I must first apologize for my lack of recent posting.
This seems like the hundredth time I’ve done so in the past year, but the reason I’m currently quite unavailable is thanks to my present work.

In the meantime, today is the end of October, which not only means that tonight is Halloween, but that tomorrow marks the official beginning of this year’s NaNoWriMo.
Now, as the name suggests, this is more a novel writing month than a screenwriting one (after all, we have our own much more appropriate Script Frenzy in April). But with that said, writing is writing. And you’re not going to attain those 10,000 hours through tweeting.

Off you go!

Next Saturday marks a full year since my move to Los Angeles.

As you may or may not know from one of my tweets yesterday, I received last night a depressing email:
an “automatic Delivery Status Notification” telling me that “delivery to writersontheverge@nbcuni.com has failed.“
Translation: my NBC/Writers on the Verge 2012 application was not delivered.
The kicker is that I’m getting this message a full month after I sent out said application (for the two people who don’t know, the deadline was end of June).
Yes, I did e-mail WOTV back, just in case, but who am I kidding here.
It’s over a month too late for any “new” application to be accepted, regardless of when it was originally sent out.

In between the tears and hair-pulling, I began to curse the heavens.
Why me?!

Don’t worry, I’m not gonna go into a philosophical debate right now.
Well, not entirely.

Let’s go back to me yelling at an imaginary person in the sky:
Why me?!
Why is the world against me? Why did the delivery notice not arrive minutes after the e-mail pinged back, but literally a month later? Why did HD DVD lose to Blu-Ray?

And then, like [insert tired simile about a bolt of lightning, a slap or a ton of bricks], it hit me:
It happened to me because it happened to me. It is what it is.
What I mean by this very generic assembly of words is that, in my case, I could as much curse my luck as bless it.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right?
And on my side, it’s plenty green.
After all, I did get my own Green Card (Green? Get it?) a little over a year ago.
Not a lot of people can say that in these neck of H-woods.
(As far as I know, only Dominic Purcell won his. No, really.)

“Why me?!” works both ways.
You can be thankful or ungrateful.
Pour yourself another half-glass of vodka and you’ll get it.

The end?
Not yet.

This isn’t a tale about how everything happens for a reason.
Hell, this isn’t a tale.
This is life.
I could whine all day about how everything’s going wrong.
Or I could suck it up.

Even if the application was never received, was it a waste of my time?
Did I really write a spec only to impress a nameless judge?
Do I have to continue asking these obvious rhetorical questions for dramatic effect?
Of course not.

I write because I want to write. Nay. I write because I have to write.
I don’t need a reason, I don’t need an excuse.
Whatever happened to my application, at least it allowed me share my writing (even to the Internet ether).

No tears will be shed at the loss of my Writers on the Verge application.
Better luck next time.

In conclusion, there is no conclusion.
You don’t have to see this industry (or life) as an everyday battle, but know this:
Fact: Setbacks happen.
Fact: You will be remembered by what you do, not by what you shoulda coulda woulda done.
Fact: Bears eat beets. Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Clearly, this long-winded (and hilarious) post was meant more for me than anyone else.
But maybe, hopefully, it was a little helpful for you as well.

Catharsis: unlocked.

Possible Related posts:

1. Even Luck
2. To the future!

We might be bitching about the ridiculous price of the tickets (especially next year’s) or the hotels, but Comic-Con is ultimately a celebration of — well, I’d say comics but we both know that’s not true anymore, so, let’s just say, a celebration of pop-culture mostly for the fans (and the pros).

As this will be my first trip to the Con, I did a bit of research to find some tips and guides.
Needless to say, I found several very interesting ones:
– Kotaku ran an article last year not necessarily on tips about the con itself, rather tips about travelling to it (and in it). Still a very interesting read.
– Another “Top 10″ list to mention is the POVonline convention guide.
– If you’re a Flash fan, then you must know Speed Force. What you may not be aware of is that they published amazing suggestions “for making the most of comic conventions.” It’s all based on personal experience from the author and it has a lot of handy nuggets of information.
– I can’t list great Comic-Con guides without mentioning Shouting in the Wind’s own post. It pretty much answers most of the questions anyone has about attending the con. There’s usually an update every year, though I’m linking last year’s guide since, as you can guess, sadly no ’11 update has been made for now.

