draft

Shouldn’t you already be doing this every day?

Maximum Z comedy, confidence, determination, draft, goals, Hitchcock, objective, output, pages, screenwriting, script, social media, writing
"Hmm. How about Mrs Bates kills Marian while she's running through the sprinklers? Nah."
“Hmm. How about Mrs Bates kills Marion while she’s running through the sprinklers? Nah.”

Based on what I’m seeing on various social media outlets and assorted online forums, a lot of screenwriters, including myself, are taking part in the self-imposed project of cranking out an entire script by the end of November.

I think it’s great that so many writers are taking it upon themselves to accomplish this. It definitely helps you establish a kind of rhythm or pattern or whatever you want to call it that you can incorporate into your writing process the other eleven months of the year.

A few months ago, I’d originally set a personal goal of having this draft of the low-budget comedy done by the end of the year, so that’s what I’m shooting for. At the rate of approximately 2 pages a day, there’s no reason it couldn’t done by or at least around Thanksgiving, which would be nice.

What’s also proving to be very helpful is that because this is a first draft, which means it will most likely suck (as first drafts often do), and require the requisite inevitable extensive rewriting, I’m not constantly fretting over whether a scene or a line is perfect. I might spend a minute or two on it, trying alternate takes, but I get it out of my system and move on to the next scene. For right now, whatever I write down works.

It’s a very liberating sensation, and removes a lot of that “I have to get it done!” pressure.

Also good – setting a realistic goal. A lot of writers post updates like “Only 12 pages today. Will try to do better tomorrow.” My at-least-2-pages-a-day quota seems kind of dinky in comparison, and while I wish my output were higher, you gotta do what works for you. My schedule also plays a factor. I only have so much time to write, especially during the week, so I figure I can only produce so much in this timeframe, and take it from there.

What it all boils down to is that no matter how much or how often you’re writing, the important thing is that YOU ARE WRITING. Don’t stop, and definitely try to keep up the pace once the calendar changes to December 1st.

Getting over overwriting

Maximum Z characters, description, dialogue, draft, editing, food, guidelines, rewrite, sandwich, scenes, screenwriting, script, writing
Whattya think? Too much?
Whattya think? Too much?

It’s a bad habit of mine, definitely happens in the first draft, and then has to be slowly and surgically removed with each successive draft that follows.

Simply put, I put too much detail into a scene. I visualize in my mind how it plays out, and that’s what I put on the page.

There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s probably my equivalent of a “vomit draft”, where everything gets written down because you know you’re going to go back and edit and rewrite it multiple times. It’s a starting point.

So after you’ve got that first draft written, how do you know what to get rid of?

Like with sculpting a statue out of a block of marble, just chip away anything that doesn’t belong.

Say you have a scene that runs 1 3/4 pages. Do you know what the point of the scene is? Does it advance the plot and the characters’ development? Is there a way to have the scene still do that but with significantly less words? Can you cut the whole thing in half? Can you cut it by 75 percent?

How much of the scene is just back-and-forth dialogue? How detailed are you when it comes to what the characters are doing? (“He climbs the first step of the stairs, pauses to catch his breath, wipes his sweaty brow, then advances another step.” That sort of thing).

Do you describe parts of the scene that, when you really think about it, really don’t have much or anything to do with moving the story forward (how a room is decorated, what the characters are wearing, etc)? I’ve been reading a lot of scripts lately, and have seen all of these on display.

It’s like this is the culmination of three important screenwriting rules:

–get in late, get out early
–get to the point as soon as possible
–write as if ink costs a thousand dollars an ounce

Don’t be of the mindset that you can’t or won’t change anything. Yes, this is your baby, but what’s more important? Your writer’s ego or telling your story in the best, most efficient way possible?

I had a first draft that was 132 pages. Just about every person who gave me notes said it was too long, and that it had to be at least 20-30 pages shorter. At the time, I thought that was asking too much. If I really pushed myself, I could cut maybe 10, 15 tops.

But as I went through each rewrite, trimming wherever I could, savagely wiping scenes, characters and dialogue from existence, it kept getting shorter until I got it down to 107. A whole 25 pages cut, just as was suggested. It took a while, but I got there.

Whittling each scene down to its bare essentials not only helped make the script better, but also proved beneficial to developing my writing and editing skills so while I’m sure I’ll continue to overwrite in the future, at least I’ll be better prepared to deal with it.

