Girls can write, too

Watching the Golden Globes this year and looking at the list of Oscar nominees, I was struck, as I always am, by the monoculturism (did I just make this word up? I like it) of the nominees for best screenplay. So many white men. What is it that makes white guys movies' so much more award-worthy? Don't ask me, I'm just a woman.

Being a woman, I can't really think of a clever segue right now, so I'll just get to the point. 

Write Girl, one of the coolest non-profits going, has their annual gala event coming up in just a few short days (Jan 29 to be exact). It's the Bold Ink Awards, where they honor some of our favorite non-male writers for their stellar achievements. Even better, they welcome members of the public to attend and find out more about the organization. 

If you don't give a crap about anything besides your own writing career, think of it as a chance to hob-nob with these snazzy writers:

Wanda Coleman, Poet

Jennifer Crittenden, Screenwriter

Naomi Foner, Screenwriter

Gigi Levangie, Novelist/Screenwriter

Sonia Nazario, Journalist

Gina Prince-Bythewood, Screenwriter/Director

Carolyn See, Novelist

Dian Warren, Grammy-winning Songwriter

More info on the Write Girl website.

Call this number for tickets 213-253-2655. Mention you were referred by Celine Malanum for a super-duper extra discounted rate (keeping in mind that if you happen to be a very rich person, the proceeds go to the foundation, so you could consider paying the full ticket price).

We have chosen hope

Watcha watching?

Friday Night Lights starts this week. Friday, January 16, 9pm, NBC. Watch it, or else.

Oh, and yay! for Anna Paquin winning the Golden Globe for True Blood. I know awards are wank, but God I love, love, love that show.

Breaking all the rules

I've been known to blab on at length about the powers of a solid outline. About how you need to know where you're going before you start going there. (In the real world, I'm a Google maps addict.)

But you know what? Sometimes you just gotta write.

I have 51 pages of my new pilot drafted. It's rough. Of course it's rough, but you know what, it's a damn sight better than the half-finished outline I have for that last pilot I tried to write. 

For this current pilot, my outline was a bit rough when I started writing scenes, but I know the story I want to tell. I've been rolling it over in my mind for about a year now. So I'm flying by the seat of my pants a bit. I'll clean it up in post. Anyway, it feels good to knock out pages. It feels good to get something done.

So that's it. That's my advice for this post.

Sometimes you just gotta write.