writing gigs

Voice from the past

Maximum Z outlines, rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs
early model not-so-mobile phone

Completely unexpectedly, the director I co-write the short with last year rang me up. After much delay, he’s finished all the post-production work and is making copies of the end product.  I should have my own copy within a month or so.  I’ll update the link in the portfolio section once I get it.

He moved to LA about a year ago, and is currently working on directing trailers.  As he succinctly put it, I now know somebody working in the industry.  Always a good connection to have.  Gotta start somewhere.

But he was also calling because he wants me to help write his next project: a 30-minute short he hopes to eventually submit to the student Oscars. I’ll have more details in a few days, but it’ll be some kind of crime thriller.  Yeah, I can write that.

While I was originally hoping to have the DREAMSHIP draft done by the end of the year, this may slow that down a little, but working on that, the short and the LUCY outline is a good challenge.

They say you should write every day, which I try to do. Some days are really productive, some not at all. But the effort is always there.  Sometimes it’s how much drive you feel inside.  I can’t explain why, but that feeling’s been stronger for me the past few days.  I think I’m feeling more confident in the strength of my stories and how things are developing overall, which always yields better results.

Suffice to say, I’m expecting great things from myself between now and the end of the year, and am fairly confident I can pull it off.

Man at work

Maximum Z Movie of the Moment, rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs
This script ain't gonna build itself...

I’ve been pretty busy the past few days. Unfortunately, not with the rewrite.

There’ve been other tasks occupying my time, so while my brain works on figuring out story and scene details, the rest of me is taking on a few new responsibilities.

I can’t go into too much detail now, but will say they each involve getting paid for utilizing skills I’ve been honing for years.  I’ll spill more info at a later date, but that’s all I’m currently willing to say.

I was concerned that devoting time to something other than working on scripts would be a bad thing, but it may not be. Sometimes I’ll set aside a few hours in the afternoon with the intention of focusing exclusively on, say, getting to the end of the first act.  And as any writer will tell you, you can’t force creativity.  So maybe I don’t get as much done as I had hoped, but at least it’s something.

As long as I keep my notebook handy, or take a break from ‘regular work’ and give myself a few minutes to try and figure my way out of a scene, I’ll be fine.  I’m not in a rush, and this way I’m not pressuring myself to move forward.

And if these new developments take up more time than I anticipate, that’s what lunch breaks are for.

-Movie of the Moment – BEHIND THE BURLY Q, a documentary about the heyday of burlesque, as told by the people who worked in it. Written and directed by Leslie Zemeckis (wife of noted director Robert, who exec produced), this is a fascinating look at a truly unique form of showbiz.

A majority of the people interviewed are the dancers/strippers, now all advanced in years.  Each has a story of how she got into the business; some funny, most tragic. And hearing their tales of life in the trenches will definitely hold your attention (as will the plentiful footage and photos of barely-dressed beauties).

This is the kind of film that needs to be watched with a good stiff drink and the lights off.

I can only do so much

Maximum Z rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs

I got a follow-up email from the writer looking for help with their rewrite.  They had implemented some of my recommendations, but for the most part hadn’t really changed that much.

They stated they had not done a huge rewrite,which in my opinion was their first mistake.  This thing needs a major, page-one overhaul, complete with a well-developed outline.  I’d be happy to consult on that, but that’s not why I was contacted.

All I had to do was take my suggestions on how to make it better and put them in where necessary.  Simple things.  Like establishing who the main character was, or having conflict in each scene, and so on.  That’s a much bigger job than this person realizes.

You can’t fix a lousy script with little fixes here and there.  Screenwriters just starting out usually hear the metaphor that the script is the blueprint for your building.  If the blueprint isn’t solid, the building will come crashing down.  Same thing applies to screenwriting.  Lousy script, lousy movie.

I can’t tell if this person is impatient or just doesn’t want to go to the trouble of actually fine-tuning a good concept into a solid script.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how miserable I would have been working on this.  So I politely said thanks, but no thanks.  It was the right choice.  The proverbial weight on my shoulders has been lifted.

On a positive note, I’m starting on a new freelance project next week and waiting to hear about another one, so in my spare time I can get back to the rewrite, which I’ve really been looking forward to.

Good times are ahead and getting closer.

The writing gods are testing me. Again.

Maximum Z freelancing, jobs, rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs

I got an email from the person who had me ‘rewrite’ their script last month.

They want to know if I could look at the latest draft and ‘make any necessary changes,’ but ‘without drastically changing the direction of the story.’

Now, I’m always up for a good project, but the last I saw, this script really needed a lot of work.  Basically, a page one rewrite was in order.

That was a month ago, so I don’t know how much progress, if any, has been made on subsequent drafts. I’m happy to help out, but if I see that none of my suggestions have been implemented, I may have to be a little more harsh in my critiquing.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting I’m the end-all and be-all when it comes to screenwriting.  I just think I have a pretty firm grasp on the basics, or at least a little more than some.

Such as knowing who the main character is supposed to be.  Things like that.

Just to be on the safe side, I sent them the plot point breakdown sheet I always use. Hopefully they’ll apply it to their script with positive results.

It’ll be interesting to see how this works out.

The only downside to helping somebody else is less time for my own stuff.  I haven’t been able to do anything on DREAMSHIP in at least a week, maybe more, and it’s driving me crazy.

But I’m not scheduled to work any extra hours this week, which gives me some more time to work on their script and mine.  But I’m also in the process of lining up some freelance (non-script) writing projects, so that also takes away from working on my stuff.

Somehow, I will work my way through all of this and come out triumphant (and possibly well-compensated).  At least, that’s what I’m hoping for.

No Movie of the Moment. I’ve been too frikkin’ busy.

Feedback, Inc.

Maximum Z outlines, rewrite, screenwriting, writing gigs

I’m really proud of how the end of the first half of Act Two developed today. I managed to make my hero more proactive, which was somewhat of a problem in the previous draft.  I like how things are progressing.  Tomorrow – moving beyond the midpoint! Whoo!

-Despite wanting to put it off, I bit the bullet and told my rewrite client what I thought of her script.  And to be honest, it was what needed to be said.  But I wasn’t mean about it.  That benefits nobody.

I focused on the elements I had problems with, most of which are easy to fix with a more solid outline, a better comprehension of what a script should look like, and a general familiarity and knowledge about screenwriting basics.  Armed with those, and the time and effort put into consecutive drafts, this script could show a lot more potential.

A lot of writers trying to break in think they can crank out a draft, maybe one or two rewrites, and it’s perfect. Not so. Even worse, when you try and point what needs to be fixed, some can get very defensive.  How dare I even suggest such a thing?  Then they’ll wonder why the rest of the world doesn’t recognize their genius.

Hopefully this writer won’t curse my existence too much.  Now I’m wondering what the response will be to my comments.

-No Movie of the Moment today. Doing the midday shift cuts into my movie-watching time.  That and it is totally exhausting.