Development

It'll be a short one today, hopefully. Gotta get back into writing!

How do you handle the unexpected?

So there have been some new developments in my life that have caused me to slack somewhat on my screenplay. Among those was my transition out of my previous job straight into my new one, which I started Thursday morning. This whole job process has been somewhat occupying my time, what with getting everything set and ready. But it would be unfair and, frankly, untrue to blame it solely - or even largely - on the new job acquisition.

Mainly? There are two things.

• In my script, I've been somewhat stuck. Not quite sure what should happen next, and how. My desire to keep action, dialog, and business fluid, realistic, and honest has prevented me from thinking of a solution to this scene I'm on. Usually that means a rewrite is in order, but I'm hoping an idea will come to me first. Rewrites can always happen the next time through the script. This is first draft, after all. My biggest concern with this is it's not good to be stuck when the STORY of the screenplay is already planned out. It should come more easily.
• Second, let's be honest here. I haven't been writing because a good portion of my time has been reading comics. I know, I know: those won't do me any good, they won't push me any further toward my goals, and they don't provide applicable substance to my exercises. I've heard it all before, trust me. But, lately, I've been really getting into this one writer at DC Comics who wrote both the last Green Arrow run (#s 1-12) and Teen Titans (#s 88-100). So I read all of his issues back-to-back to really see the full story of these books. And, from the viewpoint of someone who writes, these books are brilliant. I so thoroughly enjoyed them.

So those are finished now, and I won't be devoting quite as much time to those comics as I just did for the past week or so. I'll still continue to read comics, but more moderately and in a controlled fashion. Not as an excuse to fill time.

I should have more time to devote to writing now, and that excites me (which is good, for me, to be excited returning to an idea). I'm also considering using my days off to look into taking one or two writing courses at the local community college...see how I'd benefit. Back to the screenplay now!

What sorts of distractions normally, frequently get in your way? What does it take to realize you're putting things off and to get yourself back on track? Do you allot time from your daily schedule to devote to writing, no matter what?

Goals

I just read a blog post from David Walker over here, where he talked about the benefits of writing without any solid, specific goals in mind and the benefits of writing with a specific goal in mind. It was very thought-provoking, I felt. So I had to ask myself,

What are my goals?

I've outlined these before in previous posts, about how I wish to write simply to write and be happy with writing, but will that be enough for me? I've always been insatiable. I've always had HUGE plans for my projects. I've always dreamed of seeing my ideas made into movies up on the big screen, in a theater full of happy movie-goers. I've always fantasized about standing up on that stage at the Kodak Theater, accepting an Academy Award for Best Screenplay. So...with my new frame of mind, will I revert back to those primal desires?

To be honest, sometimes I get a little scared thinking about how the hunger for fame could come back to eat at me. I just dig the lifestyle...jet-setting across the country for various premieres or signings, press junkets and whatnot; and the fact that there are people out there who may come to like your work so much that they set out to find anything you've done and soak it up.

I like that there could be someone out there who will hunt down any project I've ever made, just for the chance that they like it as much as anything else I've done. I do that with certain people. I like that there could be someone who will travel across two states just to get a signature or a picture with me. I guess part of that is a self-centered type attitude, but I also think it's just the desire to be noticed.

I've talked about how I changed my attitude toward writing. I never really outlined WHY I continued to fail in my projects before. I believe a large part of it was due to my parents divorcing when I was very young. Being an only child, it was just my mom and I for some time. That's where a lot of my imagination came from, I think. But in conjunction, I think that's where this hunger was born. My NEED to be noticed, loved, and famous. To make a name for myself. A name that everyone will know.

I love writing. I love creating characters, worlds, scenarios. I used to do it all the time as a child. I still do it now. It's so important to me to flex my mind and create. I love piecing together a particularly difficult sentence (I actually rearranged that last one). I love the satisfaction that comes with loving your work. I love going back and re-reading old stories I've created and cherished in the past. I love watching other people read my work, seeing their expressions. I love hearing their opinions about it - good or bad.

I know I'm not the best at it...so I suppose one goal I have would be to improve my skills. And that's why I write now. I no longer write to get rich and famous. That is not my singular purpose. That's why I've changed what I used to call "writing projects" to "exercises"...because they are meant to improve my skill. They're not "work".

So my main goal here is just what David Walker outlined in his blog post: to write these stories and then just put them away, satisfied with the final product. Now I'm not literally going to file them away and not do anything else with them. I will try to shop them around and see if any companies want to buy them or work with me. Because, while I do like writing for the sake of writing, I do want to try and make a living out of it someday. I'm not going to drop everything, though, and focus just on writing. I'm the type of guy who likes to eat and live under a roof...so I must pay the bills. So I have a 9-to-5. And I'm okay with that. So is my wife.

