It's no secret that my career has been laden with more potholes than an LA side street.
When it was good, it was very, very good. But when it was bad, it was horrid.
There have been more than a few times when I thought about packing it up and Doing Something Else. ANYTHING else. Except the economy took a nosedive and suddenly I wasn't the only one unemployed.
Last May, I got a call from Electric Farm Entertainment Co-Founders Brent Friedman and Stan Rogow, who called me in for a project they were getting ready to shoot called Valemont.. There would be some rewriting sessions, and then I'd be let loose on the Internet to create the storyworld there. I was given very few parameters. As long as I could work within the budget, I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted.
I had never worked on this type of project before. But I had spent nearly fifteen years, living and working and socializing online. It's not that I was an "Expert" or a "Guru" any more than my 17-year old self was a Guru on being a High School Senior. It was something that I didn't think about.
And now I was going to.
While creating for the screen can be a static experience, the Internet is a living, breathing thing. You cannot hope to control it.
You don't want to.
The experience was enlightening and exhausting and terrifying and frustrating and amazing. And having Brent was more Spirit Guide than boss. He'd give feedback and suggestions, but I was never told no, or that something was wrong. I was trusted to do my part.
Today, Valemont was nominated for multiple Streamy Awards including:
Best Drama Series
Best Writing (Christian Taylor!)
Best Interactive Experience (that's me!)
I know that it shouldn't matter and work should stand for itself and I should be way more nonchalant about such things. But I saw "Best Interactive Experience" and I may have started to get a little choked up.*
So I ask for your patience while I be crass and shout this from the rooftops. Looking back on the lean years of this blog, when I was filled with despair, it's a nice feeling to celebrate. Even if it's for a day.
*Okay, I cried. Like a little girl.
