21 April 2010

Boredom hits. What do I do? I put my character in a really awkward position. I yell an obscenity. I punch the other main character in the face. I stream tears down the best friend’s face. I give the husband an STD.  I do anything that shakes up their worlds but keeps the story progressing.

But, God was I bored of this script at the beginning of this week. Barely hitting 50 pages out of the 100 and only nine days left, I was getting scared too.

That’s when I took a breath. I brainstormed a bit more, and I remembered, as Michelle keeps saying, “It’s only a draft.”

Or as T.S. Eliot said, “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

I re-read a few parts of the script that I was sure sucked a big one. What did I realize? That actually, it didn’t suck that bad and maybe I have more good bits than I thought I did.

Jen, from Script Frenzy headquarters sent some encouraging words:

You are creative and interesting, and this idea got your attention. It was worthy of your time and love at the start of April and, like all deep relationships, needs you to stick with it even when it gets tricky.

Unexpected connections and paths will start emerging, and the spark that hooked you in the beginning will turn into a light, then a rip-roaring fire of a story. For that to happen, you must continue to give it your time, energy, and creativity.

This idea is your invention that needs nothing short of dedication and bravery in order to become a story. Discover it page by page. This is a critical place to be, and I know you can get through it.

This is not the time to give up. Pinky swear that you’ll keep going.

__________________________________________

UPDATE:

27 April 2010

I pinky swore, and I kept going.

I am now on page 93. I have been writing since 9 o’clock this morning, and I looked at my clock. It is now noon. I am still in my pajamas. I have no idea how this happened – three hours passed. These are the moments when I adore writing, when I crave it. Just like when I was little and would spend my days with my little face in a book. Now, it is me writing that book.

This has been a remarkable experience, and again, all because of this blog. Had Michelle and I not been following each other’s blogs, she would never have thought to ask me to join her in this adventure and I would never have known about it.

I never realized I would be able to write a screenplay, and although I have no idea how good it is, it feels good to know that in 7 pages, I will have finished my first draft of my first screenplay.

I am taking a moment before I finish those last pages because I am unsure of the next scene. My characters have hit the climax, and now the denouement is a tricky place to be. I know where I want them to end up, but I’m not sure which scenes I should pick to tell the story to get to that place. Then again, perhaps the story will take me somewhere I had no idea it was going. Perhaps I don’t know the ending after all.

Again, something I had to keep reminding myself as I wrote my novel – “Just tell the story, Meagan.” I’m writing in the least complicated manner I know how, uncensoring myself and letting the words flow.

I’m looking forward to winning Script Frenzy.

By the way, if you’re looking for some great tips on writing a Romantic Comedy, check out the blog Living the Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit.

Been methodically plodding along on the script for the past week. I’m finally getting the hang of the new format. Celtx makes it much easier (a free script writing software).

Writing last week was brilliant. Although I thought I wouldn’t be able to get anything done on Easter weekend, when we drove to London to meet with some friends, we had about five hours to kill in Twickenham. So, instead of starting the drink early, I sat down in the nearest pub while Jock worked on his pharmaceutical ‘what’s it’, and I wrote 12 pages of my script. It felt incredible to be so productive, and Jock really surprises me. Whenever I got stuck on something, he’d somehow have a way for the character to get out of it, a new plot twist, or idea. I’m starting to think I should collaborate on things with him more often (don’t tell him I said that. We don’t want his head getting any bigger than it already is, and trust me, he’s got a big head – as in, size. Dad, I think you and he may have to have a big head competition. It will be a close call.).

This week is a bit harder. But, to be honest, I don’t really like complaining or talking about when I might stumble for a few minutes on a scene. It seems pointless to come on here, and write about not being able to write. Isn’t that just wasting time when I could be spending on the characters and getting them out of their situation?

I’m at the point where the inciting incident meets the rising action. And yes, it’s a bit tricky, so I’ve plotted out a couple of key points on my notepad, and I’m going to get cracking. As far as page count? I’m on page 34 out of 100.

I have three visitors next week (YIPPEE!!), and if I want to stay ahead of the game, I must make sure that I have written enough to not have to worry about catching whilst they’re here.

Here’s a visual that represents what I think this movie is all about (photo taken by Courtney Bauer).