Monday, December 05, 2011

The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 204 - A Resolution

As we come into the final month of the year, already at full-steam, I can't help but to look backward - and forward. Even though it is only December 5th, and the time for New Years plans is almost a full month away, I make myself a resolution.


2012 will be my year.
  • In 2012, I will push myself to write more than I did in 2011.
  • I will break the streak of little to no productivity that began in August, or earlier.
  • I will not only generate scripts, but I will generate market-ready scripts. 
  • I will broaden my horizons to include more creative outlets: painting, learning the harmonica, whittling, whatever else might come up; I will pursue it. 
  • The moment I begin to feel that I'm stagnating, I will change things up, shake up my surroundings.
  • This includes my job.
  • I will travel even more than I did in 2011. 
  • I will see the world, for how else can I write about it?
  • I will attempt a play for the first time in a few years. 
  • I might get on stage and act again, if the opportunity presents itself. 
  • While my post-Apocalyptic spec is still circulating around Hollywood - albeit more for consideration for television than for film now - I will not sit on my hands idly.
  • I will seek out resources.
  • I will seek out resources for others, as well.
  • I will read more scripts.
  • I will watch more movies than I did in 2011, which has been a particularly slow year.
  • If I decide to stay in New York for the entirety of 2012, I will make it a year to remember, filled with glamorous views of the city, nights spent at museums, restaurants, and galleries. I will fully embrace this city for a year, before I leave it perhaps forever.
  • If I do leave, I will leave and not look back.
  • I will not permit myself to dwell too much on what if - what if I moved to LA a couple years ago? What if I move there now? What if I had pursued a different career all along?
  • I will temper myself and my emotions, and when I feel myself starting to sag, I will do an about-face and imbue my life with something or someone new. 
  • I will seriously pursue a relationship (the absence of which, at times, consumes as much of my mental power as y creative output does). 
  • I will not be immobile, nor will I permit myself to backtrack. 
  • I will give 2012 my all and see what comes of it.
And if nothing does?


Ask me in a year. 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you have a lot of stuff planned.

When are you going to write?

Unknown said...

Cakeman!
I'm Greg DePaul. I'm a produced screenwriter (Bride Wars, Saving Silverman), entertainment attorney and occasional lecturer on screenwriting. I chanced upon this site and I think your resolutions sound great.

But I have 1 piece of advice to give you -- concentrate on writing 1 great script. Just 1. It takes only 1 to break in. That's it. If you have 5 you could show people, pick the 1 that's best and dump the rest. Producers aren't looking for someone who's a 1 man/woman studio. They just want the next great script. So focus on your best so far and make it better.

In the meantime, seasons' greetings.

gvdepaul@gmail.com

Cake Man said...

Hi Greg,

Thanks so much for your thoughts and for the valuable advice. I've attempted multiple projects simultaneously in the past, and ultimately, I sometimes do feel that quality is overall lessened by that. Attention to one at a time can be the key to breaking in. And to making it the best script possible.

Thanks again for sharing. It is always great to hear from someone who has done and continues to do what we here at the League (and our readers) are striving toward.

Seasons greetings to you, as well.

-CM

And Anonymous - that is THE question, isn't it. I've been painting a lot recently (side project), so the writing has taken a bit of a back seat. But next week I'll get more into that in my Writing Week.