Month: April 2011

Tough, but not impossible

Maximum Z Dreamship, Nicholl Fellowship, outlines, screenwriting

Taking on this rewrite has made me done something I haven’t done in quite a long time.

I am really approaching this with the intent of almost completely starting over from scratch.  The last time something even got near this level of difficulty was when I went through the Chinese restaurant script page-by-page with my then-manager.  But even then the suggestions were “make this funnier” or “tighten this up”.

Using my ScriptQuack notes as a starting point, I’m writing down what scenes I have from a previous draft of DREAMSHIP and changing each one as necessary.  Surprisingly, making those changes may not be as daunting a task as I originally thought.  Still challenging, though.

Hoping to have a more solid first act by week’s end, then once again into the abyss of Act Two.

I have doubts about having a draft I’m satisfied with by the Nicholl deadline, but I’d rather take my time and make this as perfect as possible than rush through it and send in something not good enough.

Ugh.

Maximum Z Dreamship, Nicholl Fellowship, screenwriting

I hardly got any work done on DREAMSHIP today. Just a day in, and I’m already running late.

This cannot continue.  Focus, boy, focus!

Putting a positive spin on this, I was at least able to fill in the plot points.  Not what I was hoping for, but it’s something.

No Movie of the Moment tonight. Inadvertently watched all of RED last night.  Could have been a little shorter, but still fun.

Up next: THE WALKING DEAD, Season One.  K likes zombies, I like Darabont. Everybody wins.

First step up the mountain

Maximum Z comic books, Dreamship, Filmsack.com, Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, ScriptQuack, Wondercon

I finally read through my DREAMSHIP notes from the fine folks at ScriptQuack.  Very impressive.  They did a great job of letting me know what the script needs to improve.

So with just under a month to go before the Nicholl deadline, I’m taking their suggestions and trying to rebuild this thing from the ground up.  I had a feeling it may be an extensive rewrite, and I was right.  There’s a lot that has to change.

It’s not insurmountable, but I will call it formidable.  This is really going to require a daily effort.  I think I can get through Act One by the end of this week, then really concentrate on Act Two, where most of the rewriting is necessary.  Act Three I’m still figuring out.

-Final comment on Wondercon.  Fun as usual.  I got to see it from both the Dad and Casual Comic Geek perspectives.  For the former, that involved stopping at all the video game booths, looking for Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and commenting on anything and everything V saw.  Since we went on Friday, it wasn’t that crowded. Overall, a good time.

I returned Sunday with my pal Neil. We usually spend less time among the vendors and focus more on the self-publishers and independents. They’re always more interesting anyway.  I may not be crazy about some of the subject matter, but there’s a certain charm to them and their work. It’s really great to see somebody doing what they love, and a lot of them have a lot of talent.

Even better, you don’t have to wait for hours on end to get an autograph or tell them you like their stuff, and they seem happy to talk to you.  I’ve always tried to support the little guy.

Movie of the Moment:  We watched THE EXPENDABLES last night. Mega-cheesy throwback to the 80s.  Stallone wrote and directed it.  From a writer’s perspective, it could have used a few more rewrites.

I was expecting it to be more mission-centric, but it just dragged and took forever to get to the interesting parts.  K said this would be a perfect Filmsack movie.  I agree.

Tonight we started RED. SO much better.  But it’s Warren Ellis, so I’d expect nothing less.

Steppin’ in and takin’ charge

Maximum Z screenwriting, writing group

A friend of mine from the writing group had dinner with us last ngiht. We’ve known each other for about ten years, more or less.

Part of why we met was because even when the original group we were part of shrank to just the two of us, we still made an effort to meet on a semi-regular basis.

Since becoming part of this more recent group, the meetings were happening less and less frequently. I think the last time was in February. Meeting times kept changing, people couldn’t make it for one reason or another, so get-togethers were always being postponed or canceled altogether.

It didn’t help that the woman organizing it felt that there had to be at least 4 people or it wasn’t worth meeting at all. As somebody who enjoys getting and giving feedback, I’d rather meet with at least one other person than not meet with anybody.

I tried contacting her last week, but have yet to hear back.  I’m sure she’s been busy.  It’s happened before.

But it’s time for drastic action.

I’m taking the initiative and going to invite the group over on an every-other-week basis. If they can make it, great. If not, that’s okay too.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who really benefits from these meetings, so hopefully steering the group in this direction will be good for everybody.

My friend and I also discussed that the group as it was had been helpful to a certain extent. People would have constructive criticism and feedback, but weren’t being supportive about it. You’d hear “This needs to be fixed” instead of “There’s some potential here. What if…?”

I’m not talking about false praise. Without positive support and encouragement, it’s easy for a writer to lose focus and get off track.

The writing group should be a comfortable situation where everybody works together to make each person a better writer.  It also helps if it’s fun; people should want to be there.

Fingers crossed hoping for positive results.