story

Please. Pique my interest.

Maximum Z editing, loglines, message boards, originality, public forums, reading, representation, screenwriting, script, story, writing
All of that in one sentence? Gosh, this is tough.
The whole story in one sentence? Gosh, this is tough.

When it comes to online communities and public forums, I’m more of an observer than active participant. Maybe I’ll post a comment when I think it’s appropriate, but for the most part, I sign in, look around a little, then leave.

One of the most interesting sections is always the one for loglines. Writers submit a logline and ask “What do you think?” I’ve done it myself, with mixed results.

(Side note – ask other writers whose opinion you value and trust, rather than a crowd of the anonymous and online. You’ll feel better about yourself.)

While comments and feedback can range from “brilliant” to “are we reading the same thing?”, my criteria is pretty simple and straightforward:  Does it make me want to read this?

Unfortunately, a lot of the time the answer is “No,” but don’t take it personally.

If your logline doesn’t grab me, why would I want to read your script?

And this isn’t just me, a lowly nobody, asking. Those with the power to make things happen are going to ask the same thing. Don’t forget – they’re always looking for a reason to say “no”.

Just as your script has to be totally bulletproof, so does your logline.

Does it effectively encapsulate what the story’s about? I’ve read a lot that don’t.

Sometimes it focuses too much on one part of the story, rather than giving a more widespread view. Counter to that, it might offer up too much information, which just makes things confusing.

Is this a story we haven’t seen before, or at least a new twist on an old one? What’s unique about it?

A lot of the time, someone in the forums will ask about the intent, meaning or significance of a word or phrase in the logline, and the writer will then explain (sometimes with a little too much detail).

My argument is that the logline should be written in such a way that you don’t have to ask; everything should be laid out right there in front of you.

Do your homework and study the loglines of other films and scripts. How are they put together? What is it about them that’s different than yours?

And this isn’t going to be easy. You may have to struggle through several dozen versions until you come up with the one that really works.

But, like everything else we work on, it takes time and is worth the effort when we get it right.

I knew I’d forget to remember

Maximum Z blog, creativeness, creativity, ideas, inspiration, monsters, outlines, plot, problem-solving, protagonist, scenes, screenwriting, script, spec, story, storytelling, writing
Hmm. I don't remember buying string, either
Hmm. I don’t remember buying string, either

Yesterday I came up with a great subject for today’s post. It was going to be fantastic. Poignant. Relatable. Very informative. You would have loved it.

I figured there was no way I could not remember something this incredible.

And of course, just a few hours later, I totally forgot what it was. I can rack my brains all I want, but it ain’t gonna work. Maybe it’ll pop up again someday, but for now, it’s gone forever.

Jump to last evening. I did a little more work on the first quarter of Act Two of the monster spec, so I’m still up to that page 45 twist.

With my next objective now getting to the all-important Point of No Return (where your protagonist becomes fully committed to achieving their goal), the ideas for scenes between those two plot points starting popping into my head.

And I had no intention of letting them get away.

Lesson learned from earlier in the day, I immediately wrote some down, with more likely to be added later.

I probably won’t even use that many of them, but it’s still better to be able to pick and choose from a wide variety of readily-available options than to curse my lack of foresightedness and have nothing to work with.

Since we’re all creative types around here, we know full well that inspiration can hit anytime and anyplace, which is great. But are we prepared to capture it when it does?

Bet you’ll think “Oh, I’ll definitely remember.”

Please don’t, especially if it’s an idea worth keeping.

Pen and notepad in your briefcase or backpack, an app for dictating on your phone, an extra line on that document on your computer, whatever method works for you.

Taking those extra seconds to save an idea now can potentially prevent you from seemingly endless frustration in the future.

Let’s keep things simple, shall we?

Maximum Z continuity, editing, feedback, goals, monsters, outlines, payoff, Pirates of the Caribbean, plot, rewrite, Rossio & Elliott, scenes, screenwriting, script, setup, spec, story, storytelling, structure, writing
This series was anything but easy to follow
Talk about confusing. This series was anything but easy to follow

A nice writing sprint for the monster spec outline resulted in getting to the page 45 plot point, which was great. But what it made it especially satisfying was realizing how to get there in the equivalent of a short, straight line.

No overly complicated story details. No sudden heading off in a totally different direction. Just THIS leading right into THAT, doing exactly what was intended.

One of the most important parts of presenting a story is that everything you need to know has been properly set up, and that it all flows smoothly from one scene to the next.

While you’re still in the plotting-everything-out stage, ask yourself “Is this easy to follow?” A lot of writers will defend their material as such, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is.

This thing is practically a part of you. You’ve labored over it for what feels like forever, and you know the story inside and out.

We don’t, which means there’s a good chance someone reading it for the first time might not pick up on everything, which isn’t our fault.

Maybe you’ve thrown too much information at us, or just have too much going on that it’s hard to keep track of everything.

