Sunday, September 27, 2009

I'm baaaack

Summer is ending and writing time is picking up. I'm at work on a new full-length play, using the methods described in "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder (he died recently and suddenly from a pulmonary embolism -- the same thing I had in May, but I survived). "Save the Cat" is a book for screenwriters, but I'm convinced one can use those excellent methods for any piece of writing -- stage play, screenplay, memoir, novel or short story. Maybe for poetry although I'm no poet so can't say.
I've rejoined Writer Island, an online group of writers who commit to turning in 15 pages per week or get kicked off the Island (for a week). I stayed with the group for months while I "finished" my memoir. Now that I've spent 18 weeks reading it aloud on the radio, I can see it isn't finished at all, but instead needs tightening, rewriting -- a tune-up! So in addition to working on the new play, I'm also working to ACTUALLY finish the memoir.
What did you do on YOUR summer vacation?