Heaven & Earth had its final performance on Dec 1 and I really enjoyed the process of getting this play on the stage.    It had its challenges – that’s for sure – but the reward is seeing the cast and crew rise to the occasion and deliver to an audience, who I felt were right there with us.  I heard laughter and tears in the dark theatre as they watched the story unfold before their eyes.  For a writer, that’s all the validation I need and I have these people to thank for it…

To check out more photos of Heaven & Earth, visit here.

Directly following Heaven & Earth, I went to work on my new screenplay called The Porch.   I had done some preliminary notes on the script back in October and then was not able to get back to it until recently.   I decided to write the script straight onto the computer (something I rarely do).  As many of you know, I usually write all my first drafts on paper.  I’ve done that for virtually every script I’ve written.  But I wanted to try something different this go around.   I also do a ton of brainstorming and map out the entire story before even writing one word of dialogue.  I didn’t do any of that with The Porch.

Writing without much of a net was scary and yet at the same time it gave me a different kind of freedom.   If you’re a writer and you have a certain way of writing, maybe try something different.   Change it up.  I did that and got The Porch which has the following storyline:

While praying for his sick mother on the family porch, a boy creates a comic book hero who comes to life and has a profound effect on his world and those close to him. 

And finally, a quote to quash any romantic notions about writing from the late author Tom Clancy, who had 17 bestsellers:

Writing is the most miserable form of work I know.