February 2015

It’s spring weather here in Vancouver. Time to get focused for the writing year.
I have put a lot on my plate, but for me this is the way to do things. I never really know what’s gonna turn out the very best, but if I concentrate on one project, sometimes that one goes nowhere. It’s better to have several ongoing. I think this also helps me to create excitement in my own head.

The novel needs to be done and rewritten. I’m now aiming for the end of the first draft, hard. Then I need to get to the rewriting.

I have one or two short stories I want to write, too. I currently have 4 stories out doing the rounds. There are markets I’d love to be published by – from On Spec in Canada to TOR.com and F&sf or Asimov’s – but I’m pleased to find a fair number of new markets. It’s been a really long time since I wrote short stories and I’m loving it at the moment. It gives me a real feeling of satisfaction to complete a story and email it out.

I’ve finished the Blake Snyder book ‘Save The Cat’. It’s intrigued me enough that one of my next possible projects is to follow his method along to see if it really can help me to write a big movie script. I liked the book and felt like I was learning, which is great.

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December musings

I’m starting the preparation for the big day – Christmas Day when I cook like I’m expecting a whole army but get only a small platoon.

What’s the ‘writer’ career up to during holidays? Especially vaca time away from busy corporate writing job?

So far, I’ve worked on changing a short story into a movie idea. It’s for a contest looking for dark SF, fantasy or horror shows. I normally don’t / can’t enter contests as they’re for people who haven’t sold yet or aren’t members of the WGC or WGA. But this one is a good excuse to adapt a story I have.

Also, I cook and see friends. No one does any real business this time of year in tv. Or film.

I’m also reading. I love books on writing. My newest acquisitions are kobo versions of Save The Cat by Blake Snyder and Max Adams updated version of one of my favorites The New Screenwriter’s Survival Guide.

Max Adams’ book is mostly for full-time movie writers but there are great tips for all of us.

I wish I’d re-read her chapters on agents before continuing with an agent who absolutely couldn’t sell me as a writer. Nice guy but not for me. I was too involved in trying to make a living and developing my day-job career as a tech writer to think about it.
To be fair, too I also didn’t generate the number of scripts needed per year to become a movie writer. The third time I turned down a gig from him, he dropped me which was expected, too. But the gigs weren’t totally ‘writing’ and not good enough to replace the day job.
Now I think I’ll be working on the prose and tv/film and only look for a new tv agent when I have a good portfolio built up.

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Ali Matheson photo gingerbread typewriter

 

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Christmas cactus blooming