When Writing Can Literally Kill You

I have never considered myself a "real" artist even though that is a lie.  Many if not most artists draw their stuff to create either from the dark side of their emotional palate or the entire thing.  While I do draw from all my experience, I cannot function without some stability.

We have no apartment and trying to find one was so much stress that combined with unemployment plus a theft plus a betrayal from one if our would be friends in Miami caused me to have the closest thing to a nervous breakdown I am actually capable of having.

Right now, there is just no energy for it.  Ignoring my hatred of lost work, there is also the fact that I kind if have to fool myself six or seven different ways to write this and all my capacity for self deception needs to focus on finding a job right now.

So with heavy heart I have to give up nanowrmo this year.   Next year if I have a job and we have a place.

This may be the last update for a while

Letters to Rhombus 2

Rhombus answers more letters from fictional people. Write a real one.  Send it to redanvilcreative@gmail.com

Check out this episode!

NaNoNaNooooo

So.

This is a life goal.

But I've tried this already and failed miserably both times, once was semi official even if I didn't register and the other time was with Tossing Grenades at Windmills earlier this year and I have been stuck stuck stuck stuck stuck on chapter 12 for months taking victory in working on a few words (emphasis) WORDS a day.

Nanowrimo is 50000 in one month.  Assuming at least 5 bad days, that's 25 good days at 2000 words each.  2000 words is something that I have written in an hour....

But...

BUT

The first time was so bad (as in the quality of the work) I actually stopped and wrote seven extra pages just murdering my characters again and again in different ways

The second time was much better but Grenademan is my Mickey Mouse....he is FUN to write and chapter 12 is KILLING me....granted, I'm following a script rather than going where my imagination takes me but...

I had hoped to have everything planned out....right now I have just one of three main lines vaguely mapped out with delusions of a second (Really, who REALLY wants to read about a psychopathic vigilante mouse?...maybe if it actually was Mickey Mouse with a stiletto....) and a title...and a vague tie in to a rather interesting french philosopher who liked titles.

I am unemployed at the moment which is draining and even if I get a job there will be no fuel of reserve.  And even though I have writing fans, this just won't FEEL the same as GMVZ....

So ...

I'm insane.

This will likely fail.

We're still going to an event this sunday and I'm likely registering on the site.

To quote the dwarf...

"Small chance of success.  Certain destruction? What are we waiting for?"

[Script] Unfood - Page 30

CONTINUED: 30. BOB (Clicks) FREIGHT That’s not food Bob. BOB (Clicks twice) FREIGHT What? BOB (Clicks) FREIGHT I...(beat) Freight types into the computer a few moments. FREIGHT Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch. Bob doesn’t say anything. FREIGHT I’ll be right down. Oh and Bob? Bob perks up a moment but doesn’t say anything. FREIGHT I apologize. BOB (Clicks amiably) Freight gets up and leaves. INT – CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS – DAY Freight walks in and sees Bob at the chair. He appraises the chair up and down. FREIGHT God damn it Bob, this is the mother load. I owe you a can of oil! BOB (Clicks once happily) (CONTINUED)

[Script] Unfood - Page 29

CONTINUED: 29. BOB (Clicks once loudly with a trumpet sound.) FREIGHT Great. Let’s get to work. BOB (Clicks once) FREIGHT I appreciate the help. SCENE 9 – INT – SHIP – DAY Bob searches around. Montage of Bob seeking in various corridors. Bob does not immediately find anything. Shot three times back and forth between Bob probing various quarters. Freight is happy. Bob looks. Freight is bored. Bob looks. Freight is despondent. There is a noise on the console, while Freight is asleep. He suddenly wakes up, searches around confused for a few moments. Then he suddenly turns to stares at the screen. FREIGHT Bob? BOB (Clicks) FREIGHT Bob! Tell me you found something! BOB (Clicks) FREIGHT Fantastic! What is it? BOB (Clicks) INT – CLOSE SHOT OF THE SCREEN – DAY Bob shows a leather chair. FREIGHT What the HELL? (CONTINUED)

My expidition to Lint Land

So my name is Glerda Dofamaton.  I am administrative assistant ...I am sorry "executive assistant" (with the same pay) to E.P. Blingermeter, who Rhombus has arranged to take over the dead guy/not dead guy's writing blog, but Mr. Blingermeyer is on an expidition involving talking ponies of pastel colors.  So before Rhombus could get Emmit Other or Redwin Tursor, EP said I should just slap something together.

Please note I am not getting paid for this and to me you are fictional so I really don't care about your opinion.   In fact,  when Rhombus explained the whole concept to me I found the idea offensive.   I am real.  You are just shadows on some ghost bridge and really who cares about "stories" anyway.

