity should not flow mechanically and it should take time. Conclusively I would like to close this script with how we, writers, should stick to our creative personas, master our alter egos and get past the hunting of other dreams. Which means self-awareness, self-confidence and disillusioned thinking! Have a great time folks!

Below you can find my work published in the world wide web:

My Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/makersdust
The Words of Emily Logan in Apple Books: https://apple.co/2mr75hO
When Magic Truly Happens in Apple Books: https://apple.co/3KbVbyK

Multimedia Publishing OR Cinematic Storytelling

Dear friends I’ve been entangled to a dialogistic synergy with WeScreenplay, Hollywood’s #1 Script Coverage services and I can definitely say outputs and conclusions fascinate me. Before I delve deeply into it, I would like to explain the rationale of this dialogue influenced from other experience. We get notes. We get notes on concept, plot, characters, structure, dialogue, overall impression. So suddenly we realize interpretations are ambiguous, multifaceted and those of us who definitely like to express ourselves in many ways can definitely go wrong. But in order to flex your intellectual muscles it’s all about interaction. Sometimes this risks reliability. For example, a Greek journalist has invited an astrobiologist at his broadcast to talk about life in the universe and extra-terrestrials... No matter how much scientists we are, we or somebody else, can we correlate and identify? No. What on earth does “this” journalist know in terms of asking the right questions, in terms of asking the critical meanings and hidden wisdom so to produce an interesting scientific outcome on the discussion of whether we are alone or not in the universe? Nothing. To communicate and discuss on somebody’s expertise requires going deep as well as putting pressure on the right points. These were the comments of WeScreenplay as well. Being indicated that I ask outstanding questions, meaning questions that penetrate to the essence of writing and crisis recovery, I have also come up with conclusions of how to think of my self-publishing ventures. But let’s just view at the facts analytically. Many times, but not the case for the entire of scripts, literaturistic characters prove not more than 35% sufficiency than cinematic characters...! Many of us think as litterateurs, not entertainers or actors...

Literature is the arena of sophisticated descriptions and we have seen already that if canons of literature unify with the canons of screenwriting, then movie scripts can be considered audio-visual literature as well. Many times, mere literature but not cinematic storytelling, rotates around completely different natures of narrative elements and dimensions. There may be thought, fantasy travelling, narrator’s voice, etc. This means that what is left from the script to be devoted on how to super-develop a cast is not enough. Accurately, it is much less than enough. Screenplay characters, it’s theory for every script, have 5 prime emotional needs: love, comfort, validation, respect, justice. Love should not be confused with comfort nor validation with respect. Based on this as well as the fact that the popular structure of screenplays is The 3 Acts Structure, meaning to divide the script in 3 Acts, where every act is being developed appropriately, means that argumentation on literature is very different than argumentation on screenplays. Behind the reality of greenlights, movie theaters and a big audience hides a cultural gap that is based on favoring object-oriented writing if compared with intellectualism. So, these objectives focus entirely on character development that affect the entire architecture of the script. A lot of people who read books including us, the writers who write these books, can only think in terms of literature but not in terms of analyzing casting through the eyes of a Hollywood reader and later on, actors and directors. As it is not necessarily right to juggle between three different jobs of the entertainment industry, it’s only the writer’s mind that can do the job right...

This means “structured” argumentation and real-world experiences. Nevertheless, bridging gaps matters more than ever. In any case, multimedia publishing perspectives in terms of content guidelines from big data markets such as Amazon and Apple iTunes, Ingram, etc, is as perfect as our first thoughts towards it, as perfect as we initially dreamed of it all along! For it is true in the majority of the cases that cinematic storytelling has 70% more characters’ development sufficiency than literature! Have a great time folks!

The Unification Of Literature & Screenwriting!

Dear folks, including Jacob Krueger Studio alumni, there’s been a lot of discussion and comparatives related with literature vs cinema. Having understood essentials of more complex scenic action, today I would like to express my points and proposals of what I consider the unification of literature and screenwriting…! Many of us for example have used indirect speech in screenplays but I believe there is a thorough analysis and discussions behind the unification consideration.

We’ve been taught about the necessity or not of juggling information, explanation, description and action in our screenplays. We’ve been taught that too much behavior vs action may be considered passive, about sneaking details in on action and that in screenplays we write only what we hear or see.

