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.