Pilot: getting ready for take-off

Grad school really impedes my writing. Comprehensive exams are finally over. I now have less than a week to make a few changes to the TV pilot and get it submitted to Scriptapalooza before Friday. Looking forward to having that done and getting the script "out there."

With the first week of TV pilots down and a few more coming up this week, it is already apparent that Hollywood needs a new crop of writers with fresh ideas and a different perspective. Frankly, someone's got to be able to present something that is not a formula-driven cop or lawyer procedural. These rehashed story lines are already old...and these are the new shows. Why can't creatives be more creative? Why do some people believe that the only stories of interest take place among cops, reporters, lawyers and doctors? I know these people...they're not nearly as interesting or exciting as TV makes them out to be. But for some reason, we keep perpetuating these myths.

No worries. I will rescue Hollywood and give you something worth watching and characters you want to spend time with. No cops. No lawyers. No doctors. No journalists.

Promise.

#Scriptchat

I'm a relative newcomer to Twitter. Fortunately, one of the first things I discovered was #scriptchat. Every Sunday there is a EURO chat and a US chat. It has been entertaining and enlightening about scriptwriting, and breaking into the business of writing, for TV and film. For someone like me -- a Hollywood outsider -- it has been priceless.

Tonight's guest host was TV writer/producer Jane Espenson. It is incredible to have a forum where anyone can ask the guest any question and get such honest answers, not just the usual "write" and "you can do it" b.s. It's worth an hour each week or you can read the transcript that's posted on the Scriptchat site the same night. Tonight's chat was progressing so fast, I'll have to read the transcript to pick up all the info I missed.

Whenever I find myself thinking that I'm wasting time on Twitter, all I have to do is remind myself of scriptchat and how much I've learned.

Pilot #1 -- Done

Pilot #1: Done and registered. I have my very first WGA registration number. I feel so...so...registered. Probably the first time I've been happy to be just a number. Yet there's something highly symbolic about having that number. There are those who start to write, and those who finish. I'm a finisher. I got through the marathon called the second act and made it across the line to pick up my number. Lots of starters...fewer finishers. That makes me feel good.

Now onto Pilot #2, f.k.a. the Spike TV script. Going to give it a quick read then come up with a plan of attack to finish it up.

Grad school picks up again way too soon. Dreading the workload and trying to balance all the balls again. Back to insane time management if I expect to have screenwriting time. However, I can ALWAYS find time to do the things I enjoy.

Scripped and Spike TV -- Not for me: Redux

Daniel writes:

I had the same moral dilemma, but if you read even closer, every submission except for the winner retains their rights. I guess just get a good legal team. And if you do win, well at least you get 2k and the bragging rights if they don't let you go further with it.

The Write Script:

Ever hire a lawyer? Let's say you win and want to challenge the legal agreement you acknowledged by taking on Spike TV (owned by Viacom). The retainer alone will be more than $2k. If you manage to win and get, say, the WGA minimum for a 30-min. piece, you won't have much leftover. In fact, you may just lose your house in the gamble as well.

Bragging rights? What's to brag about? I'm a schmuck? I'm so desperate I'm willing to give my work away and allow others to treat me like dirt? Who wants to broadcast that?

I'm glad the deadline has passed and I don't have to think about them any longer. The only moral dilemma here is on the part of the contest sponsors. They now stand for everything that is wrong with the business. I'll broadcast legitimate contests coming up and you can be sure I'll also broadcast which ones I consider bad for writers. But your comment (and thanks for commenting) highlights the attitude that many struggling writers have: desperation. If we weren't all so desperate, so willing to sell ourselves at ANY PRICE (and pay for the opportunity!), these crappy contests would go away.

Remember Walt and "keep moving forward."

Cold Open Trials and Errors

My cold open on Pilot #1 is pissing me off.

I feel I should be able to fix the problem quickly. In fact, at this point in the process -- essentially a completed script -- it should practically write itself. But it's not. I'm fighting with it throughout the day mentally, hashing out options and playing "what if..." games with new ideas. I want the opening to be funny, but it's taking place during an unfunny event. Everything humorous comes across as inappropriate, or distracting from the story or confusing.

[Note to Tina Fey: How do you handle this problem?]

I want/need to finish this. Soon. It'll work itself out. I expect tonight I'll lie in bed before sleep takes over thinking through the newest idea. Most of my brilliant ideas happen that way...in unusual places at odd times. Right now, I'm ready. I am open to the spark that will make all the words fall into place. My brain is creative and magnificent. I know the last few pieces to the puzzle will be found soon enough.

Yet, I'm impatient. Soon enough hasn't been soon enough.

Great Expectations

I have high expectations of myself. I fully expect that I will always do well in my classes, that I will continue to write good papers, do quality research  and soon get out of grad school adding those little initials after my name. I expect the same with my scripts. I never go into the writing thinking that I'll write something adequate or acceptable. From the outset, my intention is to knock it out of the park.

