Current Projects, 2007
Interesting experiment
I had an interesting experience today. I mentioned in my last entry that I had a title for my next screenplay, but I hadn't yet figured out the story that goes along with it. Well, I decided I wanted to try something unusual to get my creative channels open, so I went to a hypnotherapist! Her name is Mary Willix, and she's a delightful person. It was a really fun day.
We did quite a bit of chatting about my writing before she hypnotized me. We talked about how I write and what I write. We talked about when I was a teen and that creative world was very much my normal existence -- when it was work to interact in the "real world" -- and we talked about that foolish decision I made when I was seventeen to try to be "normal." I gave up horses and I gave up that creative world, and neither has been easy to get back. What I have now is just a shadow of what I had then.
We did two hypnosis sessions. In one we went back to the time when being in that creative world was normal and worked on opening up those creative channels again. In the other session, we focused specifically on the new screenplay idea. Before the sesion we did some idea mapping, which was fun and illuminating, and then during the session we did a sort of Q&A. Fascinating.
I'd like to say the idea for the screenplay emerged fully-formed in one big rush, but sadly that didn't happen. But I got some insights I didn't have before, and some concepts firmed up a bit. It was definitely intriguing, and I want to go back when I have done some more work on my own.
It'll be interesting to see if I can do some of what she did by myself. Part of me doesn't want to go so completely back to that creative world, and just that idea, then, keeps me from being able to cross over. Oh well -- guess that's an issue for more therapy!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Finishing one, on to another
Well, The Promise was a semifinalist at Nicholl this year. I'm really proud of that, and I've had fun sending it off to the various producers and agents who've requested it since. I don't really expect anything to come of it, but it certainly would be fun if it got optioned or produced.
With The Promise finished, it was time to move on to another project, but I wasn't sure what. I just hadn't had any burning ideas. So I spent most of the past couple of months entertaining myself with fan fiction. Then one night, out of the blue, a title hit me: A Life in the Day of Sunny Chase. This is interesting because I'm crappy at titles, and that's a pretty darn good one! So my current quest is to figure out who Sunny Chase is. I have some ideas, but they need a ton of fleshing out.
To motivate myself, I'm applying to a screenwriting class held twice annually in Seattle. It's a prestigious thing, and acceptance is competitive, so I may not get in. If I do, it will be the most intensive three weeks of my life, but I'm betting I end up with a kick ass script on the other end. The class is in March; my goal is to get my application sent out before I leave on my Big Drive Trip next week. Fingers crossed!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Screenplay update
I entered my screenplay in three contests. All of them had their first-round cuts at the end of July.
- Scriptapalooza -- Didn't make the first cut.
. - PAGE International Screenplay Award -- Made first
cut (semifinals). This contest has 10 categories. Semifinals are the
top 25 in each category. 3400 scripts were entered this year, but I
have no clue how many were in the Family Film category, which is what
my screenplay is in.
. - Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting -- Made first cut (quarter-finals). This is the biggie. This and the Disney/ABC Writing Fellowship, which I didn't enter, are the two most prestigious screenwriting contests in Hollywood. My script made the first cut, which was top 5% of the 5050 screenplays entered. I'm chuffed to have made the first cut. If I make the next cut, I'll be over the moon.
Both contests will announce their next cut at the end of August.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
20 worst publishers
The saints at Writer's Beware have created a list of the 20 Worst Publishers. At the top of the list they describe the troublesome characteristics that writers should avoid in a publisher. This list compliments their list of the 20 Worst Agents.
Read the lists. Memorize the characteristics. If you run across them, run the other way, no matter what kinds of promises of fame and fortune they throw at you. Unpublished is better than scammed. These people and publishers are not credits you want on your resume.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Praise the Lord and Glory Hallelujah!!
It is finished! The screenplay that would not die is finished! The rough draft, anyway. Much revision to do, but I can at least upload the draft to the class bulletin board.
<bangs head on desk> The class bulletin board allows uploads up to only 256KB in size. My screenplay is 280KB.
I don't care. It's done. I'm happy.
# scene written today: 3
# scenes to go: zip, zero, nada
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
What a day!
I have to brag. I absolutely jammed today. According to my beatsheet, I wrote six scenes today! I finished everything that follows the first day of the field trial. I think I have only two or three scenes left, and I'll be done, done, done!
With the rough draft.
The first two-thirds is pretty polished, but the third act is ROUGH. When it's done, I'll go ahead and post it on the class Web site, even though I have some changes in mind already.
# scene written today: 6
# scenes to go: 2 or 3
Monday, Februay 12, 2007
Screenplay update
This is giving me fits. I'm not going to give up, but this third act has been a lot harder than I expected it to be. Yesterday my goal was to write all three of the field trial scenes.
Initially I thought these scenes would be easy, because it's pretty straightforward action. The action is anything but simple, however. I have to be able to describe three retrieve "series" including terrain, position of the birds, and actions of the handler and dog. And it's a given that 95% of my audience, likely including the actors, director, and producers, would be completely unfamiliar with retriever field trials.
I started yesterday by writing out the details of the three series -- a land triple with a double blind, a walk-up water triple with ducks, and a water triple in a technical pond. Uh huh. Did you understand that? Can you see why this was turning out to be challenging? Then I spent the rest of the day working on the first field trial scene. No way I was going to get all three written, but I got eight solid pages done, and the techniques I used in the first scene will work as a blueprint for the remaining field trial scenes.
