Just about time to move on

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It was quite an effort, but the rewrite-polish of the fantasy-comedy is complete. It’s currently out to a a few readers, so there’ll probably be one more touch-up draft. Maybe two.

Quick aside. I found a handful of typos after I’d sent it to the readers – as one does – so did a frantic last-second fix pass, which brought it in at 99 pages. The readers have the pre-edit draft, which is 100 pages.

But back to our top story.

After the next draft or two, this door will for the most part be closed.

There’s a chance it’ll be entered in Austin and PAGE next year, but even those are maybes. Guess it depends on how I feel about it following this next batch of notes.

Like all of my scripts, this one has been a labor of love, plus a lot of toil, sweat, and seemingly endless rewrites. I’m incredibly proud of how it turned out, and extremely grateful for all the fantastic feedback it’s received over the years.

But in all honesty I’m starting to feel a little burned out on it. Several colleagues have said it’s strong enough now, so any additional work isn’t necessary and could even have the opposite effect. No argument there.

And if somebody comes along and wants to buy it or make it or what have you, I’m open to discussions.

I had coffee with a long-time connection this past weekend, and he asked “So what are your plans for next year?” Apart from working on the action-comedy, I’m honestly not sure. I have a few ideas, but nothing grabs me at the moment.

It also might depend on how things go with the scripts currently out to potentially interested parties. No idea how any of them will go, but also not counting on them. Whatever happens, happens.

-Some good news for my short film SHECKY. After several disappointing “Not Selected” decisions, it received Honorable Mention for one festival, semifinalist in another, and Official Selection for one down in Los Angeles next month. Still have about 10 festivals to go, most of which will be next year.

-There’s still time to send in the info about your script to be included in the Maximum Z 2026 Script Showcase. All the details are right here.

Embrace the change

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After a slight delay, work has resumed on the fantasy-comedy rewrite. Averaging about 2-3 scenes for each writing session. If I keep this pace up, I might even wrap it up by the end of the month.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

A significant part of this rewrite is shifting the focus of each scene to make my protagonist more active and have her be the one moving things forward. More than a few times it’s involved having a scene play out from her perspective rather than that of another character. Some of these are proving to quite challenging, so I’m doing what I can.

Also factoring into this is forcing myself to let go of how the scene was before and making whatever changes are needed. This can be kind of tough because I initially think the scene is good enough as is and don’t want to overdo the tinkering.

But if it’s going to get better, some degree of tinkering is needed, if not a necessity.

Once I accepted that and started actually doing it, things got a little easier. And because the new version works better, I’m not missing how it was before. The changes that have been implemented are a better fit overall, so anything from previous drafts is left by the wayside.

I’m trying to be better about approaching the rewrite process so each draft is noticeably different (and stronger) than its predecessor, and not “I’ve rearranged the furniture in a slightly different configuration”.

Further proof that no matter how long you’ve been writing, there’s always something new to learn.

-A friendly reminder that the window to submit your script’s info for The Maximum Z 2026 Script Showcase is open through Thursday Dec 17, so don’t put it off for too long. All the details here.

-I’m putting together a list of movie, TV show, and book recommendations to include in the last episode for 2026 of my podcast The Creative Writing Life. Just one from each category, please. Those can be sent here.

A variety pack of fun-size treats

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Several shorties in one convenient package for today’s day-before-Halloween installment

-The rewrite/polish of the fantasy-comedy continues. Taking it more or less one scene at a time. Several recent sets of notes made a good point about the protagonist needing to be more active than reactive, so that’s part of the current focus. It’s been quite an exercise in figuring out how she can be the one moving things forward in each scene. So far, so good.

An unexpected bonus has been more of how her arc and that of the antagonist are the proverbial “opposite sides of the same coin”. Always nice when I discover how much I’ve inadvertently laid a foundation for this sort of thing.

Biggest challenge now is incorporating the numerous subplots, but I’m confident I can make it work.

– I recently had the opportunity to do my Screenwriting 101 presentation for two separate writing groups. Both were warmly received by the writers in attendance, and I even got to sell a few of my Go Ahead And Ask books. I really enjoy doing this and will look into opportunities to do it at writing conferences.

