In February, I released the first edition of In the Wake of Newton, a novelette from the larger novel series Garage Sale. Since then I have hit the reset button on my writing, something I haven't had a chance to do since 2015. In late 2015, my plan was to write and release four novel series. Two of those novel series are anthology screenplays, while the other two are stories that I have been sitting on for years.
A lot has happened since 2015, and since releasing ITWON earlier this year I have altered that four story plan. One of those stories is no longer a priority. The plan in 2015 was to rewrite one screenplay into a novel series and then start on one of the new stories. After those two were completed I intended to start on the second group and again rewrite the next screenplay into novel series and then the final new story.
Why did I decide to change the plan?
There are two reasons. The first, is time. I just don't have the time I once had. Eliminating one of the "from scratch" stories made the most sense, because they take more time than rewriting an anthology screenplay into a novel series.
The second reason, is screenwriting. I want to get screenwriting back into my writing routine. Ever since the 2009 Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles, I have distanced myself from screenwriting to focus on my literary work. Self-publishing was booming at the time and the change made sense. Since then Atlanta has become Hollywood South, and the self-publishing market has become so saturated and fewer and fewer people read an entire book with any regularity.
The screenwriting market has changed dramatically since 2009. Where once I wrote for film, now the market is geared more for TV and online material. Since 2009, I have written numerous screenplays and a few of them were geared towards the changing market. Patterns change in all fields.
Another part of my pressing the reset button since February has been about research. My main research has involved going over my notes. There were nearly three years of notes that had to be sorted through. This is one of the most important parts of my writing process, condensing ideas through a kind of filtration process.
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| Writing Filtration System |
First thing to be filtered are my "Walking Notebooks." A majority of my best ideas occur to me when I am out for a walk. The next source of information to be sifted through are my daily journals. In my journal I elaborate on ideas, characters, scenarios, and research. You'll see one large spiral notebook in the picture to your left. I used to use these spiral notebooks for specific stories (another form of filtration), something I probably need to revisit.
The Black Book is the next filter for ideas. Only if an idea has enough merit does it make it into a Black Book. Story ideas are vetted for worthiness while all else is left behind.
The final stage of filtration is the Black Book List. The Black Book List contains the best of the best ideas, and what makes it onto the Black Book List are ideas that are meant to be implemented at some point into a story in some way or another. When working on these lists all else takes a back seat because there is so much information in all of these notebooks that can be critical to current, past, and future stories. All other writing work takes a back seat when I do this work.
For the rest of the year, my goals are to continue work on the three novel series, work on rekindling my screenwriting interest, and also to work on the rewrite and release of House Fly.
House Fly is a story that was inspired by one of the screenplays that I am rewriting into a novel series. You may have heard me mention it before. I have yet to decide if I will include House Fly in the novel series or just let it stand on its own. As of right now, I am leaning towards not including it in the novel series and having House Fly stand alone. Having it as an appetizer for the series that will follow.
That about catches you up. If you have any questions, please respond below or holler at me on twitter. https://twitter.com/aaronpitters
