January Writing Progress, New Media, and WIP Meme

[kungfuwaynewho]

The Orphan Queen: 64121 words --> Monthly Total: 6406 words
The Fall: 58 pages --> Monthly Total: 30 pages (rough draft complete!)
Some Passing Shadow: 14 pages --> Monthly Total: 1 page
The Burning Brand: 28 pages --> Monthly Total: 0 pages

So my priority this month was to finish the rough draft of my TV pilot, The Fall (which I might rename), and I actually completed that goal!  I have more work to do on it, of course, but revision's always easier when you have at least something complete to look at.  It seemed to me that I did more work on the novel this month than just 6400 words, but I spent about a week writing up my revision manifesto, which doesn't exactly add to word count, though it is still a very important part of the process.  Mostly happy with writing progress thus far.  My goal this month is to get at least to the halfway point on one of the other screenplays.  I might end up just having to pick one to work on for submission season in May.



New Books
1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling. 1-5.
2. Glow, Jessica Maria Tuccelli.  1-14.
3. 11/22/63, Stephen King.  1-29.

New Movies
1. Les yeux sans visage (1959).  1-1.
2. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011).  1-7.
3. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011).  1-14.
4. The Time Traveler's Wife (2009).  1-16.
5. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).  1-20.

New Television Episodes
1.    Raising Hope – 2x08 – "Bro-gurt."  1-6.
2.    Raising Hope – 2x07 – "Burt's Parents."  1-6.
3.    It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia – 5x05 – "The Waitress is Getting Married."  1-7.
4.    It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia – 5x02 – "The Gang Hits the Road."  1-8.
5.    Raising Hope – 2x10 – "It's a Hopeful Life."  1-9.
6.    Modern Family – 3x10 – "Express Christmas."  1-10.
7.    Parks and Recreation – 4x11 – "The Comeback Kid."  1-15.
8.    30 Rock – 6x01 – "Dance Like Nobody's Watching."  1-17.
9.    30 Rock – 6x02 – "Idiots are People Two!"  1-19.
10.    Parks and Recreation – 4x12 – "Campaign Ad."  1-19.
11.    The Office – 8x12 – "Pool Party."  1-19.
12.    Modern Family – 3x11 – "Lifetime Supply."  1-20.
13.    Fringe – 4x05 – "Novation."  1-20.
14.    Sherlock – 2x01 – "A Scandal in Belgravia."  1-21.
15.    The Office – 8x11 – "Trivia."  1-22.
16.    Fringe – 4x06 – "And Those We Left Behind."  1-25.
17.    30 Rock – 6x03 – "Idiots are People Three!"  1-26.
18.    Parks and Recreation – 4x13 – "Bowling for Votes."  1-26.
19.    30 Rock – 6x04 – "The Ballad of Kenneth Parcell."  1-26.
20.    Fringe – 4x07 – "Wallflower."  1-26.
21.    Fringe – 4x08 – "Back to Where You've Never Been."  1-26.
22.    Modern Family – 3x12 – "Egg Drop."  1-26.
23.    Modern Family – 3x13 – "Little Bo Bleep."  1-27.
24.    Fringe – 4x09 – "Enemy of my Enemy."  1-27.
25.    Fringe – 4x10 – "Forced Perspective."  1-27.
26.    Raising Hope – 2x11 – "Mrs. Smartypants."  1-28.
27.    Modern Family – 3x08 – "After the Fire."  1-28.
28.    Modern Family – 3x08 – "Punkin Chunkin."  1-28.
29.    Up All Night – 1x01 – "Pilot."  1-29.
30.    Up All Night – 1x02 – "Cool Neighbors."  1-31.


Finally, I snagged this WIP meme from hearts_blood.  Post the first sentence (or several) from every WIP you're currently working on, even if it's very short. Then invite people to ask questions about your WIPs.  With any luck, you'll get talking about writing, and the motivation to take that WIP one step closer to completion will appear as if by magic!


Fanfiction

Alma Mater Chapter 9:  “So there we are, bottom of the ninth, down one, one out."

