The earliest post is at the bottom; most recent at the top.

16 - Development Rewrite Progress        Mon, 08/17/09 - Scott

Having an intestinal bug for over a month is really a slow down - I recommend it to everyone who wants to kick back and do nothing. I persevered and wrote a little.

I try to leave very little open to "What a mistake - that's totally incorrect," so every day has had as much additional research as actual writing.

My first rewrite task was to get better integration between one subplot (the theme: the mystery disease symptom) and the main character, Martin. The first thing I tried was ~6 strategically placed pieces of dialogue that made it look like the protagonist (the good guy) was doing the driving. Ehhh, not so effective. Easy tricks like this usually don't work.

The protagonist usually drives the story (especially the plot or major conflict) to its resolution, and is a proactive part in making things happen. Even subplots can be affected by the protagonist. The protagonist doesn't just react to the antagonists (the bad guys), he takes control and tries to get the upper hand (unless he is the reluctant hero who gets dragged to the end where he has to perform magic). He solves the mystery as well as defeating the bad guys. (Had I spent more time and created a treatment, that may have been taken care of, making rewriting easier. But I had wisely decided to take a short cut.) So each sequence had to be rewritten. Of course the entire story got longer. Argh! More to cut.

Next: More on Development rewriting.

15 - First Draft Critique        Sun, 07/26/09 - Scott

It isn't easy to critique your own work, but I'm not willing to subject any reader to a first draft and burn them out. I have up to 70 criterion that I rate screenplays on, and I have to be impartial and rate it fairly.

I rate on a scale of 1 to 5: Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent, Superior. A story has to have a few elements rated Superior before I consider it qualified to be a movie. Most elements have to be in the Excellent range. A few Goods are OK. (When I see TV pilots, they are typically in the Good range.) Fair and Poor mean no way.

I had 6 Fair elements, 15 Good elements, 15 Excellent elements, and 1 superior element. That is actually better than almost all of the screenplays that I read of others'. I rarely see any excellent elements. So if you are writing a screenplay and feel that it missed the mark, join the crowd. Most of us don't get it right on the first try. Rewriting is the secret that makes screenplays good.

Specifically:

1. The story arc was there, but I didn't see Martin's frustration loudly, nor visuals that show the problem.
2. Characterization changed as I wrote. I found things between characters that needed to be there, and other things that needed eliminated. I need to change character motivation in the rewrite.
3. The dramatic conflict in each scene needed improved.
4. Some of the dialogue needs changed for clarity and continuity.
5. Scene arcs need improved - this will happen by improving motivation, conflict, and focus.
6. Visual: Needs improved.
7. Theme: Seemed somewhat anecdotal. The mystery isn't fully explored, and needs continuity.

Next: Development

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14 - First Draft        Sat, 07/11/2009 - Scott

The page total came up to 129, which is close to the 120 max. It won't be too difficult to cut.

The classic three obstacles in the middle, which aren't so much obstacles in this story as a rise in difficulty, I call movements. Each blended into the next very well. There are five movements in a screenplay.

For consistency, I create a separate file that lists each scene heading and each character name and title. It's a handy reference and it keeps everything consistent. This will help with scene breakdowns later.

Next, rewriting.

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13 - Midcourse Corrections        Tue, 07/07/2009 - Scott

I found that they were largely reacting to "Harry," which they should because Harry is their nemesis, but they were not reacting to each other. Not good. So I made a list of personal characteristics that people in their professions might exhibit. I selected the characteristics more likely to draw people into conflict, and then rewrote these pages. Much better. This same process will probably happen again in later rewrites.

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12 - Structure and Introduction        Thu, 07/02/09 - Scott Most stories break down naturally into parts. In the three act structure you have an introduction (~30 pages), Middle (~70 pages), and resolution (~20 pages). Audiences like this structure - it's part of a good architecture.

The introduction introduces the main characters, the main conflict, and brings the story to a crisis, which is a turning point. You should know the turning points in your story. There are usually turning points in every scene - the character enters the scene in one mood or situation and leaves in another.

The major turning points are where characters make major changes in the story. There is the intro, usually 3 obstacles in the middle, and the climax and resolution in the final pages.

In my introduction, the major problem, "Harry," is introduced in the first scene. (The story then goes into 3 obstacles in the middle (I didn't try to make 3 in my long synopsis - it just happened naturally), and then the story goes to the climax.) By p. 25 the main characters are introduced and by p. 26 the last main character is introduced.

If this screenplay was a "star vehicle," intended for a big star, the protagonist would be on the first page and nearly every page throughout. It turned out to be a star vehicle, but I would rather write star makers than star vehicles, although the movie industry mostly runs on star vehicle hits with the potential to be blockbusters.

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11 - Time to start writing        Tue, 06/30/09 - Scott

How long will it take to write? If you work all day (8 hours), working from a synopsis or treatment on a screenplay, you can usually create ~ 10 polished scenes a day. I usually work up to 6 hours on a screenplay unless I'm pushing to get it done, and then I might write for 12 hours. Scenes run 1 to 2 minutes on average. (There are also a number of short scenes that only last a few seconds.) So a 120 minute screenplay will take around 80 scenes. For me that's around 15 days of writing, and then I begin evaluating and rewriting. Evaluating rewriting might take another 7 ot 15 days of writing.

(On Reo, the producer's feedback was very slow in coming and required making a lot of new stuff fit in, so I often had to undo what I had written, taking at least twice the normal time.)

In a studio, or on some independent productions, you might receive feedback from a number of people, each taking the story in a new direction. It often takes months to go through development.

