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What's really weird is how being married definitely feels different than just living with someone. Something about the whole wedding ritual and wearing a ring on your finger alters your perceptions just a bit - making the relationship seem more permanent than before. Certainly it didn't change the love my wife and I had for each other prior to the event - but somehow it makes it seem more real and more permanent. All in all, it's been a very interesting and unique experience in my life. Being married also changes how I'm thinking about my career. Although my wife has been very supportive of my writing in the nearly four years we've known each other, the lack of long-term security and the life of a freelancer make her a bit squeamish. And I can understand that. One of the things that makes us a good match (in my opinion) is that we complement each other - I'm a live-for-now dreamer, and she's the down-to-earth, plan-for-the-future type. I've helped her loosen up a bit, and she's helped me realize that I need to think a bit more long-term, especially now that every decision I make affects both of us, not just me. Overall, what this whole wedding experience has done is given me an even greater sense of urgency to really establish myself in the industry, so that I can take better care of my wife, myself, and our future. As I've said before in various columns (and other venues), your career is a process - and if you don't enjoy the process, you shouldn't be doing it, since there's no guarantee you'll get the result you want. But I'm starting to realize that there comes a time when you have to accelerate the process if you really want to reach your goals. Many of you have taken Flash Forward so you know what I'm talking about, since that's the whole point of that class. And I've been really focused on doing that over the past year. Just since January, I've written four new screenplays (two for pay), rewritten three others, and really started some momentum in my career. Now my task is to keep that momentum going and try to raise it to an even higher level. I want to complete at least one (and possibly two) new screenplays before the year is out, do major rewrites to two others, and hopefully make a major option or sale. I know it's a lot to ask - but it's all possible. So, as this is my last column of the year, I want to put the question out to you - what do you want to accomplish by the end of the year? On December 31st, will you be able to look back over the year and honestly say that you advanced your career in some way? Did you write at least one new script? Improve at least one old one? Make some new contacts? Learn some new writing techniques? And more importantly - what can you do in 2003 to advance your career more quickly? Remember, life is short, and the window of opportunity for success in this industry is much, much shorter. So what are you waiting for? Get going!
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