The Official Home of Mediocre Screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe

Sorry for yet another delay in getting this out – trundled through a birthday, continuing work on the script and now have come down with a fun cold. I LIVE A SOLDIER’S LIFE BECAUSE I AM A CHAMPION OF SOLDIERING ON. Despite my aggressive soldiering, however, the updates this week shall be presented with minimal commentary by yours truly. I apologize to the none of you who are truly upset about this turn of events. Must save what precious little space is left in the brainmeats.

On to the Selected Ten – who, at the time of this writing, have just a tic over two weeks to set their scripts in stone and foist them upon the world via the Black List:

LOUIS

“Ahoy hoy, it’s Bubbe Bennett here. After being christened the Jewish mother of the group (that doesn’t work does it?), I’ve decided to thoroughly embrace my new Jewish heritage in time for Rosh Hashanah.

Mazel tov! Rabbi!

In completely unrelated news, I also spent the last 4 days in Miami. For those of you who have never been to Miami, it’s preposterously, bafflingly brilliant. It was with work sadly, plus is was raining pretty much throughout, but I still loved it. I drank rum, I watched lightning storms deep in the ocean, I had a blast. What has that got to do with writing? Nothing. But this is my weekly update, so shut up.

So, we’ve got three weeks left, and in a break from your regular broadcast, I’m mega excited! There are no worries, no panic, no scares. Now I just write the next version. But what if it sucks? Give. A. Fuck! I’m on that post-modernist, new wave, Kanye West shit from here on out. Now it’s time for some balls out / to the wall hot writing action. In the straight to TV movie of my life, this is where Shannon Elizabeth would turn up.

There is a motto that I have, that keeps me writing, keeps me motivated – ‘Just be better than everyone else.’ But Bubbe, are you saying you’re the next Aaron Sorkin, or Quentin Tarantino? Yes, I am.

I’m not. ‘Just be better than everyone else’ means tell the story you really want to tell. Don’t try to tell stories you think they want to hear. Just be better than everyone else in doing what you’re best at. As Marge Simpson would say ‘You don’t win friends with salad.’

So give them the meat.

Shannon Elizabeth would probably say that line.”

In my opinion, always helpful to step away for a bit before you start a rewrite. Fresh mind, fresh eyes, time to ponder. Yay.

JERREN & JESSE

“Being part of a writing team allows you to worry in shifts. Last week was Jesse’s turn to lose his shit. But this week he’s entered a Zen-like calm and is coolly churning out pages. So now Jerren’s up. He’s freaking out about his pages, about the deadline, about where he and his fiancée are going to eat. Whatever he’s doing, he does it at a fever pitch. It doesn’t help that Jesse keeps saying out loud, ‘Dude, I’m so calm. Look at my hands.’ And now constantly wears sunglasses when he writes.

We had a big realization this week. In the beginning of the challenge, we worried whether we’d picked the right script to write. Not because we didn’t love it, but because we knew it wouldn’t be easy to pull off. We had three solid ideas to choose from, and we thought two of them were ‘more in line’ with what we usually do, what our supposed style is. (Though we like to think we had a lot of variety going on in our past projects). The third idea–the one we ultimately went with–well, we thought it would be overwhelming, that it required a certain degree of research that we didn’t have time for, and a certain degree of responsible writing that we maybe couldn’t pull off. Most importantly, we didn’t think we could put our personal stamp on it.

Now, after four weeks of writing and updating, this script has become the most personal project we’ve worked on together. We both think the script COULD be super fucking cool. We’ve seen glimpses in our pages of what this could look like if we keep hitting the right notes. Because our process had never been truly tested in a pressure-cooker situation like this, we wanted to maybe go the easier route. That was dumb. The tight timeline has been an unbelievable motivator. It’s created an urgency that can be hard to manufacture without a deadline. Additionally, the weekly updates have clarified a lot for us. We’ve never had to detail our process before, and doing so has crystallized what (and what doesn’t) work. If we had known this stuff in our ‘der, which script?’ deliberations, it would have been much easier to just immediately go with the idea we were scared of, to trust that our process would get us through.

On the actual writing side of things, one thing we’ve been focusing on is not forcing jokes. It’s tempting, especially in the early going when we’re still figuring out our characters, to just jam-pack punch lines into the script in lieu of authentic character moments. It’s a nice thing to fall back on when we’re finding their voices, but we’ve had to remind ourselves that the more realistic our characters are, the better our jokes will be. The nice thing about this script is that we have a built-in device/story line that allows us to hit some bigger laughs, to be a little broad and heightened, but then we can still scale it back when we need to and have our characters just speak and behave like people.”

I like all of this.

DAMIAN

“It’s nearly 3am and once again, I am lying awake and my mind is chewing over this bastard script.

I have to be honest – I am sick to the back teeth of it. I’m supposed to be on holiday, but I am spending the majority of my time either sitting down and writing, or being mentally distracted by my story while ostensibly doing something else. It’s starting to piss off my girlfriend.

I normally devour books while on holiday, but this time it’s impossible. I can’t get into them, as my mind is constantly drawn back to my work.

I almost swam into a sizeable jellyfish yesterday afternoon because I was thinking about how to make a particular sequence less shit.

But let’s be positive – I have an almost finished story down on scene cards. A big structural problem was solved when I excised an entire sub-plot because I could see that it was bolted on and did not serve any useful purpose but simply slowed down the pace.

It’s clear we all approach this in different ways, and I was worried that I was getting it wrong since a lot of the ten seemed to be blazing away at the screenplay stage very early on. For me, I have to know exactly what happens in each scene, and the whole story constructed, before I start laying down the script and dialogue. But I’m almost ready.

I knew this was going to be hard work, but I very definitely underestimated just how hard. And I have no way of knowing if what I have come up with is any good, or absolute drivel. Not long til I find out!”

Worried at the chances of Damian having shot himself in the foot by pre-writing this much. Hopefully this worrying is unfounded, but suffice to say I think he has an uphill climb at this juncture.

CHRISTOPHER

“I’m now working on the ‘penultimate’ draft of my screenplay. In a dark and twisted way, this is my favorite part of the editing process. I get to vandalize my own pages. I print out my script and go through it page by page, editing by hand. I make notes in the margins. I highlight themes and circle important plot points. I make squiggly underlines under the dialogue that I need to rework. I keep track of the biggest issues on a separate sheet of paper. What can I say? It’s complicated but so necessary. I love it.

I scanned the edited document and side by side, I will start from the beginning and apply the handwritten notes. I have the physical copy on my actual desk so that I can jump back and forth, tying up loose ends and planting seeds. Once I am finished with this draft, I’ll let someone else look at it. Maybe.
[I tend to keep my scanned edits, just in case something comes up in the future.]

So I just finished the handwritten edits on my screenplay, and let me tell you, this first draft was a car crash that I should have seen coming. In an effort to move quickly through the story and get it down on paper, I made a TON of small errors (mostly syntax and grammar) but I also made a few glaring story mistakes that I’ll have to work out in the rewrites. It shouldn’t be a too much of a problem, it’s just going to take a long time.

Time to get back to it!”

Love Chris’s approach to melding the digital and the tangible. Cannot recommend you try hand-written notes enough. Something about the act of physically writing deepens your connection to the material psychologically.

RACHEL

“I walked away from my first draft for a couple days, after giving it to some people to read. My exclusive harem of feedbackers is composed of two groups. Folks in Group 1 are genetically obligated to love everything I write–but awesome at catching typos. Group 2 is made up of screenwriters I only know via the interweb, so they have no problem ripping my heart out of my chest Temple of Doom style whenever my actual writing is unclear and/or unfunny and/or the worst.

I fixed everything the first group pointed out, and MOST of what the second group took issue with. At the end of the day I have to trust my lady beer gut to steer me in the right direction. There were times when I asked myself, ‘Self, what should I do?’ And my self was like, ‘You’re a grown woman. Do whatever the fuck you want.’ So I did.

It was unnerving how much I still loved my pages when I came back to them. Sure, the bitch needs botox and a nose job. But I couldn’t fault the bone structure….which isn’t reassuring at all because I’M only smart enough to know how dumb I am. (Insert long, drawn out sigh.)

