Monday, September 26, 2005

A little help

Ok, the weekend at home without my wife went well screenplay wise, and 'keep my daughter happy' wise. I didn't make as much progress as I hoped, but I got some important scenes out of the way.

I have got a couple of points I would like the screenwriters who read this to help me out with (I think there may even be two of you!).

(1) The first is a phone call. I've just realised I've never written a phone call scene. Could someone point me to a good example of how I should format a phone call where the visual cuts constantly between two locations. I'll search the net today myself, but good pointers are always welcome.

(2) The second is a bit more important. I've got this scene that deals with a very important underlying issue in the story, where the two main characters pave the way for the resolution of a big wedge that has come between them. The problem is that the dialogue has run to five full pages, and that's after I thinned it out some. What is said between the two of them has to be said. Is five pages like that acceptable or should I scrap the scene and try again?

Anyway, apart from that I'm really happy with what I've got so far. I ran what I've written up to now past a friend. Now I have her and my wife wanting to know when I'll let them see the rest, so it can't be that bad. If you look at a previous post, I think I gave myself to this coming Friday to get it finished. I may need the Saturday and Sunday after that, but that's close enough for me. It will probably end up around 110 pages.

If I finish when I think I will, I'll be totally amazed! I'll have taken the screenplay from nothing to my 'Dukes of Hazzard 2' version, scrapped it and re-written a new outline, and now I've got the finish line in sight, and all in a fraction over a month. I don't think that's at all bad when I've got a wife, kid and a day job :) I've got many failed efforts on my hard drive from the past. Too bad I wasn't as motivated back then (I think it helps that my wife is behind me this time).

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