That’s me. I’ve been really bad about posting.  Guilty as charged.  I’ll try to do better.

On the script front, I reached the halfway point in the latest, detail-heavy outline.  That’s nice.  The second half is always intimidating, but I bet if I take a step back and take it slow, I’ll maneuver my way through it.

One of my biggest concerns is amping up the funny.  You always hear about how hard it is to write comedy.  It’s true.  I bought BLAZING SADDLES last week.  A lot of the jokes still stand up, and they’re really funny.  Of course, that had 5 writers, including Richard Pryor.

I won’t even get into the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies, which have been playing on Encore.  That is just some incredible storytelling, with some good jokes thrown in here and there.

What I’ve also noticed is that they don’t try too hard to be more realistic.  They embrace the story.  That’s something I haven’t quite grasped yet.  I focus more on being realistic, rather than embracing the story.  And sometimes I forget to have fun with it.  That’s important.

I suppose once I get the story worked out I’ll work on the fun part.

Plans slowly developing to actually go to LA mid-September to see Manager Guy.  I’m trying to figure out how to get at least 1-2 other meetings, but I’m not sure with who.  I thought about the guy who wanted to stay updated about my progress, but I wonder if it’s a good idea to contact him.  Still deciding.

I’ll try to be a bit more…timely about updates.

Don’t know what, but definitely something.  that’s what I’m hoping for.

I think it’s been about 3 weeks since I heard from Manager Guy.  Sometime in the near future I’ll contact him to say I’m coming to LA and would like to have a face-to-face meeting.  I hope it yields positive results.

My schedule at work is slowly getting back to normal, so I actually got to get some work done today.  I fleshed out the first quarter of Act Two. I like how it’s developing, but still have that nagging feeling in the back of my head about whether it’s “Hollywood” enough.  Have to work on not letting that gnaw at the creative process.

But anyway…

It was very…fulfilling to be working on each scene and, for a lot of them, be able to put it together in such a way I hadn’t considered before.  I wish that happpened more often and earlier in the process. Then again, every writer probably wishes that too.  I’m hoping to get to the halfway point by this weekend.  we’ll see.

when a guy at work found out I wrote screenplays, he said he too had written one. part of one. about 3o pages or so.  Over the past couple of years.  I knew where this was going.  I asked for his 30-second elevator pitch.  It went on for 2 minutes and I still didn’t know what it was about.  Something about a guy killing his family or something.

I told him about the various milestones (page 10 inciting incident, page 17 twist, etc.) and I could tell the words weren’t making much of an impact.  he asked to see my script, which I’ll probably send to him. it will be interesting to see how he reacts.

I got an email notice from the fine folks at ScriptShark for a one-day seminar-thingy in September.  It looked interesting and the price seems right ($139), but that’s also the day we’re planning a big shindig.  I like the idea of going to these things, but more for the networking and pitching aspects, rather than the classes.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert at writing, but I like to think I know what I’m doing.  It just takes a while to reach my objective.

And I’ll keep trying until I do…

I’ve been working the morning AND midday shift all this week, and with K working once again, the responsibility of making dinner has fallen once again upon my weary shoulders.  But it’s cool.

Only downside is there hasn’t been much time for working on the seemingly eternal outline.  But the silver lining in that regard has been that I’ve been working on the outline during the midday shift.  Because the roads have been so busy, progress has been slow.  But significant; I completed the first act today.

I think it’s been 2 weeks since the infamous non-response from Manager Guy. I really don’t know what to do about it.  Due to his lack of communication, I don’t know what the status of the script is.  It could be gathering dust on somebody’s shelf, which may be the most likely scenario.  K suggests I tell him I’m coming down to LA and do a face-to-face meeting.  While I wasn’t keen on the idea at first, it may be worthwhile.

I’ll have to go over the contract again to see if there’s an out, just in case.  What’s really annoying is that he seemed so eager in the beginning, and it seems to have died off.  I’m very worried this is a replay of what happened with Mr Miko a few years ago.  He’s not getting the response he expected, so I get pushed aside for something with more potential/promise.  Very, very annoying.

