Finished several stories including one I started 39 years ago

By Gerald Martin Davenport on July 20, 2024, Updated November 21, 2024
Reading Time: 5 minutes

39 years ago: A boy and his typewriter

I got the idea in June 1985 to write a story about a 22-year-old boy who is not from Earth and is looking for his mother, who is from Earth. The boy meets two teenage boys who show him what life on Earth is like for them.

I started writing it by hand. If anyone knowns me, I have chicken scratch for writing — that is unfair and unkind to the chickens since you can read what they write. I borrowed a typewriter from someone I do not remember — apologies if you are reading this — and I bought several reams of decent bond typing paper and began hashing my ideas out in a mix of a novel/screenplay/script format — I was writing ideas down, and sometimes a whole passage of a scene would surface.

I wrote when I could, when Tamara allowed me, and when ideas came, which lasted until September. I remember it was late in the summer, and I had the window open out the back of the apartment on Biggs Avenue in Grass Valley. If the film gets made, it could be a historic place for people to visit, as they do for Lincoln, Ben Franklin, and all the other famous writers when they learn where they penned a story — [I Laugh]. I did not write anything during the winter months, as I remember — I kept a journal, but the journals I wrote during this time frame were lost, destroyed, or stolen. I have not seen anything about my life in print, so they were lost or destroyed.

The 45 typewritten pages stayed in a folder — the kind that goes in a filing cabinet — and I took them with my other writings: songs, music compositions, other stories, and drawings wherever we moved. I would look at the folder now and then, which had "The Traveler, Started June 1985," with my name in a blue highlighter that faded over time, saying,"I should finish this."

I purchased Final Draft upgrade after ten years of dormant writing using smaller, free versions of screenwriting software. After finishing three other "I should write this" stories that were more on my mind, I wanted to keep that creative flow moving. I pulled out The Traveler, Started June 1985, with my name on it folder and typed everything I originally wrote on paper into Final Draft. After 20 pages, I was not happy with any of it. It was written in 1985 by a twenty-year-old inexperienced writer. I never read books except for how-to and technical ones. I read Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and The Bible. The typewritten text was nothing more than two teenage boys in a mall chasing and ogling girls, then meeting a kid who says he is from another planet with a cool car.

Completely Different Person

I am married, have two grown adult children, am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and have many stories written, weblogs, songs, and films produced — I am a Completely Different Person than I was in 1985. I remember that guy I used to be when I read what I wrote, but he is not someone I would hang out with today — though I wish I had his hair and waistline - still.

Starting fresh from the beginning

I liked the basic story concept, but the locations, situations, and characters' personalities needed an update. No one goes to malls anymore — not like they used to. No one ogles girls — well, they should not be doing it. Also, no one talks like they did in the 80s, either.

New Character Dynamics

Initially, it was Tom and David. David is now Danielle, yes, a girl who goes by Dani. Tom is known now as Elliot, but that changed to Emmett a few days ago. Dani and Emmett act as siblings; they have no romantic connection.

My cool ideas are everyday items today

Several of my cool ideas are in use today — not that I came up with the ideas on my own. I may have read about them in popular science or imagined them before they became a reality. But with so many people in the world, one person is not thinking about the next thing to help society — read the history of inventions — someone else is always working on it differently.

I did some research looking at when a few of the cool tech toys I came up with — remember, written in 1985 — and found out that one of my ideas came up in the early 1960s in the Dick Tracy Comics. Granted, it is just an idea, and nothing real or tangible has come about it other than hype about a car using the technology they call vaporware. Anyway, it was rather interesting to see this. Mind you, I was not a Dick Tracey comic reader before my time and was never a crime watcher, still not today, so I know I did not read about it. However, the engine used for the transports in my story uses a self-sustaining fuel to power them.

Let Go Of Your Ego

I would force a few of the old things back into the new story, and at first, they sounded cool, but then, looking at the page count and the rambling, they had nothing to do with the story — the new plots — I created. For me, and it took two weeks to finally admit, accept, and follow through, if something does not feel right no matter how much I want in, it is time to let go of MY wishes and let the subject write itself, even if it means removing or changing something I want in. In the end, and this is the crux of most new creative people, they have to learn to kill their babies — or as the British say, Kill Your Darlings — meaning, get rid of your most precious, and specifically, self-indulgent passes for the greater good of the literary work. Easier said than done. Sometimes, it is what sparked the creative idea in the first place. Letting it go is giving it a new identity, and in doing so, it loses its identity. However it is the best thing a writer can do; however, it is not the easiest.

After I let go of my ego, which is the phrase I use instead of the others, even though they may be famous sayings, they do not point to the actual problem one has — THE EGO. After letting go, the writing flowed much better, but one major issue had a bearing on the direction, plot, and flow of the story — the title. The Traveler, or Traveler, even if it was Travelers, still gave me friction at specific points in the story, not to mention those were weak. Since I was going completely new with the story, it deserved a new title. I pitched several titles to Aria, Kyriè, and Tamara — my three most critical judges — and they liked Stargazers.

Writing became fun again

Our purpose is to Entertain, Educate, Inspire, and Emotionally Move the audience to a higher level. Our focus is not on making the most money by cheating, lying, or giving the audience crap — there are too many people doing that already; we have a conscience, morals, and respect for the audience — there are too many people doing that already; we have a conscience, morals, and respect for the audience.

“Will we be rich and famous?” It would be nice to make millions, but I do not care. “Will we make money and have a following?” Yes, yes, we will. If there is a following for fart jokes, then there is a following for classier material. “If you make it, they will watch it.”

So, if you want to elevate film, TV, and storytelling and make money doing it, we need your help; our Film Financing – Producer Search needs you.

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