draft

Al…most…there!

Maximum Z analysis, animation, comedy, community, determination, draft, enthusiasm, excitement, fantasy, feedback, notes, perseverance, persistence, progress, rewrite, screenplay, screenwriting, script, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A few weeks ago I completed a hearty rewrite of the animated fantasy-comedy. Notes from readers continue to trickle in.

Responses have been generous with their excitement and enthusiasm about it, along with some extremely insightful notes.

I’ll admit to hoping the script was strong enough as is, but there’s no denying the effectiveness of those notes, which means at least one more draft in my future.

Not crazy about that, but if it needs some more work, then so be it.

I’m not as prolific – and definitely not as fast – as other writers, but this approach works for me. I’d rather take the time to really fine-tune something than rush through it and have it not be as solid as can be.

The silver lining here is that each draft is better than its predecessor, as you would expect. Each round of notes helps contribute to making the script and my overall writing better.

It might seem just out of reach now, but I’m confident that both I and this script will eventually get there.

There it is!

Maximum Z animation, comedy, creativity, determination, draft, fantasy, ideas, perseverance, persistence, rewriting, screenplay, screenwriting, script, writing, writing process , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The past few days have been all about doing some major rewriting on the animated fantasy-comedy.

A lot of it has remained the same, but I can also say that a lot has changed about it, and coming up with new stuff – or at least new approaches to what was already there – seemed more effective this time around.

I started with the mindset of “do what needs to be done, no matter what”. Apart from the core of the story, nothing was safe; not even material that had been there since the very first draft. I knew what was needed and would do what I had to to get there.

It wasn’t as tumultuous as I expected. In fact, it was a bit surprising how much ended up being changed, and even more surprising was how easy it was to come up with new stuff; almost as if some kind of door had been kicked open and the ideas wouldn’t stop coming in. If only it could be like that all the time, right?

This is the part of the writing process I truly enjoy. Just being creative and putting it on the page. It felt like I’d lost touch with that, and got a real kick out of experiencing it again.

Next up – sending the script to some beta readers. Fingers, as always, firmly crossed.

The timing of this burst of creativity was also fortuitous because I’ve been feeling very non-productive lately, so this was a nice remedy for that. Being able to recharge one’s batteries is an underrated skill.

With this rewrite now in the past, I can now focus on a few projects that got put on hold because of it.

Looking forward to taking on all of them.

Past You would be really impressed

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Ask any screenwriter how their most recent draft compares to, say, their very first one, by which I mean THEIR ABSOLUTE VERY FIRST ONE, it’s probably a sure thing they’ll say something along the lines of “It was awful!” or “An absolute mess!”, or maybe even “I don’t even want to think about it it was so bad.”

Taking a look at some of my first attempts, I can say the exact same thing. Scenes that drag on. Flat action lines, or ones that were way overwritten. Big chunks of text on the page. On-the-nose dialogue that’s pure exposition. Spoonfeeding story details to the reader to make sure they understand what’s going on.

Nothing to be ashamed of. There are vomit drafts, and “looks like my printer vomited words all over the pages” drafts. You gotta start somewhere, and the important part is YOU GOT IT WRITTEN.

Nowhere to go but up, right?

So you start working on getting better. You get feedback. You start to understand why things aren’t working and what you can do to fix them. You learn, and all this new knowledge helps shape the next draft to better than the one that came before it.

You put in the time and the effort and it becomes more noticeable how your writing is getting better. All of those newbie mistakes are a thing of the past. Your script seems more polished. There’s still room to improve, but it doesn’t seem as daunting now, does it?

Multiple drafts and seemingly neverending rewrites are par for the course. It happens to even the most experienced screenwriters. The hardest part is getting that first draft written. Accomplish that and you’re already ahead of the game.

There will most likely be a ridiculous amount of rewriting in your future, and the end result may be totally different from what you started with, but think about how far you’ve come. You probably had no idea when you were just starting out that you’d be so willing to put yourself through all of this, over and over again.

And that might even be for just one script.

Sure, you might be a little embarrassed when you look at your earliest scripts, but look at your most recent draft or the pages you wrote last weekend. As if they’d been written by two entirely different writers. Because that’s exactly what they are.

Past You was just starting out and made a lot of mistakes. Present You knows what’s needed and does it.

And just imagine the skills that Future You is going to have.

Fingers + brain + keyboard

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Another shorty this week. I’ve been busy on several fronts, including the latest round of work on the animated fantasy-comedy.

Several sets of extremely helpful notes have been received. I’m quite happy with how it’s coming along. Definitely feels like a stronger script.

When it’s ready, off it goes to another batch of readers, which will most likely result in another draft after that.

I’d initially decided to skip contests this year, but am still on the fence about the Nicholl. One deciding factor is their new limit of total number of entries at 5500 (currently standing at a smidge above 650 as of this writing).

If in a few weeks I’m happy with the end result and they haven’t hit the 5500 mark, I’ll consider it. Early bird deadline is March 1st, with a still-reasonable entry fee of $50 USD, then regular deadline on April 1st for $70, and finally late deadline on May 1st for $120.

And if in the end I still decide to skip it, it’ll definitely be ready for next year.

I’d rather take the time to fine-tune it as much as possible than send in a draft considered “good enough”.

Hope you have a productive writing weekend, and for my fellow Californians – stay dry.

That worked out nicely

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Bit of a shorty today.

It took several days of almost-constant work, including a good deal of editing, tweaking, and overall wordsmithing, including a marathon 6-hour stretch at the very end, but the rewrite of the animated fantasy-comedy is complete.

Total page count now stands at 106, which is still good.

Got a squad of beta readers currently working their way through it, and the initial responses have been very, very positive – which is always encouraging – as well as a handful of suggestions for minor fixes scattered throughout.

I’m quite happy with the end result.

Up next – concept art, character designs, a pitch deck, and researching potential targets for querying.

Writing is just one piece of the puzzle.

Allowing myself a brief respite before jumping back into the rewrite of the sci-fi collaboration, which also seems reinvigorated in terms of ideas and execution. The jotting-down of new material is well underway.

Overall, a mighty fine writing week. Hope it was for you too.

-really, really enjoying BLUE EYE SAMURAI on Netflix. Incredible stuff, and definitely NOT family-friendly.