writing

Time once again for…

Maximum Z analysis, characters, cliches, Comedy Film Nerds, criticism, Graham Elwood, Movie of the Moment, screenwriting, script, story, The Lone Ranger, tone, westerns, writing
Okay, class. Who's got stuff to talk about?
Okay, class. Who’s got stuff to talk about?

…the much-anticipated Project Status Update!

So simple, anyone can do it in just two easy steps!

Here’s how it works:

1. What you’re currently working on
2. How it’s going

I’ll start the ball rolling.

1. A rewrite of my mystery spec.
2. I’m up to page 82, which places it in the latter half of Act 2. This includes the realization that my “page 75” plot point has changed, but still works.

See? No sweat. Give it a try.

And continuing with the theme of something not seen in a while…

-Movie of the Moment. THE LONE RANGER (2013). Yep. Finally.

It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good either. My biggest complaint was that there was just way too much going on. I’m all for an epic western, but this felt like they were trying to jam in as many cliches as possible. They could have totally removed at least two supporting characters and the inane “1933 Tonto telling a story” scenes.

It really seemed like it couldn’t decide what kind of story it wanted to be. Slapstick comedy? Buddy picture? Drama with touches of gore? All these and more on display.

One of the first rules in screenwriting is to make the audience want to root for your main character, which unfortunately doesn’t happen here. I actually thought Armie Hammer was a good choice to play the part, but the material was all wrong. Yes, he’s adapting to the ways of the frontier, but for crying out loud, this is the LONE RANGER. You do not make him a naive doofus.

Regarding Johnny Depp as Tonto, Graham Elwood of the Comedy Film Nerds podcast summed it up perfectly: The name of the movie is THE LONE RANGER, not JACK SPARROW GOES WEST.

One can only hope that the failure of this film will not once again stop the resurgence of the western.

Their opinion (singular) vs their opinion (plural)

Maximum Z characters, conflict, dialogue, feedback, rewrite, screenwriting, script, setup, spec, story, storytelling, westerns, writing
Anybody else have something to say?
Anybody else have something to say?

When you get feedback on your work, you have the luxury of being able to pick and choose which comments and suggestions you’re going to use, and disregarding the rest.

It’s only one person’s thoughts, right? Maybe there’s a worthwhile nugget or two in there.

But what if more than one person makes the same comment?  If those folks mentioned it, it might be likely more are going to as well.

Take a look at what they’re saying. Can you understand why they said it, and more importantly, what can you do to fix it?

Such was the case for a pivotal plot point in my western spec. At least three people asked “Why does this character do this?”

Each claimed it didn’t make sense and felt contrived, like it was happening because the story needed it to, rather than being set up organically.

If one person had said this, I would have thought “Maybe I’ll take a look at it.”  After the second and third piped in, it quickly changed to “How can I fix this?”

It took some work (mostly with the dialogue) to set things right, so not only does this character now feel more fleshed out, but their actions come across as more believable, there’s more conflict between them and the main character, and the flow of the story is smoother.

A writer’s ego is already a sensitive thing, but what’s more important? Thinking your work is perfect as is and doesn’t need any changes, or being willing to make those changes to make it better?

Maybe it’s a little fix or maybe it requires a major overhaul. No matter what, you’ve got some work to do.

Here’s to our biggest fans

Maximum Z appreciation, editing, encouragement, proofreading, screenwriting, script, writing
Couldn't do this without you
Couldn’t do this without you

Even though writing is primarily a solitary activity, there are often times when we just can’t go it alone.

Friends and trusted colleagues can only take us so far. The rest of the time we need somebody else.

But not just any somebody. Somebody extra special.

Somebody who’s there for us no matter what.

Somebody experiencing the ups and downs right along with us. Somebody who shares in our joys and frustrations.

Maybe they’re a writer too, but chances are probably not, but it doesn’t matter. They know what it is we’re trying to accomplish, and how tough it is, and offer whatever support they can.

They’re there for us in countless capacities. A sounding board for potential ideas. The editor or proofreader who sees our work before anybody else. The gatekeeper of our writing sanctums.

