Working Title

Sure, movie titles have been reused from time to time, but generally Hollywood wants an original title. That's all fine and dandy, but a writer can't have a little thing like a title holding up progress when the creative juices are flowing. Both of the projects I have listed have been titles of existing movies. "The Search for Sarah" was a Patty Duke made-for-TV melodrama based on a true story. I certainly don't want my script associated with that. The alternate title I've used on and off again is "Protocol," which some will recall was also a film - a mediocre Goldie Hawn comedy. So, although the meter says the project is 27% complete, I'm still without a proper title. That's okay. Even when I do come up with an original one, it probably won't end up being the final title if it ever gets made.

Been revisiting my index cards to strengthen my story leading up to my class on Wednesday.

Another update soon.

Learning the Trade

One piece of advice I constantly hear for aspiring writers is to watch as many movies as you can. Being sick and laid up in bed yesterday, I took that advice and browsed my MoD channels. The only one I was interested in seeing was "4: Rise of the Silver Surfer," not that I'm a Fantastic Four fan, but rather because a friend of mine loves his Silver Surfer comic collection. So, I said, "Let's see what $130 million buys these days."

Five minutes later I was asleep. Literally. So, late last night, riding a second wind, I started it up again and this time I made it all the way through, but I can't say I'm happy about it. We're talking one hundred and thirty million dollars spent to make two hours of entertainment and this was the result? One of the cardinal rules of screenwriting is to stick to the story. Anything that doesn't advance the plot doesn't need to be there. These guys are pros, they should know this. While I applaud the special effects, particularly the Silver Surfer himself, the story just didn't play out very well for me. I don't know how closely it resembled the comic, but to me, the whole Reed and Sue wedding storyline was extraneous. The pre-wedding dialogue, the bachelor party, wedding #1 and the wedding at the end served no purpose here.

As the credits began to roll, the only word to come from my lips was 'ridiculous.' Okay, so maybe a 39 year old isn't the target audience, but that's no excuse to put out a mediocre film. Did the producers really think it was good? If so, that explains why so many films these days are less than remarkable. Of course, I'm sure they weren't looking for a Best Picture Oscar. Oscar films are made for Oscars, not audiences. In the past several years, the nominees have largely been films I hadn't seen and had no desire to see.

Being a writer-in-the-making, I knew better than to blame the writers for the final cut of Silver Surfer, but thought I'd check their creds just the same. The writers, Don Payne, Mark Frost and John Turman, I'm sure are all lovely people and there's no way to tell who contributed what to the story. Maybe Don turned in the draft, then Mark and John were brought in to polish. Maybe John wrote the Silver Surfer parts, Don - the lame wedding parts, and Mark only provided the idea that Torch be able to swap powers with the others. Who knows? Doesn't matter, really. Odds are, they submitted something perfectly viable and worthy of a big budget, only to have the bosses pull out the good parts and replace them with filler. Good work.

As I said, though, giving the writers the benefit of the doubt, I thought I'd see what else they'd done to garner themselves such a juicy assignment. Well, Don Payne's writing credits include "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and... and... that's all. That's it? One writing credit and you get to write on a $130M picture? How about Mark Frost? He wrote the first "Fantastic Four" and "The Greatest Game Ever Played." He's written some other stuff and has non-writing credits on stuff I've heard of, but is that a strong enough track record? I'm not sure I agree. John Turman, currently has a Sci Fi Channel original movie in development, a remake of the 1967 James Darren series, "The Time Tunnel," one of my faves. His only other credit? "Hulk." That crappy, unwatchable Ang Lee trainwreck. Like I said, these are probably good people, but were they the right people for the job?

If the producers cared about the quality of this film, why wouldn't they have assigned it to the best people available? People well-established in the genre. Three people who maybe have more than 3 superhero movie credits...combined. I'd like to be proud to see my name in the credits one day. I hope these guys were proud to see theirs.

(Supposedly) No More Excuses

Well, when I last posted, I had just finished my screenwriting class and was trying to give myself the pep talk I needed to keep writing.

Yeah, uh, that didn't happen.

