Sometimes a working writer has only one project in the works. (Sometimes -- frighteningly -- NO projects are on the board...) Being in Single Project Mode is a rare luxury. You can work on one thing, in depth, until you get it right. You can do copious research, thoroughly immersing yourself in your project's nuances. When your work on that One Thing is done for the day, you can relax and do something non-writing related.
This, however, is not one of those times. So much has been happening lately that I felt a general update was warranted:
The Major Legacy Project for the USHJA is completed. A final edit of the galley proofs may come my way, but for all intents and purposes, the project is done. It's in the hands of the layout department now. ::sigh::
Ryan's book is nearly completed. All but two chapters have been drafted. The rest of the content should be compiled by the end of this month. Then, all that remains will be taking, editing, captioning, and slotting the photographs to illustrate the text.
I'm about half done with a book proposal for another project, based on the life of the subject for the biopic that my friend Paul and I have been working on this year. I love this aspect of my job: being able to talk with people who have made great contributions to some part of their world, and find a way to bring those accomplishments to the attention of a larger audience.
The biopic is in second-draft stage. We're in the midst of the re-write, punching up the characters, tightening up the scenes, and making sure the story beats make sense.
My friend, Sheila Gallien, script consultant to the stars, has finished page notes on one of my scripts. Her comments are flying across the Pacific as I type... With any luck, I'll have time to review them and assimilate them into the script, making it brilliant!!! enough to attract an agent / manager -- or at least a contest judge.
I'm gearing up to present a month-long Writer's Workshop to be held at the Coloma Library on Tuesdays in June. I love working with writers who are interested in improving their craft -- and especially love it when I don't have to travel and stay in a hotel to do so!
I've just signed a year's lease on a studio loft in Berrien Springs. Now, I'll finally have a place to work while Cassandra is in school. I'm also thinking of offering on-going writer's groups there, with specific targets -- one for non-fiction book writers, one for novelists, and one for screenwriters. Facilitating such groups would be a good way to force myself to produce more. Plus, it's always fun working with other similarly driven people.
School ends in three (count 'em -- three!) days, but the summer is rapidly booking up. With any luck, by the end of the summer, the screenplay will be done and pre-production will have begun on the movie, Ryan's book will be finished, and the book proposal for the Marathon Man will have sold.
Then, perhaps, I'll find the time to work on my Great Novel Idea. Right now, I'm just collecting notes (current count: 4 notebooks full and 8 books awaiting my research reading). Someday, however, that will be my One Project.
Not complaining. Never complaining. It is GOOD to have too much work. If I could only find an extra few hours in a day...
