Comedy.

Am writing a short comedy thing on spec for a show I'm keen on. Went fairly well today despite my feeling rather unfunny this morning.

This is a small project that I'm going to be working on over the next week or two.

Really nice to be writing something with a totally different flavour from what I've been doing lately. Haven't written comedy for a while. Nice to be back in that headspace.

Christmas break.

Have stopped for Christmas. And also am working on a short spec idea. Hope to have that done by the new year. So should be back on my thriller script by, let's say January 2nd, if not before.

Happy Christmas or secular celebration, everyone!

Drafting day 18. Page 65.

Day 65 since starting this project. Page 65.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:18
Total days writing: 33
Days not writing: 32

Went better today. There are some scenes that I've decided in advance will work well - and I'm realising that I've been putting too much pressure on those scenes to work well in the first draft. That I shouldn't expect anything of them, basically, because otherwise I'll get bogged down.

Am within a few pages, I think, of the point I'll need to start outlining again (as I've just outlined up until the midpoint). I'm looking forward to switching back to outlining.

Drafting day 17. Page 61.

Day 64 since starting this project. Page 61.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:17
Total days writing: 32
Days not writing: 32

Pretty uninspired today. Almost up to the midpoint (which is as far as I've outlined).

Drafting day 16. Page 58.

Day 63 since starting this project. Page 58.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:16
Total days writing: 31
Days not writing: 32

Actually did a bit more than four pages today as there was more rewriting involved. Am caught up now though, pushing on into new territory.

I NEED ELVES! Paul Abbott said he wished there were elves who would write your first draft for you - WELL I NEED SOME ELVES.

Am impatient to finish (as ever) - I've calculated I should be done with this draft by January 10, if everything goes okay - that's with a reasonable number of days off built in. But I want to state a target date just to... well, convince myself this draft won't go on for ever...

It's actually going okay plotwise, for a first draft. And I'm learning that if I don't try too hard to craft each scene at this stage I'm able to be a lot more relaxed about this draft - and about the prospect of rewriting the whole thing. As I will inevitably need to.

Drafting day 15. Page 55.

Day 61 since starting this project. Page 55.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:15
Total days writing: 30
Days not writing: 31

Almost five pages today. Yeah, I know it looks like the maths doesn't add up... but I was rewriting. New chase scene. It's all looking a lot better. Still pretty ropey of course, first draft ropiness, but it's lost that feeling of wrongness that it had before.

I think I will now have too much chase, but that's okay. I'll leave it to the second draft to sort that out.

I had sworn never to go back to rewrite again while doing a draft, but I only went back five pages or so and I think that's okay.

Drafting day 14. Page 54.

Day 60 since starting this project. Page 54.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:14
Total days writing: 29
Days not writing: 31

Today I went back and rewrote four pages or so around the fifty-page mark. As the last couple of days' work felt flat, that something was wrong... I consulted my Oracle (hope he'll like that description) and his sage advice was that the fella on page fifty had to die. Well, actually, on consideration, couldn't agree more. I had a car chase that really felt unexciting and realised that the reason it wasn't working was that the stakes hadn't been ratcheted up lately.

Also, in the scene I wrote today - there was a lot of exposition/backstory (that I just invented) and I ended up just summarising it in the script after realising the scene was getting wordier and wordier. I've decided that's okay to do in a first draft, as I'm looking at this draft as a glorified outline, checking first and foremost that the story's working. So why waste energy writing a polished scene that will just be that much more painful to cut if I decide it's not functioning storywise? Wish I'd decided that BEFORE wrestling with the scene though.

In other news... just read a Dean Koontz novel, 'Your heart belongs to me'. I can't believe what this guy gets away with! Compelling intriguing weird events in the first half... that he just doesn't bother to explain in the second. Throws in a ghost even! Deja vu that is never explained! Three sets of identical twins, and only one set is relevant! A villain that appears towards the end who is unconnected with most of the weird events! And the ones she is connected with, she couldn't possibly have done by herself... There is just so much lazy writing here... It reads like a first draft he didn't even bother to outline. And people buy his books and come back for more!

(Okay. That includes me. I read one of his novels once before. So I've been caught out twice. Maybe I'll learn my lesson this time?)

And did I mention completely unconvincing relationships? Maybe if you just say repeatedly how gorgeous the girlfriend is and how passionate the relationship is, the readers will buy it, right?

Anyway.

'House' was great last night. Particularly good writing.

See? I can be positive.

Drafting day 13. Page 51.

Day 59 since starting this project. Page 51.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:13
Total days writing: 28
Days not writing: 31

Today was not a happy day, writing-wise. I've been avoiding writing for a few days - got back to it today, didn't like today's work at all...

I'm not sure if it's because the scenes I was writing aren't so good structurally and are going to have to change, or - maybe this script doesn't feel like such a new idea any more, so I'm falling out of love with it, or - what.

But I do feel that the only possible response is to keep going anyway. Not to analyse too much, but just keep going. But I'm not even half way! Way too early to be feeling uninspired/over it/whatever!

On the plus side, I did write five pages or so.

Drafting day 12. Page 46.

Day 53 since starting this project. Page 46.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:12
Total days writing: 27
Days not writing: 26

Four pages today. Realised a slight logic problem with the next scene, may have to rethink how that goes. The outline is still holding up pretty well though. And it's nice sitting down to do pages and just looking at my outline to decide what the next scene is (I've added in one or two connecting scenes so far, but that's it.) Definitely frees me up to get on with it. Though I must admit that today I was feeling a bit uninspired. Still, four pages, though.

Drafting day 11. Page 42.

Day 52 since starting this project. Page 42.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:11
Total days writing: 26
Days not writing: 26

Okay, I was going to have the day off, but couldn't help doing a bit more.

And it really felt like the Curse of Four Pages kicked in. Or maybe I should say the Curse of More than Four Pages. Whenever I write more than four pages in a day I seem to pay for it the next day. Was hoping I'd gotten over that, but maybe not. Was feeling really uninspired and semi-braindead. Managed to crank out today's four pages with sheer sweat and rugged determination (think Hugh Jackman in Australia... Gaah. Maybe not.) Clint Eastwood? Not that he seems to sweat. Now there's a role model to aspire to.

Could I be screenwriting's Clint Eastwood? All effortless cool and inscrutable gaze? Well, actually, almost certainly not. But I liked asking the question. As though the answer could be yes.

Drafting day ten, page 38

Day 51 since starting this project. Page 38.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:10
Total days writing: 25
Days not writing: 26

Okay, that sounds like three pages but it's more like four (from top of 35 to bottom of 38). I was going to try to make it five pages today as well, but after I'd got to the bottom of 38 I'd really run out of puff. So I decided to stop and move on when I'm fresh (Monday arvo probably, I'm having tomorrow off).

