It's a new day...

I can see that you will have no faith left in my resolve, anything I promise and most of what I say, but here I am anyway, carrying on carrying on. It's April 3, and I see that the last time I visited here was November. Pre-Christmas, pre-move, pre-"all is well".

Now I am in the middle of the moving process, just having said my farewells to Victoria, and taking a week to visit my way into my new life in Calgary. My new life, by the way, is the worklife I have been attempting to create for 30 years. It's strange when you suddenly get what you want. You don't even really see it coming, but here it is and it's so good.

I now have writing contracts filling five days per week that I can do from anywhere. I choose to do it from the same city in which my family is currently located. It doesn't matter if they are always there, I will enjoy whatever time there is with them before they decide to move on.

When winter comes, "anywhere" may be somewhere there is palm trees. I do crave palm trees from time to time. I know things change and I enjoy it. I've not chosen a change for a long time, and this one feels so right.

The only thing better will be to make my writing-for-a-living screenwriting. For now, though, as my good friend tells me...enjoy the success (wallow in it, I believe she said) of achieving this long-term goal. And I am. Wow. squirm, stretch, roll, wallow

Back in Canada!

This sunny morning, I feel a little stunned by it all. Was it real? Am I tired? Where do I start? And all this is mixed in with the joy of thinking I'll be seeing family soon. Hurray!

Monday June 7th was travel day. Packed up, shuttled to airport and flew back into the country about sums it up. I did, however, take a batch of pics of a movie set as they were setting up. You can check these out (and others from the trip) on Facebook.

Sunday June 6th - I didn't get to post this on the 6th because our WiFi was down, but since I wrote it, I thought I'd share:

Last night in TinselTown

Here I am at the end of this amazing experience. The weekend weather has been hot and sunny, and I've done a whole lot of whatever-I-want. We've eaten Mexican, Italian, French, and whatever-we-want. I've shopped for a few-too-many souveniers, taken pics, swam, conversed, sang, and laughed. I've made friends and learned a lot. I thought I'd top it off by getting a star on the Walk of Fame.



So that's the first 9 days of my 14-day vacation! I am SO glad I'm going to see the kids and that we have Ryan's first brithday to celebrate! Travelling tomorrow. See you soon!

One Day Off, kinda...

This is actually my June 5th blog. I didn't get it up last night because the wireless at the hotel was done. Such is life in this modern world...


No Producer's Conference for me after all, and I find myself not really all that disappointed. I had a fun day of shopping, napping, & working. When the rest of the gang got back, we all went out for dinner and Hal bought mine. It was fun, and so nice to be with 5 five others from the group. I look forward to Sunday. I've just got a few more gifts to pick up, and I want to get some pics of the architecture. The building pics will be used in an article for Life as a Human. I've got a page there, too.

I'm still very excited about the script request and that's the focus of the work until it's ready. Here's a pic of instructor Hal and me as we walked back from dinner.

Vacation Day

Oh, how wonderful it was not to have anything to do today. I was out, exploring, shopping a bit, went for brunch, napped, had a swim, had my Screenwriting U phone call. I begin to feel the R&R... wonderful. And today I found this wonderfully perfect ass!

Three more Sleeps!

With the Hollywood meetings looming large, we had another conference call about what we need, and the almighty "One-Page" reared its head again. The first one I'd done way back had way too much in it, so I didn't even re-visit it. I just started over. I got a short, zippy pitch written and off to colleagues for critique. It only seemed to fit the bill for one of the three who read it. They needed a little bit more. So now that is out there to two additional fellow writers who hadn't seen the first one, and my first e-mail back said, "May I be brutal? Call me." Uh-oh.

On Tuesday evening I have a one-on-one call with the instructor to review this item. It's a marketing tool designed to make a producer want to read your script. If the first line doesn't grab them, they won't read on, and so forth. So it needs to be brief but tweak the curiosity, or help the producer see that you've got a character who would attract an A-list actor, or be easy to make for a million dollars, or something appealing to his/her business sense.

If you think this is easy, you are mistaken. Believe me.

In regards to progress on the re-write course assignments, I did get #7 done, and that leaves 8, 9, and 10. I'll be able to get back to these once this one-page is done and I'm on the road. It's good that I'm nearly ready because it's almost time to go. I will keep you apprised as I go. Cheers for now!

Oh - BTW, I have a new story posted on LifeasaHuman - could give you a giggle: http://lifeasahuman.com/author/pegainsley/

Assignment 11 Complete & Posted

It feels SO good to be back in the game. Now 7-10 to catch up. Just wanted to let you know I did get some real work done today, and thought I'd also share some visuals...

