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.
Being a writer means your creativeness is always running, or at least should be. It never shuts off, and sometimes kicks in when you least expect it.
Inspiration can hit anytime, but are you prepared for when it does?
You could be doing something you do practically every day or see something seemingly normal, and all of a sudden think, “Hey! There’s a story here!” It could be whatever you can imagine: the basis for a short, an episode of a webseries, or part of a feature.
Then there’s the thrill as your mind races through all the potential possibilities. What if THIS happened? Or THIS? Ooh! I love THIS! It’s like a shot of adrenaline into the right side of your brain.
When the idea hits, do you immediately write it down, or is it suddenly burned into your brain so deeply that there’s no way you could possibly forget any part of it?
Of course, it’s one thing to come up with the idea. How far do you go with it? Does it lose its luster after a few days, and then you just give up completely? Do you hold onto it because there’s just SO MUCH POTENTIAL here? Do you tinker around with it, file it away, then come back to it weeks or months later?
How original an idea is it? Can you think of something that’s similar? Who’s your target audience? Is it something you yourself would actually pay to see?
Let’s also not forget that this is all based on your thinking. You love the idea, but what if somebody says “I don’t get it” or all you get is a shrug? Do you think the idea is worth developing? Is it one you’re prepared to slave away on for an extended period of time?
It’s easy to come up with the ideas, but definitely not easy to turn them into quality, fleshed-out screenplays. It takes a long time to get the hang of doing this, let alone doing it well. But don’t let the difficulty or length of the journey dissuade you from at least trying.
True, normally I’m a pie kind of guy, but I’ve really been craving these for a while…
Happy times around these parts, chums. The November writing project was a success. The first draft of the low-budget comedy is complete.
I listen to Pandora for white/background sounds while I write, and – this is absolutely true, swear to God – Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus was playing as I typed in “The End”. A pretty solid good omen, if you ask me.
So the draft is done, and now gets tucked away for a couple of weeks. It’ll definitely need a lot of work when I come back to it, but it’s great to know I have a completed draft to come back to.
This is that feeling that every writer should savor when they achieve a specific milestone like this. A lot of would-be writers start a project, then abandon ship when it “just gets too hard” or “don’t have time”. It’s those of us who are truly dedicated that toil away no matter what. You’ve had a long day at work. Stuff around the house needs to get done.
Through it all, we find the time and make the effort. Even if it’s only 30 minutes or one page a day. We do it not just because we want to, but because we have to. We consider not writing unthinkable.
There are good days and bad days, but you learn to work your way through both. You have a goal in mind, and do what you can to get there. And once you do, there’s nothing that can compare to that feeling of accomplishment.
Enjoy it. You’ve earned it. The first of what will probably many rewrites awaits, but it can wait just a little bit so you can reward yourself in a small but appropriate manner.
A friend told me that whenever they finish a first draft, they celebrate with scotch. Scotch really isn’t my thing, but I wouldn’t say no to a cannoli from this great Italian bakery down on the Peninsula…(diet be damned)
Have a great weekend, and get some great kickass writing done.
All I need to do is cut out the non-essentials. Who needs food, sleep or oxygen anyway?
I’m in the home stretch for the November writing project. I got into Act 3 over the weekend, and think there about 10-12 pages left before I can call it a day. No reason I can’t wrap things up in the next couple of days. Estimated final page count should be somewhere in the mid-90s, so pretty much where I was hoping it would be.
My original intent was to put that on the back burner once it was done and shift my focus to another script, but something else has developed that definitely requires my attention: other people’s work.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been very fortunate to have gotten some fantastic feedback from friends and trusted colleagues. Now it’s my turn to return the favor.
Actually, make that favors. Plural.
Every time I’ve asked someone if they’d be willing to read and give me notes, I always offer to do the same for them. And several have taken me up on the offer.
Which is totally fine. I just didn’t expect all of them to happen within such a short timeframe. But it’s cool. Just requires a little planning.
Some script-related items, two scripts requiring special attention (with a bit of a time limitation), and at least 4-5 others getting straight-up notes. Yeah, that’s a lot, but I’d feel pretty shitty if I didn’t reciprocate the kindness all of these folks extended to me.
While I’d love to keep the 2-pages-a-day momentum going clear through to the end of December and have at least part of a draft of another script, taking care of these is now top priority.
It may take me a little longer than I expect, but I always strive to honor my commitments. I said I’d do something for you, and by gosh, I’ll do it.
Maybe this is the experience talking, but my best guess would be that it’s from taking my time and reminding myself there’s absolutely no need to rush through it. These folks aren’t going anywhere, so taking a few more days to properly prepare won’t make much of a difference.
But it is making a huge difference for me.
I’ve got two exceptionally long lists of names and emails, but each is several years old, which requires some admittedly exhausting investigating through multiple levels of IMDBPro into how accurate and up-to-date the information is. Don’t have a subscription to it? You should.
Time, determination, patience and persistence are the four essentials in this scenario.
A lot of time has been spent tracking down where some of those names have ended up. While most are still at the same organization, a good many have moved on. Some to new places, some who’ve gone out on their own, and, from what I can gather, some have totally abandoned ship (including one guy who fell into the deep end of the cliche pool and now sells real estate).
My favorite one so far has been the manager who passed away several years ago, yet is still listed. Just their name and nothing else. I’ve no doubt that at this very moment, somewhere out there, a query email is working its way to them.
The last couple of times I sent out a massive wave of queries, it was in a very rushed and impatient way. “This has to go out NOW!” After finding an email address, I’d immediately cut-and-paste the body of the letter and hit ‘send’. Nothing else. I’d estimate about 75% of them went through, while the remaining 25% came back as ‘undeliverable’ or “address not found”. Those would be immediately dismissed. Over the next few days and weeks, maybe a few responses would trickle in; say 1 for every 10-15 sent. Not the best of returns.
But again, this time it’s different as I’m trying to be been much, much more thorough. Do they even accept queries? What sort of material do they specialize in? Sending to someone who specializes in horror would be a waste of time for both of us. When was their last project? Have I heard of any of their projects? How many clients do they have? What are some of their clients known for? (One place lists Rod Serling(!) as their top client. Interpret that however you want.) They still use Hotmail? Is that even still a thing?
So while I spend part of my time developing a workable list of query letter recipients, I’m also focusing on assembling the actual letter that will be sent. Type ‘screenwriting query letter’ in any reputable search engine, and you get page upon page of links to articles, columns, blogposts and so on. There are countless opinions about what should and should not be in there. Pay attention to those. I tend to favor short and to the point, but effective enough that it gets you noticed and hopefully piques their interest.
It’s pretty likely I’ll crank out a few drafts of this as well before finding one that I think works best.
Like writing the script itself, it ain’t easy. None of this is. But it’s what I have to do in order to make things happen and move ’em forward.
(And if anybody knows a manager they’d recommend or think might be interested in taking a look at my stuff, feel free to point them in this direction. Much obliged.)