But how can we transplant glory in screenwriting? How can we make screenplays be bathed with stardust?

I would like to point out a few key elements I’ve been taught as a litterateur student in Book Laboratory IANOS!

We know for example that narration is being distinguished on the aspects of time and order in terms of linear, circular and non-linear narration. Non-linear is especially true when parallel plots inside the initial one and diving into dreams take place, flashbacks, etc.

There’s the suggestion of applying these in properly formatted structure of screenplays, still audio-visual but more complex storytelling in movie scripts. Can it happen? It’s about craft!

We also know in literature that narration based on time is being distinctive in terms of whether we begin from start or the middle. The first case is being baptized with the name ab ovo narration, the second one with the name in medias res.

Can they happen in screenplays? Properly formatted structure and action, can make this dream come true as well. Again, it’s about craft!

Litterateurs use inclusion of stories in their stories, what we Greeks know as “εγκιβωτισμός ιστοριών”, meaning sub-stories inside the main one…

If there’s communication in action, a lot of things can happen in screenplays, meaning that we can apply this notion as well in the movie script as a result and a byproduct of creativity and craft!

Direct and Indirect Speech as well is being found in Google search and described as a visionary technique in movie writers as a study to be applied in scriptwriting. Again, craft has the upper hand in terms of not embedding unnecessary description in indirect speech.

We move on in literature with structure, meaning the architectural conception, what exists in the story and what not. Here there’s not the tiniest innuendo that this is not an element of screenplays as well. Moving beyond the previous status quo of scripts boosts fantasy!

In literature there are distinctions in terms of time and space. Different time frames and different spaces enrich storytelling. This is being shown in terms of how we set up scenes and how we do scenes in screenwriting. Again, the possible unification outcomes depend on craft!

To understand the big picture, Pen Densham in his book Riding the Alligator discusses through an interview of John Watson that every story in literature as well is being defined by a few critical events known as “Islands of Sanity”!

Here we care about a few bullets not in terms of being static, but that through the continuous shaping of the story inside and out of these key points, we understand their logic, their emotion or even better their rationale and level. Are they mesmerizing for an audience?

That’s the processing and the analyzing part of literature whereas the screenwriter has the option to use the “show don’t tell” technique and land himself as well on what is known in literature as islands of sanity. Again, that’s not mere craft but it’s art and craft simultaneously!

To say the truth, unification of literature and cinema matters for the complexity and dimensionality of the characters and the script. What the audience sees in movie theaters is still explicitly audio-visual but it’s the writer’s technique that makes the story compelling.

Conclusively, having talked about the intellectuality of screenwriting and the visualization of literature, we are now asked as writers to determine where we stand in the above framework and what’s our power with these concepts.

At the end of the day and as a result of an ongoing communication process, what’s the dynamic of a movie idea?

Writing "Art" Vs Writing "Craft"!

Now folks that we’ve had a few experiences of the rotten elements of the environments surrounding us including authority schemes, etc, lets focus on the more creative concerns of what it means to reach, to go beyond and to surpass limits… I’ve mentioned in my creative writing forum that when it comes to art concepts and mere art independent of the diligent processing of words and meanings, there, we could be intellectuals, we could be Gods, inventors, visionaries, etc. Our art can be 100 years old even though our craft may still be a little baby! Since literature is already more complex than screenwriting, lets focus on screenplays to understand that better.

Screenwriting is exclusively audio-visual, allowing us to write only about scenic directions and dialogue. I have realized though that plain projection and linear positioning of scenic directions and dialogue make the script empty. Coverage of the page is not the same as literature and if we add to this fact that dialogues leave a lot of blank space, you realize you lose content, extra dimensions of characters and descriptions and important artistic elements that if not figured out by you, your consultants will…! So, let’s get deep with indirect speech in cinema and more complex scenic action! In the majority of cases this is how you welcome your analyst to discuss what you and the script need and what not.

