SCREENWRITER'S UPDATE - ALMOST READY TO ROLL OUT

Ahhh, fellow bloggies and black fonts, how I miss you so! It's been full-on reno here, in prep to put the SC house on the market and get our butts moved to Houston, where we just closed on house contract #3. The RELO company was a pain in the ass down to the last minute, just like two years before. I won't go into it all, lets just say I'm not impressed when everyone we deal with makes it seem like it's the first time they have ever done their job (because maybe it is?).

On this house, of course the work and things to move becomes three-fold before your eyes once into it all. Fortunately, I was able to recruit an eighteen year old guy I met at Starbucks to help me with the work. Unfortunately, this brought to light what a pain in the ass I must have been when I was also a mouthy eighteen year old! But, we're getting it done and exterior window painting continues this week.

The new house, which I have yet to see in person, has a 2nd floor addition of 500 square feet -- the same size as my old classroom in St. Louis -- so I plan to teach art again, out of that space. This helps me avoid a lease and a pesky landlord, as well as the fact that I can check in on all of our pets during breaks. The economy is slowly creeping back so I hope for a few students.

Just a few weeks and it will be a roll-out with six cats and a dog for 1000 miles, one overnighter. Last time we did 700 miles with three cats and I'm hoping this goes just as well.

Beyond the prep, not much, been sort of living in a bubble of reno. I catch world news when I can and the BP oil ordeal is heartbreaking as well as infuriating. Bret Michaels is still alive and should be on Trump's final tonight. Lee and Crystal will face off on Idol. And that's about all I know.

So, I hope you're enjoying late spring, looking forward to summer, and getting a break where you deserve. I'll write from Houston in a few weeks, god willing, whichever one you praise, lol.

FADE OUT... BUT FADING BACK IN SOON!

SCREENWRITER'S UPDATE - HOUSE ORDEAL

Hey Bloggies, hoping all is well.

We dropped the contract on the first house in Houston, near the Galleria, because it failed the "hydrostatic inspection". The test is about $350 and I highly advise getting it if buying a home, unless it's brand new. Basically, they plug the waste line outside the house, fill every sink, tub, and drain, and watch the line for thirty minutes. Most of the lines had dropped an inch per minute, meaning water was leaking out under the house (homes are mostly built on slab there, no basements). They included a bid for $15,000 to excavate and install new lines, and by then we had cold feet and moved on.

The search continued until we found Oak Forest, northwest of the city but still close. An older part of town, it reminds me a lot of the midwest in architectural style. Contract #2 failed because the buyer just sat on it, so we moved on. #3 is in action now, it's an exceptional place even with a large studio I could teach from, but we're waiting on response and I don't want to get my hopes up. We'll see.

Other than that, I've been moving a lot of dirt here, cutting weeds -- all the things you wanted to do with your home but don't until you're going on market, in a panic, lol! Been lucky with the temps in the 70's, so we did end up having one week of spring!

In other news, two bloggies got rescue dogs this month, really cool! Seems Sarah Z. writes at a hectic pace, she's always all over my Facebook news board, hehe! John August seems to be taking his blog in a new direction, almost in a "Dear Abby" kind of way to things not even related to screenwriting, and I'm not surprised to see he's good at it.

FADE OUT...

SCREENWRITER'S UPDATE

Hi everyone, I hope your spring has sprung by now and you're holding fast to those New Year's resolutions of three months past!

Just an update -- we did a whirlwind tour through Houston, Texas, and contracted on a house in the last few hours of the trip. I'm sure our realtor, Tiffany, was relieved, because we had almost convinced her we would never make concessions on the location and ammenities. In Houston you'll live close to town and all the good attractions and have no yard or grocery nearby, or you'll be out on the edge with a yard and a nearby Starbucks and a long commute. We settled for the latter. None of this applies if you have a half a million bucks or more to drop.

The big coincidence is that the production company I'm hoping to work with is a mere ten minutes from the house! Screenwriting friend Sarah discovered the prodco and they requested her script, so thanks to her for turning me onto them in the first place. Just when it looked like I might go back to full-time painting and teaching art, a whole new door has opened in my screenwriting realm.

Of course, having a local address is not going to open the door, but it can't hurt. I have three scripts to rewrite, plus the move, projects at this house and the new one, so I won't approach the company until late in the year.

Concerning the rewrite, if you're not a screenwriter, this process takes longer than the initial "first draft". After getting some valuable feedback you go back into the story and make necessary changes in the script. Three scripts could take me 90 days, tack on the same for the move and renos and I'm looking at October.

