Commitment Issues

Apparently I have commitment issues when it comes to my characters. I really love them, but they can't exist without wants... and I think I have them that way because it's almost like wanting all possible doors open for your loved ones.

But characters need to be detailed... so I'm fixing that. And wa-ha, it's hard to give two shits about fairy godmothers. How do you make people who can be pretty powerful with magic sympathetic and human?

Then there's a problem with the world of it... do I want it to be completely out of our reality? Monsters Inc did it... but that was old Pixar and old Pixar are pros. Or George Lucas's Star Wars (IV-VI).

Or should this be semi-based in our reality? Something along the lines of a more classical Disney, like Cinderella or A Princess and the Frog where the protagonists are human and everything that happens takes place in a recognizable world we can find on Earth, but with supernatural/magical elements.

It seems that no matter what I do... I bite off what people think is too much than I can possibly chew. But I'm not backing down. I've had this bouncing around in my brain for a while now. It's going to take some work... but I'm going to do this. And I really, REALLY want to have this be a comedy. If anything, that is my through-line, that this make people laugh.

If anyone has any suggestions... I'd love to hear them. This weekend I'll be building a world. If it took George Lucas years, I'll do it in a week.

Comedy = Tragedy + Time?

If so, I'm set. But if not...

Comedy mystifies me. I had write three poems for Creative Writing, and I used that to help flesh out both my comedy and tragedy ideas. I have to be honest, I'm more comfortable making people UNcomfortable or surprised with brutality than I am trying to be funny. 

Right now I'm leaning toward doing the comedy idea only because comedy scares me the most, and at least it will be best to see if I should pursue it at school rather than in the real world. Well, that and I know the characters better than the horror. 

The problem is... it deals a drunk fairy godmother as the main character. But you need a human anchor or else it's hard to be invested. And since I'm not on Pixar's level of amazing, I need to have a human supporting character to even out the inhuman/human dynamic. As more characters come into the picture... I get worried that there are too many. I just don't want to get lost. 

My goal is to finish my treatment for BBBullshit by tomorrow. 

Comedy vs Horror

And no, I'm not combining the two.

The problem with me is that I don't... love one genre. I happen to love a lot of genres, as loon as the story keeps me invested. And I'm not a novice to horror, I've been reading Stephen King since I was thirteen and I keep myself up to date with the horror video games that seem to be coming out more and more. Being afraid is a strange high for me, that adrenalin rush, it reminds me that I can still feel fear. I'm always hungry for something new and scary.

But I also love to laugh.

Whether it's because of nerves or, you know, I actually find something funny, laughing is fun. People who say they don't like to laugh or either lying or empty inside. The problem is, I might be able to make SOME people laugh when I'm with them in person, but on paper... I'm not as confident. It's one of the main reasons I've stayed away from comedy... because I'm more comfortable having a girl cave a priest's face in with a baseball bat than having a drunk fairy Godmother make quippy comebacks.

The thing is... comedy will always keep me coming back. I'm leaning toward the comedy idea, but we'll see which one is strongest. I've written up my character bios for B. B. B. (the comedy) and it's a good, solid, four pages. A lot longer than the horror one, but the horror idea is a lot newer than BBB.

Right now I'm going to do the horror characters and sketch out possible avenues for new plot points.

And because I'm torn between horror and comedy, I had a dream that Slenderman and I had fabulous adventures in the Adventureland universe. He wasn't scary, he was just a chill dude.

I need some sleep.

Pitching Woes

Fucking bubbles man. A bubbly personality may be charming on a date but when you're pitching a horror script it is a hinderance. Damn it.

Oh well, it's over, I did it, now to the script. I'm going with the instructor's advice, making the girl a hard core rocker, that way, down the line when she's partially responsible for an innocent kid turning into a monster, there's a lot of guilt and self-loathing going on. Which is much more interesting than "Wah, I don't party."

The adjustments in my treatment won't be that tough, and it's always easier to write a protagonist that's strong.

It's good to be back.

The Finale

The final draft is underway. It's strange looking at how much Sadomasochism: A Love Story has progressed from the first draft, hell, even as an idea. It's not a comedy, there are comedic moments, but not enough to have it be a comedy.

Establishing tone without having the main couple beating the shit out of each other in the first scene is... hard. My third draft is pretentious as crap, buh, and of course I thought it was edgy at the time. Looking back at it now just makes me cringe. The ending is a little weak, so I'll have to beef it up without going over the top-- aka having everyone fight at prom is a little hard to believe.

It's been fun. I know for sure that I am NOT doing a romance, not for the next script I write. Just because I want to try something new. But I'll always have a special place in my heart for my favorite masochist and sadist, Chuck and Nancy. Those crazy kids... you gotta love 'em.

This is me, tipping my hat, and I've got a smile on my face.

All in all, I'm feeling good.

The Problem with Drama

I don't think that my strong suit, as a writer, is being funny. Which kind of sucks because everyone loves to laugh. 

So I tried my hand a drama. Hahaha, apparently I'm a bit melodramatic. Typical woman! Zing! 

In all seriousness, drama's a tough cookie to sink your teeth into. I think it's scary to try and make it too real because "real is boring" or so we're told. But if it's too over the top... then people laugh for all the wrong reasons. That, and it's a downer to write. 

But! I'm done with the second draft! The notes just came in! Back to work! 

Should be asleep...

so this is going to be a quick post.

Avengers was awesome. I saw it with Dave and Steph-- it was a fun movie. Not the best movie ever, but a lot of fun, and I'd see it again just for the Hulk. The Hulk was my favorite part (for me, the best part) of the entire film.

Co-op is good. I managed to get a second draft done, which I'm very proud of. Cut over three quarters of stuff from the first draft because it was rubbish. I think it flows a lot better now. But we'll see. Now it's for the third draft... scary!