Inside the Brain of E.C. Henry

2019 Spring Fresh Blooms

It's no secret spring is my favorite time of the year.  Nothing like seeing fresh "blooms" like the ones featured in this post's opening image to lift the spirits of the weary soul.

So glad to be leaving winter behind.  This year, in Western Washington (where I live), we had a harder than normal winter.  Spring came a little later that I'm used to from past years but at least it's here now.  Yay!

Sorry I haven't been posting on my Typepad site as often as I should, but things are moving in my life.  Biggest development/boom being my faith.  I'm praying and drawing closer to the Lord.  Better yet, I feel as though lately I'm acting more through a spirit of love than at any time I can ever remember--except for maybe when I was first "saved" wayyy back in 1990/91.  Wssshew, that was a long time ago!  

Haven't spiritually matured like I should.  Heck with nearly 30 years in the faith, I should be titan my now, but alas I'm not.  Have NEVER spoken in tongues as of yet, and haven't received the gift of prophesy either.  But these are GIFTS of the Spirit.  Stuff that: the Holy Spirit, Jesus, or the Holy Father; imparts--as THEY so will.  

Something in me has changed, and I need to keep at it, because that change is for the better.  It is a change of love.  The kind of unconditional love that God has for His creation.  Don't claim to have mastered this kind of "love" yet, but I feel like I'm actually doing it now; I can love people unconditionally.  Love and freedom in the Spirit are were I'm at now.  I wanna be more like God and reflect the loving side of His nature.  

On the way to work, I'm listening to BBR(?) more and more.  Anyway, it's a really God-centered stations that plays HYMNS and has a lot of pastors sermons on it.  It's NOT Christian Contemporary either; rather, it's programming centered more on the WORSHIP of God, as opposed to a Christian's self-help center.  

It's all about Jesus.  About trusting and growing in Him.  Nailing my sin the cross and letting Him use me as He sees fit.  

I've had head knowledge about this way of living FOR-EVER!  But somehow life here on Earth drew me away from really putting my roots down, and growing in the true manner of the Christ-centered faith.  

Don't claim to understand all the mysteries in the bible.  But what I have experienced lately is a greater indwelling of love.  Christians are made to be fountains from which springs up life giving water.  I wanna be like that.  To be a source of life.

Christians are meant to be LIFE-GIVING fountains.

Besides may rebirth of sorts in the faith, I've also got a new job!  This job is actually HELPING my faith.  Why?  Because it's in a machine shop, manufacturing environment where I have to use several different kinds of forklifts to move product around very big and heavy items in tight tolerances.  Gotta be an ACE on the forklift here, and my skill level isn't there yet. 

Yeah, the job I'm at now requires that I use this for some loads and unloads!

Already had to unload one truck using this style forklift.  A lot of my company final products require a high weight rated forklift to more them around.  Hopefully in the upcoming weeks I'll get opportunity to work on my skill with this other style of forklifts.  Had to more a competed unit through the manufacturing hallway using a forklift rated just under this last week.  We're talking 4" clearances load to machine shop stuff.  Gotta be REAL CAREFUL.  So you know I'll be praying a lot at this job for forklifting skills and safety from on-high.  

LOVE the guys I get to work with.  Probably the best group of men I've every had around me.  So I'm real encouraged by that.

Writing-wise I'm on the 2nd draft of "The Commune: III" now.  Basic story is framed in.   Now I've gotta improve everything--except the 1st 10 pages which are rock sold thanks to: Scriptshadow 10-page, attention grabbing screenwriting challenge back in January.  At first I rebuffed this challenge, but then I said, "What the heck" and went for it.  Truth of the matter is I already had a rough draft carved out from an unused opening that at one point I thought I'd use for "The Commune II".  That opening really didn't fit the story for "The Commune II", but with the challenge, and the some encouragement from Scriptshadow regular, Brian McHale-Doyle; I shaped it up and submitted it.  No, my entry wasn't chosen my Carson Reeves, the head guy at Scriptshadow, BUT it did serve a purpose.  It got the ball rolling on this dark sci-fi script.  The more I settle into the new job, the more writing and editing I hope to do.  When "The Commune III" is done, I'm going back to Thars with renewed energy.  Sometimes you just need a break from the grind.  And no matter how much you love your story, all writing eventually becomes a grind.  Somewhere in Solomon's writings he says something to extent, "... the excessive devotion to books in wearying."   Been there, lived through that, many, many times.

O-kay, so I've laid out my new blooms this spring: spiritually, in the working here-and-now, and also in my writing world.  Would love to know what's "new" in your life.  So feel free to comment in comments section.  Hope your life is blooming like these:

Till we talk again,

Yours truly,

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

 

Time to Turn the Page

It's a new year people.  Are you feeling optimistic pessimistic about your prospects in 2018?

