Happy Easter everyone!
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A Rambling, Ranty Journal Entry
First off, I’d like to thank all of you who have been supporting me along this journey. All of your encouragement has really helped to boost morale and it is greatly appreciated. The following ramble is really just a journal entry of a few things I need to get off my chest. I’ve never been able to keep a journal, but when I started this blog, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t slack off as I had done so many times before. I wanted to keep track of my progress, the highs and lows, and the things I’ve learned along the way. So I hereby forewarn you (“Avert yer eyes” – in a Scottish brogue (from the film Brave)) of the following bump in my journey:
I think I’ve discovered the reason(s) behind my recent melancholy. As a writer, mood swings are hardly unheard of, but sometimes they do happen because of “something”. The last few days I’ve been trying to put my finger on what’s been causing it…I didn’t have to dig too deep, because I already knew, mostly. 1) I haven’t been writing. Not really. I know, I suck. I was on a tear for a while there, and suddenly all the wind has gone from my sails. There are multiple reasons/excuses going at the moment; motivation, money, lapses in creative judgement, reallocation of priorities, what-have-you…
2) I have lost enormous chunks of time. I’m not even sure how. I haven’t even been gaming. I’ve been at my desk, doing what I thought was “work”, and even though I know I haven’t opened up Final Draft in days (at a time), I’ve made notes on current ideas, come up with a few new ideas, I’ve been researching for the hopeful/potential writing job, but evidently there have been big gaps of non-production. Insert question mark.
3) I was reminded of a deathbed regret. While talking with some new friends, I was cornered into revealing some things I’ve buried, in particular a man I let slip through my fingers, Nicholas. If you’ve read the excerpt about my story Fate(s) or this post, that’ll give you some insight. I felt something I hadn’t ever before, or since. I don’t like to admit that a man might solve some of my problems, I’m a bit of a feminist, but I suppose the “right” man might. I like to say I’m a romantic on the page, but in truth, I’m one in real life too. There’s a whole other story here, but it’s not for today. I was just reminded of a loneliness I’ve been ignoring. I think a good snuggle may be in order.
So there it is. Maybe now that I’ve sort of voiced them aloud, I can move forward. Or use the angst to the good of my writing. It’s a day like today when I wish I were a poet. Maybe I should give it a try.
Thanks for letting me vent, again. (I’m not even going to share this one around.)
I wish you all the best!
A Little Writing Help
I’m feeling sort of negative today. A few things have compounded leaving me a little sour. So rather than give into those feelings or give them any power, I’ve decided to be helpful. My blog is supposed to be about writing, romance, and fantasy, in addition to the journey of becoming an established writer, so maybe this week I’ll pursue some of those other avenues in the hopes that it will lighten my mood. Maybe I’ve been too serious, too focused on one goal…maybe I should cut loose, at least a little. 
I came across this interesting article that deciphers the various questions you might be asked in a creative meeting whether with film executives or publishers, such as “Why this character?”, “Why this story?”, “Why now?”. If you’re struggling with a particular story, asking yourself some of these questions might help you resolve those issues, or might reiterate to yourself why you were inspired to write this story in the first place. Also, within each question topic are further tips to explore. I’ll give ’em a look, and pass on the details. If you beat me to it, please share.
Then there’s The Write Life. You may have noticed I reference them, occasionally. I follow them on Facebook and find a lot of useful tips and offerings. They recently posted an article about 20 Inspiring Pinterest Boards. As you are all probably aware by now, I love Pinterest. I’ve been doing the whole cork board thing for years, and really wish I would’ve come up with this idea. (That would’ve been one way to supplement my lifestyle.) I’m currently going through the boards suggested to see which would be helpful. This idea alone has inspired me to search out more useful tips to share on my boards, so look for those new additions soon.
I hope you’re all having a productive week and I wish you all the best!
2 Writing Opportunities
So I’ve come across two writing opportunities that I’d like to share:
1. NBC is casting a net to find new comedy writers. Here’s the link.
2. Disney ABC Creative Talent Development is looking for scenes for their talent showcase. You can find more info on their Facebook page, and because I couldn’t find a proper link, here’s a screenshot of the details.
I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for any other opportunities!
Good luck!