Good news, though! I've registered for the next screenwriting class AND - more importantly - I am now among the happily and intentionally unemployed. Yes, my wonderful wife is now bringing home more income than we were bringing home together just a few months ago. With her encouragement, I've left my soulsucking job and will be taking at least a few months off, possibly a year, maybe two. During that time I'll be playing Mr. Mom to some extent, but I'll still have the bulk of the day open to write! So, in theory, I won't have any decent excuses NOT to write. Besides, the class I'm taking has a much heavier workload than the first class.

I have a few weeks before class starts, so hopefully I'll be inspired enough to get a jump on things and write a bunch before then, but odds are I won't. Who knows, though? Once I get over the "vacation" mentality I have at the moment, I can focus on giving myself some daily structure to hopefully include a healthy block of writing time. I'm going to be optimistic and just say that that's what will happen!

Affirmation

My screenwriting course recently behind me, I'm now faced with having to keep the momentum going and continue the writing I began weeks ago. I recently completed the first plow-through of Act I of my class spec, "Protocol," though I already have changes in mind, and am a couple of pages into Act II. My screenwriting instructor and classmates were all very encouraging with regard to my work. The feedback on my submittals was very enthusiastic and gave me the impression that I might just be on the right track with this pursuit and my writing may be as good as I'd hoped it was.

It gave me that much needed boost that confirmed for me that my instincts are right and I can do this.

Now the task is to try to steer clear of the many convenient distractions that have plagued my progress thus far and write, write, write! I'm refreshed and focused, and hopefully I can keep from being my own biggest obstacle. The sheer amount of work to be done is daunting, especially when finishing the first draft is only the beginning, but it's all part of the process and I need to trudge up that hill if I'm going to complete any of my planned projects.

Trudging time.

Virtual Mingling

I am now in my third week of a ten week online course in screenwriting and I've been enjoying it immensely. Finding time to complete my assignments has been a bit of a juggling act, but the immediate feedback has been exciting to give as well as receive. The instructor for my class is actually in Israel and I got to chat with her and a classmate earlier this week. It was 2 o'clock in the morning in Israel, but she was there! The exercises have been quite effective at fleshing out the material and the characters I have floating around in my melon and I look forward to more.

I'm not sure how far along this project will be by the end of the course. Naturally, I'm tempted to take the level II course, but we'll see. In the meantime, I've got lots of writing to do!

Attention Defic

I swear, sometimes I'm like a little kid who enjoys what he's doing until a butterfly flutters by and I all but forget what captivated me moments earlier. As proof of being an accomplished procrastinator, I hit page 25 of my spec some time ago, put the thing on the back burner and ran off to play with something sparkly. I felt guilty about it, but some good did come from the time I spent on one of my other hobbies - I developed a new idea for a spec based on what I was doing. It's a subject I know a fair bit about, I enjoy it, and the story I have in mind fits into my preferred genre like a glove.

And the timing couldn't be much better. I start my online course next week and the story I was planning on using for the class was kind of fizzling for me creatively, whereas this new one has me totally jazzed and the ideas for it are flowing like a torrential rain storm. Oddly, much of this new story takes place in the same location as my other one and it wasn't at all intentional. Makes me wonder if some unseen force is leading me to write about this place - a place I've still never been, but feel as though I know as well as my own hometown.

I'm looking forward to next week. I'm a little anxious, a bit apprehensive, but mostly excited. Let's see where this thing takes us.

V.O. or N-O?

The advice is clear - watch as many movies as you can, read as many screenplays as you can, and whatever you do, never ever use voiceovers in your screenplay unless you absolutely have to, and if you do, do so sparingly and at your own peril. Fair enough. Ten movies and three screenplays later, I'm wondering where this advice comes from as EVERY one of the films and screenplays I saw or read uses voiceovers - in some cases, to a great extent (and with great effect).

So, is the advice as such because voice overs are used so much already? Is it intended strictly for unsold newbies? I'll pose this question to my instructor when I start my screenwriting course in the very near future. Meanwhile, I've included TWO voice overs in my virgin spec script. It would just seem more interesting to watch the actions of a character while hearing another character talk about him, rather than staring at a guy sitting behind a desk speaking the same dialogue. And the end of Act III seems a natural fit for a thought-provoking voice over over a series of shots that show where the various players in our story are after the climax. And, before you say it, no - I'm not talking about one of those tired voice over tactics like "Billy Bob went back to shoein' horses" over a shot of Billy Bob shoeing horses.