They provide encouragement when we’re feeling low. They sympathize when we suffer from writer’s block. They are the ones we look to for solace when the long-awaited answer is ‘no’.

But they’re also the first person you want to tell when something good happens.

They are our support, our motivation, our inspiration. They help us to move forward, keep trying and carry on.

So pass along your gratitude to your someone. Let them know how much you appreciate everything they’ve done to help you and your writing.

This is a tough enough journey as it is, and without them, it would be much, much harder.

Stepping into the arena

Maximum Z contest, encouragement, Nicholl Fellowship, PAGE International, proofreading, screenwriting, script, TrackingB, writing
That's one way to eliminate the competition (no pun intended)
That’s one way to eliminate the competition (insert rimshot here)

If your inbox is anything like mine, chances are you’ve been getting a lot of emails lately touting the pending deadline of more than a few contests.

For the most part, I usually ignore them. Maybe the Nicholl if I have a script ready, but rarely any others, if any at all.

But a little more confidence in my abilities and encouragement from other writers is making me gradually change my mind.

I’m seriously considering biting the bullet and submitting a script, warts and all, to a few competitions over the next few months.

It’s one of those things every screenwriter should do at least once or twice.

But which ones? There are a lot to choose from, ranging from the obscure to the high-profile.  While there’s nothing wrong with the Brand X Screenwriting Competition, you have to admit it doesn’t carry the same cachet as being a finalist in Austin, PAGE or TrackingB.

Everybody has different criteria for what they’re looking to get out of a particular contest. While a cash prize is nice, most are seen as stepping stones to making industry connections and getting representation.

Some offer script notes – a handful do it for free, but almost all charge extra for it. It’s not something I’d do, but that’s me.

If you’ve decided this is the year you take the plunge, then do your homework and research the ones you’re interested in to find out they have to offer. What kind of reputation do they have? How was the experience for previous entrants and winners? Do the prizes justify the amount of the fee?

No matter which ones you decide on, keep in mind you are going up against a lot of other writers just as eager and ambitious as you. Do you think your script is ready to take them on? Like, REALLY ready?

Even if you have a tiny amount of uncertainty, how much time is there between now and the deadline? Use this to your advantage and give your script an extremely thorough read-through (or two) and fix what needs to be fixed. Nobody likes finding a typo after the fact.

Do whatever you can to make your script ready to go, cross your fingers when you hit ‘submit’ and hope for the best.  How long you wait until getting back to your current project is up to you.

Good luck.

What it’s about, not what happens

Maximum Z Back to the Future, characters, guidelines, outlines, parenting, scenes, screenwriting, script, story, theme, writing

bttf theme

A usual part of my daily routine is helping V with her homework. This week, they’re learning about how to identify the theme of a story.

Nothing like starting with the basics.

After reading the one-page story together, I asked her what she thought the theme was. Her response was more focused on one part of the story, rather than the whole thing, so I tried another approach.

“What’s the message of the story? What is it trying to teach us?”

That made things clearer to her, which made finding the theme of the next day’s story a little easier (with a little guidance from me).

This of course made me think about finding, or at least knowing, the theme of the story of your script.

Some writers start writing and figure out the theme later. I’m the total opposite of that. I don’t think I could even start on the outline if I didn’t at least have an idea of what the theme was.

A lot of the time it’s just a single word or a short phrase, but it still plays a key part in putting my story together.

Knowing the theme of your story is vital; it influences how the story’s told and what it’s about. If you don’t know what your story’s really about, how can you put the rest of it together? That would be like doing a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the final picture is.

A great example of a theme on display is BACK TO THE FUTURE. Look at the dialogue exchange in the picture up top, which takes place just a few minutes in. Jump forward to Act Two, where, after all the setup in Act One, we get to see how history does indeed change, all thanks to Marty. (Just another reason why this is a phenomenally bulletproof script)

So as you work on your latest draft, take a look at each scene, even if it’s just a few lines long. Does it advance the story, the characters and the theme?

If so, great and keep up the good work. If not, take a moment to figure out what could be changed so it does.

Once you learn how to do this, hopefully your writing process will be just a little bit easier.