Marking Progress from 2025
What I've written in the past year, my success board
Happy Friday, friends.
Not gonna lie to you, I know national events in the news are, well, challenging for nearly everyone. But to echo the great writer Dan Savage, “it gets better.”
I believe that, as a creature of change myself, and change is inevitable, friends.
I’ll have more to say on that in the coming weeks, but please know what we are witnessing is unsustainable, which we know from history. Be kind, be there for your friends, family, and for those who cannot stand up for themselves, stand up.
And celebrate your wins whenever you can. Speaking of such, I will share my COMPLETE AND FINISHED STUFF BOARD information for you.
This is the whiteboard I use to mark when I have finished written work. It cheers me on Jan 1 to take this view in, as that often at the first of the year, one feels like they haven’t accomplished much, you can look at your list. This is mine.
GOOD CITIZEN is a new spec screenplay. This project actually took up most of last year, as it was intense, but in the end, I believe the work paid off.
GOD MODE is a short story/novella, complete at 15k words. I’m pretty proud of it.
GHOST, ALMOST THERE, ROOMIE, TALL, SCREAM, THE NOTE HE LEFT US, THIS IS WHY, are short stories.
THE HARD MEN, RUNNING ON FUMES, STAY AT HOME MOMS, WELFARE CHECK, BLIGHT (not pictured), THE WING MAN (not pictured), WIRED (not pictured), COMBAT READY (not pictured), PROPER CRIMINALS (not pictured), BANKSTAS (not pictured), are feature film pitches. I ran out of space on the board.
Feature film pitches are actually quite a bit of work, FWIW. They can range from one page (common) to many pages, depending on how much work is required from those asking for the pitch. I like to do a one-page and then a couple more pages to break the story down, but make no mistake, it is work.
Why am I not writing these as features? Well, I already have two or three completed scripts, and we’re getting our ducks in order before we send any out.
Plus, I am writing much more fiction than usual. Rather than write GOD-MODE as a spec feature screenplay, I decided to write it as a piece of fiction first. There are a few reasons for this.
1 - I can deliver better on tone and intention with fiction, getting inside my hero’s head, writing out from there. Fiction can be very personal. And while I happen to really enjoy the screenplay format, many people struggle reading it, but don’t struggle when it’s prose. And once I write it, if need be, I can adapt it into a screenplay very simply. All the story beats are there.
2 - I can submit it (and have) to literary magazines. It has many platforms where it can be discovered. Another possible source of income.
3 - I now own the intellectual property rights to this story. When you write a spec screenplay in this country (The United States), you don’t own the copyright to it, as per our union agreement (something I do not agree with, btw), and ergo, you don’t technically own the IP to it. It’s considered work-for-hire, even though no one has hired you. There are prominent professional writers who claim this legal fiction is better for all of us, but I am still not convinced, myself (it’s not this way in Europe), so my approach is to write it out as a story, submit it to magazines, and this way I own it.
I know, it’s complicated and a tad weird. But that’s America for you.
I’m working on a new novel, which will be my main project this year, as well as continuing my search for a lit agent for my fiction. Truth be told, I am enjoying fiction very much, which shouldn’t surprise me, as I’ve been a book junkie most of my life and love reading. I mean, for real, honestly. It gives me such a kick.
Tomorrow is a mild milestone for me, in a couple of ways, so I may be quiet for a bit, but I promise you I shall return. Stay safe out there, friends.
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