writing process

A verbal solution for a writing problem

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Even despite a temporary lapse, output on the sci-fi adventure rewrite was progressing at a decent pace.

I already knew there’d be more work to do once it was done, but something still felt off. A piece of the puzzle was missing, and it felt weird to keep pushing forward. Like building a house with incomplete blueprints.

Although my original intent was to finish the rewrite, I wanted to take care of the missing puzzle piece. This in itself was quite challenging.

Once again, my network of savvy writing colleagues comes to the rescue.

I’ve been doing more one-on-one Zoom calls with writers I’ve only known through social media. It’s a great opportunity to get to know them as people, as well as talk a lot of shop about screenwriting.

Such was the case earlier this week. Another writer and myself were discussing some of our current projects, and the sci-fi adventure came up. Despite my stumbling through the “pitch”, my friend got really into the concept, prompting them to ask a lot of thought-provoking questions about the story and the characters. Some I had an answer for, some I didn’t.

(side note – I used to be embarassed about not having all the answers when it came to my stories, but have since embraced it and am now willing to say “I don’t know” or “no idea” because this usually leads to a discussion where everybody involved helps me come up with an answer.)

This led me to realize that some aspects of the story weren’t as defined as I thought. That, in turn, had a ripple effect on the rest of the story. The same story of which I had just passed the halfway mark with rewriting.

It was like taking a piece out near the bottom of the tower in a game of Jenga. Not that everything came crashing down; more like things got a whole lot more wobbly.

We talked things through some more, and did some impromptu brainstorming, all of which which helped point me in the right direction.

Long story short: the rewrite’s on hold and the reset button’s been pushed. But like I mentioned during the discussion, once those fixes are worked out and implemented, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get back on track.

While I originally hoped to be done with the rewrite around now, or at least mighty close to it, I don’t mind making another trip to the drawing board to take care of this. I’m already looking forward to taking this on and seeing how it goes.

Bonus – the chance to make any other fixes in the 50+ pages I’ve already written.

Yet another reason to be active and interactive within your personal writing community.

–The final chapter in the Indiana Jones series opens today. The characters and storytelling have been a huge influence for me and my writing, and I can only hope that my scripts can someday be compared to them.

I also hope the movie’s good.

The possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1

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During a recent break from the writing, I saw a few posts on social media celebrating the 43rd(!) anniversary of the release of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

I was around for that. Proudly so.

I decided to give it another watch, mostly for nostalgia’s sake.

Even though I’ve seen it numerous times, this time felt a little different. I found myself watching it from a writer’s point of view.*

It made for a very different experience, involving continuously making mental notes and asking questions.

“How did this look on the page?”

“Wow, that dialogue gets right to the point without being on-the-nose”

“What an incredibly tight scene”

“Pay attention to how the characters are shown changing over the course of the story”

Just seeing how smooth the story flows, how tight the whole thing is, and how all the subplots are laid out really struck a chord for me.

THIS is how I want my scripts to come across.

I’ve already said that this current draft of my sci-fi adventure is all about getting pages written and holding off on editing/revising until it’s complete. That still applies.

But when I do get to that point, I’m already anticipating looking at each scene and trying to figure out what changes could be made to achieve that same level of tightness, structure, and efficiency.

And it’s just a coincidence about my script being a similar genre; this approach would help no matter what I was working on.

This is all just further proof that a writer’s education never truly stops, watching well-written films can benefit your own writing process, and that there’s always an opportunity to learn how to improve your writing.

*Full acknowledgment to credited writers Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas*

Full speed ahead!

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Apart from a few tweaks on the animated fantasy-comedy, the past few weeks have been all about cranking out the new draft of the sci-fi adventure.

And “cranking out” seems to be the appropriate term.

My usual process is to write a few pages, go back and do some work on them, then move on to the next set.

Not this time.

I write ’em and move on. No looking back.

No editing. No tweaking. Nothing.

There is absolutely no doubt there’ll be a ton of editing and rewriting when it’s done, but for now it’s “just get the damned thing written”.

Current output is about 2-3 pages a day, so if I can maintain that pace, there’s no reason to believe it couldn’t be wrapped up by the end of June or thereabouts.

Also nice – I’m having a great time telling this story, and I hope that enjoyment comes across to future readers.

I don’t know if I’ll continue to use this method for future scripts, or even for future drafts, but for now it seems to be working. It’s definitely different and takes some getting used to, but I don’t mind.

-last-minute addition! as of this writing, the aforementioned fantasy-comedy was announced as a quarterfinalist in the animation category for StoryPros. Not too shabby, especially since it’s been rewritten/polished a few times since then to what I believe is a more put-together version.

While it would be great for it to continue moving forward, I’m quite happy with this.

