screenwriting

The fat that must be trimmed

Maximum Z characters, conflict, editing, feedback, half-marathons, outlines, reading, rewrite, running, screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, subplot, writing
Personally, I prefer a red pen and the 'delete' key
Personally, I prefer a red pen and the ‘delete’ key

Steadily working my way through the coveted territory of Act 3, although the wrapping-up of some subplots still needs some work. Nothing I can’t handle.

Throughout this whole process has been an ongoing tinkering with what was there before. Some items have been cut (necessarily so) while some have been expanded (also necessarily so).

Among what had been cut were a trio of characters who only existed in a handful of scenes in the third act. The only reason they were originally around was to provide conflict with the main character, but didn’t really serve much else of a purpose.

So they’ve been cut, with another character’s part slightly modified and expanded to take their place.

This goes way beyond killing one’s darlings. It’s about making the story as lean and streamlined as possible, and if that means cutting characters, scenes or even sequences, so be it.  You do what’s necessary.

But this is also where it can get tricky. How do you know what should stay and what should go?

Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer. But you can learn by constantly writing, rewriting and getting feedback. It’s a skill that takes time to develop, so don’t rush it.

(You could read scripts, but those are often the finished product. You won’t know what it looked like before.)

A good rule of thumb: ask yourself as you write and edit – “How much of a difference will it make to the story if I take this out?”

Chances are once you make those cuts, you won’t even miss what’s been taken out, which means it probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

-A total self-indulgent announcement: I ran the San Jose Rock & Roll Half Marathon on Sunday, thinking there was no way I could beat my previous best time ever of 1:53:07, set back in August.

But somehow, despite warm weather and the occasional feeling of “Jeez, when is this going to end?”, I shaved almost 2 minutes off and finished at 1:51:11. Totally didn’t see that coming.

With no races scheduled in the near future, I don’t want to get ahead of myself and even consider the possibility of hitting 1:50.

Although I’ll admit the thought does occasionally cross my mind.

We all had to start somewhere

Maximum Z screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, writing
And....go!
And….we’re off!

Today’s topic: your very first script.

Yeah, that one. The one you’re embarrassed to even remember. The one with all the rookie mistakes.

The one that set you on this journey.

Here’s mine.

Title:   THE CRIMSON CLOAK

Genre: Comedy

What it was about: Set in 1950’s Hollywood, a writer on a popular kids TV show mistakenly believes the sponsor is going to kill a megastar live on the air and goes all out to stop him.

Tell-tale signs this is a first script? Way, way too much expository dialogue, including a lot of on-the-nose lines. Flimsy character motivation. A lot of writing-directing.

Would you be willing to rewrite it now? Definitely.

Addendum: Despite all of the problems this script had, it managed to be a top 10 percent finisher in the Nicholl for that year. I have no idea how that happened, but this, combined with a professional writer telling me “You’re a very talented writer,” were a great start to my writing career.

What about you?  Don’t be shy. No judging here.

You can trust me

Maximum Z feedback, generosity, ideas, networking, Nicholl Fellowship, rewrite, screenwriting, script, writing
Because "Honest Paul" just doesn't have the same ring to it
Because “Honest Paul” isn’t as catchy

Thanks to the wonder of living in the digital age, I’ve connected with an incredible number of even more incredible writers. Not being the pushy sort, I always wait until we have a bit of a rapport to ask if they’d be willing to read my script and maybe give a little feedback. And a lot of the time, they ask for the same thing, of which I’m more than happy to oblige.

But there are those who respond along the lines of “I’m not comfortable with letting somebody I don’t know that well see my work.”

A perfectly legitimate response, but also raises a few questions:

-Do you think I’m going to steal your work? No disrespect, but I don’t want it. At all. Just like you, I’ve put in an immense amount of time and effort so I can take a certain pride in claiming “Yes, I wrote this.” Why would I want to risk everything for your script? There may be some unsavory characters out there, but I’m not one of them. I’ve made no effort to hide who I am from you or anybody else and stand by my reputation.