As for the three rescued kittens -- Comet, Donner, and Blitzen -- they're domesticated, growing fast, and part of the family, so they're going with us, bringing the total to six cats and one dog. They love running around our screened porch, snuggling, all of them rub on Caesar the dog, it's amazing. Saving those "little bits" is still the best thing I've done all year.

Even though you may have ditched one or two resolutions (who needs to work out everyday or banish carbs?), everyday takes us one step further in its own, strange, and sometimes meaningless way. To quote Britney Spears, "When I drove around in my car, I felt like I was going somewhere."

Profound, lol!

FADE IN!

I WILL BE BACK -- THEREFORE I AM

I tried to stay off the blog for a month, while "CLUNKER" occupied the main post spot. Apparently, I couldn't do it, falling a few days short. Seems I love to write.

So, happy 2010, all. Seems a lot like 2009 after all the smoke and hypomania clears, doesn't it? But, for true artists, hypomania never goes away, and that's why I'm back to posting!

A lot has happened in a month, and I'm not going to blow all of that in one blog post, we do want to conserve our resources here. Just as in screenwriting -- can't do all the good jokes in act one, to follow with nothing. Screenwriter note -- that's referred to as "top heavy", not a good thing, at least in writing.

What's in store, for sure? A move -- yep, you'll find out where, how, why -- all of it. A career change -- AGAIN! The progress of my rescued kittens! My ongoing love-hate relationship with home renovation! All about TRIGGERSTREET.COM! "CLUNKER" and where it has gone in a month! If INKTIP.COM is a hoax, or not. Could you be a READER, and why would you want to (it's all about the pain!)?

So, an update, screenwriter tip, and insight into "hypomania", which you can find on "the google". Plus a "trailer" for the upcoming stuff. Thanks for being loyal!

FADE OUT!

UPDATE

Hello folks, I've been out of this loop a bit and fully absorbed in promoting my script. I've spent every day and night since Thankgiving on a guerilla campaign to get this script on the big screen.

As reported earlier, I'm up on inktip.com and prodcos are pulling up my logline in their searches. Thought: I need to shorten my logline. 2nd Thought: when you press "info" on your T.V. the logline is right before your eyes, so I've been channel surfing to check them out, good excercise.

Someone said writing the script is only 1/3 the battle, the rest is promoting it. I can firmly say that writing it turns out to be maybe ten percent of the work, because the rest of this makes writing look easy! I'm game though, I'll do everything it takes.

On the agenda: some query letters -- hey, if you happen to work for FOX SEARCHLIGHT, need any favors? Can I wash your car, paint a room or something? LOL?

AND, my guerilla campaign, which is so innovative and top secret, I can't share it until it is unleashed. It's one of a kind, never been done, and I've been meticulously planning the method since my intro to screenwriting.

Stay tuned because I promise it will deliver! It's on a thirty day plan, soon to be released!

UPDATE: 111 DAYS IN

Hello everybody, just the latest update here, 111 days into screenwriting.

I spent a week on the synopsis for the completed screenplay, which I did the last checks on last night. Hopefully I'll get that on inktip.com before Thanksgiving day, who knows, maybe an exec will get loaded on the holiday and decide to call? LOL.

In other news, I cut off about six inches from my hair, which hadn't been cut since March. No longer will I have to put up with a waiter, approaching from behind, who says "so ladies...umm...and gentleman". Three times. Can you believe it?? You'd think they'd learn to just come up and say "good evening".

And women, you've sure gained some respect about the hair thing, it's hot, hard to wash, hangs in the eyes... most men have no idea.

Since we gave up meat in April (yes that means fish too, can't believe how many people think fish is not meat, it's a protein that reacts to pain, it has a mind) we're going to make a fake "meatloaf" for Thanksgiving using all the usual ingredients and our soy-based meat substitute. Somewhere out there is a lucky turkey thanking us.

The same can't be said for what our dog and cats eat, but hey, we're trying.

Last but not least, my article about the new town slogan of "The Right Size" kicked off massive debate, with a Chamber of Commerce member being quoted as saying "it doesn't matter what people think." The uproar has been amazing.

If you're turkey's not thawing right now, give up, it takes three days!

SCREENWRITER'S UPDATE - EIGHTY SEVEN DAYS IN

Another week down and another update in. Breaking headline of the week:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVELY WIFE!

and

110 pages is the new 120!