Indirect speech and complex scenic action constitute the parallel universe where we get away from a flat script and we get dimensions. On the contrary, what could 3 lines of scenic action do to the characters if nothing at all? When we know for example that we get independent advice for concept, plot, structure, characters, can the previous be completed on the mere dialogue level? So, this means that a discussion becomes the elixir of the 100% that happens to characters? Of course not! It is not dependent from a mere discussion to how far characters go including humans in real life. Some people believe they possess the best experience in terms of power and creative power… Stalkerazzi is one way to achieve that…

Creative realities show that ingenuity in flexible systems, resilience and analyzing various means of expressing ourselves make the machine work. It’s not what you say it’s how you say it. It’s also show don’t tell. Conclusively, craft in the first years of a writer’s life is dependent not only on the creative effort but advice and guidance as well. Have a great time folks!

Writing, Acting, Directing: The Regression!

Feeling enthusiastic now that I have started acting lessons, I realize folks that when it comes to screenwriting it is of paramount importance in later stages to get to know the other side, the actor in other words. Especially me that I am fond of writing scripts about “the entertainment industry”, every tiny or bigger detail matters…!

 

Currently I have completed my rewrite and I am thoughtful on the structure of my work that is known to screenwriters as “The 3 Acts Structure”. With this and that I am thinking of its potential progress. Later on, as soon as a script gets greenlit from a studio, it seems that the writer is no longer the lonely king in the entertainment industry, directors and actors have a say on the outcome…!

Me as a writer gets initial credits, even though the final draft may be a product of many writers, where the percentage of credits of each writer depends on many factors but is surely dependent on the relationships with the director and the actors as well.

This is why speaking the same language and reaching big lengths in art matters. But what matters more as the title of this post suggests is the continuous regression between 3 different arts, writing, acting, directing. In the beginning, the nature of this regression looks like a mosaic. We’re looking for tiny arguments and small axioms that shine a light to our life. 

Then we go deeper and deeper until we realize that writers and artists independent of their education, must have a crystal-clear perception of the richness of their vocabulary, if they truly want to achieve goals and this is under no circumstances revelatory of previous comments on ambiguous school experiences.

In any case, the above do not indicate for writers a one-off process and it depends on the persistence and the hard work and the responsibility of the creator or the actor to complete his vision and reach personal fulfillment through his work. Isn’t this the dream after all? Have a great time folks!

Voice Introduces A New Experience: The Creative Mindset!

Hello folks, all people of creative writing, business and technological worlds may consider my today’s theme of discussion of exceptional importance or somewhat advanced. Nevertheless, no matter how much beginner or advanced someone is, or something, whom you speak to and (as always) what or whom do you think you’ll find (that is both irony and approbation) there can be explanation of the title of this post, depending on how it is presented. Voice will be a catapult…

In order to speak, we need a voice. Characters both in novels and screenplays are being judged by their authenticity and uniqueness, implying the matching of words with actions which is pictured through their voice. This applies to business world as well. When dealing with marketing or technology we wonder: marketing according to whom? According to how it is presented at college? According to what the applied business world urges based on the production system? According to what the world or the public opinion poses in order to influence more? And when dealing with the triad creative – marketing – technology, how does one dimension affect the other, if combined? Isn’t it true that the writer or the individual markets his ideas, experiences and world view and his behavior (better or worse) in specific spacetimes?

So, let’s analyze the above! An individual, that is a character, a writer or a professional will be parameterized on lots of denominations: age, gender, education, profession, interests, experiences, politics or religion, vision, stage of evolution, relational potential, entertainment tastes and if further applied, principles and value systems. One very important aspect we, you, have to know before being trapped is that systems drive behavior meaning that whatever you sow, you reap… The speech of a Greek artist in TEDx was entitled that you have to “Create skies if you want to see stars”. So, metaphorically, as usually, (that is both an irony and approbation) the skies are many… But if we can all agree to archetypal considerations, this means commonalities for all people, we can learn better and perform better when it comes to the dimensions described.

The picture above portrays sound waves, hence the product of synthesis has to be clearly defined and understood if it is to be applied, schematically, to the creative writing, marketing and technology arenas… As a first observation, I consider it has great perturbational value. As a writer, our characters have to be unique, authentic and with a crystal-clear shape of story arc. This is what characterization means, for books and screenplays. All matter is pulled by the gravity of the world that it comes from, and not any other. This implies a clear identification of filtering a product of many voices, nevertheless it leaves at the mercy of God novice individuals, ‘little boys’ and ‘little girls’ who may not yet possess ‘the mechanisms’ to defend against the brutal reality of the 21st century.

