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I must have watched this movie a hundred times when I was a kid.

The trailer doesn’t hold up too well though.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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I finished a rewrite of “Served Cold” on Monday the 13th. I didn’t post anything about it because it was late, and I was tired. But I did update my ’2013 Goals’ page and marked that goal as complete with a date stamp.

Finishing the rewrite felt pretty good. “Served Cold”, now titled “Blowback”, is that one script of mine I never think I’ll be able to let go, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to really get into proper shape. That’s not to say that some day it won’t be “good,” but more that I’m not sure it’ll ever be “professional good,” if that makes any sense.

It’s sort of weird too. I mean, on the one hand this is a script that on at least three instances has helped me take a big step forward with my writing. And on the other hand I’m experienced enough to know there’s not quite enough there to help me make the leap professionally (if I really tried to do so), I’ll need a different script for that. But there’s a level of comfort, knowledge, and confidence in the script that I keep coming back to it to whenever I want to try something new.

I’m going to use an absolutely horrible analogy here that will make me seem like a pig… but I think it’s enough to get my point across. “Blowback” is kind of like that “friend” you know that you continue to hook up with for years. You’ll never marry him/her. They’re not really the long term commitment type. But you keep getting back in the sack with them to try out new things. There’s a comfort level with them where there’s no pretending. You both know what the relationship is, and what it’s not. And you’re both game to screw around with something a bit new to see how it feels or works out. And if doesn’t work, no harm, no foul, and it just stays between you two. That’s how I feel about “Blowback.” I know what it is and what it isn’t, and it’s comforting to know I can keep going back to try out new things and tinker around.

Now I move onto the next project. I’ve got 3 other goals for the year to go:

1. Finish a draft of my horror script “Last One Standing”
2. Finish a draft of my sci-fi project
3. Finish a draft of a brand new project
4. Rewrite “Served Cold” Completed 5/13/2013
5. Bonus Goal: Finish a new draft of “The Prey”

I’ve started to work on goal #3 with Adam. We’ll see where that goes. I started to tinker with goal #1 earlier this week. And goal #2 has been on the back burner for a bit, but I’ve still been thinking about it and jotting down notes.

I’m doing some traveling over the next few weeks, so I’ll be hard to make progress on goal #3 with Adam until I wrap that up. It makes sense that in mean time I concentrate on goals #1 and #2. As for the bonus goal, who knows if I’ll give that a go, but if I need to step away from my other projects it’s good to know I’ve got that one in the pocket.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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Eat it up, yum!

Keep writing,
-Steve

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For those keeping score at home, the good guys won tonight 12-7.

No goals or assists for me tonight.

Brussels is two weeks away.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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Keep writing,
-Steve

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For those keeping score at home, the good guys won tonight 8-5.

I managed the first goal of the game and three assists.

I should have had 2 or 3 more goals, but I either hit the post or the goalie’s face.

We also got the jerseys we’ll be wearing for the tournament in Europe… fire engine yellow it is.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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While I’m wrapping up my rewrite on “Blowback”, I’ve started on a side project with a friend of mind. This will be the first project I’ve worked on with a writing partner. I don’t know if this will lead to more down the road, but for now it’s been an interesting experience.

I’ve never met Adam in real life. He’s a friend of a friend who’s read some of my work and I’ve read some of his. We’ve been friendly over instant messenger for a few years and bounced story ideas off each other quite a bit.

Recently Adam tossed a high concept comedy idea my way to get some feedback. I thought it was a hilarious idea and worth exploring. We went back and forth for an hour or so on IM throwing out some ideas and a few possible story beats. Adam took it back to his normal writing partner who evidently wasn’t as high on the idea as I was.

A few weeks ago Adam asked if I’d be interested in possibly taking a stab at writing the script with him. I figured, what the hell.

It’s been an interesting process so far. I live north of Atlanta. Adam lives in LA. So, right off the bat we’ve got to deal with the 3 hour time difference. That’s been a significant, but certainly not insurmountable challenge. So far we’ve tried to meet each Sunday on Skype to brainstorm and beat out the story. We managed to get a pretty good handle on Act 1 this weekend.

I don’t know if we’ll be able to develop it into something worth writing. But it’s definitely been an interesting experience so far. The whole process feels like something that five years ago wouldn’t have been possible. But now, thanks to the internet, I can call up Adam, share my screen, and write on a document at the same time with someone a thousand miles away.

Writing with a partner is definitely different. I’m not used to having to justify my ideas and story beats with someone. On the flip side, I’m not used to having to do that to anyone else either. It’s sort of like learning how to share, there’s some give and take you need to get a handle on so everyone doesn’t get all pissy. It took a little while to sort of figure out the cadence of how Adam and I work. We’re not friends in the traditional sense, so we don’t have that sort of innate non-verbal comfort level a lot of long term fiends have. Toss in that we’re not doing this face to face, and you’ve got a whole extra layer of shit to deal with.

Though, it has been very rewarding to work through story problems with someone. You get INSTANT feedback. On more than one occasion one of us has said something in passing that triggers an idea in the other person. A simple comment turns into an completely developed story beat. I can certainly understand why some people prefer to work with writing partners.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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You knew this was going to be the trailer today before you even woke up this morning.

Fun fact: I was having an absolutely HORRIBLE day at work on Monday. Then I saw on Twitter this trailer had dropped. It was enough to get me through the day.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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For those keeping score at home, the good guys won tonight 20-4.

I managed two goals (2nd and final) and seven assists.

I also spent some time in playing goalie… it did not go well, but it was still fun.

Keep writing,
-Steve

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