Home runs always? No.

The difference between having high expectations and of expecting perfection, is that high expectations still get the work done. Sometimes, you even impress yourself and others. Sometimes, you fall short of impressive and maybe you barely get to "it's OK." If you expect perfection, I doubt that anything will ever get written. Even if it does get written, it will never get shared with others. It will never get to the outside. Perfection, of course, is impossible. It's incapacitating because it's an unachievable goal.

My great expectations are to get the work done. That's the work of a writer. I've got the October deadline for Scriptapalooza for the TV pilot scripts. I plan to get a little writing done this weekend if the Universe allows it. My scripts won't be perfect, but they will be far better than the guy who claims to be a writer but can't get past the fear that others will deem his work to be just "OK." I've written long enough to be over that. My fear is in NOT getting the stories written. My fear is that you won't have the opportunity to see my stories on your TV or at your theater. That would be tragic for you and disappointing for me.

I don't want you to have to suffer that tragedy. But more importantly, I don't want to disappoint myself.

Relaxation begets Stress

What a great break! There's nothing like doing nothing. But now that the break is over it's difficult not to look at the calendar and wonder where 2/3 of summer went.

Really? Only four weeks left?

In mid-August, it's back to the University for the madness that is the Fall semester. That time of welcoming a new class of first-ever college students tasting their first morsel of freedom. It's a time of drama dealing with their tragic miscalculations of time needed to get passing grades and teaching less about science and more about time management. Frankly, I have my own issue with time (and the lack thereof) yet for different reasons. How I would love the workload of an undergrad! I could get As and solve all the world's problems during my spare time.

Really!

I'm getting into the academic mindset now that I've seen the calendar. Over the next four weeks, I'll start spending increasingly more time on the comprehensive exam study and the thesis. Less time will be devoted to screenwriting. Ideally, I graduate in December. Then I can be a writer without conflict, without guilt. I'll get two or three of my pilots ready for the October scriptapalooza contest and that will be it for screenwriting until December. Pilot #1 needs some minor work, Pilot #2 is partially drafted and Pilot #3 is merely a funny idea in my head and hasn't hit paper yet. I really doubt it'll be ready to submit this go-round.

Really.

I tell my students that all of life is a balancing act, that your time will always have competing interests. It's all about choosing which balls are worth juggling and then not dropping the important ones. Right now, I'm juggling too much. The grad school time suck, however, is nearly done. I'm really close and it would be tragic to drop the ball now.

Really!

R & R @ the beach

Planning several days of relaxation in the beach cities. Not sure how much screenwriting I'll do, I mostly want to clear away the stress and recharge, refuel. I'd like to wrap up Pilot #1, but we'll see how that goes.

It's always good to spend time in the South Bay...it's my hometown, my turf (and my surf), my past. It's where I began and where I became me. Growing up in the shadow of Los Angeles gave me a toughness and an edge I wouldn't have developed elsewhere. The confidence of being able to survive and thrive in a big city is an incredible asset. But it's always good to get back to the small-town feel of the beach cities. To feel the ocean breeze, smell the salty air and watch the fog roll in.

After a few days at the beach, I'll be ready to throw myself back into the work.

Go Into The Story

A huge thanks to Scott Myers at Go Into The Story for linking The Write Script on his blog. If you haven't read GITS, check it out. For a beginning screenwriter, his site is enormously helpful.

Thanks, Scott!

Reading Pilot Scripts -- 30 Rock & Community

I found two scripts online for pilots that have been produced: 30 Rock and Community. Interesting reading. The first thing that occurred to me about each was that the main characters' names were later changed. For Tiny Fey's 30 Rock, the female lead, Liz Lemon was originally written as Lisa Lemon. The Tracy Jordan character was originally Lawrence Jordan . In Dan Harmon's Community, the male lead, Jeff Winger, was named Jeff Crocker. Frankly, I think the name Liz Lemon is funnier than Lisa Lemon. Yet I also think "Crocker" better described Harmon's character than "Winger." But what do I know?

My intention of reading these scripts was to see that from the creator's pitch to the pilot production, things get changed. The essential ingredients remain, but names can change, scenes are rewritten and some elements are simply scrapped for different elements. I don't know to what extent the changes came later from Fey or Harmon, how much was dictated from suits or were battled out in development. It doesn't even matter.

Would I freak out if some suit insisted on changing my lead character's name? Yeah, I might die a little inside, but when faced with the possibility of having a pilot script turned into a pilot episode, followed by an order for 13 episodes...hell, I'd be all, "Sure, change whatever you want. What do I know? You da boss." Did Tiny Fey roll over so easily? Next time I have lunch with her or find myself beside her on an airplane, I'll ask.

Until then, the writing continues.

