Friday, December 18, 2009

Holiday season

Hello...

Ok... so I'm an awful blogger... I haven't had time to write anything here 'cause I've been super busy on other projects. So here's the update....

The-GreenLight.com 1st Annual Script Contest was a success. Our winner T.L. Lewis wrote a masterful piece entitled "REBIRTH" set in the days of the Huguenots. It's brilliant.

Also we're now running a monthly contest that is doing very well... We'll be announcing our 3rd winner at the end of the month! The quality of script submissions is amazing. There are a lot of really talented and creative people out there... Sooooooooooooo... I'm reading and reading and that's an awesome thing.

Now for me... I am on the 3rd draft of the outline for my Pilot. That doesn't really sound all that impressive (3rd draft of an outline)... But if the outline sucks so will the script... Everything should be worked out ahead of time so you don't end up doing what I did with Ghost Hunter (we'll get to that in a minute). Also... when you have a good outline the finished piece practically writes itself. By the end of the outlining stage you should know everything you need to know so that all you have to do is drop in some of your witty dialog and BAM! 1st draft is ready for polishing.

Now... Ghost Hunter... It's my 3rd feature script. Post-apocalyptic Earth... A world shrouded in darkness... Well... Let me just say... don't start the first RE-Write if you haven't finished the 1st draft. I found myself re-writing the script before I had even finished the 1st draft. This lead to a number of problems not the least of which was the fact that some of the things I re-wrote in the early stages didn't line up with anything on the back end... So you have these things that seem like major plot points that vanish into thin air... Needless to say I have a Major overhaul to do on it before its ready to be sent off for its first round of coverage... If I sent it now... I would get a two word report back "EPIC FAIL!" - It's all good... I know its a hot mess... But its done! and the foundation is solid... Soooooo writing is re-writing... and I will do a re-write.

So... between polishing off the 3rd feature, getting 3 drafts of the outline for my TV Pilot and all the fun stuff we're doing on The-GreenLight.com I've been a little busy... Too busy to blog... BUT once my vacation starts in about 5 hours and 57 min... I have nothing but time...

My goals for this vacation... Write an episode of Hotwheels: Battle Force 5, an American Dad, and outline an episode of Trauma... Also... finish the outline for the Pilot, and get the 1st draft of the script written! I only have 2 weeks... So I'll be happy with just getting the 1st draft of my pilot done... BUT you have to set goals! and the higher they are, the more you'll prove to yourself what you can actually accomplish if you set your mind to it.

Cheers! and have a safe and happy holiday season!

- G