Michaelmas

What started out as an experiment turned into a bit of a nightmare. My hope was to update and re-release In the Wake of Newton as a Kindle Vella. It seemed pretty straightforward after releasing several books on Amazon. 

However, having already released the book on a limited release basis four years ago meant that I could not release it as a Kindle Vella. No matter how many times I tried to force it through. I even tried changing the title to no avail. 

The one positive out of my first endeavor with Kindle Vella is that I like the new title Michaelmas. So I have kept the title and released the story as an ebook.

When I first sat down to write this tale it was part of a writing course through Writer's Digest back in 2010. The instructor asked us to come up with a story based on a holiday. I was in a very English mood back then and settled on Michaelmas because of its similarity to Thanksgiving. 

Years later, when I was rewriting Garage Sale I wanted to come up with an origin story for all the madness in that omnibus of horror. Sir Isaac Newton was the perfect character out of history to focus on. He was not only a brilliant mathematician and scientist, but he was also a secret alchemist.

Back then, he had to keep this information under wraps because the Church of England considered the practice heretical in the vein of witchcraft. To have that information come out would have jeopardized his career. 

He lived at the perfect time for my purposes. It was the end of the time of superstition and the beginning of the Age of Reason. What better time to place the origin of all the mysterious objects we find at the Garage Sale. 

Michaelmas was and still is for some the celebration of the change of seasons. Goose Day as it was called by some. A holiday not unlike Thanksgiving in the states in some regards.

The day was meant to honor the Archangels who cast Lucifer out of heaven and into a bramble of blackberries. Not only was it a day of celebration but also a day when taxes were due. So it was not a day of celebration for some.  

The story is set after Newton had passed away. I debated whether to have Newton in the story but felt it added more mystery to have him recently deceased with the other characters discovering what he had been up to with his practice of Alchemy. Something that was still considered heretical at the time of his passing. 

So these learned men are brought in to investigate the behavior of Newton's heir. Their curiosity for the great man brought them in the middle of the night to Newton's childhood home. The place with the infamous apple tree and where Newton made most of his world-changing discoveries during the plague years of 1666 and 1667.

The thought that he had made more mysterious discoveries that he could not share with anyone for fear of his persecution was intoxicating to me. What other discoveries might he have made? Why the items we see at the Garage Sale of course. Each imbued with the mysteries Newton discovered using Mathematics, Optics, Science, and the dark arts of Alchemy. 

Head on over to Amazon or any of the other places you buy your books and check it out. 

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Apple 

A New Path Forward

After a few years of very productive screenwriting work, I have come to a crossroads. Just like I mentioned in my last post. For two decades, I have balanced my writing with working a full-time job. There has been a balance that I have been able to keep. However, I have neither become rich nor have I been able to support myself as a writer. And this last year I, like so many others during the pandemic, have come to realize my own mortality. 

Things have changed. 

I have had this routine for the past two decades, but have come to realize with age that this may no longer be in my best interest. I am no longer sure that I can carry on working full-time and writing in my free time. While I am certainly due a long vacation, and that might sort out my current state of mind, it may not be all that I need at this moment. 

Over the past few years, I have been giving updates on my ever-changing writing plans. The only reason they have changed is because of my lack of time to complete them. I am currently sitting on 5-6 writing projects that are all in different phases. 

Each decade, I create new writing plans in line with my turning another ten years older: Movie Screenplays, TV Series, Mini-Series, Novellas, Short-Stories, Novels, & Novel Series. 

I am two years out from the end of another decade and it has me realizing that I may be in for a sprint to the finish to try and complete what I have planned -- even though I have been making that plan easier and easier the past few years. I have been minimizing the amount of literary work and focused mainly on screenplays. Not that writing a screenplay is easy, but compared to a 300-page novel a screenplay is a far less time-consuming endeavor. 

My ideal scenario has me working full-time writing screenplays while moonlighting as a novelist. I cannot do that right now as I have not done enough as far as the business side of being a writer to put myself in that situation, but a guy can still dream in this country, right? Right?