Movie-wise I thought 2017 was a real good year.  Thought "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" was the best movie of the year.  "Wonder Woman" was good, followed by "3 Billboards Outside, Ebbing Missouri" and "Disaster Artist", which stared James Franco rounding out my top 4.  Will 2018 be as interesting?  At the outset it doesn't look like it.  I mean Jamie Lee Curtis is doing ANOTHER "Halloween" installment.  I guess after 40 YEARS Michael Myers STILL hasn't given up the chase.  Now in his 60s, better get her THIS time or it just may be too late for him.  #ridiculous.

In the news front I AM working on a new spec. script.  It's going to be a rural, bank heist movie.  Still working on expanding the character and outlining the plot, BUT I am making progress on it, and hope to have it done by May...

Still hard at work editing the 2nd book in "The Legend of Thars" series.  The progress has been spotty.  Hope to have that done soon.  Then it's on to the 3rd book in the series, and starting the 2nd script adaption.  

To be honest with you, in 2018 I'm going to put less emphasis on creative writing, and more emphasis on self-improvement.  #1 goal will be reading God's word everyday.  I have a Gary Wilkerson daily word guide that insures I read at least ONE scripture a day.  Not sure what else I'm going to do to improve my spiritual heath.  But that's a start.  I know I need to do more.

Going to start exercising with the goal of 45 minutes a day: Nordic track will be my emphasis, but I'm also going to start weight lifting and stretching as well. Going to weigh myself before I go to bed, and try to lose 10-15 pounds...

I'm going cut back on my alcohol consumption as well.  It's just not fun anymore.  That should be an easy change.  

Around the house I'm going to start 2018 by getting my dad's Kabota's front loader reattached.  He took it off, then over Thanksgiving break couldn't get it back on.  I would LOVE to by something more robust for the property, but I don't have that kind of disposable cash.  

The BIG project that I'm going to take on sometime during the spring is selling my dad's boat.  He's too old for it now, and I just don't have enough interest in to justify keeping it around.  With God's help we'll sell it sometime late in the spring of 2018 or in summer.  It's just time to sell it.  

Besides that I gotta clean up our garage.  Wish my dad would have run power to it when he built it.  So now it's just really a glorified storage shed.  I'd like to run power to it, but I don't have that kind of $$.

Other projects I'd like to do in 2018 is getting rid of two pick-up truck canopies we have, and finishing the tear down of my old motorcycle shed.  Still need to do some smoothing of our yard too.  Never a dull moment.  Wish I had help, but there really isn't any to be had.  My dad very little interest in doing anything other than golfing, and my brother is kind of oblivious to everything yard and work related.  

That's about all I have to say for now.  No BIG vacation plans on horizon like I did in 2017 going to the U.S. Virgin Islands with my mom in late April.  Will probably take a week's long writer's vacation to Long Beach in April if my current day job holds true.  Will also try to attend the 2018 Pacific Northwest Writers Conference.  Time to follow through and read my daily scripture, then hit the Nordic track for 30 minutes or so, then end with some stretching.  

Sorry, that my blog posting kinda fell off towards the end of 2017.  Will try to be more active in 2018. With the goal being a post a week, then later I hope to expand that two 1 content post, and 1 smaller post per week.  So thanks for visiting my blog and reading my posts.  I wish you all nothing but God's best in 2018.

Sincerely,

E.C. Henry

Best charter I saw in the movies in 2017?  Easy, Sam Rockwell in "3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri".  Steals the show from Frances McDormand  

A Writer Looking for His' Tribe

I am a writer looking for his tribe.  I got this commission at the 2017 Pacific Northwest Writers' Conference.  Find your tribe, E.C.  Find your tribe.

So what does that mean?  Well, what I THINK the speakers at the conference was alluding to was finding a group of peers who have similar interests to you.  

My problem is I write a lot of different stuff.  I am TOTALLY opposed to writers being branded.  You wanna fit me in a box--FUCK YOU!!  I've written comedy. I've written dark sci-fi.  I've written YA teen stuff.  I've even written a bible adaptation.  This boy's got some range.  

So who's your tribe, E.C.?  Who are YOUR people. What is your platform?

Elizabeth Warren a.k.a Pocahontas here, always willing Indian tribal member.

Love the last one, because THAT'S a selling point.  Sadly, I've NEVER been a popular person.  Not in grade school.  Not in high school.  Not in my 20s.  Not in my 30s.  And so far in my 40s, which are almost up btw, I'm STILL unpopular as all fuck.  But I need people.  I need a tribe.  I know that... now.

