Skip to content

Category: Writing While Black

Posted
May 20, 2020
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, , ,
Comments
0 Responses

Going for the Prize

I’m back this week with more insight into what’s been going on.

Last week, I didn’t do much writing outside of my freelance work. But this week, I’ve decided to write a spec script for some upcoming screenwriting contests. I would usually look for someone to give coverage, but with deadlines coming so soon, I’ll just have to take my chances. Eventually, I plan to put my original work on sites like the Blacklist to see what I need to work on. Hopefully, before the end of the year, I’ll be able to start looking for an agent to help me get out there. But that might be a while with COVID-19 still raging on. I know if I keep grinding and practicing my craft my time will come. Plus, some of my favorite actors, producers, and writers didn’t hit their stride until their late 30s to early 40s. As I said in the previous blog, it’s all about the marathon, not the sprint.

a vintage typewriter with corona update typed on white paper

Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

I’m still pursuing more freelance work as I find my niche in journalism and content creation. With some jobs on hold and others disappearing, it has been a scary few weeks as the gig economy faces new and unprecedented changes due to the ongoing pandemic. I’m hoping things will begin to pick up as everyone tries to return to normal (or a new normal). I feel something(s) are coming upon the horizon.

positive young ethnic couple using laptop and tablet while working in modern workspace

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

As summer break continues, I find myself trying to be a better professor for my students come next Fall. I decided to take an online course, which I’m actually taking seriously. I know next month I’ll have to get my butt in gear as classes startup in August. I have so many ideas I just hope I have time for them all.

Watch this space for more on my writing journey.

Posted
May 6, 2020
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, ,
Comments
0 Responses

Back for More…Again!

What’s up!? How’s it been? I know it’s been a while since I last updated this blog, but life happened! So here’s what has been going on.

2019 into 2020 was a whirlwind for me. As a writer, I had some amazing triumphs and disappointing moments. I am still working for CBR writing content for them on a daily basis. During my absence, I did manage to acquire two freelance jobs with HipHopDX and The Blast. While my time with both was short, I did appreciate getting to do work outside of comics and geek culture. I’m still on the hunt for more freelance work as I find my niche in journalism and content creation.

woman in front of her computer

Photo by Retha Ferguson on Pexels.com

I have been entering screenwriting contests left and right – both as an exercise in moving forward and a way to get feedback on my work. Last year, I spoke on entering a contest held by Issa Rae. Well, I made it to the quarterfinals, but unfortunately, it didn’t pan out the way I wanted. But that’s okay as I have continued to enter contests as well as reaching out to industry people to get myself prepared for my screenwriting career. I just have to remember my pursuits are not in vain. and it’s all about the marathon, not the sprint.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, my work with PRESI has been on hold for a minute as the brand’s owner has been dealing with the effects of the pandemic. Just before the pandemic, we had spoken on retooling the blog to be more on-brand. For now, everything is on pause with things expected to pick up once the dust has settled.

As my writing career has continued to go through ebbs and flows, I found a bright spot before the new year. I became a professor at Kennesaw State University, teaching art history. It has been nice to have a stable job that really affects the lives of people from day-to-day. While the salary is great, the real reward has been the effect I’ve had on my students and vice versa. For the first time in my adult life, I feel fulfilled by my work (even with its good and bad days). There might be some more opportunities in the future at KSU (fingers crossed).

architectural photography of brown and gray house

Photo by Craig Adderley on Pexels.com

Now that I have a little more free (thanks COVID-19), I’ll try to dedicate more time to the blog so keep your eyes on this space.

Wow! I’m so glad to be back!

Posted
August 23, 2019
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, , , , , , ,
Comments
0 Responses

Write and Grind

Becoming your own boss can be a double-edged sword for anyone wanting to enter the freelance world. Creating your brand and business can be both rewarding and draining all at the same. Growing into the boss I want to be is a growing experience.

Photo by Snapwire on Pexels.com

Mixing passion with business has become a way of life for me. Even though, I still need a 9-to-5, working on my own accord is becoming a huge part of my life. I can make my own schedule and working within my skill set. But there’s a quite bit of hard work, time and effort I put running my own brand and business. Working for CBR and a fashion brand is a way for me to build my portfolio while fueling my passion.

