Day 30: +541 =20,642: WINNER!

Hurrah! It's over. I wrote a screenplay! At least I've robustly crossed the 20,000 word finish line and the first draft is 'done'. I've got my little winner icons and a certificate to print to prove it all. I've also got the bare bones of a story on my hard drive.

What else does it need? It needs some better plot motivation and more interesting characters. It needs some action and it needs some humor (it's supposed to be a comedy). I would really like to see if I can add all of those elements.

My choices about what to do next are:
A) Write a second draft of this screenplay.
B) Finish my 2006 NaNoWriMo novel rewrite.
C) Continue my sci-fi novel.
D) Try to write some short stories (for practice and contests and such).
E) Relax a little.

I suppose I'll work on -E- for a day or two (not too long) and then do either -A- or -B-. I'd like to feel like I really finished one of these projects and those are the closest to being done. And I know there are a couple of people waiting on -B-.

Anyway... yay!

Day 29: +1904 = 20,101

Hey! I hit 20K! But my movie's not over. And I don't think the scene I just wrote will necessarily be in the finished script at all. It's more like the closing scene for a sit-com, not a film. So, I'll have another go tonight or tomorrow. But I know I crossed the finish line as far as word count goes. Hurray!

Day 28: +987 =18,197

Another good day of catching up. And some good story. The plot has turned and now the push for the final confrontation is underway. And we're going to Luxembourg.

Day 27: +2014 =17,210

Got a better night's sleep and had some good plot twists. Added a big long sequence today, sort of the main quest/confrontation - so far. There's more coming. Page count says 85. Cool.

Day 26: +665 =15,196

A little bit more setup for the final push, including a bit of a confrontation. I've been listening to a seminar and doing more reading and realizing that I'm going to have to really revise the characters and plot in order to make it into something worth reading (and eventually filming). But at least I'm getting some ideas and structure down that I can revise later.

4 more days and about 5,000 words needed to 'win'. I'm going to have to double my output. Or have a long day on Saturday. It will be worth it.

Day 25: +669 =14,531

That's better. A days worth of work, but I'm still behind. I think I can finish the draft this week. But I can already see how much work it will take to really revise it into something readable. Then I'll have to revise again (and again...) to create something sellable. Then I'm sure it will be revised into unrecognizability before it ever gets filmed (if it ever is). This is an interesting process.

Day 24: +0 = 13,862

Didn't get any real work done again. I did update my notes and overview, so I can get back on track.

Day 23: +0 = 13,862

Another lazy day. Last full day of Katie's visit. Did some gardening.

Day 22: +0 =13,862

Managed to squander my time surfing the 'net again. I guess I'm a little stuck on where to go next, anyway.

Day 21: +659 =13,862

Added a mix-in scene of another character's adventures. I'm not sure if it will really work, but something like this needs to happen to open up the story.

By taking two days off, I've fallen a half day behind. But that's not too bad. I think I can catch up and surge ahead this weekend.

Day 20: +0 =13,203

My birthday

Day 19: +0 =13,203

A day of rest.

Day 18: +1298 =13,203

Two more sequences, both with some actual comedy. Yay! I've also added notes about how to make the hero a bit more pathetic at the beginning, raise the stakes and make the MacGuffin more believable.

Day 17: +0 =11,905

I spent Fathers Day with my kids. No writing, but that's OK. Actually got an idea to ponder about another possible story while taking the Argosy Lake Washington Cruise. Cool.

Day 16: +1152 =11,905

How about that!? I just sat down to see if I could get a couple of hundred words in before going to the airport to pick up my daughter and captured over a thousand. And I didn't even finish the sequence I was writing before it was time to go. I hope that when I pick this up again, this doesn't look like wasted effort.

Day 15: +0 =10,753

No progress on this. Focused on wrapping up stuff at work, so nobody would be stuck while I take a few days off next week.

Day 14: +689 =10,753

Another couple of scenes. They're a little talk-y, but I think they can be made to work and some of this exposition is needed in order to motivate what follows. I'm glad I'm staying ahead of the pace.

Oh, and I may have decided that Robert Picardo (1953) would be a good lead for this film.

Day 13: +152 = 10064

Just a few words today to capture some thoughts on improving the story and where to go next. I need to get a bunch done at work today. Oh, and by the way... I'm OVER HALFWAY to the finish!!!

Day 12: +1847 = 9912

Well ain't that a kick in the pants. I thought I was heading to the gym this morning. Instead I wrote almost 2,000 words--one big confrontation and another follow-up scene. Some fun stuff, but still not much funny stuff. I guess I'll have to add that during the rewrite.

Need an Actor

I have read, and have a feeling, that if I can picture someone in particular as (at least) the lead, it will make writing that much easier. The thing is, it will also tend to spin the feel and plot in a certain direction. This is probably a good thing. But it will take some thought before I let it go. The main criteria I have is that they be of the 'right' age (fifties, which means born in the fifties) and be able to play funny (even if they haven't done a bunch of comedies). Here's my list so far:

• Tom Arnold (1959)
• Dan Aykroyd (1952)
• Bruce Campbell (1958)
• Jeff Daniels (1955)
• Bruce Greenwood (1956)
• Tom Hanks (1956)
• Jon Lovitz (1957)
• Robin Williams (1951)

I'm kind of leaning toward Jeff Daniels, since he seems to exude a certain geekiness and mild manner. Robin Williams would probably a little too manic, but then again that could be good. Tom Arnold is probably a little too mild-mannered, as are Dan Aykroyd, Bruce Greenwood and Tom Hanks. Bruce Campbell might be too tongue-in-cheek. Choices. Choices.

