writing/ progress/ names

Sept. 30 Writing: I get a Screenwriting Goldmine newsletter in my email. It says: "What do you think? Simply put, are you a writer because you get heard more when you write than when you speak?

[Another theory is that we write to make sense of the world. All that restructuring of raw experience into a shape that adds up to a concrete message helps us get through what can sometimes seem like a pretty chaotic and even painful world. Writing as therapy? Well,not quite, but writing as a means of ordering the world into the way you'd like it to be - maybe. Does that ring true for anyone? - Phil]"

I agree that writing is therapeutic. I've always known that to organize my thoughts. I do like sharing it with you. I guess I never thought of it this way, that writing the world into the way I would like it. I do write stories that I would like to see.

Bionic Woman: While I was writing my script, I got this flashback of the 2007 show called Bionic Woman. I looked it up, and it turns out there were only 8 eps, and then it got cancelled. I only saw one ep and I liked it. I was busy with all my other TV shows so I guess I never really noticed it when it never came back.

I remember this because I was thinking about siblings on TV. On the script I'm selling, the lead character lives with his big brother. Then I wrote about a guy living with his little sister. And now I'm writing about a girl living her little brother. In BW, the bionic woman Jamie lived with her little sister who's a teenager because their parents died.

BW was a good show. It had promise with the action and sci-fi. A likeable heroine who got into a car accident. She was then recruited into a secret government agency and they put bionic metal parts in her body so she could survive. She also ended up working for them, and of course leading a double life, hiding her abilities from her sister.

Oct. 1 Actors: I was watcing another ep of Flash Forward, and I saw the name Stephanie Weir. It sounds familiar, and then when I saw her, I knew her. She's from MADtv and she plays a quirky and funny character who owns a bakery. It was good to see her.

Michael Trevino is on this show playing bad boy/ bully Tyler. He's type cast as a bad boy since he was on 90210. Then I saw him guest star on The Mentalist and it's the same character.

I was watching The Mentalist and this bad guy looks familiar. Within 5 min. I was able to place him. He was on the other CBS show Criminal Minds where he plays JJ's boyfriend/ cop. It's good with his range. What's interesting is that he has the same look and same soft southern accent he does on both shows.

Vampire Diaries: While I'm at it, I saw Marguerite McIntyre was playing the sheriff/ Caroline's mom on this show. She was the mom on Kyle XY. No surprise, because the producer Julie Plec works on both these shows.

This show keeps getting better. At the end, it turns out there are other people in Mystic Falls knows that vampires do exist. I kind of didn't like how Elena's friend Caroline knows that Damon is a vampire, and still the lead character Elena doesn't know about vamps. Stefan was creative and poisoned Caroline, so that when Damon bites into her, he gets poisoned.

However, it looks like Damon has been captured and thrown into a cell in his own mansion. His brother Stefan and their nephew put him there. Though next week, Damon may end up escaping after all. We'll see.

Progress: The other day I finally finished emailing all the production companies listed on Alberta Motion Picture Industries Association (AMPIA.) There are definetly over a 100. Well I didn't pitch to all of them because I know for sure Dynacor Media only makes training videos. I did pitch to all the Saskatechewan Motion Picture Industries Association. Not that many there.

I then emailed the British Columbia equivalent today. I also pitched to a BC company.

Psychic: It's been 4 months since I last saw psychic Nadia and I still think about it. She didn't tell me really good things or things I wanted to hear. She says I'm going to keep working at a restaurant for a couple more years. That's good in the job stability, but what about the TV writing? She says that's going to be a few years before that happens.

I wanted to hear, your script will be produced this year or the next. Patience is a virtue. When I was a teenager, I really did want overnight success. To be so young, and so successful. I've been writing for the past 10 years. I've been pitching since last year. It's like I'm always biding my time.

I pitch my script. I wait for a response. Then when someone asks to read it, I send my script out. Then I wait until they're finished reading it. The whole time I'm working at my job, watching TV, reading, and writing.

Oct. 2 Crazy day: Today was supposed to be my day off, but instead I got a phone call from work calling me to come. It's a good thing I did. At least I got to sleep in an hour later. I went and worked from 11am-6pm. One person didn't show up in the morning. Then the other person didn't show up in the afternoon. Then another person didn't show up for the night shift.

They put a "Help Wanted" sign back up. If anyone's interested, please apply.

Names: I'm writing and for awhile I had the name Jessica as my lead character. I find that name too common. I changed it to Rain which is a name I had since 2005. I have never met a Rain before. I know there's the actor Rainn Wilson from The Office. I remember telling my old Treats manager Aziz and he said: "Like from the sky?" He thought it was a weird name. Well lots of names are words like Violet, Amber, Faith, Grace, Summer, Autumn.

The bad guy's name is Zaid. I think I got that name from the late 90s. Maybe reading from Twist magazine. I then looked it up on the internet, and the name is Arabic. The character is white so it's kind of weird. Even prior to knowing the origin, I felt it was too weird of a name like my sister's name. lol.

Well my name can be used for boys and girls, and a first and last name. There are a few like Parker and Taylor.

Oct. 3: Today I worked from open to close. At least on my break, I got to talk to Justin as he was out on his cigarette break. It turns out he and I both have a little brother named Patrick. I had guessed that his brother's name would be Jason.

Me: So when did you start smoking?
J: 2nd year of university?
Me: Why?
J: Because of the stress of midterms, exams, friends, the bars.

How did I manage stress? Well my breaks were usually dancing, and working around my TV schedule. lol.

J tells me he sees his family 2 or 3 months.
Me: So how do you get to Calgary? Driving there, plane?
J: I take the Red Arrow bus. It's better than the Greyhound.
Me: Yeah, since that decapitation.
J: What?

Me: The decapitation. You know that guy Vincent Li decapitated a guy on the bus.
J: Oh yeah, and now he's in a mental hospital.

Evolution: I've been thinking about my script. The Fighter is what I've been pitching. Then I wrote Garret which is like the first one, but with different names. Yeah, I had writer's block. Then I wrote Daniel, which is based on the comedian Daniel Tosh, my old Treats manager Aziz, and I working at a restaurant together.Now I have moved onto Rain. The characters from the last 2 scripts are there with different names, but it's a different story.

Oct. 4 James Franco: Did you know that James Franco is going to be on the soap opera General Hospital for November sweeps? I can't believe a big movie star is doing soap operas. I mean, I see them on TV, but they're doing dramas.

You know like Sean Patrick Thomas and Mekhi Pheifer are on the TV show Lie to Me. I remember seeing Ethan Hawke doing one ep of Alias.