Monday, May 01, 2006

Writers On a Bus

I decided to give myself a little more time to decide, but I think it's for the best. After some careful consideration and recent changes in my transportation method (more in a bit), I've decided to go with #2 on the list.

I'll be posting more details about the story as I work through it, but for now, let's just say it's reminiscent of Liar Liar.

...Okay, maybe not that reminiscent, but it's in the same ballpark.

As for the transportation changes, after having some car trouble a week ago, and factoring in the skyrocketing price of gas, I've started taking the bus to work.

Now, for those of you in big dense metro areas, the bus is pretty much a fact of everyday existence. Everyone rides it. But here in southeastern Virginia, taking the bus usually means you have no other choice. I really hate to say that there's a bit of a social stereotype associated with using the transit system here, but things are as they are - I'm usually one of the only few white people on the bus. A lot of my friends were somewhat surprised to learn that I've been riding the bus to work - especially surprised when I tell them that the 30-minute commute now takes me two hours. But when I tell them that it's only $1.50 each way, they double-take and say, "Wow, that's cheap!" Yeah, try doing a 40-mile round trip on one gallon of gas. Forget it, Prius Boy!

So far, the only drawback to this change is the added commute time. But as we writers know, two hours is plenty of time to knock out a few scenes. So, the bus is now my morning and afternoon writing office. That's four "writing hours" a day that I don't have when I'm doing the driving.

But I think the best added benefit by far are the variety of people I now encounter everyday. I'm telling you, it could fuel a whole other blog. It's a great chance to people-watch for character ideas.

I'm looking forward to the new adventure - the bus rides and the screenplay, which coincidentally months before had already been assigned the title The Road to Shambala.

Gotta go...it's almost time to catch my office.