A Screenwriter No-No
I had to share this. And just to forewarn you, it’s painful. One of the first rules of etiquette in this industry (or any), don’t abuse your contacts. This should almost go without saying. I understand the excitement that goes along with finding someone who can help you with your career (I’ve talked about this before), but this is not how to go about it. If this writer had done any research on how to network, how to maintain relationships, and how to take any amount of criticism, this may have been someone he could have contacted again in the future, but now he’ll be lucky if he’s not blackballed from the entire industry. It’s a small world and people talk. All I can say is wow.
Enjoy!
Why producers will not read your script – shocking case study from one exec.
Have a great week everyone!
A Little Screenwriting Help
Sometimes I have to question my sanity. As writers, it’s something we probably do more often than we should. I recently watched the documentary, “Tales from the Script”, which is available on Netflix, and I highly recommend it to any aspiring screenwriter. Which is why I was again forced to reevaluate my sanity. There was one comment that has stuck with me, it was something to the effect that “if you can do anything else, do it”. That’s when it was reiterated to me that I can’t. I love screenwriting. It’s my calling. And I hope all of you have found yours.
If you can quit, then quit. If you can’t quit, you’re a writer. – R.A. Salvatore
I’ve tried my hand at poetry, and just for kicks and giggles, maybe I’ll post some one day. They’re terrible. Which is probably why I’ve never tried to write any more beyond my angsty teenage years. I wrote a few short stories, and I’d be willing to try again, I’m just not sure when. I wrote a one-act play that I really liked, but I feel that was a one-hit wonder moment. I’ve never written song lyrics, but I’m actually going to give that a try this year. I have this interesting opening line that I’d like to explore. I actually finished a novel (based on one of my screenplays) and have another, that one that I started in my youth that was too advanced for my adolescent mind, that still needs to be finished, but now am thinking could be a screenplay…I’m satisfied knowing I’ve at least tried other avenues, and have found the medium that works best for me.
I’m pretty sure it all started with my love of film. I see my stories like a movie in my head. I used to get buried in the details of description when I was trying to be a novelist, the only form of writing I thought there was, and screenwriting allows me to get my story out quickly. So for those of you who are following a similar path, I’ve attached this article on how to improve your screenwriting descriptions, and if you can ignore the off-putting color of the page, there’s some wonderful advice. I made lots of notes.
I’m keeping this one short and sweet. I’m not going to rant or ramble, as I have to get back to the many things I have lingering…
Have a great week!
Moving On
This week I returned to my old stomping grounds – It’s an odd feeling to find that you no longer miss something. I remember having this sense of nostalgia and an almost relief at driving over the hill and seeing the lights of the city I once called home…but upon my last visit, I discovered those feelings were gone. I haven’t been too personal on this blog (so far). My goals when starting it were to document my career path, and hopefully, help other writers, but here’s a little background. I grew up in Las Vegas; the former Las Vegas when the mob still had an active role, not this current garish nightmare. Now it’s all lights-advertisements-high rises-bottle service-day clubs aka the pool-more lights-revamping/reinventing/let’s go retro-ferris wheel-find the new “it thing”-bring your kids even though it’s not kid friendly-ridiculousness. Yes, I’ve grown a little cynical.
Driving around town, I could only find traces of what once made the city unique. Any history the town had has been torn down to make way for a building 10x bigger and looks exactly like the one next door. Residents had to protest when the city thought about removing the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. Have you seen Casino? It was filmed nearly 20 years ago, based on the events of the 70s, and the ending rings more true than ever. What would any of those men have to say about the current state of the town they built? Or Hunter S. Thompson? I realize that things must evolve but look at these before (when I was growing up) and after photos — 
I always wanted to escape, feeling like a fish out of water in that town, and for years after moving away, it still remained “home”. After moving to Los Angeles, I was unable to get back for about three years. When I finally did have the chance to return, I still felt excited by the lights over the hill, but it had dramatically lessened. Now, it’s nonexistent. I’m not sure what changes within us, when we realize home is no longer home. There’s that scene in Garden State where Zach Braff’s character is talking to Natalie Portman and he says —
You’ll see one day when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it’s gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It’s like you feel homesick for a place that doesn’t even exist. Maybe it’s like this rite of passage, you know. You won’t ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it’s like a cycle or something. I don’t know, but I miss the idea of it, you know. Maybe that’s all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place.
My family doesn’t live there anymore either, so maybe it has something to do with that. I wouldn’t even visit again if two of my best friends didn’t still live there. And the sad thing is, that when I return to Los Angeles after being away, I don’t have that sense of “home” either (except that I am happy to return to my space). So maybe we are all missing some imaginary place?