So, until I hear a valid reason to the contrary, the V.O. stays.

**Update** Okay, this is precisely why I'm taking a class. What I perceived as a voice over isn't a voice over per se, but a cutaway. So, uh, nebbermide.

Guilty

Writers procrastinate. I'd like to think that I'm not intentionally putting off my writing, but the truth is I have often found myself engaged in menial activities that I tell myself I'm doing to "warm up" to writing. Of course, by the time I'm done doing them, I either don't have time to write or the mental level I tell myself I need to be at to be creatively productive is too low. So, intentional or not, here is a short list of the things I do when I sit down to write...other than write.

- Daily Sudoku (I consider this a mental exercise. Usually done in about 20 minutes.)
- Text Twist (I consider this a mental exercise, too. This can go on indefinitely.)
- listen to iTunes
- read writer blogs
- post in my blogs

Having just completed the above, it's time to start writing. There isn't much time, though. Having the house to myself is a luxury, so naturally I wasted most of it. Off I go!

On Channeling and Protein Supplements

Okay, so I've officially had my first Twilight Zone moment involving my screenplay. I could picture the location of my first scene perfectly - the mountain, the landscape, the highway, the surrounding area, everything. The time came for me to name the county my story was to take place in, so I pondered for all of 2 seconds and typed the first name that came to mind. It was the county my wife's family is from. Let's call it Duncan. Okay, so our story takes place in Duncan county. In the next page or two, we're going to need to contact the neighboring county for assistance. It's going to need a name, too. Again, a couple of seconds pass and I have the other county's name. We'll call this one Jefferson. Okay, two counties named, I now need a small to medium sized town, say, 50,000 peeps?

I've never actually been to the area where my mother-in-law grew up. I've caught connecting flights at nearby airports and once drove through the eastern part of the state, but I've never been to the mountainous western portion. So, I decide to consult Google Earth for a quick lesson in the area's make-up. I zero in on "Duncan" County and scroll across the land like a produce clerk looking for the perfect piece of fruit to give to the pretty girl about to leave the deli.

Twilight Zone event #1 - Duncan's neighboring county is ... um ... Jefferson.

Freaky. What were the odds of me pulling two random names out of the air to be neighboring counties and having them actually be neighboring counties? So, I try to find a highway in the area that goes up into the mountains. Here's one. And looky there - an icon to click on that will show me a picture. Click.

Twilight Zone event #2 - The picture of the mountain highway matches my scene exactly.

Uhhh. That's kinda weird, isn't it? Okay, now to find a suitable town in close proximity to my highway. There's only one town on the screen. I do a quick internet search.

Twilight Zone event #3 - Perfectly located town - population 54,000.

Alright, now I'm freaking out a bit. How could I pull random names and images out of my brain and have them 100% match an actual location I've never seen? Perhaps I lived there in another life. Maybe the story isn't fiction at all. I don't know. But if it's based on a true story, how the hell do I obtain the movie rights?

On a separate note, I used to bite my fingernails. Wait, there's a reason I'm telling you this. I did this from as far back as I can remember and continued to do so until I was 26 years old - when I met my wife, actually. I stopped almost overnight. Maybe finding my soulmate broke the spell or something. Here it is, twelve years later. A couple of days ago, I sat in front of my computer for six hours typing six pages. And when I was done, not only had I typed six incredibly iffy pages, I had also somehow managed to bite off every fingernail I had.

I've barely begun and this project is already having its way with me.

The Plunge

Consider my 'IN' faded. I put Final Draft to work today and produced my first six mediocre pages in just six hours. Only an hour per page? That's a reality check I had previously dismissed. I figured bits of dialogue and narrative and a whole lot of spacing would mean rapid progression, but I quickly found myself revising on the fly. I'm sure that's normal, but it sure draws out the process. I've already tweaked those few pages a number of times, but I know I'll end up rewriting much of it, if not all, at some point. Still, it's a start. Writing is underway. Some pages are better than none. It can only get better from here.

