comic books

Random thoughts, general musings, that sort of thing

Maximum Z comic books, contest, creativeness, DC, editing, encouragement, exposition, goals, Guardians of the Galaxy, ideas, inspiration, loglines, Marvel Comics, Movie of the Moment, Nicholl Fellowship, old time radio, perseverance, productivity, rewrite, scenes, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, spec, story, storytelling, The Thin Man, westerns, writing , , ,
Nothing to do with today's post. I just love their chemistry.
Nothing to do with today’s post. I just love their chemistry.

-My western failed to make it through the first round of Scriptapalooza, which makes me 0 for 4 so far this year. I’m not counting the top 20 percent ranking for the Nicholl; that’s like getting Honorable Mention. At this point, I’ve pretty much written off its chances for Austin.

My problem was overconfidence in the script. I thought it was solid enough, but apparently not. It’s not the first time this has happened to me, but I’ll be more careful about it in the future.

I still believe in this script, which is why I’ve been so gung-ho about rewriting it. The past two weeks have been all about making it better. After completing the latest round of edits, it’s now 8 pages shorter, and still some further fine-tuning to do, which hopefully won’t add more than 2-3.

-Never realized how much my characters repeat things in dialogue. “I need you go to the store.” “The store? Why?” Must be the influence of listening to so much old-time radio. Cutting all of those probably amounted to at least half a page.

-I cut at least 5(!) separate situations where the Wilhelm Scream could be used.

-Had a great lunch-chat with one of my working writer pals yesterday. While he was very supportive and encouraging, he also reminded me of the almost insurmountable task of a new, unproven writer breaking in with a high-budget script.

“Your chances improve when you offer something that won’t cost a lot to make. A lot more people can get something made for under $5 million, rather than $50 million, let alone $100-200 million.”

As it should have, it got me thinking. Do I have any stories like that? It took the bike ride home and digging through some old flash drives to discover I did. Maybe about 5 or 6, all of them just a logline and not much else.

It’s a start.

-Movie of the Moment: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014). Loved it. Great story, great characters (and their development). Maybe my only complaint was the bombardment of exposition in the first 20 minutes. Other than that, a lot of fun.

Biggest pleasant surprise: Dave Bautista as Drax.

Biggest almost-catastrophe: Adam Sandler as a potential voice for Rocket. Somebody thought this was a good idea?

It’s really impressive how much of an effort Marvel puts into their stories and characters. I sincerely hope DC and Warner Brothers can take a lesson from this.

Smashing through the wall you just hit

Maximum Z anxiety, comic books, determination, encouragement, goals, Hulk, ideas, perseverance, productivity, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, stress, writer's block, writing

 

If it were only this easy all the time
If it were only this easy all the time

Some days it’s hard to write. Really hard.

This isn’t about finding the time. This is about when the words and ideas just won’t show up.

No matter how many times you try something, it just doesn’t work.

The more you stress over it, the harder it gets. The frustration can be downright crippling.

We already put an exorbitant amount of pressure on ourselves in our attempts to produce quality work, and being angry for not doing so is just counter-productive.

How can people think this is easy? Like us, they soon discover it’s anything but.

Is it at least a little reassuring to know that this is just as common among the pros? Just because you’re a working writer doesn’t make this any easier.  In fact, it may make it even harder – their paycheck is on the line.

Believe me, I wish I could offer up some kind of all-knowing sage advice that goes beyond “Step away, take a deep breath and gather your thoughts,” but sometimes that’s all you can do.

Maybe it’ll work, maybe not. At least give it a try.

The more scripts you work on, the more the odds will be in your favor that you’ll be able to find your way back into that groove and have a few more good writing days.

This is just part of what it takes to be a screenwriter, so you have to know what works for you when this happens.

Which it will.  A lot.

Are you ready?

The dreaded return of a foe most formidable

Maximum Z adventure, Alex Ross, comic books, creativeness, creativity, Elvis, legion of doom, monsters, pulp fiction, screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, writer's block, writing
Who invited these guys?
Who invited these guys?

Ah, writer’s block. So we meet again. It’s been a while.

Can’t say I’m happy to see you.

I was just sitting here, minding my own business, trying to put together the story of my new project (epic pulp adventure monster saga!) when you decided that was your opportunity to make your grand entrance.

Within seconds of your arrival, my creativeness, like Elvis before it, had left the building.

Curse you.

While I struggle with potential ideas and stare at two previous outlines in an effort to construct a third, you stifle my ability to figure out problems, think my way through scenarios and come up with how things should play out.

The ease with which I was able to previously deflect your efforts is no more. You’ve made the process tougher this time, and I do not like it.

The longer you stick around, the more frustrated I get, which makes it harder to develop a strategy that will see me triumphant and you soundly defeated.

What makes your presence even more aggravating is the off-the-charts levels of excitement I have about this project. Once the story is solid enough to my satisfaction, I will become a veritable writing machine and crank out material at a pace you wouldn’t believe.

