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.

After numerous promises and too much procrastination, I finally managed to get some pages done today.  About 3 1/2.  Not a bad re-start.  I think I can keep up that kind of pace on a daily basis, or at least during the week.

I tried to keep things simple, and also kept in mind the comedy aspects from that one-pager I did last week.  I’m sure there’s a couple of rewrites in store, but I like the fact that I was able to write and plan to keep doing that as often as I can.

I don’t like second-guessing myself, at least in terms of the comedy.  it would be really nice if there was some way to develop that, or some kind of comedy writing class.  In the meantime, just gotta keep doing it all myself.

-Once again, I was not the winner in the logline contest.  Can’t say that I thought that much of this week’s winner.  Hard to get a bearing on what criteria this guy is looking for.  He offers script analysis, but this makes me question the level of his ability.

I think I’ve submitted about 7 or 8 entries over the past few weeks.  I like my entries, and will probably take each one back to the drawing board and submit accordingly.

-Watching ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 while I type this. Low budget, but very good use of what they had to work with.  Some of the actors are good, others typically cheesy.  Great premise, but a little slow in setting everything up.  Things keep getting more intense.  Only 90 minutes long, but if they made it today it would be at least 105 or 110.  Can’t believe they got away with killing a little girl!  Shocking.

Makes me want to watch BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA again just to see what Carpenter does with a Hollywood budget.

I will actually write those damned pages.  Honest.

While I could have attempted to today, I opted to exercise instead.  It involved a run of approximately 10 miles, all as part of my training for a half-marathon I’m doing in a month.  My legs are sore now, but it was necessary.  I seriously doubt the weather in Anaheim will be comparable to the type here, but it has a start time of 5AM, so it should at least be a little cooler than what I’m expecting.

-I decided to try yet again with the Friday logline contest.  Prize is analysis of your first five pages.  The guy behind it also opened it up to unlimited, or at least three, entries.  I sent in three; one via Twitter, the other two in an email.  I’ll be amazed if anything happens with any of them.

-An interesting conversation with the wife tonight.  I’ve been working part-time in radio for the past 18 years.  My boss keeps telling me I’m at the top of the list to be made a full-timer, but there’s no definitive timeframe for when that could possibly happen.  Although I have a somewhat set schedule, I occasionally get extra hours, but it’s slowly getting to not be enough.

There’s a guy at work who does a lot of radio production on the side, and he always seems to have some example of having purchased a very expensive item.  He also said he’s even done some minor voice work.  Wow.  Sure, I get a bit jealous, but I also remind myself “You don’t do that.”  What CAN I do?

I can write.  I’m a good editor and proofreader, and would even say a somewhat decent screenwriter.  K thinks I could easily double my income by getting a full-time writing job of some sort.  Part of me isn’t saying no, but I also like the idea of having some time to write my own stuff.

I’m in the final stages of a freelance editing project.  I looked at Craigslist tonight.  Two opportunities for screenwriters (granted, neither pays very much, but work is work), and a ‘writer wanted’ listing for a group working on a TV pilot (not my area of expertise), which maybe they would consider.

It’s nice to see that I may able to put my abilities to use.  That would be nice.

Next week, back to the script.  I promise.

I admit it.  I got cocky.  And that may have been my downfall.

My entry in the one-page competition was not one of the three finalists.  I suppose I was biased since I made it in AND won the last time.

I checked out the three.  At first glance, I liked two of them, the third not so much.  Then I read them again, a bit slower.  The first one, which I originally liked the most, was a little confusing at the end.

The second was clever.  That’s all I really can say about it.

The third I initially didn’t like, but after re-reading it, I liked the twist ending more than the rest of it.

If I had to pick, it would be between 2 & 3.

Lesson learned:  when I think something is good, take a little break, then go back and make it better!  I’ll give that a try next time around.

-Didn’t get to do any of my own writing today, but still feeling somewhat confident about it.

-I registered with a kind of peer-review message board for various stages of screenwriting and submitted the Dreamship logline.  I’m curious to see if anybody’s responded and what they have to say.

Part of my motivation for this was my receiving an email from a contest where the 100 best loglines are forwarded to producers.  Sounds interesting.

-Speaking of which, I really should check up on that contest I found myself in from earlier this year.  Unfortunately, I can’t remember what it’s called, so tracking down an update will be quite the challenge.

With my luck, I’ll get an email sometime in the next week with my status.  But I’ll probably forget about it by this time tomorrow, so no big deal.

-The wife heads out of town this weekend, and the daughter’s camp is half a day all next week.  Those precious hours between dropping her off at 1 and picking her up at 5 will more than likely be filled with exercise and/or running.  The flaw in this plan is being too exhausted in the evening to focus or at least stay awake while trying to write while she watches TV.  Even if I only get 1-2 pages done a day, that’s still more than I’m doing now.

-Finally heard from the woman who runs the new writing group.  I suspect lots of us were off/away for the summer, so now it’s time to jump back in.  Looking forward to this.

-Inspired by last Friday’s logline/Twitter contest winner, I developed and have decided to enter the following: Moe, Larry & Curly: Undercover G-Men!

1944. The famed slapstick trio is recruited by the War Department to help break up a Nazi spy ring that has infiltrated Hollywood.

If that doesn’t work, it’s back to the drawing board.  Then again, it sounds like it would be an awesome movie.

Last week I said I would be vigilant about daily posting, and I’ve fallen down on the job twice this week.

Would it count if I said I was busy with a freelance editing project?  I was.  Not as many hours as originaly expected, but still a good start to a potential sideline.

Negative side – the company asked for my business license number, which you need in San Francisco.  I had one years ago, but hadn’t needed it since ’07.  So I go to City Hall, ask about renewing it, and am told that it never expired and I owe $$ in back taxes. WHAAA???

I know the city’s broke and hard up for cash, but this is preposterous.  Now I’ve got to find out if they accept installment payments.

-On the script front, I did enter a one-page contest I was fortunate enough to win earlier this year.  If I get lucky again, the prize is a $25 gift card to Amazon and a 15-minute consultation/discussion with the woman who runs the contest.  She’s also a professional script reader/consultant, so I think I could really benefit from that.

The requirements are: one page that include, in context, three words of her choosing.  I like the way my scene developed and liked it more than I expected to.  Hope she likes it.

The weird thing is doing the comedy for that one page wasn’t that hard.  I had fun while I wrote it.  I really need to keep that feeling going while working on Baby Likes Jazz.  Maybe it’s not as hard as it first seems.

-There’s also a weekly contest from a guy who is also a script consultant, and his picks the best logline.  The prize is usually something like he’ll analyze the first 5 pages of your script, or a 5-minute phone call.  I haven’t had any luck yet, but suspect my Xmas Noir one came close.

I do have a problem with last week’s winner.  ‘Susan B Anthony: Dragon Slayer.’  Clever, but not terribly original, especially considering the recent release of ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ (which was part of my wife’s birthday present). 

I wonder what kind of reaction something like ‘Moe, Larry and Curly: Undercover G-Men!’ would get.  I may not have a script to back it up, but it sure sounds fun.

-Still looking into possibly going to a pitchfest-type of thing in the fall.  More investigation needed.