◀ /u/JasonCarswell/, subsaidits, posts, comments, wiki page, InfoGalactic projects
- GaP Draft1 = G.O : My Self-Imposed Rules For Writing
- GaP Draft2 = BsS : VD, Introduction - preparatory explanations
- GaP Draft3 = BsS : VD, Act 1A - not in screenplay format
- GaP Draft4 = G.O : BsS 1A reviews + 1B anticipations
- GaP Draft5 = T101 : PProd - Conceptual Outline
- GaP Draft6 = GaP : Origin Story, A Brief History On How These Projects Came To Be
- GaP Draft7 = BsS: Q: What's In A Name? A: Everything!
- GaP Draft8 = BsS: Q: Who/What is vHOPE?
- GaP Draft9 = BsS: Plot breakdowns, character arcs, and character backstories
DRAFT #2 = Bittersweet Seeds: Vomit Draft, Introduction - preparatory explanations
Bittersweet Seeds - Vomit Draft, Introduction
For the /s/BittersweetSeeds project.
NOTE: This page may be updated.
- First posted: 2019-06-xx
- Last update: 2019-06-xx
Bittersweet Seeds - Vomit Draft - Introduction
If you haven't already, you may like to first read:
- [My Self-Imposed Rules For Writing] (▶▶▶▶▶_ADD LINK HERE!!!_◀◀◀◀◀)
So, if I've laid out my rules, what is this "introduction" for?
I want to prepare you for what's to come, explain what a vomit draft is and what my goals are, what this format will be and what my limitations are, and what criticisms I hope to get from you and what areas you might be a little soft on me.
Vomit / Goals
Q: What is a "vomit draft"?
A: Vomit drafts are intended to be as rapid as possible, a conceptual purge just to get it all out and on the page, unintentionally nasty in the chaos of haste - a basic framework that can then be worked on and refined as much as necessary. Many writers will write a scene or a chapter, then go back and refine it, re-edit it, even start over. In the end they've gotten nowhere. I've started this story several times over, in different iterations and details, always with the same frame. But you wouldn't know it because I never got very far, though I do have my outline that keeps getting filled in bit by bit.
At some point, sooner or later, I will leave this as an early vomit draft for the archives and historical curiosity, having duplicated it to what will become my first draft. Perhaps this will be good enough as a treatment (a 10 page long form summary) or the basis for a novellette. Maybe I'll continue this story telling format all the way up to integration with images for the graphic novel, or perhaps I'll develop it in screenplay format sooner than later. Time and circumstances will tell.
Q: What are my goals?
A: I have several equally ambitious goals...
I hope to create a compelling logical future world scenario that really makes sense. I prefer thought provoking hard-science-fiction where you don't have to learn the rules of their fantasy world (often broken), with magic, creatures, and bad physics in a banal ego dramas of distraction for nonsensical stakes amid abstracted violence and authoritarian propaganda. But maybe that's just me.
I hope to teach people some neat stuff. Some may be didactic and preachy, some may be subtle in the background. Some may be political, historical, and/or practical. I hope to offer some alternative solutions, new ideas, and raise a hell of a lot of questions that need to be discussed but are currently being ignored by our corporatocracy monopolized cultures.
I hope to use history to logically project forward and raise some large cautions to looming threats. I've spent countless hours researching all of this. Among the myriad of issues, early on I was hoping to raise alarms on Climate Change and pose some solutions to the greatest threat to humanity - before I sussed out that it's just another scam. In contrast, the greatest threats I now see coming are from the corporatocracy / technocracy / Zionist globalists and most of our manufactured culture intentionally dismisses this as fringe conspiracy theories rather than legitimate threats of corrupted enemies, foreign and domestic.
(Worth noting, I am to present a cautionary tale rather than predictive programming.1)
I hope to set an example of DIY ingenuity and develop a compelling product that might help us also develop the related /s/GlossedAndProfound projects.
