writing

Lo, the cowboy ponders his fate

Maximum Z adventure, confidence, creativity, Django Unchained, ideas, originality, outlines, productivity, Rossio & Elliott, screenwriting, script, story, Tarantino, The Lone Ranger, westerns, writing
Guns + horses + good story = winning combo

Ah, air travel. When it works in your favor, it’s a very pleasant experience.

When it doesn’t…well, let’s just say it’s a good thing I had a pen, some paper, an outline to work on and an abundant supply of spare time.

I worked my way through the first act of my western-adventure, making changes and setting up setups where applicable. I still like how this is coming together. All that work fine-tuning the previous script is really paying off for this one.

But there’s one thing still nagging at me. Some significantly high-profile westerns are headed our way: Tarantino’s DJANGO UNCHAINED at Christmas, Verbinski/Rossio/Elliot’s THE LONE RANGER next summer and Chan Wook-Park’s THE BRIGANDS OF RATTLEBORGE sometime next year (in theory). All very different takes on the genre, and no reason why none of them won’t be successful.

So while I plug away at my story, the angst that plagues every writer kicks in: is it still worth the time and effort to do it?

In the end, there’s only one definitive answer:  Of course it is.

This is a story I’m very enthusiastic and passionate about, so to not write it would simply be a big mistake. It’s got familiar elements but based on an original idea to make it fresh and exciting.

And if those three films are successful, that could potentially create a demand for more scripts of that nature.

Which is where mine comes in.

All the more reason to hunker down, dive in and make sure this thing is done right.

What’re YOU working on?

Maximum Z adventure, feedback, outlines, productivity, rewrite, screenwriting, script, westerns, writing ,

Just curious.

I’ll go first.

Returning to the outline of my western-adventure while waiting for feedback on latest rewrite.

Now you.

The ever-elusive 1:55

Maximum Z editing, goals, motivation, pie, running, screenwriting, self-confidence, The Walking Dead, writing
Only one way to go – up

When you start out doing something, you know what your goal is from the very beginning.

“This is what I want to accomplish” is your mindset.

You work and work, always striving to reach that goal.

There may be setbacks, but you don’t let them stop you or deter you. You remind yourself that reaching that goal will take time. Persevere, as my dad is fond of saying.

Set that bar. Reach for it. Every effort and attempt gets you that much closer to it.

Hit a milestone on the way to that ultimate goal, and ask yourself “How can I improve?” Always strive to do better, because you know you can.

The whole time you’re working towards that goal, part of what keeps you going is looking forward to seeing all that hard work pay off.

And when that goal is finally reached, take time to enjoy it.  Besides, chances are you’re going to immediately set another goal and start working towards that one.

My goal in screenwriting is to write a script that will start me on the path of writing them for a living.  After a few more tweaks, I think the latest draft of my current script may be the one that does that.  This has been a long journey, but I’m a much better writer now compared to when I started out, and it’s all contributed towards reaching that goal.

And working towards these goals doesn’t just apply to creativity.

My goal in running is to do a half-marathon in 1:55.  This weekend’s run in Los Angeles yielded a time of 1:57:45, which isn’t bad. I still beat the 2-hour mark, but I know I can eventually hit my goal time. (The hot weather didn’t help. I don’t do well with the sun beating down on me.) In the meantime, I’m continuing to train and am already looking at potential races for next year.

My current goal in the kitchen is to make a pumpkin pie completely from scratch. After years of using the canned stuff, I’ve taken the plunge and bought a sugar pumpkin. (The baklava project has been put on hold until the holidays.)

Everybody has multiple goals they’re working towards. Don’t stop trying.

-Movie of the Moment – ARGO (2012). Absolutely loved it. Great story, great characters, smart script. Highly recommended. I’d be surprised if it didn’t get some Oscar nods. Also can’t help but wonder how Affleck would do directing a film where he wasn’t part of the cast.

Also finished Season 2 of THE WALKING DEAD. Solid all the way through, and ready to jump into Season 3.

Not yet, but almost

Maximum Z creativity, half-marathons, Los Angeles, Netflix, outlines, productivity, rewrite, running, screenwriting, story, The Walking Dead, writing
Must…stay awake…finish…rewrite….zzzz

Man, am I pooped.  But it’s a good pooped. Which actually sounds somewhat disgusting. But back to my original point.

