It’s getting drafty in here, literally and figuratively – and literary-ly-ish. My house is drafty. It’s sixty years old. I’m 65. I can feel its age. I’m feeling like I’m entering a new era in my age, too old to hire but too poor to retire. And, I’ve finished the third draft of the sequel to my sci-fi novel, Firewatcher; which means it is time to begin the second draft of my true-story tall ship screenplay. Eventually, those windows, that chimney, that book, and that movie will be done. For now, it is draft, draft, draft.
Some of my writer friends craft each word, phrase, and sentence as they progress to a manuscript. When they’ve written the last word, their book is nearly done except for the polishing. I write a draft, start to finish, think about what I want to change, and write the next draft. Each draft is an improvement, and being finished means I think it is good enough. Perfect doesn’t happen, so I don’t expect it.
For my books, that usually means about ten drafts, five for content, five for various passes for polishing and formatting.
This is the first time I’m writing a screenplay. Draft one was completed at the end of last year. I set it aside to work on the next draft of the novel. Now, that is set aside, and I approach the next draft of the screenplay with some perspective.
The screenplay is the 1876 true-life story of a 14-year-old rich brat who gets kicked out of his country (I said he was a brat) and suddenly finds himself employed as a cabin boy on a square-rigged sailing ship heading from Liverpool to Calcutta. Adventures ensue, which mask his rapid and necessary maturation.
As I wrote, it is a true story. According to family folklore, my great-grandfather ‘ticked off’ his grandfather. His grandfather said something akin to “If you do that again, I’m going to kick you out.” A 14-year-old brat hears that they get to leave home? Great? He did ‘that’ (and we don’t know what it was) and, oh. You mean exiled, not getting to move from the manor house to the town. Eep. Oops.
He took notes. I have the typed version. My Dad typed up this 14-year-old’s handwritten notes. I cleaned them up to include things like punctuation and grammar. This 14-year-old was authentic, and probably authentically skipped class a lot. What we have is a 14-year-old’s unfiltered sailing notes as he is suddenly carried away into another world called being a sailor, who gets to see Imperial colonial India and many of its wonders, and also witnesses luxury, murder, suicide, and friendship.
I told my Dad I’d write it up, and so I have. And so, I must also write a few drafts.
A 14-year-old in 1876 was writing notes, not a book, and definitely not a screenplay. Movies were decades away. This was the end of the era of sail. The skills were non-negotiable and necessary.
A screenplay is different. What will an audience see and hear? The ship smelled like tar, but that sense must be translated. He wrote about himself, and he was rather self-centered. The other people must be filled out. Gaps in the narrative must be filled. Some consistency is required – expect to show his maturation. By the end, he’s more mature, but has a long way to go. I get to convey that growth through a different set of senses than are in his notes.
The first draft quickly became more fictional. There were dozens of other men onboard. His notes hint at them. I needed to grow them into something more than cartoons.
The first draft was about his voyage. The second draft is about what the industry wants.
I read an old copy of The Really Big Book that is The Screenwriters Bible. Thanks to the software, WriterDuet.com, the screenplay was in the rough format of industry norms and conventions. Sorry, but I haven’t memorized the short version of the specific syntax. That’s what books and software packages are for.
The second draft requires more fictionalization. Focus on the drama. Find the climax. Pace the action. Articulate the growth that was internal and in his notes, but that must be shown or heard. Say those thoughts. Respect the truth and the story, and reinterpret what he witnessed so it is true to the era, and understandable now. His visit to the zoo in India is truly incredible, as in hard to believe. Daycare run by… I’ll save that for the movie, if it ever happens.
Books are about readers, and are relatively easy to self-publish. Screenplays are about readers, too; but those readers are professionals reading several screenplays a week to help producers decide what to produce. In a book, story dominates. In a screenplay, the cost to produce it can be more important.
I delayed working on this for years. 1) I’ve been busy. 2) I had to learn about the screenwriting business. 3) I finally listened to my screenwriting friends who, when they heard the story, told me to stop writing books and Write The Screenplay! 4) I had to encounter someone in the business who countered my concerns about filming on a large and antique sailing ship by simply saying, “Pirates of the Caribbean.” They pointed out that, since then, nautical sound stages, interior green-screened sets, and CGI have dramatically reduced the cost and risk of filming period tall-ship stories. It still isn’t trivial, but it is much more doable.
So, I begin this draft again. It is handy that I live by the Salish Sea. The Northwest Maritime Center has helped with access to their knowledge and their library. Considering how little fact-checking was done by a 14-year-old boy, it is apparent that some fictionalization was built into his notes. Not a surprise, really.
After this draft, the screenplay will be much more manageable within industry standards. Because I am not in the industry, progress may rely on networking and serendipity. I can’t control them as well as I can control my efforts. I won’t stop writing after this draft is done. There’s that sci-fi sequel to finish; and now that I’ve been sitting in on Washington Filmworks meetings, I have two ideas for episodic shows that could be filmed here: one is sci-fi and funny, one that is romance and – well, romantic and funny.
Hmm. I’ll have to start on those drafts, too. After this draft, and that draft, and…
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