Pilot #1 ... Waiting for more notes

Tonight I finished the fourth draft of Pilot #1. It's been sent to my reader. I'd set it aside last week to think about it some more. It's weird to read it after a few days off. All the fresh jokes seem old now...I've heard them SO many times. Hard to read the piece as though it's the first time.

Does every writer feel this way?

Here's the deal...

It has been quite a month for ideas. Not sure why, but TV comedies are crowding my brain right now. I see what's on TV and the new shows getting produced each year. Not many of them are shows I want to watch. Now I'm writing what I want to see. Here's the list of projects I'm working on:

Project 49
This is my feature film. The project is outlined and several major scenes are written including the first act. About 20 pages written so far on the first draft.

Pilot #1
This is the 30-min., single-camera comedy I am nearly done rewriting. I'm cleaning up a few scenes, writing in a few extra parts for continuity and then it will be ready for WGA registration.

Pilot #2
Another comedy that I am now writing a quick first draft. Good, high concept. Spike TV: Bite me.

Pilot #3
Yet another comedy that will get started once #1 and #2 are both done/registered. I'll jot down some notes here and there in the meantime, but I don't need to have too many projects going all at once.

For each of the comedies, they are three distinct properties with nothing (other than the writer) in common. I want my portfolio to show range and depth. I want to leave a reader asking, "What will the next one bring?" Predictability would kill me.

Pilot #1 -- Penultimate Draft

I'm not sure exactly how to say this, but...

I love the snot out of this pilot.

The Reluctant Grad Student

Most of the coming week will be spent working on a human subject research project in my department, not writing. My colleagues were caught in a bind: summer vacations have resulted in a low number of grad students hanging around and able to work odd hours shuffling subjects through the rigors of the labs. I don't need the money, but at least it pays well enough that there's something left over after parking. However, I can think of better things to do with my summer than taking DNA samples from people with bad breath.

It's not that I don't like people...I do. In the aggregate. In theeeeeeeory. But not all at once and certainly not in close proximity. In praxis, I want distance. I love the asocial aspect of social networks. Dealing with a strange individual's spit is taking me about 2.5 feet outside my personal space, my bubble. There aren't thick enough latex gloves for the job. This is why teaching works for me. Classrooms and lecture halls afford the perfect buffer. Class over, they leave. It's the rare student who crosses the invisible line to "chat" or beg for grace or engage in some intellectual debate to prove to me they are smarter than their last exam may have (erroneously) led me to believe.

So it is with great reluctance that I lend my latex-protected hands to my fellow grad students and faculty. I will handle the spit. I'll be courteous to the subjects and think about the Pacific Ocean to quell the dry heaves forming as I mix chemicals and label vials. This was NOT what I had in mind when I enlisted in grad school.

MARGE SIMPSON

Bart, don't  make fun of grad students! 

They  just  made  a  terrible  life choice.

Most days, I disagree with Marge. Most days, I'm grateful to get paid to go to school. Most days, I don't have to play with spit. Those are good days. They'll be back.

Scripped and Spike TV -- Not for me.

While winding down for the night, I decided to look up the rules/terms of the Scripped and Spike TV pilot contest. The best part is Exhibit "A" Assignment of Rights.

It's gotta be a joke. Go read it. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll shake your head. They spent well over $2,000 (amount of grand prize) drafting that piece of legalese. Clever. Shakes my faith in the industry. Oh, wait. I didn't have any faith to begin with...nowhere to go but up, right?

The sad part, lots of people will submit their work and pay the $20 or $40 to do so, then blindly click the "I've read and agree to these terms" button.

I'll hang onto my money, my rights AND my scripts.

Bring on the C-4

This crap is crazy. It almost writes itself. The concept is simple. The characters are distinct, have purpose and well-defined goals. The joy of writing, of creating, is that when I need to or want to, I can blow shit up.

Thank you, Spike TV. Saturday would have been dull without you.

Spike TV -- this one's for you

Spike TV is stupid, but brilliant in how they acknowledge this and how they intentionally target their demographic. They are unapologetic in how they describe their viewers:

"Our guys drink beer, chase women, play sports, gamble and attempt at every turn to successfully put off adulthood. The characters in our comedies must reflect these traits, too."

I respect that.

I found out about their screenwriting contest last night on Twitter. Woke up today with an idea that is dumb enough for Spike TV, so I'll write out the 30 pages and pay the $20. I'm not going to spend too much time on it. For me, this is an exercise to see how quickly can I go from idea to submission. It takes me back to my journalist days. Writing on the fly was my drug. We were always "on." We never attempted perfection, but we did marvel in how well we could write given the restrictions of the deadline. Back then, I learned how to write drafts that were so far beyond "draft" quality. A draft had to be good enough for print. There wasn't the luxury of time for revisions. You learned how to edit as you go, proof as you type, and write ledes while driving back to the office.

At the very least, I'm building a portfolio. When someone says, "that's good, but what else do you have?" I will have an answer. In writing.

