So, let's recap what I've been doing this year.
Reading
I'm shooting for 24 books again this year. I'm just past the halfway mark.
Books Read:
- The first six books in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
- The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (free at Project Gutenberg)
- The Energy of Prayer by Thich Nhat Hanh
- Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh
- The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson
Movies
I watch a lot of movies. Case in point: I've seen seven out of the 11 movies currently showing at my local 20-screen theatre complex. And I've read the book version of one I haven't seen. According to my counts, I've seen 30 movies this year, and tonight it'll be 31 with a sneak preview of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull thanks to an invite from a friend. Don't worry; this tally isn't just new releases. It also includes movies I rent or catch on movie channels. As I twittered yesterday, there are advantages to being the lone movie freak in your circle of friends. So, if you're looking or a movie recommendation, you now know whom to ask.
What I saw last week:
- Iron Man (3 stars out of 5)
- Prince Caspian (3 stars)
- What Happens in Vegas (4 stars, which was a complete surprise)
- Capote (3 stars)
- Lars and the Real Girl (5 stars)
- The Golden Compass (a generous 3 stars)
Writing
I discovered the world of screenwriting in August of 2007. I wrote my first screenplay that month and spent the next couple of months editing it until NaNoWriMo hit. I managed to hit my personal goal of 60k in November, despite the fact that I realized about a quarter of the way in that my story really wanted to be a screenplay. We'll start the recap post-November.
December: first draft of "The Affair of Monsieur Valentine"
January: Rewrite of "Don't Forget," which was my first screenplay. Chopped out 30 pages.
February: Attempted adaptation of "Mute," which was my 2007 NaNo. Didn't plan as I should have, and thus puttered out around page 75. Will attempt again at a later date.
March: Subsequent drafts of "The Affair of Monsieur Valentine" culminating in registration with the WGA and submission to two screenwriting competitions (results due back mid- to late-summer).
April: ScriptFrenzy! I must admit, though I finished, I did struggle with the story I chose (working title: "Tea"). I never did figure out if I was just suffering from the crash after a writing/editing high with M. Valentine or if there was an issue with the story I couldn't pinpoint. Is currently simmering. I'll pick it back up for a read-through at a later date and decide where to go from there.
First week of May: Did a read-through of "Don't Forget." It's very obvious this was my first screenplay. I still like the characters, and I still like the overarching storyline. But it needs major help. So, it goes back to the sit and simmer pile until I'm up for sufficiently replotting it.
Current Project: Working title of my new screenplay is "Sounds of Silence," which I think is a little too on the nose for its final title. But it works for now. I've been taking this one slowly, which has helped me avoid the normal motivation pitfalls. Of course, I just broke into Act Two over the weekend, which is when things usually start to get murky for me. So we'll see. Here's the logline if you're interested.
After undergoing a life-changing experience at a zen retreat, the director of a very talented high school orchestra creates controversy and challenges minds when he insists on performing John Gage's "Four minutes, thirty-three seconds" at contest.And here's a wiki link if you're unfamiliar with "Four minutes, thirty-three seconds." The logline makes it sound all cheesy-inspirational (and thus probably needs some work), but I really imagine it filmed mockumentary-style à la Christopher Guest.
So that's what's been going on. I'll keep you posted on how I fare in the depths of Act Two this week.