A lot of these tips may seem a tad redundant, but it’s pretty clear you can’t go to Comic-Con unprepared.
Three key suggestions seem to emerge:
Pack for the day with food and water, be ready to walk/stand in line with comfy shoes, and, perhaps most of all, have a hand sanitizer. I know I will.

With all of that said, I must also talk about one extremely exhaustive guide/tip-list stands out above all the rest.
I am of course referring to The Comics Reporter’s own 150+ Tips For Attending San Diego’s CCI 2011.
That’s right, the website has over 150 tips, and these are definitely not one-liners. Warning: given its extensiveness, the page is pretty long.
This is clearly a must-read for any attendee, especially the first-timers.

I also thought it’d be a good idea to link in this post several other websites which are great source of intel about the convention.
– First up is SDCC Blog, an unofficial SDCC blog self-described as “the ultimate source for all things SDCC.” Although it’s not as “ultimate” as they seem to think, it is still pretty comprehensive. The most notable part of the site is its dedicated off-site events page.
– A great “counter-point” to this website is Comic-Con Geek, which also provides news on the subject, often more extensively.
– Finally, we have The Beat which has a dedicated Comic-Con section and often brings amazing insight into the con and news around it.

You should also know that the official San Diego Comic-Con website is full of amazing guides, from maps of the convention floor and shuttle information, to exhibitor listings and schedules.

If you’re interested in what my panel schedule will look like (I know I am), here’s a link to MySched.
Some panels still interlap as I’ll probably be deciding last-minute for those.
Obviously, it’s mostly a wish-list, since you can never tell how everything is going to go down.

I’m also hoping for some kind of ‘LA TV Writers’ meet-up to be organized.
And if yourself are attending the Con, you can always shoot me an e-mail!
If nothing is ultimately planned, I’ll probably tweet up something around Saturday, maybe a screening of a crappy pilot — or an impromptu get-together…
After all, isn’t that the point of a convention?

Possible Related posts:

1. Tips and stories from around the Web
2. Tips and stories from around the Web, Part 5

Today marks the third anniversary of this very website. Hard to believe it’s already been another year!
In 2010, we saw a huge design update. Although no such major shift happened in the past twelve months, I myself have gone through a big geographical change: a one-way trip all the way to H-Wood.

As expected, a lot has happened since my move (most notably getting a car, an apartment, a bed and a couch).
I won’t bore you with my personal details (that’s what Twitter is for after all), but I will mention that I have recently met some amazing and talented people from a couple other blogs and the LA TV Writers Group.

In November, #TheGreyBox was born.
It was somewhat of a success at first, but then went into a form of hiatus this past Spring.
Now is as good time as any to announce that I may resurrect this TV writing chatroom from its ashes this Summer. Well, depending on the interest.
It’s up to you to tell me if you’d welcome once more this place to discuss and exchange tips/ideas/stories/anecdotes in real-time with other aspiring writers and the like (plus no 140-character limit). Tweet, “like”, share, comment about this, and perhaps enough momentum will be created so #TheGreyBox can live once more!

And as for this very blog, in Square One I discussed how I would refocus it around television, writing, and specs. Hopefully, I held that promise through the multitude of articles that have been posted here, whether the annual spec list or more recently the big six television writing fellowships (a post which will undoubtedly be updated come August, when FOX announces its new format). I myself got to write these past few months primarily a Walking Dead spec for the fellowships (I guess that partially explains the scarcity of posts).

Like last year, I will do my best to continue this commitment and upward trend in informative writing-related content.
In the coming weeks, there is probably going to be as well some Comic-Con talk. This will be my first time over there and there’s no doubt that it’s going to be a great place.

It is now time for me to raise a glass to you, dear reader and fellow writer.
I hope you also enjoyed this past year, or at the very least felt it was fruitful.
Here’s to another one. Once more, with feelings.

Write on!

Possible Related posts:

1. #TheGreyBox is here
2. One Year of Writing (and Tips)

Already a year has passed, which means it’s Pesach once more.
It has become custom for me to post a related video so here’s a very catchy tune that can pretty much be described as the Passover version of Cee Lo Green’s Fuck You:

Chag Sameach!

Possible Related posts:

1. Seda’ Club
2. Chag Sameach! (Pesach edition)

What a break.
You can pretty much skip to the end if you don’t care about my miserable existence.
Come to think of it, I might skip this too.