Editing from the Ivory Tower

My students get tired of hearing my lectures on writing/editing. Most will write, few will edit. The percentage of students who will proofread their material...even less. Most are happy to turn in an assignment on time. Most don't care what they've actually written, just that they've met the page/length requirement. They're checking off a list of minimum expectations and, in their minds, meeting each one is a success in itself. I laugh at myself when I get into this mentality with grad school...just get the papers in on time, get the reading done, keep up on the research. I know how it is. The difference in perspective is that as an undergrad, I'm only requiring them to read about 35 pages a week. Never more than 50. One grad class alone amounts to nearly 500 pages a week. At three classes it's an insane amount of material to not only read and write a coherent paper on, but then to show up for a three-hour interrogation (seminar) for an adversarial discussion and debate on the merits (if any) of the material. My kids are getting off so easy. They spend more time editing their Twitter updates than any paper.

After three drafts of the TV pilot, I'm now looking at the fourth run-through. I love it. I love my characters and how they've developed in this pilot and how they can further develop over the course of a season. I love the scenes and the other characters encountered during the 30-min. time-span. I love how the funny stuff creeps in and leaves me laughing. But now it's time to be brutal. This edit is about getting things so tight, so on-the-money and making sure every word is necessary, every scene is the right scene in the right place and time, and that even though I may love something, there will be some things that will have to go.

Many writers hate to edit. Hell, many writers hate to write, it's just something they feel they need to do. Writing for me is exercise...I'm more apt to write than go work out in a gym. The editing is part of the process. I am always aiming to be precise and concise. Editing is where those two qualities are achieved.

I'll be back after the fourth draft. The bloodletting begins!

Rewriting

I'm working on the pilot rewrite today...somewhat sporadic work times, but taking on a single scene at a time helps. Having the entire episode written really helps. It has a shape, a good structure. The work now is in polishing and clarifying a few character arcs and technical points. I love working on the comedy...some of it comes naturally in the writing process, other parts come together later.

The process is enjoyable. Even fun. When things comes together, it's exciting and energizing.

Pilot first draft - done!

Today I took a break from working on the movie draft so that I could sketch out a complete draft of the 1/2 hour, single camera pilot idea I've been working on for several weeks. It feels great to have an entire first draft in the can. It's rough, but complete.

It's a rush to go from beginning to middle to end...and then what seems like a far-fetched, over-the-top ending actually ends up being the ending.Crazy fun.

It all began today with a knock on the door. That was my writing inspiration.

Screen-writing v. screen-thinking

Some people are thinkers and other people are writers. The thinkers are the kind of dreamer that never gets their ideas out of their head, they don't know how to get them out, how to put them into words on paper and communicate their ideas to others. They have this concrete wall, a skull, they can't permeate.

Writers are dreamers as well, only they have developed the skills to translate their thoughts into words. Writers write, as the saying goes. I look at the guy who struggles with the idea in his head, incapable to take pen to paper and connecting the two. I don't want to be him.

I can be intimidated by the task. I can be overwhelmed by the hard work. I can be exhausted from the long hours. I can ache from slouching in front of the computer all night. I can want to quit but I don't. The payoff is finishing the work. Finishing the work is succeeding where most everyone else fails. As long as I continue to write, I will finish. If I quit, then I'm just that guy.

The weight of words

Interesting to take an entire day off of all work. The thinking doesn't stop, but at least the mind was mostly at rest. I wasn't demanding any study, any writing...nothing creative, nothing academic. Breathing in and out, watching people, hanging out with friends and family. When my story intruded into the day, I'd give it a moment then set it aside.

I've been thinking about words this weekend. Words matter. How we say them matters. How we write them, and transmit them to others matters. We can affect people with our words. We choose to build others up or we can choose to tear them down. My characters are choosing words, some less carefully than others. My hero got his feelings crushed the other day, so he's taking a break. He's going inside now, going to a safe place to get back to that sense of security and to feel once again capable to complete his journey. Even though there's no turning back, he has choices about how to move forward.

As do we all.

Characters

My characters have been growing and coming alive for me these past few weeks. It's an interesting process since they are the works of my creation, yet it seems that I am meeting these individuals already created. They are coming to me and letting me know who they are, what they want and what they dream about. They let me know their quirks and weaknesses, and they let me in on their sense of humor and their values.

I'm getting to meet some interesting folks and I am honored that they've chosen me to tell their story. I work daily to do them justice.

My structure is coming together, most of my big scenes are outlined. I only have 17 pages written, but for right now, that's where I want to be. Getting it out of my head and onto the paper is most important right now.

The journey continues.

Mythology and the story

I've been reading Joseph Campbell the past two weeks. It has been an interesting immersion in mythology across cultures and how I need to incorporate that into my story. Exciting stuff.

Back to work.

Writing Work

The days are long. They never seem as productive as they could or should be. Slowly, the words meet the screen. Hit the save button. More words. Backspace. Undo. Redo. Then a streak of genius...line after line, after line.