I do take considerable comfort in sharing this experience with everyone. Speaking of comfort, it’s especially nice to know Delaney and I both find solace in the exact same children’s pasta entrees. We also have identical neuroses, leading me to the obvious conclusion that we’re estranged test tube twins and oh god I just realized I’m the DeVito.”

Enraptured applause to Rachel for taking criticism AND sticking to her instincts at the same time. Love love love this update.

DAN

“Helllo, all. Shorter update this week because work has been craaaaazy.

I can see the sun on the horizon. The promised land. Where the jokes flow freely and the scenes grow tall and strong. I’m of course talking about…

Act 3.

Act 3 is probably my favorite. It’s the culmination of everything. Jokes that seem stupid or unnecessary in the depths of Act 1 and Act 2 make more sense and have bigger payoffs. It’s where your characters on our their last thread and are fighting to keep what shreds of dignity, family, and limbs they have left. It’s joyful madness.

And bunches of fun. And best of all, the easiest (for me) because that’s where a lot of my outlining and planning took place. For me, what happens in Act 3 is dictated by what happens in Act 1 and 2, so why not start there? Also, Act 3 takes place in a single location, which is doing wonders for my creatively exhausted brain. I’ll keep trucking on, because endings are the best part, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a LIAR.”

Intrigued that Dan’s third act takes place in only one location. Lots of pitfalls in such an approach – and lots of cool opportunities too.

SABINA

“So this past week I’ve read and re-read my previous draft. Asking questions of my characters. I sometimes have to force my more taciturn characters to open up, but these two (protagonist and antagonist) just won’t shut up. Perhaps why they are well-matched. 

This process has helped a lot with coming up with new scene ideas for the new draft. I have what I think is a workable outline. I won’t say it’s good until the whole thing is actually good, which I hope, God willing, will happen a few drafts from now.  It might even happen with this draft. We’ll see what my own hyper-critical eyes and the Black List readers say.

More questions must be asked.  More pushing will be done. More choices will be made. But that’s in the future.

A big challenge this week was something quite mundane – filing! I’ve got a million notes in a million different places. I had to gather them all up so that I wouldn’t lose any insights.

Was feeling a little homesick this week, so I did what I usually do – watch a few Hindi movies. Even though India isn’t home for me, they somehow manage to do the trick.

I highly recommend Kai Po Che, an independent (I think) Hindi movie, now streaming on Netflix. It was set in Gujurat, rather than London or New York, where every other Bollywood movie seems to be set (don’t ask me why). It had three very relatable protagonists. And best of all, it had a little Muslim kid who was a prodigy at cricket. No, not at bomb-making or wife-beating. At cricket. He gave his poor father – a Muslim man involved in state politics and, judging from the workers in his home, a bridal tailor –  hell with his sullen behavior and fighting. But when he played cricket, he mellowed.

Yeah, towards the end, their being Muslim became a plot point. But still, it was nice to see Muslim people on screen just being normal. Going about their daily lives. Working, fighting, playing, raising their kids. Happythankyoumoreplease. Which is why I’m writing what I’m writing.

Oh yeah and I can’t think of a good title for my screenplay. My working title seems to be it for now – Alien Love Story. What do you guys think?

Will be jumping into pages today. Godspeed, #sixweekspec –tacles.”

Trend this week seems to be “Stepping Away for a Minute” – which, again, I highly advocate. I share Sabina’s issues with fabricating titles. I wish I shared her love of Bollywood.

EMILY

“Had a pretty good week. Last week was the ‘I should quit this whole stupid thing and TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD’ week. I think I was feeling a similar thing that Sabina mentioned – a mini crisis of faith. That, and I totally related to Delaney’s post about not feeling like I had the skills to do my story justice. And Dan’s post about how Act Two sucks. Basically – everyone who was struggling with anything last week, I related.

But I combatted these feelings by just forging ahead, and I got a lot of good writing done since then. I’m sure someone’s mentioned this already (maybe I have), but allowing myself to write crap, garbage scenes has been extremely helpful. It’s so much better to write a total shit scene, than to stare at a blank page for an hour. Because of this, my first draft will definitely be rough – and way too long. I’m around page 90 and still have a fair amount of story left to tell. As I was figuring out my characters, I meandered a little, so I have some scenes that probably won’t be missed at all. But, it’s good that I wrote them, because they helped me get a clear picture of who these idiots are. I’m glad this draft will be way too long, because I’ll have a solid objective for draft 2 – cut a LOT. Cut everything that doesn’t move the story forward. And I love cutting.

It’s still intimidating that people are done with their first draft already, and I’m not. I wish I were faster, but it is really hard for me to write a ton in one sitting. After I write a particularly strong, or emotional scene, I need a break! I need to think about something else for awhile! I need to go stare at the wall! I THINK by next week I’ll be done with a first draft. But, damn, these weeks are going by fast.”

If all Emily gets out of this experience is a sense of commiseration and a gelling of her process as a writer, this will have been a huge success. I think she’s going to pick up more than just those, though.

DELANEY

“You know how runners say there’s that ‘high’ they sometimes hit where they feel as though they could run for ever and ever and ever? Is there a screen writing equivalent to that? If so, I think I just hit it earlier today.

That’s not to say I killed my goals for this week. I’m not quite where I want to be, but it’s cool ’cause I’m not really sweating it. Okay, I’m sweating it a little. But not nearly as much as I expected I would or probably should.

My point is I’ve finally gotten to that point where I don’t really want to stop writing / thinking about writing. I’m finally enjoying my story. The fear that I’m not funny, witty, smart, etc. enough to write it is still there, but it’s been rearing it’s ugly head less and less lately. Writing my favorite scene (thus far) probably helped that a little. Or a lot.

There were also a lot of holes in my story I finally patched up this week. I always knew how I wanted my story to begin and how I wanted it to end but I had some shit in the middle missing until just a few days ago. Now they’re filled with ideas I don’t completely hate. I also replaced my very mediocre opening scene with a slightly less mediocre opening scene. Overall, exciting progess.

As for page numbers, I’m in the 70’s. (Someone please tell me if I should be legitimately worried about this.)

Let’s see… I think that might be it. Mostly good stuff from me this week. All hell is due to break loose this time next week ’cause, ya know, it’ll be October. Holy shit.”

On page numbers: remember that, for the vast majority of scripts, 1 page = 1 minute of screen time. So if you’re sitting on only 70 pages and your script is finished, you’ve probably got some more work to do. If you’ve still got stuff to write, you’re probably in good shape.

CLAIRE

“The writing retreat thing went pretty well. I won’t bore (disgust) you with tales of the drop toilet and the time I heard a noise outside and WENT TO CHECK WHAT IT WAS LIKE A HORROR MOVIE DROOLING IDIOT. I am now on page 68 and I think I have the bulk of the story. I have practically no description and the action is limited to stuff like ‘A picks up the stick’ and ‘B enters’. So I’m fairly certain I can make up another 20 pages telling the reader what the hell is actually going on.

Since I have come back I decided to step away from it for a couple of days. Last night I let myself think about why it’s just not very good. I think I have a logical plot, lots of conflict, and interesting characters. So what’s wrong? I think it’s that it all feels a bit easy. I’m putting the characters into very dangerous situations, but there is not a feeling of real fear and threat of true loss. I’m trying to write something fun, but I still think without those moments it’s not satisfying. So I need to stoke up my fires of blackness and despair.

I’ll need some of that panic to get me over the line as well. 20 days to go and I’ve slowed way down. Soon I’ll be forcing four poor professional readers to sift through my garbage. Fuck. Yeah, I think that worked.”

Once again, there’s the need to step away. Once again, my guess is that it will cast a positive spell on the script itself.

————————————–

That’s it for this week – check back in next, when hopefully I won’t feel like I’m dying.

Sorry for the delay on updates – wanted to give these guys a little room to breathe in their prep/first stages of writing, so we took last week off.

