GuyOnAWire

I work a lot.

Anywhere from 66-91 hours a week to be exact. But on my days off, I edit, write, and live life. It’s funny how working a job that I love can change how I manage my free time. When I’m home, I’m more focused on my actual projects than ever before. I actually have to fight to incorporate leisure time due to my guilt of wasting a single moment of productive time. Or maybe it’s because I have very few hours of that time allotted these days…

It would be a precarious predicament to work so many hours and not work towards my goals. And yet, some days I’m left with no energy to do so. Sure, the work is great, and I’m finally able to save money and pay my bills down, but I’m left with little time to break out of the entry-level position I find myself deeply rooted within.

And clearly, this blog has suffered greatly from this job and my book rewrite. When I do write, it’s towards that, and not updating you few readers with the inner workings of my “Writer’s Mind.”

So here’s an update on my life as of late.

9-1-1

I am staffed on the sophomore season of the hit emergency procedural revolving around the first responders of the Los Angeles fire, police, and dispatch as they encounter tricky rescues all while navigating the drama within own lives.

The show is rife with days of stunts, special effects, and visual effects that truly sell the spectacle of the show. It’s a blast to be involved with such exciting shoot days, and the cast makes the rest of the show (the storyline, the relationships) all the more entertaining. With such star power like Angela Bassett, Peter Krause, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kenneth Choi, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Rockmond Dunbar, Ryan Guzman, and many more, you’d think working for the show would be difficult.

However, the cast is a collection of some of the nicest people on set, and they not only respect everyone on the crew but do it with a smile all while putting in stellar performances.

It also helps to have a great team, and we have some of the best of the best on 9-1-1. I’ve met some lifelong friends from this show (much like I did on Kidding), and that makes the worst days immensely easier to digest.

The old adage is true: “The worst day on a film set is still better than the best day anywhere else.” I think of that every day, and am in awe that I get to be a part of something magical. I spent my life soaking up this content to now being so busy working on (and writing) the material to actually enjoy it. And I’d rather create than consume if given the opportunity.

My Cancer Story

And I’ve afforded myself that opportunity. I continue my rewrite of My Cancer Story when able, and – somehow – have found myself breaking a script idea from last year. The only way to be writing two things at once is if they’re at different stages of development, and that’s the case here.

I’m in love with the edit of my book. At first, I was apprehensive, and definitely judging my earlier chapters harshly. As I plug away on a draft, I’m surveying the themes of the book, their pace throughout, and cutting whatever is irrelevant to those story arcs.

I’m on a roll now, and I patiently await feedback from some earlier readers. Sure, I’ve shared the first one hundred chapters here, but they’ve already changed substantially, and will only evolve as the next rewrite commences. After my next draft, I’ll share it with more readers, and I will read the entire thing out loud. Yes, I should have started that during the first edit, but man, it’s hard to read aloud my most personal stories when my roommates never leave the comfort of their multiple screens. I’m a prisoner of walks to coffee shops to escape the people closest to me. And I definitely can’t read aloud there…

What’s Next?

Once 9-1-1 wraps in March, I intend to apply to several Writer’s PA jobs and also continue to chip away at my own works. I’m eager to be gifted with more free time again and am saving money to not only publish my book but also to shore up a buffer wall against the tsunami that will be bills.

I’ll continue on this new script, and break ground on many new projects with my future roommate, Brandon, as he treads his own path towards Los Angeles. Maybe we’ll revisit our roots and host a podcast or YouTube series together again. Who knows what fruit the upcoming months will bear?

My goal is still to be done working as a Set Production Assistant by next June. Although, if Kidding is renewed and I get the call to work on that again, I’ll likely bite at a moment’s notice. Kidding was an easier show, and I could use the mental freedom to conjure up more tales to pen.

At any rate, here’s to a stellar 2019.

-Jamie (@GuyOnAWire)