| barpaia1 | Melvin tries to trap the Tooth Fairy. |
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
House Synopsis
House
Bobbin is a young girl playing at the local playground when suddenly she collapses. Nearby babysitter brings her to the hospital. She is diagnosed with a stroke. House and the rest of the doctors are trying to figure out why such a young child suffered from a stroke. They keep her for observation and when the symptoms don’t get any better they question the parents about her health. After a few days she still isn’t getting any better so they perform more tests. Later on in the day she falls into a coma. The medical team panics suspecting foul play from the parents. With Dr. Cuddy distracting the mother and father at the hospital, Dr. Foreman and Dr. Cameron head over to the child’s home to investigate. The doctors find nothing all throughout the house until they look in the older sibling’s room. In there they find vials of a powder that they suspect may be involved. Once back at the hospital, it is discovered that the substance is mercury and Bobbin has been exposed to higher levels of it than normal. It was mercury poisoning.
Bobbin is a young girl playing at the local playground when suddenly she collapses. Nearby babysitter brings her to the hospital. She is diagnosed with a stroke. House and the rest of the doctors are trying to figure out why such a young child suffered from a stroke. They keep her for observation and when the symptoms don’t get any better they question the parents about her health. After a few days she still isn’t getting any better so they perform more tests. Later on in the day she falls into a coma. The medical team panics suspecting foul play from the parents. With Dr. Cuddy distracting the mother and father at the hospital, Dr. Foreman and Dr. Cameron head over to the child’s home to investigate. The doctors find nothing all throughout the house until they look in the older sibling’s room. In there they find vials of a powder that they suspect may be involved. Once back at the hospital, it is discovered that the substance is mercury and Bobbin has been exposed to higher levels of it than normal. It was mercury poisoning.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Portfolio
Query Letter
Dear Mr. or Mrs. Agent,
I would like to introduce you to my most recent story, #######.
My first published work was a poem titled A Scary Driver, in The National Poem Anthology. This story, ######, is a detective story of a young boy on the hunt for the Tooth Fairy. With his manipulative sister telling him lies of the Tooth Fairy's evil plan to steal the young boy's teeth, he sets out on a mission to set up traps catching the Tooth Fairy in the act. Once he realizes the truth behind the Tooth Fairy, he sets his sights on bigger and better things; revenge on his deceptive sister. An action packed story in the eyes of a seven year old, the view of the young boy's world is wharped from that of its actuality.
Dear Mr. or Mrs. Agent,
I would like to introduce you to my most recent story, #######.
My first published work was a poem titled A Scary Driver, in The National Poem Anthology. This story, ######, is a detective story of a young boy on the hunt for the Tooth Fairy. With his manipulative sister telling him lies of the Tooth Fairy's evil plan to steal the young boy's teeth, he sets out on a mission to set up traps catching the Tooth Fairy in the act. Once he realizes the truth behind the Tooth Fairy, he sets his sights on bigger and better things; revenge on his deceptive sister. An action packed story in the eyes of a seven year old, the view of the young boy's world is wharped from that of its actuality.
A story with the sense of humor that will reach a market similar to Shrek with a storyline somewhere between Calvin and Hobbes and Rugrats. However, the boy in this story has the ability to become invisible, or so he thinks. When he puts the "magic" street cone over his head (he's small enough to hide underneath it), he can walk around without blowing his cover.
###### is every young boy's fantasy and every young parent's reality. The idea of invisibility captivates kids and at the same time, reminds parents of their children's young ignorance. With the young boy believing the Tooth Fairy is out to steal his teeth, he'll stop at nothing to stop her. But revenge will be ever so sweet upon his evil sister.
I am a young writer from New Jersey and, considering your location in New York City, believe we would make for a perfect match based on our proximity. I have seen what you have done for John Smith and believe you can do the same for me.
I wanna thank you and appreciate you taking the time to read this as I'm sure you are extremely busy. I look forward to speaking with you further about the direction we may be able to take this.
