The Raspberries are Growing!

As some of you may/may not know, I planted a couple of raspberry bushes in my backyard last summer, as sort of an experiment. As a writer, I often find it extremely helpful to put myself in the same scenarios as my characters, and as some of you might know, the protagonist in Raspberry Magic is attempting to grow raspberry bushes by nurturing them. Anyway, the dry, hot climate of Southern California isn't exactly ideal for raspberries, but I thought I would try it out, anyway. To be honest, I didn't do much to take care of them. I mean, I watered them here and there, and trimmed them a couple of times, but not much else. A couple of months ago, some of the leaves on the bushes were looking pretty sad and worn out, so I had basically given up on the bushes. But with spring I noticed one stem looking a bit better, more alive. Then lo and behold, a couple of weeks ago, I was hanging out in my backyard, and I noticed--

Raspberries!

Yes, they were ripe, red and shiny in the summer sunlight. I truly couldn't believe it. It's a sign... Time to make the movie!!

Casting Call for Young South Asian Girls

So... The wheels are certainly turning on our movie, which as always, is nerve racking and exciting. We are going up to NorCal to do a scout trip in a couple of weeks, and we've also been looking at some young South Asian girls to play the roles of Monica and Gina. Monica is 11, and somewhat of a shy, reserved young girl. She's wise beyond her years, and expresses herself through her actions and emotions most of the time, rather than her words. This is a tough role for a child actor, but there is plenty of talent out there, I know. The other main character, Gina, is 8. She's sort of spunky and funky, a little more wild and outgoing than Monica. We've been reading some young girls, but if you know of anyone we should look at, let me know or send me a head shot! Auditioning kids isn't easy, but we do a combo of some imaginary/improv. scenes, then a bit of actual scene reading. I'm not necc. looking for show biz kids (but parents who are okay with the show biz thing are a must), though we've read a couple. Most important are kids with a wild imagination and who make interesting choices in the given scenarios. That's really the crux of acting, isn't it?

Inspiring Evening

Through the process of making this movie, my producer Megha and I have had the opportunity to meet and see so many interesting, inspiring and sometimes even unusual people. Last night, we were invited to a dinner where heavy weight producer Ashok Amitraj spoke. He's quite an accomplished producer, made many films that have done well. It was really inspiring to hear him talk about his start in the film business, because he basically said that even though he was a well-known tennis player, he knocked on doors for five years until he had a few development deals with the studios. But even with the deals, he worked super hard to get scripts written and put ideas in front of the studios and still nothing after so many years. Finally, after doing this, he basically said fuck it, and raised $500K through private equity investors and made a freaking movie. That movie, even though it was small, opened doors for more movies. He talked so much about knocking down doors, getting them slammed in your face and keeping on. This is exactly what Megha and I have been doing over the past few years to get Raspberry Magic made. We've talked to so many people about investing, basically leaving no stone unturned on every, single level. It is hard, grueling work, not for those who give up easily or who are easily discouraged. I've def. had many moments of being down, wondering how in the world can we do this. But my belief in this movie, partnership with Megha and the support of so many people really keeps me going. It was nice to hear Mr. Amitraj say that he's been down the same road.

Locations, Planning the Shoot

So, we've been slowly but surely moving along with the movie. It's been nice, because we've had a few investors sign on this month, and a few more are coming. We're still not there yet, but getting closer and still on track to shoot this fall. Some advice another filmmaker friend of mine gave me is to set the date, then just proceed as if it's happening. I think there is a lot of truth to that, because when you just say you're doing it, things really do come together. So, Megha and I have been moving forward, and one of our very big tasks right now is to figure out where exactly we are shooting this film. We've been really big on Humboldt, and we are planning a scout trip up there in July. But, sometimes we also think the Bay area might work well. This is because we have a lot of help in the Bay, meaning lots of friends and family who can come on the set with whatever we need, plus I know a lot of crew people up there who would help out. In Humboldt, we have some great potential for locations, a hotel that we can use for very low cost, but the tricky part is bringing crew and gear up there without burning through our money. So, we're basically going to just head up there and figure this all out. I'm excited because now we're getting into really doing the nitty gritty stuff, but the uncertainty of raising all of the money is always looming. I feel like shooting the movie will be a great challenge, something I'm really looking forward to. It's a very different kind of challenge than raising money.

