Most of what I write has no place in the public sphere, but I do enjoy writing and I do enjoy telling stories.  I've always thought I have a knack for both, but beyond this blog and a few online videos, I've never really sought to publish any of the things I've written. That is about to change.

I've been reading my journal a lot lately, trying to figure out who I am and what I want.  Wedged between the pages of "mean people suck" and Zoolander-esque "who am I's," I have found several fictional story lines that I have been juggling over the years.  The one that currently has my full (or as close to "full" as my mind allows) attention is one I have been pondering for about six years.  I think it would actually work best as a television show or miniseries.  I have begun the difficult task of translating my journal jotting to screenplay format in the hopes that I can film the pilot this summer.  As an important first step, I purchased a copy of Final Draft 8 (a screenwriting word processor).  So far, I'm loving it.  I'm still in the process of learning the ins and outs, but below I have posted my first "screenplay" written with the program.  I'm hoping that more... interesting... things result from this software purchase, but reading through this, I giggled enough to think that maybe it was worth sharing.  Enjoy:

"larningfinaldraft" by Courtney Hoskins

Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.

INT. CAFE IN BOULDER - DAY

   A WOMAN sits in a cafe, learning how to use Final Draft. Four
   WAITERS from a nearby high-end restaurant enter.
   The woman attempts to focus on her tutorial, despite the fact
   that the waiters are relatively cute and talking loudly.
   The waiters order their breakfast from the hipster BARISTA.
                       WAITER 1
             Do you have bacon?
                       BARISTA
             No.
                       WAITER 1
             Oh! Are you kidding?
                       WAITER 2
             Dude, you should totally get a
             Bhakti chai.
                       WAITER 3
             Yeah, man, that stuff is awesome.
             It's like total Taj Mahal.
   The barista smiles, but rolls her eyes.  The woman
   attempts to decipher the intricacies of why the hell isn't
   this putting in proper line breaks?
                       WOMAN (V.O.)
             Writers often draw their inspiration
             from observing people and their
             interactions in real life.
             Sometimes, they realize that doing
             so is a bit of a waste of time and
             is actually just keeping them from
             writing the pilot episode to their
             television show that they know will
             be awesome if they can just get the
             damn thing filmed.
   The woman considers this for a moment and stares at the
   screen, still unable to comprehend the line break situation.
   She wonders if it has to do with the "Hour TV Drama" template
   that she is using.
                      WOMAN (CONT'D)
             I wonder if this looks weird
             because it is a funky template. Do
             people not use line breaks in TV
             land?  You know who is cool? Joss
             Whedon.  Joss Whedon is insanely
             cool.  So is Damon Lindelof.  They
             are awesome writers.  I bet they
             never waste time like this.
   She takes a swig of her cappuccino.
                       WOMAN (CONT'D)
             I really need to stop drinking
             dairy.
   She looks up and realizes that the cute waiters are gone, as
   is fifteen minutes of her life.  The result of both missing
   elements in her life is this one page of inane script.
                            END

Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.