Where's the conflict?

I've noticed that in my writing group, we all seem to want to paint the world with beautiful scenes and beautiful descriptions. But we're a little less inclined to put our protags on a journey with obstacles. So, why is that? What in a writer makes us not want to put them through the pain they need to go through in order to grow? I'm guessing that perhaps it has to do with something with writers not wanting pain in their own lives and taking some sort of subconscious pity on their lead characters. But in order to tell a story people want to see, we have to add the conflict. There is no story without that! Plus, I think that we fall in love with our worlds we've created and the settings we put the protags in, that we forget we're actually telling a story and not just painting a vivid world. Because believe me, if you forget the conflict, it's not going to be so vivid in the end. So when you're writing your own story, be sure you know what your protag's goal is before you even start your outline. Be sure that each scene, or at least almost every scene, has that character going after the goal, and the antag keeping her from reaching that goal. Keep having the antag stopping her every single way he can. And no matter how many times he stops her, she keeps finding ways, new ways, to push towards that goal. If you can get all these things in your story, you will have a story worth reading. And worth making! Now, I'm off to go make sure I have conflict in my outline.

How to not go crazy waiting!

So if you get lucky enough to have a big producer actually interested in working with you, part of that means they are busy and you are NOT going to be the first thing on their list of things to do that day. Or that week! Or even that month. So, there's only one thing you can do. Pull your hair out! Okay, no, not really. That's what you may think of doing, but in order from yanking head hair on daily basis, there are a few things you can do while you wait to hear back from said big-time producer. Yes, we all know we should write another script. At least I think we all know that, right? That's kind of one of those things I heard early on in my writing career. But that only takes up part of the day. The rest of the day, in between when you're being brilliant, of course your mind is going to wander and get stuck on, "Why hasn't said producer called me yet?" So, you need more things to keep busy. For me, I'm a freelance ad writer. So I've decided to revamp my advertising website. In fact, why don't I share it here? www.denisesbook.com That might even give you something to look at instead of pulling your hair out while you're waiting for said producer. But for me, I used this week to work on my website and then once that was done, I contacted old ad contacts I hadn't contacted in years! It's a good time for me to get reconnected. As luck or hard work would have it, I've gotten really great response to my latest website and it looks like I'll be picking up a lot of promising freelance gigs. So that's definitely keeping me busy. So whatever your full time job is, I'd suggest doing the same. Find projects that can keep you busy, keep your mind off your scripts and your producer. For me, that's been pretty much enough. Or at least I think it has. Maybe it hasn't, and maybe that's why I have this sudden urge to replant my entire front and backyard gardens. Plus a real driving need to throw out anything unneeded in the garage. If I don't hear from the producer soon, my house is going to be probably the best I've seen it in years! Hmmm...maybe it's not such a bad thing he hasn't called to give me notes yet. Another thing that helped me get a grasp on why I haven't talked to him, was googling his name in Hollywood Reporter. Seeing all the big projects he's got going on as we speak, really helped me get an idea of how busy he really is. Of course I know he's busy. But until you really read it in black and white print, it's not as easy to really get a handle on it. It sure worked for me, so I suggest that to you. Now, if all those suggestions don't work for you, then I guess I'm at a loss. Because I think I got you pretty busy. And maybe by the time you actually finish all those things, you'll actually hear from him. Well, I better go. I think I have this hankering to clean out my entire fridge.

My pitch meeting!

So, it was finally here. I'd spent the whole weekend preparing for it. The pitch ended up being 7 pages long. I was told by industry friends I needed to show the beginning, middle and end of the story. Show the character arc. Tell the theme. Give the beats of end of Act 1, midpoint, Act 2, and Act 3. Explain who the main characters are. Give a basic idea on what I really hope to tell once I write it. Okay, I got all that. Not a problem. I'd been sick all weekend, so that wasn't really helpful. But at least I was well enough for the meeting. I had to hope I knew my story enough to be able to tell it. It's really the passion for your story that gets a producer excited. And since I love screenwriting more than anything, passion is just natural for me. And this story, super excited. So what else do I need? So I go to the meeting and he's super busy. I wait in the office for a few minutes while he fields calls for a movie he's producing in two weeks, with no final cast yet! Yikes! It was interesting sitting there waiting as call after call came through and important industry people tried to get a hold of him. You'd see his assistants write on these dry eraser boards of who was on the phone, go into his office and see who got the, "Yes, put the call through" Or "No, calling them back". So I finally got to go in to the meeting and the producer said, "Tell me what you got for me". I said I have everything! He was like, "Great! You just made my life easy." So I told him the whole story. And he loved it! I even added a different kind of twist to it that I wasn't sure if he'd like, and he loved that too! It just goes to show as a writer, we have to trust our talents and our style and go for it. That's why they're hiring us, for our writer's voice. If that's your style, don't hide from it! So he only made one minor change to the ending, which I really liked. He tells me he wants to see the outline by Friday. Friday?! But it's Monday! But I tell him, yep, no problem! No matter what deadline he wanted, I'd meet it! I'd written an outline for another producer in three days, so I could do it again. I'd have to hunker down, but I would do it. If I was organized, I could use every minute of my day to get this thing finished. I was not going to miss out on this amazing opportunity to work with this huge producer I respected. So, I divided each day by acts. Monday finish Act 1. Tuesday get to Midpoint. Wednesday end of Act 2. And Thursday Act 3. Sure enough, I stuck to my schedule. I even had time to go to writing group and meet a friend for lunch! Just goes to show if you're organized, you can do it! I decided to sleep on it Thursday night, in case anything else came to me. But by Friday, I still felt this was the story! And sent it. Yay! Haven't heard back yet. His production on his film should have started this week. So I know he's got a lot on his plate. If I don't hear from him this week, then next week a little "checking in" email might be just the thing.