Day 208: Nashville Calling
I’ve decided to attend the Nashville Writers Conference in April. I tend to be leery of these types of events because too often the panels and breakout sessions are run by people anxious to sell you their “Write a Screenplay in Two Weeks” course or their latest book breaking into Hollywood when they have never sold a screenplay themselves. I often wonder how these gurus become gurus when they’ve never been successful in the industry they teaching you how to be successful in.
Day 199: The Start of a New Plan
In accordance with the goals I laid out last time, I have begun looking over two horror scripts, The Devil’s Tramping Ground and The Calling. Pleasantly, The Calling is in pretty good shape. Virtually every scene is moving the story forward; there is good action and creepy moments throughout the story, and the characters are all continuously involved. That was a problem in Come Ups where the characters tended to step back and wait for a good portion of the first half of the s
Day 195: What's Next?
Now that I’ve completed the latest round of rewrites and workshops and received coverage notes, the question becomes where do I go from here? Obviously, based on the notes provided by Screenplay Readers, there are still some problems with the script for Come Ups. It feels a little overwhelming to jump back into rewrites when I’ve only just completed the latest version. I think it may be best to take a little time to let things settle and, perhaps, mull over the changes that
Day 189: Coverage Notes from Screenplay Readers
I spent the weekend pretty much moping about the script and wondering what else I could do to improve it. I may need to step away from the script for a time to be able to come back at it with fresh eyes. Unless the coverage came back highly positive. Unfortunately, it did not. The coverage arrived in my mailbox this morning. It wasn’t horrible, but neither was it stellar. Instead, I received a mixed bag of comments, some of which were contradictory. Two different readers gave
Day 187: A Small Redemption
My second reader came back with notes on the revised version of the script. This time around she felt much better about Shep. The new scene added a little dimension to his character that made him more likable. The fact that the scene came so early also colored her opinion more favorably. She also liked the switch in the “half-brother” taunt. These are positive developments, but I have to ask if she actually likes Shep now or if he is just more likeable simply by comparison wi
Day 186: Eek! Second Reader Feedback
What a difference 12 hours can make. From the giddy highs of last night to the depths of despair this morning. One of my personal readers got back to me this morning and the results were. . .well, she hated Shep. Just didn’t like him. He wasn’t quite as big an ass as Tyler, but an ass nonetheless. Like my first reader, action thriller is not her preference, but that’s one of the reasons I chose her. The audience is going to be primarily men, teens to 40s. That’s Hollywood’s m
Day 185: Final Pages Read at Rewrites Workshop
Tonight was the last 10 pages of the script read aloud at the Rewrites Writers’ Workshop. There was considerable anticipation as the action has been building to the big finale. Reaction was very strong and positive. The other writers loved the climax, the resolution and the characters. Even Shep. They didn’t have the benefit of seeing the most recent changes, but their comments lead me to believe the changes will strengthen Shep and, hopefully, that issue has been resolved. I
Day 184: Rewrites, Copyright, Coverage and Inktip
Even though I’ve only received one set of feedback thus far, the reader did hit on an area that I had concerns about. That was is Shep likeable? Apparently, he is not. This is an important point and needs to be fixed. After considerable thought and worry, I decided to add a new scene near the beginning that introduces Shep, Tyler and Grady before they hit the lake. The scene finds them launching the boat at the boat ramp. This also establishes the boat ramp for later as it is