However, I am trying to buy myself at least six months of time to put myself on the path towards this ideal scenario. I would certainly prefer a year or more, because six months may only reset my batteries and not correct my path, but that may not be financially possible. But a six-month investment in myself and what I hope can be my career as a writer is desperately needed. 

If I can pull this off it will not be all writing all the time. I will need to focus on the business of writing while also putting together the writing packages for a presentation to others. And maybe I can complete one new pilot script while pitching and querying. 

This is not like 2005 when I took a year off and cranked out six of my favorite scripts of all time. I was creatively on fire at the time and had to get things on the page. While that fire still burns and I would love to try and get another six scripts written over the next 12 months, I am sitting on dozens of scripts, some of which have to be rewritten because they are from a different era while others are relevant and need to be shared ASAP. 

I have never been the type to put the business of writing first, but I have put plenty of time into querying and pitching others over the years. Given a choice, I would keep writing non-stop, but I cannot afford to do that. However, do be on the lookout for my Kindle Vella series In the Wake of Newton. It is a historical fiction piece set in the time after Issac Newton passed away and delves into the results of his life-long interest in alchemy, and what he was able to create through that work. It is the origin story for a thrilling novel I will be releasing in the next few years. 

The time has come for a proper attempt to make my long-dreamt of scenario a reality. It will take a lot of non-writing work this summer, but I am hopeful that by the time I am done I will have accomplished what I need to do to afford myself those six months I desperately need to correct the course of my writing future and create a new path forward.  I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck. 

Restless

The past year has been a version of hell for everyone. I was able to get a lot of work done. But as I sit here thinking about where to focus my time and energy, I feel restless. Like I have arrived at a crossroads and there is no one way that I have to go. I have options. 

My default mode is to focus on the next project, just keep grinding away. Head back into my writer's cave and toil on story and dialogue. It is where I feel most comfortable, even more so after a pandemic year. And I have a list of projects that need attention to be presentable. 

However, I am restless. Restless for a number of reasons. 

I am fully vaccinated and the weather is amazing. This means I can meet up with more people and even travel. 

But that is not the only reason I am a bit unsettled. I got a lot of writing work done over the past year. It was one of my most productive years in some time. For that, I am grateful. Having done all that work has me in the fortuitous position of having numerous projects ready, or close to ready, for me to peddle my wares to a hopefully receptive audience.  

While I have become a better salesman over the years, the art of self-promotion has never been my strong suit. The thought of facing the frontlines of rejection yet again makes me want to head back into my writer's cave and just keep grinding.

Change is in the air. Maybe it's being vaccinated. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's something else. But I am reluctant to just carry on like I have the past year. I feel it may be time to come out of my cave and actually try and get my work into the right hands. It has been too long since I made a full-frontal assault on Hollywood. 

The ghosts of the 2009 Screenwriter's Expo still haunt me. I have failed so many times with so many projects that I must be certifiably mad at this point. And yet I persist. A part of me is happy just to keep writing with only a few people laying eyes on the worlds I have created. I write to experience these new yet familiar worlds. I can see and feel them better than most people can remember their 18th birthday. They exist because I exist. That is powerful. 

But there is a part of me that wants to share my work with people, maybe even make a few dollars from all my hard work. I've gone so long without tasting the success I once sought that my idea of success has changed over time. 

I live to write. I do not write to live. 

My fear is that if I had to write to live would I still be true to myself? Would my stories lose their potency? 

I have avoided answering those questions accidentally on purpose. I have been afraid of change. Afraid of taking risks. Not because I live a glamourous life, but because I fear leaving the path I have been on, my routine. I love my writer's cave and the stories I have created. 

The experience I had at the Screenwriter's Expo felt much like what Killian experienced at the beginning of Iron Man 3. He got his expectations up to meet Tony Stark to discuss his big idea, believing Tony would fall in love with it and be the answer to all of his dreams. And he was left alone up on the roof to ring in the New Year feeling like a schmuck. 

