Awful. Just so awful.

Horses burned to death in Sylmar Fire. Warning: the pictures are graphic.

Heartfelt condolences to their owners and god bless their lovely equine hearts and souls. I hate brushfires.

I find myself wondering how all these fires started. And I want anyone responsible strung up. So many innocent people and animals destroyed by these fires.

#ThomasFire #RyeFire #CreekFire #SkirballFire

An interesting source for short story inspiration

Advice columns!

To date, I have sold over 60 short stories to glossy magazines. Advice columns inspired me to write close to half of those stories. Whenever I am facing writer's block, I scroll through advice column letters, hunting for inspiration. For me, there is no better way to jumpstart a short story then to read bizarre letters from strangers seeking intimate advice from another total stranger.

Read the whole thing here. H/T to Freedom With Writing on FB for the link.

Pretty much anything involving kids playing hockey is going to be ridiculously adorable or your feel good story of the day. This is one of them.

This is your feel good story of the day.

H/T to Mayor McSnark for seeing to it that this story popped up on my Twitter feed this morning. Great way to start the day!

Flattery will get you almost anywhere

In this case it got me to the second round.

I've submitted my Better Call Saul spec that I wrote in the UCLA Extension classes earlier this year to a number of competitions and workshops, and today I got some great feedback from one of them.

The script made it to the second round of the TV writing competition at the Austin Film Festival, but didn't advance beyond that. I'd been notified of that some time ago, but I just received the feedback from both first and second round judges and I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with it.

Initial reader

Concept: Fabulous idea for this show. Better Call Saul has such a profound vision that I believe writing a spec for it is a really big undertaking. This episode feels like it would fit in nicely with others in the series.

Plot: This was such a captivating narrative. The writer really handles all of the moving parts with expertise. This felt like I was reading an actual episode of Better Call Saul. I particularly loved the twist with Mike and the hit job.

Structure: The structure is great. The teaser is done really well and mimics the structure of Better Call Saul beautifully. The pacing was great--this didn't feel like it dragged on. The story was told clearly. This spec turned out to be a wonderful reading experience.

Characters: The characters act as they would within the series. Jimmy does what he does best--run a scam-- to get out of a bad situation. The original character, Chelsea, is developed nicely. She doesn't feel one note and interacts well in the universe of Better Call Saul.

Dialogue: This exhibits some really, really tight dialogue. None of the lines drag on or feel indulgent. I particularly liked the story Chuck told about the girl who picked up the snake. That was a great, totally Chuck bit that enhanced the story nicely. The dialogue feels authentic overall and is done very well.

Overall: Overall, this is a great spec script. The writer really understands all aspects of Better Call Saul--the characters, the dialogue, the pacing, the structure, the complicated relationships, etc. I really enjoyed reading this. This was a really well done self-contained episode full of the writer’s smart choices. This episode is written concisely yet thoroughly. I thought the teaser was a great addition that had more and more meaning as the episode progressed. The writer really understood and exhibited Jimmy and Chuck’s complicated relationship in only one episode. It was also a clever idea to pit Jimmy against a character like Chelsea, and to see Chelsea get taken down in true Jimmy fashion. My only note, and it’s just a brief technical one, is that “Sphinx” is misspelled in the middle of page 35. This was a great reading experience.

Second Round reader

Concept: Conceptually, this spec fits Better Call Saul very well. Jimmy scams his way out of scam. I could see this story playing out very nicely on the show without interrupting the overall story/character arcs in place.

Plot: Jimmy is hired to help a woman get what she sees has her rightful share of an inheritance. This same woman hires Mike to kill her family who has already hired Mike to protect them from her. Overall, great tie-ins within the story. My only issue would be how the teaser relates to the rest of the script. Is it just to show Saul was a screw up and a scammer. It might be better to show something relating to his family in the past instead.

Structure: Jimmy is hired to help a woman get what she sees has her rightful share of an inheritance. This same woman hires Mike to kill her family who has already hired Mike to protect them from her. Overall, great tie-ins within the story. My only issue would be how the teaser relates to the rest of the script. Is it just to show Saul was a screw up and a scammer. It might be better to show something relating to his family in the past instead.

Characters: The characters also fit the show nicely especially Mike. Series regulars are spot on. The major introduced character, Chelsea, is developed well enough to hold her own in the story, but perhaps more could be done to give her layers and add to her crazy.

Dialogue: The dialogue is very good and would fit the BCS world. Some interactions between Jimmy and Chelsea are repetitive. More could be done to vary these interactions and even further build on the story and characters.

Overall: Overall, this is a great spec for a Better Call Saul episode and a solid second round script. (Also nice title. ) A believable story is presented using all the regular players and introducing a crafty character that ties to Jimmy’s practice, Mike’s side business, and even to HHM. Though the teaser does demonstrate that Jimmy has a history as a scammer, we already know that. It might make more sense to show something that relates to his commiserating with Chelsea as the family black sheep. Chuck’s message that Jimmy can only work an angle to solve a problem instead of using sound judgment and legal means is hard hitting. The script could also use some proofreading. Otherwise, this spec was an enjoyable read and a story that I’d love to see on the show.

Not too shabby, eh?

This spec is still out to a couple other contests. I hope they're liking it as much as these guys did.

I also submitted a short story this week to an anthology from Mystery Writers of America. They will announce which stories were accepted early to mid 2018.

