Charlottesville - Albemarle Area Real Estate: Beware of "Comps" in a Market Where Prices Are Still Declining

Home prices are dropping nationwide.

Locally, home values have already declined 15-30%, depending on neighborhood. Because this area has been slower than many to deflate, and because the run-up has been so high, especially in the past five years, the area still has a ways to go down, ioho.

According to a survey by real estate site Zillow.com about three-quarters of U.S. homes lost value in

Affordable Housing in the Charlottesville Albemarle Area

The local Realtors' trade org, the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of Realtors (CAAR), had a series of Open Houses this past summer and a promo entitled "Affordable Again." "Affordable Again" referred to a price tag below $250,000. We laughed at this, because the term "Affordable Housing" obviously means something much different to Realtors than it does to activists interested in

Fed Gov't Wants To Reduce Principal or Interest for 3M HOMEDEBTORS Facing Foreclosure

From WaPo:Treasury, FDIC Crafting Plan to Rework Millions of MortgagesOfficials with the Treasury and the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.) are crafting a plan under which the government would guarantee the mortgages of as many as 3 million homeowners now struggling to avoid foreclosure, according to three sources familiar with the discussions.Under the program being discussed, the lender

Blogerific

Now that blogging, and in particularly, scriboblogging, has been officially endorsed as a positive way to promote yourself, it’s interesting to see more and more people willing to tip their toes in the blogging waters to see what it’s all about. Is it geeky? Needy? Pointless? Who reads them? Who writes them? How? Why? What should I write about? How do I get people to read? Will I get any work from it?

Over on TwelvePoint, Jason recently did the definitive guide to all things blog, and the subject has been mentioned in several other articles and sites, too, all reiterating the same thing really: blogging is good. So, yep, come on in, the water’s warm. If you’re a non-blogger, it would be easy to have a casual glance around and think that it is geeky, needy and pointless. But it depends what blogs you read. If you’re tempted to blog but your main motivation is “Will I get any work from it?” then your blog lifespan is likely to be short.

Blogging - good blogging - is about regularity. Intelligence. Wit. Honesty. Triviality. Community. Sounds a bit highfalutin, but it’s true, all the best blogs give generously with their time and text, building their audience with their regular posts and useful comments. If you’re just starting out a blog and feel a bit daunted by the task, then here are a few tips to see you through:-

1. You
What’s your blog about? If you just want to share the highs and lows of your writing experiences, then great. Most scriboblogs take this approach. It gives us that sense of community and support but, if you want to be a bit different, think of a particular new tack or tone for your blog, and stick to that.

2. Getting to Know You
Nobody reading your blog? Well, they don’t know you’re out there yet. The most basic way of raising your profile is to make comments on the blogs that you read the most. Don’t just hit and run, either. Make an appreciative comment, or add something to the debate. And then do the same on a few other blogs. People will recognise your name, like/dislike your comments, check out your profile, which will lead them conveniently to your blog.

The best way to get noticed is to get a link or a mention on someone else’s blog - hello Jonny Quest! - but this is usually an unexpected bonus. It’s blog etiquette to return someone’s link if they have you on their blogroll (their list of links) but it’s not so cool if you specifically request a shout out just for a quick hit on your site.

3. Slow Build
Once they’ve seen you have a blog, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll come back. To ensure repeat hits, you have to blog. Which means you have to write new posts. Fairly regularly, especially at the beginning. The internet hoovers up content. You have to keep providing it. 3 posts per week would be a good place to start. More if you can manage it. Anything between 1-3 per week is fair game once you’re up and running. You’ll soon discover if blogging is for you; whether it’s an inconvenience and irritation to write something or if it’s a natural impulse to post an update on what’s happening in your little corner of the internet.

