ambition

Rip-roaring and ready to go yet again

Maximum Z ambition, confidence, creativeness, creativity, determination, experience, fun, goals, ideas, inspiration, logline, patience, perseverance, persistence, plot points, productivity, project, screenplay, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, story, storytelling, writing

 

lightning
That’s me. All charged up.

Over the past week or so, the idea for a new story has been slowly developing inside my head.

Even though most of my attention continues to be focused on completing other projects, that seed has been planted and I work out a few details about it when I can.

This is just the beginning of the whole process, and my work is definitely cut out for me. Like with any script, it’s going to be tough.

But I also have to admit I’m quite thrilled about it.

There’s just something about coming up with a new idea that really reinvigorates your creative process. You’re excited about the story, the potential within it and possibly even (gasp!) looking forward to writing it.

I certainly doubt I’m the only who experiences this.

As expected, there will be days I get frustrated about any number of things related to this, which is par for the course. But I’ve also been doing this for a while, so the positive days steadily continue to outnumber the negative.

As has also been my experience, some of those negative days will most likely include outside comments of a tearing-down nature. Fortunately, I’ve developed a thick skin over the years and learned to ignore the ramblings of self-proclaimed “experts”.

For now, everything is still in the early-early development stage. It took a while just to come up with a good logline, and even that will probably still need work. Now I’m just figuring out the plot points. There’s no rush, especially since I already have several other scripts that require my attentions.

I like the concept of this one, and am really looking forward to seeing how things work out with it.

What comes after the light bulb?

Maximum Z ambition, confidence, creativeness, creativity, criticism, determination, encouragement, ideas, inspiration, originality, patience, perseverance, persistence, screenplay, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, story, storytelling, writing
light bulb
This is how it starts

Being a writer means your creativeness is always running, or at least should be. It never shuts off, and sometimes kicks in when you least expect it.

Inspiration can hit anytime, but are you prepared for when it does?

You could be doing something you do practically every day or see something seemingly normal, and all of a sudden think, “Hey! There’s a story here!” It could be whatever you can imagine: the basis for a short, an episode of a webseries, or part of a feature.

Then there’s the thrill as your mind races through all the potential possibilities. What if THIS happened? Or THIS? Ooh! I love THIS! It’s like a shot of adrenaline into the right side of your brain.

When the idea hits, do you immediately write it down, or is it suddenly burned into your brain so deeply that there’s no way you could possibly forget any part of it?

Of course, it’s one thing to come up with the idea. How far do you go with it? Does it lose its luster after a few days, and then you just give up completely? Do you hold onto it because there’s just SO MUCH POTENTIAL here? Do you tinker around with it, file it away, then come back to it weeks or months later?

How original an idea is it? Can you think of something that’s similar? Who’s your target audience? Is it something you yourself would actually pay to see?

Let’s also not forget that this is all based on your thinking. You love the idea, but what if somebody says “I don’t get it” or all you get is a shrug? Do you think the idea is worth developing? Is it one you’re prepared to slave away on for an extended period of time?

It’s easy to come up with the ideas, but definitely not easy to turn them into quality, fleshed-out screenplays. It takes a long time to get the hang of doing this, let alone doing it well. But don’t let the difficulty or length of the journey dissuade you from at least trying.

Start with the idea, and take it from there.

Here’s to the thrill of running ourselves ragged

Maximum Z ambition, determination, output, pages, productivity, screenplay, screenwriting, script, Uncategorized, writing

 

cheers
Clink!

It’s the home stretch of the last week of November, and hopefully you’ve made some excellent progress on your designated writing project. Let’s go with the theory that you made the sincere effort to write every single day.

Pretty nice, isn’t it?

Are you further along than you expected? About the same? Not as much as you’d hoped? Doesn’t matter. You found the time to write and maintained that pattern of producing something on a regular basis.

Even if real life got in the way and maybe you had to skip a day here and there (it happens), isn’t it great to know that you made this commitment to yourself and kept it?

Maybe you had a really lousy day, and think “I really don’t feel like writing today” (which also happens), but then reconsider and realize “No. I said I’m going to do this, and I’m going to do it.” So you sit your ass down and pound away on the keyboard. For how long is irrelevant.

Your total output might just be a couple of lines or a couple of pages, but your progress is right there for you to read. Maybe you tell yourself you’ll do more tomorrow.

Admit it. You like this. Otherwise you wouldn’t be knocking yourself out doing it.

This can be addictive. While some may follow the Dorothy Parker school of thought (hate writing, love having written), others actually enjoy the whole process and want to continue doing so, constantly striving to improve both in quality and output.

I tend to go back and forth, but mostly it’s the latter.

So even though the month is wrapping up, that doesn’t mean you have to slow down on your writing. You’ve gotten into the habit of being a productive writer. Make the effort to continue doing so in the coming months, and that will quickly extend into years.

A pleasantly pocket-sized status update

Maximum Z ambition, comedy, determination, draft, feedback, half-marathons, notes, pages, parenting, project, running, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, writing
Just the right size for enjoyment at your convenience
Just the right size for enjoyment at your convenience

Busy times continuing, so just a few items worth mentioning.

-Good progress as the November writing project continues. Closing in on the end of Act 2, and with a few days off next week, hoping to steamroll my way through Act 3 and wrap up the first draft. Still averaging about 2 pages a day, which isn’t necessarily because I’m not very productive, but partially due to…

-Been very busy the past couple of weeks giving notes on scripts written by writer pals kind enough to do it for me. Everybody’s patience is much appreciated.

-In the early discussion stages of helping out on 2 potential projects. Both feel like they’ll really push my creativeness to the limit. Always nice.

-Ran the Golden Gate Half this past Sunday. 1:56:36, including a lot of uphill on both sides of the bridge and a light drizzle during miles 8 through 11. Also nice.

-My daughter, the illustrious Ms V, turned 13 this week. The next few years are going to be interesting, to say the least. Wish me luck.

Have an excellent weekend, and make sure to get some kickass writing done.

Getting the sucky part out of the way

Maximum Z ambition, determination, draft, ideas, pages, rewrite, screenwriting, script, writing
Okay, script. I'm getting a little tired waiting for you to write yourself.
Getting a little tired waiting for you to write yourself.

So how’s your November writing project coming along?

Making the progress you were hoping for? Maybe you’re producing a number of pages above and beyond what you were expecting? Or are you feeling trapped in a morass of agony and frustration because the words just won’t cooperate?

No matter what your output, good on you for keeping at it. Only 20 days to go!

For the sake of this discussion, let’s say at month’s end you have a finished draft. Most likely a first draft.

How would you rate it? Good? Bad? Somewhere in the middle? Or, if you’re like a lot of writers, you’ll label it “okay, but needs a lot of work.”

And you know what? That’s totally cool.

That’s the point of the first draft. Don’t worry about if it’s perfect or not. It’s not. But it is helping you lay down the foundation for your story so you can spend each consecutive rewrite fixing any and all things that need to be fixed.

And there will be a lot of them.

Again, still cool.

Some writers consider just writing the first draft as the biggest obstacle. You’re literally creating something out of nothing. Compared to that, every subsequent draft gets a little easier. You might even be surprised how many new ideas you come up with it as you go along.

The first draft is indeed a necessary evil. At times it probably feels like a neverending slog, but once you actually do finish it, the hard part’s out of the way. All your initial ideas are now assembled into what may or may not resemble what you’re trying to create. It may not be anywhere near the point you want it to be, but you’re definitely better off than when you started.

Don’t just embrace the opportunity of getting through the first draft. Grab it with both hands, hold it tight, and run like hell.