My Goal Is Fame

My name is Adam Frederick. I am a writer. I have been published once before in an online zine. The title says it all: my goal is fame, and this is my story. Read my works, my thoughts on writing and the writing process, and read about my progress.

Doing What I Thought I Never Would

I absolutely HATE Sara Michelle Gellar.  So much so that I refuse to watch anything she plays in, and if I do wind up watching something that shes in, I inevitably complain about her constantly.  So, this is why I have never watched the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I loved the movie, but I’ve never tried the show because of her. 

On the other hand, I love Joss Whedon.  I’ve only recently looked into him, and have discovered that I love everything he’s done, and there isn’t much of his that I haven’t seen.  I am curious about how he goes about writing a group, because he writes a group so well.  Better than anyone else I’ve seen.  So, here’s the dilemma: I need to see all of Whedon’s work to better analyze his approach to a group, and see how that progresses over the last 20 years (my bob. I can’t believe it’s been that long), and that includes Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

So….I guess I’m just going to break down and start watching.  Maybe I can get past…her.

I’m so money that my simply using the term “money” makes Vince Vaughn seem cool. 

Greatest Idea

I had the greatest idea today.  It was a story that had it all, a protagonist that everyone would love, an antagonist that everyone would hate, but love and understand.  There was a passionate love interest.  Action enough to sate the savage beast.  It was intelligent, clever, humorous, and just very  emotional.  It was one that would be amazing turned into a movie, and it would make me more money than I could imagine.  I knew I would remember such an awesome idea, so I didn’t write it down.

Now, I don’t remember shit about it.

The Art Bug

I wonder if I’ve always had the art bug, or did I catch it as I made the transition from some-who-writes to a Writer. I find myself intrigued by John Cage’s 4’33” and films with the artistic flair. Years ago I would have found both of these stupid. Or would I? Do I only think this because I never had the chance or the means to express myself until recent years (which then it took years to develop and refine that taste)? I don’t exactly have an answer, and maybe I never will.

Creating July

Working on my Apocalypse Blog, I’ve created a female character named July (pronounced like the month).  So far she’s an intriguing character.  I haven’t figured her out yet, and she’s proving difficult to figure out.  This scares me for a couple reasons. 

1. She is going to be introduced this weekend, and I don’t have her figured out, and I don’t think I will by then.

2. She’s going to be a bit of a wild card.  I don’t have anything set in stone for the story line, but until now things were going to be simple. 

I don’t have this issue with many characters, but when I do, their unpredictability scares me.  But at the same time, I have a growing sense of excitement.  I can’t wait to see what will happen.

George R.R. Martin on writing women

  • George Stroumboulopoulos: There's one thing that's interesting about your books. I noticed that you write women really well and really different. Where does that come from?
  • George R.R. Martin: You know, I've always considered women to be people.

There’s no reason you shouldn’t, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to revise yourself constantly. More than a half, maybe as much as two-thirds of my life as a writer is rewriting. I wouldn’t say I have a talent that’s special. It strikes me that I have an unusual kind of stamina. I can rewrite sentences over and over again, and I do… .

And I think what I’ve always recognized about writing is that I don’t put much value in so-called inspiration. The value is in how many times you can redo something.

—John Irving, National Book Award Interview, June 3, 2005 (via thelondonmag)