Moving Ahead

As I sit down to write this, I'm struck by the feeling that posting about the process of writing and moving ahead with my screenplay just isn't all that compelling. Would it help if I mention that I'm considering getting new living room furniture?

I didn't think so.

On Friday, I registered my screenplay with the Writer's Guild. This was a big step, as it meant my screenplay was actually finished.

Or so I thought.

Last week, I discovered that there is a San Diego Screenwriters Meetup group. (Meetup.com is a great idea, by the way.) Last night, I went to my first meeting, and brought my screenplay. I'd printed out four copies of the first ten pages in case they were open to reading it, but I went without expectation. They turned out to be an interesting group, struggling with some of the same things I struggled with. They were a bit skeptical when I said I'd written my way from outline to completed rough draft in just 3 weeks, but they were hooked by my pitch. (I use Michael Hauge's idea of how to sell the story: instead of telling the story, I start with how I got the idea for the story, then move on to give a little teaser that describes the style of the story.) I got the question I wanted: "So, what happens?" They then went on to shred my first ten pages, nitpicking it to smithereens. Yes, smithereens.

I am learning that Improv training helps when you're presenting your writing to strangers. When someone offers a suggestion, it helps to embrace the suggestion, something that does not come naturally for a writer. (We tend to think, "Well, that's your opinion, but since I wrote it, might I suggest a few places where you can put your notes?")

I am also learning that when people give notes, there is a sort of wheat-from-chaff processing that's required. You can almost always get one really good kernal of a note from the deluge of it-would-be-better-ifs and I-would-have-done-it-this-ways. Last night, I got one of those.

It was a "crap! you're right!" kind of moment.

All of this leads, of course, to the conclusion that a screenplay is never actually finished.

As a case in point, Paul Haggis (Oscar-winning screenwriter of Crash, Million Dollar Baby, and the current In the Valley of Elah) tells the story of working with Clint Eastwood on Flags of Our Fathers and partway into the filming, becoming convinced that a rewrite was needed. In spite of Eastwood's assurances to the contrary, Paul went ahead and did the rewrite.

Eastwood continued filming.

With the original script.

The film is brilliant anyway.

The best part of my weekend came when my parents called on Sunday evening to tell me that they loved the rewritten story. I'd wrestled for days with their notes, and finally arrived at a solution that both tightened the fourth plot line and delivered satisfying resolutions for three of my main characters.

But not for me, because apparently, I still have some tweaking to do.

Next week, I'll be headed to the Screenwriting Expo in LA, and pitching the story to at least five agencies.

It's a start.