War (copyright 2014 Alan Riehl) From my short story compilation Levels

It's not often that I have a short story short enough to put in my blog.  I really like War, because it has something that I am a major fan of in any story...a twist.  The link http://www.amazon.com/Levels-Alan-Riehl/dp/1477542051, takes you to amazon.com if you want to buy my short story compilation, Levels.  I don't usually sale my wares in my blog, but war is free for you to read here.  If you like it, please let me know.

Another one of the short stories from Levels has been submitted to the L. Ron Hubbard Writer of the Future contest.  Labels.  Thanks.  I promise a regular blog next time. :)  Maybe.  Alan Riehl

WAR

BASTARDS! Everywhere I look, everyone around me is getting killed!  I know it's war.  You have to expect this kind of thing when you wage war against an enemy that has more power than you.  We didn't start the war though, but I guarantee that we will end it.

I don't even remember how it started; all I know is that once it began, I lost my family and friends.  We're hungry!  Why would we be slaughtered simply because we are looking for food?  What kind of barbarians would kill without question or reason?  We wouldn't.  We eat what we find and they don't make it any easier.  We didn't ask to be starving.  We didn't ask to be where we are.  We just want to live.  Is that too much to ask?  It must be. 

They slaughter us when they see us for fear that we will take their food.  It reminds me of the brutal acts that happen all of the time in the name of survival.  We had to team up with the Germans to make a difference.  The Germans are amazing.  They see something and take it!  They are ruthless and relentless and in this war that's exactly what we need.  The Americans still don't trust them but we need them right now.  This war is too big for us to take on the enemy by ourselves.

The enemy is strong.  They use chemical weapons and traps of all kinds to kill us where we stand.  Luckily for us they have no clue as to how many of us there are.  We are everywhere and can be hidden if we so desire.  We are non violent by nature towards those more powerful then us.  We have been forced to turn cannibalistic to eat.  That's how bad it is.  No war has kept us fighting this long.  No one really knows, or probably cares, how or when it began.  Like I said, we didn't start it. 

We would have never even bothered with them had they just left us alone.  Is wanting to feed your family a reason to kill us?  I really don't understand how they can just kill without trying to communicate with us.  They capture some of us and then run all kinds of horrible tests on us.  A lot of us never survive those tests.  I guess they want to learn about how to make a stronger weapon against us.  I wish someone would try to talk to us.  Our greatest minds can't conceive what drives them.  This is the worst kind of prejudice.

They call us barbaric as they slaughter us by the thousands for no apparent reason.  I managed to pick up the trail of those responsible for the last attack.  I know I shouldn't go alone, but our numbers are depleting and we can't spare the bodies.  The majority have to search for food.  Food.

It's always food!  Why is it always about food?  Can we help it that we don't know anything about farming or making our own food?  Can we be blamed that no one ever taught us to do anything but scavenge and reproduce?    We try to seek out help but no one will listen to our pleas.  We are forced to live underground.  We don't get all of the fancy domiciles that "they" get.  We have no skills.  We have nothing.

Destroy!  That's the only thing they know how to do.  Well we've had it!  I am tracking the people responsible for wiping us out without a thought.  It's easier to travel at night because we have camouflage for specifically the darker hours.  I'm not the tracker that I once was, but it started to come back to me. 

I can't believe that they would say time and time again how much we all looked alike.  Racist bastards!  I can't sit back and take it anymore.  We've lost so many.  They have lost no one.  What kind of a war is this?   How can one side lose thousands upon thousands and the other side have no casualties at all?  The time for reasoning is over.  The time for our leaders to come up with a solution is over.  The time for complete annihilation is here. 

The Germans have caused the most damage because they have infiltrated the very homes of these killers and taken over.  They have destroyed and violated them to the very core of their existence.  Why can't we be that organized?   Even with the Germans helping us, still no causalities on their end. 

I am tracking the army that is responsible for the latest slaughter.  My only communication is short wave and we can't spare anyone for recon missions anymore.  No one ever comes back.  I'm coming back. 

