[Class Exercise] One Sentence Summary

Bon Jovi - It's My Life
A teenage boy who risked his life just to get to his girlfriend who was at the live gig before it ended.

For the Birds
A group of small birds shunning the odd one while resting on top of a wire pole, teasing and attempts of chasing the odd one only backfired and they were being laughed at in the end.

Flamingo - Fantasia
When a group of flamingos forced the yoyo-obessessed flamingo to join their dance, it only ended in a disaster when the latter incorporate yoyo into the dance.

Snowman
A snowman trying his best to get out of his globe and get closer to the hot babe on the beach, after various attempts, he was still trapped in his dome and ended up in the fishbowl.

Dino Fart
When a T-Rex, small dino and a pig have a farting competition, who would have known that the pig's fart was the most lethal.

[Story 03] Connecting Technologies, Disconnecting Humanity

Theme: An Item

With his precious earpieces on, and the player blasting music, he was lured subconsciously to the place where he would be loved.

It wasn’t easy being a child. Ask any kid on the streets, and they would tell you how much they have to study, and were told to stop asking questions and “go do your homework!” Sometimes, they don’t even have the time to play anymore. Even their future was planned out for them.

They were no longer children but little adults.

Terry was a child. He agreed that while it was difficult being one, please imagine his life as a child to two widely renowned engineers.

Normal parents were busy working during the day, but during the night, they spent time with their family. Although there were some cases that the routine was the opposite, or some oddball parents liked to bring their work home and continue the suffering at home.

Terry’s parents, Alfred and May, however, were busy working during the day and night and the hours beyond. Their schedule was full of designing new plans for new machines, setting up new databases, executing new programming, to even have any spare time to care about their own family. Terry wondered how they got together in the first place.

Alfred and May made poor parents, even though they were famous engineers. They thought that by giving what Terry wanted was the way to show love. They did not realize that Terry was a growing child that needed care, attention and some guidance.

Despite Terry receiving what he wanted, he was not the usual spoilt child. He appreciated his gifts, but they were merely things that he saw what his classmates received from their parents. He thought that by receiving similar presents from Alfred and May would give him that happiness that he witnessed on his classmates’ faces when they received theirs.

But no. Something was missing. The thought.

One day, Terry saw a nicely wrapped packet in the post bearing his name. Curious, since he did not requested for anything, he opened it up eagerly. It was an electric blue earpiece set with a music player. The player seemed to radiate a light of its own, promising to contain hours of entertainment and fun.

Terry put it on at once, admiring the stark contrast of the bright blue against his black hair, and how it brought out the colors of his pale blue eyes. He started the music and was instantly drowned in it.

“Alfred, have you seen Terry recently?” asked the concerned May.

“No.” Alfred replied shortly as he ruffled through the pile of letters on his desk.

“I’ll try contacting his classmates…”

“What’s this?!”

May turned to see Alfred scanning through a letter, face turning pale. Suppressing a feeling of dread, she hurried to her husband’s side and read

“To all Engineers,

Beware of suspicious articles that do not indicate who the sender is. Neighboring enemy countries have been coming up with control spells. Remember to seal your letter or parcels with your personal password.

– Xavier, Government’s Secret Services”

“Do you think…?” Alfred asked May hesitantly.

At that moment, Terry was wandering around on an unfamiliar street, eyes half-lidded, and fingers lovingly grasped the music player. He knew something was wrong, but he could not resist the lure of the music in his ears. The beats, they were bringing him to somewhere better. A place where he would be loved and with the very first real present that his parents gave him – the music player…

The music player with its electric blue earpieces…

“Terry, Stop! Come back!”

[Ex 1 Book Review] Character Study on Little Prince

『Little Traveler』を歌ってみた

By Clear

• Disciplined - tending to baobabs
• Serious - looking through all the drawings of sheep
• Persistent - 'Never letting go of a question once he asked it'
• Polite - Apologize to the King for yawning. Polite speech. 
• Curious - reason for traveling and asking questions
• Indulgent - to the rose and narrator
• Empathetic - tamed fox; does not want narrator to see him 'die', suggested way to rest to lamplighter
• Innocent and pure - because the snake said so.

