What's the Point of Scripted Living?

If this blog leaned toward the existential, the glib answer would be what's the point of anything? But it doesn't, so here's the point:

Scripted Living seeks to chronicle the labyrinthine journey from story idea to completed script to sold script – all from the perspective of a screenwriter who hasn't broken down the door to Hollywood. Not yet, anyway.

Did I mention hubris runs deep in my family?

Along the way, you'll get an in-depth, real-time glimpse into a screenwriter's murky journey from baby writer to paid Hollywood screenwriter. Or so I hope.

Hope is the operative word here.

Let's face it: there are no guarantees that I'll find the handle on the door marked “Hollywood” or be able to crack the sucker open when I do. Even my hubris has its limits. But I can say with absolute conviction that I'm bringing all my writing talent, dogged persistence and ever-growing knowledge of the industry to bear on the challenge.

Here's full disclosure on me and my writing background, offered only so you can decide whether Scripted Living is worth following and compare it with your own writing experience/situation. Please excuse the excessive use of the first-person pronoun:

• I don't live in Los Angeles. I am, however, located on the same continent, three time zones ahead.

• My day job involves writing and editing a quarterly trade magazine for a major defense contractor. Pays my mortgage, buys my groceries, and fixes my car whenever it coughs up a lung. Between it and my wife's magazine editor position, we manage to keep the creditors at bay.

• I wrote a novel that attracted a literary agent in 2004, but didn't attract a publisher. Ain't it wonderful when you can summarize four years of your life in 15 words and four numbers?

• I've written two non-fiction books that were published in 2006 and 2007.

• I developed and launched my own publishing company and ran it for nearly two years. Make that ran it into the ground. Meh...

• I've written news releases, website copy, marketing materials and much more. My freelance work has appeared in newspapers and magazines throughout North America.

Oh, yeah. I've also written four screenplays since 2007. More on that in future posts.

So that's me. Some successes, lots of failures and scads of rejections. Welcome to the world of writing – please remain seated until your laptop and/or writing hand come(s) to a complete stop.

And maybe, just maybe, my efforts to break into screenwriting can help your efforts to break into screenwriting – or at least tell you what isn't working and thus serve as a cautionary tale when I shit my own pants.