The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 194 - Minor Updates

The screenwriting business is an exercise in patience. If I haven't said that now (I have... many times), then I'll say it again now. When trying to become a screenwriter, be prepared to wait. When things happen, so I'm told, they happen very quickly. But until they do, things can drag. And drag. And draaaaaaaaaag. 


This isn't to discourage you. The last thing I want to do is discourage other writers. It's good to be aware of what's to come, if for no other reason than to steel yourself against silence, which can often be mistaken for rejection. Take my post-Apocalyptic spec, for example. It's been over two years since I first signed an option with my producer. We have - in the meantime - renewed it twice. A second producer has joined our team (which also included a manager from the point of union). And an agent. And a lawyer. 


A big producer with the backing of a major production company kind of came on board. Then went away. Then came back. Sort of. Then left. We sent to a (large) handful of other producers. They all passed, some providing general reasons why; others didn't. We're not waiting on another group of contacts, these direct buyers at studios. My producer keeps assuring me that something will come of it, and that all we need is one "yes' in a forest of "no thank yous." This part is very true. One yes, and all things can change. 


Until we get that head nod, though, we wait. There's little we can do in the interim. Not everyone reads immediately - though for a hotter project or in a better spec market, they would probably read more quickly. It might take a week or two to make it to the top of an ever growing read pile on some poor (well, not financially), over-worked, stressed producer's desk. We just have to hope that when it does rise to the summit of that pile, it does so when the reader is in a good mood, his/her studio's latest action or Armageddon flick has done well for them, and he/she hasn't just read something else that is equally (hopefully not more) equipped to fill the necessary action tentpole space in the slate. If all those things come fall into place, and he/she likes the script, and everyone else who has to weigh in likes the script, then maybe, just maybe, we'll get that yes. 


I'll be typing with my fingers crossed until then.

The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 193 - Slowly Starting to Get Writing Again

It can be quite the long road back to productivity after taking a hiatus from writing. However, I think I made some (small but good) progress this past week. The biggest - though it might also seem most trivial - step is that I finally found that my Medieval script was sneaking its way back into my thoughts. It may seem completely pointless to even mention that, let alone tout it as an accomplishment, but I bet many of you readers would agree that when your mind's not on the work, even allowing an errant thought about it can be a losing battle. To discover that, suddenly the other day, my mind was back on the script... what a great feeling.

Beyond thinking - albeit just briefly - about a script, I actually made some strides in other areas this week, too. I'd say the results are tangible, visible ones, but that only really applies for me. Realizing that I had other things I wanted to say, other stories I wanted to tell that are not suited to the feature scripts I'm writing at this moment, I actually launched another blog. Well, sort of. I created one. I did the design and layout for it. I even began posting. Only, it's not public. Not yet. I want to work out a few kinks in the voice and, to be one hundred percent honest, remove my info from it. I like the idea of it being anonymous. It's not something I plan to advertise. When I click to make it public (I'm even going to disassociate it with my profile here), I'll let it be its own thing. If people find, read, and like it, fine. If not, also just as well. It's for me. It's an outlet for what's on my mind now. Maybe that's all it needs to be. Hell, maybe that's what my scripts are lacking - the "me" element. 

In terms of the post-Apocalyptic spec, we're still waiting to hear back from companies. My producer's going to be in the City later this week, so it will be nice to grab a drink with her. Hopefully, we'll have some good news to toast while she's in. If not, it's just the same waiting game I've grown very used to. All I can do is sit back, wait, watch, and write.

The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 192 - Back on Schedule

About damn time it happened. The first Monday Writing Week in... months? Scary how quickly time can fly, and at what point that triggers a realization of completely thoroughly a schedule was abandoned. Well, at long last, I'm back on track. With the Writing Weeks. My script is another story, all together. 

Unfortunately, this return to routine has yet to include any progress on the Medieval spec. And, I realized this afternoon while buying deodorant (how the mind does wander), tomorrow is our League meeting for the month of September. My script was reviewed back in August. That means, it's been a solid month since I touched the script. Blame some of that on being out of town (because excuses are one of a writer's best friends), I've already been back two weeks and haven't even thought about the thing.