It was about a year ago that I began the whole Facebook and Twitter, social media campaign.  This blog has been around for a while.  You can thank Billy Mernit for that.  Billy had a rom-com site that I serious dug for a very long time.  I came to Typepad because of the high quality of his' Typepad site.  Anywho, that's some of my history which brought me to this point.

But now I'm endeavoring to find "my people".  Since the super colossal IS my opus.  My people are going to have to be a people with an epic fantasy bend.  You like "Lord of the Rings" or "The Chronicles of Narnia"?  Well, if you do, you're well on your way to being one of my people, because artistically THAT'S where I am.  NO, the "Legend in Thars" series is not a clone of those two predecessors, but I want it to be able to hang and be mentioned favorably to those two classics.  That's my goal.  My people should be cool with that.  

Thankfully at this year's conference I attended three fantasy related panels.  Out of which I found 2 people who led sessions who are tribe material, and who can definitely help me find and establish my platform.  Popularity matters.  Twitter followers matter.  Facebook friends matter.  It's not that I've totally neglected that.  Before you can have a platform you have to have the ART behind you to back the justification for that platform.  And now 20+ scripts in, and 1 novel manuscript done, with then next to be complete by the end of this month or the next; it's time to take it to next level and foster a following.  I need to grow my platform.  I need to find my tribe.  

Ever since I was unpopular as all fuck in high school I have been waiting to rise to surface and have friends.  At age 48 the dream is still alive and active.  So I'm a late bloomer?  So what?  Fuck you, it's time to have some fun.  Fun isn't just for wipersnappers in their 20s.  Fun is where you find it.  And at age 48 I'm going to find some fun--maybe even the fountain of youth!  The Lord is good.  I trust that He will lead me to green pastures.  See, I'm going to bring light into this world. There is so much darkness and dis-information.  Thankfully, I don't play like that.  Never have.  Never will.  I'm a straight-shooter.  An honest person.  An honorable man. 

Tomorrow, I set off in earnest in search of my tribe.  Going to e-mail those two ladies from the conference, and see what advice they have.  It's happening folks.  E.C. Henry is going to find his' tribe.  He's not going to be a loner any more.

Twitter Fishing

For the past week or so I've regularly been going on Twitter and tweeting out to some pretty big names out there: Taylor Swift, Ryan Reynolds, Matt Damon, Tom Hiddleston, Judd Apatow, and WME (William Morris Endeavor: the agents for Ryan Reynolds, Matt Damon and Tom Hiddleston).  So far I've had no luck.  But I continue to fish on!  

I'm hoping that Twitter is the industry's work around for most places policy of not accepting unsolicited material.  When a person or representative cites that policy.  You.  Are.  Dead in the water!!  Stop, right there, you've officially been shut down.  AND in all honesty I understand this policy as the people and places I'm going to DO have a business to run and things and agendas that they're pursuing.  

But as an undiscovered I don't know what else I can do but knock on some door and ATTEMPT to peddle my Girl Scout cookies (my scripts and novel).  

Wish I was a better smoozer.  That's just not a natural part of my persona.  Believe it or I don't like bells, whistles and shenanigans.  All I want is a fair shake.  That's all I've ever wanted.  A CHANCE to entertain people like: Taylor Swift, Ryan Reynolds, Matt Damon, Tom Hiddleston, Judd Apatow and the people at the William Morris Endeavor agency.  If you're a REAL writer and believe in the stories that you've penned that's all you ever want: a read by someone with an open mind.  It's just in today's world its very hard to get that from key people who actually have the power to bring your dreams out of your room and into mainstream reality.  

Let me know take a moment to demystify why I have targeted the people I have targeted:

• Taylor Swift: She is the next rom-com queen, of that I feel pretty confident in saying.  NOW is her time to pick some movies to star in.  I want her to pick mine: Give It Up for Chimpy, then Love, Music, and Monkeys: Give It Up for Chimpy II; Stacy Dutchmen role, Cupid's Helpers; Holly Pearson and Jennifer Means, An American Princess: Danielle Holiday.
• Ryan Reynolds: Would make a GREAT emerging protagonist, Logan Bennett, in The Commune, then would go on to reprise that role now as the established protagonist in a new, dark sci-f adventure in The Commune II.   
• Matt Damon: Would make a GREAT lead role in The Commune, where Matt would start out as the character who looks like the good guy, but then later in the movie his true motives become evident and he turns out to be the main villain that Ryan Reynolds' character, Logan Bennett, must overcome.  
• Judd Apatow: I really want him to direct and helm, Give It Up for Chimpy, then do the same for its sequel, Love, Music, and Monkeys.  My scripts will expand and prove Judd's excellence as he does a different brand of comedy that he's done before, the screwball variety.  
• Tom Hiddleston: I got a role for him The Commune that I think he's going to LOVE!  Kinda is a playoff his character as Loki in the Thor movies and a fusion with his aristocratic look and appeal.
• WMW: These guys are the agents for some top talent in Hollywood.  Impress them and get them on your side, and the WORLD opens up to you.

