Nightmare shoot behind us we set out to recast the movie, which we did with actors that we were simply amazed by. Long story short, one of the new guys pulled out just TWO DAYS before the new shoot... but this time one of the other actors had a contact that was willing and able to step into the role... times are good... if only I'd get that email I'm waiting on!
I can't say too much right now but this movie we're making is going to be a hit, we have a BIG NAME band involved, we have a great cast, we even have a way that people can make money from it just by sharing it on facebook or by tweeting about it!!
The new shoot is taking place this weekend and if all goes well it'll be out in time for Halloween... You'll be the first to know!
I gotta go make history now, keep up the dreams!
Write On!
Dave The Screenwriter/Director
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Nightmare shoot
I never thought it would or could happen. I really thought that no matter what happened in my life that I would always want to make movies and write movies and anything else I can do that related to movies but on Saturday 30th June 2012 I was done, finished, retired.
At that stage my movie career had included exactly 10 screeplays, three short films, one film festival, one award nomination, one trip to LA where I visited three movie studios and the final nail in the coffin, the most shattering movie shoot of all time.
Some of the story I can't tell just yet because it isn't over but here's what I can say. For six months my brother and I have been working on making a low budget movie, we've worked day and night to make sure that we had everything arranged to make our three scene movie in one night. Yes, a full movie in one night. I know that it's crazy but I knew it could be done so we worked and worked and worked. We did auditions, cast actors, got a famous band to license a song for the movie, booked a venue and arranged the shoot.
Finally after months of work Friday the 29th June arrived and we were ready to go, but then the first actor arrived.. "Dave, I don't know all of my lines." he said with a look of fear in his eye. I was still setting up the set and didn't think it would be a big deal, after all we'd only be shooting five pages at a time and then taking a break which should be long enough to get a hold of the next five... or so I thought.
Next actor arrived and said "Dave, I don't know all of my lines." I thought it was a joke, it wasn't. The third actor arrived, the most inexperienced of the five that were needed "I don't know my lines, but I'll get through it." he said. I was fuming, anger was beginning to get to me, I wished that I hadn't quit smoking all those years ago so that I could light one up and blow off some steam.
The other two actors who came along knew their lines, sadly those people only had a few lines. I love those people, they're the best.
So we struggled through the shoot, stumbling from page to page, taking (this is not a joke) ten minutes to get the line "Oh look, a lovely two of clubs." Ten minutes!!!!!
When the shoot was done, and trust me I had done everything I could to get the best performance out of these no line learning "actors, I was done, never wanted to see the footage, never wanted to shoot another second of footage and never wanted anything to do with the film world again.
My brother and I loaded up the car and drove home, not a word was spoken and the radio was off. Silence.
We unpacked the car and started to tell the story to family and friends about how bad the shoot had gone, nobody could understand why these people would turn up under prepared. As time went on and a fried breakfast was eaten I could feel myself slipping into a deep sleep. I went to bed and cried myself to sleep, emotionally I was drained, empty.
I'd waited my whole life to direct a feature, I'd worked incredibly hard and it had been ruined by people who just didn't bother to learn their lines... life wasn't fair, the movie business was stupid, I could be successful in something else by now, I'm never going to make another film again... SLEEP.
The next couple of days I couldn't bring myself to even look at the computer, but on Monday my brother and I sat down and reviewed our footage and came to the conclusion "If the actors knew their lines this could be a great movie." So we made a list of what we needed to change to reshoot, we made a list of actors to change (three names on that list!) and we felt positive.
By Wednesday I was only positive, the script is good, everyone loves it. The cameras are awesome (Canon 550D with 50mm lense) and the cinematography is very good. AND above all, I was right, we can shoot a full length movie within one day/night and at a pretty low cost... Suddenly the possibilities for this film were huge again, suddenly I was going to direct a great movie again, suddenly I was in love with film and writing and the film business again.
Today, as I reflected on the experience and the lows it made me feel I know that the worst thing I could have done would have been to quit. I have to stand up and be counted, I have to come back stronger and make a kick ass movie.
