Monthly Archives: December 2009

A Welcome Obstacle to Writing

I have worked at a part-time job for the past year and a half.   It’s been great because the job allowed me lots of time for writing but, I needed another job…

First, I needed full-time work because I have a college-bound son.  Second, I was very underemployed and I needed more of a challenge.

So, today is the last day of my part-time job because I  begin a full-time job on January 4th.    There will be adjustment period as it pertains to writing because, unless I can force myself out of bed at four in the morning,  I’m going to lose valuable writing time. 

I know, I can always write at night… 

… but I know myself well enough to know that my best writing is done in the morning. 

I’ve got about a week and a half to figure this out.   Any ideas?   I suspect I’m going to be getting up before the rooster!  And going to bed earlier than I already do…

I’m Writing a Foreign Film

I started to write a foreign film for the DVXUser Betrayal film contest.  After exchanging several e-mails with the filmaker, I started last night.   The filmaker has a solid story idea that he wants me to develop and he is helping with the cultural questions I have.  I hope to be able to give it an American twist while staying true to the location’s culture.

These are the kind of projects I would like to be involved in more.  Films that allow me to educate and make a statement, while still entertain.   I want people to “think” after they have watched a film which is based on a screenplay I have written. 

I think this is why my SP, “A Thousand Miles to Freedom” is so special to me.  I’m currently on page 37 of that rewrite.    I still have high hopes for this project and plan on entering it in contests next year.

It’s Okay to Say “No”

I learned something new about myself, yesterday. 

Okay, I love to write.  But my “writing time” is precious and I don’t want to spend it on a project that doesn’t bring me pleasure.  Kind of sounds selfish.  But,that’s it in a nutshell…

A filmmaker was kind of enough to ask for my help on a collaberation.  He outlined the direction he wanted me to go and I spent a couple hours writing five pages.

On one hand, it was a learning experience … a genre I would never tackle on my own.  On another hand, I didn’t enjoy it at all.   The main character needed to be a “super hero”.  Let’s face it.  Outside of Superman, I’ve never watched anything vaguely related to super heros.  Needless to say, the filmmaker didn’t like anything about my five pages.

So, I changed my mind about being part of the project.  The filmmaker was willing to work with me and, I suppose if I was younger, I would have kept plugging ahead.      In fact, I think if  I was younger, it would be difficult to say “no” to any project.  But at this point in my life, I’m going to allow myself the luxury of picking and choosing what I write.

It is good for me to  delve into projects outside my comfort level and I know it’s good experience to do this.   And I do that, quite often, at MoviePoet.com.    The environment at MoviePoet.com allows me to experiment without too much fear …   But for me to “experiment” on someone else’s project.  Just could not do it.

I’m going to write what gives me pleasure and participate in projects I feel good about.

It’s okay for a writer to say “no”.   That’s what I learned.