And that's it for 2017 submissions. I'm working on a master list of markets for next year and my plan is to submit as much as possible.

Happy writing, everyone!

November Words of Wisdom

Probably the shortest list since I started doing the Words of Wisdom posts. Guess everyone was busy getting ready for the holidays.

It's okay to fall down and lose your spark. Just make sure that when you get back up you rise as the whole damn fire. --Colette Werden

Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. --Albert Einstein

Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest of fare, with course and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: "Is this the condition that I feared?" --Seneca

The further a society drifts from the truth the more it will hate those who speak it. --George Orwell

For her the ocean was more than a dream, it was a place she needed to visit to find herself. --Jose Chavez

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. --Benjamin Franklin

Los Angeles is a sunny place for shady people. --Michael Connelly

The New Yorker examines L.A.'s fascination with car chases and is actually pretty fair about it

The New Yorker looks at L.A.'s obsession with car chases:

And The New Yorker is right - we are obsessed with them. In this clip, someone suggests airing them after the fact, but I think a big part of the reason we can't stop watching is because they are live, and no one knows what is going to happen next. You don't have to worry about someone on Twitter spoiling the outcome. Another thing is that it's interesting when we recognize neighborhoods, cities, streets and freeways. It gives you a sense of being part of it.

I think the New Yorker actually did a pretty objective, if brief, job of trying to explain this phenomenon, although I do wonder where they got the "13,000 killed by police pursuit" number. Except for the guy who shot himself and a couple people killed in crashes, rarely do these seem to end in death, at least here in L.A. I personally have never seen a fatal crash on TV and I really hope the number isn't that high.

And yeah, the TMZ van trying to end a pursuit is definitely the most Hollywood thing you'll see all day.

On the downside, as I type this The New Yorker's website also has an article entitled "The Case For Not Being Born", which promptly made me think of The Twilight Zone. The title alone is so creepy, I feel like the only way I could get through it would be by imagining it being read by Rod Serling. I think I'll stick with the car chase video.

H/T to Curbed LA on Twitter for this one.

You can actually go down to South Park...and remain part of it forever

Trey Parker and Matt Stone are offering fans a chance to not only meet them and visit the South Park Studio (which I've heard is actually cleverly hidden somewhere here in Marina del Rey, unless they moved at some point) but also to be immortalized as one of the show's "random townspeople", complete with your own voice attached to your character.

You enter by making donations here, where you can also see a video of the guys describing the experience, which includes being an accessory to their procrastination. All donations go to NEXT for AUTISM, "a nonprofit organization that transforms the national landscape of services for people with autism by strategically designing, launching and supporting innovative programs."

Each donation buys multiple entries and some of the donations have additional prizes attached - $2,000 includes a signed South Park script, $5,000 includes an autographed Towelie skateboard or an outgoing voice mail message in either Butters or Kenny's (!!!) voice.

How bummed was I that these two were already sold out by the time I checked the site? Pretty bummed.

Good news - my writer's block seems to have lifted

The idea that's been percolating for the Mystery Writers of America anthology is finally shifting into actual story form as of this morning. That's the good news.

The bad news is that the deadline for submission is this Friday. Guess who couldn't get anything going until right before deadline? This girl! Will I make it in time? I guess we'll know in less than a week. Stay tuned!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Will be spending mine with the family. Hope you have a good one too.

If Hemingway was still alive, MasterClass would probably snag him as an instructor

Unfortunately Papa is long gone, but you can still get writing advice from him: How to Write Better Prose According to Ernest Hemingway.

One that I always have trouble with is writing short sentences. I do love my run-on sentences. I also like how Wainwright expounds on Hemingway's concept of "Write drunk, edit sober" from a non-alcoholic point of view. But it's all good advice.

Pic snicked from Hemingway's Wikipedia entry.

IT'S A ROCKETSHIP!!!

A Navy pilot decided it would be fun to do a little creative skywriting, and this was the result:

Look! Up in the sky! It's a...

Here's a better look.

The plane and its crew are based at Naval Air Station Whidbey in Washington State and are going to have some 'splaining to do.

One the one hand it is kind of funny (not to mention someone has wicked flying skills) but it's also terribly inappropriate, especially with all the political and celebrity sex scandals in the news these days. I'm not sure what made the pilot think this was a good idea. Plus, can you imagine being outside with your child and having to come up with an explanation when they ask you what's that thing in the sky?

Personally, I'd use this one from the criminally underrated (IMO) 2002 film Death to Smoochy:

Wait for it...

Pics snicked from the linked article.

Updated: Here's another article that I just had to link to because they brilliantly referred to the pilot not only as a "Maverick-wannabe", but also as "cocky". I wish I'd thought of that. #writerenvy

Guess who just kicked it up another notch? If you said MasterClass, congrats! You get a cookie.

The latest from MasterClass: Helen Mirren teaching acting, Wolfgang Puck and Alice Waters teaching cooking, Bob Woodward teaching investigative journalism, and Ron Howard teaching directing. Among others.

Also, MasterClass is now offering an All-Access Pass for unlimited classes. The cost is $180 per year - the cost of two of their classes. Given that equation, I'm already getting at least one class free.

I should get commissions for all these blog posts. Or at least I would, if I had readers. But damn, they're amazing. One can only imagine who they'll get in the future. The mind, it boggles. Also, go sign up!