Herding Cats

Whenever I sit down to write a new project I always feel like I’m chasing ideas around the page. I employ every technique known to man to catch them: notecards, pocket notebook(s), writing journals, etc. The idea of preparing a story in a linear fashion is completely foreign to me.

Most of my story ideas evolve in a circle around an image rather than in a line from a premise. This is quite a hang up for someone who puts a lot of emphasis on story structure and plot.

I find it difficult to keep concentrated on one thought, even a good one, for any great length of time. Maybe this is a problem for a lot of writers, or perhaps it’s one of my mental deficiencies, or it could be that’s just what writing is: chasing ideas around the page between scrubbing the bathroom and scrubbing the dishes.

The notion of a piece of literature being created whole cloth is probably just a myth. Nonetheless, I become obsessed with stories of writers just banging out a story in a relatively short period of time, a la Kerouac or the Coen brothers. If they can do it…

I try to show up to the page everyday, but it’s frightening. I never know if I’ll be able to connect the dots, or if there will even be any dots. But, that’s why it’s so thrilling. When you have that flash and you see it all laid out, you know you can keep going.

Maybe that’s why I have foolishly abandoned outlining for this project. Writing without a net. I just start writing and see where it takes me. Sure, I make mistakes (every morning), and I have a hell of a lot of rewriting to do, but now I have a better idea of where I should go than if I tried to plan it out logically beforehand.

I’m putting my focus on the process, not the product.

What about you, gentle readers? How do you “break” a story? Or, does it just end up breaking you?

“You’re Writing What?”

This is the question that I anticpate when I tell people that I’m writing a comic book. “But you don’t draw.” Yeah, that’s because I’m a writer. The artist draws the pictures. Unless you’re Frank Miller. Then you can do both. Besides, someone has to come up with the words in those thought balloons.

But seriously. It’s kind of an experiment. I’ve been working on a script for about a year now, and I’ve worked up so much material for backstory that I thought it would work as its own comic book series. In the grand scheme of things, the movie would pick up the story where the comic book ends.

The problem is, I never really read comics as a kid, except Star Wars (but that was a whole other obsession). I just recently started reading comics and graphic novels, so there’s a bit of a learning curve. Now some of it is greasy kid stuff, but some of it is pretty sophisticated. I’m drawn to non-”superhero” type stories, like Sandman and Y: The Last Man, but I pick up an occasional Batman title every once in awhile.

You’d be surprised how many comics are written by TV and film writers. It seems to me, perhaps incorrectly, that Studios won’t even look at a big, sci-fi-type script these days if it doesn’t have some sort of comic or other “known property” associated with it. My hope is that I can generate a following for the comic that is a built-in audience for the film.

But, I’m thinking like a producer. The truth is, it’s just as hard, if not harder, to get a comic off the ground. But, there’s only one way to find out. Time to act like a writer and get it on the page. What do you guys think? Any suggested series?

If nothing else, maybe I’ll make it onto one of these lists someday: http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=uscc_part1

“Oh, and how do you know that I don’t draw?”

Newtonia Reborn

Like a phoenix risen from the ashes, Newtonia has returned. Did you miss us?

What happened in the last year? Well, life happened.

I graduated film school, got a new car, moved to LA, and got a new job. I’m just past the 6 month mark here in LA, and, I have to say, I feel right at home. My eyes are on the future, and I finally feel like I’m in a place in my life that I can start making a career instead of working a job (even though I’m doing a lot of the latter right now).

For all 5 of you that actually read my previous posts, I thank you for your support.

I’ve decided to refocus this page and get back to its original intent: to keep my friends and family up to date on my life in Los Angeles. So, gone are the pointless but snarky posts about baked goods (don’t ask). I think I’ll try the earnest, struggling writer bit for a while and see how that works out.

Most recently I began the Script Frenzy challenge. The goal: 100 pages in 30 days. I’ll try to keep everyone up-to-date on my trials and tribulations. It’s a personal goal, if nothing else. The collective peer pressure will keep my keys a-tappin’ when laziness tries to get the better of me.

I think we can make it.