-If you get the chance to see WILDWOOD on the big screen, do so. It is a truly amazing film, and don’t let the fact that it’s stop-motion animation turn you off. This is definitely one of those “you have to see it in a theater”-type of movies. And it can be a little dark at times, so probably not very suitable for small children.

-Submissions are still open for The Maximum Z 2026 Script Showcase, so don’t wait until the last minute to send in your script’s info.

Scripts Wanted! (specifically Yours)

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Are you a writer with a script for film or TV and are looking for the right venue to put that material in the proverbial spotlight for the world to see – at absolutely no cost to you?

Or are you a writer looking to check out some exceptional work from other writers – both those you know and those you don’t?

No matter what kind of writer you are, you should definitely consider being part of…

The Maximum Z 2026 Script Showcase!

The Showcase is a collection of the basic information about film and TV scripts, including the writer’s email* in case something piques somebody’s interest and they want to contact the writer directly to ask about reading it.

The Showcase will post on Friday, December 18, so you have until Thursday, December 17 to send the following information here with the subject line “Maximum Z 2026 Script Showcase”.

Format – (film, TV, shorts, webseries, verticals)

Title

Writer(s)

Genre

Logline

Comps

Awards – (if any, limit of 5) Please list how you placed, what year, and what competition (e.g. Second Rounder, 2025 Austin Film Festival)

Your email

–

Here’s the 2025 edition to see what the whole thing looks like.

Two absolutely non-negotiable conditions:

ONLY ONE SCRIPT PER PERSON

and

DO NOT SEND THE SCRIPT!

Previously-listed scripts are okay, but new material is highly encouraged.

Also very important – PROOFREAD ALL YOUR INFO. We are not responsible if your listing has typos.

Once the Showcase posts, there will also be links to it on several social media platforms for reposting as part of your own self-marketing efforts.

The window to send your script’s info here is officially open, and the deadline to do so is Thursday, December 17.

Thanks, and looking forward to seeing your script be part of it.

*Earlier this year an unscrupulous individual used email addresses from previous Showcases to contact writers offering a “script promotion service”, which of course included a fee. If you receive any emails of this nature, they are in no way connected to or affiliated with Maximum Z. Delete them immediately.

I’ve quite a challenge ahead

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With the first draft of the action-comedy out of the way, attention now turns to a rewrite of the fantasy-comedy, prompted by a few sets of recently-received and very thorough notes on it.

Each set boiled down to the same points:

-the story works

-good, solid characters

-the jokes hit (but maybe fine-tune them a little)

-biggest takeaway – this doesn’t need a major overhaul or significant rewrite; more reworking most of Act Two and the start of Act Three to put more emphasis on the protagonist and her journey

That sounds like a lot, and I agree.

Fortunately, the notes also included an incredibly helpful suggestion: create a scene map from the start of Act Two to around the middle of Act Three. Then label each scene by the one thing that materially changes. They included a list of six applicable options from which to choose; sort of a “which one best applies here?” It’s a really cool idea.

The scene map is done, so now it’s all about determining the proper label for each scene. I suspect there may also be some revising/overhauling of a few of those as part of the process.

This set of notes also added in the sterling advice of “Ask of every sequence: what becomes impossible to return from after this?” That really resonated for me, and will also add to keeping things moving forward.

Based on a friend’s notes, there should also be a change in how the protagonist goes about achieving her goal and – very important – making her the one driving the action. She needs to be more active than reactive.

This one feels especially challenging, but taking it one scene at a time, along with the potential changes listed above, may be the strongest approach. The biggest hurdle will probably be rewriting scenes to put more of the focus on my protagonist and show how she’s moving things forward, along with the aforementioned change.

It certainly seems that the number of moving parts involved is increasing – for the better.

There were also some very helpful comments about other important components, including emphasizing the “two sides of the same coin” aspect of the protagonist-antagonist connection, and tightening things up to enhance the momentum of the read.

This rewrite really feels like it’s going to be a major one, so time to step up my writing and storytelling skills.

I’ve got dragons to slay. Wish me luck.