Journalism and content writing will hopefully help in paying the bills. Writing for someone else helps to me to be of service. It is always my mission to create something that pushes an entity or company forward. With CBR, I get to let my inter-nerd show through writing about all things related to comic books and media. I’ve felt that way since writing for Paste. My other gig has’t taken shape yet so I would be able to talk about until the brand’s relaunch in a few weeks.

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Pexels.com

Writing is my outlet for expressing myself. The topics I speak on in all my work are things I are accustomed to speaking on. While I’m fulfilled in my work, I hope to find time for my own personal work. Finding that time is on me, but for now, I have to be in work mode for a bit.

While visual art is my first love, writing has become my calling. And wherever the Lord sees fit to use it is where I will go.

Come back next week for more on my life as a creative.

Don’t be a stranger! Leave a comment below.

Posted
August 16, 2019
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, , , , , , ,
Comments
0 Responses

The Art of Enterprise

Life can be a juggling act when it comes to being a multi-tasker. The more I comes into my own as a business owner the more life ebbs and flows. I feel my world has opened up, and now is my time to shine.

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

As an entrepreneur, it’s a must for me to make myself available to whatever the Lord throws my way. But in the same vein, I’ve realized every opportunity may not be a good fit. That doesn’t apply to my current situation. As I stated in my previous blog, I have begun writing for the website Comic Book Resource. Recently, I’ve been entertaining an offer to write content for an upstart street wear company. I’ll give more details after the papers have been finalized. This opportunities have me feeling as if my path is finally starting to take shape. Since graduation, it’s been tough creatively and financially as I get back into the game of adulting. Hopefully, I can thrive as I balance all the facets of my life.

Lately, I’ve been slacking on my writing, but now, I’m back at it with this two gigs. Focusing on my screenwriting has become another step in getting back in my routine. I’m currently working on my pilot script for a potential kids’ animated superhero series. This idea has been floating around in my head for years. And now is the right time to begin. With a synopsis and beat sheet written, I feel I’m in a good space to write it. Of course, I can’t forgot about this blog. I plan on being my consistent and timely when it comes to my own content. This place is my way of keeping up with my followers as well as a release for me. I know writing as a profession can become tedious at times, but this place is my escape from all outside distractions.

Photo by Flickr on Pexels.com

In the near future, I hope to give more updates on my script progress as well as my future plans for Nanowrimo.

Come back next week for more on my life as a creative.

Don’t be a stranger! Leave a comment below.

Posted
August 9, 2019
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, , , , , , , ,
Comments
2 Responses

Writing for a Bright Future

Unbeknownst to me, writing has always been my calling. Working on my craft consistently has paid off as my writer life is starting to bear some fruit. Getting my first paid post-graduate gig has reaffirmed my purpose as a creative.

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

All my hard work is starting to pay off as I recently became a part of the Comic Book Resources family. Right now, it’s just a trial period, but hopefully, this opportunity turns into something more. Writing daily news pieces is something I’m use to from my Paste intern days. I enjoy writing news pertaining to film, television and all things media. Hopefully, writing for CBR will yield some revenue soon as post-grad life has been not so kind so far.

Due to some recent circumstances, I haven’t really concentrated on my screenwriting. But now, I’m back on track as I continue to shape my idea for an animated superhero series. I finally wrote an premise for the show, but now, I need to create the outline for the pilot episode. In the coming weeks, I want to start working on the script and supplemental material. Keep you fingers crossed!

Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

I look forward to working on my craft to build the future I want.

Come back next week for more on my life as a creative.

Don’t be a stranger! Leave a comment below.

