Here It Is!

As I no longer desire to keep everyone waiting on bated breath, I've decided it's about time I do another blog entry.

After finishing my second draft (if I can rightfully call it that), the realization that I'm almost completely done with my script came to me, and it was the strangest sensation. It's almost a little sad, I feel like I've only just fully grasped the beauty of the writing process. How I regret taking all those long, long, back-aching nights of writing for granted, those moments I just stared blankly at the white screen as the cursor blinked on and off. If that's not living, what is?

Thankfully, I still have a whole lot of writing to do in order for my script to even be considered the minimum proper length. You can bet I am looking forward to hashing those many, many, many pages out!!

On a less sarcastic note, I'm feeling confident about the positive feedback I received on my first draft. Interestingly enough, I'm guessing that the only person that will read this is the person that gave me that feedback and I'm sure my confidence is amusing.

On an even less sarcastic note, I hope everyone is enjoying fall!

Here

I'm Truckin' Away!

Or am I....?

I should get back to writing, I've just been having so much fun basking in the completion of the first draft! I know what I need to do, for the most part, now I've just got to do it.

WIN

So last night, in the grande finale of what was a grueling week of writing, I finally finished my script. Oddly enough, where a lot of people suffer, the third act, is where I finally felt comfortable and actually able to write consistently. Other than the addition of about 30-40 pages I need to add on to really make it a feature length script, and the hours of editing and work it still needs, I feel great! I may bust out into song at any moment, then my friends and I will celebrate with champagne for my reentry into their lives for the week.

Stay tuned for my next entry where I may say something that is even remotely constructive and/or pertaining to my script.

September September

Well it has been a tumultuous few weeks for me. And I must admit I have not been doing much writing. But now that I am truly bak in school for the first time in 6 months, I think I'll be better at doing work. Maybe. I'm helping to write one of my friends senior projects, so I'm going to have to write no matter what, I might as well get my own crap out of the way right. Wish me luck this year guyz.

I'm So Great At This.

No I'm not. But still, I made it close to my midpoint? So there's that. I feel like I'd rather just write what I can, then fill in the blanks when I know there isn't enough after I've written my first draft. So it'll start out really short. But then get longer...for my sanity's sake. Maybe that's a bad way to approach it. But I don't think I approached it well in the first place, so oh well!

Onward Ho!

I don't have much to say except that I am slowly pressing forward...slowly...slowly...but that's better than not at all right?  

Ugh This Is Awwwfuuul! Right?

Something I've found myself doing lately is actually checking up on other people's blogs, hoping they are just as lost and unmotivated as I am.  But alas, I feel as though I am the only one. I feel I am the only person who's waking up every other morning thinking to myself.."Oh ya..that feature length script...I should get working on that...later..." I know I've had a lot of time and yet I can't believe the first act is to be done this week.  GUH.  I don't want to!! 

Its weird because I do like my idea, and I do like writing, but I can not for the life of me find some motivation. Why can't everyone else be the same way? Solidarity right?! 

Thus far this rant hasn't been very productive, so I suppose I'll post some of my opening.  Please give me feedback if you happen to read this!

FADE IN:

EXT. STREET - DAY

A dark, cloudy town.  Leaf-less trees line a muddy street.

V.O.

Once, in a dark, cold town by the sea, in a place you, nor I will ever know, there was a dark, dark house, where dark things dwelled.

A giant, old, dirty house sits atop a hill.  A lightning bolt strikes as a face appears in the window.

V.O.

In this house lived two mysterious sisters called Trilly and Tristan Terrible.

Two faces are in the window, one plain, TRILLY, and one beautiful- TRISTAN.  They wear dark clothes.

CUT TO: 

INT. HOUSE- DAY

Inside the room they stand on the hard-wood floors and turn from out the window, to each other, and they play paddy-cake.  They don't miss a beat.

V.O.

Trilly and Tristan were not at all like most sisters; simply because Trilly and Tristan were witches.

