2023 To-Do List Extravaganza!

Holy cats.  It's unbelievable.  It is, in fact, time to take a gander at how I did on my annual to-do list, for 2022.  And to make some plans for the upcoming year.  2023 is but moments away.

So as is the norm, I'll take a look at my list for this year, see how I fared, and then put down in black and white just what 2023 will bring, as far as a potential (wish list) workload.

Last year's list / how did it go?

1) A Stench in the Nostrils of God:  Feature screenplay.  1st-5th (approximately that many) drafts, reader's notes, table reading, contest entries, etc.  So let's say about 15 tabs or so.

    How did it go?  I completed the script, had a reading, submitted to several festivals, with the biggie recognition, a semi-finalist @ Screamfest.  Score!  So I can mark this with a big old DONE!

2) Unexpected Feature Screenplay:  As is now the norm, I'll plan for some random script idea to pop up and take priority over everything else.  So the usual here -- multiple drafts, festivals (maybe) and reading/readers.  Looking at about 15 tabs.

    How did it go?  While I began several other feature script projects, nothing found completion (not even a first draft).  So this is sadly marked as UNDONE.

3) Finish Immolation:  complete post (cuts/coloring/score, etc.) and then it's off to festivals.  So this should be about 15 tabs -- give or take.

    How did it go?  DONE!  With my amazing team, we shot some adt'l footage earlier this year, it was edited, color-corrected, score completed/inserted and entered into a bevy of festivals.  While there are more festivals to announce in 2023, we did find placement in several in 2022, notably We Make Movies and FilmQuest.  This was a biggie, and I'm so glad it's out there!  

4) First draft of "What the House Saw":  If I can get beyond a first draft of my first novel, great -- but bottom line, that first pass will be complete by year's end.  No question!

    How did it go?  DONE!  I chalk up "unproductivity" on other avenues to this very lengthy and time-consuming process.  I completed the first draft of the book in April of 2022 (just under a year since I began the process) and I even got through a second and third draft this year!  I also got valuable insights from a dear friend, who is training to become a book coach, and I happily was one of her guinea pigs.  This project will definitely find TOTAL completion in 2023!

5) ULIFTB completed:  My feature script with Libby -- to be done by year's end.  Usual multiple steps, drafts/reading/readers, etc.  So figure about 15 tabs for the board.

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  While there was some actual writing and more brainstorming earlier in the year, other projects took both of us away from our collaboration.  Hoping to pick this up again in 2023!

6) Three Acting Gigs:  Holding out hope for other fun things to cross my path.  Three tabs.

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  No acting gigs this year, but frankly, I just wasn't actively looking.

7) Three KSC Gigs:  Always looking for and hoping for adt'l business to come my way in the new year.  Three tabs.

    How did it go?  DONE.  I worked with a brand new client, and a client I began work with in 2021, came back for adt'l packages -- so return customer!  Score!  

8) Bear completed:  Looking to get this one done in 2022 as well.  Usual tabs, drafts/reading/readers, etc.  15 tabs (approximately)

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  I think I touched on this just a smidge over the year, but no real progress was made.  

9) House up the Street first draft:  It's do-able, but gotta really hunker down to make it happen.  Gonna do what I did last year, put up tabs for 10-story increments... but instead of 100 stories, gonna shoot for 150 (so 15 tabs).  That should bring me pretty darned close to having everything typed in and ready to edit!  :)

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  Not even a whisper of work on this.

10) Read 10 books:  Since I failed so miserably at being a well-read individual this year, gonna bring it back down to 10, rather than 12 books.  Will that make a difference?  Who the heck knows!  10 tabs.

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  Got through six books, which is great and all, but over one year -- just not enough.  Sigh.

11) New headshots:  It's been a good long while since I've had new shots, so putting this on the list for 2022.

    How did it go?  UNDONE.

12) New glasses/prescription:  Okay, so not work-related, but a must.  My glasses/lenses are at least 100 years old!

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  At least partially.  Got an updated prescription/appointment, but yet to get the new glasses themselves.

13) Dental Update:  Haven't been to the dentist in a good long while (embarrassingly long time ago!), so putting this on the list.  Again, not work related (unless I'm looking at better/healthier teeth for acting gigs, right?)

    How did it go?  UNDONE.

14) Diabetes Control:  Another non-work item for the list, but it will require work.  I was diagnosed w/ diabetes over a decade ago, and it's been off and on, well-controlled and not so well-controlled.  This coming year, I control it for good.  No more games.  I've been exercising daily for 3.5 years and that's now part of my daily DNA, but my diet has always been terrible.  Time to change that.  I ain't getting any younger.

