Fall 2013 Update

Greetings from the Writing Batcave! Oreo my editor has some notes on my latest draft. Everyone’s a critic! Sheesh! 🙂

Hello from the Writing Batcave!

I hope everyone had a fabulous summer. I can’t believe we’re already halfway through September. Hence this quick update blog and peek from the batcave before I disappear again. As you know from my summer blogs, I was on a Summer Social Media Sabbatical to get some writing done. It was well worth the isolation. I’m still in the batcave but I’m back to tweeting on a more regular basis. (Follow me @paulayoo). So what have I been up to?

(Keep reading after the jump for more!)

Writing-wise, I was busy with a bunch of TV meetings, working on a new spec script, and finishing up revisions on a chapter book. I also placed as a short-list finalist for the 2013 Faulkner-Wisdom Writing Competition for an adult novel-in-progress that I’m also working on! In addition, I participated in several blogs for LEE & LOW BOOKS to promote their upcoming New Voices writing contest for new picture book authors. The deadline for this year’s contest is September 30, 2013. I won this contest in 2003 for my first book, SIXTEEN YEARS IN SIXTEEN SECONDS: THE SAMMY LEE STORY (Lee & Low ’05). So I highly recommend this writing contest for writers of color. For more info, go here: http://www.leeandlow.com/p/new_voices_award.mhtml

As for Hollywood, a new book on TV writing came out over the summer for all you aspiring TV writers. It was created by the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program where I also teach occasionally. Some faculty friends contributed to it as well, including the awesome Star Trek writer Richard Manning. (His website is here: http://froonium.com) It’s called INSIDE THE ROOM: WRITING TELEVISION WITH THE PROS AT UCLA EXTENSION WRITERS’ PROGRAM (edited by Linda Venis). I highly recommend it for anyone interested in becoming a TV writer. (For more info on TV writing & book writing, please read my FAQs here: https://paulayoo.com/blog/?page_id=950)

Reading-wise, I’m looking forward to reading all the books that made the recent 2013 National Book Award Long List for Young People’s Literature. I strongly believe that you MUST read as much as  you write in order to grow as a writer. I constantly read new TV and movie scripts and books (both adult and children’s books) to study the craft. And I’m also a bookworm, so I love reading anyway. Congratulations to all the amazing authors who made the long list!

Aside from writing, I also had some fun summer music adventures. Including a job appearing in a future UNITED AIRLINES commercial. I was one of many orchestral musicians filmed for a really fun United Airlines TV ad. I can’t reveal any details but you can at least get a sneak peek here:

Me at a summer TV commercial shoot for UNITED AIRLINES. I’ll let you know when the ad airs – stay tuned!

I also played a lot of weddings over the summer…

Summer = lots of fun wedding music gigs!

And I learned a lot of fun Stephane Grappelli & Django Reinhardt tunes for a new band I am starting (a tribute band to their music). So it was nice to catch up on some music as well over the summer! (For more info on my music, go here: http://www.instrumentalcasting.com/viewmusiciang.php?serial=455)

For the fall season, my Writing Batcave duties are pretty straightforward. I’m now finishing up a new middle grade novel and will finally start writing a new feature spec script. It’s exciting to work on my “passion projects” for the rest of the year. A lot of writing involves “obligations” where you have to write specific projects to cater to your agents’ needs and the market. So it’s great when you can take a break from the “have to” writing projects and do the passion projects instead. 🙂

But don’t worry, I’m not lonely in the Writing Batcave. With Oreo critiquing ever single word (pictured above) and with Beethoven & Charlotte watching over me from Mt. Bookshelf (pictured below), I’m in a good company! 🙂

Beethoven & Charlotte are making sure I am writing and not surfing the Internet. 🙂

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So… how was your summer? What are your writing goals for the fall? I look forward to your comments! 

Until the next blog, please follow me on TWITTER @paulayoo. As always, remember – HAPPY WRITING! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