Went pretty smoothly today. Added in a scene at the end that wasn't in my outline - but I realised I needed it for logic. And it ties up a loose end as well. Part of what I'm realising drafting (as opposed to outlining) can do - you're seeing the scenes in clearer focus.

I'm starting to think of drafting, the first draft anyway, as like an oil painter's pencil sketch - you're trying out your ideas roughly and quickly rather than jumping into the oils and the detail. Working out what the structure of the finished canvas is going to be. I don't paint but I'm finding this metaphor useful. (Good for giving myself a break about the first draft not being perfect, which I am - surprisingly - becoming more comfortable with.)

I'm quite pleased with my page average so far, which is 3.8 pages a day during drafting.

Drafting day nine, page 35

Day 50 since starting this project. Page 35.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:9
Total days writing: 24
Days not writing: 26

Five pages today! In just over an hour and a half. I'm on fire, baby!

Thought I'd better stop after five... to make sure I don't suffer burnout tomorrow. Felt like I could keep going though.

Reason this is a big deal (potentially) is I've never managed to do more than four a day without the productivity suffering the next day. But this first draft is better outlined than I've managed before... which could lead to upping my regular page count, maybe... we'll see. Fingers crossed!

Drafting day eight. Page 30.

Day 49 since starting this project. Page 30.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting:8
Total days writing: 23
Days not writing: 26

So. Went quite well today. Feeling like my outlining is paying off. Now I'm working on making each scene moderately interesting rather than worrying about where it's all going. Though I'm not trying to polish the scenes up - at this stage I'm more just looking at what purpose each scene serves in the story as a whole. Some of the scenes I've just written, for example, serve to show where my protag's at psychologically before he embarks on his journey. And I hadn't realized that was the function of those scenes (characterwise) until I wrote them.

And I'm starting to think that maybe my first turning point isn't where I thought it was. Not that that matters.

Am out of town for the next week, so that'll screw with my day tally. Will try to get a few days' writing in though, nevertheless.

Drafting day seven. Page 26.

So. Pretty good page count today.

I found that with the outline as it is I can move forward fairly quickly. The complications though were that - well, in one scene, I took out one of the twists I was going to put in there, as that was going to overcomplexify the scene. But the twist that I left in still is maybe sending the wrong message for the following scene... I put it in anyway, as I figured it'd be better to take out (or possibly move around) later than cut it and maybe forget to use it.

I am writing overlong (as usual, it seems). At this rate this script is going to be really long! Never mind, I can lay waste to it in the second draft. Just as long as it's all in there.

I'm going to start keeping a tally total of:
Days outlining
Days drafting
And days not writing.

For each project.

This is to keep me scrupulously honest (especially as far as days not writing are concerned). I think a day off every six days is about right for me, in general - but I've had rather too many days off lately (even if some of them were unavoidable).

So, for this project so far, the Thriller (no, I don't like sharing, even titles!)

Day 48 since starting this project. Page 26.

Days outlining:15
Days drafting: 7
Total days writing: 22
Days not writing:26

Ouch! Thought I was doing better than that... Okay, I had flu, and was out of town a bit, but really... Well. That's what reality checks are for. And scrupulous honesty. And why this blog is anonymous.

Day 14 and 15 on the outline. First half outlined.

I've now finished outlining the movie up to the midpoint. (Had internet access problems yesterday, hence no post.) I had an unexpectedly very productive burst yesterday, late afternoon (a very unusual time of day for me to be productive) - maybe two hours of plotting, which brought me within a few scenes of the midpoint. I was hugely relieved as I'd been feeling stuck stuck stuck. I was advised by a wise friend to just think what my protag would logically do next. This helped. But still, I'm not sure what broke the drought exactly. Wish I knew... actually I think my subconscious decided I'd been stuck for long enough and it was time to move on with it.

Most of the work was done yesterday; today I just had a few scenes left to resolve. And did so. So should be back on the draft tomorrow, phew!

I think one of the recent things I've learnt is to think more in terms of acts. It seems to work for me to treat each act as almost a separate script. Beating out an act at a time, rather than trying to beat out the whole script at once, seems to work best. I think what I learnt from the last script was not to be too surprised if I need to majorly regroup and rethink at the act breaks.

Plotting today.

Looking at an overview of the second act today. My brain hurts! Have a bunch of ideas but need to link them together in a coherent and logical way. Also not sure what my protagonist's next action needs to be. On the bright side, had some ideas (unexpectedly) for the third act.

Still having to watch being overclever. Hey, I want to be clever, just not overclever! I have a tendency to throw twists in before I've got the story straight in the first place.

Drafting day six. Page 21.

Going okay so far. Have just got to what is my first turning point, more or less. I'd really like to have this more plotted out than it is - but I'd lost momentum with outline, thus the drafting. So far it's hanging together. Just need to push on and it will be what it will be... one thing I'm doing with this first draft is trying not to try to write 'well'. Just getting it down without polishing. Because I figure that if it was written relatively effortlessly (or rather less laboriously) then it'll be that much less painful to chuck out huge swathes that don't work or aren't quite right. That's the theory, anyway.

Drafting day five. Page 18.

Well, I'm really working on the whole 'hold it loosely' approach. And things really are developing differently from how I'd thought. I'm going with it for now, though I'm not entirely happy about how divergent it is... but I'm trying to look on this first draft as actually a glorified way of beating out the plot. So, no matter where the plot is by the time I've finished, I will have a reasonably coherent scene-by-scene breakdown of the script. And thus a clear starting-off point for rethinking where the story's at. Some of the things that are new could end up working... we'll see. As my major crime tends to be overthinking and overplanning, am focusing on moving on through and getting it down, in whatever form.

Drafting day four. Page 14.

Okay, only two pages today, call it a half day. (Always harder to get motivated on a Saturday!) I'm working on easing up a bit and trying to be a bit more relaxed in my approach to this first draft, rather than be in a 'clenched fist' 'must get this right' frame of mind. Did manage to ease up a bit today, I think.

Drafting day three. Page 12.

Well, I did my pages today, but... today is one of those days when the distance from this draft to a decent script seems to stretch out to infinity. Didn't take long! Maybe the key is to just look on the process as an archaeological dig and to enjoy wallowing around in the mud. Or something.

Drafting day two. Page 8.

Well, so far so good re page count. Still a little anxious as to how it's all going to go, as I remember hitting a wall at the midpoint last time, but I'm approaching it differently this time. This time I'm looking at the draft almost as a relay race from act to act, so I'm expecting to have to do some major plotting at the midpoint. Hopefully that will carry me through.

Drafting day one. Page 4.

It's always slightly painful to start writing and what comes out is the real first draft, not the imaginary perfect draft you have in your head...

Still, page four. So it's underway.

Day 13 on the outline. Drafting imminent.