And Rhombus didn't say what this had to be about so I am writing about this.

....Apparently I have to include some kind of content.  Whatever that means. I am not a writer. 

E.P.'s first expedition was to the place where all the things missing in the dryer go.  Please note,  they dont actually go there.  People just believe they do.  Well, while there were some socks, it was mainly just a lot of lint. Some of the artidacts recovered were worth some money but not many.

What upset me so much was the fact that all if Mr Blingermeyers clothing was covered in cakes of pernicious supernatural lint.  It took six trips to the dry cleaner.

And who do you think had to take care of that? Exactly.

Fairy Tale - Elowyn Wisp

Hello.

For quite some time I have been trying to resurrect a wonderful project I started with some of TC's friends and family members earlier this year to find new fairy tales.  But due to life and a series of other happenings, these got started but were never finished.  These tales were to be released under the Creative Commons License....

The original people involved in this project were TC Ricks, Andrew Greenberg, Greg Sanford, and Julie R Ray.  Others showing interest were Bill Bridges, Josie Burgin Lawson and Fiona Skye.


New Fairy Tales by New Fairy Tales Group is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The original project was to start a story and then turn it around, round robin style with each new author adding to the original story.  There are currently four 'seeds' and I'll be randomly selecting two and pursuing those until done.  Anyone who wants to participate may submit a possible answer to anyone else in the group by the following day...

For example, after I post one of the four seeds here, all written up to this point, anyone on the list can continue and anyone else on the list can vote for the next version they like most.  No one is required to continue it at all, and you may write a continuance under an alias and be added to the group list in this post.  Elsewise, I will write a continuance a week by default until 'done' and then finish at least the first four seeds, maybe more after that if the group so decides.

If you want to join (or leave) the group, email me at redanvilcreative at the google mail.

Anyway, here is one of the four seeds, selected at random.

Check out this episode!

[Script] Unfood - Page 28

CONTINUED: 28. Freight rolls his eyes. He then moves over to a larger box that looks like a sphere filled with rather nasty needles. It might hover, but there is no visible means of propulsion. He seems mildly frightened by it and tosses it to the side. He finds another box marked, “5” and sits down on a pile of boxes to examine it. He is pretty ragged, and sits down to examine the box. He gets a rather silly smile as he pulls Bob out of the box. He finds a set of instructions and slowly leafs through it. He bends down and gazes Bob over for several moments, trying to decide what to do. He finds an on switch. FREIGHT So it says according to this that you have a voice interactive mode. That right? BOB (Clicks and Whistles) FREIGHT So you do? BOB (Clicks) FREIGHT One click for yes, two for no, OK? BOB (Clicks) FREIGHT Great, so you understand me? BOB (Clicks) FREIGHT I’m starving to death. BOB (Clicks twice and makes a slightly sad sound) FREIGHT Well, hey (laughs) I appreciate the sentiment little buddy, but I’m not dead yet. I need your help. (CONTINUED)

I can't write when depressed

To explain why you are getting some content and not others,  I have a backlog of scripts and podcasts.  The situation with my last interview was rather depressing.   I know how artists are supposed to thrive on pain, but I don't.   I will resume as soon as I can.  Hopefully the situation will change by nanowrmo or I will have to skip yet another year.

[Script] Unfood - Page 27

CONTINUED: 27. particularly pleased by what he is finding, but he finds with a large “2” on the side. The one he pulls out looks like a bucket with wheels on the bottom. He finds instructions written in bad Spanish. FREIGHT Este manual es....what the HELL? He goes to the corner and puts the manual up in front of the screen. FREIGHT Computer. Translate this. SHIP’S COMPUTER Unable to translate. FREIGHT Aw come on! This is something my watch can do. SHIP’S COMPUTER I was specifically designed to only perform the minimum specifications of the ship. Standard software packages on most suites are not available due to security concerns. FREIGHT You’re joking. SHIP’S COMPUTER I was not. However, humor is something I do know. I know eight jokes. FREIGHT I don’t want to know. SHIP’S COMPUTER How fat is your mother? FREIGHT Shut up. SHIP’S COMPUTER You are supposed to ask-(interrupted) FREIGHT Abort program. Shut the hell up! (CONTINUED)

Grenademan Vs the Zombies Chapter 12 Part 1

The Circle begins to face challenges in their fight with the Zombies.

Written by TC Ricks

Performed by Rhombus Ticks

Edited by Fiona Skye

Sound Editing Grayson Bergman

Check out this episode!

Grenademan Vs The Zombies is Published

You can now order a copy on amazon or directly from here where I will get more of a royalty.

Enjoy!

