[General] Writing on the Shoulders of Giants

Hello. There will be no apology for my absence. You will just have to live with it.

Those of you who are canny will have noticed subtle changes to the sidebar. For example I have added, mainly for my own reference, a progress bar that will show how far I am through whatever it is I am working on. [If anyone would like the code it is here]. I figure 90% is my mark for completion; the other 10% being the rewrites.

So I am working on this cheesy splatter horror film script for an up-and-coming director friend. It ain’t payin’ work but it ain’t dull either. So I got me a copy of Final Draft 7 and I am currently teaching myself to use it (manuals are for wusses).

For other would be writers out there here are a couple of sites that are pretty useful resources.

• Kung Fu Monkey: John Rogers, writer of The Core and roughly 0.2% of Catwoman, writes about a lot of screenwriting related stuff (check his sidebar and this post). He is also pretty funny so just read his other stuff as well.
• Man Bytes Hollywood: David Anaxagoras who is doing his MFA at UCLA. David is the author of the links below.
  

The Secrets of UCLA MFA Screenwriters

• 1. There Are No Secrets
• 2. Character Introductions
• 3. Electrifying Loglines
• 4. Shut Up and Listen
• 5. Structure, Structure, Structure
• 6. Send Your Inner Critic Packing
• 7. Be Excellent on Page One
• 8. It's Never the Spoon

On another topic, check out this photo my friend Dena got with Michael Campbell! She’s American and just played the “dumb tourist” card and it worked. She is currently stalking Cliff Curtis. [Check out Dena’s blog here, try to find the “guy in the speedos”].

Now I am in no way a “foodie”. I love cooking though (hate baking) and I love eating. This week I had two of the best vegetarian lasagnes ever! First at Wilton House on Wilton Bush Road and then at Juniper off Lambton Quay on Panama St. Heartily recommended.

That’ll do. I promise more posts soon.