Words Are Wind, or How I Learned to Stop Procrastinating and Write!

Procrastination has always troubled my mind soul. There are so many distractions in this modern day and age. (Fun fact: this first sentence took me about 3 hours to write because I kept get distracted and procrastinating! EGAD!)

Aaaand, blaming procrastination on other components (such as this modern day and age) is just ONE of the classic excuses to excuse not working or writing. In fact, I could list an almost endless list of reasons why procrastination is easier to come by in the year 2015, but making that list would, in fact, be just another sad attempt to procrastinate! It's a never ending spiral down the existential rabbit hole and before I stumble down, I am going to stop myself.

Wow, okay. So, if anyone could follow the above paragraph, I applaud you because I'm not so sure it makes sense and at this point it very much just could be a meaningless ramble of "Ben" thoughts.

It has been a little more than a month since I last updated my blog and, looking back, have I accomplished much? Eh... Once again, that was an "Eh..." I feel like every time I come to this blog it is just me, promising to write, and then failing to do so. There are lots of big events, competitions, and seminars coming up and I need to make sure the material I have (feature scripts, spec scripts, and original pilots) are polished, perfect, and ready to submit. I am the type of person who usually waits until the last possible moment to submit an assignment. One time, in college, I did just that on the end of the year paper. I pulled an all-niter, promising myself I would write this paper. Welp, I stayed up all night, yes, but didn't write anything until about 2 hours before the class. Why put myself through that torture?!? WHY?!

Well, this time, I shan't. (P.S. "Shan't" is probably one of my top 3 favorite words/contractions. It just fills me with Steampunkian joy). So aside from my novel, WHICH IS ALMOST DONE dear God yes (And by almost done, I mean the first draft. Cause, whooey, I gots to edit/rewrite/fix a lot of it. FUN.), I am currently prepping these below projects:

Feature Scripts: 11 in development.
That may sound like a lot, but some of them are nothing more than general premises/outlines. For the upcoming Nicholl Fellowship, I am planning on submitting 3 (and that's being optimistic). At least one script is my hope. "Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope..."

Spec Scripts: 3
Spec Scripts are notoriously hard for me. I feel like I am writing a fan-fic and I don't really like writing for characters that aren't mine. Unfortunately, a lot of competitions require a spec script, so gotta do it, to it. Really just gotta push this one out somehow. I have 3, okay 2.5, options going right now...so we shall see.

TV Pilot: 2
One drama, one comedy. These two are my babies and my loves. I want to make sure they are perfect and I feel very attached. I need to release them from my helicopter parent grip and get them out there because holding them close to my chest isn't making anything happen.

COMPETITIONS: 8+
There's a lot out there to submit too, which is nice, but that doesn't make things easy. The Nicholl, NBC's Writers on the Verge, ABC/Disney, WB, AFF, Script Pipeline, CBS, etc. The most important thing is to write and submit, otherwise there is no chance at success!

So, thank you for coming along on this journey of me procrastinating actually working on said scripts, but instead writing a blog post about it. Oy! And if you want to read any of my TV Recaps/Reviews on shows such as Bates Motel, Once Upon a Time, Gotham, Salem, etc. Check 'em out here at Whedonopolis.com.

K, BAI.

-ben josé

 

Day 19 - Donkey Kong that Novel

Day 19
Word Count: 32,028
Mood: First Name Panic, Last Name Attack

Day 19! How is this possible? Time sure does fly when you are having fun (aka stressin' out & movin' & shakin'). As you can see, I only wrote about one thousand-something words since Friday. Yikes! But my excuses are real. I was moving this weekend. And you probably know that moving is not just a walk in the park. It takes a lot out of you (it took out some of the skin on my knee!).

Here are some moving pictures just in case you thought I was lying:

What is this nonsense? A backyard!

New Digs! Chyeah!

Clearly, I was helpful in driving the truck.

U better call Uhaul!

I only moved my big stuff to the new house, so am now occupying two spaces. We have our old apartment until December 3rd, so we are going to gradually move out to the house in the next eleven days because who doesn't want to drag something out until the last possible moment. (Sound familiar, NaNoWrimo?)

Oh, so, my novel. Yeah, it is coming along. I don't think I will be officially done with it when I hit 50,000 words, so lets hope I just keep up the enthusiasm past the end of November and into December so that I can actually finish it.

I've gotten a lot of advice and pep talks from friends and NaNo Coaches, so I'm feeling confident.

Hey, Wine & Beer, y'all don't scare me! No matter how sweet your smoky nectar smells, I will not drink thee!