So my goals? They seem pretty vague, am I right? Write...and try to submit my work? More specifically, I guess, I want to come up with ideas, flesh them out, and create a full story. I want to do this enough times that it becomes easy...that the process of molding an idea into a story becomes second nature. To be able to build a story mentally a lot easier than before. I basically want to be a better writer.

That's goal number one. Long-term, for sure.

Another goal is to complete the ideas I already have. That's seven in total. I'm well into exercise number one, the "My Missing Brother" exercise - and on Saturday, I started making notes on my fifth exercise, the one involving the lives of my friends and I. I'm really excited about this one, and may even bump it up to my third exercise. :)

That's goal number two. That will take up a LOT of time, I'm positive.

Finally, I want to see what becomes of these. I won't be upset if nobody picks them up. I won't be crushed if I never achieve that level of fame that I used to fantasize about (and, admittedly, still do sometimes). I won't wonder why I don't have fans following me on Twitter or finding me for autographs or whatever. I'll be happy simply with the fact that I finished. But I do want to try. Because you never know. I could, one day, be living my dream as a full-time screenwriter - with more work than I know what to do with.

That's goal number three. That...yikes...will probably take the longest of the three.

But - I have goals.

Since I'm not writing TO BE successful, I won't be pushing too hard at some of those goals. I definitely want to finish the ideas I have currently, and I do want to improve as a writer. But that 9-to-5 is going to stand in my way, though as a partner, while I do that.

Do you struggle with goals? How many do you have set? Do you have someone to help keep your nose to the grindstone? Are your goals much different from mine, or do you weigh them differently? Let me know!

Thanks for reading.

Opinions

I want to take a second to thank everyone who has been coming to my blog to check out the unimportant things I have to say. : )

Who Do You Trust?

Do you value the opinions of others when it comes to your work? Who do you turn to first, when seeking feedback on the latest sentence you've written? How do you know they're telling you the truth?

I'm only just now getting really into the "writing community" that can be found online. People's blogs and Twitter ([at]chambernaut) and whatnot. Real strangers, if you'll excuse the term. I have to admit...trust is an issue with me. It always has been, even with people I've known for some time. When it comes to my writing, my ideas, and all that, I am so scared that something will happen...and someone will take it and make it their own before I have the chance. I cherish my ideas. These are my babies. Hell, I have a hard time coming to terms with the fact that - if any of my screenplays are ever bought - they're likely to be given to someone in the studios to rewrite...and the thing that's created is not my original idea.

But that's the reality of Hollywood and screenwriting. I have to cope with that.

To be honest, that's partially why the two scenes I posted previously are not crucial to the plot. I'm afraid that someone would steal it. Now, the people I've met so far through these blogs have been very nice and open and are gaining my trust in these facets. But I'm just still not comfortable.

So here's the dilemma: Who do I get to read and critique my work?


Now I've heard this before from multiple sources - and even said it myself in a previous post - that you shouldn't seek the approval or opinions of those close to you. Those who intimately know you. I'm talking about family, friends - those types. They're too fond of YOU to really be comfortable giving an honest, and sometimes-necessarily brutal opinion. They can't be trusted. (There are exceptions, of course, to any case)

In order to obtain truly UNBIASED opinions, you must seek out those who do not know you - and preferably have not read your work before. This was why I was so excited when I met the other writer through a mutual friend and we were able to exchange pieces to critique. He provided what I needed: someone who won't tell me what he thinks I want to hear.

That's the problem. I respect the opinions of my friends, and my wife, and my family. But sometimes - and I have to be honest here otherwise this blog means nothing - there are times when I feel like their opinions about my writing are misplaced or uneducated. Because they DON'T spend their time writing like I do. They DON'T read about and study the craft. They DON'T have experience putting together a story. So they don't always understand my reasoning for doing certain things, putting certain pieces in place. In fact, my wife understands this and prefers I DON'T ask her opinion. Haha.

So it's hard, for me, because I know that I cannot always rely on those close by to give me the feedback I need, and make it usable. Yet I have trust issues with "strangers" when it comes to giving out my work for critique. Am I doomed?

What do you do? Do you have a specified, experienced editor? If so, how did you find them and were they already close friends/acquaintances? Do you also have trust issues? How do you overcome them? How do ensure that you're as protected as possible by the copyright laws? What are your copyright methods? Do you find yourself often frustrated with sub-par critique from those who don't write?

