Reinvent Yourself: LET ME READ YOUR SCREENPLAYS!

Greetings, friends!

Okay, I admit it. My blog looks a little rough. (I hit the wrong button, answered a question incorrectly and unknowingly erased my original template. The template I've used successfully for 3 years. Argh. Now my ads won't display correctly (or at all) and my blog just looks like it's fallen into a state of disrepair.)

But rest assured, I am here. Slowly patching things together.

Over the next two months, I'm going to try something different with my blog.

I have readers from all over the world... (I know this because I can "see" you in my Google analytics page)... but most of you have remained very quiet as you've perused my blog.

No worries. Really. It's my fault. I accomplished my goal of updating & transcribing an excellent article from Modern Maturity and now there's not much need to keep up with the blog.

(And, yes, perhaps it's time to start a new blog!)

(And, yes, perhaps after this little experiment, I will do just that.)

(And, yes, perhaps this little experiment will power the new blog!)

But, listen, forget all that! Here's the deal.

Thanks to Google AdWords, I've been gifted with $100 of free advertising. So I wanted to take this opportunity to turn the tables on my readers and let you know that:

For the next 2 months, I'm open to reading your original, unpublished screenplays and will provide feedback free of charge to anyone who is willing to share.

(Of course we'll have to work on a proper release form.)

And I definitely prefer to focus on screenplays for now.

I studied the form for years - I've practiced the form for years - and it's the form I'm most comfortable with. And yes, it's true I'm not a professional - but honestly, reading screenplays and giving constructive, useful criticism is something I'm pretty dang good at.

So -

This is the chance to get real feedback on your screenplay for the low, introductory price of FREE.

I ask that you please put your script into standard script format. (I'll find a link that will explain all the proper formatting tomorrow.) If you use a script formatting program, that'd be best. (Right now I can read screenplays in .FDR, DOC, .PDF & probably a few other formats as well.)

Then email me with "Screenplay" in the subject line, or leave a comment here (the preferred method) with your contact information - and I'll be in touch! (My email is mynameisgto@gmail.com).

This is a good time to get feedback on one of your scripts. (Yes, sorry. One script per person please.)

Perhaps you don't have any friends you can talk "shop" with. Or perhaps you need more input than: "That was good, honey!" (with a friendly pat on the head). Maybe you need to know WHY your script was good. (Or maybe why it wasn't good, egad.)

Now, I don't want to crush your dreams of writing for the movies. I just want to give you more feedback than you may have received thus far. But I'm definitely suited to screenwriters who want real, down-to-earth, & HONEST feedback.

We'll figure out a way to discuss your script at some point. Perhaps in a live chatroom. Perhaps via email.

But that's the deal for now.

Okay?

Let me know if you have any questions.

I look forward to getting to know you - and reading some cool stories!

GTO

Reinvent Yourself: TRACK YOUR GOALS

Subtitle: Tracking Goals With The Writer's Store "Don't Break The Chain" Calendar

The Writer's Store sent this very handy 365-day calendar to the subscribers of their mailing list. Most of these subscribers are, of course, writers - but you don't have to write (or even know how to spell) to utilize the "Don't Break The Chain" calendar. The 365 numbered boxes are small enough to fit on one page. But how do you use it? What is the philosophy behind it? Jerry Seinfeld knows! In a nutshell, it's a year-at-a-glance reminder that can be used to track any goal that needs to occur on a consistent basis. Here's the abridged original email. GTO

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"This year, I'm gonna write more."

It's a popular resolution amongst our crowd. A great goal, but vague.

Maybe some of us promised to write every day. (That's better.)

But just like hitting a plateau at the gym, we sometimes lose the steam that once powered a new and exciting story idea. We take one day off, which turns into two days off; eventually, we find ourselves opening up a document only to realize it hasn't been touched in two weeks – or more.

Let's say you do write most of the time, but you take one or two days off each week for any number of reasons. That's still a lot of writing. But consider this: at the end of the year, that's roughly 10 weeks, or 2.5 months' worth of days that you didn't write anything.

That's where Jerry Seinfeld's productivity tip "Don't Break the Chain" comes in.

Years ago, when software developer Brad Isaac was performing stand-up at open mic nights, he received his best advice ever from the already-famous comedian.

Seinfeld explained his method for success: each January, he hangs a large year-at-a-glance calendar on his wall and, for every day he wrote new material, he had the exquisite pleasure that can only come from drawing a big red X over that day.

Drawing those Xs got to be pretty fun and rewarding, so he kept doing it. Eventually, he began to create a chain of red Xs. The idea was to never break that chain.

Not only does this approach program the body and mind to sit down and write daily – it also motivates you to continue that beautiful string of big, red Xs. If you don't write one day, you don't get to draw the X.

It doesn't particularly matter what you [do]. It can be anything, as long as you're actively and routinely pushing yourself.

[What are your goals? What can you accomplish - on a consistent basis - that would make you feel better about yourself or your life?]

Who is going to push you? For many, it's going to come down to self-determination. Your partner or parents or kids can encourage you too. Let them know about the calendar. After you prove you can keep the chain connected for a couple of weeks, they too will motivate you not to miss a single day.
 [I love the support that can come from our friends & family.]

Don’t waste another moment – start building your chain today!

[Source: The Writer's Store newsletter, January 2011. As edited by Greg Olszewski.]

Start a Journal

Cleopatra, Marco Polo, and Anne Frank all kept journals as a tool to help them make sense of their lives. "Along the way," says Lois Guarino, author of Writing Your Authentic Self (Dell Publishing, 1999), "each of these people discovered more about who they really were, even though at the time they may not have consciously known this is what they were doing."

