Deadlines and scriptwriting

Putting up deadlines and following them religiously has been one of my resolutions for this year. Yeah, I have heard all the usual suspects of an argument against deadlines in writing. ‘In art, you are compromising on the quality of your work by not making it as best as it can be,’ ‘Good art is about committing yourself to something regardless of the cost of time and opportunities’ etc. But in my experience, I am compromising on the quality of my writing when I am not conscientious about the time that I am putting into various aspects of writing.

Because otherwise I would spend three months or more into outlining when I should have finished it in a month and then another couple of months into the treatment. Then finally when I come into the first draft, I would realise that there were inherent issues in the execution of the script which would make most of the work in the previous phases invalid and useless. Often mere fatigue and irritation will force me to push many issues under the carpet.

It has been my experience that to really come up with a good script, one need to go with the intensive and extensive work hand in hand. At least for me, however hard you scrutinize and work on the first round of outlining/ treatment/ drafting, there will be crucial issues that you are only going to detect in your second or third draft. So there is some truth in the saying that ‘vomit out your first draft as fast as possible.’ If some one decides to spend two month each on outlining, treatment and drafting, I would suggest that rather than doing it in blocks, one should spend one month each on each of these stages and then go back to drawing board in the next three months. That way, I feel that your script is going to be 100% better.

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Giving feedback: To hurt or to lie?

One of my friends called me a few days back. He was drunk. He was very excited about this idea which he was planning to develop into this 30 minute abstract drama. It is always very tough when some one asks your opinion about something which they are really excited about. And it becomes even more tough because they call you because they expect you to be honest with them. So I told him the truth after coating some sugar on it. But the sugar coating wasn’t thick enough. Or so he felt. It ended up in a (one sided) polemic about why screenwriting is about selling out compared to writing for theater.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I don’t have any specific commitment or love for truth. If I am given a choice between hurting someone and telling a lie, I would always choose the second one without batting an eye. But sometimes you make a mistake about how much pain you can cause. You misjudge about the level of rejection some one can take. And often it is very unpleasant to think about the amount of effort someone is going to put into a ‘nothing’ because you also said ‘yes.’

It made me think about subjectivity and objectivity in relation to art. It is really tough at times. Especially with screenwriting,

My scriptwriting strategies for 2012

It is a little late to write down a list of resolutions for 2012, I know. But this has been the way the year started for me. I was on vacation for first two weeks which was followed by a hectic apartment shift and some heavy duty academic stuff by the side. I still have not picked up all the pieces. But I am on my way.

So why bother with this post? Let me tell me, putting down in public my strategies and commitments for the year and updating about them from time to time (1,2,3,4) has been one of the smartest things that I did last year. There was a steep climb in my writing curve. Also it gave a certain direction for the whole year.

To summarise last year in writing:

The plan-

I realised that rather than spending too much time on networking, I should concentrate on building up a body of work. What is the point of talking with a stakeholder if you really have nothing worthwhile to offer him?

Output-

I increased my productivity by putting consistent checks on the net and pretty much everything else. My page count doubled compared to previous year.

My short film thriller script ‘The search’ was bought by a filmmaker friend in Canada and we developed it further together. His previous short film has been to Cannes. Hopefully ‘The search’ is going to get made this year.

Co-written adaptation of a Malayalam film for a Bollywood director who already has 2-3 credits is getting some eyeballs. Another co-written thriller script which we had set up as an indie project has covered some ground after around one year.

Failures-

Restrictions on the net and the lack of mobility due to my current work cut down my networking dramatically.

My scriptwriting balance sheet for 2011

I intended to write at least 2.5 hours per day  in the last one year. If I don’t reach that target, I will not access the internet for that particular day other than to check my mail. I am glad I didn’t succumb to the urge to peek into the net even once in the last one year without reaching the target.

So how much did I write?

Well, I will simplify the math here. If I just calculate the hours based on days I have reached my target and also the days I overshot my target, it would be around 370 odd hours. That is slightly more than 1 hour per day.

Wait, not done yet.

There are at least 72 days where I have worked but didn’t reach the target of 2.5  hours. Most of these days, I usually would have crossed 1.5 hour mark. There are many days where I fell short of the target by half hour. Still to keep it at the lower side, if calculated at the rate of 1 hour each of these days, it would be a total of 442 hours of writing in the last one year.  That would be around 1.2 hours of writing per day.

I am proud of this even though when rounded into average figures, it is very conservative even for some one with a day job. The reason is that, there were times where writing ground to a halt for weeks due to some academic assignment. At the personal side also, this was one of the toughest periods for finding the atmosphere to write (which is going to change in a couple of weeks). Also there are two 2 week vacation periods in there where I took a sabbatical from writing. And I am going to go easy on my rules in the last week of december even though I will continue writing.

Now what is the output? Did I complete the tasks that I had set out to do in this year?