Posted
July 26, 2019
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, , , , , , , , ,
Comments
1 Response

Reclaiming My Writing Time

When reality clashes with passion, it can lead to a crossroad for any creative. Post-grad life has proved to be a little more chaotic than I initially thought. With that said, I’m reclaiming my writing time back now!

hands coffee cup apple
Photo by Stokpic on Pexels.com

Since my last post, life has had its share of ups and downs. On the positive end, I moved up the corporate ladder just a little (even though the position is not in my field). Getting use to the new facility as well as the new schedule has required an adjustment period I didn’t see lasting this long. All I know is that the new job will require some better time management for my creative activities. Another reason for my hiatus had to do with a family health crisis. While my family member is okay, it took some time to help them readjust to their new life with doctor’s visits, medication, etc. Since that phase is winding down, I can now concentrate more on my writing for the rest of the year (hopefully).

This space will definitely be more active as I continue to grow as a writer. I have so many things I want to accomplish before the end of this year. While some things are a guarded secret, I can say I will be participating in Nanowrimo this year. The project I want to work on is the expansion of an original piece I did a year or two ago. It’ll be a form of therapy for me while being a love letter to my hometown. But continue to watch this space for more on my future projects.

grayscale photo of man walking in hole
Photo by Kasuma on Pexels.com

After two turbulent months , I’ve finally got creative mojo back, and I am not going to let this go to waste.

Come back next week for more on my journey to creating my future!

Don’t be a stranger! Leave a comment below.

Posted
June 19, 2019
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, , , , , , , , ,
Comments
0 Responses

Writing and Rewriting and Rewriting and…

If writing is the release of all creative ideas, then rewriting is where the real writing begins. Putting all your ideas on the page is great, but it lends itself to being the equivalent of verbal diarrhea. It’s a mess that requires pain-staking clean-up. But in the end, it’s all worth for the aftermath.

6359991693275867841308429358_writers-block

Rewriting is a daunting task for me as the major of my scripts are passion projects. It’s hard to say your baby isn’t perfect, but it’s a necessary process in creating (and sometimes dismantling) your idea. I’ve found rewriting to be my best friend in finding new ways to approach an idea or concept especially when said idea isn’t working anymore.

As a writer, I’ve found myself getting attached to my stories and characters on a personal level. Having spent months (if not years) crafting my work, coming to the realization that I might not be my best can be heartbreaking. But it’s just another sign that I’m growing and learning as a writer. My work needs to reflect that.

As I mentioned in my past blog The Screenwriting Forum, I’ve been concentrating on making an hour-long drama into an animated half-hour dramedy for pitching in the near future. It needed to be shorter for the format I planned on using. Plus, rewriting the original allowed me to cut the fat while reintroducing some ideas I lost in the original screenplay. After some many years of going back and forth with the idea, all I needed to do is step away and fine tune it.

n-screenplay-628x314

All with that screenplay, I’ve been working on my children’s series idea and the series bible for it. I still have some tweaking to do to the two scripts I created, but it’s the series bible I needed to focus on. I wanted something more tangible to complement my screenwriting. Writing the second bible has be both easy and hard as I try making the necessary adjustments for a different genre. Who knew children’s television and angst-ridden teen dramedies didn’t mix?

I have some many ideas floating around this brain. Only time will tell if any my concepts make on the screen in some form.

Over time, I’ll reveal more about the ideas and stories I want to tell so stay tuned to this spot.

And as always, don’t be a stranger! Leave a comment below.

Posted
June 12, 2019
Category
Writing While Black
Tags
, , , , , , , , ,
Comments
0 Responses

Allow Me to Re-introduce Myself, Part Deux

I’m a fan of the old adage “when one chapter closes, another one opens.” Since graduating, my deferment in adulting has come to an end as real life has begun to set in.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Gone is Screenwriting While Black, and #WritingWhileBlack is its newest form. Limiting my writing to one form had been difficult for me with my last blog. My main focus will still be screenwriting, but my fiction and nonfiction writing will be showcased as well. This blog will allow me to speak more on all forms of writing.

With my last few entries of my past blog being visual, this blog will be a mix of written and visual as I share not only my process but my experiences. As a creative, I plan on sharing my tips and thoughts for writing, progress on personal projects, short pieces, and my life as a full-time content creator and adult.

Next week’s post will deal more with the progress of the various rewrites I have been tackling. So come back and take this new journey with me!

And as always, don’t be a stranger! Leave a comment below.

1 … 5 6
%d bloggers like this: