sequence

First hard part’s out of the way

Maximum Z action, comedy, determination, development, editing, encouragement, outlines, output, perseverance, persistence, progress, scenes, screenplay, screenwriting, script, sequence, spec, storyline, subplots, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bit of a breakthrough for the action-comedy spec this week – I wrapped up the outline.

It’s done, but not totally done.

It still needs a ton of work, especially regarding the development/placement of several subplots, but the primary storyline is there, ready to be hammered into better shape.

Despite it all, I’m thrilled to have gotten here. There were many times over the past few months I’d get concerned (read: stressing out on a regular basis) I’d never figure things out.

But I stuck to it and eventually did, and am very happy with it.

Skimming through the whole thing in its current state, there are probably a lot of scenes and sequences that’ll get trimmed, cut, or drastically revised, but that’s expected. And that’s not even taking into account the aforementioned subplots.

I’ve written before about my astonishment at how other writers are almost assembly line-like regarding their output. It’s just not something I’m capable of, and the slow, slow progress for this latest project is just another example of that.

But I also realize that when somebody reads one of my scripts, they definitely remember that it’s mine – the story, the characters, the voice. If my taking the time to do that for each script means a smaller output than others, that’s fine by me. Same conditions apply this time around.

I was wavering between diving right back into this one or shifting to one of my two rewrites. I think I’m leaning towards the latter. I haven’t done as much with those two the last couple of months, so it’s probably better to let the new one simmer and work on those.

Then when I’m ready to jump back into this one, it’ll be with a mostly-all-there outline (and most likely a lot of “This is better than I remember” and “I don’t remember writing this”).

More like this, please

Maximum Z action, antagonist, character arc, characters, comedy, determination, development, draft, editing, I Love Lucy, ideas, perseverance, persistence, protagonist, rewrite, scenes, screenplay, screenwriting, script, sequence, spec, story, subplots, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some MAJOR progress on the outline for the action-comedy spec this week, and I am thrilled.

Among the highlights: figuring out how and where to connect some sequences, plotting out a few others, and coming up with a great new angle about my antagonist’s arc.

Some of these were a long time coming, and some were spur of the moment. I’ll take what I can get.

Also realized a few subplots still need work, which range from “should this be cut or expanded?” to “three scenes should cover it”.

One thing that’s been nagging at me since the beginning is the best way to show my protagonist’s arc in action. How is she changing over the course of the story, and what are the most effective ways to do that? Doing what I can to have this occur at every opportunity, even if it’s something that initially seems insignificant but plain as day in retrospect.

Ain’t easy, but it’s coming together. Would have been great for this to have happened a few months ago, but that’s how it goes.

No guarantee this momentum will continue, but confidence levels are currently registering as high. I may even be so bold as to suggest a strong possibility the outline could be done by the end of the month. This will most likely be followed by either a whole lot of editing and revising, or setting it all aside to work on one or both of the two rewrites.

Either way, there’ll be at least one completed draft of this script by the end of the year.

Not perfect. Just written.

Maximum Z action, comedy, draft, education, outlines, perseverance, persistence, rewriting, scenes, screenplay, screenwriting, script, sequence, spec, story, strategy, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Some decent progress this week on two of my three big projects for this year.

The one that really resonates is the continuing work on the outline for the new action-comedy spec. Came up with a few more scenes and sequences, while the laborious task looms of fitting them all together in the most effective way.

But something became very obvious while working on one sequence:

Too much effort was going into the details of the scene, and not enough on “what’s the point of this scene?” I was creating more work for myself than necessary, trying to get everything right the first time out.

Silly writer. That’s what rewrites are for!

One of the most important parts of the first draft is just to get the damned thing written. There’ll be lots of work down the road, so why stress about something that’ll most likely be changed in one way or another?

This has really helped my frame of mind. There’s still a ways to go, but the road feels a little smoother.

On top of that, while taking a few breaks along the way by watching some personal favorite films, I noticed how so many scenes really adhere to the “get in late, make the point, move on to the next one.”

I’m going to try and apply that to how I put scenes in the outline together, and then refine it even more as I move on to actual pages.

There’s always something new to learn, and this is no exception.

-Crowdfunding for post-production of my short film SHECKY continues! We’re at 73%, with just under a month to go. Hope you can chip in – and take your pick from some sweet tier rewards!

Did it before. Can do it again

Maximum Z Captain America, development, ideas, manager, plot points, polish, rewrite, scenes, screenplay, screenwriting, script, sequence, story, westerns , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Made an interesting discovery this week.

My manager and I have been doing what is for the most part a line-by-line edit/polish of my western.

(A quick aside to note that it is quite a thrill to include that part about having a manager.)

We’re about halfway through, so I took it upon myself to go through the second half and then go over it with him. I like how it turned out.

But while I was reading, one thing that really stood out about it: there were a lot more scenes and sequences than I remember. It had more of an impact this time because I’m still working on the story of my new spec, and seeing all those little scenes in the western that enhance the characters and story make me think “this is what I need to do for this one”.

I’m still figuring out the story, so this may just be me getting ahead of myself. I’m not concerned, and know I’ll eventually figure things out. This may just stem from seeing how put-together a previous script is and wanting to a similar outcome for the new one. This happens a lot during this stage in the process.

Not that I’m looking to re-capture what feels like lightning in a bottle, but figuring out the story and all the supporting details is always a challenge. I come up with the major plot points and then start filling in the blanks between them. Sometimes I’ll create a list of all the ideas and possibilities that could be included, and then start picking and choosing. I already had a few set pieces, so I may work on expanding that.

This is all part of how it works – for me, anyway. I’m always amazed to see another writer just crank ’em out with what appears to be little effort. This just reinforces the idea that I’m a plotter, not a pantser.

I don’t mind having to go through all of this. I’m sure I’ll be happy with the end result; it’s working my way there that’s the challenging part.

No restraints! (up to a point)

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While my short film is now in the hands of the editor, that allows me more time to get back to working on the outline for the new action-comedy spec.

It’s coming along, but choices have had to be made in terms of how far to take things regarding the story and how things play out.

Do I play it safe and hold back, or do I throw caution to the wind and go all out?

Believe it or not, this was a tougher decision than expected. I don’t want to overdo it, but I also don’t want things to be boring. There’s pushing the envelope, and then there’s way over the top.

But then again, this is an ACTION-COMEDY, with an emphasis on both parts, so maybe there’s some kind of middle ground that would work.

It also helped to get the opinions of a few other writers, who all said for this kind of story, you pretty much have to ramp things up, but to also not let things get out of control, which makes it feel like you’re throwing everything at the wall, which reeks of desperation – which I do not like, or want.

What I do want is for the reader/audience to really get the impact of everything that happens because it all works within the context of the story while also reinforcing/supporting the action and comedy. Not an easy path to navigate, but I feel up to the challenge.

So that’s the plan. Most likely it’ll be initially putting it all together in a simple and straightforward way, then go back and figure out the best/most effective way to have each scene and/or sequence showcase the action and comedy when applicable. Sort of “How can this be more exciting and/or funnier while still accomplishing what it needs to?”

I also suspect that once everything is in place, that’s when the real fun begins. Even with all of this figuring things out, I’m really enjoying putting this one together and look forward to unleashing it on the world when it’s ready.