CEO/Author/Screenwriter/Ghostwriter/Interviewer: Are You A Facebook Author?

CEO/Author/Screenwriter/Ghostwriter/Interviewer: Are You A Facebook Author?:                                                                         I've often heard the term " Facebook Author" th...

Are You A Facebook Author?

                                                                       

I've often heard the term " Facebook Author" thrown around by some authors who are "on Facebook." According to authors a Facebook author is someone who posts their book on amazon and promotes ONLY on Facebook. Who ever thought of the term is NUTS in my opinion. If that's the case then all authors are guilty of being a Facebook author because we all promote on Facebook! Now, don't get me wrong, some people can't afford to go to every book fair or book event so that have to go for what's best. If social media is it for them, then hey..that's what it is. But, I do feel that authors should look outside of social media to get their book out as much as they can. With this economy money is tight, but people will do what they want to do. I feel Facebook is used for various reasons to promote and market your book or business and meet new people. Often times editors, graphic designers and other business owners find their clients on Facebook.  Now, back to this Facebook author crap. Yes, I said crap! The way the word has been used as if it's a bad thing to promote your work on Facebook. I get that people don't like to see spam on their newsfeed with the same book over and over, but isn't that their problem? I mean there is a delete button or then can choose not to see other's posts show up on there news feed. I just feel that it's bad enough authors have to publish a book and then wait to see what the world is going to say about it. All authors believe in their work and they should post it on their Facebook page, groups and friend's pages. I have heard some friends don't like that idea too much. The point I want to make is that if you are proud of an accomplishment why not use social media for what it's intended for? Authors already have it tough putting their work out and expecting to not only gain readers attention but to make some money as well. Sure to some it may not be all about the money but I'm sure the money does help. I say to my "Facebook authors" keep grinding and making your work known to the media. Some book events and fair may help to but if you can't afford it, Facebook is used for you to run your page as you see fit. It's your page! If other's don't like it, delete em and keep it moving. Life is too short to have people and authors having a say on how you should promote your work whether it's with Facebook only, twitter only, or where ever you promote. Do it with a smile on your face and an accomplishment in your heart.

Not Every Event Is For Every Author

                                                                                         

Greetings fellow authors! 

I know it's been a while since I blogged about authors and I humbly apologize. Although I'm still an author, I have taken my writing to a broader range of writing for t.v., games, animation, and feature films. But, I still write my novels as well from time to time. Let's talk about author events. In my personal opinion I don't have to go to a lot of events where a lot of authors will be. It's too much competition. With a lot of authors trying to sell  their books, it will be difficult for you to stand out. A consumer will be confused or feel "overwhelmed" with so many books by so many authors. Now, don't get me wrong, some people will support every author there but what will make " your" book stand out from the rest? Will it be the synopsis, the cover, etc?  Finding the right event that will market your book best is tough. Often times I have been at a lot of book events with a lot of authors and haven't had any success. It's happened to myself. I began to notice a pattern. At my very first event ever with my first book Through Her Eyes, I had a table next to the legendary Wahida Clark. Now, we all know Ms. Clark is very known for her work and her company. I was also in the mist of J. M. Benjamin, K. D Harris and more.   My table was next to Wahida Clark and I noticed the long line of  readers smiling with their pens and cell phones waiting for there autograph and picture. I thought myself, " Wow...I want to be like her? I want that credibility and fame. But, I only had one book. I did what any other person would do in that situation and I introduced myself to her. We laughed, talked, and I got a few pointers on the way. However, I still stood tall with my one book and my 5x7 small billboard with my cover and synopsis. Some people came over and looked at my book, and even bought it, but then they went to Wahida's line and purchased very copy she had there. Apart of me felt a little upset or bamboozled because the event planner sat me next to her. Now three years later, I have 8 novels of my own, my own publishing company and confidence and integrity. I have came a long way since my first event. At that event apart of me felt like giving up, low, and unappreciated as a new writer. The other writer's didn't pay as much attention to me until I made them. I went to each table one by one and introduced with my one book. Some was even nice enough to swap, but let's face it they weren't going to read my book. It's sad to say today that authors don't support authors. Well at least most of them. So, in my opinion my first event wasn't for me because I was like a fish in a huge pond. Lesson learned. As I graduated to more book events with even more authors, I still noticed that I wasn't getting any sales no matter how well I sold myself and my books. It was then until I started going to events that no authors were apart that I started to gain a following and make a name for myself. I got vending tables for plays, concerts, and family reunions that weren't my own. Before I knew it, I was now selling books! I'm not saying that authors shouldn't do author event, because it is a great networking tool. My question is when networking what makes the next person's advice, valid? Not every event is for every author. When choosing events to go to make sure you have the proper finances  because ANYTHING can go wrong! Also, make sure that it's beneficial for you to be there. The goal is to not only network but to sell your product to the best of your ability. When picking events  to go to, DO YOUR RESEARCH and make the right choice the best choice! 

