spec

It all leads to this

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Slight shorty today, but one worth discussing.

Some slight progress on the outline of the new spec, but I realized what the biggest obstacle has been:

I need more details about how it ends.

This isn’t to say I don’t know how it ends. I do, but the challenge is finding the best way to present it, along with how everything that precedes it plays a part in getting there, how this is without a doubt how it should end, and that any other outcome would be unacceptable. Quite challenging.

Once I crack the details about the ending, there’ll be a lot of filling in the blanks as part of assembling and organizing all the storylines and subplots. Fingers firmly crossed for that part to go smoothly, or as close to it as I can get.

There’s been a lot of brainstorming and writing down any and every idea that comes to mind. A few possibilities so far, but no “That’s it!” moments just yet.

It’s out there, and I’ll find it.

Creativity activated

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Super-shorty post today.

Not happy with the development and what feels like a lack of progress on the new spec, so taking some time to see what I can do to rectify that. I’ve got ideas.

Wish me luck, and have a good weekend.

-quick contest update – my fantasy-comedy didn’t make Second Round for Austin. Was hoping it would, but that’s the way it goes. Back to the spec.

The only constant is change

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Even though a lot of the past week was family-oriented, thoughts about the current spec were omnipresent. There’s still a lot to figure out, but things are progressing, albeit slowly.

One positive result is that as these ideas develop, each causes a ripple effect in terms of how it impacts the rest of the story.

Just as an example, I needed to come up with a very important story detail, so started listing all the possible reasons how it could happen. I came up with one I felt worked best and started implementing it into the still-under-construction outline. That in turn triggered thoughts of “that could be because of ____” or “what if ____ is why?”.

A little more rejiggering of possibilities and how they’d fit into the story and voila! Some really helpful ideas and additional details that strengthen its designated storyline AND how it affects a few others.

When I started this project, I reminded myself that the end result would most likely be very different while the core story remained the same. Staying on top of all those little details is really keeping me on my toes, while also forcing me to constantly ramp up my creativity to make this script as original and entertaining as possible.

It’s a safe bet I’ll come up with more story-changing/impacting ideas over the next few weeks, but I welcome them and will deal with those as they happen.

The main focus remains just putting it all together.

Even just a few steps is still good

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It’s the onset of a holiday weekend here in the US, so file this post under “short, but relevant”.

The good news is I hit the midpoint for the outline of my current spec. The not-so-good news is that I’m still figuring out the rest of Act Two and most of Act Three. Plot points (such as they are) are in place, and the filling in between them continues.

Daunting as that may be, I’m just happy to have gotten this far. Current mindset is “just get it written and fine-tune it later.”

I know I’ll figure things out, but count on lots of ruminating in my near future.

Speaking of which…

As if by divine intervention by the writing gods, a friend posted online that the upcoming month is being labeled “Spectember” in that a writer could complete a spec script by month’s end. Pretty certain I couldn’t complete an actual spec, but the outline? That’s a definite possibility – or as mighty close as I can get.

Enjoyment levels and overall excitement for this project remain strong and steady, which always help.

Heed the words of Mamet -OR- Don’t overstay your welcome

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I’ve been on somewhat of a tear lately in regards to watching films – both at home and in theaters.

One of the things that’s really stood out is the tightness of the writing. In every film, the scenes don’t waste time. They present what’s needed at that particular moment while also advancing the story.

I’ve always had a tendency to overwrite – especially in my earlier scripts. There was just too much on the page, or some scenes just went on too long. This would result in necessary editing and trimming down in subsequent drafts.

But then I heard a piece of advice I’m fairly certain is attributed to playwright David Mamet:

GET IN LATE, GET OUT EARLY

I interpreted this as “Get to the point of the scene as soon as possible, then move on to the next one”.

You don’t want your reader/audience to be bored by slowing things down with anything unrelated to the story. They’ll become less interested in wanting to see what happens next. Once that happens, you’re pretty much screwed.

This is something I’ve seen in a lot of scripts – especially from newer writers, along with a handful of seasoned vets. Many is the time I’ve given a note along the lines of “this is good, but tightening it up would make a world of difference.” Sometimes it’s dialogue, or description, or action lines.

If something can be cut from a scene and the scene still accomplishes what it needs to, then whatever you cut didn’t need to be in there in the first place.

When I outline, I do so with a “what’s the point of this scene?” approach. What happens in this scene that advances the story? Even as the story continues to grow and develop, the focus on the main point of each scene continues. There may be a small amount of overwriting in the first few drafts, but those are quickly dealt with.

This approach has really helped contributed to establishing the flow and fast reads for my scripts, and I’m looking forward to applying it to the current spec.