This time next week, I’ll be in Austin for the screenwriting aspect of the Austin Film Festival.
First time attending, and thrilled to be doing so as a Second Rounder.
Fun fact: I’ve only been to the Lone Star State once before, and that was a few years ago for a screenwriting thing in Houston.
Looking forward to meeting a lot of writers I’ve only had contact with through social media.
If you’re there, look for me and don’t hesitate to come up and say hi. We’ll talk, maybe share a drink or a meal. Rely on the fact that I will want to know about you and your script(s).
Feeling really good about how the latest rewrite of the sci-fi adventure outline is going.
A lot of the story is in place, but there are still a few blanks or gaps that need filling in – questions that need to be answered or an issue that needs to be addressed. Something relevant has to happen at those points, but I don’t know what yet, so I’ll put in a generic placeholder like “HOW??” or “WORK ON THIS!”
I’ll do this as I work my way through the rest of the story, and when I move on to the next draft, I’ll be able to focus on filling in those gaps. Sometimes that’s enough, but there have also been instance where a new detail can inspire a new direction or a spur-of-the-moment minor changes.
It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, but putting in that missing piece creates a new, slightly different version of what the puzzle was originally supposed to look like, but you don’t mind because it still works – maybe even more than you thought it would.
This approach also proves helpful because more than a few times I realized something was happening with no setup whatsoever, so I’d go back and see where that could happen. I try to make it organic, rather than feel forced because the story requires it. Sometimes the answer comes quickly, or it might take a few tries. It’s also not uncommon to suddenly come up with something that’s the total opposite of what I originally intended, but it works even better, so in it goes.
I’m making a real point of taking my time with this. That seems to be helping in terms of determining where the fixes (and follow-up fixes, if necessary) need to be made, so the proper adjustments can be made as I go along. Bulldozing my way through seems more of a short-term solution, resulting in more potential rewrites down the line. Better to take it slow and deal with all the problems now than to spread it out and spend more time on them later.
I just wrapped up Act One, and am fairly hopeful Act Two won’t take too long. A lot of Act Three had already been set up in One and Two, so probably won’t need as much work.
I’m eager to get started on pages, but have no problem taking the time to fill in those gaps to make sure everything flows nice and smoothly.
-Coming to Austin? I’ll be there. Feel free to say hi.
“Hmm. Billy’s new script. Something about men dressing up as women to hide from gangsters? Hope it’s funny.”
I’ve seen a good number of articles and online comments recently about how a script should convey the writer’s “voice”. That prompted this blast from the past from June 8, 2018.
Enjoy.
“When I’ve done script notes for writing colleagues, no matter what the genre is, I can usually tell who wrote it – because of the way it reads. Each writer has their own particular style, so each of their scripts has its own corresponding “sound”. Or I’ll get notes back on my material which often includes a comment along the lines of “this sounds like something you’d write”.
This isn’t just about dialogue. It’s about a writer’s overall style, or how they tell the story of their script. You don’t just want the reader to read your story; you want them to experience it. Which can be accomplished by adding that extra layer.
Everybody develops their own individual style, and it takes time to find it. The more you write, the more you’ll be able to hone your writing to reflect your own individuality.
Just a few things to think about:
-How does your script read? Is the writing crisp and efficient, or are you wasting valuable page real estate with too many lines of your loquacious verbosity? Taking it one step further, do you use the same words over and over, or do you relish any opportunity to give your thesaurus a solid workout?
-How is your story set up and how does it play out? Is it simple and straightforward, or complex and full of deliciously tantalizing twists and turns? Are you working that creativeness to show us things we haven’t seen before, or is just page after page of the same ol’, same ol’?
-Is it a story somebody besides you would want to see? Just because you find the subject matter interesting doesn’t mean it has universal appeal. However, there is the counter-argument to that in which you could attempt to have your story include elements that would satisfy fans of the genre while also appealing to newcomers.
-Can’t ignore the population within the pages. Are your characters well-developed and complex, or do they come up lacking? Do we care about them, or what happens to them? Can we relate to them?
-What are your characters saying, or not saying (subtext!)? How are they saying it? Do they sound interesting or dull as dishwater? Very important – do they sound like actual people, or like “characters in a movie”?
Remember – the script is a reflection of you. A solid piece of writing shows you know what you’re doing. Offering up something sloppy is simply just sabotaging yourself.
Who hasn’t heard a variation on the line about a script being a cheap knockoff of a more established writer? While I can understand admiring a pro writer’s style, why would you attempt to copy it? It probably took them a long time to find their own voice, and by trying to write like they do, you’re denying yourself the opportunity to do the same thing for yourself.
Or to put it another way: they didn’t take any shortcuts to become the writer they are today, so why should you?”
Maximum Z 