08-20-98Time for a recap....
This journal will basically state what has happened so far and what is to come.
So far....
Okay, so what's to come? I try to set goals with my writing as to how far I should be on "x" day. While the research phase will still continue even after I begin scripting, I feel I am at a point in my development phase that I can state when the words "fade in" will hit the page:
- The 4 lead characters have been established
- Matt/Elektra/Kingpin/Bullseye
- The main theme/storyline (narrative line) is about Matt and his attempt to find his salvation.
- The setting is New York and the time is winter.
- Elements from "Dante's Inferno," "Batman:The Dark Knight Returns," and the "Miller issues" will all be referred to.
- The first 10 pages (THE most crucial pages of a script) have been established.
- The ending scene (not the climax but the denouement) has been completed.
- The primary (pp 30: end of act I) and secondary (pp 90: end of act II) plot points have been established.
- The skeleton of the script (the index cards) is now complete.
October 1.
I always start at the beginning of a month. With my 5 page a day routine, the first draft will be completed by Halloween, the second around Thanksgiving, the third by Christmas/New Years.
So, how many drafts? 5-6-7; hard to say. I am shooting for a tentative completion date around my birthday; March 14. Of course, this schedule is not set in stone, hence the term "tentative." Why post a date then? It focuses me to push forward. It's important for any project to have an end date in sight otherwise the project has a greater tendency to fall into that area of limbo somewhere between development and procrastination. It's an area many folks may find themselves drifting off into if there's "no plan" and you need to have a plan.
Next time:
I'm finishing up on the "Dark Knight" graphic novel. Some comments on what I may use from there as well as more details on some new scenes.