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

September 20, 2001

Human stanchions
She is away. The envelope containing the latest drafts of our television scripts is flying to Los Angeles via FEDEX after two final days of rewrites, reformatting, and combating every computer and printing problem known to man including demon possession that caused blood to ooze out of the laptop's floppy drive. There is a distinct possibility, however, that I was hallucinating Satan's grip on my significant other's microprocessor (a machine I was forced to relocate to when my printer died), since the simple act of producing two duplicates of our Becker and Will & Grace specs took nearly twelve hours.

Now I believe in the golden rule of show business: never explain, never complain. No one from my agents to the producers who will read my scripts -- not even my own family -- cares about the travails it took to get those printed pages into existence. All that matters are deadlines met and work accomplished. But I will say one thing, and that is thank you.

The woman I have been sharing my life with has been much more than an authorized supplier of Hewlett Packard printing equipment. She has unequivocally believed in me throughout the long months of writing and searching for an agent. When I would get dejected and question the future, she was adamant that my career in television would happen. And when my writing partner and I finally landed representation, no one was more delighted. And it's not only my significant other. My family, my friends -- all extremely supportive.

Today I sent my agents what I believe will be the final drafts of the spec scripts they will use to entice producers into hiring me and my writing partner. However, we began this sojourn when we started writing our scripts almost a year ago. Even without the support of my loved ones, I would have still pursued my dreams. But I can't imagine how awful that journey would have been without their emotional investment.

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� 2001 - 2002 tv writer. All rights reserved.