Okay, so there you go, a little more information as to what is going in my head these days.  Please TRY to realize something.  I am a WRITER.  Going out and putting on a circus show to draw attention to what I've written.  DOES.  NOT.  COME.  NATURALLY.  To me!!!  BUT that's something that as an undiscovered talent I gotta do, EVEN if I manage to secure the services of an agent.  It's not enough just to write the thing.  You gotta market and promote it too.  That's where fishing in Twitter comes into play...

Becoming More Tech Savvy in Social Media

This last weekend really flew by for me.  Was really busy doing some fumbling around trying to convert the format of my 1st novel--that's right, I'm ofically a novelist now!!  Can you believe it?!

My first novel is entitled: 

And there IS someone I owe a HUGE debt of gratitude for gratitude for help expediting this day to come sooner rather than later, and that person is Kiffer Brown at Chanticleer Boor Reviews & Media.  For the most part I had an AWEFUL time at the PNWA Writer's Conference I went to last week.  Didn't get "discovered" and after a while I fell into a pity party where I found myself thing I'd never break no matter how well I wrote, or whatever method of smoozing I implored.  But then I told Kiffer a LITTLE BIT about my story and its over word count of over 780,000 words.  Now a the time I was locked in thinking, hey, I can get by with a 1,200 page book BECAUSE this an epic story much the same as J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings.  

Kiffer told me I didn't have one book, but seven.  At first I TOTALLY blew her off, thinking she didn't know my novel the I know my novel.  BUT after giving it some thought I started thinking, "Hey, I can do this the 25 chapters or so of the master cannon of A Legend in Thars are all segments of story that lend themselves to break points.  Don't think I've got seven novels there, but 4-5 easily.  And guess, though their not as polished as the 1st book in the series, they're not all that far off either...

So though I pretty much chalk up my experience at the 2016 PNWA Writer's Conference as a failed venture (I didn't get discovered, didn't get the IMMEDIATE satisfaction of "breaking through" and scoring with an agent or outright book deal) I did make some valuable progress once I got my mind right again.  Someday I will post about the DEEP mental anguish I went through that Saturday night I came home from the Conference, and lingering affect of possible missed opportunities until about Thursday.

After dealing with my pride, I got back to work.  Did some more tinkering with the first book, as I'm ALWAYS on the quest for better writing/better content.

Building your platform as I writer was again stressed at the 2016 PNWA Conference, as was author "branding".  I'll go into "branding" in another post in a week or so, but for now I'm happy to say I am on Twitter and Facebook now.  I found Facebook was pretty easy to get the hang of.  Still working on figuring out Twitter.  Did manage to update a new e-mail signoff incorporating my expanded persona, and links to my Facebook and Twitter pages--and even this blog!

So why did it I wait?  Blame it Kim Kardasian.  Just kidding Kim, I blame my bias on a wider range of superficial celebraties than just her.  Still, can anyone answer me this question, has Kim Kardasian ever worked an honest day in her life?  

The whole thing about looking at cell phone screen all the time and sending gibberish "tweets" just felt below me as a writer.  Don't mean to sound all high falutin, but I just felt as a writer the blogosphere was more catered to me delivering content than waisting my time on Facebook and Twitter, THAT'S why I avoided them for so long.  

But now, I'm all in.  I'm going for it folks.  I'm going to grow my brand, and achieve the dreams that God has put on my heart using both Facebook and Twitter. I got to thinking about it today, and Facebook and Twitter are great places for introverts like me (and most writers for that point) to TRY to connect with other people.   And so for the next week or so I'm going to really make Twitter and Facebook a priority.  Gunna reach out to people, and TRY.  Don't know if I'll succeed or not, you're never guaranteed results in life.  But I'm going for it!  Writing wise, I going to do some clean-up this week, then probably start my NEXT novel which is going to be an expansion of script I wrote a few years back. My plan here is to to have two different books, NOT going to drop the ball with Thars.  Unless the Lord cuts my life shot, or the end times start, seeing The Legend of Thars series is something I intend on seeing all the way through.  More to come on the novel's progress later.  Spent a lot of time behind the keyboard and I need a break, gunna watch a movie.  Maybe a rom-com.  Till then stay well,

 

Writer's Retreat: W.I.P.: Day 2-3

Hello, me again, here to post on-going coverage of E.C. Henry's own self-imposed writer's retreat.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday Typepad wouldn't let me log on.  

