Lucy Steele

A step back, but that’s good

Maximum Z Lucy Steele, outlines, plot, screenwriting, Veronica

Making good progress on the outline.  Up to just past page 45.

But my creativeness keeps nagging me to expand on the third of three subplots, which I need to do anyway.  It really needs the most work.

I went through what I have so far (as part of my standard condensing of each scene into 1-2 sentences) and realized I’d forgotten that while I want both bad guys to be bad, the first one needs to be REALLY bad.  Even better, they’re so much more fun to write.

So for the time being, progress beyond the halfway point is on hold while I reconfigure the story to accomodate the changes I want to make.

Can’t explain it, but I relish the challenge.  Very much so.

Movie of the Moment: A double hit covering the past few days. Watched CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS with V.  I liked it a lot; clever, good animation and jokes, and good writing.  In her usual way, V didn’t want to watch it, but then really got into it.  This happens a lot with her.  Someday she’ll just accept the fact that I won’t let her watch crap (the exception being the live-action LAST AIRBENDER – that was HER idea).

The other film was THE BOOK OF ELI.  I almost turned it off after the first 20 minutes because nothing really seemed to be happening, and the washed-out look got annoying.  But I gave it a chance.  It got better, and had a really great twist at the end.  Still hard to imagine Denzel Washington as an action star, but he did a pretty good job.

Leaps and bounds!

Maximum Z Dan Fogelman, Lucy Steele, outlines, plot, screenwriting, scriptshadow, story, Veronica

Apparently not being able to work while AT work has its benefits.  Or at least work on MY stuff.

V had a hockey game yesterday morning (which they won 6-0, including a killer performance by their amazing goalie), but there was a lot of downtime before the puck dropped, so I made the most of it by once again barreling my way through the latest part of LUCY’s Act Two.

Once I abandoned the Mormon wagon train idea, things really seemed to take off.  I got our heroes into a new situation, while figuring out how to have everything work towards the latest plotpoint of the Page 45 twist.

And it worked.  So much so that I was able to have more things happen BEYOND that, and I’ve even started working on a way to bring not only one bad guy, but BOTH into the situation, so everything culminates in a wonderfully big mash-up at the halfway point.  Goosebumps, I tell ya!

Honestly, I’m really happy with the way things are progressing.  Of course, I have no idea where I’ll be in the story, say, a week or two from now, or what will be happening in the story, but that’s the point of this outline.  Figure out what works, what doesn’t, and what might.

I also keep reminding myself that there’s still a long way to go, but oh, what a hell of a journey it’s turning into.

Movie of the Moment: I took V and her best friend to see TANGLED yesterday.  Really impressive, but I think the adults in the audience liked it more than the kids did.  We don’t have issues with all that kissy-lovey stuff.

And I couldn’t help but look at it from the writer’s point of view.  Some textbook stuff here and there, but the writer, Dan Fogelman, who’s written a few other Disney films, is well-known for being somebody who can really make you FEEL for the characters (at least according to Carson Reeves at Scriptshadow).  I thought he did a great job.

And even better, V has no desire whatsoever to see the horrendous-looking YOGI BEAR.  We’s raising that child right.