I did it, at last.
This is partly the reason I haven't blogged in the past few days. Writing hard.
So I did 10 pages on Wednesday, same on Thursday and as I was travelling back to family on Friday afternoon I found myself an unreserved table seat, plugged in the laptop and wrote like a madman -- 20 pages including the all-action climax. Page rate over 6 per hour.
Deadlines are handy things as I mention in this blog. And I used this one to get the job done in advance. Having no TV in my flat is a definite advantage.
As I have mentioned previously the screenwriter I most admire is Joss Whedon, one of his trademarks is heading directly into a cliche and then taking an unexpected left. A classic example of this in Buffy when she and Giles are talking in a crypt. They leave. Ethan Rayne emerges from the shadows where he's been listening and says something out loud, gloating over having overhead the plan.
This is classic cliche. What does Whedon do? Giles comes back into the crypt saying "I thought I heard someone". And the plot shoots off in another direction completely.
I have tried to do emulate him where it's sensible (and funny). For example, after escaping their chains the hero and girlfriend peek out the door to see what the bad guys are doing. In most films they would then either creep out and escape, or shut the door and formulate a plan of escape. That's cliched and predictable. I do something different but I'm not saying what (hey, this might get made one day, I'm not going to spoil it).
So there we have it, 100 pages of script in a month which is what ScriptFrenzy is all about. It gives you a reason and deadline. You can do it too.
What's on the turntable? "Do the Strand" by Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music from the compilation album "Street Life".
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