---

February 14, 2257:  It was nice to be back in his own quarters – he wouldn't survive another night sleeping in his desk chair.

---

Untitled Babylon 5/Battlestar Galactica cross-over:  The room was a lot nicer than Galactica’s ward room.  For one thing, the environmental controls were working; Kara was nice and comfortable instead of shaking with cold.

---

Chapter 4 in Alan/Quorra story I abandoned about eight months ago:  They were walking hand in hand down the main access route from the input/output terminal back toward the gaming grid.  Tron knew, before the Master Control Program had been written and installed, and had quickly and ruthlessly seized control of the Grid, that they had taken many leisurely strolls just like this one – everything secure, systems running at full optimum power.

---

(And then I thought for fun I'd post the first line(s) of each chapter of my novel, at least as far as I am right now.)

Prologue:  They watched the sunset together, the sky all pinks and reds and purples, like a great gaping wound. “It may be the last we ever see,” Erik said. Erik was always too optimistic.

Chapter One:  The sun was barely up, the day just an hour old, but the line for the grain dole already stretched halfway to the Temple of Minerva. Claudia hopped from one foot to the other, needing to piss so badly she could think of nothing else.

Chapter Two:  The knock at his door should have awakened him, but Hermann wasn’t sleeping. He was still dressed, sitting at the desk under his bed, staring at a book open before him. The page hadn’t been turned for over an hour.

Chapter Three:  The mean cock crowed, and Wulf woke up. The sun was still sleeping, though, and the world was dark.

Chapter Four:  Once the library had been her favorite place. Claudia loved the smell of all the old woods, and the feel of the soft rugs under her feet. She would take off her shoes and walk around with her eyes closed, pretending that she were an old blind beggar woman who had been brought in from the cold on a stormy, sleety night, and they had put her in the library to wait while someone in the kitchen made up a great big bowl of hot stew.

Chapter Five:  He knew it was a dream, yet he could do nothing. He could only watch from the corner. Legs frozen, unable to run. Throat frozen, unable to scream. Eyes frozen, unable to blink.

Chapter Six:  The day was hot before the sun even came up, just like the three before it, and Hermann knew they would find no relief today. After dressing, he climbed the stairs to the tower, looking out on a flat blue sky devoid of clouds from horizon to horizon. The air felt thick and heavy, and sweat already ran down to the small of his back.

Comments

[congo]

That's a lot of progress, writing-wise! Well done, you! And good luck on getting even further. :)

Alma Mater Chapter 9
[insert embassarring squeal noises here]

Untitled Babylon 5/Battlestar Galactica cross-over
And this is where I died.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Hee! What's sad is how much of the next chapter of Alma Mater I got done before I wandered off. I think I'm bumping it up to Priority One because I would like to get that series finished.

[congo]

Yesplease. And this coming from somebody who hates AUs, and who absolutely abhors High School AUs. But yours. Is so good I was legit lying in my bed in the middle of the night (probably somewhere between three and four am), crying my eyes out. The worst. :p

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

[openended.livejournal.com]

That BSG/B5 crossover looks amazing.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think I'll go back to it. I originally wrote a bit of it as a stand-alone here (http://kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com/72907.html), then wrote like another 400 words and promptly forgot about it.

[gaslightgallows]

Yes to the BSG/B5 crossover plz. ♥

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

The first part is here (http://kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com/72907.html), I wrote it ages ago for one of my landcomm challenges and then sort of forgot about it. But I think I'll pick it back up, since everyone glommed onto it.

[gaslightgallows]

Hee, yes, when I saw people making reference to a first part I was all "Bwuh!?" and went looking for it. And now I wants it, preciousssssss.

[Мила (from livejournal.com)]

Alma Mater Chapter 9 )) and many other Alma Mater chapters would be great *shy whisper
May I ask, do you have any plans about Cells in the nearby future? :D *reread this story today don't remember at which time ))

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I would like to finish Cells off, though I'm not quite sure what to do next. Just keep prodding me about it so I don't forget. ;)

[Мила (from livejournal.com)]

With pleasure! Stop me, when I'll become too importunate )

[ghanimasun]

I uh, don't see any Farscape in that list *makes angel smiley face that I don't know how to make on a keyboard*

Is that B5/BSG crossover a continuation of the first part you posted? I'd love to read more of that!

