It’s My Birthday! Yeah!
For my annual birthday getaway, I decided to treat myself to a writer’s retreat. Not at some swanky resort. Some place local.
I’ll sequester myself in a local Marriott for 3 nights. I’ll brainstorm story ideas
for my next set of projects. Relax with no phones. No household responsibilities.
I’ll just focus on me and my writing.
While my current feature-length screenplay is in consideration at several screenwriting contests, I needed to come up with 1 – 3 short scripts to enhance my writing portfolio.
But what type of story should I write?
My target script length for the shorts I intended to write are 6 to 12 pages. That’s a 6 to 12 minute short film respectively. I’m aiming for two 6 minute short-shorts and one 12 minute conventional short.
Popular genres for shorts are: Romance, Comedy/Dark Comedy, Drama, Film Noir, Sci-if/Fantasy, Horror, Anime.
Romance and Comedy are out. I suck at both.
Sci-fi in 6 minutes would be tough to pull off. Possible in 12 minutes.
Drama – again not in 6 minutes, but maybe in 12 if I can sprinkle in elements of the supernatural.
Thrillers and action/adventures work best in longer films. Maybe for a tight
30 minute short, not the types of shorts I’m hoping to tackle.
Horror or Fantasy are my best bets.
Packing for my getaway was easy-peasy: IPad, charger, pens, notebooks,
colorful index cards, scissors,and minimal clothes.
Realistically, over a 3-night getaway, I’d be lucky to come home with 1 or 2 pages of rough initial scenes. Brainstorming and rough outlining will take up about 85-90% of my time away.
But if I can come home with some solid outlines, clear beginnings and endings for 2-3 shorts I would consider my sequester a success.
That is a simple plan most writers use at the start of their short projects.
I’ll sprinkle in a few hours to binge watch a few shorts of the same lengths I intend to write. Such research is a must.
Another must is no phone calls, no TV, no app games.
So how did I fair?
Not so good – writing. But I knew that going in.
I chose 2 of my horror short stories to incorporate into two 6 minute shorts. Two of my longer, previously published fantasy tales would be the basis of my 2 conventional shorts.
Each story I chose has a clear beginning, clear ending. I can tweak their
middles to fit the length of each film. Brainstorming, better characters, clearer action, and dialogue to replace much of the prose of each fiction tale took up the most of my time.
Screening short films as research was daunting. Some shorts I watched were amazing! Some of the short scripts I printed for review, were eh to read; better to watch as a completed film.
I came home with no completed outline for my intended 4 shorts. But, since
I’m basing my shorts on previously published flash fiction, I know how each story plays out. Further tweaking, in script form, will flesh them out into more visual tales.
So after hiding away for 3 days. I came home happy.
I even had dessert during the last night of my stay as a birthday treat.
Advice I give all writers – Treat yourself to some alone time to write. Make that alone time free of the distractions of your home life and family.
If you can’t afford to name your own price for a hotel stay, spend the day at the library, or some other place where you can write. A quiet place.
Not Starbucks. Not Panera.
A low traffic place, where the chances of someone you know spotting you is next to nil.
Do it once. Do it twice. You’ll like it.
You don’t need to wait and do it on your birthday. When you do, your writing time will feel special. You’ll feel refreshed.
Trust me, it works.
Treat yourself to writing!
