Sometimes things just don’t go as planned.

I wouldn’t say this has been the week from hell. But I would say this week has been a big pain in the ass.

Our first week back from vacation and we’re already in the think of misery - balancing working from home, helping two rambunctious boys with online school, looking for jobs, searching for a new place to live, and trying to write something that makes sense and that people would want to read.

Even though I didn’t write a blog post this week (dammit, I’m going to get this routine set up if it kills me), I did manage to work at least 30 to 45 minutes every night on my pilot. The character work is coming along nicely. It’s freeing working in a notebook right now. I don’t feel the weight or rush of getting a story down on paper. I’m just letting the characters reveal themselves to me, letting the story organically materialize. It’s definitely a different approach to writing than what I’m used to.

My first entry in my notebook for this new pilot was January 3rd. With the exception of a few days here and there, I’ve worked on this story for a solid 7 weeks. Normally, I would have at least a shitty draft of a script done. But I’m purposely going slow this time to hone in on specific aspects of my craft and technique that I think need refinement and practice. It’s a pain in the ass trying to fix something in a script that should’ve been taken care of in the planning stages.

Regardless of how exhausting this week was, I still managed to get words on the page and move my story along. I have a feeling the care and level of detail I’m putting into this story will show itself when I type FADE OUT.

Today’s Accomplishments

• Finally writing another blog post.

• Finished character biographies.

Tomorrow’s Tasks/Goals

• Hey, let’s see if I can write a blog post 2 days in a row!

• Conduct some research on the history of the crossroads myth.

Today’s Story Worthy Moment

Gotta be honest. My story worthy moment isn’t from today. It’s from Monday when we drove back from PHX to LA.

Interstate 10 is the main (only?) highway from LA to PHX and it’s a doozy. Beautiful desert landscape, small towns, an Indian reservation….and Blythe, CA and Quartzsite, AZ.

Now, to be fair Blythe and Quartzsite really are in the middle of nowhere. Both towns straddle the Colorado River and the border of California and Arizona. And both towns have their share of wayfarers and crossroad country travelers, which makes both locations a fantastic place to people watch.

But I got to thinking…

What if these towns were the secret hiding place for some crazy extraterrestrial-type stuff? I mean, nobody in these towns would think differently about someone who looks a little strange? What if Blythe or Quartzsite are the perfect towns for aliens to make their own version of the American Dream?