protagonist

I’ve quite a challenge ahead

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With the first draft of the action-comedy out of the way, attention now turns to a rewrite of the fantasy-comedy, prompted by a few sets of recently-received and very thorough notes on it.

Each set boiled down to the same points:

-the story works

-good, solid characters

-the jokes hit (but maybe fine-tune them a little)

-biggest takeaway – this doesn’t need a major overhaul or significant rewrite; more reworking most of Act Two and the start of Act Three to put more emphasis on the protagonist and her journey

That sounds like a lot, and I agree.

Fortunately, the notes also included an incredibly helpful suggestion: create a scene map from the start of Act Two to around the middle of Act Three. Then label each scene by the one thing that materially changes. They included a list of six applicable options from which to choose; sort of a “which one best applies here?” It’s a really cool idea.

The scene map is done, so now it’s all about determining the proper label for each scene. I suspect there may also be some revising/overhauling of a few of those as part of the process.

This set of notes also added in the sterling advice of “Ask of every sequence: what becomes impossible to return from after this?” That really resonated for me, and will also add to keeping things moving forward.

Based on a friend’s notes, there should also be a change in how the protagonist goes about achieving her goal and – very important – making her the one driving the action. She needs to be more active than reactive.

This one feels especially challenging, but taking it one scene at a time, along with the potential changes listed above, may be the strongest approach. The biggest hurdle will probably be rewriting scenes to put more of the focus on my protagonist and show how she’s moving things forward, along with the aforementioned change.

It certainly seems that the number of moving parts involved is increasing – for the better.

There were also some very helpful comments about other important components, including emphasizing the “two sides of the same coin” aspect of the protagonist-antagonist connection, and tightening things up to enhance the momentum of the read.

This rewrite really feels like it’s going to be a major one, so time to step up my writing and storytelling skills.

I’ve got dragons to slay. Wish me luck.

And that’s three

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My goal for this year was pretty simple: complete two rewrites and at least the first draft of the new action-comedy.

Rewrite #1: done

Rewrite #2: done

First draft: done

This first draft was the closest I’ve ever come to actually churning out a proverbial vomit draft. As has been documented here over the past several weeks, it was primarily just writing down what was in the outline with a bare minimum of going back and editing.

It ain’t pretty, but I got there. To put the most positive spin on it – it can only get better from here.

I won’t say that it’s bad, but more like this first effort is severely lacking. It needs an absolute shit-ton of work, along with adding in somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 pages. I already know a lot of what’s missing and what needs to be added, so no panic mode as of yet.

At the top of an continuously-getting-longer list: fleshing out both the protagonist and antagonist, building on the subplots, and at least a few more sequences to enhance the overall story.

The foundation is there. Now it requires some major work on revising the blueprints.

All of this is going to be challenging, but I’d much rather have an awful first draft to work with than no draft at all.

So what now? Going to let this one simmer while I conduct a bit of an experiment on a previous script. When that’s done, I’ll return to this one, red pen in hand and ready to have at it.

I was pretty certain I’d be able to get the first draft done, and my sights are now set on finishing a second (and much-improved) draft.

And I’m quite confident I can do that.

San Diego Comic-Con: A look back

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A few days later, and I’ve recovered from my first Comic-Con experience.

Biggest takeaways:

-huge crowd

-even bigger venue

-didn’t see as many cosplayers as expected

-lots of panels covering numerous topics from which to choose. More than a few at the same time, so had to pick which one to attend

-planning out your schedule ahead of time makes a major difference

-figuring out dining options ahead of time also really helped

-comfortable shoes and hydration cannot be emphasized enough

-give yourself a big window of time to wait in line to get into pretty much anything. I was lucky to make it into a few panels that had to turn people away

-most vendors will not say no to cash; only a handful only accepted credit cards

-if I decide to go again, leave the jeans home and bring shorts. San Diego was hotter than predicted

-not as many comic-oriented vendors as expected. If you’re looking for older (and more expensive) stuff, you’re set. A few of the books I’d hoped to purchase – nobody had them.

