Friday, December 04, 2009

Getting Back In The Groove

I'm so terrible about writing here recently, I'm sure the few who might have come by to read now and again no doubt have stopped and moved on.

But for the record, here's an update.

I wrote the first 15 or so pages of this new script fairly quickly then totally stalled. Part of it is being extremely busy with work and family stresses that have been piling up to an almost alarming degree, but I think mainly it was because I wasn't sure who my protagonist was, really.

I wrote, like, three pages in as many months. But now I think I know who she is, so I'm back. Page count as of today: 36.

In the interim, some other stuff has happened.

Two management companies have expressed interest in representing me, saying they really liked my writing. One asked that I send some loglines of the script I'm working on now and others I have thought about writing -- offering to give some feedback to help me decide what to work on first.

I sent I think five loglines... and the manager said they at the office through they were interesting but too dark. They say the studios are asking for lighter stuff.

Hmmm.

Okay. I've been noodling around with a very light one -- a rom-com actually, which I never saw myself writing before. I like the broad idea, and I think it's high concept, maybe something the Apatow clan would connect with, but I haven't come up with a full arc yet so I haven't pitched a new logline to them.

Also -- and this to me was the most interesting -- a lawyer who also acts as a manager/agent chatted me up, asking remarkably laser-like questions and quickly distilling what he thought were my strongest selling points. He figured me out very fast -- wicked sharp guy with a keen eye for marketability -- and asked to see my scripts, and essentially gave me an assignment for things to start developing.

Including a couple scripted TV series concepts. Which I've been doing. One of which I think would be very cool.

I think that's also slowed me down on the screenplay -- my mind keeps jumping over to the spec series and pilot script.

But... in the end, the biggest problem has been not sitting my ass down at the computer regularly and banging away. that's what I need to do, to get anything done -- either finishing this script or fleshing out the series.

So that's what I've been trying to do for the past two weeks. I'm not writing every day. But it's getting closer.