Friday, August 01, 2008

Writer's Boot Camp: Clean-Up and Next Plan

Two more scripts. I decided this time to try a couple less ambitious concepts:

Script 7/29 - 30 (Holiday Film; Ingrid Malaise, shoe salesperson; a roll of toilet paper; "I'll have to ask my mother."): Ingrid, unsuspecting shoe salesperson, ends up trying to sell heels to Santa Claus' daughter. The Clauses have bought rolls of toilet paper to give in lieu of lumps of coal. Ingrid remains skeptical despite multiple "proofs" of who she is dealing with, but Christmas morning erases all doubt. Five and a third pages. This was just pure fluff. I don't really see it as a story, though some of the bits were fun.

Script 7/31 - 8/1 (Sci Fi; Ken Moore, painter; one half of a swimsuit; "What were they gonna offer you for it?"): Ken Moore hangs out on his porch with buddy Jack, discussing a bizarre alien visitor who tried to buy half of his ex-girlfriend's bikini. His friend dismisses it as a tall tale ... then goes into the kitchen to warn his own alien visitor that his fellow citizens are being a trifle too obvious. Five and a half pages. I'm sure I've seen or read this story before in some form. It just feels tired.

I enjoy my self-imposed boot camps - I think they do a lot to strengthen my writing, give me a sense of discipline, and give me some fodder that I might not have otherwise come up with. This in particular was a blast and gave me a chance to try a new style of writing. I'm thinking of picking one of these scripts to convert into a short story. After it's written, then I'm starting on another boot camp run, through the book "Creating Character Emotions" by Ann Hood. It should be a little over a month as there are thirty-six emotions listed, with exercises for each.

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