Here’s my list of screenplays I’ve either outlined, drafted, or just thought would be good ideas. Who knows if I’ll ever write them:

Where’s Jefferson?: follow a two dollar bill around for a day, a drama

Counting Chickens: exposing the corrupt adoption racket (this is the one I’ve been working on for years that started out at 156 pages that has now become 8), a drama

Dead End: about a cemetery groundskeeper who lives on a dead end street at a house that abuts the graveyard, a comedy

Skim Milk Turns the Coffee Grey and Other Tales of Woe: I have no idea what this is about, but definitely a comedy or perhaps a tragedy

Like a Diamond: will the love she meets in the sky ground this career-minded stewardess? historical romance, definitely shot in black-and-white, Casablanca feel

And now I’ve just violated one of the cardinal rules of fiction writing: don’t show your hand or else someone may steal your idea.

Oh well.

If you read this post and want to make those movies, I’d happily pay to see them. Saves me the work.

Since I’ve never really finished a screenplay, I’ve decided to start a new writing adventure, and never really finish a novel.

Definite navel gazing, I’m writing a memoir about my former life as a budding pianist. I have lots of stories to tell now that I have some distance: what it’s like playing at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall or playing live on the now-dead classical radio station or being filmed for television or sitting in a recording studio adjusting levels or what it feels like to knock a big, bad Beethoven concerto out of the park — and what happens when your dreams get washed away.

I like this project a lot. But as with every big creative undertaking I try to do, it may just end up at the back of the “to do” pile along with all my half-knit sweaters, partially complete interior design initiatives for our house, and that list of dusty screenplays.

My name is cms8741, and I collect unfinished art.

Major screenwriting breakthrough for me. I’m quite the believer in what they teach you in writing classes: form follows function. Form follows function.

There is a general formula that most every commercial screenplay follows. Tons of books tell you exactly what page to put which activity. I’ve always struggled with the formula and I now realize why: it’s the exact opposite of form follows function. It’s like you’re trying to back-in to an artificial structure.

Now that I know what my hang-up is where that’s concerned, I can get over it and move along. It’s almost as if I’ve given myself the freedom to be free. If that makes any sense.

My screenplay idea continues to hatch. I like it. A lot. It’s hard to bottle cap the idea because I’d love to bounce it off people I trust to see what they think…

Well, only kind of…

Actually, I’d only want to bounce them off people so that they could say they totally love it too…

And let’s be honest, that kind of feedback isn’t really constructive.

We have made the decision to take two, count-em two, vacations in the first quarter of the new year. This is unheard of, unprecedented. Why, I haven’t been in an airplane in a year and a half — and on an airplane for a vacation since I was pregnant with now three-year-old Tyler.

We are going to the hot spots — California and Florida. I have a ton of family in California, and I can’t wait to see everyone again! One of my cousins works in Hollywood for a studio. He promised me that if I ever made it down there, he would give me a tour! Damn straight I’m taking the tour and bringing my yet-to-be written screenplay with me.

My other cousin is an entertainment attorney who represents people I’m sure you have heard of, and I’m going to give him the goods too.

So after nearly six month’s break, I’m back in, baby. Now I just need to get it done in less than three months. Think it’ll work? (It’ll take a miracle.)

The Florida trip will be with my parents to get away. The kids are super excited to go on an airplane. Not sure if we’re going to try to do Disney or not. Anybody have suggestions on what to do that’s not Disney down there?