The Next Step

It's a snow day today, with school cancelled for Ava, our Mom's group called off for me, and my office closed due to the snow. It's like a mini vacation on top of having 3 solid days of being at home with a sick 4 year old. He's finally turning the corner with this nasty virus, but he's still weak and firmly planted on the couch after not eating for 3 days, so we would've been home-bound again today, even without the snow.

It's been an unusual week, reflective and slow, with time taken to stop and smell the (snow covered) roses. I feel absurdly peaceful and relaxed, like a kid with no responsibilities. I am so grateful for all of my blessings: for my family, my friends, my health, my life. I feel happy, settled, rooted. I know when the storms of regular life blow in again I will struggle to keep this contented feeling, but I want to dig deep and hold on as long as I can, for it's a gentle and wonderful place to be.

Yesterday I received my screenplay in the mail from my friend in LA, with another round of comments. She loved my last rewrite, and gave me 3 pages of notes to tighten up a few loose ends and strengthen a few scenes. She gave me the advice that after this next rewrite, I should get it read by a "professional script person type object" (you have to know my friend to get her fabulous sense of humour).

Reading her comments, and her advice, I felt a rush of excitement. After eighteen months of writing, then getting friends to read, and rewriting again and again, I'm almost at the next step of the process, the one I've dreamed about in one form or another for 22 years: the selling step. It still feels surreal, but for a person who dreamed instead of actually writing for many years, it's very satisfying to realize that there is an end point, and I believe I have a polished product that could be marketable.

I was hoping that my LA buddy would have many agent friends to pass it to, but she's in a different side of the industry, and I completely understand that. I have a few other friends in the industry who I'll ask, but I'm also working on a query letter for agents and I can begin sending it out to gauge the level of interest. Writing on your own in your living room is one thing, and getting it out into the world to be read by people who aren't your friends is a separate part of the procedure, scary and thrilling in equal measure.

It's been fun to share the process in this blog. The ups and the downs; the moments of great certainty and accomplishment and the ones that feel like a terrifying freefall. I'm nearly at the next step. I look forward to charting the course of contacting agents and trying to get my script seen by the right pair of eyes. I'm sure it will be an interesting roller coaster ride, and I'll do my best to describe it as it's happening. Thank you for reading, for walking this path alongside of me, and for sharing your thoughts and support. I deeply appreciate it.

A writer friend of mine profiled me yesterday in her blog for a feature she calls "Writers-on-Wednesday". You can read it on her blog at The Koala Bear Writer. It's a brief interview with me about how I became a writer, what inspires me to write, and what I like to read. Check it out and let me know what you think!