A lot of my time lately has been jotting down ideas – and lots of ’em – about the new spec. Some random, some of a “this leads to that, which in turn results in this” nature.
As I recently said on social media, it’s a big beautiful jumbled mess, and I’m absolutely thrilled about it.
Just a few weeks ago I was stressed there wasn’t enough to the story, but then the gears started turning and the ideas started coming, and it was off to the races.
Since then, I must have filled in at least half a dozen pages in the notebook for this project with every single thing that popped into my head about it. Even more surprising is how much of it came from out of the blue – all kinds of stuff that never would have occurred to me before. Can’t really say that some kind of ‘on’ switch was tripped, but something was ignited somewhere.
Not only are ideas covering aspects of the story making themselves known, but so are ideas about the things you don’t see onscreen – emotional beats, character development, and so forth. It begs the question – what took it so long to show up?
There’s a lot to go through, and confidence levels are running high that there’s more on the way. There’ll be a lot to sift through to figure out what to keep and what to put aside for potential use at a later time (or another script).
This may be moving at a slow pace, but it’s definitely starting to take shape. What that shape is remains to be seen, but I like it.
The past few days have been the standard rollercoaster. Some good stuff, some not-so-good stuff, with a small percentage of the latter being very not-so-good.
But there were a few glimmers of hope within the darkness. More on those as/if they develop. Any positive vibes and crossed fingers are always appreciated.
During this time I was reminded of the phrase “Don’t worry about things over which you have no control.” I took that to heart, and it’s really helped.
There are SO MANY things about screenwriting that are out of our hands. Stressing out about them doesn’t do us any good, and I’d much rather work on the things over which I DO have control.
Things like figuring out the story of my new spec, coordinating with guests for my podcast, getting the crowdfunding ready for my short film, reading friends’ scripts and giving notes.
(Two little things that have really paid off – a few minutes here and there to interact with other writers on social media or email, and maintaining a “What needs to get done today” checklist.)
Taking care of any of these helps me feel productive and less stressed because I AM GETTING STUFF DONE. Some of it may take longer than hoped or expected, but each one constitutes a step in the right direction. Even just writing about it helps.
If you feel this way, just remember that you’re not alone and there are always things that you can do to help make your screenwriting journey a little easier.
This is the 1200th post of this blog, so a little reflection is in order.
I started this endeavor in 2009 with the intention of chronicling my journey towards becoming a professional screenwriter. As you can probably tell from the lack of industry announcements that include my name or a script of mine, it hasn’t happened.
Yet.
Has it been frustrating? Most definitely. I’ve come close a few times, including having two managers and some of my scripts being considered at a few production companies. Daydreams of signed contracts and checks clearing were inevitable, but as often the case, things fell apart along the way.
I allowed myself a moment or two of “woe is me”, then got back to working on my scripts.
Like I recently wrote about, they’re significantly better than my earlier ones, and I’ll do what I can to make the next ones even better.
But for as many negative things that have happened, there’ve also been a decent number of positive developments along the way.
-publishing three books collecting a lot of the interviews I did on this blog
-being a guest on a friend’s podcast about writing, which led to co-hosting the next iteration of said podcast, and now being the sole host
-being invited to be a panelist talking about screenwriting at the San Francisco Writers Conference, then a panel moderator, to coordinating the whole Writing For Hollywood track
-writing a short script with the intention of actually filming it, with the wheels now in motion to see that come to fruition. Watch this site for the forthcoming announcement of the crowdfunding campaign.
It really has been a rollercoaster ride navigating my way through trying to make things happen. There’s been a lot of disappointment and frustration along the way, but I’m fully committed to seeing this through. It might not happen as fast or as soon as I want, but I’ve no intention of giving up.
Support from the screenwriting community has made quite a difference in helping sustain that. From giving and receiving notes to words of support and encouragement, they’ve all played a role in helping keep me going.
And while I’ll admit to feeling those tinges of jealousy when somebody else publicizes their writing-related wins and successes, I’m also extremely happy for them because I know they’ve worked hard to get there, and hope they’ll do the same for me when it’s my turn.
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.
There’s been a slight uptick in my recent coffee chats with connections new and not-so-new. A majority of them have been of a more “just catching up”-type nature, but a few have included the exchanging of script notes and related items. That prompted the re-posting of this gem from July 2018. Enjoy.
Thanks to my ever-expanding network of savvy creative types, I get lots of chances to be on both the giving and receiving ends when it comes to reading scripts.
I consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to get exceptionally helpful notes from a lot of really talented folks. All this feedback has somehow managed to influence my writing for the better, and for that I am overflowing with gratitude.
So the least I can do when somebody asks me “Will you read my script?” or “Can I pick your brain about this idea?” is to say “Of course.”* Maybe I can offer up a few scraps of advice that might somehow work to their advantage. If anything, I can at least point out where a fix in spelling or punctuation is needed. For a script, anyway. That counts, right?
*caveat – it’s taken a lot of work spread over a long time for me to build up my network and establish connections, so I don’t mind if somebody I actually know drops me a note with such a request. If our only connection is being connected on social media and we’ve never interacted – at all, you’re little more than a total stranger to me. So heed that one word and be social. It makes a difference.
I had the pleasure of such an experience this week. I’d connected with another Bay Area creative, and we’d been trying for a while to arrange a face-to-face meeting. After much scheduling, cancelling and rescheduling, we finally made it happen.
This person had an idea for a project, wanted to talk about it, and see if I was interested in being involved. I stated at the outset that I had enough work on my own for now, but would be open to giving notes – time permitting.
After the initial introductions and our thumbnail backstories, we focused on their project. I won’t go into specifics or details about it, because those aren’t the important parts.
What was important was:
-this was a story they’d had inside them for a while, and even though they knew it needed A LOT of work, they were still happy with simply having written it all out
-they were totally open and willing to listen to my suggestions. Some they liked, some they didn’t. Totally fine.
But the more we talked, the more the seeds of ideas were planted in their head. Even though a lot of the details we came up with, including possible paths the story could take, ended up being totally different from their original incarnation, it was easy to see that spark of excitement reignite inside them.
Seeing that happen with somebody you’re trying to help is more satisfying than you can possibly imagine.
We parted ways, with them really rarin’ to go and start developing the latest draft. They added that they really appreciated me being so willing to help out.
I just like doing that sort of thing. I never had that kind of person-to-person help when I was starting out, so why not do what I can for others? Granted, the internet and social media didn’t even exist then, so it’s a lot easier now.
I got a few emails from them the next day showing me what they’d come up with since our meeting. Same concept, but a totally new approach (and, in my opinion, provided the opportunity for a lot of new possibilities). This also included a more thorough write-up of “what happened before the story starts”.
Even though it can be tough to read emotion in text, it was easy to see the spark was still burning strong within them. The way they talked about their plans for what comes next, I could tell they were actually looking forward to working on this.
It was nice knowing I had a little something to do with it.
We exchanged a few more emails (mostly me asking questions about story and characters and them providing sufficient answers), and I wrapped up with “Keep me posted.”
Their response: “Definitely. Thanks again. You’re a good dude.”
Maximum Z 