1. The Little Prince does not understand why grown ups think of only themselves;
2. why such importance is placed upon things that are not significant;
3. making simple things complicated;
4. continuing doing what they know is wrong or bad for themselves;
5. so prideful and vain
6. not treasuring what they have

To the readers, the Little Prince resembles a small boy from the way he is curious about everything that invokes his interest, his persistency in asking questions, his straight-forwardness, and how he is able to see what things really are as shown instead of being clouded by the grown-ups’ reality check.

He came across a beautiful flower that demanded his attention and care. Like a child, the novelty of taking care of a beautiful flower soon wore his patience down and he questioned himself why he was doing so much for the flower and was, yet, taken for a wild goose ride by her words. He did not understand what is the meaning of ‘Love’, and how to differentiate which was truer – actions or words.

In some ways, the Little Prince is like the inner child who resides in everyone. As we grow up and get accustomed to the adult world, his existence becomes smaller. We become less polite and more demanding, making simple things more complicated by sly words, doing things for our own benefit foremost, and neglecting to treasure what is truly important to us. We weigh how important things are to us by their value and how much they are worth to other people – we calculate that value by what is visible to the eyes and not the heart.

The Little Prince went exploring all the little asteroids where a grown up reside, each resembling our vices – such as pride, vanity, the love of power, the thirst of empty knowledge, the stubbornness to change, and how ridiculous they all seem to be in the eyes of others, especially a child as innocent and pure like the Little Prince.

On Earth, the Little Prince found out what he wanted to know in the first place. He realized that one is able to choose if he wants to have a bond with another or not, despite knowing what would happen in the end. But it is because of the good times and memories that the bond had produced, results in the sadness when they have to part, and the anticipation and hope that they will meet again when they are apart, and the happiness and relief they feel when they are together. In short, happiness taste the sweetest when one has experienced hardship before.

And what makes the other so special is because you have made the choice to have a bond. Knowing that, and realize that it is true for the other party that they too, made a choice to have a bond with you.

In this story, the Little Prince is created so it would be easy for the children to relate to him, and also for the adults to enjoy without feeling that the story is too preachy. 

[Ex 1 Book Review] Character Study on Mr Twits

• Petty, revengeful - playing tricks back on his wife
• Lazy - does not clean beard; wipe his mouth with back of his hand or sleeve and wipe that on his pants.
• Cunning, Creative, Careful (when required) - his trick with the walking stick AND chair
• Dumb, not observant, gullible - tricked into eating worms as spaghetti; tricked into thinking he was standing upside in the house
• Selfish - does not give a damn about other as long as he gets what he wants - baby monkeys fainting from being upside down, and the thought of Boy Pie.
• Merciless - does not pity his wife when she was frightened to the point that she was dribbling
• Rude - talking with his mouth full; calling his wife 'old hag'
• Simple, cannot multitask - becomes quiet when plotting tricks
• Sneaky, busybody - probably peep at people through their windows because he didn't realise that windows are meant for looking out.
• Does not want people to know about him - in the beginning, narrator mentioned the reason why people grow hair; and the fact that his house has no windows.

From the start, Mr Twits (an unfortunate name to have) has been described quite vividly as an ugly, dirty and nasty old man that everyone will love to hate.

He is portrayed as the ugly side of a human being, both in the physical appearance and the inner personality.

Mr Twits, to me, is a hilarious character in a morbid way. From the way he behaves, he is like a spiteful little boy. Considering his age of 60, perhaps he is entering his second childhood. With his bristly dirty beard and hair, Mr Twits believed that he looked wise and grand. What you believe could be wrong, besides everyone’s views are different. Who knows, maybe if he washed his beard and hair, give it a trim, soften the cuticles with conditioner, he might look grand – if only he was not that lazy.

