Blog Moved

Ok, I cannot seem to do the things with Word Press that I cannot do with Blogger–so I moved the entire blog over there.  New look, same great taste. See ya there!

http://tony-sarrecchia.blogspot.com/

Filed under: writing

The final scene of Lost

Just my prediction.

From an island vista, we see an expanse of ocean: waves rolling gently. An 18th century schooner is close to shore. Two figures sit on the beach; one clad in white the other in black. We hear their voices while watching the ship pull closer.

Man in white

You brought them here, didn’t you?

Man in black

I always do.

Man in white

Do you think it will end better this time?

The camera trucks in and  the men come into view.

Man In Black/Sawyer

I will find a loophole, and I will kill you.

Man in White/Jack

I know you will keep trying.

Fade to white.

Filed under: fiction, scifi, writing , Final Episode, Lost

So, Tone, whatcha been doing since the last entry?

I’ve been working. No, seriously, I have. Stop laughing.

I am working on a serial drama harking back to the old days of entertainment when, rather than sitting back and watching the pretty colors, consumers of said entertainment had to get more involved. I am talking about what is often stodgily referred to as ‘Old Time Radio’.  That moniker is accurate enough, but it seems to me that it brings up visions of 1930’s advertisements for Orange Crush soft drink and zoot suit wearing hipsters.

I prefer Classic Radio Entertainment. What the best CRE did was offer its listeners the chance to participate in some cerebral calisthenics whilst entertaining them with characters who became (and, in many cases still are) part of our collective consciousness.  CRE demanded listener investment.

All this leads to my project. For the last few years I’ve been working on a radio drama that is part 1930’s style detective noir, part X-files, and part Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It wasn’t until the last half of last year that I decided it was time to move forward on Harry, start a new project, or give up on the dream of being a fiction writer. I opted to move forward-with the bulk of the episodes being written between November 2009 and January 2010.

Harry is a private eye-type character in the Sam Spade ilk. But Harry is more than what he seems. In the first episode, he witnesses a man being turned inside out. Later episodes feature Harry doing battle with Lovecraftian fiends and demons of all flavors.

I wrote Harry Strange  in audio-play format and, very soon, I will start auditioning actors interested in doing voice-over work.  Yep, I am going to self-produce it. Before that though, I will be asking a few folks (probably about 3-5) to critique the scripts for the first season (15 episodes). I am rereading them in the next few weeks to tease-up themes and back-stories that occurred without my conscious design. If you want to be a cool script critique volunteer email me now. (tony@tonysarrecchia.com)

So, that’s what I’ve been doing since Christmas. Well, that and non-fiction political stuff, but we don’t want to talk about all that. If you follow my tweets you’ll know that from time to time the political-obsessive-compulsive (POC) I share my brain with takes over and starts spouting all sorts of anarcho-capitalist libertarian constitutionalist beliefs. If you’re not following me on Twitter, feel free to do so; I promise I try to keep the POC in line.

Okay, back to finish the final episode of Harry Strange. Keep writing and reading.

Tony

Filed under: fiction, otr, writing , "audio play", "Harry Strange", fiction, noir, writing

Merry Christmas

Filed under: writing

Sunday Morning

A short screenplay for your enjoyment.  Feedback is always encouraged.

Sunday Morning

Filed under: writing , fiction, horror, screenplay, short script, writing

One of the best writing FAQs on the Internet

I am often suspicious of the ‘experts’ who tout their method of writing, especially when their pedigree seems to be primarily start-up/now-gone companies, publications that are little more than glorified sales sheets, or contain the word ‘guru’.  In fact, a sure to guarantee that I will  not follow you, but I will also block you on Twitter is to have the words marketing, sales, or social media guru too close together.  But I digress.

This writing FAQ  is written by James Moran ,  a film and television writer who’s credits include: the horror flick Severance; as well sci-fi favorites Doctor Who (the current series, not the classic—the dude isn’t that old), Torchwood as well as some others.  Based on his blog, Moran seems like a very down to earth fellow and puts a human face on ‘the writer’.   Because of some ugliness of fans around the Torchwood: Children of Earth mini-series, Moran has stopped updating his blog but, thankfully, he’s left it up for others to read his nuggets of wisdom and silliness.

The post that I am linking to is one of the more thorough writing FAQs from someone in the industry.  Moran is specific that this was his experience and your mileage may vary. He talks about the way to break-in (‘it’s hard, but doable’) writing schedules, why you shouldn’t write a spec episode for your favorite show, as well some geeky behind the scenes stuff about Doctor Who and Torchwood.

Here’s the link.   Have fun!

Filed under: fiction, scifi, writing , doctor who, faq, how to, james moran, torchwood, writing

Wait, another freaking blog?

Yeah, I know. I labored over the decision to start yet another blog. I mean, I have the cartoon blog, the radio show blog, and the editorial blog (well, technically, that is actually a column, but why quibble over the little details). Then, once you add in Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and (Lord help us) Plurk—I appear to be quite the narcissist. Hmmm. One should be careful before drawing conclusions in public. Anyway—so why another freaking blog?

Well this blog serves a compartmental purpose. In the movie Dreamcatcher, several scenes take place in the main character’s brain. His mind looks much like a musty library of old—complete with boxes labeled ‘old memories’ and ‘masturbatory fantasies’. In addition, there are rows and rows of books, secret passages, and filing cabinets. That is pretty much how my brain works. Different compartments for everything. This is my fiction compartment.

I am a writer that is what I do. Everything, even the cartoons, revolve around my ability to tell a story. And that, dear readers, is what this blog will be about. I house my serious writing in the aforementioned elsewheres: and I am pleased that some of you enjoy reading and bantering with me on the content of the ‘serious’ stuff. I hope that you will be just as enthusiastic here in the land of make-believe. Truth be told, I find this land much more fulfilling than the land of health care, bailouts and partisan pissing contests. I hope you do as well. Understand that I am not leaving those other areas (I am far too opinionated for that) but I will be spending more time here than I have in the past.

Over the next few days and weeks, I will be posting some work that I hope you take the time to read and comment. I am very excited about one series that I plan to produce as a podcast (with actors and everything) and post here for your aural pleasure as you drive to and from the corporate behemoth, the place of knowledge, or just truckin’ the tykes to play dates.

So, as they say in the trades, watch this space for more information.

Filed under: fiction, writers, writing , fiction, writing

iPhone Test

Testing updating from my iPhone.

Filed under: Uncategorized