4. Quality
Anybody can whack up a YouTube video or share a joke, or the details of a course, and it counts as a post. This is all fair enough but if you really want a blog that stands out from the crowd, you’ve got to try to make each of your posts useful. Or witty. Or intelligent. Or different in some way. If you’re going to review a film or something you’ve seen on TV (another way to easily generate a post), don’t be lazy about it. You’re a writer. Have something insightful to say. Don’t just slag things off or be sloppy with your prose. Check out Dan’s Media Digest to see how it’s done.

5. Work
It’s important to remember that your blog is on the internet, and can be read by anyone, anywhere at anytime. If you’re a writer, and you haven’t set up an anonymous blog (which have their merits but nameless rants can be wearisome), then it’s likely that an exec will Google you at some stage, and check out your blog. And if that coincides with your latest post where you have a flaky meltdown about the way your career is going, then that’s not going to be good, is it? (I heard that someone slagged off an exec they had met, and the exec read the post, heavily offended.)

The blog is your shop window. Your professional face to the world. While it’s great to be honest and truthful about what’s going on, there’s no need to show that it’s turning you into an emotional wreck. Everybody gets rejected and has frustrating experiences. Blog about it, absolutely, but don’t become a raving loon.

Will I get work from it? Possibly. It all depends on you, and what you write about, and how you present yourself. It’s all a knock-on effect, really. Having a positive web presence will help build your reputation, and could be the final clincher in someone thinking of you for a writing gig. Personally, I’ve got three paid gigs from having the blog. But it’s not a straightforward process of someone seeing your blog, liking it, and offering you a job. In my experience, they’re read the blog, got in touch, kept in contact, and then thought of me when the time was right.

There you have it. Some tips to get you started, or back on track.

Local Property Auctions Scheduled for October 29, 2008

October 29 at 1:20pm at the Charlottesville Circuit CourthouseProperty: 1053 Grady AvenueDebtor: Michelle B. AllenAmount owing: $140,000Bidder brings: $11,000 or 10 percent sale priceInfo: Draper & Goldberg PLLC 703-777-2448October 29 at 1pm at the Albemarle CourthouseProperty: 2841 King Solomons Lane, EsmontDebtor: Becky Sue McCauleyAmount owing: $55,000Bidder brings: $6,000 or 10 percent sale

Alan Greenspan 'Fesses Up.

Better late than never? Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan comes clean.Turns out that not regulating the free market was insane, he admitted at a Congressional hearing. He's "in a state of shocked disbelief." We're in a state of (--Oh, wait--those words are unprintable here. This is a family blog.)

Memed Squared

To meme or not to meme, um, what is the question?

I think I was tagged for the one that asked 'what song neatly sums up writing for you'? That had me flummoxed, to be honest. I didn't have an answer, not a good one anyway, but reading that particular meme around the blogs was interesting, and then James blew it right out of the water with his inspiring response.

In truth, I'm a bit of a sad git when it comes to taking inspiration from music, however slim. It could be a snippet of a lyric, or a rousing instrumental swell (steady on girls), or a naff emotional beat. Anything with a decent tempo gives me much fuel for thought when I'm on the treadmill. My body will synchronise with the music and give me more drive/determination, especially if I'm pre-occupied with work.

So, alas, no particular song perfectly encapsulates what it means to me to be a writer. All kinds of music are welcome, and used to inspire. Currently enjoying Glasvegas's debut album, which is oddly endearing as the singer proudly croons in his Glaswegian accent, making the lyrics and music that bit sweeter. Here's the opening lines from Daddy's Gone, which bring a lump to my throat: "How you are my hero. How you're never here though. Remember times when you put me on your shoulders. How I wish it was forever you would hold us. Right now I'm too young to know. How in the future it will affect me when you go. You could have had it all. You, me, and mum y`know, anything was possible".

Sniff, cough, ahem, right. The current meme is 'list the top five things you do to procrastinate'. Only five? How about five hundred? Well, I guess email, blogging, surfing net (FaceSpace etc), reading, TV will be standard across the board, so here are some other ways I like to avoid the call to write:-

1. Exercise. A light jog. A quick swim. Even a quick knock up of tennis with t'other half. Nothing too hectic. Gets me out of the house, away from the computer for at least half an hour.