Taunt me all you want, but I have worked way too hard and put in too much effort to let the likes of you stop me. I may be down, but I am definitely not out.

It may take a little longer than I’d like, or I could find a solution five minutes from now. Either way, I will work my way through this. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again.

And when that moment occurs, I will gladly show you the door and send you on your way, hoping it is a very, very long time until you even consider the idea of returning.

Two non-writerly questions for you

Maximum Z adventure, Battlestar Galactica, Breaking Bad, comic books, confidence, Doctor Who, French, Mad Men, Netflix, screenwriting, script, The Walking Dead, writing
Inquiring minds want to know
Inquiring minds want to know

1. Seen anything good lately?

Thanks to Netflix for finally updating some of their content. I’ve been working my way through Season 3 of THE WALKING DEAD (phenomenal, of course) and Season 1 of ARROW (better than expected, a little cliched here and there, but still fun). Next up – second half of Season 7 of DOCTOR WHO, followed by either BREAKING BAD, MAD MEN or finally getting around to BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

-Watched SHARKNADO (2013) – so bad, it’s extremely bad – and THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC (2010) – a live-action adaptation of a French comic book that started out charming and strong, but lost its footing in the second half.

2. How’s your latest project coming along?

As chronicled here, my 3 projects are all moving ahead slowly, with confidence levels gradually increasing for each.

That’s me. Now you.

Devilishly handsome? Sure. But lovely…?

Maximum Z baking, Comedy Film Nerds, comic books, cooking, half-marathons, Julie Gray, Just Effing Entertain Me, Mark Evanier, Mark Sanderson, My Blank Page, New Jersey, running, screenwriting, Sex in a Sub, Sprinting to Fade Out, William Martell, writing ,

One Lovely Blog

You never know who’s reading your stuff.

Such is the case with this blog. All I know about my readers is how many there are and where they’re reading me, geographically speaking.

So it was a very pleasant surprise to get a message from The Novice Screenwriter: “I really enjoy your blog (and might I add your great sense of humor:) and I just wanted to let you know that I have nominated you for the One Lovely Blog award.

In the words of the Cowardly Lion, “Shucks, folks. I’m speechless.”

One of my earlier bosses in radio stressed the importance of PIE. Not the world-changing, life-affirming dessert  (which, granted, is very important), but how your performance should always be Professional, Informative and Entertaining. That’s an acronym I’ve tried to adhere to in all forms of my media output, including this blog, which is why I’m flattered to get this kind of recognition.

And apparently there are rules/guidelines for this as well:

1. Add the “One Lovely Blog” image to your post
2. Share seven things about you
3. Pass the award on to seven nominees
4. Thank the person who nominated you
5. Inform the nominees by posting on their blogs

Thanks to Aarthi at The Novice Screenwriter for the nomination. When somebody tells me they heard me doing traffic on the radio, I always say “It’s nice to know somebody’s listening.” So in this case, it’s nice to know somebody’s reading.

Seven Facts you may or may not know about me:
-I’m the youngest of 5 in a typical Jewish-American family. And by “typical”, I mean there’s a doctor, a lawyer, and the one in showbiz.

-I was born and raised in the great state of New Jersey. The southern half, where there are no accents.

-My wife and I saw HEATHERS on our first date. We’ve been together ever since.

-I really enjoy cooking and baking. One of my specialties is pecan pie from scratch – crust and everything. A friend with strong roots in Georgia was practically orgasmic over it, which must mean something.

-I like to run half-marathons, averaging about 4 a year. My pace is around 9 minutes a mile, with the goal to someday break the 1:55 time limit. The idea of doing a full marathon is intriguing, yet very intimidating.

-I collect comic books, but have never attended Comic-Con in San Diego. Someday I will. In fact, the dream is to be there while The Movie I Wrote is being promoted (with a panel in Hall H and everything!).

-I didn’t go to school for screenwriting. Everything I’ve learned comes from reading books and scripts, watching and studying movies, attending a handful of seminars, and most of all, writing and rewriting.

Here are the seven blogs I heartily recommend:
My Blank Page – good nuts and bolts advice from a working screenwriter
Just Effing Entertain Me – practical advice for writers and a high-profile script competition (hurry! final deadline is Aug 15)
Sex in a Sub – an extremely prolific writer plus fantastic analysis of Hitchcock films
Sprinting to Fade Out – great info for aspiring writers (regrettably on hold for now, but worth checking the archives)
News from ME – a wide variety of topics from a veteran writer-director who works in TV, cartoons and comics
Scott Tipton’s Comics 101 – got a question about comics? More info than you could possibly imagine, especially if you’re a fan of ROM: SPACE KNIGHT
Comedy Film Nerds – actually a podcast about movies, but extremely hilarious, entertaining, informative and very NSFW

I have no idea if there’s an actual award connected with this, but it doesn’t really matter. I’m just happy to be nominated, and will practice my “forced smile to mask my internal pain” look just in case it’s not my name if a winner is ever announced.