Author: Maximum Z

A moment of evaluation and introspective

Maximum Z adventure, comedy, concept, contest, creativity, fantasy, ideas, manager, mystery, networking, Nicholl Fellowship, plot, quality, query letter, representation, research, rewrite, screenwriting, social media, westerns, writing
Certainly a lot of things to...ponder
Certainly a lot of things to…ponder

Whoo! What a week this has been. Lots of goings-on on several fronts. Big picture stuff first.

-The semifinalists were announced earlier this week for this year’s Nicholl. 149 in total, out of somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,500 initial entries. Turns out I know at least 7 of those writers on a somewhat personal level, whether it be through social media or from actual physical contact.

I am equal parts thrilled for and jealous of all of them, but also made sure to send each a note of congratulations. They definitely earned it. And several of them have made it to this point before, and probably will do so again in the future, so that means the rest of us have to really step up our game.

Watching this as a non-participant definitely puts things in perspective. I didn’t enter any contests this year, so I can’t even begin to speculate how my script might have fared. It’s been a major effort to work on improving it to the point that I like to think it’s good, possibly even really good (he said, trying not to sound totally biased), but how would it do in a contest, especially one of this magnitude? There are no delusions of grandeur, but who doesn’t daydream about grabbing the top prize? Jittery nerves and lofty ambitions all at the same time. Only way to find out is enter it next year and hope for the best.

-Operation ManagerQuest continues. Fingers firmly crossed that all the research, fact-checking and list-assembling will result in something positive. Thanks to everybody who’s offered their good wishes and support.

Although this time is all about the western, I put together and sent out a handful of queries for the fantasy-adventure. Since those were sent to places that might be more interested in that kind of thing, each letter was customized for its designated recipient. Queries about the western will go out next week.

-As things continue to wrap up for the western, focus is shifting to what’s quickly evolving into a total rewrite of the outline of the mystery-comedy. Not gonna lie. This is the one that grabs people’s interest and attention, so we’ll see what I can do with it.

While the overall plot and concept remain the same, several new ideas, angles and approaches are being developed that I sincerely hope will make it better.

Not a bad week. Hope it was equally, if not more productive for you.

Don’t let this cool, calm & collected exterior fool you…

Maximum Z agent, determination, genre, IMDB, manager, organization, patience, persistence, production company, productivity, query letter, representation, research, screenwriting, writing
...because this is what's inside
…because this is how I’m feeling on the inside.

The hunt for representation is underway. Again.

But this round feels quite different.

Maybe this is the experience talking, but my best guess would be that it’s from taking my time and reminding myself there’s absolutely no need to rush through it. These folks aren’t going anywhere, so taking a few more days to properly prepare won’t make much of a difference.

But it is making a huge difference for me.

I’ve got two exceptionally long lists of names and emails, but each is several years old, which requires some admittedly exhausting investigating through multiple levels of IMDBPro into how accurate and up-to-date the information is. Don’t have a subscription to it? You should.

Time, determination, patience and persistence are the four essentials in this scenario.

A lot of time has been spent tracking down where some of those names have ended up. While most are still at the same organization, a good many have moved on. Some to new places, some who’ve gone out on their own, and, from what I can gather, some have totally abandoned ship (including one guy who fell into the deep end of the cliche pool and now sells real estate).

My favorite one so far has been the manager who passed away several years ago, yet is still listed. Just their name and nothing else. I’ve no doubt that at this very moment, somewhere out there, a query email is working its way to them.

The last couple of times I sent out a massive wave of queries, it was in a very rushed and impatient way. “This has to go out NOW!” After finding an email address, I’d immediately cut-and-paste the body of the letter and hit ‘send’. Nothing else. I’d estimate about 75% of them went through, while the remaining 25% came back as ‘undeliverable’ or “address not found”. Those would be immediately dismissed. Over the next few days and weeks, maybe a few responses would trickle in; say 1 for every 10-15 sent. Not the best of returns.

But again, this time it’s different as I’m trying to be been much, much more thorough. Do they even accept queries? What sort of material do they specialize in? Sending to someone who specializes in horror would be a waste of time for both of us. When was their last project? Have I heard of any of their projects? How many clients do they have? What are some of their clients known for? (One place lists Rod Serling(!) as their top client. Interpret that however you want.) They still use Hotmail? Is that even still a thing?

So while I spend part of my time developing a workable list of query letter recipients, I’m also focusing on assembling the actual letter that will be sent. Type ‘screenwriting query letter’ in any reputable search engine, and you get page upon page of links to articles, columns, blogposts and so on. There are countless opinions about what should and should not be in there. Pay attention to those. I tend to favor short and to the point, but effective enough that it gets you noticed and hopefully piques their interest.