So I learned that I'll never give up on the film business, that I'm right with my approach to movie making, that you should never trust an actor, that there's always positives to take from a negative and I learned that you can work as hard as you like and someone else can ruin it for you.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY I learned that nothing could tear me away from following my dreams.. I hope you guys feel the same.
Never let a set back stop you.
Write on.
Dave
At that stage my movie career had included exactly 10 screeplays, three short films, one film festival, one award nomination, one trip to LA where I visited three movie studios and the final nail in the coffin, the most shattering movie shoot of all time.
Some of the story I can't tell just yet because it isn't over but here's what I can say. For six months my brother and I have been working on making a low budget movie, we've worked day and night to make sure that we had everything arranged to make our three scene movie in one night. Yes, a full movie in one night. I know that it's crazy but I knew it could be done so we worked and worked and worked. We did auditions, cast actors, got a famous band to license a song for the movie, booked a venue and arranged the shoot.
Finally after months of work Friday the 29th June arrived and we were ready to go, but then the first actor arrived.. "Dave, I don't know all of my lines." he said with a look of fear in his eye. I was still setting up the set and didn't think it would be a big deal, after all we'd only be shooting five pages at a time and then taking a break which should be long enough to get a hold of the next five... or so I thought.
Next actor arrived and said "Dave, I don't know all of my lines." I thought it was a joke, it wasn't. The third actor arrived, the most inexperienced of the five that were needed "I don't know my lines, but I'll get through it." he said. I was fuming, anger was beginning to get to me, I wished that I hadn't quit smoking all those years ago so that I could light one up and blow off some steam.
The other two actors who came along knew their lines, sadly those people only had a few lines. I love those people, they're the best.
So we struggled through the shoot, stumbling from page to page, taking (this is not a joke) ten minutes to get the line "Oh look, a lovely two of clubs." Ten minutes!!!!!
When the shoot was done, and trust me I had done everything I could to get the best performance out of these no line learning "actors, I was done, never wanted to see the footage, never wanted to shoot another second of footage and never wanted anything to do with the film world again.
My brother and I loaded up the car and drove home, not a word was spoken and the radio was off. Silence.
We unpacked the car and started to tell the story to family and friends about how bad the shoot had gone, nobody could understand why these people would turn up under prepared. As time went on and a fried breakfast was eaten I could feel myself slipping into a deep sleep. I went to bed and cried myself to sleep, emotionally I was drained, empty.
I'd waited my whole life to direct a feature, I'd worked incredibly hard and it had been ruined by people who just didn't bother to learn their lines... life wasn't fair, the movie business was stupid, I could be successful in something else by now, I'm never going to make another film again... SLEEP.
The next couple of days I couldn't bring myself to even look at the computer, but on Monday my brother and I sat down and reviewed our footage and came to the conclusion "If the actors knew their lines this could be a great movie." So we made a list of what we needed to change to reshoot, we made a list of actors to change (three names on that list!) and we felt positive.
By Wednesday I was only positive, the script is good, everyone loves it. The cameras are awesome (Canon 550D with 50mm lense) and the cinematography is very good. AND above all, I was right, we can shoot a full length movie within one day/night and at a pretty low cost... Suddenly the possibilities for this film were huge again, suddenly I was going to direct a great movie again, suddenly I was in love with film and writing and the film business again.
Today, as I reflected on the experience and the lows it made me feel I know that the worst thing I could have done would have been to quit. I have to stand up and be counted, I have to come back stronger and make a kick ass movie.
So I learned that I'll never give up on the film business, that I'm right with my approach to movie making, that you should never trust an actor, that there's always positives to take from a negative and I learned that you can work as hard as you like and someone else can ruin it for you.
BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY I learned that nothing could tear me away from following my dreams.. I hope you guys feel the same.
Never let a set back stop you.
Write on.
