Well, it's that time of the year again, when we give thanks. Doesn't matter what walk of life you're from. Here in the good ol' U.S. of A. we celebrate a holiday on a given Thursday near the end of the month in November, and that holiday is Thanksgiving Day. But from my frame of reference what does a pre-pro screenwriter have to be thankful for these days?
From Hollywood, NOTHING!! Is Hollywood breaking in any new screenwriters? Is Hollywood making any pre-pro screenwriter's dreams come true. FUCK. NO! Rather from Hollywood what we're all getting is a never ending litany of movies that underwhelm, and make you wonder how so much money can go into these movies, and yet their end product is nearly always mediocre.
Sounds like another rant from a frustrated pre-pro screenwriter right? Naw, I'm not going to bash Hollywood too much, because I actually want to be there involved in the movie-making industry someday. I still believe their are a lot of hyper-talented people there. The potential is greater than ever before for Hollywood to make great movies. But something is missing at the top. And I'm talking the tip-top. It's taste and style. Think I'm alone thinking this? Well, actually I'm not. In fact recently George Lucas (the brains behind "Star Wars" shared sentiment that backs me up and proves my point from an insider's position.
But this is the season for giving thanks, so lemme give you a list of some things this pre-pro screenwriter, E.C. Henry, is thankful for:
- E.C. Henry is thankful for the fact that he lives in the United States of America. A country where I'm alotted the freedom to follow my bliss, write movies, and file for protection for those movies I've written under U.S. Copyright law.
- E.C. Henry is thankful for a loving, supportive mother who listens to my scripts and gives me her feedback.
- E.C. Henry is thankful for God's allotment of life given to me and the era I live in. I'm able to write the GREAT movies I've penned largely because of the era I live in. What if God so chose to have me live in the 18th century, the 1st century A.D, or sometime before Christ? Had that been the case I never would have written what I've written. And like God's creation, it is good. All the stories I've written are good.
- E.C. Henry is thankful for Final Draft Software. What a blessing it is not to have to remember all the formatting rules. With Final Draft all of that is done for you. Final Draft makes the process of writing a script a lot easier, and I'm grateful for that.
- E.C. Henry is thankful for the own skill he's cultivated over the year of FINISHING. WHAT. HE HAS STARTED! I'm not a braggart. I don't daydream about writing, I actually do it. And I'm grateful that I'm a finisher of what I start. YES, the epic fantasy novel is taking a long time to do, but I'm chipping away at it--just as I've done before with every other story I took from idea to completion.
- E.C. Henry is thankful for a day job that pays well and allows him to pursue what he really loves to do, which is write original stories.
- E.C. Henry is thankful for having a vivid imagination. Yes, I've been bashed before in reviews, and on the Internet, but when I write I'm very good with visualizing the place I'm writing about. That's NEVER been a problem for me. Yes, sometimes I have been delayed with plot stoppers, not having an answer for something that I know is wrong and holding up the story. But my imagination is second to none. E.C. Henry has a very vivid imagination.
- E.C. Henry is grateful for spell checkers. I miss-spell a lot of words. Some IDIOTS out there think that's the lone barometer that identifies a "good" writer from a "bad" writer. But that's a very shallow approach, and I'm thankful I don't share that opinion.
- E.C. Henry is grateful for Dragon Natural Speaking Software. The ability to playback sections of my novel is really cool. Personally I think all word processing programs should have audio playback, but I digress.
- E.C. Henry is thankful for all the "good" romantic comedies out there. Denied a "good" romance in my own life, I often turn to the movies to fill the void for what's lacking in my own life.
So there you have it. E.C. Henry's 2014 Thanksgiving Day post. I hope y'all have a safe and restful Thanksgiving. Don't know about you but I have a very structured Thanksgiving Day planned. Gunna wake up in a couple of hours and go for a very, very long run with my family's two dogs: Micah (a black poodle) and Sam (a golden lab); then it's on to rolling coins (I do this every year at Thanksgiving), then it's on to horderves and NFL football, followed by the Thanksgiving Day meal, then it's on to beers and pina coladas as the Seahawks face off against the 49ers in San Fransisco, then it's onto games with the family and more consumption of alcoholic beverages and the like. O, and somewhere along the line I hope to play with Brycen, my 6 year-old nephew, and do some editing on the epic fantasy novel that I'm working on.