Year: 2012

Busy times

Maximum Z running, screenwriting, writing

-I was originally going to write about emails and e-newsletters from screenwriters and screenwriting organizations, and how much I hate generic emails from screenwriting ‘experts’ that are nothing but spam in disguise, but there’s only so much you can say. Basically, pick the ones that work best for you.

-With our big move coming up in a few days, just about all of my spare time has been spent packing and running stuff over to the new place. Writing’s on the back burner for the time being; probably until the end of the week.  Looking forward to jumping back into the DREAMSHIP rewrite.

-I’m planning on sending my script notes back to the writer later today. It’ll be interesting to see what the reaction is.

-Ran the Giant Race half-marathon yesterday – 1:57:12. Not too bad, but I was hoping to break 1:55. I’m not one to make excuses, but I think I could have done a little better if the start of the race wasn’t jammed into a narrow section of road. We were running with the 10k, so everybody was shoehorned in, causing a bit of a slowdown for about the first mile or so. I’ll be doing the LA half-marathon at the end of October, so fingers crossed.

My two cents. Apply accordingly.

Maximum Z criticism, feedback, screenwriting, writing ,
Worth their weight in gold? Maybe.

I’d forgotten how much I enjoy giving feedback on other people’s scripts. I’m definitely not a guru, but I think my advice is pretty solid.

I just finished a script that has a great concept at its root, but still needs a lot of work.  There are a lot of rookie mistakes, most of which are easily fixed, and I’ll make suggestions regarding the big stuff – story, structure, character development, etc.  I’m curious to know if the writer will implement any of my comments.  Of which there are a lot.

I don’t know if other writers experience this when reading somebody else’s work, but more than once I’d think, “how can they not know this is the wrong way to do this?”

Then I’d remind myself of two really important points – first, maybe they don’t know, so I’ll explain my comments as best I can, hopefully enough so the point gets across and it helps improves their writing, and second, feedback from a negative place doesn’t do anybody any good.  The recipient is less likely to give your opinion any merit and you come across as bitter and angry. (Check out the forums on Trigger Street to get a better idea of this.)

It’s possible to give constructive criticism without tearing somebody down, but it’s also up to the writer to understand any feedback they get is about making their work better, and not an attack on them personally.

Shame on me

Maximum Z feedback, running, screenwriting, script, writing
Yes, I know it’s late

I’d completely forgotten I was supposed to provide feedback on somebody’s script, so rewrite stuff is on hold while I wear my analyst hat over the next few days.

After that, it’ll probably be a bit hectic, what with the half-marathon on Sunday and the movers coming next Wednesday. Despite all that, I’ll try to have some kind of positive rewrite status news sometime soon. No promises, though.

I might even take a few moments here and there to actually breathe. If I can find the time.

In the meantime, seen anything good lately?

The thrill of gaining momentum

Maximum Z confidence, rewrite, screenwriting, writing
Hang on!

Ever have one of those days where you feel absolutely unstoppable? That you possess the ability to deftly take on any challenge and emerge victorious, not to mention completely unscathed?

Kind of how it is for me at the moment. Oh, how I wish I could bottle this for use at a future time. Like when my brain hurts from trying to think my way through a story problem.

I suspect a lot of this comes from really liking the results of the Act One rewrite. It feels a lot stronger now. (Next up – the daunting task of taking on Act Two.)

That sense of accomplishment is a huge ego boost for anybody, so cherish it and hang on to it as long as you can, because you know it’s not going to last. Sad, but true.

-I met with a script consultant yesterday (on a purely social level), and she was genuinely overwhelmed/surprised at how busy I was, especially in terms of producing material – the rewrite, outlining the new script, the blog, developing the podcast. It never occurred to me I was actually doing that much.  It’s all just part of what I do.

But it’s nice to know it impresses somebody.

(Incidentally, she offers one-on-one consulting, and a great weekend seminar on how to really improve your writing, which also includes a year of mentoring. Both definitely worth checking out.)

Ch-ch-changes

Maximum Z characters, Doctor Who, rewrite, screenwriting, story, writing
Sometimes it’s necessary, no matter how hard you fight it

Working on this rewrite has definitely helped me improve as a writer.

I started the process thinking “Okay. I’ll change what I have to in order to make this better.”

But the more I worked on it, the more I thought “I like it the way it is. Maybe I don’t have to change anything.”

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

The whole point of the rewrite is to CHANGE IT TO MAKE IT BETTER. Look for ways to improve what’s already there.

Maybe it’s something small, or maybe it’s something that completely changes the dynamic, but no matter what, you do what’s necessary to make your script stronger.  Even if you don’t want to, which makes it that much harder.

Case in point: DREAMSHIP has a supporting character I love. He was a blast to write, and I thought he had a pretty solid backstory, but some high-quality feedback opened my eyes to the fact that there needed to be more to him. How could I fix that? I ran through various scenarios until I found what I needed: flip his personality around.

And much to my amazement, everything I had come up with before not only still worked, but now even more so. He’s got more depth as a character, including a more satisfying arc, and I’ll be able to create more conflict with him in later scenes.

Lesson learned: I didn’t want to change something I considered ‘just fine the way it is,’ but I had to accept that those changes had to be made. Sure, they were hard to deal with at first, but they improved the story.

Now I’m not as hesitant about making changes, and my script is that much better for it.