Little by little though I have outlined character structure and as you know, the available themes in literature and cinema can be many. Exactly the same analysis is applied to marketing and technology. First things first. In order to do marketing, you need a product. Price, promotion and marketplaces, are shaped around the tangible reality of a specific product or a specific service. But at the center of the markets of Western capitalism lay consumers, individuals, humans… So, applying what has been mentioned above, shouldn’t there be demographics, profiles and psychographics for market analysis exactly as a writer defines character structures? They exist since the dawn of marketing.

So far, I described quite analytically the independent dimensions creative, marketing, technology, but I have not yet discussed how the one affects the other. Affection though is complicated and indirect. First things first. A few observations of mine in the internet. Having witnessed the web since 2007, there are occasions of people swelling, inflating the world of others and presenting it as accomplishments, or applying previously reported failures, bloody massacres only to prove better. In a world where what matters most is not what we’re alike at, but at what we differ (including extra-terrestrial intelligence), originality is important. These strategies won’t fail from day one. But in leadership there is comparative evaluation. They fail as being part of somebody else’s strategy and not your own strategy. The swelling of ‘your neighbor’ but not your own.

Hence there is a raw material for everyone, proving that the rights and the mistakes are very specific and common for everyone. Geographical restrictions or liberation, individuals following international standards and not acting like localists, thinking globally and acting locally, may prove differences in subject matter. May create a Greek artist following his Hollywood passion. May borrow themes from abroad. May engage in literature without borders. May quest bibliographical and technological research to create a network. And they make people understand better the digital reality of the 21st century. A world where pioneering science and AI, marketing, technology and creativity dance all together at the perturbational universe described at the photo above. Have a great time folks!

One Size Doesn't Fit All: The Creative Mindset!

The Disruptors - Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon

Dear folks, there's been a long journey of over a decade to come up with a version of materials, creative projects and social networks so I believe now it's time to think I am at a crossroads of where to go with my creativity. Before that happens I would like to talk today about the entire pack of book publishing, digital marketing and meteoric technology know hows. If we were freshmen in the university or if we had to give advice to our younger versions of self and this little guy got to know of memoirs dealing with Amazon, social networks, Apple approved aggregators with books, plenty of academic testimonials and creativity driven from the top, this guy would feel the king of the world... Reality is much more different but much more promising as well as it's true that at that ages we may lack analytical thinking on the issues above, moreover, quantifying our decision making. 

 

Getting started with my own paradigm, book launch in Amazon is enough for the company to copy the file and distribute it all around the world where the company has sites and offices and that's the first exposure of the writer towards global understanding. Nevertheless there are dozens of people and networks involved to bring a project to life. The writer, the writing consultants: story consultant and proofreader, the intellectual property offices, the graphic designers to master the digital files' approval, UK and USA digital distribution companies, networks to get a beautiful book cover that will be fine with your psychology, ISBNs from The National Library of Greece, "find" all the above networks in terms of affordable costs or being free, markets' approvals at the end, do you believe I am complete with the above? Not even the double of it! Planning a book launch, comes with planning your web presence including an entire pack of digital marketing activities. 

 

Thinking of a writer's web page, thinking of a Facebook page, thinking of Facebook banners, thinking of engines that shorten URLs, thinking of photos and campaign materials, thinking of podcasts, if you think of podcasts then you come up with free text to speech software, then comes sound recording, so, what's next? Afterwards you could possibly seek author interviews and getting familiar with digital PR that some of them come up with larger networks promoting your work. Advice with Twitter followers and, if you're lucky enough getting book reviews. Nevertheless, book reviews are not the singular reason that the entire success of your book pass through as it's important to consider what sort of validation you ask. A novel? A screenplay? An essay? Poetry? So, who's responsible for the previous? Quite often, book reviews from the crowd are being considered far from industry validation such as a publishing house approval, movie approval or foreign rights...! It just helps with sales...