Summer Movies

I've seen a good number of films this summer (so far), and here are some thoughts about them:

The Visitor: Incredible follow up from Thomas McCarthy to his debut film, The Station Agent. The Visitor is truly a beautiful film, sort of the crux of what I consider to be a good story told in a visual medium. And it's just a great work of art, really makes you think. I won't give too much away, but brilliant performances from all of the actors, great overall themes about lost and lonely souls finding connection with one another. Also, really poignant and complex insights about the immigration debacle. Loved it, hope it opens up in theaters everywhere.

Son of Rambo: Written and directed by Garth Jenkins who did Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Really hilarious film, great special effects, and surprisingly, a real tear jerker, ending. Also, I love the sweet 80's sound track, def. reminds me of growing up. Great job in exploring the complex lives of kids in a universal way.

Iron Man: I enjoyed this film, it was a great look at how Iron Man becomes who he does, and I thought that Robert Downey's performance was excellent. It was also nice to see Gwyneth Paltrow back on the big screen. I felt like some of the action sequences dragged, but overall very good. One of my favorite super hero films of all time is Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. This one didn't quite live up to that, but still very enjoyable.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: I couldn't resist seeing this one, after all, I grew up like any other American kid of 80's, watching all of these films. I found the plot in this movie to be lacking the complexity and intrigue from the past versions, and I also felt that much of the action dragged and wasn't motivated by larger/deeper goals and questions. I thought Cate B. (always a stunner) stole the show, but overall, felt a little bored by this movie. Come on David Koepp, for all the millions you got paid to write this thing, you couldn't have given us a couple more plot twists?

Sex in the City: Yes, I was on a girl's weekend far away in the woods of Russian River, and we couldn't resist checking this movie out. I loved the show back in the day, mostly because the humor was great! But this movie was pure cheese. Implausible plots, scant character development and way too much shameless promotion for designers that most women could care less about. They were even missing the witty, biting humor of the TV show. As my friend said afterwards, we all felt pretty gross from even watching it. But hey, at least it was with friends!!

Writer's/Programmer's Block

I'm sure that writer's block manifests itself in many different ways, sometimes even in the way of just not getting started. But for me, writer's block is usually what I call a logic problem, meaning that in a story, you're trying to get from point A to point B in a logical, creative and interesting way, but can't figure out what that way is. You think and think, make lists and brainstorm ideas, but nothing comes. To me, writing is a lot like those "logic games" you have to take on the GRE. The kind where you have four friends, four foods and four boyfriends and you're given a set of clues to piece everything together. Never really my forte, but all of this writing I do has certainly pushed my skills in thinking this way. The interesting thing is, my husband is a flash developer, meaning he programs and does design work, but we often have long talks about how writing and programming are so similar. There are differences of course, but there is a certain kind of thinking that pervades these realms, this kind of "symbolic logic" if you will. And just like writers, programmers get blocked, too. Sometimes, my husband is stuck on a problem for days, like how do you build a particular system and make everything work the way you want it to? I go through the same, exact thing, and honestly, when I'm blocked or having a logic flow issue, he is a really good person to discuss my train of thought with. But it's hard for me to help in the opposite way because I don't know the language of Flash. My husband has had bad insomnia over the past few days because he is stuck on a logic problem that is really tough. He even stayed home one day to sit in quiet and work through this issue. I'm sure it'll come as it usually does suddenly when you're cooking dinner or gardening, but the process of getting there can be kind of rough.

Writing is a Process

I've been working on a new screenplay, one which I think has serious commercial potential over the past few months. I started going down one road, then five months into it, I went down a completely different road. That frustrates me to no end, and there was a moment when I thought that maybe I should just forget about the whole thing. But the problem is, this new path was incredibly compelling and everyone I pitched it to was much more excited by it with the new twist rather than the old. Grrr. So, I took a break for a couple of weeks because I was feeling extremely burnt out with everything, then came back to it with a fresh eye. It is getting there, and I blazed through revisions of the middle sixty pages last week, but now goes the hard part which is the ironing out of the ideas and really polishing them. I drive myself a little crazy with my writing process, meaning, that I often find the story as I'm moving along, so the direction changes. This somewhat of a pain, but I found that this is the method that works for me. I used to try to outline and write histories, and blah blah, but now, instead, I sort of come up with a few plot points, and I typically know the beginning and end, then I start writing. Then I'll come up with histories as I go along. What a process, but I feel myself improving and growing with every new screenplay. Now I need to get back to this draft and really make it pop!

