A Writer’s Journey Part 3: Trying to be a Writer

Sorry this is late: as I went to post it, there was a muffled crash and the electricity went out. A car crashed into a nearby utility pole. According to people on the scene, no one was seriously injured, but our electricity is still out more than twelve hours later. Good time to work at the coffee shop!

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“Running Away is one of the best Lifetime films of the years so far.”

Yet another adventure in life: my first novel’s been made into a movie that people are actually watching! The crazy part is I haven’t seen it yet. There was a communication glitch and I thought it was still exclusively in Europe. In fact, I sat with extras on a bus for a couple hours and don’t know if I made it into a cameo shot, either!

Running Away airs again on Mother’s Day (5/14/17) at noon on Lifetime.

1. Director: Brian Skiba

2. Writer: Sheri McGuinn

3. Stars: Holly Deveaux, William McNamara, Paula Trickey

The quote: After watching an earlier showing, Lisa Marie Bowman of Shattered Lens said: “Running Away is one of the best Lifetime films of the years so far.” Read her full 5/7/17 review in Shattered Lens: What Lisa Watched Last Night.

My take as the writer: We had to change a lot to make the novel work as a movie, but the director’s ending is perfect for the film and the book will still hold surprises for someone who’s seen the movie – or vice versa.

I only watched one day of filming. However, it was clear that each person on the crew was absolutely professional and that everyone had the same goal: to make a good film

Which, as I said, isn’t going to be the same as the book. Movies are visual, so the way the story was told had to change. Movie audiences have different expectations than novel readers, so that required changes as well. And movies are a collaborative effort – the initial script is simply a skeleton which is shaped and developed by producers, directors, actors – everyone working on the film.

So if you’ve read the book, watch the movie without expectations and enjoy the suspense.

I have the shooting script so I know the ending, but I’ll still enjoy watching the story unfold.

Ups and Downs

Up: The Pitchfest I went to last spring paid off. Running Away, a screenplay based on my novel of the same name, was optioned by Nasser Entertainment (after months of negotiation) and is currently being filmed by Run Run Media in Los Angeles.

Down: I got hurt in February, stayed at the day job through June in pain, and have spent the summer getting repaired. Still have my arm in a sling following surgery to bicep and rotator cuff that involved a lot of stitches and re-anchoring both. I now have reason to skip the metal detector and say “Just pat me down and get over it.”

Up: I’ve been able to camp in my son’s living room all summer and have spent time with the rest of the family as well.

Down: I miss my cabin.

Up: Sacramento has multiple active writing and filmmaker communities, so staying here should be a good thing – even if my digs end up being a step back. I might be able to swing something up in the hills here in a bit…