His trick with Mrs Twits’ walking stick and chair shows that he is quite smart to think of it, and careful to also apply the trick to an ordinary household item such as the chair, cunning to increase the height gradually. This shows that when we really desired to do or achieve something, it could be done.

Mr Twits had refused to have any windows while building his house, claiming that he did not want anyone to peep at what he is doing. This indicates that he is a very secretive and private person. And also, to be able to think that way, it is highly possible that Mr Twits himself is a busybody and likes to peep at others, hence he is projecting his assumption onto other people.

In the family, the everyday life of both Mr and Mrs Twits are chaotic as they each play nasty tricks to and fro on each other, a never ending cycle. They treated each other and their pet monkeys badly. In the end, their pets tricked both of them. ‘Treat others like you would like to be treated’ and ‘Karma is a bitch; it all comes back to you.’

Mr Twits is such a heinous character that does not seem to have a shred of goodness in him at all. I believed that he is created as such so that he will be very memorable.

[Story 02] Human and Misassumption

Theme: Location

When the Walls have ears and jumping into conclusions result in awkwardness.

Eyes staring intently at the movement of the minute hand, following its slow progress across the clock face, the noise level subsided and increased as the minute hand approached the much-anticipated place.

It was time.

The chair scraped in protest as Emily stood up abruptly. Shouldering her red backpack, she gulped down the remaining amount of water, and nudging the chair back underneath the table with her knee, she headed for the door of freedom.

Emily threw the empty bottle into the dustbin carelessly as she swept through the door without a backward glance.

“Beep” and a loud click indicated the door was, once again, locked.

It was unusual for Emily to be in a hurry, but it was an undeniable fact that she was feeling uncomfortably tense for some reason. She adjusted the weight of her bag and proceeded down the long corridor in moderate haste, turning into the first corner without a second thought instead of going the usual route. 

She pushed open the grey door bearing the correct symbol carefully, only to find the room beyond empty. There was a slight odor of cheap perfume that tickled Emily’s nose as she fought hard not to breathe too deeply. At least, the place was relatively dry and there were no signs of litter on the ground.

She chose the cleanest stall and went in, enclosing herself within 4 walls again.

A distant platter of footsteps could be heard coming nearer at an alarming rate, within a few seconds, Emily heard the grey door being pushed open again, and a click indicating someone had followed her example.

“What are your plans?” An unfamiliar voice belonging to the shadow that stood in front of her door.

‘She’s not talking to me right,’ Emily thought as she went about her business.

The uncomfortable bloated feeling drained away slowly, and the tension too, seemed to slip away.

“Home. Lots of assignments, “ Someone spoke from Emily’s right, “Project mates ain’t doing their…”

“Shh!”

‘Smart move,’ Emily grinned wryly. One would never know who is listening, that is why they say walls have ears. Never gossip in an unsecured place such as this.

The two unknown persons resumed their idle chat as Emily finished up. She shivered a little due to the sudden loss of heat (in liquid form), as her left hand automatically reached for the roll of paper.

There was none!

She reached for the outside pocket of her bag, intending to take out her packet of tissue paper.

“Bzzztup!”

“Hey, hey, do you need to change it* so loudly?”

“It wasn’t me.”

“Oh,…”

*What? Oh, this is a female thing.

Emily adjusted her clothing and flushed, stepping out of her cubicle and into the awkward silence. She looked unabashedly at the mirror, and noticed from the corner of her eyes that the girl was looking at her.

First years.

Emily ignored her, and started washing her hands, being careful not to splash too much water outside the basin.

“Mil, do you have tissue? There’s no toilet paper in here!”

“Eh? I don’t have any…” The girl standing beside Emily said as she rumbled about in her bag.