All I can say is that I almost got an equivalent work done. Almost means around 80%. Why equivalent? Due to a variety of reasons, mostly the projects I planned to do in 2011 were not the ones that I ended up working on. Also a (co-writing) project concept was abandoned midway into the 1st draft because it was not going any where. Hopefully, we will approach it from a different angle later on. Anyway I covered more ground with my collaborative projects than my personal ones for obvious reasons.

I am happy with my writing in 2011 except for one single thing. It is all over the place. I need to concentrate on specific projects with the objective of finishing them rather than developing a number of ideas in parallel. I need 2-3 finished products in my platter rather than 10 half finished ones.

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5 reasons why you should co-write a screenplay

Co-writing is an exercise every writer should try at least once. May be you feel that you are not a ‘team person’. You may have certain fixed priorities and personal preferences in mind and you don’t want to be steered away by a writing partner. But still, you should try co-writing on at least an experimental basis. Reasons? I will give you 5.

The learning curve is steeper

Believe me, we all have our own strengths and weakness. Having a co-writer helps to improve that self awareness. What you would learn by writing 3 scripts by yourself, you would learn by writing a script with a friend. It is because many mistakes we make, we know in a instinctive manner that we are doing it wrong. But the problem is, to openly accept the judgement of such an unconscious ‘shit detector,’ it takes us more time. But with a co-writer who is honest regarding the worthiness of your concepts and process, the duration to enlightenment is cut short.

You will feel guilty if you don’t write

Almost all of us believe that we have some ‘great’ ideas for movies in our mind. But an average idea which you have put down on paper is better than thousand brilliant ideas that you are never going to write. With co-writing, you actually improve your chances of really getting things done. Writers are notorious for their tendency to procrastinate. But if you have a co-writer, it is much more likely that you will keep the ball rolling as otherwise you will be wasting the time of another person.

Learn the team game

What really makes scriptwriting different from other forms of writing is the collaborative process which is the crux of film making. Even if you wrote a screenplay which was wrenched out of the intimate parts of your heart, it is going to undergo scrutiny, invite comments (including many outrageous ones),  and you will be working and modifying it relentlessly until the point it becomes a film. It is all about taking feedback with composure, defending what you really believe in, examining your own ideas objectively and being able to articulate the abstract issues in the script. Now if you have a co-writer, you are a step ahead. You have some one to engage and challenge your ideas even at the concept level. There is a lot of back and forth which gives you time to sharpen your axes and be ready. Also it teaches you to accept disagreement, realise that some one out there may be able to contribute a better idea than yours and to work towards a consensus by bringing in a third, even better idea.

Throwing more darts

Every co-writer brings something unique to the table which is not only about plotting or dialogue or characters. Some may be good in networking and some in getting the work done. Also the catchment areas of different people may be different in terms of pitching your finished screenplay. Some may have technical expertise or past experience which may be helpful in getting your script made. The trick is not in writing your screenplay but being in a better position to really make it into a film. With co-writing, you are widening your net.

There are many roads to the same place

Different writers use different processes in writing. Some outline a lot. Some like to plunge into the first scene and let the characters surprise you. Some believe in structural templates while some love to experiment. Some like to know their characters while for some, attributes of a character develop according to the needs of the theme and plot. Some research while some doesn’t. The problem is, for most of us, our process is set within one or two screenplays. There are different methods in writing a screenplay but it is unlikely that a person will experiment much. But if you have a co-writer, it is much more likely that you will be exposed to a different method, which who knows, may be even better than that of yours.

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What if your idea is already a movie?

Had the typical writer’s nightmare 2 days back. The idea I have been outlining for more than a month is similar to the one-line of a film which is already out there. I came up on this while browsing through IMDB. Now comes the important question- what to do? Continue outlining it or abandon it? Or watch the movie and decide how much execution is similar to what I have in mind? But I got an interesting advice from a writer-friend- don’t watch it. If you watch it, some elements are going to subconsciously spill over. Continue developing it and if you want, see it later. I feel that it makes most sense. So I have decided not to shelve one month of work but to boldly go forward. The decision is risky. Most usually a writer is judged by hearing some of his outlines and not by reading all his scripts. A very innovative execution of a commonplace idea is more likely to go waste than average execution of a high concept idea.

What I have learnt from this experience is that writers need to be constant touch with all the projects developing in parallel out there. We can’t watch every movie. But at least one can go through one-lines of movies without spending too much time. This has to be part of our routine.

Photo by  les5siamoises

Strategies for 2011: 4th update

After 1st update on my strategies for 2011, 2nd, 3rd and now 4th updates comes at bigger intervals because whenever there is a crunch in writing time, frequent blogging is the first one to go under the axe. But this public display of both targets and my performance in terms of achieving them has been one of the biggest brain waves I had in 2011. Now there is an extra effort to at least have some modestly defend-able outcomes. So it appears that net can be put to good use, to increase your productivity.