                                                                                      

Still Standing

I've had a stressful couple of months. I'm at the process of working on my film and trying to finish school. After this one class I'm taking, I have ONE more then i'm done! I will have a Master's Degree in Creative Writing!!! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. I think what has me nervous is trying to find a writing job in the field.  I don't want to feel like I've wasted money with obtaining this degree. But, I will have faith and know that God is going to take care of me. My ultimate goal is to write for Hollywood with a network of some sort. I hope that I can and will achieve my goal. Working, and going to school to obtain a Master's is no easy task. I must say I spend many of nights studying. Not to mention I have a business and I'm an author. But, the hustle doesn't stop. I will continue to work hard to get to where I need to be.    There has been some stumbles but I will bend, and not break! My faith is strong and I will keep trusting in God. Anyway, things are looking up. I've been offered a couple writing gigs for two companies. Time will tell the story, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity. Writing has always been something I enjoy doing. But, to get a chance to write for a company or network....epic!!! I look forward to the good times that lie ahead. Let the good times roll!!! 2013 is MY year.

Busy Bee

Hey fellow writers! I hope that all is well with your writing endeavors. Just wanted to give you a little update as to what I've been doing. I have two classes left until I receive my master's degree! I'm so excited. As far as writing goes, I'm writing a book called Hot Like Fire. It's about a girl named Special who is a stripper. She decides that she needs the extra cash to pay for college. But, she falls in love with her boss and finds out a shocking secret that will not only destroy her, but others in the business as well! Okay, that's all that I'm giving away!! 

                                                                               

School is going really well. I just finished taking Editing For Screenwriting and I got a B in the class! It surprised the heck out of me because editing is a weakness of mine. I spoke to one of my teachers today and she said," It's good that you know your weakness to work on." I agree 100%, but I won't lie and say it isn't frustrating to work so hard at something and still not excel. But, I did okay, I got a B in the class. When editing any piece of writing, please TAKE YOUR TIME. I know we like to run spell check and think it's great once we see, " SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECK IS COMPLETE!"  WRONG!!! Spell check doesn't check for grammar as well as it should. Trust me, I learned the hard way!! My issue with editing is that I'm comma crazy. I will place a comma every and anywhere, but I was taught that a comma is like a pause. Shame on that teacher who told me that in middle school! I'm a work in progress! So, now I'm in my portfolio class where I am going over my script again and critiquing someone else's script! Yikes!!! How can I tell someone else about their work, when I don't even know about mine being correct?  Nonsense! But, I'm going to do my best. I mean, after all, that's all I can do, right? 

That's all for now. Just wanted you to know what was going on with me over here. OH!!! I almost forgot, I'm filming a movie next month. Yes, my film, "If It Ain't Broke Don't Fix It will be filmed in May! I'm so excited! There will also be a casting call April 20, 2013 from 10am-2pm here: 

                                                                                         

MOVIE CASTING CALL

DETAILS

·      AUDITION is Saturday, April 20, 2013 from 10-2 at 1801 N. Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28206

·      Need actors/actresses who ARE available for filming for a month, maybe a little longer

·      NON-PAID JOB

o   Actors will receive screen credit

o   Reels with all scenes you performed in a trailer

o   Will be able to use movie on resume/ or portfolio

o   Free DVD of movie

CASTING REQUIREMENTS

·      MALE  actors, age 25-35, BODY SHAPE- in shape

·      FEMALE actresses, age 25-35- BODY SHAPE- in shape

·      Other casting roles:

o   1 (one) Caucasian female- preferably Blond

o   1 (one) older African-American female

o   1 (one) older African-American male

o   1 (one) teenage African-American female- fair skinned, between the age of 14-16, PARENT/GUARDIAN MUST ATTEND AUDITION

·      Extras

o   Extras needed for reception and classroom scene

§  Age: 20-35

AUDITION INFORMATION

·      MUST EMAIL HEADSHOT/RESUME TO kdcasting302@gmail.com

·      Slides will be given at AUDITION

·      MUST bring headshot/resume to audition

·      Serious Inquiries ONLY!!!