So where were we? Oh right, Paris.
Following a brief (2 days) stint in NYC, I headed to Los Angeles in the hopes of having a star on the walk of fame getting a job.

Before dreams of glory could be had, I needed to deal with the real-world and all of its complexity.
Starting with housing.
Thanks to the amazing power of Craigslist, I found a studio-apartment in less than four days. All hail technology!
Which brings me to my move last week.
I was very surprised at how…dirty and empty the studio was. No sheets, no pillows, no towels, no microwave, no cookware, no nothing. Suffice it to say the first night was rough.
I didn’t expect to buy in three days so many household items. Bed, Bath and Beyond is a life-saver on that end.
On the brighter side of things, that means my next apartment won’t be that empty.
It also turns out that the previous tenants never cleaned the place. Not to go into gory details but I need to deal with clothes moths now…

Yes, I’m slowly discovering the real American way of life.

So after spending well over a grand I didn’t have on everything from pans to trashcans, pillows and iron steamer, I decided it was time to buy some more stuff, like books.
In case you haven’t heard, the Book Soup is pretty great. They even had Bozo the Clown the other day promoting his new book. (I’m not making this stuff up)

In the past three weeks, I did get to see three movies: Middle Men, Cyrus, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Middle Men was quite nice though unfortunately visually hectic. Cyrus was very funny and heartfelt. Much more than Step Brothers actually, which was positively surprising.
And last but not least, Scott Pilgrim. I am kind of torn between two positions on this flick. On the one hand, it was entertaining, so I guess mission accomplished. Though on the other hand, I didn’t feel that much of a development regarding the characters, as if all of this was a mere pretext for having epic arcade-style fighting on the big screen.

I still have no television, which means the few shows I get to watch are through the wonderful world of the Internet. And the crappy Wi-Fi of my neighbor. Welcome to the 21st century.

Last night was the ‘Writing for Genre Television’ panel at Meltdown Comics. It was, as expected, awesome. I know that a few of you peeps out there weren’t able to make it, so there’s going to be more on that tomorrow right here.

And now you are all caught up on the past month.
I’m off to see back-to-back two of the greatest films ever made at the New Beverly Cinema:
Night of the Hunter and M.
Sounds fun.

Tomorrow’s program: review of the ‘Writing for Genre Television’ round-table, including awesome writing advice.
I promise.

Possible Related posts:

1. Sautéed days
2. Focus on Writing for Genre Television

All my bags are packed.
I’m ready to go.

You know that World Wide Jump I’ve been kinda hinting about for the past two yers (or clearly stating)?
It’s happening right now.
Moving to the West Coast this week made me realize all that has happened in the past couple of months, especially before my official coming out to Los Angeles.

When you’re coming out, your family members will react differently.
At first no one believes you.
Once they realize it’s not a dream, some won’t be very understandable (“So you’re really…huh”), others will be more amicable (“You sir have some balls”), and a few might pull out the ‘I knew it’ card (“Ever since you were born, I knew you were gonna come out some day. This is the perfect lifestyle for you.”).
You might even hear someone scream: “OMG! Now you’re SO buying that apartment in Silver Lake!”

This is also the perfect time to have with your friends a Coming Out Fiesta (also known as Going Away Party).
You too will be able to fondly reminisce about the good ol’ times, when you spent all your waking hours in a barely-lit closet, banging out pages in front of a screen.
Be sure to quickly delete all your embarrassing pictures from Facebook before your coming out, or you’ll be acutely aware of them for years to come.

Finally, the one thing you’re bound to hear over and over again is the running-gag “Don’t forget me!“
Bonus points if your stalker adds a LOL or a smiley.
Don’t get me wrong, that’s cute and all, but I sense a vague threat in that sentence.
If you do end up becoming a millionaire, chances are that one of the people who uttered that sentence will come knocking at your door.
People also tend to be pissed for some reason when you don’t actually remember them.
Hey blondie, just because I don’t recall you from that Spanish class ten years ago doesn’t mean I pulled an Eternal Sunshine; my brain is just hard-wired to care about a maximum of 150 people (fact!).

Oh yes, coming out to Los Angeles is no easy task and an experience like no other.
It is difficult to grasp what your life will be like after it, but once you do make that leap of faith, once you make it over that obstacle…
Well.
Here we go.

Possible Related posts:

1. Coming and catching (up)
2. Update One