My goal for today is to write the two remaining field trial scenes and the nighttime scene between them.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Working backwards
I delved into Act III today. I knew I wanted to cut the scene I'd planned as the last scene and instead have the next to the last scene be the emotional ending. From there, I figured I'd work backwards, because most of the scenes I'd planned for the middle of the act would still work.
I'd intended to just plan out the final scene, but as I did so, I found myself really caught up in the emotion, and the scene came alive for me. So I sat down and wrote it out. (And cried all the way through it, thank you.) Then I figured, what the heck, I'll just work backwards. So I tackled the scene leading up to it. Long scene, one of the longest in the script. It was what will be the third series of a field trial, but it was the first field trial scene I've tackled. I had to figure out what I would be able to describe briefly because I would go into more depth in the earlier scenes and what I needed to tackle in this scene.
Overall, I'm pleased, especially with the ending.
# scenes written today: 2
# scenes to go: no clue
Monday, February 5, 2007
Another blog
I found another good writing blog: Flogging the Quill. If I don't stop finding these, I'll never get any work done.
Monday, February 5, 2007
A setback is still progress... sort of
I mentioned earlier that I spent a couple of hours yesterday trying to figure out how to best set up the next scene. I realized today that I was having that problem because it was set in the wrong place and left out some crucial elements. Great! But when I set out to fix that, I realized that I had some weaknesses in the last scene of Act II and in the plotting of Act III. Aarghh. So I'm going to scrap some of what I've written and replot Act III from scratch.
The good news is that I think I'll have slightly fewer scenes in the new version, but my page counts should still be right on.
I've been doing a lot of second-guessing of myself and the quality of this screenplay as I think about the upcoming revision stage. I have already realized that I need to change the primary viewpoint character -- no problem; I've brainstormed a few changes I can make that will do that without performing major surgery. But now I'm starting to worry that the problems are run of the mill, that buyers will say it lacks freshness and originality. I try to tell myself that I haven't received that criticism from my readers, but I still worry.
Oh well, I'll just get through this draft and get the script submitted to the Master class. I'm sure I'll get all the feedback I want then!
Sunday, February 4, 2007
New blog on the list
I added a new blog to my list of writing-related blogs: Hackman-Adams. This is male-female duo who are co-writing an action-adventure thriller. The blog gets into the differences in how men and women approach writing in that genre. For example, in the sub-genre about serial killers, both write about violent crimes. Men, however, create one-dimensional red-shirts, who are there to be cannon fodder for their crimes. Women concentrate more on the people behind the crimes, and the fear the crimes create. The first few posts were fascinating. I expect I'll spend my afternoon reading it from the beginning.
I wrote one scene yesterday, and then spent a couple of hours trying to figure out how to best set up the next scene. The story is reaching its climax, so all the story arcs are coming together and resolving. Lots of emotion, stakes are rising. About half of the remaining scenes should be easy. The other half will be very difficult.
# scenes written yesterday: 1
# scenes to go: 13
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Writing is rewriting
Geez -- was my last entry really on Sunday? Okay, I'm not quite as big a slacker as that seems. Monday I had a major deadline that I didn't finish until 10:30 PM. Tuesday and Wednesday I was traveling. Thursday I was a slacker, but hey, I was legitimately tired. Of course, today I have no excuse for not accomplishing more. I'm planning to sign up for a Master class that starts February 12. I'd like to have this draft of the screenplay finished before that. Totally doable, if I get off my butt and just do it.
I wrote two scenes today, but one of them was a rewrite of one I wrote a couple of days ago. How do I count that? Half a scene?
The original scene was boring and predictable. The rewrite is more interesting, even funny, but I'm not positive funny is a good thing. This movie doesn't have a lot of humor in it, so injecting it now might be off. I don't know. My professor in that Master class will be able to give me good feedback.
# Scenes written today: 1.5 (or something like that)
# scenes to go: 14
Friday, February 2, 2007
A story without words
I wrote a scene in my screenplay today in which one of the characters had to come to terms with the alcoholic legacy he inherited from his abusive father. The character escaped his father half a lifetime before, but the baggage followed him, and at this point in his life, it's clear that despite his hatred of the man, he's slowly but surely becoming just like him. His father is dead, so he can't confront him directly, and, really, it's himself and his past and his own choices he has to deal with anyway.
The scene is set in the cemetery where his father is buried. I had planned for him to have a one-sided conversation with his father's headstone, but a friend commented that he hated scenes where people talk to themselves because they're so clearly expository. So I decided to try to write the scene without dialogue, just action. It was difficult, but I think the scene is a lot more powerful this way.
# Scenes written today: 3 -- Act II complete!
# scenes to go: 15
Sunday, January 28, 2007
The screenplay that never ends
My current project is a screenplay I've been working on for an embarrassingly long time. It's a family drama tentatively called The Promise. It's my second screenplay. My first won a couple of small contests, and got optioned but not produced. I'm amazed it did that well because, frankly, it sucked. Seriously. It was awful. The idea was fairly interesting though, and I may repackage and rewrite it later.
I really like the screenplay I'm working on now, however. I've had two former Hollywood producers read it, and they both say it's better than much of the stuff they bought when they were producing. Unfortunately, that doesn't help me get it sold (or finished!). My plan is to finish it by the end of February, and then to begin querying WGA-signatory agents. If that's not productive, I'll query production companies directly.
After I finish the screenplay for The Promise, I'm planning to novelize it. I haven't written prose fiction since I was a teen, but I'd really like to try my hand at a novel. Since I like this story, and since getting the screenplay sold and produced is actually very slim, I figured this is a good opportunity to explore the novel-writing process.
Friday, January 26, 2007
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