And the Oscar for Best Screenplay goes to . . .

Ah well, a girl can dream! Maybe someday :)

Save $6,936 a Year by Using Your Public Library

I picked up this interesting flyer at my local library the other day. It explained how using the library can save a family of four $6,936 over the course of a year. You and your family may use some of these categories more than others, but any way you slice it, the library is a tremendous value and cost-saving measure. I don't know what I would do without it!

Books
2 books per week for each child - 16 monthly @ $12 = $192
3 books per month for each adult - 6 monthly @ $15 = $90

Videos and DVDs
2 videos per week for children - 8 monthly @ $4  = $32
1 video per week per adults - 4 monthly @ $4 = $16

Programs at the Library
(includes story times/adult programs/other activities)
monthly savings - $68

Museum Passes
2 visits per month per family of 4 = $100

Online Databases (Magazines, Newspapers, Journals)
used 4x a month for school, research, etc - $80

The Great Screenwriting Project has Begun!

I am half-way through reading The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script and have been taking tons of notes. (I'm pretty sure if I continue with this, I will need to buy this book, but for now I have the six week library loan and I am taking all the advantage of it I can.) It is a very practical, helpful book stuffed with information.

I had a couple hours of time today and I began creating the scene by scene outline for my screenplay. It's so exciting to actually begin to work on this. As with so many things, the starting seems to be the hardest part. I think about it, and think about it, and stress about it, and dream about it, and then I get to work and it starts to be something real, and that is an amazing thing. Wherever this road takes me, it is a new skill to learn and that in itself is a good thing.

The Latest Book on the Reading Pile: The Screenwriter's Bible

I picked up The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script at the library today. I was so excited to pick it up (I had requested it a couple weeks ago.) I'm looking forward to reading it and seeing what I can learn.

Free On-line Writing Conference Starting February 14th

Interested in getting some free advice on writing?. Check out the Free online-conference starting tomorrow: Savvy Authors

Exploring Screenwriting a Bit More

Ever since I finished reading Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting, I find myself analyzing the movies I'm watching. How were the scenes broken? What was the inciting incident? What were the emotional shifts in each scene? What was the climax? The resolution? It has given me a whole new perspective.

Meanwhile, I explored my library catalog to see what else I can learn about screenwriting. I have a couple more books coming to me (I LOVE the interlibrary loan system). Yesterday, I picked up The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay & Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebooks). I wanted to see what an actual screenplay looked like. It is an added bonus that this is a wonderful movie that I have seen several times. I love Jane Austin!

I also picked up a stack of index cards so that I can start creating scenes - one scene per card. I'm excited about this project. I wish I had more time to devote to it, but it is good to have a dream to work on.

Interview with Nicholas Sparks

I was so excited to see Nicholas Sparks on the cover of the February 2011 Writer's Digest! He is one of my all-time favorite writers. WD has an in-depth interview with him: Bestselling Author Nicholas Sparks Explains the Creative Process.


Sparks also talks about writing on his own website: Nicholas Sparks for writers

I especially like his "grandmother rule:" "My grandmother's still alive; she reads me, and if she would get mad at me, then I can't write it."