"Summer" script writing update 28/4/2010...

The last few days of writing has seen me get up to page 22. That sounds quite respectable, but it's been a struggle for some of it. Just as I thought I was getting my groove back - feeling the mojo working - I plunged into a cavern of slow typing, pondering, and creative malaise.

Then today I cracked out a nice four pages, which afforded me the opportunity to finally start stretching my legs back into this script writing malarkey, and to let the characters speak for themselves (i.e. I play the scene in my head like a movie and then I write down whatever they happen to do or say).

I'm sure part of the malaise and creative struggle over the last few days has been down to adhering closely to the detailed script layout I put together for the entire script (11 pages of script layout, and 6 pages of character information - which summarised pages and pages of notes and even a bunch of questionnaire responses). The layout has the structure and framework for everything to fit into, but it's almost entirely free of dialogue ... what's more, it of course doesn't have the unforeseen avenues of dialogue that you stumble across when writing. Sometimes your characters want to say or do something that you hadn't thought of before - and it is in this respect that today's writing session went better than the last couple of sessions. I was still working within the framework of the bullet-point-heavy layout, but I was getting to explore between the lines more.

I'm also sure that when I go back over what I've written, I'll be able to insert the 'between the layout lines' stuff, as well as trim and hone what's already written. The layout was a good way to get the whole thing put together in brief so I could overview the whole thing, but while it affords you good things on that front, it can pose a problem when it comes the time to translate from a essay-like point-by-point layout into a script that flows free replete with dialogue of the dramatic and humorous varieties.

Anyway, before I ramble on any longer, these few days of getting into the script writing groove have proved somewhat tumultuous, but this time I think I'm starting to find my groove.