October 1, 2022
Once upon a time, stories were only shared orally - either spoken or sung. Then came tales as written words to be read, and centuries later, performed - with or without words. Eventually, there comes motion pictures. This last one was the first kind of storytelling I first became passionate about. At around the age of nine, with the discovery of a neighbor's Super 8mm movie camera, I became interested in...no...obsessed with filmmaking.
In the 80's I pursued making movies with the same ill-focused passion as I had toward self-publishing. I'd written three screenplays but could only hope to ever see them produced as motion pictures if I made them myself. (That is how my impatient younger self viewed it, anyway.) In my early thirties, drained after fruitless efforts, I gave up the lure of telling stories via film and turned toward the writing of short stories and novels. I even told myself that that was my first love, when it actually wasn't. Stories in the form of movies is where my true adoration of telling tales took root.
You may recall a few newsletters back that I'd decided to go back to square-one by writing and then submitting manuscripts to agents and publishers in hopes of being published - the traditional path of an author. However, the true "square-one" would be to...what?...anyone, anyone...?
Yes, you got it: Write screenplays!
I cannot express how revitalized and inspired this idea has made me. I've purchased a script formatting program and am in the process of turning Rite into a feature-length screenplay. I'm also going to adapt The Quieting West (it was initially meant to be a film, anyway) and, perhaps, Gospel for the Damned (with some major revisions). Of Gilded Flesh? Hmm...better suited as an animated feature, I think.
In any case, wish me luck.
Next month, I'll share why I think this is a good choice in regard to my writing journey as well as the challenges I expect to face.
Gordon Gravley
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