crowdfunding

Learning never stops. Never.

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coeds
Sure, I may be tired now, but wait until you see the end results

So far, so good, at least in terms of how the rewrite of the sci-fi adventure spec is going.

Already managed to trim a decent amount of pages, with more potential targets coming up fast.

However, one of the most surprising results this time around is seeing more and more opportunities to really get the most of not just the words on the page, but HOW they’re presented.

I already knew overwriting was one of my biggest obstacles. I tend to go into more detail than is necessary. Not “this is the color of his t-shirt, and this is what’s on his breakfast plate”-type stuff, but more in terms of excessively describing what you’d see transpire onscreen.

This has become painfully obvious for some of the fast-paced action scenes. In the old draft, there’d be several lines about what a character was doing. This time around, I want to get to the point faster – partially for less ink on the page, and partially to help speed things up – so I highlight only the parts that the can’t do without.

It’s probably safe to say each scene has become shorter by at least some degree. Some by a few lines, others by half a page, etc. But the overall impact is becoming more noticeable. Scenes seem to be flowing more smoothly. Even though the descriptions aren’t as detailed as they were before, the new, tighter versions are just as visual.

Of course, since I’m the one writing it, I already have a strong sense of how it’s supposed to “look”. The real test comes when a reader gets their hands on it. Will they experience the same results? I sure hope so, so in the meantime, I do what I can to write it so everything is easy to follow and all questions are answered.

What’s most surprising at all about these new developments is I’d written my last few drafts of several scripts with the same approach I’d always used, but there’s just something very different about it this time around. The way this draft is being put together has a much more analytical feel to it. It’s as if something holding me back has been removed, and the positive results are coming in rapid-fire. One can only hope this sensation endures.

Once again, there’s no firm deadline for a completed draft, but as I mentioned, progress has been strong and steady, so “slightly sooner than possibly expected” will have to do for now. And even when that one’s done, there’s a strong suspicion that just a little more touch-up work will be in order.

Thrilling times, chums.

-Screenwriter/filmmaker Ally May has launched a crowdfunding campaign for her packs-an-emotional-wallop short film project In A Breath. Donate if you can!

-Major congrats to screenwriter/overall mensch Bob Saenz for the upcoming US release of the film of his script Extracurricular Activities, a journey almost two decades in the making. Here’s a great interview Bob did for Script magazine.

The 2018 Maximum Z Screenwriter’s Gift Guide

Maximum Z books, consultants, crowdfunding, screenplay, screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, writing , , , , , , ,
xmas window
“Have you been a good writer this year, Johnny?”

Not sure what to get that special screenwriter in your life, or are you a writer and want to splurge and get yourself a little something? Well, worry no more because here’s an extensive list of gift ideas any writer would absolutely love! 

SCRIPT CONSULTANTS

Some offers include a code for the discount, so if you contact one NOT listing a code, make sure to tell them you found them via Maximum Z – or you run the risk of not getting any discount at all.

ScriptArsenal – 20% off script coverage services through 14 Dec with the code MAXIMUM20

Anna Koukouli of Lilifornia Diaries Productions – 15% off coverage services through 31 Dec with the code BLACKFRIDAY15

Andrew Hilton, The Screenplay Mechanic – 10% discount through 1 Jan on consulting services

Jim Mercurio – 10% discount on coaching, professional or comprehensive analysis, or on DVDs

Mark Sanderson – $25 off through 31 Dec on script consulting services

EJ Runyon – Bridge to Story  – 6 writing coaching sessions for the price of 5

We Fix Your Script – 10% discount on coverage and submissions to Script Summit competition on Coverfly

Phil Clarke – 20% off until 30 Nov for analysis, annotation, or A&A service in 2019

Danny Manus – 10% off through 1 Dec for Basic Written Notes Service and TV Notes Service with code MAXZ18

Barri Evins – Spine-tingling sale through 14 Dec on all services, but good anytime

David Silverman – 10% off script consulting services

Andrew Zinnes – 15% discount on all services

Gregory Blair – 10% off through 31 Dec for consulting services

Angela Bourassa of LA Screenwriter – new rate for logline help – $29, and a new item – Make A Movie Magnets – complete set for $9

