Author: Joe Flood

Joe Flood is a writer, photographer and web person from Washington, DC. The author of several novels, Joe won the City Paper Fiction Competition in 2020. In his free time, he enjoys wandering about the city taking photos.

Eurabia is Writers on the Storm Competition Semifinalist

My screenplay Eurabia is a Semi-Finalist in the Writers On The Storm Screenplay Competition. Out of more than 1300 scripts submitted, Eurabia finished in the the top 50 screenplays out of more than 1300 screenplays submitted. My screenplay Eurabia is set in the near future. In this dystopian story, America has lost the war on terror and Europe is controlled by radical Islam. However, the CIA has a secret plan to change the course of history… While I didn’t win the competition, it was great to get the recognition. Another nice and useful thing about this competition is the “coverage” I received for Eurabia.  Coverage basically is notes from a professional script reader on your screenplay, what works, what doesn’t, and what could be improved. I thought the coverage I received was really useful. It included ratings on structure, dialog, originality, premise, execution and even the title of my script.  Additionally, it included a couple of narrative sections that, while brief, offered concrete suggestions on how I could improve Eurabia.  Here’s what the anonymous reader wrote about Eurabia under Strengths/Weaknesses:

Really a great concept that is well-executed. The first part of the second act lacks tension, but otherwise the script is tight.

Second acts, in films and in life, are really tough. A second act is halfway through a movie when things start to drag or they introduce some wacky twist and you start to wonder about the film. It’s a fair criticism of Eurabia. When I wrote the script, I knew the beginning and I knew the end but the middle parts were a bit hazy. In parts of it, I was definitely feeling my way along, trying to figure out what was going to happen. Second act weakness is a common problem for scripts. I’ve revised Eurabia several times already. I can see the problem in the second act but am not sure how to fix it yet. The detail about “lacking tension” was helpful criticism because it highlighted what needs to be fixed. And here were their Reader Suggestions:

Consider upping the threat that he faces with releasing this ‘weapon’. Because he knows exactly where and when, the tension lessens. Possibly making the release a little less predictable might add some tense moments. May not be right for your script, but something to think about or play with. This is somewhat nit-picking, but this script is so close.

This is a note referring to the end of the script and a choice the main character has. It’s another good suggestion. Eurabia goes along in a very linear manner to a confrontation that’s talked about earlier in the script. Everyone can see it coming. Maybe it would be better to derail the train before it gets to the station. It’s an interesting idea. Overall, I was really pleased with the Writers On The Storm Screenplay Competition. The contest was administered professionally, the coverage was useful and the overall experience was a positive one. I’ve been on the other side of the table, as a judge for the DC Shorts Screenplay Competition, so I know how difficult it can be to plow through massive quantities of scripts of varying quality and still provide serious coverage of a script. With more than 1300 scripts, Writers on the Storm has done herculean work.

Check out the Eurabia Coverage (PDF) from Writers on the Storm.

Contemporary Hollywood Storytelling

Andrew Klavan has an interesting article in the Washington Post called 5 Myths About Those Tinseltown Liberals.

I listened to Klavan speak a couple months ago at a conference. He’s a very good speaker and an excellent writer. While he’s the author of the mysteries True Crime and Empire of Lies, he’s perhaps best known as the author the controversial, sure-to-enrage op-ed examining the similarities between George Bush and Batman. Continue reading “Contemporary Hollywood Storytelling”

Taking Time Off to Write

I’ve not been blogging much because I’ve been busy wrapping up my job. It’s been a great three years working on Ocean Explorer but I’m ready to do something new. My last day at NOAA will be October 15.

While I love working on web sites, I have another passion – writing. I’ve written a couple of short films, won the Film DC Screenplay Competition a couple years ago, and, most recently, was the screenplay competition manager for the DC Shorts Film Festival (crazy fun). I’ve also written articles and short stories. It’s time for me to pursue that part of my life for a while.  I’m going to take off about 3-4 months to write. I’ve been working on a novel for the past couple years and it’s something that I want to finish.

