A Writer This Way Comes

And...We're Back!!

2009-11-25T14:55:00.010-05:00

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.
- Jonathan Swift

What a hiatus it has been!!

I have an explanation, although not a terribly good one. Last spring (when the last post took place), work got terribly busy - acting, writing, VM, and just about everything else. At the time, I had also begun work on redesigning my website to incorporate both my blog and my acting and writing portfolios.

And then the summer hit, with all those things that summer comes with, like day-long outings (every other day), family trips, the beach, tennis (another blog in need of an explanation...), late nights, adventure parks, 5K races, go-kart racing, shopping, car shows, swimming, trips to the city, trips in general, and on and on and on.

In the midst of all this, The Vigilant Monkey got underway in July. Exciting!! And, more recently, we celebrated our official launch party back on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at Greenhouse in NYC and raised over $600 for Child's Play, a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in their network of over 60 hospitals worldwide =)

Not to mention, we also raised over $1,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and participated in its Out of the Darkness Community Walk in Long Island, NY, held at Old Westbury Gardens.

I also began an ambitious ghostwriting project with an amazing individual in the medical field, as well as continued work on a joint novel with an acclaimed physician out here on Long Island. Of course, I was also still freelancing for the NAVEL Expo team (who recently held their fall event in early November).

Then, as summer was winding down, I was chosen to be the copywriter for Totsy, the premier private shopping network for moms, on the launch of their website.

But wait - there's more!! In August, I made the bold step of purchasing my first Apple product, other than an iPod. I bought myself a 15" MacBook Pro...and fell in love. Naturally, I decided I had to work for Apple. So I applied, and a month later, I was training to be a Specialist at the yet-to-be-opened Manhasset store, the fourth on Long Island. On Saturday, October, 17, 2009, we celebrated our grand opening, and my life has gotten even busier even since.

Okay, okay, we get it, you say, you're a busy writer. Well, yes, but remember that other thing I do? Besides talking a lot...

Acting!! Back in August, I got a supporting role in a short film adaptation of the Metal Gear Solid video game series. And then in October, I was cast as the lead in a two-part film currently shooting in Boston, MA. Oh, and let's not forget the six-week audition technique class I just finished with Jonathan Strauss, casting director of Law and Order: SVU.

I think that's about all the updating you can take and I can give for the moment. But stay tuned, the new www.melissanavia.com is days away...

april reading brings...more reading

2009-04-22T00:24:00.004-05:00

Those who write clearly have readers. Those who write obscurely have commentators.
- Albert Camus

Only a couple of more weeks of April, and already I'm feeling the end-of-semester reading (and writing) crunch, not to mention some books I've just been wanting to read.

Check out four that are topping the list -

1) The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, by Rainer Maria Rilke

Sick in its search of self-awareness, acutely aware of the trauma of modernity, and refreshingly, in a depressing kind of way, poignant - I think I've found my new favorite writer/poet of yore. I've been getting the same feeling I had when I first read Richard Corey by Edwin Arlington Robinson. Published in 1910, it follows Malte, a young Danish nobleman and poet living in Paris, obsessed with death and the deceptiveness of appearances. But aren't we all? The work is semi-biographical, in that Rilke draws from his own childhood and adult years in writing it, which makes the overwhelming sense of anxiety that pervades the book that much more disturbing.

Just a sample of what you'll read...

I don't even know how it is possible for children to get up in the morning, in their bedrooms full of gray-smelling cold, and go to school; who strengthens them, these little hurried skeletons, so that they can run out into the grown-up city, into the gloomy dregs of the night, into the eternal school day, always small, always full of foreboding, always late. I have no conception of the amount of help that is constantly besing used up - p. 213 (trans. Stephen Mitchell)

I prayed to rediscover my childhood, and it has come back, and I feel that it is just as difficult as it used to be, and that growing older has served no purpose at all. - p. 64 (trans. Stephen Mitchell)

2) Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary, by Brandon Mull

Book IV in the series and bound to make me even angrier than the last three, what with it's name alone being too damn clever and perfect for my liking. Click here to read more about it in an archived post of mine.

3) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, by David Allen

A nice woman who was very excited about the dozens of pockets built into a lululemon backpack recommended this book to me. I am looking forward to learning more about this crazy "stress-free" concept...must be some newfangled trend.

4) Film Theory & Criticism, edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen

All film theory. All the time. A must-have addition to the library for any film major.

a poem on easter day

2009-04-12T23:48:00.003-05:00

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.
- Henry Ford

Happy Easter!! My day was just fantastic. It kicked off with one of the more eventful masses I've ever attended (people fainting, lemming-like confusion, hour-long search for boyfriend who was stuck on the other side of the church, the sign of peace being sent via text, stories of people getting locked in bathrooms, etc.). At home, we had a most awesome meal of empanadas, plantains, rice, beans, and soup. Then we divvied up Easter chocolates (peanut butter and chocolate could quite possibly be the most perfect edible match ever). And then we napped!! When we got up, there were movies to watch, Internet to surf, singing to be done, more things to eat, and time to chill.

Faith, family, food, and fun - Easter and alliteration, all wrapped up in one =)

Now to transition to some writing updates...I recently entered yet another writing competition, this time for poetry, sponsored by the Utmost Christian Writers Foundation.

The winning results were posted earlier today. I didn't win.

How fitting, right, that I should find out I didn't win any prizes in a Christian poetry contest on none other than Easter Day =P

While I can't quite see what was so amazing about the poems that did win, I will acknowledge an amount of bias on my part, and let you be the judge. Check out the winners here.

And now check out what I entered. Let me know what you think!!

And If Sleep Should Come

By: Melissa C. Navia

The sun tiptoed in, one morning long ago
Only to find me, young and curious, hunched over an antique, wooden desk
Writing and dreaming, thinking and plotting, stressing and striving
About things I wanted to do, places I had to go, and people I was certain I needed to meet
So on I trudged, with a mad pursuit, as the sun settled in
To watch me in my youthful craze, all excited in a cloud of work and haze
Content to madden me with its warm embrace and soft, yellow glow
Go away, I implored, all too aware of its oppressive gaze
But stay it did, and my eyes began to wander, my pen began to falter
As I looked out the beckoning window to see the people below
Talking and laughing, playing and dancing, strolling and smiling
How I would like to dance, I thought, feeling my resolve weaken
So I snapped up my pen and shut the shade
The sun’s touch quickly starting to fade
Yes, dance I would, until my feet were sore
If only it meant I could work some more!

