I Blame Ninjas

The project that will not die … has not died. Again. Possibly. Actually, that sounds a lot drearier than I’m feeling about it – I’m pretty jazzed, to tell the truth. Despite my intent to shelve the sci-fi screenplay I’ve been hacking away at for months now, I ended up brainstorming a key new element that pays tribute to both the subgenres I’m crossing. I’ve also come up with a whole new midpoint, and fixed various other problems that have nagged at me from the start. So for now, the plan is to press ahead with a fresh start, with a goal of wrapping up a first draft by the end of September, if not sooner. We’ll see how it goes, and I definitely intend to keep alert for signs that I’m getting tunnel-vision or bogging down again.

Not screenwriting! (Or blogging.) Just this particular script. If you’ve followed the blog from the start, you know I’ve been working on a science fiction project for something like six or seven months now. I think it’s time to admit it’s just not going to happen at this time, and move on.

I still like the idea, and it’s certainly a project to which I intend to return. But finishing a first draft has worn on to the point that I’m finding it harder and harder to dig in and write. And when I do, even 2 or 3 pages are a day-long grind. I’ve kept at it for a couple of months now, using every trick I know to find fresh inspiration and energy to blast through to the end. I’m not even particularly discouraged with how the scenes are coming out – I think there’s some good stuff there, or at least as good as I can expect from a first draft. Even so, it’s really burning me out, to the point that even the occasional extended break’s not doing much good.

Obviously, at least one problem is that I’ve let the first draft process drag on way too long – in large part, I think, because I didn’t have the story as fully broken as I thought when I started. So I spent a lot of time going down blind alleys and dead ends, then backtracking and rewriting.

I kept hammering away at it because I feel as though I really need, at this point, to have more than one finished feature spec to show people. Particularly if Ghost Train continues to advance in the PAGE Awards and, once the contest ends, people start asking what else I’ve got (seeing as how westerns, even ghostly ones, are not exactly prime sellers in Hollywood).

In the end, though, that’s kind of why I’m putting it on the back-burner for now. Not only has it become a real time sink, it’s sucking away all my interest and enthusiasm for screenwriting. (As you can probably guess from the paucity of recent posts here, among other things). Which, all told, I fear is going to be a lot more detrimental to my career – such as it is – than pushing back the date I have another feature spec ready to show around.

So putting this project aside for the moment’s probably for the best. I’ve learned a lot from it, both positive and negative, and maybe in a few months I’ll be ready to tackle it again with some fresh perspective and excitement.

In the meantime, I’m already breaking another science fiction story I hope to start writing shortly, although I’m trying to take a little bit of a breather between projects, too.

I’m interested in your experiences, too – how do you know when it’s time to walk away from a project?

6. Write the logline first. A logline’s more than a marketing tool for your query letter. Boiling your story down to one or two sentences has an amazing way of spotlighting any plot, concept, or structure problems you might have. After you’ve written 110 pages can be a really crummy time to discover those sorts of things. Come up with the logline first, get feedback on it, and then start writing. If your story changes as you write, you can always go back and redo the logline – it’s not engraved in stone or anything. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to point out that a logline suggests a muddled premise or a gaping plot hole, only to have the writer say, “But the screenplay’s written, I can’t change it – help me find the magic logline words to make it sound good.” There are no magic logline words. If the logline’s broken, so’s the story. Find out before you start writing.

Made of win:

Also, an interview with the artist.

Quick addendum on the topic of refiling the creative gas tank – try changing your writing situation. Change out your writing music. Work in a different room of the house. Write earlier or later than normal. Or hit the road with your laptop for a Starbuck’s or some other locale.

Q. What kind of station do you visit to “fill-up” the tank?
- Jeff

A. I think we all sometimes hit a point where we just run out of creative gas. Sometimes it’s a momentary thing when a writing session seems to be going flat earlier than you’d like, and other times it’s a longer-term problem.