Gerald Hanks of Story Into Screenplay – 10% discount through 31 Dec on feature coverage services and the one-hour phone consultation

Scotty Cornfield – no matter the genre, if your script involves police or law enforcement, and you want to make sure those parts are accurate, former police detective Scotty is offering a 10% discount on services to help accomplish exactly that

Howard Casner – 10% off script consultation services, and here’s a link to his book MORE RANTINGS & RAVINGS

Script Reader Pro – Script Hackr online screenwriting course for $59 (normally $299) through 1 Dec using code SCR1PT

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!

Even writers know they should take a little break, and what better way to relax than with a good book? Here are some about screenwriitng, along with a few that cover all sorts of other topics and genres.

Tracee Beebe‘s book – No Excuses. Write Anyway!: A Tough-Love Workbook for Screenwriters

Travis Seppala – 365: A Year of Screenwriting Tips

Don Holley – Half Loaded

Chip Street – 21 Things You Need to Know About Screenplay Options: The Indie Screenwriter’s Guide To Protecting Yourself And Getting The Best Deal

Brian Gallagher – Doing Time In Hollywood

Cali Gilbert – It’s Simply Filmmaking

Lucy V Hay – link to free book How NOT To Write Female Characters, plus links to her other books

Brian Drake – his latest thriller Skills to Kill

James Syring – Zen and the Art of Fly Fishing and The Founding Fathers Farewell Tour of the U.S. of A. – both available on Amazon and Lulu Press

Karen M. Bryson‘s noir crime novel Suicide Blonde, which is part of Death and Damages, a 25-book mystery and thriller box set.

Martyn Armstrong – free pdf about running a crowdfunding campaign

Filmmaker Ronald Owen has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help produce his short Outwit. Donate if you can!

A HELPING HAND

With this being the season of giving, a few writing chums going through a bit of a rough time could use a little help, so donate if you can.

Jerron Spencer

Jason Killpack

Garison Piatt

Start putting those wishlists together!

Maximum Z blog, books, comedy, consultant, crowdfunding, filmmakers, holidays, horror, networking, notes, screenplay, screenwriting, script, spec, writing , , , , , , , , , , , ,

storefront
The crowds are already forming, eager to get their mitts on some of the quality merchandise to be offered.

Busy times around Maximum Z HQ (including some details listed below), so another shorty today, but first:

Big announcement time!

Two weeks from today, the 2018 Maximum Z Screenwriter’s Gift Guide will go up. It’ll feature holiday deals on script consulting services (from many of the consultants profiled on these very pages), books about screenwriting written by screenwriters, along with books written by screenwriters, but aren’t about screenwriting, as well as all kinds of other fun stuff that any screenwriter would enjoy receiving.

If you have a product or service like these that you’d like to be included, or if you’re a filmmaker with a crowdfunding effort for your latest project, and you’d like more people to know about it, don’t hesitate to drop me a line. (Email’s on the About Me page)

Cutoff date is Tuesday 20 November, so don’t wait until the last minute!

Now about those aforementioned busy times…

-Slow but steady progress on the horror-comedy spec. So far, my outline-to-page ratio is a bit off – page count exceeding outline expectations – which means I’ll some major editing (i.e. cutting) to do once it’s complete. But I’m having fun writing it, which is really what it comes down to anyway.

-Also have a little touch-up work to do on the sci-fi spec, with the help of some recently-received great notes.

-Been busy with the occasional reading and giving-of-notes. Have I mentioned how great it is to know so many talented writers? Yes indeed.

-Speaking of crowdfunding, filmmaker Ben Eckstein is looking for more backers for his current project WINNING. They’re a portion of the way there, but every little bit helps. Donate if you can!

I know the rules, and do not hesitate to break them

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breaking free
Took a while to be able to do it, but well worth the effort

Used to be that when I would outline a story, I’d try to be as spot-on about hitting industry-recommended page numbers as I could.

Statement of theme on page 3, inciting incident on page 10, etc., etc. That’s how I learned it, so that’s how it must be.

