My Mastery Journey @plainwheattoast - Tumblr Blog

#amwriting #fullsailalumni #writerslife #editsober #sundaynight

#sundaynight #editsober #amwriting #fullsailalumni #writerslife

Great night with @StephenKing and @OwenKingwriter in Portland for #sleepingbeauties . Thanks for the signed copy!

Examples of exceptional Branding

Airbnb has done an amazing job of convincing the world that it is safe and normal to rent a room in a stranger’s house. Their logo, the Belo, and twisted circle that looks like an upside-down heart, reminds us we belong no matter where we are. Beyond their recognizable logo, Airbnb’s efforts remain dedicated to their remarkable website which makes its viewers feel they have a welcoming, affordable home just waiting for them wherever they may go.

The brand that continues to set the bar for all others is Apple. Unlike Android and PC products, Apple holds fast to a one-size-fits-all approach. Apple products are minimally customizable. Customizable features are remarkably non-esthetic in nature, and the functions and appearance of devices remain constant. Their designs and branding are global, and the world continues to accept this approach as confidence, and their products to be superior.

Exceptional branding and marketing have allowed Starbucks to established 20,000 stores worldwide. Starbucks has even shifted China’s attention from it culturally important consumption of tea to a limitless menu of concocted and trendy coffee drinks. Inside each store, Starbucks feels like a welcoming, local coffee house, but in reality, in those cozy, music-filled, leather chair circled rooms, consumers stand in the same fast food lines that they stand in at McDonald's.

(Walker, 2017)

Here are a couple pics from the storyboard of my new short animated film, “Max and the Angry Thumb.” Max is a five-year-old new kindergartener who, after being stung by a bee, blames his own anger and misbehavior on his sore, red thumb. In this charming, funny story, Max learns how to deal with his feelings of anger, and how to best deal with bullies.

Gamification and Media Convergence

Gamification, the function of gaming elements in everyday contexts, can be seen everywhere these days. In fall of 2016, Apple launched its Watch Series 2 with a genius attraction, Activity Rings (https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-2/). The watch counts not only your daily step activities, but also how much you stand, move, and exercise. The rings are displayed in bold colors, and the rings close to completion as you move closer to your daily goal. You can even share your progress with others, creating a level of competition, even if you’re competing with yourself.

Most of us have heard the phrase “There’s an app for that.” Smartphone users adopt countless apps to help with everyday activities. I use an app on my iPhone called Snapchat to communicate with my kids almost every day. We take videos and photos, and we video chat to communicate everything from graduations and weddings to the silliest things we do. My grandson lives in Texas and I’m in northern California, but I see him every day. Where I used to take photos with a film camera, have them printed, and mail them to my loved ones, I now communicate freely (and for free) with those I love. A regular activity has transformed into a fun, almost gaming-like activity.

Media convergence is seen when at least two forms of media fuse in collaboration, creating a unique new media experience or a partnership between two separate companies. Media convergence isn’t anything new, though it is talked about more these days. As communications technology has grown, especially with the mass introduction of the Internet, we’ve seen many companies collaborate and shift the way their products and services are used. I had a subscription to Writer’s Digest for several years. At some point, I had to decide what to do with all of those magazines, so I donated the magazines and subscribed online. Now I get the same great content without collecting voluminous stacks of paper. This combination of media production creates a greater range of offerings and the ability to reach more readers.

Writing a Web Series

My current master’s course, Episodic and Serial Writing, is coming to an end this weekend, and I’m very happy with the work I completed this month. I created a Pilot Webisode for a Web Series, something I hadn’t done before. The formatting for a webisode is similar to a spec script for a film with just a few exceptions in scene headings. I have loved creating through script formatting since my first introduction to it in my bachelor’s program, which I finished last year. The more I use Final Draft, the easier it gets to navigate, and getting into the flow of create writing while working within this format is getting much easier. I used to write in prose first and then translate my story to Final Draft, but now I am able to write naturally while working with the software. Narrative fiction writing was the most natural for me for a very long time. Writing in this way launched from journal writing a teen, talking to myself or to my “ideal reader” for years. I always thought I would be a novel writing because that’s all I knew. Poetry has always been a chore to me, but then identifying different styles and structures of poetry writing changed my approach to that also. Learning to work with Final Draft has opened up another world of expression, a natural progression for my narrative writing. I hesitate to admit it, but I think I actually prefer scriptwriting to narrative at this point. Perhaps my excitement and commitment to a format will flux with my passion for different projects.

I hadn’t considered writing for the web in the past. Before this class, I had never even watched a web series. This very short episode format is a lot of fun to watch, and easy to binge watch. I really enjoyed it! When I fell in love with Final Draft, I thought initially that it was created just for writing for film or stage. I see now that there are many templates available. Now I can see myself writing for the web. In fact, I would embrace it wholly. These webisodes are kind of quick-and-dirty. Because the webisode is so short, the dialogue is tight. The scenes are substantive. The visuals, background music, and the sound effects are imperative.

If you are a writer and you’ve not explored writing a web series, check out the formatting tools in Final Draft for webisodes. Surf the net for web series. Those nights you can’t sleep, instead of clicking from one random YouTube video to another, enjoy a great series in bite sizes!

#happythanksgiving

As I continue to build my writing resume, here are three trigger pictures to remind me of ideas to apply my skills and mastery of writing: contribute to the writing and editing of my company’s website and collateral materials, and contribute to the chamber of commerce’s newsletters to members.

Re-read John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" this afternoon...just as profound and haunting as the last time! #coffeeandbooks

#coffeeandbooks

I created a personal logo with logomaker.com!

Feedly is a news aggregator application I use to access favorite resources for news and information. I'm just starting to explore the app. Check it out!

#feedly

Papaly is a simple social bookmarking tool to manage all your links. Create custom boards and categories. Share and follow topics of interest to discover new content.

Have you tried Papaly yet? Here is a link to mine. A terrific tool to organize web-based resources.

#papaly

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