Script hijacked Page 2

Quote: Craig H @ May 13 2009, 4:40 PM BST

5 pages per hour I would say *is* alot Nonny,that's 5 pages per hour consistently (no breaks). With utmost respect I can't see the content being of a high standard throughout.

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There's more than 13 hours in a day, of course I took breaks.
One page of text using Script Smart Gold isn't a lot of text, if you already have the scenes planned beforehand then it isn't that difficult to fill in the scenes.

I have to work fast on the first draft, I have the attention span of a 5 year old so if the first draft isn't finished in a certain time frame, I lose interest and that first draft will never be finished. This draft is just the foundation, nowhere near being a finished script, I read somewhere the first draft should be fun, fast and you should avoid the temptation to rewrite until it's finished.
The finished polished script will probably only vaguely resemble the first draft.
Think I may have been reading too many books on writing Sitcoms?

Quote: Craig H @ May 13 2009, 4:40 PM BST

Are you going to upload it for us to read?

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No.
Decided weeks ago that I won't be posting on Critique again.

oh well, f**k off then

Quote: bushbaby @ May 13 2009, 6:57 PM BST

oh well, f**k off then

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Quote: bushbaby @ May 13 2009, 6:57 PM BST

oh well, f**k off then

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Take it that's a true representation of yourself on the avtar?
Not even my dog is capable of such a moronic response and he's as thick as an especially dim jellyfish.
Then again he does look far more intelligent than the rodent related pathetic excuse for a dog you seem so proud to be displaying.

Nonny awaiting an equally asinine riposte.

You seem to be asking for advice; answers to questions. But when you get them you disagree with them, if you already have your mind made up, why bother creating this thread?

I don't think you're reading too many 'sitcom writing' books otherwise you wouldn't have asked "does a sitcom *have* to be funny all the way through?" - that's common knowledge.

"I spent about three weeks working on the profiles for my five main characters.
Thought of a plot and sub plot then started writing the script yesterday and finished it yesterday. Is this normal?"

I'm not sure what would qualify as normal but I'm pretty sure this isn't normal.

To answer your script hi-jacking question..

If you've spent three weeks writing character profiles, plot and subplots - how can *your* characters 'hi-jack' the story? It reads like you're actually saying your three week development of your sitcom was a complete waste of time?

Be aware Nonny, most people on BSG are here to help and give good advice - some sugar coat it more than others.

Thanks Craig, I was actually asking for advice as opposed to insults and have received good advice and a f**k off.

The question was genuine, I have seen sitcom episodes that have ended with a dramatic scene, and suppose what I was asking was, is this acceptable in a first script for sending off?

Ok already I guessed the answer was no, but was hoping I was wrong and people would say 'why not'.

As for characters hijacking the plot Lee explained that very well with "The characters aren't changing the plot, you are. I imagine what you're doing is thinking of a great line for a character to say and leaving it in, despite the fact that it pushes the story off in a different direction"

Hey Nonny Hi
I think it's pretty good if you managed to give such life to your characters.
I haven't tried my hand at sitcom yet, but now you've got me worried.
I'm afraid that any characters I create might become so lifelike that they tell me not to give up the day job.

At the end of the day, you are the writer and you should be able to stop them doing anything that you don't want them to do.

Sounds like you've really immersed yourself in the writing though which can't be a bad thing.

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 13 2009, 7:20 PM BST

Take it that's a true representation of yourself on the avtar?
Not even my dog is capable of such a moronic response and he's as thick as an especially dim jellyfish.
Then again he does look far more intelligent than the rodent related pathetic excuse for a dog you seem so proud to be displaying.

Nonny awaiting an equally asinine riposte.

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She was being humourous.

But hey, not everything is immediately obvious.

From the books I've read they all seem to suggest the characters make the sitcom and the main reason why sitcoms are rejected is because the characters are weak.

Did loads of stuff suggested in the books, wrote life histories for each character, even wrote CV's with job applications for all of them.
Put each character in a lift stuck between floors with only one of the other characters at a time and did 1-2 pages of dialogue to see how they would react to one another in the situation. Then went back and edited everything until I was sure they all spoke differently so I could remove the names from the pages and still have a clear idea of who was speaking the lines.

At the end of all that 2 of them weren't funny enough so I had to give them more attributes to screw them up a bit more.
Then started writing.

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 13 2009, 11:39 PM BST

From the books I've read they all seem to suggest the characters make the sitcom and the main reason why sitcoms are rejected is because the characters are weak.

Did loads of stuff suggested in the books, wrote life histories for each character, even wrote CV's with job applications for all of them.
Put each character in a lift stuck between floors with only one of the other characters at a time and did 1-2 pages of dialogue to see how they would react to one another in the situation. Then went back and edited everything until I was sure they all spoke differently so I could remove the names from the pages and still have a clear idea of who was speaking the lines.

At the end of all that 2 of them weren't funny enough so I had to give them more attributes to screw them up a bit more.
Then started writing.

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Holy Crap, what book were you reading?

Quote: Marc P @ May 13 2009, 11:27 PM BST

She was being humourous.

But hey, not everything is immediately obvious.

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Probably safer to put a smiley face, otherwise it can be hard to tell.
Although Bushbabys line was funny.

How to be a sitcom writer/Marc Blake
Writing Sitcoms/John Byrne and Marcus Powell
and all the stuff/guides on this website.

Oh and I apologise for the counter insult bushbaby, although I did like the dim jellyfish bit.

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 13 2009, 11:50 PM BST

How to be a sitcom writer/Marc Blake
Writing Sitcoms/John Byrne and Marcus Powell
and all the stuff/guides on this website.

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Looks like I've been doing it all wrong then. Thinking about it I haven't really seen any of Marc Blake John Byrne or Marcus Powells work.

Quote: Michael Everett @ May 13 2009, 11:53 PM BST

Looks like I've been doing it all wrong then.

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Starting to think I have, am definitely doing something wrong.

Quote: hey_nonny @ May 13 2009, 11:54 PM BST

Starting to think I have

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I wouldn't say that, in fact it sounds like a good idea.