The Blank Page...

There's something beautiful about a blank Final Draft page. Before you type, you think about the story you're going to tell, obviously, but there's more. You think about how your script is going to sell for thousands, get made by the best people in the biz, and then win every award known to the human race.

But I've got to resist the urge to start typing on that blank page. For the latest rewrite of The Bestsellers, I'm doing a long and detailed sketch of every aspect of my characters and their motivations throughout the script. If there's one thing UCLA taught me was that I can write a damn solid structual script. My characters hit their marks, just like an actor hits their marks. But what I need work on is knowing why my characters are doing what they're doing. For this script to work and the ICM agent to like it 100%, I better have characters that not only walk along the plot, but have a reason for going on the walk. Think the Wizard of Oz and the Yellow Brick Road. We all know the way to the Wizard, but that's not important. What is important is the motivation each has for GOING to the Wizard. Everything else are just obstacles. Maybe when I'm rich and famous, my book on scripts will be called The Yellow Brick Road? Nice. Then again, it's 4am and I'm rambling. I should sleep.

Nice news...

As I said before, I'm taking my time on both my rewrite of The Bestsellers and my book proposal. I sent my agent the book proposal overview and he really liked the tone. So far, so good. I'm going to continue to work on it and make sure that it sounds as fascinating as I think it is.

On The Bestsellers, I had to really just let it go for a second. Then I started rethinking about the story I wanted to tell. Basically, I want a discovery story between a young woman and an older woman. But while I had the structure down pat, my characters were basically flat and unemotional. This happened because I hadn't taken the time to flesh them out so I knew what their motivations were. Your plot can be a great map, but if you don't communicate to your audience (or coverage readers) why your characters are going on that road, they simply won't care. So I thought about who my characters are and about their motivations. It's script 101, but it's easy to miss. So I'm working on this background info before I start the rewrite.

Also, I watched The Bank Job and loved it. I particularly loved the tight script and it taught be a number of things about giving the back story briefly and then getting straight to the present. I'm looking for that script because I want to analyze it for my next script.

Still writing the overview...

I'm still writing the overview to my book proposal. I told you that I'm using all deliberate speed on this. No more rushing.

This Weekend...

I'm taking meticulous care on this book proposal and I'm doing it in stages. This weekend, I'm working on a very captivating overview that WOWS, rather than just gets the story out. I have a nice topic that hasn't been done, and there's enough controversy with this book to have editors raise their eyebrows. So I'll do the overview and then send it to my agent and have him vet it. Once that's perfect, then I'll move on.

Dropped off literary listserves...

For some reason, I've been a member of a ton of black literary listserves. For the most part, all they did was either a. suck up to bestselling authors on the list b. act as an endless promotion for books I'll never read. In other words, it was a constant clicking of the delete button on my laptop. In reality, it was a waste of time and resources and I haven't missed them in the least.

Book Proposal...

Right now, I'm taking a more relaxed process toward writing this next book proposal. Hate to say, but I can't say what it's about. But coming from a writer who wrote a book about porn, let's say this is controversial too. One thing I can say is that this next book will break me out of the black book genre. Writing about African American topics is both interesting and rewarding, but it's also a bit of a prison. Your boundaries are set so rigidly that it makes it difficult for an author to expand into pop culture. This next book is a book aimed straight at pop culture.

Gotta prep for a trip to Boston as I'm speaking on the 6th. Also, I'm about to start booking lecture dates for my busiest month, February.

Daytime/Nightime...

It looks like I will be organizing another book proposal. My hip-hop book proposal didn't sell, mainly because hip-hop books aren't really moving that many units, and there was a competing book that came out that touched on my topic. Not good. So it's back to the drawing board. I have a good idea, my agent likes it, and I think I'll take my time on it. No rushing it. I'm going to spend this month researching the topic, and THEN writing the book proposal. It's quirky and interesting, but I need to find the stories that will captivate editors.

SLAVERYLAND is still being written. I'm a bit closer to finishing and I want it done by the end of the month.

THE BESTSELLERS is one step closer. Surprise, but I need to do yet another rewrite. I'm going to have a UCLA prof I trust to take a look at it. One note was that my characters weren't very likable. I don't really like likable characters, but I better learn to create them if I want to sell a script.

More later...