"Take Marco Polo. His intention was to chronicle his world travels, yet among the dates and descriptions are personal insights and observations of himself and others. As Marco Polo broadened his horizons, he also broadened his sense of self." [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]

GTO's Thoughts:I've journaled for a majority of my adult life. Since high school.

I don't remember why I started the practice.
(I should read my earliest entries to see if they provide a clue.)

But speaking as someone who's kept journals for over 20 years, here's a few reasons why I think they're important.

(1) We are our memories. If I want to know how I felt about something in 1984, I can find out. If I want to know who I loved in 1991, I can find out. I already know the basic facts, but the journal helps me to round out the picture. It goes a bit deeper than my natural memory does. The journal adds detail to those memories, color. And keep them more fully alive.

(2) I always wanted to be a writer. Something inside of me always felt that if I wrote a journal, taking the next step and writing a book wouldn't be as difficult.

I haven't written that book yet. But I have enough journal entries now that they could fill at least two books. Heck, maybe three. (Point #3 is a book by itself!)

I'm not a prolific journaler. Most times I don't sit for hours and hours, though sometimes I do. If you sat down for just a few minutes each day (or week) to write a little something, I bet you'd have enough words to fill a book too.

(3) Journaling helped me come out of a very dark place in my emotional life by making me aware of trends (some a decade long) that had overwhelmed my life.

For about 10 years after college, I fell into an obsessive/compulsive state that did serious damage to my psyche.

You've heard the stories of teenagers obsessing over a single pimple on their face, and thinking themselves ugly and unattractive? That was me in my mid-20's.

You've heard the stories of men and women, worried whether they will be called back for a second date, obsess over things they could've done differently to "really impress" their date? That was me in my mid-30's.

In my 20's and 30's I was living like a stereotypical teen. But my obsessive/compulsive thoughts weren't only limited to personal attractiveness. They were limited to anything that entered my brain.

I'd alternately obsess about one thing while behaving compulsively toward another, all while being addicted to, of all things, the Internet. Which, back then, was charged on a per-minute basis. It wasn't unusual to see $200, $300 or $400 AOL bills each month. I lost a lot of time and money.

I also lost myself.

Keeping a journal helped me to become aware of how much damage I was causing myself. Not just financially, but also emotionally.

Let's say the woman of your dreams has just moved to California. Despite the distance, your feelings for her do not decrease. You don't date anyone else because you know that you're destined to be with this woman. God has something good in store for the both of you. And you know that, despite how difficult it is now, you're going to be together someday - and you're going to marry her.

You hold onto these thoughts even when she comes back to town for the holidays, but doesn't contact you. You hold onto these thoughts even after she stops returning your calls altogether.

Eventually, you hear from a friend that she's a lesbian.

But you know God will bring her back to you!

I'm stopping there. Hopefully, you see my point.

If you read enough of these entries, you start to see trends in your behavior. And you start to see how things like denial and naivette and pure stubbornness play in your decisions. These are important lessons.

Your journal can provide a wake-up call. A slap in the face. Even if it's a slow-motion slap in the face that takes 5-10 years to make contact.

Better late than never.

Start journaling.
GTO

Make the Ultimate "To Do" List.

Thinking he was about to die in a plane crash in 1983, America Online executive Ted Leonsis started writing down 101 things he would do if he survived. The plane landed safely - but the list changed his life. So far, Leonsis has crossed off nearly two thirds of the items, which include catching a foul ball at a baseball game and owning a sports team (he became majority owner of the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals in 1999). Leonsis wants the list passed out at his funeral. [Source: "25 Ways to Reinvent Yourself" originally published in Modern Maturity January - February 2000, transcribed by Greg Olszewski.]

GTO's Thoughts:I can only remember a few things in my head at a time, so I like the idea of creating lists. I'm an expert listmaker and have a list for everything. Business concepts, creative outlets, social activities, web passwords, groceries, Christmas lists, etc. I like lists! But to me the trick is not creating the list (though it might be for you). To me, the trick is seeing the list.

We're surrounded by thousands of pieces of information at any given time in our homes, office, cars, etc. We'd go insane if every glance around our desk assaulted our consciousness with the same information we learned yesterday as though it were new. [Sunday: "Oh, look! I have a calendar! And blank disks! And a talking Jeff Foxworthy Clip-On Doll!"] [Monday: "Oh, look! I have a calendar! And blank disks! And a talking Jeff Foxworthy Talking Clip-On Doll!"] [Tuesday: "Oh, look!...]. I don't want each day to be an assault of information I've already gathered, do you? Maybe you'd be lucky enough to harness your skills and learn to woo Andie McDowell (as Bill Murray does in "Groundhog Day"), but I'd get buried alive in the details. I'd never make it past my livingroom. My brain would be shocked by all this great old stuff.

"Oh look, a calendar and blank disks...!"

So, to combat this informational assault, our brains take everything in and (depending on how your brain works) begin storing new information in the periphery of our consciousness. Just out of sight, but very close by. This is a wonderful blessing.

Of course when we really want to remember something, it's a bit of a curse. We fight our brain's natural inclination to protect our sanity. (Most of our battles are against ourselves, aren't they?)

So the trick to seeing your To Do list is to get it in a place where you will notice it and acknowledge it. Somewhere where it won't blend into the clutter. I used to print my To Do list and tape it to my fridge, bathroom mirror, monitor, etc. I recommend anything that works. It should be somewhere you cross paths often. Try everything. Have a friend come to your home and move the list to a new place everyday! (I've never tried that. Let me know how it works).

One spot I've found very useful for my To Do list is as a background to my computer's desktop. (If you need tips on how to do this, let me know.) This way, each time I sign-on to surf the web or write or play games, I get a glimpse at the things I don't want to forget. It's a pretty good spot if you ask me.

If only I kept my eyes open when I turned on my computer.
GTO