agents/ Truckstop Bloodsuckers/ script editor

This is from my www.badcb.blogspot.ca:

Sept. 29 Agents: I found this website to get dramatic agents.  I found Association of Aurthor's Representatives through the Linked In Group Two Bits.  I went through it, and this is more for agents and not writers looking for agents.

I then went on the page where there are links of them:

http://aaronline.org/DirDrama

Abrams Artists: This is in LA and NY.
http://www.abramsartists.com/about.html

Curtis Brown: This is in NY and they have made so many books into film and TV like Ella Enchanted.
http://www.curtisbrown.com/film.php

Susan Gurman Agency: This is theatre.
http://gurmanagency.com/

I went through all 9 of them, and most of them I can't send anything to them because they're not looking for what I wrote.

Blogs: There is a page where it has links to all these publisher's blogs.  However, the summaries often talk about publishing for literary and not TV agents.  Still check it out:

http://aaronline.org/blogger

All Freelance Writing: Also from Two Bits, I found this website called All Freelance Writing.  There's a tool called Freelance Writing Rate Calculator.  It's practical.  You put in your salary, days you work a week, days off you need for holidays and vacation.  Then press "calculate" and it will say how much you should charge.

This is a really good and informative website because it has all these articles, writing tips, how to build a portfolio, forums, etc.  I'm going to bookmark this site. 

http://allfreelancewriting.com/freelance-writing-rate-calculator/

Scriptathon: I got this from the Great American Pitchfest.  This is 30 day screenwriting marathon and competition.  The script you write in the contest, you could win $1000, the Final Draft software program, agent consultation.
http://www.thescriptathon.com/prizes.html

Write Brain Workshop: I like the quirky name.  This is also from GAPF.  Anne Norda is a writer/ director/ teacher who gives screenwriting workshops.  There's a blog on it and it gives writing tips.  Her classes are more about being more creative and getting over writer's block.

Here's a description of her class on here site:

"Tap into the flow of your own creativity. Experience different ways to
deepen your relationship to your story, your characters and your imagination.
Learn techniques to explore new perspectives in your own storytelling. "
http://nordawritingworkshop.weebly.com/

Chris Craddock: I also emailed the Writer in Residence 2010 Chris Craddock on Facebook.  He emails back saying he remembers me.

Oct. 1 Linked In: One of my Professional Writing college friends confirmed my invitation on Linked In.  She's using her writing skills as a career.

Inspiration: I was on Two Bits writing group.  I found this inspirational:

Nicole Galloway Miller • I agree I love learning and trying new things. I think it is important for creative people to experience a wide variety of things. I celebrate my curiosity, since it encourages me to expand those horizons. Then when I sit down and write, I feel like I have so much more to say.

Saying: "Opportunities will always surround you if you know where to look."  I look at Two Bits, and there is a lot of self-publishing websites, novelists, and short stories.  There isn't really any TV agents.

Self-publishing: If you want to self-publish your own book, check out these sites.  Or if you want something new to read, then go here.  There's lots of genres.

Infinity publishing: http://www.infinitypublishing.com/book-publishers/we-want-to-be-your-book-publisher.html

Fast Pencil: http://www.fastpencil.com/

Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/

Create Space: https://www.createspace.com/

Book Baby: Book Baby seems more interesting.  You can publish books on an Apple iPad or Amazon Kindle.

http://www.bookbaby.com/

Smash Words: This is more for ebooks.

http://www.smashwords.com/

Hyper Ink: The logo is kind of quirky.  It has a blue octupus with a paintbrush.  It has a "Blog to Book" section.

http://www.hyperink.com/books/Blog%20to%20Book

Truckstop Bloodsuckers: The new Avenue magazine came out today.  There was an article about Truckstop Bloodsuckers.  It's about two waitresses who are vampires as they run Little Hope Diner.  It turns out a EPL writer in residence Chris Craddock mentioned it on Facebook when I was at Bite.ca.

I read the article and tuned into the first ep which is 6min long.  I had called this one person about volunteering and she said they're filming in the Lunch Box Diner back in May 2012.  I had a Mother's Day Dinner so I couldn't go and volunteer.

It's kind of funny and quirky.  This will be aired on bite.ca until it's released as a feature-length film on Bite TV on Oct. 31.

http://www.bite.ca/videos/truckstop-bloodsuckers-ep-1-the-secret/

Script editor: I picked up this work book called Multiple Choices: Planning Your Career for the 21st Century written by alis.alberta.ca.  It was from my career counseling office at MacEwan.  I read it months ago.  There's a section where it goes by industries like entertainment.  It seems like something I would be totally interested in, writing for TV.

On Wikipedia, it says:

A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production. The script editor will work closely with the writer at each draft of their script, giving the writer feedback on the quality of their work, suggesting improvements that can be made whilst also ensuring that practical issues like show continuity and correct running time are adhered to. Unlike the writers, script editors will usually be full-time members of the production team, working closely with the producer.^[1]

pitchfests/ Doug Richardson/ Scriptshadow

 This is from www.badcb.blogspot.ca:


Sept. 18 Pitchfests: Great American Pitch Fests emailed this video on how the screenwriters Geof Miller and Troy Hunter got 41 requests to read their scripts at one pitch fest.  They said: "And all day long executives were shoving their business cards into our hands.  It felt like a dream.  But it was very real.  We were sending emails and returning calls for the next week non-stop."