 

Now, in terms of the validation mentioned, are the issues presented above the single dimension of where your creative success and fulfillment depend on? If someone writes a screenplay, you have to consider script coverage (meaning, professional evaluation) from accredited artistic organizations and get to know things beforehand and afterwards related with the movie industry. Reading books, getting to know the ecosystem of cinema, experimenting at your blog. If you're writing philosophy or if your book is thematic and it's not literature then this is a field of subject matter experts. What the heck are you writing in the end?  OK you wrote it and it's ready to get published. If you have deep pockets you may consider book events but I believe this goes hand in hand with what kind of validation you seek, as stated above. Are you truly familiar with how the above activities work, or do you believe you will get stuck at somewhere, proving that in the 21st century educational backup is more than necessary? And how far are you willing to go in terms of writing your memoir by acknowledging that what's most important is an alignment with "management", "experience" and "company profiles"?

 

Now let's get deeper to tougher considerations. When it comes to the campaigns described, perhaps setting up Google My Business, the hunt to come up with an article 24 hours per day and much much more personal work as it is described above, that perhaps you knew nothing, not even a hint of it 2 years ago and you have to discover everything through specialized Google queries, how much time and effort are you willing to invest? Are you willing to align your creative life with the rest of your life? And if so, are there problems being confronted? Have you truly acknowledged that the 4 industry disruptors of the 21st century that is Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook make it clear cut that not even the half of us know where something truly begins and where it truly ends? What about technology upheavals and AI? Familiar with the science of how big data and what actually sells in the internet work? Interested to go the extra mile and get solid foundations with science if the starving artist syndrome is not your type and you're truly interested in career building? A case for all of us or some?

 

OK then, you say, I'm starting to get the big picture so this means I have a solid understanding of what my options are, what market research says and how I will proceed with my opportunities and decision making. But having to consider a balance between work life and personal life, where books may be something completely extra, considering that success is also making money, your first concern deals with career management. Are all of us doing the same, or familiar technological jobs? So if not, is the above a work worth doing? How fast and for how long? Remember, these mean nothing yet! John's Revelation fastly approaches! Never ever engage in activities or the internet without a strategy. If you think that with your first or your second book you're gonna make a living, forget it. Willing to adapt a book into a screenplay? Have you found this one, unique, diamond company that makes it with the lowest cost possible? 

 

Are you willing to invest in quantity and not just quality to make it happen? But when? How fast are you willing to work? Since you're not getting paid, are you aware that slowness is not an advantage? Familiar with what global presence truly means and how to deal with foreign companies in general? Aware that this may mean hundreds of emails with the companies, your consultants and your options to get to know how things work, or even worse, get to know things you're not aware of including reading dozens of articles in the internet related with the industry? Do you consider yourself a perfect user of PCs and the internet? How good are you with the ecosystem of websites if creative concerns or problems arise? Where does art start or end and where does the business side of things continue? And so far, you may be familiar with nothing in terms of opening accounting books in the future to support your work legally and safely. Isn't this an ambitious, bold and extremely risky step that you shall not consider away from an employee - boss relationship? How does your character correlate with that? When making money with your art then you come up to the conclusion that money, dates and time matter more than usual. And what if you can't focus to complete many projects in the long term or if focus and writing a lot seems difficult?

 

So far you must be perfectly aware of that success and effectiveness as a writer started for you as mere inspirations and joy of writing paragraphs and discussing your art in the internet, but it continued with confronting completely different, complex and fuzzy issues that do not care about what a business card of yours writes. You come up with other concerns and other professions. There are a lot of people in history who decided they are creators and not economists. They are artists and not technocrats, publishers or business people. Some of them failed, were deceived and some of them still have nothing to do with the dynamic profile of this article. For them it's simply that the internet or digital marketing is not an issue, not dare to mention about science and AI, they're just others. OK, now we're getting closer to the truth and solid arguments but when it comes to the internet there is a quote: Think Global, Act Local. Don't you think the term "international" is quite heavy? And what exactly does it mean to go beyond borders? Willing to discover that to succeed it means you will find yourself investing in a decade of creativity as no writer solves his problems with his first book? Proficient in the English language and moreover, with professional standards?

 

Personally speaking, I have found myself in the middle of dozens of theorizations, analyses, book readings and book evaluations, but more importantly I have found myself analyzing, deciding and generating arguments in a sense that ordinary people CAN'T. Conclusively, now we realize that to innovate, create and pioneer in book publishing and the internet in the 21st century involves dozens of non-linear activities if compared with mere art. So that's the exact reality of what it means to survive in the world of the 4 disruptors, these are Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook. In a world where money doesn't bring happiness but it surely helps to get things done in the long term. Have a great time folks!