Category The Secret King

Sep 29 2012

Contemplation and Script writing.

Today has been a day of contemplation.

We went out early to get some pipework for the ponds. But came away empty handed as one part alone was almost £50. We’ve re-designed how we’re going to do it now, due to cost.

I’ve had some of my baby koi for sale on Ebay, and only had a few interests, this is the wrong time of year really, so I’m pulling them off till next year.

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As I said writing wise, due to a computer malfunction and being just plain exhausted, I’ve had a bit of a break. I need to get back into it. So, blogging helps. Frees the mind and allows me to start to think and process things once more.

I’ve finally had my feed-back from Script-Pipeline, mis-understanding and crossed wires there I think. But I have something to work on.

Jaime has been doing a fantastic job as Animator with The Secret King, so we’ll hopefully move forward a little more. With the goal for next year to enter into some comps.

I should be excited, but I’ve felt so lost with things this last few months that I haven’t been allowing myself the time to be excited. Well, contemplation over and time to move on.

New plan of action… Stick with the Animation Pilot, get that as nailed as we can.

Even typing these words, I feel more and more excitement. Need to get the adrenalin going more though… 🙂

What I plan on doing as we build TSK up, is to post some concept work. To really get people interested in the story, the characters and the way the world works.

If you’ll allow me some time. We can build and work on this world together. And maybe if I can create enough ‘fans’ we will have something solid to take to the animation fest’s 🙂

Will keep you posted…

Dawn

Apr 28 2012

Writing and my personal thoughts :(

So there has been a lot happen these last few weeks.

Some things I feel are good, others not so good. I’ll try and go through them in some order.

Writing.

Progression is a big thing for me. I’ve had a couple of very helpful crits on my work and I’m moving forward with TSK at a good pace. Talentville has upped their side of the game and we can now post things to the group instead of trying to share everything in dropbox which wasn’t so easy.

At least we’ve a place to chat where it can all be kept in some proper order.  I have to try and do this to stop ideas and things being lost.

I’ve also been trying to work through a contract which will help all sides of the party. This isn’t easy because at the end of the day when you’ve worked as hard on a project as I have in the last couple of years deciding how to share it out is very difficult. But the people involved in the project will help fuel it and make it better. So, I have to think about this very carefully and do it in a way which protects all involved and still leaves me in control. At the end of the day it is my biggest project. But also can be a big franchise as well. 🙂 It has to be good if other people are investing time and energy into it right? well I think so anyway.

Other projects are going well, the web-series is coming together nicely and we’re hoping to get the first draft out this next week.

All in all, I’ve been kept busy. Making contacts (a nice lawyer) talking to some experienced writers and helping them out. Keeping my head in the ‘game’ as they say.

 

Personal life.

Not so good.

We’ve had a very difficult couple of weeks, starting with finding out our car MOT had expired and we had to rush job it in. Luckily it passed easily so that was good.

However, the van  MOT was also due this same week, and it failed. 😦 it was going to cost over £500 to get the parts with labour but then it still might not have passed.  So the decision was to scrap it. We’d no other choice really.

Add that to the fact the car tax, bike insurance were all due at the end of the month and we’re pretty snookered.

 

Koi

The fish have been constantly sick, so I had to make the decision to call in a pro. It was that or lose the fish. I just couldn’t   see anything on the microscope slide. I needed help and that still came at a price.  But when you have a sick animal  you can’t let it suffer so we ‘asked mum’ to help us out. Good ole mums hey, sometimes you just don’t have a choice. The koi doc came out and when looking at my fish said mine didn’t look too bad, but the rescue fish were suffering a lot. So he easily caught one and scraped it, we went straight to his microscope and he confirmed within seconds that they had a very heavy infestation of Skin flukes. 😦 nightmare.

I then got my scope set up and we found the critters on mine. My problem had been I was using the highest mag and I should have used the lowest. At least I know now.

Treatment went in over the course of an hour, the fish however weren’t very happy over things, but it has settled down over the course of a week.

Thankfully there was nothing amiss in the baby pond.

 

Feelings

 

These come at a totally different level. I’ve been so stressed over things that my eating has been out the window. I’ve really struggled with the thoughts inside my head. Leading up to our wedding aniversary and my husbands birthday is alwasy a little more stressful because I suddenly panic thinking about all we’ve been through and I worry about the future too.

 

This week I also had my appointment with the nurse, the nurse who upset me 3 months ago and got me terrified of going back. So I’ve struggled with the thoughts over that as well.

