In Which Georgie Remembers Why She Wants to Direct Film

Just when you think the world has truly gone under and turned their back on God. Just when you think there is nothing humanly possible to help those around you. Just when everything looks completely and utterly lost, you find things like this.

The fact that Carrie Underwood even chose to sing this song surprises me (albeit in a rather... interesting choice of dress). It makes me wonder who will watch this and listen to those words? Who will close the page as soon as they hear the first line? Who in the audience was listening to the message of how great Thou art? Did she realize she could affect hundreds, if not thousands of people by singing this? Did she realize that children are watching her, looking up to her, waiting for her next move?

I just finished reading a book called Harry & Frodo: Understanding Visual Media and its Impact on Our Lives. While rather redundant, it did make clear to me once again, just how much media has an impact on our lives. It affects us more than most people would think. With this renewed realization, I was reminded why I want to make movies. Why I want to make good movies. So much could be accomplished in that field. So many people reached. It doesn't even have to have blaring Christian themes. Just a movie with good morals would be nice for once. With a hero that you can learn from.

Then again, it's not that easy to get yourself in a position to be that kind of an influence. Even if I were to get the money to make a movie, it doesn't mean anyone would watch it. I've told myself this a thousand times, and yet I keep hearing a little voice out of nowhere, "but what if they did?"

I'd like to think Carrie Underwood's standing ovation was due to the fact that she was willing to stand on that stage and sing about a God who has been rejected by society, not just because she sang it like a... well... country star. I believe this youtube video can change lives, if that's the plan God has for it. I believe a film about a person with the faith of a mustard seed, would make an impact on someone out there, and in the end, if it brought just one person a step closer to Christ, my goal will have been reached.

In Which Georgie Wins a Frenzy

When I had a free moment today the first thought that came to my mind was scriptwriting. How many pages I could get in before something else arrested my time. There was only one problem with that.

Sam and I were faced with this graphic yesterday night. I was un-able to write any more pages, because there were no more pages to write. The script has ended at a total of 108 pages. This script that is, because now that we've been bitten by the bug, there is no way it's our last one.

In Which Georgie Discovers The Day of the Week

I used to wonder how on earth someone could not know what day of the week it was.

"Is this Tuesday, or Wednesday?"

I would look at them skeptically and wonder why you would even need to ask that question. Did you completely skip Tuesday? Did you just return from time travel, unsure how much time you spent away? Yesterday was Tuesday. Tomorrow's Thursday. Duh, it's Wednesday.

Then, of course, I always heard people saying the only way they could remember what day it was, was by thinking of the things that were happening that week. Grandma's denture fitting on Monday. Ferdinand's didgeridoo recital on Tuesday. Clementine's initiation into Knit's of the Round Table on Wednesday. On and on.

Things have changed since then though. All week I've been confused as to what day it was. Actually, I even got May and July mixed up. I'm pretty sure the only reason I know what month it is, is due to the fact that I've been writing a screenplay. That's got to mean ScriptFrenzy, and SF takes place in April.

Speaking of ScriptFrenzy, Sam and I have reached 84 pages. Since we've run out of plot, things have kind of been rambling along. Interesting tid-bits we weren't expecting popping up here and there. We have no idea where this whole thing is going, but we do know we only have 16 pages left of the challenge. We also know The Romantic Plot Trasher will not be winning any Academy awards.

Anyway, here I am. Only knowing what day tomorrow is because I get to go in and find out about that wonderful thing where dentists rip the big kid teeth that are supposed to give you wisdom from your head. Duh, tomorrow's Thursday. Oh... wait.

Weston

If you haven't checked out this months questions for Beautiful People I would encourage you to do so, and maybe think about joining us! It's a really awesome way to learn more about your characters. Your beautiful creations.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about check out this post to discover all the answers to any questions you've ever had in your life. Okay... maybe not. However, it will answer any questions you may have about Beautiful People.

This month I'll be answering the questions on my character Weston. A little background information for you, Weston is considered a rather nerdy fellow. This may be due to his superpower of being able to hear voices from the past. History was his favorite subject, although he also thought calculus and physics were pretty cool too. He loves Exie, but never really gets the chance to tell her about it.

Not seeing him yet? Need an image? Me too.

Weston Fallyn by GeorgiePenn featuring a cap hat

Okay, here we go.

How old is he?

Twenty-seven.

What does he do in his spare time?

Read, and I'm not talking electronically, like everyone else does in his world. Oh no, he prefers the feel of a real book, paper, ink, leather binding if he can find it. He likes to do that, and hang out with his four best friends.

Does he see the big picture, or live in the moment?

This is kind of a difficult questions for this guy. While he looks forward and sees the big picture, he learns through the course of the novel that things don't always turn out just like you thought they would. So, to begin with, yes, but he later learns to live in the moment as well and enjoy life while you've got what God has given you. Don't put things off to long.

Is he a perfectionist?

No, not really, he likes things to be done right, but he doesn't obsess over getting it perfect.

What does his handwriting look like?

Not to small, not to big, slightly slanted, and squished together.

Favorite Animal?

A platypus. I just decided that.

Does he have any pets?

Not really, his siblings do, and he helps out with them quiet a bit, but he doesn't have any of his own.

Does he have any siblings, how many, and where does he fit in?

He has eight siblings actually, two brothers and six sisters. He's the second oldest. There is one year difference between him and his older brother, and then a five year difference between him and his younger sister so the majority of his siblings are much younger then he.

Does he have a life verse and if so, what is it?

I've never really thought of a verse for him, but he does have a song, Higher Window, by Josh Groban.

