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Quel est le bon mot, baby?

Maximum Z Balboa Theatre, blog, found footage, genre, ideas, networking, originality, pina colada, productivity, rewrite, rules, San Francisco, screenwriting, script, social media, story, Twitter, writing ,
Normally I'm a G&T kind of guy, but one these sounds pretty nice right now
Normally I’m a G&T kind of guy, but one of these sounds kind of nice right now

Opting for a random assortment of topics today. Enjoy.

-Ever get to the point where you just want to finish whatever is you’re working on and get it out of the way? That’s about where I am right now with this first draft. I wouldn’t call it a slog; more like resisting the urge to make a mad dash to the end.

On a positive note, the closer I get to finishing, the more I see how much has to be fixed.

Here’s a great guest column from Lee Jessup’s blog about how a writer should approach rewriting.

-Sometimes you come up with a story idea out of nowhere that makes you wonder: Even though this is a totally new genre for me, could I make it work?

I came up with a concept for a found footage story, including what may be a workable grasp on how to handle the ‘omnipresent camera’ part. It can be a little intimidating to try something new, but you won’t know until you try and possibly even discover a strength you never knew you had.

-I connected with this fine fellow the other day on Twitter. Do so if you haven’t already, and make sure to take the screenwriting survey. One of the questions is something along the lines of “what are some of your basic screenwriting rules?”

This is what I came up with:
1. Don’t be boring.
2. The audience is more intelligent than you think.
3. Write as if ink costs $1000 an ounce.

There are lots of others, but I think those are pretty important. Feel free to contribute yours in the comments section.

-This isn’t necessarily me hopping on the Kickstarter bandwagon, but check this out if you’d like to help preserve the small moviehouse experience. Give if you can, even if you don’t live in the Bay Area. It’s a great theatre.

The value of face-to-face time

Maximum Z Bay Area Screenwriters, blog, characters, dialogue, Justin Sloan, Movie of the Moment, networking, Pacific Rim, screenwriting, The Last Starfighter, Writers Guild of America, writing, writing group , , ,
Coffee makes for a good 3rd part of this equation
Coffee makes for a good 3rd part of this equation

A few weeks ago, I’d read a post on Done Deal Pro from a writer who’d gone to Los Angeles to attend a Writers Guild function, but was now back home in the Bay Area.

Since I’m always looking to expand my network of fellow writers, especially ones that could be considered local, I contacted him and asked if he’d be interested in meeting.

Fortunately, he was. Coffee at the Ferry Building.

Since most of this summer has involved V being at work with me, she and I worked our way from my office to our designated meeting place.

I handed her my phone so she could play video games while Justin Sloan and I sat down to talk.

We exchanged backgrounds and career developments. He was especially intrigued about my results using the Black List.

Unfortunately, Justin had to get back to work so we had to cut things short, but he asked if he could read my script, and I offered to give feedback on his.  He also asked if he could send me some questions for his blog Bay Area Screenwriters. You can read those here, and I’ve added a link to it over on the blogroll.

It was great not only talking about writing, but also discussing the assorted experiences we’ve each had in relation to writing. Contests, writing groups, etc.

This is one of those experiences that can’t be duplicated via an online forum or instant messaging. Having an actual conversation with someone will hopefully be fulfilling for both parties.

So send those emails, set up those coffee chats, get out there and talk to people.

-Movie of the Moment: PACIFIC RIM (2013). What happened? This was supposed to be the big hit of the summer. No such luck. Instead, we got great special effects weighed down with forgettable characters and horrible dialogue. (Can’t people come up with something better than “Let’s do this!”?)

I will give del Toro and Beacham credit for coming up with an original story, but feel bad it was so poorly executed. There was no way this could lived up to all the hype. Scott Pilgrim, anyone?

Some notable disappointments: the Russian and Chinese pilots/robots were treated as throwaway characters, and were dispatched with way too quickly.
-the Australian guy with a huge chip on his shoulder seemed straight out of a studio note. “This guy should be a real asshole, but give him a dog so he’s semi-likeable.”
-the trailers featured most of the robot-monster action, leaving little to surprise us during the actual movie.

-THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984). Hadn’t seen this in years.  Also watched it with V because I thought she might like it – she did. There are elements similar to DREAMSHIP. Not exactly the same, but definitely there.

The story by itself still holds up, even though the rest feels a little clunky, and Robert Preston’s fast-talking Harold Hill-type character always brightens up whatever scene he’s in.

Watching this on an HD screen makes it that much more obvious you’re looking at a film set, and the special effects, cutting-edge at the time, seem quaintly dated.

There’s always one more thing

Maximum Z blog, continuity, Doc Savage, editing, grammar, Luc Besson, proofreading, rewrite, scenes, screenwriting, script, spelling, story, structure, writing
Is this becoming a dated reference? Probably.
Is this becoming a dated reference? Probably.

22 pages to go in the rewrite. Hoping to wrap it all up very, very soon, although I may give myself one more read-through just to be on the safe side.

I can’t stress enough how incredibly helpful it’s been to look this over after having not read it at all for a couple of weeks. You’d be surprised what you find when you look with fresh eyes.

