Hey everyone, you lovely attractive internet strangers!
To be completely honest and very open, I took a long break from the internet for many reasons. One of the reasons is working mainly on the book, enhancing my skills, and boosting my creativeness.
But before I talk about my progress, I want to sincerely apologize to someone I've only known for a day or two...or three...I can't remember—but this happened a year ago when I was working at this camp as a food retailer; it was in Michigan.
There I was, a hard worker Michael Melero, making this milkshake while working behind the food bar. Someone then orders a "happy camper" milkshake, and whenever that happens, we have to sing this happy camper song and clap our hands. I didn't sing the happy camper song because I was busy making this milkshake for a camper. Megge, one of my coworkers, noticed and poked my shoulder repeatedly until I started singing along. I was mad and annoyed because I don’t like being touched while working. I just don’t; I already dealt too much in my old jobs with customers who tryna fight me.
So after we sang the song, I went to her privately and told her to "keep her hand to yourself." When I told her that, she looked behind her as if I were talking to someone else; I told her, "Yea, I'm talkin’ to you!”
But now that I think about it, I feel like I was too harsh, and I feel really bad now. I got her contact information to reach out to her to apologize after I went back home to Chicago. So Megge, wherever you are, and if you’re reading this, I am sorry! I truly am! It was a past I can't forget, and a pang of guilt that I brought home.
So please accept my apology! Forgive me! Send me your home address, and I’ll send you flowers. Just try to understand that I don't like being touched while workin’….
Learning The Elements of Storytelling.
Since I’m on my summer break, I have so much time to do more things and learn more about what I want out of life. So I came across some articles on how to screenplay and act. I eventually brought two scholarly books: “How to Write A Screenplay” and “Writing and Editing For Digitial Age.” I already own an acting book that is called “Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part.”
“How to Write A Screenplay” - By Mark Evan Schwartz.
I love it. This book was really straightforward and to the point of how to screenwrite. The author, Mark Evan Schwartz, wrote the book in screenwriting format, so I learned a lot from his writing. While reading the book, I took important notes on the important details. I even learned the difference in storytelling between novels, plays, and movies. After reading the whole book, I want to create my own screenplay.
I feel confident in writing a whole script for the upcoming month, so I can learn every step of creating one, gain experience, and learn from the mistakes or failures I may make along the way. So I don’t expect this to be a huge project, I expect this to be fun. Once the script is done, I want to finalize it with a team of writers who love to write and are as creative as I am. Most likely, they gonna be volunteers from my school. (**my creative writers' team).
“Audition: Everything an Actor Needs to Know to Get the Part” - By Michael Shurtleff
I haven’t finished this book. This book was part of an acting class I took last year, and I never read it until this year. I’m currently reading, and it taught me many things about how an actor should do before getting an audition. One of the things that it taught me is that an actor should NEVER force out emotion; it should be natural by being who you are and how you’re true-self will react to deliver your emotion like a good flow. I also learned typecasting, too.
I want to learn more about it because it aligns with my long-term goal. I wouldn't say I want to make a career out of acting, but I want to learn how it works if I ever want someone to act in one of my screenplays. Because, as a writer, if I give someone a scene to act in, I expect them to do an outstanding and fantastic job. For a screenplay, acting is important, just as good writing.
“Writing and Editing For Digitial Age” - By Brian Carroll
I got this book because it was required for COM-206, which is a class on professional writing. I had the book, but I never really read the whole thing in class; I just skimmed through it. So, after passing my spring term with flying colors, I went right out and bought the book and read it. I'm still reading it. It's a 375-page academic book, so it'll take me a while to finish. It lets me take a step back from writing to learn more about writing in general.
From what I've read so far, I've learned more about writing. It taught me a lot, like to keep a mini-handbook for common questions or mistakes and to always use the active voice instead of the passive voice. It even taught me about the history of writing in the BC years.
*Fun Fact: Plato thought writing would destroy people’s memories.
Moral lessons That Will Be Included in My Books.
Action DON’T speak louder than words:
They say that actions speak louder than words, but I don't think that's always true. It doesn’t always determine who they are. Sometimes, behind closed doors or personal struggles might explain why people act or behave the way they do. You never truly know what they are going through at home.
Because you learn a lot about a person's real character by learning the reasoning behind what made them do what they did instead of jumping to conclusions because of one action.
For instance, let's say you're going through a stressful time in your life. You have hardly checked your phone because whatever you’re dealing with is emotionally draining you. You finally check your phone and find out it was your only friend's birthday four days ago. And that only friend may have every right to be sad or mad that you didn't call or text to wish them a happy birthday. But that doesn't mean you’re a bad person; it simply means you forgot.
I'm not saying that "actions speak louder than words" isn't true. I'm saying that it can sometimes lead to someone being wrongfully judged on who they are and even kill friendships. So this is why I really try my best to understand why they did it instead of judging them by one behavior because life is rough; communication is tough. It truly is.
“A Man Who Never Had a Childhood vs. A Man Who Never Got Adulthood.”
