I'm giving up on this script. I've gotten to page 45 for the second time and realized that my entire setup is hugely flawed, which is probably the reason it's not working. The only answer is to begin again, but I'm tired of this script. Time to move on. I'll come back to it later. In the meantime, I'm going to start working on a new idea.
Thanks again for the notes, Mara. Your suggestions for character development will definitely be used on my next.
After a few days, I've decided that, damn it, I am not going to give up on this fucking bastard piece of shit fucking goddamn to hell unclefucking fartface .... SCRIPT. Page 1 here I come.
I re-outlined a relatively similar version of the last version and I think I figured out what the problem was. My antagonist was too powerful, I gave him no real reason to create conflict, so everything he did felt false. He could have ended any conflict by killing everybody involved and yet suffer no consequences. Making him weak with aspirations for greatness and power will give him reason for conflict and make him far, far more dangerous in the long run.
I think I'm going to start using the Myers Briggs Personality Test in order to lock down character types for my fiction writing. Anyone else do this or have another test or method they use to lay out their characters concretely?
The Princess and the Pilot - B-
Playtime (rewatch) - A
The Hobbit - C-
The Comedy - D+
Kings of the Road - C+
The Odd Couple - B
Red Rock West - C-
The Hunger Games - D-
Prometheus - C
Tangled - C+
Multiple drafts seem to work the best for me.Quoting Qrazy (view post)
Second and final spam notice, I promise: New short story for sale!
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
I have a horror short and a crime short and I've stalled on both. I don't think I should try writing fiction again as I'm quite bad at it, and yet there are times when I get bored and turn out about 10-15 paragraphs of bullshit.
BLOG
And everybody wants to be special here
They call your name out loud and clear
Here comes a regular
Call out your name
Here comes a regular
Am I the only one here today?
Congrats. I don't consider humble self-promotion to be spam.I'm really interested to read your stuff but can't spare the cash.
Out of curiosity, can you tell me about your submission process/strategy? Are you submitting to multiple journals at once?
The severed arm perfectly acquitted itself, because of the simplicity of its wishes and its total lack of doubt.
I pretty much stick to well-established Canadian literary journals, almost all of which receive some financial backing from a university. There's a list of them somewhere with links to all their webpages. I start by reading their submissions guidelines and go from there.Congrats. I don't consider humble self-promotion to be spam.
Out of curiosity, can you tell me about your submission process/strategy? Are you submitting to multiple journals at once?
First I check to see that they accept simultaneous submissions. If they don't, then they're basically off my list. If they do, then I check to make sure that they'd actually be interested in the kind of stuff I write. I pick maybe ten that I think might be interested.
Then I write a very brief cover letter for each, print off all the manuscripts and slip everything into a manila envelope, which also includes a stamped, self addressed return envelope.
I think self-selecting journals is an important step. There are plenty of them out there, but most of them just aren't going to be interested in the kind of stuff you're writing. It's also pretty deflating to receive back for letters or, even worse, comments that only serve to prove how little connection the reader made with the story.
For example, I remember getting comments back from one fairly prestigious Canadian journal and being blown away by how bizarre their suggestions were. It wasn't the usual, "you should flip these paragraphs for better tension" or "this character needs more fleshing out" kind of stuff. It was basically that I should write a completely different story with a completely different meaning. They also "corrected" the dialogue of one character who spoke in dialect. I then actually read one of their issues and it quickly became obvious that they would never publish anything I've written or will probably ever write. It was like reading a happier, less-masterful version of Alice Munro. The worst.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
Couple other things---
I keep a spreadsheet with all the journals I'm considering, including their titles, editor names, addresses, unique submissions guidelines, submission deadlines, etc. It's a little OCD, but pretty helpful.
The other thing is that I'm probably overly selective in what I actually submit. I don't send anything out until I'm fairly certain it's a very good story. Too much competition out there to waste your time sending out anything you happen to write.
Wishful thinking, perhaps; but that is just another possible definition of the featherless biped.
The ordeal is over. I just typed FADE OUT and it felt good. Now to re-read and correct.
Been wrestling with the idea of writing a TV series. Not because I think I can sell it, but because I'm enamored with my story idea and I just kinda want to lose myself in a long, ongoing story. Somebody tell me why this is a bad idea, because I can't shake it. :lol:
Do it! Do it! Doooooooooooo eeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
I had a blast making up that television show idea a couple of months ago with the tin pan alley thing. I had even come up with a season-long arc between the main character and her older half-brother. It would have been so good.
...and the milk's in me.