It's time to get back to work. We're not reviewing any pages tomorrow, so it's all just catching up and dinner and drinks. Even without pages, we find it important to keep meetings on schedule. Ideally, the amount of time I've had away from the material will have set in motion the solution to some of the problems, even if I'm not consciously aware of them yet. Time will tell.

This coming week continues to be busy for me. But I have to write. No more dilatory dawdling. The pages need attention, attention that can only come from me. Set the schedule, Cake Man, and stick to it!

The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 191 - The Importance of the Routine

The writer's routine. Many of us have one. Some of us don't (and work better without one). As is evidenced by the irregularity of my recent writing weeks, I am not one of the latter group of people. 

Having a regular, anticipated writing time and practice is one of the tools that helps me complete my projects. For example, The Writing Week used to be (read: should again be) a weekly Monday post. Summer travels and - who's going to lie? - laziness threw me off. Even today, on a Tuesday, I'm the closest to posting on time that I've been in months, but I'm still not on time. That will change. Starting next week.

The frequency and timeliness of a blog post is nothing, however, compared to my actual writing. One hour a day after work, or before work, if I know I am going to be home very late one night. How hard is that? On paper, no very. In practice, though, I slacked off on that a lot in the past month, too. Chalk some - or most - of that up to travel if you (I) want, too, but it still has resulted in a net zero pages. I need to get back into the routine.

I'm coming up on the one year anniversary next month of when I signed with UTA (well, no actual paperwork, but you get the idea). At the time, my manager promised my agent two scripts a year. Ambitious, but doable. The sad truth, though, is that I've produced an outline and two drafts of a different script, but nothing worth reading yet. And that two draft script? Needs a major third (and probably fourth) draft. That's what I'm going to start on soon. When I get back to my routine. When I feel that I can conjure up something good again. Only, I can't wait for the mood to strike. I have to get working again. I simply must. Time is ticking. I might not be able to hit the two script benchmark - hell, I know I can't at this point - but I surely can do one, can't I?

This is a test for my career. Hopefully, we'll hear something back on the most recent round of submissions from the post-Apocalyptic spec. My producer and agent were going to do some followups this week, now that Labor Day is over. But I can't wait around for that. I need to get writing again. I need to get back into my routine.

The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 190 - Travel Writing

I am currently stranded in Lima, Peru (with a keyboard on which I cannot figure out how to type an apostrophe, but can do as many ñs as I want), without access to my script - nor really any major desire to put a lot of time into it - so I figure this week, I would write about another type of writing I have been doing. Travel writing. More specifically, travel journal.

I do not know about you, but I have never really been on for keeping a journal. When I was a little kid, I had a Garfield-cover spiral notebook that was to be my "journal," but it served primarily as a doodle book. In high school, I attempted a Live Journal for a little bit, but my fifth and final post was a solicitation to all my friends to keep an eye out for my lost jacket. (It was in the back of my locker.) The only real journal keeping I have done since has been during my travels.

If you are a regular and long time reader of this (perhaps mildly interesting) blog, you might know that I get abroad roughly once a year. On those two to three week excursions, I bring along a little notebook, in which I try to record the events of each day. Photos do a lot, but so does whiskey, and my capacity for memory is not what it once was. Hence, the written records. Generally, even I find the entries to be a little on the dry side, static recordings of events with little anecdotes or personal reflection. This time, though, I tried something different.

If I am to be one hundred percent honest, I was not in the best of moods before flying out of NYC two weeks ago. The journal, while about my experinces in Lima and Cusco, also became a medium for my inner thoughts and emotions. I managed to put my feelings down on paper and, in a somewhat theraputic way, sort them out. Was the writing creative? I tried as best I could to be catchy or interesting. But it really was not about that. It was helpful to me. It was expressive in a different way than creating a world and characters and situations is. But it was writing nonetheless. And it felt good.

Moral of the story - writers write. And it does not always have to be stories. But, generally, it feels good when the words flow.