One day, not long after, I left my work chambers
Armed with my papers, my books, years of work, and the best of intentions
I swung open the front door, stepped out onto the pavement, and began the arduous climb
Up roads and dark alleys, through canyons and the loneliest of earth’s valleys
The sun, too, was there, as I knew it would be, watching and waiting
Just watching and waiting
But pay attention I couldn’t, because people, the masses, the many soon appeared
Cheering and smiling with eyes wide and ears shut, hands clapping, gums flapping
It must be my books, my papers, I concluded, the work done in those years all secluded
And I cannot deny, that a wide grin appeared on my face
Validation, success! I thought, overcome with the sudden desire to rest
Tugging at my tired feet, nipping and scraping, my chest left heavy and oppressed
No! No, I fought back and shook the pestering feeling away
Roads still left to cross—things to do!—no time to waste, not on this or any other day

And with that, the work refused to cease, the frenzy only worsened
Days turned to nights; minutes rolled on, and the hours tumbled with them
Paths untouched, I would clear; earth untouched, I would claim
Buried ruins, I would discover; and for more than this, I would win fame
Endure, urged unseen voices, as I stumbled in the heat, with blistered, wounded feet
And the burdensome sun looked on, brutal and ominous where it hung
Keep going, came the whispers, keep working and cursing, reaching and pursuing
But my head began to nod amidst the prodding and the poking, signs I was subduing
And if sleep should come? asked a man, a traveler I had not seen before
But it never does! was my frenzied response, as my fists dug into the earthen floor
But if it did? he gently persisted, reaching down to pick up my overburdened sack
I would sleep, I whispered, as the land of endless promises—and things to do!—went black

And with that I fell
In a weightless, worry-free spell
Into a deep and endless embrace
Of light, of warmth, of rest, of some strange and awesome grace

What seemed a lifetime later, I sensed the silence of my room
In the stillness I waited, unsure and hesitant, but wonderfully relieved
Feeling that my books and work and wild notions no longer, somehow, burdened me
And then my eyelids fluttered and soon began to open
My conscience filled with light, rendering the shadow, in my head, irrelevant and broken
Was this a dream? I gasped, as I beheld my beckoning window overlooking my own desk
My achievements on the wall, my papers fluttering in the breeze, my silver pen glistening
As the sun filtered in, its warm caress illuminating all, even my newly humbled face
But a dream it could not be, because I had yet to sleep
I mused, as I stretched and skipped—yes skipped!—to fling open the window
And as expected, by some ancient premonition, I saw the traveler I had seen once before
Nodding his head with assurance that I had plenty of years left to do and create and explore
But now it was time to rest, to take better care of nothing and no one else but me
Now it was time to sleep, and with that I had nothing left to do but breathe, smile, and agree

vm: the blog

2009-04-08T01:38:00.002-05:00

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
- Jack London

It's April already, and I can see I have a lot of posting to make up for, especially considering the goal I set for myself in the new year.

A swift kick in the pants it is - two new posts every week, coming right up!!

Let's get back on track with something you should all be excited about -

VM: The Blog @ vigilantmonkey.wordpress.com

Yes, the launch date of our magazine might have been delayed, but we figured we'd get a jump start on making a stamp in the online realm. Right now, the blog will function as a spot to feature writers, articles, links, news, and updates, but once the magazine launches, it will continue on as the main site's trusty sidekick in watchful news and culture reporting.

Let us know what you think of the blog's layout!!

And by us, I mean Alex and me. Tomorrow we're off to the NY Auto Show for the start of two days of press conferences, sneak peeks, fast cars, and free food. Check the VM blog in the near future for recaps and pictures.

Speaking of Alex, he's been doing a far better job of posting on his blog, Autokinesis, and prepping for the loads of auto content VM will soon be featuring. Check out his latest test drives and automotive commentary -

Autokinesis @ alexanderkblog.wordpress.com

And if you're reading this...comment, dammit!!

more stuff to write

2009-03-15T02:28:00.001-05:00

Auteur, yes, but what of?
- Andre Bazin

It's hard not to quote film theorists when all you've been doing for the past three hours is reading film theory. I'm working on a paper discussing Guillermo del Toro's role as auteur in The Devil's Backbone and Pan's Labyrinth. Interesting terrain to cover about a director equally as interesting. It's technically supposed to be a short response paper, but at the rate I'm going, I think it's going to be lengthier.

These days when I'm not writing papers for class (a second one, for another class, is due this Tuesday about Marcel Proust's Swann's Way in relation to one of the psychoanalytic texts we've discussed) I have been occupied with writing health/medical articles, doing research and conducting interviews for the nutrition/medical autobiography I am co-writing, and making some headway with VM. I also submitted my poem for entry into the Utmost Christian Poetry Contest last weekend, and winners will be announced in April.

Stay tuned for news about the official VM blog, aptly titled Vigilant Monkey: The Blog.

Do I sound tired? Way too concise for my normal self?

Maybe because I am exhausted. 2:45 AM will be an early bedtime for me tonight =P

my dad, ancient aliens, and the history channel

2009-03-08T18:00:00.004-05:00

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
- T. S. Eliot

My dad, Luis E. Navia, is going to be on the History Channel!!

He is one of the scholars interviewed for Ancient Aliens, the station's newest special on the ancient astronaut theory. It airs for the first time tonight at 8 PM.

Check out the link below for other upcoming episodes -

Ancient Aliens - Synopsis and Schedule

Leave a comment - let me know what you think!!

hard work and no play

2009-02-28T20:00:00.004-05:00

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.
- Thomas Jefferson

The end of February, and this is only my second post. Tsk, tsk!!

But I have my reasons. One has been the immense amount of work that has been on my plate and the other has been that it feels like I was sick or recovering from being sick for most of the month. First I got sick for about a week, then I got better, and then I got sick for about two more weeks with something that resembled the flu and the plague all in one. It's been exhausting. And the funny thing, in a way, is that I probably got sick for an extended period of time due to a lack of sleep and overexertion. Ironic, indeed.

When I was trying not to be sick, I was writing, writing, and more writing. For starters, I completed two more articles for the Health Media Group, featuring two speakers that will be giving lectures at the NAVEL Expo in May. I have also been attending writing group meetings every week My featured submission and sample of my novel is due in two weeks. For me, when I've been unnecessarily putting something off - cough, like continuing my book, cough - I find it helps when there is a deadline imposed by someone other than yourself. People will be counting on me to have a submission in two weeks...so I better have it. There there is some more freelance writing happening, and I have been commissioned to write two Long Island family-related articles (due in one week). And lastly, work has begun on the medical, autobiographical book I am co-authoring. A chunk of a chapter is due by Tuesday.

In terms of competitions, I find out how I did in my latest short story competition in a few weeks. As for new challenges, I am going to submit a poem to the Utmost Christian Poetry Contest. I was fortunate enough to have had the deadline for it extended until next Saturday, as opposed to today. Right now all of the poem that I'd like to submit is all in my head, so I'll have to work on getting it on paper in the next few days.

