Classy Rejection

You're the fantastic writer, but I'm the one who must now do some tricky but heartfelt communicating.

First off, you have our deepest thanks for the time you invested in our Reading Comprehension audition. Our projects can be complex and unusual, so they often call for an audition that is likewise. But you were quite up to the task. We knew your material would be strong and you didn't disappoint. You are a writer we like.

The bad news is that we didn't have room on this project for everyone we like, and we’re unable to offer you a position with us at this time.

The good news (at least, I hope you'll think so) is that you'll very likely hear from us again. Now we've had the pleasure of meeting you, and seeing how well you do with our specific kind of writing. That makes it much easier for us to call you for future projects. We hope we can find a better match for you soon, and we’re currently in the contract stage for a lot more work that you’ll hopefully see as right up your alley.

Thanks again for coming in to meet me and creating such a great audition. I wish you the best of luck, and hope we'll be talking again soon.

As rejection letters go, I don't think I've ever received a classier one.

To read my audition, click here.

Audition Submitted

Now I sit back and wait to see how they liked it.

Nailed the Interview

Now I just have to nail the audition/ writing test, and I'll have a full-time job through the end of July, maybe longer.

The Christopher Cadre

As a huge Joss Whedon fan, I keep up with the fan blog Whedonesque, on which other Joss, um, enthusiasts like me keep up with all things Joss, like the new Wonder Woman Trailer.

It was probably Joss's creation and development of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that eventually led to his being tapped by Paramount to script the new Wonder Woman movie, and his success and both writer and director of Serenity that led to him being given the director's reins of WW, as well.

So Joss, and Wonder Woman, is a hot property in Hollywood right now, and it seems that She of the Golden Lasso is the role to get for young actresses these days. The script hasn't even been turned in to the studio yet, but that hasn't stopped casting rumors from running wild (for my money, I'd like to see former Firefly regular Morena Baccarin in the role).

Some sources conjecture that Whedon will opt for a young unknown to play the coveted role, and that has prompted one Atlanta actress to put together her own "cast me! cast me!" Wonder Woman Promotional Trailer.

Kudos to Clarke Wolfe for her enthusiasm and verve. Who knows, maybe she'll start a trend. But by far the BEST thing about this trailer is the crazy guy in the "newscast" at the end, none other than my old college buddy and fellow Star Wars geek Chris Burns!

After watching this trailer, I still want Morena Baccarin to play Wonder Woman, but I just as certainly think Joss should give Burns a role. Something evil. He'd like that.

Couldn't Help Myself

SJ Writing is now up and running.

I thought I'd wait, but then I figured, "why?"

I have an interview with a small software company tomorrow. It's just a contract job, full-time, but not long-term, but if they called me for an interview after reading my quite audacious cover letter, then I have high hopes for this interview. They need a "great writer" (so said the Craigslist posting) to write interactive dialogue for a new computer game that teaches reading comprehension. I'm jazzed about this.

Finding a Focus

I've applied to over 45 different jobs since I quit my teaching gig in March. That's a lot of resumes, a lot of cover letters, a lot of self-examination. Some of those jobs were teaching positions, but most of them were either writing or editing positions, because, the more I thought about what I really wanted to do with my time, my energy, my life, I realized that I wanted to WRITE. I got into teaching because I love to write. It has recently occured to me that that's like becoming a mechanic because you want to be a racecar driver.

So, while I'm not completely dismissing the idea of teaching at a high school again (I spent two years and several thousand dollars on a teaching certificate, after all) I have been focusing more these days on writing--and reading--than anything else.

To that end, I've decided to focus my blogging efforts, too, with at least one new blog: SJ Reading, in which I write about the things I've read or am reading--a poor blogger's literature review. I expect SJ Writing will soon follow, once I start having more things to report about my own writing efforts. If you're a fan of this blog, don't worry: it has served me well, and I don't plan on retiring it any time soon.

New E-Mail Updates Available

If you want to keep up with my postings, but haven't yet figured out RSS, it is now possible to sign up for email updates. In the right-hand sidebar, just above the radio button labeled "Subscribe," there is a box. Enter your email address, click that subscribe button, verify that you do indeed want to get email updates, and soon you will be getting email each day I post something new here.

Thanks to Chris Thilk, my brother-in-law and the insane genius behind Movie Marketing Madness, for mentioning this cool FeedBurner service on his blog.