Here's what happened days 2-3:

1. Found out I'm good for 2-3 hours of writing, then I need a break.  So what I've done the past couple of days is write 2 sessions in the morning, and 2 sessions in the afternoon.  Got a lot of good work in, wrote a lot of new stuff too.  Did some line editing on the prolog using Dragon Natural Speaking's audio playback feature.
2. Visited one of my brother's friends candy shops up the beach, and was shocked to find they left one bad location, which was not on the beach, to an even more remote location, which was not on the beach, that was even WORSE than their first place.  Now this couple is retired and technically "living out there dream" but really?  Going from one bad spot to another?  
3. Ate a crab dinner last night and really paid for it later that night.  Too rich of food for me, upset stomach, had a hard time sleeping.
4. Today I went out for dinner at an Australian theme restaurant, and was served by a girl--who looked like Joe Elliott, the lead singer from Deff Leopard!  Eeek.  Now Joe's not such a bad looking bloke, but to be a female and look like him?  Double eeek!!  Told ya that this region of the country is filled with homely looking people!
5. Near constant rain the last 2 days kept me off the beach, mostly.  Though I did hit it before the rain started and took some pictures, which I hope to post in later post.
6. Had breakfast at a local restaurant, and got my ear jibber-jabbered off by a local taxi cab driver, who took it on herself to tell me all about the area I'm in.

Lessons learned:

1. I will probably NEVER go on another self-imposed writer's retreat again.  It's just too lonely an experience.  Now I know that writing is primarily a solitary thing, but I've learned that I don't need to leave town to get things done.  I could have just as easily got all the work done I did back at my house--and been happier doing it that way.
2. People in remote, coastal towns are a strange breed.  So to all the wannabe's out there I say, if you write about a rural, remote town, you really owe it to your story and to truthfulness to put some weirdos in it.  First hand knowledge speaking here.
3. Don't stay in a hot tub for more than ten minutes.  YES, you go into a hot tub to relax your body.  But a hot tub is like alchol; you need to know when to say when. The first night I went to the hot tub I stayed in about 25 minutes; more is better right?  Wrong!  I had to drag myself out of the hot tub, and was lethargic for the rest of the night.  Pulling back, limiting myself to only 10 minutes left me relaxed, and I felt relax and FUNCTIONAL afterwards.  Life lesson learned.
4. Life is better when you're living it with other people.  Hermit writing isn't for me.  I DON'T wanna write alone, I actually WANT to share with others.  I may be alone, but it's not by choice; I want other people to share the journey with.  
5. I can write on the road, AND I can write at home.  My productivity is the same regardless.
6. I can be trusted when off alone to actually get some work done.  I'm in the midst of a vacation spot with plenty of distractions, but I've proven to myself that I can hanker down and get some work in.  Hawaii's next!  (Just kidding)

So I drive back tomorrow, AND since I have a 2nd shift job, I'm actually going to work later in the day...  Still, I go back refreshed, ready for whatever challenges await, and along the way I learned a lot about myself.

- E.C, Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Writing Can Always Save You

Life can be such a downer.  The day job: problems with literal "everyday Joes".  I'm talking people who literal live for their day job and without it have little else.  No big plans or dreams.  Rather, they are consumers.  Another perpetually downer of mine is the angst of being a undiscovered pre-pro, always wondering, "Will the Industry EVER take notice of me?!?! 

But through it all I've found a couple sources of solace.  Places where the pains of Earth come in, but and then soothed and go away.

E.C. Henry's places of solace:

1. The Lord.  Anytime I get real down, the bible and prayer is where I turn.  Why?  Because the Lord understands.  I believe God exists and is active in all of lives, whether or not we acknowledge Him back or not.  And I find that when I'm close to God things don't hurt as much.  I get His understanding, at least in part, and the petty schemes around me don't bother me as much.
2. My mother.  EVERYONE should have a mother as awesome as mine.  Think it's pitiful that my mom is my best friend?  Well fie on you!  My mother is a loving, spirit-filled Christian.  She's even got the gift of tongues.  She's a totally amazing woman.  She will not allow me to post a picture of her on my blogsite, but if I could...  You'd be blown away!  During my latest venture down to L.A. my mom even wore one of my promo tee shirt to one of the prayer meetings that she regularly attends.  True, sometimes my mom's "advice" hurts, but she is close with the Lord that no matter what I think, it doesn't matter, I hafta listen because God speaks through her.  
3. I find it so bittersweet that when it feels like my life is falling apart the most, THAT'S when the writing life is at it's best; that's when things at the keyboard are going well.  It's a perplexing teeter-totter of sorts.  And I don't get it.  Because left to my devices, if it were up to me, I'd never hafta experience pain or loss -- and the writing would always be awesome.  BUT that's not reality, as I currently experience it.  

