podcasts

It’s either optimism or hypothermia

Maximum Z baking, blog, exercise, half-marathons, inspiration, manager, motivation, podcasts, productivity, representation, running, screenwriting, The Script Adventurer!, writing
Luckily for me, it doesn't snow here
Luckily for me, it doesn’t snow here

My bike ride to work is an enjoyable 6-mile pre-dawn journey across most of San Francisco. The temperature when I left the house just after 4 this morning was 43 degrees, so by the time I got to work 40 minutes later, some of my outer extremities were a bit chilled and are taking longer than I’d like to thoroughly thaw.  Especially my feet. They’re still cold.

But looking back today at how this year developed for me combined with what I’m hoping to make happen in 2013 make for that warm glow of satisfaction.

-My writing has definitely improved. Several drafts later, DREAMSHIP is much stronger now, and I’m feeling really confident about it. While a sale would be fantastic, I’ll focus on getting representation for now.

-Because of the feedback I’d received on DREAMSHIP, the outlining process for LUCY is working out much, much smoother. Once the outline is ready, and it almost is, I’m really looking forward to getting started on pages.

-I didn’t get to read as many scripts as I’d wanted to, so setting a weekly goal of at least 2 seems pretty doable.

-I had a blast doing The Script Adventurer!, and am that much closer to bringing it back as a podcast. Still planning on a January launch. This is becoming a real learning process, and is actually kind of exciting.

-I did three half-marathons, finally breaking 2:00. I plan on doing at least three more this year, hopefully adding 1-2 more into the mix. Once again, the objective is to break 1:55.

-Since the running took care of my lower body, 2013 will also see more attention to upper body. Hoping for bigger arms and flatter abs. First up – the 100 Pushups program.

-I made a lot of pies this year. So many that they’re now strongly requested when friends invite us over for dinner. Pie-making will continue, but baklava remains at the top of the “I really want to make this” list. (This is not necessarily counter-productive to the previous item – it’s all about moderation)

-I’ll try to keep posting on a semi-regular basis. As always, my appreciation and gratitude for those of you willing to endure my ramblings continues to be limitless.  I hope 2012 saw good things happen for you, and that 2013 is even better.

Happy New Year, and see you on the other side.

But I look so good in jodhpurs

Maximum Z Comedy Film Nerds, directing, editing, feedback, podcasts, rewrite, screenwriting, writing
And a beret, too
And a beret, too

I’ve been poring over the notes I’ve received, and included within were a few suggestions for improvements, including cutting back on the use of CAPITAL LETTERS for emphasis.  In fact, it was recommended I cut them out altogether.

I always thought doing that really got the point across, especially for really active verbs. Add that to the list of things to consider/investigate.

It was also mentioned that I could cut about 4-5 pages if I eliminated my ‘directing the action’ in so many scenes.

Directing? Me?

I looked over some of the pages in question, and wouldn’t you know it? They were right.

This isn’t about camera angles or more technical aspects.  I put in too much detailed description of the action between lines of dialogue, or give too much of a suggestion how a line should be delivered.

Apparently I do it a lot, not even realizing I was doing it.

I’ve always made an effort to avoid an excessive use of adverbs and parentheticals, but this really is something new.  While it’s something I’ll definitely need to work on in the future, making the appropriate fixes this time around doesn’t seem to be too challenging.

At least for now.

Teaching myself to not do this seems a little daunting at first, but the person who pointed this out to me added that he’s been a working screenwriter for 30 years and is still learning.

So there may be hope for me yet.

Just wondering – has there ever been something about your writing that was pointed out to you that completely caught you by surprise?

-This post was written during a very quiet Christmas morning shift at work. Hope you made watching a movie part of your day. Happy holidays!  One of my gifts was the COMEDY FILM NERDS GUIDE TO MOVIES, which comes from the always-entertaining and incredibly hilarious podcast of the same name. Definitely worth subscribing to. Please note the very apt ‘explicit’ tag on iTunes.

Moving on: digital media content edition

Maximum Z podcasts, Radioslot.com, The Script Adventurer!
Don’t worry, Ma! I’ll be back!

Something important happened in two parts yesterday.

First, I did my final installment of The Script Adventurer! show. It was my choice. I had an absolute blast putting it all together, and got to interview a lot of incredibly talented people, but circumstances made it difficult for me to continue.

But this isn’t the end. Just a phase of redevelopment.

Which nicely segues to the second part: I’m working on bringing it back as a podcast. Current target date: late September/early October. Same concept, possibly a different name. I’ll let you know when it’s available on iTunes.

These are exciting times, kids. Stay tuned for details as they develop.

-I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all you readers and followers out there. Believe me, your interest in my ramblings is appreciated more than you can possibly imagine.

Moving on: digital media content edition

Maximum Z podcasts, Radioslot.com, The Script Adventurer!
Don’t worry, Ma! I’ll be back!

Something important happened in two parts yesterday.

First, I did my final installment of The Script Adventurer! show. It was my choice. I had an absolute blast putting it all together, and got to interview a lot of incredibly talented people, but circumstances made it difficult for me to continue.

But this isn’t the end. Just a phase of redevelopment.

Which nicely segues to the second part: I’m working on bringing it back as a podcast. Current target date: late September/early October. Same concept, possibly a different name. I’ll let you know when it’s available on iTunes.

These are exciting times, kids. Stay tuned for details as they develop.

-I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank all you readers and followers out there. Believe me, your interest in my ramblings is appreciated more than you can possibly imagine.

Ear candy

Maximum Z cycling, Filmsack.com, music, Nerdist, NPR, old time radio, podcasts, script doctor eric, The Bugle
From our mouths to your ears

If it’s not raining, I ride my bike to work.  Since it could still be considered the middle of the night when I do (4AM), it’s pretty quiet.  My iPod helps make the ride a little more tolerable.

Probably unlike a lot of people, I don’t do a lot of music. At first it was old radio shows, which I still enjoy, but some of them are starting to lose their luster and I’m slowly adding more podcasts into the mix.

The appeal of the radio shows comes from the quality of the writing, which could be extremely good.  They didn’t call it ‘theatre of the mind’ for nothing.  Even decades later, a lot of the material still works.  You can’t go wrong with a solid episode of Jack Benny or The Shadow.  It’s also fascinating how a show serves as a time capsule, preserving a moment 60 or 70 years in the past.

A few years ago, I attended a panel discussion about old time radio. I must have been the only person there under 55.  The guest of honor was an actor who had been on The Lone Ranger for a few years; his name currently escapes me.  They recreated parts of well-known shows, commercials and jingles and an episode of The Lone Ranger, complete with sound effects.  Probably not the same as watching it back in the day, but still fun.

While there’s no direct modern equivalent, podcasts come pretty close. There are shows covering just about every subject you could think of.  In my case, most of them deal with film (Filmsack), writing (Scriptcast) or a slightly different take on current events (The Bugle and Wait, Wait, Don’t  Tell Me!).  And for overall entertainment value, you can’t go wrong with The Dinner Party or The Nerdist.

The only downside to all this great material is that I can’t listen to it when I want to write. It’s great for bike rides, runs or working in the kitchen, but for work on the outline or pages, that’s when the music kicks in and I thank my lucky stars for the wonderful gloriousness that is Pandora.

What are you listening to these days?