I wait patiently as I see where their leader is going.  This is the man that has the power to destroy us.  This is the man that supplies the chemical weapons and makes sure that we are all exterminated.  It's actually rather funny that we survived the holocaust.  The Germans are on our side. 

We always survive.  That's what we know how to do despite the fact that our numbers are frighteningly low.    One man is responsible for the decimation of my faction.  It really doesn't seem possible.  I see his home.  The place where he feels secure.  The Germans haven't been here yet.  He's ready.  He's always ready.

I work my way to the window and peer inside.  I see his beautiful home.  I can see the kitchen from here. Look at all of the food!  That could support my whole regiment with what I see!  Unbelievable. 

This is the man who orchestrated the obliteration of my team, my friends, my family, my wife.  It's my turn now.  I'll start with his wife and then him.  I position myself at the window where I can be seen, but not by him.  I want his wife to see me.

It's hard to get her attention without getting his attention.   I know I can find a way inside.  I always do.  She is preparing his meal.  She is moving back and forth from the window near me to the kitchen.  I am thinking two, no, three jumps ahead.  I know as soon as she sees me I won't have a lot of time to get inside.

I move back and forth outside the window for some time trying desperately to get her attention.  Then luck smiles upon me as he walks up to her and I can only assume they are talking.  His back is to me and she is facing me.  They are only about 20 feet away from me.  It's now or never!

I jump up once and I seemed to have gotten her attention as I could see her quickly look around him to see what caught her eye.  I jump again and again.  I see her face as she has a look of horror once she realizes just how close I am to them.  She puts her hand over her mouth and he rushes towards the front door.  I make my break for the front door as well.  There are plenty of places that I could hide in by the front door to allow me a chance to sneak inside once the door is open.

I hide behind a bush as I see the front door fly open.  He is ready to kill.  He has his chemical weapon ready as he runs over to the window I had just been at moments before.  The fool left the door open.  It was slowly closing on its own as I make a mad lunge for it.  I didn't want to give his wife any reason to look towards the front door and I had no idea if she was waiting at the entrance for his return.  I would have to take that chance.

I knew that if I confronted her, I would have to take her out of the equation as well.

I dove right in as the door closed behind me.  I looked all around without moving; wondering if she saw me.  I could see her frantically looking out of the window I was just at.  I smiled to myself.  I had made it inside the leader's house!

What an accomplishment!  An accomplishment that will go unnoticed.  Usually when a soldier makes this kind of an accomplishment it happens when he's on a suicide mission.  I knew that the possibility of me coming back from this mission was a long-shot.  I know that no one will know how close I came unless I can exterminate the leader and his wife.  Never has so much been on my back.  I could feel the weight of the world crushing me with this amount of responsibility.  It had to be done.

I raced towards the kitchen and hugged the wall as best I could.  I could see the woman standing at the window looking at her spouse trying to find me.  HAHA!  Don't they realize that my kind has been doing this for generations?  If they really knew how many of us were out there, they would rethink, well, everything! 

This is the moment of revenge!  This is the time to avenge all of the thousands of deaths that he is responsible for!  First the woman, so he can watch her die.

I must admit that I am bigger than most of my kind.  I was born for this. It seemed like everything started going in slow motion from that point forward.  I ran towards the woman just as I saw her turn around with a look of horror that I will remember the rest of my days; however many that will be.  Just then he saw me through the window and made a dash for the door to get back inside!  I knew my time was now!

I ran full speed at her as she fell against the wall, frightened beyond belief at what I am obviously capable of doing to her, no doubt.  Her screams were music to me as I was so close now.

I never realized they were this big up close...

SPLAT!!!

The man now stands over his frightened wife as he helps her to her feet.  They embrace as he moves her away from the scene. The man looks down at his shoe as he lifts it up and sees the remains of a very squashed and very large cockroach covering more than half of the bottom of his sole. 

"Damned roaches.  I must have killed a thousand of those things just this year alone." He grimaces as he wipes his shoe off with a tissue he grabbed from one of the end tables.

