Short script post

I have been reading more blogs of screenwriters, trying to build a little momentum out of a sense of community. In response to a post on red right hand I'm posting an excerpt from my script Finding the Pen. This is the aforementioned short script (see below), based on the short story by Michael Bowers.

Click to read 100%.

Here's to submission

I'm now an award winning screenwriter. The Hollywood Creative Connection* has just announced the victors in its 2005 short screenplay contest. My script won 2nd place.

From the website: ' “Finding the Pen” is an amusing and original look at the human tendency toward obsession as a seemingly normal man descends into madness over a lost pen.'

Now I get to test my theory that submitting, and receiving praise can inspire you to write more pieces, finish more pieces, and work hard to achieve your goals. Let the testing begin right after I make a sort my mp3 collection.

*<updated: 08.06.06 -- Hollywood Creative Connection has removed the list of winners, in preparation for their next contest.>

More infatuation

Speaking of obsessions, through lifehacker I discovered the company 37 Signals, makers of productivity software. They feature a great online to-do list maker, a personal organizer for notes, to-dos, files, and a collaborative space for businesses and team projects. Check them out.

December obsession

I've become obsessed with a website called life hacker. Now, it sounds like some sort of maniacal zine devoted to creating large down times for gigantic corporations, but actually, it's quite the opposite. Not only is it news for nerds, but many of the daily entries offer insight on making our lives more productive by blocking out distractions, optimizing our computers to do the task we need to do more efficiently, and providing advice to work smarter.

http://www.lifehacker.com

Christmas is coming

I'm working on a set of guides to France, specifically Pairs at this stage. Trying to decipher all of the monuments, when they were built, for what purpose, and what makes one more specially than the other. See that sculpture? That's a Soufflot. Very impressive. That monument simply has a Rousseau. Ah. Parisians.

What's the deal with Christmas music anyway? I can handle some classic stuff, like some Vince Guaraldi pianio, or some Dean Martin Blue Christmas. You know, Nordstrom music, but the campy crap they're playing everywhere. On the radio, at the malls, probably grocery stores. I have to walk around with White Zombie cranked up on my mp3 player.

First rejection letter

I received my first rejection letter for a short-short I sent out in October. I was rather surprised at how happy I was. I guess it's another step forward in the process.

My interview was rescheduled, but eventually I made it in and it went well. It seems like I'd fit within their organization. They've offered me a contractual job to test the waters and I'm looking forward to getting started.

50 pages and out

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're probably wondering what has happened to me. Well, I don't know. Maybe I didn't like the story. Maybe I lost focus. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

At any rate, I'm working on other stuff now. I had an article published by Associated Content. You can read it here. It's called "Motorcycle Track Days: Getting Started at Schools or Open Sessions".

I have an interview tomorrow with a travel writing website for a content writer position. I'm looking forward to that. And on December 15th, they're suppose to announce the winners of a screenwriting competition that I entered. Snowballs chance in hell, I know, but it will still be nice to read the roll call.

18,000 wds.

Sadly, I have to report that NaNoWriMo has really zapped my productivity in other areas of my writing. Leading up to NaNoWriMo, I was quite productive banging out articles, travel guides, and polishing some short fiction. But, since writing a novel in a month takes a lot of time, I've dropped the other projects, in order to focus on NaNoWriMo.

On a whole, I'd say my productivity is way down. I think the variety of the different projects made things more fun. Now it's dreadful, and I don't feel like much of a writer because I've dropped a lot of projects that made me a professional.

On top of that, I'm gravely behind.

15,938 wds.

Better no doubt. I still have confidence, although the harsh reality of how quickly November is ending is now fading in. According to my count, I have 13 days, and 13 hours left. I'm going to focus on milestones. 20,000 words, 25,000 words, 35,000 words (which really is the home stretch). Breaking 20k is a good start. Reaching the half way mark at 25k is insperational, and from there pushing on to 35k is cake. Once at 35k you're a weekend of writing away.

I'll probably have 3 days off plus the weekend for Thanksgiving, so hopefully that won't inspire me to be lazy, and not write, but rather give me time to crank out some 4,000 word days. Certainly, the hen party on Thursday will give me inspiration to sit in the living room and type on my laptop.

[32% done]

12,894 wds.

Yeah, I know. I suck.

But this year I have an advantage. I know the possibilities. 15,000 word in a weekend? Not impossible.

In fact, I'm basically done. I've got a few words to hash out today. Some tomorrow, but pretty soon I'll be ticking past 25,000, and then boom. One weekend away from done.

I'm ahead of schedule. Time to kick back and have another Coke.

12,024 wds.

Well, it's something.

8,558 wds.

Success, if you will: My main character is now in Chile, he's lost his shoe, been blackmailed, and is forced to sail for the "kingpin" of Arabian horse dealers. Not bad for chapter two.

[17% done]

6,823 wds.

I know, I'm a slow slug. The problem, now that I completed my last novel via three 4,000 word days, is that with twenty-five days of writing left, their isn't significant pressure. This has been such a different contest the second time around. The important things is I'm still working regularly, and when the story starts moving, when I feel some pressure, I can zap out 8,000 words in two days, and shoot the gap, so-to-speak.

[14% done]

5,740 wds.

It's a strange thing, when you're plunging forward, begrudgingly, and you stumble upon an outcome you didn't conceive via your carefully plotted outline. That is the beauty of NaNoWriMo. It teaches you to forge ahead, that you don't have to have the perfect answer. That is the point of creativity and writing: discovery. I would go so far to wager. The more you practice spontaneous writing, the more creative you'll become at discovering beautiful outcomes.

