[Special note: By "this morning" in the next paragraph, I obviously mean, "last week," i.e., when I began writing this post; as opposed to when I continued rewriting and editing it; as opposed to when I finally clicked "Publish"! Onward …] Walking home this morning (now known as "a week ago, 10/12/22"), after dropping offContinue reading “Procrastinators Unite … Tomorrow! (He said last Thursday)”
Category Archives: Writing
Facing 50: Deconstructing and re-editing my three-act structure
I was born in San Francisco 50 years ago tomorrow, and for the last several months when anyone has asked me that most terrible of conversation starters—“How are you?”—I have replied with some variable of the following: “Hopefully, reaching the end of this 25-year midlife crisis.” As my few most-recent attempts to resurrect this digitalContinue reading “Facing 50: Deconstructing and re-editing my three-act structure”
Digitally Dusting-off a Decade of Unfinished Thoughts
Ideas, I’ve had a few…. A few million? I often listen to a podcast and hear a comment or story that triggers a response, one which I’d love to discuss and/or debate with the speaker, but doing so directly is not possible. Wouldn’t my little corner of the Internet be the perfect space? I exportContinue reading “Digitally Dusting-off a Decade of Unfinished Thoughts”
Planning on rebooting and now maybe Doing … Again
TREMORS: "We plan ahead, that way, we don't do anything right now." I am a “Planner.” A “Doer?” Sure. For years, decades even, I was a “Doer.” And even when I fell short of “Doing,” I drew from a war chest of great excuses, thereby allowing myself to retain that “Doer” mantle. And yet, justContinue reading “Planning on rebooting and now maybe Doing … Again”
Writing about not writing: Creating a conclusion to a never-ending Series
I have focus issues. I suppose the title of this blog indicates as much, but when I first used it (literally 30 years ago for my UCLA Daily Bruin column), I did not yet possess that awareness. I considered “Out of Focus” a simple, slightly self-deprecating title that would simultaneously contextualize my column as oneContinue reading “Writing about not writing: Creating a conclusion to a never-ending Series”
Thirty-six Days of HoliFilms continued: But Why‽
As I mentioned at the end of my New Year’s Day post, “I just need to keep showing up.” Though I have long hoped to make my writing my “work”—or a core element of it—at least in the near term, the work I want to write most likely offers little financial reward. Since my wifeContinue reading “Thirty-six Days of HoliFilms continued: But Why‽”
Thirty-six Days of HoliFilms (a/k/a #36DaysOfHoliFilms): A Primer
A couple years ago in late November, I decided to start a #MovieDiary with my Instagram feed. My (not original) idea was to capture the first onscreen image as well as the title card, combine them into a single mini-collage, and add a “brief” reaction in the comment. I didn’t get very far. This attemptContinue reading “Thirty-six Days of HoliFilms (a/k/a #36DaysOfHoliFilms): A Primer”
Happy New Year: Once Upon a Time … Rebooting a Decade With Year 1
Photo by: Markus Winkler on Unsplash I realize saying “good riddance” to 2020 became cliche around midsummer of that turd of year, but right now, as I sit aiming to accomplish my first SMART goal 2021, I can’t help but hope a decade from now I can see last year as the nadir from whichContinue reading “Happy New Year: Once Upon a Time … Rebooting a Decade With Year 1”
New Year, New Decade, New(ish) Focus: Beating Spider-Man to the Reboot Championship
courtesy Nina Matthews Photography I’ve lost count, but math doesn’t lie. Over the past four weeks, I’ve drafted this post at least a dozen times. It doesn’t feel like four weeks, but I began on New Year’s Day. It doesn’t feel like my fingers have crawled over this keyboard for 20 hours (or more), andContinue reading “New Year, New Decade, New(ish) Focus: Beating Spider-Man to the Reboot Championship”
WriMoBloPo 2019 Day 4 Day 1: So Many Drafts, So Few Posts
NaNoWriMo began four days ago. I am not writing a novel, but last week, I planned to utilize NaNoWriMo as motivation to create my own, let's call it, NoBloWriMo. Or AarBloWriMo? Hmmm … maybe WriMoBloPo? Maybe I need to keep working on this. I digress. I'm not writing a novel. I'm writing a screenplay. ForContinue reading “WriMoBloPo 2019 Day 4 Day 1: So Many Drafts, So Few Posts”
Out of Focus 