Hey-yo folks! What's the catch?!
Hey-yo. I recorded some voice-overs for practice, wrote some screenplay pieces too, studied a research case, conducted interviews, watched Shrek, and read a book during this month. Journalism and screenwriting have been my main focus this month, along with editing my book.
Butt, I recently got a part-time job in retail, which is great because it's near my school. It is also my first job in retail, so it is a new experience for me. That means it's up to me to greet customers with a warm smile, help those who need help with customer service with a kind attitude, and, of course, put a stop to stealing by quickly taking action. You may ask me: Oh, Mike, how’d you put a stop to stealing?
Simple. The second I see sum hooligan stealing, I will immediately stop what I'm doing and bravely yell, "OH my gosh! He is STEALING! CALL THE POLICE! The shoplifter is ESCAPING! Stopp him!"
Because yelling and repeating, "They're stealing!" like a siren while acting in distress will definitely get everyone's attention in the store, and the police will be there in the snap of a finger due to my brave, heroic, righteous act. I learned this handy trick from Sarah Paulson when she had to scream "Helpp me!" on American Horror Story.
Acting
Ever since I started writing, I've been interested in the acting world. In 2022, I even took an acting class at an acting school downtown. When I was in the class, I felt like I was on a movie set but in a room. I met a lot of bright, nice, and talented people there.
I also want to point out that this year, the NLU drama club was a really helpful resource for me. By joining the club, I learned a lot about acting, how to play a character, and bits about directing a play.
I met this woman once. And she told me that you don't have to be a professional actor to act. Just like you don't have to be a chef to cook. You don't have to be a good swimmer to swim. Or, you don't have to be the best writer in the world to write. You can do anything you want if you set your mind to it.
Acting is a skill that I want to continue to improve and learn more about. Why? Because it aligns with my future goals as a writer. Another reason is that acting plays a huge role in screenwriting. So I decided to enhance my acting skills as well. So, I did some voiceovers in my spare time as a start. And, to be honest, I'd say my voice acting is average; it's not the best because some of the lines I recorded for voiceover turned out to be okay, while the other lines made me cringe.
This one time, I tried to laugh for voiceover work, and when I heard back, it sounded like I was crying, which I was NOT trying to go for, and it made me cringe. Because hearing me cry is very ugly, I sounded like an old, hacking man who was losing his breath. That's what it sounded like. But hey, at least I know to cry through voice acting, I guess.
Scriptwriting & Journalism: How do I come up with story ideas?
Writing scripts is something I really like to do. Many ideas grew on me over time. When I'm writing these scripts just for practice, I get ideas from small talk with friends, family, or coworkers. I even get story ideas when I'm sleeping, during my dreams.
I remember that there were times when I wrote small pieces for these scripts of mine. Since then, I've had dreams about them where my subconscious would play out the scene in my head. Or, even better, I would dream about something completely new that I haven't even written about. Being able to generate original ideas while dreaming is a gift to me, if you ask me.
I also get inspiration for story ideas from YouTube videos, movie trailers, video game dialogue, films, and TV shows. I also get many ideas by researching a wide range of topics, such as interesting places or people. Or, sometimes, I'll sit down and do nothing. Like a rock, you just have to wait for a story idea to strike.
Journalism
To circle back to journalism, it is an excellent strategy for increasing the likelihood of developing fresh, unique ideas for screenwriting. This world has many hidden stories that other people may never hear about. That's why I want to do research on the backgrounds, motivations, and outcomes of people or parts of the world, whether in the past or the present. Whenever I come across an unwritten story that can be about a person or a place, it could be a happy or sad story, but they both teach me valuable lessons. That is what storytelling is all about: sharing valuable lessons with the audience.
Case study: Reyna's Disappearance
I chose to do a case study. This case study is about a homicide case that happened in 1999 and involved a woman named Reyna A. Marroquin. Also, no, she had nothing to do with my book since it's called "Mr. Reyna Journal." She was just a woman to have happened to have the beautiful name Reyna.
Reyna's case is twenty-four years old case. It was on Forensic Files that I first learned about this case when I was sixteen years old. I remembered watching her story unfold on Forensic Files, and it really got my full attention. It's a story that has stayed with me all these years. I remember getting so angry while watching the show that I yelled at my TV screen because what happened to her and how she was brutally murdered were so immoral and pure evil. After I got to know about her killer, he didn’t have one drop of guilt for what he did. The case itself involved greed, romance, and betrayal.
Not only did this case catch my attention, but it also truly motivated me to take criminal justice classes in my high school years. So when I was seventeen and eighteen, I did a dual enrollment program and attended criminal justice classes at a community college, Richard Daley College. This is because I wanted to put a stop to violence, prevent crimes, and understand the thoughts of criminals.
So, her case will be shared on my blog sometime in the middle of June, and I'll tell her story by putting together my own research. I will talk about Reyna’s past life, goals, and other aspects of her. Also, I'll talk about her killer, how the case turned out, and my thoughts about it.
Book Update
Ahh, the book. The book is looking great. I'm currently editing the book still. A month ago, the same book publisher contacted me, but I did not believe that the manuscript was ready for submission. When my book is ready, I want to send it in. So, at this point, the book is simply not ready.
Before I started writing the book, I remember telling myself, "Oh man! On my birthday, I'm going to put out my book. I'm really looking forward to it!" But when the time came, on my birthday, I just knew it wasn't ready. It's not ready yet because I knew I wanted to add more plot turns and make sure the story sounds real. But don't get me wrong, I am still proud of the milestone that I made during that month.
For instance, I can tell you that a police officer plays a role in the book. For me to learn more about what police officers do or how they handle certain situations, I need to do research online or, even better, talk to a real police officer by interviewing them. Where will I find a police officer? Easy. I have already done an interview with a former sergeant for my school's magazine. So if I wanted to, I could question him.
So right now, I'm still making changes to the book and coming up with interview questions for certain individuals. Editing a book is work and takes a lot of time. Something I look forward to this summer.
Karaoke Night?
To end this article on a beautiful note, I want to send out a message to the student leaders at NLU. So, you guys had karaoke night last year, where students
could sing to express themselves and express out their strong emotions. And I wanted to attend the event, but instead, I went to the beach with Yasmine.
Since I had an angelic voice and acted like an angel behind closed doors 24/7,
I DEMAND you guys to plan out a karaoke night for this year! And whenever I want something, I mean business—and I want it NOW! Yeah, I'm talking to you, Azule, Dezay, Evelyn, Julie, Hoance, and you, too, MS. GRACE! I see you guys every day in the den, so I am very familiar with your schedules, workplaces, and even residences….
So by the end of this term, there BETTER be seeing flyers all over the school advertising a karaoke night. I had to study wisdom for many nights like a warrior. So fight me in an argument if you dare. And perish under the great wisdom of my self-righteousness.
I hope there will be a karaoke night because, in fact, I already have a list of what songs I’d like to sing and where I’m going to pick one song to sing.
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