draft

Not perfect. Just written.

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Some decent progress this week on two of my three big projects for this year.

The one that really resonates is the continuing work on the outline for the new action-comedy spec. Came up with a few more scenes and sequences, while the laborious task looms of fitting them all together in the most effective way.

But something became very obvious while working on one sequence:

Too much effort was going into the details of the scene, and not enough on “what’s the point of this scene?” I was creating more work for myself than necessary, trying to get everything right the first time out.

Silly writer. That’s what rewrites are for!

One of the most important parts of the first draft is just to get the damned thing written. There’ll be lots of work down the road, so why stress about something that’ll most likely be changed in one way or another?

This has really helped my frame of mind. There’s still a ways to go, but the road feels a little smoother.

On top of that, while taking a few breaks along the way by watching some personal favorite films, I noticed how so many scenes really adhere to the “get in late, make the point, move on to the next one.”

I’m going to try and apply that to how I put scenes in the outline together, and then refine it even more as I move on to actual pages.

There’s always something new to learn, and this is no exception.

-Crowdfunding for post-production of my short film SHECKY continues! We’re at 73%, with just under a month to go. Hope you can chip in – and take your pick from some sweet tier rewards!

Even just a few steps is still good

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It’s the onset of a holiday weekend here in the US, so file this post under “short, but relevant”.

The good news is I hit the midpoint for the outline of my current spec. The not-so-good news is that I’m still figuring out the rest of Act Two and most of Act Three. Plot points (such as they are) are in place, and the filling in between them continues.

Daunting as that may be, I’m just happy to have gotten this far. Current mindset is “just get it written and fine-tune it later.”

I know I’ll figure things out, but count on lots of ruminating in my near future.

Speaking of which…

As if by divine intervention by the writing gods, a friend posted online that the upcoming month is being labeled “Spectember” in that a writer could complete a spec script by month’s end. Pretty certain I couldn’t complete an actual spec, but the outline? That’s a definite possibility – or as mighty close as I can get.

Enjoyment levels and overall excitement for this project remain strong and steady, which always help.

Muscle memory kicking in

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It’s been a while since I’ve worked on a new project, so there was the initial sensation of feeling overwhelmed and constant thoughts of “Is this going to work?”

I’d spent so much time rewriting and revising the previous script, so sitting down and having that blank page staring back brought back that all-too-familiar sensation. You know the one – you’re so used to working on a script that’s around 97 or 98 percent complete, and now you’re back to one that’s in single number territory, or at least low double digits.

Fortunately, I’ve been down this road before, and like with writing at any point in the process, the only way to get it done and move things forward is to put that ass in the chair and get to it.

Which is what I’ve been doing.

Plot points are in place – some a bit on the vague side or primarily functioning as a placeholder (“____ defeats _____”), so now it’s about filling in all those blanks that connect them.

Some have been created easily, others took multiple attempts, and some are still very vague. Notebook pages are filling up as I write down everything and anything that comes to mind, no matter how crazy or wild it might seem. Ideas and inspiration can come from anywhere, so why not hang on to all of it?

They don’t call it a work in progress for nothin’.

Very important – the first draft is going to be a big flaming mess, so don’t stress about it. Just get the damned thing written.

This has been the experience with previous scripts, so there’s no reason to have it happen again. It’s all about taking the time to figure things out. Also like usual, there’ll be a lot of stuff that will most likely end up not being used, but that’s how it goes.

It’s been a while since I last went through this part of the process. I’ve missed it, and am just as eager this time around to take it on.

That’s one out of the way…

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Hard as it is to believe, I can honestly say that my work on the animated fantasy-comedy has come to an end. I got some great notes from a new batch of readers (and one previous one), did a few passes on it, and there you have it.

I think it’s a very strong piece of work and at the very least makes for a fantastic sample/calling card.

Bonus – one reader really enjoyed it and offered to put out feelers for potential interest within their network of industry connections. There was no hesitation to say yes (and thanks).

When the year started, I had plans of what I wanted to accomplish in terms of writing and the writing-adjacent. With this rewrite officially in the books, I feel totally unencumbered to do that.

Things feel different this time around, like the air is rife with possibilities. It’s up to me to take advantage of that and be productive while also enjoying the ride.

A few more ideas jotted down for the new spec, work continues on getting things ready for the short film, lining up guests (and reading their work) for the podcast, and putting the finishing touches on the panels for the Writing For Hollywood track at the upcoming San Francisco Writers Conference.

And when I can find the time, reading scripts – both produced and specs.

There’s a lot going on. So far, so good.

Get the forks ready

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After I-don’t-know-how-many drafts, this most recent version of my animated fantasy-comedy is pretty much it for me. Granted, I’m waiting to hear back from some readers – some new sets of eyes and one who’d read a previous draft, so there’s a chance of more notes, meaning most likely one more revision, but for the most part – j’en ai fini avec ca.

This has been a long time coming – a few years, in fact. I often hear how you should learn to move on from projects, but there was always something about this one that always seemed to whisper “not yet”.

The work this time around definitely felt a little different. Scenes were moved around, trimmed, or flat-out cut entirely. Action lines and dialogue were tweaked accordingly, some more than expected. Sometimes I’d get a jolt of sudden inspiration and change something that hadn’t been touched since very early on. There were even a few new opportunities to add in a joke, including one that still makes me chuckle when I think about it.

Since I’d already planned to drastically cut back on contests, this one will probably be sent to just Austin and PAGE. I’m not really sure if this is this sort of script that Nicholl readers go for, although an animated script has been a finalist before, so you never know.

It’s a little frustrating it took so long to get here, but I’m extremely proud and happy with how it turned out – especially after this latest draft.

What a good run this was, and it definitely helped raise the quality of my writing.

Taking a little time off to catch my breath, with the gears already turning for the next one.