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Screen Writing Experiment: Week 47/4/2019
The time is going so quickly and I am feeling the push to get the script finished and over the line! The stats and the numbersMy target is to write 1 movie by the 19th of April. A movie is roughly 90 pages long so for the first time this week I have made it to roughly the right length for the romantic comedy! YAY. The progress on creation this week has been far slower as I have been working on re-writing and structuring the script. We are on target for 1 movie! The superhero movie has flatlined this week because all of my focus and energy has been on finishing the romantic comedy. I have made huge progress on that including restructuring large parts of the plot! The re-structureThis week I received some amazing feedback from my friends! Thank you Jane and Jamie, David and Jack! This has led to a lot of re-writing. Jane and Jamie in particular pointing out a fairly large plot point that needed moving and that has been a mission. Here is an exact quote from my daily journal about the process as I was working on the changes! I feel like I am wasting my life and I HATE IT. I fucking hate being trapped like this. ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGG I think in previous years it is at this point I would have given up and gone back to something I know. They say the biggest breakthroughs are after the hardest moments! At this particular moment when I wrote the above sentence the software I bought to help me write the movie wasn't working (still doesn't!), the movie structure that should have been easy (just moving a scene or two around) turned into a week long project and I was totally lost! What do you do when you reach that point? Buy stationery, obviously! Katie very kindly escorted me to Staples late at night to buy post it notes, index cards and pens, and then I sat down the very next day and the work started The very next day I sat down at the usual cafe and wrote everything out on the index cards. I used those to reorder the movie and then spent the next two days re-writing the movie and inserting a few new scenes. I made progress. So much so that I have sent off for professional feedback. I managed to find a lady online that provides notes (coverage in industry language) on scripts and I have hired her to help by providing professional feedback. I am still waiting for the full feedback but the initial email had a few good quotes. The quote that gave me the most hope is: Really great job for a first time screenwriter! The bit about "first time screen writer" gives me concern but at least I am making progress. I can't wait to see her notes this week and get to version 4! I feel like I am making massive progress! This restructure has been a huge project this week but I have come out of it stronger and with renewed energy to make this happen! Write what you knowIt was so much easier to write the romantic comedy as I have experience nearly all of the situations and made all of the mistakes my character is going to make! When it comes to crime I need to do far more research and learning! That is one of the primary reasons I have focused on the romcom this week and made more progress on that! One of my posts on Facebook this week that amused a lot of you was about writing what you know! I got to the part of my superhero movie where the bad guy has to commit a crime and I drew a HUGE blank! What crime? How does he go about it? I know nothing about crime!? So I posted on Facebook for help with ideas for crimes and 81 of you shared thoughts and ideas for crimes for the bad guy to commit! I never knew so many of you were criminally minded! Thank you for sharing your ideas! It means a lot What have I learnt?This week has been intense but I have made massive progress and learnt a lot of things. Here they are in no particular order:
Other things that have happenedIt is amazing how the world works and where it leads. Amazing! This week I have had a phone call with a production company that saw our PBS piece and reached out saying "How to start a business with no money" would make a great TV show! I hung out with amazing people, had an offer to read my script from a working movie director and ate far too much food! There is so much magic happening and I really do think it is because I have created space for it to come into my life! The big plans for this weekWhat am I committing to do this week?
If I can get that lot done I will be super happy! COME ON! I want to be able to write to you all by the 19th of April and tell you I have the movie written and I have submitted it! COME ON. As always if you want to get involved then please write me a note or leave me a comment below. If you want to read a draft of the movie let me know, if you want to come to the premiere!? (It is good to dream!) or if you just want to send me internet abuse for motivation then leave me a comment below or get in touch! Thanks for reading and sharing this awesome journey with me! You rock Alan |