The novel that I’m working on is a dark comedy about DC, set during the summer before 9/11. I’m about halfway done with it and need large blocks of uninterrupted time during the middle of the day to finish it. 

I’ll be busy with other projects, too. You may find me at a Caribou sipping cappuccino but I’ll be working, trust me. I plan on really learning WordPress and updating this blog. I’m going to look for other writing opportunities, perhaps on other blogs or in print. I’m also going to market my screenplays and short stories.

And I have another idea for a book, as well. It just occurred to me as I was telling people at work that I was leaving. NOAA was involved in the production of the new Ocean Hall exhibit at The Smithsonian. Many of the people I worked with were part of this project so I joked with them that my book would be a mystery called, “Murder in Ocean Hall.” This idea started as a laugh but, the more I thought about it, the better this idea sounded. It would be fun to write and my non-reading friends might even pick up a mystery set at the Smithsonian. So, I might be working on this instead of my serious, “literary” novel.

This “writing sabbatical” will be an exciting adventure for me. Yes, to me, spending several months in front of a computer will be an exciting adventure… what could be more fun than having time to create? Wish me luck!

 

Eurabia is Writers on the Storm Quarterfinalist

I learned recently that my screenplay Eurabia is a Quarterfinalist in the Writers On The Storm Screenplay Competition. Out of more than 1300 scripts submitted, Eurabia finished in the top 10%. This competition was sponsored by Coverage, Ink., one of the premier script analysis services in the industry and the leader in low-cost, high-quality screenplay analysis. It was founded in 2002 by screenwriter and Creative Screenwriting magazine columnist Jim Cirile.

My screenplay Eurabia is set in the near future. In this dystopian story, America has lost the war on terror and Europe is controlled by radical Islam. However, the CIA has a secret plan to change the course of history…

Read the first ten pages online.

Friday's Links: The Sexy Edition

Here’s what’s interested me this week:

America’s Most Wanted
My favorite barista, Rosie of the Silver Spring Caribou, plays the manipulative and sexy Sarah Pender on America’s Most Wanted.  Certainly, she’s manipulated me into buying more cappuccinos than I need.

On Bondage
Philippa Hughes takes on so-called friends who thought her picture in the Washington Post was too sexy. 

DC Shorts – Photos
Tons of photos from the small army of photogs that covered the DC Shorts Film Festival.  I was there, really I was, but avoided the photogs who got pictures of people much sexier than me.

Young. Influential. Sexy.

Young, influential and sexy.  That’s my friends Jon Gann and Philippa Hughes, according to the Washington Post.  Jon Gann is best known as the founder of the DC Shorts Film Festival.  And Philippa is locally famous for promoting the arts through fabulous parties and her Hoogrrl blog.  I’ve been fortunate to work with both of them over the years.  

Philippa and I used to be in a writers’ group together and I took photos for her at the Art-o-Sound event at this year’s Artomatic.  She’s making the arts cool in DC and has been responsible for bringing huge crowds of people to galleries.  She’s done so with unique events like “License to Brawl”, which took place at the Hillyer Art Gallery and featured tricked-out Scions, literary folks, interesting art and roller derby girls arm-wrestling for money.  Who could say no to that?

With the ever-expanding DC Shorts, Jon is almost single-handedly making this town known for film.  What’s different about DC Shorts is that it is a festival that takes care of filmmakers.  If you have a film in the festival, Jon will find you a place to stay, feed you and provide plenty of opportunities to meet other filmmakers.  For DC Shorts, I’ve been a film judge, a screenplay judge and a screenplay competition manager.  Each year, Jon gives me terrifyingly more responsibility, like managing a screenplay reading with actors and writers, and yet I’ve learned so much from each festival.  And had a really good time doing it, too.

Having worked with Jon and Philippa up close and personal, what they have in common is having a vision for the arts in DC and then just going for it.  Rather than waiting for money or permission or approval, they’ve pursued their dreams with whatever is available.  Doing so has immeasurably enriched the cultural life of this town and brought creative life to its streets.

