fantasy

That worked out nicely

Maximum Z animation, comedy, determination, draft, encouragement, fantasy, feedback, notes, pages, perseverance, persistence, query letter, rewriting, screenplay, screenwriting, script, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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.

No spit, but lots of polish

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After receiving several sets of quality notes on the animated fantasy-comedy, the task of applying the most suitable and workable ones into a new draft is well underway.

I had a strong suspicion that the page count would increase, which it has, but as I approach the midpoint of the script, its not as high as I feared it would be. What began as a 97 page script is now 103, so a final tally of 110 or thereabouts seems like a fair estimate. There will most likely need to be some additional tweaks and edits when this draft is done, but for now it’s all good.

What’s also been exceptionally helpful is that each set of notes has a handful in common with the rest. Those are the ones I really took to heart. If two or more people make the same comment, then that’s something you need to really examine.

I was initially concerned that a higher page count would be a negative, but since most of what’s being added in is necessary, I’m not as worried. For a story like this, including a few more details should work in my favor.

Some of the notes were about the story logic, the main character, and the world-building. I’ll admit that some of the points being made were things I hadn’t thought about before, but now that they’d been mentioned, how could I not see it? This is one of those times when taking a step back and examining the bigger picture really pays off.

I’m always a little cautious when I start a new rewrite or polish. How much is going to change? A little? A lot? Can I do more than just a metaphoric rearranging of the furniture? I find it helps to map out what’s going to happen in the scene, along with figuring out the conflict and how the scene fits in in regard to the sequence of events. I’m doing what I can to ensure that where and when a scene takes place in the story is exactly right.

It’s also been somewhat surprising to be able to come up with new ideas for a scene, either a totally new one or a new take on one already in there. A lot of the notes ask questions that can only be answered by creating something new that not only answers the question, but helps solidify the overall story.

I’m not usually one for deadlines, but progress is pleasantly moving forward, so hoping to have this draft done in the next few weeks, followed by cleaning it up.

After that, I’ve got a few ideas for what to do with it.

Just some minor reshuffling

Maximum Z adventure, animation, comedy, determination, excitement, fantasy, ideas, notes, perseverance, persistence, rewriting, science fiction, screenplay, screenwriting, script, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Almost two weeks into the year and my priorities have already changed. Hopefully for the better.

The original intent was to finish the rewrite of the sci-fi adventure, then start on a new project.

But then I got some phenomenal notes back on the animated fantasy-comedy AND a revived connection from a former collaborator about a project that’s lain dormant for a few years.

So now I’m splitting my time between those two, while the first two have been temporarily relocated to the proverbial back burner. As is my usual fashion, I’ll most likely jot down the occasional thought for the latter two between writing sessions for the former two.

I was initially resistant to the idea of rewriting the fantasy-comedy. It’s done well in some contests and garnered some potential interest, but given the opportunity to make it better, how could I resist? The aforementioned notes really opened my eyes as to what needed work – thankfully not a lot – and it feels like implementing those changes could have quite a positive impact on the script as a whole. Work has already begun and even though I’m still in Act One, I’m thrilled with how it’s going.

Regarding the script that’s been resurrected from the graveyard of abandoned scripts, my former partner had some ideas about it and got in touch with me to discuss it. His suggested changes seem to be more in sync with the type of story we want to tell, and my suggestion was to streamline and simplify the story to make it more relatable.

Both projects seem to hold a lot of potential, and I’m enjoying splitting my time between them. Both are established in terms of their stories, so these new drafts aren’t as challenging as if we were starting with an entirely new blank slate.

How do I feel about all these sudden changes of plans? Honestly, thrilled. I’m enthusiastic about all of them, and while I’d like to work on what I originally set out to, I’ve got no problem taking care of these other two first. If things go smoothly, there might even be the possibility of returning to the initial two sooner than expected.

We’ll see, but fingers crossed.

Catch ya later. Got some writin’ to do.

Looking back, looking forward

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Since this is the last post of 2023, it’s only fitting – and probably expected – to review the events of the past 12 months, as well as lay out the plans and hopes for the next 12.

This was a pretty good year for me on a few fronts.

After a significant amount of rewrites, my animated fantasy-comedy did okay with contests. It placed 3rd in Family/Teen/Animation for StoryPros, made quarterfinals in PAGE (first time breaking that barrier) and was a 2-time Second Rounder at Austin (first time for that one as well, and 2 times because I entered 2 drafts and each made it).

Because of the strike, and then being hit with consecutive bouts of Covid, I wasn’t able to do much with putting the script out there – something I’m hoping to fix come January.

I also finally made it to Austin and had a phenomenal time. I got to meet a lot of the amazing people I’m connected with on various social media platforms, as well as a few established pros.

As for 2024…

Currently working on the rewrite of the sci-fi adventure, and have been laying the groundwork for a new one – an action-comedy. Hoping to have both done by this time next year.

Since there’ll be more focus on the writing, I’m taking the year off from contests. Just seems like the right thing to do – and will save a decent chunk of change. No plans to go to Austin either. Maybe in ’25.

Also hoping to get things moving on the representation front. Since I’ll be skipping contests, I’m looking into some of the programs offered by Roadmap Writers. Heard lots of good things.

