Bodies in bathtubs and more, oh my!

I'm finally back to work. Yay me!

Since I'm writing Bones, I've been immersed in a world of grisly deaths, rotting corpses, and sterile labs for the last few days. It's fascinating.

It's also horrible. Just when I think I've read about so many unimaginable ways to die that I'm becoming immune to the whole thing, there's an even more stomach-turning case in front of me, and I have to take a little break, just to feel clean again. And these are the ones that actually happened in real life, not just on TV.

The great thing about Bones is that the investigations are always secondary to the characters and their emotions, so the real focus of any episode is on the living. You could probably make a great Bones episode with the most mundane set of human remains in the world.

There is quite a lot of tech talk in a typical Bones episode, though, so I'm taking a crash course in Forensic Anthropology, courtesy of a stack of books from the library. I've only read one so far, the super-useful and fascinating Forensic Detective by Robert Mann. I recommend it to anyone attempting to write a forensics procedural.

Meanwhile, I'm turning over a dozen or so possible murder scenarios in my head, trying to decide which one will work. I think I'll back off from that and do a bit of thinking on the characters, and decide what kind of victim, or type of death will affect one them most deeply.

Slacker Excuses
I've spent an inordinate amount of time on Craig's List, and then subsequently driving around LA, trying to find tickets for last night's Crowded House show at the Greek Theatre, and tonight's Wilco show. How come everyone with decent tickets lives in the West End, while I live in Eagle Rock?

Also, have been very distracted by the wonderful and incomparably hilarious Flight of the Conchords on HBO. Beg, borrow, or steal* a subscription to HBO now if you haven't already seen this show.

*I do not condone stealing, even if HBO is way too expensive.

I'd rather fade out than burn away

Not 30 seconds ago I typed FADE OUT. Then I had to go check the proper formatting. It's the first time I've ever written it.

I just finished the first draft of my first-ever screenplay. I thought I'd feel triumphant, or proud, or at least relieved, but I just feel like it's any other day.

For a start, it's just not very good. Yet. My characters are weak. The story doesn't spin and crescendo the way it should. And I suspect there's a huge hole in the third act where my final big moment should be.

Yeah, I have some work to do. Good thing I'm the queen of rewrites. I actually like rewriting better than writing. When I write, I find I don't have the patience for crafting - I just want to get it all out onto paper. It's in the rewrite where my creativity comes alive.

At least that's how it is when I write other things - things for the man who magically fills my bank account with little ones and zeros (mostly zeros these days). I guess I'll see soon if I am also the queen of re-screenwrites.

I also have a zillion other ideas buzzing in my head. One in particular has been buzzing most insistently these past few weeks. It's going to take a lot of research and a huge amount of careful structuring to get it right.

If anything, I don't feel like I've finished something, I feel like I'm just getting started.

And that's gotta be good, right?

Slacker excuses:
I had a two-hour nap today. For research. I swear.