For my part: I’m still working on writing a pitch that I recently sold, and it’s taking a bit longer than expected – but in a good way. You can never say enough about working with the right creative team, and so far in my (very short) career, I’ve been lucky enough to be tethered to people who have the same vision for our projects – for the most part, at least. No exception this go-round, and what I’m really excited about is the fact that everyone wants to get it *right*. We’re not even remotely trying to reinvent the wheel here, nor are we imbuing some false sense of importance on our story. That being said, it still needs to work, and it still needs to sing, and most importantly it needs to be fun. And I can’t tell you how confidence inspiring it is to place those necessities above rapidity.

Also worth mentioning: since this WAS a pitch, I’ve been working off an outline, which is a double-edged sword for the way I work. I’ve spoken before about specs vs. assignments/pitches, and by nature the latter require a fleshed-out story to be conceived so you can walk into a room and make sure everyone knows EXACTLY what kind of movie you intend to write. These days, writers are required to do more than ever before when it comes to pitching – you’re expected to have every detail of the story down cold and be able to answer any questions about it at the click of a snap. And while it’s good to have all your core ideas set, it’s tough for someone like me who thrives off the improvisational aspects of writing – that is, writing yourself into the story as opposed to writing the story out as you’ve already planned it. It’s something I’ve always struggled with and that I’m STILL vying to make peace with on a creative level. I’m confident I’ll get there, but in the meantime, I’m frustrated with myself that I’ve not yet figured out how to optimize the process.

Based on my pitch, I have a responsibility to the studio and the producers – I am to deliver them the story I promised. And deliver it I will. And if I’m being honest, I’m VERY happy with what I’ve come up with so far. I’ve actually pleased myself, which, contrary to the way my substantial ego often shows its hand, is a tough feeling to come by on first drafts. That, again, I owe very much of that feeling to the people who are, so far, developing this story alongside me. So perhaps playing the tortoise in this particular race isn’t such a bad thing after all. I hope. Maybe this will be the adventure during which it all clicks into place. We’ll see.

Of course there’s always the frighteningly legitimate chance that I’m completely blowing it and this is my last ever spot of gainful employment as a writer. In which case I should let you all know that this has been an incredible amount of fun, and also, where can I learn how to write a resume and do you have any applications I can fill out?

Onto the Selected Ten:

LOUIS

“I have a confession. It’s something I’m hesitant to admit openly. I’ve finished my first draft. And I feel awful.

I finished my first draft in nine days. Part of me thinks that this should be cause for celebration. That it gives me five weeks to rewrite the hell out of this script. That part of me is an idiot. A romantic, and a fool.

I have never written a script this fast, ever. I tried something new with my outlining. I broke my story up into eight 15 minute chunks. I wanted something to happen every 15 minutes, and I wanted to be building up to that each time. I had an index card for, roughly, every 2 minutes. It was a lot of index cards.

It meant that I never stopped writing, I had scenes in front of me at all times. I added a tonne of additional scenes whilst I was going through as well, but I just kept on writing. I was very pleased with my outline, I knew the scenes, I had acted them out in my head, it all poured out of me. It was joyous.

Now I’m done with the first draft, and I’m full of doubt. Is it all guff and blunder? Will I spend the next five weeks polishing a hefty turd? Urgh, I hope not.

I really like my story, I think it’s a lot of fun. It’s a movie I would want to watch. I really like my characters, I know I can make them sing. But, nine days…dude. If I’d spent three or four weeks writing it would feel more (too) legit (to quit). But, I’d have less time to rewrite. I’m never happy, am I?

Plus, now I have the added stress of potentially being the knobhead that finished in nine days, had five weeks to rewrite, and still got four 1/10 reviews…oh god, I think I’m going to be sick.

In the end, fuck you playa haters. I wrote a first draft in nine days, and now I’ve got more time to rewrite. I’ve got material to work with, pages to edit, and cut, and improve, and…

I just thought about those four 1/10 reviews again…”

First of all, a standing ovation to Louis for getting to FADE OUT. That’s incredible, especially in nine days. But do you know what I love about this most? That Louis is scared. That he’s doubting himself. That he feels almost self-assured that he’s blown it. In my mind, those are the most healthy traits a writer can have. Unease and worry and fear drive us, in some odd and counterintuitive way, to force ourselves to not settle for failure. Remember just a bit ago when I was talking about how good I feel about the script I’m currently writing? That feeling is BLANKETED in terror. Because of that, I may be confident, but I’ll never be SATISFIED. And I think that’s what Louis is experiencing here. And to me, that’s the sign of a writer who gets it.

CHRIS

“I started bright and early on September 1, working as quickly as I could through my outline. I had hoped to have most of my script finished by now, but at the time of writing this review, I’m on Page 63. I still have three pages of outline to write through, so I’m sure I’ll be done with the first draft by the update next week.

Along the way, I’ve skipped over a few of the larger, more important scenes in the film. I’ll come back to these once I’m done with the skeleton, spending more time to make sure these scenes are just right. Spit shining.

I do most of my writing in the mornings, when the world is still quiet. I can settle in with a big cup of coffee, and get into the “atmosphere” of my story. I have a playlist on my computer of songs that remind me of my story. I have books and pictures around me that focus on my topic. I listen to some music and look at the pictures and then I’m ready to write.

Back to work!”

I’m really becoming more and more confident that I picked the right people for this challenge. Sixty-three pages is incredible in this amount of time, but much more than that, two things stick out to me here: Chris knows what works best for him as a writer, and he’s having fun writing. I cannot even begin to tell you how much it please me to hear that. I’m chuffed. I feel chuffed. It’s so easy to distance yourself from your writing when it goes from being a necessity to a commodity. But there’s ZERO reason that it can’t be both. I talk to writers all the time who love the end product but hate the process of sitting down to write, and nothing makes me sadder to hear. And all too often it leads to the sense that this is JUST a job, JUST a paycheck, JUST a work-for-hire that you need to bang out like an automaton. Commerciality does not have to equal banality; creativity does not have to be vanquished by the perception of “selling out”. It’s great to be reminded of that every now and then – so thanks, Chris.

RACHEL

“I have 52 pages written so far. None that look good enough to introduce to anyone. But a few that I’d consider making out with if all the lights were out. And I was drunk. And someone dared me to.

Whenever I get stuck on a plot point or a piece of dialogue, I go for a long walk. Of course I’m in Phoenix, where the average temp is still hovering around 105, so occasionally the heat stroke gets me before the inspiration does.
Sure I get weird looks from the neighbors when they catch me doubled over in their front lawns, feverish and dehydrated. And naturally I want to reassure them. “This is what following your dreams looks like, BITCHES!” But the dry heaving makes it tough to say anything so I usually just give a big thumbs up instead. Then I hallucinate my way home and tap out some more words.

Some days I worry my story’s not good enough. Other days I worry it’s great and I’m just not smart enough to tell it. But it’s mine, and I’m inclined to show it to the world, even though it’s a guaranteed embarrassment. Basically I indulge in the same kind of thinking that keeps the Sears Portrait Studio in business.”

After reading this, does anyone doubt for a moment that Rachel’s 52 pages contain some absolutely terrific stuff? No? Me neither. Rachel hits on much the same territory as Louis did, but I love the part about thinking it’s good but wondering if you’re actually capable of knowing the difference. NEWSFLASH: this feeling never goes away, nor should it. As a writer, you have to strike the delicate balance between believing you know what’s good/trusting your instincts and also being dead certain that you will never be sure and may very well be totally wrong. That’s the only way you stay open to criticism, and that’s the only way you’ll ever get any better.

DELANEY

“Okay, so I’m kind of worried about how not worried I’ve been so far. I figured I’d have my first panic attack about this around September 2nd, but I’ve kept really, really calm since beginning and I have no idea how. Even after someone announced they’re damn near done with a first draft (I won’t say any names but you know who you are LOUIS) I didn’t really freak out. This is all very unlike me and I’m hoping this new, awesome nervous system of mine sticks around for a while.

