characters

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.

Make that sprawling epic a little less so

Maximum Z characters, dialogue, editing, outlines, plot, proofreading, rewrite, rules, scenes, screenwriting, script, story, structure, subplot, writing ,
There can be such a thing as too much
There can be such a thing as too much

An underrated bonus of working on a first draft is having the freedom to put in just about anything you think will work (provided, of course, it advances the plot, story and character development).

There will be the inevitable edits and rewrites afterward, but this is your chance to take that outline and really build on it.

But it’s also easy to overdo it.

All that witty dialogue, intricate scene descriptions or clever subplot you just thought up can quickly add up without you realizing it, and suddenly your tight, compact story has become a bloated, overstuffed mess.

Scripts usually run 90-120 pages – one page equals one minute of screen time. Does yours fall somewhere in that range? Anything more or less, and you’ve got some work to do.

If you ask somebody to read your script, one of the first things they’ll do is check out how long it is. 97 pages? Cool. 137? Unless you’re an award-winning filmmaker, not so cool.

“But there’s nothing I can cut!” you exclaim.

Wanna bet?

Once you’re done with your current draft, don’t look at it for at least a week; two would be better. Put it away and walk away. Focus on something else.

Then come back and just read it.  No editing, just reading.  Still think there’s nothing you can do with it?

Now the fun begins.  Go through it and really scrutinize each scene.

Is it absolutely crucial to the story? If so, can it be shorter?

All that great stuff you came up with on the fly – does it still work?

It may be tough at first to kill all those darlings, but more than likely, you won’t even miss them after they’re gone.

If you want to be a better writer, you have to learn how to not let your ego and emotions dictate your edits. In the end, both your script and writing skills will be the better for it.

Don those X-ray specs and press ‘play’

Maximum Z analysis, characters, screenwriting, script, story, structure, writing
Make sure to use them only for good
Just make sure to use them only for good

Many, many years ago, I attended an abbreviated version of Robert McKee’s seminar on screenwriting. While they usually run an entire weekend, this one was a merciful two hours long.

Of all the things he talked about, of which there were many, there’s only one point I still remember to this day:

If you want to really understand how to write a screenplay, watch a movie while following along with the script.  Do this every day (I’m assuming with a different script each time) for a year. Apparently this will instill in you how a screenplay works, the understanding of structure, etc.

I’m split on this.  On one hand, the only way you’re going to really learn is to just sit down and write.

But there is at least some merit to the idea. The more you watch and read, the more you’ll (hopefully) come to understand all the inner workings, nuances and intricacies that go into these things.

Say you’ve come up with an idea for your next spec.  A comedy.  You’ve got the basic story idea down, but there’s something missing.

Chances are you were influenced by other comedies. Compare your story to some of your favorites. What is it about them that you like? Is your story similar? What do they have that yours doesn’t, and vice versa?

Take the time to watch them again, but don’t just watch. Study them. View them through a writer’s eyes.

Can you see the elements at work? Are you able to look beyond the jokes and follow how the characters and storylines develop? Do the jokes and comic set pieces come naturally or do they feel forced?

Over time, identifying story components will become easier for you, and you’ll be able to put that knowledge into play on the page.

Can’t forget B, C and possibly even D

Maximum Z characters, Movie of the Moment, Netflix, outlines, plot, rewrite, screenwriting, script, storytelling, subplot, Wizard of Oz, writing
It’s not all about Dorothy, right?

It’s been a productive couple of days.  I worked a ton of hours on the air, made two well-received pies for Thanksgiving, and even got some writing in.

I’ve reached the part of the outline that says “The End,” but it’s not time to celebrate just yet.  Far from it.  There’s still a lot that has to be done before those words can really be applied.

While the main storyline has wrapped up, it became glaringly obvious that I’d completely ignored my supporting characters. I was so focused on the main character, I forgot to give the others something to do during the climax/showdown portion of the story.  And that’s just wrong.

This has the potential to become a somewhat sticky problem. It’s important that the individual arcs and storylines/subplots each come to a satisfying conclusion, but just as important not to overdo it and drag things out too long (e.g. LOTR: THE RETURN OF THE KING).  There’s always a way to wrap things up. The challenge is finding the right one AND making sure it works.

As always, this is going to take some carefully-orchestrated and organized planning.

Still, any progress is good progress.

-Movie of the Moment. This weekend was also good for making a dent in our Netflix queue.

-BLACK DYNAMITE (2009) A hilarious satire on blaxploitation films that really feels like it came out of the 70s. Star Michael Jai White was also one of the writers.

-DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (2010) A great combo of martial arts and supernatural mystery set in 7th century China. V was really excited to watch this at first, but in the end was too freaked out. End result – more kids movies for now, leading into…

-PUSS IN BOOTS (2011) or IF ZORRO WAS A CAT. Since there’s a western element, I enjoyed it, and probably would have loved it if I was a cat person.  A sequel to this would be more preferable than yet another SHREK film.

Didn’t know I had it in me

Maximum Z characters, screenwriting, script, writing
Seemingly insurmountable? Maybe not.

One of the notes I got back in August was that my main character had to be challenged more. That really struck a chord with me.  Challenged how? How could I accomplish that? Does he mean in a story sense, or character development, or something else entirely?

I had no idea what to do.

Rather than stress myself out, I opted to shut down the analytical part of my brain and just work on the outline.  Which led to the current work on pages.

Then I got to this pivotal sequence near the end of Act One.  The previous version was okay, but needed improvement on several levels.

And that’s when it hit me.

Here was the opportunity to not only challenge my hero, but to emphasize the threat of the bad guys (extra conflict courtesy of a 2nd antagonist added to this sequence) AND to play up the fantastical elements of the story (also advised via the aforementioned script notes).

It was surprising how this was working out.  Something I was anxious and stressing over was becoming easier to do.

The now-revamped sequence definitely changes things, and really sets a tone for what’s ahead and what kind of bad guys our hero has to deal with if he’s to accomplish his goal.

This sort of thing seems to be happening more.  Initial nervousness, followed by calm, analytical thinking, resulting in better-than-expected final product.

But this isn’t the time to rest on my laurels. A main supporting character is about to undergo a major personality adjustment, and that’s going to be even more of an effort.

Can’t wait to see how that works out.