I'm a bit down on words, after a great start, but I'm looking forward to rocking this weekend. Plus, I need to find that point, where outcomes are inevitable. The story is still too open ended.

[11% done]

2,525 wds.

NaNoWriMo 2005 is out of the gate! I wrote a couple pages at midnight, and I've learned an important lesson already. It's much easier to conclude the tail end of a 35,000 word story than it is to deal with the infinite decisions available in a brand new, 0 word story.

Other than that, things are progressing slower than I'd hoped, but fortunately I have the time this week to start right, and now, it sounds cheesy, I believe in myself. I hope to topple 4,000 tonight, and brush through week one, straight on into the realm of finite possibilities, so I can cruise home with an easy victory.

[5% done]

50,034 wds.

The End. Fade Out. Finito.

There was a time when I never thought I'd see the number 50 followed by 3 digits. This last week has been a finger blister frenzy of novel-writing bliss, that proves it's all possible. That the novel does rest in you, and now I look forward to surprising myself, and intimately following a new cast of characters, as Nanowrimo 2005 departs tonight at midnight.

It was a dark and stormy night...

48,564 wds.

Drum-roll.

45,029 wds.

Unstoppable. Train. Countryside.

43,853 wds.

The pages are flowing like an unstoppable October flash flood as I gear up for this November by finishing last year's Novel. I'm like an unstoppable novel writing train, plowing through the countryside. I'm shooting to top 45K today, leaving me with only 5K to go, and two days to do it.

41,471 wds.

I've had inspiration for my November Novel (of 2005). First, like most of my short stories, it must be first person. Only so I can insert the cutting wit of a bitter narrator, which I have an easy time writing, because, well you figure it out. Second, because it will add a tone to the story, that my idea wouldn't have in a more factual third person narrative. (Of course, the factuality is probably my own fault as an author, but what can you do.)

This also means I must finish 2004's at all costs, so I can move on with 2005 before my inspiration wanders. But we already knew I must finish at all costs.

40,605 wds.

Cruising.

This will happen. I'm not giving up like last November, and I don't want to start this November on a failure. I know it's possible to write 10,000 words in a weekend. Nay, in two days. This is my chance to prove it, and set the record right, for November 2005: The November to end Novembers.

37,222 wds.

Well, the wheel of creativity has been turning slowly. Time for the 5,000 word day to save me from doom, which is okay, because I want to practice a few of these anyway, to know that they are possible, and only somewhat miserable. Oh, and I have no idea what I'm going to write this November. That's par. No worries. As I feel like my last endeavor is dragging, because I'm board with the people, and with the predictable conflicts, I'd like to find something closer to the heart, a subject I'm interested in exploring, and I'd like to find some characters that are more quirky. Maybe those faults with my current story are the faults of the author, and not the potential of the story.

This is a good point to talk about accountability. As a writer, as a self-employed writer, you have to hold yourself accountable, or else you can find that you've let a perfectly good month slip away without much productivity. Making achievable goals and recording them goes a long way into keeping on task. Nanowrimo is all about word count accountability.

In other news, I've began writing nightclub reviews for a web site. It's been a fun, and rewarding experience. In the other half of my writing life I'm building my clips, thinking about other articles and how to approach the markets, and trying to stay accountable.

35,493 wds.

I have slowed down a bit, and now I'm wondering about this upcoming contest. Is it a good exercise for me?

Well, how I feel is that yes, if one is going to be a working writer then they should be able to click out sixteen hundred words a day, and have enough time to revise some other pieces, or click out a few paragraphs of a different story. Plus I must remember, NaNoWriMo is not about quality, but quantity.

Time to push forward and drop a few more pages, crack that 40,000 mark and head into the final stretch. All with a month to spare. I'll be tuned up and ready to go.

32,386 wds.

I've got that loving feeling.

The days starts to feel awkward if I haven't put some words down, created some momentum, chipped some rock off the 50,000 word stone.

You know, I think it will be all downhill from 35k. The way I see it, once there, a couple of 5,000 word Saturdays will wrap this thing up. With the finish so easily in sight how will I be able to resist sprinting for it? Plus the wheels of creation are turning for the follow up effort.

30,046 wds.

In a desperate attempt to finish my 50,000 word November novel before this years contest, I've been writing regularly, and climbed to the 30K word mark.

The way I see it, finishing my first novel in a year is a good goal. I'll shoot for the thirty day mark the second time around, this November.

If you have know idea what I'm talking about, visit: http://www.nanowrimo.org Registration just two weeks away.

The issue of time

I'm not going to complain about not having time to write. But I simply don't have time where I feel like writing. I need to pick a moment and write everyday during that moment. I need to simplify my output and select a few pieces to finish. This is frustrating because I've said this all before. I know this, and I continue to have problems.

Maybe the time isn't there, but I think what's derailing the writing is the desire. Like I learned with the novel, massive, boring output is the answer. For both momentum and pages. Go.

Obsession

I've been working away at a new short script about a man who destroys his life through his obsession with retribution towards a telemarketer. It's following my obsession, with writing stories whose theme revolves around passion and obsession.

The web site Simply Scripts has a nice step outline from Chinatown that has helped me develop my outlines further. You can view it here, under step outline: http://www.simplyscripts.com/treatments.html