Writing can always save you.  Not sure if I completely buy in to that sentiment.  Kinda like you wonder about the context of this picture of a monkey hugging a tiger pup.  But I know that I just can't stew over what may or may not happen in my writing career.  At this point in my life I could care less about the day job.  Yes, I'm making good $$ right now, but it's not where my heart is.  I find it very hard to connect with "average everyday Joe's"  and the mundane details of their life and the things they enjoy. 

Writing is a portal to the magic.  It's a place where I don't exactly know what's going to happened next, but I know that when I'm done with it, it will be good.  I believe in my writing.  I work very hard at it, and even now when I fail, like I get a bad review, or get stuck; it doesn't bother me like it used to.  I no longer feel the need to prove to other people that I can write.  I know I can write.  And I know I can write well. 

Right now I'm having a blast doing a beat-by-beat analysis of my latest spec. script, which is entitled, "Bubblehead Saves the Day."  Gone are the worries of crafting master scenes.  Now it's all about grafting in the poetic side, and telling a clean story beat by beat. 

One thing you may not know about me is that I have fun when I write.  The middle part of writing; after the 1st draft and before the final polish, is fun for me.  Writer's nirvana.  There's a lot of freedom I feel after I know the basic course of a story.  It's like now the fun can begin.  Of course that all ends on the tedious final pass, line editing, which sometimes for me can be more grueling than getting stuck with the plot logic of a 1st draft. 

Writing can always save you.  Throw the Lord and godly mother into the mix and you have an everlasting remedy to carry you though the darkest of days.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

Expanded Persona

E.C. Henry.  Who is this chap?  And what is his game?  And why does he do the strange things that he does?

Well-p, in today's chronicles, I'm going to explore that topic a bit.  You see last week I visited L.A., and went on a little walkabout.  Got to go on walkabout to places like Lantana and Sony Studios courtesy of a 3-day, Sherwood Oaks College event.  So what the course was like $400?  A mere pittance for a man of my means...  He-he, he-he. 

Did I score a spec. sale from my sauree two states south?  No.  Maybe made some inroads.  Definitely got some interesting comments from entrenched pros working in the movie-making business.  One guy at Sony scoffed at me carrying my magic wand on the personage.   He said, "All of our writers here think they have a magic wand."  To which my response was, "Yeah, well mine works," then I turned the magic wand on and it's star tip lit up and blinked. 

Anywho, at this 3-day event I met a lot of real cool people that I'd love to work with.  And found in the days which followed the event, found myself feeling quite down about my current reality which is that right now I'm not working with any of them.  

Some of the industry insiders are just like the stereotypes that I envisioned going in, but many of them surprised me -- especially a high ranking executive currently working under Amy Pascal.  I mean this dude looked like he belonged at Microsoft penning code.  Yet this dude exuded a silent, steely strength -- and he knew his stuff too.  Totally blew me away.  I loved that guy. 

And as the 3-day event went on I found many of the people currently working in the movie-making industry started out as deep outsiders like me, but somehow wormed their way inside the castle walls -- and never left!  One guy started out as a temp, but mangage to stay in the castle walls, and carve out a 22 + year career, which now has him as president over a movie-making production company.  So will I name drop?  Hell no!  I guy in my current status can't afford to burn any bridges.  And I'm working on the personal disciple of when to know when it's time to keep my mouth shut.   

If you wanna meet Hollywood movers and shakers I suggest you attend a Sherwood Oaks College event yourself.  Garry Shuttes, Christine Owens and James all rock.  Very nice people, although if you pitch to Garry you bess be prepared to have some thick skin; dude knows how to lay down the gautlet!

The reality that I'm up here living in Timbuktu, eons away from those making the magic really hit me hard for the first couple of days home from the trip.  But y'know what rescued me?  Writing rescued me.  Got back to working on my current spec script, which right now is over 180 pages, and that improved my outlook on life once again. 

Point: For a writer, when life and it's frustrations get you down, you can always crawl back into your fantasy world, and find solace there.

Been toying with my "expanded persona" for YEARS.  Started many years ago at a Screenwriting Expo event where I dressed up in a jester cap, cape, and holstered magic wand -- and walked in that get-up down the streets of L.A.

Yeah, that E.C. Henry cat has some balls.  Big balls, if you asked me -- thank you very much!

I love my Mardi Grass cape, jester cap, magic wand, and black, eye mask.  It's all part of my expanded persona, and IS how I plan on doing business should Hollywood ever so choose to take me in, and let me be part of the movie-making industry.

"That's your problem, E.C.; you're a kook -- and nobody wants to do business with a kook."

No, Meg.  Sorry, luv, I may be a little eccentric from time-to-time, but my foray into building an expanded personais far from kookhood!  Lemme explain.