Well, did some work today, couldn't keep away. But I'm still feeling a bit stuck somehow - and I think maybe that's a sign I should just start my draft. I'm going to allow myself 'plotting' days during this draft, as the outline's not as worked up as I'd like it to be, but this time I'll have a rule of never having more than one plotting day at a time. Because I don't want to lose momentum. Will take a day off tomorrow to clear my head, and start draft on Wednesday.

Where I'm at with the outline (or I should say beat sheet) is, I know what's happening in act one, though there are a couple of scenes I'm not sure should be in act one or two, I know clearly where the midpoint is but I know very little about how I'm going to get there specifically, don't know much about second half of second act, I have two competing scenes one of which is the second turning point but I'm not sure which... I know where the climactic scene takes place and the broad dynamics of what goes on.

Wow. That's pretty sketchy. That's a general overview, I do know more detail than that but that's roughly where I'm at. But as I've been spinning my wheels for a few days, launching in seems like the best option at this point. Wish me luck!

Day 12 on the outline.

Okay, I did come up with a couple of things today, but in general it's quite difficult and not flowing the way it has done up to now. Not quite sure what that's about. Maybe it's just that I'm at a more difficult point in the process. That's what I think it is. Hope it is!

I think I'm maybe also overcomplexifying and not just asking myself one question at a time, which is what I've been doing up to now, being more methodical.

Or maybe I just need a day off. Maybe will take tomorrow off.

Day 11 on the outline.

I was just going to work on the first half of the second act today, but then I realised I wasn't sure which half of the act some of my scenes needed to be in - so I worked on the act as a whole. Slower progress than I'd have liked. A general shape is emerging, but it all feels VERY slow! Looking at my cards on the floor it doesn't look like I've made that much progress - but my brain hurts, so that's got to be good, right? Not sure if my dissatisfaction means I'm overthinking, or what... And every so often I realise there's a whole angle I haven't considered yet, like my protagonist's relationship with the antagonist... and so on and so on. I realise that I'm going to have to start my draft with a lot of questions still unanswered, or I'll be counting down to 'Day 100 on the outline'... still, knowing where to draw the line is tricky.

Migraine.

Had a crack at writing this morning despite having got a migraine first thing. Didn't fly. Brain too fried. (Migraines do actually screw with your brain after you've had one. For me it's usually the rest of the day that I'm operating on half a brain, more or less).

Day 10 on the outline.

Have first act outlined now, enough to draft. Really need to move on to second act tomorrow. If I want to start my draft on Monday, that's first half of second act tomorrow, second half of second act on Saturday, third act on Sunday.

That's a lot. Not sure if I can get there by Monday, to be honest. But - momentum has been working for me, so that's what I'm aiming for. (Obviously, I have some sense of what's going on in the rest of the movie, but it's very far from locked down.)

Day 9 on the outline.

Planning to start the first draft on Monday. That gives me three more days (with Sunday off...) Doesn't quite feel enough time but it's all about keeping the momentum going.

Had some good and useful progress today, still a lot to do though, especially in the second half.

And, in other news... Barack Obama won the US election!

Yeah baby!

post 101.

Yes, this is my hundred and first post!

Today's writing went wellish despite a late start. Starting to piece major scenes together in order and getting more of an overview of what's going on at each stage.

I think I am going to have to start a tally of how many days I work on this idea before starting my first draft, so the outlining doesn't run out of control.

So, for the record, today is day 8 on the outlining of the thriller. It's going okay.

Reflections on the blog: Keeping a blog has been working really well for my writing - like an external conscience. It's nice logging on and having a little chat about what I've done each day. And if I don't write, I feel I'm letting my readers down. It's also giving me a really clear record of my writing process. It'll be useful in the future to look back and have an accurate overview of how I tend to work. And it's really nice hearing from other writers on the site too - makes me feel I'm not the only one slaving over a hot laptop!

The Chocolate Fish Awards haven't been taken up by as many people as I thought they would, though - I know I'm a sucker for external rewards/acknowledgement so I thought I'd have a few more takers. Not sure if people are shy to post their writing progress or just not writing. Or not interested in chocolate fish! Has been fun handing out Fishies though (congrats Sean and blofeld!)

Didn't write today.

Real life intervened, dammit.

And outlining.

At this stage I'm having a fairly constant flow of ideas that I'm juggling to put in place. Some of them are incompatible so have a few moments of doubt as to which way to go. Still not sure exactly when will be the right point to start the draft. The ideal point is somewhere where everything's not exactly locked down - so I have wiggle room - but without gaping holes/voids that are big enough to fall into mid-draft. It's a fine line and I'm not sure exactly how to be sure when I'm at that point. Any suggestions welcome.

Phew.

I have a lot more decisions to make than I thought before I'm ready to start a draft. I'm working on a rough beat sheet. Am slightly concerned about maybe my momentum slowing at this point, but I'm also aware that I need to make concrete decisions about what happens in my third act to avoid hitting the wall the way I did with the last first draft.

Also I'm starting to realise that the third act only LOOKS like the logical culmination of what came before - in actual fact it requires just as much thought and structuring and invention as the earlier events. Looks embarrassingly obvious when I write it in black and white!

Back on it.

Looking over my work today am impressed with how much I came up with in a few days (even if it was a while ago now...)- this fastforward brainstorming seems to work.

The plot is solidish till the midpoint but pretty sketchy from then with no third act at all yet. With the last script, I made the mistake of starting a draft without concrete ideas for the second half which then plodded into a brick wall as I fought through the third act.

Am working on learning from my mistakes... so tomorrow's task is to beat out the rest of the plot till the end.

My plan is to spend tomorrow on that and then to start writing the draft. (Deep breath.)

It's been a bit annoying having to put this script on hold, what with flu/travel and a few other things. Hope I can pick up where I left on and keep the momentum charging on.

Am a bit nervous about starting the draft, actually, but at least it'll be fresh and not overcooked like some of my other projects have been by the time I sat down to write them.

Flu (and travel)

Still got the flu. Away for a week from Monday (hopefully without the flu, by then). So I'm declaring a hiatus till I get back. I will be back here writing again from the 28th.

Yeah. More flu.

And so on.

Flu.

So having the day off.

Flu.

Did some work today but finished early again as flu is setting in (gently but definitely). I'm not sure how much I should push on despite flu (as I'm not sick-sick but still definitely not on form). Don't want to screw up something that's been going really well up till now. What do other people do? Do you find you can press on even when sick? Or do you find it's best to bail until you're better?

Plotting and mind map.

Some more plotting today. Feel like I'm coming down with some kind of flu-y bug so had a slightly short session. Still moved things ahead though, and still enjoying it.

Have been reading about mind maps recently, so decided to have a go drawing one up for my project. It was fun, even though it kind of felt a bit like a kiddie thing to do. I'm going to try drawing one up properly over the next few days. Seems to be quite a good way to get an overview of my non-linear state of play projectwise.