 

However, when I finally got to see her, I told her how she had made me feel and that I stopped eating properly for nearly a month. She wasn’t aware of my past nor meant what she had said in any bad way. It was just my eating disorder brain had gone ‘she’s telling you you’re fat’  and that ‘you should hate yourself’

 

Of course it takes me a while to work through these thoughts in my head. Yes, I am overweight. Around 2 stone to be even within a healthy range.

 

But, I eat well. I treat myself and I do some exercise. I don’t want to go backwards, but I am terrified if I try to lose weight properly, then I will. I am so scared it is making me more and more depressed. Thinking about it now I know I should go back and see the doctor. I want to feel good about myself and I don’t. I don’t because these thoughts inside me are once more trying to beat me down. At the moment, it is working. The beast is winning.

The hardest part of any mental illness is coming clean about it. The fact that I know what to do is good, but doing it is also so flipping hard.

The funny thing is I had all the intentions of telling a doctor on Wed, but when I got in there I froze, then  got told off because I’d used an emergency appointment when it wasn’t an emergency. It is to me, because if I just make a regular one, I’ll probably still back out. I thought with saying it was an emergency I had a better chance of spitting it out.

It didn’t work.

The feelings are deep seated. Dark and I hate them more than anything else in my life. It hurts me badly that I can’t do some things, that it has ruined my life and still continues to bore into my very soul, rearing its ugly head at every small opportunity.  I hate having an Eating Disorder. I may have been in a stage of recovery for 4 years. But I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it, or live a normal life. I wonder if it is ever possible.

 

Back to the doctors I must go. Wish me luck.

 

Now I need to go and do some other things, busy weekend ahead. 🙂

 

Catch you all again soon.

 

Dawn

 

 

 

Jan 5 2012

05/01/12

Hello 🙂

 

Finally getting there. It is Thursday, that means one good thing it is Friday tomorrow…. YEY!

 

I have to be excited about that. It seems like it really has been a long week, although it has been a short one.

 

I am doing my (re) training on my theory for Diving on Saturday. At someone’s house who I probably won’t be able to find. Yikes.

 

It has been an ongoing issue with the dive club about the lack of comittment this last year from anyone available to teach me. I started out great. Did theory lessons 1-3 completed all 5 pool sessions and was waiting for someone to finish theory 4-5 but nothing ever happened. It got too late in the year to be organising any trips out in ‘real’ water because it would be far too cold for me.  And that was that. I paid my membership and  was forgotten about. Sucks, and I’ve had it all out with them, so hoping this time things will be different.

 

Of course I’ll let you know.

 

Work was better today, windy as heck like, got blown all over the place, but it was okay.  In my job the target is to read £300 in sales at least per day. It has been a tough couple of days but I made up for some of it today, which was good.

 

My mum, who now works with me,  has the other side of Southport. She’s not doing so good and has been asked to start to try and get more customers. Doing this isn’t easy when you are driving, and trying to serve and fit in the ones you do have. It took me more than 10 months to get the confidence and quickness to work out and do a little of everything.

 

I know they told her the job might only be temporary, (maternity leave cover) but I am hoping they realise that they can’t cover the holidays people want and take time off themselves… They really do know how to run a tight budget that way.

 

I have my fire lit, the fish have been all checked on.

Babies are doing fab…. If you want to take a look… I have a youtube account.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ic8MG5mjxE&feature=youtu.be

 

 

This is the latest video… check it out and please tell me what you think.  It is hard to see the better ones. When the weather warms up I want to get them in a blue bowl for inspection and I’ll video them there again. One  of my favourites (yin and yang) has just that, his first half is white, and the back half is black. You can see him in the vid, (27 seconds ish) although hard to spot. What you can’t see is any of the Kohaku’s which are coming through. There is a nice 3 step one, but till I get it out, I don’t know if it will be any good. In fact don’t know if any of them are any good. But they’re growing, happy and healthy…  that is all I am interested in. They do come from good stock, they were just an odd breed to put together.  Oh,well.

 

Big fish,  not so sure about. I can only hope that the White spot has gone… no one is sulking any more and they’re all back looking around for food. Now started to put a little in, (because I have an albino sturgeon) and I’ve loaded it with Sansai a good bacteria, like Actimel for fish 🙂

 

Guinea pigs are settled in lot more. The smaller one is doing better, gave him some more pain relief today. And I must admit he really like it,  hooked I think!