Dressing up like this -- 

Helps me break out of my natural, shy self.  Remember, at heart I am a writer, which means by nature I am an introspective person.  More so, as a writer I am highly voyeuristic, totally capable of jumping into the mindset of people that are completely different than me.  Good writers do that; they have the knack for being able to take other people's point of view, and just running with it.

My foray into delving into developing an expanded persona simply affords me a different point of view in which I can function and interact with others through.  Hopefully, it adds a little playful side to the whole writer meets seasoned industry pros thing. 

"If the fun goes in, it comes out the same way."

 

Clarification before continuing.  Obo is my 4-year-old nephew.  And once he found out I had a monkey doll, he fell in love with it, and now every time he visits my room, he asks about Chimpy.  Currently his favorite thing to do with Chimpy is turn the light off then shine a flashlight on Chimpy, then once Chimpy sees the bigger shadow of himself he gets scared and asks Brycen (Obo, my 4-year-old nephew) to protect him.  I did this act once, and now Brycen loves to recreate it.  Just goes to show; you never know the surprising things that register with little kids.  

Back on point. 

Why shouldn't a writer be allotted the opportunity to carve out a persona of their own?  I mean, geesh, here we are an introverted by nature lot -- that's why we're writers, not actors in the first place, we tend to internalize things and have developed a unique way of expressing our humanity, through the written word.  YET Hollywood demands that we put on a performance for them and pitch our wares.  Why not just read what we writer and totally cut out the performance by people that by their own nature shy away from public performance? 

It's like those on the inside WANT to make us (pre-pro writers, like me trying to break in) squirm.  Pitching makes me nervous as hell.  I'm not good in social situations.  It's not my forte.  It is not my specialty.  It is not something I like doing.  It is not something that I'm good at.  Hence, the theatrics. 

You wanna performance from me?  Okay buster, bess be prepared to see me tackle that full throttle, E.C. Henry style with style and panache.  You want me to stand up in front of a bunch of people that make me nervous, bess believe that I'm going into such a meeting armed with something that is geared to making a splash.

Expanded persona.  E.C. Henry style: 

 

Chill Time

Ever had one of those weekends where you just needed to chill out?  Worked so hard during the week that by Saturday you're just fried and need some "me time?"  Well-p, yours truly went through that this weekend.  And I posting the opening picture 'cuz that's what I need some beach time knocking down some Budweisers!  The 9-5, day job thing that all pre-pro screenwriters hafta do to make ends meet has become a stress filled 11-13 hour a day job Monday through Friday.  AND lately the day job has wanted me to work Saturdays and Sundays too! 

Now don't get me wrong -- I do actually like to work -- but just not to the point of absolute burn-out, and that's where my current job drives me towards.  A little over a week ago one of the main guys in the department I work in went on an emergency leave.  He has stage 4 cancer, and is in very bad shape.  To make matters worse the company where I work was already short-handed, and the guy the lost was one of the few guys at this place who really worked hard all the time.  They still haven't found a replacement for this guy, so the company has no real choice but to work their employees even harder, as business doesn't stop because of an illness.

I come home most days completely spent, shot, whatever adjective you wanna throw in there. 

This work development has adversely affected my writing, and blog posting.  Sorry. 

Hopefully soon things will get easier, and I'll have more time to get back into content posts and the like.  But just know for now, my time away from this blog really isn't of my choice; I'm just too tired to do other things. 

You see where I work I'm the low guy on the totem pole.  So guess what?  I get all the hard and physically demanding jobs.  I truly wish the area I work at could have been videotaped last Friday night.  We got off a shipment at like 11 p.m. that's normally supposed to be loaded at 5 p.m.  My supervisor was pulling people from all over the production floor to do jobs that trained people in my department are supposed to be doing.  It was a circus.  I was tasked with doing things that I normally don't do, so I was slower than the normal people who are normally tasked with this stuff.

I know I'm being a little vague here, but the point is: stress.  I've got lots of stress at the day job right now.  And most of that is out of my control. 

They really could have used me at the day job this weekend, but after putting in 13 hours on Monday, then doing 10-12 the rest of the week I really needed a break. 

So what's next for ol' E.C.?  Well-p, I just submitted one of my scripts, "After the Glory" to Talentville for 4 reviews.  Yeah, I wrote this scriptover 2 years ago, but since it still isn't bought or optioned, I thought, "Why not?  Maybe this will lead to something positive."  That's E.C. Henry, always the optimist.

Also still hard at work on my latest spec.  Of which I'm up to 151 pages now.  Yeah, I know, it's wayyy over a good page count.  But right now it's all about getting it all out there, THEN I'll worry about paring it back.

Did go see "Trouble with the Curve" (Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams) at the Bonney Lake Multiplex last night, and was pleasantly surprised by it.  The story was nothing special, but Amy Adams really can act and she and Justin Timberlake really carried this movie.  Clint was surprisingly ho-hum in this one, nothing special, nothing fancy. 