His wife embraces him again as she smiles.  "If it wasn't for those 'damned roaches', we wouldn't be able to live in our wonderful house.  They pay for us to live comfortably."

"Yeah.  I guess you're right."

The man smiles as he rubs the back of his neck.  We move out through the front window and see a van parked in the carport.  It has a magnetic sign on the driver’s side door with a logo of a roach on its back and the words:  Faraday Exterminators.

We see something under one of the tires.  As we look closer, it appears to be a roach right by the thickest part of the tread.  It appears to be looking towards the house.  As we get closer still, we see the roach as close as we would dare.  The antennae moving in the direction of the house.  As we get a close up on the mouth, one would easily mistake this look as a smile.

The war wages on my friend.  You think this is over and yet we are legion.  You kill us with your chemicals and yet we are still everywhere.  You underestimate our numbers.  We will be the last thing you ever see...

The war wages on indeed.  As we now see a total bird's eye view of the street in front of the Exterminator's house. There is movement from tiny creatures coming from everywhere.  Tiny little bodies coming up from the sewers; out from under Garden Gnomes; out from holes in rock walls and from every dark spot you can imagine.  All converging onto one lone house at the end of the street. 

The age old battle begins anew...Levels by Alan Riehl amazon.com

Hi. Remember me?

There is nothing harder than to find time to write my blog.  Well, okay, there are harder things.  Maybe I should say, there is nothing harder to remember than to write a blog.

I have been extremely busy ghost writing for several authors.  Riehl Faith Productions is doing great and we even have to hire some Independent Contractors for writing and editing, because Kathryn and I are loaded with work.  If you're in the Las Cruces, New Mexico area and would like to be a part of something huge, please send writing and/or editing samples to alanriehl@hotamail.com

One more plug.  I will be teaching two writing classes this June!  Introduction to Novel Writing and Introduction to Screenwriting will be held at the East Mesa Campus of Dona Ana Community College.  Follow this link http://www.riehlfaithproductions.com/   to follow another link to sign up.  The next classes I do will be online.  Hindsight is 20/20. Deadline is June 4, 2014.  While you're at our website, make sure you check out Kathryn's first book:  Flippy the Fly!  It's the first book in a series made to help Children with enunciation problems.

I'm halfway through and I realized that this is my catch-up blog.  I appreciate your patience and will try to be more regular.

While it's on my mind, I'd like to talk a little about writing from the heart.  I encourage all of you to write what you want and not what others are telling you write.  Unless of course, you are signed with a major publisher.  There is a world filled with advice-givers who you have to keep dodging to put out a marketable and a passionate piece of work.

It's all about the passion my friends.  If you don't feel it, your readers won't feel it.  I believe I've mentioned it before, but when I kill a character in one of my novels, I get choked up and sometimes even shed a tear.  That's what I'm talking about.

I've also seen a lot of authors giving up after having published only a couple of books.  Let me tell you something and then I'll leave you wondering when my next blog will come out.  Unless you've written something and tried to sell it, you have no idea how hard it is.  Writing it's a life changing event that will seep into your soul and take over any other career choices you might consider.  It also calls for sacrifice.  There are no short cuts and no easy path to making a living as a writer.  I am blessed enough to be able to call writing my daytime job, but remember one important fact...I'm succeeding by writing for other people.

I could put my time and blood into writing for myself and maybe someday I will have that time, but for now I am glad to be working.

I guess my advice would be:  Don't be too proud or think that you're too good to write for anyone.  Don't overlook all possibilities and don't ever give up...ever.  Did I say ever?  No one can stop you but you.

I don't push myself to my limits, because I don't believe I have any. Yeah, you can use it.

 It may take you years or even decades to get where you want to be.  It took me about 8 years and I'm still growing.  Don't ever think you know everything.  That's my last bit of advice for today.

God bless and Happy Memorial day Weekend.  Never forget the ones who sacrificed their lives for our country!   Alan Riehl Riehl Faith Productions CEO/CFO/Head Writer

FOCUS! (FYI this is not about writing!)