It's been a long day. How about you?

Getting into a routine

Finals ended quickly, then a long weekend out of town for  family event...and since then, it's been tough getting into a routine of screenwriting. I'm enjoying all of my friends I'm getting to know on Facebook (200+) and I have some great screenwriting Twitter feeds to follow. However, while the social and professional network is fabulous, it can be a huge time suck.

Time is a non-renewable resource. Especially these summer hours have to be used cautiously. Lots to accomplish and I have every day free from a traditional job, free from taking and teaching classes and the little one is enrolled in summer programs for all day fun and challenging learning. No excuses for me.

Aside from the screenplay, I have a couple of grad school projects that need to be worked on throughout the summer so that I can graduate this year. It's enough to keep every day full, exciting, intellectually stimulating and frustrating. I'm off to a great start, but need to keep in mind the goals of the next few months.

Script writing

Today was an exciting day. All of my semester work is now done for school and I had time to work on a little research for the script before I got into actually writing it. Here at midnight, I have 5.5 pages done. Excellent for day one. It feels good creating a story, telling a story and determining how these character's lives will play out.

Stay tuned.

Metaphysics of Screenwriting

I am a new student of metaphysics. That's not to say I buy into everything that some make it to be, but that I buy into a philosophy, a way of thinking. The introduction last year was merely an introduction to the word, for much of what is in the realm of metaphysics was already a part of my thinking, already evident in much of my "doing" or at least the foundation of my belief system.

I don't speak for everyone who believes in or practices metaphysics, but I do believe in this:

• Thoughts create.
• Positive and constructive thoughts create positive and constructive things.
• You can choose your thoughts.
• You can choose what you create.
• I create. Everyday.

Applied to screenwriting, or anything else for that matter, visualization is a powerful tool to create something out of nothing. By creating a visual that is so intensely real of whatever it is I am striving to achieve helps in creating that reality. It's different than just dreaming about something, it's more like seeing it and feeling it as if you had no doubt it were true right now and a part of your lived experience at this moment. You imagine how you would feel, how you would be dressed, the sensations you'd be feeling along with the scents and sounds you'd hear as well.

What I am aiming to do here, write my screenplay, is the perfect project for regular visualization. See it and live it. I am posting this as a reminder to myself -- as is this entire blog -- not to convince you to do the same. The mindset is that my thoughts become my reality. I'm living that future right now, it's vivid and it's exciting.

I'm completely onboard.

The writing schedule

I have to look at my summer as a full-time job: particular tasks to be done at particular times. Without some structure to the days, I may wake up and find that it's August and what will I have to show for the 12 weeks? A thesis draft? NO. A feature film script? NO.

I will have nothing else to fill my weekdays and a few weeknights so to make the most of the time, I'm working on a schedule. Not a schedule that leaves me working 16-hour days, but one that allows for play and relaxation but also squeezes in a lot of productivity that I cannot do during the school semester. Grad school is difficult enough without the pressure of accomplishing much more than the class/teaching requirements. With the fall semester being my last, a few added requirements are tossed in such as a thesis and comprehensive exams (yeah, the easy requirements).

My movie needs to be written. I have to get it OUT of my head and plugged into Final Draft. Summer is my time. I'll wrap some travel into that, watch some movies and play with my kiddo...but I'll figure it out to get done what I want to get done. The easy part is that the script is something I want to do, as well as something I feel I have to do. I won't feel "right" until I have it completed. It's a story I need to tell and one that I believe people want to see.

Thanks for your support, thanks for reading and keep in touch.

Busy day @ the social network

Wow...lots of new friends on Facebook and getting started on Twitter. The support network is growing of people who support writers. Thanks to all the new readers who popped onto the blog today. I appreciate your time, any comments you want to leave and your encouragement.

Only a few days until I can get to work in earnest. There's just one little final exam in the way, and a paper to edit. Maybe a little wine to enjoy during the transition.

Having a group to vent with and share little triumphs with along the way will be priceless. Thanks.

There's reading, and then there's writing.

Lew Hunter's Screenwriting 434: The Industry's Premier Teacher Reveals the Secrets of the Successful Screenplay
This is probably my favorite book for the screenwriting. I have other books, but this is the one I turn to most often. Frankly, I don't want to read too much about screenwriting, I just want to know enough to get by but I don't want to lose my voice or change my style too much to conform in ways that would make me too much like the pack. I want to DO screenwriting, not worry about what others are doing or what they think.

Learning the mechanics is like learning grammar.

Yet at a certain point, you either write the screenplay or become paralyzed because of too much screenwriting advice. I can't afford that. I may have technical issues with my screenwriting, but no one can tell my story like I can. No one else has my distinct voice.

Ah...It's coming alive

During my massage this morning, I was intentionally focused on letting my mind wander through my story in hopes of bringing a few areas of my story to life. What more could have been achieved than naming one of my key players. Names for me are not just accidental, meaningless configurations. For this character, I wanted his name to "fit" in more than just an identity, but with a name that was filled with multiple connotations.

