Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.

There's a quote on a plaque that I nearly bought:

"God created beer so the Irish wouldn't rule the world."

Yeah, I'm Irish. What of it?

Quarter Irish, quarter Scot, half German.

Maybe that's why I'm so stubborn, bullheaded and haven't taken over the world, or, rather, taken on the world.

But I have won $17 in the lottery in the last several weeks. It means my numbers are starting to hit. I've always "known" that I would eventually be taken care of, whether that be hit the jackpot in the lottery, sell my writing, make my fortune in my own business or marry a rich man. Any rich men out there who want to apply for the position, can apply here.

Being Irish is probably a good reason why I sabotage myself so often. I missed my own self-imposed deadline for sending out my script. In my defense, I usually get blocked around deadlines; self-imposed or set by an outside source. I'd have a heck of a time trying to write to an editors deadline. I was the same way in high school and college; I'd usually start my paper early but then procrastinate finishing it until the night before. Then I'd spend all night trying to finish it but get frustrated when I got tired, go to sleep, skip that class, finish the paper when the pressure was off, go back to class, fend illness and turn it in then, Luckily I was never docked too many points.

I guess I need to work on that if I want to go back to school to get my degree. (Just searched for information regarding schools: one of which doesn't offer on-line classes in my field and the other offers classes that I've already taken, twice. Long story. Short version: my credits for core classes didn't transfer from Waynesburgh College to West Georgia University while my upper level classes did.) I just can't fathom driving an hour and a half to sit in class for several hours all the while fighting with my employer just to get the time off required to go back to school full time. The scholarship program through work is only available to full time students so attending classes part time would have to be cash paid out of my pocket, cash I don't have, and the scholarship wouldn't cover gas and wear and tear on a vehicle. Hurry up winning lottery numbers or Mr.Right-Wealthy.

Or I can sell my screenplay. But I have to send it to sell it. It will be dropped in the mail on April 1st (April Fools Day) one way or another. I plan to work on the synopsis for the third installment and hope that will seal the deal. April is SriptFrenzy! month so I'll actually start writing the new script then. But in the meantime, a friend gave me a copy of Save the Cat: The Last Book On Screenwriting That You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder, which I highly recommend. I've only read the first few chapters but I realize I already need to make changes in my original script to make it perfect. After all, I have a better chance of selling it if it's perfect.

But Save the Cat has some great advice. It taught me the power of a great tagline and how it must be catchy and be ironic at the same time.

My tagline for the new script: Morgan and Mathilda: The Professionals: "Mathilda wants out of that life but her long lost sister wants in, wants her perfect life and wants her dead."

While the tagline for Mathilda: The Professional is "Mathilda is all grown up, a business owner, mother of three orphaned children and a professional assassin too."

Not very good and needs work.

My friend suggested "A grown up Mattie juggles romance and motherhood while being a professional assassin."

Better but just not quite the hook I need.

So you see the need to hold onto it just a little longer. It's not like I missed their deadline. They don't even know I wrote the script. (Oops, if they know I'm writing the next one, they may want to impose a deadline on it. Better get my act together. Pardon the pun. But if they throw lots of money at me then I can quit my job and spend those 40 hours a week writing.) But this will also give me a chance to finish reading Save the Cat and implement all his wonderful advice.

BTW, if you're wondering what "Save the Cat" has to do with scriptwriting, as I understand it, your hero must do something in the very beginning that is redeemable no matter how bad, mean or evil he/she is so that the audience likes your character and can identify with him/her otherwise the audience loses interest. An act like saving a cat usually makes the character likable in the eyes of the audience.

So far, my opening scene consists of Mattie killing a man and leaving his girlfriend knocked out cold on the bathroom floor.

The original opening scene had Mattie going on a killing spree of her target and all his bodyguards, except for one but that one was kick in the groin and knocked out cold. Somewhat of a save the cat scene but still not quite right. After all, a professional assassin doesn't need to kill a bunch of people. She should be able to take out her target without many other casualties.

Still working on that.

In the meantime, my "mourning pages" are producing more poetry. See my latest poem at www.shawnannmurray.blogspot.com

I recently found out that the first boy I ever went steady with committed suicide. Don't really know how. Don't know why. Don't know when or if he had a family of his own or any other details. This has left me disturbed. I'm sure I will write about him again in some form or fashion. But let me know what you think.

I read it to my writing group and they felt the poem was more powerful if I'd left off the last two stanzas, which I almost agree with. The stanzas seem to be more like therapy for me. They may end up as a part of another poem. I just have a hard time rewriting a poem I've written about someone who has died. Just as "Not Forgotten" has never been edited.

Anyway, I'm off to get something accomplished.

Don't drink too many green beers.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day.