cliches

Seeking the un-familiar

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Some good progress on the action-comedy outline this week. A little further into the second half of Act Two. Act Three still looms, but it’s getting there.

The biggest challenge has been coming up with scenes, sequences, and scenarios that – as far as I’m aware – haven’t been done before, or are at least a new take on a familiar concept.

Not as easy as you would think.

The last thing I want is a reader to say “That’s just a ripoff of _____”. I don’t like it when I see it in somebody else’s script, and I definitely don’t want that to happen when they read mine.

But a new spin or something totally unexpected that gets the needed result? Yes, please. I love when I’m able to do it, and really appreciate it when I see it in somebody else’s script.

This is most likely why this outline is taking longer than expected – a significant percentage of this is just me figuring stuff out. There has been a lot of jotting stuff down – numerous pages of ideas, many of which will most likely not be used, but I’d rather have that than not enough.

A pleasant side effect of all this churning out of ideas has been the addition of a few inspired solutions out of/through a few story issues. Nothing major, but enough to help keep moving things along. Still ironing out the details.

Going this whole process and filling in all these blanks remains the biggest challenge. But I’m fairly confident once all those blanks are filled in, going through and fine-tuning (along with the inevitable continuous rewriting) what’s there will be much, much easier.

A most influential guideline

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Development of the latest story has been moving along smoothly. The jotting-down of ideas and my excitement about putting this together both continue to hold steady.

Part of this is simply because I think it’s a fun story worth telling.

It’s also something I advise writers just starting out:

Write something you would want to watch

Pretty simple, isn’t it?

It’s always worked for me. I like a particular kind of story, so I feel best suited to write that kind of story. And it shows.

I’ve always found that a writer’s enjoyment and appreciation of the material can be seen on the page. In how the story is told. What mental imagery it creates. The overall vibe.

Really embracing the elements and components of the story goes beyond just telling the reader or audience a story. It should get them invested just as much as you are. Make them feel all the emotions you would if you were reading it, and then some.

How do you feel about your current project? Would a reader get the sense that you love this kind of story? That you had a great time writing it?

It can also be a challenge to not overdo it. You don’t want to let how you feel about the story get in the way of solid storytelling and good writing. The last thing you want to do is alienate a reader or belittle them because they don’t share your enthusiasm. Look at your script as an opportunity to showcase the things you like about this kind of story.

You also want to be careful not to fall victim to relying on whatever tropes and clichés this kind of story may involve. What’s a unique and original spin you can put on it to really make it feel “familiar but different”? It’s always great when somebody starts a story with pre-established expectations, and then you surprise them by taking them in a new and different direction that still works within the context of the story.

Although the whole process of putting it all together takes time, I’m excited to be doing it. Figuring it all out and playing around in this particular sandbox adds to the enjoyment. I totally accept there will be some stumbles along the way, but I have a great time putting myself through it, and hope the reader does too.