This works. Suddenly, there's new excitement for my story...as if individuals are coming to life, becoming breathing beings. Something about naming -- it makes a difference. This character now has a substance and a "nature" that he didn't have yesterday. Creating a "being" is about the ultimate creative endeavor.

Days like today...being a writer feels powerful.

Massage = Creativity

As I'm planning out my summer and writing/study schedule, I'm now adding "massage" to the list of "things that promote good writing and creativity," joining the usual suspects: coffee, chocolate, tiramisu or a walk around the block.

This morning I had a massage and it was probably the most creative 60 minutes I've had in weeks. I was able to think about the characters and the big events. Not only did I end up relaxed, but also excited about the progress.

It was a dark and stormy night...

Storms galore tonight, but wanted to take a moment to welcome the new visitors to The Write Script. Thanks for stopping by and come back again if you want. If you can offer support while I write a movie script, all the better. My semester is almost over: another final exam next week and a research paper that needs minor revisions. After that, it's summer vacation. Time for writing.

Everyday.

Awesome.

The Writer's Journey

There's a book I've been wanting to read, The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Editionthat I've finally put into my Amazon cart. I love the semester coming to an end and I can catch up on my own leisure (ha) reading. Structure is good to know. Story telling has a structure. Academic writing has a structure.

Counting down the days. Looking forward to the journey.



I'll write a review afterwards.

Writing as process

I've done more writing today than in any one day that I can recall. Three mammoth papers coming due either this week or next week and wrapping up the research and writing has been done in marathon writing sessions. Next week will be such a relief. I love the feeling of completion. I get a lot of satisfaction from finishing what seemed like an impossible task just 17 weeks ago.

I enjoy the early parts of the process, when time seems plentiful and the research is exciting and entertaining. When deadlines approach, some of the fun is zapped from the process. For my screenplay, I have established some deadlines. My first deadline is to have a treatment done before the Fall semester starts in late August/early September 2010. Maybe it'll get done sooner, but I'm not going to force that deadline. The summer is already going to be packed. Instead of working, I'll be researching and writing my thesis and studying for comprehensive exams. I expect to graduate in December. Can I get the entire script drafted before school starts up in Fall? That's doubtful. If I put out that expectation, I'll stop enjoying the writing, the story development and the characters. I'm not doing that.

Years ago, I wrote a screenplay to enter in a contest. I had plenty of time, but the looming deadline toward the end did two things: it ensured I'd be "done" by a date certain but it also created a frenzy of writing, editing and revising that about drove me nuts. I was making copies at Kinko's and shopping for brads on the last day possible to get it mailed in time for the deadline. While the deadline got the project done, the joy in the process was lost.

This time around, I'm taking time to enjoy the process but I'm not going to be afraid to declare that process "done" when it is truly done.

That's me on Facebook

The Write Script is now on Facebook. Find me there. Be my friend. But come back and read the blog.

New day, better attitude

Today's attempt at being a grad student has been far better than yesterdays' and the "I quit!" drama and ensuing meltdown (file this under "future characters"). In fact, the day has gone well enough that I'm stopping 30 minutes early to treat myself (?) to a walk around the block.

[Note to self: Metaphysics of Screenwriting]

I'm not big on exercise. A five minute walk is about all I'll tolerate. But right now, I want to flee from the computer and breathe some fresh air. The wind has picked up, if I time this right I may not have to exert much effort.

Two weeks to go.

One of those days...

Today was one of those days. Discouraging. I think it is something that comes with grad school, some essential quality about it that makes you feel at a certain point each semester several things: grad school can really suck at times and grad school is a lot of work that sometimes doesn't seem worth it. Today, it doesn't seem worth it. I'm ready to quit.

The feeling will pass. Or at least I'll get past it and continue on. December will come soon enough.

Boffo!

Last night I watched "Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters" and I am still thinking about it. There were several quotes about scripts that I'm going to have to write down. I was hoping to find them on IMDB, but no luck. It's going to be one of those DVDs I watch over and over.

How to tell if your scene is "a crock of shit."

On writing drama. Quotes from David Mamet:

ANY TIME TWO CHARACTERS ARE TALKING ABOUT A THIRD, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.

ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A CROCK OF SHIT.

DO *NOT* WRITE A CROCK OF SHIT. WRITE A RIPPING THREE, FOUR, SEVEN MINUTE SCENE WHICH MOVES THE STORY ALONG, AND YOU CAN, VERY SOON, BUY A HOUSE IN BEL AIR *AND* HIRE SOMEONE TO LIVE THERE FOR YOU.

If grad school has taught me anything, it's reading a very long article and finding the few sentences that are the most important as take-aways. In this article, however, there were quite a few. This one is my favorite.