This will show you what I wrote on the Beat Sheet big sheet, and what it looks like now i.e. 5 pages of beats (scenes) for the movie! The red scribbles? You wouldn't really expect that I would publish it all for anyone to see do you? Especially that all-important final scene!

Finally...a BREAKTHROUGH!

If you are still there, gentle reader, I can finally report that I'm on my way again. And now there are only 10 more sleeps before I leave home and begin my 2010 vacation which includes the all-important activities in Los Angeles. Hollywood, even.

There are two kinds of being stuck for this writer.

One is just the regular there's-a-blank-page-and-I-can't-go-on, which is normally handled with good old-fashioned procrastination. Laundry to do, bathrooms to clean, plants to transplant all become more important when you're that kind of stuck. Eventually you just sit down and write the thing because while you are planting plants and upside down in toilet bowls, your mind is working on something that you can write down.

This particular term of stuckedness was not this variety at all. It was a deeper, scared-y-cat, I-can't-do-this kind of stuck. When you believe that you can't do it, your mind doesn't work on anything at all, and in fact you think you'd better just lie down rather than clean the house. This is the worst kind of stuck, because you don't really see a way past. The energy I have been using for sheer determination has run out. I'm tired.

In desperation I called out to my former writing partner, long since lost to cancer. No, he didn't answer, and no, I didn't feel his presence. I didn't even think about him again. I just sat down and began to add the ones, then the twos, and compared them with the script I've already written, which gave me some threes, and before you know it, I had broken through! Four straight hours and the elusive "beat sheet" is done!

I was so happy I did a little happy dance around the apartment, even though it was after 11:00 and I actually chortled, and laughed out loud, and yes, I remembered to thank Alex, justincase, and Zoooooooom! I am back to loving what I'm doing!

Assignment 11 came out today, and I "only" need to make up 7, 8, 9, and 10! And meantime I'm making lists of what to pack, and trying to get other things ready for my trip. And that's okay! I feel now I have a complete story, and guess what? I can see the humour in it!

Through Process to Progress

This is the next photo I have for you. Progress! Still nothing to write home about, but I said I'd share my journey, so I'm writing to YOU about it.

And to quote the great fictional character Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."

'til soon, Peg

In the Light of Day

Okay, now we have direction, we will get on with the next assignment. It is to have another look at your beat sheet. A beat sheet is the story, step by step, scene by scene. I never really did have a full beat sheet, as things kept changing, and before I got to the end of the story, beat by beat, I would be moving things around, or changing the flow, and so now here goes.

I am very much looking forward to getting this finished (I did get a start on the weekend) as I really need to know the story from front to back and inside out by the time I get to Hollywood.

As the end of April nears, I realize only May remains to do the work necessary.

That's okay. I get done exactly what I need to get done to have the level of success I'm supposed to have in June, and that's a high level!

I love you for being here. Bye bye for now...

Decisions, Decisions, & Inspiration

If this title seems a little odd, then you've already peeked into my current head space. What a ride this is.

With a partner to critique my re-write work, it brings to light amazing insights - like why am I trying to make this thriller into a dark comedy? The answer to that is so I can have the next Fargo. This begs the question, who told you you're on par with the Coen Brothers? Do you really think that the first thing you sell is going to be the next "Fargo?" Where that is not impossible, is it reasonable? or even the least bit realistic?

The only producer I pitched "SERIOUS" to told me that Dark Comedy is a tough genre to write. Maybe I should work with some others before moving along to that particular challenge. I'm supposed to be going to Hollywood with my "most marketable project". Is that really going to be a dark comedy?

I go back to my earliest learnings from John Truby. ALL scripts need humour - no matter what genre. As my re-write partner points out, Hitchcock used ironic humor in even his most suspenseful plots and moments. The fact that I have some ready-made humorous elements is a good thing. The audience will enjoy themselves more as a result, whether they came in expecting to laugh or not.

The script I have is a decent (and not-been-seen-before) thriller that can be made for a million dollars, which seems like a great place to get one's first deal. I've heard stories of people who feel insulted by the offer of Writer's Guild minimums. I, personally would kiss the feet of anyone offering me that - cripes, it's $80K!

So, where is this coming from? I finished one of three homework assignments yesterday and got my feedback. I also just got off the phone with Hal and my Hollywood Meeting group. He went through the steps a writer goes through to get somewhere, and what I got from that is that you are where you are. He told us what to focus on while you're on each level, and I'm no where near writing like the Coen Brothers. If I prove myself wrong, great. But for now I need the best work I can create, in the most marketable genre.

My decision is that my thriller remains a thriller, and I no longer need to keep trying to push it into the shape of a Dark Comedy, when I don't really know what that is, other than Fargo is a great example. I am laughing out loud now. What a skit. And it is one of my goals while working with this thriller to make sure the comedy is found and brought to the forefront for people to enjoy.

