I’ve struggled to make much progress on my projects. Mostly due to a stretch of lethargy. I did make some progress though.
“Bright Freedom”
I came up with the idea for “Bright Freedom” about 12 years ago. Since then, I wrote several different drafts of a script. Then I abandoned that approach and tried to turn it into a novel. I went through several different versions of that. I abandoned the story altogether several times.
I ran into several different problems. Partly it was that the main character was a different gender, a different ethnic group, and a different career than me. I often felt that I was the wrong person to write the story. I also ran into trouble with the actual story. It started well, but I felt the resolution was weak, and of course I struggled with the middle section. I find it hard to come up with a middle and an end that would match the beginning.
Nevertheless, I kept going back to the story. It is almost as if the protagonist keeps pushing me to write her story. She is a strong woman, and I can’t really say no to her.
I have never shown anyone any of what I’ve written because I never felt that I had anything complete enough to share. I feel that I need to get some feedback before I can move forward.
I decided to write a treatment for the story. That would give me something that I can approach people on feedback for.
I made good progress on the treatment in my first session. But then, I got stymied on it again.
Nawmal Movie
I got a licence for Nawmal (https://www.nawmal.com/) a short time ago. I wanted to redo “The Barrier”, which I’d done with an earlier version of the program. I was a little intimidated at taking on such a large project, so I wanted to find a shorter project to start on before I got the licence.
I decided to do one based on a writing exercise I’d done for my writer’s group: “The Broken Attic”. It was fairly short, and I felt it would work well in Nawmal. However, I kept procrastinating on it, and I never got started.
More recently, I did a treatment and draft script titled “Speed Date” for my writer’s group. It is about two people who meet at a speed dating event. There were some issues with it I would need to fix, but I decided to try doing it with Nawmal. In the past I’ve found that it can help me to write dialogue using Nawmal.
I used a new set of characters and sets that weren’t in the earlier version. I found them quite good for the story. I was disappointed with the voices that come with Nawmal when I tested them. However, when I used them in the movie, I was quite impressed. They sounded much more natural than the earlier voices.
So far, I have just created a version of the movie based on the original script. Once I’m satisfied with that, I plan to start revising the dialogue. Already I can tell that I really need to develop more interesting things for the characters to talk about.
I decided to change the title from “Speed Date” to “Cupid’s Assistant”. I am intrigued by an alternative “Cupid’s Minions” or maybe “The Minions of Cupid.” I always thought of the word minion as being vaguely sinister, but I think most people wouldn’t because of the cartoon characters.
I’ve never gone to a speed dating event, and I’m not likely to ever go on one. Someone in my writer’s group suggested that I find a movie with a speed dating scene to study. I’d rather try to find someone who has been to a speed dating event to hear what their experience is.
If you know anyone who has been to a speed dating event and would be willing to chat with me about their experience, please encourage them to get in touch with me.