The Power of Idealism

Here's some words from "Idealism Wins at the Oscars" @ EBT Screenwriting:

Pixar won the 2009 Oscar for Best Animated Feature with Up. All seven Pixar films released since the creation of the category have been nominated. Five have taken home the Oscar: Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, and Up. Three of those five Oscar winners— Up, The Incredibles and Ratatouille— are Power of Idealism films.

A character driven by the Power of Idealism wants to stand out from the crowd, to be extraordinary, unique and special. Power of Idealism stories are about youthful rebellion, heroic sacrifice, loss and transcendent love.The protagonist in Power of Idealism film wants to stand out from the crowd, to be unique or special or to live an extraordinary life. These characters often play the role of the rebel, the romantic, the outsider, the iconoclast, the artist, or the maverick. Power of Idealism stories are about rebellion, loss, longing and transcendent love.

I've added the emphasis on the points I want to remember.

Clichés in Film

This is a hilarious article, over at Living the Romantic Comedy. Clichés can sneak into our writing pretty easily, but it's funny once you realize how common certain situations in film are perpetuated in spite of having no basis in real life. Read "10 Screenwriting Clichés That Refuse To Die" and enjoy.

OK. Back at it.

Useless Information

During this nearly a year of conceptualizing my movie, I've thought quite a bit about what appears to be useless information. I hear from lots of undergrads the aggrevation of having to take courses outside their interest or major area. Our typical response is that a University's goal is to give students a broad range of general information and knowledge along with more specific knowledge in a single subject area. As we progress further in academia, to a master's and then the PhD., we are increasingly specializing by continuing to narrow the subject area.

I was there, too. When I had to take a lab science before I got my B.A., I chose geology. It seemed so outside my interests, but at least I could rationalize the choice by a) having a son, I thought that by knowing rocks I'd be the cool mom, and b) political science and geology are forever united in issues such as water, climate change and other policy issues. I was more interested however in attaining the cool mom status. A turning point with my son was picking up a chunk of gypsum and, knowing it only ranks a 2 on the Mohs hardness scale, I easily broke it into two pieces. He thought I was a super human. He knows better now.

Anyway, in spite of the poli sci/geology connection, I did pick up a lot of (seemingly) useless information along the semester. And not only geology...so many classes which at the time felt needless and dull and insignificant are today finding their way into my movie. Crazy how that works. One grad class that has caused so much brain damage has been philosophy of science. I won't go into why it frustrates me to no end, but it was during this class that I found the key to making my movie concept plausible. I still have the reading that triggered the inspiration and someday I will frame it. So much for useless classes. From now on, I'll just take whatever classes I'm told to take and then say thank you.

Stepping down from soapbox.

It's Here!

Final Draft 8 actually arrived yesterday...thanks to UPS for leaving it in a spot where I never look for small packages. So it sat outside all night on a stormy night, but seems to be running fine. Everything is installed and once school stuff is done next week, I'm off and running. Or, well, off and typing anyway.

The History of Writing and Waiting

I'm not sure when my copy of Final Draft will show up, but I keep watching for the mail. I'm on a route that gets mail near the end of the day. I don't remember if it's being shipped by U.S. Mail or UPS...

Not that I could do much other than install the program on my laptop and then get back to the school work. Fortunately, the semester will be over soon (two weeks) and I can then think about the script project. So hard to focus what's important at the right time. That's the procrastinator in me. I have to ask myself that question daily, what's the most important use of my time today? When it's a paper due in a few days, it's the paper, not the script. But the characters and events are usually not far from the front of my mind.

Writing is a strange activity. Part of the drive to write is the feeling that something has to get out, for me, it's getting something out of my brain and turning an idea into "something." I remember the feeling I had after finishing my first script. I had to make three copies at Kinko's, binding them with brads and them shipping copies off to the small screenwriting contest I was entering. My script didn't win, it effectively got fourth place, the first of the honorable mentions after the big prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd where handed down. Actually, none of the prizes were "great" it was just a nod in the right direction. For me, the contest served as a deadline to finish the project. To commit to something new from beginning to end and put my work "out there." The feeling of being in the game was uncomfortable at first, but that awkward feeling is now gone. There's some confidence in that this isn't my first attempt at writing for screen.

My writing background...

Always a writer or one type or another. Stories as a kid. But at five, when asked what I was going to be when I grew up, my answer was "a director." My first career was as a journalist. I took a playwrighting class early in college but never got past writing short scenes and one-act plays. Yet it was good for learning classic structure and the rules of stage writing. As a journalist, the writing was different yet interesting because the topics changed daily and I got to meet interesting people and as a crime reporter got to hear the details of creative crimes of white collar criminals that are more clever than some are given credit for.

