Bonding Friendships Over Videos and Writing

There are many people you meet daily.  Some say hello in passing, others are strangers or customers, and then there are the people that were put in your life for a reason.  When I was younger I kept to the same set of friends and didn't like to welcome change into my life.  That was forced to change several years ago. 

When I lived in New Paltz and Poughkeepsie, I worked in an environment that I was very familiar with; a video store.  I met a lot of interesting people through the years.  Some were related to friends from my past, others I had romantic feelings for, some became my confidants, but a select few became very close to me. 

One in particular was a musician who had great aspirations to make it big and help others along the way.  We bonded over work and that we both watched pro wrestling.  He became one of my favorite people to work with.  We would crack jokes all night as we waited on the horrible and sometimes highly amusing customers of Poughkeepsie.  We talked a lot about my first novel the Phoenix Blade and his music.  Towards the end of my time in that store, he told me about how he wanted to dabble in acting.  I thought this was a great chance for him and could lead to more possibilites. 

When I moved back to Long Island, I lost touch with a lot of people and he was included in that.  It was something I didn't want to happen, but most people know that's what happens when you move away from your friends.  Thanks to social networking and social media, we were able to continue our friendship even from a 2-3 hour drive away. 

Last year he told me about an idea he had.  He met a lot of interesting people over the last couple of years who are musicians, writers, make up artists, actors, and producers that haven't necessarily had a chance to be recognized or have been recognized and wanted to help others who may be interested in taking up a career in that field.  I thought it was a great idea and supported him every step of the way.  He has truly embodied the spirit of being kind to others and shedding light on all types of artists.  For that I applaud you Anthony and am happy our paths run parallel to very similar goals.

Here are a few links to his podcasts.  I strongly recommend you listen.

http://soundcloud.com/anthonycharlesofficial/the-anthony-charles-podcast
http://soundcloud.com/anthonycharlesofficial/episode-5-andrew-hess-writer
http://soundcloud.com/anthonycharlesofficial/episode-16-michael-hamel

2 Years of near silence

I felt like I lost everything.  The one in a million idea I thought would give me everything I ever wanted in life, was gone.  Months of work went down the drain when we had to factory reset.  I was devastated and didn't think I would ever be able to come up with another idea like that again.  It took me two years before I was able to come up with anything else to write about.  One idea stuck out in my mind, but could never do anything with it. 

By 2008, my life took a drastic turn for the best (although I took it as the worst at the time).  My relationship ended with my ex and I moved back home to Long Island.  I had to start over from scratch with my life.  I moved back in with my parents, my job botched my transfer and I was without a job. 

There was one brightside to the situation.  There was a desktop computer at my parents house that had an A Drive.  I was able to work on the Phoenix Blade again.  I pulled up the file for the first time in two years.  There was only two feelings that ran through me.  Happiness to see my work again, and anger at how my writing once was.  Somehow I managed to improve my writing ability during those two years and one failed attempt at writing a different story.  But now I felt rejuventated.  I had my original writing idea back in my hands; ready to be remodeled to my current writing style.  I felt alive again.  I felt like a Phoenix.

Setbacks

It's something everyone comes across.  The official definition says:

noun

an unfortunate happening that hinders or impedes; something that is thwarting or frustrating. I for one can honestly say that is a very true way to describe the feeling you get when faced with a setback.  There have been quiet a few setbacks throughout my journey as a writer and I am sure I will face many more.  My first literary setback happened in 2006 (shortly after I started typing up the Phoenix Blade).  I was using the desktop computer at my apartment and kept finding a virus attacking the computer.  It would take complete control of my system and send a hundred or so pop up windows.  I couldn't even write anymore without having to close out a dozen extra windows on the computer.  My ex and I tried to run anti-virus software, but nothing seemed to work.  We had no other choice, we had to reset it back to factory settings.  I was able to save my work to a floppy disk prior to erasing everything from my computer.  After the restoration, we still had issues and eventually had to get a different desktop.  There was another issue that was unexpected.  The new computer did not have an A Drive which meant I could no longer work on the Phoenix Blade book.  I was crushed and couldn't remember everything I wrote previously.  I didn't want to start it over again either.  I had no other choice at the time.  I left the Phoenix Blade novel behind for years.

The Beginning pt2

Some people always wonder how writers get their inspiration for their books, blogs, movie scripts, poems, or stories.  I know it was always something I thought about; especially when critiquing a movie I just saw and didn't like (I'm sure that will happen to me one day too).  When I went to school in Farmingdale University and then at New Paltz, I worked for two video rental companies that will remain nameless.  These stores provided the perfect setting for my creative mind to work with.  I could see what plots and movies worked well with their viewers and what didn't; as well as give inspiration for future ideas for my own writing and how to make it better (I'm not saying to do that, but it worked well for me at the time).

Now this next part may seem a little controversial but that's part of who I am.  It took me until 2004 and 2005 to come up with my next book idea.  2004 was election year and was the first time I was voting.  This was my second year in New Paltz and began to see their point of view on society and politics (and watching Michael Moore documentaries didn't help either).  I was looking at the world through a different set of eyes; ones that were focused on being against the Republicans and more for the people.  As I said it was election year and we all know who won that one.  Most of the students in the area wanted a change in regards to the President and especially within the government and that was not something we were granted. 

For a few groups of people, they liked to protest their dislikes; especially government related topics.  However, I was a different kind of person and liked to write about it.  I wanted to change the world but didn't know how to do it.  So I wondered what if someone forced a change and what if that person was already inside the government?  I decided to center the book around a small group of friends who wanted to change the world and would go to any lengths to do it.  I wanted to call the book Tales of the Phoenix Blade, because I was uncertain how many books I wanted to create, I love swords, and the Phoenix was an important figure in my life (more of that in later posts). 

The Phoenix Blade book had its purpose and a nice plot to start, but it needed more.  It needed ways to attract a reader.  It needed to be entertaining, exciting, breath taking, and innovative.  I needed to create a book that could reach readers no matter the age or gender. 

The Phoenix Blade was meant to create change for the better.  Despite still not being picked up by a literary agent or publisher, it has already changed the lives of myself and a few others that I have let read it (More to come in the future).

This is only the beginning; there's a lot more to come.