Well, the day I had been waiting to arrive for two months finally got here today. I had an opportunity to meet with Author Joshua Corin and discuss the first twenty pages of my novel Monarch. Nice guy. We have a few things in common that attracted me to seek advice from him as opposed to one of the other fine writers made available to us through the Atlanta Writers Club. The fact that he too has written a number of screenplays was a nice commonality. That two of his novels were from a female's perspective was another point of interest. The twenty minutes flew by.
Mr. Corin was kind enough to make notes upon the pages I had submitted earlier in the month. In addition to his notes, he also relayed what he liked about those first few pages and expressed what he felt may need possible tweaking before publication. I look forward to reviewing the notes from our conversation over the next couple of days.
The folks at AWC, as always, did a real nice job in putting this all together. I want to thank them and Mr. Corin for taking the time to do the Prep Workshop. The November conference is just around the corner, can't wait.
-aap
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
The Vacuum of Time (A brief rant against the flaws in society that drag good people down.)
Each day drifts 24 hours closer to yet another deadline. And each deadline exacts at least a modest toll as you reach it. Sometimes that toll has no monetary value, but instead an emotional or physical taxation upon an individual, which often does not register in the big picture until later. In the big picture things change because of the subtle, or not so subtle, nudges one must endure while paying the old bills.
Paying the bills is one example of a deadline that strips you of not only your money but also your time. Think of all that you could do if you still had some of that money. The truth is, it's gone forever, much like the time it took to earn it. And as soon as you pay one bill off, you have to start the time drain on your life to pay the next one. It's a horrible cycle for most people. A battle. The list of bills the older you get just seems to get longer and longer and the time left in life just withers away.
The capacity to slow the cycle is one that any person not of privilege must strive towards, however futile an endeavor may be. Whether one reaches the point where the time=money cycle is in their favor requires effort, skill &/or chance. Being prepared often isn't enough in the short-term, but usually wins out in the long run. And dumb luck can work in the opposite way for those who have put in no preparations. For most people, we just have to keep pounding our heads against the walls until it gives or we eventually bleed out.
If you want to risk it all to chance, good luck. But the only sure way to hold the tides of time at bay, without taking advantage of others, and break the monotony is with skill and forward thinking. Sure there are those with money who believe they are ahead of the curve and live pampered lives with little responsibility, but most have very little intrinsic worth. They may give to charities, for tax purposes, but that does not make them productive. What do they do on a day to day basis that keeps things moving forward in a positive direction? Shopping? (Now, I do not mean all people with money are this way. This is a generalization of course.)
There are people at both ends of the wealth scale, and even in between, who burden us all by being lazy, good for nothings or lying cheats. They cost us time by wasting theirs. Some breed babies for welfare, while eating Doritos and watching Springer. On the other end, you have the trust fund retards who lounge about after plastic surgery, talking about the suffering they must endure to be beautiful. If we could figure out a way to motivate these soulless loads, we would all be better off - themselves included, for they would have their souls back and would actually be serving a purpose on this rock.
But we can't just ask of others. We too must be better, must continue to learn, must work smarter, and not allow ourselves to be willfully deceived or always carry the burden. Make people shape up or ship out and actually enforce some sense of accountability. Seems simple, it's not! If we can achieve that, then the rest of us, who carry the weakest in society (the rich do nothings, the cheats and habitual liars and the welfare loads) on our backs, might be able to slow the vacuum of time just enough to release the strain of our burden of responsibility and enjoy our lives for just a little while.
Paying the bills is one example of a deadline that strips you of not only your money but also your time. Think of all that you could do if you still had some of that money. The truth is, it's gone forever, much like the time it took to earn it. And as soon as you pay one bill off, you have to start the time drain on your life to pay the next one. It's a horrible cycle for most people. A battle. The list of bills the older you get just seems to get longer and longer and the time left in life just withers away.
The capacity to slow the cycle is one that any person not of privilege must strive towards, however futile an endeavor may be. Whether one reaches the point where the time=money cycle is in their favor requires effort, skill &/or chance. Being prepared often isn't enough in the short-term, but usually wins out in the long run. And dumb luck can work in the opposite way for those who have put in no preparations. For most people, we just have to keep pounding our heads against the walls until it gives or we eventually bleed out.
If you want to risk it all to chance, good luck. But the only sure way to hold the tides of time at bay, without taking advantage of others, and break the monotony is with skill and forward thinking. Sure there are those with money who believe they are ahead of the curve and live pampered lives with little responsibility, but most have very little intrinsic worth. They may give to charities, for tax purposes, but that does not make them productive. What do they do on a day to day basis that keeps things moving forward in a positive direction? Shopping? (Now, I do not mean all people with money are this way. This is a generalization of course.)
There are people at both ends of the wealth scale, and even in between, who burden us all by being lazy, good for nothings or lying cheats. They cost us time by wasting theirs. Some breed babies for welfare, while eating Doritos and watching Springer. On the other end, you have the trust fund retards who lounge about after plastic surgery, talking about the suffering they must endure to be beautiful. If we could figure out a way to motivate these soulless loads, we would all be better off - themselves included, for they would have their souls back and would actually be serving a purpose on this rock.
But we can't just ask of others. We too must be better, must continue to learn, must work smarter, and not allow ourselves to be willfully deceived or always carry the burden. Make people shape up or ship out and actually enforce some sense of accountability. Seems simple, it's not! If we can achieve that, then the rest of us, who carry the weakest in society (the rich do nothings, the cheats and habitual liars and the welfare loads) on our backs, might be able to slow the vacuum of time just enough to release the strain of our burden of responsibility and enjoy our lives for just a little while.
-aap
Friday, August 12, 2011
Monarch Preorder Update
For about two months, I have been consternating how I might effectively do a Presale of my first Novel. I am by no means a well-known writer; so, I thought Amazon might be out of the picture, because they don't allow unknown writers to do "official" preorders. Then I thought about Paypal, which would have given me a chance to send out a collectible item via the web or through the mail. If I were to go with Paypal, I would have to figure out a way to get a digital version of the book to customers. No biggie, right? Except, I intended to release the book through Amazon Kindle. This creates a potential messy financial situation that might very well throw a wrench into the whole process.
Earlier this week, I did a test on Amazon to see whether I could do an "unofficial" Preorder for Monarch through their site; low and behold, the results seem promising. One problem solved. The only bad part is I will be unable to provide a collectible with the purchase of an electronic copy of my book. Time is running short and I am afraid that the collectible may have to wait. If my sales are good enough, I would like to release a hardcover version. That may be the point to do a collectible. If any of you have any ideas how I might still go about providing the collectible with the e-book, please let me know. I am open to ideas.
monarchthenovel.com
-aap
Earlier this week, I did a test on Amazon to see whether I could do an "unofficial" Preorder for Monarch through their site; low and behold, the results seem promising. One problem solved. The only bad part is I will be unable to provide a collectible with the purchase of an electronic copy of my book. Time is running short and I am afraid that the collectible may have to wait. If my sales are good enough, I would like to release a hardcover version. That may be the point to do a collectible. If any of you have any ideas how I might still go about providing the collectible with the e-book, please let me know. I am open to ideas.
monarchthenovel.com
-aap
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes Review (Possible Spoilers)
It has been awhile since I have seen a movie in the theater -- the most recent was X-men. Thirty dollars isn't as easy to part with as it use to be. Something really has to appeal to me for me to part with my hard-earned money these days. I thought I might be willing to shell out for a number of films that preceded Apes this summer, but my interest quickly cooled. Yet, after seeing the ads for this movie, I realized it was going to be a revenge flick, and I love revenge flicks. The fact that the buzz surrounding this film was so positive only piqued my interest more. So, after watching all the trailers online about a dozen times I decided to go check it out.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes unfurls with an actual story to tell. It does not rehash like the Tim Burton film, which had its merits, but fell well short of being considered a good movie. There are nods to the other movies in this film, but this is an origin story.
It's funny that as a writer, I have been told over and over again "never start at the beginning" and "always start at some point later on." The reason was to start with action and reflect later. It's obvious that there has been a change in this philosophy over the past ten years, with so many stories going back to their origins. Why? Well, as a rule of thumb, I think opening a story later on is still a good way of doing things, but so many movies these days have no where to go but back to the beginning, and that is why we are seeing more films start from scratch.