This has nothing to do with writing, just merely an observation as I continue this journey called Life. I felt a sort of melancholy at this discovery, and thought that writing about it might help a bit. I guess realizing this in some way unifies all of us who have lost our “homes”. I am thankful that since I decided to get myself out more (joining my writer’s group) I’ve made some new friends that have made the transition easier – we create new families, develop new relationships, become adults…I’m not sure if this could be used in reference to our characters and their development, but it’s something to consider.
Thanks for letting me getting this off my chest. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Wishing you all the best!
Happy Endings
Okay, so just a forewarning, this might be a bit of a rant. And this should be titled “Satisfying Endings”. I finally finished Dexter (thank you, Netflix) and (no spoilers) was extremely disappointed with the ending. After 8 seasons, I expected better, and although I haven’t read the books, so I’m not sure how the author ended his series, I was mad at the tv writers for not giving the fans a more satisfying ending. You have to stay true to the character, and after some time recollecting on Dexter as a character, I don’t think his character arc found justice in the end. This made me reconsider endings of other shows and movies and I couldn’t think of one that ended in such a way that I was left so angry and resentful. I even voiced aloud that I would never watch that final episode again. The distaste caused me to start rewatching earlier seasons to give me the love back. Even Game of Thrones, which has the power to shock and surprise me (I just started reading the first book), has left me hopeful, since there are still more episodes (and another book) in the works. So all this made me think about my own endings.
I’m an 80s girl with a love for all things princess (thank you, Disney). So I love a happy ending, but I want it to be warranted – that’s come with age. I also love foreign films. They tend to be more honest. They might not end the way we want, but most of the time you’re still satisfied, or at least understand that life doesn’t always work out the way we expect or hope. This is the blessing about variety. The whole point of film is escape (documentaries aside). I enjoy becoming invested in a story, walking in a character’s shoes sometimes so different from my own, and escaping into another world, and depending on my mood, there’s a movie that can fulfill those expectations. *Obviously, novels work the same way. I’m a screenwriter, so I tend to refer to films more often.
So far, my own stories are “happily ever after” types. It’s part of who I am. I want the girl to get her boy in the end. I want wrongs to be righted. There are elements of struggle and tragedy, but mainly, I think there’s enough bad in the world that when you come to one of my movies, eventually, you’ll leave a little happier. I hope. Except with my spy story. Lately I’ve been thinking it should end a little open-ended…maybe everything doesn’t end “happy” but I want it to be satisfying and truthful to my characters. I say this now, but I love the boy I’m writing as the love interest, so in my heart (and the back of my mind), I’m probably going to write them together…
I recently wrote a blog about a few things I learned while attending an event where a producer talked about the 5 elements of well-being in both life and writing (movies in particular). What she said was to “end your movie at the peak of audience satisfaction”. The truth of the story is “the relationship”. Which relationship is the most important? And how it’s portrayed is what gives us that satisfaction. Take Rocky for an example. In the end, he doesn’t win the fight, but does end in his woman’s arms. A movie for guys ends with a sort of bait and switch, where the accomplishment becomes secondary to the relationship, but you don’t know that until the end. What are considered “women’s movies” are all about the relationship. And it doesn’t have to be strictly the romantic relationship, but whichever relationship is the most important. We, as the audience, love to watch a character survive, to overcome great obstacles, but it is the moment after, between the hero and their loved one, that completes the story for us. Of course there are modern-day tragedies, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, that are about achieving the goal without the relationship, but it all depends on the story you’re trying to tell.
I’m no expert. I just think that as writers we should not force an ending to be something it’s not. Our characters are the way they are for a reason, and they’ll probably tell us what’s right for them – mine do anyway, most of the time, I just sometimes have cotton in my ears. As writers, we are the gods of our universe, and we are responsible and free to create the world the way we want it. So we should exercise that freedom. I suppose we shouldn’t worry about the audience when we’re writing, for that might skew the process, but you may want to be prepared for some angry fans if it doesn’t end well. Dexter…
I told you this was a rant, but thanks for letting me get it off my chest. I don’t really have a tip to solve this dilemma, except to say, do right by your characters…and may they live happily ever after.
Best of luck in your writing endeavors!
How Are Those Resolutions Coming?
