What's New - Week of March 27, 2011

Here are updates for the week, as well as some comments and observations I wanted to share.

Activities

This was editing week, an exercise geared to reengaging me on trying to complete my first novel, Lens Flare. I have one other novel about 80% completed, but shelved that a few years ago (called The Other Brother, currently at 175,000 words), mainly because I knew it needs serious editing before I could feel comfortable penning the rest of the first draft. I wrote about 35,000 words of Lens Flare for NaNoWriMo a few years ago, but failed to meet the word count necessary by the end of November. From there, I put the manuscript to the side as ran into a plot challenge I couldn’t resolve. By editing what I have thus far, I reengage myself with the story and can reconnect with the plot points I’ve outlined, but have yet to draft into the manuscript.

Lens Flare is a novel of political intrigue, quite a departure from my screenwriting, which tends toward comedy almost exclusively. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but I will say that the theme is pretty timely in today’s climate in and around the Beltway - not to mention here in the Los Angeles area. In future blog posts, I’ll be sharing excerpts from the book to give a flavor of what’s to come. As for my timeline, I’d like to get the first draft completed by the end of the year. It will take me another three solid months of editing until I’m ready to engage an editor and a final polish will follow after that. How I plan to publish remains to be seen ... I’m tending toward self-publishing on for the Kindle right now, but it depends on whether I get interest from any publishers before I decide.

When a Title Defines the Storyline

Last week, one of my online friends expressed amusement over the title of one of my screenplays in draft called Skeeter Huggins, Rodeo Clown. Believe it or not, I came up with this title completely out of the blue several years ago (long before Paul Blart, Mall Cop hit the big screen). I don’t know where that title came from ... none of my notes from back then indicated what inspired me. Those same notes indicated some ideas for the plot, none of which survived the current storyline.

I’ve written many loglines for this script, but here’s the current one:

Tired of failing at everything, a former high school football star becomes a rodeo clown in order to win prize money and the respect of his estranged family.

Naturally, it’s a comedy and in my mind’s eye, it’s a great vehicle for Will Ferrell.

I have the entire scene breakdown written down, so the draft is progressing nicely. I hope to have a finished product by the end of August this year.

Tools of the Trade

Factoid #1: I use a Mac to write. Up until a couple of years ago, I was a PC-only kind of guy, but my wife needed a replacement Mac when hers crashed, so I decided to get a Macbook Pro when she got hers. Converted! However, I still use my PC for many other things.

Factoid #2: My favorite programs for writing are Evernotes (for capturing ideas on the go); Scrivener (for organizing and outlining everything I write); and Final Draft 8 (for the actual screenwriting itself).

Next Time

In my next blog, I’ll discuss one or two of my others works-in-progress; I’ll share my outlining technique, including a bit on mind-mapping; and I’ll reveal the real reason why I never finished The Other Brother.

Until then, have a great week!

Michael