Day 11: +903 =8065

Yay. Another couple of scenes got written. This is going to need some solid re-writing. But at least the bones of the story are emerging. And I'm certain this work got saved.

Day 10: -295 +793 =7162

A couple of bad keystroke assignments in Smart Script Gold and a little stupidity on my part meant that I actually lost the little bit of work I did yesterday morning. Oh, well. I remembered most of it and recovered pretty well today. I'm still ahead of the game.

Day 9: +295 = 6,664

OK. Not a big boost, but another couple of scenes got added. Half a day's work is better than none.

Day 8: +0 = 6369

No progress today, since I had to be at work early and took the evening off. I did watch Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run as 'research' into comedy film (it doesn't really match the comedy style I'm seeking, nor does it stand the test of time, though).

Day 7: +957 = 6369

More good progress. I can hardly believe how smoothly this is going. Each day I seem to have just enough for a couple of hours worth of writing and it comes right out. About the time I run out of steam, it's time (or past time) to get ready to go to work.

Today's contribution got me past the end of Act I and Plot Point I and started the setup for Act II.

Day 6: +1055 = 5412 words

The words seem to be spilling out. I know this is going to need some serious re-write, but it's still fun to just write and see something take 'shape'. No gym again today, but at least I seem to be making progress at work, too.

Day 5: +720 = 4357 words

I've been having so much fun writing my screenplay and busy with other things that I've neglected this blog. I apologize.

Like any story I've written, this one is giving me some problems. But so far none are insurmountable and I've learned enough about writing to know I need to leave most of them until the rewrite. The exception has been the original opening sequence, which was completely wrong. I've kept the words for the word count, but am otherwise ignoring them.

I think I'm more excited about how this story is going than any other I've tackled. That really helps make the writing go quickly. I'm almost 25% done and only 17% into the month. Unbelievable.

It looks like I won't make it to the gym this morning, though. Oh well. I need to get to the office and make sure I'm making progress there, too.

Day 4 - 3637 words

I'm posting this after the fact. I'm still amazed I got so much written over the weekend.

It's a Story

I think I have a pretty decent story going. One of the best I've come up with so far. It has a beginning, middle and end. And I really know the end. I owe this to Syd Field's book Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting. He recommends getting the ending figured out first. His reasoning is that if you know where the story is going, you will have a much stronger beginning and an easier time with the middle. Thank you Syd.

I've also renamed and fleshed out several of the characters. There is still work to be done on the antagonists and the middle bits. But I think it's coming together. I plan to do some more outline tonight. Even if I don't, I think I have enough of the beginning and the rest to write my three (or more) pages tomorrow.

Counting Down

It's Wednesday, May 30. Depending on how you count, there's either 1 or 2 days left until the frenzy begins. There are two nights between now and Friday, but only one full day. It's time to get serious.

I did come up with some more plot ideas, including an ending this morning. Unfortunately, its all in my head and I'd better get it written down before it's gone. That's my task for tonight.

I've also been doing some figuring. If a two hour screenplay is either 20,000 words or 120 pages, that's 667 words a day or 4 pages per day. That doesn't seem too bad after the 1500 words per day that NaNoWriMo inflicts on a body. But it's also true that I'll probably be more productive on weekends (I hope) and I'd like to shoot a little beyond the bare minimum.

Therefore, I am going to attempt to write three (3) pages on every weekday. That should be about 500 words. On weekends, I plan to write seven (7) pages each day, which should be 1170 words. With four-and-a-half weekends in the month, this should net me over 21,000 words and about 125 pages. That's still a slim margin, but if I beat my minimums every so often (and don't miss them too often), I should have even more pad.

What fun. I can hardly wait.

Seven days to go

Script Frenzy starts a week from tomorrow!

I had decided some time ago to participate in Script Frenzy when it came along. I thought for sure I'd be (close to) finished with a rewrite of my NaNoWriMo book by now. I have made significant progress on that project. But it's far from being done. Oh, well. I'm not going to let that stand in the way of trying something else new.

The other thing that I put off almost too long was coming up with the story idea for the script. I've been casually thinking about it for months. But did not have anything solid. The one or two concepts or situations that I came up with really didn't gel correctly. This left me feeling a little anxious. This was exacerbated when I listened to an audio book on scriptwriting that recommended brainstorming a couple of dozen (!) ideas before settling on one. Who has time for that? (when you're not a full-time writer)

Thankfully, an idea came to me this morning that I'm liking more and more. It combines the road trip concept that I was hoping for, along with the treasure hunt concept, and it will be set in present day and will be a comedy. I think those all (except maybe the comedy) will help it to be easier to write and, if it turns out to actually be funny, it might even be marketable.

So, I'm not sharing details yet. With a week to go, the whole concept may change again. But at least now I feel like I may have a fighting chance of writing that first draft of a screenplay in June. Yay.