Interrupting Cow

Ah, my all-time favorite knock knock joke.

In all of my reading, I've yet to find an explanation of how to format screenplay dialogue when two characters are speaking simultaneously. Should the narrative simply state that fact and type the dialogue as normal or would a side-by-side work? Or would even thinking of typing a scene that way instantly get me a pass from a reader? I understand that characters generally don't speak on top of one another, but people do. How can an audience relate to characters who always wait for their turn to speak? It's not realistic. I don't know many people that are that courteous.

You know, I don't foresee actually needing to know this any time soon, but that didn't keep the question from entering my mind.

**Update: Fortunately, Final Draft has a menu option for dual dialogue. Problem? What problem?

No Pressure

Rather than fork out a few hundred dollars for a 3' x 5' bulletin board, I turned to my trusty king-sized bed, complete with dark bedspread for contrast, to provide an easily accessible display for my scene cards. Once laid out, I decided to snap this photo. As I did so, I said aloud, "No pressure, now. Just write a little something on 55 little cards. Piece of cake." This was followed by a deep breath.

I pretty much had Act I down in a half hour, but that's mainly because it's the part I've worked on the most in my head and the part of my pseudo-outline spreadsheet that was most full when I started. Referring to my spreadsheet, I worked out the second act in about 90 minutes. This including a fair amount of pacing back and forth to which I commented aloud, "I'm pacing. I'm actually pacing. One of those books said I'd find myself pacing." I then added, "And I'm talking to myself out loud. The book said I'd do that, too." Act III had the largest gaps going into this exercise, but the bookend scenes helped guide me through and I wrapped that up in another hour.

So, in literally three hours time, I had my spec's basic framework down on 62 little cards - knowing full well that I'll add and take away a hundred times before I'm done and what ends up in the draft will likely contrast those cards more than my bedspread. I can accept that. It's a necessary step. I took it. With that behind me, I think I'm ready to start this thing in earnest. I'm vacationing with my family this weekend, so I won't be able to tackle that 'FADE IN:' thing until I get back, but I'm sooo ready.

When to Dive In

I've got my swimming trunks (Final Draft software), my goggles (story ideas), my floaties (family support) and my flippers (desire). I've read some books on swimming (screenplays and screenwriting) and spoken to some swimming instructors (writers and screenwriting professors), but "I've never swum" (Maggie, "Caddyshack"). I've circled the pool a few times (made story notes) and stepped onto the diving board (typed the title page). I've overdone this metaphor (magnified by the parentheticals). I always try to end with something mildly funny (too late).

As this is my very first draft of my very first screenplay, I'm unsure when I should sit down, type "FADE IN" and make my first pass at the thing. I've brainstormed, come up with a bunch of scene ideas and dabbled in character development; I've got my beginning, ending, plot point I, plot point II - heck, I've even got my Pt. Hosh. I've got a little spreadsheet with a listing of scenes and context - nearly all of Act I, most of Act III and a good chunk of Act II.

I've suddenly become aware of the importance of "seeding." Something that happens late needs a nugget early on otherwise there's no arc (at least, not a good one) - it's just a series of complete sequences. Seeding provides needed distribution of story elements and weaves into the storyline by connecting the dots in a three dimensional molecular compound, not a pull chain from a ceiling fan.

The scene list still has some gaps and a few things I haven't figured out where to put yet, but I think I'm mostly ready to do my scene cards. I want to believe that the pieces I haven't been able to fit in the puzzle yet will be easier to place once I put the other pieces around it. I'm not sure if this is an excuse and I'm trying to jump in too soon or if I've already prepared more than really necessary and should be in the middle of Act I by now.

I'm strongly considering doing an online screenwriting course from Gotham Writer's Workshops to get that professional guidance and feedback that will reveal if I'm on the right track or just deluding myself. If I'm taking this venture seriously, I feel I should invest in the craft a bit more than simply telling myself I can do it. I think that's on the very near horizon for me and will be a good learning experience. The wife already said okay, so it's just a matter of registering.

In the meantime, I'm going to look over and add to my spreadsheet and my handwritten notes over the next day or two and, regardless of its completeness, I'm going to break open those index cards on Thursday and see what's what.