The Backstory of "Legendary"

For those of you interested, I thought I’d explain some of the backstory and reasoning that went

into the writing and publishing of Legendary on Popdose. While it would be easy to just let the work suddenly appear without any explanation, our era in is an information age and some readers like to get the poop on why some dude from California is posting a serial novel online.

 

The roots of the novel date back nearly 20 years, back to the first feature-length screenplay I wrote (discounting my college senior film, which began as a feature, but I eventually whittled down to 45
minutes).

When Julie and I first moved to Los Angeles, it was the rise of the 90s indie film movement. Directors like Tarantino, Rodriguez and Anders were releasing personal films that didn't adhere to the rules of Hollywood filmmaking. These movies inspired me, much in
the same way the great films from the 70s by Scorsese, Lumet and Ashby did. When I sat down to write my first script (that's why we moved to California, after all), I chose to tell a personal story, drawing from my past.

At the time, Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused was gaining a cult audience thanks to home video and pay per view. Dazed and Confused is funny, irreverent and a pure joy to watch. I wasn't the only person who recognized the similarities between Linklater's film and George Lucas' classic, American Graffiti, which was fine by me, as I'd loved American Graffiti since the early 80s. Unlike so many of my contemporaries, American Graffiti was the George Lucas film that influenced me. 

Both Dazed and Confused and American Graffiti dealt with the

lives of a group of teenagers over the course of one night and the changes, or lack thereof, the go through in that time. These films are
beautifully shot, feature breakthrough performances by future stars (and directors), and used music to help evoke a sense of time and youth. I thought I'd write the 80s equivalent.

If I'd been smart, I would have written a plot-driven, mainstream, high-concept Hollywood-type film that could have acted as a showpiece to my writing, or I would've written a TV spec script and gotten into the television industry. But I was young, stubborn, and decided I would do things on my own terms. I wanted

to tell "real" stories, man. I was going to be an auteur!

Two years and ten drafts later, I had an ensemble screenplay called Finding the Way. The events take place over the course of one summer day in the mid-80s, and include a house party, a trip to Denny’s, and a rooftop, sunrise that made a perfect bookend to the film.

I was lucky enough to get Finding the Way into the hands of a major literary agent. She represented major players (I think Bill Murray was once one of her clients) and was a rising star in the industry. Within ten years she would produce big, splashy Hollywood releases and indie darlings. How did I get my script in her hands?  She was the sister of a guy I met at my best friend's wedding. That’s the way it works, though. That excellent fellow you play a round of golf with could have connections to the upper echelons of the film industry.So be nice to everyone, kids, because you don't know who might be able to help your career.

The agent didn’t read it immediately. In fact, she had her assistant review it, and when the assistant labeled me a “Consider,” we spoke on the phone. This agent was exceptionally nice. I still recall sitting in the computer room at Alterian Studios after work hours, speaking about the positives of the script, and what needed to be tweaked. She offered great advice. I was over the moon. A major Hollywood agent had read my screenplay and gave positive feedback.

At the time, I was already working on my next script, a romantic comedy, road trip movie about a guy who learns that his true love is getting married in two days. He decides to drop everything and go see her before she says “I do.” That script was entitled Southern Cross.

 

As the 90s drew to a close, I became involved with multiple screenwriting projects that never gained
traction, but took up years of my life. Sophie was born, I started a new job at an animation company, I wrote and co-produced a short film, The Mind’s Eye, and Southern Cross became a movie, one that I wound up directing and re-titling it King’s Highway.

What became of Finding the Way? As much as I loved the story and the characters, I placed it aside to
pursue those other projects. I felt like its time had passed, and I stored it away in a file cabinet. 

 

The early 2000's were hectic and full of potential. Within a five year span, I wrote and directed King's Highway, we bought a house, Jacob was born and I sold another script.

The life changing moment in our lives was the day Jacob was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). When you’re told that your newborn child has a life threatening illness, your outlook on the world becomes radically different. His well being becomes priority number one. This is one reason I began working at Cartoon Network. The company offered stability and health benefits, in addition to the opportunity for growth.

I felt limited in what I could do to help spread the word about CF, a relatively unknown disease, and how to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Running a marathon became a way to get people's attention and raise money. Around this time, I discovered a new way the Internet was allowing people to communicate and express themselves, something called "web logging." It sounded like a cool way
to keep family and friends up to date on my marathon training, as well as providing information on Jacob's health. And so, I began blogging.

My first blog was strictly about my training. I kept it for three years. When my body finally told me to "cut this shit out" and quit running. When I began THUNDERBOLT, I created "Basement Songs," the periodic column about the songs that were essential to my life. It was through “Basement Songs” that
I met Jeff Giles, Jason Hare, and several other wonderful bloggers who were supportive of my writing and my family’s pursuit of finding a cure for CF. When Jeff approached me about becoming a charter member of the Popdose group staff, I didn't hesitate. I brought along "Basement Songs," and published my
personal stories for over 100 weeks.

