Happy New Year

Yessiree. 2009 is here and I for one am glad.

There's going to be a lot of changes in my life in 2009. Some changes I hope will happen, but some I will force. The process to a new life begins now with a culling of some old contacts. I tied up all loose ends in 2008 and I can wipe the slate clean. They don't need me, and I don't need them. It's an amicable break.

Literature wise 2009 will see the submission of my novel. I am, at this moment, prepping it into manuscript format. I fully believe this novel will sell, but then I would believe that. The minute it is submitted I am going to work on a second book (and finish my screenplay). Like I said, some changes I'll force.

Have a good one and I hope you all achieve whatever dreams you have. If 2008 sucked for you, like it did for me, then let's make 2009 ours.

Swimming

It's Friday and the weekend is here. Christmas is but a mere few days away and it's the time to chill out with mulled wine and chestnuts.

Oh and my head is swimming.

I picked up a copy of The Writer Got Screwed by Brooke. A. Wharton. It's an amazing book. It's a guide to the legal and business practices of writing for the entertainment industry. I picked it up because when I finish my screenplays I wish to send them to Hollywood. I'm sure the British Film Industry would hate my guts (well, they probably don't care right at this minute, but I am sure if I managed to carve a career out for myself they might) but although my novel writing is mostly English, my screenplays are mostly American. No, I have no idea why either.

It's the best horror book I've ever read. I won't type any excerpts because she's a lawyer and might sue my arse off, but needless to say I recommend it. In fact if you're getting into the screenwriting industry (or trying) and you're aiming for the American market then you must buy this book. I don't want to hear excuses. Buy it and read it. You can thank me (or rather Ms Wharton) later.

Aside from reading my new book I've worked pretty hard today. I'm determined to get the novel done by Christmas so I can go into 2009 actually looking for a publisher and working on the sequel. When tomorrow comes I'll no doubt be drained. A day of writing/proofing really does take it out of me, probably more than it should.

Oh and the weather is crap!

Novel vs Screenplay

I am coming to the end of my second novel. I wrote my first many years ago but I never tried to publish it because it was, in a word, crap. The second book is richer, fuller and more interesting and I am hopeful of finding a publisher come 2009. I don't think I am the authority on novel writing, but I do know I have a good grasp of the actual literary process--the submission process is a bit more murky for me.

I've found it quite interesting therefore to compare novel writing with writing a screenplay, which is what I am also doing. New ideas do come very easily to me--I've always had a great imagination--but now I am wondering whether these new ideas are novel ideas or whether they're screenplay ideas. Does the idea fit into an 80,000+ word book or does it better fit into a 100+ minute movie? It's causing me endless headaches. I'm interested to know if there are any author/screenwriters out there and how they decide on such things.

Quick plug: I purchased a book the other day from Amazon.co.uk and it's quickly become one of the most essential books in my collection, bettered perhaps only by the incredible "Elements of Style". The book is called: Secrets of Film Writing and is by a chap called Tom Lazarus. If you're interesting in screenwriting then I strongly recommend you pick it up.