Dave
Monday, May 14, 2012
"If you're serious about the industry just move to L.A" -- A manager at a pretty big agency told me that recently, he was about the tenth person that week to tell me a version of that very same sentence. Now I know that it makes sense, right? Just hop on a plane, land in L.A and the rest is easy. Well heres the thing, I'd love to, I can't though. It's not a case of I can't because I'd be so far away from home or I can't because I have to mow the lawn or anything stupid like that, I can't get a working visa for the USA and so my stays to the US are limited to how many days I can afford.
Just in case there's someone reading this that hasn't figured it out yet, I'm European, I come from the little island to the west of Europe, the one with the leprechauns. Sure I can get a 90 day visa waiver type deal where I can visit the US, can't work though. Can't technically take meetings or pitch a script or movie idea, can't go busking for a few hours to make some pocket money. Sadly I'm one of those people who needs to work so that he gets paid and can use that pay to buy food, pay rent and generally exist in other ways like socially.
So when people say "Why don't you just move to L.A?" It angers me. It angers me because if I could I would, I'd mow lawns, clean pools, sweep roads, polish toilet bowls, cook food, walk dogs, wash windows, clean cars, take part in medical trials or any other low paid job that I could get just to live in L.A and really chase my dream, like everyone thinks is so easy.
I've wanted to work in Hollywood my entire grown up life, I've now got a handle on what it is I want to do when I get there (write and direct please) and I only have one obstacle in the way of achieving that goal... red tape.
There have been many proposals for new Irish only visas that would enable someone like me to visit the US for 12 months and work during that time, they have all failed. A new one is being held up again right now and all the people like me can do is sigh and hope that someone in a prod co picks up our script, loves it and manages to persuade the decision makers in their company to part with at least $70,000 for the script, that way we'd be people of special talent and we'd get in no problem.
But for now, all we can do is keep working and working and hoping that today will be the day that I connect with the person who can make it all come true for me, safe in the knowledge that if I lived in Hollywood I would make my dreams come true... but I live in Wexford and dreams remain dreams, for now.
Write On!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Keep up the good work
Today is, just like everyday that has ever been and everyday that will follow a day that someone had their dreams come true. Someday it'll be my day and that's the whole reason I continue to work and work and work.
I woke up this morning with a great idea "Go to www.fiverr.com and offer to write a script on assignment for just $5 with complete obedience guaranteed and satisfaction assured. I worked on wording for my add, thought about how I'd spread the word and get my fellow writers and non writers interested in my offer, then I remembered that I was giving away free copies of my ebook on amazon all this past weekend and all I got was 150 downloads. Now don't get me wrong, 150 people reading my book is awesome (and scary) but it falls a little short of the 5 million I had imagined as I wrote the book!
So my plan was made and by the end of the day I would send a ripple of awe through Hollywood and the film world but I would be noticed, I'd be semi famous, I'd be hired as a screenwriter and paid for the work. I was all ready to sell out for $5 when I thought to myself "Why is nobody else doing it? Why hasn't it been done before? What am I missing?" I was driving into my local town when it hit me, Screenwriters dream of millions, at very least 100's of 1000's so why would they offer to work for such a small fee? Why would I work for such a fee?
The answer is this, the film world is hard to break into, very hard. You have to do whatever it takes to stand out, even if you're the best of the best. With my new knowledge I resolved to think about it some more and to wait before I post my ad, I bet someone beats me to it!
This afternoon though, completely by chance I found an opportunity for my webshow to expand into real show, we're going to work on it and then cross our fingers, I'll let you know what happens but until then I'll make you this promise: I'll write anything for $5
Write On!
Dave The Screenwriter!
I woke up this morning with a great idea "Go to www.fiverr.com and offer to write a script on assignment for just $5 with complete obedience guaranteed and satisfaction assured. I worked on wording for my add, thought about how I'd spread the word and get my fellow writers and non writers interested in my offer, then I remembered that I was giving away free copies of my ebook on amazon all this past weekend and all I got was 150 downloads. Now don't get me wrong, 150 people reading my book is awesome (and scary) but it falls a little short of the 5 million I had imagined as I wrote the book!
