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!

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.

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?