For more details, you may like to read [Glossed And Profound: Origin Story, A Brief History On How These Projects Came To Be] (▶▶▶▶▶_LINK Coming Soon HERE!!!_◀◀◀◀◀) .
Format / Limits
Screenplays
If you've ever worked with or read a screenplay you'll notice how terribly awkward it is. That is, until you get used to it. It's actually a very useful formatting device/tool for most folks in production. Some directors insist on custom formats, such as inverting what's indented to what's not indented and vice versa. In my opinion it's very basic and outdated compared to the potential of modern implementations - but it's a standard, so, meh.
Novellette
Because I'm just trying to vomit out the story and hope folks will actually read it, I'm going to write it all in a more conventional format like you might see in a novel. Or in this case a short novellette. A 100 minute screenplay is typically 100 pages double spaced. Some directors get very detailed with 300 pages. This is a complex story with an abundance of details. I may just focus vomit the essence as a short story, or I may delve deeply into some details. I expect irregular pacing on my first pass. Regardless, for the most part I aim to be as concise as possible and hope to stay well under 100 pages.
I'll write everything described as imagined on screen, as if it just happened, in past tense. "The boy entered [frame], kissed the girl taken by surprise, and they walked off silhouetted into the sunset." I know this is not a great example, without descriptive setting, cinematography, nor creative directions, but I have yet to actually delve in, yet to find my voice. I'll also [implement a side dialogue with the reader to discuss things that may take them out of the story flow]. By formatting [italicized within square brackets] the reader may skip over side comments, footnotes, technical notes, creative notes, and director notes to ignore or read later if they're engaged in the story. I'll make [▶▶▶▶▶NOTES TO MYSELF◀◀◀◀◀] in bold capitalized text within square brackets to attract my attention primarily to unfinished sections or missing links. I'll also include hyperlinks wherever it seems proper, leaving it up to the reader to break their flow for them or not.
Structure
When I began the Bittersweet Seeds story I had no idea it would become my main focus. I was just noting some neat ideas in creative writing, for better or worse. In 2006 I realized I needed to do more than just make pretty things. They needed substance with a greater impact and profound meaning for me to really derive fulfillment in my work. But I was wanting for a story. While building a set for a project I was directing I had time to think while labouring and in no time I had a decent story. I'd simply thought about all the things I liked or had a unique or uncommon knowledge about. Many of them didn't fit or apply. Some were retained until I had to let them go as puzzle pieces that did not fit. Some came later. There were more than a few plot holes and temporary MacGuffins1 that were resolved or smoothed over with rational and logical explanations or motivations.
Initially I had just tried to lay it all out in a rational way. I had no structure in mind. I knew I wanted to start simple and basic, add complexity, and eventually build it up to epic spectacle for a grand payoff. It wasn't until years later that I actually started to delve into "how to write" for tips and tricks that might give me an edge when some things I'd known about but hadn't considered came up. Luckily my story was doing well in most areas, such as the 3 act structure. I didn't have to change anything structurally but it did give me a tighter framework in which to better pace out the abundance of content that I wanted to include yet had no particular context or place for it yet.
There are lots of other writing, dramatic, and cinematic devices I've borrowed or invented along the way. I had an epiphany for an opening bookend-coda, mid-way coda, and closing bookend. It's very abstract and artsy but would make complete sense the second time around. I was very pleased with myself for a few years but now I wonder if it's not actually appropriate for this project that aims to be grounded in "reality", though hopefully still aesthetically pleasing and maybe artistic on many levels. You folks may tell me in time.