So my plan was made and by the end of the day I would send a ripple of awe through Hollywood and the film world but I would be noticed, I'd be semi famous, I'd be hired as a screenwriter and paid for the work. I was all ready to sell out for $5 when I thought to myself "Why is nobody else doing it? Why hasn't it been done before? What am I missing?" I was driving into my local town when it hit me, Screenwriters dream of millions, at very least 100's of 1000's so why would they offer to work for such a small fee? Why would I work for such a fee?
The answer is this, the film world is hard to break into, very hard. You have to do whatever it takes to stand out, even if you're the best of the best. With my new knowledge I resolved to think about it some more and to wait before I post my ad, I bet someone beats me to it!
This afternoon though, completely by chance I found an opportunity for my webshow to expand into real show, we're going to work on it and then cross our fingers, I'll let you know what happens but until then I'll make you this promise: I'll write anything for $5
Write On!
Dave The Screenwriter!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
fakers and phonies
One of the things that really angers me about the screenwriting world is the number of people who pretend to be somebody. I come across them nearly everyday, people who present themselves as an expert, people who will tell you what you need to do with your script, people who will argue that they are right and you are wrong even though they don't really know. Most importantly the people I'm talking about are con artists who disgust me to my core.
Now, I'm all for someone making a quick buck, go ahead and resell someone elses book on how to win at gambling or something but don't present yourself as an expert in a field that you know relatively nothing about. The problem as I see it comes from people dreaming about THE RICHES you get when you become a screenwriter but they don't want to work as hard as they need to so they give up and throw out useless advice instead.
I've seen people who give out the kind of advice that any decent writer would laugh at try to sell a "training program" for screenwriting for upwards of $50. What makes me angry is that they sell a few copies. I've seen people pose as someone connected to various actors and or directors and sell "web classes" or "video tutorials" that simply make no sense and make thousands of Dollars doing so.
Don't get me wrong there are plenty of reputable people selling classes and programs and those people are worth investing your money with, but do some research first, make sure that they have a good background in what they are trying to teach. There's no point in buying a book about selling your script to a major studio from a guy who never finished writing his own script.
The sad truth is that 90% of screenwriters are only in it for the money (or what they think the money is!), of the 10% left about half of those couldn't tell a good story if they were in one and the top 5% have to struggle to be seen for all the shit clogging the way.
To round out this post I want to say that some classes I've taken have truly changed my screenwriting career and I've attended seminars that have made me a better filmmaker. I'm not against classes or seminars or webinars or in being an entrepreneur, what I am against is scammers stealing money from hard working writers who deserve better than that.
My book and online video course on how to build your own rocketship and fly to the moon is available now priced just $3.5 Million, get it now!
Write On!
Dave The Screenwriter
Now, I'm all for someone making a quick buck, go ahead and resell someone elses book on how to win at gambling or something but don't present yourself as an expert in a field that you know relatively nothing about. The problem as I see it comes from people dreaming about THE RICHES you get when you become a screenwriter but they don't want to work as hard as they need to so they give up and throw out useless advice instead.
I've seen people who give out the kind of advice that any decent writer would laugh at try to sell a "training program" for screenwriting for upwards of $50. What makes me angry is that they sell a few copies. I've seen people pose as someone connected to various actors and or directors and sell "web classes" or "video tutorials" that simply make no sense and make thousands of Dollars doing so.
Don't get me wrong there are plenty of reputable people selling classes and programs and those people are worth investing your money with, but do some research first, make sure that they have a good background in what they are trying to teach. There's no point in buying a book about selling your script to a major studio from a guy who never finished writing his own script.
The sad truth is that 90% of screenwriters are only in it for the money (or what they think the money is!), of the 10% left about half of those couldn't tell a good story if they were in one and the top 5% have to struggle to be seen for all the shit clogging the way.
To round out this post I want to say that some classes I've taken have truly changed my screenwriting career and I've attended seminars that have made me a better filmmaker. I'm not against classes or seminars or webinars or in being an entrepreneur, what I am against is scammers stealing money from hard working writers who deserve better than that.
My book and online video course on how to build your own rocketship and fly to the moon is available now priced just $3.5 Million, get it now!