2. Eating. This can be dangerous, especially if I'm rewarding myself with huge slices of dessert after my exercise: "Hey, I did 5k today, I need that cake". And if I haven't done any exercise but am stuffing me gob with sweet: "It's OK, I'll do an extra lap in the pool tomorrow". (shyeah, right)

3. Skype. The free phone call service on the web. Handy when you have relatives overseas, and, surprisingly, for producers who are abroad (and even some in the UK). Not so good when they ask for a video call. Always say 'no'. Or that your webcam is broken.

4. iTunes. This kind of falls into the category of the internet but it's an easy way to browse the latest stuff, find desired tracks and fiddle about with the Genius thingy.

5. Sky Plus. Pause and rewind live TV. Record a whole load of programmes with a touch of a button, then watch at your leisure, practically ensuring that you create your own TV schedule. Oh, how did I survive without it? When you're bored or can't quite summon the energy to work, Sky + is the perfect place to plonk yourself and catch up on three episodes of Dexter. Hey, that counts as 'research and awareness'. That's my story anyway. And I. Am. Sticking. To. It.

BBC Structure?

When writing one off spec BBC TV dramas, is it expected that you structure your scripts around regular act breaks like in a US TV drama? I'm wondering how important this structure is for a broadcaster that doesn't air commercials during drama.

We’ve spoken about TV structure on the blog before, here and here (some good comment discussion on these posts, particularly the latter) but to answer this question about writing spec scripts to impress the Beeb: structure your scripts so that they tell the best story.

If that coincides with a hook every 15 mins, then so be it, but if it doesn't, no biggie. What goes for BBC is the same for ITV: a cracking script/story. ITV script editors & execs may encourage dramatic hooks right before an ad break (which is certainly an effective technique) but in general, these hooks should be natural turning points in a story anyway, and having that in a BBC script is just as applicable and useful as it is with a commercial channel.

It goes back to the basics. A story should ‘turn’ in order to maintain the audience’s interest. It should keep moving; the stakes getting raised, the protagonist facing increasing obstacles, the plot advancing forward all the time. For a commercial channel, having key moments ‘turn’ around an ad break makes good structural sense. For the BBC, they need just as strong turning points in order to stop the audience from flipping the channel. It’s become a natural shorthand for both storyteller and the audience. Make something happen. Keep it interesting. Structure the script accordingly.

It can be a fine balance sometimes between ‘join-the-dot’ storytelling and effective technique. Join-the-dot storytelling occurs when it’s easy for the audience to see what the key turning points, or ad break moments, are going to be. The writer is being lazy. The story is predictable because it’s following a reliable and easy path. Think of the bigger picture. Think of the whole story.

In HBO’s Entourage, look at how much they pack in to each short half hour episode (20-25 mins), and then watch how they subvert audience expectation on how each story thread plays out. The set-up makes you think of one outcome (the predictable one), then the story twists it another way (the next obvious choice) before settling with the final pay-off (or perhaps even getting one more twist in there). Six Feet Under and The Sopranos are good examples of this type of smart storytelling. In the UK, Shameless and The Street also shine with this kind of approach while another hit American series, The Gilmore Girls (currently being shown on E4), is known for having unconventional 'ad break' moments (i.e. they just follow the characters & story, and never to try grab the audience with contrived hooks).

Good storytelling will ensure that an audience keeps watching, regardless of whether there’s ad breaks or not. But don’t get sucked into the trap of designing your story around ad break moments that are predictable and convenient. The audience is always one step ahead. Gotta keep them hooked by setting up certain expectations, then sucker punching them with a different twist. Make them want to find out more.

Charlottesville - Albemarle Real Estate, October, 2008 - A Buyer's Market? Prices Dropping?

Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House?The good news: We recently learned, thanks to The Mortgage Buzz, that mortgages are available. And 85% of them are now backed by the Federal Government.Right now in our area, there's nearly 15 months inventory of unsold houses, which is much more than the national number of about 11 months. More properties come on the market every day.Here's the bad news: The

Charlottesville - Albemarle Area Real Estate Market - Q: Are Mortgages Available? A: Yes!

We're pleased to have a guest today: Jason Crigler from Crown Mortgage Services in Charlottesville. The blog this loan officer writes, along with another officer, Michael, is The Mortgage Buzz. It covers Central Virginia's mortgage landscape, but also has a regional take on the economy, in addition to noting and commenting upon global financial events.As we've said before, the Bubble Blog isn't

Time Travelling Writers

Last week, BAFTA Cymru staged at talk about writing time travel for television. What with Dr Who and Torchwood being filmed in Cardiff, where else could you talk about time travel and television, right? And what a line-up of writers, too, tempting me to come along but luckily, Hilary Wright (a Red Planet Prize finalist from last year) was there and she kindly agreed to write a report on the event. Take it away, Hilary.

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On Monday night I joined a capacity crowd at the Cardiff Atrium to hear Steven Moffat, showrunner-elect of Doctor Who; Ashley Pharoah, co-creator of Life on Mars; and Maurice Gran, co-creator of Goodnight Sweetheart discuss how they approach manipulating the boundaries of time and space.

Goodnight Sweetheart began for Marks and Gran on location in the east end for Birds of a Feather. Marks remarked that some of the streets off Whitechapel High Street hadn’t changed since the 1940s. Gran immediately thought: “there’s a series in that.”

But how do you wring a series out of time travel? You can take your character to the 1940s once, but why on earth would he want to keep going back there from the prosperous 1990s? Love, of course. And why, having fallen in love, would he then want to leave WW2? To return to another relationship in the 1990s. Thus the setup of Goodnight Sweetheart gave the writers a safe(r) forum to explore the tricky theme of adultery; being torn between two time periods gave viewers more chance (excuse?) to empathise with the hero’s dilemma. And of course casting Nicholas Lyndhurst helps.

Gran also noted that time travel lent a framework for structuring the series by consistently setting the A story in the 1940s and the B story in the present. He and writing partner Marks, who moderated the evening’s discussion, also used time to provide an arc for the entire show, deciding to move on one year in each series: a six-year war thus gave them, BBC permitting, six series.

All three writers made it clear that time travel is not the same as sci-fi; you don’t have to show how the travel is done. In the first episode of Goodnight Sweetheart, Gary simply walks into a lane in the 1990s and out the other end into the 1940s. Sam Tyler wakes from the crash to those hideous lapels. Much easier not to have to figure out the how.

It all comes down to the rules you create for the world of your series. Freeing yourself from the constraints of social realism opens up a slew of possibilities, some of which have unexpected side benefits. Take the regeneration of the Doctor. It’s not just useful when replacing an actor who wants to leave. As Moffat noted, it gives the writer a certain power too: “He just falls to the floor and turns into a less argumentative actor.”

Not having to adhere to rules of social realism means you can really put your characters through the mangle, explained Gran, citing the episode where, in the 1990s, a man walks into Gary’s WW2 memorabilia shop to sell an old dress – the very dress Gary has just given his lover in the 1940s. Gary realises that the man in front of him, though 15 years older than he is, must be his son. You just can’t screw with your characters’ heads like that in social realism.

One questioner from the audience noted that Steven Moffat often used a sixth sense at the end of his episodes. That sounded intriguing but after establishing that the questioner was actually using The Sixth Sense to mean “a final twist”, Moffatt responded that no writer in their right mind would pass up a twist if they could think of one – the hard part was coming up with it. Moffat also discussed the importance of making sure the monsters were scary enough for the children in the audience, which he called “the mattress-wetting element”.