Anyways, pages-wise, I have about 30 put together thus far and I don’t totally hate them, which is also a very new and unexpected thing for me. Writing hasn’t been too difficult yet, but my story’s really just an exaggerated retelling of personal experiences, so I’m really just writing what I know. My roadblocks as of now have really just been family-related. My parents like to come in the room, stand over my shoulder, and ask me what I’m doing even though they KNOW GODDAMNED WELL WHAT I’M DOING. (You’re all writers so I’m sure you know the totally awful feeling that is someone standing over your shoulder while you’re trying to fucking write.) And my brother, Jordan, is now constantly bombarding me with all his film ideas because he’s convinced he can do this better than I can. The other day he said, “You know that movie about the dude that’s born old and gets younger? Benjamin Buttermaker, or whatever? Yeah, you should do something like that, but the guy does the opposite.” I said, “You mean someone that just ages like a normal person?” He said, “Yeah, exactly.” This is what I deal with here.

So I’ve been taking a break from everything/everyone and couch surfing in IL. Currently writing this in grandma’s basement. Back to MO and writing tomorrow.”

And, articulated at just the right moment, here’s Delaney with a different kind of fear: she’s worried that she’s not worried. This is a real thing. Writers are terrified at having created something good – it opens up the doors to too many other possibilities that we might not be ready for. “What if I have to do it again? WHAT IF I CAN’T DO IT AGAIN??” I haven’t read any of Delaney’s work yet, but I’m glad her process has been smooth for the most part (save for her family hanging over her shoulder – if you know a writer, DO NOT FUCKING DO THIS, as it does indeed make you the worst). Could she just be lulling herself into a false sense of creative security? Sure. Could she really be clicking and on top of her game? Absolutely. But the fact that she’s self-aware enough to have even thought this way is a damn good sign that she’s on the right track.

EMILY

“The past ten days haven’t been too bad. I’ve kind of just decided not to panic during these six weeks. I’ve been writing pretty much every day. A good day for me has been 6 or 7 pages, a bad day, zero pages. But the thing I’ve really figured out that works for me is to free write before every single scene. Or before a scene, and then during a scene, too, if I’m getting lost. I use the site 750words.com (it tracks your word count and the days you write and makes me feel accomplished), and just do a big ol’ mind dump before I face my script each day. I think this is why I haven’t been panicking. Because by the time I get to my scene, I know exactly what needs to happen in it, and where my protagonist’s head needs to be by the end of it.

Also, I’m used to writing with a partner and endlessly discussing what we’re working on, so this free writing thing kind of serves the same purpose. It’s like I’m endlessly discussing with myself what I’m working on.

I’m on page 45, and feeling okay about it. I’m not really letting anyone read it. I have a weekly writers’ group, and I haven’t been sharing pages. It’s too fresh, and the deadline is too soon. I don’t want five different opinions on it. I’m worried it will make me doubt myself. Or make me want to rewrite the whole thing. Or somehow just mess me up. So I’m protecting it, for now…”

I sense that Emily is slightly frustrated at the moment (please correct me if I’m wrong, Emily), but her update was one of my favorites this week simply because she’s finding her way. This is an early script, it’s early in the process, she’s just finding out how to get her head in the right place, she’s working for the first time without a partner…these are all hurdles. What’s great is that Emily seems to be just leaping over all of them, doing what she can to lock into the best first draft she’s capable of. That’s tremendous. She’s even found practical tools that help motivate her. Emily strikes me as someone who’s as intent on learning about writing as she is about writing itself. I think that’s going to serve her brilliantly. And anyway, some of the most fantastic work comes from the people who don’t know any of the pitfalls or contrivances and just go and WRITE. Maybe that’s Emily.

DAMIAN

“Shit, are we really 3 weeks in?

My plan to have a completed outline/treatment from which I could write the screenplay by the end of week 3 has not quite come to pass, but neither is it far off.

I think overall, I am reasonably happy with what I have got down. There have been a couple of lightbulb moments where things have come together and problems have been solved, seemingly without
any effort on my part. I know that is nonsense; the fat, juicy worms have come wriggling up because I have been ploughing the field, but such moments are memorable.

It is not the most original story, but as far as I can tell, it makes some kind of sense and most of my scenes seem to lead into each other for valid narrative reasons. Most of them. Some of them. I think. I hope.

Six weeks is nothing. Absolutely nothing. But as far as my chosen avocation is concerned, this is the most intensely productive single period I have ever had, and for that reason alone, I am loving being a part of this. My day job has been especially busy the last month or so, and taken together with the Challenge, I have been feeling pretty strung out on occasion lately. But there is light ahead; my beloved and I are heading off very soon to a Greek island for our annual holiday.

I am massively looking forward to it, and feel that pressing on with my screenplay on a sunlit balcony overlooking the Aegean or whatever it is fits in quite nicely with my delusional, romantic notion of what it means to be a Writer.

So, halfway. Whatever happens, in another 3 weeks, I will have a finished script.”

I ask a serious question: how can you read the above and NOT want to immediately drown yourself in whatever Damian is writing? What I think is so important here is that Damian has a demanding job that keeps him away from his script, both practically and mentally/emotionally at times. So many of you struggle with the same, and that’s not even taking into account, you know…LIFE. How do you keep yourself jazzed to typetypetype and be clever and tell a story you’re not even sure anyone else wants to hear? That’s a question without a one-size-fits-all answer, but are you starting to notice a pattern? In case you aren’t: writers learn to figure shit out, and writers learn how to make their time work for them. I’m not worried about Damian in the slightest, even if he lost time at the outset of this embedded in (basically) a war zone. But what can YOU do to keep the flame alight? Whatever it is: find it. If you can’t, that’s a pretty big sign.

CLAIRE

“I have a day job and children so there is no chance I am going to join these young upstarts with their bajillion pages by day 3. I have been dependably plodding away producing at least two pages a day and am now on page 24. On day 2 I nearly switched stories to something about emus as I had not done nearly enough world building for my science fiction script. I couldn’t describe *anything* as I hadn’t figured out what anything looked like. Suddenly something set in 1930’s Australia seemed so, so appealing. But I pushed through, putting in place holders, which I am gradually filling out as everything becomes clearer to me.

I write academic papers all day so I am accustomed to writing precisely and concisely. This makes it extremely difficult for me to waffle in a screenplay and therefore my page count creeps painfully slowly. If I’m going to make it to page 90 I need to chill the fuck out. I think tonight I am going to drink a bottle of wine and set my characters free. Every line doesn’t need to advance the plot. I’m not writing a scientific argument. It just needs to be entertaining.

Don’t fret. I’ll get back to the emus.”

I get the sense that Claire thinks she is behind in this challenge, and I would like to dispel her (and any of you feeling the same way) of that notion; you are, indeed, not. Some people write quickly with no regard for their own personal safety. Some are deliberate and considered. No way is better than the other until it comes to what you’re comfortable with. Once again (and seriously, I’m posting these in the order I receive them each week), we find someone who has a demanding job and an entire life that come before writing. It’s nothing to dismiss, and being that she’s (approximately, statistically) 1/4 of the way through her script with all of that on her plate is remarkable. The idea that having a few drinks will cause you to pour forth all you’ve been holding back in your writing is a terrible cliche and one that I support wholeheartedly. Sometimes you just need a pressure release. Claire may think she’s hit a wall here, but in reality she’s just softening it up so she can finally break through.

JESSE & JERREN

“Just to reiterate Jerren’s ongoing spelling struggle, we are now actively working with a document he created titled ‘ACT II CHORNOLOGY.’ Cool.

On this note, we tend to send ideas back and forth via whatever email thread we have open, some of which have subjects like ‘NEW MAD MAX TRAILER OH FUUUUUUCK,’ so it’s been a challenge keeping track of things we’ve discussed. For this project we made the long overdue move of attempting to centralize all of our ideas into one document, which lasted 9 hours.

On Day One, Jerren was still at the Telluride film festival. We had prepared for this by divvying up Act 1 scenes before Jerren left. BUT HE HAD TO WRITE HIS SCENES LONGHAND WHILE WAITING IN LINE TO SEE BIRDMAN, which is very gross for other people to see. I know, tough life, huh, Jerren?

Though the condensed time frame for both preparation and writing had us a little worried at first, the actual typing of the ‘vomit draft’ — a term we both hate because we are always always ALWAYS eating while writing–has been moving quickly. (We’re at about 64 pages now) (Which should really be about 35 but oh well) In fact, because of that pace, we took off this past Monday to throw a giant ‘One Week Of Writing Excellence’ party. Nobody came. It was a block party.