A New Wave of Films

It's definitely an interesting time to be an indie filmmaker as technology and other aspects of making movies become less expensive and more accessible to people. In recent years, we've seen a proliferation of indie films, which makes the market/field that much more competitive, but at the same time, it means that story is king. What's really interesting is that right now, there are a host of Indian American filmmakers like myself making movies in this low budget range. There are so many that have been made in the past years, it's becoming a whole new genre in some ways. I think we're seeing this because as first generation immigrant children like myself grow up, they want to share their perspective and point of view. I'm def. supportive of all these films, and I'm pretty good friends with some of my fellow filmmakers. It's fascinating how all of these new voices are getting out there, I often wonder how all of it will play out in the next ten years. In the mean time, here are some of the movies coming out or in the works:

Kissing Cousins, A romantic comedy by Amyn Kaderali
I know these guys, meaning the director and producers really well. Romantic comedies can sometimes be a tough sell on the indie scene, but this film is picking up steam as it travels the festival circuit.

Karma Calling, A comedy by Sarba Das
I haven't seen this one yet, but I know Sarba's been working really hard on it. It looks funny and poignant, can't wait to check it out.

Ocean of Pearls A drama by Sarab Singh Neelam
A drama about tradition, framed within the context of being Sikh. Looks like a really incredible drama, I missed it when it was here a few weeks ago, but hopefully it'll come around again soon.

Patang, A drama by Prashant Bhargava
Looks like a visual stunner with the gorgeous photography. Haven't seen it yet either, but can't wait to check it out.

The Power of Fun

I think that sometimes in life when you're dragging and things don't seem to be going anywhere, you just need to bust out and have a little fun. I've been so down on myself for not getting this new script into shape the way I want, I think I've really been internalizing my feelings in bad ways that we as creatives sometimes do. It's like, why can't I get this thing to be the way I want, what is wrong with me? Well, sometimes getting into that frame of mind is a downward spiral because it creates unneeded negative energy which further pushes us into the spiral. Anyway, so this past weekend, I went away with a couple of friends to Lightning in a Bottle, a music festival in Santa Barbara. It was cold and rainy, but I camped out there with a few really fun friends. We laughed a lot, listened to amazing music, and just kind of chilled out for three days. The music was so incredible, The Glitch Mob, Ana Sia, other low level bass shit, it was great to just get my dance on. For some reason, after those couple of days, I feel a whole new sense of energy. I feel positive, and I had a really good breakthrough with the writing issue I was struggling with. Usually, when I'm blocked with something, I make tons of notes, list, bios and other things to help me, but I think that sometimes, taking a very short breather is the best medicine... Or just getting some low level dance on!

Summer is Upon Us!

It's been a while since I posted to this blog... I don't know, I guess I've been feeling a little down for the past couple of weeks. January through the end of April was such a time of crazy hustle. Between teaching and putting the film together, I was running around like a crazy person. Now, it's suddenly summer, and the goal of making this movie happen is just around the corner, which means so many things, but mostly, it's about all of the financing coming together. If everything goes as planned, then we'll be okay. But in order for us to get there, there is so much that has to happen... This is the point in the process where you have to have faith, and pray that all of the ideas, energies and thoughts that you've puts out into the world will actually yield something. I mean, I've been busting my ass, now all I can do is keep following up and make it happen... It's weird because I've put so much of myself into this process, it's like, summer suddenly came, and I was like, now what? Usually, I line up teaching, freelance projects, etc for the summer, but this summer, I've been so about the film, I haven't lined much of anything up. But I think it's a good thing--I'm totally focused on making it happen, which means it will happen. I'm also re-writing a script of mine to really make it work. I've spent the past eight months on this piece, and I basically realized that the piece needs a more fresh POV. It's so much work, and I'm truly going a little crazy with the process, but I believe that this new POV/direction will help. I think I've been feeling a bit of that heavy weight like, man, I've put so much energy and effort out, will it actually go some place? I know it will, and I try to stay positive, but this career path is so hard for this reason--just because you put out ideas, it doesn't mean they're going anywhere. But besides the financing, I am also working on looking for production designers, cast and all of the pieces of the puzzle required to make a movie happen. It's all tricky, but I know it has to come together after all of this...

A Moment of Thanks!

Over the past two years, Megha and I have been hustling our butts off to make Raspberry Magic happen. It's not an easy process or a sane one as I've said here many times, but the thing that makes it good are all of the people who've been so supportive and so helpful. It's tough to knock on doors and get lots of no's, but honestly, for every no we've gotten, we've had tons of yes's. There have been so many people who've said, I know people who know people, or I will read the business plan and see what I can do. So, for all of the positive people out there who have touched us in some small or big way, I just want to say thank you, it's def. people like you who keep us going on a daily basis!!!

