Writing Update

It’s been awhile since I did one of these, for good (well, okay, bad) reason:

There’s not been much to say.

I really have not had time (or energy) to do any sort of creative writing in months. I get paid to do freelance writing on various topics, with various degrees of personal input, usually very little, but when it comes to creative personal writing everything seems to be on hold.

There’s the fanfiction I started in April. I recently received a message asking me to please finish the story so they could know how it ends. Mmm, okay, will try!

There’s the novel that I haven’t touched in…far too long.

There’s the Bones script I finished. And the one I didn’t.

There’s the pregnancy journal. Now that, I am current on. Well, sorta. Early on I managed daily writing, now I’m on weekly updates.

I hope I have some great things to post soon about writing. We recently purchased a laptop, which has allowed me to quickly start catching up on my paid, non-creative, freelance writing. I’m praying I can get a bit ahead of that (when I don’t feel baby-sick) and then be able to dig back in to the rewarding creative work. I miss it, especially the script writing. But, alas, that may be shelved indefinitely. I think my path lays far more realistically with the novel side of things, with two babies on the way.

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My Zack Script

After driving everyone, including you, nuts for months about these, Jamie and I are finally publicly releasing our Zack scripts. Hope they were worth the wait! =)

(You can see the main post about the release on Obsessed with Bones.)

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Intro for “The Man on the Roof.”

Jamie proposed this idea out of her “Patty Hearstian” love of Zack. I must be honest that I do not have the same level of passion for his character, but I do have the passion for Bones, for writing, and for a good challenge. Hence, a script was born.

It became apparent rather quickly that Zack would be a case-of-the-week B-story in my script. I wanted to find a way to tell a reasonable continuation of his story but I wanted it, more than anything, to feel exactly like a real episode of the show. I needed to have the Booth/Brennan, the humor, and the feel of a weekly trip into the show.

It will be obvious to anyone who reads my script what I love most about this show. To some, you will even be able to tell exactly who my favorite character is. I really enjoyed writing it. I loved delving further into Zack, a character I’d previously enjoyed but not loved, on the same level as others. I hope I did him justice, and I hope you enjoy the whole package.

(link removed as I’ve decided to work it into a full novel completely independent of Bones)

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Reg # means it’s done!

Once again I have a freshly claimed WGAw registration number that proclaims I have finished my script project! Beyond a certain count of people, I have no idea who will read it. I hope many and I hope they like it! I really enjoyed writing it. Too bad I can’t see it live. The movie in my head will have to suffice.

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Up next…organizing the 40 1/2 size pages of notes I have made over the last week for a new story. This one is all my own, which gives it a particularly great thrill. It’s even more daunting, but I’m excited to be digging in.

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Just call me Buttah Fingas

Hi, my name is Wendy. I am a klutz.

I drop everything, including myself on occasion. I am not allowed to take off my wedding rings or engagement ring in public places. There’s at least and 80% chance that suddenly, for no explicable reason, a trio of musical pings will soon follow as they hit the ground. And heaven help me if the floor is carpeted. Good luck finding them then!

It goes beyond that, however. I’m a typing klutz as well. My story, and I’m sticking to it, is that my brain is moving faster than my hands. I leave off ‘s’s, I drop letters, I make mistakes like “I am ore than that” in place of “I am more than that” and many many more hilariously bad examples of typing: “What not to do” with a keyboard. If you can think of a typing error, I’m pretty sure I can put a check mark beside it. (And for you literal minded people, *cough* dear husband *cough*, I refuse to even address the other ‘what not to do’s’ I have committed with a keyboard. We will not be discussing milk today.)

There was a point to this…oh, yes. Script. So, yeah, I have this script thing. It’s going to be handed over early next week, I hope. In deference to my typing faux pas, I have let a few people read it. It’s more than a smidge embarrassing to see page after page of marks with the most mundane of errors – ‘shp’ instead of ‘shop’, ‘her’ instead of ‘here’, ‘co-works’ instead of ‘co-workers’.

That 14th ‘s’ you forgot, it really sticks with you.

But, I’m happy to report that aside from typing errors it seems to be well-received in this small group who’ve seen it. The 2 who watch the show say it sounds like a real episode and in an equally glowing compliment, the 2 who don’t watch now want to watch the show. I’m pulling in fans. Yeah!

So who else will see it? Well, we’re doing something very cool with our scripts next week. I can’t say more. But a couple of weeks after that, before the next season premiers, we should be posting them publicly for anyone willing to have a peek. Even in script format, I think they’ll be a fun read.

Mmm, pie….

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Late Update

It’s been a very busy week! I’ve gotten some great feedback on my script from my husband and a good friend and Bones fan. One more friend read it, but she doesn’t watch the show. She does read Kathy Reichs’ books however, and while she couldn’t help me on specifics related to the show, she did call like the story and, in what I consider a high compliment, said that it made her want to watch the show. Yay!

Today has been a very busy day with Bones cast and the creator appearing at Comic-Con yesterday. I’ve made countless posts as information comes in and spent a lot of time organizing a special podcast with a couple of people who saw the Bones panel first hand. I’m very jealous of these people, especially the one who squeaked his way behind the scenes and had a private one-on-one with David Boreanaz. He’s one lucky man!

Tomorrow though, aside from the interviews with the lucky ones, I will be focusing heavily on The Final Draft of my script. It’s time to rid myself of the scourge of typos and word omissions, fill in those last few holes, and proclaim it ‘done’.