The unexpected speed at which words are being vomited (uggggh) gives us the confidence to ease up on the proverbial gas pedal and keep talking about everything. We scrutinize, outline, email, and scrutinize some more, weighing the effect of every single choice and beat we make and what the ramifications are. This shines a light on areas we haven’t thought all the way through, disconnects in plot points/tone/CHORNology, or when one of us beat-for-beat writes a whole sequence from DREDD. We know from experience that it’s just so easy to lose track of what we actually started writing thematically, especially in a comedy, so we’re constantly stepping back to re-assess what the ultimate goals and arcs of our characters are, and to nail down the most compelling way to disseminate that info through the narrative.

The other big thing we’re striving for is creative ways to get in some set-ups/pay-offs. Our project is dealing with a genre that has no small amount of iconography and standard tropes, so we’re working very hard to mask or obscure all our set-ups behind character beats and/or jokes, usually a combination of the two. We think set-ups can usually be seen a mile away and thus blunt the effect of the ultimate pay-offs, so a lot of our focus is going into this aspect.

But good God for reals have you guys seen that Mad Max trailer?!”

Focus on the last paragraph here, because…well, this is where I’m telling you to focus. Don’t question me. This is important: these two are ACTIVELY thinking about what they can do to make their script stand out, to make their story more memorable, by paying attention to the details. Look, there are no new stories left in the world. None. It’s all been done in one form or another. That in mind, never be afraid that you’re walking a well-worn trail – you are. You definitely are. Everyone is. So what sets you apart is how you make those details your own, how you this familiar tale into your own. Seen it before in a movie? Change it. What to? Well, what HAVEN’T you seen before in that situation? Moreover, what would YOU like to see in that situation. Here’s the best way I can describe it: everyone’s gotten into an argument that they’ve walked away from, only to twenty minutes later come up with a line that’s the nail in the coffin – the “AH FUCK ME WHY DIDN’T I SAY THAT??????” conundrum. Well here’s the great news: if you’re a writer ALL OF YOUR ARGUMENTS GET TO END PERFECTLY IF YOU WANT THEM TO. So manipulate that shit. This is where you get to be you to the very apex of your own narcissism. Have at it. You can’t give us something new, but you can give us something better or unexpected. And then, at the very least, you’ve piqued our interest.

PS – If it makes you queasy, you don’t HAVE to call it a “vomit draft”. Anything excretory will do.

DAN

“Nearing the end of week two I find myself nearing the end of Act One. That’s good, right? Six weeks = two weeks per act. I haven’t taken a math class since senior year of high school so it sounds right to me.

I know there’s a bunch of hubbub in the screenwriting ether about act structure, its benefits, its negatives, who its going to take to prom, etc. I personally just use it as a general guide. Act 1 is setting up your rules, Act 2 is playing around, and Act 3 is the big finale. The length, tone, if they’re divided into smaller pieces, and everything else about those acts depends on what story you’re actually telling. It’s a helpful guide, not a formula.

For this one, Act 1 is a bit unique. Chronologically, it takes place over the course of half a day. The entire script will take place over about two weeks, so that is a full 1/3 of the page count all taking place in half a day. It’ll hopefully give it a full-steam ahead energy that’ll grip the audience and not let go. When they blink and realize they’ve been following along for a half hour, they’ll realize they are past all the boring setup and into the fun stuff. And their wallets are gone.

Another fun element is the transitions. For the first twenty or so pages, almost every scene transitions to the next through either a sports show or a phone call. Why? I don’t know. Seemed like a fun idea. Stop asking so many questions.

Next week, I dive into the untamable quagmire that is Act 2. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think a pest control guy is knocking on my apartment door. Cheers!”

“It’s a helpful guide, not a formula.” Dan, I am going to kiss you on the mouth. You could not be righter. This is part of something I try to tell writers as often as possible. There are “rules”, but there are really no RULES. At the end of the day, the only thing  you ever need to worry about is keeping your reader entertained enough to want to flip from page to page and ultimately satisfying them in one way or another at the end. That’s it, and that should always be in the back of your mind: “Have I made the reader care?” Structure is only necessary insofar as the people making the movie agree the story needs to unfold. You can have the tightest, most bit-by-bit screenplay imaginable…and it can still suck big fat wet dogcock. On the flipside, you can have a thrillingly exciting set of scenes that absolutely go nowhere without glue to bind them and an engine to propel them forward. What I’m saying is: don’t be concerned about the box. Be concerned what’s in the box. If someone gives you a stack of cash in a paper bag, are you going to bitch at them because it didn’t come in a suitcase? No. If you would or have, I’m calling the police.

Also, I’m very interested in Dan’s transitions, because I consider stuff like this to be the ultimate hit-or-miss tool in screenwriting. If they feel organic to the tone/theme/story, they can be great. If not, they come off as sad gimmicks. The fact that Dan’s putting a lot of thought into it leads me to believe it’ll be the former.

SABINA

“Well, these past few weeks have some new kinds of challenging. I was mulling over my outline the Sunday night before lift-off and thought it looked pretty boring. Not visual at all.

One possible solution to that – this seemed like a good idea at the time, I swear – was to get rid of the first act and instead pepper the rest of the movie with it in the form of distorted surreal flashbacks.

I haven’t read over my pages yet, so I don’t know if that’s working yet.

Another pain in the backside – I’m a good 40 pages short. Yep. 40 pages. I’m up to about 55 pages and have pretty much written every scene I thought of in the outlining stage. Needless to say, development is needed.

I’m trying to figure out why this happened and one good reason might be…I didn’t use the board. Yeah, the good old-fashioned corkboard. If I fill a corkboard with index cards, I know that I have at least a 90-page script. Too much more and I know I’m going a bit too long.

Maybe I’m writing short because I want to get the heck outta there. It’s been a lot more painful than usual, writing pages. Sure, writing is hard most of the time but once I’m done, I’m usually quite proud of myself. But this time not so much. I don’t know the world well enough. I haven’t done my time researching or outlining or getting to know the characters. At least I don’t think so.

With my previous scripts, I knew what the “house” of my screenplay looked like even though I didn’t really need to go into every room. I feel much more like a stranger here. I know that a lot of people in #sixweekspec find this compressed time-frame challenging and compressed their process to uncomfortably short lengths. I suppose that’s the point of this whole exercise – what really works as far as process goes. And what SO doesn’t.

Note to self: Use a board.

Oh yes and this writing 10-pages-a-day shtick really doesn’t work for me. At most, I can manage 6 or 7.

Another note to self: pages are meant to be savored, not devoured.

But on the upside, some extraordinary stuff has been emerging re: theme and meaning. I think this screenplay is about activism, ego and free will. How awesome is that? This from someone who didn’t even take Philosophy 101 at university.

Yeah, writing kind of blows right now. But I’m sure it’s going to look up eventually. It might not be at the end of this six weeks. But it will eventually.

It might have nothing to do with writing actually. My husband lovingly decided to share his cold with me. Family gave me grief. Just general suckiness was had in other areas of life. It’s amazing how everything happens at once, doesn’t it? That’s life and all that.

Sigh. Back to pages.”

Sabina hits on a real truth here: sometimes writing sucks. Remember back there when I was like, “I’m baffled by people who hate the act of writing?” (Remember the last time I asked you if you remembered that other time?) Well, that’s true – I am. But that’s also a macro thing. In the micro, writing can be a real fucking tit sometimes. Everyone had bad days, bad weeks, bad months. Some have bad careers (I’m not sure I’m not one of them, honestly)! And if you find yourself in that position, what do you do? Whatever your answer is, it HAS to end with, “…and then I buckled down and started writing again.” Sabina, I know, gets this. I also love the fact that she’s aware of what her weakness is right now – she doesn’t have the whole story yet. When you come up short in your page count (the total of which is imaginary but we all have a basic idea of what to hover around) the problem is almost always that you don’t know, completely, what  you’re trying to accomplish or what you’re trying to say. When you do, you’ll have a frustrating amount of extra pages, not fewer. I also love love love love love that she’s taking a BIG chance with her first act. That’s exciting and interesting and GOD that is so much better than a writer always adhering to what they think they SHOULD do.