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Hee! I'm kinda intimidated by the idea of writing anything other than quick little drabbles in the Farscape world. It's a very dense canon and I'm still in the beginning.

Maybe if I get the right prompt someday. ;)

And yeah, that's the next chunk I wrote on the bit I'd posted a long time ago. I think I might work on it more since everyone responded to it.

[ghanimasun]

Ah I meant in the new media actually. I forget how far you are in Farscape already.

Also yes please write some more of that B5/BSG fic if you get inspiration for it!

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh that makes so much more sense. I was like, did I promise her a Farscape drabble and completely forget about it?! I've been having a hard time carving out time to sit down and watch dramas lately; sitcoms seem easier. I will endeavor to watch some Farscape. :D:D

[lifeistoobrevis]

Looking forward to the new B5 fics! :D

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

:D:D:D

[nhpw.livejournal.com]

I love that WIP meme. I may steal it, if and when I have time.

Question: What did you think of Up All Night? When we first saw the previews for it, we got super excited - "This show is totally made for us! We can watch it together! It has people who are funny and it's about professional-life people with a baby!"

After two episodes he was kinda like, "Meh." I made it a little further, and technically am still recording it sort of, but there are two unwatched episodes in my DVR... which is mostly because I really haven't had a lot of time to just sit and watch TV.

(Not that I'm trying to spoil you on it if you really liked it! I'm not, I swear!)

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

It was a fun meme! I realized that I had actually written a nice good chunk of the next Tron chapter - I should finish that sometime.

I like Up All Night. I put it with Modern Family and Raising Hope in terms of shows I get a few good chuckles at, but mostly just find pleasant to watch. It's no Community, which makes me laugh till I can't breathe and I rewatch half a dozen times the next week. But I love Will Arnett, and it's a cute enough show.

[la-loony.livejournal.com]

I approve of all the writing progress, it's great =D

What is your TV pilot about btw?

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

:D

The TV pilot is set in the future, after a third World War, in an America that's been broken into chunks, most of which have no communication with each other at all. Not really post-apocalyptic, but definitely in a world on the decline that doesn't even really know it, because they've lost touch with their history and such. I will probably end up posting it here.

[la-loony.livejournal.com]

The general set up sounds definitly intresting, I guess if the right people are cast I'd give it a shot =D

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

LOL I've got to sell it, first. Let's not get ahead of ourselves!

[la-loony.livejournal.com]

XD
How does it work when you sell it, do you just send in the script?

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Very few pilot scripts are purchased, and few of those get an actual pilot ordered, and even fewer of those ever make it to air. It's mostly useful as a writing sample, a way to get representation, or a way to get staffed writing on another show. The odds of the pilot I'm writing ever actually making it on air are tiny - I might as well play the lottery. But, it's part of what you do if you want to write in film/tv.

:/

[la-loony.livejournal.com]

That really sounds tough. I do cross my fingers though, that it will help you with your representation (and one day I hope I can go around tell people to watch show xy because I know the writer = you^^)

[singer-shaper.livejournal.com]

I'm really curious about your novel - I don't recall what you may have already written about it.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I haven't written much about it here, actually. I keep thinking one of these days I'll get the beginning squared away and can start posting it, but I'm still continually fiddling with the first chapters. It's an alternate history, set in present-day North Carolina in 1630, but in a world where the Roman Empire never fell - Part One takes place in the city of Antonia Nova. The orphan queen of the title is Claudia, a 10-year-old orphan who works as a servant in a type of boarding school.

[singer-shaper.livejournal.com]

I've noticed you writing about your progress on The Orphan Queen, but didn't realize what it is. Good luck with it! (And if you'd like a second set of eyes, please let me know and I'll PM you my email address.)