And then came the other D&D...

I had begun an incredible new adventure in writing when I decided to adapt my (failed) novel into a screenplay. And, yes, it was speeding along. But as always, my brain cannot do one thing at a time, my "other brain", the one that thinks of distractions, interrupted with "I think you need to focus on something else for a while. This is becoming tedious." Although, of course, it wasn't.

So, after many distractions on other writing projects I will not bore you with, I have my friend, Robin, tell me this: Why don't you write a screenplay for D#1 and D#2, two of her favorite actors. I mull it over and conclude that it will take a while to come up with a brand new idea into which to cast them. Like some writers, I "cast" real people into my stories. Not every character is based on or loosely based on someone real, but some are. In this case, I would have to cast them - they're actors!!!

Irony: I am a casting director/agent.

One day, only about two months ago, I'm driving back from the Bay Area and I have this tiny glimpse of a dream stuck in my brain, playing over and over. Frankly, I don't know if it really came from a dream, not sure WHERE it came from, but there it was, sparkling like a large shard stuck in glistening flesh.

Image: D#1 (also one of my fave actors), in character, in an expensive suit, sitting on an airplane, entirely distracted by his own thoughts, just staring down the aisle into nothingness. A couple next to him are sunburned but delirious, coming back from their honeymoon.

Image: Then he stands at the airport, still distracted.

Next image: He's in the back of a taxi being driven home, passing the lights of outer Heathrow, heading into the suburbs of London.

More images: He arrives at home. It's impeccable. It's empty. He follows a lonely routine and is utterly alone.

One more image: He grabs his phone and keys, still in his suit in the morning, and heads toward his car, ignoring neighbors. He pulls out, showing the first sign of emotion, and drives away. Given the option, he chooses the country over the city, and we find him at a cross roads in the English countryside.

By this point I am on my cell phone, yes, while driving, and telling the idea to Robin. She is right there with me, understanding the emotion, the tone, the conflicts (still not completely formed), but thinks I'm on a good, solid track to a story.

Born: A Village Affair.

It took three days to write the first draft of the script. By Day 5, I'd rewritten the draft two more times, written the logline and the treatment - 20 pages! It's down to 18 after a few more days.

It's a record. That story just fell out of me. What was I channeling? I think. Sometimes it feels like I'm just channeling the words because they just flow so easily and freely, they come out as fully formed pearls, one after the other, and eventually form a beautiful necklace with clasp. And there it was, A Village Affair.

I work on it as I can - truly busy with my real job of casting, producing and coordinating productions - yes, even here in Fresno.

Today I get to tackle it again. Why? Because Robin and I have been searching the internet for the perfect location and found it: in County Derbyshire. It's the perfect village. Robin found sites, we visited them, but one of the first was this lovely town with all the things we needed: a small population, old, charming, crumbling castle, water feature, pub, cobblestones, etc.

We've been there, virtually, driven down its streets (thank you, Google) while eating cake with strawberries (dessert), peeking into yards, discovering its back roads and hidden trails, finding different routes to enter this Shangri-La, it even has caves! We've picked our lodgings, visited the cemetery, found several possibilities for our central location. It's perfect!

Now I'm rewriting the story to better fit our location. Even if this isn't the town we finally choose, though I can't imagine anything else, the script will be more vivid anchored in this real place!

This is one of the reasons why I love to write. It opens endless worlds not only of imagination, but it propels me forward into making this film, gathering the crew and cast perfect for this production, meeting amazing people along the way who will support this film in every way possible (emotionally and financially), and eventually traveling here to film "A Village Affair".

Actually, I'm perfectly sane.