(Small post-Apocalytpic update while I have you; I got anothe remail from one of my producers. We are still out to a numbe of companies, but we are hoping to get a few responses after Labor Day. My agent is supposed to do a few follow up calls, and there are a few potentially interested producers and companies on our solicitation list. So, as I - hopefuly - make my way back to the States, I will keep my fingers crossed for some good news awaiting me as I enter back through customs.)

Hope all our East Coast readers survived Irene and the earthquake.

The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 189 - Going Back to Basics

I truly believe it's never to late to give up learning about screenwriting. There are so many books and articles and blogs (ahem) and resources out there about the craft that one could literally devote entire years just to reading about the trade. Maybe decades. I know people feel very differently about the importance and value of reading screenwriting books, but I believe there's a very large difference between how-to books and informative reading. There is also a large argument to be made for, "you can always learn more."


Right now, I'm reading William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade. Somehow, I'd managed to make it this far with having read the sequel, but never this first piece. And if you haven't read it (which I recommend you do), it's not so much a "this is how you write a screenplay" as it is a narrative about what it means to be a screenwriter, both personally and professionally. It's incredibly fascinating, a little gossipy, and a great insider look at Hollywood (albeit the Hollywood of the early 1980s, but still).


To the right of this post, you'll see a whole slew of links to sites, blogs, resources, etc. etc. Check them out. Even though they might state what you already know in the most simplistic ways, sometimes those reminders can be refreshing and useful. If you're stuck on your script, maybe reading something about the craft will get your mind jogging again, or it could be that inspiration you need to get over your block. Whatever the reason is that draws you to these texts - even if it's just to remain as up to date (my case now is not the prime example of this) or conversant in the canonical texts and ideas - it never hurts to go back to the basics. Until you're the one writing said books, as you're struggling to launch that career, it can always be a small boost to read the work of those who have come before. 

The Writing Week (Vol. 4) part 188 - Crisis of Confidence

Screenwriters must be tough. I don't mean physically (though being able to land a solid right hook isn't a terrible thing). No, screenwriters need an incredibly thick skin and ability to take a lot of criticism on their work and a lot of rejection in their attempts to get it sold and made. And it can be very difficult to resist all the pessimism and negativism.


I'll be honest, as much as I know how vital that "I am rubber" attitude is essential to an unblemished pursuit of professional screenwriting, I still fall victim to what I dub the "crisis of confidence." I fell victim to it this week. The League met on Wednesday night to review my second draft of the Medieval spec, and I received a very healthy serving of notes, feedback, and thoughts on it. Some of the notes jive really well; others didn't sit as comfortably with me. I have yet to decide which I'll implement and which I won't, but there's a wealth of information for me to sift through now. And the notes all mean I'll be doing undertaking another major overhaul of the script once again.


That feedback (too) easily fed into doubt when I got an update on my post-Apocalyptic spec from my producer. Though we've sent the script out to a number of companies, we are still waiting to hear back from them - and that is frequently not a good sign. Unfortunately, the realization that the script, which I thought was working (the Medieval one), was in need of a lot more work compounded with the non-update update from my producer, and the result was a damning and damaging crisis of confidence that's detrimental to any writer. Will I ever make this script work? That one that's circulating in the industry, which I thought was my strongest, isn't getting traction - will I ever be able to surpass that? If it doesn't sell, what does that mean for me? Will I continue to pursue this path?


These and other questions - or, rather, the answers to them - can be the deciding factor in any writer's pursuit of his or her career. Ideally, they're not asked. But let's be 100% honest with one another and ourselves. It's damn hard not to ask them. It's human to do so. And writers are students of humanity. The trick, though, which I have reminded myself of, is that one has to look at the silver lining in those moments of doubt. My post-Apocalyptic spec isn't gaining much traction at the moment; however, it landed me an agent at UTA, a lawyer at a respected industry firm, and, most importantly, I have two dedicated producers still doing everything they can to get it sold. For a 26 year old, I'm in a pretty good place in that respect. As for the Medieval spec, I know what's not working, and I have a lot of good suggestions for how to strengthen it. While I might have hoped I was going to get the thumbs up from the group, what I got was also positive - feedback on how to make it even stronger. So that's what I have to do. Write. Make it stronger. And bolster my self confidence.