Writing and beer go together like...

I have been writing for the last 3 hours and 40 minutes and I noticed something; I have been drinking Guinness and Stella Artois beer for the last week and today. My sister came by yesterday and brought me a case of Bud Light. Talk about awful...and I use to like Bud light.

Coffee, black and...cover your lady parts.

On my way to a café, the other day, in one of those towns where the uber hipsters hang out, I thought I’d park my car a little further away so I could get a little refreshing walk in. I crossed the street and made a quick left, heading to the café in the middle of the block.

Ahead of me were two young women. One of them had a head of bright blond hair with dark brown streaks in it, topped with a blue thingy wrapped around her hair ending in a long ponytail. She had on a colorful; I don’t know what you call it, a Halter top that exposed her belly button and a blue, short skirt that had frills on the ends near her knees. On her feet were beige-colored platform style shoes with straps that went up her ankles.

All of a sudden, she rolled her ankle, tripped and went down. She rolled over on her butt and as I walked to her to help her up, I noticed that she had no underwear on. It seemed like an eternity as I reached for her hand to help her up. She looked at me for a moment and said, “Did you like what you saw?”

I said, “No. You could use a trim or a Brazilian, maybe, or dye it the same as what’s on your head.” I smiled, and turned into the café. I then ordered a coffee, black, no sugar or cream. I wanted a brownie, but they didn’t have any that day, so I got one of those large, soft, chocolate chip cookie. I went and sat down on a vacant sofa and waited for my comrades to come. I was going to read some of my poetry, that day.

I was just about to get comfy when that young lady marched over to me. She stood there for a second then bent over to say something to me that only I could have heard.

“Are you some kind of pervert?” She said…her eyes wide, her face almost expressionless. I was shocked, but only for a second or two.

Looking dead into her eyes I said, “Youngster, I have seen, touch, tasted, and played with over xxx women in my lifetime. I am over xx years old and that,” pointing at her crotch, “doesn’t excite me as much as it did when I was your age.” I looked up at her and smiled, then added, “Besides, a pervert would have had a camera and took plenty of pictures. My camera was in my pocket.”

She straightened up and put her hands on her hips. I noticed the corner of her lip started to erect into a tiny smile. I figured she wanted to burst out laughing, but she didn’t. She turned and started to walk out of the café. I noticed, as she walked away, her rear end was sashaying, a definite prominence that she didn’t have as she was walking down the street. 

At that moment I realized, I had lied to her. Something I don’t do often, fibbing, not telling the truth. I did get excited, just a little, a tiny bit. Just enough to let me know, I’m still human.

Forty-five minutes later, as I sat listening to one of my friends read their poems, that youngster walked back onto the café, over to me and whispered into my ear, “can I get a ride home?”

My Writing Life -- New Beginnings

I wrote on Facebook, about four days ago, that I had submitted my screenplay to Amazon studios to be evaluated and hopefully accepted and possibly get paid. Being this was my first screenplay, based on a short story I wrote many years ago, (I have a second script finished but I need to work on it also), I figured it was about time to get this career of mine jump started, once more.

Being that this was the first time I had ever written a script of any kind, I knew it wasn’t the best, but I gave myself an “A” for the effort of at least trying something different. I had gotten a book on screenwriting, but only read about a third and what I mean by a third, I truly skimmed through the book and tried to only read the highlights.

I then went and purchased the screenwriting program, Final Draft, (which, for some reason won’t work on Windows 10 and a new version runs about $160!). I took my story and tried to re-create it, as the program showed me how, step by step.  My Seventy-five word story was finished as a fifty-nine page script. However, the script sat on my desk (and in my hard drive) for at least eight or so years, collecting dust.

A few years back my brother was in town and I let him read the script and of course he liked it, (everyone who as read any of my stories always tell me they like or love my stories, of course they don’t count, to a point), and he wanted to take it back with him, to California, and show it to one of his producer friends. He later called me and told how those “friends” like it, too. Of course I have never heard anything about my script again, no matter how many times I asked. (Twice).

Anyway, today, I received an email from Amazon Studios, in regard, to my submission. It was rejected. It stated that they had determined that my script did not meet the needs of their development slate at that time. 

Where have I heard that statement before? About twenty years or so ago I sent this same story to a Sci-Fi magazine. It was returned to me, rejected. I know that the reader read the entire story because my manuscript reeked of cigarette smoke on every page. Their rejection letter indicated, almost word for word, the statement above. So, I made a bunch of corrections, re-wrote a lot of the story and re-submitted it.

A week or so later I got another letter from that editor saying that they didn’t ask for me to send it back to her. Ouch! That put a damper on that story for many years.

Looking back over the many years, I have been trying to edit my own works, apparently to no real success. I’ve had the knack of editing other’s works but have been terrible at editing my own. I majored in Journalism. Creative writing came later in my life.

Anyway, Amazon Studios finished their note with; if you make significant revisions to your work, you are welcome to re-submit it in the future. Whatever that means. Well, I do know what it mean…I just have to keep working on it until I get it right or enough money to send to my stories to an editor/proofreader.

In the meantime, I have dusted off all of the books I purchased many years ago on how to screen write. The one I have to pay attention to, “Screenwriting for Dummies”. I know I have a couple more book, locked or lost downstairs in my fortress of books, I just have to make the effort to get up from this comfortable sofa and put on my shoes and go down there to that scary place and get more books. Just kidding… or was I?

Anyway, it looks like I have a lot more reading to do and I mean slow reading. (I can speed read, but I usually read fast only when I am reading a novel.)  And, of course, save a ton of money so I can get my stories read. Does anyone know of anyone who wants to be a beta reader?  I want to, need to get this done before this year is out.

My only problem, right now, everyone I have asked, for help, tells me yes, but never come through. So, I have to read, read and do more reading, to get through this on my own. I will get it done…I have so much to do…I would like to say I have so little time, but that’s just a myth. I will work with one thing at a time and that time is now. 

Now on Sale!

My First Sci-Fi novel is now on sale @ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K706RPK  -pick it up today!! #novel #writers #writer #gottawrite #scifi