Snowpiercer and how are VOD numbers not public?

I rented Snowpiercer on VOD tonight and I was left with a couple of thoughts.

1)  How in the hell are Video on Demand numbers not public?  It amazes me that both the cable providers and distributors have not allowed some sort of boxofficemojo.com for VOD numbers to exist.  I think this is valuable information for indie filmmakers and indie distributors.

2)  Brave, action film making is still possible and big movies can be made and still be entertaining.  Unfortunately, Snowpiercer will not have box office success like Transformers or the new Cars movie but it was refreshing to see an exciting action with at least a nod to some sort of social issue.

3)  I loved the film.  A fun ride, exactly what you want from an action flick.

4)  Now a tall glass of wine and finishing Henry Miller's late trilogy with Nexus.

Editing your own work is hard.

I began the re-reading of this manuscript today and it is more brutal than I had imagined.  There are obviously parts you want to kiss and hold dear and then the next paragraph will make you feel like a hack and want to throw the whole thing into a wastebasket.

I suppose this is par for the course, especially for a first time novelist.  I will say that even though I wrote this without an outline my background in screenplay writing, which is almost purely structural, helped immensely.

There is a story here most importantly.  Prose can be manipulated or removed all together but we need our hero to go through his ups and downs (as demonstrated so brilliantly by Mr. Vonnegut.)

This process will be taxing, but simultaneously rewarding.

If nothing else, I just want to continue to grow as a writer.

I may need a beer or two as I re-read this, but to paraphrase Peter de Vries: "Write sober, edit drunk or write drunk, edit sober."

From Draft One On...

Two months ago I had accomplished something I had wanted to do my entire life.  I finished my "novel."  The manuscript for How I Broke Into Heaven came in at 220 pages and nearly 55,000 words.  The story felt strong in some places and weak in others.  I did not use an outline, hell most of the time I did not even know where the story was going.

It felt amazing, for about three minutes.  Then I realized that it had taken me about a year to finish the manuscript.

The writer I was at the beginning of the journey and the writer I grew to be were vastly different.  There were tonal differences throughout as my life went from good to great to bad to worse and back to good.

That said I still like the story that is buried in there deep beneath all the bullshit that lends itself to first drafts.  I also remind myself that the first draft may not be the end of it but it is the most important step.  You must sit down and write, if you want to be a writer.  Regardless, of the success or publication of this manuscript and the couple screenplays that preceded it, I can now honestly call myself a writer.  A good one?  Probably not yet.  But a writer nonetheless.

I promised myself eight weeks off to work on a screenplay but now am forced to delve back into How I Broke Into Heaven.

I have written second, third, fourth, fifth, drafts of screenplays but that is a different animal than a manuscript.

I suppose my game plan from here on out is something like this;

1) Re-read in entirety, take detailed notes, highlight thoughts I love, try to remain objective and dismiss material that doesn't lend itself to the story.

2) Re-write the entire novel from page one.  No copy and pasting, no transcribing long blocks of text from the finished manuscript.  Explore ideas that you like with an open mind.  Do not attach yourself to past thoughts.  Remind yourself to always serve the story.

3) Finish re-write in two months to try to keep quality of writing consistent throughout.  

4) The novel itself is the telling of two parallel stories.  I would like to try to make sure those two stories match thematically and tonally throughout.

5) Aim to be a more visual storyteller.

6) Be honest to yourself and to your story.

So on July 23rd, 2014 here we go.