A gift from the gods

Out of the nowhere's forehead, born full-armed (to quote a poet), an idea for a new screenplay dropped into my head a moment ago. I quickly scribbled it down so I don't forget it. It strikes me as a commercial idea, which I almost never have, a comedy, which I almost never write unless it's dark. This would be a fish-out-of-water comedy, an established and popular genre, with a twist I haven't seen before. I have the one in progress to finish and get to my agent, so we'll see how it sets.

Interesting thing about screenwriters strikes. At the last one, it really opened up the market for spec scripts. Most scripts are sold as ideas first, by established writers. When producers need material, they get more desperate, and even though it's bad form to market during a strike, you can still write and have material ready. Also, established writers, who almost never write on spec, often do during a strike, just to keep busy, and write things they've always wanted to write but didn't because of time or commercial issues. So in the past, strikes actually improved the quality of scripts to come in the future. We'll see if this happens again.

I'm eager, very eager, to finish the romantic thriller I'm working on so I can tackle this comedy. Not even dark! Something of a natural, given the situation. I'm perfectly capable of blowing it, but I think it will be fun to see if I can do it right, even though it's far from my usual style of storytelling.

Still exchanging emails with my Army friend, telling war stories. Great fun. He told me about the weekend he had with a female spy trying to get info from him (unsuccessfully). Babes were always trying to seduce info from us. The trick was to get what you wanted (sex) before they gave up getting what they wanted (secrets). The Cold War Seduction Game. It's a central theme in my novel in progress.