Sincerely,
Brian Arpaia
First Creative Work (TV Scene)
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator: Well, I had a guest appearance on Boy Meets World playing Mr. Feeney's brother-in-law. Other than that, I had a brief stint on Moesha playing the stereotypical white guy from Germany.
Gary: And what do you have planned for St. Patty's Day?
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator: I plan on taking my kids here to the beach and showing them how to perfect the slow motion run. (Pans out to show young children that are obviously not this person's kids)
Second Creative Work (Short Story)
Finally, the cheerleader decided to call both the girl and the running back to come to her dorm room at the same time without either one knowing. There, they would try to debate over which one would get the girl. The cheerleader stopped the both of them and explained that she could not choose between the two of them and that she had other plans. Before getting into an X-rated script we'll just say all three of them lived happily ever after...especially the guy.
Third Creative Work (Treatment)
The story begins with a 7 year old boy who pretends to be a detective. This boy is not like all the other moves you have seen however, because this little guy is not as polite and friendly as you would imagine. He actually is more of a mix between Eric Cartman and Dennis the Menace. The boy believes that he has the superpower of being invisible to others. This is obviously not true. This special power is only available though when he puts on his (object still up in the air...perhaps sunglasses...perhaps a cape...not sure yet).
First Commentary (Extraordinary Appeal of Screen Media)
Second, and this is a problem I have with most reading I am given in the classroom, the author(s) would use bigger words when they were unnecessary. For example, one sentence reads, "...however passingly, ameliorates this noxious circumstance." Why? Why do they need to use these words? It's just one of those things that really chaps my ass that I had to get off my chest before moving forward with this entry.
Second Commentary (Transmedia Storytelling)
In short, you fight all the remaining players that you didn't choose and then finish it with the "boss" as gamers call them (I would've put gamer in quotes but I didn't want to have two words in quotes right next to each other but in reality, anyone who considers themselves a gamer is considered a tool in my book). It doesn't have much of a story line to the game unless you watch the extra movie parts (which I never did since all I wanted to do was kick some ass). In fact, I never understood why the game was such a hit whereas Shaq Fu, a game based around the great basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, was more pathetic than the Average Homeboy.
Third Commentary (Reaction to the WGA Strike)
They state that 50% of the writers in their union earned less than $104,000 last year. THAT MEANS %50 EARNED MORE! There are people around the country earning $20,000 a year doing much harder work than writing useless ideas onto a piece of paper. The XFL lasted longer than most of the television shows today because they are garbage. And don't get me started on the movies that have come out lately (i.e. Cloverfield...harder to watch than Paula Abdul's music video with the cartoon cat). The writers that are most successful will make the most money, whereas the ones who make garbage movies such as Speed 2 will not make good money.
First Creative Work (TV Scene)
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator: Well, I had a guest appearance on Boy Meets World playing Mr. Feeney's brother-in-law. Other than that, I had a brief stint on Moesha playing the stereotypical white guy from Germany.
Gary: And what do you have planned for St. Patty's Day?
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator: I plan on taking my kids here to the beach and showing them how to perfect the slow motion run. (Pans out to show young children that are obviously not this person's kids)
Second Creative Work (Short Story)
Finally, the cheerleader decided to call both the girl and the running back to come to her dorm room at the same time without either one knowing. There, they would try to debate over which one would get the girl. The cheerleader stopped the both of them and explained that she could not choose between the two of them and that she had other plans. Before getting into an X-rated script we'll just say all three of them lived happily ever after...especially the guy.
Third Creative Work (Treatment)
The story begins with a 7 year old boy who pretends to be a detective. This boy is not like all the other moves you have seen however, because this little guy is not as polite and friendly as you would imagine. He actually is more of a mix between Eric Cartman and Dennis the Menace. The boy believes that he has the superpower of being invisible to others. This is obviously not true. This special power is only available though when he puts on his (object still up in the air...perhaps sunglasses...perhaps a cape...not sure yet).
