Xanadu

I admit, I have watched the Olivia Newton-John movie (In high school I read the Coleridge poem referenced by the title but I didn't get it. Maybe I'll revisit it). A classic in its own right. You can't beat song and dance numbers that include roller skating and music by ELO, unless you just don't like musicals. Today I'm struck by the premise - an artist stuck creatively. Been there, done that. There were days I would go to write, buy a cup of coffee, sit down and realize I had nothing. So I sat. And sat. Then usually left earlier than I planned with feelings of disappointment. If I wanted to be a screenwriter shouldn't I be writing everyday? How do other writers deal with creative voids? I was stuck.

Then I received a book from my mom, "Making a Good Writer Great" by Linda Seger. I picked up a lot of ideas as I read through it. Well, one of them came in handy last week. I sat down at my local Peet's at my usual time of 6:30a and began to wonder what I'd write. So I utilized a writing exercise Seger suggested. Pick three random nouns (you know, a person, place or thing) and create a story that incorporates them. So I looked around and found one of each. I said my little prayer, "Come on, Lord, give me something! Anything. I'll take a "Lost" rip-off."

And it came! And to my surprise I liked the story. In fact, I really liked it. So I'm working on it now as the next short I do. Maybe later this year. We'll see how funding and logistics play out.

Have no fear, loyal supporters, the development of this short will not interfere with the completion of the others. My office is almost work ready. Editing, here I come!

Great is Thy Faithfulness and New Every Morning

It's been a while since I posted here. With the holidays and family coming in from Illinois I didn't have any time to sit and write. But life is back to Normal, or at least my sister is (I'm originally from Normal, IL).

As I sit down to write Aerosmith's "Amazing" is playing. And the chorus is very fitting to what I have been thinking about:

It's Amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It's Amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright

Yeah, yeah, I know some may consider the "Get A Grip" album to be a sell-out but I have a fond place in my heart for it. It came out while I was in high school. Plus it's relevant to my current thought, hope. You see during my winter break (my job gave me a week+ off) my family and I cleaned out the house and the garage. And I mean cleaned. We pitched and donated, sorted and organized, Swiffer-ed and polished. It was very energizing. I think and work better in clean, clutter-free environments. So my office, aka the garage, has once more been reclaimed. I raised my own Iwo Jima flag.

So 2011 and filmmaking are already starting off on the right foot. A little tidying up here and there and I'm ready to work. My game plan is to complete a small project I started a few months back with a musician friend of mine, Elaine, then move onto a larger project I started in 2009, "Wanted". The challenge will be to stay focused on them until they're done. This is my inspiration:

Yo Joe!