Without a word, Emily opened the front pocket again, the velcro unstuck with a loud “Bzzztup”. She took out a new pack of tissue paper and handed it over to the girl with a slight smile.

Mil gave a quick bow of her head and a sheepish grin, apologizing silently about the rudeness earlier. Emily acknowledged it with a nod, adjusted her bag and left the stuffy toilet.

[Story 01] Human the Chameleon

We are all liars, someway or another. This is how I lie...

It was quiet, other than the gentle whirring of the electric fan and the occasional sound of a car passing by. She timed her breathing to her alarm clock’s ticking just for the fun of it.

'Vvrrrrr vvrrrrr vvrrrrr vrrrrrr vvrrrr vvrrrr vvrrrr vvrrrr...'

The peace was broken by the vibration of her cellphone and it went on for a couple of seconds before stopping.

“Idiot.”

Doesn’t one know that if the call wasn’t answered within 5 rings, it means that it would most likely be left unanswered?

'Vvrrrr!'

A single sharp vibration that could only indicate a text message.

“Tsk. Such persistence.” She grumbled and rolled over in her bed, unwilling to get up. It was Saturday, the perfect excuse to lie in bed and doze the afternoon away. Another short vibration made her reached for her cell in exasperation.

She blinked at the brightly lit screen as she squinted at the text invitation from one of her classmates to hang out at the beach and have a barbeque. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of the sun, seawater and the smoke from the charcoal; she wasn’t exactly an outdoor person.

‘Oops, was in the toilet. Sorry but I can’t today. Celebrating a friend’s birthday :) Invite me next time k? Have fun! Don’t miss me ;)'

Such a lie.

There wasn’t any friend’s birthday celebration and she did not give a hoot about them missing her or not.  Humans and their insecurities – they rely on each other to survive; yet they would not hesitate to backstab one another should an opportunity present itself.

She grunted as she sat up on her bed, trying to scratch an itch on her left leg using the pad of her fingers. Her long painted nails might leave a scratch on her fair leg, and that would be hard to cover up.

She could have trimmed her nails or wear jeans, but according to the latest fashion magazines, long painted nails with decorations and shorts were all the rage.

Gossip and fashion magazines cluttered up her bedside table, clothes splitting off the bed and onto the floor, empty bottles of health and diet drinks littered the floor. She stood up and sauntered over to her vanity mirror, kicking dresses and bottles away with her pretty painted toes.

The room was a mess.

The exact opposite of the smiling reflection shown in the mirror.

But mirrors sometimes lie; they could only reflect what is on the surface, but not what is truly deep inside.

“You’re such a sinner, Sue, lying to fit in.”

[IMO] Rant Letter

Dear blog,

I was told a week ago to write a short story consisting of 300 to 500 words. The first thing that came to my mind was my secondary school compositions. And that had required more than a thousand words.

It had been easy to spill my guts and brain juice out on 2 pieces of foolscap paper. But that was 9 years ago.

Since then, all I have ever wrote were reports. Business reports. Reports on what is strategic human resource, what is leadership, how to train and retain employees. Those reports did wonders for my creativity.

Now, I'm in a storytelling and scriptwriting class, I guess I need to seek that tiny bit of creativity that has probably rusted somewhere in my brain and torture it mercilessly. And I realized that the difficult part is actually the 500 words limit.

Oops, what? What limit was that again?

