Well, as you can see in the color bars to the right, I finished my first draft. Yes, I muscled through the below mentioned FUNK and finally wrote FADE OUT. Although I only had 8 weeks to write it (in my spare time) I wish that I had about 4 more weeks to "sweeten" it before turning it in. I am 30% happy with it. I figure if I gain a small percentage of happiness with each draft (3 drafts that I have to do), I should be about 65% - 70% happy by the time I get to the punch-up phase, when I get to hang out with my funny friends and come up with better jokes and dialogue than the ones I have written now.
I guess I feel pretty proud of the achievement of putting 94 pages of script to paper. And I am also happy to have solved all of the outline issues that I was having. I should feel relieved but I think the terror is just starting. This whole time it's just been me reading it. Now, there are people who are going to read it and give notes and opinions etc. It's not that I don't expect to have notes on a first draft, but as most of you writers know, the script is the like the stripping away of the flesh and the notes sting like salt.
If I really think about it, it's a good thing. It'll be nice to have notes from a new perspective. I am just too close to it now. I am hoping the notes don't really come in for a few weeks. That way I can get the distance I need from the first draft to start the second draft in earnest. Fingers crossed! I'm going to have a drink.
Until then!
Chris
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Monday, December 31, 2007
FUNK
You ever get to that point in your writing where you feel like everything you've done so far sucks? Yeah, me too. That's where I am now. Typically I can surf the web or read a book or watch a movie to find some inspiration, but currently all of these things just depress me. I start to question my own ability (I always do... but now it's magnified) as well as my goals and where I am with them and why I haven't achieved them yet. It is an ugly downward spiral. I know that this a normal stage of writing (much like the 5 stages of grieving) and that I just have to muscle through this first draft but, I gotta say it is no fun.
Do you ever get this way? How do you rise above?
Ugh.
Do you ever get this way? How do you rise above?
Ugh.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
STARTING ROUGH DRAFT
I had to make the decision of doing a rough draft first. I wanted to go straight to first draft but my deadline is very tight. I can't blame it all on the deadline, though. I've had this story in my head for so long I thought I could just sit down and it would pour out of me. No such luck. The moment I wrote FADE IN all of my ideas FADED OUT.
My rough draft will be just cranking out the story. Sort of a more detailed step in between treatment and script. Some people call it a scriptment. There may be no jokes and there may not even be any dialogue in some scenes. For example if there is an action sequence that I have not figured out then I will just write the basic beats of the sequence out and move on. The goal is to get eveything out as quick as I can. Besides, no one will be reading this draft but me and my story editor. Sometimes this stream of consciousness writing can be good. If you don't stop to fuss over the details you don't have time to second guess your instincts and you might just come up with a couple of gems. Then, with my remaining time, I can go back through and (re)write the first draft. I can more easily bide my time this way. And believe me, I can lament over a single line of dialogue for days so doing it this way is probably for the best. It's always easier to rework words on a page than sitting there staring at a blank one.
I hope to have this "draft" done by Christmas. That'll give me roughly 5 weeks left to turn in the first draft.
Wish me luck!
Chris
My rough draft will be just cranking out the story. Sort of a more detailed step in between treatment and script. Some people call it a scriptment. There may be no jokes and there may not even be any dialogue in some scenes. For example if there is an action sequence that I have not figured out then I will just write the basic beats of the sequence out and move on. The goal is to get eveything out as quick as I can. Besides, no one will be reading this draft but me and my story editor. Sometimes this stream of consciousness writing can be good. If you don't stop to fuss over the details you don't have time to second guess your instincts and you might just come up with a couple of gems. Then, with my remaining time, I can go back through and (re)write the first draft. I can more easily bide my time this way. And believe me, I can lament over a single line of dialogue for days so doing it this way is probably for the best. It's always easier to rework words on a page than sitting there staring at a blank one.
I hope to have this "draft" done by Christmas. That'll give me roughly 5 weeks left to turn in the first draft.
Wish me luck!
