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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2018 9:50:20 GMT
Submitted one of my Short Trips last night. My second one should, hopefully, be done by early to mid June; still heavily drafting but definitely getting there. Hope you'll all do well too with yours!
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Post by nucleusofswarm on May 18, 2018 20:07:05 GMT
Here's great advice on character from C. Robert Cargill (Sinister, Doctor Strange, used to work at Spill.com):
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Post by Max Kashevsky on May 18, 2018 21:08:19 GMT
Here's great advice on character from C. Robert Cargill (Sinister, Doctor Strange, used to work at Spill.com): Very well put. Thanks for sharing this.
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Post by butler on May 19, 2018 17:22:48 GMT
Thank you for the thoughtful answers to my previous question. I think what I'll do is just write the thing anyway, since it's a story I desperately want to tell, and then when it's done I'll try and figure out if it's a good fit for the contest or not.
In other news, I finished the first draft of my first entry today. I sat down at midday intending to write 500 words and when I finally finished it was 9pm and I'd written 2500! Which is a slight problem because it puts me nearly 1000 words over the limit. Looks like I've got some very painful editing ahead of me.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2018 3:06:48 GMT
I totally agree. Better to keep established monsters/villains - even mentioning by name - out of the way. We all feel tempted to reference them at any point, whether it's the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, or perhaps the Yeti also. Even if one does incorporate a name to their submission, remove it but keep a note so it's not (completely) forgotten. So far this is the biggest "issue" I'm having with my current story. There's a scene near the end that will reference the Valeyard, as he plays into the theme of the story. He isn't mentioned by name, but he's heavily implied in that scene, and any fan who knows the very basic concept of the Valeyard will understand the reference. So, I'm not entirely sure what to do. It's a story that I personally love (and ultimately, that's the reason I'm set on sending in the story anyway), yet I'm a bit hesitant since we only get two entries this year, and I hate to think my story will be shot down due referencing a villain that doesn't even make an appearance in the story. Building on what's already been said: A trick I often use is to look at the character's actor in other roles and see what pops out about them regardless. (YouTube's a very good asset here.) Michael Jayston, whatever he's playing, always has an almost feline purr to his voice and very steady, piercing eyes.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on May 20, 2018 17:24:50 GMT
Right so.
It's 1 page 500 words of story
And one of synopsis?
And we can enter twice.
And when is the deadline?
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Post by dangerwillrobinson on May 20, 2018 22:29:28 GMT
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Post by butler on May 21, 2018 1:52:51 GMT
How many of you do what I do, which is write the whole story before you enter? I prefer this method because this way I know for a fact I'm submitting something that can reasonably be told within the word limit. It also helps with improving the synopsis. For example, one of my characters gets an injury early on which I've realised now doesn't add anything to the story. So now I can remove those lines and make my synopsis that little bit more polished.
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Post by masterdoctor on May 21, 2018 2:38:37 GMT
How many of you do what I do, which is write the whole story before you enter? I prefer this method because this way I know for a fact I'm submitting something that can reasonably be told within the word limit. It also helps with improving the synopsis. For example, one of my characters gets an injury early on which I've realised now doesn't add anything to the story. So now I can remove those lines and make my synopsis that little bit more polished. It should be noted that if they do choose you, but the BBC don't approve your story then you have to start completely from scratch.
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Post by theotherjosh on May 21, 2018 12:18:22 GMT
I wrote most of the story before writing my synopsis.
Pixar story artist Emma Coats tweeted out some story basics several years ago. They were all good, but two of them resonated with me particularly and informed the way I approached the process.
Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
My reasoning was the better I understood the story myself, the better I'd be able to explain it to someone in a synopsis.
That said, other posters have recommended not writing the story out, and that advice is equally valid. This is the approach that happened to work for me, and it may not work for the way you approach your writing.
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Post by whosonfirst on May 21, 2018 23:00:32 GMT
I totally agree. Better to keep established monsters/villains - even mentioning by name - out of the way. We all feel tempted to reference them at any point, whether it's the Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, or perhaps the Yeti also. Even if one does incorporate a name to their submission, remove it but keep a note so it's not (completely) forgotten. So far this is the biggest "issue" I'm having with my current story. There's a scene near the end that will reference the Valeyard, as he plays into the theme of the story. He isn't mentioned by name, but he's heavily implied in that scene, and any fan who knows the very basic concept of the Valeyard will understand the reference. So, I'm not entirely sure what to do. It's a story that I personally love (and ultimately, that's the reason I'm set on sending in the story anyway), yet I'm a bit hesitant since we only get two entries this year, and I hate to think my story will be shot down due referencing a villain that doesn't even make an appearance in the story. Send them an email asking if you're allowed to do this (enquiries@bigfinish.com). They're very helpful. Best of luck!
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Post by Deleted on May 22, 2018 9:06:42 GMT
I wrote most of the story before writing my synopsis. Pixar story artist Emma Coats tweeted out some story basics several years ago. They were all good, but two of them resonated with me particularly and informed the way I approached the process. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.My reasoning was the better I understood the story myself, the better I'd be able to explain it to someone in a synopsis. That said, other posters have recommended not writing the story out, and that advice is equally valid. This is the approach that happened to work for me, and it may not work for the way you approach your writing. Totally agree. It's quite common for aspiring and professional writers to draft a Short Trip before the synopsis, generally, as a way of getting all the ideas down in case they forget. I don't think it matters too much if anyone starts doing a full rough draft of their entry whether they win or not, but if they do get selected then using the rough draft, as the basis, could really help when making changes to the story.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on May 22, 2018 14:28:23 GMT
Dictated draft zero of my first story today.
Very naughty of me. @janeoftheair getting ignored today.
I've looked at my other stories and none have the level of Heart needed to be a winner...
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Post by nucleusofswarm on May 27, 2018 21:04:23 GMT
Dictated draft zero of my first story today. Very naughty of me. @janeoftheair getting ignored today. I've looked at my other stories and none have the level of Heart needed to be a winner... I wouldn't freak too much over that. Just do whatever excites you and it'll arise from it.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2018 7:30:16 GMT
Is there a thread for exchanging Short Trip submissions and ideas? If not, mind if I start a new one?
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Post by nucleusofswarm on May 28, 2018 9:18:30 GMT
Is there a thread for exchanging Short Trip submissions and ideas? If not, mind if I start a new one? Not a bad idea, but in the interests of confidentiality or those who are not comfortable sharing publically, better to message members and ask.
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Post by butler on May 30, 2018 9:10:18 GMT
How's everyone progressing? I've got one submission being checked over by proofreaders, and a second that's still just an embryo of bullet points. Work on the second entry is promising but slow - it took me hours last night just to come up with a name for the monsters!
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jun 12, 2018 16:52:52 GMT
Right, a few weeks to go. Hope everyone's getting really stuck in.
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Post by TinDogPodcast on Jun 12, 2018 16:55:20 GMT
Ok. I've written the same story twice.
Printed them both out and using best bits from both.
Hopefully it will be ok.
6 and peri
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Post by nucleusofswarm on Jun 12, 2018 19:12:44 GMT
Whether or not I enter this time, still up in the air. Lotsa stuff going on.
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