Soooo Much

Here I am with my writing….

(Before I start, I want to make it clear that I want to be a screenwriter)

I have two complete screenplays that I want to do rewrites on as well as another one I have started. Rewriting screenplays isn’t about correcting errors and rewriting action lines and dialogue. It is so much more than that (an upcoming blog on the rewriting process is coming). I have a novel I’m writing and I know how the story is going to go. It just means writing it. I have another story that I want to continue to work on as well, which I want to self publish. After writing a short story that I placed on this blog (“Recycling and Lying“), I ended up writing two other short stories that ties into the original (I also decided to write one more). I want to self publish these stories as well. In addition to all of this, I started a stage play that is based on a short story I wrote a couple years ago. Once again it just means doing it because the story is there. It just means I have to work on the dialogue since stage plays are almost all dialogue. (I think I’m missing one more project, I just can’t think of it right now.)

Additional factors that goes into my writing, or not writing (no particular order):

1. A full time job that puts food on my table and electricity powering this lap top. This takes up to 40 to 50 hours of my week.

2. An important part of being a screenwriter is research. Research, other than reading articles on screenwriting, is watching as many movies and reading as many screenplays that you can get your hands on. I have all the movie channels on satellite. There are always movies to watch, not to mention such high quality TV shows on the tube now-a-days. (Let me mention these quality shows. Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Nurse Jackie, Weeds, Californication, Brothers and Sisters, United States of Tera, Rescue Me, Entourage, Saving Grace, Raising the Bar) If you don’t like these shows, something’s wrong with you.

One final note… Damn those webisodes and YouTube.

3. One way to break into the writing business is to write spec scripts for TV shows. There are some TV shows like House, Breaking Bad, and Rescue Me, that I believe I know enough knowledge about the characters after watching almost all of the shows (more time spent watching TV) that makes me believe I can write an episode or two. In addition to that, I have an idea for a TV show spec that I started as well.

4. Extra curricular activities. I just got high speed internet in my place. I have used it for research for the stories I’m writing, but there is so much out there that I could spend hours upon hours searching the web (writing web sites, of course). This also means I can play games on line with my XBOX 360. (Talk about wasted hours).

I have about 3 months before the NBA season starts. I only missed three or four Blazer games on TV last year and I don’t see myself missing more than that this up coming year. (there are 82 games, not including the playoffs. That means about 10 hours a week watching basketball until, hopefully, June.)

5. Books. I have fell in love with books again. I’m reading about one book a week and I have two books I can’t wait to start. I can’t put away books written by Joe Meno and Arthur Nersesian - man are they good. They have influenced me so much. Also, since my novel is highly influenced by Elmore Leonard, I am also trying to re-read as many of his novels as possible.

The question is, what do I do? I think I know the answer because I want to be a screenwriter. But... do I? I can’t stop writing short and longer stories (a.k.a novels/novellas). I think I love writing in long hand just as much as I love writing screenplays.

I guess the good part of all of this is that I am writing. I don’t have a lack of ideas and I still enjoy doing it. Words keep landing on the page and there are so many characters out there.

Oh Yeah! A writer can never stop learning about the art of “story”. I could, and I guess should, spend as much time that I spend on doing 4 through 5 above on learning as much as I can on the subject. The one thing I am not, and probably never will be, is a story teller (this could be my ultimate demise). Writers will know what I mean by that.

I should probably stop writing this blog and go back to working on my writing.

Shit! The Mariners are playing the Yankees on TV right now. Did I mention I love watching Baseball? Gotta go.