Not necessarily my internal struggle, but you get the idea…
(If you have absolutely no idea who either of these guys are, go here.)
The rewrite’s done, and all of a sudden, I’m nervous. Like, ridiculously so.
I’ve sent scripts out before, but this time something is making it a lot different.
A fear of failure. Of rejection.
What if nobody likes it?
What writer hasn’t gone through this?
But as I tell K every once in a while – the only way I could fail is if I stopped trying, and I don’t plan on doing that either.
It may be that after all this time, the idea of possibly being that much closer to actually achieving my goal is kind of overwhelming. This is where that internal voice kicks in.
Do I have what it takes? Is the script just about ready to be sent out?
Damn straight. I’ve got a lot of confidence in this script and my writing ability.
I can and will do what it takes to make this work.
It took a while, but the initial editing phase is complete. There aren’t a lot of significant changes to be made, but almost every page has something that requires some kind of fix. Fortunately, most of them are very minor, like changing a verb or rearranging the way a scene is described.
There are at least 3, maybe 4 scenes where something needs a little more attention, so I circle it and write my standard “Work on this”.
So all that’s left is one or two thorough typing sessions, one more read-through, a little feedback (professional and trusted colleague), and then diving headfirst into the fray and getting the script out there. (which reminds me I really need to get on the ball and get back to the research phase)
And honestly? I’m getting a little nervous. But in a good way.
This is what I’ve been working towards, and now it feels like it’s just about here.
Is it wrong for me to think there could possibly be a good chance of something happening?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not expecting a million-dollar sale. Although selling a script would be fantastic, I’d much rather get representation and take some meetings that result in steady projects. That would be phenomenal.
For some reason, I’m flashing back to a meeting I had about 11 years ago with a professional writer. I’d written 2 scripts and he read both of them purely as a favor. When we met, the first thing he said was that I was a good writer. I had the talent, but really needed to keep writing in order to get better.
Which is exactly what I’ve been trying to do ever since.
Keep in mind that like everybody else, my first efforts were incredibly lousy (at least compared to my current stuff), so either he was being kind or he actually meant what he said. I really hope it was the latter.
For now, this remains an ongoing process. I’ve said many times it’s all been an absolute blast, and that still holds true.
And something deep inside tells me there’s bigger and better things ahead.
Being done with this rewrite is almost a reality; emphasis on the word ‘almost’.
There’s this one scene that’s really bothering me. Something about it feels very…off. It’s necessary in that it wraps up a subplot, but the way it’s written feels less ‘show’ and more ‘tell’.
I’m not exactly sure how to handle this. The scene still works, but part of me thinks it could be better and another part wonders if it should stay as is. This is definitely going to require some figuring out.
One unfortunate side effect of making changes is it will most likely drag things out and make the script longer, which really is the last thing I need right now.
Which brings me to another issue.
This is at least 7-10 pages too long, so the next step after all the writing is done is to hack, slash and rewrite this down to a more agreeable length. I don’t want a potentially interested party to be put off by the number of pages before even starting to read it. (Although in my defense, this is a real page-turner of a script)
I don’t like setting deadlines for myself, but with the end of the year looming, the rest of the month seems like a good opportunity to really wrap this script up once and for all. I’ve been in contact with a professional writer who gives notes, so that’s where it’ll go when all is said and done.
Which will most likely lead to more rewriting, but you and I knew that was going to happen anyway.
It’s been a productive couple of days. I worked a ton of hours on the air, made two well-received pies for Thanksgiving, and even got some writing in.
I’ve reached the part of the outline that says “The End,” but it’s not time to celebrate just yet. Far from it. There’s still a lot that has to be done before those words can really be applied.
While the main storyline has wrapped up, it became glaringly obvious that I’d completely ignored my supporting characters. I was so focused on the main character, I forgot to give the others something to do during the climax/showdown portion of the story. And that’s just wrong.
This has the potential to become a somewhat sticky problem. It’s important that the individual arcs and storylines/subplots each come to a satisfying conclusion, but just as important not to overdo it and drag things out too long (e.g. LOTR: THE RETURN OF THE KING). There’s always a way to wrap things up. The challenge is finding the right one AND making sure it works.
As always, this is going to take some carefully-orchestrated and organized planning.
Still, any progress is good progress.
-Movie of the Moment. This weekend was also good for making a dent in our Netflix queue.
-BLACK DYNAMITE (2009) A hilarious satire on blaxploitation films that really feels like it came out of the 70s. Star Michael Jai White was also one of the writers.
-DETECTIVE DEE AND THE MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (2010) A great combo of martial arts and supernatural mystery set in 7th century China. V was really excited to watch this at first, but in the end was too freaked out. End result – more kids movies for now, leading into…
-PUSS IN BOOTS (2011) or IF ZORRO WAS A CAT. Since there’s a western element, I enjoyed it, and probably would have loved it if I was a cat person. A sequel to this would be more preferable than yet another SHREK film.
The solutions are in there somewhere. Just gotta work at finding them
In an attempt to keep the outline momentum going, I’ve been making a sincere effort to squeeze in some writing on a daily basis. Sometimes it may only be 30 minutes or an hour, but I can’t keep making excuses as to why I’m not writing when I’ve got the opportunity to do so.
Lighting a fire under my ass is the only way. This thing ain’t gonna write itself.
And this is especially true now because I’m a few scenes into Act Three, and it’s quickly becoming all uphill from here.
I’ve got a semi-workable previous draft to work from, but some of the story details have been changed. My next task is basically figure out what happens next using the practical approach: plot out each storyline, then weave them all together into an intricate, compelling and satisfying finale that ties up a lot of loose ends.
Daunting, but not impossible.
Also doesn’t hurt that I’m working a double shift on Thursday, which means lots of time to make some good headway. Dare I even consider reaching The End? We’ll see…
-Movie of the Moment. WRECK-IT RALPH (2012) – the latest from Disney*. If you were part of the 80s arcade experience and stayed involved with video games into the present, then you’ll probably enjoy this.
I liked it, but more for how the story was told, rather than what it was actually about. It was impressive how there were a lot of setups throughout Acts One and Two that all paid off during the climax of Act Three. (I’ll be keeping this in mind for my outline).
Maybe the one thing that really stuck with me was that during the second half of Act Two, the focus seems to move away from title character Ralph and more towards supporting character Vanellope. I’m trying to figure out how it could have stayed more on Ralph.
As always, the voice talent is perfectly matched with their characters – especially John C. Reilly as Ralph, Jack McBrayer as Felix and Jane Lynch as Calhoun. It was also surprising to see Sarah Silverman have a much bigger role than expected.
I’d categorize this as another movie I enjoyed in the theatre, but don’t feel like I need to own it. Same thing applies to BRAVE from earlier this year. Still, Disney always does high-quality work and it’s a feast for the eyes on the big screen.
*I originally thought this was a Pixar production, but it’s not. Proper edits have been implemented.