Write On!
Dave The Screenwriter
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Scary pitching time
Hello fellow writers and readers,
Many of you will know that my time writing is mostly spent in that beautiful program that we call Final Draft, it is my choice of screenwriting software and to my mind the very best and most essential piece of equipment that a screenwriter can have.
Today I finally got around to pitching a script I wrote last year, for those of you not following I took pretty much all of 2011 to concentrate on writing and banned myself from pitching until I had a sufficient library of work... now I have six brand new screenplays that I feel are awesome.
Well a few weeks ago I declared that I was counting down the hours to pitching again but really, really deep down inside I was very scared about pitching again. I didn't want anyone to hate my pitch, tell me that my concept was dull or that my life was being wasted on dreams of being a writer.
Today, February 28 2012 I stepped past the fear and actually pitched again for the first time in over a year and... it felt good! I have a solid script (coverage told me that it was extremely funny) and I have done my research on those pitched, I'll let you know what kind of responses I get but for now I just wanted to let everyone know that I am officially back on the horse!
Write on
D The screenwriter
Many of you will know that my time writing is mostly spent in that beautiful program that we call Final Draft, it is my choice of screenwriting software and to my mind the very best and most essential piece of equipment that a screenwriter can have.
Today I finally got around to pitching a script I wrote last year, for those of you not following I took pretty much all of 2011 to concentrate on writing and banned myself from pitching until I had a sufficient library of work... now I have six brand new screenplays that I feel are awesome.
Well a few weeks ago I declared that I was counting down the hours to pitching again but really, really deep down inside I was very scared about pitching again. I didn't want anyone to hate my pitch, tell me that my concept was dull or that my life was being wasted on dreams of being a writer.
Today, February 28 2012 I stepped past the fear and actually pitched again for the first time in over a year and... it felt good! I have a solid script (coverage told me that it was extremely funny) and I have done my research on those pitched, I'll let you know what kind of responses I get but for now I just wanted to let everyone know that I am officially back on the horse!
Write on
D The screenwriter
Monday, January 16, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Touching distance
Dear reader,
I know that I whet your appetite from time to time by claiming that I'm working on the most amazing script ever or that I have a film in the works or lately it's been that I'm writing a book. All of that is always true but tonight I'm closer than ever and all other projects have been put to one side until at least Monday.
It all began at the end of September when I, out of boredom was thinking about filming a short and found my way to www.rte.ie (I live in Ireland and they are the biggest broadcaster on the Emerald Isle) where I found a page about a show, not just any show though. This show had a prime time slot that it has held for 23 years now, that's about all I can say apart from the fact that on this webpage I discovered that they like hearing from writers who are interested in working on the show... I was interested!
I submitted my best script and waited, obviously when I say I waited I don't mean that I folded my arms and concentrated on the phone. No I got about my work, wrote a script or two and quickly gave up on the idea of shooting another short. It was a couple of weeks later when I was invited to a meeting in RTE at the beginning of October, I was to say the least ecstatic to just be able to say that I had a meeting as a writer. While I'm bound by confidentiality agreements I think it's okay to say that they said that in January they'd be sending out scenes to hopefuls and from then we'd go through a sort of audition process and anyone who made it through would become a writer on the show.
Again, I can't say too much about what was said, or what show it is, or who anyone on the show is or how the scenes work or how many scenes there are in a show or anything at all really. This is just one big fucking tease in fairness. But what I can say is that I have a deadline at 6pm GMT tomorrow (that's 9am sunday for my LA residing buddies) and by that deadline I have to submit 4 scenes for the show from the information I've been sent (apologies but I cannot tell you any of those details so stop asking!) which makes tomorrow a very important day in my screenwriting career.
It's strange, I really, really, really want to work on this show. I've been interviewing myself all week as I drove to my crumby job about what it's like to be a writer on this show, I've imagined myself talking to a group of screenwriters (for some reason this talking is taking place in Universal Studios LA!). I'm ready for this opportunity and to be honest, last year I probably wasn't. I would have flown in to "Dave The Screenwriter" mode (TM) and written the scenes in my voice, my style, hell they'd probably get a final draft written version sent as a pdf ...(all I can say is that that is not what they want!) But now, right now at this moment in time I'm ready to write the scenes in the style of the show. I'm ready to be the writer that they need me to be.