Also, just so you know, had you ever told me I would be writing a thriller, I would have been very surprised. But I kinda like the twists and turns of suspense, and people getting into trouble, and people being trouble, and making trouble and finding trouble. So, onward.

The call was inspiring to me because this teacher has laid out a map to follow. If we follow it, we will succeed. It's that simple. All the times I've decided in the past not to succeed are gone. To follow this map will bring me much joy - at every step. I know it won't be easy, but nonetheless, the steps are there.

I am currently at Step 1 of 10. I have been at step 2 many times, and even toyed with step 3 once, only to freak out at how little I knew and decided to stop trying.

Going to the Hollywood meetings in June will be a full-on Step 2 and may well lead to Step 3. Meanwhile, there is writing to be done, re-writing to be done, and lest we forget...Project "O" to deal with.

One Short Evening for Woman, One giant leap for Screenwriter

It may not seem gigantic to non-screenwriters. In fact it may look totally ridiculous when held up as a shining accomplishment. To other writers who tackle short stories (I believe one of the most difficult written art forms there is) it may seem like nothing happened tonight at all, but to the screenwriter... this is big - golden - a coup!

I am talking about the logline - not to be confused with the pitch, although I always do. Yesterday I left you with a pitch and today it was scrapped thanks to input from a fellow screenwriter with a whole lot more pitching expertise than me.

You may at this point be anxious to read the logline, but not until I've gained advice from colleagues who know about such things.

And don't forget, 24 hours from now this logline may be scrapped too. Re-writes are a way of life, and this is the beginning of the re-write process. And I'm determined to begin here, even though I am now three (count 'em) lessons behind.

I am happy with the tone of this one. I have changed genres, you see. My LA project is going from a thriller to a Fargo-like dark comedy. It's a difficult change that will be a lot of work, but with the sparks created by discovering something new (thanks to colleagues, generous fellow writers) and writing it so it makes you giggle, it becomes imminently do-able. And for today, it feels like a giant leap for this screenwriter.

Isn't there something about the Rubber hitting the Road?

This is it, folks! We're caught up now. You're with me in the present. It's time for action. Steadfast, organized action. Every day something must be done. Today I worked on my re-write homework on the bus, at lunch, and after work, but still didn't get it posted. I also wrote one e-mail to support the Omni pitch(which we will hereafter refer to as the O-project), and sent a new, brief pitch line to my Hollywood Meetings "twin" sister.

Truth be told, I did indulge in two telephone visits, and was sucked into Idol gives back a little bit. Just so you know, I've experienced three days of hellish deadline pressure at work. But hey, I'm still in a good mood, and I got SOMETHING done today that serves the goal.

Last e-mail check revealed some prep work that needs doing prior to a Hollywood meetings teleconference this Sunday. Tra-la, tra-la. Here's to tomorrow evening being more productive, and then the weekend cometh.

Say, what do you think of my mini-pitch line?

Peter wants to prove a psychologist guilty...(pause)
while the real murderer "helps" his teenage son.

More soon...

Steadfast, organized action...
Every day...

Hollywood, Here I Come

Oh my goodness! This title just reminded me of Al Jolson's "California Here I Come". If anyone else knows this song, please leave me a comment. I was raised on Al Jolson. 78's for heaven's sake! If I have any young readers out there who don't know what a 78 is, it's something we called a record, and that particular record was made of something that alcoholics could melt down and drink when things were tough.

To return to this opportunity, the alumni of the writing class was invited to three days of meeting producers in Hollywood! How could I say no to that? Only twenty writers and we will meet twenty producers, each of them likely willing to take a one-page of our most marketable script. What an amazing experience this will be! We 20 who will attend the session are coached between now and then so we have the absolute best chance of impressing someone through this process. Coaching brings with it some occasional homework and a few teleconferences. Good!

The other way to impress these producers, of course, and perhaps even get a "script request" is to have amazing material. Everyone knows that in order to produce amazing material, one must re-write. Unless you know what you're doing, a re-write may not do any good at all. I used to just revise words, and fix holes in the story if I could see them.

But it's way more than that. Examining structure, re-thinking character, evaluating action, enabling brilliance, elevating quality in a lot more ways than just looking at words. Tough to do on one's own, so, since there's not much going on (ahem) and I want to have the best product I can have in LA, why not sign up for re-writes too?
Assignments are 'only' twice a week, and we trade critiques with a partner for an even better chance of being the best. Nothing to it.

Did I mention I work full time, too?