After a long break from work and school, I returned to school and got a B.A. in Political Science studying international relations and American politics. When entering grad school, my initial areas of study were international relations and public policy, but I've since dropped the IR component and changed it back to American government keeping the policy. It's an amazing breadth of knowledge that has given me way more to write about than I probably could in my lifetime. The original plan with grad school was to stay and get the PhD. But life changed and so did plans. I'm absolutely OK with the decision to stop (for now) with the MA. There is a large part of me that is tired of the semester schedule, the workload, teaching incoming freshmen and all their drama...the long hours of little sleep, the grueling exams. In September, I'll take comprehensive exams and if I do well enough to be recommended to continue at the PhD level, at least I'll have left the door open to return. But for now, I'll be more than happy to have completed the MA. Graduation is in December if I pass comps and get my thesis done.

Back to watching Life on Discovery. Amazing pictures even on my non-HD TV.

A Clockwork Orange: reading

About half way through my reading of "A Clockwork Orange" and really looking forward to watching it. It is a totally different experience to read a script for a movie I've not seen.

What it is, what it's not

Just to get a few things out there in my never-ending quest to postpone working on my research. Here are a few things of what I want this blog to be and what it's not.

What I have in mind:

• This is not a "How to Write a Winning Screenplay" nor is it written by someone who even knows what that is. I think I know a good story, I enjoy good movies and I'm a writer. I know lots of details about lots of things and I think I can turn some of that useless knowledge into a good story.
• This is not a "How to Make a Million Dollars Selling Your Movie Idea." Frankly, I have no idea how to make a million dollars but I'm quite sure it shouldn't be all that difficult. That's a different post, but for now, just know that I don't know the secrets, I do have any insider information and I don't have it all figured out. I do expect to figure out a few things along the way, and I'll share that here.
• This is not going to be strictly about my work on my script. My life is too full and busy for that. I have the same complications everyone else has. Some days I'm just going to write about coffee or vent about school. That's just the way it is and this is going to be my place to vent. If you don't like that, go read something else.
• I'm not writing for you, I'm doing this for me. It's a selfish way to get things out of my head, vent a bit and then move on. It's my own way of keeping myself accountable. Back in my journalism days, I wrote an occasional column about life...I miss those days. This is my outlet. If I'm lucky, it'll help me keep up on the things I have on my plate: my kiddo, relationships, grad school AND my script.

That's a start.

Letting go...

At some point in every paper, it's time to say, yeah, it's done. I want to be at that point right now. I think it's done. It feels done. It is concise and has all its parts. It's not my best work -- nothing is these days, grad school doesn't allow for that. Not with parenting tossed into the mix.

I'm going to consider this paper done, but since there's another six days before its due. I'll let it percolate. Moving on to the last research project. Time to build a dataset and see what's missing before running the regression. Yeesh. Due Wednesday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to see if things blow up in my face.

Back to work.

Powerball

Almost forgot to check my ticket. But looks like the guy in Missouri needed the $258.5 million more than I did. OK, back to work.

Work day

Today I'm being a grad student. After coffee, that is. Two weeks left of the Spring semester, then I can split my time between screenwriting and academia.

Adding links as I go. I am going to read "A Clockwork Orange" next. Chose it because I have the movie saved on my DVR. Read it first, then watch the movie.

OK...get to work.

Reading Scripts

In my spare time, I'm reading scripts. Last week, it was "Meet Joe Black." Today I'm reading "Witness." The next one I read has to be one that I've not seen the movie. All this visualizing is getting in the way of reading, slowing me down.

Day 1 -- Procrastination

Last summer I came up with an idea for a movie. No, I'm not going into details. I don't trust you. Not "you" a specific you, but "you" the aggregate of anyone and everyone who might come across this blog, or overhear a conversation I may have with someone about my idea...ok...forget that...I don't talk about it with just anyone because it's back to the point that I don't trust you or anyone else not to steal my idea and run off and make $25 million from it.

It's that good.

But that's not the point. The point I'm trying to make is that right now what I should be doing is writing. Not the script, but a paper for school and I'm really good at procrastinating, which is why I'm building a blog -- ok, it only took 10 minutes -- but you get the picture. The point is, I'm blogging instead of finishing up a research paper that's due in a week. Oh, yeah, lots of time. But that's only one of three projects coming due in a week, followed by a final exam the week after.

Grad school. Seemed like a good idea two years ago. But it's coming to an end soon enough. In the meantime, in that spare time between papers, reading, research, a thesis and comprehensive exams, I have this screenplay to churn out. Research has gone well. Character development has been slow. Plot points are coming along. A few scenes sketched out...so-so progress there. I had a huge conceptual problem that was resolved with a scientific (re)discovery earlier this year, so I should be able now to progress without anything more than the usual bumps in the road.

Final Draft 8 has been ordered and it should be here by the time I finish the last paper and take the last exam for this semester. I'm tired of freeware. I had a free template for the last script I wrote (2000) that worked in Word, but it's no longer available. I'm ready for something more robust, more serious. Yeah, I know, it has its problems...

This is a start. I'll keep filling in the blanks as I go.