It happens, but it’s not the crisis you think it is. Don’t see it as laboring your way through yet another rewrite; it’s actually another chance to make your script better.

Think streamlined.

Strive to avoid unwanted bloat and confusion by constantly checking and re-checking that your story elements make sense, fit where they should and play an important part in telling the story.

A one-man demolition & construction crew

Maximum Z antagonist, editing, ideas, monsters, outlines, plot, productivity, protagonist, rewrite, scenes, screenwriting, script, spec, story, structure, subplot, writing ,
Tear it down, then rebuild
Stuck in a vicious cycle of build, knock down, rebuild (repeat as necessary)

Due to circumstances beyond my control, actual work on revamping of the monster spec outline was practically nonexistent this week, but I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things soon.

In the meantime, there’s been a lot of thought about the next steps in terms of developing the story.

Since so many of the details have changed since the previous version, a lot of material was cut. I really hated to see it go, but it had to be done. As always, some of it may return in a modified form.

This, of course, left significant gaps in the story to be filled. Challenging, thrilling and maybe a little intimidating, all at once.

Working in my favor is knowing what the major plot points are. They’re in place, so the focus now is how to connect them in the most effective ways I can come up with.

Just putting a few empty lines between the plot points (each one represented by a dash) actually helps with getting from one to the next. Here’s Point A, so what needs to happen to get to Point B?

Simple, yet productive. Sometimes.

This also enables me to see how the various plotlines play out (protagonist, antagonist, various subplots), how they all connect and when would be the best time to show the latest developments, all while constantly striving to keep it all fun, interesting and exciting.

As always, fingers firmly crossed for progress in the coming days.

Q&A with 2014 Table Read My Screenplay winner Nick Schober!

Maximum Z agent, Black List, contest, encouragement, feedback, loglines, manager, networking, perseverance, producer, productivity, query letter, screenwriting, script, story, Sundance, Table Read My Screenplay, writing , ,

With so many contest deadlines looming, here’s a tale of encouragement in the form of an interview with Nick Schober, winner of the 2014 Table Read My Screenplay competition.

I met Nick through Twitter (@nicschober). He’s a great guy.

Enjoy.

sundance 3

1. How did you get your start as a writer?

I guess I’ve always been writing, just for different reasons. In college I knew I wanted to work in the industry, but I was sure I wanted to be a director of photography… and then an editor.. then a director, and so on, and the only way to constantly hone those crafts was to write material. After I took a serious run at producing a few years ago, I realized writing was my favorite part of the process and I’ve been at it ever since.

2. What’s your script about, and how did you come up with the story?

GIVEN is a story about a wealthy widow who offers her vast fortune to a local slacker in exchange for one small favor… that he kill her. The concept originated as a “first 15” contest put on by The Writer’s Store. They provide a logline and everyone submits 15 pages based on that. I think the original logline was something about a New England matriarch offering her fortune to anyone who would grant her dying wish. I thought the twist of her asking someone to kill her would grab attention.

3. What was it about Table Read My Screenplay that made you want to enter?

I think I saw the emails about this contest shortly after I found out I did not win The Writer’s Store contest. I figured this was good a time as any to jump back on the horse. Besides that, the opportunity to go to Sundance and have your screenplay read by actors is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Also, as with any good contest, they blast your script out to their network of producers and agents, which is the name of the game.

4. What was your reaction to winning?

I tried to play it cool when I got the call from the organizers but I promptly called my wife and yelled at the top of my lungs. It was pretty awkward considering I was still at work. You can’t help but wonder if you really have what it takes to do this, and things like this are a great signpost to look back on when you need encouragement. 

sundance 2

5. As the contest’s name says, there was a table read of your script at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. How did that go?

It was amazing. They had a conference room at the Waldorf in Park City and cast some excellent actors who really went for it, even though it was just a table read. Harvey Weinstein was having breakfast right outside the door. They also recorded the audio and sent it to me to for review. It was invaluable to hear your words spoken. You can truly understand the importance of timing, what works and what doesn’t.

6. What was your overall experience being at Sundance?

It was a blast. The organizers put us up in an amazing house walking distance from downtown. They set us up with a few movie screenings and also got us into a few parties. It was an intense exercise in networking, especially for a serial introvert, but I made a couple of good contacts.

sundance

7. What’s been happening for you and your script since then?

Since then, I’ve jumped headfirst into trying to get this sold. I’ve uploaded my script to The Blacklist, submitted to all the major contests, and recently started querying. I’m also developing a few other ideas and trying to write every day.

A hearty congrats to Nick!

There are lots of ways to establish a career as a screenwriter. Winning or placing in a contest is just one of them. So keep on rewriting and polishing that latest draft, send it out there and see how it goes.

And in case you don’t make it past the first round (which does happen), more contests now offer notes and feedback, so you can make a few more fixes to make your script that much better.

Good luck!