22: Master Builder Writes a Script: First Screenwriter Journal Ever

Here's what I had to say in my journal 1 to 2 years ago when I first made the decision to pursue screenwriting. I'm happy showing this because it's a perfect example of how I approach (and often over-analyze) my major professional hobbies  before I ever actually attempt them. Still. The passion to write and pioneer is there in all its newly planted glory in my mind...

"I still do hold hopes of one day becoming one of the great modern day American episodic TV writers and producers, or maybe just writer. I want to script an animated series. I want to Author a TV Saga, less like Mike Judge and Matt Groening or Trey Parker – Matt Stone, and more like Yoshiyuki Tomino, of Gundam Universe fame. Now that I know he’s the mastermind and Immortal TV God behind the entire thing, and not just “Hajime Yatate”, which is nothing but a pseudonym for nameless others: “Team Spirit”.

I want to be just like a combination of Katsuhiro Otomo, Akira Toriyama, and Yoshiyuki Tomino when I’m their age.

In other words, I take this job incredibly serious. With Parallax: The Apocalypse Samurai, The Dream Lords, and Oliver-E, I planning on penning all of the initial Volumes (Sets), Seasons (TV show), Story Arcs (writing), Chapters/Episodes (scripts), and Bible Scripts that make up the heart of those three series. I sense that if I really buy some good script formatting software to get used to working on, I can take TV animation writing to absolutely new levels in the U.S., in a way that is not often seen as coming from the United States, but instead people are used to seeing it coming from Japan or Britain with such good screenwriting. But I’m a good enough linguist and general writer that if I worked hard enough at mastering the art of narrative (and write enough scripts between now and then). I might use a pseudonym for much of my work and I might not, I’ll just have to see. Up till this point TV Writing in the U.S. has been South Park, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons, and not much else, in terms of multidimensional writing. Studios are always looking for good screenwriters, and if I can prove myself as a highly literate writer of television drama, for animation no less, I could go very far, financially, intellectually, and creatively. When I’m 40 or older, I want to be a great dramatic serial animation screenwriter. I see shows like Avatar, The Boondocks, and Samurai Jack and look at their stories, and get very excited about them and my own potential to maybe be that good one day. It is possible to make up to $50 million a year screenwriting, as a screenwriter or writer, but that’s just about only for major networks like Fox. But not through writing the kinds of things I want to...

I’ll explain why I really, really like the Final Draft 8 software. That’s easy: Because it does everything for you…EXCEPT write the actual words. It formats the pages, sets up a “script writer interface” type thing. Though it is over $100, seriously! Who could ask for more than that! I love their slogan! “Just add words” So simple and brilliantly concise. I fucking love that slogan! That’s all I have to do?? Fuck I love it. It really speaks to me. It understands my situation. I do well over and more than enough words. It’s just all in the wrong format: Psychotic epistolary monologues. I’m sick of writing that way. I want to write fantasy monologues, epic storytelling narration, and great action sequences. (Later in 2011: Then this means I have to read those things by others too). Anything is possible with screenwriting. You can be as epic as you want if you’re a head writer, or at least literary bible supervisor, or even story concept man.

Eventually, I am planning on writing spec scripts in my spare time. I plan on writing out all episodic scripts for Parallax, which pans out to a few hundred pgs of script, or half the length of Manifesto, pagewise, because each speculative episode script of continuing sagas and narratives would be approximately 25 pages in length each, which equals 25 minutes for each 30 minute episode. Honestly, I love writing screenplays and scripts so much that I’ll even go so far as to write 100 – 200 pages if I can. (Retrospective: I really need to stop doing the “Number and quantity jumping ahead” thing. It’s crippling me. Just start) I’m not expecting all of my scripts to make it to final form. I’ll leave what actually gets sold and optioned up to my producers and agent(s), whenever I get around to getting one, if I get one that is. As of now I’m just focused on the writing. Of course I’ll do a lot of note taking, revising, and strategizing in general, by hand, but when it comes to formatting, everything (or at least most of my work) will be done through Final Cut 8 (Retrospective, what I mean to say is, CeltX). It’s just easier that way.

I love my newfound passion as an American action-drama and fantasy screenwriter."