Sweet Relief.
Look to the right.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
AN UPDATE...
Hey. Hey. Since the anonymous commenter from the previous post asked so nicely...
As you can see from the PROGRESS BAR to the right, I am almost finished with the second draft of ADVENTURES IN MILK. This draft has been quite a challenge. One of the notes I got was to remove one of the characters. I thought it might be an easy task, but I must have woven him into the story more than I thought. I miss the character but, it really does help simplify the script and I actually was thinking he didn't fit while I was writing the first draft, but by the end I found a way to integrate him and give him an important role in the climax. When they say 'kill your babies' it's not only ideas, it's characters too.
On a slightly side note... I realize that my posting here is few are far between. The reason (excuse?) is that legally I cannot say too much about the project. Yeah, I know, awesome to have a blog about a project you can't really talk about or show art from. Ha. So, what I've decided to do is start another Blog! Yeah!
I have been working on getting a short live-action film going. I want to shoot it this summer so hopefully the posts will come faster and more frequently. Plus, it's MY project and I can blab about it as much as I want. So there. Anyway, if you're interested you can find the new blog HERE. I hope you find it entertaining and informative.
Meanwhile, I will keep updating this blog as long as the law allows!
Thanks for sticking around!
Chris
As you can see from the PROGRESS BAR to the right, I am almost finished with the second draft of ADVENTURES IN MILK. This draft has been quite a challenge. One of the notes I got was to remove one of the characters. I thought it might be an easy task, but I must have woven him into the story more than I thought. I miss the character but, it really does help simplify the script and I actually was thinking he didn't fit while I was writing the first draft, but by the end I found a way to integrate him and give him an important role in the climax. When they say 'kill your babies' it's not only ideas, it's characters too.
On a slightly side note... I realize that my posting here is few are far between. The reason (excuse?) is that legally I cannot say too much about the project. Yeah, I know, awesome to have a blog about a project you can't really talk about or show art from. Ha. So, what I've decided to do is start another Blog! Yeah!
I have been working on getting a short live-action film going. I want to shoot it this summer so hopefully the posts will come faster and more frequently. Plus, it's MY project and I can blab about it as much as I want. So there. Anyway, if you're interested you can find the new blog HERE. I hope you find it entertaining and informative.
Meanwhile, I will keep updating this blog as long as the law allows!
Thanks for sticking around!
Chris
Monday, January 21, 2008
"SPEC-CETERA"
With the writers strike going well into its third month, I wonder what most of you are doing in between the picketing. Might I suggest taking a course at the UCLA EXTENSION WRITER'S PROGRAM. I took the CRAFTING THE COMEDY SCREENPLAY with STEPHEN MAZUR a few years back. He also teaches the 8 SEQUENCE APPROACH. Not only is the class informative, but it is also very fun. Stephen, who is not only smart, but funny, helps every student in the class develop their idea (which you supply) into a great STEP OUTLINE that you get to turn into a hilarious screenplay and awesome spec to shop around when the strike is over. I am going to (finally) start writing the script for the idea i brought to the class. I think that the Winter semester has already begun, but check to see if he is teaching in the spring. It is well worth the time and the money!
Chris
Chris
Saturday, January 19, 2008
FINALLY!!!
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
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
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
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