Author: Maximum Z

1-2 sentences that say it all

Maximum Z Christopher Lockhart, loglines, screenwriting, scriptshadow, Selling Your Screenplay
Does your logline get the job done in 12 seconds or less?

“What’s your script about?”

You probably get that a lot. But how do you respond?

The logline to the rescue!

If you’re not familiar with that term, a logline is 1-2 sentences telling what your story’s about.  Sometimes called the ‘TV Guide description,’ it sums up your entire script in one easy description.

“A teenager from 1985 goes back to 1955 and must ensure his parents meet or else he’ll cease to exist.”

“A farmboy must rescue a kidnapped princess to help defeat the evil Galactic Empire.”

“A child psychologist helps a boy deal with his special problem – he sees dead people.”

You’d think putting it together would be easy. But of course it isn’t.

You want to convey what your story’s about, but you don’t want to go into too much detail.  And you don’t want to focus on one particular part of the story. And you don’t want to be too generic (f’r example: “…and learns a lesson about life.”)

This is your one chance to get somebody interested in wanting to read your script, so the logline has to be perfect.

Ashley Scott Meyers wrote a great column about it here.  Definitely worth checking out.  He also links to a just-as-good column by Christopher Lockhart.

A few weeks ago I wrote about TwitPitch from ScriptShadow, where you submitted a logline and the 100 most interesting were selected to submit pages, then scripts.  I wasn’t one of them, which motivated me to go back and rewrite my submission for my own purposes.  I like how it turned out.

There’ve already been some eliminations based on the first 10 pages of the script, which was kind of surprising since some of the loglines seemed to hold so much potential.

I suppose that’s the inevitable follow-up to having a good logline. You better have an even better script to back it up.

Hitting your goal, then going further

Maximum Z motivation, screenwriting
Don't stop! Keep going!

When you write, you set goals for yourself. This many pages a day. Whole thing done by the end of the month.  Those self-imposed finish lines can be really effective motivators.

And while it’s great to meet those goals, a little part of you relishes when you do more. “I usually do 3 pages a day, but today I did 5!” It’s a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.

Despite some recent delays, I finally got back to work on my DREAMSHIP rewrite. I was at page 97.  All I wanted out of today was to get to 100.

And I did. It felt great.

I thought I was done for the day, but the opportunity to keep going presented itself in the evening and I jumped at the chance. I got to 101, just as a big action scene is starting.

4 pages. 1 more than my daily objective. I gladly accept that.

Pushing yourself just a little bit more pays off in that not only do you get that much closer to having a finished product, but do it often enough and before you know it, being more productive becomes easier.

Then you push yourself some more.

15 days and dwindling fast

Maximum Z AMPAS, Dreamship, Nicholl Fellowship, rewrite, screenwriting
NOT the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

The deadline for the Nicholl Fellowships is coming up fast – May 1st! – and I keep going back and forth as to whether I want to submit DREAMSHIP.

I like how the rewrite’s been coming along and think it’s pretty solid, but I want to be absolutely sure the end result is what I want it to be, which could mean another pass at it once I finish this rewrite/edit.

A tough choice, actually.

I’ll have more time to write between now and then, so I’m hoping to have a better idea of what I’d like to do near the end of the month.  Either way, I’ll end up with a script I like, and that’s the important part.

If you’ve already sent yours in, good for you. If not, are you and your script ready?

Vamoose! Amscray! Skedaddle! Rampaging thesaurus on the loose!

Maximum Z creativity, Go Into The Story, ideas, research, screenwriting, thesaurus, writing
Egad! A gargantuan leviathan extirpating a metropolitan conveyance venue!

I read this the other day and loved it.

It’s too easy to rely on everyday verbs while you’re putting a script together.  The more picturesque a word, the more visual it becomes.  It makes the script that much more exciting and interesting to read.

I usually have two minimized windows running while I’m writing. Pandora for creativity-inducing background music and Thesaurus.com for when I just can’t think of a solid alternate verb. It might take a little effort to find the one that fits, but oh the satisfaction when you do.

Not sure if  a verb works? Follow the example in the quote and read the sentence aloud. Try it with different verbs. Which one sounds spot-on? Does it not only convey action but mood as well?  If somebody storms into a room, you can probably guess how they feel.  Compare it to somebody who slinks, sashays or (always a favorite) moseys in.

The writer’s job is to paint a picture of the story in the reader’s mind. And you want to hold their attention by using words that will do just that. A compelling story with fleshed-out characters helps too, but dull writing makes for boring reading.

I can’t remember the exact wording or who said it, but there’s this great quote that says something like “There are a million words in the English language. Use them.”

Sound advice indeed.

Nobody self-laments like a writer

Maximum Z confidence, creativity, loglines, motivation, screenwriting, scriptshadow, writing
Slap a metaphoric pair of these on when necessary. Or literal if you can

For those in the screenwriting know, this past Saturday was Scriptshadow‘s experimental TwitPitch.  Basically, you tweeted your logline, and if it was deemed good enough, it made it through the first round.

It pains to me report mine was not among the select few.  And I gotta admit: I was devastated. How could it not have worked?  Not even a single mention of it in the comments section?  This is a sign. I’ve got no talent. I’m wasting my time. Done before I even started. Might as well stop trying.

But rather than constantly berating myself and doubting my own ability, I recalled the words of a guy I met way back around the turn of the century. I had three scripts under my belt and wanted to get some professional feedback.  His very first words to me about my work:  You’re a very talented writer.  Now you need to get better.

I’ve held onto that advice ever since.  Every writer loves positive feedback.  But in this business, there are a lot more negatives than positives, which can really beat you down.  It’s extremely easy to get discouraged when all you’re hearing back is ‘no’ and things don’t go your way. Especially when you get your hopes up.

But this is a hard business.  Some people struggle for years and years before achieving any kind of success.

The key, as my dad always says, is perseverance.  Keep going.  There will be lots of bad days, but don’t let that stop you from chasing the dream.

A lot of writers say they can’t imagine doing anything else.  Count me among them.  Like everybody else, I have good days and bad days. And it’s still hard to get past the bad days, but I manage.

And learn from my mistakes.

I try to see what I could do next time to change the outcome more in my favor.  Just as an example, I’ve already rewritten my logline so it’s (hopefully) better than the previous version.

I write because I love writing. If I can make a living out of it, all the better. The important thing is I still enjoy the process.  And no amount of ‘no’ is going to change that.