What? Just when I honed the script to 120, omitting spaces and some lines in the process?? But we were told that whitespace in between action lines made it easier on the eyes, and an easy read. And I'm not bumping out the margins, or tightening the line spacing. But, I might have to if this keeps up.

Polishing continues, and I was able to spend an entire day on the topics of logline, query letter, and synopisis. A logline for a rom-com with several sub-plots is not an easy thing, in all of the above I don't want to give away the ending.

What do I really want to say in a query? Well, it's different from what I will send, but here's how I feel.

Bigass Productions
123 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA
90210

Dear Director of Development,

I have busted my ass on a screenplay that I would like to submit for your consideration.

"TITLE HERE" is the story of "PROTAGONIST", a "BACKSTORY" and "OCCUPATION", who suffers from extreme "FIXATION" but ends up finding a way to use it to his advantage. It's never been done.<--(in edit, I wonder how many fools put that one on, OMG!)

I'm a full-time aspiring screenwriter and a published newspaper columnist. A devout follower of the teachings of Rossio and August, I follow strict protocol on screenwriting trends, which means there are no camera angles or parantheticals to bore you in the read. Action and description is cut to the minimum and spaced, and I actually follow a three-act structure. I'm sure you will enjoy it-- and make tons of money if you produce it.

Drop me a line and I'll fire this sucker to ya.

Peace out,
Brian Burke

SCREENWRITER'S UPDDATE - EIGHTY DAYS IN

Eighty days and posts in, time to give an update.

CONCEPT BEHIND THIS BLOG
If you're not familiar, the goal here was to write a finished script within sixty days. I have completed one screenplay and am almost finished with the second. I have also written a treatment for the third screenplay, which must be completed one-hundred days from now- no problem.

What's the big deal?

Eighty days ago I knew NOTHING about screenwriting, zilch, no training or experience, I didn't know "voiceover" from "offscreen". That's my--

GIMMICK
which is defined as:
"an ingenious or novel device, scheme, or stratagem, esp. one designed to attract attention or increase appeal."

In a logline, "A middle-aged man in a down economy discovers screenwriting as a medium to escape a rural town, hoping to return to the exciting city life he once lived."

Of course, I'm not relying on my gimmick alone, I better be a damn good screenwriter, what use is the interesting main character when there's no story, right?

So it's been nose to the grindstone, and thanks to all the fantastic screenwriters that post valuable information on the internet I've made quite an arc. My special thanks goes out to pro screenwriters--

TERRY ROSSIO
and
JOHN AUGUST

in no particular order, who unknowingly mentored me through this entire process.

BLOGOSPHERE
I also want to thank the many screenwriters and characters that post their own blogs, sometimes with tips, other times with humorous articles or observations about everyday life. I've laughed, learned some things, posted to your blogs, drawn visitors from your sites, it's been fun.

Thanks to

JULIE - screenwriter / script-notes specialist in LA
EMILY - screenwriter in LA
JUST ME - writer and refugee from New York
BIG PISSY - shares my southern "hell"

Sorry guys, but yes, women do write the funniest blogs, hands down.

But then, of course, there's UNK, the Unknown Screenwriter. There's a wealth of information on his site, he's up on the latest, a pro-reader, writer, and producer.

Checking my site's robot one day, I saw all these visitors coming in from Twitter, and I don't even tweet. Tracing the path led me to UNK, who had tweeted an article I had written on "CHARACTER TRAITS AND ARC" to over three-thousand of his followers. Wow.

I don't even "know" the guy through emails or what, and here he was, someone who pulls no punches in this profession, tweeting a piece I had written. It was like getting an A+++ on a test.

I wrote the post in maybe fifteen or so minutes, did not use one piece of reference material, no, it's not a copy or condensed version of someone else's work. It's my angle on the topic, how I feel about it in my head, in fact, as if I were talking to myself, trying to remember what I need to be aware of when I'm writing scripts.

Thanks, UNK, I'll be in line to see your films.

Also, a thanks to Screenwriting Basics, who was unsolicited in posting several links to my "How to Write a Screenplay" articles on the following page:

SCREENWRITING BASICS

giving me another A+, in my book.

IN THE FUTURE
As you can see, I've started a series on "HOW TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY (SCRIPT)", so that others may enjoy the same process I'm going through, if they dare take the dive.

I continue writing screenplays, of course, and next week I will be working on queries, tweaking synopsis and logline, researching production companies- the whole shift into the marketing side of the profession.

The goal is three screenplays entered into competition by spring of next year, one of which will, dare I say it, be in post-production by then. It's a high bar, but worth a shot--

if you don't play, you can't win.