time

Good or fast? Pick one.

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hurdles
Careful! All too easy to end up flat on your face.

As some of you may recall, earlier this year I had to get a script done in order to send it to somebody who’d requested to read it. Seeing as how I had all of eight pages written, I wanted to finish it and sent it out as soon as possible.

It took a grueling 10-day writing marathon, but somehow I managed to do it. I got a draft written, polished it up and sent it out.

It was quite an experience, and the end result could best be described as…adequate. I’ll be the first to admit the script still needs a ton of work.

My sole objective was simply to get it done to the best of my ability in as short a time as possible. Would I have benefited from more time? Of course, but at the time, it wasn’t an option.

Fast forward to the beginning of November. My goal: have a completed draft of the latest project by the end of the month. Sadly, I wasn’t able to get as much writing done as I’d hoped, so I’m heading into December with a script that’s right at the halfway point and the intention to have the whole thing done by the end of the year.

Sure, I could push myself through that exhausting process of cranking it out just to get it done, but by working with a slightly longer timeframe, I can take it slow and spend more time fine-tuning the script. In theory, this increases the likelihood the end result will be more acceptable and not require as much extensive follow-up (i.e. rewrites).

Would I love to be done with this draft sooner rather than later? Again, of course. But I’m also willing to be patient and focus on a few pages at a time. If that means it takes me until the end of the month/year to have a quality script ready to go, so be it.

Everybody writes at their own pace. Some are extremely prolific, some aren’t. It doesn’t matter how many pages you write. The important thing is that you’re actually writing.

This whole process can seem excruciatingly long at times, and we all want to produce lots and lots of quality work. But it already takes time to learn how to do it properly, let alone effectively. Patience is one of those things that gets easier the more you work on it.

There’s nothing wrong with churning out a draft in record time, but be aware that focusing on quantity rather than quality will definitely be reflected in those pages. I went through this firsthand, and definitely see it as a positive learning experience. I know I can write something quickly, but also know it’ll require a lot of cleanup work.

But given my druthers, I prefer to take my time. It’s less exhausting.

Cole Porter had it right*

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Way back when I was first starting out and learning the basics of writing a script, one of the initial lessons was all about what went into a slugline.

I was told the following:

INT. or EXT. LOCATION – DAY or NIGHT

And that’s it. Pretty straightforward. While the first two are pretty much set in stone, some writers opt to modify the last one a bit. “AFTERNOON” or “EVENING”. Seems alright.

Some, myself included, take it one step further – “LATER” or “MOMENTS LATER”. I’ve encountered a few writers who have issue with these. “How MUCH later?” “How many moments?” Understandable.

All that being said, lately I’ve seen more than a few scripts that have a mix of the standards as listed above, along with an assortment of the totally unexpected. Such as “20 MINUTES LATER” or “SAME”.

Oh, come on. Really?

I’m sure these writers have their reasons for doing this, but to me it says “Rules be damned! I’m doing it my way! No matter how wrong it looks!” Maybe they’re planning on filming it themselves? Even if that’s the case, wouldn’t you want the script to look as professional as possible?

To me, this is just wrong.

I don’t see how they think this can possibly work. If you want to intentionally show the passage of time, then it needs to be SHOWN within the context of the scene. A clock face, Xs on a calendar, a cavalcade of holiday decorations.

The way I understand it, the slugline is all about WHERE and WHEN a scene takes place. It involves setting the scene as part of telling the story, along with what the production crew needs to help show it. I don’t believe the WHEN has to be that specific. But again, it’s all about showing.

I’m very intrigued to see if other writers have seen this, and your thoughts about it. Yes? No? It’s their script, so they can do what they want?

*If you actually understand this, I suspect you’re of a certain age, or at least appreciate certain types of music.