{"id":8230,"date":"2020-01-16T16:10:50","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T16:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8230"},"modified":"2026-02-03T04:08:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T04:08:37","slug":"writing-is-an-art-form-the-same-as-music-acting-painting-rod-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/?p=8230","title":{"rendered":"“Writing is an art form the same as music, acting, painting…”-Rod White"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Exclusive Interview with Rod White- Writer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Rod\nA. White has enjoyed writing from an early age. He penned his first series of\nshort stories in fifth grade under the title \u201cThe Adventures of Davy Raccoon.\u201d\nHis stories were drawn from both his own frequent\nexcursions into the Daniel Boone National Forest surrounding his hometown of\nMorehead, Kentucky as well as the vibrant tales of frontiersman Daniel Boone\nand other adventurers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\na teenager, Rod once again pursued his passion for writing and produced several\nmore short stories and poems. One of his poems placed in the top tier of a\ncontest and he was invited to travel to Las Vegas \u2013 all expenses paid \u2013 where\nhe could read his work to an audience that included actor William Shatner, one\nof the contest judges. However, the award did not include airfare and occurred\nduring school so Rod was unable to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\na decade of creating hundreds of successful articles, blog posts, ebooks, books\nand comics for an international clientele as a ghostwriter, Rod decided to\nfocus more energy on building his own recognized career as an author. He\nself-published his first novel in 2017 entitled \u201cReflections of a Ruby Pendant.\u201d\nHe also began to produce a steady stream of short stories which he sends to\npublishers and contests. He placed third in two short story contests in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rod\u2019s efforts started paying off in 2019. He won first place in a short story contest and placed third in another. He had three stories accepted for inclusion in the anthology \u201cNano Nightmares\u201d which is due out in April 2020. He started his second novel and wrote his first screenplay \u2013 \u201cImpressions of a Kiss\u201d \u2013 which he has both submitted to contests and is actively marketing. Rod is also a regular article contributor for Modelsmania<\/em> magazine, a former ghostwriting client that agreed to publish his articles under his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photo by Vanina Montesinos Salazar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: What projects are you currently working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a slew of irons in the fire at the moment. I\nam mainly working on two screenplays which I hope to finish this year. Story\nideas are not a problem for me. I have a list that is pages long of potential\nstory ideas which I add to on a regular basis. These are used to supply both\nscreenplays and novels. I also keep a script priority list which has around\neight or ten stories in the lineup of what I believe are the best. Time is by\nfar the most coveted aspect of writing for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have operated a full-time ghostwriting business\nfor over a decade and, although I mainly write for myself now, I still have a\ncouple of clients for whom I continue to supply work. I am involved in two\nmajor ghostwriting projects, one of which is a comic book. I have written several\nvolumes for that and seven issues have been released to date with more in the\nworks. I also produced a few animated scripts used for advertising the series\nas well as writing the story\u2019s theme song. The client wanted to move toward\nanimating the series, but ran into a problem with market oversaturation of the\ntheme so it is basically on hold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been hired to ghostwrite scripts for another\nanimated cartoon series which began this January. I am finding that I really\nenjoy writing scripts for animations. They are much shorter than feature movie\nscripts, but they also have different layers. For example, I have to create one\nscript for each episode which is used to give layout directions to the\nanimators. Then I also must produce a voice over script for the vocal artists\nwhich consists of dialog and very brief voice-only directions. You also have to\nthink a bit differently in that animated cartoons must be funny and much more\nto the point so they definitely provide a means for creative growth which I\nadore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: What makes a film great for you? Are there certain qualities that make a\nfilm better for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an adamant movie watcher, I absolutely loath\npredictable storylines and outcomes. Knowing what\u2019s going to happen before it\noccurs greatly takes away from any desired effect. My wife gets miffed\nsometimes when we\u2019re watching a movie and I project the outcome based solely on\nits predictability factor. I should say she used to get miffed because she\u2019s\ngetting pretty good at it herself now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, as a screenwriter, I seek to apply\nunpredictability to my stories through twists and varying storylines that avoid\nobvious projections. I believe such efforts make for a more enhanced experience\nfor viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: As a screenwriter, what is the most important aspect of building a character?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order for characters to successfully capture\nviewers\u2019 attention, they must have distinct personality traits that are well\ndefined. There are a slew of traits such as courageous, arrogant, whiny,\nanxious, fearful, jealous, angry, devious, etc. The idea is to develop\ncharacters for a particular story that exude their particular personality\ntraits, but it is also important that each character\u2019s personality fits in\nnicely with the storyline. For example, a whining, fearful personality doesn\u2019t\nfit well with a heroic character\u2026 that is unless it is being done on purpose to\nenhance a comedy film, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewers want to identify with the characters in\nmovies. This requires them to become emotionally attached and invested in the\ncharacters and that is achieved by making them personable through their defined\npersonalities. Whether hero, villain, sidekick, or victim, they must have\nspecific strengths and weaknesses that viewers both identify with and attach\nthemselves to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: Top 3 favorite projects that you have been involved in?