I may be ready but I am scared. Tomorrow I write scenes that could lead to a job as a writer on a show that regularly gains 25% of the television watching population of this little country of ours, and while I'm grateful and happy I'm also nervous. As I sit here at 1.39am, listening to "Walk" by Foo Fighters and typing this blog entry I know that the next thing I type after it will be scenes for a television show. My show.
The time is nigh, I can feel it. It's been a long road to get an opportunity like this and I don't intend to let it slip. I'm ready, I'm good enough, I'm confident and friendly. I have what it takes but more importantly I believe in myself.
I'll do my best to keep you up to date on the process despite the confidentiality which prevents me from spilling all of the beans but until then just know this: Tomorrow I take my first step into writing a tv show for real, as a job and that first step is 4 scenes.
Write on and Wish Me Luck!
Dave The Screenwriter
I know that I whet your appetite from time to time by claiming that I'm working on the most amazing script ever or that I have a film in the works or lately it's been that I'm writing a book. All of that is always true but tonight I'm closer than ever and all other projects have been put to one side until at least Monday.
It all began at the end of September when I, out of boredom was thinking about filming a short and found my way to www.rte.ie (I live in Ireland and they are the biggest broadcaster on the Emerald Isle) where I found a page about a show, not just any show though. This show had a prime time slot that it has held for 23 years now, that's about all I can say apart from the fact that on this webpage I discovered that they like hearing from writers who are interested in working on the show... I was interested!
I submitted my best script and waited, obviously when I say I waited I don't mean that I folded my arms and concentrated on the phone. No I got about my work, wrote a script or two and quickly gave up on the idea of shooting another short. It was a couple of weeks later when I was invited to a meeting in RTE at the beginning of October, I was to say the least ecstatic to just be able to say that I had a meeting as a writer. While I'm bound by confidentiality agreements I think it's okay to say that they said that in January they'd be sending out scenes to hopefuls and from then we'd go through a sort of audition process and anyone who made it through would become a writer on the show.
Again, I can't say too much about what was said, or what show it is, or who anyone on the show is or how the scenes work or how many scenes there are in a show or anything at all really. This is just one big fucking tease in fairness. But what I can say is that I have a deadline at 6pm GMT tomorrow (that's 9am sunday for my LA residing buddies) and by that deadline I have to submit 4 scenes for the show from the information I've been sent (apologies but I cannot tell you any of those details so stop asking!) which makes tomorrow a very important day in my screenwriting career.
It's strange, I really, really, really want to work on this show. I've been interviewing myself all week as I drove to my crumby job about what it's like to be a writer on this show, I've imagined myself talking to a group of screenwriters (for some reason this talking is taking place in Universal Studios LA!). I'm ready for this opportunity and to be honest, last year I probably wasn't. I would have flown in to "Dave The Screenwriter" mode (TM) and written the scenes in my voice, my style, hell they'd probably get a final draft written version sent as a pdf ...(all I can say is that that is not what they want!) But now, right now at this moment in time I'm ready to write the scenes in the style of the show. I'm ready to be the writer that they need me to be.
I may be ready but I am scared. Tomorrow I write scenes that could lead to a job as a writer on a show that regularly gains 25% of the television watching population of this little country of ours, and while I'm grateful and happy I'm also nervous. As I sit here at 1.39am, listening to "Walk" by Foo Fighters and typing this blog entry I know that the next thing I type after it will be scenes for a television show. My show.
The time is nigh, I can feel it. It's been a long road to get an opportunity like this and I don't intend to let it slip. I'm ready, I'm good enough, I'm confident and friendly. I have what it takes but more importantly I believe in myself.
I'll do my best to keep you up to date on the process despite the confidentiality which prevents me from spilling all of the beans but until then just know this: Tomorrow I take my first step into writing a tv show for real, as a job and that first step is 4 scenes.
