I finished to scene 30, which means I'm half way through my screenplay. I'm only on page 37, which sort of worries me, but there are more scenes this time that are purely visual with no speaking. This is definitely the most visual draft of all my screenplays. I'm trying to think of it as a silent film, meaning that if you were watching the movie without sound, I'm trying to make sure an audience would still get the story or get the story more or less.

I'd always thought of myself as a very visual thinker, but writing this screenplay has challenged this assumption. Supposedly men have an easier time thinking visually than women, and I'm starting to wonder if that's true.

I'm more relaxed about my screenplay and writing than I've ever been, and I have to thank my baseball character Jim Reilly for that. He's taught me that writing is like any sport or any job for that matter. You've got to work your bunnies off to get anywhere. I think I put myself under a lot of unnnecessary pressure thinking that I had to be perfect and successful right away. I was consequently freaking out, because I've never been perfect and successful about anything starting out. I didn't how to do that and I was freaking out about it.

But my baseball dude guy has taught me that writing is going to be about hard work. And I can deal with that. I've worked hard at stuff all my life. I've had too. Nothing has come very easy to me, at least in my own mind. When I got really good at tennis in junior high, I played every day and did stroke work in front of a mirror. I lived and breathed tennis 8 hours or more a day, especially n the summer. My old doubles partner from junior high told me at graduation, that she wished I kept on playing tennis. Kara said that together we could have ranked # 1 in doubles in state. She didn't too bad without me, she and her partner ranked third in state.

I suppose it was nice of her to say this, although looking back it pisses me off that I stopped playing tennis, but I didn't feel like I had the support at home to continue in that demanding sport. And that's a whole other story.

Anyway, I guess I feel better about my writing because now I feel like I have the necessary skills to succeed. I know how to work hard, and stay on point, and get stuff done. With my work ethic, I was able to run 3 marathons. I know how to work my bunnies off to distraction and get stuff done. All the creativity stuff, I'm not too sure about, but hard work, I definitely have that part down. It also makes me more relaxed since like any sport or job, it takes awhile to get good, a good long while. I figure I have a few years more to go get good at writing, and that means I have a lot less internalized pressure to deal with.

Yep, I definitely have the work like a dog part down good. I only hope the work like a dog thing helps with my writing. At least it can't hurt.

I've been pondering the wisdom of sending the 10-draft outline, 2nd-written draft of my screenplay to a contest. I think it's going to take at least 3 more written drafts to get my screenplay to a final draft state, and 3 drafts is really an optimistic number. But entering my screenplay into a contest is the only way to measure how I stand up to the competition. Sending the secreenplay out into the world is a also a good place to end the project and move on to my other types of writing.

I'm looking forward to starting Nanowrimo in November and I even have a new novel idea. The working title to my new novel will be "The Crow Priestess". It's about an 18 year old superstar head priestess of an ancient tribe, and her rise and fall from power. This will be my first attempt at fantasy type literature, and I am so looking forward to it. I won't have to deal with conventions of reality. I will be able to create this wild and fantastical world where magical creatures exist and people can do fun magical stuff. I can make my characters literally as big and powerful as I want them to be, or small and insignificant as insects.

My 18 year old superstar priestess will be betrayed by her fellow priestesses, who crave her power. I see the novel as study in power, and how it affects people. People who want power but don't have it, people who have power and don't care about it, and people who want power and will do do anything including murder to get it. My teenage superstar priestess has an ancient family secret, which is the source of her power and her abilities. She has been sworn never to reveal it, but the power of her position goes to her head and she ends up revealing the secret. Pride is her downfall, and it will cost her the head priestess position and practically her life. I decided that I didn't want to kill her off at the end, but she will be left at the end to ponder very painfully the consequences of her actions.

Isn't that more of a fun plot than my silly family drama baseball screenplay? I would have given up on the screenplay a long time ago, if I didn't have this crazy urge to finish it. By October 31st, the baseball screenplay will be done, sent off and out of my hands, and I am so looking forward to that day.

I'm kind of wishing I was still working in downtown San Francisco, so I could go to the World Series SF Giants rallies. I would even lurk around Union Square to see if I could get an Anaheim Angel sighting, since the team is probably staying at one of hotels there. If the Giants win, I'm sure they'll parade down Market Street. The 49ers did that whenever they won the superbowl, and it was such a trip to see the football players in the cable cars waving at their adoring fans. Steve Young looked massive up close, and he was small compared to some of the defensive guys.

If the Giants win the World Series and they have their victory parade, I'm definitely taking time off from work to go and see them. The crowds will be massive and it will be chaotic, but it will be so much fun. And who knows when the Giants will ever win the world series again, since it's been about 40 years since the last one.

GO GIANTS!!!

The weight loss is going slowly, but at least it's going. I'm down to 157.5 pounds, despite the fact that I made my way through a pint of Ben & Jerry's vanilla ice cream with fat free chocolate sauce chocolate. I definitely can't keep ice cream in the house, without eating it every day. I don't usually crave icecream either, so I'm sure it was a stress craving.

I bought some strawberries on Sunday, so when I'm craving a dessert I'll have strawberries with chocolate sauce. Strawberries are probably better for me than icecream anyway. I also bought some apples, and I'm looking forward to eating applies with fat free caramel sauce.

What's weird is I can see eating like this for the rest of my life. It's really not that bad. But who knows what I'll feel like doing in April or May, which is my new target time to be at my weight goal. I can easily see myself totally binging on chocolate and icecream for a week, just to celebrate. I might even break down and eat a steak, just to really be evil and bad. It's been years since I've eaten a steak, so maybe I'm due for once every five year steak meal. I know just where to go too; Harris Steakhouse. I think it's supposed to be the best steak house in San Francisco, and I've never been there, and I want to check it out.

Look at me, I'm already dreaming of binging on chocolate, ice cream and steak next spring. YIKES!!!