Monthly Archives: June 2010

Change is Comin’

I think this blog is going to change… primarily because I’m starting to change the way I look at my writing.  Instead of being a blog about a “Screenwriter’s Journey”, it will be a blog about a “Writer’s Journey”.  Why?    Because the way I look at writing is in a state of flux.

I have come to realize that not all stories can be screenplays.  Likewise, not all stories can be novels.  Stories are told in different ways and I don’t want to limit myself.

While waiting for reviews to come back on “Windfall”, I have been busy researching my next project.  A novel.  My plans, at this point, are to also write a screenplay based on the novel.    I think that this story can support both.

In July, I will attend my first Susquehanna Writer’s Guild meeting.  This is the only writer’s group in the area and they meet once a month to read and critique each other’s work.  It’s difficult for me to commit to this type of activity but I think it will help me.

New Direction…

Over 30 years ago, I wrote a novel.  Unpublished, but completed.  Got a couple of reads but no buyers.   After I wrote it, I quit creative writing, and got into business writing:  proposals, brochures, a company newsletter, product descriptions, etc.  And I did that for over 25 years.

A couple of years ago, I taught myself how to write screenplays and I’ve written a half-dozen of those.  No sales yet but I’ve had a couple of short films produced.

Now, I’ve got a new direction, at least new for me!   I’m going to do both.  First the novel.  And then the screenplay, based on the novel.  I’m working on an idea which I think will be great for both mediums.

This is a huge undertaking but one I’m looking forward to with anticipation.  The idea is gelling, the research is being done…

Staying Focused

I think one of the hardest things about writing is staying focused.  There are so many ideas to choose from. and so many directions to take those ideas.

Right now I’m working on a step outline for a new feature and I keep getting bombarded with all these other ideas.  So far, those other ideas are only a distraction, in that they take my mind off the current project.  The trick is, not stopping this project and jumping into another.

I was tempted yesterday to take my current idea into a totally different direction but, luckily, I stopped that.  It might happen, down the line, but right now I need to stay focused on one direction.   This direction needs to fail before I begin going off in tangents.

Stay focused.  Stay focused.  Stay focused…

In Limbo Land

So, I’m working on the step outline for a new screenplay.

And, I’m waiting for reviews to come back on “Windfall”…  Fully expect another draft of that project before I can query.

I’m considering going back to “Unknown Caller.”  It needs another rewrite but I lost interest in it when I started to write “Windfall.”

Yeah, I feel like I’m in some kind of “Limbo”, a hard place to be.    I am terrible at waiting and I’m looking for some distractions.

My printer is on its last legs…  It “drum light” has been flashing for over a year and it’s finally dying.    So I’m going to go to Staples and buy a new printer because the drum costs more than a comparable printer.  A distraction!

Distractions.  In the kitchen, the oven is also dying – the burners work but not the oven.  My dryer died last winter.  Hmm…

What would you do if everything started to die around you?  Maybe… perhaps…  Could there be a story here?

Am I desperate or what?

The Calm Before the Storm

Windfall has been sent out for review.  I had a burst of creativity and wrote the one-pager for the next MoviePoet contest.    So, now what?

Windfall will probably need some massaging but I’m pretty sure I’m close to sending out queries.  I might enter it in this month’s Script Savvy contest but money’s kind of tight right now.  I wish I had extra funds for entering contest.  Oh well, we play the cards we’re dealt!

In the meantime, I’m letting the creative juices simmer.   I really need to find a project to immerse myself in … another feature would be perfect!

I’m leaning towards a “fantasy”, something I’ve never written before.  I started to write out a step outline and if I can get to the end, that will be my next project.

Not sure yet about the title but right now, I’m thinking it will be “Finding _______”.  I haven’t decided what the second word is yet!

The lead will be a teen-aged boy, probably about aged 14.   Unless I change my mind because nothing is set in concrete at this stage.