Waterboarding

Well, here I am, finally with my own blog and a good reason for it. I'm Alex, 28 years old from Orange County, CA, and I'm trying to become a screenwriter. Yes, you heard correctly. And you're probably asking yourself the same question I've asked over the years, "Why the fuck do you wanna torture yourself like that?" Simple answer - who the fuck knows?

But here I am three months away from my 29th birthday and not much to show for it. Although I've had minor success over the past nine years(which you'll read about as time goes on), I feel my life is at a standstill. A road block perhaps. I'm like the Tom Hanks character in the final scene of Castaway. Which direction do I go? How do I get there? Do I follow the hot brunette North? Take my chances South? Head East? Or take the road West where they say all of your dreams come true? Fortunately for me, I already live in California, so I'm ahead of the game... or so I think.

One thing I know for sure is that I love film and television more than I think my own family and friends, which is harsh to say, but I'm not the one to tell a lie. They're everything to me. Take them away and I have nothing. Sure, I have a nice family, cool friends, an Xbox 360, PS3 and an undying love for animal crackers, but they don't complete me. A two hour film full of romance, adventure, mystery and drama is what truly completes me. Sounds gay? Probably, but it's the truth... my own truth... the only truth I know.

Now what bugs me the most is that in the last six years of my life I've written a television spec, one screenplay and a half of another screenplay. That's it! In six years that's all I have to show for myself. And I actually consider myself a real writer too, that's the sad part. But from what I hear around town, real writers WRITE. They don't talk about wanting to write. They don't talk about how famous they're gonna be after they've sold their screenplay. They don't envision what house they'll buy along Sunset in Beverly Hills. You know why? Because writers are too busy WRITING. Because they know the second they stop writing, the party is over. The entire process of writing for the screen is pure TORTURE, and they know it. And you know what? I envy those people. I want the torture. I welcome the torture. I NEED the torture, because I am after all... a real writer.

So the time has come. No more waiting around. No more excuses. No more procrastinating. I choose to become a screenwriter, and I'm here to take the plunge...

Why now, you ask? Well, I've always wanted a time in my life where I could do nothing but write all day and night. The last 6-7 years I've been working steadily and figured the only way I would be able to write all day and night without having to worry about rent or bills is if I was ALREADY a working screenwriter. But 99.99999% can't wake up the next day, write a few lines and sell a spec to become a screenwriter. We must all find the time during our busy or lazy days to write something that shows promise. Most of us have jobs and cannot simply wallow around the house all day in our underwear and write screenplays...

... But I've caught a break. Not a lucky break, nor a good break for that matter. But a break that gives me the time to write in my underwear if I wanted to - it's unemployment. Turns out I was lucky enough to get fired from a job I hated which granted me a cool 26 weeks of unemployment. That's six months of writing time, uh I mean finding work. My unemployment started back in September, but I was lucky enough to find freelance work for a website, so I was not collecting at all. But now my freelance work has dried up and my claim can start kicking in. This is it. This is what I've been waiting for - the chance to sit around ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT and work on my writing and make it as a screenwriter!

Now, I'm not happy to be on unemployment and looking for work, BUT I did wrongly get fired from a job and thankfully we have laws in this country that entitle me to unemployment that I paid into. Sure I'll be looking for work, but all the work I need is right in front of me. I have ideas and a computer, what other work could I possibly need at this time?

And I'm not a religious person or anything, but something tells me deep down that this is my moment. This is the time in my life where I buckle down and WRITE. I plan for 2011 to be a big year for me, making huge strides in my goal to become a working writer in Hollywood. Now that I have the time to write, I'll know once and for all if this Hollywood thing is for real, or just some dumb fantasy 99.9999% of us have.

To start, I will be reading one screenplay each and every night. five days a week or more. I'm going to try and dig through the previous Blacklists and visit every screenplay site online to find available scripts, whether they are produced or unproduced. Think of it as my primer to the actual writing and developing of my own spec, something that will get my mind focused each and every day before I even attempt to look at my story at all.

Next, I will wake up every day at 9am or earlier and work on my story for at least eight hours each day. I will only take breaks for lunches, bathroom needs or short naps. No movies or TV shows are allowed to be watched between the hours of 9am and 5pm. During the course of these seven hours, my writing will consist of outlining and scene writing... hopefully. As long as it has something to do with my story and my writing, then I deem it allowable.

So that is my quest. I shall in the midst of looking for employment, write each day, turning the process of screenwriting into a full-time job. This is a make or break year for me. The time has come for me to shut my mouth and put in the work that so many real writers do everyday. My hope is that I fall in love with the process even more and passionately complete a great screenplay that I'm truly proud in the next six months or less. I know there will be roadblocks and challenges along the way, but I'm going to stick with my plan and not waiver in doubt.

I just figure writing like crazy, day in and day out has to get me somewhere, right?