I would introduce myself, but who I am is as unimportant to this column as knowing which on-air personality is at your favorite radio station’s live remote. I’m not saying I’m not important, because my wife would say otherwise. I am saying that the message is more important than the messenger. This column is for the local and national events that hit home for us on a community, state and personal level. It should be about the items that you deem important and most importantly, it should be local. What is a strong community without a strong community column?

My focus today is asking you what our focus should be. Should it be on the man or woman behind the column? Not to sound rude, but there are search engines to find out these things. Email addresses are also great ways to satiate your curiosity.

Our focus can sometimes be blurred by what I like to call the Media Shell Game. With few exceptions like the Baby Briana case where the name of the victim is, and should be remembered, we have a tendency to focus on the person or persons committing whatever heinous act that we see in the media. We should be focusing the victims.

Last Wednesday’s Las Cruces Sun News featured a story on Heather Abbott. Who? Heather Abbott lost part of her leg as a result of the Boston Marathon bombing. 8-old Martin Richard, 29-year old Kyrstle Campbell, graduate student Lu Lingzi, and MIT officer Shawn Collier. All killed. Over 250 injured. Maybe the national media needs to take a few lessons from local media. Sandy Hook. The Boston Marathon bombing. Heck, even 9-11! We see too much about the antagonists and not enough about those left injured or dead by acts of violence. The victims aren’t always just the people lost to us. What about the families and loved ones who have lost the one thing in life that is irreplaceable.

If you have had a loved one taken from you in an act of violence, I know that the last thing you want to see plastered all over the television is the person or persons responsible. A constant reminder that the villain gets to become infamous while we mourn a life that should have never been taken. The antagonist gets to be a star with possible movie deals and a reality show. Remember Nancy Kerrigan? Her one timer attacker now has a cushy job on a TRUTV show about stupid criminals. A constant paycheck is how we reward the wicked, and they know it. Another killer was the subject of a TV movie starring Mark Harmon. Can you name one of his victims? The killer not Harmon. Even fictional serial killers are glorified now with new TV shows featuring characters from Psycho and Silence of the Lambs. Let’s not forget the popular Showtime series that has even sucked me into the world of a likable killer.

When we as a society stop giving in to our dark side, then maybe the villains’ fame will end. If you’ve noticed I haven’t mentioned even one of the names of any of these killers, fictional or otherwise. Not to sound rude, but there are search engines to find out these things.

You can't handle Change!!!!!

Change is one major constant in our lives.  One constant is that most of us don't like.  It's nice and safe with a lot of repetition.  It's familiar, like an old friend.  That kind of familiarity has no place in Screenwriting.  Seriously.

One of the many hats I wear is to turn novels into screenplays.  I take as much pride in my work as the Author takes in his or her novel.  There's nothing like being the proud parent of a 2 pound bouncing baby book.  The Author looks at that book (whether it's their first or their fifteenth) as if nothing could could better.  How about turning that book into a live-action motion picture?  HECK YEAH! 

The Author thinks how wonderful it would be for their baby to grow up and be on the big screen......exactly....the way.....they wrote it.

Good luck with that.  Read any of your favorite fiction books (most in non-fiction too) and then watch the movie that was made from it.  What's the most popular response by people who have read the book?  IT'S NOTHING LIKE THE BOOK!   Some folks may even say that it isn't quite like the book, which tells me that they probably didn't read the entire book.

FACT:  Most books will vary significantly from the novel from which they were adapted to the screenplay.  WHY?

Why can't you keep the exact same ingredients in the exact same order with the exact same everything?  Because even a 240 page book, if adapted "as-is" would end up being a healthy 6-8 hour movie.

As a screenwriter, it is my job to take the best elements of the novel and give them continuity on the big screen.  You have to decide what will be viable in a movie while still being true to the story line.  Sometimes, this isn't as easy as it sounds.