They booked 3 deals in 10 days.  They said they needed the right attitude, expectations, and approach.  Don't leave success to chance.  This is a 12 min. video.  It was very entertaining to watch.  At the end it said one of them is a lawyer and the other is a banker.  They each full-time jobs, but they're screenwriters too.

http://www.sceneplay.net/vid1-tgpitch/

Script pitch: GAPF sent me this great interview with the GAPF president Signe Olynyk.  It talks about how to pitch your script.  When some producer asks a question about your script, don't say: "Read the script."  It's like shutting the door.  Answer the question. 

If you're afraid of spoiling or giving something away, then say: "I don't want to spoil it for you, but...." then give something away in vague wording.

http://www.markwtravis.com/2012/05/an-interview-with-signe-olynyk-the-great-american-pitchfest/

Day job: GAPF sent this article "The Day Job is the Writer's Best Friend" by Richard Walter.  By having a day job, you get to interact with people and use it in your writing:

"That’s why the day job is the writer’s friend. It keeps him sane and solvent, which are two closely related enterprises. More important, it keeps writers in touch with the more important resource for their writing: the humanity around them."

It mentions Colin Higgins who won 2nd place in a screenwriting contest.  He got some money and worked cleaning pools which is a really good writer/ actor's job.  He met a movie producer who owned the house and convinced him to read his script.

"The producer ended up buying and producing the script. It was called HAROLD AND MAUDE, and it launched Colin’s substantial career.  'Had my dream come true,' Colin told me years ago, “had I won not second but first prize, I’d be cleaning swimming pools today.”

http://pitchfest.com/the-day-job-is-the-writers-best-friend/

Inspiration: Signe Olynyk wrote an article called "Living without a Net." She mentions these big filmmakers: "These giants of filmmaking all made their films using the resources and contacts they had in the places they were from, and developed their careers from there. There is no reason why we can’t all do the same." 

"Like every great chef, cull the ingredients from your life and use them to create your own great story. You probably have more resources than you think."

http://pitchfest.com/living-without-a-net/

LIFT: This stands for Liason of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto.  I get these monthly emails from them.  It's in small Courier new font and all these workshops in Toronto.  I'm going to unsubscribe from them, and like them on Facebook.  I also now follow them on Twitter.

Sept. 21 Doug Richardson: He wrote the action movies Die Hard and Bad Boys.  He also writes books.  I found the interview inspirational because he wrote action movies and that's what I want to do.  Check out his website:


http://dougrichardson.com/

GAPF sent this newsletter with this really good interview with him.  I put it up on my blog.  Here's a good quote from him:

“There are a lot more successful relentless people in Hollywood than there are successful talented people. You need to water and fertilize the grinder side of you as much as your creative side. Grow it. Turn yourself into a grinder because relentless will win over talented every time.”

http://thevertexfighter.blogspot.ca/2012/09/doug-richardson-interview.html

Dialogue: GAPF called this the "most poetic chunk of dialog award for the movie Hugo.
                     HUGO
          Right after my father died, I would
          come up here a lot ... I would
          imagine that the whole world was
          one big machine. Machines never
          have extra parts, you know. 
          They always have the exact number
          they need. So I figured if the
          entire world was a big machine I 
          couldn’t be an extra part, I had to
          be here for some reason ... And
          that means you have to be here for
          some reason, too. 

Sept. 24 TV production companies: I found some old notes like omnitv.ca.  There's OMNI TV channels in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.  I looked for careers on the site, but there weren't any I'm qualified in Edmonton.

I typed in mediajobsearch.ca and found this instead:

http://www.mediajobsearchcanada.com/

There were also 3 positions in Edmonton that I wasn't qualified for like an assistant editor with 3 yrs experience.

Yorkton Film: I had also written down www.yorktonfilm.org and I only got a Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival.   It's held in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkton_Film_Festival

Sept. 25 Inspiration: I was reading my old The Great American Pitchfest newsletter and I found this article called "Inspiration from a Slaughterhouse" by Signe Olynyk.  She talks about how she locked herself in a meat freezer to write her screenplay Below Zero so she could buckle down and write it.

I put up her article on both my blogs.

http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2012/09/inspiration-from-slaughterhouse.html

Scriptshadow: There was also an interview on the same newsletter by someone named Scriptshadow.  He gives really good tips on screenwriting.  I put his interview on my blog:

http://badcb.blogspot.ca/2012/09/scriptshadow-interview.html

Here's his blog:

http://scriptshadow.blogspot.ca/2011/06/scriptshadow-special-how-to-craft-damn.html

Oct. 1 Poetry: Today I submitted two poems to a contest.  I haven't submitted my writing to contests in 2 months, judging from my notes.