September is starting off with a lot going on for yours truly.
-We’re in the process of relocating (staying in our much beloved City by the Bay, but changing addresses), so most spare time is dedicated to purging all unwanted stuff, and boxing and transporting what we can to the new place until the movers come later this month.
-I offered to read somebody’s script and make comments/suggestions. Really should get started on that.
-V’s super-busy with soccer, so I wear my chauffeur hat 2 afternoons a week. Nothing like mapping out the rewrite of an outline while sitting in a parked car. Being plugged into Pandora helps.
-I’ve got a half-marathon coming up on Sept 16 (The Giant Race) and another in L.A. at the end of October. I’m averaging about 9 minutes a mile, which isn’t bad, but I’d like to break 1:55, so I train when I can.
Suffice to say, my plate’s a little on the full side for the next few weeks, so progress has been slowed. It’s too difficult to say when I expect to be done with the DREAMSHIP rewrite. Wish I could devote more time to it, but I do what I can.
Do you have a lot going on? How do you handle it? Curious to know how others divvy up their time.
-Oops. Almost forgot. V’s working on her first book report – Book One of LEMONY SNICKET’S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. She really likes it; even quietly admitted she liked reading. We couldn’t be more thrilled.
Things have been really busy around here lately, so I haven’t been able to set aside as much time as I’d like to sit down and work on Act Three. (Hopefully this doesn’t sound like I’m making excuses.)
Although I’m not actively writing per se, no matter what I’m doing, my mind is always working out some sort of detail about the story.
Case in point – I’m back in training mode for another half-marathon (Sept 17), so I have to run at least 2-3 times a week. I wear my iPod when I run, but if I’m stuck on a particular part of the story, chances are pretty good I’ll tune out what I’m listening to while my mind tackles the problem. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
That’s probably how most writers minds operate – constantly.
It’s not easy to establish and maintain a steady writing schedule, so kudos to those who do. But if you’re not writing as much as you’d like to, it’s pretty likely you actually are somewhere in the recesses of your mind. You just have to make sure you set aside time to dig it out and put it on the page.
You may even be pleasantly surprised with what you’ve come up with.
Wow, what a jam-packed couple of days! Here’s a quick rundown:
-Whirlwind trip to New Orleans for the Half-Marathon. 13.1 miles in 1:56:06. Wooo! Next up – coming in under 1:55 for a race in September.
-On this week’s installment of The Script Adventurer!, I interviewed Scott Myers from Go Into The Story. He had a lot of interesting stuff to say, including the most important thing a new or aspiring writer should focus on is having a strong story concept. If the idea behind your story isn’t strong, then the script won’t be either. Also served as a reminder of what a great resource the site is for aspiring and professional writers. Check it out if you haven’t already.
-Now that the big run is out of the way, I can devote more time to finishing the DREAMSHIP rewrite. There’s no reason I can’t wrap it up by the end of the month, and I don’t foresee much of a problem with the follow-up editing.
I also realized the Nicholl deadline is coming up, and I could actually submit to it. Not sure which way to go on that.
-I spent part of the going-there flights muddling my way through the latest section of the LUCY outline. Progress remains slow but steady.
-Movie of the Moment: Lots of ’em! Best Picture winner THE ARTIST (2011) was featured on the plane. I liked it, but not sure if it should have won Best Picture over HUGO. If you’ve ever seen SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN or A STAR IS BORN, then you know how this plays out. John Goodman was really good as the studio boss.
Also got to watch BATMAN: YEAR ONE (2012), an animated adaptation of the comic by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. Solid work on both story and voice fronts.
K watched NEW YEAR’S DAY (2011), which I had no desire to see. When it was over, she said, “It’s trying too hard to be LOVE, ACTUALLY.” I caught about three scenes because I was zipping through THE HUNGER GAMES, which I liked more than I expected to. Easy to see why this is the latest YA novel headed for the big screen later this month.
Also caught the first 30 minutes of MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (2011) before the plane landed. I’ve always had a problem with biopics. It’s tough for me to separate the actor from the real-life person they’re playing. So while it was easy to imagine Kenneth Branagh as Olivier or Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe, I kept seeing them as actors playing somebody else. Nevertheless, I liked what I saw.
-JOHN CARTER opens this weekend. I may actually go see it.