After development, you are likely to get pre-production feedback from other producers, the director, and the actors, all who have a legitimate need to get it right for the production. This requires more rewriting.

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10 - Theme        06/30/09 - Scott

I added more discussion and events related to the strong theme in the story.

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9 - Protagonist Character Development        06/30/09 - Scott

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8 - Architecting a story        06/30/09 - Scott

I like to think of building a story the same way a building architect plans a building. All buildings are just a bunch of boxes put together into a bigger box. A kitchen serves the same function regardless of the building. What an architect does is understand what people like in a building and put those things in. There has to be a functional kitchen, but where it is located and how large it is and how people get to it can vary within reasonable limitations.

It's the same in a story. People like plots that aren't predictable, and that comes from realistic character choices that are affected by their environment. They like story elements like mystery, suspense, and love. They like different settings. They like different characters with different motivations. A writer has a large selection of things to work with in a particular environment, the setting, character motivations, and character choices. He can weave a hundred different stories, and make choices that can please people.

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7 - Plotting, evaluation, and more research        Tue, 6/30/09 - Scott

I evaluate the plot that I created.

Martin and Lars' interaction isn't sufficient at this point, so I put in more conflict by raising the stakes and putting in more stumbling blocks to overcome. As the story develops, more of this plotting will naturally come from their interaction.

I don't know everything that is going to happen at the time of writing the synopsis or treatment - you have to play with the characters, get to know them, make them interact in the story - then you write it in, or rewrite. But I know a lot of the major things that are going to happen before I begin writing the story.

More medical research: I needed to raise the stakes more so that tension climbs farther into the story. This also gave me more info to scatter throughout the story for stakes and realism.

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6 - Plotting        06/30/09 - Scott

I begin putting together the events (plot) and character decisions that will form the backbone of the screenplay. First I create a timeline of what the investigators do. This isn't likely to vary regardless of what others do - scientific investigation is scientific investigation - it plods along on its own course.

Next I put in what Harry does. This is also a given - it is what it is, but I add a time-bomb - the problem could get more destructive if not stopped.

Next I put in what Melony does - she provides evidence, and then becomes a victim herself.

Next I put in what Martin does. He will end up risking his life to solve the problem.

Next I put in what Lars does. Lars' actions complicate things immensely for Martin and others.

The one thing you really don't want in a plot is predictability. If the audience figures out how it's going to unravel before it does, you're story is toast. I stopped watching a movie 2/3 of the way through yesterday because I already knew what was going to happen.

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5 - More Research        06/30/09 - Scott

Next, I have to know who Harry (the abstract nemesis) is, and what his characteristics are to create a realistic plot. Harry is an unknown. No one has met him, no one can see him, they just see his effects in people. He creates fear.

To the guy on the street, he might be a medical problem. He might be a contaminant. He might be from a UFO. He might be a religious prophet meant to alarm people. So the first thing I have to do is research in these different areas.

I spend hours and hours researching all of these areas for things that might create fear like Harry does. Medical research is the most complex and difficult, so I spend most of my days on this, adding to the days I have already spent on this. I don't want to misrepresent medicine and the medical community, whether they are right or wrong in this story. Fortunately I have some background in the medical field and the Internet is a rich source of information. I also have a background in religion, which minimizes the amount of research I have to do there. The research is very informative and makes for a potentially much richer and true-to-life story.

The total research runs into around 6 days. Credibility goes a long way with the audience. If you put in something that is not believable, you lose a lot of audience appeal.

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4 - Research        06/30/09 - Scott

Some screenplays require research and some don't. This one requires a lot.

First, how do groups of people react? I made a list of possible ways that people might react to Harry. Having a strong background in psychology, I make a table and list the possible types of people who would react in various ways. I check the Internet for Sociology topics dealing with group reactions. I find very little, and my own categorization is far better than anything I find - I will use it, and select the types of people most appropriate to the story.

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3 - Plotting        06/30/09 - Scott

I needed an outline of events (more or less the plot) and an understanding of what the characters would make happen. Events happen because of three people, or types of people.

The first character is the protagonist (Martin) - the good guy who we follow through the story and who eventually solves the problem. He works with an associate, Melony, who helps him, and who is a love interest. This is kind of classic: chemistry always makes for good reactions.

The second character is the nemesis (antagonist), Lars, who throws obstacles in the way of the protagonist (and everyone).

There is also an abstract nemesis (a problem to overcome), that I will call a third actor, "Harry."

The others are people who react in different ways and either help or hurt the protagonist.

So defining events is an interactive process in which you have some idea of the sequence of resolving the "problem" and then knowing how the others will react. Storytelling is always about action and the reaction. Action, reaction, reaction, reaction. Action, reaction, reaction, reaction.

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2 - Concept        06/30/09 - Scott

I had a strong idea of what the concept was and how the story would begin and end. It is both a character and plot driven story.

The concept is a 3 line description that tells about the characters, motivations, and plot. It guides the story writing process. If you look at what you have written in the story and it deviates from the concept - it's out.

Some people write longer descriptions, but I think a strong (brief) concept leads to a stronger storyline.

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1 - Idea        06/30/09 - Scott

This is a screenplay that I have wanted to write for some time. I started it before, but had no time to work on it. The first thing I had to decide was, was my first work good. I checked and the research was OK as far as it went, but it needed more. The characterization was not as strong as I wanted. The plot wasn't well developed. I decided to completely re-architect the story. This begins the "development" phase of a screenplay which will last until the pre-production starts.

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