 

So I am now off for a bath and something to eat, before the other half gets in. Then I can carry on with TSK as I didn’t get as much done as I’d liked yesterday.

 

Speak soon….

 

Dawn

 

 

Jan 4 2012

04/01/12

Yukky day 😦

 

Ummm, bit of everything in here today, but I don’t really have a lot to say today, feeling a little down. Work has just been very slow and that general buzz everyone had before Christmas is just gone. I think we all have the January Blues. Which is a shame really.

 

I managed to write three pages yesterday on my sci fi TV project. This one is just more for my fun than anything else. My characters were begging me (in my sleep) to be brought to life a little more, so I started The Secret King – The beginning, just before Christmas. I am almost to the end of the fourth act and really pleased. Although, as usual it will need heavy editing before anyone gets to read it, I am still having fun. Sometimes, you need to have a little bit, don’t you?

 

I’ve stuck to my guns for the second day. No rubbish food at work. I weighed myself yesterday and will monitor it, but am not going to get stuck into doing it everyday. Once a week and I’ll let hubby record it so he is aware  how much it drops, (slow and sure) For me the alcohol will be the biggest calorie loss. I never realised how much was in it before. So cutting that back will defo help.

 

Guinea pigs are settling in well. Although, the smaller one’s bite  isn’t healing very well and keeps opening up. He’s on pain meds at the moment, and we’re keeping an eye on him.

 

Fish are all fine, babies are growing massive, will need to keep them a few more months yet and then get rid of them. Sell them hopefully, they’re looking smart now. 🙂 I am really pleased with how they’re looking, such hard work to raise, but worth it.

 

Going to try and aim to finish the next few pages and to the end of Act four on TSK… will let you know how I get on tomorrow 🙂

 

Speak soon.

 

Dawn

Jun 23 2011

23/06/11

A synopsis review from Circalit.

I didn’t know what to send in,  and only had a very short synopsis from TSK, so  I used that or I would have lost the review.

Here is what was said on the short synopsis of…..

For many years since their arrival on Earth, the Aonise have forged a tense peace treaty with humanity, living in the ghettos of their city as rival clans. Yet when a terrorist’s virus designed to eliminate them spreads to humans instead, Taliri, the son of the last Aonise king, is forced out of hiding to end the crisis. He must now unite his fractured people and try to prevent an all-out war.

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Logline

This log line neatly summarises the central premise of the script, as well as introducing the reader to the wider implications of Taliri’s battle. Although this would be suitable to use for script reports which need to succinctly summarise the series (perhaps when a company have already read the project and it is being sent onto other collaborators/executives) it does not sell the project. It is fairly routine and does not indicate to the reader that there is anything to make this script stand out from others of the same genre. I would also advise that the central character, Taliri, is mentioned and there is a comment on the cohabitation of humans and Aonise on planet Earth.

Synopsis

Obviously this is a much shorter summary than would normally be expected on a full script report. Taking the time to properly summarise the script would be a worth-while task as a well-executed synopsis can be instrumental in promoting a project. It will be important that the writer puts his voice into this, and that the reader is able to gain some insight into his writing style, as well as his ability to articulately summarise the project giving them a good understanding of the plot and inspiring to read it in its entirety as well as considering the series.

The writer introduces the alien race and their relationship with the humans on planet Earth however it would be worthwhile considering a visual description to help the reader engage with the script. We have no way of knowing what sets the Aonise apart from the humans, how they live, what they look like and this information would go some way to answer some of the other questions regarding their relationship with humanity. Again we are told that the Aonise are living in the ghettos of human civilisation and this instantly demarks them as the inferior race. What would be interesting would be to know how they came to accept this situation and why they are resigned to living on the fringes of society. The conflict between humans and Aonise underpins the entirety of the drama and without some information regarding how this fragile cease-fire came to be the reader is left alienated from the action and fails to engage with the story. In a similar vein it would be worthwhile including some information about the virus that inspires Taliri to reach out to the human community. This catalyst has enormous implications and the reader needs to know what inspires these changes.

In conclusion the writer should consider composing a longer synopsis which would enable the log line to be more of a selling point. The synopsis should echo the style in which the script is written, giving details about the episode and perhaps even information about how the series will progress. The writer may wish to include some form of an episode breakdown, an indication to series length and over riding story-arcs. He should also consider including some form of character description, both physically and mentally, in order to engage the reader.

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It was still really helpful.

D