The sisters stand in front of a cauldron that bubbles and glows, though, this elicits very little reaction from them.

V.O.

Though they had this in common, there was much they did not.

Trilly sits on her bed and reads, Tristan sits at a vanity and brushes her hair.  Their brush strokes and page turning is in unison.

They pause for a moment and smile at each other.

CUT TO:

INT. SAME AS BEFORE

V.O.

The sisters, just like anyone else grew more and more each day.

The girls look into mirrors, their faces and hair changes.

V.O.

And the more they grew, the stronger the bond between them became.

CUT TO:

INT. HOUSE- NIGHT

The sisters perform magic together in a dark room.  There are flashes and sparkles of light.

V.O.

Though Tristan possessed an unprecedented beauty, she had no interest in men.  Trilly on the other hand, fell in love quite easily.

CUT TO: 

EXT. STREET- DAY

Trilly walks with a YOUNG MAN, he is holding a pile of books.  They talk, she turns away and blushes.  He smiles at her.

V.O.

But each time she did, the men would inevitably fall for the far fairer sister instead.

A Foot In the Door? Hmm...

So, I made an executive decision and chose to use a voiceover.  And I do want the story to be Tim burton-esque and fairy-tale-ish, so I thought it would be appropriate. And I thought you all should know that. So. 

WHAT DO I DO?

So, I attempted to begin my opening sequence, which is big for me considering its not one hour before the deadline.  But about a second after I typed "Fade In:" I realized a problem I'd had while writing the treatment that I never really thought hard enough about.  My script has a lot of backstory as far as the sisters go (the plain sister falling in love, the men falling in love with the prettier sister instead and the men's disappearances), and I don't know if I should reveal it in the beginning, as sort of a prelude to the actual story, or slowly reveal it throughout the film.  If the latter is a better option, I don't know how well I could pull it off.  If the first is the better option, I don't know how to do it without using like, a v.o., and I also don't know if doing it would be just taking the easy way out.  Does anyone have an opinion on this matter? Plz.? Is anyone even reading this?...

Character Shmaracter!

So, it's taken me a while to get back from 'vacation mode'...and I'm still not fully out of it, but I have been thinking about my characters and trying to watch movies to get me into film mode.  I watched Volver today, not only because I've always wanted to see, but because I knew that it has a certain morbidity, or eeriness to it, and yet wasn't at all a horror, and it was done so in a entertaining way.  By the way, I recommend it. 

So here's one of my character bios.  I've been working on them simultaneously, so they all need work, but just to give you an idea....

Tristan Terrible:

Tristan grew up in what was then, and still is now, the oldest darkest house in a cold town along the hilly shores of the ocean.  Generations of her family had lived in that house, and most people of the town never ventured near it.  It never looked better, and it never looked worse.  It was as if it was completely untouched by time. Tristan, her entire life, had been beautiful.  So beautiful in fact, that no one in her life had expectations for her in any other way.  From the beginning, men and boys alike were falling in love her, n matter what her age, no matter what theirs.  Unfortunately for the men, no matter desperate or valiant their attempts at love, Tristin was completely uninterested.  Nothing about men seemed to ever interest her.  She found them slightly vulgar and stupid.  In fact, she had a hard time seeing the good in anyone, so she was cruel; crueler and crueler each year.  Blame it on the fact that she was kept inside quite often, was never able to develop good social skills.  And yet, this did not stop the men from a-coming.  The only person in the world she cared for was her dear sister, one year her junior, Trilly.  She valued her sister more than any other thing or person in life. And as long as she had her, she was content to stay in her house as much as possible.

 

On July 4th I said something so witty and hilarious, it elicited a "You should be a writer." I'm so inspired!!

What Was My Idea?

So I took a substantial amount of time off from thinking about my script. This was probably a bad idea. I need to really work hard at sealing all of the little plot holes that exist. I mean, in my mind, if the story is interesting enough, you shouldn't have to worry about actually explaining things to the audience right? ?? All right time to get into creepy, twin witch mode!!