Month: June 2012

You can’t rush this kind of thing

Maximum Z confidence, creativity, editing, feedback, Movie of the Moment, productivity, proofreading, rewrite, screenwriting, writing
Almost what being really productive feels like

We’ve all been there.  After countless hours of slaving away on a project, you’re closing in on finally being done. Hallelujah, the end is in sight! The urge to steamroll your way through whatever’s left and be done once and for all overwhelms you. That is an option, but it’s also one of the worst things you could do.

My work on the current polish/rewrite is about 20 pages from being done. While the ambitious part of me is ready to start researching professional script analysts, and maybe some agents and managers, the more rational part is saying “Hold on there, speedy.”  When I finish this draft, I’m going to go through it at least 2-3 more times with the proverbial fine-tooth comb, as well as get additional feedback from my trusted colleagues.  A fresh pair of eyes on something you’ve practically memorized by now can be extremely helpful.

Even during this current stretch, I’ve found a few story points that needed a little touching up and some typos here and there.  Nothing major, but I want to make sure everything is how it’s supposed to be. Even though all of this is pushing back the inevitable sending out, it’s more than worth it.

You’d think it would be common sense for somebody to make sure their work was as perfect as they can make it before submitting it to a professional. But this happens all the time.  There are countless tales of somebody reading a script and easily identifying problems with it, both in terms of appearance and execution.

When you’re presenting something this important, wouldn’t you want it to be the absolute best it can be? Of course you do. Then check it as many times as possible to make it that much harder for somebody to say ‘no’.

-Movie of the Moment: Jam-packed edition!  With V out of town, my movie-viewing has been plentiful.

-PROMETHEUS. As a friend put it, “A big hot mess.” Such a letdown, especially after all the hype. I didn’t like it. Pretty to look at, but a muddled plot that raised too many questions (as in “Would a person with any common sense really do that?”). Especially disappointing because of bad writing. Expected more from co-writer Damon Lindelof.

-MOONRISE KINGDOM. Loved it. I don’t have a problem with Wes Anderson’s style, but it did seem a little too similar to his earlier works. Still, a great story with perfectly-cast actors in each role. Nice to see Bruce Willis once again exercise his acting chops. The two leads, 12-year-olds who’ve never acted before, were really impressive.

-THE WOMAN IN BLACK. Wonderfully creepy gothic horror with a surprisingly spot-on lead performance by Daniel Radcliffe. What I liked most was that it seemed as if half of the scenes were dialogue-free, relying on mood and sound to raise goosebumps. Best when watched in the dark.

-TUCKER & DALE VS EVIL. I’m not a fan of slasher flicks, but this was a clever spin on the “college kids in the backwoods” story. Funnier than I expected.  Maybe one more run at the script wouldn’t have been a bad idea, so call it almost-great.

Hacking my way through the rewrite jungle

Maximum Z confidence, creativity, Dreamship, editing, feedback, ideas, rewrite, screenwriting, story, writer's block, writing
Yeah, it can feel like that sometimes…

Man, this rewrite is just zooming along, especially with the much-appreciated, very helpful feedback I’ve received. Spending so much time plotting things out before churning out pages really paid off. I tried to make sure any possible questions that arose could be easily answered through the course of the story.  One or two small issues may still need a little work, but looks like they can be handled without too much heavy lifting.

Nevertheless, confidence levels still running high.

Most of the edits took no time, but the biggest challenge was changing how the antagonist’s story ends. This has been in place since day one, but I’ve received more than a few comments saying it seemed too intense compared to the rest of the story.  So change was necessary.

I must have spent around two hours trying out at least a dozen scenarios until I finally came up with something I like. It may need a little fine-tuning, but the execution is pretty solid and I think it fits in nicely with the rest of it.

You know how a writer’s mantra is/should be “write every day”? I’ve tried to adhere to that as much as I can, and it really feels like it’s paying off in terms of being able to think my way out of potential writer’s block situations. Getting stuck trying to figure something out isn’t as much of a hassle as it used to be.

Cliched as it sounds, your creativity really is like a kind of muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it gets. And you don’t even have to break a sweat.

Who doesn’t appreciate a gold star?

Maximum Z criticism, feedback, found footage, Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, self-confidence, writing
Deep down, this is all we really want to hear

As a screenwriter, I’m naturally predisposed to self-doubt and the inability to know whether or not my stuff is any good.  I thrive on feedback (as should we all).  So whenever I get a word of encouragement, it’s an electrifying jolt of confidence-boosting.

I’m not expecting standing ovations and ticker-tape parades, but if somebody says “Hey, I like this thing you wrote,” then I’m going to feel pretty good about it, not to mention be motivated to keep going and try harder so next time they say, “Hey, I really like this thing you wrote.”

I submitted WOK & ROLL to an online script showcase on Friday, then woke up Saturday morning to find an email from somebody who liked it. It doesn’t look like this is anybody who can actually make anything happen with it, but positive comments are positive comments. I appreciated it.

I also got some encouraging feedback on DREAMSHIP. He broke it down page by page, offering suggestions on how to improve this and that. Can’t say I disagree with any of them.  Anything to make the script better.

That’s one of the benefits of joining a writing group or being part of an online group.  You get the feedback you need (and you will need it), and you get to help somebody with theirs. Sure, you won’t use all of their comments, but hearing somebody liked something you wrote may be the unexpected shot in the arm you didn’t realize you needed.

-Movie of the Moment – TROLLHUNTER (2010), a clever take on the found-footage genre from Norway. I liked this a lot. The premise: A college film crew looks for a poacher, only to discover he’s a one-man government taskforce assigned to keep the country’s troll population under control. And it ain’t easy.

This managed to avoid the ‘constant filming’ issue; handily so.  Great use of sound to enhance the suspense, especially in scenes where you can’t see anything.  Despite only a handful of scenes involving CG, each looks seamless and really packs a punch. Even more fun if you watch at night with the lights out.

Grab ’em early and don’t let go

Maximum Z Indiana Jones, Lucy Steele, Men In Black, outlines, Raiders of the Lost Ark, screenwriting, story, train, westerns, writing
And this is just the beginning…

I printed out a months-old version of the LUCY outline yesterday as part of the plan to launch a massive rewrite to incorporate some recent ideas. As I was looking it over, it dawned on me – the opening sequence just ain’t strong enough.

The way it’s written now, it would last about 3 pages, which really isn’t enough. The opening sets the tone and mood of the whole story. If I can’t hold your interest here, then you’re not going to want to work your way through another 100+ pages.

Think of the opening sequence in RAIDERS. It runs about 10 minutes, and does a phenomenal job of establishing the character of Indiana Jones.  I need to do the same thing.

This is where that ‘having fun while you write’ thing comes into play. And I get to do it with trains in the Old West.

Throw in a bottle of RC Cola and some Moon Pies and it’s an ideal writing session.

-Movie of the Moment – MEN IN BLACK III. Fun, clever and a definite improvement over the previous sequel. Setups and payoffs were obvious from the get-go. Josh Brolin did a great job as a young Tommy Lee Jones.  If this opens the door to a MIB IV, they should go the FANTASTIC VOYAGE/INNERSPACE route and do microscopic or nano-technology-based aliens. You heard it here first, folks!

This also confirmed for me once again that Smith needs to stop playing it safe and really try something new. Wasn’t he Tarantino’s first choice for the lead in DJANGO UNCHAINED? But he’s got a good thing going that brings in big bucks, so I don’t see that ever happening.