31 replies to this topic

[Thoth]

Just too pressed for time these days. But I'll probably do Frenzy and Nano again some time in the future.
-T

[Marguerite]

Frenzy was interesting. What I learned was that writing a script is a great way to plot out a novel. Since a script is so short and so spare, I could pick up plot holes and character inconsistencies much more easily than in a full novel or even a chapter by chapter outline (which is a little too short and spare). Having to focus on what people actually said and did helped me figure out who they were. And the need to show emotion through action was great practice for writing scenes. I would do Frenzy again if I had a story in the early stages, where scripting seems most useful.

NaNo I just found off-putting. Like TAS, I don't need the external motivation to write, and the constant pressure actually got in my way. Definitely not for me.
Congrats to all participants. Go, go, go!
M

[Thoth]

M has inspired me to mention (again) what I got out of NaNo and Frenzy.

My basic problem is that I believe myself to be an inveterate tweaker: I always go back to "fix" what I've written and I am unlikely to change that behavior. This slows me down considerably and messes with my flow. But I am constitutionally incapable of leaving a plot point less then nailed down. Don't get me started on grammar and spelling errors. And I have spent hours sculpting the best possible sentence in a particular situation.

Nano taught me the value of a knowingly flawed first draft. Sometimes you have to plow through the action and ignore that you've confused "there", "their" and "they're" a page or so back, even if that knowledge is giving you muscle spasms in unmentionable places.

Frenzy was much easier (i.e., shorter) than Nano but the lesson was the same: write now, fix later.

"Here endeth the lesson." — from "The Untouchables" (1987) and some religious liturgy.
(Ten more to go, M.)
- T

[Serpententacle]

Hoorrraaay. I just finished Script Frenzy. I can now say, "I wrote a screen play."

All I need is to work it out and fine tune it whenever, if ever, I choose to...

Now it's off to editing the pesky novel I converted into the said screenplay...

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[Steve]

Serpententacle, on 25 April 2011 - 03:26 PM, said:

Hoorrraaay. I just finished Script Frenzy. I can now say, "I wrote a screen play."

Congrats Serpententacle!

-Steve

[fizchick]

Serpententacle, on 25 April 2011 - 03:26 PM, said:

Hoorrraaay. I just finished Script Frenzy. I can now say, "I wrote a screen play."

Whooo Hooo!

Sweet success and inspiration!

Congratulations!

-Fiz

[Marguerite]

Yes, congratulations!

Nice logo they have this year.
Best,
M

[Thoth]

Serpententacle, on 25 April 2011 - 03:26 PM, said:

Hoorrraaay. I just finished Script Frenzy. I can now say, "I wrote a screen play."

Congratulations Serpententacle! And you're ahead of schedule! We knew you could do it!
And there you are, in your Frenzy logo, atop Screenplay Mountain, holding up your literary achievement.
Marvelous.

Serpententacle, on 25 April 2011 - 03:26 PM, said:

All I need is to work it out and fine tune it whenever, if ever, I choose to...

Ah, there's the rub.

Serpententacle, on 25 April 2011 - 03:26 PM, said:

Now it's off to editing the pesky novel I converted into the said screenplay...

Let us know how much the conversion helped things along.

- Thoth

[thealtruismsociety]

Writing one is awesome. Now your at the re-write stage.

Some people love this, they get to whittle their loving creation to perfection.

I hate it--more accounting than creation to me.

And Serpent I feel your pain. I wrote a script in 09. Converted it to a book in 10. Redid it as a script Jan of 11, and have re-written THAT twice already. Ouch.

[fizchick]

Me too! Me too!

Sliding in with 101 pages of a graphic novel- not something that I would have considered doing if it were not for Script Frenzy....

To celebrate- I'm off to the LA Times book festival.

Never been to it- anyone storyists have? ... a day of all things books and some fine weather... need sunblock for my fine feathers... broiled chick... not today...

[Marguerite]

Congrats, Fizchick!

Yes, don't broil those feathers. Your avatar wouldn't look nearly as fluffy with singed ends.
M

[Thoth]

fizchick, on 30 April 2011 - 02:59 PM, said:

Sliding in with 101 pages of a graphic novel- not something that I would have considered doing if it were not for Script Frenzy....

Congratulations, Fizzy! Yep, that is the Frenzy's great gift: motivation to do something awesome. Something that you might never have done otherwise. (NaNo's pretty good that way too.) Makes you feel all warm and feathery.

fizchick, on 30 April 2011 - 02:59 PM, said:

To celebrate- I'm off to the LA Times book festival.

Yay!

fizchick, on 30 April 2011 - 02:59 PM, said:

Never been to it- anyone storyists have? ... a day of all things books and some fine weather... need sunblock for my fine feathers... broiled chick... not today...

I've never been to the LA Times book festival but I've been to others. It's nice just to be around other people who love books. In the summer, along The Wall (not Wall Street but the grey stone wall on 5th Avenue, specifically the part from the Central Park Zoo to 59th Street), there are plenty of "book carts" offering bargains and conversation. Some lost rare editions have been found there.

And since you wrote a graphic novel, I though you might like to know that Action Comics #900 (celebrating 75 years) has comic icon Superman talking about giving up his American citizenship so he can be more international. Comics sure ain't what they used to be.
- Thoth