frustration

Just not their thing?

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(Apologies for no post last week. Had some important family stuff going on.)

Although my current focus is all about the crowdfunding for my short film, I got a bit of news earlier this week that really made me stop and think.

I subscribe to International Screenwriters’ Association (ISA), and one of the benefits of that is free entry to some of their contests.

I took advantage of that and entered my fantasy-comedy into the Emerging Screenwriters Sci-Fi/Fantasy contest.

It made quarterfinals, which was nice, but did not make the semifinals, which was not as nice.

My first reactions were naturally “Man, this script must really suck,” and “This does not bode well for the other contests I sent it to.”

After the requisite wallowing in remorse and self-pity, I’d remembered something else about this contest. When the list of quarterfinalists was released, I recognized a couple of names and titles I’d seen before.

I checked which of those scripts had advanced and which had not. One in particular that had not was a script I knew had placed in one of last year’s major competitions.

That gave me some pause. A script like this, one of exceptional quality, had NOT advanced in this contest? That just didn’t seem right. How could that happen?

This once again reminded me that IT’S ALL SUBJECTIVE. Your script isn’t going to click with everybody. I don’t know what the criteria for the readers or the contest are. Maybe the script wasn’t “genre” enough for them? Who knows?

I’ve gotten a lot of great & positive feedback on my script, and it’s done moderately well in a few other contests. Not that I’m comparing mine to this other writer’s, but neither script advancing doesn’t mean they’re bad. Just “not what they’re looking for”, and there’s nothing to do about it.

While it would have been nice for the script to advance, it’s not the end of the world that it didn’t. And it was still free.

I’ve been slowly pulling back from contests overall, and this kind of result is a contributing factor.

And almost as a counterpoint to this experience, I recently got a very nice pass on the same script from a reputable management firm that invited writers to submit. I had a strong suspicion it wasn’t the type of material they usually worked with, but figured I’d take a chance. Even though they passed, they liked it, and had some very nice things to say.

Now it’s back to the short film crowdfunding (currently at 34% with just over 3 weeks to go, so hope you can chip in. Thanks!)

From the archives: FBD is a BFD

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This post from July 2024 is about when I was first starting on this new story idea. I’d put that one on hold to spend a lot of time polishing and rewriting another script, so work on this one has resumed. There has been some progress on figuring out the story, but a lot of what’s mentioned in here still rings true – especially the subject.

Enjoy.

Working on this new script idea is proving to be quite a challenge. It’s still in the very early development stages, so any and every idea is being written down for potential use. No doubt some will stay, some will be trashed, and some will be altered/revised/modified to varying degrees.

Adding to all of this is that a big part of the story is similar to parts of a very beloved and well-known film – so similar that it’s one of my comps – so I also need to come up with ideas so my story safely falls into the category of “Familiar, But Different” – FBD.

It’s my goal to have this story be reminiscent of that other one, but not so much that it feels like I’m totally ripping it off. I’ve read a lot of scripts that fall short of that, so doing what I can to avoid falling into that trap.

This film also has a lot of iconic scenes, so it’s even more important I put my own spin on the concept to really hammer home its FBD-ness. The absolute last thing I want is for somebody to read this and think “There’s nothing new here”.

A key part of this is breaking down the components of the original film – not just the story, plot and characters, but seeing what worked, how the various storylines and subplots were laid out AND how they were connected. I can then use all of that as a springboard to putting my story together, and then fine tune as necessary.

Challenging, but not impossible.

Great as it would be to have the final result ready now, finding a new way to tell this familiar story is part of what I enjoy about doing this. I like to call it “go for the hard turn”; Just when you think things are going to go a certain way, there’s a yank on the steering wheel and all of a sudden things are heading in a whole new direction that makes you want to keep going.

One thing I’m fairly certain will play a factor in putting this together is that I’m just enjoying working on it. I don’t think there’s anything like it out there, so there’s a certain thrill to exploring the unknown, so to speak. It’s a priority for me that when it’s totally done – no matter how long that takes – it makes a strong impression for both the story it’s telling and how it’s written.

Even though it’ll take a while for me to figure it out, I’m confident I can make it happen.

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.

Time unintentionally taken

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When I started working on the new spec a few months ago, I was hoping to have a solid outline done by the end of the year.

But the story is proving to be more complicated than I originally thought, and I’ve come up with some ideas that would help not only the story but to also showcase the “different” in the Familiar But Different aspect when it comes to the films that inspired it.

And on top of that, I’ve been busy with other stuff, so development on this project has really slowed down. I’m still working on it, but slightly annoyed that this is happening in the first place.

Part of it is my strong desire to get this thing written. I’m really psyched about it, but I also want to do as much outlining and figuring stuff out before moving onto pages.

There’s also the previously-alluded-to going for “familiar but different”. There are scenes and sequences in this story that require a strong sense of originality so as to avoid being interpreted as me being a lazy writer and just ripping off stuff from those other films. That is something I definitely want to avoid.

Thus, my continuing struggle to put this one together.

I initially felt embarrassed and a little ashamed about being so far behind schedule, but this is what putting this story together requires. When I expressed this to other writers, I was reminded that everybody makes progress at their own pace (“As a runner, you know how true that is.”), and it was also pointed out that several other writers in our community spend a lot of time writing and even more time rewriting their stuff.

I was told I shouldn’t feel bad about not being as productive or prolific. I’m doing the work at the pace that works best for me, and that’s the important part.

I also have to keep in mind that my animated script began several years ago as just jotting down ideas, and then gradually evolved into what it is today – including countless rewrites and polishes. Even today I’m still waiting on notes that will be applied to the next draft.

I know I’ll get this one done, and of course wish it wasn’t taking so long, but that’s just the way it is. I’m still enjoying putting it together, and confident I’ll be happy with the end result (and all the subsequent drafts that follow it).

The reins have been reclaimed

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The past few days have been the standard rollercoaster. Some good stuff, some not-so-good stuff, with a small percentage of the latter being very not-so-good.

But there were a few glimmers of hope within the darkness. More on those as/if they develop. Any positive vibes and crossed fingers are always appreciated.

During this time I was reminded of the phrase “Don’t worry about things over which you have no control.” I took that to heart, and it’s really helped.

There are SO MANY things about screenwriting that are out of our hands. Stressing out about them doesn’t do us any good, and I’d much rather work on the things over which I DO have control.

Things like figuring out the story of my new spec, coordinating with guests for my podcast, getting the crowdfunding ready for my short film, reading friends’ scripts and giving notes.

(Two little things that have really paid off – a few minutes here and there to interact with other writers on social media or email, and maintaining a “What needs to get done today” checklist.)

Taking care of any of these helps me feel productive and less stressed because I AM GETTING STUFF DONE. Some of it may take longer than hoped or expected, but each one constitutes a step in the right direction. Even just writing about it helps.

If you feel this way, just remember that you’re not alone and there are always things that you can do to help make your screenwriting journey a little easier.

Keep calm, stay focused, and maybe have some pie.