-Is it because I can’t advance your career? Just because I’m not in the industry now doesn’t mean I won’t be in the future. I try to help my friends out when I can. Act like a jerk to me now and that’s how I’ll remember you.

-Am I not professional enough for you? I may be unsold and unproduced, but I’ve got a manager, have had some moderate success in contests and what I would call a pretty solid grasp of what good writing is. Maybe my notes could even make your script better, and most importantly, they’re free.

-Do you think your script is already perfect, doesn’t need any more work and any criticism on my part is just me being jealous of your superior writing skills and trying to sabotage it? Good luck and I wish you all the best.

We all need whatever help we can get, and most people are pretty accommodating.

Don’t be afraid to make connections and get your work out there. It’s been my experience that everybody’s already wrapped up enough in their own work to make becoming more than involved with yours not much of a possibility.

*Rewrite update: about 1-2 details away from having the first act done. Really like how it’s shaping up, but still a long way to go.

**A big congratulations to the Nicholl finalists. Won’t deny being jealous. Now back to work for the rest of us already focusing on next year.

Think of it as a story renovation project

Maximum Z creativeness, creativity, editing, ideas, mystery, outlines, plot, productivity, rewrite, scenes, screenwriting, script, story, storytelling, structure, subplot, writing , ,
This is kind of what it feels like
They’re the writers and the house is the first draft. See? It’s a visual metaphor!

When I started this rewrite, I wanted to really shake things up and take it beyond just putting on a new coat of paint and rearranging the furniture.

This had to be really different from what it already was. Major changes require major brainstorming and planning.

The starting point was breaking down the previous outline on a scene-by-scene basis. What worked? What didn’t?

One subplot has already been cut because it just didn’t mesh with the rest of it. A more suitable replacement has been developed, and not only does it still work for the story, it opened up more possibilities.

Each scene is still evaluated to determine how it advances the story as well as how it fits in to the plot.  Yes, some darlings must be killed as work progresses, but if they don’t serve a purpose that supports the overall story, then they weren’t needed in the first place. Maybe they can be reconfigured and used another way.

Working through all of this reminded me of a significant bonus to writing on a regular basis – your creativeness gets a constant workout, which has made it slightly easier than expected to come up with ideas of how to make a scene stronger or at least more effective.

And since this is a mystery, it’s extremely important that all the intricate details are in place. Clues and red herrings are in the process of being planted, a key factor of which is making sure their place in the puzzle is organic, and not shoehorned in.

Taking a steady, methodical approach to this has made it not as imposing as originally expected.

When I started this rewrite, I had the standard fear/concern that I wouldn’t be able to figure things out and come up with solutions.

Now, not so much.

Finding the spark to get those synapses firing

Maximum Z creativeness, creativity, ideas, inspiration, outlines, problem-solving, productivity, rewrite, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, stress, writer's block, writing
The solution to your problems is somewhere in there
The solution to your problems is somewhere in there

Finding time to work on the outline of the rewrite has been a bit challenging these days, but I’m managing. I do what I can to make the most out of a limited timeframe. Do this often enough, and it actually gets easier.

One of my biggest concerns with this new draft was “what if I can’t think of anything?”

Trying to figure things out had been bothering me for the past couple of days. No matter what I was doing, I’d be going over potential scenes and scenarios in my mind. How about this? Does this work?

All that was missing was the cartoony stormcloud over my head.

So I’m riding my bike home from work. All of a sudden, a metaphoric lightning bolt springs from that cloud and hits me dead center.

A small idea pops in.  Just a two-word phrase, but within it is the potential to have a widespread impact throughout the rest of the story.

This then triggered a steady flow of still more possibilities. If I redo this part, then this could happen, thereby changing that and the other thing around completely.

How could I not see any of this before?

Writer’s block happens to everybody. It can be extremely frustrating, but you can’t let it stop you. It takes time to break it down, but don’t force it.

Do what you can to encourage your creativeness, and eventually it’ll be a lot more cooperative.  Once you have that breakthrough, you’ll feel like there’s nothing that can stop you.

Pretty cool, isn’t it?