comedy

Did it before. Can do it again

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The biggest note I’ve received on the animated fantasy-comedy is that my protagonist needs to be more involved; be the thing that drives things forward, and how what she does affects those around her.

The challenging part is figuring out how to do that while keeping a lot of important story details.

Challenging, but not impossible.

Just as I imagine this task becoming more insurmountable the more I think about it, I’m reminded that I did a major overhaul on my western that involved the same thing. The protagonist needed to be more proactive in driving the story forward.

The end result had A LOT of changes that required a new approach. It took some time, but I was able to accomplish that, and the script ended up being better for it.

No reason to think I can’t repeat it this time around.

Thus the revising is underway. Slow, but steady.

I’ll get there.

Spark: re-ignited

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Despite how busy I’ve been the past few weeks, one of my ongoing projects has been the animated fantasy-comedy. It’s been rewritten and polished many times, but I knew it still needed at least one more draft.

A slow but steady influx of exceptionally helpful notes will make a significant contribution to this effort.

More than a few of the notes had the same thing to say, and after some intense analysis and evaluation, incorporating the intent of those notes into this new draft could have a major impact on really elevating the quality of this script.

I don’t say this from a place of ego or hyperbole; just about all the notes said the script was really good, but with a few tweaks and adjustments, it could be really, REALLY good.

How could I refuse?

Although extensive rewrites are sometimes necessary, going into this draft having a much more established idea of what I need to do – along with a few ideas of how to do it – fills me with a renewed sense of excitement and enthusiasm.

Suffice to say I am really looking forward to taking this one on.

This is the part of the writing process I’ve always enjoyed – having fun with putting it all together. It probably also helps that I love the story and the characters, and want to present it all in the best possible way.

I’m also glad I decided to skip this year’s contests because now I have more time until the next round of deadlines to get this thing into shape (along with saving a decent chunk of change).

The initial round of planning and outlining is already underway, with confidence levels running strong. Definitely looking forward to see how this all plays out.

Fingers + brain + keyboard

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Another shorty this week. I’ve been busy on several fronts, including the latest round of work on the animated fantasy-comedy.

Several sets of extremely helpful notes have been received. I’m quite happy with how it’s coming along. Definitely feels like a stronger script.

When it’s ready, off it goes to another batch of readers, which will most likely result in another draft after that.

I’d initially decided to skip contests this year, but am still on the fence about the Nicholl. One deciding factor is their new limit of total number of entries at 5500 (currently standing at a smidge above 650 as of this writing).

If in a few weeks I’m happy with the end result and they haven’t hit the 5500 mark, I’ll consider it. Early bird deadline is March 1st, with a still-reasonable entry fee of $50 USD, then regular deadline on April 1st for $70, and finally late deadline on May 1st for $120.

And if in the end I still decide to skip it, it’ll definitely be ready for next year.

I’d rather take the time to fine-tune it as much as possible than send in a draft considered “good enough”.

Hope you have a productive writing weekend, and for my fellow Californians – stay dry.

That worked out nicely

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Bit of a shorty today.

It took several days of almost-constant work, including a good deal of editing, tweaking, and overall wordsmithing, including a marathon 6-hour stretch at the very end, but the rewrite of the animated fantasy-comedy is complete.

Total page count now stands at 106, which is still good.

Got a squad of beta readers currently working their way through it, and the initial responses have been very, very positive – which is always encouraging – as well as a handful of suggestions for minor fixes scattered throughout.

I’m quite happy with the end result.

Up next – concept art, character designs, a pitch deck, and researching potential targets for querying.

Writing is just one piece of the puzzle.

Allowing myself a brief respite before jumping back into the rewrite of the sci-fi collaboration, which also seems reinvigorated in terms of ideas and execution. The jotting-down of new material is well underway.

Overall, a mighty fine writing week. Hope it was for you too.

-really, really enjoying BLUE EYE SAMURAI on Netflix. Incredible stuff, and definitely NOT family-friendly.

No spit, but lots of polish

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After receiving several sets of quality notes on the animated fantasy-comedy, the task of applying the most suitable and workable ones into a new draft is well underway.

I had a strong suspicion that the page count would increase, which it has, but as I approach the midpoint of the script, its not as high as I feared it would be. What began as a 97 page script is now 103, so a final tally of 110 or thereabouts seems like a fair estimate. There will most likely need to be some additional tweaks and edits when this draft is done, but for now it’s all good.

What’s also been exceptionally helpful is that each set of notes has a handful in common with the rest. Those are the ones I really took to heart. If two or more people make the same comment, then that’s something you need to really examine.

I was initially concerned that a higher page count would be a negative, but since most of what’s being added in is necessary, I’m not as worried. For a story like this, including a few more details should work in my favor.

Some of the notes were about the story logic, the main character, and the world-building. I’ll admit that some of the points being made were things I hadn’t thought about before, but now that they’d been mentioned, how could I not see it? This is one of those times when taking a step back and examining the bigger picture really pays off.

I’m always a little cautious when I start a new rewrite or polish. How much is going to change? A little? A lot? Can I do more than just a metaphoric rearranging of the furniture? I find it helps to map out what’s going to happen in the scene, along with figuring out the conflict and how the scene fits in in regard to the sequence of events. I’m doing what I can to ensure that where and when a scene takes place in the story is exactly right.

It’s also been somewhat surprising to be able to come up with new ideas for a scene, either a totally new one or a new take on one already in there. A lot of the notes ask questions that can only be answered by creating something new that not only answers the question, but helps solidify the overall story.

I’m not usually one for deadlines, but progress is pleasantly moving forward, so hoping to have this draft done in the next few weeks, followed by cleaning it up.

After that, I’ve got a few ideas for what to do with it.