What about non-writing activities? Yeah, been doing them, too. I finished off Chines New Year lion dance shows with Alex back at the start of February. Not sure what that is? Check out his blog post about our kung fu academy's school show. Of course, I've been playing tennis every week. I've also been going to more acting auditions in the city. No big break yet, but every audition has gone very well, with some great reactions from the directors in the room. I'm also taking two graduate classes a week at the City University Graduate Center.

Oh, and let's not forget The Vigilant Monkey =) The magazine still isn't up, but we're taking a little bit of time to make sure the programming is done right. In the meantime, look for a VM blog to be up within the next two weeks, featuring articles, writers, comics, and the like.

And that's the update of the work I've been up to, in the midst of, been occupied with, etc.

Stay tuned...posts to come galore in March

coming soon - a new melissanavia.com!!

2009-02-12T00:45:00.000-05:00

If you think that something small cannot make a difference, try going to sleep with a mosquito in the room.
- Anonymous

A lot of you already know, but my website is being redesigned by the awesome guys at digitalsoul designs. In the meantime, they've put up a holding page. It might not seem like a huge deal, but it is to me =)

So check it out -

www.melissanavia.com

anxiety setting in...kind of

2009-01-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

Eighty percent of success is showing up.
- Woody Allen

So it's the end of January, and VM should have launched by last week, but clearly, it hasn't.

What's a frustrated me to do? Just keep plugging away. And plugging away.

Confusion with the content system and articles module being set up for the site has created a major lag, thus rendering editorial deadlines inconsequential and teaching me a valuable lesson about remembering to take into account delays on the more technical side of things...over which I have no major control.

Frustrating doesn't even begin to describe it.

But everyone I've spoken to is unanimous with their reassurance that this is exactly the kind of stuff that happens when you start a business. There are unexpected delays. There are problems. There are things to be reworked. There are people to have discussions over discussion with...even if it's the same discussion. There are things to organize. There are deep breaths to take over and over again.

VM will launch... as soon as it's ready. I want it to launch correctly, and if that means delaying it a month, then so be it, but we will launch - soon.

screenplay competitions '09

2009-01-27T11:45:00.008-05:00

I never had any doubts about my abilities. I knew I could write. I just had to figure out how to eat while doing this.
- Cormac McCarthy

In addition to all the short story and poetry contests being held, there are also quite a few screenplay competitions with some seriously hefty prizes. How does $10,000 sound for that movie you've always had playing in your head?

Check out just three of the many more that I'm sure are out there. Beyond this, a quick Google search should keep you occupied with plenty of deadlines for the next few months.

1) The 2009 BlueCat Screenplay Competition

For the 11th year, the BlueCat Screenplay Competition is now open for submission of feature length screenplays.

Grand Prize: $10,000
Four Finalists: $1500

All ages are eligible. All entries must be in English and between 80 and 145 pages in length. Submissions are accepted via electronic submission. There is no limit to the number of screenplays you may submit.

Every writer who enters BlueCat receives written script analysis.

Regular Deadline: March 2, 2009; Entry fee $50
Late Deadline: April 1, 2009; Entry Fee $60

All early bird submissions will be eligible to resubmit the screenplay prior to the March 2 deadline for a $35 entry fee.

Quarter-finalists will be announced on June 15th.
Semi-Finalists will be announced on July 15th.
Five finalists will be named on July 23rd and awarded $1500.
The winner will be named on August 1st and awarded $10,000.

2) The Gimme Credit Screenplay Competition

The Gimme Credit Screenplay Competition is open for submissions in the following categories -

Super Shorts: 1 - 5 pages
Shorts: 6 - 30 pages
Features: 80-145 pages

The competition is open to all genres and all writers 18 years of age and older. Plays, television pilots and teleplays are also accepted. All scripts must be in English.

Early Bird Deadline: March 3, 2009
Regular Deadline: June 16, 2009
Late Deadline: September 22, 2009

For more information about entry fees and prizes, visit www.gimmecreditcompetition.com.

3) The WriteMovies.com International Writing Contest

WriteMovies.com is now accepting submissions for its 21st annual writing competition. Screenplays, plays, short stories, and books are eligible, but only 1,000 entries will be accepted in total.

Grand Prize: $3,000 in cash and guaranteed representation (for more, check out www.writemovies.com)

Early Deadline: February 3, 2009; Entry fee $29
Standard Deadline: March 1, 2009; Entry fee $39
Late Deadline: April 2, 2009; Entry fee $49
The flat fee for book submissions is $54.

one nation...under watch

2009-01-25T00:15:00.003-05:00

The pen is the tongue of the mind.
- Miguel de Cervantes

Talk about close: With five minutes until the midnight deadline, I just managed to submit my short story entry to the NYC Midnight 3rd Annual Short Story Challenge a short while ago.

As with the other NYC Midnight challenges, there are a few requirements to adhere to, including that the story has to be 2,500 words or less. The genre and subject categories are assigned in accordance with what heat you are placed in - 22 this time for me.

Title: One Nation...Under Watch
Synopsis: Just trying to do his job, Representative Jack Malarcky realizes a little too late the consequences of an innocent proposal as his normal life, under the vigilant eye of the nation’s surveillance system, spirals out of control.
Genre: Political Satire
Subject: Surveillance

By Melissa C. Navia

I remember when the idea first came to me, nothing more than a passing thought. I hadn't even considered it the night before as I reviewed the next day's proposed topics to discuss. The ride to work was preoccupied with pressing matters, like what was for lunch and how many hours until the weekend. And when we filed into chamber, the incessant buzzing of the cameras overhead as we passed through the doors didn't seem so out of place.

But then the arguing began. First there was Rep. Burns who spoke for thirty-three minutes about the spreading vandalism. Threatening graffiti, smashed cameras, and people going to work in mustached disguises to avoid being identified on closed-circuit television. Was the latter even illegal, he asked. If not, then it should be, was the murmured response. Stone-faced agents from the newly dubbed and unwieldy named NSWVA (National Surveillance, Watch, and Vigilance Agency) noted the exchange and tapped away at their paper-thin laptops. Then there was Rep. Laurel who spoke passionately for an hour about the growing paranoia. Apathy, she cried, was at an all-time high. The new crop of jobs in the surveillance industry had produced workers who were spending endless hours reviewing footage of city streets and suburban lawns, listening to millions of conversations about what happened yesterday and didn't happen today, thinking away at new methods of biometric scanning, and infiltrating each other's homes and businesses, only to leave them tired shells with worn-out eyes and ears the rest of the day. The American Optometric Association was reporting an explosion of people in need of prescriptions and the NYPD had counted 962 people staring vacantly at trees in Central Park this past Monday, between the hours of 5 and 9 PM, when many of them had to be carted off home. Something must be done, Rep. Laurel insisted, and the NSWVA took note.

