Ooh, just realized I haven't blogged about the Red Planet Screenplay Competition for awhile. So here goes. Well, as you know, I entered my first 10-pages on the deadline day in August and, like thousands of others who entered, have been furiously beavering away on the remainder of my script through September.
Fortunately, Red Planet recently said they won't request full scripts until mid-October, so that gave me a few more weeks to get everything done. Well, 11 days now.
I have 10 pages left to write. That's not a problem, because I know how my story ends. It just means I'm very anxious to get it done now a deadline's looming. I really wanted a fortnight for a complete polish to make it more cohesive, but that's very unlikely now. I wish I'd known about this competition earlier!
So how is my script shaping up? Well, my problem has always been that step-by-step, precision planning saps my interest in writing the actual script. If I, as the writer, know every single facet of the story beforehand... well, I get bored.*
I prefer having a loose, malleable idea of the story... goals to achieve along the way... pre-planned climaxes for each Act... and an ending set in stone. That's all the planning I need.
The benefit of that approach is that I enjoy writing the script much more -- and often see the characters do/say things I didn't plan originally! It's more exciting than just churning out the script to a beat sheet you know inside-out.
The bad thing is... sometimes those pesky characters want to take the story down a different path, get distracted, or throw up inconsistencies with the story. Usually, I allow the characters this freedom and regret it. Other times, the script becomes more vibrant and alive as a result of me indulging them. I can never tell what the end result will be... so it's trial and error sometimes. Sadly, such indulgences eats into script writing/development time.
With my Red Planet submission, it's been a relatively focused journey -- mainly because the idea has been buzzing around my head for 18 months, so it already had some shape to it. But yes, there have been problems caused by wayward characters and a general vagueness to some subplots, which took some solving.
Well, I say "solving", but I'm not 100% happy with all of my solutions. At the moment, anyway. If I had another month to fix things, that would result in a better script. I'm hoping the psychological buzz of finishing the script will focus my attention better on the problem areas.
It's funny how you begin to crave the rewriting process at this late stage, particularly because I always start scripts with the intention it'll be so magnificent it won't need a rewrite. It never turns out that way!
If it gets through Red Planet's phase 1, that's great. If not, there's always the BBC Writer's Room, after a few more drafts. Either way, it's been an invaluable experience. I already feel that any script I do in the future will benefit from the focus Red Planet gave me.
* Quentin Tarantino once revealed he writes with a loosely-planned style, too. In Reservoir Dogs, he didn't know Mr Blonde had a razor-blade in his shoe until the moment he pulled it out. I take some solace in the fact I share a similar writing style with QT... although, his writing peaked with Pulp Fiction in 1994.
In 2007, he's just churned our Death Proof which, judging from reviews, seems like it was written in a lazy, stream-of-consciousness way. So, I'll try and avoid following QT's lead that closely, in case the same happens to me...
Fortunately -- I do plan, just not to a scene-by-scene degree.
