Making the new year count

We're off to a good start for 2012. And let's face it, we've got to make it count with the advent of the whole Mayan calendar - zombie apocalypse on the horizon.

Speaking of the zombie apocalypse, I just received word that my zombie short - Body and Blood was a first round finalist in the 2011 Table Read My Screenplay Competition.  This is the second time I've done well when entering this competition... I like this competition.

But what I really should be focusing on is the necessity to broaden our horizons. For years, I stuck to my guns and focused solely on features, and predominantly on horror features. It's my niche, and it's where I'm comfortable, and let's face it, Body and Blood is a horror story. But it's not a feature. And if my friend Jay Costelo hadn't put faith in me and convinced me to try and write a few shorts, I probably wouldn't have written this.. So thanks, Jay!

And if my friend Jeff Brown, a writer who I believe has a promising future, hadn't convinced me that Supernatural was a show I needed to watch, I wouldn't have tried my hand at writing a couple of TV specs. So thanks, Jeff for inspiring me to broaden my horizons.

And while we're at it, thanks needs to be sent out to other writing friends of mine - Judith Watson, George Lee and Sharon White who, as a group, participated in a writing exercise with me that inspired me to write Turf War, an animated feature with no horror whatsoever in its content. I still think it's better than Gnomeo and Juliet. Turf War was a top 100 Table Read finalist last year.

One last thank you, to Greg Goyins - another writer, director, producer and a man with many hats - who has inspired me to tackle another short.  I'm working on it, Greg. I'm working on it.

Thanks to all of you, and to anyone in my life who may not be mentioned here, for helping me broaden my horizons and see the potential of the future. Have a good 2012!

Writing is... well, it's writing

Hello everyone, and Happy Holidays. I hope the end of 2011 brings good memories of a well lived year. Mine was okay. I accomplished a few writing goals - an option, a few accolades from screenwriting festivals, and most recently the completion of a TV spec for the show Supernatural.

Will the script ever make it to the screen? Probably not. That's not the way TV spec writing works. Would it make a good episode? Well, I'm biased. But that's not the point. The point is that I wrote it after years of swearing to myself that I would never write something for TV.

Why, you ask, would I limit myself? Good question. Part of it most likely has to do with the desire to procrastinate instead of grapple with a challenge. I always believed the writing for TV would be hard. Too many fans hope their scripts will make the cut. Shows already have their writers, so staff is extra critical when they read your spec - IF they read your spec. Chances are they won't. If you're lucky to get someone to read it, it's for a show other than the show you wrote the spec for because, like I said - that's just the way the TV industry works. The rules for writing TV are a little bit odd.

But I'm proud of myself because I did it anyway. I wrote a Supernatural spec, and I think I did well. And now I feel excited at trying my hand at another. Maybe a comedy. Maybe another supernatural themed show. The point is that I was inspired to write it, and I followed through. And now I have another script to showcase my talent. Or at least I have another script to showcase my learning curve. It felt good to do it and to complete it in spite of the odds of it ever getting made. It felt good to overcome writer's procrastination.

Hopefully, the new year will see me continue to overcome writer's procrastination. I wish the same success to all my friends and family in their 2012 endeavors as well. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all!

The Aftereffects of September

Well September has come and gone, and I am in the midst of wondering where to start now that I have the success of an option under my belt. The script that has been optioned (I can officially break the news now) is A Good Soul. I'm very happy to be optioned and look forward to one day seeing it hit theaters.


Shriekfest has come and gone, and although I didn't make it past finalist with my short script Pwned, I am again happy to have made it that far. I was able to catch some of the films that screened on the last day of the festival, and I had a great time. A big thank you goes out to festival founder and coordinator Denise Gossett, who continues to open doors even after the festival is over.


Thanks to everyone who made the month of September full of promise, and here's to continued promise in the coming months and new year.

Slowly, But Surreality Part 3

It's a bit of an agonizing wait when updates keep dribbling in over the course of weeks, even days. That's what I've been going through over the entire summer!


But this is a good thing, because those updates continue to foster progress on several fronts.


My short Pwned has progressed to finalist status at Shriekfest. Check out their website for tickets and event passes for the festival. There are some great horror indie features and shorts in the lineup.  Save the date for some horrific fun - September 30th through October 2nd.


Surreality is moving along, still slowly but surely. I'm still looking forward to the next phase of development.


Finally, option/sales negotiations for that unnamed feature of mine is close to being complete. I'm looking forward to seeing it happen - and to getting the pic made!


That's it for now. Keep writing!

Slowly, But Surreality Part 2

Good news! I have just been given word that my short script entry Pwned  has made it to the semi-final round of Shriekfest. 

That, plus the progress of the web series Surreality, and the potential option of one of my features is making the month of August one of the best months ever.

Again, Surreality will have Special Effects artist Gage Hubbard, from season 1 of the Syfy series Face-Off, on board to do some cool horror makeup. I'm still excited to see this series get off the ground, and I'll post dates when I know more.

Shriekfest is "LA's most successful and entertaining horror film festival," according to the LA Weekly. My fingers are crossed that Pwned will make it to another round.

Keep keeping your fingers crossed too, and keep writing!