Isolation, and its intense relation to creativity

It's funny, blogging would be one of the first hobbies I would cut off if I truly wanted to be a pro screenwriter. (In fact, I did cut it out, judging by my last post date) It's usually a meandering exercise, done so that I don't have to dive into my real work, aka my screenplay. However, I've come to find that there are many other practices that cut into my creative juices.

1) The stinking' internet. I find myself searching under the guise of researching, hours at a time. Now, it's necessary to cut myself off from the internet in order to concentrate on the task at hand. Seriously, the internet is a true time sucking vampire which wraps you in like a casino. You never know what time it is, or just how much time you've been in here, and the time flies accordingly.

2) Video games. There's no getting around this, as much as I want to make excuses. I noticed I played Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas a total of 120 hours in about 2 years. I'm quite certain I could have been banging out drafts of many a screenplay in that time. And lets not forget, that's just two games out of about 30 that I own. Red Dead Redemption-25 hours, Mass Effect 2-15 hours ...as you see, this is a major time sucker.

3) Television. Although tv comes in third, it certainly creates enough attention deficit disorder to be on the list. I probably only watch 3 current shows on TV, however it's the reruns of favs, like Seinfeld, that really zone me out. They offer me cold comfort, and I ...you know...vegetate.

4) Android. My rooted Nexus One is my new laptop. I'm constantly manipulating its screen for quick bursts of entertainment. I'm usually on the go when this happens, so it probably doesn't cut into my writing too much. But the availability of internet through my phone is counter productive to my whacking out the internet with purposes of writing. So the phone (and rooted Nook Color) have to be put away under lock and key (like Dokken).

5) People. We all have responsibilities, and with those responsibilities come people. Family, friends, enemies-doesn't matter. They all cause our personality to shift, and any shift is one away from the creative process.

I recently went away for one day, to a house on the beach. Mid winter. No tv, no internet and almost no radio due to really bad reception. No people at the house, and the town was just about empty. I wrote 30 pages in about 6 hours on a script I was having major trouble with. I came home the next day feeling good about myself, renewed in a sense. In the 2 weeks since? 10 pages. Of shit.

So now, to the detriment of my mashed potato brain, I will schedule total media blackouts. I will utilize headphones with my ipod if there's any outside disturbances. Usually will listen to Brian Eno, or late 70's Bowie as I write. But that's it. The project begins today.

Of course, the mere fact that I'm blogging right now should tell you all you need to know about my state of mind.

Time to go!

D.I.Y. Boom Mic

What year is this?

Somehow I woke up in the new year writing and directing my own tv series (no not for NBC, for myself). After all that I laid out last year, all the goals, all the dreams and the line by line...outline, how did I end up here?

I don't know, but it just goes to show you have to keep your options open and only a fool like myself would try and create a year long schedule. Mostly what I realized is that I hate work. Like, real work. You know, like those jobs that are dropping like flies at the moment? So I'm happy to report the scripts I had set up on the right hand side of the page are all done. I wrote and rewrote them. That is all I accomplished from last years list. But really, that's all I truly cared about.

Oh, and if by chance you haven't seen The Nines ( written and directed by John August) you should go and buy the dvd. Really interesting movie, and Melissa McCarthy made me fall in love with her.

**Oh yes, my move to L.A. is on hold. However I did take a trip there in August and loved everything about it. I have no doubt that living there is the correct choice for me. But my wallet and I have some issues currently so maybe at a later date I'll be there.

This Just In:

If you're speaking to someone, anyone, and the word "faux" seeps from your lips at any point, you are a huge friggin' douchebag.

That is all.

A Pint Or Two

I have found a new haunt, and it's the same as the old hunt. I frequent a dive bar about a mile from my apartment. I have been going there for about 12 years with the mates, but it wasn't until recently I have discovered the cure for my block/procrastination. I get out of work at 2pm, so that leaves me plenty of time to get in an hour or two of writing. Unfortunately so deep is my procrastination, I find almost anything else to do once home. Internet, tv, games, reading...you name it. Well, I changed my routine. I stop at this little hole in the wall directly from work with my trusty laptop. I order a pitcher or two, or if my bank account is feeling rather endowed, I order up a Guinness and a shot of JD. And then...I type my screenplay. With no problems. If I hit a spot that derails me, I people watch. I listen to conversations. I order another shot. And it passes. Using this method, I have been rather prolific for the past nine days. I'm not ready to update the progress bars yet because it's kind of like chasing the dragon for me. But I have made significant progress with each project.

But yes, this has worked pretty well, and listening to people talk to each other in a pub does wonders. Try it sometime.

Your Film is Filthy...But May I Suggest A Porn?

I absolutely love when justice is served.

The operator of the Utah-based Flix Club, which, as part of the Clean Flix chain, drew fire from major studios for removing scenes depicting sex and violence from home videos, has been arrested in Orem, Utah on charges of having sex with underaged girls. According to Orem police, Daniel Thompson also told the girls that his business was actually a cover for a pornography studio and asked them to participate in making a porn movie. The police report also said that they uncovered a "large quantity" of pornography at Thompson's business. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Thompson told the arresting officers that he was unaware that the girls were not of legal age and that the porn movies were for his "personal use." Thompson previously operated the Clean Flix franchise in Orem but shut it down last month after giving away 400 sanitized versions of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. The studios, he said at the time, had told him that "if I don't shut down, they would break me."