Anyone else tired of this weather? So gray, so rainy, so awful. Even Brando
didn’t want to go out for a walk. I’m sitting in my favorite coffee shop, surrounded
by everyone else trying to get a pick-me-up. About to add some more pages to
my script, hoping to finish by next week.

Since I haven’t blogged about it yet, let’s talk about the amazing BILL TRUE
and DEAN HYERS. These two are on my top 10 list of nicest guys ever. This list
includes Blake Snyder, by the way. We will bring them back again. For those
of you who missed it, shame on you This was hands down the most invaluable
pitching training I’ve ever had.

We were all nervous as hell. Pitching in front
of an audience is hard. I don’t care who you are. Even as President of NWSG
(basically a volunteer Project Manager) I ranked 6th out of 22, which was a
hard pill to swallow. Of course I blew through my pitch in 37 seconds instead
of the allotted 90 seconds.  I left out my catalyst (duh!) and a major
piece of the subtext/set-up puzzle. 

The hardest thing was to admit that
I didn’t do my best, didn’t prepare properly, and sold myself short by not
using all the time.  I forgot that it doesn’t matter how hard we try to
check our egos and pride at the door, they still crash the party. So,
not only did I learn how to pitch better, more from the heart, and how to hit
the major plot points, but I learned that I need to acknowledge that my ego
is right there with me, vulnerable to, as Dean Hyers would say, devastation.

Phew. Who needs therapy when you can just pitch in front of an audience and
get feedback! Imagine if these guys were mean, I think I would’ve gone home
and drank a bottle of Vodka and watched Taxi Driver. But, in this case, I was
appreciative of their knowledge, brutally honest feedback, and I was inspired
to take my pitch to the next level.

Here’s what they said about US…

Aadip,

Dean and I wanted to take a moment to thank you and all the great people of the NWSG for making us feel so welcome and at home this past weekend in Seattle.

As you know, I just sent a message to Linnea Toney of the Austin Film
Festival, telling her what an amazing group you folks have up there. I would
like to echo those sentiments here by reiterating your group really and truly
“gets it right—and it encourages and educates on the art and the business
simultaneously. I am so impressed by the people they get up there to speak—from
Michael Hague to Blake Snyder to Pilar Alessandra. I am even more impressed
by the number of options and potential sales the group is beginning to see.
All I can say is ‘wow.’”

Not only did Dean and I have a great time, we appreciated the groups hunger to learn and to improve. Our hope is that our teaching—based on our personal experience in the trenches—gave them something they can use to help take their writing careers to the next level.

Please send our thanks to the entire group. We look forward to seeing our friends in Seattle again soon!

All the Best,
Bill True & Dean Hyers

Finally, I’m putting it out there. It’s not secret that I am a huge Barack
Obama supporter and consider political involvement an important
part of who I am. I was a delegate to my district and congressional caucuses,
but I’m also going to Spokane next week as a state delegate on behalf of
Obama. I’ve been volunteering on behalf of the campaign for years, even before
there was an official one, so I feel personally involved in his nomination.
That’s the power of a leader like him, he can rally many disenfranchised
voters to at take part and even derive pride and value from the fact that
someone like him can have a serious chance at being President. I want to
say that Hillary Clinton’s commitment to universal healthcare will be her
calling card in the future, whether or not she is involved in the Obama administration
or not. 

I want to congratulate Barack on winning all the delegates necessary and doing
so with class, style, and grace. I’m also excited to try to speak with superdelegates
in WA State about incentivizing filmmakers to shoot their stuff in WA, instead
of going to Canada, Bulgaria, and New Mexico. We’ll see.

On Saturday, they heard 30 pitches, yep, 30,
from our Compendium Members. All the while my dog, Brando, was running around
like a crazy pup. Funny enough, the execs requested his presence at the pitches.
I think he helped calm a lot of people down, too. I hope.

Matt and Kevin felt that our pitches were “a cut above” what they usually get down in LA. Pretty cool.
Finally, I’m happy to report that the execs requested contact info for eleven Guild writers so far. Way to go NWSG!

Lastly, we’re pleased and excited to start promoting our next event, April
11-12 with Catherine Ann Jones. She will be presenting her much-lauded Way
of Story workshop. Did I mention she’s got an NEA Award, Fullbright, and several
others? This one will sell out.

Way of Story may appear as a deceptively simple memoir/manual, but it is not.
Catherine rockets you into the essentials of craft, as well as urging you to
dig deep into yourself and transmit your emotions to the page, and the story.
Few books simultaneously pay equal attention to both the architecture AND the
soul of the story.  Finally, I think the book offers gems to both novice
and experienced writers, including advice and a bounty of challenging exercises
to get the ideas out of your head and onto the page. I wish I’d had this book
when I started!

Good news, we’ve locked down our speaker for February, the multi-talented Wally Dalton.
He’ll be dropping in to chat with us about his career as an actor, writer on Benson, Barney Miller, and Laverne and Shirley, and we can ask him about his sideline as a stuntman. The cool thing is he lives in Ballard of all places.

January 30th, we’ll be hosting the Washington Lawyers
for the Arts Film Panel, April will bring Catherine Ann Jones, author of "The
Way Of Story." and in late May, Bill True will be putting us through a mini-pitchfest.  More
speakers in the works, just have to convince them that they won’t drown in
Seattle.

As for the Writer’s Strike or Writers’ Strike or Writers’s Strike, well we are
starting to see the results on TV. This season’s returning shows have been
very lackluster, including boring episodes of Heroes, House, The Office, Earl,
and The Simpsons. Now the new slate of reality garbage (aka unscripted TV)
is hitting the airs. Clash of the Choirs? What’s next? Battle of the Barbers?
Tyranny of the Toddlers. Put a fork in me, I’m done.

As many of you know the WGA/AMPTP talks have broken down again, and there is
no end in sight. We continue to support our fellow scribes in their quest for
the holy grail, I mean more fair royalty rates. This
just in from the Hollywood Reporter.

If you are interested in showing your support for fellow writers and in keeping up with what is going on, go to these sites:

• Fans4Writers
• WGA Petition

Every one of us walked away with a completed BSBS with 15 major plot points, and the nerve-wracking experience of pitching our stories numerous times and having them broken down. Those of you who are attending Blake’s sold out workshop in two weeks, you are in for a real treat.  Those who missed out on both opportunities, Blake said he’s coming back to see us soon, possibly to do his 40 scene workshop and to buy a condo. The guy is crazy for Seattle and our rain! He was hopping up and down in the classroom while it poured outside.  Blake, I’ll trade you some Beverly Hills sunshine for our early winter and non-summer.  

What does the NWSG have next in store? Nobody should miss this opportunity -  an entire weekend with Story Master, Michael Hauge, uber consultant, celebrated author, and in-demand lecturer. I’ve been reading "Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds," which is a tight piece of writing with instant tips on getting your pitches into shape. I am eager to spend another weekend digging deep into the screenwriting craft with a guy who has worked with some of the best in Hollywood. Remember to bring your pitches and story ideas to the workshop. For those of you going to CS Screenwriting Expo (Oct. 24-28) to pitch, this will be nice preparation. Good luck to everyone who is going to the Austin Film Festival (Oct 11-18). Finally, Scriptapalooza will start taking applications November 1st.