Friday's Links

I haven’t done this in a while but here’s what interested me this week:

SXSW Panel: Government Sites Try Not to Suck
Vote for me!  Using a provocative title, I’m trying to sneak some government web folks into hipster-laden SXSW. 

SmartBike DC
These “rent by the hour” bikes have started to appear on the streets of the District.  I’d love to try one but I already have two bikes I don’t ride.

GovLoop
It’s Facebook for feds! 

Reading Novels is Good for You

kramerbooks

Is reading online actually reading? An article in the New York Times recently addressed that very subject, profiling the reading habits of teenagers and their parents. Many educators are concerned that kids would rather read off a glowing screen than dead trees. What kind of effect is this having on the ability to concentrate and absorb information? Even some adults are wondering if Google making us stupid.

The truth is that the generation that grew up with the internet has different information processing and communication skills and preferences. They are digital natives who are hunters and gathers of information from multiple sources, technologically adept creatures who then want to mix and remix what they’ve discovered into their own stories. Rather than being engrossed in the linear narrative of a dead author, they want to collaborate with their peers on fluid, hypertextual adventures, such as fan fiction.

Yet, let me rise to the defense of the novel. And not just because it’s an important art form that needs to be preserved. Novels teach essential skills, such as concentration, careful reading (not skimming web pages) and the ability to frame and express a story. These are vital for everyone, whether you’re a college student writing a paper or an executive making a presentation. The New York Times article has a great example on the importance of reading novels:

Literacy specialists are just beginning to investigate how reading on the Internet affects reading skills. A recent study of more than 700 low-income, mostly Hispanic and black sixth through 10th graders in Detroit found that those students read more on the Web than in any other medium, though they also read books. The only kind of reading that related to higher academic performance was frequent novel reading, which predicted better grades in English class and higher overall grade point averages.

So here’s to the novel! Not only is reading Hemingway, Faulker or Fitzgerald a good way to spend an afternoon, it will also make you smarter.

StrengthsFinder 2.0

I took the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test. It asks you a series of questions on how you like to work, how you get along with other people and how you’ve organized your life. You have 20 seconds to answer each question because they want your gut responses, without a lot of thinking. The same kind of questions are asked again and again, in slightly different formulations, to find out how strongly you feel about something. When answering, you choose a range of responses from “agree strongly” to “disagree strongly.”

When you’re done with this online test (it takes 20-30 minutes to complete), you’re presented with a list of your top five strengths.  Here’s mine:

  1. Input
  2. Strategic
  3. Intellection
  4. Maximizer
  5. Learner
I took this test three years ago, when it was part of Now, Discover Your Strengths.  Interestingly, I had the same five strengths when I took it last, just in a slightly different order.
What’s different in StrengthsFinder 2.0 is, along with a list of your strengths, it provides a couple of additional tools to help you become happier and more effective. The first is a personalized guide that contains:

• Brief descriptions of all five of your strengths

• Your Personalized Strengths Insights, which describe what makes you stand out from others with the same theme in their top five

• Some examples of what the theme “sounds like” — real quotes from people who also have the theme in their top five

• Ten very practical ideas for action for each strength

• A Strengths Discovery Activity to get you thinking about how your talents and your investment work together to build strengths that you can apply to your work and personal life

• A Strengths-Based Action Plan for review with a friend, manager, or colleague.

There’s also a simple online tool where you can pick from their suggestions on how to improve yourself and build a custom guide of practical ideas for you to follow.

If you’re a compulsive planner, StrengthsFinder 2.0 is for you. But I think it’s also useful for people going through a career transition or just wondering if they’re in the right job.

I strongly agree with the core philosophy of StrengthsFinder – you should concentrate your efforts on what you’re best at, rather than trying to improve upon your weaknesses. Not only is this a more efficient use of your time, it’s more likely to lead to happiness.