I figured a few people would get a chance to read the opening of the script... about a dozen people e-mailed me about it or mentioned it in replies.
Without any announcement, I continued to add rough draft pages to that same URL address. Not on a regular basis, every once in a while I’d add a bunch of fresh pages. And a handful of people noticed, and have sent me e-mails. This has been kind of interesting.
Harlan Ellison once wrote a short story in a bookstore window. You could walk past the bookstore and watch him work.
I think this has been an interesting accidental experiment, and I think sometime in the future I will do the experiment on purpose. Next time I land an assignment, or have a new spec that I plan on writing on a self-imposed deadline, I think I may let you guys look over my shoulder. I may post my pages for the day somewhere on my website.
Might be fun.
- Bill
TODAY'S SCRIPT TIP: When people Blow Up (Tuesday was a new tip about the WGA strike - hope you remembered to check the Tip Of The Day and didn't miss it.)
Yesterday’s Dinner: BBQ Pork & brown rice at CityWok.
Pages: Preparing for my Expo Classes - trying to figure out a new version of the Naked Character class.
I've noticed that you didn't type in CUT TO or FADE TO before the slug line. Isn't that mandatory on a spec script.
ReplyDelete(I'm up to page 68 on my first.)
No - exact opposite.
ReplyDeleteThere has never been a tme when CUT TO:s were used between every scene. Never. I have copies of scripts from the 1950s - no CUT TO:s.
(Actually CUT TO: is used sparingly, maybe 5 maximum in a screenplay, only when there might be confusion without it. There are no cases in my script where there may be confusion between locations... so there are no CUT TO:s.)
The use of CUT TO:s is some myth that some screenwriting teacher who has never actually sold a script has created.
Spec scripts have no camera angles, too.
FADE IN: is still used to begin a script, but it is slowly being phased out... I read new scripts that don't begin and end with FADE IN and FADE OUT.
- Bill
Okay. Thank you.
ReplyDelete(That will shorten things a bit.)
Okay. I just cut out all of the CUT TO's from my current draft. It dropped from 69 pages to 63 pages.
ReplyDelete>>but it is slowly being phased out... I read new scripts that don't begin and end with FADE IN and FADE OUT.<<
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting. I did not know that.
Room for 6 more pages of good stuff.
ReplyDelete- Bill
Room for 6 more pages of good stuff.
ReplyDeleteYes.
Back up to page 64 already.
"you got face on my hammer" is one of your best lines ever, man... I am even considering using it as my tagline quote on my Done Deal name haha... I loved it
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteI know what the scenes are going to be, because I have an outline... but I have no idea what the characters are going to do or say within the scene.
- Bill