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and I suddenly realized it’s going on almost 11 weeks since the New Year and all those resolutions (verbalized, or not), and I decided to reevaluate my “to do list”. I currently have 18 items on it, some of them have subcategories, some are on-going, but of the 18, I’ve been working through 14 of them. Not too shabby. Some days I flounder. Some days I struggle with my writing. Some days I feel like all I’ve done is run in circles, but at least I made the list to keep me focused. It’s like a tether that draws me back to reality. I bought a monthly wall calendar to keep track of goals and to visualize them. I created imaginary deadlines, and some more concrete…and yet I still feel like I could have made better progress. I’ve let too many days pass without doing a thing…at least on the writing front.
I feel like maybe I should cut myself a little slack, but then I think, I can’t slip back into old routines and bad habits. Maybe I need more (or better) structure. I applied for a six-month membership giveaway to a local writer’s space that would give me an “office”. I’m crossing my fingers. It’s too easy to be sidetracked at home. This is why I think I should have done more these past 11 weeks. I felt I was making progress on my first script, until I hit that historical snag. I switched gears, started working on something else, and then figured out how to solve the first problem. I started making progress on the other piece, then got the news that I could start writing for “real”. On an actual show. So I’ve had to switch gears again. I better write down all those thoughts.
So how are your resolutions coming? We’re three months in. What I’ve learned is that it doesn’t matter when you decide to change your outlook, just that you do. If you’re struggling to make your way, reach out and find the resources that will help you move forward. The New Year was a great jumping off point, but you don’t have to make those new year resolutions to make things happen for yourself. So what that it’s March?! If there are things you want to accomplish, each new day is your new opportunity. So in this vein, here are a few articles that I hope you’ll find helpful — 1. 50 Ways Writers Can Prepare For the New Year 2. 16 Ways to Get Motivated When You’re in a Slump 3. 6 of the Best Pieces of Advice From Successful Writers
Here’s to continuing progress! Best of luck everyone!
It’s Always All About “The Work”
So I (finally) decided to take my own advice and work on something else. One can only bang their head against the same wall for so long. In my last blog about rewriting madness, I mentioned how we, as writers, feel guilty when we leave our unfinished beloved behind. I think for my part, I was just so desperate to make it work, because I wanted it to be ready in time for submission season, that I lost the love. It was quickly becoming a burden, one that I wanted to relieve my self of, and move on. But how could I after all the effort I had put into it? All the time, the worry, the stress, could not be for nothing. It had to be completed. And until a few days ago, I couldn’t take my own advice, because of this desperation. I was so sure it was almost ready. I couldn’t deny myself the next important step of sending it out for consideration, but that is exactly what I have decided to do. On Monday night at my writer’s group I felt I had made some progress, by Tuesday I had shelved it.
I moved on to my fifth script, which is currently in its first draft. It was refreshing to see these other characters I had created, to visit their world, and remember why I had started this story to begin with. Ideas were coming easily and I was happy with the progress. Then it happened…I had an idea for the script I’ve been struggling with. Literally, only three days had passed. I wasn’t even writing when the light bulb flickered. I was listening in on a teleconference about selling to Hollywood. An hour or so in, I’m not even sure what was being discussed, it happened. I wrote it down quickly in case it tried to escape me. I had a new idea that could possibly change the whole story; tell it from someone else’s perspective. I can’t believe I hadn’t come up with this before. We have to know which relationship is the most important, who is the true lead character, and then it seems everything else will fall into place. Or so I’m theorizing (is that a even a word?) / speculating / hoping.
We have to be diligent, but also know when to take a break. Trying to force a story to work for our own vanity doesn’t do our story or characters any justice. I’m thrilled to know my advice evidently works, and maybe I should’ve listened to it earlier, then I wouldn’t have wasted so much time…So here I am at another crossroad, trying to decide whether to let this new idea simmer for a few days and continue on in the other story where I’ve found myself invigorated, or carry on and get the job done…If I am to ever be a professional, I’m guessing that completing the problematic one first might be my best option. I think I’ll touch base with my writer’s group, spitball, and see how I feel about it after. I’ll let you know if this works.
I came across this blog post by fellow writer, Myke Cole, and really enjoyed it, because it really is all about the work and our passion for it. Even when we feel beaten down, it is our passion that carries us forward.
Have a wonderful, passion-filled, productive weekend!
*image from Jeff Bullas’ site
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 