Crazy Time

The past few months have been an insane roll coaster ride--we've had some big leads on the financing front, then lots of waiting. I can't believe it's almost summer, and I am done with teaching for the spring. Now, it's crazy time, meaning we are set on shooting the movie this fall, so it means that we have to pull a number of things together. Our biggest task right now is to cast the young girls and finish raising all of our money. I have a feeling we'll be raising the money until the very last moment, but casting is a very big job, especially in terms of the little girls. I'm excited about shooting in Humboldt County, as well, and hope to spend a bit of time up there this summer to scout the locations. The other big question is shooting format. We've been exploring shooting on the new RED cameras, and my DP is thinking about purchasing one. But, a few people have told it's dicey in post, so we're weighing all of the options. Red sounds incredible, and many more people are using it now, we just wouldn't use the 4000K setting. So, I guess starting now it's officially hustle time!! Time to really pull all of the pieces together and make this film happen.

Incompetent Hipsters: Lovecraft is a Mess!!

We bought a veggie oil car from Lovecraft BioFuels a couple of years back when it was still a novel idea. It was a cool experiment, but ultimately, the car we got was a lemon. The crazy thing is, we first got hip to the idea through a friend of a friend, and then oddly enough, my mentor from Project Involve, Michael Lehmann, also had a couple of the cars. We picked out our green beauty, then they said it was take a month for the repairs to be complete. So, we paid our deposit and waited. And waited. Finally, after six months, we got the car. But the whole time, it seemed like LoveCraft was attempting to pull one over on us. They were rude, completely disorganized and had this really annoying "cooler than thou" attitude. It was like all hipster with very, very little business savvy. The people who worked there kept making all of these excuses for the elusive "Brian," too. I was ready to pull out and call it quits, but my sweet husband was so invested in this green beauty that he couldn't let it go. Anyway, once we finally got the car, it issues, like the transmission and a few other things. It was okay, I mean, the car still drives, but we ultimately got tired of having an unreliable vehicle. We've still got the car (mostly bc my husband won't let go of it), but we're ready to sell it. I'm sure the right person could do something with it, but us not knowing much about cars makes it tough. Anyway, today, there is an article in the LA Times that says, "Cutting-edge Silver Lake biofuel company is embroiled in a legal battle." It's all about how fucked up Brian and his business practices were. What a bunch drama!

Facebook

I was extremely resistant to getting on Facebook for the longest time. My producer was urging me to get on, but still, I was kind of skeptical, because I've been on Tribe, MySpace and Friendster, and ultimately, I found social networking to be a big waste of time. Anyway, sites like MySpace are so fucking ghetto, who wants to set up a profile there, right? But I finally bit the bullet and got onto Facebook a couple of months ago, and I have to say, a very interesting thing happened. But first, some back story. I grew up in Raleigh, NC. Now days, Raleigh is a very diverse place with so many different types of people/things going on, it's awesome. But back when I was growing up there, it just wasn't that diverse. I always felt like a fish out of water amongst the white, southern kids in my school. I was this funky weird chick wearing a mix of Indian clothing, starting an environmental club at my school and reading Ayn Rand. I really didn't care about things like prom, dating and the usual high school pursuits. I think everyone feels awkwardness to some degree in high school, but those years kind of traumatized me. I got picked on my some pretty mean people, and I started hanging out with a crowd of people who were kind of rough--I started drinking, doing drugs, etc. at a young age. Then, I got busted by my parents and my life became even more hellacious. To make matters worse, I wasn't a steallar student like the rest of my Indian compatriots. Sure, I was still getting A's and B's and an occasional C in math, but my sister and every other Indian kid we knew pretty much made straight A's. My parents basically thought I was a major under achiever with serious issues, so they made my junior year of high school a living hell--constant lectures, no going anywhere, and studying for the SAT every night for 2-3 hours (I did very poorly on the SATS). The only thing that saved me was my writing. My junior year of high school, a teacher of mine encouraged me to join newspaper staff, and I thrived. It was the first time I did something right, and she gave me a chance to write a column for a local newspaper. Then, my senior year, I won an Parade Magazine essay contest, so I was vindicated by my folks. Needless to say, my high school years were hard. I have one really close friend from high school, but she became a pretty conservative Christian and we went down very different paths. Anyway, back to FaceBook. After high school, I went to college at UNC, then immediately moved away from NC. I haven't lived there in 12 years or so, mostly because I want to forget those very difficult years. But recently, a few people from high school reached out to me on Facebook. A couple people I was friends with, then a couple people who were sort of "popular" and I knew only marginally. At first, I was pretty weirded out when I got their requests. There's something uncomfortable about re-connecting with a past you so want to forget. But I went ahead and added, and was surprised when a couple of people even wrote some really nice notes on my wall. Then, I started getting a few more requests from people I grew up with, and a funny thing has happened. My re-connecting with all of these folks, seeing that they're adults now with kids, jobs, etc. makes me realize that everyone was probably going through the same thing I was, I mean that awkwardness of of adolescence. My memories of certain people from those days feel like they were characters in a movie. But seeing them on FaceBook makes them more real, more human. It's definately strange, but interesting at the same time.

