writing

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

For all the writers of screen & TV out there

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Hard to believe it’s that time of year already, but if you’ve got a screenplay or TV script you want to share with the rest of the screenwriting community, and the online world in general, your chance to put it front and center is once again at hand.

The Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase will post on Friday, June 2nd, so you have between now and Thursday, June 1st to send it in. Details listed below.

This bi-annual event has been going on for a few years now. It’s just my little way of giving a helping hand to any writer via a little publicity boost for their script, absolutely free of charge.

Once the post is up, I’ll post a link to it on my various social media platforms, and highly encourage you to do the same if you want to get more eyes on your listing.

And if you see a script you’d like to read, the contact info is right there for you to get in touch with the writer to ask. I’m fairly certain they’d be more than happy to send it your way.

Here’s how it all works:

Email the following info here with the subject line “Maximum Z Summer ’23 Script Showcase’:

-Film or TV?

-Title

-Author(s)

-Genre(s)

-Logline

-Awards (if applicable) – 5 at the most

-your email

And that’s it.

Two VERY important details to keep in mind:

-DO NOT SEND THE SCRIPT!!

Just the info above. Nothing else.

-and-

-Only one script per person.

New scripts are highly encouraged, but past submissions are also welcome.

Again – send it in between now and Thursday, June 1st.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – proofread the email before sending!. There’ve been more than a few typos over the years, so make sure everything reads the way it’s supposed to.

Looking forward to seeing what you’ve got, so don’t delay and send it today!

It is what it is

Maximum Z animation, comedy, contests, determination, disappointment, draft, encouragement, fantasy, feedback, frustration, notes, perseverance, persistence, rewriting, science fiction, screenplay, screenwriting, script, self-confidence, Writers Guild of America, writing, writing process , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

Bye-bye, red envelopes

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A sad day for cinephiles is on the horizon, and will be here before we know it.

Netflix has announced they’re ending their DVD service as of the end of September. I still subscribe to it, and deeply regret that it will no longer be an option.

More than a few friends would be surprised about my still getting discs in the mail. “How come, especially when there’s so much stuff streaming?” they would ask.

Simple – there are so many titles on DVD that aren’t available anywhere on streaming.

It’s easy to catch the latest box office smash, but what if you want an obscure C-grade horror film from 1973, or the Oscar winner for Best Documentary from 2002 (Murder on a Sunday Morning), or something from early in the career of a legendary Japanese director?

Without access to an extensive library of DVDs, you’re pretty much out of luck.

As screenwriters, movies are just part of our genetic makeup. We live for them and love to watch them – as many and as often as possible. It’s a no-frills film school.

Those of us of a certain age remember the thrill of going to the local video store with its wide variety of selections across multiple genres. (Blockbuster doesn’t count.). First it was VHS tapes, then DVDs, but the concept remained the same.

And if you were lucky, it had staff members who actually knew something about the films and could make suggestions and recommendations.

Another soon-to-be-lamented loss was that a lot of the films I’d get through Netflix had trailers for other films I’d never heard of but piqued my interest enough to add it to the queue. The cycle of “watch, add to the queue, watch, add to the queue” seemed neverending.

Until now.

So as we enjoy these last few months of DVD options, attention shall be redirected to the streamers. There are options, although not as many choices. Some of the streamers are part of some major studios with vast and expansive libraries of material, but only make available a fraction of what they have.

(Lookin’ at you, HBO Max with access to Warner Brothers.)

I know money and licensing rights play a big factor in this, but the opportunity to just sit down and watch a film I’ve never seen before will soon become a lot less possible.

And that’s a real shame.

Implementing course correction

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Got a hard lesson in humility and a hearty dose of reality these past few weeks.

I’d thought my animated fantasy-comedy spec was ready to set loose on the world, so had submitted it to contests of note, plus a few other genre-centric ones.

Initial results have been trickling in, and those results have been drastically less than desired.

Naturally, it raises doubts about ability and lots of second-guessing on several fronts.

I’d sent it out to some trusted colleagues for feedback, and almost all of them were very enthusiastic and encouraging about it. There were even words of praise from writers of exceptional quality, which added to my growing feelings of confidence.

Note I’d said “almost all”. There were a few that didn’t care for it. They weren’t fans of animation, fantasy, or comedy, or the script was too light-hearted for them. No matter what, it just wasn’t for them.

I get that. Not everybody’s going to like everything.

But it was the comments about why it wasn’t working that really struck a nerve – at first in a negative way, but like with many notes, the hidden positives and takeaways soon came to light.

Questions were asked and about story details, characters, the world it’s set in, and so forth.

When several people ask the same question or have the same concern, then that’s something that needs to be addressed.

So after a brief period of “sheesh, I must be a really shitty writer”, I took those notes and started figuring out how to make the appropriate fixes.

As you’d expect with a rewrite/revision, darlings had to be killed. Painful, but necessary. On the upside, the replacement material seems to be working; some beyond expectations.

I’ve already written off this year’s contest season. If anything positive happens, that’ll be great, but just seems highly unlikely at this point.

It’s frustrating that this is how things worked out, but it’s just the way it is. Putting in this new round of work is helping restore confidence levels for myself and the material.

Everything from this point forward is all about getting the script into better shape – and to be ready for next year.