The buzzing overhead began to penetrate my thoughts. But no sooner did I try to shake it away when Rep. Jetham hurried up to complain for fourteen minutes that we needed more money, more money, more money. His district was not an anomaly, he gestured dramatically. Every city, state, and program was in debt. Every week the Capitol votes for more funding to go to cameras, recorders, scanners, operatives, data profiling, electronic thing-ama-jigs, and bugs. Bugs! he repeated, as he shuffled off mumbling that his eight-year-old son's newest game console was outfitted with three new types of trendy surveillance bugs.

Again, the buzzing resurfaced, louder than before. I had yet to hear any solutions offered to the growing headache of problems, and I stole a glance at the agents seated above. And when I turned to look back, Rep. Adams had taken the floor. Quieter than the others and noticeably more upset, he had only one complaint: the unexplained disappearance of people. A hush fell over the chamber. The buzzing was now more unbearable than ever, I cringed, as the agents above shuffled uncomfortably in their velvet-lined seats. His brother-in-law had gone missing over two weeks ago with no explanation at all. The police were uncooperative. The courts had slammed their doors. And no one, he accused, in the Capitol has offered to look into the matter.

Have you asked them to look, offered Rep. Laurel, into his surveillance files? They claim they did, was his listless response, and said that there was no recorded kidnapping, so he must have left of his own accord. Silence fell over the room again.

And this buzzing! Rep. Adams continued, covering his ears. I can't sleep anymore with these maddening sounds wherever I go!

So that was when it happened. I stood up and hurried to the podium to pull Robert away. Back to his seat he went, his sweaty hands still cupped over his ears as he avoided the gaze of the agents above. And as I watched him go, the rest turned to me. What could I say? After what we had just heard, I couldn't imagine sitting through much more. So I proposed the only thing I could think of to make the arguing and the problems and the ceaseless buzzing go away:

"Why don't we stop all the recordings of…everything…and go back to the way things were before?"

And that was it. There, I said it, for everyone to hear. And yes, the recordings, too. However it could have been captured, it was, etched in electronically encoded time.

So I really shouldn't have been too unnerved when the agents from above, with the awkward acronyms embroidered on their jackets, stood up to speak. The random acts of vandalism would soon be stopped even before they start, thanks to the newest in CCTV and biometric technology, one said to Rep. Burns. Our superior surveillance systems have practically eradicated unemployment, another reminded Rep. Laurel, and the AOA could not be happier to know that the eye prescriptions they are handing out today will be the wave of eyeglass/contact lens surveillance technology tomorrow. As for money, chimed in a third, and Rep. Jetham looked away, everyone should know that money spent on surveillance means less money needed elsewhere. Surveillance is the first line of defense, and soon, it will be the only one. And as a reminder to all, said the sternest of the group, our improved surveillance operations are still and will always be the most efficient way of removing criminals from our streets. Robert did not look up.

Vigilance is protection.

And with that, they marched out. The meeting was adjourned, with me still standing at the podium, wondering what terrible thing I might have just done. I walked to my seat, picked up my papers, and left Robert grumbling about how upset his wife would be when he went home.

Hours later, I was driving home, along the same route I had always used. Yet this time was different. Everything seemed new. As I waited at a traffic light, I spotted one, two, nine, seventeen nests of CCTV cameras positioned in the intersection. The shiny, silver clusters panned and jerked up and down, right and left, capturing everything in sight. But I could’ve sworn, and maybe I was wrong, that at least two of them were locked on me. And when the light turned green, I gladly hit the gas, and they, too, obediently followed until I was out of sight.

Not to mention, because I guess I should, the graffiti I must’ve ignored every time I had passed them before. The Camera Lies. Vigilance is a Hoax. Watch Out. All of them were in drab, scrawled bubble letters, some of them incomplete as if they had been interrupted in mid-execution. Further up, I spotted officers violently striking down video cameras that had been hastily set up on sidewalks. A teenager lay sprawled on the floor in handcuffs, as his (I assumed) smashed cameras lay broken at his side.

I shook the image away and turned the radio on, as I sped up to make it home. The increase in CCTV traffic, announced the reporter, can be thanked for the heightened operating noises of public recording devices. And then the broadcast cut to the one sound I had been trying to avoid all day: that mind-numbing buzz. Turning the radio off, I swerved into the driveway. I gathered my things and ran indoors, foolishly ignoring the tall, well-bundled man staring at me from my neighbor’s front lawn. Once inside and breathing hard, I stole a glance through the blinds of the living room window, but the figure was gone. Maybe he had been my neighbor, I convinced myself. But let’s be honest, I knew he wasn’t.

I was exhausted, I’ll admit, and should’ve have been far more careful, but hindsight is so much clearer from the trees by which I now sit. At the time, I didn’t think not to make any phone calls to my cousin in Connecticut or my sister on Long Island. I didn’t think not to mention the day’s earlier incidents to my friend who called from Arizona. And of course I didn’t think it strange to walk into my room and find the television on, a faint buzzing emanating from its spot on the wall. I was too tired to make a conspiracy out of it, and so I went to sleep, under the watchful eyes and ears of the NSWVA.

The next day I tried to make small talk, but Reps. Burns, Laurel, and Jetham blatantly ignored my meager attempts. Where’s Robert? I inquired. He’s gone, scribbled my secretary on a notepad and then proceeded to rip it up and throw it away. I got the hint, said nothing more, and thought of lunch only hours away.

Over an egg salad sandwich—that’s when they came. Agents from the NSWVA. I was escorted to their offices at the other end of the Capitol, where they sat me down and told me plainly, in their stern, robotic way, that they were sorry to see me resign my position as elected official. Oh really? I gasped. Effective immediately, they replied. But why? I persisted. And the rest I don’t quite remember. But if you really must know, I’m sure you can refer to the surveillance files and see what the video says. Look them up: Jack Malarcky. Given the suffocating buzz in the room, I’m almost certain the whole scene was recorded ten different ways.

And that would’ve been it, the end of the story, but the fact that I’m telling you this should be an indication that it most certainly was not. I did as I was told, quietly as I was asked, and the next day I found myself sitting alone at home. No one called, no one knocked on my door. So I disconnected the television and ripped out the telephone wires and, after dropping it in the toilet, smashed my cell phone to bits. All of these things I took outside and left them by the street.