Anyway, back to the movie. It opens with the capture of a number of chimpanzees from the wild, immediately making the viewer sympathize with them. This is needed in a revenge flick. For most of the movie the humans are made into the bad guys, except for Franco's character, Will, and those close to him. Will is doing research on a possible cure for Alzheimers; one he hopes might cure his father, John Lithgow.
There are so many touching moments through out this movie between father and son, and then also with Caesar - the infant chimpanzee he secretly took home from the lab and raised, played masterfully by Andy Serkis - and his perceived father, Will.
In fact, much of the film is dedicated to the building of relationships. Even when an adolescent Caesar is placed inside a Primate Facility after a misunderstanding with Will's neighbor, he must, for the first time in his life, create relationships with his kind. But they are not like him, for he is so much smarter than them, and comes from a happy home. Only a circus orangutang, who also speaks sign language, can, at first, appreciate and understand Caesar.
But Caesar learns quickly how the Facility works and soon becomes their leader. Once that happens, the movie really gets going, and it is time for some comeuppance mankind.
Even though there were a few plot holes, and some of the CGI was suspect, this was a really good film. It touched on almost all the right notes, except for the love relationship between Will and Caroline, Freida Pinto, which never seemed all that genuine. The fact that Caesar never got all hot and bothered by any of the females at the facility was probably due to how silly it would seem on film, as it did in other Ape films.
Rupert Wyatt, the director, has successfully crafted a story worth re-watching (hopefully with added or extended scenes for the dvd), and I can't say that about too many of the recent films I have seen. Except for those diehard ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) fans, most people, young and old, should be able to take something positive away from this movie.
-aap
Rise of the Planet of the Apes unfurls with an actual story to tell. It does not rehash like the Tim Burton film, which had its merits, but fell well short of being considered a good movie. There are nods to the other movies in this film, but this is an origin story.
It's funny that as a writer, I have been told over and over again "never start at the beginning" and "always start at some point later on." The reason was to start with action and reflect later. It's obvious that there has been a change in this philosophy over the past ten years, with so many stories going back to their origins. Why? Well, as a rule of thumb, I think opening a story later on is still a good way of doing things, but so many movies these days have no where to go but back to the beginning, and that is why we are seeing more films start from scratch.
Anyway, back to the movie. It opens with the capture of a number of chimpanzees from the wild, immediately making the viewer sympathize with them. This is needed in a revenge flick. For most of the movie the humans are made into the bad guys, except for Franco's character, Will, and those close to him. Will is doing research on a possible cure for Alzheimers; one he hopes might cure his father, John Lithgow.
There are so many touching moments through out this movie between father and son, and then also with Caesar - the infant chimpanzee he secretly took home from the lab and raised, played masterfully by Andy Serkis - and his perceived father, Will.
In fact, much of the film is dedicated to the building of relationships. Even when an adolescent Caesar is placed inside a Primate Facility after a misunderstanding with Will's neighbor, he must, for the first time in his life, create relationships with his kind. But they are not like him, for he is so much smarter than them, and comes from a happy home. Only a circus orangutang, who also speaks sign language, can, at first, appreciate and understand Caesar.
But Caesar learns quickly how the Facility works and soon becomes their leader. Once that happens, the movie really gets going, and it is time for some comeuppance mankind.
Even though there were a few plot holes, and some of the CGI was suspect, this was a really good film. It touched on almost all the right notes, except for the love relationship between Will and Caroline, Freida Pinto, which never seemed all that genuine. The fact that Caesar never got all hot and bothered by any of the females at the facility was probably due to how silly it would seem on film, as it did in other Ape films.
Rupert Wyatt, the director, has successfully crafted a story worth re-watching (hopefully with added or extended scenes for the dvd), and I can't say that about too many of the recent films I have seen. Except for those diehard ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) fans, most people, young and old, should be able to take something positive away from this movie.
-aap
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
August Update
Happy 100 days till the Monarch: Egg e-book release!
Now that we are through July and into August that means not only are the dog days of summer here, but also there is only one month until Monarch is available for preorder.
Keep an eye on the monarchthenovel.com website for updates.
Be safe and enjoy the rest of your summer.
Thanks for reading.
-Aaron Pitters
Now that we are through July and into August that means not only are the dog days of summer here, but also there is only one month until Monarch is available for preorder.
Keep an eye on the monarchthenovel.com website for updates.
Be safe and enjoy the rest of your summer.
Thanks for reading.
-Aaron Pitters
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