    How did it go?  I'm gonna call this DONE.  While there's always room for improvement, I've taken some good steps toward better health, as far as diabetes control.  My hubby and I joined a gym in early February, and other than a few stops (COVID, travel, etc.), we've been going on the regular ever since.  Five days a week.  And it's now definitely part of our day!  My A1C is lower -- with an appointment only weeks ago.  And I've now decreased my insulin intake.  So I'm gonna call this one a success!  Yay!

15) Top 100 Fave Movies:  About 8 years ago, I made my Top 40 All Time Fave Movie list.  It's time to reevaluate, and expand.  I plan to rank my top 100 favorite films, using my already existing top 40 list as a starting point.  I then want to record the announcements/countdown for my YouTube page, 10 episodes w/ 10 reveals per episode.  So this will end up being a dozen or so tabs for the board.

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  This did see some work, but it just wasn't a priority to complete.

16) Feature Script Synopses:  This is something I've realized over the last year, that I desperately need.  So with 14 completed feature scripts under my belt, I need to get some brief synopses (1k words approx.) completed, for things like the ISA site (which most "gigs" require, before you can submit).  So this is 14 tabs -- or perhaps more, once these other scripts on the list are completed!

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  Saw some work on this, completing synopses of (I believe) two scripts.  Definitely want to continue to work on this in the new year.

17) Mariposa County:  This script I co-wrote and completed in 2021 -- as mentioned above, may move into production in 2022.  I've no idea how I'll be involved, but going to make 5 tabs (that feels right) for things I'll accomplish w/ this piece in the new year.  "Vague Mariposa Step #1" and so on...

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  There was some work on this early in the year, but at press, the project is basically dead.  Onto the next thing!

18) ESP:  I'm gonna throw this back into the pile.  Fingers crossed that something will come to fruition here.  Since Scott (partner on this one) and I have begun to outline an 8-episode arc, I will put up tabs for the completed ESP pilot, and then 7 fleshed-out episode bibles for the remaining portions of the season.  So with those, obviously 8 tabs, but with multiple drafts for the pilot, let's say -- 15 tabs?

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  Nothing done on this project, but I still hold out hope.  However, I won't put in on the list for 2023, and will just wait for it to start up again organically.

19 / 20) Hired Writing Gig #1 and Hired Writing Gig #2:  Two potential hired writing gigs (mentioned above) made themselves known to me this year, but nothing has been set in stone.  So, I'll put up a few "Vague Hired Gig Step #1" tabs -- and so on, just to accommodate these possible projects in 2022, and if those don't happen, them I'm set up for others which might present themselves!  Positivity reigns supreme!

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  One of the projects did not pan out.  And frankly, I don't even know what the second one was -- which was mentioned above.  Hmmm...

21) Complete Video Pitches:  I've so enjoyed doing these, I will finish up scripts already done, and plan to record pitches for any new scripts in 2022.  Also, my ISA video pitch (pitching myself).  So 10 or so tabs here?

    How did it go?  UNDONE.  While I got a few of them done, not all of them.  Will work to get the rest of them done in 2023.  

22) Passport renewed:  Self-explanatory!

    How did it go?  UNDONE.

2022's end of year tab board.  Empty pins showcase completed tasks.

As always, it's nice to take a look at any accomplishments which were not on the big list.

A project on which I was hired to be a writer back in late 2020, Dead Zone, was released as a Tubi Original, this summer.  It stars Michael Jai White and Jeff Fahey, and was directed by my friend Hank Braxtan.  I'm credited as "Original Screenplay by".  Pretty nifty credit to have!

Saw a ton of amazing concerts this year, including first times:  Debbie Gibson, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, New Kids on the Block, Rick Astley, En Vogue, Salt-n-Pepa and a bucket list live performance of my favorite band, Tears for Fears!  Also saw several touring Broadway productions, including Annie, Pretty Woman and Tootsie, among many other shows.

We returned to FilmQuest Film Festival in Utah this year, where it felt like we had returned home after a 4-year hiatus.  We were there to celebrate/promote our short film Immolation.  And speaking of that, we attended Immolation's World Premiere right here in LA, at We Make Movies Film Festival, in October.

On the We Make Movies side, I continued to judge for them this season, and have now joined them to help develop their first screenplay competition, as they go into their 5th year.  

The feature film I starred in (shot in early 2021) was completed and released.  Blood Covered Chocolate is now hitting the festival circuit, winning awards and has already garnered distribution (to be announced in the new year).  I've seen it at a couple of screenings/festivals and I'm overjoyed with how it turned out (congrats to my buddy Monte and his cast and crew)... and I'm thrilled with my acting work within.  Score!  And yes, seeing it on the big screen at its premiere in Vegas -- surreal!

I think that's it, as far as other notable events in 2022, so let's get on with it!

And now  -- without further ado -- the 2023 "To-Do List Extravaganza!"

1) Finish the novel.  While I did very well in 2022 on this project (completing three drafts when I wanted to finish only one), it's not as "done" as I had hoped.  And so this will be a top priority as the year begins.  I'm anticipating two more full passes/drafts on this piece, before calling it complete (complete enough to begin agency/publisher submissions).  I'll put two tabs on my board for the two drafts, and let's say three tabs for (1) Query letters (2) Publisher/agency research (3) Random other step in this process (I mean, what do I know?)

2) New spectacles:  Since I got my lens prescription, but not the actual new glasses, putting this back on the list/tab board.

3) Video Pitches: Any oustanding video pitches for completed scripts (number of tabs TBD).

4) Script Synopses:  Any outstanding synopses for completed scripts (number of tabs TBD).

5) Script Online Updates/Listings: ISA updates, Coverfly updates for any remaining scripts (number of tabs TBD)

6) Update passports.  Obviously, there's been no big travel outside of the country over the past many years (or ever, for that matter), but I'd like to get this thing prepped and ready to go, should it become a necessity, so putting it back on the board.

7) A Stench in the Nostrils of God short film/proof of concept.  I've gotten it into my head that this could be financially feasible in the new year.  So plans are underway to make this happen.  Will make multiple tabs for this, to include multiple drafts of the script, pre-production, shoot, post, festival entries, etc.

8)  Update website bio.  This has been a long time coming.  A last update was completed almost two years ago, so it's time.  I mean, there have been some fun career milestones over the past two years, so...

9) New headshots.  Also been a while for this... almost four years.  So this... this needs to happen in 2023.  One tab.

10) Island Hunters:  Another novel that has been in the works for a few years.  I believe I've got about 50k words on this already, so I think having a first draft by end of 2023, totally possible.  One tab.

11) Continue work on Scratcher.  Another novel which has been in the works for many years -- it's something of a monumental epic, so I don't anticipate completing even a first draft, but I'd like to touch upon it.  So let's say 10 chapters over the year?  Seems feasible.  10 tabs.

12) House Up the Street.  The short story collection I've been trying to complete for a couple of years -- writings from all the way back to age 10.  I'll try for another 10 tabs on this, which is 10 stories/tab.  That means 100 stories typed up and saved -- making some serious progress.

Since I've got so many scripts underway, and at various stages of development/completion, I'll not pick and choose which specific pieces I'll tackle/complete in 2023.  So "unknown feature script" will be the tasks/tabs.  There are also two possible script collaborations coming up in the new year, so if those happen, they'll count in this category.  And I do know I'd like to complete 3 total scripts in the new year (a heavy bit of pressure, but possible).

13) Unknown Feature Script #1:  Usual steps (5 drafts, protection, festival entries, table read, feedback, etc.).

14) Unknown Feature Script #2:  Usual steps (5 drafts, protection, festival entries, table read, feedback, etc.).

15) Unknown Feature Script #3:  Usual steps (5 drafts, protection, festival entries, table read, feedback, etc.).

16) Read 10 books.  While I can't seem to make this goal over the past few years, gonna give it another shot.  10 tabs.

17) KSC:  My screenplay consulting business.  I want to update the website, and then hope to have at least 3 paying gigs for the business.  4 tabs.

18) Three Acting Gigs:  Self-explanatory.  3 tabs.

19) Dental Updates/Insurance:  Self-explanatory.  2 tabs.

20) Top 100 Fave Movies:  Worked a bit on this last year, but would like to actually complete this updated list -- and then potentially video the results (10 entries per video).  So let's say, 11 tabs?  The list and 10 videos.

And that's it!  I mean, things (like hired writing gigs) and other random tasks show up each and every year.  So it's up to me to just go with the flow and accept that sometimes other items take priority and the intended list then inevitably suffers -- no biggie... as long as I keep on keepin' on, right?

So I'll see all of my avid readers of 0 in 52 weeks (or thereabouts) and we'll take a look at how 2023 fared as far as the workload listed above.

Happy New Year, everyone!  Stay safe, happy and productive!  :)