Just another project status update…

Maximum Z comedy, draft, editing, notes, pages, reading, rewrite, screenwriting, script, westerns, writing
All the news about me that's fit to digitally publish
All the news about me that’s fit to digitally publish

Having recently given some notes on a couple of comedy scripts, I decided to see what I could do with mine, which I hadn’t looked at in about 5 months (due to finishing up the western).

The outline still seemed pretty solid, but could do with some minor tweaking. I’d already started on a first draft, so I thought I’d see how that read.

I honestly didn’t remember how far I’d gotten. Maybe page 25 or thereabouts?

Nope. A whopping 49 pages. Whoa. That’s around halfway through! Talk about pleasant surprises.

I read through and already see what needs to be cut, including too many instances of over-writing (a bad habit of mine that always occurs in first drafts). From what I’ve read, it looks like a lot can be taken out without too much of an impact on scenes or story.

So now I’ll see if I can settle back into that 3-pages-a-day routine and have it finished relatively soon-ish. I was hoping to have a draft of something done by the end of the year, so looks like I may actually be on track for that.

Fingers, as always, remain firmly crossed.

And how’s your current project coming along?

I want instant gratification, and I want it now!

Maximum Z agent, contest, craft, draft, manager, patience, rewrite, screenwriting, script, Willy Wonka, writing
Don't be a Veruca
Don’t be a Veruca.

“Hurry up and wait.”

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

“It takes years to become an overnight success.”

“What do you mean you haven’t read it yet? I sent it yesterday!”

You’ve no doubt heard things like these and many others like them before. For a screenwriter, nothing happens as fast as you want it to.

As the contractors and engineers say, “You can have it done right or fast. Which one do you want?”

You might feel like something has to get done or be sent out immediately, but that just ends up being counterproductive. Or worse – has a negative impact. Who among us hasn’t sent out a draft to a potential rep or a contest, only to discover something wrong with it after the fact?

Maybe it’s thinking that the faster you get it out there, the faster the results will come. Those of us who’ve have been doing this for a while know that ain’t how it works. It takes as long as it takes. You can’t force it.

It constantly amazes me to hear writers who claim to have cranked out a first draft of a “surefire hit” in practically no time, don’t do any rewrites, then are dumbfounded when it doesn’t get any responses from the industry or fails to place in a contest. What else would you expect?

You have to learn to control that impulsiveness, and it is not easy. I’ll get an email about a special early bird rate for a contest, and I’ll immediately think “Great!” Then I remind myself that the script’s really not ready yet, and I’d much rather spend the time to work on it until it is. If that means totally missing the contest and entering it next year instead, then that’s fine.

Writing a screenplay is not something you want to rush through. There are so many elements to it, and learning how to do it properly and effectively takes a lot of time.

The only way you can make progress as a writer is to put in the time and effort to be a better writer. It might seem like it’s taking forever, but keep working at it and the results will present themselves before you know it.

Toothbrush. Clean skivvies. Business cards. Let’s go!

Maximum Z adventure, comedy, draft, editing, feedback, genre, loglines, outlines, pages, pie, pitching, rewrite, scenes, screenwriting, title, westerns, writing
Opting to leave my emotional baggage at home
Opting to leave my emotional baggage at home

Kind of busy getting ready to head out to the Great American Pitch Fest, so another shorty today.

(Still accepting suggestions about where one might find quality pie in beautiful downtown Burbank.)

-Didn’t get much writing done this week due to our shaggy dog getting a mess of foxtails stuck in her toes, including one so far in it required a trip to the emergency pet clinic. She’s better now.

-More great notes received for the western. Thanks to all who’ve contributed. It’s especially nice when those who’ve read the previous drafts have high praise about how much of an improvement the latest one is.

Hopefully the next draft will continue that trend.

-The revamping of the comedy outline continues, including tightening the whole thing up. I must have cut at least 10 scenes/pages, so shooting for a total of somewhere in the mid-to-upper 90s. As it should be.

-Yet another “pass” on the fantasy-adventure pitch, so taking a break from those for the time being. The most frustrating part is the oddly-phrased way some of them say no. I’d rather they just said “Sounds intriguing, but it’s not for us.”

Too bad there’s no translator app for that.

-Reader participation time! In the comments below, please give the title, genre and logline of the second script you ever wrote.

I’ll go first.

WOK & ROLL. Comedy. An overly-ambitious Caucasian chef in a struggling family-run Chinese restaurant takes on a sleazy rival determined to shut it down.

Who’s next?