When Writing in Other People’s Universes

Do you know what a spec script is? For those who don’t know, a spec (short for speculative script) is a non-commissioned script, written with the intent of either having it optioned by a production company or give light to an up-and-coming screenwriter and what they’re capable of. When you’re writing a spec for TV, it’s usually for a show that is currently on the air.

In the past, I’ve talked about my thoughts and aspirations to write for already established universes. Since then, I’ve actually gotten to do so in the form of specs, and I can assure you that it has been quite an education for me.

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A Film Festival Screening and A Zoom Play

When was the last time I did a spotlight on two major announcements for my weekly Saturday blog post? That would have to be back at the beginning of August 2018 a.k.a. “simpler times.” To think that I would have some big announcements to make in the midst of a pandemic might sound kind of odd, and yet that’s exactly what is happening today. So here it goes:

Thoughts About Fiction in the Time of COVID-19

A few months ago, I read the latest novel from the thoughtful sci-fi author Mike Chen, A Beginning at the End. I won’t go into too much detail about it, but if I were to describe it in a very brief synopsis, it follows three adults from different paths of life and how they all find themselves coming together, in the aftermath of – wait for it it – a global pandemic.

Art Imitating Life

I believe in the past on this blog, I’ve talked plenty of times about life imitating art. More often than not, it’s particularly eerie when you’re a sci-fi writer, whose story is set in a fictional future, and then events in real life begin to bear some level of resemblance to ideas and occurrences you had initially constructed in  your mind.

Thoughts About Young Adult Fiction REVISITED

Young adult (YA) fiction: This is a subject I’ve been wanting to revisit for quite some time. After spending part of this past week reading a favorite, Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl, I felt that now is just as good of a time to finally write about this topic again, after previously writing about it over five years ago. After all, thoughts and opinions about certain subject matter can change overtime, the more you learn and grow. In the case of YA fiction, my thoughts and feelings towards it have definitely morphed.

Storytelling and the Moon

Earlier this week, I went to the Exploratorium; a San Francisco-based museum where visitors get different perspectives on the world by way of the sciences and the arts. Every week, they open up the Exploratorium for an adults-only event called After Dark, and each one always provides presentations, performances, and such around a different topic. For this week, it was all the science of the different stories that exist regarding the moon.

Empowering Moments at Empower 2019

For over six years now, I’ve been taking my writing much more seriously. Within that time, I’ve written and published two novels (and am currently working on a third one), I’ve become a content creator in the written form with my writings appearing in several corners of the Internet, I’ve written one-act plays that have been produced for stage, and this past year, I wrote my very first screenplay. I’ve done a lot, and yet I’m still so far from where I want (and need) to be as a writer. That’s why last week, I looked to see what next steps I need to take.

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Okay, if my story indicates anything, I didn't take as many pictures at #Empower2019 yesterday. But basically, it was just as fulfilling and informative as the day before. I'm thrilled I flew down to LA for this event, and I await to give a deeper analysis of my experience next weekend in a new blog post. #Kollaboration #EmpowermentThroughEntertainment #go

A post shared by Lauren Lola (@akolaurenlola) on Mar 25, 2019 at 6:08am PDT

Thoughts About the Personal Evolving Meaning of a Story

Okay, I know that title sounds like a bit of a mouthful, but let me break it down for you real quick, for I know it is a phenomenon we’ve all experienced.

You know that experience where a story you consume – a book, a song, a movie, etc. – means one thing to you at one point in your life, but later on, you have a new perspective on it? It sounds like one of those things where there’s a word for it outside of the English language. It’s a fascinating phenomenon that is truly universal, and it can come about under a variety of circumstances.

In the World of Solarpunk: Recommended Reading

With a busy weekend ahead, I figured that now is just as good of a time to bring to you the first Recommended Analyzing piece of the year. While I normally tend to recommend material to check out that came out fairly recently, the article that I will be recommending today was actually published a year ago. It’s just that someone I know brought it to my attention recently, and the content was so captivating, that I knew I had to write something about it.

#FilmStruck4: 4 Films That Define Me

Yet another hashtag has emerged throughout the past week where we social media navigators are encouraged to look at our favorite films and/or TV shows and see if we can find ourselves in them, to some capacity or another. That hashtag is #FilmStruck4. Started up by @FilmStruck on Twitter, this hashtag is to celebrate the four films that “define you.”

In the past, I’ve gotten to share with you all three fictional characters that I can describe myself in and the first times I saw me. This latest hashtag is all about storytelling, so you know I had to participate. Here are four films that define me:

Even though I haven’t been formally tagged, I’m going to do it anyway. Here are my four films for #FilmStruck4.

Princess Mononoke
Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming
Whale Rider
Star Wars: A New Hope pic.twitter.com/a1sY9upY6g

— Lauren Lola (@akolaurenlola) April 20, 2018