Back in the swing...
Finished my second draft of my NYC Midnight short screenplay contest earlier today - here's how it's going...
After my utter disappointment with my first draft, I knew I just had to get back in there and start revising. I have a solid idea (which I'll share when the script is completed tomorrow), but actually putting the words in the script proved quite daunting at first. My first draft was pure hack-shit, something thrown down on paper to just get the ball rolling. I was still excited for the concept, but the execution was getting tough...
And then I switched up my writing time, and everything was great.
Here's the story behind that. When I last wrote seriously (God, EONS ago), I was able to write productively at the end of a long, hard day, but these days, I'm just too exhausted. When I get home, all I want to do is fire up an ESPN podcast, change out of my work shoes, cook a little dinner, and watch some TV - unless I'm spending time with my girlfriend, and then that's my whole night. But I've started adapting to Lizzie's schedule, because when she stays over, she has to leave before 7am to get to work early.
At first, I'd just give her a morning kiss, let her out, and go back to bed. But something's changed recently, and when she leaves at 6-6:30 in the morning, I've started staying up. At first, I'd just play video games, watch some TV, or surf the Internet. This week, however, I took that time to write - and it's made a world of difference. I''ve now found that early-morning is my "secret time," when I'm full of energy and creativity and can work on the script. I'm excited by the thought of going to work and already have several pages of script under my belt, and even though the screenwriting contest ends Saturday night, this won't be the last of my early morning scripts.
As for the script itself, I'm working through my issues. I have a great sense of the characters and action, but if I have one problem, it's in my description. Here's an example of my problematic stage direction:
"Wyatt's tired of hearing this conversation over and over again, and he's frustrated that Gretchen has not yet caught on to this."
Not bad, right? But here's the problem: from reading the script, and seeing it on screen, the reader/viewer has no idea that this conversation has happened more than once. Instead of simply describing the action, I'm describing the HIGHER MEANING behind the action - much like a novel. Instead of that direction, here's an example of what I should use:
"Wyatt looks at his hands and sighs heavily."
Simple but effective. My script is littered with these instances, and that's one of the main things I'll be trying to correct in tonight's rewrite. Yes, I know that I said I like to write in the morning, but time is running out and I need to get another draft down before Tom and I get together to review our scripts tomorrow morning.
So anyway, this contest has been an excellent learning exercise, just what I needed to get back into the swing of writing every day. I'm already thinking ahead to several short and full screenplay ideas that have been germinating in my head, and after my first draft of this one, I'm no longer afraid of writing an absolutely horrible first draft. This contest has been fruitful on a number of levels, and I'm ready to start working on work that's more personal to me!
More about this script, including the conclusion to my story, tomorrow or Sunday!
After my utter disappointment with my first draft, I knew I just had to get back in there and start revising. I have a solid idea (which I'll share when the script is completed tomorrow), but actually putting the words in the script proved quite daunting at first. My first draft was pure hack-shit, something thrown down on paper to just get the ball rolling. I was still excited for the concept, but the execution was getting tough...
And then I switched up my writing time, and everything was great.
Here's the story behind that. When I last wrote seriously (God, EONS ago), I was able to write productively at the end of a long, hard day, but these days, I'm just too exhausted. When I get home, all I want to do is fire up an ESPN podcast, change out of my work shoes, cook a little dinner, and watch some TV - unless I'm spending time with my girlfriend, and then that's my whole night. But I've started adapting to Lizzie's schedule, because when she stays over, she has to leave before 7am to get to work early.
At first, I'd just give her a morning kiss, let her out, and go back to bed. But something's changed recently, and when she leaves at 6-6:30 in the morning, I've started staying up. At first, I'd just play video games, watch some TV, or surf the Internet. This week, however, I took that time to write - and it's made a world of difference. I''ve now found that early-morning is my "secret time," when I'm full of energy and creativity and can work on the script. I'm excited by the thought of going to work and already have several pages of script under my belt, and even though the screenwriting contest ends Saturday night, this won't be the last of my early morning scripts.
As for the script itself, I'm working through my issues. I have a great sense of the characters and action, but if I have one problem, it's in my description. Here's an example of my problematic stage direction:
"Wyatt's tired of hearing this conversation over and over again, and he's frustrated that Gretchen has not yet caught on to this."
Not bad, right? But here's the problem: from reading the script, and seeing it on screen, the reader/viewer has no idea that this conversation has happened more than once. Instead of simply describing the action, I'm describing the HIGHER MEANING behind the action - much like a novel. Instead of that direction, here's an example of what I should use:
"Wyatt looks at his hands and sighs heavily."
Simple but effective. My script is littered with these instances, and that's one of the main things I'll be trying to correct in tonight's rewrite. Yes, I know that I said I like to write in the morning, but time is running out and I need to get another draft down before Tom and I get together to review our scripts tomorrow morning.
So anyway, this contest has been an excellent learning exercise, just what I needed to get back into the swing of writing every day. I'm already thinking ahead to several short and full screenplay ideas that have been germinating in my head, and after my first draft of this one, I'm no longer afraid of writing an absolutely horrible first draft. This contest has been fruitful on a number of levels, and I'm ready to start working on work that's more personal to me!
More about this script, including the conclusion to my story, tomorrow or Sunday!