Outlining.

Today for some reason 'outlining' seems a better description than plotting.

To be honest I'm now planning to spend a week or so outlining this project (rather than the three days I was talking about). Still have momentum and it seems to be coming together fairly quickly. My rule is, if I feel I'm losing momentum or getting stalled, then it will be time to start the draft, even if all the pieces aren't in place.

Also, as you may have noticed, I'm no longer posting on the days I'm not writing. As I felt my working practise was getting better it's stopped feeling necessary. So for now on I'll only be posting on writing days (but if I'm going to be away from writing for more than a couple of days I'll post letting you know there'll be a gap). If my work ethic starts to slip though I'll go back to daily posting.

Plotting.

Well, went really well today. Charging ahead. I'm really enjoying this project. So nice to be liberated to work on something new! And nice to have another new project in the wings to switch to if I need to. No need to do so yet though.

Two ideas.

Okay, so I started on my horror movie outline, hit a bit of a wall and started working on my other idea, which is a thriller. Got excited about that. I'm thinking I'll actually work on progressing both these ideas more or less simultaneously - I really like the idea that when I'm stuck on one I can switch to the other.

Picked an idea.

Had another look at my three ideas. Kept coming up with story beats for one of them (and drew a bit of a blank for new ideas), so have decided to go ahead with that one. It's a horror movie.

So, as per plan, will be brainstorming for the outline for next three days.

So far, has been going well - have just been proceeding with logical progression from premise (as Paul Lucey suggests in his excellent screenwriting book).

Brainstorming.

Next few days will be brainstorming ideas for next script.

Came up with three today. Too early to say if I'll be running with any of them.

What I've learned.

What I learned writing the first draft of this script:

That momentum is everything. (At least for me.)

I got bogged down several times in the writing of this script through going back to fix/change things. That cost me momentum, enthusiam, and clarity.

Next time I plan to:
Spend no more than three days outlining once I've settled on a specific idea.

And then write the script in 4-6 weeks. This allows for 4 pages a day with days off. No going back to alter things. But I will be keeping notes as I go re new ideas for the next draft.

- Oh, what I also learned:

That keeping a blog is a really useful writing tool for me. It gives a nice little fillup to the end of a writing session to be able to go online and post about my session (whether it's enthusing about a good day or complaining about a bad one). And I feel I can't spend many days away from writing or my readers will give up and stop visiting. So, thank you, blog readers, for helping to keep me honest!

Finished. (Page 100).

Phew. First draft finished.

It was getting pretty ropey towards the end but I pressed on. Will put it on ice for a while (maybe a week or two, not sure) before I reread it and tackle the next draft.

Will be starting something new in the meantime, in the next few days.

Page 97

Halfway through the climactic scene. Can't wait for it to be finished... right now am forcing myself to get on with it just so I can finish it and put it aside for a while. Keep thinking 'that'll have to change' about this and that of the script. Like I said, getting there though.

Page 93

Did a little bit, but was out and about a lot yesterday and am quite tired today and it's gone to my brain... so am stopping now. Will resume tomorrow.

Page 92

Have moved things forward quite a bit today. Rewrote the last scene I wrote yesterday, changed it completely, feels like it's going along the right track now. Decided how the climactic scene is going to play out (for now anyway). Looking forward to finishing this draft so I can look back over it and re-sort things.

Page 90

Have moved forward with my new philosophy of 'just get it down'. My final scene on page 90 was pretty bad though, it's the second turning point, and I haven't figured it out much at all. Don't know if a scene that bald is still really functional or not. I haven't figured out exactly what it is that triggers my protag's decision, and I suspect I do need to. Kind of hated writing bad scenes, but still, I did have some newish ideas and am moving forward. Was somewhat comforted by reading novelist Rachael King's blogpost about the difference between the perfect script/manuscript in your head and the ugly reality of the actual draft. But only somewhat comforted. When other writers write about their bad first ideas, I always tend to take it with a grain of salt... 'but yeah, your writing doesn't ultimately suck' is my thought... I don't tend to be quite as generous with myself. Need to work on that.

Still, page 90! Getting there.

Page 87

Have got through the rewritten pages and am breaking fresh ground. Operating on the 'just write bad scenes' principle. Not so happy though with how the story side of things is panning out. But I feel I just need to push on and get it done, no matter how badly...

Page 80

On page 80, back on doing pages. After beating myself up a bit for my scenes sucking, have decided it's okay if they suck. As right now am working out story. Plenty of time to sort out scenes once story is locked down. Hope I can keep to that.

Hard slog.

working out second half of second act (again). Think at this point I probably just need to accept it's going to be far from perfect and write it as is.

And the Fishie goes to...

On 29th October 2008, two Fishies were awarded... regular poster blofeld nabbed a Fishie for his completed first draft of a feature script.

Congratulations blofeld!

And regular poster Sean was awarded his second Fishie for his second draft of a feature script.

Congratulations Sean, two-time Fishie winner!

On September the 30th 2008, The Daily Screenwriter scored a Fishie (which I awarded to myself) for a completed first draft of a feature script.

On September 1st, 2008, the Daily Screenwriter's first Chocolate Fish Award was awarded to regular poster Sean for his first draft of a feature script. (Duly delivered, and presumably consumed.)

Congratulations Sean!

There are many more Fishies in the sea that I will happily send to anyone else who completes a feature draft while posting their scriptwriting progress here. (Doesn't have to be a first draft). No details necessary, just page count.

C'mon y'all, get Fishing!

Second half of second act

Today looked at the second half of the second act. I have had some feedback from a reader on my script so far, that was helpful as it made me realise my script was looking overlong because I was repeating some beats from the first half. So now second half is looking a lot leaner. I now have a general shape for the second half of the second act. Have decided the next stage is writing a scene list to get this part of the script a lot clearer. Suspect I will be reneging on the idea of doing a scene list for the whole of the rest of the script, because I'm realising that the subtleties of the scenes once written will have a major influence on how things play out in the third act.

Plotting.

Have perhaps too many ideas for the second half. Am thinking I should maybe just write an overlong second half and then cut back.

Last night's Dexter (on TV) was fantastic! A lot of 'showing not telling'. Makes me think I must do a pass on my script to make sure there's a decent amount of 'showing' going on.

I'm back.

It's been a bit longer than I expected as had a week off then came down with a mysterious bug. All the tiredness of being properly sick but without any flu symptoms. Odd.

Anyway... am back to plotting. Have decided that with this difficult second half what I am going to do at this point is plot out every scene (or at least beat) till the end of the script. Then I will write the damn thing. (Minor deviations from outline allowed - as long as they don't introduce new problems that will screw with writing momentum).