And then?

More writing, of course! I thought of a new story even today. It’s not remotely Bones related but it could be an interesting movie ride…

It is very true: The Stories Never Stop

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Writing Update

I’ve got updates I can share, and some I can’t. But the first draft is basically done. I have a couple of lines to fill in and one scene that’s not in the document because I’ve written it multiple ways but otherwise…it’s in the bag.

I will be doing a lot of editing, especially to formatting. Jamie, my partner in this script debate, told me about The Screenwriter’s Bible, by David Trottier. I resisted pulling it out until the draft was done so I wouldn’t mire myself in the technical, and I’m glad I stuck to that choice. It’s already a revelation that I wish I’d had in my hands back when I submitted my pilot competition script, but that can’t be helped. It will, however, greatly help me now.

Jamie did score us some science help, thankfully. A real bona fide professor and coroner who was willing to take some time to answer some wild questions for nothing but sincere and heartfelt thanks. And boy am I grateful. He didn’t answer every single question I posed (I did send at least 15 after all) but what he shared was invaluable and went a long way to rest my mind on the scary science. I’m still guessing on parts but he saved me from at least one big goof.

My script is over budget on length by at least 7-8 pages. Hopefully the bulk of that will be taken care of when I go back through the dialog in a couple of days and tighten it all up. My goal was 60 and I’m happier being slightly over than any bit under.

No matter what, I’ve really enjoyed writing this. I’ve written a rather long fanfiction story with the characters in their happily-ever-after glow but I have to admit…it’s a million times more fun to write them as they are now: bickering, teasing, and hopeful for their futures.

I just hope it’s a good story!

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Productive Lunches

Today was an extremely busy day. Work was busy, Bones news was hopping, I had to come up with questions for a very generous person to possible ask the Bones panel at Comic Con (thanks for the help, Jamie!), compose questions for another generous person who has offered to help us with our script science issues (he may run away when he reads both our emails), and then somewhere in there actually work on the script too.

During lunch I did a little of each of those last 3, and then later this afternoon I managed to squeeze in the writing of the most daunting non-scientific part of the script: a heart-felt letter from Zack to Dr. Brennan. I can’t say more than that but it comprises only words spoken in the final scene of the script and there’s a strong burden for it to be righteously self-important. Those words matter. They are the true resolution, as far as things are resolved, for the entire episode. They’ve weighed on me heavily and I’ve continually ignored them. But suddenly the words just came. I hope they read as well as I think they do.

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Oh the best laid plans…

I didn’t get nearly as much done as I planned. I have finished act 2 almost and made some good, shaping notes about a few more scenes. The good news is that Act 1 really is the whopper that holds more page than any other, so I’m well over 1/2 done.

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Well, whadda ya know…

I got a lot done yesterday. Amidst giving mechanics money for normal repairs/maintenance on both our cars I managed to get some good writing done. I finished Act 1 of the Bones “Zacksplanation” spec script completely. I’d say I’m about 1/3 done with the entire script. Unfortunately it looks like that 1/3 might be a whopping 30 pages by itself. And that’s just the 6 page teaser and Act 1! I think (read hope) the other acts are smaller than the monster that is Act 1, but we shall see. It was interested, digging in, and visualizing the flow in my mind. I could see things like the points where the actual show would add a few very short cuts to different scenes to keep the momentum going. I added 2 short vignettes that weren’t there before.

I think in general I might have a couple of scenes that are way too long. I’m just going to keep trucking with it and when I’m done hopefully it will be easier to then go back and see where there happens to be dead weight I can cut out. There’s a scene in Act 2 with a character that gives the biggest group of details about the victim’s life and tells a character story. I’m afraid to type that one into the computer and see how big it really is. But I’m running with “more is more” and the idea that it’s easier to cut than add parts that won’t flow as well. That or I might just be writing a 2 hour episode without realizing it…

PS Super Smash Bros Brawl (which we got for 1/2 price on Amazon) is the devil of a fun timewaster. I am Bowser. I SMASH!

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For Fear of Blank Spaces

Blank spaces really are terrifying, when you’re staring at a deadline. If you let them, they can lead the mind straight to the same blankness.

We’ve set the end of July as our deadline. 3 weeks. And this weekend I have a 3 day weekend thanks to some unavoidable errands on Friday. In preparation for the planned fantastic and extensive work I will do on my script this weekend…no, really…I plugged most all of my latest hand-written notes into the computer document and printed myself a fresh gleaming copy to mark up. And believe me, there’s plenty of wide open prairie land on those pages, free for the marking!

For pure fiction I can easily write either on or off the computer. My brain flows better with a pen, but I can manage either way. However, I have this odd process for script writing. Almost none of the script first appears on the computer. I have a continual rinse and repeat cycle where I write furiously on paper until the paper is barely legible, then I plug it in and organize it on the computer. I can then print out a new copy and do it again.

I couldn’t have reasoned this process out in advance, but it works beautifully for me. My brain just seems to work better with a pen in my hand, only stopping when the mass of blue begins to obscure the structure beneath. The only real evolution to this process has been learning where to incorporate blank spots so I have pen breathing room. On this latest printing the blanks are definitely crushing the blacks in sheer size, hence the near-panic at times.

The only solution is to write. And if I can focus on one scene at a time, step by step, I will get through it.

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