After finally finishing the outline for the rewrite last week, I immediately jumped into re-reading the western spec in preparation for the inevitable rewrite/polish.
Looking at it after a 1 1/2-month break was incredibly helpful, and it still reads great.
Then it hit me.
If I can keep up this kind of productivity, I’ll have two brand spanking-new scripts ready to go relatively soon.
Yay.
This whole “dedicating a little time each day to writing” thing continues to be paying off.
Added bonus – more material at my disposal to respond to the question “What else have you got?”
Fortunately, I’m not doomed when the sand runs out
My schedule is probably a bit different than yours.
A job in broadcasting, getting around a large metropolitan city via bicycle or public transit, and escorting V to her numerous afterschool activities means not a lot of time to sit and write. Maybe a little over an hour a day. Maybe one and a half to two, if I’m lucky.
Since it’s all about getting stuff done, I’ve learned how to jam as much productivity as possible into that short window. Sometimes it’ll be “write until the end of this particular scene” or “crank out X number of pages.” Other times it might be “write until this point in time” or “write until you just can’t do it anymore”.
An hour may not seem like a lot of time to work with, but you work with what’s available.
Plus, setting up this kind of work habit is extremely beneficial on several levels:
-compels you to concentrate
-regular work pattern can improve skills and boost creativity
-problem-solving becomes easier and less necessary
-productivity may be slow, but remains steady
-that sense of accomplishment from having actually written something (very important)
These extremely unscientific results are how it’s worked out for me. I can’t speak for others, but I would imagine the results have been similar.
Find a system that works best for you, and keep at it. Make the commitment and stick with it. A few pages a day, and before you know it, you’ll be done.
Then you reset the clock and start all over again.
Hard choices. That’s what it comes down to for your protagonist.
Someone in my old writing group put it very succinctly: each scene should force the protagonist so they have no choice but to go with the option that makes things harder for them.
If things were easy for your protagonist and everything went right for them, it wouldn’t be much of a story, would it? We’d be bored silly.
It all stems from the necessary key word: conflict. Something must be opposing them reaching their goal.
This doesn’t mean it’s someone or something physically blocking them, although that is one option. It could be something out of nature, like a great white shark, a hurricane or a killer virus, or something from the grand scheme of the universe, like time, fear or silence.
One of the great things about conflict is there are countless ways to present it. It comes in all forms, but it really boils down to something in the scene (as well as the overall story) preventing your protagonist from moving things forward.
Taking it one step further, not only do you have to make sure they do, but they have to be the one doing it. Anything else is a cheat, and totally negates their development as a character. Imagine if Dumbledore said, “Here’s a step-by-step list of what you have to do, Harry.” The mentor figure is there to guide the protagonist down the right path, not take the path for them.
The protagonist has to endure all of these conflicts in order to not only accomplish their goal, but grow or change from what they were when we first met them.
So go ahead and put ’em through the ringer. It’s the way it must be.
-I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Henry Sheppard, aka Adelaide Screenwriter. Check it out here.
I hate hitting a lull. Even the sound of it is off-putting.
“Lull.” Yuck.
Which of course is exactly where I found myself over the past few days regarding the first draft. I thought I was making some good progress, but instead found myself staring at a screen that mockingly stared back.
“Come on, writer boy,” it seemed to say. “Show we what you can do.”
Putting more pressure on yourself combined with the anthropomorphization of electronics doesn’t usually end well. You’re already frustrated, and when the words won’t come, you just want to throw up your hands and do your best Bill Paxton impression.
I’ve been down this path before. I don’t like it, it ain’t pretty, but it’s gonna happen and I accept that.
This is one of those times when you have to remind yourself that you’ve got two options: quitting, which is the easy way out, and totally squashes all the hard work and effort you’ve already put in.
Or you dig deep and force yourself to keep going. Again.
I recently started re-reading my copy of THE FIRST TIME I GOT PAID FOR IT, which chronicles the tales of many successful and well-known writers and how they got started. Apart from some great stories, it’s a good reminder to us outsiders striving to be insiders that even the pros started in the exact same place we are now.
And if you’re like me and want to change your status in that scenario, there’s only one way – keep writing!
I don’t know what the exact trigger was, but the next time I faced off against that blinking cursor and half-empty page, something clicked.
Boy, did it.
The words didn’t just flow – they gushed. It was like a Niagara Falls of scenes and dialogue pouring onto the page. My fingers could hardly keep up with my brain.
Whoa. Three pages in thirty-five minutes? Inconceivable!
I definitely now feel back on track. A renewed sense of what drew me to the story in the first place. Being that much closer to being able to type FADE OUT. And a little more faith in my ability to be productive, even when I don’t think I can be.
First and foremost, thanks to everybody for the hearty congrats. Words of encouragement from one’s peers are always nice, doubly so when it’s from people you know are good writers.
I’ll also admit to sending updates of my recent accomplishments to my old writing group, more with the intent of “Hey kids, ain’t this swell?” rather than “Suck on it, losers!”
And a big mazel tov to the 24 other semifinalists, 10 finalists and the top 3 winners of the Tracking Board Launchpad contest. Best of luck to all of you on your future endeavors! Celebrate in your desired appropriate style. I find pie to always be a solid viable option.
Speaking of which (the writing stuff, not the pie), these are exciting times. I don’t think I’ve ever been this close to something potentially happening with one of my scripts before – he said with fingers firmly crossed.
There isn’t a writer out there, including yours truly, who doesn’t daydream about achieving some kind of success while they hammer away at their latest project.
But things are different for me now, and a new learning curve is underway. I’m a bit nervous, but still quite psyched about it.
This is exactly what I’ve been working towards, and feel very fortunate to have even made it this far. I hope everybody can experience this kind of sensation at least once.
So all I can do now is keep writing and maintain a positive attitude while staying reasonably sane and level-headed.
I’m a huge fan of tales from the trenches, so any anecdotes of early-in-my-career experiences and such are more than welcome in the comments below.
-Movie of the Moment: MONSTERS UNIVERSITY (2013). I didn’t think there was really a demand for this; the first one seemed more than enough. Despite it’s box office success, I wouldn’t call this another home run for Pixar. A triple, maybe. And kudos to them for making the college experience as G-rated/Disney-safe as possible.
V was interested in seeing it, but she didn’t laugh that much. There were chuckles from both of us, but not as many as you would expect.
Still, glad we saw it, especially in 2-D, and at one of SF’s remaining single-screen theatres. We’re always happy to send them business.
-It’s heartbreaking on several levels to read how much THE LONE RANGER is sounding more and more like a train wreck (no pun intended). Hopefully this won’t be yet another death knell for westerns in 21st century, such as the one I’m working on. I’m discouraged, but not defeated.