Putting yourself out there is tough. Rejection is hell. Doing it again and again is madness. And yet I find myself at the edge of that abyss once more. Not by choice, I'd rather jump back into writing two mini-series in progress. But a part of me sees that as foolish. Foolish because I have what I need to succeed already. The work is done. The time feels right. I believe I must put my fears to the side and be brave once more. It may all go tits up yet again, but like the motto of my favorite team says, "To Dare is to Do." 

And when I tire of the rejection, I can always head back into my cave and finish up a mini-series. Until then, it's time to polish my pitch, put on a smile, and let the games begin. 

May 2021

In my last post, I discussed the three-stage plan for 2021. I had entered the second stage of that plan in February, largely because of all the work I did towards the end of 2020 and in the beginning of 2021. Since February, the plan has changed. 

I spent most of February & March retooling two existing projects (massive Anthology movie screenplays) into two mini-series with multiple episodes. 

In addition to that, I did the world build on the third and possibly final season of a TV series. The pilot episodes for the first two seasons were written and rewritten last year, with a bible (series guide) completed for each season. 

All three seasons can either stand-alone, as their own individual series, or they may be viewed as a three-season series. The three-season series is the ideal scenario but I like to have options when pitching stories.

When I wrote the pilot for the second season, I was completing a promise I made to myself a decade ago. The story idea was originally intended to be a movie, but over the past decade, I began to see it more as a series. I wrote the pilot to be a one-hour, stand-alone movie. 

The bible I wrote confused a writer friend because he read the bible before the pilot.  I messed up his feedback in two ways: by not giving him only the pilot first, and by not rewriting the bible before sending it to him. The bible I wrote did not properly re-incorporate the main character from the pilot's influence via her diary on the main character of the series.

The main character in the bible is different from the main character in the pilot episode. My friend made a solid suggestion: focus on the main character in the bible and incorporate the main character in the pilot into the backstory. That advice made me think of the original movie I had in mind. In that story, the lead from the bible I just wrote was the lead throughout the story, and the lead from the pilot was a tragic opening to the movie and a background character afterward. I wanted something different. 

So, had I sabotaged my original idea and story flow to write the pilot? The opening from the pilot is just as it was in the original idea I had for the movie. I could leave the opening and move the rest of the pilot to another episode. But the thing with that is this character shows up later through her diary. I could give her her own stand-alone episode later in the series. Or I can make the minor adjustment to the bible that led to my friend's confusion. 

As is, the second main character of the series takes up the reins of the show in episode two. I like the way I have done it because it is unconventional, while the other way (my original idea and my fellow writer's suggestion) follows a more conventional, expected story path. 

A conventional pilot would be easy enough to write. Though I know it would be less impactful than the current pilot. If I did change the pilot to resemble the plot of the original movie idea, the pilot would lack the traumatic bite of the current pilot. My instincts had me veer from the conventional to write that specific pilot. I will refrain from rewriting the pilot into the conventional path for now, as I have entered a new phase that requires my attention presently. 

Moving on. In late March, Chuck and I began work on the rewrite of a story we first wrote back in 2019. This marks the third rewrite in a year. The overall story arcs of the series have not changed that much. We had imagined multiple seasons taking place at different time periods. The original pilot had too many storylines and not enough clarity for a pilot. We had to gut it and try to rework it into something more dynamic and memorable. That was completed this week. 

Now I am in the afterglow period, which always feels weird and reminds me of the days when I had completed a play and had that actor's urge to jump into a new character as soon as possible. As a writer, that means going into a reset mode. Priorities change based on need. And after a pandemic year, I need some change in my life. 

I've just received my last dose of the Pfizer Covid 19 vaccine so I am at max immunity. That is a great feeling. It's liberating. I am proud of myself for doing the right things during the past year to keep my loved ones, myself, and others safe. I recommend everyone to get vaccinated. 

There are times when I can't stand people. The past year revealed some ugly truths about this country and I was very angry with some of my fellow Americans. Getting vaccinated felt like the most important civic duty of my lifetime. To know that I am helping myself and everyone else at the same time makes me proud. And all it took was two pricks, some pain in my arm, and a bit of a headache for an evening. 