The Six-Month-Course + Pitchfest

Yes, I did it. I signed up for six months of every-day homework...(well, there were a few breaks where students critiqued each other's work. But overall it was a busy six months, and fun, and challenging, and some of it was downright hard.

Did I learn? Yes! I learned so many new techniques, and gained so much information about what makes a script sell, that I wondered why I ever thought I could write a script before. Really!

At the end of the course, there was a PitchFest in Vancouver, and I thought I'd take a few ideas out for a spin. Mostly I have product left from when Alex and I worked together. That's Alexander Kirkwood, a retired US airforce pilot with three degrees - one in directing. Alex was the one who first introduced me to screenwriting. We worked together for many years, and there is a lot of projects to show for that time together. Knowing what I know now, and re-reading some, I was able to just toss them. Others I offered up at the Pitchfest, as it would bring me much joy to see on onscreen credit for Alex's family. We lost him to cancer.

The thing about taking ideas out for spin is that some of them might be liked. One US production company rep actually talked enough about the romantic comedy that I got some great direction for the re-write. It interested him, and he said he'd like to read it once I re-write.That's great because I wouldn't want him to read the current version anyway.

In addition, I am quite busy enough.

The other project that got some attention is a 1/2 hour family show. Omni would like to see it. But there's work to do. They want me to bring along partners, and maybe even some talent. Yikes! I cannot drop this ball, and yet there is a see-saw of comings and goings in terms of progress. Ever onward, no nmatter what. I will not fail to submit.

So, that brings us to early March 2010, the end of Pitchfest. I have my work cut out for me, so away I go, right? No, not quite. There is another opportunity not to be missed. I'll be going to L.A. in June!

That First Course-on-the-Phone!

Ah. It was soothing ointment on my dried, shriveled soul. It was better than the first sip of nourishment for a desert traveler. It was more like how that traveler feels two hours later when he can drink all he wants. I was so thirsty.

I liked what I heard.

There was so much good information in that two and a half hours that I really felt like more. And, like all free teleconferences, it ended with an invitation to pay for more, with a healthy discount. How could I refuse? I was still thirsty!

It is one of the best decisions I have ever made. Hal Croasmun is one of those rare individuals who actually cares enough to spend time. He has spent time researching, experiencing, and testing what makes screenplays sell, and he is willing to share. I've never met anyone so eager to spend SO many hours with writers. He genuinely wants to help. And I have a lot of time for people like him. And money, too. Heck, it's the American way.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the peeps north of the 49th, the Canadian way is apologetic. We end up feeling sorry that we've made a lot of money. We can't help but feel that it's just wrong somehow.

(Cancel that, Universe! I don't want you to get the idea that I, Peg, feel like that. Not me. I'd like to make a lot of money and experience all that entails.)

Stay tuned, gentle reader, we're getting ourselves up to present day current developments. I'm busy with family this weekend, and will blog as and when I can. Thanks for being here. I'm loving it!

Where does this journey begin?

I could get dramatic and refer to the fact that at age four I began writing phonetically. Pffft! So does everyone.

I think I'll just KISS it and begin last fall, when I felt like writing scripts again. This would be my third foray into the world of screenwriting, and let's hope the third time's a charm. What do I really do to get involved again, as I must keep my day job this time. The first attempts, I was not so sensible.

I know. I know, and we're not going to dwell in the past, remember? There I was thinking, "How do I do this?" I began searching online and signed up for a writer's newsletter. In one issue, there was an ad for a screenwriting contest. With nothing to lose but the $40 US fee, I submitted an entry.

That was an okay thing to do. Nothing happened with the contest, but having done that I was open for a lot of web ads concerning screenwriting. I could not believe my eyes the day I saw a FREE tele-seminar about doing a rewrite. I knew in my heart of hearts that the screenplay I'd submitted to the contest really needed that kind of attention, and I thought, what better place to start? It's just one phone call, and I can use whatever I learn to work on re-writing the romantic comedy ASHES.

I marked this very important day in my calendar, I told all my friends, I got excited, I looked forward to it, and finally I dialed the number at the appointed time. My life has been richer and crazier and busier and love-lier ever since!

There is such joy in beginning. I don't really know who said that. I believe it happened when a number of fine minds were gathered in a room to change the world, or make a film, or something.

Anyway, there is...joy in beginning. Then you get caught up in the world of "keeping at it", "staying the course", "keeping it up", or, heaven forbid, actually finishing. I've come to believe that if you want joy in living, you don't ever really finish.

I am now ready to experience success as part of the joy of living, and see it as never being finished. Unending success. How cool would that be?

The reason I feel compelled to begin this blog is that I want to share my thoughts along the way. I won't dwell on past experiences, but I don't promise not to share from the past if it helps me make a point. For now, let's just GO!