Giving myself 2 weeks max. to outline rest of script. Let's say till end of September. Should be done a lot sooner than that though, I'm hoping by Monday next week.

Time away from script.

Taking some time away from my script. Should be back in a week or so.

Preproduction meeting

Am taking a bit of time away from my script, so this morning had a preproduction meeting for documentary my producer and I have been talking about for a while. Now have our preproduction process in place. So this cloud has a silver lining, doco is now moving ahead.

I suck.

Yes, it's official. Brain on strike. Tried to find way forward with script. Tried list of beats for upcoming scenes. Nuttin'.

My plan was with this draft to push ahead no matter how much suckiness was on the page - just to get to the end.

But THIS level of suckiness? Unprecedented before in the history of the world? Somewhat demoralising.

Could have something to do with my migraine yesterday. I do find my brain is scrambled for the rest of the day when I've had a migraine. This could be a hangover from that. I hope. Or I could just suck.

Self pity rules!

And a day off today.

Migraine.

Day off

on Saturday.

Page 89

Not entirely happy about this part of the script - at this point I'm just trying to get down the beats I need to happen in some kind of rough order. Result is I'm kind of finding the script a bit boring. I'm not sure if that's just because I've been writing for so long or what. At the moment I'm kind of just running through the beats to get to the second turning point. Maybe that means I should just jump ahead and throw the second turning point in now. (Though I'm on page 89, the script is running a bit long in this draft). Dunno.

Page 85

Knocked off a few plot points, not perfectly, but hey, knocked 'em off. Towards end of second act now and a cluster of scenes that won't quite fit in coming up. Will squeeze 'em in somehow. Looking forward to second draft now!

Page 81

At this stage my script is feeling a lot messier than it did earlier in the draft. Maybe that's inevitable, a function of being in the second half of the second act. I've decided to write up the beats/scenes that need to happen and not worry too much about whether they're in the right order. It's hard, though, to lower the bar a bit qualitywise. But I don't think it would be productive to spend time obsessing about making this draft tightly structured.

Page 78

Chugging along. Short session today so didn't get as many pages done as I maybe would have otherwise. But not too bad. A little uncertainty as to order of scenes. But, again, not too bad.

Page 75

Finally through the first half rewrite and onto new territory. Rewrote the midpoint scene, it's not perfect but now is roughly the beat I need at that point. Right now am grappling with the imperfection of my first draft. Not keen on imperfection at all! Can't believe how imperfect this first draft is despite all my labours! Even though I know that's the nature of first drafts. Nice to be onto new ground though.

Day off

Taking a day off on Sunday.

Almost ready to go back to draft

But... still need to sort out the midpoint. I'm a bit disconcerted because I've just realised that the reason I went back to rewrite was to sort out a central relationship... but my rewriting actually ended up focusing on other things... so there are major questions I still need to sort out. At least I have decided what the midpoint needs to be generally (which is actually the opposite of what the midpoint is now). I am going to work out the midpoint (and make some decisions about how earlier scenes need to change to lead to the new midpoint) and then press on. I'm not going to go back to tweak those scenes though, because I really need to press on and get this draft done.

Plotting

Going okay. Have broken 2nd half of second act down into story strands and figured out general direction each is going. Was slow work but towards the end had a couple of good ideas that should be fruitful to work with.

Hey ho, hey ho, it's off to work I go... (or, rather, went)

Today was hard slog. Felt like one of Snow White's seven dwarves. (Yes. Grumpy.) Having a look at the second half of the second act. Feels like writing a whole other film now I'm past the midpoint. Or sort of past it. I've realised I'm going to have to rework that scene but am waiting till I have a handle on the rest of the second act.

Became a little easier once I realised I needed to look at the whole of the rest of the act rather than just the next sequence. I have lots of beats I want to incorporate but putting them into sequences that work and follow on from each other in the right way is the tricky thing. Am currently pasting up scenes on the whiteboard in rough order. Getting a little easier, beginning to find a very rough order. But still, this half of the act is disconcertingly empty compared to the first. It's a bit like starting from scratch again.

I think this is probably an inevitably difficult bit. Second act is notoriously the most difficult. I figure as long as I keep turning up and slogging away I will get there in the end. Trudge back with my little barrow full of coal. (Not looking for diamonds just yet.)

Sick day today

See ya tomorrow, hopefully.

Plotting

I should've worked this out by now - whenever I have a few days where it's really not working it turns out that I'm stuck because I need to get plotting again.

In this case I think I was distracted by the fact that I still have twelve pages of dialogue to work through - but I've now realised that my subplot changes mean I need to rethink everything from the midpoint(i.e. from where I am).

Am now looking at the second half of the second act. Stress over now I'm back looking at plot. Hopefully next time I hit a wall will recognise a bit quicker that that's what I need to do.

Page 67 of first half rewrite

Just rewrote midpoint and it's sucking. Hitting the wrong note. Have to take some time out and plot the next sequence I think. Have 75 pages of script but not sure what to do with sequence up to 75. Stopped early today because it's just not working.

Page 65 of first half rewrite

Okay, I'm back a day early, couldn't keep away. Not that I was feeling that inspired... but also was itching to get back to it... and in my experience waiting for inspiration is a no-win situation.

So. Hard to tell how productive today was really. I added in a new scene that didn't end up covering the point I was planning for it to. Could be a useful scene though (but still, does the next scene still work against it?)

Hmm. Not too clearheaded. Decided this will all be clear when I get first draft feedback. Am at midpoint right now. Have to make a decision about one element of how things go from here that's going to affect everything, obviously. Decided to leave that decision till tomorrow.

Nice to be back at it. Wish it was all clearer! Sometimes when I'm writing I'm really pleased with a scene, and I can't help feeling disappointed they're not all like that. Though, I'm very aware that you've gotta get that first draft down... and I can't wait till it's finished, in all its flawed glory. Y'all know what I mean, right?

On hiatus

once again. Combination of foreseen and unforeseen circumstances require my presence elsewhere. Back on Monday the 18th. Happy writing.

Day off today

French toast, here I come!

Page 60 of the first half rewrite

Didn't have much to do in the last three pages. Now at a scene that needs to be rewritten quite a bit. Seems to be going okayish.

page 57 (and plotting)

Rewrote the scene I wrote yesterday. A bit better I think but still not great. Decided to leave it till the next draft. Also had a look at the next 15 pages, which potentially need to change now that I've tweaked a subplot. That was a bit mindbending. Thought I needed to add in some extra beats but can't see where they would go... finally decided to leave those pages more or less as they are. Maybe one scene will be added to and the climax of that sequence will rewrite tomorrow. Took the whole session to figure that out. Trying to keep all of the balls in the air, basically ended up putting it in the too hard basket, will just have to look at it next draft. So. A bit disappointing. Still, as long as I keep moving forward, will get there in the end. They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Why the hell would anyone want to go a thousand miles? Especially when they don't know what it's going to look like when they get there! Just kidding. Sigh.