Why do I bring this up? Because adulthood is important, just like childhood. This really broadened my perspective when I heard about this that came from a youtube comment. I researched and read about how important it is to become an adult. I also found cases of adults who couldn't be as self-reliant or weren't taken as seriously as others.
Think about it. Because adulthood has given me the freedom to try new things and the courage to be independent and free and to take accountability and responsibility. However, some people don't have that opportunity for various reasons, and as a writer, I want to learn more about this and better understand it.
My book progress so far: “Mr. Reyna’s Journal.”
While working on the rough draft of the book, I decided to scrap the first draft and start a new one, which will be considered the second rough draft. I did this because I thought the first draft was fast and disorganized because I didn't fully understand the characters or have a well-thought-out story structure. The first draft only had ten edited chapters before it was discontinued. Characters and structures are so much important, and I learned this from author Mark Evan Schwartz.
A structure is like a blueprint for a story that shows where it starts, where it goes, and where it ends. This will include the set-up, the triggering event, the protagonist's choice, the antagonist's reaction, the peak, the false resolution, the conclusion, etc. The three-act structure is common in American movies, but there are a TON of other methods to tell a story if you google it. So I’m going to take a step back from the book to understand the story's characters and structures.
Before moving on,I will tell you where the story takes place and set. When I was a kid, there was a show called "Max and Ruby." Their parents weren't shown as much, and kids like me wondered why. Or why there weren't any adults. The show's director Creator Rosemary, said, "We don't see Max and Ruby's parents because I believe that kids resolve their issues and conflicts differently when they're on their own." Then I watched a movie called Lord of the Flies, in which a group of kids have to live on an island with no adults, and things go downhill.
What Rosemary said really stood out to me, so I changed the setting of my story. Now, it will take place in a house with only teenagers who have to survive by depending on each other and trying to figure out what's wrong and what's right. The story is set in the south side of Chicago in the year 201X.
Here is a little update on myself.
Pretty much I have been putting in a lot of time at the library. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is get ready for my day. I recently got a gym membership (again) because I'm trying to live a healthy lifestyle and live right. Because I tend to binge-write, so I'm trying to be active instead of me just sitting down and writing all day.
During my days at the library, I'd set a timer for an hour to study or write, and I'd sneak a lot of snacks into my bag. I'd take a ten-minute break, and then I'd go for walks outside to feel life itself: the sun, the air on my face, and hearing people talk and nature. I’d keep doing the same thing over and over until it's time for me to go home.
“So what keep you writing?”
I’m not gonna lie, being at the library brings me peace I feel good rather than studying at my personal office in my room. Someone once asked me, “How do you keep writing?” I have found writing a beautiful thing ever since I was a kid. Writing is like a seed. If you treat your writing like a seed and water it with effort and consistency, you never know what it will grow into. I want to see where my writing can take me in life.
Then sometimes, I get that feeling where I just want to give up, but something inside me keeps telling me to keep going and not give up. I always have that one spark of motivation to keep going. It's like this little spark, this tiny flame that's still burning inside me, telling me that you can't give up and won't give up until you get where you want to be.
Thus, I’m practicing who I am by studying a lot of writing, how to tell a story in various ways, and continuing to work on my unfinished book. I’m doing all this now than later because I want what everyone wants: success. Everyone has their own way of getting there, whether it is through making difficult decisions or putting in extra hard work.
At the End of this article.
To end this piece, I want you to read the fun facts or statements about me that I've written down below. I would much appreciate it if you would take the time to go through all of them in order to get to know me. *whisper* Thank you. *whisper*
Pink is my second favorite color.
My fears: the ocean, rats, taking the trash at night.
Favorite place: my bed.
Second favorite place: the library.
I never in my life wore a poncho or crocs.
Ariel is my favorite Disney character because she is a fish.
When I went to Cailfarorra by myself in 2022, I had to hitchhike for the first time with a YouTuber because I was stuck on top of a mountain near the Hollywood sign (she posted a video of me…So I really don’t want anyone to find it to watch it to poke fun of me, so please don't look for it. Don’t do it!) [WARNING: IF YOU ARE A CLOSE FRIEND OR A FAMILY MEMBER WHO DARES TO FIND THAT VIDEO AGAINST MY KNOWLEDGE, YOU WILL GET A CALL FROM ME RIGHT AWAY. YOU HAVE BEEN ADVISED.
I like dogs over cats.
I have a small birthmark on my face; it’s not noticeable, though.
To avoid bad karma, like being struck by lightning when walking outside, I never disobeyed or say “no” to my parents.
I was fired from DD once for handing out cold coffee through the drive-thru window.
I switched my major from criminal justice to psychology and then to communication and media.
I had two pet goldfish that both died on the same day after I set up their fish tank. They were named Beyoncé and Jay Z. *teardrop.
^^^ I played "I will survive" by Gloria Gaynor at their funeral.
Before my dog chewed up my hearing aid, I used it regularly when I was seventeen.
In 2022, on my first day in MI, everything went downhill...
I'm actively expanding my collection of gag toys, which I now own a magic 8-ball, a harmonica, the rubric cube, a bobblehead of Barack Obama, and a pair of small hands.
“I was the one who gave him those nachos….”
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