—————–

I’ve got to say…I’m absorbing a lot from these guys, and I’m almost inexplicably impressed with the considered approaches they’re taking to their scripts. It’s immensely gratifying. They all care, and they’re all thoughtful and cognizant and AWARE. Who knows where each of these 10 scripts end up – will they all even be completed in the first place? – but it’s pretty safe to say they’re all coming from the right points of origin.

More later this week. I’ve heard from a few of you with your own tales and I might still post some at some point – I’ve just been trying to finish up my own shit over here. But continue to write and ask questions and update me on your progress. It’s been a great learning experience/commiseration so far.

Monday. Labor Day, for us Americans. And for all our Six Week Spec writers: Day One. If they so choose. If not, then…erm…SOME OTHER DAY will be their Day One. I’ve…kind of left this unstructured. And now I’m finding that lessens the impact of a start date. Making said announcement somewhat anti-climactic. Schnarf.

Anyway, for most of the Selected Ten, probably, perhaps, Monday will be the day their script first goes from being Planck-sized electrical brain signals to something digitally tangible. They will put words to page for the first time, and thus begin one of the most harrowing-yet-satisfying journeys of their entire lives.

Or, it will be easy. I’m not omnipotent.

But what have they done since they were Selected to get ready? How have they been prepping or, perhaps, NOT prepping, to actually write? That’s the subject of this week’s Where Are They Now?, as I’ve decided to call it. So let’s check in with them, shall we?

Yes. Let’s shall.

(WARNING: THIS IS LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG. So carve out some time, because they’re all goddamned worth the read.)

SABINA

“So I’ve finally waded into my outline. It looks a bit terrible at the moment – okay, a lot terrible – but I know that’s normal. Just gotta keep working at it.

This week, I’ve tried to pin down my alien and my human character. I’ve never written aliens before so this should be fun. No, really – it’s fun.

It wasn’t at the beginning because the fear got me. You know, I was thinking of writing along with #SixWeekSpec anyway because the deadline would light a fire under my backside. But really no one is going to beat me up if I miss that deadline. If I chose, no one would even know.

It’s a bit different to be suddenly held truly accountable. The FOS (Fear of Sucking) had me in its grip a while. But then I decided to put all the anxiety in a box (because let’s face it, all those scary possibilities are real) and keep it aside. Like I always tell myself, it’s okay to fall flat on my face as long as I give it my best shot. (Apparently it’s called compartmentalizing. They say only men can do it. I disagree. I know lots of men whose brains are a big jumble and I know lots of women who can focus in an emergency like a soldier.) I’d like to have some fun with this.

And really, this stuff is super fun. I’ve had crazy boring jobs before – admin, data entry – and even they’ve been a little fun. Screenwriting is really fun and I don’t even have to try.

My plan is to have a fairly tight outline I can be proud of by Monday and jam out 10-12 pages a day, so I have time to write a second draft.

Truth is, I don’t know if I’ll be able to achieve that. I’ve tried this method before as per the excellent Kevin Morales (@KevinMorales on Twitter)’s suggestion – it was exhausting. But we’ll see. Never say never, in the words of Bieber.

This is only my third screenplay so it’s unlikely to be professional reader-ready in the first draft. I need a little more time to whip it into shape. We’ll see how it goes.

As I said, screenwriting is fun. Yeah, it’s wicked hard sometimes, often gives me a headache and makes me cry quite often too – but lots of great things have that effect. Cooking. Love. Ski-ing. Video-games. Terrible movies you can’t stop watching. Great movies you can’t stop watching. Shopping sprees.

Peace out and happy writing, everybody.”

Sabina writes about something I’ve discussed a couple times here on the site – fear. It’s been a warm blanket, for me, finding out that it alternately mentally pummels and motivates writers. It’s finding a way to make sure it’s more of the latter that seems to be the key. Also, Sabina is the first to mention that she’s going to try to bang out TWO drafts in the six weeks. That’s a bold gamble. And I like it.

CHRISTOPHER

“Week 1 – Preparation

Whenever I have ideas for screenplays, I create a new note on my iPhone and begin writing a flushed out version of an outline. Every paragraph is pretty much a scene or a sequence. Once I feel I’ve got most of my tentpole scenes down, I’m ready to start flushing out my outline in Final Draft. I simply retype the paragraphs into a new screenplay template, adding slug lines for each paragraph/sequence. These are just guides, but I find this really helpful because the overall outline is then created in the “Navigator” pane and I can skip around if I need to.

As for the actual writing of my spec screenplay, my plan is to finish the first complete draft by October 1, leaving myself two weeks for notes, revisions and rewriting. In order to accomplish this, I would need to average around 25 pages a week, or five pages a day during the weekdays (I have to have non-writing days too!) My writing process, however, normally starts with the “vomit” draft, where I try to write as much of the screenplay as possible as quickly as possible. It isn’t pretty, but it gives me a solid head start on my story. I will, most likely, spend the most time writing, and rewriting, the first ten pages, because that sets the pace for the rest of the film!

As for the research portion of my preparation, this particular screenplay requires much less legwork then I have done in the past. I had to do some research into local laws and regulations, spoke to a few “vendors” regarding their services and digging up old books and newspaper articles on the general “setting” of my film. If that sounds really vague, it’s because it’s supposed to be.

I’m rolling up my sleeves. I purchased a new laptop (my first in seven years!) and I’m chomping at the bit to get started. Is it still August?”

And then Christopher quickly became the SECOND writer to talk about writing two drafts in these six weeks. God bless these guys. I love Christopher’s approach, which is much like my own (in theory if not in practice, as these steps exist in my head and not on paper) and also unique in the way he structures his “outline”. Very interesting. And lookee, research! This is some serious shit right now!

JESSE & JERREN

“Quick heads-up: for now, we’re sticking to this third-person conceit where we don’t identify which one of us is writing which words because, honestly, we are trying to cultivate some mystique. We will probably abandon it soon (never).

We spent the first few days of this pre-writing period just deciding on which idea to run with from our deep archive of feature-length script ideas (three). This began with a series of fun, exploratory emails and then QUICKLY ramped up into very intense text messages as days passed. Schedules were a complicating factor here: Jesse had family in town until Tuesday and Jerren left for Telluride on Wednesday. When we’re writing, we are fine working separately and sending scenes back and forth, and maybe even prefer it. But when we are breaking a story, it is absolutely better to be in the same room pitching ideas where we can more easily talk things out, gauge body language and tone, compliment each other, and eat. It also eliminates Jerren’s gross misspelling of basic words, which is an issue. We managed to get together a few times, which helped a lot.

Here’s our initial plan for this thing. We often come up with waaaay too many characters, ideas and gags to toy with, and what usually helps is to finish an entire vomit draft which attempts to include EVERYTHING. Then we go back and refine. As time will be tight for this experiment, we’re trying to talk out as much of that as possible and making sure each character’s narrative is focused and tight. We know from experience that we’ll still have just way too much going on, so we’re going to try to tightly outline each beat so we can hurtle through a draft in like three weeks, and then have the remaining three weeks to refine, hone and focus.

We hope you enjoy reading about “LASER PIGS” as much we have enjoyed discussing it.”

You’ve now seen the term “vomit draft” a couple of times here, and you’ve heard it from me often. Why? Because it’s SO important, in a first draft, to get out ALL your ideas. Once you’ve done that you can see the trees for the forest (fuck it, I don’t know) and get a better sense of what’s works simply as a one-off scene and what really fits in with your story. I think J&J’s plan to use the outline to pare down characters and ideas could either be feast or famine, but I’d have to guess more feast considering they’ve done this before. Will be a lot of fun, for me at least, to watch how a writing team goes at this.

DAN

“Geoff told us the subject of this week’s update was to talk about the preparation (or lack thereof) we’ve done in anticipation of our start date on September first. To begin to talk about preparation, I need to talk about why I love it. To talk about why I love it, I must talk about why I love screenwriting.

Screenwriting, to me, is the most creative point of a movie’s creation. I can literally write whatever I want on the page. Dragons? Sure. Talking butts? Alright. Plants that kill people with wind? You betcha. With this powerful combination of twenty six different letters and weird formatting, I can create anything. Now, if you want a screenplay that is coherent, competent, and might actually get made, dragons, talking butts, and plants that kill people with wind all at once probably won’t get you there.

