Adjusted definition of lazy
So far today I’ve dusted some shelves, hung a picture, taken out my busted cable box, sketched out a couple more beats for this screenplay idea, had a half-hour workout and taken a twenty-minute walk. That’s after sleeping in late. And yet I persist in thinking of this as a lazy Saturday. I think, because [...]
Let my Cameron go
Did a little outlining of an idea last night, and then followed that up with two pages on that personal screenplay I add to from time to time. On the latter, I am ruthlessly enforcing a lack of my usual discipline; I write scenes without knowing in what order they will appear, and often without [...]
It is never done
Last night I started trimming the new script. I don’t really think of this as a polish, just the last clean-up phase of the first draft. Still, I might need to make a couple of cutting choices that I usually put off until the real first polish. I want this thing to clear under 120, [...]
Mark the day
Just for reference, for the next time I’m wondering how long it’s been since the last damned time I finished a screenplay… I finished a screenplay today. Phew. Wow. That was a long time coming. Even after I typed “FADE OUT”, I was still futzing with the last lines of dialogue, like I wasn’t sure [...]
Words Update
This new short story is threatening to become not-so-short. Judging by the short stories I have completed so far, I apparently like to hang in the 2-3,000-word range for a piece, but I’m past 2,000 words on this one and things haven’t even started getting strange; and they are supposed to get strange. I discovered [...]
Feeding data into the targeting computer
What I do with this Duotrope thing now depends entirely on my goals. Since it compiles statistics for both acceptance rates and response times, it would be relatively simple for me to blast my stories out to some on-line lit mags with a quick turnaround and near-non-existent standards, and thus bolster my publishing resume. More [...]
I have joined a cult
You know you have dizzyingly given yourself over to something or someone when you want to talk about it or them for an unusual portion of your time. And I am turning utterly into a lit. mag groupie. I don’t know if this is just a particularly-giddy phase of a brief fling – but considering [...]
Shameless, but well-earned, plug
Although I strive to do creative work, I tend to approach my goals regarding that work in an extremely methodical fashion. Sooner or later, some voice in my head will suggest: “You know what would help you break this down? A SPREADSHEET“. Oooh, yummy spreadsheets. Call it the whole-brained approach to the writing life. My [...]
Whatever tricks the words out
Last night I wrote on my notepad “YOU MUST WRITE TODAY. A LOT.” And I left it on top of my phone on my bedside table, so it would be the first thing I saw when I woke up today. Now I’ve written about 1,300 words of a new short story. I don’t know if [...]
Everyone needs reminding once in awhile
Tonight I was brainstorming new short story ideas, when suddenly I wrote on my legal pad in all-capital letters: “STOP LOOKING FOR A GIMMICK OR A ONE-LINER, TELL A GODDAMN STORY ALREADY”. Nice to know that will still come kicking out of my brain when needed. After I wrote that, a real idea emerged.