Week One - In which I already lose my marbles

Week one is officially over. And well, I’m never going to be sure how it goes until I’m five weeks in and wishing I did more in week one so let’s wait and see. I know you’re all dying to hear about my screenplay idea. You know, the one with the simplistic plot but complex characters which will be perfect to writing in this tiny amount of allotted time? A story so perfectly satisfying yet tricky enough for audiences to interpret on their own in that beautiful way that only certain stories can? A group of characters so impeccable that you can’t help but want to be their friend and in extension want to be inside the film as well…? Yep. That’s definitely what I’m doing. Yep, yep, yep.

I’m lying. Can you tell? My idea is none of that stuff… It’s called Our Hero Rhea. And it’s a modern fantasy that really dark so don’t let your kids watch it.

Rhea, a headstrong eleven year-old, tries to save her grandmother by becoming the champion of the leech child deity, Aljir. Instead she becomes the only person able to save the whole world from storybook monsters. 

Subject to change! Lots and lots of change in fact, I was copy and pasting that from a document in my trash can… (Only joking, no really I am joking! This is my only idea and it wasn’t in my trash can. I don’t even have a trash can and I’m from the UK so I wouldn’t even call it that even if I had one.) This week as I’ve said before was about a presentation so having a skeletal story and characters seemed to be the thing to do. As you might be able to tell this is not going to be a simple project, this is in fact the opposite of a simple anything.

When I get the people saying (and I do, truly get people say this), “Oh, but Druid Georgi (yes, people really, definitely call me that in real life) you’re just writing it, it’s not like your making it! You just have to write stuff down and try not to make any spelling mistakes! Scoff, scoff, scoff. Sc-scoff, scoff, scoff.” Then they clean behind their ears with giant annoying paws and rustle their feathers in away that makes you wonder why you’re friends with griffins in the first place they’re all kind of dicks. (Again, totally completely accurate representations of real people that definitely talk, think and look like that. I’m not lying, you are!)

I take a humongous breath and say, “You try and construct an entire civilisation of corrupted gods and try to explain their relationship to the trickiest creatures existing that they may or may not have created. As well as trying to write some very clear unbreakable rules of magic and power that are both visually exciting but not as dumb as some magical rules come across on screen. Whilst also trying to accurately represent an eleven year-old girl whose grandmother is dying from a strange illness. Then come back to me and say it’s just writing stuff down. Annnnd! My work is flawless! I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever make any kind of spelling mistake! Ever!” And then after I say all of that I self-combust into my own incompetence leaving only a puddle of tears behind (if that’s a thing you can do).

I might have crossed over into a place that you might not call sane. But let’s be real! Because I’ve included this blog in my presentation and am not sure if my supervisors will actually read this and consider it a true and accurate documentation of my 10 week screenwriting experience? I mean, they clearly believe that I’m mental enough to complete a three whole screenplays in ten weeks they might also believe that I really know a gang of dickhead-ish griffins who take pleasure in stomping all over my hopes and dreams and that I can self-combust after making a really heart felt, if slightly manic speech.

Anyway, I’ve been researching a lot of mythology stories particularly about deities and supernatural beings in an attempt to pick the ones I’d most like to be in charge of my fictional Pantheon. I’ve been asking myself a lot of world building questions. Where do the deities live, is it on Earth, hidden or another plane of existence? What role does magic play? Are your everythings boring and outdated? Those kinds of things.

I’ve also been working on making the plot a little less filled with holes. I prefer putting my stories bowls not sieves. This week has all about Philip Parker as writing guru and The Art & Science of Screenwriting. I would recommend it for those who prefer clear guidelines to building narrative. Yeah it’s good.

What else? I mean, I’m clearly going crazy and stuff.

Oh! Hours logged. According to my trusty calendar I worked twenty-three hours last week. I’m actually aiming to work between twenty-five to thirty hours a week so I have some room for improvement, but that’s okay.

I’m also helping my buddy develop her story into a feature which she is shooting in 10 weeks. That feature is called A Bad Penny that link is to their Kickstarter. Ch-ch-check it out, I’m helping out with script stuff and also making props!

Okay well, best get on with Week 2. This week is about the basic story, characters and world. All of those things that, you know, make up the everything of literally every story ever. I hate myself.

Thanks for reading.