Chris
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
CREATING COMIC CHARACTERS
Okay, so you've got your story and you think it's pretty darn good. (I'm speaking in third person about myself) Now is the time to develop your characters in such a way that will render your story obsolete. (still speaking about myself) Okay, it's not that drastic, but it can be.
Creating characters, or should I say comic characters is both fun and difficult at the same time. We all want our characters to be multi-faceted and have depth, but I think that you cannot know your character that well until you start writing or boarding for him/her and start putting them into situations. Dexter from Dexter's Lab was a pretty well figured out character right from the start, but all of the nuances that we know and love about Dexter only came after many season's of fine tuning and experimenting. It's a good place to get to with your character but you need a solid foundation to start from. How? Well I found a great way to create comic characters that is not only fun, but easy enough to generate many comic characters and see which one fits best with your story without expelling to much time and energy.
There are many books on creating characters and I am sure there are one or two that are the most popular. I, on the other hand, use a book called THE COMIC TOOLBOX by John Vorhaus. It's a book on "how to be funny even if you're not." There are a lot of useful tips in there on writing jokes and comedy in general. There are even a few chapters on the basic steps of story telling in a screen play. The chapter I really love is the one on creating comic characters and it is the one I will be quoting and referencing here.
There are four basic elements that make up your comic character. They are:
1. Comic Perspective
2. Exaggeration
3. Flaws
4. Humanity
COMIC PERSPECTIVE is simply the unique and quirky way your character looks at the world. Every thought, every idea and every reaction you character has needs to "filter" through their perspective. I like to call it looking at the world through your characters glasses. For example, Gracie Allen (of Burns and Allen fame) was INNOCENT. Everything she said and did was INNOCENT. One of the best examples of this is Jack Benny. His comic perspective (among others) is cheap. There is a skit where Jack is being held up at gunpoint by a robber. When the robber says "Your money or your life" Jack Benny answers "I'm thinking." It's Jack's cheap comic perspective that tells us that he might just value his money over his life and what makes it funny.
EXAGGERATION is taking your characters comic perspective and stretching it and pushing it so far out there that it far enough from our own perspectives in life that it starts to be funny. Recalling Gracie Allen, she was not only innocent she was the ultimate innocent. Dudley Moore as Arthur was not only a drunk he was the drunkest drunk. Jerry Lewis (used to be) the biggest bumbler the world ever knew. He not only acted bumblng he thought it. Don't be afraid to push your character to the extremes of their comic perspective.
FLAWS are a failing or negative quality in your comic character that opens up an emotional distance between them and the audience so that the audience can comfortably laugh at them with out feeling as though their pain is too close to home and therefore not funny. Sam Malone's flaw is egomania. Diane Chamber's flaw is snobbishness.Scrooge's flaw is greed. Dean Martin's flaw is drunkeness. Murphy Brown's flaw is stubborness. Flaws don't have to always be bad traits but taken to the exaggerated level can make them abnormal and thus distance them from the audience. Vorhaus' example of this is Charlie Brown's flaw is his trusting nature. Huh? How is that a flaw? The flaw is that he trusts TOO MUCH (more than you or I might) and thus let's us laugh every time Lucy pulls that football away.
HUMANITY, unlike flaws which separates the audience from the charcter, builds a bridge between us and the character so that we can care about them. The sure fire way to engage your audience and make them want to go on your hero's adventure is to get them to care about your character. You must arouse symapthy and empathy in your audience toward your hero. You are supposed to like the hero and the hero is supposed to be like you. If that happen, you engage emotionally and will gladly undertake his/her journey with them. If you want your character to have the legs to be consistantly funny through the life of your story, your audience must feel a part of the experience.
Building your chracter off of these basic elements will give you a great starting place. In some instances this might be enough. But don't be afraid to continue molding and fine tuning your character. I only touched the surface of the basic ideas brought forth in The Comic Toolbox. If you are interested in reading about this technique (or tool) further, I really recommend going out and buying this book.
See you next time!
