If I had a resolution at all it is to give my existing projects the very best chance of success this year. Each month I’m going to make some manageable targets to move things along.
So January is all about Carrier, my feature screenplay script. It has been entered into a couple of competitions and submitted to an agent but there are many more competitions and agents, and crucially production houses. I need to get on with it.
Target numero uno: I will write out a hit list using the directories and sources I already have. In addition I’ve ordered the current issues of Variety, Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly which should arrive in the next week or soon. These are weekly titles in the US but I can’t afford to sign up for copies every week. It is imperfect but the target is to treat them as a snapshot, work through them and just get a feel for the current market and see if any names or companies pop out.
My screenplay tutor strongly advised me to write a novel version to go alongside the script as an easy way to market the premise. I’ve resisted this, attempted this and hit a wall and pretty much given up on the idea. But you know when you get that niggling feeling that someone is right? Well yeah, that. I really have to write it out. I know the plot, I know the characters inside out, I just have to tell the story in prose. Now writing the whole thing in what is left of the month would be insane, that clearly isn’t my target but I could certainly try to come up with chapter headings and work out the overarching plot in novel form. Cos some of the cinematic elements won’t work on paper.
Also I will remind myself of the eye watering ticket price of the London Screenwriting Festival in October and work out if I realistically have enough organs to sell. They offer a monthly payment option but even still it’s a lot of cash. The big benefit is that they have one of the best attended pitch events in the UK and it would be a focus for completing complementary novel. I could hand copies out even. If all that didn’t sell the premise… then there’s a fair chance the premise isn’t strong enough.
I reckon that’s enough targets to be going on with. Alongside this I have some work for Fun Kids to complete on Ethical Dilemmas, and the swirling mist of a possible new collaboration with LJF. Not to mention moving into my new space on Monday. Exciting times. Happy New Year!
Nicky Tate 