Here comes the pitch...

Thursday night I was invited to pitch a story to Pronto Comics, a collective of independent comic writers and artists.  They are planning to put out a pair of anthologies for the summer convention season, one of which is a war anthology.  Being a WWII buff, I jumped at the chance to write a small 5 page story.  I just heard about this group and the anthologies last week so I was under the gun.  I was able to finish a second draft in time for the meeting.

I was a bit nervous.  Their website didn't impress me and was barely functional.  However at the time of the meeting, my fears were dashed away.  These guys were organized and motivated.  I was thoroughly impressed with how self aware they were.  One of the first things they mentioned was that the website was being completely redesigned.  They mentioned their plans for the upcoming convention season.

Then came the point in the meeting when anyone can use two minutes to pitch their story and if an artist who was on hand was interested, he would approach you. A few of the Pronto "veterans" made some very cool pitches.  They were prepared and their focus showed.  To be honest, I wasn't 100% confident in my story and I think that doomed my pitch.  I fumbled my words and wasn't clear nor concise. It was very daunting to talk about my work in front of 30 or so strangers.  Needless to say, no one approached me when the pitch period was finished.  I was disappointed but used the time to reflect on what I did wrong.

Later in the meeting the artists and writers broke off into workshop groups.  I started a conversation with two other writers who pitched stories and discussed my script.  I had some hard copies on hand, let them read it , and they gave me very constructive feedback.  Then Dominic, the editor of the war anthology, approached me and said the current war anthology is locked up but he would like to use my story in the next one.  I exhaled a sigh of relief.  Not only can I give this script the polish it deserves, but I don't have a crushing deadline.

Again, I am really moved by the drive these creators have.  Check out their site.  I don't think the redesign has been implemented, but give these guys a chance.

Humble Pie

First off, I have to admit when I am wrong.  A few weeks ago, my girlfriend started a blog about her journey from a NYC public school teacher to a makeup artist.  You should all read it.  She's a much better writer than I am.  Anyway, she suggested that I start one and I dismissed it with about as much snark as Simon Cowell. 

Over the past few weeks I have looked to writing as not just a possible vocation, but as my salvation.  I took a fantastic comic book writing class at the Comics Experience that I highly recommend and the fire was lit.  Another byproduct of this class was the formation of a near fraternal bond with my classmates.  It that through this bond that we were inspired to self publish an anthology of the stories we worked on during the 6 week period.
Since the end of the class, my writing output has blossomed.  I have finished another script for a concept that I want to play with.  After another draft, I will post it for my former classmates to critique.  Their criticism has always been honest and never patronizing.  We all want each other to improve and to succeed.

I'm not 100% sure what the format of this blog will be.  I might write about music or movies, but I'm not going to post any mp3's (lawsuitphobia).  For now, I will wing it and eat my humble pie.

Cat, you were right!