It’s pretty likely I’ll crank out a few drafts of this as well before finding one that I think works best.

Like writing the script itself, it ain’t easy. None of this is. But it’s what I have to do in order to make things happen and move ’em forward.

(And if anybody knows a manager they’d recommend or think might be interested in taking a look at my stuff, feel free to point them in this direction. Much obliged.)

Moving on to my next set of doors

Maximum Z consultant, contest, determination, feedback, manager, networking, query letter, rewrite, screenwriting, self-confidence, westerns, writing
Luckily, I have a key to each one
Luckily, I have a key to each one

Well, that’s that.

The latest round of work on the western is done. Taking a little break while waiting for some feedback from friends and trusted colleagues, then off it goes to one more professional consultant. Hopefully not too much more to do with it after that.

(Also gearing up to enter it in a couple of contests next year.)

So what now? Easy.

Start researching potential managers to query about it, and get started on the next script – one in particular that may not need as much work as originally expected.

These are thrilling times we live in, chums, with bigger and better things yet to come.

And which of your many projects are you focusing on right now?

Shoulders once again shrugged

Maximum Z adventure, determination, fantasy, manager, patience, pitching, production company, productivity, rewrite, screenwriting, self-confidence, westerns, writing

A couple of months ago I had the good fortune to attend the Great American PitchFest in beautiful downtown Burbank. Overall, it was a great experience and I’m very thankful I did it. I’d pitched the fantasy-adventure and the western to several productions companies and managers. Responses were generally favorable, including compliments on my pitches and a few requests.

I was feeling pretty positive about it as a whole, but as experience has taught me, opted to hold off on writing the job resignation letter and chilling the bottle of victory champagne. Just because the scripts were requested didn’t mean anything would happen.

And of course, I was right.

While I still haven’t heard from a handful of them (and honestly, don’t expect to), the rest have politely passed.

Slightly disappointing, but definitely not heartbreaking. This is the nature of the business. C’est la vie, baby.

In fact, I don’t bear any of them any ill will whatsoever. Their interests were piqued, they checked it out and decided it just wasn’t for them. Nothing else. I think it’s saying something that I got that far.

So although those temporary thoughts of “Whoo! Moving forward!” may have been temporarily scuttled, this just reinforces my commitment to making it happen. I’m of the opinion that both scripts are of high caliber (and the continuing polish/rewrite of the western will make it even more so), and am certainly not going to sit around feeling sorry for myself. I’d rather be productive and keep trying to get better.

Any writer who goes into this and thinks it’ll be easy is in for a very rude awakening. The amount of time and effort it requires just to get good at it, let alone good enough that you can compete with those who actually do it for a living, is overwhelming to begin with. There will be many, many crushing disappointments before you even reach what could be considered a significant victory, so you learn to roll with the punches. You have to. If you don’t handle disappointment well, you’re in the wrong business.

As I’ve said in many a conversation, there isn’t anything I’d rather be doing than writing. It may take longer than I’d like for good things to happen, but there’s no way I’m slowing down. This is just another pothole on a very long road.

So on that note, pedal to the metal and full speed ahead.

Not speeding-bullet-fast, but getting there

Maximum Z determination, editing, encouragement, feedback, reading, rewrite, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, Superman, westerns, writing
The cape helps.
The cape helps.

The edit/rewrite/polish of the western continues, and have to admit I’m actually surprised at how fast the process is moving.

Maybe it’s working with a pen and an actual hard copy of the script, which for some reason is always more productive than doing it on the computer.

Maybe it’s all the ideas stemming from the great notes and feedback I’ve received.

Or maybe it’s simply a culmination of the experience of having done this so many times before. Putting my money on this one.

I’d estimated the rewrite would take me maybe 5 to 6 weeks, schedule permitting. There are a few sequences that need some major work, some that need significant trimming, and plenty of minor tweaks and adjustments to be made. But just a few days in, and I’ve already passed the halfway point.

At this rate, there’s no reason I couldn’t be done within the next 2 weeks. After that, it goes out for one more round of professional feedback. I honestly didn’t think this would happen this fast.

I think maintaining a steady work schedule, a definite commitment to the craft and that internal drive/compulsion to succeed have all contributed to getting me to this point in my abilities. I’m more than willing (one might even say eager) to do the work, and the more I do it, the easier the whole process seems.

Of course there are days when I’m not productive, but even those are getting fewer and far between.

Hopefully you’re also able to devote some time each day to getting some writing done. Don’t be discouraged if it seems too hard or overwhelming right now. Keep at it. On top of that, get feedback and read scripts. Build up your knowledge and apply it to your work.

Before you know it, you’re done and ready to jump into whatever comes next (although it might take more than a single bound).