writing

Didn’t know I had it in me

Maximum Z characters, screenwriting, script, writing
Seemingly insurmountable? Maybe not.

One of the notes I got back in August was that my main character had to be challenged more. That really struck a chord with me.  Challenged how? How could I accomplish that? Does he mean in a story sense, or character development, or something else entirely?

I had no idea what to do.

Rather than stress myself out, I opted to shut down the analytical part of my brain and just work on the outline.  Which led to the current work on pages.

Then I got to this pivotal sequence near the end of Act One.  The previous version was okay, but needed improvement on several levels.

And that’s when it hit me.

Here was the opportunity to not only challenge my hero, but to emphasize the threat of the bad guys (extra conflict courtesy of a 2nd antagonist added to this sequence) AND to play up the fantastical elements of the story (also advised via the aforementioned script notes).

It was surprising how this was working out.  Something I was anxious and stressing over was becoming easier to do.

The now-revamped sequence definitely changes things, and really sets a tone for what’s ahead and what kind of bad guys our hero has to deal with if he’s to accomplish his goal.

This sort of thing seems to be happening more.  Initial nervousness, followed by calm, analytical thinking, resulting in better-than-expected final product.

But this isn’t the time to rest on my laurels. A main supporting character is about to undergo a major personality adjustment, and that’s going to be even more of an effort.

Can’t wait to see how that works out.

Rules? I laugh at the rules! Ha!

Maximum Z guidelines, rewrite, rules, screenwriting, writing
Not bad, especially since she never studied law

Most people will say I’m a nice guy, but something’s happening with this rewrite that seems to be awakening my inner ‘bad boy’.

At least from a writing perspective.

One of the guidelines I’ve always felt compelled to follow is when something is supposed to happen, such as Statement of Theme on Page 3, or Inciting Incident on Page 10, then that’s when it happens. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

So even though I’m making some good progress, the way the story’s playing out, it’s getting more difficult to follow the rules.  The pages are playing out differently.

My first response was “oh no! this isn’t right! I’ve got to fix it!”  But that would weaken the story, so…I’m just going to leave it as is.

I know. Quite the rebel.

Part of me feels almost guilty for not doing what I’m supposed to. ‘Almost’ being the key word here.

I really like how this thing is shaping up, so that basically kicks the guilt out of the picture.  I’d rather a reader remembers this as a story that really grabs hold and doesn’t let go, rather than focusing on whether or not something happens exactly when the rules say it’s supposed to.

I’ve been told I’m pretty good with structure, so again, not feeling too guilty. Actually, it feels…really cool.

I’m 10 pages in, and this already feels different than previous drafts. Different in a good way. Like this could actually (finally?) be my breakthrough script.

And that’s kind of exciting.

Even better, that excitement seems to be finding its way into this draft, which I sincerely hope others will pick up on as well.

Maybe they’ll even get a glimpse at what this ‘bad boy’ has to offer and like what they see.

Back into the abyss!

Maximum Z outlines, parenting, productivity, rewrite, screenwriting, script, train, westerns, writing
Yoiks, and away!

Thank the movie gods for soccer practice.

While V is playing her heart out, I hunker down in the car, armed with pen, notebook and iPad, working diligently to make some kind of progress.

Seems to have paid off.

I wrapped up Act Three, including making a few small changes and some not-so-small ones.

Now the fun really begins – cranking out pages.

My schedule permitting, I’ll shoot for my usual 3-5 a day. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m guessing the back seat will be more suitable on soccer days for typing than the somewhat cramped front seat.

-I guess it’s an unwritten rule that if you do a Western, trains have to figure into it somehow.

My next script is about an engineer out for justice and revenge. This guy wrote a Western involving a train with a supernatural angle.

And of course there’s this.

And next summer, we’ll get this.

I’m not complaining. There’s just something cool and fascinating about trains. Want proof? Watch this. Granted, not a Western, but still – trains are involved.

Still here

Maximum Z rewrite, screenwriting, The Raid: Redemption, Uncategorized, writing

Not much to report. Still hammering away at the rewrite when I can.

I’m fast approaching the end of Act Two, and most of the changes I had in mind are being implemented.

Feels pretty good so far.

While it would be great to wrap it all up by the end of the week, I’m not setting any definitive goals just yet. Got to take my time and make sure everything is rock-solid.

But between you and me? Can’t wait to start on pages.

Soon. Very soon.

-Movie of the Moment – THE RAID: REDEMPTION (2011). Wow. Only 1/3 in, and everything I was expecting. And more.  This may actually live up to the hype.

Feels oddly familiar and original at the same time. Nothing complicated, great set-ups, good establishing of characters.

Can’t help but think how different it would look if it were made in the US. I believe an unnecessary stateside remake is already in the works, but the Indonesia-based writer/director of the original said no because he’s working on the sequel. Smart move.

Didn’t see that one coming

Maximum Z characters, rewrite, screenwriting, story, writing
Gosh!

This rewrite is really becoming an eye-opener.

While it would be too easy to stick with most of what I had before and just make some minor changes, there’s a line in the notes I got over the summer that really stuck in my head: your hero has to be challenged more.  The way the story plays out now doesn’t do that.

Something had to be done.

Now I look at every scene with the intent of changing it to not only make the hero the one moving things forward, but also to make sure he can’t just cruise through it.

This includes a key scene where the hero basically complicates things out of clumsiness, which was also commented on in the aforementioned notes. That definitely had to change.

I don’t remember which famous writer said it, but basically, if you get stuck, introduce a gun, or have somebody shoot a gun. Something like that.

And my hero has a gun.

See where this is going?

Without even realizing it, I had my character doing something I never thought he would. Or could. Now the dynamic of the scene has drastically changed, while keeping the purpose the same.

I’d heard about this before, but never actually experienced it myself.

They say your characters can really surprise you at times, and this was a prime example of that. Kind of makes me wonder what else both of us are capable of as the story advances.

Feels like things are about to get really interesting.