I'm still writing...albeit not as much as I did in the past. It's a frustrating passion. You put your heart and soul into a project and, if you're not in the 'right place', it's hard to get it read. It would be one thing if your work were read and then rejected...you expect that, as a writer. You can deal with that. You can't please everyone. You could be Shakespeare and someone's not going to like what you do. But it's nearly impossible to get an agent to look at your work, if you're not 'introduced' by someone they already know or you don't live in New York or Los Angeles. It's a closed club. I've often wondered how many talented writers go undiscovered because they 'can't break through'. How many best sellers are sitting in a desk drawer, destined to be lost to time?
These days, there are other options. You can self publish. It's similar to the old 'vanity publishing' from decades past, the difference being, now you can do it yourself, on your own computer and in the privacy of your own home. It gives you a 'finished product'...a 'book' with a nice fancy cover...and all the accoutrements. It strokes the ego. You feel like you're out there. But you're really not. Marketing and publicity make a successful book. It's like in the old days when recording artists would produce a demo record...but couldn't find a label to distribute their song. They had a physical product....they could touch it...play it on their record players...crank up the volume and shake the walls...but other then their closest friends...and maybe their next door neighbors...no one knew it existed.
Ever wonder how all the cable news 'stars' become best selling authors? It's not because they're all gifted writers. Quite the contrary. Most need a 'co-writer' (ghost writer) to create their works. And often, that co-writer is the real 'gifted' author. What makes their books massive New York Times bestsellers is the constant publicity on their networks....the mentions...the on-camera stills of their book covers...the discussion that includes talk of their 'new book'. Admittedly, there is the occasional exception...when an unknown author breaks through...although I'll be damned if I can think of one, off hand.
My script...'The Forward Observer' would be a great film. It's got it all...and then some. I'm not saying it because I wrote it. I'm saying it because, after a lifetime of film watching, I know what type of story makes a great film. And I've had some 'Hollywood' interest. One producer, who you would know, said that it's a 'great script'. He said that he couldn't put it down. It was one of the few scripts he'd read that felt like a great book. But...he couldn't find the 'money' people. They were too busy funding 'Super Hero' movies...the pulp fiction of the film business....the same senseless drivel you've seen a hundred times, in only slightly different iterations. It's been 'optioned'...only to have the option lapse. I believe that one of the biggest problems many writers have is their physical location. If you're not in greater Hollywood...well you might as well be on the Moon. So my living in Western PA is a non-starter. But...I keep trying...with the hope that the right producer accidentally finds 'The Forward Observer'...and their next big hit film.
I'm also several years older since my last post. The young man that I used to greet every morning in the mirror has been replaced by the image of someone who resembles my late grandfather. I'm not sure how that happened! But I guess it beats the alternative. I'm still here. And that statement has more meaning to me than ever before. I've lost close relatives in recent years...my mom...two younger brothers...a first cousin...friends...they've all slipped away. It makes you think about your own mortality. It makes you wonder how many more mornings await you.
In the last year, I've had two total knee replacements. It's an incredible medical advancement...to remove tired, pain filled, arthritic joints and replace them with titanium artificial knees. And they really work. Most of the terrible pain is gone. Suddenly...I feel like 50 again. I may not look like 50...but I feel like 50 and that's good enough for me.
This pandemic thing has been a first for me...and everyone else too. It's a terrible inconvenience, but if you've got to live through something like this, there could be no better time. Groceries can be ordered online and ready at the curb...people can Zoom, Skype, Facetime and more...entertainment is plentiful and as close as a keystroke. We're heated and cooled so our home space is comfortable. We're so lucky. Can you imagine how terrible it must have been in 1918...when the flu wiped out millions. I remember my father telling me of the stories he heard from his parents. The almost daily ritual of wagons rumbling down the cobblestone streets, in front of their homes, collecting the most recent victims, who had passed overnight in their homes. And 'yes', they wore masks. But there was no working from home...no 'social distancing'. There's so much we should be thankful for.
I've gone on too long so I'm going to sign off for now. But I'm going to try to make this a more regular part of my day. Hopefully we'll reconnect.
Please stay well and do come back.
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