Aardvark

Yeah, why not? Aardvark.

 

 

 Next time: More Pages.

As always, leave some comments and let me know what you think. Or don't. It's cool.

Stinky

I don't know what's worse the rancid stench of patchouli or the vile effervescence of axe body spray. True story. I was out for a walk with my kid, no one was within 100 yards. A car passed. I could smell the Abercrombie & Fitch like oily aroma of their axe-for-douche-bags for the next ten minutes. The car was going 25 mph in the opposite direction. I hate that stuff. Why would you choose to smell like a date rapist?

Now that I've offended most of my readers I give you this.

 

 

 

Is Derivative A Bad Thing?

Time for more pages. We're moving along pretty quick.

Here's the last page from the previous post that was giving me some issues. If you've already read it feel free to skip to the new pages found below

The new pages

 

 

 

Next time: yep, more pages.

Let me know what you think in the comments. Any thoughts or suggestions on how to improve the script will really help when I start rewriting. I can just come back and see your feedback. Thanks!

And So It Goes

Nathan likes to ramble.

Next time: More pages!

Words. You Can Read Them

This

I was thinking about taking a break from writing today. Then I decided that four pages wasn't so much so I would just get it done. Yeah, 4 pages.

 

 

 

 

Next time: More pages.

Turd In The Punch Bowl

Just power through

Sometimes you finish a scene and just know in your bones that you nailed it. That it’s a fantastic scene and you’ve really done some of your best work. This is not one of those times. Other times you write a scene and you’re embarrassed to admit you had anything to do with it. This is one of those times.

Why even bother?

About half way through the scene I knew it stunk. Not just stunk but really stunk. I started with a very fuzzy idea for the scene and it went downhill from there. The dialog was dull, the characters were uninteresting, and it was going nowhere. Why did I keep writing? I could have easily stepped away and decided to go at it another day. I’ve done that. I don’t like to do that though. If I walked away in this scene I know I would have an extremely difficult time getting back into it next time. I would be wresting with the scene and not getting the script written.

SFD

Remember that this is the s**tty first draft. It’s supposed to be bad. The goal is to get it written. I think the purpose for the scene is sound. It’s supposed to show how Harlan relates to his family. I think we need this information about him. But this scene is really bad. In the next draft, when we come back to the scene, I’m sure it will be a very different scene. I’m fine with that. I’ll fix it in the next pass. For now I have something there to remind me of what’s supposed to happen. I have something that will remind me what the bad version of the scene looks like.

Punishment

Enjoy the stinker, next time let’s hope it’s a little better.

 

 

 

Peccadillos

Here we go!

 

Yes. Next time, more pages. And if you have a moment leave a comment even if it's just to say hi.

That Just Happened

Sometimes

Sometimes you sit down to write and nothing comes to you. Other times you sit down to write and suddenly you've written twice as much as you intended. This is one of those times.

Setting a schedule

At the moment I am actively working on three feature length scripts. The one for this blog and two for other projects I'm involved with. They're in three different stages of the process. One is in the early outlining stages. This one is in the first draft stage. The other is on the third draft. It's actually pretty hard to keep up with them. Oh, and there are two more that are in the almost ready to outline stage. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to give any one of them much attention. The only way I can keep up with them is to have an achievable schedule to follow.

Works for me

I’ve read about dozens of different ways to set up a writing schedule. Some writers will write at night after their families have gone to bed. Other writers get up before the family and have a couple hours in the morning to write. Some writers will spend the week making notes then take a day to sit down and write it all. Others will plan on writing a certain number of pages each day. Then others will do something else. A few writers will do that other method. And every writer has their own method. This is how I set my writing schedule.

Everything in its place

I alternate writing days.
I rarely work on two different scripts on the same day. I’ll make notes and contemplate all the scripts in a day but I try not to work in earnest on more than one on any given day.

I set a page number goal.
Usually my goal is one page per day. This allows me to skip a day every now and then and know that I just have to write two pages to catch up. It’s very low pressure. With this many scripts on my plate this page count isn’t that reasonable if I want to finish any of them this decade. Currently I’m working with a four pages per day goal. It’s still not huge, and missing a day doesn’t feel like I’ve fallen that far behind.

I track my progress.
It’s important to stay motivated. Tracking progress is a great way to stay positive and motivated. My scripts average 120 pages. If I work on the script twice a week that’s 8 pages per week. That’s 34 pages per month. At that pace I should have the script done in about four months. That’s not bad. I can live with that pace. And it’s a pace that allows me to attend to my other responsibilities.

Mileage may vary

You might feel more comfortable setting a higher page count per day. You might want to have a goal of one page per week. It depends entirely on what you want to accomplish and how quickly you want to accomplish it. No matter what goals you want to set, having a plan is important.

• Plan the time to write.
• Set an achievable goal for that time.
• Track your progress.

On to the script

Here are the most recent pages. I got caught up writing and produced more than I expected.

Next time: More pages please!