Among the highlights:

-attending two panels featuring the legendary Leonard Maltin. I took advantage of the opportunity to get a photo with him (taken by his daughter Jessie)

-got to meet a Marvel/DC comic book artist and ask him about character designs while he signed an issue he drew

But what was probably one of the best parts was discovering the work of several writers and writer-artists and talking to them about it.

A majority started by their display catching my eye. Full disclosure – I enjoy art featuring an attractive female protagonist.

I’d approach and ask “Tell me about NAME OF PROJECT”. They’d go into their well-rehearsed pitch. I might have a couple of follow-up questions (i.e. “What was the inspiration for this?” was a common one). My interest piqued, I’d fork over the cash and ask them to sign the book, which they were more than happy to do.

Apart from the obvious satisfaction of making a sale, I got the strong sense that all were very appreciative to not only have somebody ask about their work, but to show a genuine interest in the material.

I bought more stuff than expected, but they were all books. Fortunately, my luggage was able to handle them without any difficulty.

Others will no doubt fondly recall waiting several hours to catch a panel in Hall H (no thank you) or acquiring some exclusive convention swag (pass), but I thoroughly enjoyed working my way up and down the aisles – mostly in the Small Press area – and talking to creators about their work.

No idea if I’ll ever return, but if that does happen, I’ll have a much better idea of what to expect and how to go about it.

And to wear shorts. Definitely shorts.

More like this, please

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Some MAJOR progress on the outline for the action-comedy spec this week, and I am thrilled.

Among the highlights: figuring out how and where to connect some sequences, plotting out a few others, and coming up with a great new angle about my antagonist’s arc.

Some of these were a long time coming, and some were spur of the moment. I’ll take what I can get.

Also realized a few subplots still need work, which range from “should this be cut or expanded?” to “three scenes should cover it”.

One thing that’s been nagging at me since the beginning is the best way to show my protagonist’s arc in action. How is she changing over the course of the story, and what are the most effective ways to do that? Doing what I can to have this occur at every opportunity, even if it’s something that initially seems insignificant but plain as day in retrospect.

Ain’t easy, but it’s coming together. Would have been great for this to have happened a few months ago, but that’s how it goes.

No guarantee this momentum will continue, but confidence levels are currently registering as high. I may even be so bold as to suggest a strong possibility the outline could be done by the end of the month. This will most likely be followed by either a whole lot of editing and revising, or setting it all aside to work on one or both of the two rewrites.

Either way, there’ll be at least one completed draft of this script by the end of the year.

From the archives: Active, not reactive – OR – C’mon, do something!

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Never has a call to action been more necessary

One of the things I’ve noticed as I work my way forward with the first draft of the action-comedy spec is that my protagonist isn’t doing as much as she needs to – especially in terms of moving things forward. Again – first draft, so lots of work in the days ahead.

But that detail about the protagonist still applies, and is just one item on an ever-growing list of “Stuff to fix in the second draft”.

I suspected I’d written about this before, so I had to go all the way back to March 2014 to find a short but concise post about dealing with a passive protagonist.

Enjoy.

As you work your way through your latest draft, among the numerous questions to keep in mind is “Is my main character the one driving things forward?”

It’s a common complaint: a protagonist who is too passive. How do you make sure they aren’t?

Start with this: Do they make things happen or just react to them?

Your story is about this character going through some ordeal as they try to achieve their goal. Are they taking the steps needed and doing what they have to in order to do that?

Their normal routine has most likely been drastically altered. How are they reacting to all these changes while trying to get things back to normal?

How does the character factor into each scene? Are they having some kind of impact? Does the outcome of each scene depend on them? Does what they do here get them closer to reaching their goal?

A scene can be about them even if they’re not part of it. Maybe it’s the other characters’ reactions or the ramifications of what they’ve done.

You don’t want a main character who just sits around, waiting for things to happen. Get them out there and throw them right into the thick of it.