I didn’t post yesterday because it was a busy day.  I spent parts of the weekend and most of yesterday working on the outline, and subsequently the first draft of the short.

But it’s done. 11 pages, or 10 1/2 if you want to get technical about it.  It will be very interesting to hear what the director thinks of it.  After all, it is HIS project.  I’m just the hired help.

But just to be sure, I took another look at his pages.  Whoa.

I also checked out some of his other shorts.  Not bad, but the writing in the 2-parter left me a little flat.

Another part of my assignment was to put together a synopsis.  I gave it my best shot, but I’m still not sure if it was decent enough.  I’ll have to look for some online to get a better idea.

He also wanted a character description.  I didn’t even attempt that.  There are five characters, three of which are in once scene each (if you don’t count them appearing in the final scene as normal people).  There’s a main character and a supporting character.  I’d like to think at least those two come across on the page.

This whole thing makes me curious what kind of creative process is taught at this school.  I’m sure there’s an emphasis on craft and all the behind-the-scenes stuff, but without a good or at least quality script, any movie is going to suck.

I’m trying to figure out if there will be any time tomorrow to work on BABY LIKES JAZZ.  I had extra time at work on Sunday, so I was able to get a few pages done.

The writing group is supposed to meet next Wednesday, but K will be out of town, so we’re investigating the possibility of hiring our usual sitter so I can go.  If that happens, and it all works out, I’d really like them to take a look at Act One.

My problem is there still seems to be something missing from it.  I also have to remind myself this is still a first draft, and I plan on getting feedback relatively soon.

In the meantime, the soldiering on will continue…

Started the first draft of the short. My deadline is Wednesday. Since I got about halfway through, I’d say I’m in good shape so far.

And I’m doing the traffic thing Sundy morning, so I’m hoping to get it done thereabouts.

I took a look at the director’s original screenplay. Wow. Nothing like I expected. That’s all I’ll say at this juncture.

It will be very interesting to see his reaction to what I give him. Very interesting indeed.

No movie tonight. V and I picked up K at the airport tonight. The family unit is once again complete…

I got the writing gig.  The guy wants a synopsis, character background and first draft by Wednesday.  Looks like Act Two of BABY LIKES JAZZ will have to wait.

It’s a bit overwhelming right now, but I’ll dive into it tomorrow.  I’m still  hoping to squeeze in a run sometime in there.

K comes home tomorrow night.  It’s been a long, exhausting week.  I had a bit of a meltdown tonight regarding V and her reading ability.  I know she’s trying, but I worry it’s not enough.  But with school starting the week after next, I still worry about how she’s going to do.  Some nights I’m patient, some I’m not.  I also realize the more she practices, the better she’ll get.

Movie of the moment:  COME AND SEE, a brutal WWII movie from Russia about the Nazis in what is now Belarus.  Definitely not your typical war movie.  This is realistic, ugly and stays with you long after it’s over.  Not for the squeamish.

First of all, I only did just over 1 page today.  But I’ve got a good excuse.  I was crazy busy.

I had to get ready for the meeting with the guy looking for a screenwriter for his short from Craiglist.  As soon as V and I got home from work, I printed out some pages from WOK & ROLL and DREAMSHIP, as well as the first half of the outline from MONSTER HUNTER (which needs a new title, so as not to confuse it with the video game of the same name.  Too bad.)

I also sent an email to a client I’m doing some editing/proofreading for to see if the project was done yet.

The ‘no TV’ rule was instigated, so V played while I printed and got organized (which included a very necessary 15-minute nap for me).  We played a bit, had lunch and zipped off to today’s installment of camp.

Following a brief chat with K, I raced my ass downtown to try and be on time.  I think I made it with about 2 minutes to spare.

So this guy is finishing up his MFA in Film at the local art college.  I gave him the thumbnail version of my experience.  Then he asked how I would approach this kind of film.  I rattled off a few ideas.

Then he started to explain the concept behind his story, but it started to sound very ‘this is from an art school; can’t you just feel the esotericness of it all?’  There was all this explaining of what was going on.  I thought he said this was an action-thriller.  I’d yet to encounter any action or thrills.

While some of his ideas were clever and original, overall, I wondered how much of a grasp he really had on the writing process.  Being as diplomatic as I could, I explained that nobody wants to see a bunch of talking heads discussing where inspiration comes from.

I took his ideas, and gave them a necessary twisting around.  How about changing this?  Don’t be married to what you have now; things WILL change.  Don’t fight it.  I think I scared him because these seemed to be things he never thought about.

Before we finished, he mentioned that I was the first writer he was meeting with about this.  He got something like 20 responses!  Including a pair of writers who have actual credits.  I couldn’t help but wonder why somebody with produced material would respond to a Craigslist listing like this?  Smells fishy to me.

He expects to make a decision by Friday.  If I get it, great.  If not, that’s okay too.  He added that he basically can’t pay anything, which I expected.  The writer gets an onscreen credit and a sample to actually show around.  Me likey.

The rest of the day involved finishing up the editing/proofreading project, followed by picking V up at camp and making a pecan pie to take to work tomorrow.

While I thought it would be nice to write 3 pages today, I was happy with the 1+ I did do because it signals the END OF ACT ONE!

Tomorrow: short run, 3-5 pages and whatever else comes up.

No movie tonight.  Too exhausted, and I wanted to focus on this.  I also made a point of making sure I did this because I don’t want to slack off.

But I’m done now.

Zzzz….

Another 3 pages done today.  Technically, 3 and a half, but the total now just creeps onto page 27.  One more scene and Act One is complete. Yowza.

It seems to get easier if I produce on a daily basis, especially in small doses.  A few pages, a couple of scenes.  Not the most tremendous of output, but effective nevertheless.

Tomorrow’s objective: finish Act One, and shoot for at least 2 scenes after that.  Quite a challenge, but I also have to take time management into consideration.

See, the plan was to write in the morning, drop V off at her afternoon camp, then go for a brisk run as part of the half-marathon training.

But…

Since I’m trying to be more proactive in finding work, I’ve been checking out sections of Craigslist for writing assignments and possibilities.  For example, some guy up in the Santa Rosa area was looking for help with dialogue.  I sent to that, but have yet to hear back.  No big loss.

There was a listing for somebody wanting help with putting a dramedy TV show together.  Intriguing, but it was listed in a section of town that’s a bit on the seedy side.  I thought about it, then decided it probably isn’t for me.

There was a listing for a voiceover project involving Ben & Jerry’s.  Sounds awesome, and I could probably do it, but they prefer somebody with home audio equipment.  That ain’t me.

Then there was a listing for somebody looking for help writing a 12-minute short involving martial arts.  I thought “what the hell” and applied.

The guy responded within a few hours, asking if I was available tomorrow.  I had also asked if he wanted samples, which he does.  The thought of getting paid never even occurred to me.  I think I was thinking about it from an experience and potential opportunities point of view.

So now my morning will involve trying to figure out which pages from which scripts to hand to this guy.  The run will have to wait until the day after tomorrow.

-Had a…discussion with V about how much TV she’s been watching lately.  Way too much.  I remember 2 months ago when school ended.  The plan was to have her read more and do more math work over the summer.  Suffice to say, that plan has been shot to hell.

Even though school starts up again in 2 weeks, there may be time to salvage some of that ambitious plan.  We’ll see how that goes.

-Movie at the moment: THE DARK KNIGHT.  Still amazing no matter how many times I see it.  Makes me psyched to see INCEPTION.