First Commentary (Extraordinary Appeal of Screen Media)
Second, and this is a problem I have with most reading I am given in the classroom, the author(s) would use bigger words when they were unnecessary. For example, one sentence reads, "...however passingly, ameliorates this noxious circumstance." Why? Why do they need to use these words? It's just one of those things that really chaps my ass that I had to get off my chest before moving forward with this entry.
Second Commentary (Transmedia Storytelling)
In short, you fight all the remaining players that you didn't choose and then finish it with the "boss" as gamers call them (I would've put gamer in quotes but I didn't want to have two words in quotes right next to each other but in reality, anyone who considers themselves a gamer is considered a tool in my book). It doesn't have much of a story line to the game unless you watch the extra movie parts (which I never did since all I wanted to do was kick some ass). In fact, I never understood why the game was such a hit whereas Shaq Fu, a game based around the great basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, was more pathetic than the Average Homeboy.
Third Commentary (Reaction to the WGA Strike)
They state that 50% of the writers in their union earned less than $104,000 last year. THAT MEANS %50 EARNED MORE! There are people around the country earning $20,000 a year doing much harder work than writing useless ideas onto a piece of paper. The XFL lasted longer than most of the television shows today because they are garbage. And don't get me started on the movies that have come out lately (i.e. Cloverfield...harder to watch than Paula Abdul's music video with the cartoon cat). The writers that are most successful will make the most money, whereas the ones who make garbage movies such as Speed 2 will not make good money.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Video Game Story
Melvin, the 7 year old wannabe detective, begins the game in the backyard on an adventure to find all the teeth he can in order to redeem them for money so he can purchase a spy-kit. Armed with only a slingshot, he must search the backyard and house for objects that will help him defeat his evil sister Martha, who has made it her goal to prevent him from purchasing the spy-kit. The levels are the backyard, basement, kitchen, attic, and the final battle against his sister in her room. These levels will have mosquitoes in the backyard, spiders in the basement, mice in the kitchen, and bats in the attic. There will also be power ups of candy for sugar rushes and vegetables as power downs. At the end of each level, Melvin must defeat Martha and is rewarded with a tooth. Each battle with the sister gets harder as she gets bigger and scarier. He can get extra lives as well by finding toys along the way. After beating Martha in the final battle, Melvin takes all the teeth he has gained and places them under his pillow so that the tooth fairy will give him money. The final scene will be Melvin using his newly purchased spy kit to spy on his sister.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Treatment
The story begins with a 7 year old boy who pretends to be a detective. This boy is not like all the other moves you have seen however, because this little guy is not as polite and friendly as you would imagine. He actually is more of a mix between Eric Cartman and Dennis the Menace. The boy believes that he has the superpower of being invisible to others. This is obviously not true. This special power is only available though when he puts on his (object still up in the air...perhaps sunglasses...perhaps a cape...not sure yet). His older sister, around the age of 11-12, is always setting the detective boy up with missions that seem to him to be of importance but are really just pranks that an older child would know is false. A couple examples of cases that the boy will be given to solve is the mystery of the Tooth Fairy. He is in charge of trapping and catching this infamous Tooth Fairy before he can steal anymore teeth. Another example is the mystery of his grandparents' teeth. He is under the impression that they have his grandparents under their control and that without the teeth, his grandparents lose the ability to speak and eat. The last example would be that disgusting Mystery Meat found in lunchrooms across the country. He is in charge of finding out what it actually is after being informed by his sister that it is actually made from bad children who are given detention.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Back To You
Setting: On Set
Marsh: The Nittany Lions are undefeated through five games. And that's all for sports so mash the potatoes, tickle your neighbor, and high five the priest.
Chuck: OK thank you for that Marsh. And now we go live to Gary who is enjoying St. Patty's Day in Germany right now. Gary?
Gary: Uh yeah. Hi Chuck. There's not much going on here. As a matter of fact, I don't think anyone even knows that today is a holiday. However, I did run into David Hasselhoff. David, what have you been doing since Baywatch?
