Veva Las Vegas!
So here I am, sitting at the Seattle’s Best Coffee shop, Micheal Jackson blasting in my ears, and trying not to stare at this guy sitting in the same exact chair as this morning; coffee cups clustering his table; most likely playing World of the War Craft. Ugh! I guess I will tell you the reason I am in Vegas. Well it is my BIG summer trip, and yeah, that’s about it….
So (to my displeasure, because my father won’t pay for Internet service in the room), I am sitting in this coffee shop, using the Internet.
How stupid is that! Internet is FREE anyways! But no! If I want to use the Internet in my hotel room, I have to pay 12 bucks! THE INTERNET IS IN THE AIR(or something like that)! So why do I have to walk a mile (so I think) just to use something I could get for free anyways. UGH!
Otherwise, this trip has been amazing. I got to meet Youtube sensations at a Starbucks, and their father told me to go after my dreams.
So here is the proposition for you! I really want to write, a novel, no copying authors; doing Fanfiction. I want this to be my story, my creation. But I really need ideas. Which is where you come in: I need your ideas. Nothing mythical, or impossible. Something with a story line, something people would read.
I would love the help!
Yours truly from Fabulous Las Vegas,
Story
You’re right, Story. The Internet should be free. I don’t think we’re too far away from the day when high speed Internet is available wirelessly everywhere. I think they already have it in some cities like San Francisco.
Holy cow! A novel! I really want you to write a novel.
I have some ideas that I think might help you get started, but you might not like them because I don’t think it is quite what you want to hear.
When I read a novel, Story, I don’t really care about the genre or the type of plot or even what the story is all that much. I read a lot of different works of fiction (and creative non-fiction) in a variety of styles and genres. The “plot” or “idea” of a novel is rarely what makes me interested in it.
There’s only one thing that matters to me when I read a piece of writing–is the author telling me something personal?
I want to read writing that comes from a personal place–that is important to the author. Now I don’t mean that it is about the author, just that the author feels strongly about it. The best works of fiction don’t just tell you an interesting story, but draw you into the mind of the author. You walk around a while in their psyche and know their thoughts and feelings. If your writing comes from an authentic place, it will be fascinating no matter what the plot is. If what you write matters to you, it will matter to your reader.
Instead of trying to think about your novel from the top down (what is the plot, what happens in the novel), I think it would be interesting to think about the novel from the inside out (what effect do you want the novel to have on the reader, what concepts do you want your readers to think about).
I think you should try journaling for a while. Keep a record of your thoughts and feelings. Maybe the questions that follow will help you come up with ideas for your novel.
What kinds of people are interesting to me?
What kind of personality traits do I love?
What kind of personality traits do you hate?
Who are the people in my life who are most imporant to me?
Who are the people in my life who are most interesting to me?
Who are the people in my life who make me the most interesting?
What experiences in my life are the most meaningful?
What has happened in my life that has happened in no one else’s?
What has happened in my life that has happened to other people?
What is the most interesting thing that has happened to me in my life?
What makes me unique?
What ideas interest me?
What ideas are mysterious to me?
What ideas do I find irresistable?
What do I think about when I daydream–when my mind wanders?
What do I think about when just as I’m falling asleep?
What do I dream about?
What do I think about on a long, quiet car trip when the car is warm and I’m really bored?
What do I believe?
What do I believe that everyone agrees with?
What do I believe that everyone disagrees with?
What do I believe that makes me excited?
What do I believe that makes me depressed?
What is the most important thing I believe?
Those are just some ideas to get you started. I think an interesting way to get started on your project is just to keep a journal. Don’t necessarily try to start drafting a novel, just write about some of the questions above (or other questions or ideas you think of) every day. Dedicate a part of every day (five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, 5 hours, whatever) to free writing in your journal like we do at camp. I think you’ll be suprised at some of the ideas you get while you’re engaged in the manual act of putting pen to paper.
If you try this, I think an idea will come to you. And rather than trying to bend an idea to suit your will, an idea will evolve from your writing naturally. Instead of taking a hammer and trying to pound your writing into a novel, your novel will sort of carve itself the way a river carves a stone. Eventually, your idea will catch light and you can turn your journaling time into drafting time.
I’m really excited. Please keep us posted about your progress!
Ian,
So I got your comment (and I read it bunches of times.) so anyways, thanks for all the great ideas, I will keep them in mind. But right now me and my best friend are focusing on making movies; not stupid, “Oh a camera, lets make funny videos of ourselves!” But serious, professional movies (for youtube). But I need help in this too. I have a pretty good editing software built into my computer (really its just basic stuff), but like I said I want this to be professional. So do you have any recomendations to what the best editing software is?
Thanks,
Story
P.S. Also, is there such thing as a music mixer, remixer, something like that to remix music? If so please let me know!
Wow, seems like you have a lot you’re willing to undertake! Good luck on your novel and other video projects. I tried writing a novel last year for NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) and it was extremely difficult to think of something without having the thought in my head, “This will be compared to another work of literature or someone will think I stole this idea!” In the end, I just thought to myself, “Almost everything has been done in this day and age – where the creativity comes in is how you execute and present that idea.” That’s what I think when my paranoia settles in. Like Twilight, vampires are overrated, but she made something new and exciting about it.
As for movies and editing software, though expensive but a professional program is Sony Vegas Pro 8. There is also Adobe Fireworks that is as close to professional as you can get for a regular computer. As for music mixing, I have no idea what this program does, but I’ve heard of Audacity. It’s some music program but I have no clue what it’s capabilities are. You can find it on download.com and read further into it but I doubt that’s what you’re looking for. -shrugs-
I hope some of that helps! Best of luck.
~Nicole
Nicole is right. Audacity is a great program for editing sound and music, and it’s completely free.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
What are you using to edit your videos? I’ve used Adobe Premiere Pro before, but it is a pricey software suite. Windows Movie Maker will get the job done, basically, if you’re using a Windows machine. I’ve never used Mac software before. There are some freeware video editing programs, but I’ve never used them. Try googling “video editing open source” and see if you can find one you like.
I am _extremely_ excited to hear you’re interested in directing movies. There are a couple of student film festivals around the region for you to be a part of when you get one done. I can help you find the appropriate submission info when the time comes.
In the meantime, post what you’re working on here. I’d love to take a look at it.
Oh, I forgot to say. Making movies is hard. Incredibly hard. For your first few projects, don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. Keep the projects short so you’ll have time to complete them. Don’t try to shoot something feature length on your first go round. Try to make the best 5 minute movie you can and learn from the process. Pick something you can shoot in a short amount of time so you can have the luxury of shooting, editing, then re-shooting what you aren’t satisfied with.
And don’t get discouraged. Keep trying. We live in a time when cinema is more accessible than ever before. If you love making movies, make movies. Collect the tools and skills you’ll need now and in time you’ll be a master filmmaker.