I’m not surprised that it’s possible to write 100 pages of draft in a month. Nor am I shocked that the draft can be quality. Writers pull that feat off all the time. If you don’t believe me dangle a check in front of one and watch what he’s capable of… Three other things struck me as important learning experiences from Frenzy.

Screenplays are not Novels: We all know this, but writing a script in 30 days really drives the lesson home. A novelist can create a scene by describing the setting. The road was lined with dark trees and, at night, their branches formed a thick canopy that not even a full moon’s light could penetrate. This sets up a scene and signals the reader that something scary is about to happen! A screenwriter has only EXT. ROAD – NIGHT. Tough gig.

Movie Dialogue is not Conversation: Life is a long improvisation and most of what comes out of a person’s mouth is said with planning. Joey asked, “Did you have a good weekend?” “Oh, yes, it was fine. How about you? Did you have a pleasant one?” This is how real people talk. It’s also intolerably boring. If this exchange was actually in a movie the audience would begin digging for their own ear wax out of a desperate need to look at something more interesting. In a movie this would be: “How was your weekend?” “Well, I found a werewolf sleeping in my Honda and it got worse from there…”

Planning is Key, but Expect the Unexpected: If you’re going to write a screenplay (or anything of length) you need to know what’s going to happen. However, you don’t want to be so rigid that your characters can’t surprise you. I’m not a fan of outlines that script every detail of every scene. Had I used one for The Weeping I would not have the twist ending I so like now. My thought is that you need something in between “knowing every detail” and “being clueless.” Know your major plot points and most of the minor ones, then let the story emerge from the characters living it.

Good lessons, even if they are repeats.

Special thanks to Apollo16 for the warm welcome and to Madartista for being such a great writing buddy. Never Write Alone!

Finished The Weeping.

*Script Frenzy entries Day 23 and 24 were previous drafted, but not posted until the 25th.

8 pages from done is a great place to be in a screenplay, especially when a character does something completely unexpected. Considering what happened, I’ll have to go back and change a few events, but that’s a small price for a twist ending.

What makes a Great Screenplay? There’s as many answers to that question as there are script-readers in Hollywood; and pretty much all of them have their own opinion. However, I’m pondering this question as I leave the middle of The Weeping and work my way toward the end; and I’ve come up with a checklist.

Hook: What grabs the audience’ attention?

Compelling Character: Fictional people can be good or evil, but they can never be boring.

Conflict: A character wants something and must overcome obstacles to get it – that’s conflict.

Depth: If each line of dialogue adds to the character’s mystery or the story’s conflict, that’s a plus. If anything separates a mediocre script from a great one it must be Depth.

Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is when minor detail in Act I turn out to be hugely important to the character’s survival in Act III.

Surprise Ending: Everyone knows how movies end – or do they? Heh heh heh…

White Space: All schools of thought on screenplay writing agree that the more blank space on a page, the better. I have to admit, my work reads much better spending a week slashing it to pieces.

Not all scripts have all elements of greatness. Sometimes one element is so vibrant that it makes up for what the others lack. Other scripts are more character driven and therefore more reliant on dialogue than plot or action. Regardless, striving to incorporate these into a script – or any other piece of fiction – will only strengthen the project.

I’m tired, but The Weeping is on schedule. I’m pondering the Mother-Daughter relationship and how it’s like / different from the Father-Son relationship. Need to explore this more when the rewrites begin.