Working on too many things at the moment, but that's the way my mind works. Firstly, there's "Maggie's Children" and "nach Schema F", the two books I want to get finished in the next couple of months. I think it's good to set myself a target, and I think it's definitely achievable to have both of those books finished by the end of June - well, the first drafts, anyway.
But then there's "Besotted". Okay, so "Besotted", as a book, is finished. But I want to write "Besotted", the screenplay. I've never developed one of my books into a screenplay before. I'm not actually convinced that I can do it, but if nothing else it's a form of mental masturbation. For one thing, I reckon the finished screenplay will be way too long. I'm not convinced I can be objective enough to remove characters or scenes. I've also got to consider whether Benjamin Beerenwinkel should do a voice-over. I don't really like voice-overs in films. Film is a different medium to the written word, and voice-overs, I find, just seem to emphasize what the actor's expressions should be telling us. We cannot get into the mind of the character when we're watching a film, but that's a limitation that every great film has had to deal with. So far, I'm only on page 21 of the book, but that's been condensed down to 6 pages of script. That's six minutes of screen time. I reckon I could get the first draft down to perhaps 130 pages, but that's too long. Once the first draft is complete, it'll be time to get that big red pen out and hack away at unnecessary scenes or pieces of dialogue. And then, after that, it might need to be passed around to enthusiastic people prepared to offer feedback.
I've just got this feeling that "Besotted" is the one book I've written which is more accessible in film format. Oh yeah, "die Stunde X" would look awesome on screen, but that would cost millions to make. I reckon "Besotted" could be made for a few thousand. Some of you might already be aware that my alter-ego, Shaun Martin, makes films. I recently read an interview with director Matt Bloom, who basically said that any aspiring film-maker should make one film every month for two years, before attempting to make their "big film". His view is that in making those 24 films - which you should not show to anybody in the film industry - you will make lots of mistakes, but you will learn by them. He said after doing this you should not make another film until you can be a perfectionist. I think he's right. With every film that Shaun Martin has made, there have been mistakes - things forgotten, rules broken, days rushed, lack of budget. But I reckon by the time a decent enough budget is assembled so that "Besotted" can be filmed, he'll have made a few more shorts, and he will have learnt a lot from the mistakes he's made in the past.
But anyway, I'm rambling when I should be working. Just keep watching this space. I want my creative output to have been massive in 2014. Three books, a couple of short films (I don't reckon Shaun Martin will have the time to follow Matt Bloom's advice to the letter!) and the preparation laid for a fantastic 2015. What will 2015 bring? Well, let me be optimistic and ambitious - two feature films. "Besotted" and "In Amongst the Natives".
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