Brief update.

Just realized I haven't posted in many a moon, so I thought I'd give a brief summary of where things stand. I'm about halfway through a romance novel and starting a new screenplay. I hope to enter Nicholl again this year, though my offering won't be nearly so impressive this time around. My main focus is in writing a couple pulp romances and hopefully getting a first sale this year. I just moved into a great new place, which has given me a new lease on life, pun intended. Life is good, just far too tranquil to make for good blogging.

Nicholl and Dimed

Didn't make the finals, but got 4 emails today from producers/managers. Not really hopping up and down because none of them knew anything about my script, they were just form letters asking for more info. But still, at least that's four people I can knock out of the "unsolicted" pile.

Say buddy, can you spare a semifinal?

Academy
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

August 27, 2007

Ms. Rebekah M. McDaniel
PO Box 5219
Santa Monica, CA 90409

Dear Rebekah,

Congratulations! You have advanced into the Semifinal Round of the 2007 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. In so doing, yours is only one of 108 entries to survive the Quarterfinal Round.

During the Semifinal round, four Academy members, drawn from a variety of branches, will read Kingdom of Daylight. Over the past half dozen years about ten Semifinalists have progressed into the Finals; the number will be similar this year.

Remember: if you become a Finalist, by early October we will ask you to send a short, informal letter telling us about your immediate and future screenwriting plans. If a producer is badgering you to option or sell this or another screenplay, hold off receiving any money for another month or so.

For a list to be forwarded to agents, development executives, managers and producers who request it, we shall use the contact information you have given us. Check the information below to make certain that it is as you want it. If this information is incorrect -- or if earnings have recently made you ineligible -- please change it via your online account or let us know as soon as possible via email to nicholl@oscars.org or fax to 310-247-3794. Over 200 copies of the lists were distributed last year. Lists will be distributed in October.

Good luck in the Semifinals.

Sincerely,

Greg Beal
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting


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Well, that's one step further than I ever dreamed of going. Once that list goes out, I feel sure I'll get at least one call. Once again I'm speechless, and grateful to so many people.

Say buddy, can you spare a quarterfinal?

Academy
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

July 26, 2007

Ms. Rebekah M. McDaniel
PO Box 5219
Santa Monica, CA 90409

Dear Ms. McDaniel,

Congratulations! You have advanced into the Quarterfinal round of the 2007 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting. In so doing, yours is one of only 254 entries to survive the First Round.

With 5,050 scripts entered, the initial round was extremely competitive. To let you know something about the selection process, Kingdom of Daylight was evaluated by three judges drawn from a diverse group of local film professionals. After scores were tallied, the highest scoring scripts advanced to the Quarterfinals.

During the Quarterfinal Round, your script will be read by two judges. As was the case in the First Round, these judges will read the scripts without seeing application forms; they will know nothing about you other than what is on your script's pages. We expect that about half of the Quarterfinal scripts will advance to the Semifinal Round.

For a list that will be forwarded to agents, development executives, managers, and producers who request it, we shall use the contact information that you have given us. Check the information below to make ertain that it is as you want it. If this information is incorrect -- or if earnings have recently made you ineligible -- please let us know as soon as possible via email to nicholl@oscars.org or fax to 310-247-3794. Over 200 copies of the list were distributed last year.

Good luck through the remainder of the competition.

Sincerely,

Greg Beal
Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting

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I am speechless right now, so I refer you back to my post of April 29.

Chasing rabbits.

"If you chase two rabbits, you will lose them both."

It's an old Native American saying. And right now I seem to be chasing about three rabbits, a badger, and a pack of wolverines. I've overcommitted myself so badly that I am quite literally disappointing everyone. I thought I had clear priorities and knew who I could set aside in favor of whom, but so far it's not working out like I planned. I did the math and it really seemed like I could do everything, but from the looks of things today this may be one of those cases where something may have to give. And if it is, I'm growing increasingly afraid that I'm not going to get to choose. That they're all going to choose to dump me.

Survive the City.

Hey, guys, do me a favor. Survive the City is undergoing an expansion and revamp, and I've become part of the team that's going to bring it to ya (yeah, 'cause I don't have enough projects to work on), so go and sign up for their monthly newsletter! It's all about what to do and how to live in the great city of L.A., and it's also just a neat way to stay on top of one of my projects and see occasional samples of my writing if you're into that sort of thing.

Postscript.

"It will be an excellent way for me to find out if I have what it takes to put in the 60, 70, 80!!! hours that a television writer puts in every week."

Be careful what you wish for. I was just informed by my boss at Yahoo! TV that they're going to need to gradually ramp up my hours over the next few months, culminating in a FRENZY of writing in October that will amount to about 40 hours of work a week. After that I'll go back to my 10 hours a week I believe, but add the autumn writing frenzy to my 20 hour internship and my work with Sheila, and for a couple of months there I may be working something close to TV writer hours!

In other news, I did my first 4 hours for the ghostwriting internship today, and it was exhilarating. The time flew by as though I were having fun, so I guess I was.