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Little changes = big results

Maximum Z comedy, creativity, crowdfunding, determination, development, fantasy, ideas, outlines, pages, perseverance, persistence, rewriting, scenes, screenplay, screenwriting, script, short films, spec, story, writing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I’d been struggling with the rewrite of the fantasy-comedy spec. I identified a few things that could probably be cut and where some repositioning might come in handy, but there were still a few details that were proving difficult.

So I did what any sensible writer would do: I shifted my attention to another project. Naturally, I’d still return to this one every once in a while, trying to find a viable solution.

Since my usual approach wasn’t working, (helpful tip – don’t try to force ideas. Let ’em happen naturally) I decided to try the tried-and-true “go for the hard turn”. Same objective, much different route to get there.

“Rather than THIS, how about THAT, which still gets us to THERE?”

The spark had been lit. Definitely some potential here, but with some reservations. How much would this drastically impact the story? This was already a major rewrite/overhaul project, but I didn’t want to get away from what appealed to me about the story in the first place.

I mapped things out, looking for scenes and story details that could be changed just enough to make a difference but also not sending things too off-course. Found a few things that matched that criteria and made the appropriate changes in the outline.

I usually stick with the outline until the entire story is ready, but I wanted to give these new ideas a test run to see if they worked on the page. I cranked out a few pages – while also keeping in mind the guideline of “keep it tight!” (i.e. Don’t go for the flourish; just write what needs to be there).

End result – pretty good. It’ll need a little more polishing, but I’ll deal with that later.

There are a few more story details that need work, but I’d say this is a good start.

–

Just 2 weeks left on the crowdfunding for my short film SHECKY. We were very fortunate to hit our initial goal and are now working towards a stretch goal. Every $ goes towards post-production, and whatever’s left over will help get the short into some film festivals.

There are several tier rewards, including a new one that includes a personalized video of me telling you a terrible joke (which is on theme for the short).

So if you’re a big supporter of indie filmmaking, the telling of terrible jokes, and the overall screenwriting community, I hope you chip in to help this project reach the finish line.

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.

Mind the gap(s)

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Feeling really good about how the latest rewrite of the sci-fi adventure outline is going.

A lot of the story is in place, but there are still a few blanks or gaps that need filling in – questions that need to be answered or an issue that needs to be addressed. Something relevant has to happen at those points, but I don’t know what yet, so I’ll put in a generic placeholder like “HOW??” or “WORK ON THIS!”

I’ll do this as I work my way through the rest of the story, and when I move on to the next draft, I’ll be able to focus on filling in those gaps. Sometimes that’s enough, but there have also been instance where a new detail can inspire a new direction or a spur-of-the-moment minor changes.

It’s like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, but putting in that missing piece creates a new, slightly different version of what the puzzle was originally supposed to look like, but you don’t mind because it still works – maybe even more than you thought it would.

This approach also proves helpful because more than a few times I realized something was happening with no setup whatsoever, so I’d go back and see where that could happen. I try to make it organic, rather than feel forced because the story requires it. Sometimes the answer comes quickly, or it might take a few tries. It’s also not uncommon to suddenly come up with something that’s the total opposite of what I originally intended, but it works even better, so in it goes.

I’m making a real point of taking my time with this. That seems to be helping in terms of determining where the fixes (and follow-up fixes, if necessary) need to be made, so the proper adjustments can be made as I go along. Bulldozing my way through seems more of a short-term solution, resulting in more potential rewrites down the line. Better to take it slow and deal with all the problems now than to spread it out and spend more time on them later.

I just wrapped up Act One, and am fairly hopeful Act Two won’t take too long. A lot of Act Three had already been set up in One and Two, so probably won’t need as much work.

I’m eager to get started on pages, but have no problem taking the time to fill in those gaps to make sure everything flows nice and smoothly.

-Coming to Austin? I’ll be there. Feel free to say hi.

Only we can answer

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After an unexpected break, work has recommenced on fine-tuning the outline of the sci-fi adventure spec.

I don’t know how other writers organize their outlines, but mine tend to be a scene-by-scene breakdown on a Google doc. (Hats off to the users of index cards). Each scene is planned out in terms of what happens, sometimes what dialogue might be involved, and an underlying mindset of “what’s the conflict here?”

Even though I know what I need the scene to accomplish, I may not have all the information I need, so I’ll jot down a note or question in ALL CAPS as part of it (to help me not overlook it). The note or question is something that needs to be addressed, but can’t be answered just yet.

Things like:

-DOES HE KNOW ABOUT THIS? IF NOT, HOW TO DO THAT?

-WHAT CAN SHE DO HERE TO DEMONSTRATE WHAT KIND OF PERSON SHE IS?

-NEED 3 VARIATIONS ON THIS (SEE PREVIOUS DRAFT FOR LIST)

-POSSIBLE CLUE OR HINT HERE TO BUILD UP TO BIG REVEAL

You get the idea.

I find it better to write these down in the outline instead of something separate. I don’t trust myself to be that organized, and my desk/working area is quite a mess. It’s just easier to keep it all in one document.

It’s more helpful to take the extra time to deal with all of these now, rather than jump into pages and have to hit the brakes each time one of these needs to be addressed.

Dealing with these sorts of issues can also prove beneficial because while you’re handling the initial thing, it may also offer a new or at possibly an unexpected solution that can cover a few other things, or add a new detail that adds to or helps the story. It’s happened before.

For the most part, the outline is pretty solid, story-wise, so once all of these notes and questions are covered, it’ll be off to the races. I don’t think it’ll take too long, and shooting for another end-of-the-year finish in terms of completed drafts. One would be nice, two would be better.

It’ll get there, slowly but surely.

-Contest news! My animated fantasy-comedy made Second Round for comedy features with Austin. Another long-time goal achieved, so…yay.

Congrats to all the other amazing writers whose work also made it. I’ll be there to celebrate. How about you?

-As the writers strike continues, it’s taking a toll on the people involved. One of those people is friend-of-the-blog Jenny Frankfurt, who runs the Finish Line Script Competition. She could use whatever help you can provide, so please donate here if you can.

I did the math so you don’t have to

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It’s September 1st! New month, new season (kinda-sorta), school’s back in session, all that rot.

It also means there are 4 months, or 122 days if you want to be super-specific about it, left in 2023 for you to GET SOMETHING WRITTEN.

Totally not impossible.

Even if you average a page a day, that’s a completed draft of a feature (or a pilot), plus some extra time for notes, editing, and polishing.

Dive back into that script you finished earlier this year, last year, or whenever, and attack it with your red pen to edit the bejeezus out of it.

It doesn’t matter what you write, just as long as you plant that ass in a chair and DO. THE. WORK.

That script ain’t gonna write itself, y’know.

Why all the encouragement?

I find a certain appeal to closing out the calendar year having accomplished something writing-wise. You can simultaneously proclaim “Look at what I did!” while also be ready to work on it from the get-go on January 1st.

You’ve got 122 days and counting, so quit your procrastinating, hemming and hawing, and get to it.

And…begin.