Unrelated sidenote: I am going to call Day 19, Donkey Kong Day (the day I listened over and over to the soundtrack of Donkey Kong Country). The soundtrack is damn good and upbeat and makes me want to do my thang! DK and Diddy are my bros 4 life! My personal faves include Ice Cave Chant, Vulture Culture, and Aquatic Ambience.

Hate those damn Zingers (cool term for da bees)

Oh, also at one point this weekend, I tried to live-tweet, Mulan 2. I don't know why I shared that information. Eddie Murphy didn't even voice Mushu. Not over it.

It's official: I'm just the coolest. Ok, I should probably stop writing this blog and start writing my novel. BYE.

- ben josé

Halfway There & Losing My Mind

Day 15
Word Count: 30,918
Mood: I don't know if my mood can be defined at the moment.

Wow, what a stressful and crazy week it has been. I haven't had time to update this blog because I've been stressing out majorly as I prepare to move into a house in Hollywood. With 5 other people. And a dog. And a cat. Not joking. If you think I'm a crazy, insane person, you would be correct. Follow my antics on Twitter. Shameless selfish plug. Sorry. (No, I'm Not!).

Okay, but you might be looking at my word count (30,918 big ones) and thinking, "Hey, it's going well! 30K words is not too shabby! Good on ya, Ben José! You get yours!" Think again, intrepid blog reader. The past 15,000 words that I wrote have been hard-fought and tough. I wrote the longest chapter of my novel so-far (a whopping 11 pages) where I had to catch up the reader on the past five days of one of my characters. I decided to write it in the present day, with flashbacks to each former day, throughout.

So, basically, when someone decides to read my book and gets to this chapter, this is where they will decide to stop reading my book because it makes absolutely no sense. I haven't bothered with editing anything I've written so far because I'm afraid I will be consumed in the throes of revision and self-mutilation.

Wow, I sound so confident right now. Please, come read my book. You'll love it!

HAHHHH.

Well, on a good note, I still haven't had a drop of alcohol in the past 15 days. Go me! It's been nice. I haven't been hungover. I haven't drunkenly offended anyone. This life ain't too bad. I'm definitely going to need a drink when December 1st comes. So, pray for me then.

I guess this is all I have to say right now. BAH. I feel confident about getting to 50,000 words in 15 days. Only 20,000 to go. Halfway point! Woo. Yay. Can I get an "Ohhh yeahhh!?"

Okay. Bye. Ugh.

- ben josé

Day 8

Day 8
Word Count: 15,459
Mood: Stressed/Weird. I just used a neti pot on myself because I'm been sick. It works, but leaves the weirdest sensations in my nose.

I've been fighting a cold/cough/sore throat thingy for the past week, which is perfect. I love being sick. On top of that, I have been stressed because I am in the beginning stages of moving into a new place. I am moving into a house in Hollywood with 5 other people, 1 cat, and 1 dog. Now, there is a sentence I'd never thought I'd say in life!

So, I'm sort of using those two things as excuses as to why I have been procrastinating all week. Ughhhh... this week! As I sit down to write, I distract myself so easily: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, the damn INTERNETS are so distracting. Somehow I managed to get 15,000 words though. Which is about um.. more than 1/4th of the way through I think? I used to be good at math. Le Sigh.

Luckily, I've been getting great advice from some awesome NaNoWriMo Pep Talkers. The wise words of authors, James Patterson, Malinda Lo, Catherynne M. Valente, and Pat Rothfuss, saved me from writing destitution. Follow them on Twitter because thanks to them I didn't have a mental breakdown and throw my computer across my office in frustration!

(Side note: things and feelings are happening with my nose. Seriously, try a neti pot! I swear I'm not trying to sell them or something!)

Neti Pots: The Nasal Saviors

As for my novel, things are developing quite nicely. Some exciting things were written in the past week for two of my characters. I don't want to reveal too much about the story and plot twists, but one of my characters is very different and could be considered controversial for a fantasy novel. But, I hope whenever people ever get a chance to read this (ha!), that they see what I was going for in the grander scheme of things.

Coming up, I am about to write a chapter on a character named, Theo. He is a young, naive scientist new to town and he is about to learn some dark things about his employer and his special, secret work. Ooooh.

I have no idea if I am making sense right now. Still sober.

Tomorrow is the official NaNoWriMo Marathon! I plan on donating some moolah and reaching 30,000 words, which may be stretching it, but its good to hope! So, get ready for the NaNoThon! Follow up on Twitter! 

Thanks for reading!

- ben josé