A couple years after "Basement Songs" began running, I was in a conversation with a family friend. At the time she was a junior editor at Simon & Schuster in their Young Adult division. She, too, was a fan of "Basement Songs," so when I remarked that I'd always thought about writing a novel (which is true), she said, ''If you ever have anything, I'd be glad to read it.''

I took her words to heart. For two months I worked on adapting one of my more recent screenplays, the story of a teenage girl with a sibling who has CF, into a novel. I wrote about fifty pages before I hit a wall. If I'm being honest, I wasn't prepared to write about cystic fibrosis just yet, not the way this character me needed me to. However, I didn't want to give up. I really wanted to try my hand at prose. I had nothing to lose. In need of a story about teenagers, I went into my files and pulled out that old script of mine. I decided to adapt Finding the Way into a novel. 

 

I began adapting it in the spring of 2010. I discovered that my train rides to and from work were my favorite times to write. The 45 minutes there in the morning, and the 45 minutes returning home gave me enough time to write 8 - 10 pages at a time. The year I spent writing the first draft of the book was the most enjoyable and freeing 12 months I'd ever spent as a writer. For the first time in my life, I didn't give a damn about what anyone was going to think about my work. I kept telling myself, "This is an experiment. I'm a screenwriter, not a novelist." I believe it was that lack of concern that allowed me to be so loose and to write so fast. I've been chasing that feeling ever since.

I completed the first draft around Thanksgiving of that year. Now entitled Legendary, I sent it to our friend  at Simon & Schuster. At Christmastime, we met for coffee to discuss the book's potential. She had general notes on how to make the book better, and felt that it was worth pursuing. Her two biggest suggestions were 1) changing the time period from the 1980s to the present day. This way, the
book might have a better chance of getting read, and I might get a literary agent. And 2) reducing the number of main characters/narrators. In adapting the screenplay, I'd come up with seven different narrators for Legendary. The book may have captured the ensemble feel of a Paul Thomas Anderson film, but it was hard to follow.

I had no problem with any of what she said. On the spot I decided I would rewrite the book to follow the love triangle that made up one third of Legendary (the other two stories might make it into another book someday. Who knows?) The feedback I received got me excited to dive back into the text.

Throughout 2011, I revised, revised, revised. Some writers hate the editing process, but I find it thrilling. It's like a puzzle and you're trying to find the exact word or phrase to fit the sentence or paragraph. Maybe you cut entire passages, things you love, but it's all for the betterment of the book.

By the end of 2011, I had completed the new version of Legendary. My friend reread it and was enthusiastic. She even offered to submit it to her bosses, and to allow me to use her name in some of the query letters I sent to literary agents. This was how I knew that she wasn't just paying me lip service that Legendary was pretty good. If she was afraid that Legendary would have embarrassed her, she wouldn't have offered what she did.

I did the query routine, sending the book to a long list of agents. Unfortunately I was turned down by all. Maybe I shouldn't say that, but I'm not ashamed. That's part of the game, right? Rejection is how an artist grows. I actually received some very kind feedback from several agents. Most of them really liked the character of Allison (one even suggested rewriting the book entirely from her point of view), but almost all of them said that trying to get a book with a male protagonist as the central character would be too difficult.

It was disappointing, to say the least, but I didn't let it get me down. The experience of writing Legendary gave me the confidence to continue writing prose. For the second time in its life, Finding the Way, now known as Legendary, was put to sleep in a file cabinet, or rather a hard drive.

In 2012, while sending out all of those queries, I self-published Basement Songs, the book that collected some of my favorite posts from Popdose (but you know that because you're here and you own a copy, right?). In editing that book, I pretty much put to rest the "Basement Songs" column. It had run its course. I attempted two other columns for Popdose, "Scotty's Jukebox," which was supposed to be a look at all things pop culture, and "Goin' Country," an attempt at exploring country music. Neither gained traction. Or rather, neither got me thrilled the way "Basement Songs" used to do.

As 2014 began, I started thinking about what I wanted to write for Podose in the coming year. I was working on two spec TV pilots and a feature length screenplay, but these things wouldn't work on Popdose. Then it struck me: What if I published Legendary as a serial novel on the site? The book was complete, so I wouldn't have to worry about writing deadlines, and I could include music, like I did with "Basement Songs." But what music? And would a contemporary teen driven story connect with Popdose's audience.

Then I thought, "What if I returned the story back to its 80s roots?"

Within days, I worked out the details with Jeff and began revising the novel. I made 10 separate playlists of songs to include in the posts. And I came up with the idea to include original art with each chapter.  There may not have been writing deadlines, but I have a spreadsheet charting everything that needs to be done for this summerlong project.

You know what? I'm stoked. In placing the story back in its original time period, I believe Legendary got better. For anyone who read the original final draft, this story will be familiar, but different in enough ways that I think you'll get a kick out of it. Plus, it has music and art, people, music and art!

So that's the general backstory about Legendary. I could write more, but the history isn't important, not in this case. What's important is that Legendary is out there, and that you enjoy reading it throughout the summer.