When I feel myself running down before I’m really ready to wrap up writing for the day, I find that a break, not surprisingly, often helps. I’ll hop on the elliptical for a few minutes or go for a walk to clear my head. A snack or meal, if I’ve been putting it off, also helps. I may even take a nap. Watching television or playing a video game can work, but I find I also may just never get back to writing.

Sometimes, though, you just have to admit that – as much as you’d hoped to do 10 or 15 or 20 pages today – it’s just not going to happen. Better to call it a day than burn yourself out for tomorrow or the next day by slogging onward until your brain turns to mush.

Speaking of burnout – I’ve also had periods where writing just gets really, really hard. Now, if you’re going to be a pro, you can’t sit around waiting to be inspired to get your pages done, so I try not to let it stop me from doing something, at least. But I find that a few tricks work here, too.

A big one is creative stimuli. Outside input. I’ll go see a movie, or watch one on DVD. Read a magazine. Buy a new CD for some fresh writing music (I prefer soundtracks). Read other screenplays, of course. Whatever it is, I find it helps if it’s something so good I’m inspired to try to produce my own best work. It’s easy working on a screenplay to get so wrapped up in your own head, and in trying to punch out pages, that it’s counterproductive. I find my creative juices tend to dry up if I’m not absorbing something exciting and fun on a frequent basis, so balancing that against feeling guilty for not typing away can be tricky. But sometimes spending a few hours away can be the best thing to do for finishing a screenplay.

I’ve also had success brainstorming other projects, either a rewrite or something new. Sometimes thinking about a different story can unblock whatever’s holding you back on your current screenplay or show you a fresh angle you’ve overlooked. There’s a danger here of the “grass is always greener” syndrome, though – watch for the temptation of thinking the new project’s so much cleaner and better than the one that has you all bottled up,  and maybe you ought to just switch …

Those are a few tricks I’ve picked up. I’m interested in your suggestions, too – please comment with your own strategies.

If you’re a Facebook friend, you’ll recognize this as one of my favorite videos. Heck, you’ll probably recognize it anyway – it has something like 31 million views. But it’s worth another look, particularly if you need a pick-me-up after not going as far as you’d like in the Nicholl or other contests announcing results this week. Have fun! Because if you’re not having fun, what’s the point?

Wow! My pageviews today kind of exploded, I presume – based on the links some folks followed to get here – as a result of the Nicholl Fellowship quarterfinalist notifications going out.

Which is kind of funny, seeing as how my entry did not advance (I blame ninjas). Although I did receive a note that it fell in the next 100 after the cutoff. With around 6,100 entries, and 326 quarterfinalists, that puts it in the top 6% or so. So not too terrible a showing, though of course I’d have liked to have gone further.

I’m also reasonably pleased because this is one of my first completed feature screenplays, which isn’t to say it’s something I just dashed off – it’s at least the 10th draft of this project. The same screenplay’s in the PAGE International Screenplay Awards quarterfinals, and I’ll find out Friday if it’s moving on in Scriptapalooza.

Anyway, if you’re a newer reader, welcome! I hope you enjoy the blog. I’m posting a bit irregularly at the moment as I’m trying to wrap up a new feature spec, but I’m always open to questions or suggestions for new posts.

Predators (2010): The Predator sequel placing eight abducted killers on a game preserve to be hunted for sport by the eponymous aliens. A very fun movie; nothing deep or philosophical, just a straight-out action flick.

What I learned: I’m becoming a real fan of screenplays that start the story as quickly as possible, and they don’t get started much faster than Predators,  which opens on Adrien Brody free-falling over the alien game preserve planet. No prologue, no ordinary life, not even his abduction. Boom. Right into the story. Now, there’s still setup as he encounters the other seven people dropped onto the world as fellow prey and  they start trying to figure out what’s going on. But it’s all happening as the story’s already rolling along. Predators also makes excellent use of what Blake Snyder calls a “booster rocket” character – a cameo, or a little more, that occurs in the second half of Act II to shake things up and keep the story moving toward Act III.

A fun Star Wars parody. Enjoy!