I go into the coming week with the objective of making some kind of definitive progress…

Yes, I know it’s been a while.  But it’s been quite a week.

First and foremost, K got a 4-month contract with a company located downtown, so she doesn’t have to drive anymore.  And hopes are high she will be taken on full-time when the contract is up.  Or even before.  Fingers crossed.

As for me, I’m not sure if it could be considered a rude awakening, but I got a lesson of sorts from Manager Guy.  I haven’t had any contact with him since the last week of May.  I sent him an email around 3 weeks ago and heard nothing.  Another one sent last Monday; still nothing.  I had gone from annoyed to just plain pissed.  I kept thinking he better have a good reason for being incommunicado for so long.  Then on Friday I ratcheted it up a step – I called.  Of course, it went into voicemail.  I was starting to get desperate.  I even considered calling the studios he sent the script to to find out if there had been any word (fortunately, K said that was not a good idea).  Now it was just a matter of waiting.

Then it came.  Saturday morning.  As I was getting ready to go to work, I checked my email.  The subject line was “Your voicemail”.  The content was a whopping seven words: “Got your message. No news to report.”

Excuse me?  That’s it?  5 weeks of nothing, and that’s his response?  I was not happy.  I’m still not.  What exactly has he been doing during this time?  Obviosuly not anything on my part.  If it weren’t so hard to get a manager, I’d drop him in a second.  But for all I know, this is standard operating procedure.  How incredibly annoying.

On a positive note, a management firm who had originally asked to see the script, and then forgot to get back to me and asked for it again, I sent the guy an email on Monday asking for his feedback.  I also added that the script had been optioned by Manager Guy, but I would still like his feedback.

He responded today with a very nice note saying “Congrats on the option. Certainly can’t say I’m surprised. Please keep me in the loop on future projects.”  Wow.  That is…so cool.  The first sentence is standard. The second sentence is a huge confidence-booster.  He must have liked it!  Wow again.  And the last sentence – WOW.  That is like…mega-cool!  I do wonder if when the current script is ready, if it would be something he’d still be interested in.  Don’t know.  It is something to think about.

But in the meantime, I’ve come to accept that Manager Guy is busy and probably can’t get back to me when I want him to.  But he could least try to.

Speaking of the outline, I’m almost done with the latest draft.  The story feels stronger, and I still need a killer last scene.  For some reason, my hero still needs a long-term goal.  I’ve got a few ideas, but think I should finish this draft first.  When that’s done, I can look into inserting that subplot and see how it fits.

Lucky for me, I’m working the midday tomorrow, so I’ll try to work on that last scene, then on the aforementioned subplot.

And while all of this is going on, I’ve been thinking about the next script after this one.  And the one after that.

Darn my creative genius-ness.

I’ve been working a killer schedule the past few weeks, which is why I haven’t been able to post anything.

Recap:

-Been on my own since Tuesday night, when K & V went back to visit the in-laws.  Things have quiet and busy – see above item about crazy hours.  K comes home tomorrow – YAY!  V comes home with K’s sister on Thursday – YAY!

-STILL NOTHING from Manager Guy.  Slightly pissed at him.

-Due to the work thing, the outline is taking way too long to get done. Ugh.

-Saw STAR TREK. Meh.  B-Minus. I liked how they intro’d the characters, but hated the whole Future Spock thing.  And the bad guy didn’t do much for me.

-Watched 5 movies while K & V have been away.  WONDER WOMAN (not bad), NIM’S ISLAND (fun but a little corny), THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (not too bad anime), SPEED RACER (as bright, colorful and nutritious as pre-packaged neon cotton candy) and A BRIDGE TOO FAR (star-studded so-so WWII).

-Went for a bike ride on the Golden Gate this morning.  It was fun, even with the came-across-as-snobbish cyclists in their racing spandex.

Objective for the week – the outline!