Revelations

I initially decided to write the Summer of Flight screenplay so that I could get another script done fairly quickly. Since the first was written from a comprehensive treatment -- and was quick to write -- I assumed a second, based on the book, would be the same.

Additionally, I thought that writing the screenplay would help me determine if the plotting of the novel worked - because I find plot holes to be far more visible in a movie.

I have found both of these assumptions to be true. I wrote 56 pages of the script in 4 days (with a couple of days spent doing other things) -- of these, the first half flowed very easily, just as expected. Then, yesterday, I had a revelation.

As I was writing one of the turning point scenes, I realised I had done something ridiculous in the novel. In this particular scene, one of the characters didn't appear. Why? That is a question I asked myself.

"He really should be there," I said. "By not being there, why would the main character trust him later?"

"But that would complicate the story," I argued. Oh. OH! That's a good thing.

Needless to say, I think this is the reason I've been unable to write that final missing middle chapter. My brain was telling me it wasn't right. The script made the problem blindingly obvious.

So, what does this mean for the story? Well, 4 chapters of the novel need to be re-written (to include said character), including the missing chapter. For the screenplay, I've plotted out the revisions, and now need to make them. Once done, I should be back on track again.

Fortunately, the changes don't affect the end of the book. It just makes the middle more interesting.

What it does mean is that I am not going to meet my self imposed deadline - but I believe both the novel and the script will be better for it. And truthfully, I planned next week as a buffer week, so my overall goals shouldn't be affected. I hope.

So, what was the purpose of this post? To say that whatever else I realised this week -- the script is doing exactly what I hoped it would do: pointing out the flaws in the story.

That's not to say my test-reader won't find plenty more ...

Now? It's off to Austin!