Category Archives: The Screenplay

I’m Bored with my Writing…

I’m 66,000 words into my novel Finding Verity and bored. Now, when a writer gets bored with their own creation, all I can say is: Houston, we have a problem!

The first two-thirds of Finding Verity flowed. The story is original and I’m looking forward to writing “the end.” But I’m having problems with the last half of the last third.

Consider yourself lucky, if this never happens to you.

 Question: What do I do when I have this problem?

Answer: I have a little conversation with myself.

 Huh?

I sit at my keyboard and have a conversation with myself. That conversation goes something like this:

 Why is this boring?

Because character “A” isn’t doing much.

What could “A” do to spice things up?

What if  characters “A” and “B” got together and…

Where would they go?

The park?

Why?

Because the park represents…

How about Characters “A”, “B”, and “C” go to the park?

Why three characters?

If two is good, three is better…

more opportunities for conflict and action.

Would they go together?

They could.

Or maybe “A” and B” go together, and “C” follows.

Why would “C” follow?

Because “C” is suspicious of “A” and “B’s” relationship.

Or, maybe,“C’s” weary of “B” and wants to protect “A” from “B.”

Would “A” and “B” know “C” was following?

Maybe.
Maybe not.

That’s what I’m trying to decide.

Maybe “A” and “B” are following “C”.

Why would they follow “C?”

They think “C” has been acting weird lately

and they want to know what “C’s” been up to.

Maybe “A” and “C” have a problem they are trying to solve?

If that was the case, would “B” go with them?

“B” could be a look-out.

A lookout for what?

Cops? Homeless people? Vampires? Skunks?

And so it goes… Until I have figured out the problem!

And then I’m no longer bored with my writing!

Life of a Writer: A Writer’s “Free Time”

So busy…. so busy…

I truly believe that if one is serious about writing there is NEVER any free time. Because if a serious writer has “free time” it is spent writing. So, by definition, writer’s have no free time.

This has been a busy week. I entered the current contest at MoviePoet.  The challenge this month was to write a short script (5 pages or less) with only have two characters. The characters  must not have met, talked, or written each other before they meet. There were 34 entries and, when I enter these contests, I commit to reviewing the other entries. So, I’ve been doing that. I consider reviewing other writer’s work as part of my writing because I always learn from the task at hand.

I am up to page 30 on the ANGEL’S KISS, DEVIL’S MARK screenplay. This story is the sequel to my novel and screenplay titled WINDFALL.  My initial plan was to write the companion novel to go with the screenplay but I’m starting to falter on that plan. The story will make a good film but I am not convinced it will make a decent novel.

Most of my writing time has been spent on FINDING VERITY,  my current novel. Word count is almost 64,000 words and I am really loving this project. My goal is to have the first draft completed by June 1!

When the first draft is finished, I’ll be looking for “first readers.” If you’re interested, please send me an email!

A Few Words on Characters…

As a novel or screenplay is written, writers need to be aware of their characters.

Duh…

No, really, give it some thought.

All stories have a protagonist and an antagonist so, as a minimum, stories have two characters. A story can be written with only two characters but, usually, there are more than two.

Many more.

Usually characters are human but sometimes they are not.

A character could be an animal, like the shark in JAWS or the pig in BABE.

Some characters are make believe such as vampires and zombies, Porky Pig, or Superman.

Weather has been used as an antagonist. Two good examples are hurricanes and tornadoes.

Even inanimate objects have been used as characters. Remember the strange car in Stephen King’s CHRISTINE, or the toys in the TOY STORY franchise?

One thing I learned from publishing my novel, WINDFALL, was to be cognizant of how many characters I introduce at any given time in the story. If too many characters are introduced at one time, the reader can’t keep them straight.

Try to introduce characters one at a time. This gives the reader time to get to know them. If this is not impossible, introduce characters in small groups.

One way to help readers remember characters is to differentiate them. The writer does this by making each and every main character come alive on paper.

If your characters are important to the story, give them a name and, if possible, make the name memorable. Give them physical attributes that are impossible to ignore, and habits that stand out, or an occupation that is so unusual it will never be forgotten.

But, if a character is secondary, such as a doorman or cab driver who only appears once in the story, don’t give them a name. In fact, don’t tell us they have fire red hair and weigh as much as an elephant. We don’t want to remember secondary characters. If a reader notices the secondary characters, the reader is distracted from the main characters. Writers should make secondary characters almost invisible.

So how many characters are too many? There is no answer to that question. Some stories only need two characters. Other stories will have hundreds. Just make sure your main characters are memorable because that makes it easier for the reader to remember them.