Just a quick sketch

Remember to click on the image if you can't see it!

Ernest Hemingway Quotes, Plotting Stories, and Arrested Development

If you don't know who Ernest Hemingway was, I suggest you go to your closest bookstore, ask for an Ernest Hemingway book, get yourself a cup of tea/coffee, and spend the rest of the day reading. He is a classic of American literature. He is praised for all of his works, winning various prizes and honors like the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize for literature. Simply put, if you love books and writing, you should listen to his words of wisdom carefully. Here’s seven of his (millions of!) quotes I that find most inspirational.

1. "There is no friend as loyal as a book"

2. "My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way."

3. "The first draft of anything is shit."

4. "Write drunk. Edit sober."

5."There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

6."As a writer, you should not judge, you should understand."

7. "All you have to do is write one true sentence. The truest sentence that you know."

I find all of them pretty great, and they have really inspired me (don't worry, I don't drink) to write more, and better. Also, I found this link through reddit, which explains the two ways of plotting a story, which are both very useful, but I found the second way (architect) to be more sophisticated, yet very effective. If you're too lazy to click on the link and read it, here is the overall order of how an architect story should go:

• Beginning
• “Uncomfortable” event
• Plot turn 1
• Midpoint
• “Everything’s wrong” event
• Plot turn 2
• Resolution

I have also been watching Arrested Development with my mom, and we both find it hilarious. But I think the reason why everybody loves it so much (well most of it is the hilarity) is because it uses the architect story plot very intensely. Arrested Development follows various different characters, all with their own problems and sort of mini-plots, that all lead to the resolution, and somehow they manage to connect all those mini-plots into one huge problem that later gets resolved.

Anyways, I hope you get inspired by Hemingway and write your very own story using the architect and gardener way and later watch some Arrested Development.

Have a good day!

Sam

TED Talks

If you ever have an extra 18 to 20 minutes in your life, I recommend you watch or listen to a TED talk. They have taught me a whole lot, and the stories coming from the people that speak them are incredible, and range from innovative to emotional.

So if you ever find yourself at the writer's block (see what I did there?) just listen to these 6 awesome TED talks about storytelling, and what makes a great story. They do actually help, and I find all of them sort of amazing and my role models. (Isabel Allende for my stories, J.J Abrams for my film making, and Scott McCloud for my comics)

So when you go on a road trip with your family, just bring your iPod with some TED talks downloaded, and listen for a good hour.

Have a frantastic day!


Sam

A Note on Violence, and the Gun That Triggers it

I'm fairly late to the party, but recently Jim Carrey decided that he's not going to support "Kick Ass 2". If you haven't seen or heard about Kick Ass, it's a pretty violent movie which focuses on an anti hero, who is basically a teenager with no experience in crime-figthing that goes on a mission to be a superhero. I actually loved the movie and the comic book that it was based on, and this summer when I heard there would be a sequel, I was super excited. Even more excited when I heard Jim Carrey would be in it. I'm actually a huge Jim Carrey fan, and have watched all his movies, interviews, stand up comedies, and videos. But I just can't stand his statement and arrogance to not support the movie because he thinks the movie would trigger violence, leading to elementary school shootings and such.

Chloe Grace Moretz, who plays Hit Girl in the film, spoke against Jim Carrey. "It's a movie," Moretz recently told a reporter. "If you are going to believe and be affected by an action film, you shouldn't go to see 'Pocahontas' because you are going to think you are a Disney princess." If a violent movie influences you to hurt others, you were a psychopath way before watching the movie. Something was bound to trigger you either way. Mark Millar, the guy who wrote the comic book, also shared his opinions on Jim Carrey's decision. "For your main actor to publicly say, 'This movie is too violent for me' is like saying, 'This porno has too much nudity. We'll have to go and see this now.'

  Besides, Kick-Ass involves comic violence in which vigilantes kill bad guys. Surely a film that involves the torture of innocents, like the main character, is more of a concern. Anyways, maybe I'm making too much of a big deal. Jim Carrey is an amazing actor, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with his opinions. It's the exactly like the Clint Eastwood situation. I think people these days just need to focus on the work itself, not anything else, and not judge the movie because the actors spoke against it, or because it's coincidental that a terrible shooting happened during the movie's production, or because the director has different political views.

I'm getting a little too far from the topic (like most of my blog posts) but I think the bottom line is well stated by a reddit comment "the bottomer line is that Jim Carrey is a known bipolar whose emotions fluctuate greatly. That's part of what makes him such an amazing character and actor. In short, to an extent, the dude is crazy. Disagree with him but don't hate him for it. It's his view point even if it's not mainstream or even politically correct."

I hope you watch Kick Ass. It's pretty violent though.

Have a good day,
Sam

An Excuse to Playing Video Games

If your parents ever tell you to stop playing so many video games, just show them this article. I did. One thing's for sure, video games have really enhanced my procrastination techniques.

Writing Prompts/Sentences

The worst part of writing almost anything, especially fictional stories, is the beginning. You have to try to make it simple, smart, original, interesting, and make your audience wanting for more in one sentence or two. No pressure, right? Well, I have made it easy for you, my friend. I will give you a really good starter and you get to write the story. One of my newest personal hobbies is taking a good starter and thinking of the millions of possibilities the story could be shaped and written. So, without further ado, here is a list of some awesome sentences that could make a good story.

•   “Samantha always felt awkward talking to friends at their own funerals”

•   “Harvey was insane, but he wasn't hurting anybody”

•   “She dreamed of black birds up on the clear blue sky” 

•   “I would like to apologize for my behavior thus far.”

•   “It wasn’t much- but it was everything”

•   “It was a little rock, just like any other floating through space.”

•   “As the stranger stepped into the town of Silari, the wind and the desert started whispering Alizee's name.”

•   “Besides the sound of bacon sizziling the room was silent. Just six months ago a silent room this close to the hallway was hard to come by.”

•   "Mr. John Warren just wanted to eat his sandwich."

•   "They say your whole life flashes before your eyes when you die. What bullshit.”

•   “The nuclear flash burnt a hole into one of Albert's retinas, which was fortunate, because he had been searching in vain for a place to hide the secret formula for the perfect martini."

•   "Long fingernails impatiently tapped against the wooden window frame."

•   “Nothing is free: warmth costs what the fire burns.”

•   “In the face of an unanswerable question, some need an unquestionable answer.”

•   “One morning, Don Pedro came to understand there is no distance like the lack of it.”

•   “Elizabeth, I killed daddy.”

•   “When the hardest person to live with is yourself, how much more are you willing to take?”

•   “Receipts filled his pockets, like tokens to his regrets spelled out in numbers.”

I hope that’s enough to get you started on writing short stories. And in case I don’t see ya, good morning, good evening, and good night! (Truman show really is a great movie. Highly recommend watching it)

Disclaimer: I didn't make up all of these. Some are mine, some of them are from books, poetry, movies and the internet.