Cheers and have a nice day,
dayever

[Notes] Terminology 02

1. One Sentence Pitch (Ref)
• A one sentence description of the plot that can be quickly conveyed and understand, and generates interest in the book
• Eg: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
  • A boy wizard begins training and must battle for his life with the Dark Lord who murdered his parents.
2. Logline (Ref 01/Ref 02)
• Usually associated with movies/screenplay
• A one line or a two line summary of the story that is intended to persuade an agent or producer to read the script.
3. Synopsis (Ref)
• A summary of the script's plot that usually runs 1-2 pages in length.
4. Character Bio (Link)
• A detailed description and background of a character.
5. Storyline (Ref)
• The plot or subplot of a story.
• Telling a story from start to end.
6. Scene Breakdown (Ref)
• A summary that breaks the story down into all the difference scenes that are going to be required for the screenplay.
• An idea of different scenes, whether it is in day or night, how the scene looks like, from one place to another place to another place.
7. Beats (Ref 01/ Ref 02)
• A unit of a scene in a story where there is an exchange between the characters and the action/reaction/revelation advances the story and shape the turning of that scene.
• They are the dramatic structure of the scene, helping to build to the point and purpose of what you want to establish.
• Point forms that describe actions that will happen in sequence. Helps to plan the story. Breadcrumbs.
8. Plots/ Subplots (Ref 01/ Ref 02)
• Plot (main story line) is a literary term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, or by coincidence.
• Subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for the main plot. 
9. Turning Points (Ref)
• The point at which a very significant change occurs; a decisive moment.
10. Climax (Ref)
• The point of highest tension or drama or when the action starts in which the solution is given.
11. Script (Ref)
• A document that includes character dialogue, stage directions and actions.
• It is dialogue and action put together. Everyone in the production will use the script.
12. Hook (Ref)
• A literary technique in the opening of a story that "hooks" the reader's attention.
13. Motive (Ref)
• Something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.
14. Conflict (Ref)
• The challenges and obstacles which the principal character must confront, and details the means by which they (fail to) overcome them.
15. Dramatic Sequence
• A reaction chain, where one thing lead to another thing to another thing.
16. Resolution
• Conclusion. Where your character will find his motive, solved his problem, achieved his motive(s).
17. Outcome
• The end result, consequence.

[Class Exercise] In that situation...

Putting the 2 characters in a situation-

It was lunch time at Lau Pa Sat and, as usual, it was very crowded and humid.

Andrea, who had ordered her food, was looking for an empty seat anxiously as she would be having a meeting with a client half an hour later. However, every seats seemed to be occupied and everyone was  enjoying their lunch slowly, which added to her mounting anxiousness.

Fayye had overslept that morning, waking up grumpily, she resolved never to stay up for any late night drama again. She had skipped her breakfast to spend that time to apply her makeup, thus, was very hungry. Especially after that lengthy meeting! 

She had a hard time keeping her stomach growls from being heard by gulping down the water provided and that did not help to keep her temper sweet. With her tray of food in her hands, she looked for an empty seat with a slight frown. Everyone was eating so-oooo slowly!

There!

An empty space between two office workers!

Andrea and Fayye both walked hurriedly in the direction to the seat, heaving a slight sigh of relief...only to see a piece of tissue of the chair.

Andrea, upon seeing the tissue paper and sensing Fayye's presence, gave up with the thought of having her lunch there. She went back to the vendor and requested to have it packed. She would eat in her office's pantry instead if there was enough time, else she would have it after the meeting.

Fayye gave a glance at Andrea's retreating back and shrugged, happy at the thought of having not to waste time arguing. She ignored the stares of the office workers from the neighboring seats as she put her tray down firmly. 

Even when in doubt, act confident, and people will be less likely to interfere.

Fayye calmly used the tissue paper to wipe the seat and crumpled it up, depositing it at the edge of her tray. Normal conversations resumed around her while she set about to enjoy her meal.

Minutes later, the owner came back, speechless with the sight of someone sitting at the seat which she had obviously stated that it was taken with a piece of tissue. The owner, could not believe that anyone could be so thick-skinned, was at a loss with what to do next other than standing next to her seat. 

Fayye noticed someone standing next to her and glanced up. Noticing Fayye's glance, the owner was about to speak her mind, but that expressionless face stole the words out of her mouth again. 

"Wait a little. I'm finishing."
With a final slurp of noodles, a dabbing of mouth with a clean tissue, Fayye stood up with her tray and left...

a piece of clean tissue on the table. 

