plot

And that was the easy part!

Maximum Z Harry Potter, movies, outlines, plot, Richard Curtis, screenwriting, story, train, westerns

I must have gotten more done on the first act of LUCY last week than I thought, because I didn’t have to spend much time on it today, and for the most part, it’s done.

Hooray for me.

While I’m extremely happy with the way everything’s working out so far, I’ve also been mulling over what happens in Act Two, aka the vast wasteland.

It is somewhat daunting to be starting on the bulk of the story, which is why I’m really glad to be fine-tuning everything now.  I can figure out what works and what doesn’t.  I’m also really glad I set up those plot point milestones, which will help me get where I want to go.  That western and train checklist has also come in handy.

I’ve started plotting out what happens as Act Two gets underway, but still need a plausible way to get to my page 45 twist.  Somewhere in there I’d like to introduce my bounty hunter character (and I already have his name ready).  What would be even cooler is to somehow tie him in to what we’ve already seen, but I think I can do that too.

Movie of the Moment:  I took V to see HARRY POTTER 7 yesterday.  A little long, but seems like a nice start to wrapping the whole thing up.  I remember when the book came out, a reviewer commented on “HP and the never-ending camping trip.”  Which was on full display.  Despite the occasional question (“What did he say?,  What does that mean?, etc”), V seemed really enjoy it.  I’m sure we’ll see part 2 next summer.

There was also the requisite GREEN LANTERN trailer, which V was very excited about.  I am also guilty about that, despite Ryan Reynolds still being better for the part of Barry Allen rather than Hal Jordan.  But that’s what they get for not asking me.

I did watch PIRATE RADIO earlier today.  It was a blast.  I didn’t realize Richard Curtis wrote and directed it; he wrote FOUR WEDDINGS & A FUNERAL, NOTTING HILL and wrote and directed LOVE, ACTUALLY.  After I learned that, I could see similarities between some of the films.  Multi-character storylines with one main character tying the whole thing together.  And he collaborated with Rowan Atkinson on some of the later Blackadders, so you know his comedy skills are top-notch.

But getting back to PIRATE RADIO.  Lots of funny stuff, most of it possibly true, and just a fun story.  It also had the requisite happy ending, but I won’t say how.  Suffice to say, what led up to it was unexpected, but it all fit together very nicely.

A good guy needs a bad guy

Maximum Z outlines, plot, screenwriting, story

I may have had a brainstorm regarding my antagonist.  A really good one.

I’d mentioned before about the good suggestion from the writing group about how maybe the guy who steals Lucy’s train is somehow connected to her past.

A good idea.

As I’d also mentioned, I’ve been struggling with a more…tangible goal for Lucy besides catching the real thieves.

So today in the traffic studio, I worked on fine-tuning the opening sequence, which took a little longer than expected.  Almost there, though.

But while I was working, the idea about Lucy’s goal kept creeping into my mind.  I also kept going back to her history with the antagonist.  What would it be?  Details are still forthcoming on that one.

I also stumbled onto the idea of having the antagonist play a more significant part in Lucy’s past.  A really significant part.  On several levels.

I’d go into more details, but I’m still working on it.  Suffice to say, this could represent a significant development in terms of what Lucy wants.

And it could be the break I’ve been waiting for.

So long, rules!

Maximum Z adventure, jobs, movies, outlines, plot, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Roger Corman, screenwriting, story

One of the first things I learned about screenwriting was when something had to happen.

Page 3 is statement of theme.  Page 10 is your inciting incident, and so on and so on.

I mention this because today was about reinforcing what I already have for the first act.  I opted to start with my thrilling opening sequence.  All I had written down was ‘rousing action sequence,’ which really doesn’t grab you.  So I jotted down some notes about what I wanted to happen and got to work.

After a few false starts, it started to come together.  I keep going back to RAIDERS, with Indy and Alfred Molina in the temple, followed by the escaping-the-natives/introducing-Belloq sequence.  So much info and detail about each character in a space of minutes. Incredible!  Could I pull off the same feat?  Maybe.

It’s a little different when your main character is a train engineer.  What can they do besides drive a train?  One of many things I had to figure out.  But then the mental reminder that this is still the first outline, so things will change down the line.  But for now, she can drive a train and is pretty good with a gun.

As I worked on ramping up the conflict, I couldn’t help but notice that this was growing well beyond the original 3-page limit I had set up.  It was reaching at least 6.  Possibly 7.  And all of that would really mess up having the inciting incident on page 10.  Yikes!

But the more I thought about it, the less it mattered.  I was trying to have a thrilling introduction to my main character (plus her sidekick), and if it went beyond 3 pages, then so be it.

I’m also trying to figure out how to end the whole sequence.  I have a pretty good idea of what it will be.  It’s working out the details that’s the hard part.

-Something somebody at the writing group said last week also struck a nerve, and I’m really glad I wrote it down:  What’s at stake if Lucy fails?

