What’s Happening?

I’ve been outlining, writing, rewriting, applying for film grants, reading scripts, watching movies. And yet, as of right now I’m not overwhelmed. I’ve hit the groove as far as understanding what’s really attainable every day. My best friend would routinely bark that I expect myself to solve world hunger every morning when I wake up. She’s wasn’t far off. I used to load up my daily goals with so many things that unless I had the supernatural powers of Evie, there was no way I’d even make a real dent. Now I focus on one or two things a day. Now completing my to-do list is attainable.

In addition, this week I’ve started to get up a little bit earlier in the mornings. The alarm’s set for 5:30, and after typically one slap at the snooze button, I crawl out of bed at 5:40 and head to the kitchen table where my notebook and a pen await. With a cup of coffee by my side, I knock out my daily three pages and force myself to churn out two story ideas for possible future projects (sometimes they are extremely lame).

I’ve been spending less time on the internet because it depresses me. I made the mistake of actively searching online conversations regarding the Golden Globes, and after discovering the swirl of negative responses of Jodie Foster’s honest and passionate speech, I decided to crawl back into my hole and keep my focus on my family, my work and my health. Over the past week I read a book, made vegetable soup, rode the skateboard twice, had dinner with my best friend, sent hand-written letters to a couple family members, and went to the theater.

2013 is turning into the year of reevaluating priorities.

Game Plan for 2013

I’ve never been more excited for a new year. Even before Christmas I had laid out my game plan for 2013. There are a number of exciting projects on my plate right now, and I’m ready to kick each one of them in the butt. This year I’m going balls to the wall.

Complete adapted feature-length script.
I’m writing this script for an actor who has the rights to an awesome real-life basketball story. It’s currently a first draft and I’m now working on editing it so that it actually makes sense.

Write a live play.
A friend of mine who’s an actor and I are going to put together a live play. I’ve got the premise and theme down and am currently outlining. I’m so pumped for this project.

Produce the short film, BREAKFAST AT GERARDO’S.
I wrote this script a while back and things have been popping up that have prevented me from giving it the attention it deserves. This film is being made this year. Mark my words.

Complete HOME SWEET HOME, feature-length script.
This is the script that made me a finalist with the San Francisco Film Society/Hearst Screenwriting Grant. The Film Society committee saw the script’s potential, but it clearly needs heavy work.

In addition to these projects, I have a few daily/weekly objectives for myself, which include:

* Read one script every week.
* Watch two movies every week.
* Free write three pages first thing every morning.

Here we go 2013. I hope you’re ready for me!

99 Days

There are 99 days left until May 1st, which is the deadline for the Nicholl Fellowship, and the May 15 deadline for the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition follows closely behind. I finished the rewrite of Queen To Be on Friday and after a couple read throughs to double and triple check for typos, it will be ready for submission.

Still, my goal is to get two features submitted into the contests this year, so my next few months will be relatively busy as I work to knock out what I hope to be my best script within those 99 days. The outline of that script is nearly finished and I’m scheduled to dive into the first draft on February 1.

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2012 Goals

I am a big fan of taking the time to look back at what you accomplished, where you are at this point and then figuring out where you want to go and how you’re going to get there.

Here is the list of the goals I laid out for myself at the beginning of 2011:

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Last Week of 2011

The four days I took off for Christmas were needed and appreciated. Lots of tasty foods. Time with family. A grip of movies. Dove into a new book. A brain break from work. I received some really thoughtful gifts, including personalized note cards to outline stories from my parents.

Today it’s time to get back at it. I have a hefty amount of work that needs to get done this final week of 2011, including my latest rewrite of Queen To Be. Besides that, I’ve got my new story development work, some freelance projects and notes on a script that a friend has been patiently waiting for.

Also this week I’m going to be putting together my best-of 2011 lists for music and film releases, as well as taking a look at what I accomplished this year and planning out my professional and personal goals for 2012.

If you’re interested in setting writing goals for 2012, be sure to check out Scott Myers series on setting effective and specific objectives over at his site, Go Into The Story.

Hope you all had a great holiday.

