Hey Bro!

Day 184

Did you know that my sister Jennifer is also a writer?

Many years ago she wrote a book affectionately called "Hey Bro."

My parents divorced back in 1987 and I moved with my mom to the United States from Canada leaving my dad and my sister behind. Now this was way before e-mail and internet and the only way we could contact each other was on the phone and through snail mail. And one time I got an interesting package in the mail from my sister Jennifer. In it was a copy of "Hey Bro." (the only copy in existence), a book written for me by my sister.

My sister has always been creative. Back in the day we used to have a lot of fun playing together. Even though there was an age difference and she was a girl, that didn't stop us from having a lot of fun. I would draw the line when we played with my Star Wars figures and toys and she would make Han Solo and Princess Leia make out. But we always played games (Pay Day, Full House) and had a hoot together. I also remember drawing funny pictures (like Battlestar Galac-ducka) in Church and always wanting to sit by that old man that had a horrible voice so we could laugh at him. So it was hard leaving my dad and sister behind.

Her book was just as funny. She related experiences of working and being bored to death. She worked at the time at Sears Optical. Her biggest pet peeve was people who entered the shop a few minutes to closing time and were browsing for glasses.

Luckily we were only separated for just a few years before she moved down with her family. Sadly though, she never wrote a follow-up to her book. But I would rather have her here instead of up in Canada. More than a fair trade I think.

This blog has been brought to you by the letter "A" (for awesome) and the letter "S" (for sister).

Winning Ain't Easy

Day 182

It is hard to believe that it is May 1st already. I am glad though, May is usually one of my favorite months. Spring is definitely here, lots of cool movies come out, more family activities, Black and White Days (I'll cover that in another blog), Memorial Day and a ton of other fun stuff.

It has only been May for 12 hours and already May is starting out on a good step. Last month I participated in ScriptFrenzy. It was a writing challenge where I write a 100 page script (movie, TV, musical, comic) in a month.

And yesterday I crossed the finish line at 102 pages so that means I won!

It was a lot of fun, much more fun than I thought it would be. I have never written a script before, I tried one time and found the whole thing intimidating. It was a lot more work than I thought but this time I used an online script program than made the whole thing painless. The more I worked with the program the easier and then the more fun it became.

It was a total vanity project. I wrote a Marvel comic book based on the return of my favorite character Banshee and it dealt with the Canadian superhero team Alpha Flight set during the events of Dark Reign. Like I said, pure vanity.

I did learn a couple of things. I had plotted most of this comic months before and that really helped out a lot. And the times it became difficult was when I had no idea where the story was going to go. But once I figured out how to end it, it was just a fun matter of getting from Point A to Point B. Next time I do this I will make sure that I have all of it plotted out in advance. I also appreciate those writers that write with a large cast of characters. It was hard making sure that they all had some face time and there were a few times where I totally forgot them completely.

What I enjoyed the most was reading up on these characters and doing some research. All of the characters I used had some sort of history together and it was a hoot reconnecting some of them. And some of the characters I used were long forgotten people and it was a lot of fun bringing them back and making themselves useful.

I am glad that it is over. Doing this and my blog really zapped a lot of my time but I felt it was important for me to learn. I would love to be a writer and it is these exercises that help out a lot. You do learn quickly what you are capable of and what you do rather well along with what your weaknesses are.

I HIGHLY encourage anyone that has a story to say or wants to try their writing skills to do this challenge next year. You won't regret it and you will feel that you accomplished something. Also keep in mind that the next NaNoWrMo is coming up this November. Get thinking about a story and get it ready for a month of hard work, pulling your hair out and writing! Seriously folks, if you have always wanted to write, try these out. You will not regret it!

List-Mania: What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

Day 139

As you can tell from the title, this week's List-Mania involves what I wanted to be when I grew up. Unfortunately I am still growing (more horizontally than vertically) and I have not yet accomplished what I thought I was setting out to do. Maybe one day, I still think I am young. That's got to count for something right?

5) Tornado Chaser
I would love to a professional Tornado Chaser. Tornadoes really freak me out but at the same time I am captivated by their sheer power and beauty. I dream about tornadoes all the time, at least once a month. I love to watch documentaries about twisters but I cannot watch them alone. I think I have a real fear here, I cannot even look at pictures of them without getting a deep-seated fear. I just might have to add this to my Bucket List and go on a tornado chasing tour. There is only one way to conquer my fear.

4) Sports Journalist
When I was attending Utah State University I was set in majoring in Broadcast Journalism. I would love to add color commentary and analyze football, the NFL in particular. I have not finished school but would like to eventually but I think the chances of landing this dream job has passed me by. So now I will just be intent in making comments before my favorite sportscaster does. Ask Kristy and my mom, I do it all the time.

3) Singer
I love to sing. But I am not a great singer. I can carry a tune in a bucket but my range is not that super. One day I will take some voice lessons and try to improve my voice. I had a minor role in a local musical which was a lot of fun and I would try out for if that theatre was still around. I think it would be so satisfying to perform in front of a large audience. It's too bad I just don't have the voice. I think it would be so much fun to tour the world sharing such a cool talent. But that is the key, I don't have the talent.

2) Radio DJ
When I was growing up I wanted to be Dr. Johnny Fever. I watched WKRP in Cincinnati religiously (and not just for the hot Loni Anderson) because I wanted to be that guy. Privately I would set up my tape recorders and make my own Top 10 list and countdown the music. I still would love to do this and I would want to broadcast my own show. The closest I came to this was I recorded three different radio commercials with my acting teacher for a local car repair shop. They aired for a couple of years here in Cache Valley.

1) Writer
Now this I can still do. I love to write, I have always liked to write. I still have my collection of stories I wrote in grade school and on through high school. I think it would be fun to write a comic book and my friend Joel and I. And I can proudly say that I have written a novel that I just need to publish. So I guess I could call me a writer but it would be nice if I got paid for it.