FACT: If you are an Author and are having your novel turned into a screenplay for the very first time, then you must allow your child to grow.

In the book Jumper, the mother was dead. In the movie, she was alive and well and working for bad guys.
In Jurassic Park, the many paged DNA explanation in the book was turned into a short cartoon in the movie. SPOILER ALERT: John Hammond dies in the book, but not the movie. There are more changes that were actually included in some of the movie sequels like the Aviary.

Once you've swallowed your pride and accepted change from the screenwriter, then comes the fun part.  The screenplay will change again with the director.
Unless the screenwriter and director have worked together many times, the director's vision will be different because he/she knows what shots are possible and what shots will have to change.

I have been involved with writing the screenplay and then rewriting to fit the director's vision.  It is a process.

If, as an author, you can't handle even the first step, then you will have a screenplay that will never sell.  Maybe you can get someone with a camcorder to film it.  Sounds harsh?  No.  You have to trust the screenwriter that they will help you to sell your script by giving Hollywood what it wants.  If you can come to a happy middle ground then that's okay as well.  When I write a screenplay, I take it seriously and look at it from a movie goer's perspective, a director's perspective, a producer's prospective, the original writer's perspective, and the character's perspective.  I want to make the author happy, but the best way to do that would be to write a screenplay that people want to pay big bucks for.

It's your dime, but I will suggest what I can to turn it from a cute idea into a money making venture for all concerned.

Let the screenwriter help your children grow....

Editing yours and other's work

You've just finished  the first draft of your screenplay, play, novel, etc. and you sigh with relief.  Unfortunately you forgot that the editor of your book is....you!  Now the editing.  YAY! What fun!  I am not much of a reader so editing is not my greatest joy in life.  I believe editing your own work is harder than editing someone else's.  Why?  I'm glad you ask.

One I've written a novel, I know what it's going to say, so I have a tendency to skim and overlook because I skim and overlook because I know the material.  Did you catch that?  Being that it is my material, I am so familiar with it that I read what I believe it states, without wanting to take into consideration that I may have made mistakes.  Sometimes it takes several times of re-reading to catch everything.  My first novel Angel Falls took at least 13 re-reads before I was satisfied.  When I write my short story compilation, Levels, it was a little bit easier because I edited each story as I finished it.  I still missed some things.  

What am I trying to say?  If you can avoid it DON'T EDIT YOUR OWN WORKS!!!!  It's time consuming and it will make you extremely paranoid as to just how many mistakes you can catch yourself.  I would suggest that if you know someone reliable who will do it for free, then recruit them.  I still edit some manuscripts and screenplays.  My Wife, Kathy is a wonderful editor and an avid reader.  She has a great eye for detail and I trust her with my works.  She has recently started editing  for other authors as well.  She does charge a fee, but you don't expect her to edit everyone else for free do you? :)  

When you edit other people's works you have no idea what you're going to get.  Here's a few example:

The writer who prefers to describe everything with so much detail that you almost forget important details about their book.

"The majestic Nightingale with the orange beak and claws of ashen grey, perched outside of Jenny's apartment window.  Nightingales are rare this time of year because of the migration patterns of the red headed ones.  Nightingales are not endangered and come in a lot of different varieties....(continues for four paragraphs).

Unless this is a book on birds...let it go.

The writer who prefers to leave the reader's imagination and you become lost in an instant.

"Jonathan sped down the highway in his car.  Alison looked frightened.  He looked straight up and saw the bat people chasing him.  He lept straight up and managed to catch a hold of Bengar the Bat King's leg.  Bengar flew off unaware that he had a passenger.  When Bengar landed, Jonathan used his karate to subdue him."

Several important details are left out like: Was the car a convertible? What happened to the car once he lept?  How close were the Bat People?  Leaping straight up from a moving automobile?  What happened to Alison?  How EXACTLY did Jonathan use his karate?  Bengar couldn't feel Jonathan hanging on? Etc.

The writer who is writing for the sheer joy of it and doesn't care of continuity, the laws of physics, or the reader.  

