We Wait and We Wonder

So anyone ever mention that a large portion of a screenwriter's job was to sit on his or her thumb and wait for the paint to dry?

Obviously we're waiting for Producer Dude to kick something into gear on Siege. Nothing but waiting there.

Also, Charlie and I alternate waiting for the other one to do something on the next pygmy/screaming half-naked co-eds/millennium flick. Now you could say that we could be good, prolific writers, and work on other sequences while we wait. But we're not. So stop that.

Right now, I'm waiting for Charlie. He actually sent me a first draft of the next bit, and we had a disconnect. I blame him. And me. 50/50. Here's a hypothetical example of our disconnect.

Say that I ended the last sequence with "Scooby and Shaggy race away from the airplane as it explodes, sending a fireball across the tarmac."

Then Charlie kind of started the next scene with "Scooby and Shaggy board the airplane and fly off to find Scooby Snacks."

See? A Disconnect. I blew up the plane, he get on the plane.

This is half my fault. Looking back, I could have been clearer about the fact that the plane had, in fact, blown up, and that there were no other planes for them to board.

And it is half Charlie's fault. He could have read my damn words and paid attention.

So I sent it back to Charlie, and he's rewriting the scene, somehow finding a way to reach Scooby Snacks that doesn't involve the plane. You know, the one I blew up in a fireball that raced across the tarmac.

I am also waiting in my own, non-Charlie, in fact better-than-Charlie, line of existence. My Manager gave a final, final, final copy of my feature to An Agent (actually My Agent now, but only in words, paperwork is still being signed. Once signed, An Agent will become My Agent. I rock.) and we are waiting for the response from An Agent. If An Agent likes it, then they will combine forces and sell my script to Hollywood, and I will become rich. That is the goal, anyway.

An Agent has had my script for two weeks. My Manager has heard nothing from An Agent. See, we gave AN Agent the script right before July 4th. And it seems that July 4th is about a 2-week holiday in Hollywood. So An Agent is just getting back to work. Plus, An Agent has another client who has just had a TV series premiere to good ratings and good reviews, so An Agent is kinda busy.

So I'm waiting.

I hate waiting.

I'll write more later, but you'll have to wait for it.