Movie Synopsis

Synopsis: Vivian Green, an attorney who is great at what she does in all phases of her life or so she thinks. The loving wife, friend and sister in law thought she had it going on until things changed. Vivian’s careless habits with other men comes to a standstill when she suspects her husband is playing the same game she is, tit for tat. Vivian uncovers that she isn’t the only one with secrets. This couple play a good game until all the cards are put on the table and then it's game over.

  

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He is KOKAYN

 “I am Kokayn”

Devon “Kokayn Reynolds is a “Jack Of All Trades.” This man does it all!! With his Production/Publishing Company and his foundation called Center Of Attention, what can’t this man do? Having the opportunity to work with big names in the music industry like Joe Budden, Kokayn is unstoppable. “With music being part of my life since I’ve been young, my sound is unique. I had to find people to make my sound deliver properly.”  Mr. Reynolds was inspired by a lot people to name a few Timberland and Dr.Dre. He gives his mother a lot of credit for his success. “My mother is a warrior. The way she took care of me and my sister. She’s so strong even during times of weakness.” When asked what challenges Kokayn faces being in productions he says, “I face the challenge of learning that it’s a lot to learn. Once you introduce sounds, they have to blend. Others challenges that are hard to face are dealing with people and always being true to myself.”  Getting into publishing was more a business move for Mr. Reynolds.  He says that being able to make money off you instead of other people making money off you. There is no limit to the kind of writing Kokayn does. “I’m an emotional writer, I write short stories and some poetry.” Being involved in many different avenues, Devon also is involved in three different cinematic movies, soundscapes for a couple movies, and a series called The New You Inside Of You which tailors to a healthier lifestyle for people. With all of these roles that Mr. Reynolds play he manages them with balance. “Over my years of being in the military, it taught me to balance. When you have the help of God, I’m able to balance everything.”  The hardest challenge that Kokayn faces is to learn how to stop caring about others instead of him. “Dealing with the mental anguish of being in a war, learning to care about myself was a hard lesson to learn.” With his Women’s Empowerment foundation, Center Of Attention, it started in 2011. “ Myself and another artist made Center Of Attention a song, a feel good song. But, I wanted to do something to give back. The foundation helps women in shelters and helps provide them with hotels, food, and women transition once they are out of shelters.” Kokayn is very dedicated in helping the youth of this generation. When asked his opinion on how society views this generation he states, “Our current generation doesn’t know how we are to look. Slave mentality is in our current youth, mentality slavery as far as music and life. They don’t know about handling money. They don’t know how to count to twenty in Spanish but they can teach em how to “dougie”. As a father, I limit what my son sees. Kids are like sponges and they soak up everything on TV, there almost programmed to it.”  Devon “Kokayn Reynolds is very talented and passionate about what he does. Whether it’s music, a foundation, productions, or publishing, this man won’t be forgotten. If you don’t know him now, stay tuned because you will see more of him!! Kokayn is on fire!  The best is yet to come!

“Only on the brink of total destruction does a man discover the will to change.” ~Kokayn

Written by: Krystol Diggs

The Rewrite

Hey everyone!!! By now you have already completed your first draft of your script, correct? CONGRATULATIONS!!! Give yourself a pat on the back. It's a rewarding feeling to have finished writing your first screenplay. All the blood, sweat, and tears you have gone through to get a finished product. I know it wasn't easy doing the research, reading the many books, and putting the words on paper. I applaud you at this stage of your writing. But now comes the REWRITE and EDIT!!! I know this part sucks but it CAN be rewarding as well. During this process you may be moving things around, adding and taking out, or deleting a scene or two! Don't worry, it's okay...this too shall pass! I know you may have just did the biggest sigh but I PROMISE I have some notes that will make it better! As you all know or if you don't I'm getting my Master's Degree at Full Sail University in Creative Writing where I learned about writing screenplays, games, animation and more. I just finished my screenplay in a month. You must think I'm crazy right? With the tools and the books and applying yourself you too can do this! Now, don't get it wrong it was so much hard work because I had deadlines and it's crunch time! But, whether you are doing this for school or as a goal you can get things done in an ample amount of time if you have this...TIME MANAGEMENT! Time management isn't one of my best friends at all, but we have learned to get along for the better! For the big REWRITE, I have some great notes for a book that I'm using for school called Rewrite by Paul Chitlik. Let me tell you...I thought it was going to be boring like most text books but this one is AWESOME and easy to read. So let's get started...I'll write the first  chapters of notes for you. If you have any questions please comment below! 

