This journal documents the author's experiences as a television writer. To read the story from its inception, go to the beginning.

September 5, 2001

Going to the beat
LA cool exudes from my agents' assistant. With a laid back demeanor that brings to mind the image of a surfer reading Kerouac while hanging ten, he greets me with a sincere, yet slightly distracted "Hey man, how's it going?" He is apologetic. "We got the contract. Sorry it took so long to get back to you." The word "dude" is never uttered, but silently appended to end his sentence. "Starsky and Hutch would like to give you notes. How's eight your time?"

I make sure the battery in my cordless phone is fully charged. Pad and paper at the ready. Water safely nearby, should my throat get dry. I am steeled. Memory refreshed at having re-read our scripts earlier that afternoon. At twenty minutes past the appointed hour, I call my agents' assistant. "Oh yeah, they were gonna call you. Things have been crazy around here. Hold on a sec." No music is piped through the phone system and I can hear my breath echo softly through the speaker. "Hi sweetie!" It is agent Hutch. "You wouldn't believe the day I've had!"

Ten minutes later we are in teleconference. This is the first time my writing partner and I are getting requests for revisions from anyone in Hollywood. Our agents preface the meeting by telling us that our writing is very strong. Just a few tweaks will make it better. Indeed, their notes are few and to the point. Painless. We are still the golden boys.

Afterwards, we debrief. Relieved to be back on our agents' radar, my partner and I schedule time to meet and rewrite. Once revisions are completed, we will Fedex our scripts. Our agents, prodding ever so gently, will get copies into the hands of producers. And, hopefully, we will have meetings with those producers interested in hiring us.

We are moving forward again. Somewhere, I imagine, my agents' assistant is wiping water off his copy of On the Road.

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� 2001 - 2002 tv writer. All rights reserved.