Chris
Creating characters, or should I say comic characters is both fun and difficult at the same time. We all want our characters to be multi-faceted and have depth, but I think that you cannot know your character that well until you start writing or boarding for him/her and start putting them into situations. Dexter from Dexter's Lab was a pretty well figured out character right from the start, but all of the nuances that we know and love about Dexter only came after many season's of fine tuning and experimenting. It's a good place to get to with your character but you need a solid foundation to start from. How? Well I found a great way to create comic characters that is not only fun, but easy enough to generate many comic characters and see which one fits best with your story without expelling to much time and energy.
There are many books on creating characters and I am sure there are one or two that are the most popular. I, on the other hand, use a book called THE COMIC TOOLBOX by John Vorhaus. It's a book on "how to be funny even if you're not." There are a lot of useful tips in there on writing jokes and comedy in general. There are even a few chapters on the basic steps of story telling in a screen play. The chapter I really love is the one on creating comic characters and it is the one I will be quoting and referencing here.
There are four basic elements that make up your comic character. They are:
1. Comic Perspective
2. Exaggeration
3. Flaws
4. Humanity
COMIC PERSPECTIVE is simply the unique and quirky way your character looks at the world. Every thought, every idea and every reaction you character has needs to "filter" through their perspective. I like to call it looking at the world through your characters glasses. For example, Gracie Allen (of Burns and Allen fame) was INNOCENT. Everything she said and did was INNOCENT. One of the best examples of this is Jack Benny. His comic perspective (among others) is cheap. There is a skit where Jack is being held up at gunpoint by a robber. When the robber says "Your money or your life" Jack Benny answers "I'm thinking." It's Jack's cheap comic perspective that tells us that he might just value his money over his life and what makes it funny.
EXAGGERATION is taking your characters comic perspective and stretching it and pushing it so far out there that it far enough from our own perspectives in life that it starts to be funny. Recalling Gracie Allen, she was not only innocent she was the ultimate innocent. Dudley Moore as Arthur was not only a drunk he was the drunkest drunk. Jerry Lewis (used to be) the biggest bumbler the world ever knew. He not only acted bumblng he thought it. Don't be afraid to push your character to the extremes of their comic perspective.
FLAWS are a failing or negative quality in your comic character that opens up an emotional distance between them and the audience so that the audience can comfortably laugh at them with out feeling as though their pain is too close to home and therefore not funny. Sam Malone's flaw is egomania. Diane Chamber's flaw is snobbishness.Scrooge's flaw is greed. Dean Martin's flaw is drunkeness. Murphy Brown's flaw is stubborness. Flaws don't have to always be bad traits but taken to the exaggerated level can make them abnormal and thus distance them from the audience. Vorhaus' example of this is Charlie Brown's flaw is his trusting nature. Huh? How is that a flaw? The flaw is that he trusts TOO MUCH (more than you or I might) and thus let's us laugh every time Lucy pulls that football away.
HUMANITY, unlike flaws which separates the audience from the charcter, builds a bridge between us and the character so that we can care about them. The sure fire way to engage your audience and make them want to go on your hero's adventure is to get them to care about your character. You must arouse symapthy and empathy in your audience toward your hero. You are supposed to like the hero and the hero is supposed to be like you. If that happen, you engage emotionally and will gladly undertake his/her journey with them. If you want your character to have the legs to be consistantly funny through the life of your story, your audience must feel a part of the experience.
Building your chracter off of these basic elements will give you a great starting place. In some instances this might be enough. But don't be afraid to continue molding and fine tuning your character. I only touched the surface of the basic ideas brought forth in The Comic Toolbox. If you are interested in reading about this technique (or tool) further, I really recommend going out and buying this book.
See you next time!
Chris
Friday, October 12, 2007
MARY BLAIR
Hi! I wanted to share this. Anyone who is interested or a fan of the great MARY BLAIR please click the title of this post. Some nice stuff.Chris
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
SAMPLE PAGE
Here is a sample page from the BLOOPS CEREAL commercial. Written in the spirit of the early Jay Ward CAP'N CRUNCH commercials we all know and love.
It's interesting how out of place a page can be when it is removed entirely from it's context of what comes just before and just after.
It's interesting how out of place a page can be when it is removed entirely from it's context of what comes just before and just after.
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