The Cape

Keto vs. The Climb: Adventures from The Cape Writers Room

The Climb: that ever-stretching trail filled with unexpected detours, unforeseeable obstacles, and unmapped intersections. No matter how many others have ventured up the slope, the path remains overgrown, cluttered, and dangerous. The hiker has two options: hack through, or go home.

The summit? An ever-allusive peak from which one will "some day" pound their fists triumphantly into the air, scream "VICTORY!" and take in the panoramic view. At the summit, all will be worth it, and all will make sense.

So here I am, hiking boots strapped snugly to my feet, backpack with supplies slung across my back. A few nicks and scrapes decorate my dust-covered legs. Nothing serious; the climb has been good to me thus far. I take a moment to catch my breath, glancing dejectedly at the path ahead. I've been on this trail for a few years, but it's about to get a whole lot steeper.

My name is Keto Shimizu, and I am starting my first job in the career I've always wanted. Like the thousands of film school graduates who swarm around the Hollywood beehive, I came to Los Angeles with dreams of becoming a writer and director. I was lucky enough to land a nurturing internship which lead to employment. Job lead to other job, to other job, but it was not the type of work I yearned for.

I juggled the day job with a writing regimen, and finally wrote something good enough to get me into NBC's "Writers on the Verge" program. Thanks to the guidance, encouragement and persistence of the workshop and its mentors, I now find myself in a most surprising situation. I am now a staff writer on NBC's upcoming show, The Cape.

It is, from every angle, a dream come true. Not only is this my first writing job, it's also for a show that is absolutely perfect for me, a life-long comics and science fiction fanatic.

So here I am, mid-climb, incredibly excited about this next leg of the journey but also terrified of it. Do I really have what it takes to scramble up those looming boulders? Will I be able to scale that cliff, push through the interlocked brambles, and still have the energy to keep moving forward?

This is no longer just a day job. This is real, and with real comes, well, reality.

It's going to be an interesting journey, one that I plan on writing about from time to time. I hope my stories and observations give some insight into this fascinating vocation, and if nothing else offer some amusement for my fellow hikers.

The summit's up there somewhere. I don't know what it looks like, where it is, or how I'll find it, but I do know one thing: there's no turning back now.