BTW Spun, would it be a horror series? Because I actually know a guy who writes horror films and also television episodes, Jamie Nash. He might know people to talk to.
...and the milk's in me.
Well, it's actually a sci-fi series idea. But, if he's interested, I would certainly welcome any advice for selling horror scripts I've already written or finding representation. Thank you, Mara.
I've only met him a few times (he's in my writer's group) but seems like a great guy. I will ask him.Well, it's actually a sci-fi series idea. But, if he's interested, I would certainly welcome any advice for selling horror scripts I've already written or finding representation. Thank you, Mara.
I actually tried to steer him towards Match Cut-- gave him the link and everything-- but I don't know if he ever dropped by.
...and the milk's in me.
This producer who's read my stuff and liked it (but hasn't bit), I asked him if he knew of any genre-savvy managers I could get into contact with, and he said "Give me whatever's furthest along. I want to be sure I love something before I pass it along." Stressed out, since I thought I'd be sending a one-pager. Now I'm pasting together the first four webisodes of a serial and changing my notes into some sort of half-assed show bible. Insanely cool of him, though. Fingers and toes and shoelaces are crossed.
Ooh, Spun, what's the series about, if I may ask?
It's not like I'm going to steal all of your ideas and blackball you from Hollywood.
Can't be blackballed by people who don't even know I exist.
What little I have so far:
A hundred or so years in the future, a worldwide calamity (probably climate change-related) has made the Earth increasingly inhospitable and it shows no signs of stopping. A gigantic ship called The Phoenix (size-wise, think Red Dwarf) is constructed in orbit to take a small chunk of the population to a recently discovered inhabitable planet about six light-years away. The story would be about a fued between two men living on the ship, one who is a part of the crew, and the other whose family stowed-away just before the launch. As the story goes on, their fued escalates and begins to ruin the entire mission.
The idea came to me as a piss-take for Star Trek's idea that humanity will become more enlightened in the future. The running idea behind this is that humanity is its own greatest enemy and is constantly on the march to destory itself. But, despite this, we keep on keepin' on. Somehow.
This sounds really fun! Like an angrier, more desperate hokum-free BSG.Can't be blackballed by people who don't even know I exist.
What little I have so far:
A hundred or so years in the future, a worldwide calamity (probably climate change-related) has made the Earth increasingly inhospitable and it shows no signs of stopping. A gigantic ship called The Phoenix (size-wise, think Red Dwarf) is constructed in orbit to take a small chunk of the population to a recently discovered inhabitable planet about six light-years away. The story would be about a fued between two men living on the ship, one who is a part of the crew, and the other whose family stowed-away just before the launch. As the story goes on, their fued begins to affect the entire mission. That's as much as I've got so far.
The idea came to me as a piss-take for Star Trek's idea that humanity will become more enlightened in the future. The running idea behind this is that humanity is its own greatest enemy and is constantly on the march to destory itself. But, despite this, we keep on keepin' on. Somehow.
SpaceOddity, a former poster here, has recently had a couple fairy tales published in an online magazine:
http://theteacuptrail.tumblr.com/pos...becca-harrison
http://theteacuptrail.tumblr.com/pos...becca-harrison
Highly recommended to fans of imaginative literature. She has another one coming out on another site next month.
I am impatient of all misery in others that is not mad. Thou should'st go mad, blacksmith; say, why dost thou not go mad? How can'st thou endure without being mad? Do the heavens yet hate thee, that thou can'st not go mad?
lists and reviews
Cool! We still interact on Twitter but I haven't seen her on the boards in ages. I will check those out. Thanks for the heads up!
...and the milk's in me.
My last finished feature has too many male characters. The lead female also runs away during the climax, having no effect on it. Some of the script feels a little sexist and, to be very honest, it disturbs me a bit. I need to reconsider the lead female's story arch, I need to re-write the climax (at least), and I think I'm going to change one of the big male parts into a big female part. Tee-hee.
Does anyone here have any experience working with a writing collaborator? Like, how did things work out between the two of you, and how did you meet one another and begin your collaboration?
I ask because I've been working on a project on and off for a while now that I'm having the hardest time really pulling together. I know where I want my story to go, but I just don't know how to get it there, no matter how many times I rework it, and I'm kinda wondering if perhaps working with someone else whose contributions not only compliments the story but might be able to see what I'm missing wouldn't help matters. Thing is, I don't think I really know any writers personally off hand who I think I'd trust enough to turn to for this project. But anyways, I was just curious if anyone might have any experience with this and might be able to offer up some insight.
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