Bob DeRosa

New script going out in January. Packaged script going to buyers in uh January. Audio pitch notes probably coming in ...you know. I guess the universe is sending a message to take the rest of 2025 off, isn't it?

Crossing things off my to-do list, not because I did them, but cuz I figure, well, maybe next year.

I'll never forget meeting my (now, very good) friend in the lobby of Sacred Fools in Hollywood. When I said I was a screenwriter and he asked what I'd written, I beckoned him to step outside and I pointed at the giant KILLERS poster across the street and said, "That."

Fantastic!

Someone integral to my career just called after reading my new script and began with, "Wow, you're a great writer!" Those calls don't come very often, but it still feels really good when they do!

A speculative publication I'm interested in submitting to said they offer brownie points if a story makes them chuckle. Challenge accepted.

Great story!

New script off to my agent! It's darker than I normally write, but this story got its hooks in me. Really it's the main character. Something about her has been scratching at the inside of my skull for the last couple years. We'll see if she sees the light of day. #scriptsky

In my high school English class, everyone had to write papers on famous authors. My friend and I instead did a video project comparing Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, and my contribution was a VERY rough short based on a Bradbury's "The Emissary."

I spent some time crushed against a barricade watching them on their first tour open for Def Leppard. Such an amazing band.

The first step in packaging a script is usually landing a director and it's awesome when you do - except most directors attach to multiple projects to hedge their bets which means if another one goes first, then your movie's either in line or dead. Why am I sharing this? Uh no reason. Sigh.

Pitch out to audio exec, new feature draft out to manager, book out to possible agents. Waiting waiting waiting waiting.........

Total icon!

This was great!

People often say they want a Presidential candidate they feel they can have a beer with. I want a candidate willing to hold an umbrella over a little dog while she pees in the rain.

My mother called to tell me that due to my concern with rising health insurance rates, I should get a job at Wal Mart for their sweet benefits and just "write at night." If she's not careful, she's going to accidentally land a career in politics.

My wife and I posing on the red carpet at the LA premiere of American Solitaire. She looks amazing. I look fine.

Had a great time at the LA premiere of the indie film American Solitaire (my wife did the costumes!) It's a lovely film about a veteran wrestling with America's complicated relationship with guns. Hopefully it'll be at a film festival near you SOON!

I try to time breaks to the finishing of drafts in order to come back to it with fresh eyes. Screenwriting is different than novels though. If there's no danger in losing momentum after 10 chapters, then writing a short story as a palate cleanser sounds like fun!

Dying was maybe too hard. "Contracting" and "driven by fear" would be more accurate. Yes, there are healthy signs in publishing, of the three it feels like the most resilient space right now.

When it was apparent that the film & TV business was dying, I decided to balance my work with projects in audio fiction & book publishing and now I'm fully invested in three dying industries instead of one. I'll let you know how that shakes out.

In lieu of the film business falling apart, some people have been saying to write your "fuck it" script. I don't know if that was the inspiration for this one, but it sure looks like 100 percent, pure "fuck it" to me. Which is a good thing.

This is my badge for succeeding at the 12 stories in 12 months challenge.

After years of trying (and mostly failing) to write more short stories, I stumbled on DeadlinesForWriters.com and decided to try their 12 stories in 12 months challenge. And I did it! I'm a sucker for a prompt and a good old-fashioned deadline and this totally worked for me. Give it a try!

Yep. Almost everything is impossible to sell. And then someone sells one and I'm like "see?" And then they're like, well now we REALLY can't sell it.

Just a pic of a book. When We Were Real by Daryl Gregory.

Just finished When We Were Real by @darylwriterguy.bsky.social. I loved this so much. It's warm, funny, and emotional. Bursting with amazing sci-fi ideas but always keeps its humanity front and center. It's one of those rare books that I can't wait to read again.

Cool project with big stars just announced that's described as a "dark comic crime thriller" which is 1) one of my favorite genres to write and 2) a genre guaranteed to make my reps say "please don't write that, it never sells." So yeah, this business makes no sense. Ever.

Strategy Sometimes writing is about being inspired. Sometimes not.

I didn't publish a single short story last year. All of a sudden, I've had four acceptances since September. What changed? My strategy. More here: bobderosawriter.substack.com/p/strategy

100% this. I've been in a screenwriting group with roughly the same gang for over 15 years. We've seen each other through big wins and huge losses and everything in between. This journey is way too hard to do it alone. Community is everything. #scriptsky

Great interview with novelist/screenwriter @ajagabel.bsky.social in Hollywood Reporter today and this quote captures a lot of what's making our writing lives miserable lately: "Every industry is in a place where people are very afraid of not doing the thing that is going to be the most popular."

Me with an I Voted sticker while our chihuahua mix Sophie licks my face.

People who vote get kisses! DO IT!

This is an incredible post. Ally writes about money and financial planning, but this one speaks to whatever type of work you do, including being a freelance creative. "Most of what you try won’t work, but staying in motion creates the conditions for luck to find you."