Several years ago, while I was working with my manager in Los Angeles for my screenplays, she asked me if I had any that were holiday themed.
“They’re really looking for holiday movies
right now,” she told me, which wasn’t great news for me at the time. I struggle
mightily with the holidays.
But I didn’t want to lose momentum with my
manager, so I said, “Uhhh… I can put one together.” Never say, “No” to your
representation when you’re first starting out, right?
I ran away from home and holed-up in a condo in
Winter Park, Colorado for a week to get it done. I brought in food, wine (lots
of wine), and stayed in a place without internet access so that I could focus
entirely on writing the screenplay. The pizza delivery guy and I were on a
first name basis.
My first idea was to expose the commercialism
around Christmas and make it an enlightening expose on how it’s all about the
money.
Did I mention that I struggle with the
holidays?
Or that I actually write romantic-comedies?
I wrote frantically at odd hours of the day and
night, almost never leaving the condo for the entire week. When I finished the
first draft, I was really excited about it. And so was my manager. And that was
the birth of Christmas Spirit in screenplay format.
But, here’s the thing: It didn’t end up being about
commercialism. I had interwoven all of my favorite family traditions and turned
it into a love story, not only between the hero and heroine, but about
Christmas itself. I realized that I love my family traditions, and that family
is the very best part about the holiday season. My new screenplay was an homage
to the holiday season.
The problem came, however, when I realized
that, if I sold the screenplay, I would lose the rights to the story. I had
become very attached to my story and the characters.
No problem, I thought. Simply “plop” it into
novel format, put it in past-tense, add more detailed descriptions around all
the dialogue, and voila! Instant book. Easy-peasy.
Not so much…
I did all of that, then sent it to my Content
Editor for input. His response? “Yeah, you write like a screenwriter.” We worked,
and then we worked some more. The book finally came together and was the
beginning of a whole new series – and a whole new way of writing – for me.
Christmas Spirit is the first in the
Landon Legacy series. The second book, Family Spirit came out in 2017,
and also has a screenplay. The third book and screenplay, because, yes, I tend
to write both at the same time now, is in-progress (I’ll probably need to run
away from home again).
The screenplays for both Christmas Spirit and
Family Spirit are currently with a production company in Los Angeles. (Nope,
not Hallmark.)
Keep your fingers crossed for Christmas
Spirit as a holiday movie in 2020. Putting it out there, gang. Wish me
luck!
Julie Cameron is an award-winning author
and screenwriter of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. She sits on the
Boards of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers (RMFW), and Writer's Guild of
Astoria. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), the Rose City
Romance Writers Chapter of RWA, Willamette Writers, and Oregon Writers
Colony.
As
a content editor, writing coach and instructor through her company, Landon Literary,
Julie is also a member of Independent Book Publishers Assn. (IBPA), Colorado
Independent Publishers Assn. (CIPA), Editorial Freelancers Assn. (EFA), and
Northwest Editor’s Guild.
When
she isn’t writing or working with clients, Julie enjoys spending time with her
family, friends, and fellow authors in the literary community.
Landon Legacy series
www.JulieCameron.net
@JulieCameronAuthor
@JulieCameron.writer
