Tag: writersjourney

Good morning, fellow artists! As you are aware, I commenced rewriting the second draft of my latest feature film script on May 27th, 2025. And to reiterate, these are not the second draft rewrites I’m working on with Kelly Tighe for “The Third Act” script. My latest feature film script is a separate one about rugby that I’m writing.

On June 25th, 2025, I was thoroughly surprised and happy to discover that I was more than halfway through my second draft rewrites! I have about 24 more pages to go. Again, it’s been fun editing lines out, strengthening scene descriptions, removing redundancies, etc. I’m trying to be more diligent with not getting too precious with every word I’ve written. Keep reading below 🙂

Once I finish this second draft, I will write a third draft. Once I complete that, I need to figure out the next steps. Do I host a table read? Do I email the script to trusted individuals for feedback? Should I submit my script to writing competitions via Coverfly with the option of receiving script coverage from the judges? What about securing literary representation? Recently, I spoke with someone about how it seems more challenging to obtain literary representation versus theatrical representation. They agreed that others have expressed the same sentiment. I’ve had literary representation before, and it came from an industry referral. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week! (By the way, updates will be arriving regarding the second draft rewrites for “The Third Act.” My writing partner recently got married, and so we put a pin on the rewrites.)

Good morning, fellow artists! As you know, I began rewriting the second draft of my latest feature film script on May 27th, 2025. It has been exciting to revisit the scenes I laid out in my first draft. I was on a roll, editing things out, rearranging sentences, and just doing my best to make this second draft tighter than the first. And then, I hit a roadblock with one particular scene in the first half of act two, LOL. Something wasn’t clicking. Something wasn’t making sense with this scene. I kept coming back to it, hoping that the answers would present themselves to me. Keep reading below 🙂

Days passed. I asked myself, “What is the event of this scene? What is this scene about?” I put myself into the scene to create clarity. I asked myself what I was trying to convey as the writer of this scene. I looked at my past relevant experiences to make this scene make sense. Nothing. LOL. I made edits. And more edits. And more edits. At times, I felt like I had a mini-breakthrough, a crack in the armor that would lead me to gold. “Okay, okay. We are heading in the right direction. We are getting closer to what this scene is about.” Keep reading below 🙂

Then, on June 18th, 2025, something clicked. There is a word that one of the characters says which serves as the impetus for the whole scene. This word is the reason why the scene exists in the first place. This word compels my protagonist to test the waters with his developing abilities to answer the central question. I looked up the word and explored its historical significance to understand why I was using it. However, I didn’t want the scene to be preachy or to become a lengthy history lesson. Instead, I wanted this to be my protagonist’s first time speaking on this subject, allowing it to become the foundation for future scenes where he discusses the topic in further detail. With these things in mind, I was able to tackle the scene and arrive at a satisfying rewrite! I like where the scene is now. My protagonist offers enough of a viewpoint and can save more of it for later scenes. I LOVE THESE LIGHTBULB MOMENTS! I proceeded victoriously to the next set of scenes and made more edits along the way. I look forward to approaching the halfway point of act two! Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! On May 27th, 2025, I began rewriting the second draft of my latest feature film script! It was exciting to start at the beginning of my script and make changes along the way. Currently, I am in the first half of act two. So, I have been moving along really nicely with the rewrites!

Here are some observations regarding the second draft rewrites. I am still using the same timing method as I did with the first draft. However, I will not focus too much on it. The second draft is an opportunity to take my time and let things breathe. There is no need to vomit everything out onto the page this time around. The vomit is already there. Now, it’s about cleaning the vomit and carving it out to obtain greater clarity within each scene. Keep reading below 🙂

It’s been great to edit out unnecessary or redundant lines because I could express them through a reaction or visual instead. Or, when I felt like a character had made their point, I made more cuts. It felt good not to be so precious with every single word. Cut, cut, cut. Get to the point. Keep reading below 🙂

These rewrites also helped me see that scenes I initially thought were Oscars-worthy were not, LOL. ME: “Oh yeah, we need to fix these scenes!”, “Make these descriptions more active and less passive!”, and “Rearrange those sentences of dialogue!” But you know what? I have no regrets whatsoever. I’m proud of what I wrote in the first draft. I didn’t question or criticize much of what I wrote during the first draft. I was on GO! But now, it’s time to make improvements. That’s just part of the writing process. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! On May 14th, 2025, I completed the first draft of my latest feature film script. In the below 12 links, I would like to take you on the journey from when I started writing it to when I finished it. Relax and explore how my script began as an idea I cultivated and nourished through Sundance Collab to become a fully-realized, tangible product.

