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10/02/2007: Now for Some Stuff I Don't Know...


I get asked some questions, Gentle Readers, that, sadly, I don't have answers for. Right now I'm looking at letters from "Maggie" in Westlake Village, from Jane in Los Angeles, David in Puyallup, Washington, Ellen in Vancouver, Matthew in Pennsylvania, and others. They're asking excellent questions about where to find produced Battlestar scripts and how to get started in writing if you're not a US citizen and therefore can't enter some of the competitions. Or they want to know about how to get writers' assistant jobs. Or how to get their scripts into the hands of showrunners. Oof. Um… In general, I dunno.

I write about writing. I can also give a sort of generalized advice about getting into the business that boils down to: write specs, enter contests, take classes, join writers' groups, meet people, consider moving to LA, look for jobs that put you near to the writers' room, and write more specs. The only part of this that I feel confident enough to tell you how to do is the "write specs" part. I have no idea how writers' assistants get their jobs or what opportunities there may be for writers in Canada. And, as much as I want to help, I'm not sure I want to become the clearing house for this sort of information. If someone does want to take on this job, I will happily post a link to their site.

I don't fault anyone for writing in with these questions -- they're great questions and you're smart to ask them -- they're just beyond the scope of what I do.

And while I'm going through the mail bag...

Many thanks to Sara in Richmond, CA, for an article about computer usage's influence on standard language -- really fascinating. Another hearty "thank you" to Teri J. who sent me a copy of her book. And a "you're welcome" to Friend-of-the-Blog Eric Loya here in Los Angeles -- my favorite book store clerk. And to Jennette in Indianapolis who also has a book coming out -- how wonderful is it that so many of you who write me have either written a book, or just won a contest or made a short film or otherwise have accomplished so much! I'm constantly impressed by you, Gentle Readers!

Keep writing -- I read all the letters even though I can't always find an answer worthy of blogging. It's not you, it's me.

Lunch: salad and a cup of alphabet soup -- I scooped it myself so it was almost all alphabet and very little soup.