Most of the time, the writer mentioned last will get all kinds of crazy if you try to give them constructive criticism.  This is just like the previous example but graduates into the realm of WTF?

When editing someone else's work, you have to have an understanding of the plot, characters, and where the author wants to go in their story.  If you can't make heads or tails then neither will the reader.  It's up to you to not only decipher (sometimes) a mess, and it is also your responsibility to tell the writer what they are doing wrong.  It's best to read it over once before agreeing to edit so you can see just how big of a job it might be.  Don't be afraid to tell the author it's incomprehensible.  You can be tactful, but if you feel sorry for them, and you go light on the editing then not only are you doing them a disservice, but you are giving yourself a bad reputation as well.   Editing Non-Fiction is a lot harder because of all of the fact checking.

Take each work  case by case and hopefully you won't get trapped in a sea of crazy.  Enail me if you have any questions! Did you catch that? 

Critics

You slave away for possibly years on a work that now has your blood and sweat in every page.  You sacrifice family time and maybe even work time because you can't control when you're inspired.  You finally finish re-reading for the 27th time to make sure you have edited everything correctly.  You manage to work with your publisher on a great looking cover, after ditching the first 30 ideas.  You have your book published and now for the first time in a long while you can smile because you feel like you accomplished something you can take pride in.  Sales even start strong which  means that you start working on the sequel right away.  All is right with the world until.....

You hear from your publisher or a friend that there is a Critic who printed a review on your book.  The word review can be foreboding in itself.  Review? Someone that reads books for a living has read your new masterpiece?  What could they possibly think?  

They obviously think that it is as wonderful as the many who have purchased it.  They must sing the praises of the perfect characterization and intriguing sub-plots!  They must rejoice at how masterfully you pieced together the continuity and graphic details of each and every locale!  Surely, they must be in awe of the fact that you did not overuse the dictionary to describe your setting!  Of course they are mesmerized by the twists and turns that they themselves never saw coming?  Nice try.

Instead, they hammer your overuse of the word, "literally"; dissect the weak plot line;  and they skewer your predictable ending.  Welcome to the world of criticism!

If you're shocked when you get your first real review it's probably because most of the people that have been telling you how wonderful your book is, are most likely your family and close friends.  Don't get me wrong, maybe your book is really good.  You have to remember that the major critics are in bed with certain publishers, just like most major movie critics are in bed with certain movie studios so  they are biased.  That's probably not the case with your critic.  Maybe he or she is just taking an unbiased look at your masterpiece.

Either way, you need to look at negative criticism with enthusiasm.  Yes, I said enthusiasm.  You have the opportunity to see your work through someone else's eyes.  Someone's eyes who aren't related to you, or who haven't known you for the past twenty years.  They are using what I like to call "Reader's Eyes".

"Reader's Eyes" means reading the book, as any other reader who doesn't know you would read it.  When you receive constructive criticism, make sure that you actually listen to the criticism.  Maybe someone has noticed something that can help you in the future. Here's the important part: You have to read the criticism the same way the critic read your work.   Don't read what isn't there.  Don't read too much into it that you lose the intended meaning.  Don't dismiss it because you think the critic is stupid.  If you reject any criticism then you might as well give up writing because it tells me that you don't want to learn and you think you know more than anyone reading your work.

I always ask for honest feedback because I want to know what each person thinks.  These people took the time to spend their hard earned money to buy something that will possibly give you a great career.  They are taking the time to read the book that took so much of your time.  They need to be heard.

So encourage everyone to give you feedback and let them know that whether they liked your book or not, you need to hear their thoughts so you can improve as a writer.  I will always do this, no matter how popular my writing becomes; I suggest you do the same.

Rumors and who you are as a writer.

When you are just starting out as a writer in any genre, you will tend to be a victim of rumors.  What I call a rumor is more like unproven gossip about the writing process and how to get published (or selling your screenplay, TV script, etc).