The primary objective here was to incorporate some of the suggestions from my manager’s notes. I’d say that’s been accomplished, but there’s been more.

The discovery of two spelling errors cleverly disguised as non-misspelled words. Further proof of why you shouldn’t rely solely on spellcheck.

A small continuity problem that played a key part in moving the story forward. Fortunately, I was able to find the appropriate scene to set things up, which hopefully makes the payoff that much more satisfying.

Want to really tighten things up? Eliminate prepositional phrases wherever possible. They show up a lot more than your realize.  Learning to write without using them as much can only be a good thing.

Even though I’m in the home stretch, there are maybe one or two more story details that need to be addressed. The more questions I can answer, the better.

-Further proof I have some kind of future-telling ability: Luc Besson and Scarlett Johannson are teaming up for a modern-day action flick called LUCY. You heard that name here first, friends. Coincidence? Doubtful.

-IRON MAN 3 comes out next week. Looking forward to it. Shane Black wrote and directed it. Apparently he’s interested in taking on a Doc Savage movie. Joy beyond belief.

-Oh, and this is my 400th post. Thanks for sticking around.

Nevertheless, I still play well with others

Maximum Z blog, feedback, public forums, screenwriting, social media, Twitter, writing , ,
I was told there'd be ice cream afterward...
Hey gang! Who wants ice cream?

I was reminded this week why it’s important to build up your own network of trusted friends and colleagues.

Even though I’m pretty confident about knowing certain things, and am more than willing to admit when I don’t know something, I need and always appreciate good feedback.

I’ve been very fortunate to be able to connect with a good number of talented writers over the past few years. The more we communicate (pretty much via email & Twitter), the more we respect and value each others’ opinions. So I’m extremely appreciative when they’re open to reading my stuff if I ask, or offering to read it, as well as asking if I’d do the same for them.

Everybody who’s read my script has liked it, but has also given thoughtful suggestions on how it could be improved.

This system has worked out pretty well for me, and hopefully it’s been reciprocal for them.

Which is why I don’t think I’ll be very active on public forums anymore. Not that I was overly active to begin with, but it’s hard for me to value the opinion of somebody I don’t know and has never seen anything I’ve written compared to somebody who knows me and my writing style.

Case in point: I once posted questions about what should and shouldn’t go into my query letter.  I got about a dozen responses, each with different answers and opinions. Of those, maybe two, possibly three, actually answered the question with well-thought, insightful and unexpectedly supportive comments. A majority weren’t very helpful, and one was just too cryptically-worded that I had no idea what they were talking about.

Don’t get me wrong – there’s a lot of helpful information out there, and connections are made all the time.  But reading responses to various posts, sometimes it feels like some folks don’t exactly have a firm grasp of what they’re talking about, or give advice not related to the original question.  Pointing you in the wrong direction will not help you in the long run.

Most of my connections have come through the other person’s online presence. I read their blog, newsletter or website, it gives me a bigger window into what kind of writer and person they are. I introduce myself, maybe there’s some email correspondence, and before you know it, both of our networks have increased by one.

It’s harder to accomplish that based on a 1-2 sentence not-as-helpful-as-you-had-hoped answer to your question.

It takes time to build up your network, but in the end you’ll be really glad you did.

Hi there. Nice to meet you.

Maximum Z blog, message boards, networking, screenwriting, social media, writing , ,
First impressions count, even online. So be nice.

I’ve made it a point to really work on expanding my network, especially in ways that could help me achieve my writing goals (this applies to both craft and career).

Since I don’t live in Los Angeles, I have to find alternate ways to connect with other writers and folks in the industry. And thanks to living in the digital/internet age, there are lots of helpful options.

These are the ones I belong to, mostly because they were free and matched what I was looking for. I’m aware of Tracking Board and It’s On The Grid, but as far as I know, you need to pay to subscribe to them, and that’s just not an option for me right now.

–Twitter. I like it, but don’t monitor it all that much. If somebody mentions me or sends me a DM, I try to respond in a timely manner.

–LinkedIn.  Split between screenwriting, social media and writing projects. I’ve connected with lots of writers around the world, as well as more people at agencies and management firms, but unsure whether to send them queries (if applicable). Your thoughts?

–Done Deal Pro forums.  I’ve posted loglines (got some good feedback) and am considering posting pages.  There’s a lot of helpful info in the comments of most threads, but a handful of members sometimes come across as a little full of themselves.

–Stage 32. Joined earlier this month. Still building my network. Will explore further.

–Talentville. Joined last week. Still figuring out how it works.  Something about earning Talent Dollars?

–TriggerStreet. Haven’t used this in a while since being criticized for giving honest feedback on scripts.

Something else to keep in mind – blogs. A great way to network! I contacted just about every person behind the blogs over there to the right to tell them how much I enjoyed reading them, and would they mind if I posted a link. See? Not too hard.

One of those unwritten rules about screenwriting is “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

When I started writing, I knew absolutely nobody. But in the years since then, I’ve tried to get to know a lot more people, and as a result, a lot more people know me.