Today...Motorcycles...

Today I took day two of my three day Motorcycle Safety Course, and it was great. We putted around on our bikes, but it felt like we were doing something. The first class was on Friday at 6:30-9:30pm, but this mornings class started at 6:30am. It takes a good hour with traffic for me to roll to the class, so I have been operating on two hours sleep. And tomorrow, we meet again at 6:30am for four more hours of riding. But after that, I take a test and hopefully, I'll pass. And then it's on to riding for real...

I've looked at the first page of FWB and that's about it. I think I can do all of the changes in less than two days, and seeing that I'll be bushed tomorrow, it looks more and more like I'll really work on it all day on Monday and then finish on Tuesday. What sucks is that I'm trying to give up chocolate and get in shape. I love milk chocolate like others love coffee and cigarettes. So doing this is very, very, hard. With the copyedit, I would normally go to Magic Johnson's Starbucks, find a spot with a cord, buy an endless supply of chocolate frappicinos (sp?) and finish the edit while watching the peeps. But I can't go in there now because I just can't be near chocolate. I gotta get in shape for when FWB is published, because if you're going to brand yourself, you don't want people walking away thinking that the book was cool, but did you see that brothers physique. Double uncool. So no Coffee Bean (my favorite are the chocolate ice blendeds), Starbucks, or king sized snickers.

Me...

For those of you who've wondered what I look like. This is a three year old photo because my locks are down my back now. I need to take a more current photo soon.

Friends With Benefits Cover

Here is the cover for Friends With Benefits. I just learned how to post photos to the blog, so bear with me.

re: the Final Final FWB Edit...

Got the manuscript this afternoon, and I think I will able to knock this boy out by Saturday.

Pitching...Part 2

So we have a meeting with Endemol. We're excited, we have a great show, and we are prepared to give it a go. We walk into the Endemol offices without a clue on pitching, but we know how to talk. So we sit down and start talking, and talking, and talking. We're explaining every little thing about the show. We're going over how people will play. How exciting it will all be. And it WILL be exciting. We think we do a good job. But no...

At the end of our pitch, the producer looks at us and says, "Nah". He tells us that paintball can't really work on television, he knew that about ten seconds into our pitch. But he does tell us that he has a new program that is going to be hot. This reality show has a camera following a beach bum around and lets the audience vote on what he does during the day. Both my frat brother and I look at each other, knowing that this new "hot" show is going to suck, but since this is Hollywood, we both are enthusiastic about the show. We were right. The show is so boring that it gets cancelled only after a few episodes. We could have told him that at our own pitch meeting, but then again, we wanted a sale.

At this point, we don't have a sale, but the producer does want us to come back with a more tight package. Okay we say, still encouraged. And so we go back to work. Part Three tomorrow...

Things I Don't Get...#2

Kobe's penchant for self destruction: One of the problems with having an extraordinary talent is that you tend to focus on that particular talent for so long, that you lose perspective, or even worse, never gain a perspective. Take Kobe Bryant for example. Here's a guy who is as talented on the court as could be, but because he's never developed any sense of perspective, he's become both self aware and self absorbed. And while I'm not psychologist, I imagine that his personality is now fully formed, and the Kobe you see in his twenties is going to be the Kobe you see in his eighties. But in that manner, he's not any different than his hero Michael Jordan, except that Michael Jordan had enough sense to mask his selfishness through surrogates and myth building. And as long as he didn't stray from the myth, no one bothered to look behind the curtain and see if there really was a wizard. For Kobe, he doesn't have that luxury anymore. The rape charge and the Lakers missing the playoffs, means that everyone knows that there's no wizard, and there never was. And as a Laker fanatic, that tarnishes the gold on the uniforms just a bit.

My Experience Pitching...Part I

About two years ago, my frat brother had a terrific idea for a reality/television show. It combined elements of paintball and a Mission Impossible caper. We called the whole thing, "Heist". After fleshing out the game play, we had a wonderfully detailed, amazingly interesting treatment. And lucky us, we knew someone who could get us a meeting with Endemol, the folks who do damn near every reality show on television. This was the start of our journey into the Kafkaeque world of pitching. More later...

FWB Copy Edit...

For some reason, I forgot that I would get my Friends With Benefits manuscript back from the copy editor. My editor's assistant called and said I should look for the copy edited version manuscript tomorrow. I have to make all of the corrections by May 5. When you get your manuscript back from the copy editor, it's an ego buster, due to all of the red marks and little stickum's they'll put on it. It makes you think that you have no idea how the English language works. And sometimes, you don't.

Now, this really shouldn't be a problem, except I'd mentally finished with Friends, and now I have to get right back up for it. Plus, I have even less time because I'll be busy this weekend at a motorcycle class. But I'll toil on.

But one bit of good news. I was able to finally talk to the Books-A-Million rep. I'm going to send her my proposal this weekend.

Another bit of good news: I have my second Divine Nine lecture booking for the fall. I'm going back to Clemson University, where I lectured a couple of years ago. I've lectured at over two hundred schools, and Clemson is one of my favorites. Normally, schools want to take me out to dinner either before or after the lecture, and I decline. But the last time I was at Clemson, I'm glad I didn't. It was one of the best dinner, and they have their own cows, so you get some of the freshest dairy products. It may not seem like much, until you taste blue cheese that is out of this world. Plus, the people are really nice.

