Everybody works on Monday!

Aaaaand it's 2012. First, to post one of the most delightful things I've seen in a while. A woman in LA shot a bit of video each and and at the end of the year, edited it all together into a year-long video diary of sorts. one second a day...or close to that.

 
2011 from hey_rabbit on Vimeo.

 Pretty cool. I haven't done the pic a day thing in a while...I'm not sure if that's something I want to keep up with. I don't seem to have the discipline or the desire, so it doesn't seem such a good thing to devote energy to. What I have been devoting energy to is writing...maybe not a lot, but consistently and that's a good thing.

Writing-wise, my goal last year was to complete the first draft of the feature script by 2012...and I made it with not 12 hours to spare. Woot! right? Wrong! I should've been overjoyed at the success, the completion, the pocketing of keyboard calloused fingers. But no, I was left with a feeling of unease. Is this what a first draft should feel like? Is this how I should feel after typing FADE OUT? And why had I misplaced my ease? Because it was an absolute disaster. I had made adjustments to the script halfway through so I had scenes leading nowhere and I had scenes that had no setup. I have characters in the 2nd act that I haven't introduced because they were born from some necessary realization. I have Chekov brandishing phasers all over the place that never get used. And this could all be perfectly natural train wreck....I just don't know having never written a feature first draft before. I even bought myself a celebratory present: Absolute Sandman Vol. 1 which is terribly awesome and still unawsomely contained in it's shipping box because I don't feel I deserve it.

And what's up with that?! Comma dammit. I have a perfectly fine edition of Sandman on my desk which by *my own rules* I should be able to open and enjoy it's delicious wonderousness. And yet *by my own brain* I can't because my first draft doesn't feel first drafty enough.  Le sigh.

Now, I did feel successful enough to go out and have a guilt free new years eve full of friends and fondue and rock band and fondue and punch and fondue because that's what you do on New Years when you have friends and fondue and Rock Band.  Well okay, it's what we do and this was the first NYE of many  that can take place at Barb and Seth's new digs in Columbia because we're so happy to have them back. So it was a most enjoyable way to welcome in the new year...aaaand I didn't take a single picture.  Oh well.

Anywhoo back to my tale of whoh! I now have new rules regarding my current Gaimen paperweight...my *second* first draft will be completed by the end of January. I've been writing at least a page a day (or at least catching up when I don't) and at that point I should have a first draft that feels a little more coherent. Plus I still have my list of the big structural changes that need to happen in the second draft.

I've also been outlining the next script so I'll be ready to start writing that Feb 1.  That one I'm a little more concerned with...I have the whole thing outlined in broad strokes and I'm slowly nailing down the first act but I'm not sure if I'll be ready to move on from that point. Plus TF is going to kick into high gear so that's going to eat up a lot of time.  I'll have to come up with a reasonable goal for the end of Feb.

Currently listening to James Horner's score to The New World, which I previously didn't know existed. Sounds like working on a Malick film is quite the experience.