I recently stopped doing disc reviews for DVD Talk after two years and 190 reviews. (I am continuing to provide reviews of new theatrical releases on an occasional basis.) This decision was only a pragmatic one; I love writing for the site and being among the illustrious company of so many good and thoughtful writers.
I dropped disc reviews in favor of personal projects that have for too long been simmering quietly on back burners.
Those projects are:
1) My first comics script. It's a standalone graphic novel. My friend Bridget is doing the artwork. The script is nearly complete, and Bridget has begun work on character design. We are both very excited about it. It's a silent comic. The story concerns a man and a woman - strangers to one another - who are stranded in mid-20s ennui, groping their way through a variety of challenges while struggling to attain expanded perspectives and fuller, more authentic lives.
2) A series of interviews collectively titled "How Did You Do It?" The series is intended as an ongoing group of case studies that document the myriad ways people in the creative arts build their careers. Since artists don't have a codified, professionalized path laid out for them in advance, they usually have to find their own way. This series will serve as a corrective to the simplistic, ready-made "advice" available to artists in lazy, self-help-type books that ignore the realities and consequences of following your creative instincts. I recently interviewed Maria Bamford and Tom Shadyac for the series, and have already scheduled additional interviews. Now it's just a matter of getting them into print.
3) A screenplay about a family that experiences the many changes in Silicon Valley life that take place during the PC revolution of the early 1980s. This story has been germinating for almost two years. I had begun a draft, but realized after about 30 pages that the story wasn't all there yet. So I went back and started outlining more heavily. Now, I have a 15-page narrative outline that encompasses much more in the way of plot and character development. I have a few more weeks of outline work before I'll be ready to write a complete first draft.
This is the most productive - creatively - that I have been in ten years. It's barely a first step toward a writing career, but it's something. Besides, getting shit done is the most satisfying thing of all.
I dropped disc reviews in favor of personal projects that have for too long been simmering quietly on back burners.
Those projects are:
1) My first comics script. It's a standalone graphic novel. My friend Bridget is doing the artwork. The script is nearly complete, and Bridget has begun work on character design. We are both very excited about it. It's a silent comic. The story concerns a man and a woman - strangers to one another - who are stranded in mid-20s ennui, groping their way through a variety of challenges while struggling to attain expanded perspectives and fuller, more authentic lives.
2) A series of interviews collectively titled "How Did You Do It?" The series is intended as an ongoing group of case studies that document the myriad ways people in the creative arts build their careers. Since artists don't have a codified, professionalized path laid out for them in advance, they usually have to find their own way. This series will serve as a corrective to the simplistic, ready-made "advice" available to artists in lazy, self-help-type books that ignore the realities and consequences of following your creative instincts. I recently interviewed Maria Bamford and Tom Shadyac for the series, and have already scheduled additional interviews. Now it's just a matter of getting them into print.
3) A screenplay about a family that experiences the many changes in Silicon Valley life that take place during the PC revolution of the early 1980s. This story has been germinating for almost two years. I had begun a draft, but realized after about 30 pages that the story wasn't all there yet. So I went back and started outlining more heavily. Now, I have a 15-page narrative outline that encompasses much more in the way of plot and character development. I have a few more weeks of outline work before I'll be ready to write a complete first draft.
This is the most productive - creatively - that I have been in ten years. It's barely a first step toward a writing career, but it's something. Besides, getting shit done is the most satisfying thing of all.
Awesome. Congrats, man, and big kudos for digging in and getting to work.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to the future office...and the projects!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jamie and Anon.!
ReplyDeleteGet your ass to Mars.
ReplyDeleteExciting! The elusive "getting shit done" is a brave and worthy goal. Also: can't wait to read the Bammer interview.
ReplyDeleteWill your writing room have a tapestry (as pictured)?
ReplyDeleteI am not committed to the specific idea of a tapestry, but I will need something to soundproof the room. Extraneous noises irritate me greatly.
ReplyDelete