This year, I'm going to really limit my lectures due to school. I would normally block book (book a bunch of schools during the week), but now I'm pretty much going to limit it to one a week, and then be done. It's already going to be overwhelming, and I don't need to fall behind in school while traveling.

Where I'm At...

The Savoy article: Done yesterday. It came in at 1800 words, but the subject needed it. The article talks about the plight of black character actors in Hollywood, which is very relevant to me.

I go into UCLA with my eyes open and no illusions about where black writers fit in the scheme of Hollywood. For a HUGE percentage of the industry, we don't. But that's okay. When you're black and educated, you sort of get used to those odds as being normal. And besides, I have a plan.

On other fronts:

Project Z: Haven't paid attention to it because of other deadlines. I need to get it done and out of the way because I want to finish my other fiction manuscript (Project X) by the end of May.

Project Y: June to August is devoted to gathering all of the research material for my non-fiction book proposal on hip hop. Of all my projects, this is going to be the trickiest. If my agent can sell it, then I'm going to truly have a packed schedule next year. I'll go to school during the week, and then I'll be doing research, interviews, etc. for the book on the weekend. But I'm the type of person who NEEDS a constant sense of pressure and deadlines. I think that comes from working at a newspaper, where there's never a break in the deadline cycle. But it'll be interesting.

Friends With Benefits: My fraternity brother operates a marketing company and came up with a REALLY good promotion/sponsorship idea for Friends With Benefits. He wants to hold events, not just book signings, around the theme of my book. The book comes out in late August, early September and so I need to do this promotion at the very beginning of September. UCLA begins on September 26, so I'm going to be cutting it close. The idea, beyond selling many, many copies of FWB, is to get my name out into the public so that it is branded. I want my readers to pick up my books on GP.

Planning Ahead:
In the Summer 2006, I want to produce two shorts and one feature length movie: For the shorts, I want to shoot in Brazil (crime caper) and England (a documentary). For the feature (if I can get financing) I want to adapt my own Friends With Benefits. I'll be done with any book projects, and hopefully I'll have time. As I enter my last year at UCLA, I want to have a great portfolio.

Cool Brother...

A cool brother from the UCLA M.F.A program reached out to me. His name is M.K. Asante, and he is an award winning filmmaker and is also an author. I'm looking forward to meeting with him in May because his documentary 500 Years Later is similar to my second book, The Ways of Black Folks: A Year in the Life of a People. We are both interested in the African Diaspora, and it'll be nice to talk to someone who has had the same experiences.

As for the Savoy article, I'm damn near done. I put off writing it this weekend because I needed two more interviews. I got one, but the other is still a possibility. I'll write the first draft tonight, and then see if I get that last interview. If not, I have enough.

Five things I don't understand...

1. The popularity of Paris Hilton: Did I miss something? Did she do something noteworthy or meritworthy? Or is she famous for being famous? Every time I see her on television getting coverage, I think about all of the starving artists out there who are doing important work, and if just for a two minute segment on Entertainment Tonight, or The Insider, or Access Hollywood, could get that big break they've been looking for. Instead, we give that time to a talentless narcissist who will never add anything to this world except stupidity.

#2 Tomorrow...

Savoy Article Interviews Done...

I'm pretty much finished with my Savoy interviews. All of the subjects were great, and gave really good quotes. Usually during an assignment, you run into an ass who's only doing the interview because their publicist demands that they do it. But not this time. I got good quotes from different perspectives. I'll write the first draft tomorrow, and then see if I need additional interviews.

Haven't worked on Project X beyond add a couple of sentences. I may try to work a bit on it tonight.

Everything else is on the shelf. On Monday, I will call the Books-A-Million one last time. If I don't get a response, then I'm going to assume she's not interested. I have another strategy. I'm contacting Red Bull.

Right now, I'm setting up a September booksigning in Los Angeles at Eso Won. I've contacted the UCLA Black Alumni Association about co-sponsoring the signing with my fraternity chapter. That's a start.

Why Film School...

A friend of mine asked me why I wanted to go to UCLA film school. The simple answer is that I want to learn how to write screenplays, but that's not it. I think I could learn how to write competent screenplays by cobbling together some sort of extension class/workshop curriculum. But I have an eye toward something more.

When I was fifteen, I read the Autobiography of Malcolm X, and like a lot of African American youth, it affected me to the point that I knew I had to not only just make a living, but to make a mark for my community. And I want to do the same thing when it comes to film. I want to make what I like to term, quiet films. My idol is Mike Leigh, who makes films that delve deeply into the lives of characters. I want the freedom to do the same.

But I know there are obstacles. There are African American writers who are struggling to sell their scripts because Hollywood is not the most diverse place in the world. So while smart black films don't get made, Soul Plane does. Also, the African American audience is for the most part, not demanding films that I would consider to be quality, but instead are satisfied with whatever drivel given them. So there has to be a mindset change among the very community I'd like to appeal to.

