spec script

Focus: forward

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Some good progress on cranking out the first draft of the action-comedy spec this week: reached the end of Act One.

One potential snag – my outline lists this as the p45(ish) plot point. This may be the start of more problems, but I’m not going to worry about it just yet. It’ll be added to the list of “Stuff requiring my attention”.

Primary objective: get the whole thing written.

When I started, I was taking a “just write it and DON’T go back and edit”. Naturally, I did a few little tweaks here and there at the start of each subsequent writing session, but nothing major. Maybe cutting a word or tightening a sentence. That was one rabbit hole in which I did not want to keep digging.

Now is all about completing this draft and then going back to figure out what needs to be fixed, added, cut, moved, etc.

Taking an approach of continuously asking myself “Does this scene advance the plot, theme, and character?” also helps. I may not have consistently solid answers every time, but even some kind of placeholder answer works – for the time being.

Still looking at 2-3 pages per day when possible. Anything more is a bonus.

First hard part’s out of the way

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Bit of a breakthrough for the action-comedy spec this week – I wrapped up the outline.

It’s done, but not totally done.

It still needs a ton of work, especially regarding the development/placement of several subplots, but the primary storyline is there, ready to be hammered into better shape.

Despite it all, I’m thrilled to have gotten here. There were many times over the past few months I’d get concerned (read: stressing out on a regular basis) I’d never figure things out.

But I stuck to it and eventually did, and am very happy with it.

Skimming through the whole thing in its current state, there are probably a lot of scenes and sequences that’ll get trimmed, cut, or drastically revised, but that’s expected. And that’s not even taking into account the aforementioned subplots.

I’ve written before about my astonishment at how other writers are almost assembly line-like regarding their output. It’s just not something I’m capable of, and the slow, slow progress for this latest project is just another example of that.

But I also realize that when somebody reads one of my scripts, they definitely remember that it’s mine – the story, the characters, the voice. If my taking the time to do that for each script means a smaller output than others, that’s fine by me. Same conditions apply this time around.

I was wavering between diving right back into this one or shifting to one of my two rewrites. I think I’m leaning towards the latter. I haven’t done as much with those two the last couple of months, so it’s probably better to let the new one simmer and work on those.

Then when I’m ready to jump back into this one, it’ll be with a mostly-all-there outline (and most likely a lot of “This is better than I remember” and “I don’t remember writing this”).

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.

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.

Action first, comedy second

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Another shorty today, but one worth mentioning.

Current progress on pages for the action-comedy spec averaging about 2-3 a day, which is pretty good. The first act is just about wrapped up. This is more of a “just it get written” draft.

This isn’t to say there haven’t been moments of going back and making little changes here and there. That’s actually happened quite a bit.

The focus now is more on how each scene advances the plot, story and characters, and not as much on “is it funny?” or “what’s the joke here?” It’s actually kind of refreshing to not have to worry about it . Some scenes are even totally lacking comedic elements and are there for the purpose of moving things forward.

That’s what the next draft will be about, undoubtedly involving a lot of “how can this be funny/funnier?” I find it easier to apply comedy into an action-oriented scene than the other way around.

I’m enjoying it so far, and it’ll be very interesting to see how this plays out.