March is shaping up to be a back breaker. Why do I do this? I guess because I excel when there are mountains of work to be done and deadlines are looming. So, I guess it's understandable that I have set myself up for a month where every spare moment will involve me reading or writing something that probably is related to Beowulf. Here's my March plan:

1. Crank out 10,000 of words of new fiction for my novel, Eighth Day.
   
2. Read Beowulf the poem, Seamus Heaney's translation.
   
3. Read Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery's Beowulf script.
   
4. Read Caitlin Kiernan's Beowulf novelization.
   
5. Read Chris Ryall's graphic novel of Beowulf.
   
6. Prepare for and interview Chris Ryall.
   
7. Compile a master document of all published interviews with Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery regarding their adaptation of Beowulf.
   
8. Prepare a preliminary list of interview questions regarding the adaptation of the script.
   
9. Write a comparative annotation of the adaptation of Beowulf among its 4 story forms.
   
10. Prepare for an interview Steve Gould re: Jumper adaptation.
    
11. ..... and sleep, work, and eat.
    

My Stonecoast deadline is March 27th.

P.S. This is not a normal amount of Stonecoast work. I am a compulsive overachiever and I can't help myself from setting up these massive monthly workloads.

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In other news, VPXers, Jim Kelly is the Guest of Honor at the 2008 Readercon in Burlington, Mass. If you're thinking of going to a con this year, come to this one. Moreover, this is a fantastic con for writers. It's definitely going to be worth the trip.

In the spirit of using Sherwood's idea of using LJ to network, I thought I'd put this request out for everyone's review......

For my 3rd Semester Project at Stonecoast I am going to be adapting a screenplay from an 18th Century lyric poem (which I don't want to name here). In addition to writing a full-length screenplay, I'll also be writing a paper on the adaptation process. As part of my research paper, my program director also wants me to do research on other screenplays that have been adapted from poems.

As part of my research, I would love to interview a couple of writers who have adapted screenplays from poems, short stories, and novels. I'd also like to interview authors who have had their work adapted into a screenplay by someone else. If you have done this and would like to be interviewed by me or if you know of another writer who would like to be interviewed, please send me an email at: erin_underwood at hotmail dot com

I'm still in the developmental phase of my research, but I'd like to get a few interviews lined up for the near future. Realistically, I'll want to start interviewing people between November 2007 and March 2008. I'm happy to work with your schedule and to do it in the most convenient way possible for you, including email or phone.

..... Ok here's the crazy part of the request .....

I would really value being able to interview Neil Gaiman since he has not only adapted screenplays from novels, but he's also adapted the new Beowulf film from the poem. Since I don't know Mr. Gaiman, I thought I'd throw this request to the wind and see if there really is magic in the world.

.............

Thank you for your time and consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,
Erin M. Underwood
Stonecoast MFA Program, Popular Fiction S'09

I need your help with this.....

I'm starting to plan one of my big projects for Stonecoast in which I will adapt a poem into a screenplay. My professor asked me to also include research on other poems that have been adapted into screenplays.

As I'm just starting this research, I thought I'd ask you if you know of any poems that have been adapted into screenplays.

This project is going to be so fun!

Thanks for your help!
Erin