And I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m really hoping to get the ball rolling on filming the short script I wrote a few years ago. I’ve been really fortunate to have lots of offers of help and guidance to assist me in reaching that finish line.

There were a good deal of moments this past year involving self-doubt, uncertainty and just feeling not good enough. It’s been a long arduous journey just to get to this point, and there’s still a long distance to go. It can be frustrating, but I know I can keep finding the strength and determination to keep going. It helps to have so many people in my corner, metaphorically cheering me on.

At the end of each year, I usually say something like “Here’s hoping the new year brings bigger and better things on the screenwriting career front.” This is year is no different. There will no doubt be more heartbreak and feelings of inadequacy, but I like doing this too much to even consider the idea of giving up. Yes, I hope things work out or at least advance to some next levels, but if they don’t, I’ll still be plugging away and enjoying the journey.

Can’t close things out without saying thanks for coming along with me on this ongoing rollercoaster ride, and I wish you nothing but the best for all your projects in the coming year, and hope it’s truly phenomenal for you.

-Also wanted to thank everybody who sent in for last week’s Script Showcase. Hope you got some read requests!

My Austin experience

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The 30th Austin Film Festival is in the books, and I had the pleasure of attending for the first time. There was also the bonus of my script being a Second Rounder. Twice. More on that in a minute.

Before I went, a friend who’d been there several times offered up some very sage advice:

“Don’t go expecting it to be a career-launcher. While that might be a remote possibility, go with the intent of meeting people, maybe learning a few things about the craft, and most importantly – to have a good time.”

I took all of those to heart, and it most definitely paid off.

For me the absolute best part was getting to meet an extraordinary amount of people I’d only known through social media; a lot of writers I’ve interacted with for years. It was fabulous to be able to talk with them face-to-face. Whether it was over coffee or drinks, a meal or just waiting in line for one of the many panels, just being able to chat (or shout, depending on the location) with each other was extremely pleasant.

Like a lot of writers, I can be quiet at first before I feel comfortable enough to open up and be more social. In the days leading up to the festival, I was terrified it would be another one of those “Everybody’s talking to somebody while I’m just sitting/standing here by myself”-type of situations.

And I hate those.

More than a few people told me it’s very easy to start a conversation in Austin. You see somebody wearing a badge and just start talking. I figured I’d give it a try.

The easiest place to do this was in line, of which there are MANY. A bit awkward at first, but this ended up happening a lot. One of my favorite parts was asking somebody about their script or scripts, which were listed on their badge if it had placed. I love seeing and hearing a writer talk about their work – you really can see their excitement about it on display. I even got a few “I’d love to read that” in response to them hearing about mine – always nice.

Another great thing was the wide variety of panels being offered. I think this will be the last time I’ll feel the need to go to any of the “how to break in”-type panels. While the information was good, none of it was anything I hadn’t already heard many times before. I didn’t mind attending them, but next time I’ll be able to focus more on the ones that feel a little more tailored to my kind of writing (e.g. Deconstructing the Action Movie, Tentpole Storytelling, etc.).

With my script being a Second Rounder, I had the opportunity to attend some roundtable panels, which involved industry pros chatting with some of us at a table for about 12-15 minutes, then moving on to another table. The ones I got to hear ranged from TV writers to a screenwriter who’s had several films produced over the past few years.

Regarding my earlier comment about my script being a Second Rounder twice. I’d entered the animated fantasy-comedy before the early bird deadline, but then did a few rewrites on it and thought it was a lot better, so I rolled the dice and entered it again before the final deadline. I felt it was worth paying another entry fee. I was thrilled when I got the phone call saying the script was a Second Rounder, but then remembered I’d entered it twice. Was this for the first or second entry? The first, I was told. This gave me hope that the second entry might have a shot at making the semifinals. A few weeks later, another phone call came in to congratulate me for my script being a Second Rounder. Not what I was hoping for, but still really nice to hear. It was the first time a script of mine ever made Second Round, so to also be attending the Festival for the first time was a double-win.

One of the things that wasn’t as great a match for me was the late night activities. Much as I wanted to take part, a combination of decades of my body being used to getting up in the middle of the night for work and non-stop activity from dawn to dusk resulted in me being totally spent at the end of the day. Hitting a party or visiting a bar at 11pm or midnight might work for some, but not this guy

I could talk about other peripheral things like where to stay, good places to eat & drink, and that sort of thing, but that’s more of an individual choice. Part of the fun was the exploring of the downtown Austin area. Although I will add that dinner at Gus’ World Famous Fried Chicken was phenomenal.

If you’re a screenwriter who hasn’t had the chance to attend the Austin Film Festival, it’s something I highly recommend. It’s truly an experience you won’t forget and hopefully be one you’ll be eager to repeat. I don’t plan on doing any contests for 2024, so I’ll probably skip going to Austin next year; more likely ’25 or ’26. Or as one of my friends put it: “You should come back when they’re talking about the movie that you wrote.”

I like that option the most. Working on it.

**One more thing: I tested positive for Covid upon my return home. Another first-time experience, and another reason this trip will be truly memorable. This has also happened for several other friends, so if you haven’t tested yet, DO SO IMMEDIATELY and take the appropriate action.