                                                                         Chapter 1

                                                   Clarifying Story and Structure For Impact

Does your film have the 7 points that provide the bare bones of the body of your movie? Here are the seven points: 

1. Ordinary Life- getting to know who the central character is and what his issue (flaw) is. We see the protagonist in his usual surroundings, dealing with the usual people in his life, but we also see that he has some issues and that there is a need for change. He may or may not know that. 

2. The Inciting Incident- this shows up usually around page 15 (or 15 minutes into the film), give or take a couple pages. Something happens to your protagonist that will change his life forever. Eventually, it will compel him to act. It will help him define his goal. 

3. End of Act One- when your character decides on a course of action in order to deal with whatever the inciting incident brought up. Usually another major event forces him to decide that he must take action. A plan is part of that. It usually occurs between pages 25 and 35. 

4. Midpoint or Turning Point- Yes, this does happen right around the middle wherein the action takes a sudden and new unexpected direction. The goal may change. The central character may realize what his flaw is. 

5. The low point- End of the second act. The all is lost point in terms of the goal. It appears there's no way in hell he'll ever reach his goal. Happens around page 75-85 depending on the length of your script. 

6. The Final Challenge- AT the beginning of Act 3, your protagonist sees something, hears something, or even remembers something that reanimates him and gives him the will to continue. The he prepares to face the final test, the final barrier that your character must overcome in order to reach his goal. The last, biggest battle.  

7. The return to(the now- changed- forever) normal life. Two or three pages to show us that life goes on and that our character has triumphed and changed.

GUIDELINES, NOT LAWS

The seven points are only guidelines, of course. But the inciting incident should come as early as you can get it while still showing us who the main character is and why we should care about him.

There are scenes between these points-important scenes and many barriers to get through and many people to relate to, but these are the major signposts along the way of your protagonists journey. 

HERE IS SOMETHING FOR YOU TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Briefly outline your story in terms of the seven points. Write no more than a sentence about each of the seven points. Make sure that each of the seven points. Make sure that each point after the inciting incident relates to the goal of your central character. 

THE BEAT SHEET

Now it's time to really see where you are in your structure. Were all your points expressed in terms of the protagonist's goal? Were they in the proximity to the balance described above? Now we're going  to get intimate with your script. YES....INTIMATE!  Without making any changes to your story yet, we need to see what exactly what you have in terms of scenes, so let's write a beatsheet of your story.  

A beatsheet is a list of the scenes of your story to remind them what each scene will be. 

*But the beatsheet you wrote when you started your script might not correspond to what ended up in your script. You may have added scenes, changed them,taken some away. That's the process* 

When you you do your rewrite, you've got to be ready to do this, too, so you need a new beatsheet to get the lay of the land. The best way to do this according to some screenwriters, is to write each beat on index cards. (BY THE WAY IF YOU HAVE THE FINAL DRAFT SOFTWARE, INDEX CARDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU.)

DEVELOPING SUBPLOTS

 By this time you should be thinking of two main subplots that is the " B" and the "C" of your story, the emotional subplot and the personal growth subplot. In most stories, the central story is the "A" story. In romantic comedies, it's the emotional, or the "B" story.  The protagonist isn't the only person in your story. He has friends, lovers and enemies. Each of these people can have a subplot on his own. 

RAISING THE STACKS 

Here when raising the stacks you've got to set up your story so that each step, it gets harder and harder for your protagonist to get past the obstacles in his way. What is the penalty of your central character doesn't achieve a short-term goal and eventually, the long term goal? In other words, what are the stakes? What is the jeopardy for the protagonist? If he drives too fast, his car will slide off the road. If he fails his test, he'll have to start over again.  As you progress in your script, you should be continually raising the stakes. Do you?

TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!

What happens to your central character if he fails his quest? What are the consequences of failure? Write one or two lines describing the stakes.

WHO IS THE REAL HERO?

 One of the MOST difficult things about writing a feature film is to figure out who the hero is. Yes, hero. The hero is the person who has to overcome adversity to reach his goal.  

 

TO DO!!!!!! ( Last One, lol)

Write in one line what your protagonist does to overcome the big barrier in the final challenge. He can have help. but he must lead the charge, whatever form that charge takes. 

Now in this chapter if you have done ALL the work provided...you have worked hard. Take a time to relax and do something fun. Watch a movie or read a book for fun. 

Discussion Question: Do you feel that these notes will help you advance and make your screenplay better? Why or why not? Comment below PLEASE!!!!