[Class Exercise] 2 Persons you Know

Name	Andrea	Fayye
Gender	Female	Female
Age range	Mid-twenties	Mid-twenties
Physical Appearance	Chinese; A full figure that appeals to most guys; long wavy natural brown hair; dark skin which caused a lot of mistaken identity.	Chinese; Full figure, a little on the heavy side; sports a pixie cut; smooth semi-tan skin.
Speech	Prefers to speak in English; polite and professional when required; otherwise, quite informal with people she is used to; has a smooth, slightly low voice.	No particular language preferences; very polite when speaking to her elders; does not talk a lot, preferring to communicate via actions, expressions or body language whenever possible; normal speech tends to be on a slight sarcastic side; has a slightly sharp voice.
Walk	Has a barely visible limp.	Long strides; only looks ahead
Attitude/ belief	Gives off a laid-back feeling but is very hardworking; serious and matured when it concerns lives; value family and friends.	"There is no free lunch in this world"; pretty sharp and knows how to drive a hard bargain; "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours".
Behavior	Seemingly carefree and down-to-earth; adaptive; has a logical mind; sometimes gets influenced easily.	Will be a little forceful when she believes she is right; tends to make snide comments when things does not go her way; strong-willed; a sucker for rules. has a rather odd behavior.
Particular reaction	Panics a lot when she sees cockroaches; will tend to stop and play a little with cats.	Frown unconsciously and make unpleased sound 'tsk' when things does not go her way; says 'thank you' and '' ya're welcome" very automatically whenever she receives a favor or is thanked.
Likes	Tea; environment-friendly things; furry animals; soothing music.	When things go according to her wishes; cosmetics; wine; food.
Nature	Extrovert; but prefers to keep troubles to self; at times prefers to spend time alone with a close friend than to be surrounded by a lot friends.	Prefers the company of herself; but is usually surrounded with weird beings called 'humans'. Tsk.
Experiences	Graduated with relatively high grades from overseas university; first job as a Marketing Executive; is a volunteer at homes.	Graduated from overseas university based in Singapore; above-average grades, excelling in modules that interest her; returning to her company where she worked as an intern as a Human Resource Executive.
Relationships	Values family and (close) friends a lot; will self-sarcifice if needed.	Values family and friends to a certain extend.
Motives / objectives	Spending time with her family and friends; to be able to spread warm feelings.	Don't bother me and I won't bother you. Just be sure to reward me accordingly.

[Notes] Know your Characters

Give your character a name.

1. Physical
Their looks, appearance, the way they walk and talk.


2. Emotions
Their thoughts, attitudes, values and belief


3. Behavior
The way they act and react


4. Interests
What do they like or dislike
What are their pet peeves


5. Nature/Personality


6. Experiences


7. Relationships
How does the relationship affect character?

8. Strengths/ talents, weaknesses


9. Motives and objectives
What does your character want? It will affect your character's behavior


External link : Get ready for 10 days of Character Building

[Notes] Terminology

1. Genre
• a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique
• examples : Comedy, Drama, News, Action, Horror
2. Cliché
• an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype.
• The term is frequently used in modern culture for an action or idea which is expected or predictable.
• example : And they lived happily ever after...
3. Stereotype
• an idea, trait, convention, etc, that has grown stale through fixed usage.
• a set of inaccurate, simplistic generalizations about a group that allows others to categorize them and treat them accordingly.
• example : The actor has been stereotyped as a villain (typecast)
4. Antagonist
• a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes with another
5. Protagonist
• the leading character, hero or heroine
6. Supporting
• :D
7. Characterization
• to create/ portray a character

From Jeannette Teo's pptslides

[IMO] What is a Story?

A story is a tale (be it fictional or non-fictional) that aims to bring across a point or more to the audience.
It does not have to restricted to print-type, it could be in a form of music, art, moving pictures et cetera.

Involves at least one character, setting and a plot.

... ... ...  orz