True Golden Opportunities
The other day, by complete accident I discovered iTunes U, which has a lot of free lectures from colleges, and universities. The curious person I am typed in “creative writing, dramatic writing, and cinema/film studies” Looked for all the MFA material and decided that I should take some time to listen and view the material. Therefore I’ve given myself something to do when I’m not working on my screenplay.
I was most fortunate that my good friend Sarah Beach, check out her link for her blog, and her book. The Scribbler’s Guide to the Land of Myth. They’re both good. I was able to brainstorm with her. The woman is a blessing and a fountain of good story structure and genre knowledge. Needless to say she gave some solid criticism to me. Love her for that. In anything she’s a blessing to help put me in the right direction. So the screenplay is more alive than ever. I have a new premise, motive/desire for the character, and a lot more to write, but I’m glad i was able to see this from a fresher perspective.
I have much to do, so if you hear me say I’m bored, that means I’m procrastinating and not writing or listening to free classes.
Think It Over
Sundays are funny. I get a mixed sensation to not do a thing (rest) and to do something creative. I already have a sense of direction and purpose in regards to story structure and direction. I have a pal who challenged me to write something in a weekend. An off the cuff joke for a science fiction disaster screenplay. With that in mind I have a lot of stuff to get done. On top of that new upsets to the fold, which will be handled.
This Monday is off. I must admit my sleep pattern has gone haywire and I’ve been sleeping later than usual and staying up late. I’m a mess. Some good has happened. I turn the TV off often. I like my mornings with either some music or silence. I don’t know how productive I will be, but I hope I keep up a decent pace. I need my hot tea. Did I mention I gave up coffee? It’s a shocker. I don’t need it.
Writing is Rewriting
I’ll never forget this phrase about writing. I have a lot of it to do today. Pluse this is the day to finish other errands. Fridays are busy days for me. I like the pace so I best start with a post for the day. There will be a second post I’ve planned, but if push comes to shove, I’ll post it tomorrow. It’s longer, and I took a lot of time with it. Needless to say I did a lot of rewriting.
The outline is 90% done with me having a moment where I don’t like the ending. This suggests I don’t like my theme. I need to look over what I have and determine if I need to revise my theme first, then the outline, or at least parts of it. I do think I put together a lot of promising ideas, but something’s failing me here. I don”t like that. It’s a sign I need to revise once more. I say to myself thank goodness I’m not a perfectionist. What whould happen if I was? I’d be all OCD about this thing, and I’m trying real hard to make the improvements more so than I am now. Perhaps it’s time to consult the writing books on this matter.
I should go get me something to eat. It will help me start the day off well. I’m on a time-table, which is rare for me, but I want certain things done before a certain time so I can relax at the end of this day. Even if I don’t get it all done, I put the efforts forward and made sure to act. Keep writing peeps. I’m going to make some time as well to share some of the books I’ve read on screenwriting. Look out for that post. i think I’ll make that a longer post as well, and some more film reviews.
The Late Night Creative Spark
Last night, I got all snug in bed, ready to drift off and I had a random thought for a series. My mind ran with it, and I had a few principal characters along with a general direction. Suddenly logic prevailed and suggested I write this down. Unfortunately I forgot to bring the notepad from the living room, and I was sadly too cozy to get out and into a dark room and bring it back to bed. For all i know I would loose the idea.
What did I do? I grabbed my phone and typed the idea with the notes application. Needless to say I have the idea out of my head, and onto paper. Not bad. One of the things I’m going to do, in addition to completing my beat outline is write more on this idea, and one other that I want to develop. Needless to say I’m glad I didn’t leave the phone in the living room. Whenever I get the chance I’m buying a notebook that’s sole purpose is to sit at my bedside for such emergencies.
Still got to get my movie essays completed. At least this morning when I got my hands on my notepad, I wrote down thoughts for the essay. Also I left my “traveling” notepad in the car. Gonna go get that in a few minutes. I like to keep that one safe since I put a lot of ideas in that one.
Drafting An Beat Outline
Been having quite a challenge working on a beat outline for a screenplay. Started it three days ago, and in spite of having another upset yesterday, felt determined to expand the six pages I typed. For those not in the know, one of the more important things a writer does before starting a screenplay is writing an outline and resolving all story points in this stage. I’ve heard it a dozen times from instructors and from the books I’ve read; don’t get into that screenplay until that outline is completed.