K’s out of town this week, which makes me the guy responsible for getting V to school on time. As a result, I’ve had to stay home but have been really busy.

Apart from the usual dad stuff (rides to school, soccer, etc), this week has been prime “getting stuff done” time, especially in terms of running and writing.

For running, I’ve been getting ready for the Los Angeles Half-marathon this Sunday. If you’re anywhere along the route, I’ll be the panting, sweaty tall guy.  This’ll be my third half-marathon this year, and I’ve beaten the 2-hour mark for the first two. I’m hoping to hit  1:55 in LA, but don’t know if that’ll happen, although it would be very nice.

Running’s been good to me this year. That, combined with the biking everywhere, as well as trying to eat healthier and avoid crappy stuff, has resulted in me losing about 15 pounds. I’m hovering just below 200, and my jeans are 5(!) sizes smaller than the ones I wore in high school. Not to shabby.

Next up – upper body.

As for the writing, I dove into this rewrite with the intention of finishing it before week’s end.

Mission accomplished.

It’s 7 pages longer than the previous draft, but there’s lots of editing and fine-tuning to work through. Bet I can trim at least 3-4 pages before all is said and done.

Those notes I got over the summer really helped.  I was able to make changes where necessary, as well as throw in some improvements I never even considered before.  The hardest part was coming up with and implementing those changes. At first I resisted, but had to keep reminding myself “This is a rewrite, not a cut-and-paste. There are some things that need to be different.”

You’d be surprised what you can come up with when you throw willingness and openness to change into the mix. It’s almost freeing.

I wasn’t used to being able to spend so much time on a project. Several hours at a stretch.

I came pretty close to burning out at the end, but knew enough to step away when necessary. A short game on the iPhone or some brief internet surfing can actually be beneficial to one’s productivity, but don’t quote me on that.

-Movie of the Moment – still working my way through Season 2 of THE WALKING DEAD. Man, that is some quality stuff. Practically addicting. Looking forward to Season 3, and I still have 4 eps left of Season 2.

Leaps and bounds!

Maximum Z comic books, feedback, productivity, rewrite, screenwriting, The Walking Dead, writing, zombies
Up, up and away…

Honestly, I didn’t expect to be the rewrite to be this far along, but that’s how it’s working out.

Utilizing elements of the previous draft, the revamped outline and the occasional sudden inspiration, I’ve been copying, pasting and making fixes left and right.

Pretty significant – changes in Act One extended it another 6-7 pages, which turned out not to be the problem I thought it might. This combined with changes in the first half of Act Two have kept things on track, so now I’m around 4 pages ahead. Still not a problem.

Even more significant – I’ve been able to insert important story elements in appropriate places, except for one. Still working on that, but not worried about it.

Basically, the whole process has been extremely energizing. And I’m loving it.

-Had a nice chat with the guy whose script I provided notes for a few weeks ago. He’s already made two films on his own, and this is his third. Despite his eagerness to start filming, I did my best to emphasize the importance of making sure the script is rock-solid and bulletproof first, including recommending a 2-week break from the script, followed by a page one cold rewrite.

After I gave my two cents about other topics like incorporating theme, conflict, character development and so on, the poor guy seemed stunned. Almost as if I’d scared him into submission. But he said he’d take everything I said into consideration – but he had to get going because he was headed out to scout locations.

Can’t say I didn’t try.

-Movie of the Moment – THE WALKING DEAD, Season Two. I’d watched Season One on DVD about a year ago, and thought it was fantastic.  I never got around to catching Season Two when it actually aired on TV.  Now Season Three has started up, but we’re phasing out Comcast (Roku or Apple TV? Your thoughts please) and I’m using Hulu and Netflix Streaming when I can.

Hence Season Two.

One of the many things I really appreciate about the show in general is the suspense factor. Sometimes it’s low, and sometimes it’s through the roof, but it’s always gripping and definitely leaves you wondering what’s going to happen next.  And the occasional plot twist out of nowhere doesn’t hurt either.

Throw in 3-dimensional characters, believable situations (despite the whole zombie apocalypse aspect), and just plain great writing, and it’s easy to see why this has been so successful. Very eager to keep going.

-Totally forgot to mention – took V to APE this past weekend. Met a lot of great self-published comic creators. Hoping to write about it  later this week, including links to some extremely talented folks.