1. I’m Writing Two Feature Film Scripts!
2. How I Wrote Act 1 Of My New Script In 7 1/2 Hours.
3. The Good, The Bad, & The Second Act
4. Still On The Saddle With Act Two Of My Latest Feature Film Script!
5. RuPaul, Rugby, & My Two Feature Film Scripts.
6. Quickly Approaching The Halfway Mark Of Act Two!
7. I Finished The First Half Of Act Two!
8. The Journey Begins With The Second Half Of Act Two!
9. Inching Closer To The End Of Act Two!
10. I Finished Act Two (In Less Than 2 Days!)
11. I Finished Writing My Latest Feature Film Script!
12. How I Celebrated The Completion Of My Latest Feature Film Script!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, I finished writing the first draft of my latest feature film script on May 14th, 2025! And to lock in this achievement, I knew I had to celebrate immediately. One of my mentors, master teacher and actor Richard Lawson, teaches us that a celebration is a “ceremony of respect.” I needed to respect this win. And I knew how I wanted to celebrate it. I am a big fan of contemporary artist Braxton J. Fuller. His artwork is exciting, fresh, intelligent, and provocative. I own two of his works on paper, which I acquired as celebrations for previous achievements. Keep reading below 🙂

I ran across one of his Instagram posts recently and became intrigued and struck by one of his art pieces. It’s an “Untitled” study measuring at 8″x11″, but the caption he added in his post said, “It was all a dream, until you make it come true.” That resonated with me. It’s about turning dreams into action. Postulates into action. You postulate something, see it clearly, and then go after it. My latest film script is part of the larger picture of my career. It’s a goal to achieve a postulate I see for myself. And this work of art reminds me that it’s about putting postulates into action. My script began as an idea I cultivated and nourished through Sundance Collab. And now, it is a fully-realized, tangible product. I reached out to Braxton and expressed my interest in this piece, and the acquisition occurred on Friday, May 23rd, 2025. I can’t wait to receive it! Keep reading below 🙂

Please see a picture of the artwork below. And, if you are interested in exploring Braxton J. Fuller’s work, here is his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/braxtonjfuller Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I am focusing on three goals this year. Those goals are: 1) Book supporting roles in feature films produced and distributed by independent or mid-sized studios. 2) Complete the second draft of “The Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. 3) Write and complete the first draft of my rugby feature film script. Each week, I will provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging.

On May 6th, 2025, I started writing act three of my latest feature film script. On May 14th, 2025, I finished writing it, which means I have completed the first draft of my latest feature film script!!!! WOO HOO!!!! I just typed THE END in my script. I finished my first draft! I finished my first draft! I finished my first draft! 146 pages total. Plus, my script has a TITLE! I achieved one of my goals for 2025! I am typing this blog entry seconds after I finished, so the magnitude of this win has not hit me yet. I feel calm right now. And now a big smile has formed on my face. I’ll probably go through a roller coaster of emotions as the day(s) progress. Perhaps what I’m experiencing at the moment is reflective delay because I have achieved something so monumental. Keep reading below 🙂

At this moment, I can only share cold numbers and statistics. For example, I finished the first draft of this script 20 months after completing a nine-week feature film treatment course at the prestigious Sundance Collab. I started writing act one on February 12th, 2025, and finished it on February 26th, 2025. Using my timing method, it came out to 7 hours and 33 minutes of writing time. I began writing the first half of act two on March 4th, 2025, and finished it on April 20th, 2025. That came out to 30.5 hours of writing time. I started writing the second half of act two on April 22nd, 2025, and finished it on May 5th, 2025. That came out to 13 hours and 22 minutes of writing time. I began writing act three on May 6th, 2025 and finished it on May 14th, 2025. That came out to 6 hours and 5 minutes of writing time. Collectively, it took me 57 hours and 30 minutes (or less than three days!) Keep reading below 🙂

It’s time to let this win sink in and celebrate accordingly. I already know how I want to celebrate this achievement. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

On Monday, May 5th, 2025, I finished writing the second half of act two for my latest feature film script! Act two is done, folks! I made it through the meat of the script, and I am so happy with this achievement. Armed with the feature film treatment I created during my time at the Sundance Collab, plus Jeffrey Alan Schechter’s book, My Story Can Beat Up Your Story, I traversed the belly of the beast! I feel so accomplished. In a previous blog entry, The Good, The Bad, & The Second Act, I wrote: “‘Yeehaw! Onward and forward!’ is the battle cry as I march through the good and bad of act two.” And that’s exactly what I did. I felt compelled to keep writing. These characters kept speaking to me. I kept thinking about them. New and improved dialogue kept popping into my head during breaks to replace placeholder dialogue I wrote within the script. Keep reading below 🙂