Write on and Wish Me Luck!
Dave The Screenwriter
Monday, January 2, 2012
Seeing the future
Greetings and salutations my friends,
Today I feel I should talk a little about the life of an overly ambitious person and I'll clarify that by explaining that my current goals include finishing the following:
1, I've started writing a book and I want to finish, publish and sell a few copies of it.
2, I have a 24 hour movie shoot planned and want to have the movie edited, marketed and for sale too.
3, I have 2 scripts that I want to do quick little fixes on and then start to market (rewrites are done but not put in on Final Draft yet... I'm a pen and paper kinda guy!).
4, I want to plan the biggest party of my life for April (when I turn 30).
Now it would seem like these are pretty modest goals, nothing special there you say. Yeah, these are my goals for January... I'll just let that sink in for a second.
Why would I take on such a load in just the first month of the year? Well the answer to that is really in my BIG goal for the year 2012, I want to be a professional writer and that to me means that I do not have a job that doesn't involve writing. The way I see it is that if I work hard I can totally make enough money from my writing/film career to fund my bills and car payments and rent and still have enough money to look presentable and buy some fancy blu ray special editions of my favorite movies.
I've been writing for a few years now but if I'm honest I've always held back a little, I always allowed myself to fail... not fail just not succeed because I always had the excuse that I had a job that I had to go to, I have to do this or that or the other thing, I'm helping someone do something else. Well, from now on I take no more crap, from now on I work for me and me alone and that means that I work hard and I work all the time.
If you've read this far I want to share something very important with you, I love writing and I'll always write for as long as I am able but there are people out there who write because they see it as a lottery, a quick cash scheme. I don't know how those people do it. If you don't love writing then please, don't be a writer. Be a singer or a guitarist or an actor or a mime or a magician or whatever it is that you DO love, just don't take up the place that a passionate, valuable and talented writer could of had if you truly don't love it.
Now I leave you with this... I have 30 days to finish a book and publish it AND make a movie and release it... you better read that again because one of us is crazy!
Write On!
Dave The Screenwriter
Today I feel I should talk a little about the life of an overly ambitious person and I'll clarify that by explaining that my current goals include finishing the following:
1, I've started writing a book and I want to finish, publish and sell a few copies of it.
2, I have a 24 hour movie shoot planned and want to have the movie edited, marketed and for sale too.
3, I have 2 scripts that I want to do quick little fixes on and then start to market (rewrites are done but not put in on Final Draft yet... I'm a pen and paper kinda guy!).
4, I want to plan the biggest party of my life for April (when I turn 30).
Now it would seem like these are pretty modest goals, nothing special there you say. Yeah, these are my goals for January... I'll just let that sink in for a second.
Why would I take on such a load in just the first month of the year? Well the answer to that is really in my BIG goal for the year 2012, I want to be a professional writer and that to me means that I do not have a job that doesn't involve writing. The way I see it is that if I work hard I can totally make enough money from my writing/film career to fund my bills and car payments and rent and still have enough money to look presentable and buy some fancy blu ray special editions of my favorite movies.
I've been writing for a few years now but if I'm honest I've always held back a little, I always allowed myself to fail... not fail just not succeed because I always had the excuse that I had a job that I had to go to, I have to do this or that or the other thing, I'm helping someone do something else. Well, from now on I take no more crap, from now on I work for me and me alone and that means that I work hard and I work all the time.
If you've read this far I want to share something very important with you, I love writing and I'll always write for as long as I am able but there are people out there who write because they see it as a lottery, a quick cash scheme. I don't know how those people do it. If you don't love writing then please, don't be a writer. Be a singer or a guitarist or an actor or a mime or a magician or whatever it is that you DO love, just don't take up the place that a passionate, valuable and talented writer could of had if you truly don't love it.
Now I leave you with this... I have 30 days to finish a book and publish it AND make a movie and release it... you better read that again because one of us is crazy!
Write On!
Dave The Screenwriter
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