Yep. Here I am again, in another jam of my own boiling. I got all excited, had a blizzard of creative activity… and I’m set fast in a berry-flavoured condiment.
I’ve got three elements compelling me through my current script:
- its genre, one that I’ve always admired and enjoyed;
- a core theme that’s reflected – I dare say embodied, even – by the protagonist;
- and a hook that will drive the protagonist onward in their journey.
Now, I might think these elements alone are as cool as heck – I’m flashing on scenes to illuminate and entertain, set-pieces are tugging at my sleeve to be written now or be lost forever, I can see the trailer already – but there’s no story here. This rather glaring omission is quite clear in the thirty-odd pages of set-ups and teasers and clues that I’ve excitedly but rashly typed up.
Yes, it may have been fun to get this far but I do want this script to not only be readable, I want it to be a gripping/thrilling/enjoyable read, right? And if I can achieve those things, it gets the script that much closer to being made, right?
So I’ve started outlining the script from scratch. I don’t think I’ve wasted my time and energy on those thirty pages. Some pieces from those thirty pages will fit right into the outline. And there’s dialogue and stuff about the characters that wouldn’t have occurred to me if I’d just started with the dry work of outlining.
It was fun while it lasted but all good things come an end, and that’s okay. It sucks that the story won’t ‘write itself’. But it’s all part of the process for this particular script.
Onward ho.