Then depression set in, and I slept all day. When I awoke each night, there was nothing for me to do but go out for late-night drives and stops at the convenient store. Then post-nasal drip developed into a sinus infection and a frustratingly temperamental fever. Next thing I knew, I was a bundled mess of coats and scarves and gloves and hats every time I stepped out of my door. It was mid-January, what else was a sick man like me to do? Yes, mid-January, I remember thinking, when it struck me that my annual membership to the wholesale grocery store was about to expire. With no paycheck in the near future, I did what any respectable person would do—I went and bought everything in bulk that I could. Bags of rice, cartons of milk, larger-than-necessary boxes of cereal, dozens of packaged frozen foods. It must’ve looked strange, I admit, but I couldn’t have imagined who would bother to be looking. And then, as if the rest was not enough, one night, as I prepared to go out for a drive, I turned the ignition only to hear the sounds of a struggling engine. So I opened the garage, rolled the car in, and went to sleep convinced it couldn’t get any worse.

But it did.

The next day, as I tried to make sense of the inner workings under the hood of my car, they came as quietly and as quickly as they had done for me only a few weeks before. The agents with the acronyms burnt into their cores arrested me without even a word. A nice to see you again would have sufficed, but even that would’ve been asking too much.

Less than an hour later, I stood before a judge who informed me what I was being charged with, a direct result of the suspicious activities they had caught on the cameras in my house, the ones across the street, and the latest in trendy bugs planted in the chassis of my car. Not to mention, he reminded, the conversations we recorded and the behavior our operatives (he motioned to a clump of well-bundled men in the corner) duly noted.

But wait, I interjected, frantically explaining the depression, the sinus infection, the now-expired membership card, and the sputtering engine. The judge looked on as an agent from the NSWVA stepped forward:

“That’s not what the cameras said.”

And with that I was sentenced to ten years in jail for the countless number of illegal recorded activities I had committed, and, in case it could ever be proven that they had indeed not been illegal, I was sentenced to another ten for wasting taxpayers’ money and the state’s time. Indeed, if I had known that a trip to the supermarket was going to call for the installation of nine HD surveillance cameras around the perimeter of my house and the round-the-clock watch of five internationally trained operatives, I would’ve never left the house.

But I did leave the house, and a jail in the countryside was where I ended. Once there, I was shocked to see the state of disrepair into which the state’s highest-security prison had fallen. What would be my home for the next ten (or twenty) years was an atrocious mess of rust and decay. Even the cameras were in disarray, and the entire compound was dangerously understaffed. What’s the reason for this, I asked a tired-looking warden. No money, he laughed, to watch the criminals anymore. I smiled at the irony and wished Rep. Jetham all the best.

So with everything falling apart, and the locks on the jail cells less than sturdy, it was only a matter of time before the worst of us devised a plan to escape. And when we did (unmonitored, of course), the wardens stepped aside. We were murderers and drug dealers, rapists and thieves, but we were also people who had disappeared for doing nothing at all. There was me, as you know, but there were also men like Robert and his brother-in-law who had spent weeks, months, and some even years for doing everyday things and trying to live decent lives…

I’m not trying to make excuses; it’s just the very truth. From the hills, we met with other groups of escapees, and together the self-proclaimed leaders planned the attack. Sitting in the trees, writing to you, I can see the houses and the buildings down below. And I guess I could quietly slip away, hail a cab or catch a bus, and once in the city I could alert authorities and give away the horror being plotted in the hills above. But on second thought, it would be a waste of money and my time. I’m sure the judge who sentenced me will understand.

And besides, if anything good is to come of this, I'll finally have done something interesting—and illegal—for the cameras to record.

no sleep for VM

2009-01-09T02:24:00.006-05:00

You don't have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.
- Les Brown

It's 2:24 in the morning. I'm tired. I've spent much of the night working on VM-related stuff...e-mailing writers, adding to the editorial list, checking off things from the To Do list, reading up on the news, updating our VM group Facebook page, sending more e-mails, thinking, thinking, thinking.

And every so often I can't help but wonder...Is this going to work? By all accounts, it should. It makes perfect sense...to me anyway. But the more I get into the thick of things, the more I realize I'm fully committed here, the nagging question persists.

So persist away. If I wasn't doing all this work and making visible progress, the question probably wouldn't even occur to me because there'd be no risk involved, no reason to worry. One year ago the thought didn't occur to me because VM was still sitting atop a lofty bar stool in a corner of my head.

Since then, things have changed. I'm getting it done. I'm putting in serious hours. I'm fully invested. I'm anxious. I'm hungry. I'm eager.

I'm just getting started.

But I'm really quite tired.

writing competitions in '09

2009-01-03T16:20:00.001-05:00

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.
- Isaac Asimov

Let's kick off '09 on a competitive note...check out just 10 of the new year's writing competitions with fast-approaching deadlines:

* all information below has been retrieved from each competition's respective website, accessible via a link by clicking on the competition's name *

1. Highlights 2009 Fiction Contest

Category:
Contemporary world-cultures stories; up to 800 words (up to 500 words for beginning readers)

Prizes:
Three prizes of $1,000 or tuition for the Highlights Foundation Writers Workshop at Chautauqua.

Entry dates:
All entries must be postmarked between January 1, 2009, and January 31, 2009.

2. NYC Midnight 3rd Annual Short Story Challenge 2009

The Short Story Challenge 2009 is an international creative writing competition, now in it's 3rd year, that challenges participants to create original short stories in as little as 24 hours.

Entry Deadline - January 14, 2009

▪ Anyone may compete from anywhere in the world

▪ There are 2 rounds

▪ 1st Round (January 16-24, 2009) : Writers are placed randomly in heats. Each heat is assigned a genre and a subject (ex. comedy : competing lemonade stands or horror : a family reunion).

▪ Writers have 1 week to write an original short story (2,500 words max).

▪ Winners are chosen from the 1st Round to advance to the 2nd round and compete for thousands in cash and prizes.

▪ 2nd Round (March 13-14, 2009) : All of the writers receive the same genre and subject at midnight (EST time) and have just 24 hours to write an original short story.

▪ A panel of judges review the final round stories and winners are chosen!

3. Charles Johnson Student Fiction Award
* as featured on Winning Writers

Deadline February 28 (don't enter before February 1), former submission period March 1-31.

Highly recommended free contest for US college and graduate students offers $1,000 and publication in Crab Orchard Review for a short story, maximum 20 double-spaced pages. The award competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students who are US citizens or permanent residents currently enrolled full- or part-time in a US college or university.

4. Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story Contest

Postmark Deadline: March 31, 2009

Now in its 17th year. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. Submit any type of short story, essay or other work of prose, up to 5,000 words. You may submit work that has been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the online publication rights. $15 entry fee. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. Winning Writers is assisting with entry handling for this contest. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad.

5. Margaret Reid Poetry Contest for Traditional Verse

Postmark Deadline: June 30, 2009

Now in its sixth year, this contest seeks poetry in traditional verse forms such as sonnets and free verse. Both published and unpublished poems are welcome. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and six Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. The entry fee is $7 for every 25 lines you submit. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. This contest is sponsored by Tom Howard Books and assisted by Winning Writers. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. Konrad.