And though Screenwriting is so freeing, preparation is even more so. It’s the place to vomit up every “plants kill people with wind” idea and worry if it actually works later. It’s the place to outline a thousand ways for my heroic talking butts to save their home of Buttopia. Or don’t save it! Who knows! At this point, I don’t have to worry about it! All I need to do is empty my brain of every solution and assemble the pieces later.

As for the preparation for this specific script, there’s a lot of stuff that excites me. Will it work? Again, who knows. But that’s what the next few weeks are for.”

Vomit again! But different vomit this time! I found it really interesting that Dan’s process is to vomit out all his ideas into an outline as opposed to a draft (closer to J&J than Christopher). I wonder how many writers who do notes and outlines and all that jazz see it this way? And that makes me wonder, really, how different an outline is from a kitchen sink first draft, at the end of the day. Also, it’s great to see a writer who admits to LOVING prep, which is a totally foreign concept to me, because I see it as something that expressly keeps me from ACTUAL writing. But hey, we’re all floating boats here, and that’s what matters.

DAMIAN

“I am writing this very late at night in my bunk in a very wet, very cold big tent – the kind you saw on MASH – while trying to ignore the snoring, farting Croatian soldiers in the tents all around me. There is no mobile phone coverage in this enormous Tolkienesque forest, so I will send it from the 17 square inches of wifi coverage that exist in the mess hall when I go down there for breakfast in a few hours.

I have been embedded with the British Army this week as they exercise with their Croatian counterparts. It has been stupid busy with almost no downtime but I don’t think I have gone a whole hour without thinking about my script.

I can best describe it as as an ephemeral cloud punctuated with fragments of solidity that revolves slowly above my head and follows me everywhere I go. I was filming soldiers assaulting a “kill-house” this afternoon, close up and hand-held, when I was sideswiped by the realisation that what I had planned for my protagonist, in broad-brush terms, simply would not work dramatically. A brief spasm of panic ensued.

I need to get a grip. I have become consumed with the idea that somehow I am going to produce a work of such quality in the six weeks available to me that it is going to profoundly change my life. I have absolutely no doubt my nine fellow travellers are contending with the same affliction. How could it be otherwise?

I am back home this weekend and feel very ready to get on with it. My plan is to have an outline in place by the end of week 3, but as I have been told more than once in the last few days, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

I am excited.

I have done some work on character bios, and before I left home on this assignment I cleaned up the spare room. I can hardly expect her to whisper in my ear if the place looks a shithole, can I?”

So basically we have a writer here who, embedded in the thick of real, honest-to-God War Games, has been thinking about his script and only his script. I have never felt less like a man. Otherwise, I’ll be honest: I worry about Damian’s plan to outline into Week Three of the challenge, leaving himself only three weeks to write a first draft. That feels like it’ll cut it REALLY close. But, alternatively…maybe that’s the best motivation? We shall see. STAY ALIVE DAMIAN I CAN’T HAVE ONE OF YOU CROAKING ON MY WATCH.

RACHEL

“In the past (not that I HAVE much of a past with this stuff), I’ve always started writing scenes as soon as an idea came to me. Usually jumping in somewhere in the middle and working my way out. Coming up with characters and plot points as I went along. Grinning like an excitable idiot the whole way through. And always ending up with a steaming, jumbled pile of just awful awfulness. But the parameters of this challenge prohibited me from doing any of that. Saint Geoff, in his wisdom, slowed my roll.

So for the past few weeks, instead of tossing every terrible idea and every horrible first instinct into the boneless mushpuddle of a new screenplay, I’ve been jotting them down in a notebook, to be sorted out later. And that later is finally NOW! I’m sifting through all these little notes—discarding the ones that are the mental equivalent of petrified cat turds (and the grocery lists that slipped in…was there a scene where someone eats hummus? Or did I just really want hummus? Because that word keeps popping up…) Anyway, I’m shaping what’s left into an actual outline that makes actual sense and hopefully tells the story I want to tell. ‘Is this what it’s like to stop and THINK about what you’re fucking doing before you fucking do it?’ I wonder aloud to nobody in particular. Because it feels great.

Just imagine if I’d polished all those cat turds straight away like I wanted to. So shiny and smooth…they probably would have been harder to recognize. And a lot harder to throw away.

My outline is almost complete. These characters have been bickering in my head for so long—I KNOW them and I love them and I want to punch them in their imaginary throats. And they’re going to want to punch me back when they find out how much trouble I’m sending their way. But I’m feeling prepared and confident. To quote one of the affirmations l scribbled down in my notebook: as long as I do smartness and use my words good, everything should be work right… Or something like that. God my handwriting’s rough.”

And here we have our first writer admittedly going out on a limb, trying to retool a process that, in the past, they didn’t feel worked for them. I’m VERY interested to see where Rachel’s mind takes her, and I’m curious as to whether or not she’s going to completely figure it out in this six weeks. My guess would be “not”, but that’s OK – she’s still (admittedly) green to the form, and here’s a little secret: no one has it fucking figured out. Ever. You just continually go with what you think works for you and you tinker with it ad infinitum. Like George Lucas. Though hopefully not like George Lucas, because step away from the goddamned computer already, you had it the first time.

EMILY

“This week kind of started with panic. I had an idea, but it was set in a world that I’m not super familiar with, so it would’ve required a lot of research to pull off. Not to mention, the more I fleshed out the story, the less it felt like something I wanted to write. So I gave in a little, and decided to commit to an idea that I’ve been thinking about for months. Like, I keep hearing the characters talking and arguing with each other in my head (should I seek help?). I had been fleshing them out, imagining possible scenes, and feeling the tone of the whole thing without even being totally aware that I was doing it. The world of the story is something that I know well, and I’m confident that I can get a solid draft done on this tight schedule. After all, that’s all this is: a draft. I keep reminding myself that. My goal at the end of this is to have a solid first draft. One that I am proud of, and one that is ready for criticism, but I don’t expect it to be perfection. And remembering that takes some of the pressure off.

I am committed to having it outlined in detail before putting anything on the page. I want a well structured screenplay, above all else. I can make the jokes funnier, the scenes more concise, the characters more realized in drafts 2-5. But a first draft with spot-on structure is a good place to work off of. I don’t believe in “figuring it out as you go”. Mostly because I’ve tried it, and I get discouraged about ten pages into act 2. So, I’ve deactivated my Facebook, I’ve warned my friends and family that I will be less available than usual, and I’m working this week on a very detailed, scene by scene outline of the story. I’m doing the whole notecard thing, and for the first time, I am liking it. It helps to see it all laid out in front of you, and it gives me a much needed break from my computer screen.

At this point, it’s feeling very doable. I think I’ll be ready to dive right in on September 1st. But if I don’t have the outline totally finished, I’m not going to start until I do. I want to find and solve all the possible problems with my story now, so I don’t run into them on October 10th, realize I have to re-write a huge chunk of the thing, and have a nervous breakdown.”

I’m very impressed with Emily this week, and I’ll tell you why: first of all, I think she made a brilliant decision to NOT write something it sounds like she thought OTHER people would like, but instead to write something that was in her comfort zone and that SHE liked. Huge difference there, and not one many novice writers can make. Emily is choosing to write what she knows – a common philosophy that, as I discussed with one of the Selected Ten last week, can be as vague or as specific as you want it to be, and anywhere in between. Point is: Emily is now writing for HER, and not for anyone else. This is always the path to one’s best writing. Always.

LOUIS

“I love prepping. Potentially more than writing. Actually, definitely more than writing. It goes Prepping, Rewriting, Writing. Writing sucks.

Well it doesn’t, obviously. But out of the three, it’s certainly the hardest I think. That’s why I prep so much, to make the writing part as smooth as possible.

For me, I love coming up with the ideas. Always writing notes on my iPhone when i’m out and about, or when i’m just about to fall asleep. After a buddy of mine (@zackgutin) convinced me to go paperless, I now create these vast Word documents, full of potential scenes and bits of dialogue. I just like to get everything out and onto the page. And then I stop.