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator: Well, I had a guest appearance on Boy Meets World playing Mr. Feeney's brother-in-law. Other than that, I had a brief stint on Moesha playing the stereotypical white guy from Germany.
Gary: That's interesting. And I hear now you're giving polotics a try. Is this true?
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator: Actually, I'm trying to get back into the acting business now. I am preparing for a role playing the Prime Minister of Switzerland so I am running for President here in Germany. Who would've thought I'd be the leading candidate.
Gary: And what do you have planned for St. Patty's Day?
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator: I plan on taking my kids here to the beach and showing them how to perfect the slow motion run. (Pans out to show young children that are obviously not this person's kids)
Gary: Well good luck to you. Chuck, this is just enriching stuff over here. Back to you in the studio.
Chuck: Say, Gary. Are you sure that was David Hasselhoff? He looks a littler different than normal.
Gary: Sure it is. You believe this guy David. He thinks your an imposter.
Obvious David Hasselhoff Impersonator #2: I like pizza.
Gary: Yes, don't we all.
Chuck: And there you have it folks. Special reports like that which make us the number three news team in the city. I'm Chuck Darling. You stay classy Buffalo.
BOOM SON
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
One Lucky Guy
Setting: College Football dorm and cheerleader's dorm.
The freshman starting Running Back for the perennial powerhouse USC Trojans is dating the new freshman cheerleader. They're high school sweethearts. She is a dime piece. Their sex life is phenomenal; real experimental if you catch my drift. The Running Back is very happy. The cheerleader is very committed after being together with him for so long but feels like she is missing something in her life.
During one of the cheerleader initiation meetings, the cheerleaders decide to make the freshmen attend a gay and lesbian coming out party at the campus center. At the meeting, the freshman cheerleader runs into a friend of hers that she has class with. Because the initiation's intent was for the cheerleaders to pretend that they are gay, the freshman cheerleader must convince her friend that she is a lesbian. The friend has no trouble believing this since they were at a gay and lesbian coming out party. After they get to talking, they decide to leave and go to a party. Upon arrival, the freshman cheerleader realizes this is another party with lesbians. Because of her fear of losing her lesbian friend for lying as well as facing the consequences of not playing the role of a lesbian, she reluctantly goes on.
Drinks start going down like water and body shots are now the center of attention. About the same time she begins seeing double, the lesbian friend asks if she'd like to head back to her place for a night capper. The drunken freshman sees no harm in this, forgetting about the "mask" she's been wearing all night.
Back at the lesbian girl's dorm, the two enjoy buttery nipples. Not literally, but the shots. Then, the lesbian made her move, sliding a little closer on the bed to the cheerleader before brushing the hair out from in front of her face to go in for the kiss. The cheerleader, taken by complete surprise of the sudden move, instinctually slapped her and stood up. The two stood speechless, staring each other down as if in an old western shoot out. Then the cheerleader pounced on the lesbian and did the hibbidy dibbidy.
The next day, leaving the girl's dorm in the morning, the cheerleader was seen by some of her older cheerleader peers. Being jealous of the freshman for dating the star running back, they quickly ran to him with the gossip. As the story unfolded, the running back was clearly filling with anger. He realized he could never hit a girl but revenge was inevitable. Being a big, tough, football player, the running back went straight to the editor of the school paper. He gave him an article he wrote and told him the consequences would be severe should this not end up in tomorrow's paper.
The article explained how the lesbian had three STDs, was an illegal immigrant, and cheated in all her classes by sleeping with the female professors. The girl's reputation was ruined. It was published on the front page with a big picture under the heading "Wouldn't Touch It with a 10 Ft. Pole."
The girl, seeking revenge on the running back, decided to publish a story of her own. Her story told of the running back's use of steroids, Viagra, and sexually experimenting with men. With this news, the running back's career was ended due to violation of NCAA regulations and he was ridiculed all through campus.
