2011 has been a pretty crazy year as far as my personal screenwriting output is concerned.

THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FEATURE FILM SCRIPTS since January of this year:

A PAGE ONE rewrite.

A HEIST film.

A CRIME THRILLER.

A WESTERN.

Another ‘HIGH OCTANE’ CRIME THRILLER.

A (Psychological) HORROR film (Co-written with my friend Paul).

WHY THE SUDDEN FLURRY?

I think the cost of setting up a film means I’m not directing as much as I’d like to be.

A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS drained my line of credit and credit cards (which remain drained), so “self financing micro budget style” is a challenge.

My management company are an inspiration. Great notes. Great attitude. Great guys.

I’ve learned the joy of outlining.  A more holistic understanding of narrative story structure, in both commercial films and smaller personal dramas, means less time meandering and more time writing. I’m certain the end result can be the same, whether you outline in great detail or not, but, for me, I find I’m making more productive keystrokes lately, and that keeps me at the computer.

Of course, characters continue to surprise, and often refuse to go where I tell them.