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Goals for September

August didn’t go as expected. I didn’t get to some things that I’d hoped, but I’m okay with that. I’ll take winning a short film grant and shooting my own project over completing  a script rewrite any day.

Here’s what I set out to do last month and what actually got accomplished:

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Goals for August

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend. My wife and I spent Saturday picnicking in the park. Living in Oakland is sweet, but the not-so-hot summertime weather makes my wife anxious. So, we hopped in the car and drove east out to Walnut Creek. She ended up getting burnt to a crisp.

Still, she  loved soaking up that vitamin E.

It’s the first of the month, so it’s time for me to take a look at what I accomplished over the 31 days of July.

Goals for July:

Complete thorough outline for next script
Finish Super Ted rewrite (nearly done)
Plan a trip to Los Angeles
Enter the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest
Two hours of uninterrupted screenwriting time daily
Complete 15-20 freelance articles/week

Hmmm… if you count the number of goals marked off the list, my productivity looks pretty lame, but the month of July was considerably valuable to my screenwriting career. I’ve really gotten into a writing groove and I met some great people who work in film. Super Ted has improved drastically throughout this most recent rewrite. So, although only two out of six goals were accomplished, I feel so good about what I’ve done over the last month.

Goals for August

Complete thorough outline for next script
Finish Super Ted rewrite
Plan a trip to Los Angeles
Two hours of uninterrupted screenwriting time daily
Update my LinkedIn account
Add my resume to the site here
Complete 15-20 freelance articles/week

Here we go!

- til next time – Kim

Goals for July

I’m getting back from the long weekend vacation today, but my mind is already on the work I have ahead of me this month.

Goals for June:

Complete thorough outline for next feature script
Read through Super Ted and complete a rewrite
Two hours of uninterrupted screenwriting time daily
Complete 15-20 freelance articles/week
Plan a trip down to Los Angeles
Make a dentist appointment
Complete redesign of the garage
Finish this book I’m reading

Goals for July:

Complete thorough outline for next script
Finish Super Ted rewrite
Plan a trip to Los Angeles
Enter the Industry Insider Screenwriting Contest
Two hours of uninterrupted screenwriting time daily
Complete 15-20 freelance articles/week

Goals for June

Today is June 1, which means it’s time to take a look at my goals for last month and lay out what I’d like to accomplish during this one.

By the way, it’s still raining. June 1. Raining. Lame.

Okay, here we go:

Goals for May:

Submit Queen To Be to Austin Film Festival and Just Effing Contests
Begin to outline new feature script
Improve this website’s design
Complete 15-20 freelance articles/week
Make a dentist appointment (woops)
Complete sketch of backyard (more progress made)
Plant a small herb garden

Goals for June:

Complete thorough outline for next feature script
Read through Super Ted and complete a rewrite
Two hours of uninterrupted screenwriting time daily
Complete 15-20 freelance articles/week
Plan a trip down to Los Angeles
Make a dentist appointment
Complete redesign of the garage
Finish this book I’m reading

Goals for May

Those who regularly read my blog are probably wondering what the hell is going on right now. As you can see, I’m changing it up a bit here. This is my attempt to be more “professional;” to present my work and ideas in a more respectable way. Right now the site looks like it was designed in the 90′s, so please be patient with me as I tinker with it a little everyday until it’s the way I’m envisioning.

Although I’m nine days late, it’s kind of still the beginning of the month, which means it’s time to check out what I was able to accomplish in April and list my goals for the month of May.

Goals for April:

Finish Untitled rewrite (now titled Queen To Be)
Finish Super Ted rewrite
Submit scripts to contests
15 to 20 freelance articles/week (finished 10-13/week)
Fix our lame internet issue without going ballistic on AT&T
Sketch out ideas for our backyard (some progress here)
Be consistent with the new workout program
Take our curtains to get tailored so they’re no longer bunched up on the floor

Goals for May:

Submit Queen To Be to Austin Film Festival and Just Effing Contests
Begin to outline new feature script
Improve this website’s design
Complete 15-20 freelance articles/week
Make a dentist appointment
Complete sketch of backyard
Plant a small herb garden