Finally, the cheerleader decided to call both the girl and the running back to come to her dorm room at the same time without either one knowing. There, they would try to debate over which one would get the girl. The cheerleader stopped the both of them and explained that she could not choose between the two of them and that she had other plans. Before getting into an X-rated script we'll just say all three of them lived happily ever after...especially the guy.
The End.
As far as the article on short story rules goes, I can dig it. It leaves a very simple outline of what you should look to accomplish when writing a story. For the amateur writer, following these rules would be a very good starting point. What I like most about them is that among the rules is a rule to break the rules. This leaves everything open to experimentation. This is the rule that separates the elite writers from the average. The ability to effectively break the rules while keeping the reader's interest is where it's at.
BOOM SON!
The freshman starting Running Back for the perennial powerhouse USC Trojans is dating the new freshman cheerleader. They're high school sweethearts. She is a dime piece. Their sex life is phenomenal; real experimental if you catch my drift. The Running Back is very happy. The cheerleader is very committed after being together with him for so long but feels like she is missing something in her life.
During one of the cheerleader initiation meetings, the cheerleaders decide to make the freshmen attend a gay and lesbian coming out party at the campus center. At the meeting, the freshman cheerleader runs into a friend of hers that she has class with. Because the initiation's intent was for the cheerleaders to pretend that they are gay, the freshman cheerleader must convince her friend that she is a lesbian. The friend has no trouble believing this since they were at a gay and lesbian coming out party. After they get to talking, they decide to leave and go to a party. Upon arrival, the freshman cheerleader realizes this is another party with lesbians. Because of her fear of losing her lesbian friend for lying as well as facing the consequences of not playing the role of a lesbian, she reluctantly goes on.
Drinks start going down like water and body shots are now the center of attention. About the same time she begins seeing double, the lesbian friend asks if she'd like to head back to her place for a night capper. The drunken freshman sees no harm in this, forgetting about the "mask" she's been wearing all night.
Back at the lesbian girl's dorm, the two enjoy buttery nipples. Not literally, but the shots. Then, the lesbian made her move, sliding a little closer on the bed to the cheerleader before brushing the hair out from in front of her face to go in for the kiss. The cheerleader, taken by complete surprise of the sudden move, instinctually slapped her and stood up. The two stood speechless, staring each other down as if in an old western shoot out. Then the cheerleader pounced on the lesbian and did the hibbidy dibbidy.
The next day, leaving the girl's dorm in the morning, the cheerleader was seen by some of her older cheerleader peers. Being jealous of the freshman for dating the star running back, they quickly ran to him with the gossip. As the story unfolded, the running back was clearly filling with anger. He realized he could never hit a girl but revenge was inevitable. Being a big, tough, football player, the running back went straight to the editor of the school paper. He gave him an article he wrote and told him the consequences would be severe should this not end up in tomorrow's paper.
The article explained how the lesbian had three STDs, was an illegal immigrant, and cheated in all her classes by sleeping with the female professors. The girl's reputation was ruined. It was published on the front page with a big picture under the heading "Wouldn't Touch It with a 10 Ft. Pole."
The girl, seeking revenge on the running back, decided to publish a story of her own. Her story told of the running back's use of steroids, Viagra, and sexually experimenting with men. With this news, the running back's career was ended due to violation of NCAA regulations and he was ridiculed all through campus.
Finally, the cheerleader decided to call both the girl and the running back to come to her dorm room at the same time without either one knowing. There, they would try to debate over which one would get the girl. The cheerleader stopped the both of them and explained that she could not choose between the two of them and that she had other plans. Before getting into an X-rated script we'll just say all three of them lived happily ever after...especially the guy.
The End.
As far as the article on short story rules goes, I can dig it. It leaves a very simple outline of what you should look to accomplish when writing a story. For the amateur writer, following these rules would be a very good starting point. What I like most about them is that among the rules is a rule to break the rules. This leaves everything open to experimentation. This is the rule that separates the elite writers from the average. The ability to effectively break the rules while keeping the reader's interest is where it's at.
BOOM SON!
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