My Projects

This blog's been up 12 days now, and I haven't quite yet written about my different writing projects. Since a big reason for this blog is to keep me accountable on those projects, I figured I would list them. The plan was to start full-force last week, but then the trial came up, and I was still designing the blog, so I let go of my anticipated schedule and let the week evolve as felt best. Which is part of the process of writing - to release that control at the right times and let come what may. Who knows? Maybe there's a piece of writing for me from that trial. Hmm....

Anyway, here is my list of projects.

First, of course, is the baseball novel (check out website link to the right - just click on the book). I see this story as a movie. This team's story - it is so worthy of being told. Nine guys died (in the bus crash, back in 1946) so they died as a team. Eight of the nine who died had served in some capacity in World War II. So they survive the war, come back to fulfill their dreams of playing baseball, and then die in a bus crash midway through the season..... I want the movie of this story to be done by someone who recognizes the beauty of the trueness of it - someone who doesn't feel obligated to mess around the facts and make things up out of whole cloth for no good reason other than "just because." Moviemakers do that all the time, with sports stories in particular. If it were just a piece of fiction, I wouldn't care. But this story is of people's lives. There are beautiful nuggets within the story that I've already work to uncover. It's fine to make some things up, as long as they are consistent with the original storyline. That's what I'm looking for, in a movie guy. I did have my sights on one guy in particular (and have talked to a second one, that I would also trust to do right by the story). Neither has followed up, though. I do know that's how Hollywood does things... Still, I may need to expand my horizons. It's time for this movie to move.

Second, is my play about an exorcist, and the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, called "A Man Of Sacred Heart." Set in 2003, in Boston, the (fictional) premise is that the church leaders have brought in their best and brightest exorcist to exorcise the church of the demon that must be harassing them (the only explanation they have for why people won't stop talking about this sex abuse crisis). In the meantime, six female saints (I call them my undisciplined chorus of female saints) have swooped in on the exorcist with the different agenda of opening up his heart. Which way will he choose? Here's a synopsis of the play, back when it still was in rough draft form. I'm a little shocked to see the date of August 2005 on this article. BUT I have now finished the final draft (if just two weeks ago), and do have it out to some people to read and give back feedback. The downside of the play is that it needs 11 actors. The upside is - well, it's a good play.

Third, are the many movie ideas I have. One is about an ice skater, one is about a psychic who helps the police solve crimes (similar to shows like "Medium" and "Ghost Whisperer" but more complex as to motive by the intuitive), one is based on nine days that I spent in Berlin in 1982 (I call it "Nine Days in Berlin" - catchy title), one is based on a modern-day true story of the Christian Crusades (if the person with the story is willing to let me tell it).... There are others too. My plan is to write all the projects up in treatment form (which is a very detailed explanation of the potential movie but not an actual script) and then figure out which is the best to start writing into screenplay form. I am so extremely lucky right now because, two months ago, I met a movie networking group over in Idaho called KNIFVES. They have been so gracious and willing to reach out to me and help give structure to my plans. Their website is www.knifves.org. The anacronym stands for Kootenai (County) and North Idaho Film and Video Something Something. (Just looked - the last two are Entertainment Society.)

So that's my plan. This week is about putting in treatment form the different ideas. I will be drafting treatments of the baseball novel and exorcist play as well as the other movie ideas. I'll give an update at the end of the week of how much progress I made. Wish me luck and godspeed!