Taking a look at the ol’ calendar on the wall, it looks like it’s been about three months since the last round of the ever-popular Project Status Update Time (or PSUT, which is an extremely lousy acronym, and will henceforth never be used again.)
This is your opportunity to let the rest of us know what’s been going on with you and whatever project or projects you’re currently undertaking.
Got a short you want to share? Trying to put one together?
Finished a draft? Started a new one? Run into a little trouble in Act Two?
Need help with a logline? Trying to finding the right lines of dialogue?
Connected with anybody new? Discovered a phenomenal new gem of a movie?
Got something you want to announce?
I’ll start the ball rolling.
In the middle of providing notes on a couple of scripts. Putting together a new batch of interviews (very excited about these). Gearing up to fine-tune the outline of another low-budget comedy. Considering writing a short. Seriously considering converting one of my story ideas to work within another medium.
Watched TRUMBO and THE REVENANT. Fantastic performances from the lead in both.
Just give me a sec to get back on my feet. Bonus – drink remains unspilled
The Chinese restaurant script got the standard “Just isn’t what I’m looking for” response from a producer.
Years of experience has taught me how to properly respond to this kind of situation.
“Well, that sucks. Okay. Moving on.”
Thus the struggle continues to gain a new foothold on this constant uphill climb. But I’m in it for the long haul.
Sure, it’s frustrating to get yet another “no” about a script, but getting upset about it won’t do me any good.
And what better way to get over it than by working on something else with the intent of making this one that much better? And there are plenty of something elses to keep me occupied.
A revamping of the outline of an older script continues, with pleasantly productive results (along with some phenomenal feedback on the logline). More insightful notes have come in for the comedy spec. Setting up a few more get-to-know-you meetings with other local writers*.
(*A meeting last week with one writer about her current project resulted in me being able to offer up some suggestions to another writer feeling frustrated about his. He, in turn, felt very encouraged with a renewed sense of hope, and was excited about some possible new avenues to try. I’m just happy to help.)
Hearing “thanks, but no thanks” still stings, but only for the briefest of moments. It’s taken a very long time for me to get to this point.
A few months ago, all that pressure I’d been putting on myself just went away. And I’m a lot better for it now.
And patient.
Success will happen when it happens.
But having it happen sooner rather than later would still be much appreciated.
So without further ado, time once again for the much-heralded and talked-about Project Status Update Time!
For those unfamiliar with the concept, which I would imagine is pretty clear from the name alone, this is your opportunity to give a quick mention regarding the latest on your latest project, no matter what it is.
Doesn’t have to go into too much detail. Just what you’re currently working on, and how it’s going.
Hit your page quota for today? Got to a pivotal scene or significant plot point? Finished that rewrite? Feeling stuck? Seeking the right wording for that logline?
In search of help/guidance/suggestions of any sort? All you gotta do is ask.
Did a little networking and connected with another writer? Signed a deal? Had a good meeting? Packing up the car and heading for LA?
Got something to crow about? Want to vent any pent-up frustration?
Don’t hold back. You’re among friends here.
Real quick for me. Just about done with the 2nd draft of the low-budget comedy. One sequence needs revising, followed by maybe one more quick polish, and then it’s off to some of my reliable readers.
Also have some reciprocal reading to do for some of those aforementioned readers. Quite excited about diving into these.
Learn to trust your feelings. Even with the blast shield down.
I’ve had the experience of working with some writing, both my own and other people’s, that required a second opinion. For some of them, I was the second opinion, while the others involved my work being reviewed.
An experienced professional asked me to take a look at another writer’s script, accompanied with their excitement and enthusiasm about it. Upon reading it, I found it severely lacking in a lot of screenwriting fundamentals (bad structure, shoddy character development, etc.), and said so as part of my notes of what was needed to improve.
I like to read a script twice before giving notes on it, and it took a lot of effort to get through each one – especially the second time. That whole time I was wondering “Where is this enthusiasm coming from?” This person knows what a good script looks like, and this one, to me, didn’t meet any of the necessary criteria. And if they felt this way about this script, could I trust their judgment on others?
Last week I’d been given the offer to have my query letter reviewed. I put it together with the elements I considered vital: quick one-sentence pitch, logline, reputable contest results. As fast a read as possible.
The response read like something churned out by a machine. Their recommendation was to follow “their blueprint”, which involved a lot of fill-in-the-blanks, how it’s similar to successful films (the more recent, the better!), telling the story from only the main character’s point of view, and concluding with “why I think this will be a hit” OR the underlying theme. The end result is several big unappealing blocks of text.
All of this felt totally and absolutely wrong. If I were the intended recipient, I might start reading, but would most likely lost interest very quickly and be very hard-pressed to want to continue, let alone finish it.
(With no intention of ever actually using a letter written following their guidelines, I put one together and submitted it for review, just to see what they would say. Their follow-up comments reinforced my doubts, but that is a topic for another day.)
As you probably guessed, I’ll be sticking with my original format.
The takeaway from both of these experiences is that a writer must not only develop their writing and storytelling skills, but also the ability to trust their instincts. Know what works, not only for you, but in an overall sense.
Don’t always assume the other person is in the right. Sometimes they’re not.
Everybody will have an opinion about something. You might agree wholeheartedly or think the other person has no idea what they’re talking about. It takes time to learn how to determine which is which. You will make mistakes and bad choices along the way, but make the effort to learn from them so you don’t do it again.
Like with writing itself, the more you work at it, the better at it you’ll become.
Over the past week or so, the idea for a new story has been slowly developing inside my head.
Even though most of my attention continues to be focused on completing other projects, that seed has been planted and I work out a few details about it when I can.
This is just the beginning of the whole process, and my work is definitely cut out for me. Like with any script, it’s going to be tough.
But I also have to admit I’m quite thrilled about it.
There’s just something about coming up with a new idea that really reinvigorates your creative process. You’re excited about the story, the potential within it and possibly even (gasp!) looking forward to writing it.
I certainly doubt I’m the only who experiences this.
As expected, there will be days I get frustrated about any number of things related to this, which is par for the course. But I’ve also been doing this for a while, so the positive days steadily continue to outnumber the negative.
As has also been my experience, some of those negative days will most likely include outside comments of a tearing-down nature. Fortunately, I’ve developed a thick skin over the years and learned to ignore the ramblings of self-proclaimed “experts”.
For now, everything is still in the early-early development stage. It took a while just to come up with a good logline, and even that will probably still need work. Now I’m just figuring out the plot points. There’s no rush, especially since I already have several other scripts that require my attentions.
I like the concept of this one, and am really looking forward to seeing how things work out with it.