[Script] Unfood - Page 26

CONTINUED: 26. KENDRA And leave me alone here? AARON (beat) No. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. (beat) Have you considered (beat) KENDRA No. The captain will get us out. AARON And what if he doesn’t? KENDRA (beat) If it really looks like that isn’t going to happen, I’ll join you. In the meantime, we stick it out. AARON Deal. KENDRA Good. Now go get the shovel. Aaron moves off towards the hovel. Kendra hollers after him. KENDRA The big one! SCENE 8 - INT – MED BAY - DAY Freight pokes at a time chart of his calories. It shows a bar of his calories burned and food consumed, showing only a few days of time left. FREIGHT What? I’m burning more calories looking for food than I’m finding. He puts his hands on his head and thinks a bit, trying to decide what to do. He gets an idea and gets up slowly. INT – CARGO HOLD – DAY The cargo hold has a lot of boxes. It isn’t particularly fancy. In one corner of the room there is a door marked, “Robot Bay.” Freight walks through the doors and spots several more boxes. He reads the side of the boxes not (CONTINUED)

Not forgotten

Things are a bit chaotic.   We will have plenty of interesting stuff very soon.

[Script] Unfood - Page 25

25. INT – MESS HALL – DAY Freight dumps the rat into the creator, humming to himself, wearing a very crude bandage which is obviously bleeding. He smiles in triumph as he eats a hamburger which has slightly more charred bits inside of it. SCENE 7 - EXTERIOR – SHIT WORLD - “DAY” A dark clouded miasma extends into the sky around a farm, two cloaked figures covered in Mud and Shit, work on ugly bulbous plants. AARON I (beat) I can’t take it anymore. KENDRA The captain will get us out. A sound appears on the horizon and they gaze up hopefully. That hopeful expression rapidly becomes one of dread. AARON Oh no. KENDRA Run! Get inside! They both proceed to run towards the hovel. A roaring noise covers the ground around them, as the ship, now covering half the horizon from its size and scope, opens up a number of ports underneath. There is a brief venting of more of the brown gas which seems to cover everything. Then the shit begins to rain down. It covers absolutely everything. The two of them do not make it to the hovel and it knocks them down. They both try to get up only to get knocked down again. A third time they are knocked down, first Aaron, then two more hit Kendra. Just when it looks like they are going to roll over and die, the shit storm stops and they both manage to roll over on their backs, appearing with slight smatterings of shit pouring around them. KENDRA God. Damn. It. AARON That’s it. I’m slitting my wrists. (CONTINUED)

Fun with ACX

So I am all set to upload I, Odyessus the musical  the audiobook to ACX, which is the website that lets it load to audiobooks but it turns out they need the file format broken out by opening credits, closing credits, main product and sample.  It was frustrating to be so near and yet so far.

In other news, I'm getting the proofs for Grenademan Vs the Zombies tomorrow which should be nice and hopefully I'll be able to have my books.  Given that things are a bit tight at the moment, I might be doing some old Red Anvil Productions stuff (The Fate of Inglemia) to earn some extra cash.  The short stories are tempting. I need to put up Unfood but to properly do it each month I need to pay around $65 for Fiona and Rachel to edit and do a cover.  It doesn't sell, and for self promotion (such as it is) novels are much more efficient so I'm working on Tossing Grenades at Windmills the novel again.

You likely noticed an absence of Saved by the Circular file.....I'm not sure what to do with it.  If you have an old story you'd love to hear in podcast form that you wrote, even if it was in high school, let me know and email redanvilcreative@gmail.com.  I'd love to put it up.

We'll be starting the third fairy tale seed on Wed and continuing the second on Friday.

Fun times.

Your Answer (The 500)

A short piece written for a prompt for the 500 website.

by Rhombus Ticks

Sound Editing Grayson Bergmann

Check out this episode!

[Script] Unfood - Page 24

24. INT – CORRIDOR – NIGHT The elevator opens to a corridor. He turns around carefully. He hears some scurrying in the corner and listens in that general direction. INT – CLOSE UP – NIGHT A rat snuffles around in the corner. It finds a small bit of cheese and nibbles on it. INT – CLOSE UP – FREIGHT’S FACE Freight finally sees what it is and is rather disgusted. Then his face slowly becomes resolute. INT – CLOSE UP – RAT Rat continues to nibble, blissfully unawares. INT – CORRIDOR – Freight slowly sneaks up on the rat. INT- CLOSE UP – RAT Rat looks up, concerned. INT – CLOSE UP – FREIGHT Freight smiles maniacally. INT – CORRIDOR – NIGHT Freight draws his blaster. He points it at the rat and shoots it several times, reducing the rat to a crispy critter. He picks up the rat, most of which is now ash. Freight cries in frustration, pounding his hand into the wall; one of which has a sharp spike in it. Freight injures his hand.