I also continued utilizing the timing method I used while writing act one to see how long it would take me to write act two. The first half of act one (the wanderer phase) took me 30.5 hours to write. The second half of act two (the warrior phase) took me 13 hours and 22 minutes. So, it took me 43 hours and 52 minutes to write act two (less than two days!) And yes, technically, weeks have passed from when I started writing act two on March 4th to finishing it on May 5th. But there is something so cool about saying it took me 43 hours and 52 minutes to write it. Keep reading below 🙂

The next step is to celebrate. Then, start writing act three (spoiler alert: I already began writing act three on May 6th, 2025! I could not resist!) Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I am focusing on three goals this year. Those goals are: 1) Book supporting roles in feature films produced and distributed by independent or mid-sized studios. 2) Complete the second draft of “The Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. 3) Write and complete the first draft of my rugby feature film script. Each week, I will provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging.

I’m still writing and progressing with the second half of act two for my latest feature film script! I’ve written scenes for the following pairs of reversals: Yes 11, No 11, and Yes 12 (In Jeffrey Schechter’s book, “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story”, he mentions that there are 28 plot points in act two. There are 14 in the first half and 14 in the second half. These plot points are grouped into pairs known as “yes/no reversals” because they alternate between the protagonist taking a step toward answering the central question and them taking a step back from it.) Keep reading below 🙂

I also returned to earlier scenes in act two to strengthen some dialogue and make it more specific. In addition, I tightened the timeline to maintain the urgency of what my protagonist is going through in this warrior phase of act two. Keep reading below 🙂

The cool thing I’m experimenting with in this script is utilizing a series of yes’s and no’s within each pair of reversals. In other words, I’m not just using one situation that creates one YES or NO for my protagonist. I’m using a few of them. For example, I wrote three different scenes for plot point Yes 8. These scenes each provide a unique YES situation that propels my protagonist closer to answering the central question. Plot point No 12 contains four different scenes. These scenes each provide a unique NO situation that pulls my protagonist away from answering the central question. So, instead of using one situation to create one YES or NO for my protagonist, I have a series of situations to increase and solidify the stakes. Now, this may make my script longer, but at least I can always cut it back! Keep reading below 🙂

I need to write the scenes for the following reversals in this second half of act two: No 12, Yes 13, No 13, Yes 14, and No 14. Once I do that, I’ll be done with act two! Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I am focusing on three goals this year. Those goals are: 1) Book supporting roles in feature films produced and distributed by independent or mid-sized studios. 2) Complete the second draft of “The Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. 3) Write and complete the first draft of my rugby feature film script. Each week, I will provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging.

I’ve begun writing the second half of act two for my latest feature film script on April 22nd, 2025! So far, I’ve written scenes for the following pairs of reversals: Yes 8, No 8, Yes 9, No 9, Yes 10, No 10. Still armed with the feature film treatment I created during my Sundance Collab course, my dialogue for these scenes flowed out pretty smoothly. I had a beginning, middle, and end. I focused on the event and the emotional life of the characters. Keep reading below 🙂

There were a few instances where my dialogue became a placeholder. It wasn’t quite right, but I was at least in the zip code of what I was trying to write. In those instances, I took a break and stepped away. And when I did that, the answers popped into my head. The dialogue appeared much more clearly. “A-ha! I got it! That’s it!” I immediately grabbed paper and pen and wrote down this new and improved dialogue that took the scene to another level. It was a lesson in patience and trust, knowing that the actual dialogue would eventually come to me. Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!

Good morning, fellow artists! Welcome to another exciting edition of my weekly blog. As you all know, I am focusing on three goals this year. Those goals are: 1) Book supporting roles in feature films produced and distributed by independent or mid-sized studios. 2) Complete the second draft of “The Third Act” feature film script with Kelly Tighe. 3) Write and complete the first draft of my rugby feature film script. Each week, I will provide updates that are hopefully inspiring and engaging.

Last week, I wrote that I was quickly approaching the halfway mark of act two of my latest feature film script. I also indicated that my goal was to complete the first half of act two in two to three weeks. Well, I accomplished my goal earlier than I had anticipated (in three days on April 20th, 2025!) That’s right! I am done with the first half of act two! I feel so good, happy, and accomplished. Something just compelled me to complete it sooner than my original goal of two to three weeks. And according to my timing method, it took me 30.5 hours to write the first half of act two. Keep reading below 🙂

I am thrilled with the growth and progression of this script and I look forward to writing the second half of act two. But first, I need to celebrate this win! Keep reading below 🙂

See you next week!