I had a parent-teacher conference with Cassandra's kindergarden teacher yesterday. The teacher enjoys writing and has been in a library-based writer's group for some time. She was interested what I wrote, asked intelligent questions, and was generally curious as to how someone could make a living with words. (A subject I have been known to wonder about myself, from time to time.)
While it's true that I love what I do -- putting words together in interesting new ways, helping people connect with a larger audience, and trying to get the movies in my head on paper and (ultimately) on screen -- I have to admit that one of the major perks of my profession is the fact that I don't have to dress up to do it. If the muse strikes, I can work all day without even getting out of bed.
A friend of mine has a 6 year old granddaughter who already understands such fringe benefits. For Halloween at school this year, all she wanted for her costume was a pair of pajamas. She's going as a writer. Smart girl!
Today I'm working on drafting the next few sections of Ryan's book. I have some transcription work to do of content that he has dictated. Then I need to sequence it and polish it. He's quite articulate, so the process generally goes quite smoothly.
Later this afternoon, I have a conference call with a director friend who I'm working with to develop an independent bio-pic. We've been wrestling lately with the best way of taking a very compelling true life story and forming it into a workable screenplay. Depending upon the angles we decide to focus on, the story could be a sports drama, an underdog story, a tragedy, a comedy, a coming-of-age piece, a character study, or fit into any one of several other genres.
The process of determining the "angle" has been quite lively at times, as we both tend to be quite opinionated, and we both have certain scenes that we'd like to highlight in the main character's life journey. How to sequence those scenes, and what weight to give them in the overall story has been a challenge. I have a sequencing plan / story line that I'm currently championing. It remains to be seen whether or not I've done a good enough job of convincing him that it's the right choice.
Once we have a handle on the overall story line, writing the screenplay (my favorite part -- and his most dreaded) can begin.
Still no word from the producer who has "Shutters." Not certain whether that's good or bad news at this point. But I don't have time to sit around worrying about it.
Now it's time poof my pillow and get back to work...
