Nothing like the winning combination of free time, deadlines, and an abundance of coffee shops. In a week I made more progress than I had made in months. Not only did I make an outline (its organized by character, not strictly by order) but I also read an entire screenplay, gained wisdom, insight, inspiration, all that jazz, and I wrote four scenes, oh and I did a bit of character research (that whole coffee house thing, but that's another topic entirely).
Outline: Its divided into four characters, and under each character I wrote "physical journey" and filled in the blank for that character. The "physical" journey is a somewhat loose term, its not like they start in China and end in France on some quest, but more like they hang out here and they're here, or they're with this person, and then they're with this other person. Under physical journey, I wrote "mental journey" which is much more crucial. The entire screenplay, what links these characters (other than the fact they're related) is that they all undergo some sort of mental transformation. Their perception of their universe, and themselves, is altered in some way. After I'd written a sentence about each character's mental and physical journeys, I listed under their names the scenes that are needed to communicate these journeys. And there it is, that's the screenplay. It's that easy. I've done the hard part, I already know all the scenes, now it is truly just the fun part. All I have to do is write it and enjoy those little surprises that happen when writing dialogue.
This being said, there are not only four characters, there are more, but the story is only told through the point of view of these four (this helps it feel more united, because these characters are all related) and the other characters exist to further the journeys of the main four. I refuse to think of the characters that aren't part of the four as "minor characters" because I really, really, really love them.
Reading: Thank goodness for the internet. I've been struggling to find a way to format some of the things that happen in the story. Screenplays follow this very strange and strict structure, and its hard to find ways to communicate less run of the mill ideas using this structure. None of the screenplay books I have address how to format what it was I was trying to do. So, I looked to the master, Alan Ball, the writer of American Beauty. I knew that movie had something similar to what I was trying to do so I decided to look out how he had formatted it. Thanks to my friend google, I found and downloaded the script in minutes. Its fairly straight forward. In fact, I realized, after I had gotten sucked into the entire script, that the whole thing is fairly straightforward. The man looks confused, all that has to be written is the man looks confused. "He turns, his face scrunched up, eyes furrowed together" is not nescseary if all that is essential to communicate is that he is confused. I know this sounds sort of... obvious, but it, much like the simplicity of creating an outline, was an epiphany. I also realized, through my reading, that screenwriters have the burden of communicating two stories. There's the plot, the characters, the typical elements of narrative, but there is also this other...thing. This sort of elusive idea of communicating how the audience interprets the narrative, the freedom to say that only part of the scene is visible, or so and so is off camera, this added element to the story that, if done effectively, really enhances the story. It extends beyond the confines of literature because screenplays are only part of this whole other art form. That is what drew me to this medium in the first place. I'm glad I've remembered it.
Writing Scenes: Frank is my least favorite character. I don't understand him. I'm nothing like him. He's not very bright and I question his morals. I'n fact, I've done everything to try to keep him out. I've killed him off. I've shipped him off to Brazil. I've left him stranded in a phone booth in Texas. He was the last character to develop and I only kept him around because he was essential to plot and the growth of other characters. But, write what you know, right? So I made Frank resemble a hodge-podge of people I know. And suddenly, I like the character. I don't suddenly like them because they resemble these people, but my complex relationship with Frank's real life counter parts has sort of mentally battled out through him and writing about this character has become somewhat therapeutic. He is also lends himself to dry humor which is a always a plus. So, after I completed my outline and thought "Who do I start with?" I suprised myself and lept writing into Frank's story.
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