Micro Managed Cluster of Excess Minutiae... n' Stuff

This week:
- Completed fine-tuning my treatment
- Developing character bios

So… it’s sitting there like an elephant in the room and no doubt your eyes dropped down to see that I was developing my character bios LAST week. “Why,” you may ask, “are you still working on them THIS week?” Firstly, I am not a machine. And B. I don’t like your tone (you’re not going to win any friends with that attitude). To be honest, I’ve been immersed in the critical step of getting to know the characters before I turn them loose for general consumption. I need to understand what makes them tick so I can dole out the really good dialogue. And don’t get me started on the naming. But relax, I’ll have it completed shortly (so you can get off your high horse).

Anyhoo, as for the treatment, I kept forgetting that “fine-tuning” isn’t writing all the actual scene details. What should’ve been a swift account of events became a micro managed cluster of excess minutiae. I think we’ve all learned a valuable lesson on the art of script brevity this week.

That being said (and I prefer to move on without belaboring the whole virtue of brevity in writing, except to say it is best to state your point and move on, not to dawdle and become verbose or say the same thing over and over numerous times) I spent a great deal of time researching the era that I’m considering for my screenplay. I’ve narrowed it down to a five-year period in the early 20th century. It’s hard to commit to just one year, what with the lure of the horse and carriage, World War One, prohibition, the founding of Dadaism, and, to cap it all off, a healthy dose of Typhoid Mary. Throw in shark attacks in NJ and I think we’ve got ourselves a picture!