Had a really good phone call with my manager and his assistant yesterday (still getting used to being able to say that) about what changes need to be made to the script before it’s ready to go out.
Fortunately, there aren’t that many.
Most of them are small details that will add a little depth to the story and flesh out some of the characters. Looking over the notes doesn’t make it seem like it’ll be too big to tackle.
It’s always nice to hear somebody be as enthusiastic about your work as you feel when you’re working on it. A little validation goes a long way.
I was really impressed with Chris the assistant’s knowledge about crafting a script and what makes for a good story. He definitely knows his stuff. It didn’t hurt that he seemed especially interested in some of my other story ideas.
So for now the focus is on the rewrite. The first draft of the western is on hold (54 pages as of yesterday), and the podcast gets pushed back again.
It’s highly doubtful all my potential script meetings/discussions in the future will go this smoothly, but it was definitely a great way to start.
You can no longer consider me a screenwriter without representation.
I signed with a manager this week: Sean Butler of The Mikael Group.
He found DREAMSHIP on The Black List and liked it enough to want to work with me on it. The enthusiastic comments from his coverage person were also a nice little ego boost.
(Fortunately, his suggestions about changes to the script all are pretty minor and shouldn’t make a rewrite too difficult. We’ll be discussing those next week.)
Simply put, it feels really good to have all that hard work finally pay off.
But this is a short-term celebration. I’ve overcome the first hurdle of getting a career going (hence the “(part 1)”), and there’s still a lot more to go.
Next up – getting an agent.
I’d also like to offer an extremely hearty thanks to all of you who’ve been so generous with your time and feedback on this script. I really could not have gotten here without you, so enjoy a piece of pie of the flavor of your choice with my compliments.
The first draft is coming along quite nicely. There was a little bit of writer’s block that held me up for about a day, but I managed to work my way through it (which included the creative placeholder SCENE INVOLVING BAD GUY & HIS GANG. This was the scene before the one giving me trouble.)
The current page count is somewhere in the mid-40s, and maybe about 5 pages off from where it should be, which actually isn’t that bad.
At this point, I’m not even thinking about a potential end-date because I don’t want to be disappointed if I go past it. So for now, it’s all about cranking out a few pages a day.
In summary – this thing’ll get done when it gets done, and I don’t want to rush it.
Keeping that in mind, there’s now a slight chance this could all be delayed, but just by a little bit.
After way too much procrastination, and the realization that I’m actually capable of setting up a schedule and sticking to it, I’m going to complicate things even more by devoting a small portion of each day to finally getting my podcast up and running.
Learning the basics still seems a little overwhelming, but this phase is always an awkward time. Like with most things, it’ll get easier the more I work at it.
No proposed launch date for this either, but hopefully soon. I’ll keep you posted.
Just wondering – what podcast(s) do you enjoy and/or recommend? They don’t have to be screenwriting- or film-centric. As long as they’re entertaining.
It’s spring break this week, so script progress has been somewhat limited, but at least it’s still happening. In the meantime…
-Had an unusual case of writer’s block yesterday. Scene notes in the outline had the main character asking something completely out of the blue, and I didn’t want that. Just couldn’t fix it, so rather than sit and stew in frustration, I stepped away. Potential solutions have been brewing ever since.
-Been reading some great material from assorted gurus – check out recent scribblings from Lee Jessup, Erik Bork and Michele Wallerstein. Each has some info and comments worth hearing.
-For all my fellow Passover celebrants, do NOT be misled by the way Manischewitz portrays its products on the packaging. Just about every one of their items tastes the same, no matter what it looks like. Trust me on this one.
-Seriously considering entering DREAMSHIP in the Tracking Board’s Launchpad contest. deadline is Sunday night. Details here.
-2nd year in a row of not being able to attend Wondercon this weekend in Anaheim. It’s usually here, but the idiots who run the venue can’t get their act together so it’s down in SoCal again. Hope fading it’ll return for 2014.
-Movie of the Moment: Since it’s spring break, V and I had a double feature yesterday. First up was OZ THE GREAT & POWERFUL (2013). Liked it, but didn’t love it. Thought it felt kind of sluggish in parts.
And you know how an antagonist’s goal is supposed to be contrary to that of the protagonist? Didn’t really get that here. If they really wanted to stop Oz, wouldn’t they have been more active, rather than just sitting around?
Still, nice to see Sam Raimi include Bruce Campbell’s obligatory cameo, and I think I figured out where the 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 made its appearance (courtesy of a teaser from Campbell himself at a personal appearance a few weeks ago).
-Second movie was JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (2012) Never saw the first film – JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, but this looked like something V would like, and she did. Family-friendly Disney-esque adventure with some honest laughs (courtesy of Dwayne Johnson and Luis Guzman). Not a bad choice for family movie night.
Don’t you just hate when you mess up, especially when it’s something entirely under your control and you really should have just known better in the first place?
That was exactly the case for me running the Oakland Half-marathon this past Sunday. I started out with lofty expectations of potentially surpassing the much-desired goal of 1:55, but poor choices did me in before I crossed the starting line. Details aren’t important, but I messed up on several fronts and the results weren’t pretty.
2:01:10*. Ugh.
*I know some people would think this is still good, but not when you set certain expectations for yourself.*
I’m not making excuses for my performance, but after the obligatory beating myself up over it, I’ve already started figuring out what I did wrong and what I need to do for next time, which for now is in mid-June.
Taking a look at it from the writing perspective, imagine you had a script you were all fired up about and sent it to a contest, potential rep or producer. Then you realize there were a lot of mistakes still in it.
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do to fix it and will just have to chalk this up to experience. The benefit of making mistakes is learning from them and making sure they don’t happen again.
You work harder and harder so next time, that script will be more than ready.
You’ll double- and triple-check that thing, taking as many precautions as you can to make sure it’s as rock-solid as possible.
Remember, writing a script isn’t a short run; it’s a marathon (or a half-marathon for some of us). It’ll take a long time to work your way up to getting through it.
So keep at it, no matter how exhausted you feel, and the finish line will be that much closer.
Maximum Z 