One last thing.  I was there, at Century Link Field, for Monday night football when the Seattle Seahawks played Green Bay Packers.  Y'know the game I'm talking about?  Well if you don't it ended something like this --

 

The crazy thing about this play from a fan in the stands perspective was that they never showed the replay on the big screen monitors in the stadium.  From the 300 level, surrounded primarily by Packer fans, all I saw was a pile of players, then the replacement referee signal, "touchdown!"  It was surreal.  Just moments before when the Packers stopped the Seahawkson downs around the goal line, I remember shaking a Packer fan's hands telling him that his team played a better game, and deserved to win the game.  Packer fans are very passionate about their team, but their also quite respectful and honorable -- unlike Oakland Raider fans that think its Halloween 360 days a year and just seam to live to cause a ruckus.

I'll try to post something else during the week.  Been thinking about exploring the notion of how "theme" plays into the romantic comedy genre.  Or maybe I'll go all Jesus on you and talk more about having a personal relationship with God, which I think is the most important thing any of us can do; it's the reason we exist: to know and love the Lord.  The gears in my head are always turning.  I'm not a boring person.  I just have a demanding day job that keeps me from the thing I love: writing scripts and posting on this blog-site.

Till we speak again.  Thanks for visiting.

Sincerely,

E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

E.C. and the Bunnytrails of Life

Ever felt like you spend much of your life hopping down the bunnytrails of life? 

Sorry, I haven't posted in over 3 weeks!  Never meant to go that long without posting SOMETHING in this blog.  Truth be told, I've been quite busy -- and that's what this post is going to be about: me validating my life.  And yes the includes some bunnytrails, lemme explain.

Two weeks ago there was a real shortage of "volunteers" to work the weekend where I currently work.  I originally signed up to work an 8 hour shift on a Saturday, but that turned into 10 + hours on Saturday AND another 10 + hours on Sunday -- at my boss' boss request.  Hence, no post two weeks ago. 

Last weekend it took me a day to recover from a hard weeks worth of 10-12 hour days, then on Sunday I went to the Century Link Field to watch my beloved Seattle Seahawks take on the Dallas Cowboys.  That endedup being an entire day affair, and to make matters worse I got quite inebriated on my beloved Budweisers at the game, which went for $ 8.50 a cup, so when I came home I wasn't up to snuff to post. 

Lately I've been spending a lot of time over at Talentville, where in the past three weeks I've read and reviewed 3 scripts from pre-pro screenwriters (these are my fellow peers who are attempting to make headway into Hollywood).  I have been looking for a place to belong for A LONG TIME.  I'm talking a place where people share the same interests that I do; namely, screenwriting.  Not sure if Talentville will fill hole in my soul for like-minded friends, but I'm giving it a shot.  I plan on spending a lot more of my time over there.  Just going to try to make some friends and be active in a screenwriting networked community. 

A look over at "E.C.'s Surf City" will show a new and updated list of links to other blog.  I put Talentville at the top of the list because that's where I plan on spending the majority of my surfing time in the future going forward.  I also added a link to Emily Blake's "Bamboo Killers" because I've been reading her lately, and it's cool to read her post and see the growth in her career; she's really blossoming -- and it's cool to see that albeit at a distance...

On the writing front, I have recommenced writing on the 1st draft of my latest, teen comedy spec.  It is now over 120 pages.  Going off my outline I should be at the ACT II break right now.  YES, I'm going to write long and have to pare back in later drafts.  But right now I just wanna write in Final Draft and see what is good.  My latest spec has a lot of stuff in it right now, and I just need to first draft it out all the way, THEN see what works and what needs to be cut. 

So what's next for ol' E.C.?  Well-p, tomorrow at 5:30 I have yet another date at Century Link field in Seattle to see my 1-1 Seahawks take on the 1-1 Green Bay Packers.  Can't wait for that!  Plan on waking up on Monday, writing in the morning, then going to the game with my dad and brother.  Highly doubt I'll get as bombed as I was at the Dallas game -- buy ya never know! 

I've also just bought a new bed.  Long overdue on that.  Today the mattress store delivered my fancy-smancy, nearly $3,000 Tempur-pedic bed.  Hopefully this will help with my back, which over the past 2 years has given me bouts of pain due in large part to the physically strenuous nature of my day job. 

Ah, the bunnytrails of life.  One never gets to do everything they want to do exactly when they want to do it.  Even when you're 43 years old and still single the demands of life tug you in many different directions.  Still, my resolve remains unwavering: 2 post a week; one smaller post in the middle, one bigger, content post over the weekend.  Just need to get back on track.  Find and establish a new normal and keep on, keeping on.  But for now it's time to try out the new bed.  Nighty night.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA