Christy Murphy's Otter Blog

My Story Salon in Progress ...

I've been reading my essays and stories Wednesday nights at the Story Salon's in Studio City. I was lucky enough to get my own salon last Friday night. They call the shows Story Salon's in Progress, and I sang some songs and told stories about my family.

I got the greatest review of a show of my life written by Richard MacPherson. You can check it out here: http://shermanoaks.patch.com/blog_posts/story-salon-the-long-play.

Highlights: "... a lovely unassuming yet quirky stage presence."

"... starting off with a very funny original song called "A Six Pack for Santa".

"... their beautiful smiles stole our hearts."

It was video recorded. I may post some highlights soon. I'll be revising my salon in progress into a one-person show and take it on the road. Many of the essays will be available in my upcoming book of essays that is slated to come out at Christmas!

 

Screenwriting Podcast by Script Doctor Eric Check It Out!

I recently got to be on a Scriptcast! Script Doctor Eric's screenwriting podcast. It goes out live on UCLA radio and then it's available via iTunes for download (I'm episode 8) or online streaming through LibSyn. Check out my particular episode via those links.

The episode I was on focused on joke writing and standup comedy. It was really fun being on the show, and we even punched up a few jokes. I think you'll dig it.

If you're serious about screenwriting you should subscribe to Scriptcast and visit Script Doctor Eric's blog. On each podcast Eric and his co-host Matt Hill discuss movies from a screenwriter's perspective, and provide tips that you can really use for your writing. Eric's screenwriting blog gives great tips on all things screenwriting, and Log Line Fridays are really fun to read. Check it out!

I'm going to be on Scriptcast this morning at 11 am. You can listen live by going to www.uclaradio.com and clicking "Listen Live"... or here's the direct link: www.uclaradio.com/listen.pls

If you want to ask questions before or during the show, just have them tweet me: @scriptdreric

Funny Songs Video: Single Girl's Love Song

Here's the video for Single Girl's Love Song animated and directed by Brett Gilbert. We released it on Valentine's Day, and it's already gotten over 4,500 reviews.

 

The last verse is inspired by one of my favorite show biz couples (and hilarious comedians) Jane Edith Wilson and Gary Lucy. They were kind enough to let use their actual Christmas card video (which I really got in the mail and it really did make me happy) in the video. This song is available on iTunes, and the album Feeling Good Looking Good is availabe on CD Baby. You can also buy the song on Digstation (there's a free downloads for the first funny songs singles "Creepy Guy" and a free download of "My Passive Aggressive Friend's Thinly-Veiled Hostility Make me Nervous." The entire album is available on my site christymurphy.com

Winner, winner! Chicken dinner! I crossed the finish line to the NanoWrimo National Novel Writing Month Challenge!

That's right folks. I did it. I'm a winner in the NanoWrimo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge, which means completed an entire first draft of a novel in 30 days. I lost a few things along the way, including attendace of a few classes, the ability to use correct punctuation, and the use of both my typing hands.

 I'm not joking about the use of my hands. In the second week of the challenge, I noticed both of my wrists started to ache. By the third week, it turned towards searing pain. A million years ago I bought dictations software thinking that it would increase the speed of my writing and I would dictate paroles of wisdom. As you can see by the use of the word paroles instead of pearls ( which by the way I had to type in with my sore wrists so that the computer wouldn't type paroles again)  that much of my time was spent screaming into a microphone and crying.

Add to that I named my main character Elaine which often is interpreted as a lame, Alain, and my favorite "a lane," buy my Macspeech Dictate software, and you can see how many hours of fun were had. Yes, I could have named my character Betty. But I was insane and angry.

Many of my friends had assumed that I would naturally meet this challenge, but unlike you folks who've seen this completely neglected blog with many a challenge announced and yet very few completed, they have some sort of misplaced sense of optimism regarding me and my ability to complete things.

But this time, I prevailed. I'm currently procrastinating writing the first half of my second act of my screenplay that is due to be read by a group of actors in my screenwriting group tomorrow at 7 PM. I only have 20 pages more to write, and a mom to pick up at the airport in LAX at 2 PM. My screenwriting group is naturally located close to where I live, here in Sherman Oaks, so I'm sure that I won't be sleeping and that I'll be in a panic at the copy place and highlighting the actor's scripts while sitting in the Tom Bradley International terminal waiting for Mom to get out of customs. That's just how I roll.

I better get to work, but first let me take of few celebratory spoonfuls of this pint of triple espresso gelato. Out of all the words that this software reads without a hitch, it's the phrase triple espresso gelato. Go figure.

The novel will be available for download in the new year on my new site ReadMyStoriesOnline.com . In the meantime you can read several of my  typo ridden short stories and essays they are. I'm trying to say there, but close enough.

Congratulations to everyone on their success during national novel writing month. Good luck and good editing!

P.S.You have no idea how many times I had to say "scratch that" or "forget that" in the last month and even on this post. But still, hats off to you MacSpeech Dictate. I couldn't have done it without you.

P.S.S. I also gained a few things mainly, 7 lbs, and a new infatuation with the McDonald's McRib sandwich. They're back!

 

NanoWrimo: (Inter)National Write a Novel in a Month

It's November, which means it's time for NanoWrimo: the international write a novel in a month challenge. I am a winner for 2008 and am going for it again this year. My goal is to write a first draft of a romantic comedy novel by the end of November. I will post excerpts and make it available for sale (after it's edited and revised) on my new site: Read-My-Stories-Online.com .

I went to my first "Write In" here in the Valley last night. We all started writing at the stroke of midnight. I'm now only about 500 words in, but am very excited. The question is: Will I finish? As you can see from this not-regularly-updated blog where I failed to finish the Music Industry group challenge, my confidence that I will finish this draft in a month may very well be misplaced. Add to it, I've just joined Deadline Junkies (a fab screenwriting group), and am in the midst of a second act of my screenplay with a reading scheduled early Dec, and my classes at the UCB Theater starting one week from today, and there are a lot of things to do. Will I succeed? Time will tell, but I am going to state right here that I will! Now, how foolish will I look if I don't!

Are you going to do it with me? Feel free to join us all on a month of "literary abandon." The water's fine.

Downtown Comedy Club: Here's a Few Funny Songs from My Set at Garret Morris's Club here in Los Angeles

Here are two quick, funny songs from my set at the Downtown Comedy Club last Friday. I'll be headlining there again on the 8pm show on October 22nd. The Downtown Comedy Club is located at 114 W. 5th St. Los Angeles CA 90013. (between Spring and Main.) There's a parking garage on 6th Street between Spring and Main, too. I love this club, because they are so friendly and easy going. Plus, Garrett Morris from the original SNL class hosts the shows sometimes! 

Week 2: The Music Success in Nine Weeks Blog Challenge Continues

Week one of goal setting is complete and now, we're onto Week 2 of our success. Tons of musicians have signed up for The Music Success in Nine Weeks Blog Challenge and the world at large is seven weeks closer to being better informed about the creative exploits of my fellow blog challenge takers and me. Look out world!

This week's lesson. THE PITCH! I've already started reading ahead (the book is that exciting and good), and it in it Ariel really gives compelling reasons why you need to be able to describe succinctly in words what the heck it is you do. I actually feel incredibly ridiculous that I haven't thought about this more closely in the past.

So, if I had to describe myself, WHICH I DO, I'm Pop Rock Comedian Christy Murphy. What does that mean? It means I combine funny pop-rock songs and stand-up comedy in a quirky, fun way. Imagine if Phoebe from Friends inhabited Adam Sandler's body and you'll get a great idea of the good times that are to be had from one of my live shows.

I'll keep working on it, but sign up for my mailing list, drop a comment below, enjoy your life, and most importantly, THANK YOU FOR READING my blog. :)

Music Success in Nine Weeks by Ariel Hyatt

I am prepared for lift off. Music success will be mine in T minus Nine Weeks! I recently purchased an awesome book Music Success in Nine Weeks by Ariel Hyatt, and am vowing to follow through all the way to the end and blog my progress weekly about it. Week one is goal setting. I have had issues with goal setting before. Mostly I create ambitions goals, elaborate plans, and then am quickly overwhelmed and then it's "Hello darkness my old friend ... ."

But in the book Hyatt cleverly advises that the goals are not set in stone and has a particularly nice technique of listing five successes daily that I think will ease the overwhelm. She addresses overwhelm right off the bat, which leads me to believe she has indeed, worked with A LOT of artists. It's nice to have a business book that takes into account what I'll call my "artistic temperament."

I am very pro building on successes. I feel like I've spent too much of my life snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and am on a mission to let the victories stand. Success #1 for today? Hello, I totally did my first week's blog. Success is MINE!

Hey, how about sharing your success for today! It can be about anything at all! I guarantee to give you an attaboy or attagirl and tell you you're awesome! Why? Because you're awesome.

Thank you for reading and being a part of my pop rock comedy dream.

If a person tweets in the dark, does a one-handed tree clapping make no sound when it falls on her?

I've signed up for Twitter, and I have no idea what I'm doing or why, but that is one of the best reasons and ways to do anything in my opinion. (The other "best" reason and way would be to do something for a specific reason and to know exactly how. However, it is kind of boring).

I find it very entertaining that no one at all is following me, and yet I tweet away. However, in everyone in the world's defense, I signed up in the dead of night after a major holiday while I was alone in my apartment. I am of the firm belief this is how all great things begin. Great things begin alone, in the dead of night, when no one is looking, and you (or in this case me) do something.

Yes, there are things people do alone, when no one is looking, in the dead of night, that may not fall into the "great" category, but hopefully this is not that kind of thing.