Obstacles

I'm going to do my best to keep this from turning into yet another of my fun "pity party" posts.

Do you stand in your way?

After a week of not making as substantial progress as I have been, and so consistently, I've decided to take a look at what kept me from sitting down and doing it. I know, in the past, what these things have been. But with my brand-new outlook on writing, and what that means to me, I'm curious as to what my new challenges are.

Before, I can confidently say that I was as my worst enemy. I didn't understand my inner demons. I hadn't figured out what kind of person I was and how writing fit into my life. I actually had it backwards, thinking the writing was in control and that it defined me. Now I know better. And since then, I've been utterly bathing in happiness and "success" with my current writing exercise (again, "exercise" refers to the project I'm developing, but in a less "worky" way). I was constantly writing, constantly putting word to page and making the story grow.

For the past week, I've written maybe a few sentences and some dialog. Not nearly as lively as before.

But why is that? I don't believe I have the same obstacles as I had before my revelation, so what's new? I know how the story needs to go...so it's not necessarily full-on writer's block. I mean, I have been thinking about different avenues the sequence of scenes can go right now, but it shouldn't be a show-stopping number here. To be honest, I really haven't felt like writing.

I'm fighting a creeping fear here that this is the non-commitment problem that I saw in myself before. I don't want to believe in my doubts. I want to shove through them with confidence.

Most interestingly, I read a blog post from Julie Lindsey during this past week, and it was about vacationing from writing. She stated that, sometimes, her days are just dedicated to other things - like social media or research. I related to that, and mentioned how it IS okay to delve into certain "obsessions" (her word) and deviate from the actual exercise.

So is that what I've been doing? Just enjoying a little time off? Even the most exciting, favorite activities require a short break...so that you can appreciate the time you spend within those activities. I'm going to chalk this last week up to one of those short breaks.

What distracts you the easiest? What is your writing kryptonite? How long do you usually spend on these obstacles? Is laziness a big factor for you? What do you do to beat the distractions?

Connected

I cannot believe the social networking success I've had in the past few days. This has been something of a shocking week for me.

How do you stay connected?

I try to pimp out my blog and get more readers - even though I know what I have to say isn't all that interesting to other people (or so it would seem) - and I have used the social networks to do that. I'm on Facebook, and I use Twitter (@chambernaut). I also try to network with other blogs on Blogger, following them and posting links to them on my blog to let other people get to them - because I like those blogs! They're neat!

Recently I found a blog, www.jamigold.com, run by paranormal author Jami Gold. She has some really great posts, talking about writing and building strong characters and other really great information. I have to admit, I was recently attracted to her blog because of my geekiness - she posted about the flaws concerning the recent Green Lantern movie. This post went viral and, apparently, got her blog LOTS of attention. Well, I started following her and reading her blog posts, even going so far as to get involved and comment. In one of my comments, I provided a link to a HubPages.com article I wrote a while back about beating writer's block.

Looks like Jami liked that article because she then tweeted that article with a mention of my Twitter name.

That was yesterday. In the last two days my Twitter following has jumped up by about 20. Unbelievable! This Jami's got some pull! :D Well, as I received more followers on Twitter - who are writers as well - I started checking out their own blogs and linking to them here on my blog (see the right-hand side for that list of recommended blogs). I really believe in networking and showcasing other talent where it's deserved. And trust me - these other blogs deserve recognition, most definitely more than mine! ...Just...don't stop coming here too.

Anyway, I cannot believe how networked I am becoming...it's such a treat. I'm really having fun reading these other blogs and learning from other people. I do hope this trend continues. I want to be more noticed, I suppose, and have those interactions that help me grow as a creator - and hopefully I can help others grow as well! That's the teacher/helper part of me! A super-huge thank you to Jami Gold and to all of my new Twitter followers!

One last thing. I want to just mention how proud of myself I am. It used to be I would post on this blog once every couple of weeks or so. Look at the numbers over on the other months in the archive to the right there. Pretty pathetic, huh? The only month with as many posts is May (6)...and that's throughout the whole month. Now, I am so happy to be able to say that August is only HALF over and I already have SEVEN posts! Talk about destroying my old bad habits and perpetual giving up on things. That's done. I am so happy to blog now and just really get my thoughts out. It's so therapeutic.

What have you found to be the key to your success in committing to something that threatens to be time-consuming? Or key to completing your writing projects? How often do you find you're more willing to write, as opposed to when you feel like you're forcing yourself?

Thanks for reading!