Screaming on the inside

In December a friend introduced me (via email) to a literary manager she'd met. He said he focused primarily on television comedies so I sent him three scripts last Monday. Today he emailed to say he was impressed. I called him and we set up a meeting for next Tuesday.

Yes, it took me an hour to calm down before I called him. It was exciting. It's my first introduction to the real business side of television writing. I've been operating in a vacuum up until now. I've been surrounded by friends and writing peers, teachers and people who love me too much to give me any criticism at all. But now, now I'm jumping into the lake (or the shark-infested ocean) without a life preserver (wearing raw meat). I'm putting myself out there. And I'm screaming inside.

Yes I know it's my first meeting. Yes I know I'll have more meetings and this may amount to nothing. Yes I have a long way to go. But this is a start. This is the beginning. And it's freaking exciting. I'm going to revel in that for a day or two. Before I start obsessing about what to wear:-)

Selling myself

This week I have done two things that I am very happy about (well, maybe a few more but only two that are blog-worthy at the moment). The first? I finished polishing all three of my comedy television scripts and I sent them out into the world, to someone who is not a member of my writing group, to someone who hasn't loved me since I was born, to someone who isn't a friend who'll tell me it's going to be just fine. I sent them to a literary agent. I sent them to someone who only wants "them" or in reality, "me", if I'm any good. So yeah. That was exciting, and not nearly as scary as I envisioned.

The second thing I did was apply to the Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship. I submitted a spec script I've written and I'm pretty happy with. It made me laugh, it made my friends laugh, so what more can I ask of it. (Well, besides to get me a job...)

So yeah, a pretty good week so far. And it's only Thursday. Now I start the process of tracking down other managers and agents who'll read my work. It's daunting. Incredibly daunting (which may be why I'm blogging instead of doing it). But I'll push forward. Because strangely enough, no one else in the world really needs me to be a working screenwriter. In fact, there are plenty of writers who'd probably prefer it if I just went back to the couch and took a nap. But nope, not today. Today I begin the process of selling myself...

Laughing all the way...

This week I have been working on polishing (that is proofreading and editing) my half-hour comedy writing samples. I have three: a spec of The Big Bang Theory, a spec of Modern Family, and an original pilot I've written called Overexposed. And more than with anything else I've ever written, I feel so happy about the results. Ecstatic really.

I never pictured myself a comedy writer. I thought I was more of a long, drawn out drama writer, weaving stories over time. But last January I challenged myself by signing up for a comedy-writing class. I figured if I didn't try it in film school, when else would I try it? So I wrote my first half-hour comedy. And I loved it. Gone were the worries of how to solve the crimes I'd imagined my characters committing. Gone was the hours of researching serial killers and the tools they used. Gone were the huge plot twists and season-long arcs. Hello funny, slapstick, funny. Quite the change of pace.

So I wrote another comedy, and yet another, and while I'm still not sure it's my "brand" (see previous post), I'm sure of one thing: I LOVE WRITING COMEDY. I love making people laugh and smile. I love making myself laugh (yes, I know, I'm not very humble but I am truthful). I love coming up with the joke that's perfect for only that character or that moment. Don't ask me how I do it, it just happens. And I love it.

So I'm prepping my comedy portfolio to send out this week in the hopes that someone outside of my head and outside of my house's walls thinks I'm funny too. We'll see. In the meantime, I've got to come up with something new to write. And polish those serial killer skills!

Branding myself

Today in my writers' group we talked about our brands. Who were are as writers, how our writing portfolios can best represent that and what we want to put out into the Hollywood system. One writer decided she was the Southern writer, another concluded she was the serialized writer, yet another landed on the youth writer. But then there was me. When it came around to my turn to talk I quoted a line from one of my favorite movies...

"I don't know what kind of girl I am." -- Juno

I started out writing stories. Stories without defined plots, without known endings. Then I wrote a romantic comedy. Someone told me I should turn it into a thriller but I'm not really a thriller kind of girl. Then I wrote a sweet little indie-type movie and people weren't sure which box to put it into. Not big enough they said. But not small enough either. Then I wrote a loud, brash, funny R-rated comedy. And someone put a movie into production with the exact same title. The title that sells the thing. So I turned to TV. My first love really.

I started out writing dramas. I didn't think I was really funny. I like to get the joke, the laugh, the smile but I never considered myself a comedienne. Then I took a sitcom writing class. And I liked it. I really did. So I wrote another comedy. But there was a drama brewing in my brain. I wrote a novel, a really long, involved, complicated novel that's not funny at all. It's truthful and messy and makes people cry. Which is really cool for a writer. But I still like the funny.

So I wrote some more comedy. And some more drama. And I like them all. I love all my children unconditionally (well, maybe not that first-born, I'm really really scared to go back and read it, I love the images I have of it and maybe that's all I need to love). But I don't know my brand.

I'm a writer. I love blogging. I like writing about current events and Bible stories. I like news reporting and writing research papers. Sandra Bullock is a great comedic actress. Then she went and won an Oscar for a very serious role. It wasn't her first. She gets to do both. Why can't I? (Yes, I know, I'm no Sandy B.)

But back to my brand...I'm working on it. It would be a lot easier if I was the slasher-flick girl. I have a film school friend who writes horror movies. He's good at it and they're funny and really slashery. He is his brand, he didn't have to search for it and make a decision, check a little box. He's lucky. But then again, maybe I am too.

I've never taken the easy road. I've never been one to follow conventions and do what everyone else does. And it's lead me down a pretty interesting path. I have fabulous people in my life. I've done some very cool things. And I make up my own rules. I design my own way. Here's hoping that someone, something, will allow me to continue to do that as a writer...