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, I am a newcomer to the screenwriting\nbusiness so I don\u2019t have much of a portfolio to show off.  With that said, I thoroughly enjoyed writing\nmy first screenplay \u201cImpressions of a Kiss\u201d which I completed in April 2019. I\nwrote it and have been marketing it as a drama, but now that I\u2019ve sat on it for\nnearly a year, I am considering changing it to a romantic comedy. I feel that\nit may play out better as such so the editing of that piece is on my \u201cto do\u201d\nlist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I mentioned, I am excited about working on the\nanimated story scripts. It is a ghostwriting project so I am under a\nNondisclosure Agreement with the client. Even though I won\u2019t be credited in the\nproject, I still count it as invaluable experience which I can use to develop\npersonal projects in the future. I\u2019ve been negotiating with the client to get\nmy name on the project as a \u201cCreative Consultant\u201d so I am still hoping that\nworks out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: Do you express yourself creatively in any other ways?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I become bored easily so I am constantly seeking new\nways of expressing my creativity. For this reason, I am involved in a variety\nof projects that run a wide gauntlet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides screenplays, I also write a steady stream of\nshort stories which I like to submit to contests and publications. I find they\nare a great way to hone my skills. I\u2019ve been doing that for around a year now\nand have won first place in a contest and placed third in several others. I\u2019ve\nalso had a few pieces published in magazines and anthologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am also working on my second novel, a comedy\n\/slash\/ thriller entitled \u201cPractical Joker.\u201d People may wonder how a comedy\/thriller\nis possible since they seem to contradict each other. Well, my advice is to\nwait for it to come out and read it. It has a definite twist in the storyline\nwhich I believe few will see coming as well as providing a funny and\nentertaining read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also like to draw and did a lot of that when I was\nyounger. So, on top of all the writing projects I have underway, I am also\nworking steadily on a cartoon strip which I am both writing and illustrating.\nMy goal is to seek syndication for it later this year. I will probably do more\ncartoon projects to submit to publications, or even animated projects in the\nfuture as it provides a nice, creative break from writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: What advice would you give to someone who wants to have a career in\nfilmmaking?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would offer three words of advice\u2026 persistence,\npersistence, persistence. Writing is an art form the same as music, acting,\npainting, et al, and it takes developing the skills required for gaining\nsuccess in each one. A writer should be persistent in reading successful works\nin their chosen genres, persistent in gleaning tips and advice from professionals\nthrough informative books and articles, and most of all\u2026 persistent in writing\nday in and day out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persistence is a tough tiger to tame. Not only does\na writer have to maintain a consistent writing practice regardless of how one\nfeels or what may arise to thwart the process, but they must also deal with\ndeadlines, editors, long waiting periods, and \u2013 yes \u2013 rejections. That last one\nis a doozy. In 2019, I submitted over 60 short stories to contests and publications,\nyet only had eight pieces that either won prizes or were accepted for\npublication\u2026 and I\u2019m not a newby to the craft. I have operated a successful\nfull-time ghostwriting business for over a decade with hundreds of published\narticles and dozens of published ebooks and books under my belt. The idea is to\nwrite, submit, edit, and submit again endlessly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: What can we expect from you in 2020?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have an aggressive schedule for 2020. My goal is\nto produce two feature-length screenplays, both of which are already underway.\nThe first is to convert my debut novel, \u201cReflections of a Ruby Pendant\u201d, into\nan action adventure screenplay. I had some great feedback on the storyline from\na \u201cCinematic Book\u201d contest I entered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second screenplay is a thriller and, although\nit\u2019s fiction, it is based on real life events. I\u2019m not going to give the\nstoryline away, but it should provide a very nice twist for the\nvampire\/thriller genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NY\nGlam: Where can everyone keep up with you to learn more? \u2026social media\u2026website?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven\u2019t created a website yet, but it is\ndefinitely on my \u201cto do\u201d list, especially as I become more established under my\nown name. Until then, those interested in finding out more, keeping up with my\nprojects, or contacting me can do so at writer.rod.white@gmail.com. I can also\nbe found on Facebook at either of two pages: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/rod.white.16<\/a>\nor fb.me\/WriterRodAWhite<\/a>. I am also on Twitter: @WriterRod.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exclusive Interview with Rod White- Writer Rod A. White has enjoyed writing from an early age. He penned his first series of short stories in fifth grade under the title \u201cThe Adventures of Davy Raccoon.\u201d His stories were drawn from both his own frequent excursions into the Daniel Boone National Forest surrounding his hometown of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","category-literature"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8230"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19319,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8230\/revisions\/19319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nyglamour.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}