These days? Not so much.

I don’t go crazy, you understand. No scenes lasting 10 pages or anything of that nature.  More like “this happens…around here-ish”.

When I first gave it a try, my immediate thought was “Is that going to be a problem?” It had become so ingrained into my process that this was how it was supposed to be, and any deviation from that was wrong.

Then my writer’s sense of craft kicked in with a hearty “Nope. Have at it, kid”.

As far as I know, the screenwriting police (is there such a thing?) aren’t going to shut me down because something doesn’t happen where THE RULES say it should. I’d rather focus on telling an engaging story with an intelligent plot and well-developed characters than worry about this kind of pettiness.

And honestly? It’s incredibly liberating.

I’m much more interested in telling the story in a way I deem appropriate, rather than drastically cutting something or even cutting it altogether just to make sure the beats happen on the designated pages.

So if my opening sequence runs a page or three longer, so be it. Does it work against me? I don’t think so. My writing usually moves at a good pace, so if something happens a little sooner or later than you expect, and if I’ve done my job in really grabbing your attention, chances are you probably won’t even notice it.

Unless you’re a real stickler for that sort of thing. Most of the writers who read my stuff aren’t; they’re more interested in reading a good script.

-Through September 30th (that’s this Sunday!), the fine folks at LiveRead/LA are offering the discount code MAXZ15 for 15 percent off their script services and the fee for their contest where your script could  be one of two read live by professional actors in Los Angeles in October. Following the read (30 pages max), feedback will be provided, including from veteran production exec & producer Debbie Liebling – Comedy Central, Fox, now working with Sam Raimi. Writers from everywhere are encouraged to submit. The event will be livestreamed, so if your script is chosen and you can’t attend, feedback will be provided live via Skype.

-Filmmaker Scott Kawczynski is running a crowdfunding project for his animated film Light Work. It’s a pre-sale, so even for $1, you can watch the film. Donate if you can!

The gears, they’re a-turnin’ again

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chaplin 2
Sometimes you have to really throw yourself into your work

During a break from working on the comedy spec rewrite, I was digging through some files on some of my other scripts and found a friend’s notes on the pulp sci-fi spec.

I hadn’t read them in months, and vaguely remembered there were some quality comments, so since this is one of the scripts I’m considering working on next, I gave them a quick skimming.

(This is also a good time to remind you that unless you honestly and truly feel that a script is finished, never throw away any of the documents associated with it. You’d be surprised how invaluable those can end up being.)

Yep, definitely some good stuff in here, along with some very valid points about the story and the characters. One of the comments that really struck home for me was that while they liked the story and the ideas behind it, a lot of it still felt too familiar. There were a few moments of uniqueness, but they wanted more. Something slightly different from what they’d read.

“Familiar, but different.” I’ve heard that before.

And it really got me thinking. Even more so this time around.

As it reads now, it’s a good, fun story, but I know it can be better. And different. All while still maintaining the qualities and elements you’d expect for this kind of story, which is what made the idea of developing it so appealing to me in the first place.

Working in my favor is that this was an early draft, so some significant changes were already inevitable, and I at least have a pretty solid foundation from which to start the rebuilding process.

Another bonus is that this is the kind of story where the more new and original ideas I can come up with will only help make the end result stand out that much more.

As I mentioned, this script is a potential “next up”, but not a priority. If an idea or concept for it suddenly pops up, I can easily open up the script’s notes file and jot it down. That way I’ll have it right there and ready to go when that rewrite gets underway.

But for now, back to the comedy.

-A few items for the bulletin board:

-Filmmaker friend of the blog Hudson Phillips is running a crowdfunding project for his post-apocalyptic tale of female empowerment This World Alone. As of this writing, they’re just over 2/3 of the way there, so donate if you can!

-If you’re a screenwriter looking for something a little different in terms of a writing retreat, take a gander at what the Aegean Film Lab has to offer: an international screenwriting workshop in July on the Greek island of Patmos. It’s part of the Aegean Film Festival and a partner of the Sundance Film Festival. I won’t be able to make it, but maybe you will.