Over the past month, as I worked on the rewrite, I decided to postpone work on one of the two mini-series projects for the foreseeable future. After a pandemic year, I am ready to make more changes in my life than just a change to my writing plans for the year. So I have removed one of the mini-series from stage two of my writing plan. I need to prepare for taking the steps needed to achieve the change I desire. 

I will continue to work on rewrites as well as the reimagining of one mini-series in Stage Two. In July, I will begin the transition from Stage Two to Stage Three. Here, the other mini-series has been moved, but I am open to postponing that until next year. In Stage Three, the project I currently value most is the third season of the TV series I began work on last year, completing the pilot episodes for two seasons. Being able to pitch three seasons of a series as one anthology series or as three separate stand-alone series is vital. 

Beyond that, I am always open to new projects and opportunities for the rest of the year. I may save the new novel series I have been wanting to do for another year or so. After a recent rethink, I am willing to push at least two projects into 2022: the new novel series, and one of the mini-series. I need to be more receptive to change and opportunities now that I am free from the clutches of the pandemic. 

February and the Three-Stage Writing Plan for 2021

We made it through January... barely. Here I had hoped we might leave all the madness in 2020. Ha! Good one, Pitters. 

It has been a productive two months since I last posted. The 2021 writing plan took shape late last year and I was well underway with the first part of the Three-Stage Plan by year's end. 

In late January, I completed the first stage. This part includes Three TV Series Pilots and Three Series Bibles (Series Guides). The idea with Stage One is to have three TV Series Packages ready to pitch, and ready to be adjusted on the fly based on feedback. Each of those six documents has been poked, prodded, and rewritten several times over the last year. 

Before the bibles were written, I got some practice creating four pitch decks. Four pitch decks? Chuck (my writing partner on a number of these projects) and I wrote a fourth pitch deck for another TV series, but I may leave that one out of this pitch package. That pitch deck was probably the tightest of the four, yet the script and series need a freshening up. That one had completely dropped off my radar for 2021; I may have to slot it into Stage Three. 

A bible, or a series guide, is a 10+ page breakdown of the pilot, a literary map into the first season as well as a preview into the series at large. Where the bible is more like a book, the pitch deck is more like a comic book. There are approximately 3x more words in the bibles I wrote for each project than in the accompanying pitch decks. However, there are only a few more pages in the bibles because of the visual aids in the pitch decks. 

In doing research, I really liked the series guide for Stranger Things, which was called Montauk at the time. It is very 80s-ish in style, as you would expect, and it is very clear in what it is and where it is going to take you. It is retro-cool in style and worth looking at even if you just like the series and have no interest in screenwriting. 

So, I completed four pitch decks inspired by Stranger Things and other TV series pitch decks. Then I was advised that a bible is a more accepted way of previewing a TV series before you will get a request for the script. No worries. I'll translate it all into French if need be. Add a few more skills to the work belt in the process. 

The series guides/ bibles are more cathartic than the pitch deck, which is partly about making it look cool for those who don't have as much time to read. With a bible, the reader learns more about the show and the writer gets to visualize and express the project in a different, more detailed way, which is always good. 

With all that in mind, I push on from Stage One and into Stage Two. In this stage, I begin by working on some R& R (Research and Review), because we all need to reflect and refocus before cracking on once more. 

During this brief R&R period I may recalibrate the plan, as I am one to do. However, I am also organizing to begin work on the two mini-series at the heart of Stage Two. These two series are based on two prior screen stories that I am redeveloping into two 5-6 episode mini-series. The great thing is much of the work is already done and I have been thinking of doing this for some time. 

One of the projects was inspired by classic horror anthology tales from the 60s-80s. After writing that script, I wrote a new segment that was meant to be an origin story before writing it as a novella. Then I decided to rewrite the whole story into a novel series for good measure. 