6. Winning Writers - Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest

Online Submission Deadline: April 1, 2009

Winning Writers invites you to enter the eighth annual Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest, called "famous" by Writer's Digest. Fifteen cash prizes totaling $3,336.40 will be awarded, including a top prize of $1,359. There is no fee to enter. Judge: Jendi Reiter.

7. Winning Writers - War Poetry Contest

Postmark Deadline: May 31, 2009

We seek 1-3 original, unpublished poems on the theme of war for our eighth annual contest, up to 500 lines in total. We will award $5,000, including a top prize of $2,000. Submit online or by mail. The entry fee is $15. Judge: Jendi Reiter. See the complete guidelines and past winners.

8. Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition

Entry Deadline: May 15, 2009.

Compete and Win in 10 Categories!

* Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
* Memoirs/Personal Essay
* Magazine Feature Article
* Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
* Mainstream/Literary Short Story
* Rhyming Poetry
* Non-rhyming Poetry
* Stage Play
* Television/Movie Script
* Children's/Young Adult Fiction

Grand Prize: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents.Writer's Digest will fly you and a guest to The Big Apple, where you'll spend three days and two nights in the publishing capital of the world. While you're there, a Writer's Digest editor will escort you to meet and share your work with four editors or agents! Plus, you'll receive a free Diamond Publishing Package from Outskirts Press.

Entry Fee: Poems are $15 for the first entry; $10 for each additional poem submitted in the same online session. All other entries are $20 for the first manuscript; $15 for each additional manuscript submitted in the same online session.

9. The 2009 BlueCat Screenplay Competition

Regular deadline: March 2, 2009. Entry fee $50
Late Deadline: April 1, 2009. Entry Fee $60

The BlueCat Screenplay Competition is now open for submission of feature length screenplays for the 11th year!

Grand Prize: $10,000

Four Finalists: $1500

Every writer who enters BlueCat receives written script analysis.

10. The Ledge Magazine 2009 Fiction Awards Competition

Postmark Deadline: February 28, 2009.

Prizes: First prize: $1,000 and publication in The Ledge Magazine. Second prize: $250 and publication in The Ledge Magazine. Third prize: $100 and publication in The Ledge Magazine.

Entry Fee: $10 for the first story; $6 for each additional story. $20 subscription (two issues) to The Ledge gains free entry for the first story.

All stories must be previously unpublished and not exceed 7,500 words. Simultaneous submissions are acceptable but we must be notified if your story is accepted elsewhere for publication.

So there's 10, but there are plenty of more out there. Click here for some of my favorite websites for writers.

And if you're still hungry for more contests, check out these two sites I just came across -

http://www.freelancewriting.com/writingcontests.php

http://www.fanstory.com/contests

2009...day 1

2009-01-01T18:40:00.002-05:00

It is never too late to be what you might have been.
- George Elliot

It's 2009!!

So far I have been to work and the gym. I've done some relaxing, some cleaning, some writing, and in a few hours, I'll go to dinner with Alex and Soraya.

As for my plans for the new year - there are so many!!

For starters, my goal with this blog is to post at least twice a week. And considering that my other goal is to sit down and write every single day (that's right, every single day), I should have plenty to blog about as I get closer to finishing my novel.

So that makes one blog down for the week, one to go =)

thanks, 2008!!

2008-12-31T18:00:00.001-05:00

Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed.
P. G. Wodehouse

Here we are...New Year's Eve. What can I say? It's been a pretty crazy, exciting, eventful year.

I know there are many different camps, if you may, when it comes to New Year's Eve. There are those who think it's an absurd reason to celebrate. There are those who see it as a time to make new resolutions and really attempt to stick to them, focusing on the fact that they haven't in the past. There are those who see it as opportunity to go out drinking. There are those who see it as a sort of catharsis through which they can rid themselves of the past year and begin anew.

Needless to say, I'm not from any of those camps. I think today is a great reason to celebrate, and I don't really drink. Yes, I resolve to accomplish certain things in the new year, but I don't necessarily see them as resolutions, but rather just a continuation of what I've been doing up until this point. Same with the idea of shedding off the past year, this whole notion of starting over - I'm not a fan of such expressions. It's kind of my qualm with the "live every day like it's your last" saying. Why be so negative? Why not live every day like it's your first?

It's all in how you perceive it.

I spend much of today with family, for starters. I also spend quite a bit of time cleaning and organizing my humble abode, yes, as a sort of cleansing and fresh, clutter-free start to the new year. And I also think a good deal about everything good that has happened in the past year and how I can build on everything that has happened thus far. Why think of a new year as starting from the beginning when you've already come so far? Of course, that goes for all of us.

So in that light, and with the hope you'll do the same for yourself, I've compiled some of the noteworthy moments this past year that have contributed to me being who I am right now. And because I'm a dork, I've categorized them...

Writing
- joined a writing group with friends, attended my first SCBWI conference, took 1st and 2nd place spots in two NYC Midnight writing competitions, interviewed Tim Gunn and covered the launch of CityView Racquet Club for Elements, among other articles, interviewed and wrote about several doctors and specialists for the NAVEL Expo magazine, started a tennis blog at racquetgirl.blogspot.com, continued work on my novel, signed on to co-write a medical nutrition book, was a featured speaker on a writing panel at NYIT

Reading
- helped organize my father's book signing at Barnes & Noble for Socrates: A Life Examined, read and became a follower of Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series, became a fan of Neil Gaiman's work, read a lot more in general

Acting
- got my headshots taken, took an on-camera film course, started weekly acting classes, attended my first Actorfest, was cast in St. George Productions' classic radio rendition of A Christmas Carol

Sports
- started tennis lessons again and joined a league, competed in a Genesis Adventures adventure race in Allamuchy, NJ with Alex, completed my scuba diving certification, competed in my second Urbanathlon with Alex in Chicago

School
- continuing my graduate studies at the City University Graduate Center and looking to graduate in the Fall of '09

Travel
- went to Switzerland with parents and younger sister, visited family in Texas, went to Chicago with Alex

Film/Photography
- bought a Canon HDV videocamera, bought a new Canon Powershot digital camera, took more pictures and captured more footage than I even thought was possible in the span of a year, organized more photo albums

And that's just some of the bigger things that I was able to compile based on my blog posts from the past year. It was a great year, a very special one, and one definitely to remember.

I hope all my friends and family out there reading this will do the same as they look back on 2008. We all deserve a moment to breathe, smile, and enjoy what we've worked so hard to achieve.