Much of Moffatt’s razor wit was sadly blunted by poor sound. It was impossible to hear some of his throwaway lines, and indeed much of what Ashley Pharaoh said as well. I look forward to Bafta posting footage of the event on their website to give me a chance to hear what I missed the first time.

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Hilary Hadley Wright spent several years writing non-fiction before realizing that screenwriting was much harder and therefore much more interesting. She has just moved from Hawai’i, where nobody she knew blogged, to London, where everyone she knows blogs, so she’s accepting Jason Arnopp’s challenge and finally getting with the programme.

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Thanks Hilary! Er, but where's the blog?

Fully Booked

Two new screenwriting books are on the market. You may have seen them mentioned here and there. But they deserve another plug for a number of reasons, namely if you’ve forgotten to buy a copy or if you’re on the fence about whether to stump up the cash for yet another screenwriting book.

The good news is that neither fall into the ‘yet another screenwriting book’ category. One is a ‘how to get ahead’ manual and the other details ‘what the process is actually like’. They don’t tell you how to write or what to write. They simply inform you of the basic practicalities and the absolute essentials of what being a writer is all about.

First up is Adrian Mead’s Making It As A Screenwriter. A book chock-full of brilliant advice and common sense thinking on how to strategise your career from zero to hero. There’s no false hope or wishy washy sentiment, it’s just the basic nuts and bolts of applying yourself in a dedicated and professional capacity, and getting desired results through this hard work and focus rather than moaning about the system or railing against the world. ALL proceeds of the book go to Childline so you’ve no excuse not to buy.

Next is Russell T Davies’s The Writer's Tale, a devastatingly honest exposé on what it's like writing Dr Who. This is an absolute ‘must have’ book for any writer. (The website has six full scripts from series 4 of Dr Who, a neat bonus.)

In his book, Davies regales you with his writing process and all the stress, fun and anxiety that comes with showrunning the country’s most popular TV programme. For those who think they can do better, and could put up with the strain and pressure of this type of workload, read this book and think again. It reminds me of Diablo Cody’s already immortal quote about whether or not you can cut it as a professional writer, despite plenty of envious and bitter eyes on the industry. “If you were me for one day you'd crumble like fucking stilton. I am better at this than you. You're not strong enough, Film_Fan78. Trust me.”

It's time to toughen up, people. Raise your game. If these two books don't inspire you and put you on the right track, then nothing ever will. Now go write.

Church Hill Homes: Regional Builder Faces Mass Foreclosures

The Daily Progress reports that Church Hill Homes has failed to unload their properties and that they are "facing foreclosure on more than 20 properties worth a total of at least $3.5 million."Just one month ago, The DP reported that 11 of the Builder's properties at the "green" Belvedere development were sold to Eagle Construction of Richmond, and that the two principals, Josh Goldschmidt and

Badly Drawn Roy

Well, the deadline for the Red Planet Prize came and went, so I hope you got your submission in on time. Great to see so much blog reaction and people getting motivated to write, which, regardless of winning the competition, has to got to be worth something. It’s all by post this year so any late entries by email or fax or carrier pigeon won’t get a look in, I’m afraid. I’ll post updates on how things are going as soon as there’s any relevant info, so stay tuned.

I haven’t been giving the RPP much thought up until the deadline, to be honest, as I’ve been busy working on a few kids’ shows. One of them is a series called Badly Drawn Roy for CBBC. It’s about a cartoon boy growing up with a working class Dublin family in the real world, kind of like Who Frames Roger Rabbit meets The Commitments (but without the swearing). It’s shooting right now in Dublin and I went over recently to watch some of my episode being filmed.

This was actually the very first time I’d ever been on location to watch stuff wot I wrote being filmed, and it was typically exciting and illuminating. I’m really proud of my episode and can’t wait to see how it all turns out (should be ready for broadcast next autumn). The show is based on an hilarious short film, produced by Jam Media, which you can check out below (it’s about 20 mins long, divided into two parts for You Tube). The kids’ version for CBBC sees Roy as a ten year-old animated kid rather than a thirtysomething cartoon. It’s gonna be a hoot.





