12 posts tagged “screenplay”

I just banged out five and a half pages of script. That's a third of my portion of Act 2 done and dusted.

Also, one of the themed ads on the sidebar of this 'compse' screen is telling me to stay at the Mythos Hotel Milan. There is no way that that hotel can possibly live up to my expectations.

I haven't written anything in three days.

What I have done? Well there was beer and pool and hanging out and lots of sleep. Oh, and 50 pages of master's thesis that I need to proofread.

Oh, and there was signing up for uni classes next year (I'm taking American Literature as a minor, it was either that or Literary Theory which is in Dutch) and me finding out that I passed all of this semester's exams. FTW.

But yes, time to work on that script. Bugger it all.

Met up with Righteous Queen of Blades (also known as Len) today. We spent about... 20 minutes plotting out the next act in our movie, and we also decided who would write what. So, with all that done and dusted, we then went and had Guinness and pizza.

The writing life is good.

I'm going to wait for EP to get back to me on the story they currently have - The Cape - and then I'll send them TSP. I think TSP would work well in audio format - I wrote it as if it were something I was telling someone, rather than an actual short story. Also, I think that The Cape is more suited to Pseudopod than Escape Pod, so I'll send that off to PP once I've heard back on Bobby.

I'm about halfway through a new short story featuring Susan, Mitchell, a monster and a fair bit of violence. Oh, and some tea. I wanted to work on it tonight, but I'm shattered. I've been helping a friend paint her new bedsit the past few days, and it's quite knackering.

I shouldn't complain, really. One of my neighbours has been doing archaeological digs for the past week and a half and he has another week and a half to go. I have a big load of nothing planned, except for getting that room painted, meeting up with Len to get the remaining 2/3 of our script plotted and hanging out with Leontine tomorrow. Not exactly strenuous.

Oh, and I've got to go down the temp agency. I have three months of freedom stretching out in front of me, and I would like some monies. I want to buy books and clothes and subscriptions to fiction magazines. The latter wish is quite expensive, what with me living in Dutchland, but I'm sure I'll manage.

Bugger this, my head feels like it's full of something fluffy yet heavy.

I've been productive recently.

I've slept about fifteen hours since my last update, which is awesome. Feeling much more rested, I was able to get a fair bit of writing done today.

First I finished the as yet untitled new story - I finally had the ending in my head, so I wanted to write it as fast as possible. It's still weak now, as almost all my endings are, but fuck it. I'll sort it out in the rewrites.

I then did another five and a half pages of script for Script Frenzy. I wanted to do it last night, but my brain was dead. I sat there staring at a blank word document for about ten minutes, trying to remember what I was supposed to be writing before deciding that it was best to just let it be.

Now I'm waiting for my next bout of inspiration so I can get writing again. This is a good feeling.

So, syntax is dead. It may or may not return as a zombie in August, depending on whether or not I've actually passed it. Right now I seriously couldn't care less, so it can stfu.

Wrote the second ten-page synopsis of the Script Frenzy thingie me and Len are working on. I have to say, I'm not sure I would have gone through with the scriptwriting if I hadn't been working with someone who knows about this stuff. I'm just getting a feel for short stories, and I can use them to further my currently non-existent writing career. It would take a buttload of scripts for me to feel confident enough to give one of them to someone and say, hey, film this.

And I don't know. Nowadays I seem to be writing to be read. I don't just write stupid daydream wish fulfillment stuff to amuse only me. When I've written something, I want to be confident that someone will read it and say something about it. Not necessarily something positive. Hell, for all I care they can go "Holy shit that was disgusting, you're a messed-up, talentless hack. And your haircut sucks." Because the first part may or may not be true, but the second one definitely is, and a reaction is a reaction. I'd hate to get nothing but 'meh'.

Will be getting into revisions soon. I think Bobby has been festering for long enough, so I'll take that piece out and give it a thorough poking. I'll also have to give the ending a complete overhaul - I remember there being copious amounts of suck in that area. When that's done, I'll send it off to my favorite podcast ever.

But, for the next two days, it's all about philology and sorting the script out. Then Friday it's the exam, then it's doing something with my classmates, and then it's a party with free beer. AND THEN IT'S THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS.

Revision for syntax exam - done. (Insofar it can be done.)

SIB - Finished.

Infected girl - Finished.

First five pages of Script Frenzy - Finished.

I am made of productivity and win.

So far today, I have practised syntax (wonder of wonders!), made a start on the screenplay I'm working on with Len (and I suck, but it's my first time and I have someone to correct my suckiness) and I've finished one of the short stories I've been working on.

So far, SIB (working title) clocks in at under 4,000 words. This is a first for me, especially considering it's a standalone(ish) story that I think I'll eventually be able to submit to some markets.

Now I have Infected Girl to finish, and I need to try to make a start on that difficult piece concerning spousal abuse, and that thing I came up with today about cannibalism.

I'm a veritable short story machine, it would seem.

It's true.

I currently have two half-finished short story first drafts. This is pretty awesome, really, seeing as it means that I should (hopefully) have two more short stories to send out in two weeks.

However, I also have Script Frenzy thingie with Len, which I need to do today (argh characterization), but most of all I have to revise for my syntax exam.

Now, if it was just reading a book, that'd be fine. But no. I've already read the book, now I have to go about practising my tree diagrams. This takes up a lot of time and will undoubtedly tire me out.

Oh, I'll be glad when it's Friday, I really will. I'm going to have some lime yoghurt, I think I've deserved that. Hopefully it will help me stop fantasizing about what I'll do when I get published for the first time, so I can get round to doing some actual work.

Syntax, although it is very interesting and helpful, is driving me crazy. I wish I found it ridiculously difficult, then I would be motivated to spend hours revising every day. That, or finding it incredibly easy. Instead, I just feel vaguely confident that I know it, which is infuriating because it drains my motivation but doesn't set me at ease.

Still, gives me time to write. I've had multiple ideas for short stories, and I'm still working at the SIB story. I really need to expand my number of short stories - I haven't had a rejection in what feels like forever. If I'm able to get more stuff out, I'll get more stuff back. Stands to reason, right?

Also, if I work on these various ideas, I should get used to getting my increasing my output, which will help with the script I'm working on with Len.

Anyway, I've also decided to no longer depend on Marijnski to beta for me. I'll just let the finished works fester for a week or two and then look at it myself. Right now it's taking him a lot longer to get around to doing what I can do myself. It'll be nice if he'll read them at some point, because it is nice to be read and to get some feedback, especially from someone who has been able to see my writing develop, but I'm going to make this a nice extra that I get about a month or so after I finish a piece, rather than something that I need to have within two weeks. Having less time between finishing the first and final drafts will help me get more stories done, which means I'll have more works to submit.

In non-writing related news, I'm on a diet. This is quite interesting. I've been on diets before, because I do care quite a lot about my appearance. If you compare what some people eat, with what their bodies actually need, it's quite disturbing.

This diet is also making me feel quite accomplished, because it motivated me to cook a bolognese sauce today and it was almost as good as my dad's, which is saying something. If my writing improves as much as my cooking - when I first moved out, I had an extremely limited oeuvre when it came to meals - I should be published within the six year average.