I hope that after I graduate from UCLA, I will write scripts that turns this around. I want to be innovative, different (but not for the sake of being different) and produce work that is at the highest quality in the industry. If UCLA gives me the opportunity to gain these tools, then I will be able to make my mark.

What's Happening...

Right now, I'm doing interviews for the Savoy article, so I've only had a chance to dibble and dabble with Project X. I have four more interviews tomorrow, and I hope to finish them by Saturday. I'll write the article by Sunday, and then go back over it on Monday.

Writer's Block...

Someone asked me in a private email about writers block and how to overcome it. I actually don't believe in it. Now there are times when I don't feel like writing on a project, and that's when I start working on another. But regardless, there are times when you need to really start grinding. Now, part of this you learn if you've ever worked at a newspaper and you have a Wednesday editorial pitch meeting. Sometimes you just don't have any ideas for stories. But since they are paying you to write, you better to come up with something. So you grind it out. Force yourself to sit in front of the computer for X amount of time, and even if you don't write a single word, you'll still be further along than those who complain about having writers block as an excuse to not get in front of that computer. Because I can guarantee that eventually, you'll start writing again, particularly if you've done a good job outlining your story. Writers write, regardless of obstacles.

Waiting...

I'm still waiting on the Books-A-Million rep to get back to me. I hope that it happens soon because I need to start get the wheels started on my Friends With Benefits promotion. To give you a vague idea of what the promotion is, I'm using the concept of a flash mob to sell my book. A flash mob is when a large group of people gather in one place suddenly and unexpectedly. Well I'm trying to do the same thing when it comes to people buying my book. I want them to gather in one place for about 24 hours, buy my book in the thousands, and do good at the same time. I think I've figured out how to do it, but putting the parts together is the task.

On another front, I have three schools who are trying to book me for Divine Nine lectures. I give students a lot of credit, because they will really work to find funding for programs they believe in. It just plays havoc with my travel schedule because they often have to wait until the last minute to find out if they can bring me.

Added about a thousand more words to Project X. The story is still flowing.

My agent Manie said that I'm due my backend check for Friends With Benefits in about two weeks, so that rocks. It ain't much, but it's cool.

Project B...

Project B for Savoy Magazine is due two days earlier than I initially thought, 4/27 versus 4/29. But no biggee, I'm almost done finding my subjects for the article, so I think I'll be done by this weekend.

Project X did reach 17,000 words by last night.

I called Books-A-Million this afternoon and left another message about my promotional project for Friends With Benefits.

Other than that, my six year old son pummelled me in X-Box Muhammed Ali boxing for the first time. I'm getting old.

More progress...

Not too bad. Project X is still flowing, even though not to the 20,000 words I'd targeted. By the end of the night, it looks like I'll finish at around 17,500 words. Not bad.

Tomorrow, I'll contact Book-A-Million about a promotion I'm proposing for Friends With Benefits. If my proposal is accepted, then I will not only be able to promote my book, but also raise money for a very worthy cause. More later...

Project X Progress...

Very, very nice progress on Project X. Moved the manuscript from 7500 words to 13,110 and the story is flowing. I mean really flowing. Again, this story is fiction, but it comes from an unsold non-fiction book proposal on the porn industry. There is nothing more frustrating than having an unsold book proposal, particularly since I hate writing them, but I didn't want the idea to die. Plus, I'd spent too much time interviewing porn stars, filmmakers, etc. to let these characters just pass along into the ether. I figured that I could tell a really good fiction story from the information I'd gathered, and it has really worked. I'm going to keep grinding and see if I can get to 20,000 words by the end of the weekend.

On the Friends With Benefits marketing front, one of my frat brothers runs a great marketing and events company, and it looks like we're going to work on creating some combo booksignings/cocktail gatherings centered on the relationship aspect of the book. It's a good idea because I want to take promotions of books beyond the whole, come to the bookstore, watch me read, answer some questions, and then get your book signed. That's boring for the author, boring for the readers, and really needs to be updated. Anything that breaks up that monotony makes me happy. We're going to target some sponsors for these events.

TiVo is back...

I'd contact the brilliant minds at DirectTV when my TiVo inexplicably went out, and they proceeded to mess up things so bad that I couldn't get a picture at all. I was not happy, especially since I then had to schedule some technician at $30 an hour to come out. But that was two days ago. I decided to reinstall everything prior to my DirectTV guy coming on Monday, and lo and behold, TiVo is back. I love my TiVo, and now I feel complete.

The African Diaspora...

I am very interested in the African Diaspora, particularly in the similarities and differences between the experiences of African Americans and black Britains (meaning those from the West Indies, and not the universal "black" which is used to include Asians and other minorities in the UK). So you will see me post links to writers from both sides of the pond who may illuminate our experiences. Check out the links to the right==========> for poet Benjamin Zephaniah, who eloquently turned down an Order of the British Empire honor, and Andrea Levy, a writer I'm meaning to read.

Also, we can add Project B, which is a freelance magazine article I have to complete in the next two weeks for Savoy magazine. It's 1500 words, which is not that bad, but I need to get my contacts and interviews done in the next few days. Other than that, it should be a snap.