A Very Short Story

This a funny little short piece I wrote recently. I don't think anyone else thinks it's funny except for me, but hey, sometimes we have to humor ourselves, right? I submitted it to a couple of flash fiction publications, but they all said no. One editor told me he thought it was just plain weird. Anyway, here it is:

French Fries Cause Greenhouse Gases
Last Tuesday morning on the way to Stockton, I had an urge for the perfect mix of potato and salt and oil and ketchup in a bottomless pit of red and yellow cardboard. Supersized. I let up on the gas and gave my right signal as the desert sun set, ready to take exit one fifty six. But then I crept past it, without ever even moving into the far lane. Instead, I waited for an exit number that was divisible by seven. Seven times twenty equals one forty: gone. Seven times seventy-seven equals one eighty-nine: safe. Also, enough time to consider the facts: The fries contain beef seasoning. Beef seasoning comes from cows. Cows cause greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming. I am perpetuating world misery and denigration. But are salt-and-potatoes-and-beef seasoning really detrimental? I wiped my sweaty palms on my lap, drifting into the center of the road. Suddenly, I heard a loud and sustained horn “BLEEEEEEEEET.” I immediately swerved to the left. I glanced out my window as a truck driver with wild curly hair pressed his middle finger against the glass. My hands shook as I took exit 167 for a reputable sandwich joint.

It Takes a Mountain

Getting a feature film made is like moving a mountain. It takes a huge amount of resources, and a fierce determination that isn't always easy to sustain. I've been working my butt off, trying to convince people to help us make this movie, invest $20K in a piece of art that will live forever. We've gotten some investors on board, and there is definitely a movie in the works. But we still need more investors, and though we have a number of people who have said yes, we need the rest of the checks. It is not easy to raise money and on the days when I feel blue about our progress and how things are going, I try to remember that a year ago, we didn't even have a bank account. But there are days when I sometimes feel like this is so tough, that it simply may not happen. Deep down inside, I am so determined and I know that it will, but still, it is still very hard to put yourself out there sometimes. The thing that ultimately keeps me going is the vision of the film, this idea of a young girl trying to find herself amongst the complicated world of adults, a young girls who finds solace in the forest. Every character that I create is in some ways, an iteration of myself, and while I wasn't a science nerd when I was growing up, I was a book nerd. I spent hours and hours in my room reading, sometimes a book a week. Sometimes is was the Sweet Valley High series, other times it was the The Fountainhead and other literary works. The world of my parents was also confusing, because my parents fought constantly about things that made to sense to my sister and I. My parents put every ounce of their energy into us, but their fighting was so confusing that my sister and now as adults sometimes spend hours trying to dissect exactly what was going on there. I think that my parents were so consumed in their fighting, my sister and I both had to find ways of coping. My sister is more introverted than I am, but her studying was a means of dealing--she is now a doctor, and has no problem with the long hours of shutting herself up with the books. I was the less studious one, but I always loved to read and write, and now as an adult, I find sitting in closed rooms for long hours very comforting. Isn't it interesting how our past effects us? How we use it to create the present? Raspberry Magic is an iteration of myself in so many different ways, I have to make it.