Unfortunately Wikipedia doesn't have an article on codas or bookends in relation to screenwriting or filmmaking, but you may like: Coda (music), Frame story
Characters
For several years I couldn't nail down my characters. I wanted to be progressive, diverse, and inclusive, but I want it to be logical and not some contrived SJW political nonsense forced down your throat. I'll be preachy enough in other seldom-trodden areas. Diversity is just more interesting than all the same. I wanted to pass the Bechdel test but not feel contrived. I really wanted to make my protagonist a female. Being progressive was okay, but being different, outside the box, and unique was way more interesting to me. But if I had a female protagonist I'd need a female villain. I didn't want to have a man fighting a woman or whatever being mismatched and since I was fighting the system, against the man, statistically the system was more likely male. Making it female would have matched them but it would have felt contrived. I was in no rush and wasn't going to force it. All the pieces would remain on the table until they needed to go. Other elements, reasons, backstories, and logical pieces fell into place. Of the couple, the protagonist solidified as a man. Pretty early on they had a little girl, more fragile than a boy. I could never really develop a proper villain, much less a villain with an interesting twist - particularly because he's fighting the evils of the systems, not a stereotypical antagonist as most propaganda does.
I developed many characters before I learned how they really need to be properly choreographed and skillfully folded into the story seamlessly. A gay character is fine, but if it doesn't serve a purpose in the story then it may just be distracting political theater - or it may be a colourful flourish at just the right moment. This is craft and balance.
I have no idea if I can make these characters compelling or not, but each of them has a purpose. Hopefully all of them will have an arc, no matter how minor. And ideally they'll interest, fascinate, and surprise you in pleasing ways. If not in the short vomit draft then in later versions.
There's so much more to explore but for now I've grown weary of my own musings and meanderings and actually I just really want to share my story.
Limits
I expect my first draft will leave a lot to be desired in many ways. I feel very confident about the events of the story, the structure, the morality and informative lessons, and my goals. I feel less confident in my ability to concisely convey them all with optimal clarity. Further I don't feel confident about crafting compelling characters nor presenting a convincing unfolding of events into an enjoyable story. It's easy enough to criticize The Last Jedi, Captain Marvel, and Game Of Thrones. It's another thing to try to compete with much less surpass them. Yet I am compelled to try. And I hope you'll help me.
Feedback
I welcome all constructive criticism. Because this is a rough vomit draft I know there will be many issues with it. Many I already know about and have solutions. Many need better structuring to pay off better. Many issues I know still need resolving. And I'm guessing there will be some things I haven't even considered.
Q: Where do I want you to go soft on me?
A: Nowhere.
Long Answer: I really don't want you to go soft on me. However, I do expect you'll allow me to explain and/or update/revise wherever necessary - not just to clarify my position, or to improve the story, but also implement your ideas if they're warranted.
I fully expect that we won't fully agree on everything. That's okay. I still hope you might bear with me and "my vision", even after many drafts and revisions to the end. By that point I hope to have won you over and maybe you'll have turned me around on some things. In the end I hope we'll have respectfully expressed some interesting ideas the world can embrace.
▶ Glossed And Profound & Glossed Over & Truther Top 20s = FLOSS content ◀
▶ Bittersweet Seeds & Trutherism 101 © Jason Carswell of Glossed And Profound ◀
▶ Once established with sufficient momentum, sustainability, and security, these projects will be open-sourced. Upon the untimely demise of Jason Carswell all become F/LOSS.
▶ /s/GlossedOver + Content Overview + wiki, participation discussion over all 5 projects
▶ /s/GlossedAndProfound + Content Overview + wiki, management
▶ /s/BittersweetSeeds + Content Overview + wiki, in development
▶ /s/Trutherism101 + Content Overview + wiki + InfoGalactic T101, in development
▶ /s/TrutherTop20s + wiki + InfoGalactic TT20, ongoing
▶ donate options + merchandise store = coming eventually
▶ GlossedAndProfound.com, BittersweetSeeds.com, and Trutherism101.com were registered on 2019-05-01 for future use. Long in conception, finally here on SaidIt, the official origin place, started on May Day, 2019. May 1 is a metonym for International Workers Day, a day of celebration of the working class. Behind it lies a complex largely forgotten history dating back over one-and-a-half centuries. Look into it.
[thumbnail image]()
revision by JasonCarswell— view source
