Ridley Scott stole my moleskine scribbles

Hi there. You're reading a blog. I'm going to exercise my Sherlockian powers of deduction. You like reading and writing. It might be beautiful poetry or late night notes that didn't quite make their way to the New York Times bestseller list.

Let's carry this deduction (or should it be deductive reasoning?) a step further. You've seen a show or a book that made you say, "Oh, that's what I was writing about."

You are not alone. I know it's discouraging. I'm feeling a bit of that now. But it needn't be. We should look on these similar stories as affirmation and encouragement to keep writing. Yes, in my head I am at the altar, and I am delivering fire and brimstone to the choir. Or just standing in front of a mirror.

I have a lot of notebooks with story ideas and bad outlining. I rarely get past the idea part. And then I get hung up trying to make sure I can find all the disparate parts - journals, 3x5 cards, laptop files. If I can only organize them all, I'll be the next Jack Kerouac.

I started looking at two story ideas and wondered if I could combine them. Where to start the story, how to avoid over-explanation (ugh, the dreaded world-building prologue!), would it work better in script form? Stay tuned for my Master Class on how to avoid actually putting pen to paper.

Then I somehow stumbled onto a trailer for Ridley Scott's Raised by Wolves, and my first thought was a very vocal "shiiiiit". I immediately recognized elements and themes of my nov...notes. Crestfallen. Yet another reminder that we get in our own way, and that if we have an idea, we should pursue it vigorously.

In a stroke of luck or an opportunity for self-flagellation, Raised by Wolves was available on HBO Max, the one streaming service I forgot to cancel. It's amazing. There are only 3 episodes available as I write this, and I blew through them all tonight. Beautifully shot, fantastic acting, and minimal setting. I'm making this up, but 90% of the first three episodes takes place in the equivalent of a village. That's not a spoiler.

Amanda Collin, Abubakar Salim, Travis Fimmel, Niamh Algar, and Winta McGrath are all incredible. Riveting. I had to look up the cast to find their names. I suspect very soon we won't have to research their names. And that's another thing I liked about the shows - I wasn't trying to figure out if Josh Brolin was Thanos, the Sicario spy, or Cable. No offense to Josh Brolin. I'm a fan, and I know actors need to work. But rising tides lift all boats - spread out the roles.

This series has potential. I know we're all watching our expenses closely. Wait until the first season is out and then sign up for a month of HBO Max. Buy a shit ton of popcorn and watch Lovecraft Country and Raised by Wolves. Shit, I feel like this is where I should throw in a promo code.