-The writers strike continues, with no end in sight. Here’s hoping that that changes soon. #WGAStrong

It is what it is

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They say failure is the best teacher, and boy did I learn my lesson these past few weeks.

As you might be aware, a lot of the past few months were all about the animated fantasy-comedy spec. Many drafts, revisions, and polishes have taken place. My primary objective was to have what I hoped was a quality script that might have a chance with some of the big contests.

I felt it was ready, so I sent it in, along with to a few smaller contests – just to see how it might fare.

Its track record now stands at 0-2 for those smaller ones, one of which focused on fantasy (and sci-fi). If the script couldn’t even make the quarterfinals in that, it definitely doesn’t bode well for the more high-profile contests that get thousands upon thousands of entries.

Also adding to this sad-but-likely conclusion was getting some notes back after the script had been entered in said contests. The notes were brutally honest about what worked and what didn’t.

Simply put – there were problems that I hadn’t addressed, and it just wasn’t ready.

Thus another rewrite took place, with this year’s contests already being written off. It’ll be quite surprising if anything positive happens with any of those.

I don’t think I was jumping the gun in entering it in the contests. Was I more confident than I should have been? Maybe, but I still think it’s a solid piece of work – especially after this latest rewrite.

There’s still one more set of notes on the way, so there will most likely be another draft, and I’m seriously considering getting some professional feedback for that one a few months down the road.

It bothers me that this year’s contests already seem to be wasted, but I accept that this is how it worked out and I’m pretty good about getting back up on the proverbial horse. The positive spin/silver lining is that this gives me more time to prepare for next year.

Once all the work on this script is finished – which hopefully won’t take too long, I’ll return to the rewrite of the sci-fi adventure – and based on this experience, will dedicate more time to making sure it’s REALLY ready to send out.

Heeding my own advice and encouragement to other writers, I will keep pushing forward.

-As of this writing, the WGA strike is still going on.

To quote Harlan Ellison: pay the writer

#WGAStrong

Let’s start with the basics

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I’ve been reading for a contest these past few weeks.

It’s a safe bet to say that a lot of the writers who entered may not be as familiar with how to write a screenplay as one would expect.

This, in turn, inspired some helpful suggestions for any writer to keep in mind:

-SHOW, DON’T TELL. Convey the information in as visual a way as possible.

-GET IN LATE, GET OUT ASAP. Get to the point of your scene as quickly as you can, then move on to the next one. Don’t have the characters chitchatting back and forth for another page.

-GET THINGS MOVING. Get us into the story from the outset. Keep the momentum going.

-EVERY SCENE NEEDS CONFLICT. Two opposing forces; anything from a subtle gesture to an epic battle.

-INVEST IN SCREENWRITING SOFTWARE. It makes a huge difference to write something in Final Draft as opposed to Microsoft Word. This can also help with..

-FORMATTING IS IMPORTANT. If you’re not sure how a script should look on the page, there are tons or resources online with good examples. You can also read some other scripts to get an idea.

-DO YOUR RESEARCH. Fleshing out a story or characters with relevant info adds to the authenticity of the material. Don’t go for the information dump; use what’s important/necessary.

-SPELLCHECK IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. There’s no ‘e’ in ‘lightning’, nor should somebody ‘waist’ an opportunity, just to name two.

-THE THESAURUS IS YOUR FRIEND. Mix it up. There are 142 alternate words for “walk”.

-CHARACTER INTROS. Describe their personality, rather than just their height & appearance – unless either plays a part in the story. Also, their name in ALL CAPS only when they’re first introduced; NOT every single time after that.

-“HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?”. Action lines are for describing what we’re seeing transpire onscreen (i.e. action), not explaining why something’s happening, why somebody’s doing something, or what something really means. Find a way to get that across visually, or through dialogue.

-KEEP IT BRIEF (or WRITE AS IF INK COSTS $1000 AN OUNCE). While a book may allow for lengthy descriptions, a screenplay needs to be tight. Lots of unnecessary text will slow things down, and an important detail might get overlooked if it’s in the middle of a dense paragraph.

-IS THIS IMPORTANT TO THE STORY? While you may consider it vital to meticulously describe the decor of your protagonist’s living room, or every item of clothing they’re wearing, unless that information plays a part in the story, it’s unnecessary clutter.

-IS THIS HOW PEOPLE TALK? Do your characters talk like real people or like they’re in a movie? Helpful tip – read your dialogue out loud to see how it actually sounds.

-ACTIVE, NOT PASSIVE VERBS. “Bob runs” is more effective than “Bob is running.”

-WE SEE/WE HEAR. Personally, not a fan. If you have to use them, do so as sparingly as possible.

-CAMERA DIRECTIONS. Again, not a fan. I find them distracting. You don’t need to remind us we’re “watching” a movie

These, of course, are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, but still pretty important to keep in mind.