With the outline I’m making sure that I hit certain beats by certain pages. This makes it compliant with standard Hollywood scripts. It’s never pretty from the start, making it fit is the goal so I’m putting the effort into making this work well. I already know this outline will have several passes with revisions, but I’m willing to put the time into it to be able to have something correct. Needless to say i would have typed this post earlier, but I was busy typing the outline. Still got a lot of work to do. Feeling good about it and shall keep it moving.
This Week’s Writing Projects
I decided that if I list some of my projects I may be able to tackle them more aggressively. I’d like to see them completed, and moving onto the next. First I made a “bargain” with myself to complete act one of my outline. If I did this I’d be allowed to goof off. Essentally I’d get my acts done in three days. Since I put off the outline for months now, it’s my duty to write it out any way possible.
In addition to getting act one down from my notes, I got a very rough version of act two typed yesterday. I didn’t expect this. I really wanted to get down a few more sentences and push myself to do more than the one required act on file. It comes from an older outline I typed and I liked some of the ideas and beats. It still has to match up with the new outline, while providing fills for the gaps in the beats. I call it rough because editing for clarity and fluff has to be done.
ASIDE: Like a fool I didn’t back this up. Will correct this after this post. I know better. Too eager to goof off after patting myself on the back.
For those not in the know I needed to trim down the material BIG time. This meant cutting out a lot of material I thought was brilliant. However, the material has to meet the demands of the format, and that meant cutting things out, and trying to resolve a lot of things that still need work in order for the story to work.
I do have a theme, I need to did up and place at the top of the outline and the logline. This is to help me keep them in mind as I complete the outline. I must resolve all the issues before I begin the script. This means looking for the beats I missed when I wrote it the first time.
I still have some other film essays to write for this blog, and I want to work on an additional two films. I should pick them at random. I dunno. Adding research to the current essay slowed the process a bit as I’m reading a few different sources for some fascinating critique. Will keep it moving.
Don’t Stop, Don’t Think, Keep Doing!
This is a real short post, as I have a lot to do today. I’d feel like I cheated myself if I didn’t create a blog post. First I’m writing three longer blog posts that require a bit more time and effort. Second I’m doing more editing and revising for myself and others. This I want to get done this week and I don’t want to stop and think about it, but rather get it done. Eventually the script I didn’t get to work on I’ll get to address. I am happy to get this kind of progress going so I know I’m moving in the right direction, thank God.
I pray this kind of energy stays and I get back to the script and short stories I’ve been working on. I should add in joking I came up with another concept that I feel obliged to explore, but that’s down this list. Made sure to jot down notes for this and will explore this concept a little more. Sometimes sitting down with pen and paper puts magic in the day. I’m overdue for some hot tea today. A couple more passages of writing before I can have breakfast. Yeah, I’m on a roll, and the roll is a good ride.
The’Do Me’ Plot 2 Part II
I’m writing and was hoping to revise the beat outline for my screenplay. I had to revise the entire thing and attempt to resolve a lot of issues. Took out the pen and paper and began writing down it all. it meant throwing out a lot of things I found to drag the story down. Yes it means a lot of characters have some serious changes, but I feel like at last I have the correct direction for the script. I’m letting the outline cool off for a while and then will type/revise this. Now that I have this script a lot more tighter I think progress is full steam ahead.
Interestingly this story is also an erotic piece of fiction, but not a short story. Like a big goof I wrote it and never gave it much thought, but it’s nice to see story structure tighten like a kinky game of S&M.
Feels So Much Better
Breaking the thought process open today. Yesterday was about finding images to take inspiration from in order to use them as themes and starting points for stories. I got several images, and I haven’t figured what to do yet. While subjects caught my eyes yesterday I can’t say what it is that makes me feel like writing about it. I’m still looking at this.
I likely have a theme for a screenplay I’m working on. I let it gel for a few days on paper, and I feel a need to look at it, revise, if necessary, and work with this as my main premise. I need to get this done, cause I belive I can turn out the script proper in a month or so. In this respect I must get cracking on this or loose the potential resolution due to procrastination.