Total number of days: 61

Total number of days where I finished 2.5 hours of writing: 33

Total number of days where I have not done any writing at all: 16

Total number of days where I have exceeded my 2.5 hour target: 3

Total number of days where I accessed net before completing my targets: 0

Even though the number of days where I hit the target time has increased slightly, there is something ominous in the above figures. The number of days where I have not done any writing at all has increased drastically. The key to productivity is writing something every day, however little it is. Also you lose the thread of whatever work you are doing, if you don’t go back to it consequently for a few days. So a ‘zero output’ day is more damaging than not achieving the 2.5 hour target.

Another issue has been the problem of finding time to sit in front of computer and actually type a treatment or screenplay from an outline. As I mentioned earlier, I am travelling a lot nowadays due to my posting and so most of my writing occurs during this time. Naturally outlining happens more often than writing full drafts in such a scenario. So in the last leg of the year, I am having at hand a number of rough outlines still requiring a lot of fleshing out. To rectify this problem, in the next two months, I will be trying a strategy of actually converting these ‘story spines’ to full treatments rather than searching for new ideas. Even though I was planning to develop some new strategies to network and actually set up some meetings at the end of this year, I am postponing it to next year as I would rather have some treatments at hand first.

Photo by Kassch3

Do you believe in script writing rules?

Script writing theories are a big cottage industry in itself. I have often wondered why writers accept it when someone says that the first major turning point of your story should happen in around 30 pages or that the hero should reach his obstacle in so and so page but no such rules exist for a novelist or a short story writer (at least no widely accepted rules like that in script writing). Probably reasons are the much more fixed nature of the commercial screenplay with duration clocking around 2-2.5 hours, the fact that the visual elements are much more definable and dividable (you don’t have to deal with a character thinking to himself for 5 pages) and also the strict ‘hit or miss’ nature of the results in terms of financial returns.

I have written an entire article on a film based on the structure format of Syd Field. It was not out of any devotion to him but to just mix with a creative product (whose major undoing was a lack of adherence to structural rules) a format of the extreme opposite. When I think about whatever little screenplay related books  I have read, I realise that whatever I have read was not completely useless to me. It gives you a certain orientation if you don’t take those theories a little too literally. The scriptwriting gurus do help to focus your attention on certain creative aspects of the craft.

My major issue with the ‘formulas’ has been that most of the assumptions are arbitrary. And all these assumptions are retrospective.

Fooling around with genres in scriptwriting

How many writers are out there who can write well in multiple genres? Not many I guess ( may be Jaideep Sahni). But how many of them have really locked on to the genre fit for them from the first script itself? It appears that the usual rule is a period of feeling around with various genres and then success with one genre defining their career (even if they want to write in another genre). In that sense, this phase is about experimentation for me. I know that probably comedy is not my cup of tea. But I am forcibly trying to make myself write a treatment at least. And I am co-writing a fantastical comedy. As some one in a scientific profession, one ought to have proof. Intuitions and gut feelings wont do, however romanticised those notions be. I am hoping that finally the proof that I come up with is not too unpleasant.

I can do thrillers. I have co-written a thriller titled ‘I Am Game’ which generated some opinion and was almost sold. Probably drama I can handle. Trying to prove that by writing a script. Can do action- not much different from thrillers I guess. The same with horror. Can do, but don’t want to, right now. Unless I get a killer concept that is worth the trouble. I really want to write a romantic comedy. I feel that I can do justice to the genre with all the verbal ballistics, something like ‘One fine day’ or ‘As good as it gets.’ Right now trying to find an idea for a romantic comedy or a satire. And I want to write a sci fi project. I know, there is no market here right now. And I don’t have idea that is worth investing time. But I will definitely write one. It is an opportunity to marry philosophy with science. Why should some one else have all the fun?

photo by Esther Gibbons

Strategies for 2011- 3rd update

Number of days= 63

Number of days where I completed 2.5 hours of writing= 29

Number of days where I didn’t write at all= 2

Number of days where I exceeded my target= 9

Number of days I have accessed the net without reaching my targets= 0

The good thing that has happened with posting updates is that my net writing time has increased. In fact the consistency has improved much. Even though the number of days where I have reached the target 2.5 hours is only around 50%, the number of days where I have really tried to reach the target has improved. That is number of days where I don’t do any writing has decreased. Also the number of days where I write for more than 2.5 hours has increased dramatically.

Something that I am yet to crack is some system of networking which I can build into this. I have some ideas but right now I don’t want to rush it. First let me have at least 3-4 solid treatments in hand. Then we will see.

The most important thing that has happened with me with this strategy is that my dependence on internet has almost disappeared. That compulsive urge to log into facebook or twitter, it is not there any more. And the reason? I got forcefully weaned as I couldn’t access net (except email) unless I finish my days’ quota of writing. I realise now that I have been pumping in enormous amounts of time into this apparently harmless micro-browsing episodes scattered through the day. Yeah, there may be obvious disadvantages. But right now, with my focus on churning out as many treatments and scripts as possible this year, I am not bothered. To win some, you have to lose some.

Photo by Taylor Finke