Still at 56

Tried to write with a headache today that wouldn't go away. Stopped when I realised I was probably just making the scene worse. It's a drag because I've been enjoying writing. Hopefully will be back on form tomorrow.

No time

to write today, sadly.

Ya found it!

Welcome to the new url, thanks for clicking through.

Having had one hundred percent reader agreement on the name change - hey, this is a democracy, at least this week - have grappled with Blogger and moved over.

Page 56 of the first half rewrite

Top quarter of page.

Wrote a new scene/beat that wasn't there before but I think it's just what's needed. Also rewrote a scene which now works better, works better because of the new scene before it, and is also less on the nose.

Ticking away.

Page 50 of the first half rewrite

Phew. Have just finished the major sequence I was changing. Now have a few other changes that have arisen, so will need to work through the rest of the script (which is now 75 pages long). Going quite well. My midpoint is now at page 64, which means that this draft probably isn't going to be as overlong as I thought. Though probably will push out a bit more from there as I work through.

Some strands are weaving together satisfyingly.

Can't think of anything else to say, really. Chugging along.

Page 47 of the first half rewrite

Bottom of the page, so almost three pages.

Not sure if the sequence I've just written is going to stay in there - but gotta try it out to see. It's all going okay. Every so often I think about how much more I'm going to have to do - not just in this draft, but in subsequent drafts...

That way madness lies.

It's the tightrope artist not looking down, the journey of a thousand miles beginning with the first step (and continuing with the other steps)...

Yes, I have been using metaphor in my script. Not terribly subtly (at least not in this draft), as you can see...

Page 45 of the first half rewrite

And I'm back. Wrote two new scenes today (just over three pages, to be precise). These are part of the new sequence I just thought of the last day I was writing. A change of tone that I think will be interesting, hopefully shake things up a bit. It feels like it's going to be a bit longwinded at this point, but hey, first draft!

Took a little while to get back into it and remember where I was up to (should've just looked back at this blog), but enjoyed it after the first hour of 'where the hell was I?'. Really wasn't in the mood to write earlier this morning, but hey, I said I'd be back today... and it turned out just getting back into it was all I needed to shake that reluctance.

My scenes are just on the right side of okay (and sometimes the wrong side), rather than great, but in a way I think maybe that's a good thing for the first draft. Means I'm not so attached to them, shouldn't be too hard to kill my darlings (as the saying goes). This sequence also will require quite a bit of research, which I haven't done. So I've decided to just guess at it for this draft. As I'm doing with other research that I'll need to do for other aspects of this script. At this stage it seems to me that it's best to do the research after the first draft when you know more precisely what you need to know. So you can ask more precise questions (and not be a timewaster).

Nice to be back.

On hiatus

Till Saturday the 2nd August. Various other aspects of life demanding my attention.

(Insert Austrian accent here:) I'll be back...

Insomnia

Name of a great movie, and also why I'm not writing today.

Woke up at 1.30, 2.30 and 4.30 and then couldn't get back to sleep. Not really sure why. Sitting here having a crack at the script and can't focus. Could write anyway but I'd just have to junk it all tomorrow. Brain on strike.

So, sorry to disappoint anybody out there, but not working today.

Day off today

Got stuff to do.

Blog name

Am thinking of switching my blog title/url to "The Daily Screenwriter". Thoughts? Or better as it is?

Page 41 of the first half rewrite

Just to be precise.

Spent most of my session today figuring out what the next sequence was going to be. Have two subplots that need to be pushed further to a turning point that is currently on page 57. I think the idea I had this morning will work for both of them. We'll see. I wrote a placeholder scene that was kind of crappy for one beat I need, will come back and sort that out further down the track. This idea I've had is basically a sequence of scenes, I know I'm going to write them too long in this draft, never mind. Don't like my pages getting out of whack in terms of turning points etc, but realise it doesn't matter in the long run - better to write a scene too long, easy enough to cut it down later. Reordered scenes slightly too.

So, an okay day's work.

And more rewriting

Man, I seriously prefer rewriting... rewrote maybe three or four scenes. Came up with some tweaks that will make them work much better. Now have to figure out how the next sequence is going to work, as I'm realising I need a build to the next turning point that isn't really a build right now. Also have cut some scenes with a character that mean I'm going to have to create a new scene or two to bring that subplot back up to speed. It's kind of second draft within the first draft. Maybe I should look at rewriting as I go more often. Though it's potentially dangerous for me, need to watch perfectionist tendencies don't get out of control. So far not interfering with momentum though, just firming things up.

Am on page 38 of the rewrite, incidentally.

Bit more rewriting

And a bit of a mea culpa re focus - kept trying to decide whether to cut my session short to go see a film in the Film Festival. (Yes, I know, pretty dumb. Went to the movie in the end. No, not worth it.) Tweaked two scenes and rewrote a third. So, hmm, not that productive in terms of quantity. Should've got up insanely early in order to have a full length writing session if I really wanted to go to a movie. Note for next time.

However, was able to get some work done despite only being half there - I think yesterday I kind of cracked the relationship dynamic I'm working on, so today I knew pretty much where I was going. Even though not terribly inspired. In terms of the major scene I rewrote, it was mostly cutting - even though I'm just going through fixing up a subplot, it was like doing a second draft, in terms of having a new perspective when you revisit scenes. I realised that my characters were yap yap yapping about who they were and what their moral code was, basically - cos I was figuring it out myself at the time. Now that I pretty much know where those characters are coming from, I just cut all that out. So now the beats in that scene are just the essential ones to move the story along. Which feels much better. I realise that half the reason the dialogue in that scene wasn't working too well was that it simply didn't need to be there at all. It wasn't the characters talking, it was me talking, trying to figure them out.

It's possible some of that stuff will need to go back in later - but I kind of doubt it.

By the way - my (half finished) script is now three pages shorter than it was when I started rewriting.

So. Will be back at it tomorrow, full steam ahead, no split focus, I swear!

Lesson learned!

Comments problem

A reader has told me they sent a comment to my blog yesterday - but I never got it. So if you've commented and your comment hasn't appeared, that will be why. I have no idea why this is and am looking into it. If anyone has any ideas what might be up, or has made comments that haven't appeared, please let me know. Somehow or other.

Update: This appears to have been a login problem and hence a one-off. Let me know if there are any other comments problems though.

More rewriting

Quick post today cos I have to rush off.

Rewrote four short scenes today. It was really hard at first, I kept thinking about how far my script is from where it needs to be, and how much rewriting I've got ahead of me...

Finally got into the groove though and the scenes I rewrote are definitely heading more in the right direction. So I'm feeling okay about it now.

Day off today

Because it's Sunday.

