Post by Dallas on Jun 5, 2016 9:01:02 GMT -5
Tomorrow is the big day. I’m writing this blog the day before the first-ever episode of “Chasing Diamonds” will be released, and I am rather excited.
About 6 months ago, my brother Patrick started streaming Dynasty and he kept telling me to watch it because it was good. I had seen episodes of it before, but I hadn’t seen it start to finish. Once I started, I was hooked. It was so ahead of its time in many different aspects. For example, having one of their leading characters as an openly gay man was huge, considering the show started airing in 1981. The character of Steven, like many soap characters, did have a fling with a woman, but he returned to men afterwards. Early on, it also tackled suicide and many other topics that were not commonly wrote about in the early 80’s. I also thought that the first season of Dynasty, while slow drama wise, set up the series so amazingly well. Needless to say, I’ve enjoyed the show a lot and it inspired me to want to have a “primetime” type of show.
One of the things that I have been very proud of with One Day at a Time, is that I’ve always been pretty far ahead with my writing. When I first brought ODaaT back in 2009, I always had around 10 episodes in the bank, just in case something in life happened to prevent me from writing on a regular basis. When I decided to go back to school, I really pressed myself to get even further ahead because I didn’t want the series to go back on hitatus. So, 10 episodes ahead soon became a year ahead. I’ve been able to maintain that distance since I graduated, only because I can’t seem to stop writing for an entire year to catch up.
Each spring, I try to gear up to finish the current year of ODaaT that I’m writing, so I can take the summer off from writing. I do this because the summer’s where I live are beautiful, but very short. Living in the northern part of Canada, my winters can be 6 to 8 months of the year. Sitting in front of my computer to write ODaaT in these months is rather easy but when the sun comes out, I would rather do anything but sit inside and write. Because I am so far ahead with ODaaT, this has never been an issue.
All of these factors combined, let me step away from ODaaT and focus on Chasing Diamonds. I have to say that I really loved stepping out of Twin Peaks and moving into another world. I felt the same way a few years ago when I wrote season 1 of Pender Island. While I love ODaaT terribly, it is nice to challenge yourself in a different way creatively. Chasing Diamonds is not “super natural” the way Pender Island is, but the format of it and pace of the series is much different than ODaaT. Each episode is longer than the typical ODaaT episode, and you may see the same character 5 or 6 times in one episode, which is unlike ODaaT. And the pace…things move so quickly, just like a primetime series would.
I found writing Season 1 very easy and I am proud of what I have produced with the series. Once I was finished writing season 1, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do a second season, but it felt very natural to keep going. So, I planned season 2 and I have actually started to write it! I am about half way done writing season 2 and have already planned a third season to the series. Now, you’re probably asking: “I thought you took the spring/summer off from writing?” And it is true, I do. However, at my current job, I find that I am able to write a lot on my lunch breaks. Not every day, only when I feel the urge. So I take my IPad and wireless keyboard to work and for an hour break, I step into the world of Chasing Diamonds.
Tomorrow, with the release of the first episode, you all can step in the same world. I hope you enjoy it and are taken on the wild ride that it is. Let me know what you think!
Until next time,
Dallas
About 6 months ago, my brother Patrick started streaming Dynasty and he kept telling me to watch it because it was good. I had seen episodes of it before, but I hadn’t seen it start to finish. Once I started, I was hooked. It was so ahead of its time in many different aspects. For example, having one of their leading characters as an openly gay man was huge, considering the show started airing in 1981. The character of Steven, like many soap characters, did have a fling with a woman, but he returned to men afterwards. Early on, it also tackled suicide and many other topics that were not commonly wrote about in the early 80’s. I also thought that the first season of Dynasty, while slow drama wise, set up the series so amazingly well. Needless to say, I’ve enjoyed the show a lot and it inspired me to want to have a “primetime” type of show.
One of the things that I have been very proud of with One Day at a Time, is that I’ve always been pretty far ahead with my writing. When I first brought ODaaT back in 2009, I always had around 10 episodes in the bank, just in case something in life happened to prevent me from writing on a regular basis. When I decided to go back to school, I really pressed myself to get even further ahead because I didn’t want the series to go back on hitatus. So, 10 episodes ahead soon became a year ahead. I’ve been able to maintain that distance since I graduated, only because I can’t seem to stop writing for an entire year to catch up.
Each spring, I try to gear up to finish the current year of ODaaT that I’m writing, so I can take the summer off from writing. I do this because the summer’s where I live are beautiful, but very short. Living in the northern part of Canada, my winters can be 6 to 8 months of the year. Sitting in front of my computer to write ODaaT in these months is rather easy but when the sun comes out, I would rather do anything but sit inside and write. Because I am so far ahead with ODaaT, this has never been an issue.
All of these factors combined, let me step away from ODaaT and focus on Chasing Diamonds. I have to say that I really loved stepping out of Twin Peaks and moving into another world. I felt the same way a few years ago when I wrote season 1 of Pender Island. While I love ODaaT terribly, it is nice to challenge yourself in a different way creatively. Chasing Diamonds is not “super natural” the way Pender Island is, but the format of it and pace of the series is much different than ODaaT. Each episode is longer than the typical ODaaT episode, and you may see the same character 5 or 6 times in one episode, which is unlike ODaaT. And the pace…things move so quickly, just like a primetime series would.
I found writing Season 1 very easy and I am proud of what I have produced with the series. Once I was finished writing season 1, I wasn’t sure if I was going to do a second season, but it felt very natural to keep going. So, I planned season 2 and I have actually started to write it! I am about half way done writing season 2 and have already planned a third season to the series. Now, you’re probably asking: “I thought you took the spring/summer off from writing?” And it is true, I do. However, at my current job, I find that I am able to write a lot on my lunch breaks. Not every day, only when I feel the urge. So I take my IPad and wireless keyboard to work and for an hour break, I step into the world of Chasing Diamonds.
Tomorrow, with the release of the first episode, you all can step in the same world. I hope you enjoy it and are taken on the wild ride that it is. Let me know what you think!
Until next time,
Dallas