Every time I connect with somebody on some kind of social media or community forum, I ask the same question:
How are your latest projects coming along?
It’s always a wide variety of genres in various stages of development, and always nice to hear.
Here’s what’s going on with me.
-Still trudging my way through the revamp of the outline for the pulpy adventure spec. I’m somewhere between the midpoint and the page 75 plot point. It feels a bit disoriented as I work my way through it, but it should get better as I push my way forward.
So how about you? What’s occupying your time these days?
Lost? Of course not. Just recalculating my position.
It took some doing, but I finally managed to get to the midpoint of the rewrite of the monster spec outline.
As is required for this particular plot point, my hero is now firmly committed to achieving his goal, plus not one, but two new conflicts thrown into the mix to make it that much harder for him.
There’s still a little setup-payoff work that needs to be applied to some earlier scenes, but I really like how it’s coming along.
But for now, my attention shifts forward – further into the vast wasteland that is the rest of Act Two.
To some, a staggering task of herculean proportions. For me – not too much.
Well, maybe a little.
Act Two can be incredibly intimidating. Your script can have a killer opening and fantastic ending, but if what happens between them isn’t as good, if not better, than you’re in trouble.
What takes place in those 50-60 pages can really make or break your story. A reader or audience wants to see things happen as the characters grow (or at least change).
With such a vast canvas to work with, you might lose track of a lot of elements – supporting characters, subplots, etc. I remember reading a script that introduced what I thought was going to be an interesting subplot, but after that initial appearance, it never showed up again. It’s possible the writer just forgot about it, or maybe didn’t know how to develop it.
Take your time to plan things out. Yes, we all want to get done faster, but in this case, that’s the worst thing you could do.
Let’s assume you’ve got your plot points in place, so now it’s a matter of connecting them. What has to happen in each scene to move things ahead to the next one?
Remember: each scene, no matter how big or small, should advance the plot, theme and character, as well as contain some kind of conflict.
It’s easy to get lost in all the details. Maybe there’s too much focus on this part, and not enough on that one. Again, take your time to figure it out. Besides, you’ll be able to make the necessary fixes in the next batch of rewrites.
It’s okay if you don’t have all the answers right now, but there are lot of details you’re going to need to fill in as you move forward. And always keep asking “Is this the best way to have this happen?”
The journey through Act Two can definitely be a challenge, but it can be a little less daunting if you go into it prepared and knowing where you want to go.
The past several days have been all about revamping the story/outline of the monster spec. The percentage of what’s being eliminated from previous versions continues to grow on a daily basis.
A lot of what’s left still needs to be fixed, or at least changed. As much as I love the original ideas, they just weren’t working.
Part of the problem was my stubbornness to consider alternatives, and the frustration over trying to force the creativeness wasn’t helping either.
As has happened before, I had to ignore what I wanted, and concentrate on what worked for the story. This had to be slow, calculated and meticulous, but I had one slight advantage this time around.
Remember that whole ‘previous draft’ thing? Turns out a lot of the contents are becoming just what I need by applying “What if…?” or “How about…?”
(Yet another example of why you should hold onto your previous drafts – they’re a treasure trove of of potential material)
These questions are proving to be more than adequate in creating foundations for developing new material. By taking a slightly different approach, new and previously unconsidered alternatives are making themselves known.
It has definitely yielded some positive results, including a drastic reconfiguring of the antagonist – originally conceived one way, but after finally accepting that changes were necessary and much tinkering, now fits into the story a lot better, and also provides for stronger conflict with the protagonist.
Don’t be afraid to consider new ways or different approaches to what you already have. While you may think it’s perfect the way it is, chances are it could probably use some reworking.
When you get feedback on your work, you have the luxury of being able to pick and choose which comments and suggestions you’re going to use, and disregarding the rest.
It’s only one person’s thoughts, right? Maybe there’s a worthwhile nugget or two in there.
But what if more than one person makes the same comment? If those folks mentioned it, it might be likely more are going to as well.
Take a look at what they’re saying. Can you understand why they said it, and more importantly, what can you do to fix it?
Such was the case for a pivotal plot point in my western spec. At least three people asked “Why does this character do this?”
Each claimed it didn’t make sense and felt contrived, like it was happening because the story needed it to, rather than being set up organically.
If one person had said this, I would have thought “Maybe I’ll take a look at it.” After the second and third piped in, it quickly changed to “How can I fix this?”
It took some work (mostly with the dialogue) to set things right, so not only does this character now feel more fleshed out, but their actions come across as more believable, there’s more conflict between them and the main character, and the flow of the story is smoother.
A writer’s ego is already a sensitive thing, but what’s more important? Thinking your work is perfect as is and doesn’t need any changes, or being willing to make those changes to make it better?
Maybe it’s a little fix or maybe it requires a major overhaul. No matter what, you’ve got some work to do.
How often have you read a scene with several characters in it, but the focus is only on two of them? Makes you wonder why exactly those others are there, doesn’t it?
The last thing you want is to have characters just standing around. Give them something to do!
Each scene has to move the plot forward, and every character, no matter how big or small their role, plays an important part in making that happen. If there’s no purpose for them to be there, then they don’t need to be there.
Countless opportunities abound for what characters can be doing in addition to exchanging dialogue, thereby avoid the dreaded “talking heads” scenario. The important thing is to keep it relevant to the scene, and not just something random.
Maybe it’s providing (or at least contributing to) the conflict for that scene, or showing the latest development of the main character’s arc.
If you’re not sure what the characters should be doing, try to come up with several alternative versions that reach the same conclusion.
You know what the point of the scene is and what kind characters they are, so take the time to figure out the best way all of you can work together to get the best possible result.
Maximum Z 