Flock

This rat-race, we call life, seems to have an ever-increasing stranglehold on my time. I’ve been trying to find ways to effectively juggle my work, family and writing without negatively impacting on my health or responsibilities. Historically, writing is the first thing to go, since my muse isn’t likely to fire or yell at me, but I am always on the lookout for tools that enable me to get more done in less time.

I found Flock not too long ago when I was browsing Treehugger. It is a handy browser built on Mozilla Firefox technology that allows you to easily access “social” features. It’s like seeing Firefox wearing a dazzling frock. Many of Firefox’s helpful extensions, like firebug, ietab, the UK dictionary and the html validator, also work in this browser.

You’ll notice that I’ve created this post from Flock’s blog feature. The post window opens separately from the browser, so you can type up your post during the day. Perfect for those two-minute tea gulp breaks. You can also easily choose to post between two blogs without ever having to access the sites.

The other features that I find particularly helpful are the RSS feed column and web clipboard. Drag and drop any RSS feed you encounter on a website into the feeds column. You’ll be able to quickly scan the headlines of your favourite blogs and then only access the posts that are relevant to you. If you don’t have time to read an article, that’s easily solved. Simply select the article and drag it into the web clipboard until you have time to read it.

Voila! Time saved without losing out on any valuable lessons and insights.

Crammed full of other fun and funky features, this browser very quickly became my default and favourite. The only minor problem I have is the handling of the CSS on certain sites like Stepcase Lifehack. My home browser renders some fonts incorrectly so that they are barely legible. I’m sure in time I’ll figure out how to fix that.

I have no problem recommending this great new browser to others, and can’t wait to see what else it has planned. The Eco Edition includes many preloaded links and feeds of environmental interest.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: software

Online reading and thought

Linked via Writing for the Web, two fascinating articles on how we read online and how it affects our very thought processes:

Lazy Bastards: How we read online
Is Google making us stupid?

I’ll confess that I find myself skimming far more these days than I ever did 8 years ago, when I first had steady access to the web. I used to read everything online in great detail, now I find it a chore. I find myself wanting  to print all articles that I want to “remember”, which isn’t always practical since there is so much good and interesting content released on an almost daily basis and ink is a luxury these days.

Perhaps we need a new school of reading.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: links

Starting with feedback

For those who know me, I don’t think it comes as a big shock that I have a soft spot for new writers. I had my own negative experiences over my writing when I was a young teen, so I’ve always hoped that I could encourage a young/new writer to keep going, rather than throwing their hands in their air and hiding their imagination under a rock.

I’ve learned a few things in my “old” age:

a) Anyone can develop the skills of a writer if it is what they truly want to do
b) No one’s opinion is final - sometimes, not even your own

PDF screenplays

PDF screenplays

A new site with the noble mission statement of providing the best quality screenplays, teleplays, treatments and comic scripts for your educational needs. Highly recommended.

* sadly, due to various cease and desist letters and server issues, this particular site is currently unavailable

Poderiffic

I’ve been seeking out more and more podcasts, specifically geared towards creativity, creative blocks and even meditation, in my latest attempts to unblock the ol’… uhm whatever shakra, eye or muse is packed behind a concrete wall.

This weekend brought me another podcast that featured a speaker I had heard once before on The Writing Show with Paula B. Jurgen Wolff is a writer, psychologist and all-round informative guy who tackles these and other issues. His thoughts really make a great listen.

I find listening to podcasts dangerous because I really want to run out and buy all of their books. I’m not quite the starving artist, but I am sure that would be a quick way to become one.

Jurgen Wolff’s talk with LifeHack
Jurgen Wolff’s talk with Paula B

Also found in my travels, is The Writing Challenges, from Warwick university.

I sometimes find it easier to write when I have no personal investment in what I’m writing. I am a part-time copywriter in my day job and I don’t tend to stare at blank pages there. I’m trying to apply this “get it done” attitude to my normal writing. I’ve downloaded a copy of Q10 and am freewriting my scripts/prose in it without worrying about structure or plot holes or even spelling. Once I have the shell written, I plan on importing them into my beloved Sophocles or *gasp* MicroSoft Works (though I am looking at alternatives for my prose, such as Ywriter - any other suggestions?) and killing the darlings from there.

Of Genre

Writer here, write now is posting an interesting series of posts on Genres.

For some reason, it still makes me want to run out and buy Save the Cat. I tend to mish-mash my genres together, which is why a couple of my spec plans are stalling. I have two movie ideas that both started out as a serious exercise in both genres (horror and science fiction), but since then, I’ve actually wanted to make them more tongue in cheek. All you need to do is look at my DVD collection to see that I don’t often do serious: Galaxy quest, Tank Girl, 5th Element, Batman Returns, Spaced Invaders, Johny Mnenomic - not to mention that I’d follow Joss Whedon around like a osmotic sponge puppy if I could. Farscape has ruined me. I want laughs amid my pain, darn it!

Unknown screenwriter

I’ve mentioned briefly my creative blocks/funk and haven’t really gone further than that. Another writer, however, has opened up about it and encourages you to do the same:

http://www.unknownscreenwriter.com/

A really great blog with a depth of information on screenwriting. So if you are an expert on de-Eeyoreing someone, please encourage this writer to keep blogging.

Slow train

My cunning plan to enlist other screenwriters to the “Screenwriter’s workbook” exercise has so far hit bumps on the rail. I simply don’t know enough writers who are a) willing to share a writing process with others, b) don’t find it useful enough, c) too busy. All are valid reasons really, but I was hoping a small group of us could set sail and keep each other on track.

Luckily, I have enlisted one other writer so far, so once I’m sure that no one else is coming aboard, we’ll both start and hopefully play cheerleader, while teaching ourselves and others to be disciplined, overcome creative hurdles and actually finish what we’ve started.

Kill a darling to save a life

Years ago, I wrote a novel. It has since languished in my drawer. I’ve always been conflicted by it. It has serious flaws. The beginning starts off well enough, the middle meanders and the ending falls flat with an audible thud. Reading Syd Field’s Screenwriter’s workbook last night, I realised, that I had in fact been writing the wrong story. I introduce a main character and stay with him for half of the book, before switching the focus elsewhere. It just doesn’t work and I now have fresh ideas to go forward with.

But, it also reminded me of what I’ve known for a long time. Scriptwriting is an incredibly helpful form to know if you are a novelist. It teaches you to be very specific and structured when bringing stories to life. This is a tremendous boost when you are stuck.

So I’ve decided on a little experiment. As I work through the Screenwriter’s workbook, I’m going to let everyone see my mistakes and shortcomings too. Privately, I’ll be writing an original screenplay, but publicly on this blog I will be writing a Dark Angel TV movie (since there is absolutely no way that would ever get made).

Why Dark Angel? It was a short-lived science fiction TV show that got cancelled before it hit its stride. What’s worse, I thought the last episode was one of the weakest and most clichéd of the final run of episodes and it ended on a cliffhanger. I can’t do much about the clichés but I can tie off the cliffhanger, and completely deplete an imaginary budget with action scenes.

WordPress impressions

I like wordpress. I like the simplicity and cuteness. WordPress, however, does not like me. I am constantly experiencing “connection has been reset” errors over both Firefox and IE. Not being a technical whizz, this has me stumped. It’s not simply logging in that causes a hiccup - I can’t read anyone else’s site either. I suppose if I can’t get this problem solved, then this will be a rather empty blog.