Now that my script has been signed off and they’re nearly finished filming, I can focus on the RPP submissions with the rest of the RP team. I think we’ve received about 1,000 entries, roughly half of what we received last year, but that’s understandable given that we were much more specific about what we wanted for this year’s set-up. But with that amount of entries, I'd say we're the most popular (and best!) screenwriting competition in the UK. Not sure when the call for 2nd round scripts will be (at least a couple of months I reckon) but good luck to everyone who’s entered and I’ll keep you posted on any breaking developments.

Blast From the Recent Past: NAR Wants You to Know "You're Making a Good Move"

It's not that we don't like Realtors. It's that we don't like their Association's ads.This National Association of Realtors ad made its appearance well into the decline. It tells us that 60% of owners' wealth comes from the equity in their houses.In very fine print, you can read that this info is courtesy of HUD and from 1995. There's a tiny disclaimer: "Markets may vary." It just makes you

House Passes Bailout

The House passed the Bailout on Friday afternoon.Read Comrade Paulson's statement here.And if you're unclear about how this Credit Crisis got rolling, check out this story about how the Securities and Exchange Commission screwed up.

What Does a $1M Listing Look Like in Charlottesville? - 517 2nd Street NE

Here's a diversion before tomorrow's House vote on the Bailout, which the Senate voted "For" last night.You have to appreciate the optimism of this new listing, which showed up a week ago in the middle of the Credit Crisis. Perhaps they believe that what happens on Wall Street does not affect Charlottesville, following the lead of CAAR CEO Dave Phillips.Phillips isn't an economist, nor is he a

Foreshadowing

Wyndham asks: many scripts are full to the brim of foreshadowing - "there's a storm comin' in!" - but how much foreshadowing is too much?

Foreshadowing is often a crucial form of exposition. At its most basic, it sets-up seemingly innocuous moments or plot details that get a significant pay-off later in the story. You may want to check out Chekhov’s Gun for further clarification.

The problem with foreshadowing nowadays is that audiences have become extremely knowing and sophisticated. If you make a piece of foreshadowing fairly obvious, then the audience will be way ahead of the story in terms of how, why or when that piece of exposition is going to be paid-off.

Like all exposition, foreshadowing shouldn’t be overused or be too noticeable. There’s no real limit you can put on foreshadowing - the story should unfold as it needs to whether it’s got one or one hundred set-ups - but the key is not to feel like we’re feeling hit over the head by these flagged-up moments. It should be subtle, or clever, or funny, or dramatic, or, at the very least, put neatly into the context of a scene.

A good piece of foreshadowing occurs in Back to the Future when (** spoilers **) Marty tries to kiss his girlfriend only to get interrupted by someone trying to raise funds to fix the clocktower that got struck by lightning in 1955. It’s a good moment because Marty gets denied his kiss and the fund raiser is slightly annoying but - oh - the information about the clocktower is vital to the whole film. Better still, Marty’s girlfriend writes ‘I love you’ on the ‘save the clocktower pamphlet’ which gives Marty the all-important reminder later when he’s trying to figure out how to get back to the future (** end spoilers **). It’s all perfectly foreshadowed, and the audience recognition is strong because the set-up was clever and amusing.

Don’t be dull and flat with foreshadowing. It’s easy to give a character a line of dialogue that’s an important bit of set-up but, more often than not, it will sound too obvious or stilted. “Make your exposition ammunition” is a good way of saying dramatise what you want to get across rather than simply tell us. So, basically, if you need to set something up, do it within the context of a scene or as part of someone’s characterisation, or a clever bit of dialogue/an amusing exchange. Try to give the set-up another purpose within the scene rather than just plain exposition.