Hearsay is a major contributor to pushing a writer off of their chosen path, especially if you tend to believe someone close to you.  "Well BLAH BLAH told me that they got an agent through BLAH BLAH agency and..."  Or..."SO and SO said that BLAH BLAH Publishers is taking submissions and they know someone on the inside."  etc, etc, etc...Always do your own research to avoid looking stupid.  Some people that tell you these things may not even be in "the business" and may have heard something on Entertainment Tonight that sounded cool.

You have to take charge of your writing future as soon as you start writing.  First, you have to decide whether you are going to be what I call the "Parental Writer".  This writer will love their own work so much that their "babies" will be made exactly the way they want them to be made or they won't be made.  Please realize that Hollywood can live without you.  ALL SCRIPTS WILL BE CHANGED!  What you hand to your agent or whomever will eventually be changed.  If the story is good then the changes will keep the story intact for the most part.

This would be where you have to decide if you want to write for writing's sake, or if you want to have a career.  If you just want to be a writer who writes for the simple pleasure of it without the pressure of trying to get it sold then more power to you.  If you want to sell your script, book, etc. then be prepared to possibly inserting dancing girls in the background while the Baghdad Museum blows up.  Maybe it won't be as drastic as that but I talked with one screenwriter who wanted to be a successful Hollywood writer.  He wrote a non-fiction book about the 2003 Baghdad Museum thefts.   Hollywood optioned his book to be made into a movie but they wanted the museum to blow up at the end.  He didn't want his "baby" changed in any way.  FACT: Even if somehow your script miraculously makes it to the Director without little to no changes (not possible but it's fun to think about it), the Director will have the best vision of how it will look on screen and how to make it so.  Your script then will go through some major changes while still leaving the plot intact.  My philosophy is do whatever they want you to do to make your movie; meanwhile your gaining contacts and saving money to make your other babies the way you want to without throwing out an ego to people who are known to eat egos for breakfast.   This is mainly for scripts and screenplays.

Rumor: YOU MUST DECIDE NOW! No.  Never make a decision when you're upset or confused.  Make sure you have all of the facts.  There's this wonderful thing called the Internet...

Rumor: YOU HAVE TO PAY TO GET PUBLISHED OR FIND AN AGENT: The real agents work on commission and will put you through the ringer just to get their attention.  Anyone who says they will represent you for a small fee up front is lying and will cheat you.  I know a few people who paid $4000 to an unmentioned book publisher.  This is mentioned as a marketing fee but they don't edit the book the way they say they will and you can get the exact same job done with an online free publisher.  My suggestions is publish with amazon.com because it's free, you design the cover, you set the price for the book, and you can add it free to the Kindle market.  Did I mention it's free?

Rumor:  I NEED TO HIRE AN EDITOR, AND SCREENWRITER(TO TURN MY BOOK INTO A MOVIE), AND THIS AND THAT...  No.  Although I created Riehl Faith Productions to do all of these things for you at a fraction of the cost anywhere else (including filming), you can do it yourself.  Is it hard?  Hell yes!  Will it be a longer project? Yep Will you save a heck of a lot of money and establish great new contacts while learning about the "biz" first hand?  You bet!  

How do you think I'm where I'm at now?  All self taught!!!  Shameless plug alert! Riehl Faith Productions offers:
screenwriting TV script writing, novels, comedy writing, (let's just say all writing for any genre)
filming movies, editing, all pre and post production
marketing and fundraising and all aspects with making a movie

Now if you want my company to do it all for you then that's okay, buuuuuuuuuuuuut....
1.) Buy software like Movie Magic which has templates for screenplays, plays, TV scripts and more for about 200.00.  Play with it for awhile and then begin writing!
2.)Google your butt off about what some organizations are looking for when it comes to screenplays, etc.  You do not ever want to submit anything to anyone who doesn't want it.
3.) Make friends with people who have actually been there and done that.  Their advice can be invaluable.
4.) Apply for jobs at TV stations.  Even if they don't hire you, your information is where they can reach it.
If you need anymore advice please feel free to email me.  God Bless.