Calling Doug Ellin - HBO's Entourage

Yes I read blogs. Hundreds of them. I have to keep up on the Hollywood scene and can't always get the direct word of mouth stuff.

One of the blogs I regularly check out - That Other Blog reported today that HBO's Entourage next season, which would normally be starting now, pushed back until next September.

(Image of Entourage Cast Members with Creator/Chief Writer Doug Ellin - 2nd from left - DailyCeleb.com - all rights reserved).

Even more disturbing, the season might be short one or more episodes (12 instead of 14).

Why? The fallout from the writers strike has prevented show creator (and chief writer) Doug Ellin from having all the episodes ready for shooting.

When interviewed about Entourage Doug Ellin replied "I'm writing as fast as I can" to get to the 14 episodes.

Doug's comment was an AHA moment for me. Although I don't have the responsibility of a TV show on my back (I can't even imagine what pressures script writing might entail) I totally understand Doug's comment of "writing as fast as I can".

I have that issue almost constantly at HairBoutique.com and for the many magazines I write monthly columns for.

At HB.com I am constantly bombarded with requests for new articles for the site, blog entries (from the pushy HB IT guys) and my marketing guru (the one with the white streak of a car) for brand new fresh "stuff" for our weekly newsletters.

Yes....other people can write at HairBoutique.com BUT for some reason I was born with my writing ability stuck on 100 MPH. I have always been able to literally sit down at a keyboard, take a deep breath and just let my brain connect with the keys bypassing everything else. I write so much and so fast that I have literally worn off the keys on several keyboards over the years.

My first writing gig? The little newspaper that my grade school English teacher created when I was in 7th grade. I actually wrote weekly columns about sports and music. And yes, it was a blast from the first minute I turned in my first column. I did do some newspaper writing in high school but didn't really turn up the writing trottle to full speed until I was in college.

Even though I have literally been turning out 2-3 brand new HB articles (not to mention blog entries, newsletters & catalog entries) per day for the past 3 weeks, the team are saying...more, more, more and faster, faster, faster. UGH!

I am writing so much stuff that three times this week the servers have run out of disk space. So while one of the HB.com IT guys says...Karen please blog, blog, blog...the other IT guys says....Karen, do you honestly have to write so darn much stuff and does it always need images and photos? And of course, all of the IT guys complain that I am adding too many new images to the HB hairstyle galleries which is now approaching 20,000 entries.

Sheessshhhh!!!!

But then there is the issue that I am trying to run a company at the same time. So on a typical day I sit in my office at HB.com with the door locked so I can multi-task....attempt to write an article, have a business conference call, attempt to write a blog, talk to my Karen Marie manufacturer about new materials for the Fall lines...attempt to write another blog....deal with day to day business issues....and on and on.

Meanwhile my cell phone keeps blowing up and people keep knocking on the door and I get really crabby. And I do mean really really crabby. Constant interruptions are worse than Chinese water torture...as least to me anyway.

Does Doug Ellin go through this? I wonder. He has a lot more at stake then me. He has a ton of actors, an entire network and hundreds of thousands of fans. I can not even begin to imagine the pressues.

What works for me? I have learned that I do my best writing from midnight until 6:00 am. Also, if I really need to get something finished in a hurry.....locking myself up in my house where no one can get to me....I have guard dogs, cats and heavy blinds...works every time.

Yes, I admit I am a sloppy writer. I may be fast as lightening but not so good at the editing parts. Thank heavens I have a few of those brilliant editing folks hanging around helping to wipe up my messy grammar and fix my less than perfect spelling.

Doug Ellin...wherever your are....I feel your pain. So now go out and write faster because I am addicted to Entourage and can't wait to see some new episodes.