The character of Beowulf is slowly becoming an obsession with me. Not the new MoCap movie - although I will freely admit that was the genesis for it - but the original text and the character that is within it is what I find fascinating.

For those of you not familiar, the new film differs greatly from the original text - as does the recently released “Beowulf and Grendel” that was released here on DVD in the states. That film stars Gerald Butler of “300″ fame, and I highly recommend that you check it out - but, as I said, it takes its own spin on the story just as the Paramount film does.

What I find fascinating, and what I can’t seem to get out of my mind, is the fact that this creation - this character - is, for all points and purposes, the very first action hero. This tale was told aloud for entertainment long before the average person could read. This adventure was, in its day, the equivalent of an action movie…and Beowulf was an iconic character. It always leads me to wonder if the tales in the Epic poem are one story - or a trilogy that has been pieced together over the years.

Could the poem we have today actually be Beowulf, Beowulf 2: Beowulf Harder, and Beowulf with a Vengeance?

I think its much more likely that this epic poem was written as entertainment, than it is that it is some kind of gleaming social commentary for the times in which it was created. To me, Beowulf is the first, and greatest pulp hero - and I can’t get the character out of my mind no matter how hard I try.

I have an idea for something to do with Beowulf…something different than has ever been done with the character before, and if I can get the right people involved with it - I just may have to do it.

Writing a book of any length is a major accomplishment. Getting to those magical words “THE END” is a truly great feeling. I know, I did it for the first time late last month.

I’m writing Young Adult work, so the novella is only about 20,000 words, but that’s a complete book for the younger audience I’m aiming for. If you’re writing an epic sci-fi novel it could be 100,000 words before you can type “THE END”.

The crazy part is what comes next, after you finish “THE END” - because it’s really just the beginning. After that high of “I DID IT! I’M DONE!” is over, you quickly realize that you’re not done - heck, you’ve just started!

Because guess what? Your first draft is CRAP.

I know, I know, it’s hard to hear…but its true. I’ve read it from countless other writers, and I’ve experienced it myself. The first draft is riddled with spelling and/or grammatical errors. If you’re like me, it’s also a stream of consciousness draft that might need some refining to make sure everything is set up and paid off properly.

You know what though? Making those changes…adding in more detail, editing out unnecessary detail, and refining the dialogue…none of that feels like work at this point…because you already typed “THE END”. This thing is finished - all you’re doing now is polishing it up before you send it out into the world.

That’s a great feeling.

I have watched shows on Hulu every night since I got my beta invite. Every single night. I’ve watch all available episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a show that I never really intended on checking out. Now, though, I can’t wait to pick up the DVDs, and I sincerely hope that FX renews it for a 4th season. It’s just too damn good.

In fact, I’m going to show you how good it is, because - thanks to Hulu - I can put an entire episode, or an entire season right here on my blog.

I’ve thought about starting a blog about the HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray format war…and I have a great name for it, but I’m just not sure there is enough interest to make it worth the trouble.

Thoughts?

I’m sure those of you that write are already aware of this - but it’s just one of those things I feel the need to “say out loud”. I’ve been working on 3 separate novels for the past year or so.

Sure, it’s probably stupid to write more than one at a time, but I have a hard time focusing, and I find it easier to switch from one genre to another to keep things fresh in my mind.

One of the books I’m working on is a noir crime thriller, another is a sci-fi “epic” (I put epic in quotations because all sci-fi these days is billed as epic) and the third is a young adult fantasy novel.

I’m about halfway through the fantasty novel, and 1/3 finished with the other two. I write on them almost every day - but sometimes I get distracted. (Like when I wrote that Plan 10 screenplay a few weekends ago).

Also, of course, blogging - which is my full time job - takes up a great deal of time. It’s probably the most satisfying writing experience though, because I enjoy getting instant feedback. If someone things something I’ve written is stupid - they’ll be sure to tell me about it quickly.

With a book you can spend a year writing it, only to discover after the fact that it’s completely stupid.

Anyway - that’s my thoughts on that.

Aside from writing about Apple and Television, I also spend a great deal of time writing fiction that nobody reads.  I’m currently working on 3 novels at the same time, mainly because my attention span won’t allow me to focus on just one, and I just finished a screenplay for a sequel to “Plan 9 from Outer Space”.  If you’ve never seen Plan 9, you can watch it on Google Video right here.   

It’s often called the worst film ever made - but I disagree.  Plan 9 is an amazing film to me because Ed Wood wanted SO BAD for it to be good.  Even though it’s clearly not - there are so many ideas in it that I found entertaining, that the film has always had a special place in my heart.  2009 is the 50th anniversary of the film’s release - and I would love to see this sequel, “Plan 10″ actually produced and on the Sci-Fi Channel to celebrate the original film. Will it happen?  Probably not - but you never know. 

SO! I’ll be updating this from time to time.  It’ll be interesting for me to see if I can keep at it.

Thanks for stopping by.