When you write, you set goals for yourself. This many pages a day. Whole thing done by the end of the month. Those self-imposed finish lines can be really effective motivators.
And while it’s great to meet those goals, a little part of you relishes when you do more. “I usually do 3 pages a day, but today I did 5!” It’s a tremendous feeling of accomplishment.
Despite some recent delays, I finally got back to work on my DREAMSHIP rewrite. I was at page 97. All I wanted out of today was to get to 100.
And I did. It felt great.
I thought I was done for the day, but the opportunity to keep going presented itself in the evening and I jumped at the chance. I got to 101, just as a big action scene is starting.
4 pages. 1 more than my daily objective. I gladly accept that.
Pushing yourself just a little bit more pays off in that not only do you get that much closer to having a finished product, but do it often enough and before you know it, being more productive becomes easier.
The deadline for the Nicholl Fellowships is coming up fast – May 1st! – and I keep going back and forth as to whether I want to submit DREAMSHIP.
I like how the rewrite’s been coming along and think it’s pretty solid, but I want to be absolutely sure the end result is what I want it to be, which could mean another pass at it once I finish this rewrite/edit.
A tough choice, actually.
I’ll have more time to write between now and then, so I’m hoping to have a better idea of what I’d like to do near the end of the month. Either way, I’ll end up with a script I like, and that’s the important part.
If you’ve already sent yours in, good for you. If not, are you and your script ready?
It’s too easy to rely on everyday verbs while you’re putting a script together. The more picturesque a word, the more visual it becomes. It makes the script that much more exciting and interesting to read.
I usually have two minimized windows running while I’m writing. Pandora for creativity-inducing background music and Thesaurus.com for when I just can’t think of a solid alternate verb. It might take a little effort to find the one that fits, but oh the satisfaction when you do.
Not sure if a verb works? Follow the example in the quote and read the sentence aloud. Try it with different verbs. Which one sounds spot-on? Does it not only convey action but mood as well? If somebody storms into a room, you can probably guess how they feel. Compare it to somebody who slinks, sashays or (always a favorite) moseys in.
The writer’s job is to paint a picture of the story in the reader’s mind. And you want to hold their attention by using words that will do just that. A compelling story with fleshed-out characters helps too, but dull writing makes for boring reading.
I can’t remember the exact wording or who said it, but there’s this great quote that says something like “There are a million words in the English language. Use them.”
Slap a metaphoric pair of these on when necessary. Or literal if you can
For those in the screenwriting know, this past Saturday was Scriptshadow‘s experimental TwitPitch. Basically, you tweeted your logline, and if it was deemed good enough, it made it through the first round.
It pains to me report mine was not among the select few. And I gotta admit: I was devastated. How could it not have worked? Not even a single mention of it in the comments section? This is a sign. I’ve got no talent. I’m wasting my time. Done before I even started. Might as well stop trying.
But rather than constantly berating myself and doubting my own ability, I recalled the words of a guy I met way back around the turn of the century. I had three scripts under my belt and wanted to get some professional feedback. His very first words to me about my work: You’re a very talented writer. Now you need to get better.
I’ve held onto that advice ever since. Every writer loves positive feedback. But in this business, there are a lot more negatives than positives, which can really beat you down. It’s extremely easy to get discouraged when all you’re hearing back is ‘no’ and things don’t go your way. Especially when you get your hopes up.
But this is a hard business. Some people struggle for years and years before achieving any kind of success.
The key, as my dad always says, is perseverance. Keep going. There will be lots of bad days, but don’t let that stop you from chasing the dream.
A lot of writers say they can’t imagine doing anything else. Count me among them. Like everybody else, I have good days and bad days. And it’s still hard to get past the bad days, but I manage.
And learn from my mistakes.
I try to see what I could do next time to change the outcome more in my favor. Just as an example, I’ve already rewritten my logline so it’s (hopefully) better than the previous version.
I write because I love writing. If I can make a living out of it, all the better. The important thing is I still enjoy the process. And no amount of ‘no’ is going to change that.
My work schedule has been all over the map lately, so not only has my writing time been limited, but also my script-reading time as well. Nevertheless, I try to read when I can.
(*If you can, I highly recommend getting an iPad. It’s perfect for reading scripts. Apparently this is also now the industry standard.)
A few weeks ago, Martin Helgeland’s SLAYER was among the selection of that week’s Scriptshadow offering. “This is the dragon slayer in modern day script that just sold for a boatload of money.” How could I resist?
My immediate reaction: I can see why it sold. It’s a solid, action-packed story loaded with lots of cinematic images that muscles its way forward and jams the action down your throat with a vengeance.
I wasn’t crazy about the writing. It seemed a little too showoff-y. “The sword KEENS.” Huh?
But what really got my attention was how similar the story was to one I came up with about 2 years ago. Obviously, some of the details are different, but they share some basic story points.
This isn’t a big deal because the story itself isn’t completely original. You’ve probably seen or read ones just like it numerous times. Helgeland has his version; I’ll have mine,which isn’t even written yet. It’s still in the outline stage, and I can use this as a guide for how to make mine more different.
This happens all the time, and has been going on for quite a while, as evidenced here. Most likely, everything you or anybody else has ever written is in there somewhere.
So stop worrying about someone stealing your ‘original’ idea and focus instead on how your work can stand out from all the other ones just like it.