Happy New Year, guys...see you in 2009!!

vm...coming soon

2008-12-28T23:45:00.000-05:00

Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none.
- Jules Renard

In a few days, January '09 will be upon us, and VM will be weeks away from being launched. The programming on the website will be completed, and then we'll have to start sending editorial content to the web designers. And while all of that is moving along pretty swiftly, there is still a lot to do, i.e. advertising and business specifics that often come off as so foreign and excessively boring. Fortunately, we have a number of friends and business contacts who are offering us some guidance and direction. Ultimately, it's up to us to put the pieces together and figure it out for ourselves, but as we all know, especially when it comes to the world of art/media/publishing, it's who you know and how you utilize those connections that can make all the difference.

We have about two weeks to make this all happen. Once the magazine launches, it will definitely be a moment to remember, but that, of course, is when the real work begins.

So let's do this...

merry christmas '08

2008-12-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.
- Charles Dickens

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!! I hope you are having an amazing holiday season and that you got everything you wanted, needed, and/or thought you deserved in the gift department.

Christmas definitely ranks up there as one of my favorite times of year. Last night was spent with family, this morning was spent with family, tonight I will spend it with future family at Alex's house, and this weekend we'll still be celebrating again with even more family members. The company, the food, the excitement - it all makes the running around and planning you've been doing all season that much more worthwhile.

As per usual with my repertoire of gifts, I focused on the practical as well as the creative. So Cereal-on-the-Go containers, gift cards, sneakers, clothes (you know they want), art portfolios, curly hair-specific shampoo sets, baking pans, wine, and marshmallow shooters (yes, marshmallow shooters) were included in the mix. Then there were the more creative, you-get-this-because-I-really-love-you gifts, like extensive photo albums, pocket photo albums, mat frames, picture frames, restored pictures, pictures you forgot were taken of you, and pictures you've always wanted to print and frame. Pretty much, if it has to do with photos, I probably gave it to you.

The gifts I received, in turn, were equally as thoughtful, including the most comfortable pajamas, silver bracelets, pen sets, a business card holder, Sour Patch Kids, a photo album to fill, three cookie sheets, two cooking pans, one crepe mix, a cool storage bin, a collection of Neil Gaiman books (like The Graveyard Book!!), a makeup bag, an assortment of lotions and shampoos, and mony, to name just a few. But perhaps the most touching of all my gifts came from somebody who, knowing me so well, also gave me bandaids, Neutrogena hand cream, and little hand sanitizer dispensers. My little sister made a collage of the two of us and all the inside jokes and moments (or as many of them she could fit) we have been fortunate enough to share. It's really quite awesome, and frame it I will.

So yes, a very Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night =)

in medias res

2008-12-15T16:20:00.000-05:00

A sweet thing, perspective - a chance to see your enemies so small.
- Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

The past two months have been quite the whirlwind.

As many of you already know, I resigned my position as writer and editor at Elements magazine back at the end of October. After three fantastic years working there, I felt it was time to move on, specifically to focus all my efforts on my own writing, launching VM, finishing graduate school, and pursuing my acting. I'm happy to report that since then, I have been doing just that.

We've diligently been working on getting everything ready for VM's launch, I'm resuming my graduate studies in the spring, I've been taking acting classes for the past two months and performing in a theatre production, and I've been continuing my freelance writing. I've also picked up another project - co-authoring a medical nutrition book with an autobiographical focus. I finished the chapter outline and synopsis this past weekend. Now a book such as this presents a few challenges. The first is that it's about medical nutrition, and while I have experience with all the NAVEL Expo articles I've written, I am delving into a pretty complex field not my own. Second, it's autobiographical in part, and the life story we're following is not my own, meaning that I have to figure out how to write in someone else's voice, telling his story, while also keeping my own voice and style as a writer. A fine line to walk, indeed.

And in the midst of all this craziness, my website and blog are being redesigned, by the talented guys at digitalsoul designs. When all is finalized, two shall become one, and I will be a blog and a website closer to becoming greater than Neil Gaiman.

Now if I could only be wittier...

a christmas carol

2008-12-08T11:00:00.000-05:00

I write plays because dialogue is the most respectable way of contradicting myself.
- Tom Stoppard

For the past several months I have been working with St. George Productions on a staged, classic radio rendition of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, part of the company's Dickens Festival. Last month we did two performances in eastern Long Island at the Smithtown Historical Society, and just this past weekend we performed at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ...only this time we did 18 shows, give or take a couple.

It was an absolute blast. We arrived Friday night and got situated in our home for the weekend - George Jay Gould and family's country estate mansion (their second residence), built in 1896. Beautifully preserved by the Sisters of Mercy, who inherited the estate after George Gould's death, it was like stepping back in time for a few nights. And for someone who has covered some of Long Island's historic estates and coordinated fashion shoots in several others, it was a real pleasure for me to see a remnant of the Gilded Age preserved so wonderfully. Plus, we got to stay in it, and I don't think I'll be saying that anytime soon about the Phipps mansion at Old Westbury Gardens. Not that I wouldn't want to, just that it might be illegal.

Here are some pictures from the weekend -

impromptu book corner

2008-12-01T09:00:00.000-05:00

Never let inexperience get in the way of ambition.
- Terry Josephson

I think it's safe to say that I watch more movies then read books, but it's not because I'm a slacker, it's just that I'm passionate about both, and when you spend so much time writing (or staring at a computer screen attempting to write), it's sometimes much easier to kick back and watch a movie then engross yourself in more words on a page.

But with everything that's going on, since the last Fablehaven book I read, I have managed to finish two others -

Good to Great, by Jim Collins

This book is a must, especially considering the economic times and what we're seeing happen to businesses, specifically the big ones, right now. The subtitle is telling: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't. It's essentially a book about business, but as with so many things that are timeless, it's really a piece of research literature that speaks about life and what separates mediocrity from excellence.

In answer to his bestseller before this one, Built to Last, Jim Collins and his research team embarked on a five-year mission to figure out what it takes for a so-so company to become amazing. For comparison purposes, they created a set of rigorous criteria, and after combing through an unbelievable amount of companies, they came up with only eleven that fit the Good to Great model. The resulting findings delineated in the book are just fantastic. From leadership to discipline to attitude, through studies, interviews, and anecdotes, Collins finds that what it takes to become excellent isn't all that difficult, but it's the rigor with which these components were applied that launched these eleven companies to greatness. And surprise, surprise, what companies continue to do -like lavishly waste money on bonuses and private jets, bringing in big celebrity CEOs to reinvigorate the company, making a lot of noise about new initiatives and launches, diversifying too much without becoming excellent at anything - is the exact opposite of what needs to be done. It's all about consistently pushing the flywheel, letting results speak for themselves, and maintaining a certain level of humility through it all.

