On My Mark...and GO!!!

It seems that I haven't written anything for all blogs for some time. Yes...previously, I was not in the mood of writing, and I am troubled what I should write, as I stated in the last entry. Not to mention the bad coughing (and it still goes on and on...), a cold that knocked me out of work for two night and my eldest brother's visiting (hockey, computer, driving...and stuff we can talk...)

In order to "exercise" for my creativity, I am writing a Takarazuka Revue role-playing fanfic, adopting Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai". It really gives me some warm up and helps me to get the juice flowing! Also, I am currently managing the fanfic sub-forum of a Takarazuka Revue fan forum of Mainland China. This will give me motivation to write. (Hopefully...since some people like to ask, "When will you have the new chapter on?")

For the "prison drama...and the romantic drama", I think I need to have a break from the story. Therefore, I may leave the Christmas story and the blog that I will put the story up undone for a while. Like I said before, it is my most important and the most favourite one, but it can drag me down from writing new stories. However, I hope that I can produce the script of this story one day. Currently, I only do some grammar and spelling correction on this script...maybe some condensing, but not much...and taking Edmond Dante's words, "Wait and Hope". This will be the script I will bring in for the full length script workshop at Boston in December, organized by the Bluecat Scriptwriting Competition.

Also, I had talked with Mike, my script adviser (who still has not given me the studio note yet, but he gives me so many good advises and I know that he is a very good mentor.), about my project "Sea Max" (and I let him to read all my rough material!). Even though he has suggested something I am intended to do so (like "going with the male version first and keep the female version under my sleeves, and NEVER NEVER say a word that there is a second movie!"), however he is the one that gives me the courage to go on (although he suggest me to have a writing partner for this project, since my first language is not English and the slangs of a Supermax will be a total new horizon for me...and of course! I can buy a Slang dictionary!).

While having the ignition to move forward, I open Contour, the outlining software I had bought some time ago.

I had played with the software by putting the points of Sea Max when I got the software. However, I don't know how I can go further when I get into outlining the act 1.

Yes, the next thing is: I was frustated, and I didn't know how to go on.

So, I export a couple examples from the software (Slumdog Millionaire, The Dark Knight and Wall-E), go through them in order to see how it works.

However, I got more frustrated because I cannot see the whole story!

Then, I have done some rethinking. And a suggestion from my scriptwriting teacher from the college sprang up.

He once suggested me to work on the script from the end and up. At first I think it may not a good approach for the script that I was working.

However, it can work for the outlining of this project...since I know the ending of the story!

Therefore, I "hammered" a couple "nails" in the and act 2b and act 3. Then I went back to act 1, letting my "pathetic" protagonist to meet his old foe from the war on the floating prison.

Also, Contour has a really good guide for the user about putting the plot point in the right place. I just simply jogged around the form and now I have only one blank left! After filling that blank, I will go on writing the character draft (just my habit) and the treatment!

One thing about Contour that troubled me is the "Yes/No" plotting from Act 2. The protagonist of "Sea Max" does not take side, but he acts by his conscience (that's why he gets a prison guard as sidekick). On the other hand, the antagonist need to have the control of the ship ASAP. Their actions are so quick and brutal. Therefore, I put point of the "No" and left the "Yes" blank sometimes.

Gradually, I go further on...seeing how the protagonist and his "ward" interact. Both are soldiers (The protagonist is a former SEAL and the "ward" is a young Canadian military police on loan to the company that runs the prison fleet). For the protagonist, his "ward" is too green to understand what he has gone through in the battlefield. For the "ward", he can learn some skill that he cannot get in his training from the protagonist. So I push this forward bit by bit...all I need to get the "ward" into some "deep shit" (please forgive my language).

Even though I will still say that I have not seen the whole story of "Sea Max" yet. However, I am going to put my foot on this project. Hopefully, I can pitch it next year and get myself a representative in the business. Then I am planning getting a couple of friends from Hong Kong to form a writing team. I think working our way from West to East is much better for us.

P.S. When Mike replied my emails, he has a suggestion of having a different name for the company that runs the prison fleet, since the original name is sterotyped and "could be viewed as an amateur move (which, again, you are not amateur)." Therefore, getting back to the title of the blog: "Amateur? Or Not Quite?"...Probably, I need to change to "Amateur? Not Quite!" Haha!