Global Spin » ScriptFrenzy

Scrippet (you know, for script snippets)

Chris — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:30:31 +0000

This is a test of the Scrippet plugin for WordPress, which would help me render bits of scripts and screenplays and such. I’ll be tweaking this until it looks OK.

INT. RESEARCH OFFICE – DAY

SMITH stands next to BILLY, who is seated at his desk. Billy hands him a fat folder.

BILLY

I don’t even think you’ll need a costume, Mister Vintage.

SMITH

Nope. It’s like going home for spring break.

BILLY

Except you’re supposed to have fun on spring break. You are going to have fun, right?

SMITH

(opening the folder)

You should know, Billy. Isn’t there a high statistical correlation between me staying on a college campus and the simultaneous occurrence of fun?

BILLY

Are you accusing me of forcing co-eds on you?

You might recognize the awful dialogue from The Last Domino, my cursed time-travel screenplay from Script Frenzy a couple years back.

the script unleashed

Chris — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:29:21 +0000

It’s what you’ve all* been waiting for, the blockbuster hit of Summer 2009. The Last Domino finally has a screenplay, and you finally have a chance to read it.

Let me know what you think of it.**

* Deana, basically
** only if you loved it

a minor victory, a minor defeat

Chris — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 05:03:34 +0000

The good news: The script is done. The accursed, untenable, unsalable, hackneyed, nagging time travel screenplay has finally been completed. The entire plot outline was covered, the crises averted, the ending tied up in a neat bow. I’m done with the first draft. Done!

The bad news: It’s less than 16,000 words, around 85 pages. That’s probably too short to be a truly complete draft (there are lots of places where more dialogue or description is probably necessary), and it’s over 4,000 words shy of winning the Script Frenzy challenge. It’s the very last night of the month, and there’s no way I could add that much to the script in time to meet the deadline tonight.

Here’s the kicker: I don’t really want to, either. Sure, I could write a couple dozen pages’ worth of space monkeys attacking, but it just doesn’t feel worthwhile. Not the script itself; I’m immensely proud of completing it, and I think it could be pounded into something mildly entertaining with a few more drafts. I’m glad I spent some time this month working on it, but I’m also glad I didn’t spend any more time on it than I did. It’s been a busy month in all respects, and when it came right down to it I picked family, friends, other projects, and sleep (oh, that) over meeting a screenplay challenge.

From here… I’m not sure. I’m thinking of asking K to check it for embarrassing bits. If she doesn’t howl with laughter, I’ll post it in the writing section for your amusement.

Final word count: 15,741.

in which our protagonists share their first kiss

Chris — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 06:17:48 +0000

Wow. I just made it through one of those sections of the plot outline that was a single line, and even that line was hand-waving. (Seriously, it read “Block 5: montage of LURVE.”) It’s the part of most movies that doesn’t work at all if the actors don’t have chemistry and the director doesn’t have a soul, so there’s usually not a lot going on in the script.

Unless that script is The Princess Bride.

If you haven’t seen that film, go watch it now. Now. I’ll wait. Done? Okay. Compare the scene in the fire swamp with the scene at the beginning with the water jug. Which one makes you believe that these two people love each other? Which one makes you wonder if it’s going to be a kissing book? Exactly. What’s the difference? In the fire swamp, the actors have a steady stream of dialogue and actions they can hang their emotions on, and the director has a million places to insert a hand-holding here, a quick embrace there, a significant look.

I did not, in fact, write a scene like that. However, the scenes I wrote were a lot more like that than the water jug scenes, so I’m hoping the audience won’t have to take it on faith that these two cardboard cutouts really are meant for each other. That will come in handy in the next few scenes when I pit them against each other.

Word count so far: 6,965.

crawling, crawling toward victory

Chris — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:42:04 +0000

Work on the Accursed Screenplay has been slow, but I’m plodding away. (“Plodding” isn’t exacly the word one wants associated with a film script, but whatever.) I’m actually kind of proud of the progress I’ve made so far. Dialogue isn’t my strongest suit, but I’ve been able to discover new things about my characters just by what they’ve said in the first 20 pages. That feels pretty good, whether I end up finishing on time or not. Which I will, assuming I can write 1500 words a day from now on.

Word count so far: 4,019.

back in the saddle again

Chris — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 05:44:23 +0000

So ScriptFrenzy got off to a rocky start. We spent the first few days of June getting prepared for a trip, and another week or so on the trip itself. (With no laptop. And a three-year-old boy. ‘Nuff said.) As a result, the grand total after we got back was still 346 words.

Ah, but that’s to be expected. This is the Accursed Time-Travel Screenplay, after all. The Movie They Didn’t Want You To See! They Said It Couldn’t Be Done! Men Have Gone Mad Making It! If it was easy to write, I would have written it by now, right?

So yeah. I worked on it a bit on the bus, and managed to get past the teaser and into the opening credits. There’s a lot more to go, but it averages out to about 1000 words per day now. That’s nothing compared to NaNoWriMo, so I still think it can be done.

Word count so far: 1,117.

it begins again

Chris — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 07:06:24 +0000

We wrote our first few words for Script Frenzy this evening. Yes, it has begun again with the oh-so-simple-sounding EXT.� ALLEYWAY – NIGHT.

Who knows where it will lead, though? Will our hero find a way to save his girl from certain doom? Will our heroine find a way to let this blockhead know that he’s not a 1960s sci-fi action hero? Will our plucky sidekick get enough good lines to make it a worthwhile part?

Only time will tell. Time and about 19,700 more words.

Word count so far: 346.