encouragement

Victories, defeats, and everything in between

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This post is being released a few days after the usual time due to my involvement with this year’s San Francisco Writers Conference. I got to be a panelist, moderated a few other panels and did my “Screenwriting 101” presentation. A very nice time all around.

And for those interested, I’ll be taking over the reins of the screenwriting track for next year, so the gears are turning regarding what topics to cover. Hope you’ll consider attending.

It was really nice to talk about screenwriting with some experienced pros, along with giving advice and guidance to a lot of writers just starting out.

Call it a positive end to a semi-negative week.

The quest for representation continues. I’d queried a literary management firm in early January and they were quick to respond a few hours later with “Yes, please send it!”. Two weeks later, got an email saying “Sorry, we haven’t read it yet, but should get back to you by the end of the week.”

That was a month ago. Radio silence since then, including my obligatory follow-up of “Had a chance to read it yet?” I’m assuming it’s a pass, which is disappointing, but c’est la vie.

Moving on.

I also found out my horror-comedy short script didn’t even make the quarterfinals of a horror contest. Also disappointing, but this script is a lot more comedy than horror, so might not have been to the judges’ tastes or criteria. Who knows?

Still moving on.

But there were also a few bright spots amidst the gloominess.

A trusted colleague had some very encouraging comments about the animated fantasy-comedy spec. Feeling pretty confident about its prospects.

Several emails came in with requests for appearances on the podcast I cohost, including one mentioning how much they enjoyed the show. We also started posting the video versions, available here.

The takeaway from all of this is that you never know what’s going to happen and to just roll with the punches. There’ll be days where everything falls into place and days where absolutely nothing goes right. The best you can do is deal with it to the best of your abilities and hope it all works out in the end. And if things don’t go your way, you accept the results, learn from it if possible, and move on to the next thing.

A lot of things are out of our control, so we do what we can to influence or at least steer them to working out the way we want/need/would like them to. Celebrate any and all positive results, (briefly) lament the negative, then redirect your attention to “what’s next?”

Last week is in the past, so now it’s time to focus on this one.

It’s also worth noting that I got to talk with some other writers – both in person and online – who were just frustrated about the lack of progress they’ve encountered. There was a lot of talk about “I don’t know how much longer I want to put myself through this”, which I can totally relate to. Who hasn’t felt more than ready to throw in the towel?

And these are all talented people. Any of their scripts would make for a great film or TV show.

This ain’t an easy industry to break into. The chances of success are small, and seeing others advance (especially those who haven’t been doing it as long as you have) while you feel stuck isn’t helpful either.

Despite all the shitty days and setbacks, I’m one of those writers who intends to keep at it. I like the writing too much to want to give up, and give as much encouragement as I can in the hopes that they eventually feel the same about themselves.

Fasten those seat belts, chums. This bumpy ride keeps on going with no end in sight.

*gif by Frederatic on DeviantArt

I appreciate the praise, but need the criticism

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I had a great notes zoom call with a script consultant this week for the animated fantasy comedy spec.

They really enjoyed it, and had a lot of nice things to say – about both the story and the writing. Admittedly, those were all very gratifying to hear.

But I was more interested in what they thought didn’t work, or at least could use some tweaking.

Fortunately, it wasn’t a long list – just a handful of things, really. And even better, just about all of them were easily fixable.

This has been my m.o. since way back when I first started. Yes, it’s great to hear somebody say nice things about your script, but I need to know what doesn’t work. How else can I make the script better?

It also helps that my readers have some strong analytical skills. They won’t hesitate to point out both the strengths and weaknesses in my work, and that’s the sort of thing a writer needs if they want to improve.

Naturally, I don’t agree with every single note and/or suggestion, but I can see where they’re coming from. Looking at your script from somebody else’s perspective can help you see issues you might not have even considered. That’s also helped me a lot as well.

It all comes down to the single most important question when it comes to notes and feedback: will this make the script better?

Based on my recent series of notes and how the subsequent rewrites/polishes turned out, I’d offer up a resounding “absoutely”.

Speaking of which, I went through and made some of the changes suggested by the consultant – which also trimmed it a little more to a pleasantly round 100 pages.

Now it’s out to what is hopefully my last set of readers. Once those notes come in and any appropriate changes are made, the shift into contest-entering mode can begin.

There’s also the soul-sucking process of having to write a synopsis, but I’ll focus on the positive stuff for now.

It’s all about the gradual improvement

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Progress has been slow, steady, and in all honesty, somewhat faster than expected regarding the ongoing development of the animated fantasy-comedy spec.

Having learned my lesson from getting too many sets of notes per draft in the past, this time I limited myself to 2-3 writers per draft. All of the notes, as expected, were extremely helpful.

Not at the FINAL final draft yet, but gosh is it a lot closer than it was a few months ago. Pages have been cut, characters and subplots tossed, scenes revised or combined, lots of lines and pages trimmed down to what is hopefully succinct and to-the-point writing.

Currently clocking in at a respectable 102 pages. Nice. Especially considering an earlier draft was 119(!). Better to overwrite and cut than to pad and add.

(Big shoutout to Richard Walter for his invaluable advice of “Write as if ink costs $1000 an ounce.”)

While I did achieve one goal of having a workable rewrite done by the end of 2022 – at 10pm on New Year’s Eve, I was hoping to have it contest-ready soon after that.

Not the case, but that’s okay.

I’ve since received a few more sets of notes, including some helpful and encouraging comments from somebody who does coverage for the studios. Two more rounds of polishing have been completed since then. No major or drastic changes; more like a lot of effective and beneficial editing.

At this point, I’d guess there’s probably one more polish, possibly two, to go before I start warming up the credit card and check out contest deadlines.

Well worth the wait, I’d say.

Despite the still-growing number of drafts, it’s been quite satisfying to see the script slowly come together, and the next (but not the last) finish line is in sight.

Your three for ’23

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A new year is upon us. One hopefully jam-packed with opportunity and lots of forward momentum for all.

I had the recent pleasure of having lunch with a writing group. As things started to wrap up, one of the members asked the rest of us to list the three writing-related things we hoped to accomplish in 2023.

It was a great idea, and just as great to hear what everybody was setting out to do.

For me, it’s adding two scripts to my catalog, filming the short, and possibly resuming the quest for representation. That last one’s still a maybe, with “Elevate the quality of my writing” a suitable alternative.

So in the same spirit of camaraderie, I pass the question on to you:

What are your three writing-related goals for 2023?

More than that is fine, but three is a good starting point.

No matter what they are, I wish you the best of luck with of all of them.

Go get ’em, chums. I’m rootin’ for ya.

See you next year.

From me to you

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Festivities around Maximum Z HQ are underway, so taking a moment to say that which must be said.

As the year winds down, we all look back and think about what did and didn’t happen, writing-wise.

Progress was made, along with a few of the usual setbacks and disappointments.

We all know this ain’t easy, but why would we do it if we didn’t enjoy it?

The important thing is we keep trying.

I sincerely hope that each of you continues to push forward in 2023 so that this time next year you can proudly claim “Look at all the amazing stuff I was able to accomplish this year!”

Know that yours truly will always be in your corner, cheering you on and offering up as much encouragement as possible.

I’m extremely fortunate and grateful to know so many amazing and talented writers, and wish all of you nothing but the best in the coming year for all of your projects.

Happy holidays, you phenomenal creatives, you.