Rewriting

Back to the script. Rewrote two scenes. I've got roughly three more to rewrite before I'm back writing new pages.

I'm finding rewriting is a bit harder than the original writing. Looking back over my opening and seeing scenes that really aren't working, ouch. Just have to ignore them and move on...

Might be getting RSI. Just some forearm soreness/tension. Anybody got any ideas on how to deal with that? I sit on a sofa while I'm writing and sit my laptop on my lap. Do I need forearm rests or something?

Happy film festival everyone!

Back plotting

Fairly productive day today. Had storyline notes for everyone except my protagonist. Had a look at what she's doing today. Came up with some things that tied things together, figured out roughly where she's going and what's going on in this sequence. I find that a lot of this is just painstakingly applying logic. This, therefore that. It's just that there is such a vast quantity of logical steps to make up the world/story that you have to constantly keep going over it for 'obvious' things you've missed. I am always pleased when I work out something 'obvious', feels like a solid step forward.

I wasn't sure I'd really be ready to start back on pages on Monday, but today that seems... not unachievable.

When I do go back to pages I am going to rewrite some of what I've done till now - I've made some decisions that involve changes earlier in the story, too many to ignore.

Blog was useful today. Really didn't feel like writing this morning, but if I had two days off in a row, what WOULD people think??

So I did, and it went okay.

Day off today

So there.

More plotting

Phew. Cut up my plot points, arranged them in subplot/character lines. You wouldn't think that would be that much work... but had to think about each plot point and whether it should be there. Came up with a few more too. Just working on second half of second act right now. Lots of stuff going on. Have more plotlines need to think about tomorrow. Feels like lots of balls in the air, brain really stretched! But all feels quite fruitful. This is actually feeling like harder work than last week, when I was writing pages. It's feeling more fruitful though, I feel like I have a lot more story going on.

Just reread that paragraph, it's a bit repetitive, brain fade in action I guess.

Me tired. Stop now.

Plotting

Today did some character notes on my romantic lead which led to plot points. I guess action is character after all. Have printed out the various plot points I have for the next section, tomorrow will be sticking them on a board and seeing how they work together. Have a few choices yet to make, couple of different ways things could go. Feel like I'm well on track to be doing pages again next week.

Plotting week

It's official - this week I am going to work on plotting rather than press ahead writing pages. Today I ended up making lots of character notes. Realised that my characters have been rather neglected. Came up with some good realisations. One of my characters is still very one dimmensional though. Have rethought one of the character arcs in the first half too. Not sure if I will rewrite that before calling the first draft complete, or put it on the backburner to tackle next time around. Don't like that plotting isn't measurable the way writing pages is. But at least giving a written account of it here makes it feel a bit more real.

Day off today

Need it. Brain, reboot now!

Plotting again

Today decided to take a break from writing pages and look at where the story has gone and needs to go. That has been helpful. I'm feeling more optimistic about this draft now. Though still have a lot more plot decisions to make before I go back into the draft. Will plot again tomorrow, probably. Unless I decide to have a day off.

Page 69

Halfway down. So that's three and three-quarter pages. Not very happy with how it's going really, having to make choices I'm not sure about, but I think that's what I need to do right now, just keep going till this draft is done.

Page 65

Three quarters of the way down.

So that's two and three quarter pages. That's all I could manage. I think that was because I had a lot of difficulty with deciding how the scene would go. Not sure I've got there. It's more of a placeholder scene, but it's a placeholder scene that will do.

I'm starting to wonder if the rest of the script is going to be slower, because I'm kind of moving into uncharted territory plotwise a bit.

Had a brief look over my script and was slightly disheartened that it's quite uneven. Though of course it is a first draft and all that. Just gotta get it done!

So, my midpoint is page 64/65. I think it will move slightly earlier as I redraft and tighten up the first half.

Page 63

Right at the top.

So. I'm back on track. The sucky scenes I wrote last time are still sucky. Have decided to just keep going rather than get bogged down in fixing them up. Finished the second one and it continued to suck. Oh well. But then I moved on and came up with a montage idea that I think will work well. Hopefully. At least it didn't suck as much as the sucky scene!

I think part of the problem is one of my central characters, I haven't really thought him through as a personality, what he wants, etc. But I think, at this stage, the time to do that is the next draft. Really don't want to lose momentum, as momentum is the thing I've had problems with in the past (hence this blog).

I haven't been reading through my script as a whole at all, just going back over the last few pages before moving on, but maybe I should. What do other people do?

mea culpa

Oops. No writing today. Entirely my fault. Bad planning.

Will be more organised from now on.

Page 59

Quarter way down the page.

Not so happy with what I wrote today. Those scenes need to be there but I'm not sure about the purpose of the first one, maybe it will actually need to go somewhere else, and with the second one, I'm still figuring out what the beats in there should actually be. Am at the midpoint at this point. Don't really like these scenes right now, and that's disappointing. I know it's just a first draft, but still...

I wonder if having a day off didn't help. I actually wanted to be writing yesterday. I think I will wait till I really feel like I need it before I have another day off.

Day off today

Cos I've written 8 days in row, so perhaps I need one. Maybe. Still working out how often I actually need a day off.

Page 54

The top thereof.

At this point am feeling a bit overwhelmed by keeping various subplots going and figuring out how much of what when. I could sit down and read the whole thing... but don't want to get caught up with liking what I've done so far either too much or not enough. Right now feels like the script's going to be way too long, at this rate. Although it's possible that I'm wrong about what my second turning point is, and that's the reason it's stretching out and I don't seem anywhere near my midpoint yet... oh well, will just keep going and see how it all pans out. That's what rewriting is for...

Page 50

Smokin'!

For the record, have now made it to the first quarter of page 50. (Maybe it's too obsessive to start recording each quarter page - but in the interests of scrupulous honesty, I'm going to start.)

It's all ticking along really well right now and I'm really enjoying it. Was tempted to keep going today, but in the past writing more than five pages a day has kinda done my head in, so I'm stopping for now.

Page 45

Oh yeah baby!

Back on the road. Quick look at yesterday's notes, realised was almost up to speed, did a quick list of things that needed to happen first half second act. And now I'm away.

Plotting

A writer is the only person who can say "I've been plotting" and it doesn't mean they're evil (necessarily).

Anyway, I've been plotting. Realised I need to be clearer about where I'm going in the second act, it was just going to take a bit of time before I did more script but it ended up taking the whole time. I'm pleased though. Have been able to think through some things, have scenes and sequences I didn't have before, have even started to have ideas for the third act (which has been a bit of a blank before). Was just going to look at the first half of second act but have looked at the whole thing. Might do this tomorrow too. Was fun, ran out of time but felt like I could have spent the whole day on this.

And - yes - I'm now blogging as 'the daily screenwriter' rather than just 'writer'. 'Writer' was just too generic. And 'daily' - well, I'd better live up to my name now!

