I am behind in my Nanowrimo word count. I'm supposed to be up to 10,002 words as of today, and I'm only at 4,163. I think I can get caught up today if I have three one-hour writing sessions. So I'm listening to the classical music station and watching the Oakland Raiders Kansas City Game football game.

I got the phone number of a woman from Los Angeles who is leading a screenwriting group in Cupertino once a month from a friend of mine. I spoke to her at work on Thursday and had to pitch my screenplay idea to her. That was nerve-wracking. But she liked in and invited me to her all day November 13 session. I have to bring a log line for my screenplay and a one to three page synopsis.

The woman's name is Madeline Dimaggio and this is her website; Create a Script. My friend has taken her seminar seven times and has written seven scripts. She says the woman is fantastic. Her seminar is six weeks long and I already missed the first session, but Madeline said I could come to session # 2. The seminars are held once a month for six months. I would have to start wriitng my screenplay right after I finish Nanowrimo in time for the next session in December, if I decide I like the group.

Madeline suggested I come to the November 13 session to check out the group and if I decided I like them, then I would continue. None of the people in the group has sold a screenplay although a couple of people have have agents and with scripts that have been optioned. My guess is these people are also novelists if they have agents. I've taken screenwriting classes in the South Bay before and most of the people I met at these seminars were novelists who had published books and agents and wanted to sell a screenplay. The friend who recommended this seminar has a published non-ficiton book and an agent and is working on her second book. She's trying to break into ficiton and screenwriting.

I pitched Madeline my silicon valley gold digger's story and told her it was a comedy. I was so not prepared to pitch that story and actually haven't thought about it in years. I really should be working on my baseball screenplay, but I haven't finished the second draft yet and I already know how I'm going to rework the final and third draft so I don't really need any help there.

I've never written a comedy before. When I was taking acting classes both of my acting teachers said I had natural comedic timing, so I'm curious if that sense of timing will translate into my writing. One of my acting teachers said my comedic timing was so natural that he couldn't see me doing anything but comedy. He said I reminded him of Elaine May, whom he had worked with in New York. Elaine May wrote "Heaven Can Wait" with Warren Beatty and adapted Joe Klein's "Primary Colors" for the screen. So we'll see.

Comedy is supposed to be hardest genre to write. You can't write funny. I know when I was acting I never did anything to be funny, and whatever I did just was comedic. I kept telling my acting teacher that I didn't know what I was doing that was so funny, and he said because I was a natural and I was always like "whatever".

As I've been typing, Oakland is now leading Kansas City 23-20 and there are only five second left in the game. There's some guy on the Oakland Raiders coaching staff who looks exactly like M-Square. I wonder who that guy is. He's the bulky bearded blondie guy. Oh well, Kansas City just scored a touchdown. Game over. Let's hope the 49ers have better luck.

I just checked the Oakland Raiders' website and if you want to see M-Square's twin, his name is Rob Ryan who is the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. Check this guy out; Rob Ryan - M-Square's twin. How funny.

Today was Day 1 of Nanwrimo and I wrote 1,726 words. I am starting work on my novel series, "The Elf Girl Chronicles". I never did find that piece of paper with the screenplay idea that I came up with in January and wanted to turn into a novel, so I figured why not start work on my novel series.

I titled the novel, "The Elf Girl Chronicles Book 1: The Prophecy". But boy writing it tonight was like pulling teeth. I didn't know whether to write it in first or third person. I started out in first which was fine for an introduction I suppose, then switched to third person to tell the rest of the story.

Talk about bad, bad, bad first draft writing. But oh well, at least I'm writing and I made my word count. I didn't even draft an outline, which is so not like. I'm going to have to draft an outline this weekend, because I won't be able to write without a road map for very long.

And names, I didn't even have time to come up with good character names, so I am so making them up as I write. Oh well, it's only a very badly written first draft right?

The weekend was not good for writing. I had time to write, I thought about writing but I didn't do it. I'm very disappointed with myself. Nanowrimo starts tomorrow and I have no idea what I'm going to write. I have nothing planned or outlined but an idea that I sketched out in January. I've got to find that piece of paper tonight so I can do a brief outline and start writing tomorrow.

I was doing so well with my writing these last two weeks and I don't know what happened. I get so distracted sometimes. I spent part of Saturday getting a waxing and then I came home and made some cds for M-Square and mailed them and other presents I'd bought for him.

On Saturday night I did nothing but zone out in front of the tv. I don't even know what I watched. On Sunday I went out and had a manincure and then came home and cleaned up my house and put things away.

I kept thinking about writing but could not motivate myself to go to the cafe to sit and write. Damn! I could have had a finished screenplay by now. I'm planning to finish the screenplay this month as well as do Nanowrimo. I've got to do it. I've got to finish something this year just for my own peace of mind.

It was a great Sunday in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday with the Raiders and the 49ers finally winning games. And yes it was a sweet victory for the 49ers over the Tampa Bay Bucaneers and John Grudin. Gotta love the fourth string quarterback taking over for the 49ers. It was like watching Oliver Stone's football movie "Any Given Sunday" only this was real life in the NFL. I love when life imitates a Hollywood script or is the other way around.

My interview today went well I think, but it's hard to tell. The woman I interviewed with was so nice. I really liked her. But I don't know why I'm drawn to newly created jobs. They're the hardest kind of jobs to have. I've never not been in a job that hasn't been newly created where I've had to figure it all on my own. I think I have to do some journaling about what that means.

I think I'd like to be in a job that's already established because I think it would be easier. Boring I know, but easy. I think I still need to keep looking. If I get offered the job, I will defintely take it however because I'd really like to leave my job and my company.

M-Square told me on Sunday that I was an important part of his life. That was sweet. He told me things about his job that he's never confided in anyone, and it was pretty heavy. He is in a very complicated situation. I don't think I would ever work for someone that I was really good friends with; it's never a good situation. It's like moving in with a good friend; either it's a disaster or it works.

My poor babe ... it felt like something in my relationship with M-Square has shifted last week and shifted for the better although I don't know what it means right now.

I just read this book by Anne Tyler called "Breathing Lessons" and boy was it boring. I was waiting for it to get better and it never did. How disappointing. I hate getting rid of books but this one is definitely going to be donated to charity.