Author: Maximum Z

I’ll take “Potpourri” for $300, Alex

Maximum Z baking, Doctor Who, Netflix, Pandora, podcasts, rewrite, screenwriting, script, Scriptnotes, social media, The Walking Dead, Twitter, writing
All this AND he plays hockey
All this AND he plays hockey

-I’ve been burning through my stash of unplayed podcasts at a rapid pace (including Scriptnotes), so I’m looking to add maybe one or two more to my library. Any suggestions?

-Since my current project has a 40s/50s noir vibe to it, playing era-appropriate music on Pandora really helps capture the mood (dig that crazy sax, man).  I may even don my fedora while I write to complete the transition.  If I enjoyed scotch or bourbon, there’d definitely be a glass of it on the desk. Guess a stiff cup o’ joe will have to do.

-My original intent with the rewrite was to completely start over, but the more I read the previous draft, the more potential I see. For now, it’s all about figuring the best way to combine ideas and elements from both.

-If there’s a writer whose work you really like, find out if they have a website, blog or on Twitter and send a friendly note telling them exactly that. Everybody likes a little compliment now and then.

-Could somebody please tell Netflix to get their act together and put Season 3 of THE WALKING DEAD and Season 7 of DOCTOR WHO on streaming? Haven’t we waited long enough? This might be my chance to finally start watching BSG, BREAKING BAD or MAD MEN.

-Definitive sign autumn is here – pumpkin pop-tarts (or toaster pastries, if you want to avoid the copyright infringement) at Trader Joe’s. They’re…okay. Maybe I’ll just make more pumpkin bread instead.

-Hope your latest project is going swimmingly. Enjoy the weekend, and try to write something.

Isn’t a rock a hard place to begin with?

Maximum Z antagonist, characters, conflict, creativity, goals, Harry Potter, obstacles, problem-solving, protagonist, rules, scenes, screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, structure, writing, writing group , ,
Gotta pick one, but which one?
Gotta pick one, but which one?

Hard choices. That’s what it comes down to for your protagonist.

Someone in my old writing group put it very succinctly: each scene should force the protagonist so they have no choice but to go with the option that makes things harder for them.

If things were easy for your protagonist and everything went right for them, it wouldn’t be much of a story, would it?  We’d be bored silly.

It all stems from the necessary key word: conflict. Something must be opposing them reaching their goal.

This doesn’t mean it’s someone or something physically blocking them, although that is one option. It could be something out of nature, like a great white shark, a hurricane or a killer virus, or something from the grand scheme of the universe, like time, fear or silence.

One of the great things about conflict is there are countless ways to present it. It comes in all forms, but it really boils down to something in the scene (as well as the overall story) preventing your protagonist from moving things forward.

Taking it one step further, not only do you have to make sure they do, but they have to be the one doing it. Anything else is a cheat, and totally negates their development as a character.  Imagine if Dumbledore said, “Here’s a step-by-step list of what you have to do, Harry.” The mentor figure is there to guide the protagonist down the right path, not take the path for them.

The protagonist has to endure all of these conflicts in order to not only accomplish their goal, but grow or change from what they were when we first met them.

So go ahead and put ’em through the ringer. It’s the way it must be.

-I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Henry Sheppard, aka Adelaide Screenwriter. Check it out here.

What happened to the action movie?

Maximum Z action, analysis, characters, Die Hard, plot, Raiders of the Lost Ark, story, storytelling, structure, writing
Often imitated, rarely equaled
Often imitated, rarely equaled

A little over a week ago, a friend posted the following question on Facebook – “Is RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK the best action movie of all time?”

As would be expected, this led to a somewhat lengthy discussion. Several other titles were bandied about (DIE HARD, ALIENS, several John Woo HK films), and was summarized quite succinctly with “The main lesson here is that the 80s were a goldmine for high-quality action films.” (mea culpa – I’m the one who said it).

All I can think of for the 90s are TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY and SPEED.

While you’re thinking about those, compare them to some more recent ones, such as:
-THE EXPENDABLES – a nostalgic remembering of the genre itself
-THE EXPENDABLES 2 – silly, over the top parody
-PACIFIC RIM – cool to look at, but that’s about it
-FAST & FURIOUS 6 – haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it
-THE LONE RANGER – couldn’t bring myself to see it, but will catch it on home video. Is it as bad as they say?

Now there’s this. Oy. Someday I’ll discuss how much I dislike reboots.

So why do action films from 20-30 years ago still hold up?

Looking at strong examples of the genre, they all have: Original stories. Smart writing. Three-dimensional characters. Action that enhances and supports the story.

If you’re writing an action spec, these should be your goals and objectives. Yes, it’s a lot of fun to blow shit up, but don’t use an explosion or shootout just for the sake of having one. It’s pointless.

Make the action part of the story, not what the story’s about. Use it to move things forward. Ratchet up the tension and create more conflict for your hero.

Need a refresher course in how it’s done? Pick one you’ve always liked, and watch it as a writer. Take notes. See how it all fits together. Then see if any of it can be applied to your story and rewrite accordingly.

If only all learning could be this enjoyable.

The fine art of world-building

Maximum Z inciting incident, protagonist, screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, structure, writing , , , ,
Tell us what we need to know about this place
Now that you’ve created it, what do we need to know about it?

One of the primary functions of the first act is to establish the current situation of your protagonist. You, the writer, have to convey to us, the reader/audience, what’s going on around our hero and how they fit into this scenario.

Tell us what we need to know about them, but don’t overwhelm us. Give us the details relevant to the story; anything else is totally unnecessary.

Show us why this character is worth our time and attention. What is it about them we can relate to?  Make us care about them. Pique our interest and curiosity.

This is also your chance to establish the rules of this world you’ve created and how it works. If it’s something other than the world as we know it (i.e. science fiction or fantasy), then you definitely need to explain how things work here. Don’t expect us to know what you’re talking about; just because you know doesn’t mean we’re going to. Keep things simple.

Now that you’ve presented us with our protagonist and the world they live in, SOMETHING HAPPENS around page 10 that drastically changes their everyday routine and gets the story going. It also raises the central question of the story – “Will the protagonist achieve their goal?”

Some may say the protagonist should be the one that makes something happen, which is possible, but it seems more likely this disrupting-of-the-everyday-routine event happens to them, rather than because of them.

What’s great about this next stretch of pages is it offers you the opportunity to show a little more of this world, especially how your protagonist reacts to what’s happened to them as well as how their world responds to it. Explore the consequences and ramifications of how their life is changing as they leave their old situation behind and become more involved with the new one.

By the time we get to the end of the first act, the protagonist is totally immersed in this new world and has to figure their way out/through it. Everything we need to know has been taken care of, so now we can focus on following the story.

Hey kids! Fill in the blanks!

Maximum Z creativity, genre, loglines, movies, pitching, reading, screenwriting, script, story, title, writing ,
The good news is this will not count towards your final grade
The good news is this will not be on the final, but neatness does count

Since I’m always interested in what other writers are working on, here are some questions I’d really like to see your answers to.

1. MY LATEST PROJECT IS TITLED _______________

2. IT’S A  ______________ (genre)

3. HERE’S THE LOGLINE __________________________________

4. THINK OF IT AS ___________ + __________

Here’s mine:

1. NORTH POLE’S MOST WANTED

2. mystery-comedy

3. A mild-mannered elf uncovers a sinister plot to get rid of Santa, but nobody believes him, somebody’s now trying to kill him, and Christmas is one week away.

4. LA CONFIDENTIAL + RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

Now you.