This has been bothering me ever since.  What WILL happen?

What I have now under the ‘what she wants’ label is: to catch the real thieves.  Which is okay, but seems like it should be bigger.  Something a lot of people can relate to.

Again, working out the details is pain in the butt.

No Movie of the Moment tonight, but we did watch the original DEATH RACE 2000 the other night.  Wow, was that cheesy.  Once you suspend disbelief about everything going on, there are some funny moments.  Unfortunately those were few and far between.

As K pointed out, it was more interesting during the race and less when they were off the road.  Interesting early performance from Stallone.

All things being equal, we may put the Jason Statham-starring one on our Netflix queue.  For purely academic curiosity, of course.

Urgh. Not again

Maximum Z blog, loglines, outlines, plot, screenwriting, story

Like it does with the roads and traffic, a rainy day messes me up something fierce.

The threat of rain this morning extended my workday three hours, which I don’t mind because a few more ducats on my paycheck is a welcome thing.

K had a lunch appointment, so that meant driving downtown to pick her up, which I also don’t mind because I’m such a loving and helpful husband.

V had soccer practice, which meant running around in a blustery, heavy mist along with the coach and 5 2nd-grade girls on a muddy field, and the final game of the season is tomorrow, and they needed the practice, but I don’t mind since I’m such a dedicated and helpful father.

V’s friend is sleeping over, which meant making dinner (hot dogs and oven-baked fries) and dessert (banana bread and chocolate ice cream).  Now the girls are watching HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE while I write about not working on the outline.  It’s that very last part I mind.

On one hand, I don’t like not getting anything done.  At all.  It feels counter-productive.  A day spent not writing is another day to wait for things to pay off.  Like the saying goes, “this thing ain’t gonna write itself.”

But, if I look at it from a different angle, I wasn’t feeling as productive as I could have been, so maybe not writing actually worked in my favor.

I’ve been running scenarios in my head since yesterday.  Where do I want the story to go from here?  Can I still follow my plot point milestones?  Am I still in control of this thing?

I’m working on the first question, and a fairly certain ‘yes’ to the second two.

I don’t know how much I’ll be able to get done this weekend, so progress may be on hold until Monday.  But during that time I’ll be trying to figure stuff out, including maybe incorporating possible suggestions/feedback from the writing group.

But for now, my main concern with the first act is that I didn’t do enough exploring the main character.  Again, hopefully the feedback from the group will be helpful.

-I’ve recently started mentioning new posts on Facebook, which I think is contributing to more people checking this blog out.  And that’s great.

I hope people are enjoying my materials, which is what any writer wants.  I’m curious to know what they think of all of this.

Are they enjoying following my progress?  Do they have any questions about how this works?  Does this remind you of another blog, and if so, which one?  Do you think that writer would like mine?  Does anybody know somebody in LA that would be interested in my taking a look at my stuff?  These are questions that need, almost demand, an answer.

So to paraphrase Chicago elections, comment early and comment often.

That’s more like it

Maximum Z adventure, movies, outlines, plot, Sherlock Holmes, Star Wars, story

After spending more time worrying about whether or not I’d make progress with the LUCY outline, I managed to punch out a good portion of the first act over the past 2 days.

My mantra for the time being is ‘just keep going!’  What I have now is chock-full of action and excitement, and while it was supposed to end around page 17, it doesn’t.  And I feel oddly fine with that.

Of course, the group may have something to say about that on Sunday, but that’s okay too.  I doubt they’ll be too much in a snit about it, anyway.

As always, this is still a rough draft of the outline and will need a lot of work when it’s done, but it was a great feeling of excitement being able to write like this again.  Thinking of a scenario, plotting it out, making it sure it’s logical and realistic, while also inserting the fantastic into it to make it cinematic.

Boiled down to one statement: It’s what I live for.

And tomorrow, I get to do it again.

The weird thing is as I make progress, the way the story is developing keeps changing.  While I work on the story, I have to try and stay on track in terms of keeping it along what I want it to be.  It feels like it would be too easy to let the events drive what happens, but I have to really make sure I stay in control.  I hate when I don’t.

But as long as I know where it it I want to go, it should be fine.

Tomorrow – the push towards the end of Act One.

Movie of the Moment: not a movie, but a fantastic show from the BBC.  SHERLOCK, the incredibly re-imagining (a word I hate) of Holmes and Watson in modern London, courtesy of Stephen Moffat (spelling?), who was also a big part of the relaunching of Doctor Who.

The writing is crisp, the acting is great.  Overall, mind-blowingly great.  It is such a pity that American writers can’t be this good.  American TV would be an entirely different animal if they could.  Thank God the British have such higher standards.

-As part of her birthday, I took V and a friend to see MEGAMIND.  It was also well-done and a lot of fun.  I also got to thinking about how kids movies today are so much better then when I was that age.  All we had back then were crappy Disney movies.  At least until STAR WARS came along.

Then it all changed.