You see, I work at a big professional services company. I have spent the last 7 years working with consultants. Process is my bag. Process is my bitch.

Because of that, I have a process for prepping. It goes:

Ideas, ideas, ideas. (Fist pumping a lot as these ideas are WICKED).
Identify similar movies (I watch / read the movies, make notes, and understand how those stories ‘work’ (sorry for gross quote marks)).
Build out the characters based off my ideas, those movies, and how I want to play with the standard model. Then I write character bios for them all.
Laying out the cards, using the characters to drive the story. (3×5 cards and different coloured pens are crucial for a career in writing to my mind).

For a lot of people, Process is a bad word. It implies staleness, or an inability to think creatively. I get that, I totally do. You’re just wrong. Idiot.

And before you start getting all ‘writing is art’ and ‘you shouldn’t limit your creativity’ and ‘be one with your Mana and Gaia’; in the end, Process for me is about confidence. It lets me know I’ve done the homework I need, and that I’m as ready as I can be.

When September 1st rolls around, I’m going to be bricking it. Guaranteed. But all the prepping allows me to smash that first draft out as fast as possible. Then I can start rewriting, and that’s where the magic happens. Like on Cribs. In the bedroom. With the sex.”

First of all, I found out this week that Louis once worked in a shoe shop in London with two members of The Boxer Rebellion, who are featured in GOING THE DISTANCE. That’s awesome. Second, what I really love about what Louis wrote this week is that he knows *exactly* what works for him, and he knows *exactly* why. I also think it’s very interesting that he finds prepping and rewriting more fun than writing the first draft…which is something I hear a LOT from other writers, and befuddles me as it’s the polar opposite from what I experience. Bottom line: he knows how to get what he needs to get out of himself, and the confidence he has in his process is the key. That’s fantastic.

CLAIRE

“Most of the feature ideas I have laying about have been devised specifically to be shot here in Tasmania on no budget. Nothing was
really suitable for the Black List, and I am not too proud to admit some fairly serious freaking out occured. Ultimately I thought about
what I really wanted to see on screen and that just flat out wasn’t there. I think the concept I have settled on is potentially quite silly, but
I’m hopefully going to have a whole bunch of fun writing it.

My preparation so far has included begging people to take my children away, hammering my writers group with half-baked concepts,
and a not insubstational amount of nervous drinking. I have beautiful colour coordinated index cards with extremely vague statements
on them (eg: “Something happens to make them like each other”), and pages of character work that contain more questions than
answers. The main reason I have not been successful writing features in the past has been that I write very sparse and concise. I write 40
pages and feel like there is no more story. So an important part for me this time is writing on my index cards how many minutes I think
each scene is. I can then easily see that it’s not a 90 page script in its current form and I need to develop it more before I actually start
writing. I’m hoping this will stop me from writing the exciting scenes and then just giving up.

My day job is already mostly typing, so another potential showstopper is crippling desk related pain. @SiFoulaReel suggested regular
dance parties and being a giant dork I decided to write a python program to enforce them. I have included the code in case you want to
use it for your own Six Week Spec, but you will probably need to change the screensaver lock out command if you run Windows or
MacOS.

import os
import random
import pygame
import time
minutes = 30
dance_dir = “your directory of banging tunes”
dance_files = os.listdir(dance_dir)
pygame.mixer.init()
while True:
time.sleep(minutes*60)
song = random.choice(dance_files)
pygame.mixer.music.load(dance_dir+song)
pygame.mixer.music.play()
os.system(“gnomescreensavercommand
l”)
while pygame.mixer.music.get_busy() == True:
continue

Apart from that I’ve read a couple of scripts and watched some films in the same genre. Once this week I got out of the shower with
shampoo still in my hair because I was thinking about my characters. I’m taking that as a sign that I am ready for this madness. Oh god,
hold me.”

I will admit to not having the first fucking clue what that computery gobbledygook is, but it sounds FASCINATING. Other than that, I want to point out a decision that I’m disappointed Claire made: she chose to eschew a concept that she might have turned into a terrific script because she deemed it not “really suitable for the Black List”. The goal here isn’t to write something that bows down to someone else’s standards – it’s to tell the story that YOU want to tell. As this will be Claire’s first feature-length script, I’m concerned that she’s going into writing with such a mindset, because writing what you think other people want to see never works out as well as writing what YOU want to see. Hopefully, this script IS something she’s been wanting to write, or something she just discovered she really wants to write. But I’m concerned that she’s hamstrung herself with this artificial notion of what’s “good enough” to be read by others. Will be curious to see how this pans out. Fingers crossed.

DELANEY

“I honestly didn’t do a ton of prep work this week in terms of prewriting, which I didn’t do for a few reasons. First, I’ve had this spec idea tattooed in my mind for quite a while now, so I figured it would be just as fine hanging out in my head as it would be manifested onto a piece of paper. Second, when I sit down to write, I have a tendency to go on and on and on until my brain implodes so I had a feeling if I worked on this too much I’d be tempted to go ahead and start writing. And since y’all are such nice people, I didn’t want to be the one that cheated.

But I did start planning on how I’m going to organize my time in the next six weeks. I’m a visual person, so I wanted to have something besides my tiny little planner to note how many days I have left to write and such. I considered for five minutes making one of those construction paper ring chain things we made in elementary school to countdown the days until Christmas but then I remembered 1) my dog, cats, or brothers would probably tear it to shit and 2) I’m 22 years old and there must be a more adult way to go about this. So I’m drawing a giant calendar on a piece of poster board and hanging it up in my writing room.

Speaking of writing room, I established a writing room in my house. I can’t use my bedroom because it’s small as shit (it was designed to be a second laundry room) so I called dibs on the dining room for the next six weeks. I made my family verbally agree to never bother me while I’m in there unless 1) the house is on fire or 2) someone’s dying or 3) mom made one of my favorite meals for dinner. Up until now I just usually wrote in whatever room was quietest and least occupied so it’ll be cool to have my own little corner for a while.

As of right now, I’m not establishing a certain amount of words or pages I’m going to write each day. I figured I’ll wing it for two weeks or so and then, if I feel like I’m behind, I’ll implement something. I’m lucky to be in a position where I don’t have any other obligations (work, kids, etc.) so I can dedicate as much time to this as needed. I am going to start substitute teaching soon, but the beautiful thing about that institution is that I can say, ‘Sorry, I can’t today,’ whenever I want and no one can hold it against me.

I also stocked up on things that I consider absolutely necessary to have on hand while writing, which are: an assortment of teas for the morning, and whiskey, beer, and wine for the other times of the day. I even found a bottle of Petite Sirah called ‘Writer’s Block’ that I thought was funny and needed in large quantities.

Anyways, I’m excited and ready to get started! And I’m also a little nervous, mainly because I’m going to be at the Lake of the Ozarks (Missouri’s only other redeemable quality besides the St. Louis Cardinals and Jon Hamm) for Labor Day and won’t have the opportunity to start writing until late Monday evening. I feel like it’s very bad omen-ish, but oh well.

Good luck to everyone! Not that anyone really needs it… (:”

As you see, Delaney is doing a completely different kind of prepping than anyone else…and there’s nothing wrong with that. Specifically, I think the idea of having a place – wherever you live – that’s just for you and just for writing is a brilliant one. Even if it’s just the corner of a space or you lock yourself in the bathroom. You do whatever works. I also think it’s a big positive that she already knows she’s willing to course-correct after a couple weeks if she’s not firing on all cylinders. Sometimes, for some of us (me included), less is more, at least up front. Again, I’m interested to see how her expectations line up with reality.

——–

As for me, I’m still doggedly trying to finish up an assignment, so I’ve done no prep and might not even be able to start my spec on time with the others – and that’s OK. The spec I’ll be writing is called UNCLE DAD and will be based on time my girlfriend and I had to take in my toddler niece for an entire Summer, both of us with ZERO experience raising children. So not only do I have a few pages of scattered notes lying around, but I lived the goddamned thing. So I figure I’ll be ready to go once I actually get going, as it were.

How’s YOUR prep going? Let me know – perhaps I’ll throw down a midweek update for those of you playing along at home.