The book is a must. Every time you hear about these businesses that are asking for money, falling behind, giving excuse after excuse for shortcomings and mismanagement, you will think of Good to Great. I even want to know what Collins thinks about everything going on right now, especially considering that in the book he makes the crucial point that at no time can a company stop applying all the components of the Good to Great method. Do that, and the fall from greatness will be quick and the demise swift...unless you can get billions of dollars to help cling from the edge a little while longer.

The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz

Okay, so this one didn't exactly come out yesterday, but to whoever picks it up for the first time, it's a breath of fresh air. Considering that the book's subtitle is A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book, you might get the impression it's one of "those" books, the kind that you have to roll your eyes when you see someone reading, but it's completely not. Based on the knowledge and teachings of his Toltec ancestors, Don Miguel Ruiz presents the reader with four agreements to help live a better, more productive, fuller life. And it's nothing that we haven't heard before, necessarily, or that we shouldn't realize as true the moment we hear it verbalized. But in this book, so unbelievably simple in language and small in size (I read it in a few train rides to the city), it's all laid out so clearly. It leaves you thinking...of course it reads so easily because the lessons really are that simple. Try to apply the lessons, however, and that's when the complexities arise. The solution? Simplify, simplify, simplify your life. Don't hold on to grudges, to guilt, to regret, to anger. Give yourself more credit. Realize the potential you have to make everything okay. Live life today.

Ready for the agreements? Real simple:

1) Be impeccable with your word.
2) Don't take anything personally.
3) Don't make assumptions.
4) Always do your best.

So now that you know them, why read the book, right? Just trust me on this one. And when you're done reading it, you'll want to hold onto it, for when you need to be reminded again.

writer in need of a shove

2008-11-30T23:45:00.002-05:00

I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged...I had poems which were re-written so many times I suspect it was just a way of avoiding sending them out.
- Erica Jong

This past weekend I finished a short story centered around a plot that came to me several months ago while watching a segment on the History Channel. Originally, I had envisioned it as the basis for a novel, but since it's been, well...several months and still nothing written on it, I thought I'd try out the idea in a short story. And since I haven't submitted something to the writing group in quite some time, and considering that I'm in the middle of a lull with my novel, this weekend seemed like the ideal time to sit down and write it. I even (knowing my own bad habits) alerted the group ahead of time of this soon-to-be submitted story, just to give me that extra push to get it done.

And so I got it done and submitted it early Sunday morning. The critique later that evening was to be expected of a first draft written with little time for editing. It was definitely constructive and pointed out some excellent instances of how an author can get caught up in a story to the point where he or she forgets to let the reader in on all the facts and details important to the plot. It opened up my eyes a little bit more, and while it wasn't a hit, I was relieved to be getting critique at all because it meant I was writing again. Let's keep it up.

Now back to that novel...

back in class

2008-11-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators.
- Olin Miller

Last night I was invited to speak at a Writers Round-Up panel discussion for a graduate journalism class at my alma mater, New York Institute of Technology. I remember attending such panels when I was an undergraduate (already more than three years now), which were then, as they are now, organized by the faculty adviser of the campus newspaper, John Hanc. So when he asked me a few months ago if I would be one of the guest speakers, a representative of NYIT alumni who have gone on to somewhat lucrative writing careers, I was quite honored.

Speaking about my career thus far as a writer was kind of strange, even more than how it felt to write a bio about myself to give out to the students. There was a lot of, I did that? I do that? I'm planning to do that, too? I actually ran the bio past a few people to make sure that I hadn't made anything up in my sleep. Not that I'm exactly touting Pulitzer Prizes left and right or Oscar nominations on the horizon, but still, even the small things sometimes make you ask, really? Especially when you're sitting at your computer and writing about yourself at 2 AM in your pajamas, with a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, reminding yourself to re-tape the top right corner of the LOTR poster that's been in your room since forever...Yes, it can be hard to acknowledge your own accomplishments when you're with you every day.

But getting back to the main point, in speaking about what I did in college, what I've been up to since then, and what I'm working on right now, some life truths and words of advice that came up were ringing pretty hard in my own head. I spoke about taking chances, and doing what it is you love when it comes to writing, and working hard, writing often, acknowledging when you just don't have an answer, promising to always look for one, not being afraid of the blank page, expecting crap some of the time, attaining not-crap other times, and always striving for brilliance. Saying it out loud was a very loud reminder to follow my own advice.

Yes, I'm launching my own online magazine. Yes, it's kind of scary. Yes, there's a lot I'm still trying to figure out. Yes, money hasn't yet started to grow on that money tree out back. Yes, there's also the book and the graduate school and the acting and the tennis.

And yes, I'm passionate about all of it.

So now it's just a matter of getting over the fear of that blank page.

actorfest '08

2008-11-15T20:00:00.000-05:00

Observe, don't imitate.
- John M. Ford

Today was Backstage's ActorFest NY at the Hammerstein Ballroom. It's a one-day event, a conference of sorts, where actors, singers, dancers, and performing artists, meet with acting teachers, headshot photographers, casting directors, agents, and a multitude of other industry professionals. In addition to meeting with exhibitors, there are a number of workshops and panel discussions you're given the option to attend.

Since I already have headshots and an acting studio (also one of the featured exhibitors), I was there more to learn about agents and casting directors. Probably the highlight of the day - I got to meet Jonathan Strauss, casting director for Law and Order: SVU. And I was not at all dorky about it, or even awkward, which is more than I can say for some others who were at the panel discussion and approached him afterward. Once again, the theory that no question is stupid was busted. Based on what I heard asked during the workshop, that statement couldn't be any further from the truth.

Second only to the casting director Q&A was the cool black Actorfest bag I got out of the whole deal. That's a reusable keeper.

I'm glad I went. It reaffirmed certain things I already knew about the industry and alerted me to some new ones. The casting directors we heard speak also emphasized the importance of - obviously - honing your craft, whether you're in a production at the moment or not. So classes, private teaching, individual work - they can tell when you get up there to audition whether you've done your homework or not. Right now I'm taking Master Classes at PTS, which builds on the work I was doing in the on-camera classes. A couple of months of this, more work on my monologues, and getting into the habit of submitting myself for auditions, and then I'll be ready to start submitting to agents and casting directors.

Yeah, luck plays a part in all of it, but it's just the start.

After all, luck favors the prepared, right?

me again...

2008-11-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes.
- Benjamin Franklin

Check me out at this month's past NAVEL Expo, brought to you by Alex Lubarsky and the Health Media Group...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwuktPlIOaM

And me with no audio...

http://www.skheadshots.com

happy halloween '08

2008-10-31T23:00:00.000-05:00

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion. - Henry David Thoreau

Hannibal, a viking, and a Smart Water bottle walk into a bar, and all is well.

And then Dorothy walks in, and this happens...

Ah, c'est la vie.

Happy Halloween =)