Splitting the Difference in Creating Characters

I think that creating characters with a unique, engaging voice and point of view on the world is the essence of great writing. I've seen some writers with an affinity for plot, who don't have anything to say through their characters, and the stories feel flat. It's sort of like making films--just because a person is technically proficient, it doesn't mean that they have something amazing to say. Teaching film students, I find that the students who take risks conceptually are the ones whose ideas really strike a chord. This is true, I believe, of the professionals, too. So, I've always asked myself, how do I push my characters to the extreme limit, making them as engaging as possible? See, in the beginning, when I was learning to write, I think that sometimes my characters were way over the top and my plots were an absolute mess. A few managers said that I had an interesting voice, and that they would read more of my work, but the plots were simply confusing. Fast forward to a few years later, I've really been studying the craft of plotting and working very hard to understand story flow and logic. But now, I think what's happened is that I've lost some of that voice that used to be in my early scripts. A teacher of mine read one of my recent scripts said, it's all plot, what happened to those amazing characters of yours? If this had been a few years ago, I would have been pretty depressed (he also said it was the worst thing I had ever written, but that's a different story), but I took a couple weeks off and really pondered this question of character. I've been racking my brains a bit, trying to really think about this question of character--what is the essence of a character, and how do I, as a writer really make that shine. Sure, I do a character bio, I spent time figuring out motivation and all of those things. Finally, after some days of thinking about it, and developing some character charts that break down things like inner and outer needs, I sat down to write and I realized something. Creating characters for me is about instinct. I had a teacher of mine who would always say that writing with all instinct is extremely dangerous because when you're stuck, you don't know how to fix things. I get that, but for me, I realize that I have to get to a place where I am thinking through the logic of the plot, and the character's relationship to plot, but then when it come to creating the essence of the characters, I have to use my instinct and deeper understanding of who I think people are and how they work. I've gone back and revised this script, and I realize that I've found the voice of the main character through this process. Sure, I'll go back and revise, revise and revise, but I think this method of creating characters through my own experience is something that works for me.

Film Finance + Revisions

The film, Raspberry Magic, is coming along, slowly but surely... I never really mention details, because yes, I am superstitious about saying too much. We have shooting place, a date and yes, even much of the key cast in place... But I'll let you know once it's all real...

One another tip, I've got a new script which I'm presently revising. I realize in my writing that often I like to cover big concepts like in "V for Vendetta" for example, this idea of freedom--it's tricky because while the characters are compelling, many of the abstract ideas are represented by visuals. Same with "All the President's Men"--a great film, but many of the ideas are abstract concepts, expressed through letters or talking. These kinds of films are not so easy to write, and certainly not always the most commercially viable. And honestly, I don't think that many people get them. But, I have a momentum in my writing that is pushing me to extremes--I must write. It is all that I think about morning, noon and night. It's kind of overpowering, and at this moment, I don't know what it means except that I am getting work done. But I hope that in the scheme of things in means that I am pushing myself toward excellence. Right now, I am good, but in order to make something happen in this business, you have to be excellent in a way that's above and beyond. I want that.

Eve Marie Carson

Last week, I was very saddened by the violent shooting and death of UNC-Chapel Hill's student body president, Eve Marie Carson. Acts of random violence happen every single day in every country, in every town, but her death touched me on a very personal level. Perhaps because I went to UNC-Chapel Hill for my undergraduate education, or perhaps because my sister is still there, in medical school. Or, perhaps because I've always thought of Chapel Hill as the perfect, idyllic place, a place that's far away from Los Angeles and San Francisco, a place that's peaceful enough to lounge in the spring grass on a Tuesday afternoon, and culturally diverse enough to rent an obscure indie flick on a Sunday night. I've always thought that one day, my husband and I could live in a cute colonial on the outskirts of campus, and I could spend my days writing with the cicadas chirping loudly in the background, without having to worry. No, I'm not naive, violence can happen anywhere at any time, but I always thought of Chapel Hill as being far away from such things. I wanted to believe that such a place still existed, but it doesn't. On another level, it just makes me angry that Eve Marie Carson's life could be taken away so quickly, so tragically, in an instance when another person was having a bad moment. It doesn't matter how accomplished she was or all of the great things that she did while she was here, she had a right to exist in peace, without being the victim of another person's crime. What's even more difficult is that there is no explanation for such a thing, no way to really make sense of it. All we can do is offer condolences and wishes of peace for Eve Marie Carson's family.

Short Fiction

I've been writing a lot of micro or flash fiction in between screenplay revisions. I really like flash fiction, it allows me to explore a moment of time or an emotion while playing around with language. A piece of mine called, How Airplane Videos Keep Us Grounded, is posted on a lit magazine called, Word Catalyst. In the past, I had written some short pieces, but I wasn't doing it consistently. But now that I've been doing it regularly, I see my imagination opening up. I think writing these kinds of piece are great a great workout for writers!