Thankful Friday… 11/6 (I get to see Angela Lansbury!!)

There is a lot to be thankful for from this week…

*Been working steadily on cleaning up My Brother Mick and it will be ready to upload onto greenwriter.org this afternoon.

*Spent quality time working on new projects every day

*the wife surprised me with date night on Wednesday

*rode the bike downtown and spent the day coffee-shop hopping while I worked yesterday

*found a cute and affordable apartment for our December trip to New York

*speaking of NY, purchased tickets to see A Little Night Music on Broadway while we’re there. It stars Angela Lansbury, whom I grew up watching and adoring, and for whom I wrote my first ever screenplay.

That last one makes me want to squeal like a little girl at a New Kids concert.

Have a great weekend!

Writing for oneself…

Besides still cleaning up My Brother Mick, outlining the Untitled Superhero script with my wife, I’m also playing with a third feature-length idea, Easier Said Than Done. It’s not marketable, it’s a drama, the lead is a female, and it requires a large number of locations. It’s pretty much what I’ve been told NOT to write as I try and make my way in the business.

Screw it.

I need to feel some connection to the projects that I’m working on. The Untitled Superhero script is going to be an Action/Comedy, but there’s going to be a theme behind it that I believe in. With my wife having a full-time career, time is somewhat limited for when we can work on the Superhero project together. Therefore, I need another story to work on when I’m by myself during the day, and that’s what Easier Said Than Done is about.

Like I mentioned previously, I’ve been making my way through Story by Robert McKee, a book by the guru of screenwriting teachers. A previous reader (I’m on a budget baby… you know I borrowed the book from the library) marked a passage out that I came upon yesterday when I was reading:

“Every time you reread your script, it should excite you, for this is your kind of story, the kind of film you’d stand in line in the rain to see. Do not write something because intellectual friends think it’s socially important. Do not write something you think will inspire critical praise in Film Quarterly. Be honest in your choice of genre, for of all the reasons for wanting to write, the only one that nurtures us through time is love of the work itself.”

Feeling good…

I know that I’ve made the right decision to stop being a wuss and be a writer every morning when I wake up.

Damn, I am excited to face the day today. I’ve had two good days of wife time and I’m now charged up and ready to rock.

There’s nothing outwardly pressing on my schedule, but there’s a lot that I expect of myself everyday. On the screenwriting front, today I’ll be working on the Superhero Script, editing My Brother Mick, reading Story, and reading Jennifer’s Body. And if I have time, I should watch Boyz N The Hood for my film class.

My day rocks.

______________________

I like this recent blog post by kidlit.com on how it takes a million words of crap to start producing quality work. It’s the same concept of Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule from his book Outliers (which you should check out, by the way).

Thankful Friday… 10/30

Phew… long, tiring week, but overall a very positive one.

*continued rewriting My Brother Mick. Should be able to have it up on greenwriter.org by the end of next week.

*started making my way through Story by Robert McKee… think I’m going to acquire some great knowledge from this book.

*entered My Brother Mick‘s logline into a new free contest at Scriptshadow.

*the heater in our apartment is working much better than last year. We haven’t had to sleep in beanies yet.

*woke up this morning and checked the bank account… got a little chunk from my former (paying) job. Not much, but discovering any unexpected extra cash is a great way to start the day.

*Taco Tuesday with friends should be a weekly routine for everybody.

Have a positive and safe weekend!

Thankful Friday… 10/23

It’s pretty amazing to look at my calendar and not have ANYTHING pressing besides my film class final in December. It’s relaxing to be able to write without something looming over my head.

This week has been a good one. After going nuts to prepare to pitch at the Screenwriting Expo last weekend, I more than welcome the calm.

So, without further ado, this week’s thankful/positive list is as follows:

*wrote the first draft of my wife’s short script idea
*got an A on my film class midterm
*got some great work done on cleaning up My Brother Mick as I prepare to post it on greenwriter.org
*finished a rough outline of the untitled Superhero script
*was able to workout every day this week
*went to lunch with my Daddy-o
*was able to fit in some wife and friend time, though the weekly wife time balance is low this week… luckily we have this weekend together

What a great week. Hope you all have a good weekend!

On to the next one…

After sitting through the Screenwriting Expo classes and from my experience in the Golden Pitch Festival last weekend, it’s apparent that I need to write a script that’s going to wow Hollywood. Not entertain, not inspire, but blow them the hell away. And I don’t know if My Brother Mick is going to do that. I believe in it, and I’m going to continue to tighten it up to utilize as a writing sample, but I think I need to put together something stronger for my calling card.

To get the attention of agents, managers, readers, and studio/production reps, I need to go head at them with a high concept premise that’s executed well.

My wife came up with an incredible premise nearly a year ago, and we spent a couple hours talking it over back then, but have yet to really devote ourselves to putting it together. It was the second idea that I pitched at the Golden Pitch Festival on Friday, and both reps seemed to love the idea.

So instead of sending out queries for My Brother Mick, my wife and I are going to focus our attention on the execution of a new idea… a currently untitled Superhero script. When I go knocking on Hollywood’s door, I want to have something ready that will knock them on their ass.

You’re a b*tch, pitch…

So yeah… the pitch practice last night with the wife was somewhat of a bust. I brainfarted, left out important plot points, and went on way too long. I knew it too when she broke eye contact with me and started checking the status of her nail polish.

But, it’s all good. It was my first time through with someone who isn’t my cat, and afterwards we discussed how to strengthen it. I feel much better getting a real run-through and I’m going to practice during the day and then pitch to her again every night until Friday.

I’m still trying to nail down the logline as well, and I have my friend Katherine helping me out. I’m so lucky to have her assistance because: 1) I just hope that I can get close to being able to write like her someday AND 2) she has experience reading scripts and loglines.

Here is my original logline for My Brother Mick that I emailed her at the end of last week:

A self-conscious and yet determined teenager and his demanding, handicapped brother must learn to work together when they are forced into a trip alone across the U.S. to rescue their mother from a revengeful man from their past. (108 pages)

She responded by saying that she thought that it was a bit passive, which could imply that the story is slow. And, my use of the word “determined” isn’t placed correctly, because I’m giving no indication of what the teenager is determined to do. Plus, she suggested some different word choices, such as trading “vengeful” for “revengeful” and “insecure” for “self-conscious.”

Katherine rewrote a version that is much more active. I’m going to tweak what she put together a little bit, and because of her help, I think I’m going to be able to better hook my listeners when I lay the logline on them at the beginning of my pitch on Friday.

Pitching in four days…

Once I decided that I was going to participate in the Golden Pitch Festival next weekend, I knew that I wanted to do it on Friday so that I could have it over with quickly and then relax and enjoy the rest of the events and classes at the Screenwriting Expo. The bummer is that most studios and agents will only be at the event on Saturday and Sunday, so I was limited on my choices.

I think it worked out though. I’m more than happy with the two companies I will be pitching My Brother Mick to this Friday.

Pitching… what I’ve learned so far

I’ve been doing some reading and watching videos on how to successfully pitch a script to prepare for the Golden Pitch Festival, where I’ll be trying to sell My Brother Mick next month.

CS Open update & the Expo looms…

Well, there’s finally been an update on the CS Open. Taken from their website:

Please be patient. Here are the next steps:

Meanwhile, please do not panic. Please hold off writing while we continue judging scenes. It’s taking a little longer than originally anticipated.