The Chocolate Fish Awards

Awards update: December 3, 2008.
Overseas Fishies opportunity: The first six people from overseas (i.e., not New Zealand) who start regularly posting their progress on my site will be sent a Fishie on completion of their draft. (Normally I send Fishies to New Zealand only). You will need to start posting before you've reached page 45, and post at least weekly, to be eligible for a Fishie. This will probably be a one-off experiment, so get in quick!

Anyone who posts regular updates on The Daily Screenwriter as to the progress of their script draft will - on completion of said draft - be sent a Chocolate Fish Award, henceforth to be referred to as a Fishie.

This is a genuine (though cheap) Chocolate Fish you can actually eat, that I will mail to you. Send me a post with your address when you’re finally done, I won’t post your address on the site but will post the Fishie! But you must post here regularly – at least weekly - with your page count to be eligible. Don’t just send through a post to announce when you’re done. Feature screenplays only. Within New Zealand only.

You don't have to be someone I already know, anyone at all can nab a Fishie, just as long as you're posting, and writing.

I’m not sponsored to do this (yet), just wanting to encourage posting – and drafts!

This offer stands till the end of 2008.

Let the Fishing begin!

Page 42

Yeah, I know! But I had to spend some time figuring out where it was all going... and I'm quite tired today... excuses, excuses. So. Quite happy with pages generally, but there are some rough patches in there, rougher than most of the script so far. But I am working out story as I go. And it's generally coming together. Not actually worried as to how it's going. Just, one of those slightly less productive days.

Page 40

Okay, it feels like a slight cheat, cos before I was halfway down page 36 and now I'm just at the top of page 40- but it seemed like a good place to stop. After a slow start, where I was wondering if I'd manage my four pages today, it all unfolded pretty easily. I have general beats for each subplot but haven't figured out where they're each going to fall in the script, so when I reach a new scene I usually have to stop and figure out which scene would be next. I'm trying to take some advice I heard years ago from an editor on a Vincent Ward movie (the one with the snow and the pilot) - Don't cut to what you'd logically see next, cut to what you want to see next. I wasn't a writer (or editor) at the time, but I've never forgotten that advice.

Page 36

Phew! That was lots of work! But am very pleased with final result. Have nailed first turning point. That scene took a lot of work to get right. After first draft of scene realised protag was already at turning point at beginning of scene but needed to be there at end of scene instead. Also realised which character needed to be passive, which needed to be more active (am being slightly cryptic so as not to 'taint' my pool of potential readers and feedbackers out there with too much knowledge!)

Think I deserve an icecream now!

Page 32

Yay! Cos I didn't think I was going to manage four pages today. Rewrote a bit of what I did last time, too. It's all ticking along quite nicely. Though the scene I wrote today is going to be too long, I think. I wrote a funny rant moment that I then realised doesn't fit where I put it. It might fit in later in this scene. Or at another point. Might have to kill it as a darling, possibly.

It's all very interesting just biting the bullet and writing a draft without everything worked out. A lot of new realisations happening with this process. Still working on forgiving it/myself for not being perfect, though. But enjoying the process.

Day off today

Cos I feel like I need it.

Page 28

Phew! Rough start this morning, it all was a bit sucky, persevered anyway, told myself it's allowed to suck in first draft, and now I'm actually quite pleased with today's session. Made some decisions and came up with ideas I wouldn't have if had stayed in outline. Seem to be doing four pages a day, that's always been my limit in the past in terms of regular writing. Will be semi-officially trying for four pages a day from now on (but reserve the right not to make it if I end up doing lots of plotting/character work instead in a session). I was tempted today in places to paraphrase instead of writing actual dialogue, to say 'he tells her about x', but resisted as I realised that's the weasel's way out! So to speak. Gotta get it all down in a proper draft that's allowed to suck!

Am thinking for the next script I write will seriously curtail the amount of time outlining (as this has a history of sucking up time unproductively for me). Maybe two weeks? Four? Hmmm.

Page 24

Chugging along. Have just had some good ideas for next time - looking forward to getting back to it!

Have to keep reminding myself it's just a first draft so it's okay if there are major flaws at this stage.

This is supposed to be a black comedy, but it's a bit thriller-ish at the moment and not terribly funny - I think that's okay as I am laying down the plot now and don't know my characters well yet. Surprising how well the plot's falling into place actually. Interestingly, I have no idea what's going to happen in the third act (though I do know where it'll end up). Kept having ideas for the second act and none for the third, finally decided to just get on with it and see what happens. So we'll see...

page 20

Did a lot of plot notes and four pages of script, so not bad.

Am also thinking about reading a screenplay a month - cos I just don't read them. But I think one a month is not too scary. It'd be good for the writing.

Update: Have read the first half of Frank Darabont's (rejected) Indiana Jones IV script. Definitely better than the movie (not that that's saying much!). Really overwritten in that it's very directed on the page - shot for shot, virtually. Makes for a good read though.

Page 16

OK session today. Reworked old pages now, ready to move onto new territory. First draft up to page 16.

Restarted today.

Today began back on the actual script. Beginning looking better. Had more ideas for second act. So far so good!

And now I'm off.

Having comments issues, still figuring out how to set the privacy settings so it's only invited people who can see the blog but they can still post comments.

Writingwise: Made some more notes today, but stopped early as actually I feel ready to restart the draft. But will have to wait till I'm back in Wellington. Looking forward to it. (Hopefully this feeling will last!)

See y'all when I'm back!

Day 2

Really good session today!

Have started 3 Word documents, 1 for each plotline. Planning to combine them on the fly when writing a draft.

Also have decided to leave outlining the third act till I've written the first two acts. Cos I know where I'm going up till then, and it'll be clearer when I've got there.

Had lots of ideas today. Probably wrote a bit too long though, brain was tiring before I stopped.

Having time away from this script really seems to have helped, surprisingly.

Here we go...

Okay. First post. Stardate June 14, 2008.

The purpose of this blog is to put pressure on myself to get on with the writing... so if I don't EVERYONE WILL KNOW. So you have my permission to hassle me (nicely!) if I appear to be slacking.

And if you want to post your own progress in the comments section too - that'd be cool. Nothing like peer group pressure!

Please don't hassle me for my goals being unambitious (if you think, for example, my pagecount goal is a bit low). But feel free to hassle away if I don't meet my stated goals.

current goals:

My goal is to come up with a workable outline by Monday, the day I leave for Sydney. To do a 3 hour stint on Sunday and on Monday towards that end.

And to start my first draft by Monday the 23rd at the latest. Prefer to start it the 21st or 22nd though.

Today (Saturday):
Did some thinking re the two genres I'm combining for my script. Came up with some basic genre-based beats I want to incorporate. And spent the rest of my 3 hour stint setting up this blog.