Favorite writing utensil?

Anything he happens to find laying around, normally a stubby little pencil with no eraser.

Beautiful People - April

Greetings, and welcome to the second post for Beautiful People! If you signed the linky last month, you're awesome, and please feel free join us again this month! If you didn't, and have no idea what I'm talking about, read on.

Once a month Sky and I will be posting a list of 10 questions for you to answer about your characters. You can use the same character every month, or choose a new one for each set of questions. Your call. You can answer all the questions, just one, or however many you have the time and energy to answer. Just go for it and have fun.

So, lets cut to the mustard. Here are April's questions.

1. How old is he/she?

2. What does he/she do in his/her spare time.

3. Is he/she see the big picture, or live in the moment?

4. Is he/she a perfectionist?

5. What does his/her handwriting look like? (round, slanted, curly, skinny, sloppy, neat, decorative, etc)

6. Favorite animal?

7. Does he/she have any pets?

8. Does he/she have any siblings, how many, and where does he/she fit in?

9. Does he/she have a "life verse" and if so what is it?

10. Favorite writing utensil?

Thanks to Emily and Lily for submitting this months questions over on Sky's blog!

So, pick a character, answer the questions, and have fun!

Lessons to be Learned Within 57 Pages

FADE IN

Two weeks ago tomorrow, my Sam and I started writing our very first script. Ever.

We decided to try for 50 pages by the end of this month. Today we reached 57 pages. In just those pages we've already learned a great deal.

1. We're in love with screenwriting.

2. It doesn't take as long to write one page, as it does to write 750 words.

3. One man can accidentally be turned into two, but still be one person. (Don't ask)

4. It's very easy to have a lack of connection between co-authors.

5. Nine year old boys can pop out of nowhere and completely steal your heart.

6. It is possible to keep on top of editing/novel writing while doing Script Frenzy.

7. Flashbacks can be either awesome, or a pain.

8. We now know what terms like "slugline," "V.O.," "O.S.," "Int.," and "Ext" mean.

Without actually confirming it with each other, we're shooting for 100 pages by the 30th. The only problem is, we've run out of the resources we were going off of. We had started to write our script, basing it off of a story we were writing together. We've reached the end of what we had written in novel form.

Somehow, I don't think we'll have to much of a problem coming up with the rest of the plot. After all, that's one thing that doesn't change from novel to script. In the end, they both just tell a story.

FADE OUT

The Beautiful King

I'm not a fan of Bethany Dillon. However, I am a fan of Kurt Russell and Kris Kristofferson. Put those guys together and I get Dreamer.

I really like the movie. I adore this song. Most of all I love the fact that I have my own beautiful King. Willing to leave the comfort of His Kingdom to fight for victory. Talk about love.

Alice - Then & Now

I've been reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland lately, and loving it! I've seen the original Disney movie, and the new one is one of my favorites, but I've never actually read the book completely.

The Dormouse had closed its eyes by this time and was going off into a doze; but on being pinched by the Hatter, it woke up again with a little shriek, and went on: "that begins with an M, such as mouse-traps, and the moon, and memory, and muchness -- you know you say things are 'much of a muchness' -- did you ever see such a thing as drawing of a muchness!"

This book has a lot of fun quotes, and I've been laughing through the whole thing.

"If you knew time as well as I do," said the Hatter, "you wouldn't talk about wasting it. It's him."

It's interesting to see, as always, what parts of the book they incorporated into the movie, and how the characters have changed over the years. I still love the Hatter, all versions. Alice on the other hand, I find her highly annoying in the book, while I adore her in the 2010 film.

"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,

"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.

See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!

They are waiting on the shingle - will you come and join the dance?

Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, will you join the dance?

Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, wo'n't you join the dance?

"You can really have no notion how delightful it will be

When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"

But the snail replied "Too far, too far!", and gave a look askance--

Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.

Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.

"What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied.

"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.

The further off from England the nearer is to France--

Then turn not place, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.

Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, will you join the dance?

Will you, wo'n't you, will you, wo'n't you, wo'n't you join the dance?"

Through the Looking-Glass is next.

We're Just Us

Given a camera and an entire Saturday with no plans, two best friend's will most likely grab their guitars and shoot some photos.

That is, if those best friends are anything like Fin and I.

Of course, that isn't possible.

Because there is no one like Fin and I.

We're just us.

And that's that.

Writing Updates

Although I posted the other day saying Sam and I were going to tackle Script Frenzy, we still weren't 100% positive if we would. We knew for sure this evening. The answer was yes. We were going to.

One small thing has changed, however. With both of us being insanely busy this month, we decided to go with the Young Writer's Program. Our goal is 50 pages by April 30. To start with at least. It could very easily grow depending on how well this goes.

Once again, you can keep up with our progress on our joint profile: pippinandsam. I'll also be updating here from time to time.

As for the rest of my writing... more to the point, as for The Way We Think (NaNoWriMo novel of 2010) things are going rather slowly. My goal to finish second draft is still set for June 1, but I think it's going to be a lot harder from here on out. I've reached the point where my plot wasn't thought out quiet as well and things were just kind of meshed together in order to get me those 50,000 words. I'm not really sure how I'm going to strengthen these weak areas, and the thought is daunting me. Put simply, I've got writers block, or editors block if you like.

I've reached 50,414 words in this draft though, and I'm not going to let a little thing like writer's block hold me back. I'm hoping a little brainstorming, a lot of sugar, and an over-active imagination will be able to figure something out in the near future. If not... I'm not sure what I'll do.