Monday, October 29, 2007

What A Birthday Present



Thanks boys.

Now I can go back to writing.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Thanks Jehovah

Ohhhhh. So that's what they meant. All suffering soon to end.

The Red Sox won -- and I had my laptop with me, you know, on my lap, while I watched the game.

So my Sox stay alive and I also did some writing. Not a whole lot of writing, mind you, but some writing.

Whew. On both fronts.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

100 Movies Countdown

There's a fine brilliance here:

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

All Suffering SOON TO END!

Playoff baseball is bad for my writing.

The Red Sox being down 3-1 in the ALCS is bad for my everything.

But, I was accosted by a disarmingly sweet Jehovah’s Witness at the gas station this morning and handed a small booklet entitled “All Suffering SOON TO END!”

Might this mean the Sox are going to win tomorrow night, and the two games thereafter, then sweep the Rockies in the World Series?

Or, does it mean the Sox lose tomorrow and are eliminated, which signals the end of playoff baseball –- or at least the need to watch every second of it -– for a die hard Sox fan… so I can write again at night?

Which suffering is it, Ms. Witness? Sox keep going and win the series but I still don’t get to write for a while? Or Sox get knocked out and I go back to writing?

By the way, the booklet mentions that soon God will remove wickedness from the earth and this planet will become the paradise it once was. The part about this that concerns me is that the booklet also declares that all the dead people will be brought back to life to enjoy the new paradise.

We’ve seen the movies, so we know how it ends when the dead are brought back to life.

Plus, think of the traffic jams…

(Shit. It just occurred to me. Maybe I'm part of the wickedness that will soon be removed. Guess that solves my traffic worries anyway.)

Friday, October 12, 2007

Riding The Rationalization Horse Now

I’ve fallen off the write-every-day horse.

But wait, not really.

My job developing TV series requires me to write every day, a lot of the time all day every day.

Brainstorming new concepts, honing those concepts into structured series, researching. Creating storylines, writing crisply, designing dramatic verbal pitches. Always keeping in mind brands and formats, marketability and resonance to specific demographics. Revising, revising, revising. Throwing out ideas that end up going nowhere and starting over.

But I’m rationalizing, aren’t I?

This isn’t screenwriting.

It’s good training for screenwriting, to be sure. But it’s not screenwriting.

Gotta get back on the horse.

I have nine pages on the new action script. It’s a good beginning, but I was thinking this morning that instead of continuing with the story, I want to stop and do some thorough character sketching.

I’ve never done this in preparing for a script, but for this one to work, my two main characters need to be razor-sharp. My fear is that they could end up being too much alike and/or too hackneyed. So I’m gonna sketch them out before the plot thickens.

Saddle up.

By the way, I had a great pitch meeting with a cool cable channel on Wednesday. They loved the series concept. Two good signs: after my first couple sentences, the VP says, “What a great title -– I like it already.” And then, midway into my pitch, as I told a spooky story that could be part of the show, she says, “Ooh, I’ve got goosebumps!”

We have a little follow-up work to do, which we can do quickly -– but the decision to greenlight or not is gonna have to wait until the first of the year because they’re operating under strict commissioning parameters that have their hands tied until then.

Curses.

I just hope their brand doesn’t morph again by January…

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Does That Count?

I’ve kept up the write-everyday thing, but only if you count writing as opening up the script, fixing a spelling error, re-titling it again, thinking about it for a few minutes and then saving and closing it again.

Do you count that as writing?

I do.

On the new script I have only four pages. But they’re okay. Today in the shower I outlined the next scene but haven’t had time today to actually write it.

This script is a departure for me –- an action script. Which is probably why it’s exciting.

I’ve sketched out an idea of the arc of the first two acts but I don’t know how it ends. I’m not too worried, though, as even having an idea about two acts is more than I usually plan in advance. I tend to like having the story unfold as I develop the characters. Let them do a little storytelling. They usually do alright

Well, back to work -– prepping for a pitch meeting at a cable channel next Wednesday and we gotta have our shit together. Gotta get some more series signed, to keep the workplace going, to get more paychecks, to keep the power on in the house, so I can finish this action script…

Monday, October 01, 2007

Fresh Start

Ohhh, last week was one of those weeks at work, alright.

One of those weeks where everything’s wrong. Where throughout each day, you find yourself asking yourself, “Why am I doing all this again? And for what?” Where the F word is strewn about with wild abandon.

But then Friday afternoon I wrapped up the draft of D Line and sent it off to some trusted readers who’d requested it.

Then a bit later Friday afternoon I resolved most of the stuff that had been driving me ape shit at work.

Friday night the Red Sox took the AL East title.

Saturday morning I went for a good 35-mile bike ride and did a few sprints with a couple guys who are stronger than me so I ended up totally blasted and delighted.

Saturday afternoon I played soccer, baseball and just-play-with-a-ball with my son in a sunny field until we were both giddy.

Saturday night my wife and I took turns staying up literally all night with the baby whose tummy was in turmoil (which was exhausting but actually makes you love the little critters even more and so in a way made me happy).

Sunday afternoon we picked out pumpkins and other fall plants and the boy and I did some gardening until dinner.

And this morning I brought with me to work the pages of notes I have for the next script, which I’m going to start today during lunch.

That's right kids. A new script. Something I haven't faced in a long time.

But after this weekend, I'm a new man.

And so, now, this week, it’s gonna be one of those weeks.

One of those weeks where everything works out right.