When I first moved to Hollywood in the 1990’s, I had a yen for TV writing, but it just felt insurmountable. I’d never even seen a teleplay, much less had any idea of how to write one. But Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on TV and I had dozens of Buffy episodes dancing in my head. I knew I needed to write TV spec scripts, because that’s how writers got started in TV.
But what exactly was a spec script? How did I write one? And what did I do with it when done?
As Charles Manson once said, “Are people strange, or am I just crazy?” Call me naïve, but as a published author myself, I assumed other authors must interact with booksellers as courteously as I do. I’ve always believed intelligence and sensitivity to be typical traits among those who write. For the most part I’ve found that to be true. But I’m also a bookseller— my husband and I own The Well Red Coyote bookstore in Sedona, Arizona. During my nine-year tenure as a bookseller, I’ve discovered that, for a substantial minority, common sense among authors is not as common as you might think.
The road to publishing can take years to travel, and it comes with a steep learning curve. Sometimes, the obstacles to success seem insurmountable. Life gets hard.
Everyone has off periods, when your writing time gets waylaid by other responsibilities. And it’s a real kick in the teeth if, when you do finally find yourself in your writing chair, the work itself turns out to be hard going. Like hauling rocks.
There’s one more thing we don’t want you to miss about the Colorado Gold Writing Contest for unpublished novelists. Announcing the 2014 Colorado Gold Final Judges! Action/Thriller Matt Martz, Editor, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Mainstream Peter Senftleben Associate Editor, Kensington Books Mystery/Suspense Terri Bischoff, Editor, Midnight Ink Romance Raelene Gorlinsky, Publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing Inc. Speculative…
This month we’re shining the light on Chris Devlin who is coordinating the RMFW Colorado Gold Writers Contest. If you want to know more about the contest which opened for submissions on April 1st, just scroll down to yesterday’s special post or visit the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers website contest page. Welcome, Chris, and thanks…