The mini-series format is a better expression of the story than the first movie screenplay, which was designed to be multiple horrific stories told around a central story. While movies like Creepshow and  Trick 'r Treat are brilliant, they can also be equally brilliant TV series.  Doing them as well-developed, stand-alone episodes that can be watched once-a-week until all the episodes are available or binged for five to six-hours in a one-night horror spectacular. Then you can read the origin story novella or the entire novel series. Your choice. 

The second project is a pet project that I was reluctant to revisit for some time. I once envisioned doing this as a novel series after I completed the two-part feature screenplay series. I instead decided to write a stand-alone novella that is in the same universe as the movie series. 

In 2013, after Monarch had been released, I attempted to balance the writing of literary works and screenplays. It was around this time that the cultural shift away from movies to tv had reached a tipping point. Netflix and chill became a more popular option than a trip to the movie theater. This second project is an epic sci-fi tale that is a reflection of how I perceived the world at the time and a glimpse into a possible future. This is a common theme in my writing. I like to ground even my most outlandish stories in a believable reality. 

If writers are allowed to dream, then my dream is to simultaneously release a novel series and TV mini-series for the same story. Making progress towards realizing that dream is the main objective of Stage Two. One of the two projects actually already has a novel series and TV series written. The other has a novella and the tv series written. 

These two projects are the most important part of my writing plan for the year. This has been a long time coming and I have put my heart and soul into these projects. I look forward to the day that I can present both of these projects to others. 

Other than completing pitch decks and series guides for both projects, I also need to recalibrate the existing material into the best possible pilot episodes. That may mean cutting some segments from other episodes and using them in the pilots. It will also mean restructuring a novella into the pilot episode for the second series. The novella was written after the two-part movie series and was meant to stand alone, which is why it also makes for an ideal introduction into this particular fictional series. 

I hate to say it but Stage Three is not as important as Stage One and Stage Two. In the third and final stage of my 2021 Writing Plan, I left open the possibility to write new material or rewrite other material. Sometimes I get asked to work on a new project and can't say no. Everyone needs a Stage Three in their own writing plans because you have to be ready for anything as a writer. This seems counterintuitive because writing is so often about structure and regiment, which is true but an afternoon of inspiration and allowing your creativity to flow can be far more important than a month's work at a keyboard.

Here I can either pick up the pitch deck on that fourth story I mentioned in Stage One, or I could go back to a story I wrote the treatment for a few years back, whether by writing the screenplay or reenvisioning it as a series and write the pilot episode. There is also a possible third season in an anthology series I started work on last year. 

Lastly, and most importantly, is the novel series I have been dreaming about for a decade. When I put this project on the back burner, I always intended to write it at the backend of a ten-year writing plan, once I had matured enough to write it properly. That 10-year plan originally included more literary work, but I had a rethink on that about halfway in. Smartphones and the internet have changed the literary landscape as well as the film industry. I have even begun to wonder if I should forget about writing this project as a novel series and instead write another mini-series. That would give me a  third completed mini-series as well as five TV series pilots. 

People are reading less because of smartphones and more people are watching TV instead of going to the movies because of Covid-19. These are industry-changing trends. It has also meant that I have had to adapt. I started off writing feature screenplays and anthologies. I switched it up during the self-publishing boom and focused on writing novel series. Then smartphones and technology completely took over people's lives and they stopped reading or going to movies. 

Even before the pandemic, there was a shift away from going to the movies and people getting their entertainment streamed to their phones or TVs instead. As a writer who wants nothing more than to write stories and hopefully entertain people in the process, the past twenty years have treated me like a yo-yo. While it would have been nice to focus just on feature screenplays, all the change over the years has provided me with a range of writing experience as I tried to do what was in my best interest as a writer. 

I never would have written two novel series had my early screenplays sold like hotcakes. The experience of writing two novel series has massively helped me with creating multiple TV series. A mini-series or an 8-10 episode season for a TV series is very much like a novel, which is why so many books are made into mini-series and why short-stories and novellas make great material for anthology series. All of which I might not have learned about had smartphones and technology not come to dominate our lives. Thank you technology?