Avid readers/followers of ScriptShadow will no doubt be aware that an amateur script is currently the absolute hottest thing in the film industry right now. Said script will be officially reviewed tomorrow (there, not here). There is so much buzz about this script that when Carson sent it out to his readers yesterday, he mentioned how he’d received more voicemails in one day asking for it than any other time or for any other script he could remember. And that the writer had received calls from just about every single major agency, production company and studio, asking about making a deal and/or representation.
To put it in perspective, that’s like being the holding the only winning ticket for the highest-ever lottery in the history of mankind.
The first thing I thought: Wow. That must be some script.
Second thought: Lucky bastard.
Third thought: Wish I could get that kind of response from my stuff.
I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands, of other writers who are thinking the same things. But I can’t stress enough that I don’t resent this writer his success. I read the script, and it is extremely good. Definitely high concept. Compelling premise and story. Interesting characters. A definite page-turner. Smart. This guy has earned his rewards.
(Without giving too much away, it came across as a modern interpretation of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Not necessarily a bad way to go.)
While it was easy to feel sorry for myself, I didn’t like disappearing into a “poor me” mood and instead opted to do something about it.
I went for a run. (New Orleans Half-marathon is a week from Sunday. I think I’m ready.) That always helps me reflect on whatever might be bugging me at the time. It’s also good for clearing one’s head.
After I got home, I knew I had some time to work on DREAMSHIP, including incorporating the additional scenes I mentioned yesterday. That went a lot better than expected. One scene I really wanted to do just wasn’t going to work, but I managed to find a good alternate way of doing it.
I also reminded myself that my script is completely different from his on several levels, but still has to be rock-solid. And more importantly: this is only the first draft of the rewrite, so I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. Once I type in “FADE OUT”, then I can go back and see what needs to be fixed.
So a day that started off making me upset ended up with me feeling pretty darned good about things. The key now is figuring out how to keep that latter feeling going into the next day.
Shameless self-promotion: The Script Adventurer! on Radioslot, live on Mondays 1-2PM PST, and replayed Sundays at 7PM PST. What, you’d rather watch 60 MINUTES? Of course, the Oscars are this Sunday, so I won’t be offended if you opt to watch that instead.
This is what I’d like to accomplish, writing-wise, between now and December 31st:
-Finish DREAMSHIP. Last week I entered Script Doctor Eric’s $3 Screenplay Contest AND hit the halfway point. Either way, it’ll get done.
-Finish the LUCY outline and at least 1-2 drafts of the actual script.
-Date and cost permitting, possibly go to a Pitchfest-type event. Any recommendations? Anti-recommendations? Nerdy as it sounds, I enjoy researching and targeting who would be a good fit.
-Seriously look into representation. I don’t see why this couldn’t happen.
-From a non-writing standpoint, do at least 2 half-marathons. I’m signed up for New Orleans and K’s planning on Portland. No idea what the other one(s) could be.
-Make baklava. So tasty and something I’ve always wanted to attempt. Fortunately, any mistakes can be taken to work because radio people are basically human piranha. They will eat just about anything, especially if it’s free and homemade.
-Movie of the Moment: HUGO (2011). V and I saw it at the Sundance Cinema in Japantown. Basically, this is Scorsese’s love letter to the early days of cinema. I thought it was charming and maybe a little long, but still had a fun time. The 3-D really added to it in some places, but the glasses were different in that you had to keep the middle of the lens focused on the screen or everything went all wobbly.
I thought it very odd that although it’s set in Paris, everybody has a British accent. To make it easier for American audiences to follow along? If you can get past that, it doesn’t become much of an issue.
Allow me a slight rant regarding my fellow moviegoers. I have no problem with paying a little more for a high-quality theater. And I think being able to select your seats is a great idea. But when you go into the auditorium and somebody’s in the seats you picked, then asked if they could move because they’re in our seats, and responds with “Does it matter?”, then I have to wonder how incredibly stupid and selfish they must be. If it didn’t matter, then we wouldn’t have picked our seats when we bought the tickets! That’s the whole point. But the show was about to start and I didn’t feel like getting into an argument, so we sat in the seats next to them, which I’m guessing were their seats. I hope the daggers I was staring at them really hurt.
It’s moments like these that make me think investing a couple of bucks in a nice home theater system might not be a bad idea.
