Paul Reynolds's Lounge Discussions

What if there were a book of puzzles, that each time you solved one shifted you back a day from where you were at the time you solved it. Thus, time would not freeze on you, and out of the 24 hours you were trying to go back, unless you were very fast with the puzzles, you would get less than 24 hours each time. Thus (as my imagination starts to run away with me ;) if you needed to stop/solve a murder, you might have to solve two puzzles just to jump back 16 hours because they are that hard to figure out. And can only be used once to change the future/past. Another thing -- what if you had a 1000-piece jigsaw with a picture of an elegant field with a house -- but now there is an apartment complex there. Put the puzzle together, and you bring the past into jagged reality -- all very pretty until something from "Beyond the Seen Border" wants to come into our world. And, of course, a restaurant serving truly rare wines may take unsuspecting couples on the "date" of a lifetime to prove they truly are in love whenever they go. Hope you like my three "presents" to you ;)

I used a different technique in my novels White Lie and The Eye of Ra and I think I got away with it! ;) www.jeannedaout.com

Product placement fee, huh? HMMM Think I may have found the one! Might go with Mike though. Will find Time Travelers Wife too. Bill and Ted makes me feel I can use any idea! A young KEANU does too! LOL Thanks C.M. Andino for wishing me good luck! So true Sue! lol They are all still helpfull. Thanks David Levy, will do! Thanks, Rick! Have to find Life on Mars! I know it will help. Thanks, John! My character doesn't wear hills, Richard. LOL THANK U ALL!!! THINK THIS THREAD JUST GREW LEGS AND STARTED WALKING ON ITS OWN, RIGHT? Hey Steve, can we connect and brainstorm? I am in Georgia.

Howard Johnson I found this old post while searching for the topic about Time Machine. I was wondering if you wrote something about it. I would like to hear it.

Because I'm pitching a Time Machine story. There are 2 ancient gods who travel thru time (because they are gods) and one of them selects a man, a college professor who has a theoretical Time Machine, and use him to change his destiny and the world around him. The 2 gods achieve this by preparing a tunnel where the professor gets trapped, and in his unconsciousness he lives another life out of the tunnel. One god leads him to realize the truth, help him to get out the tunnel and get out from the mental time machine.

What do you think?

Cheers.

Either some form of magic or go full Intersteller on it.

You're in the ZONE! Isn't it pure fun?!

congratulations, but remember to try and fit it into the standard 90-110 pages. First script I wrote was 236 pages and I had to rewrite the whole thing after learning this lesson

Writer’s block is a tool — use it. When asked why you haven’t produced anything lately, just say, “I’m blocked. Since most people think that writing is some mystical process where characters “talk to you and you can hear their voices in your head, being blocked is the perfect cover for when you just don’t feel like working. The gods of creativity bless you, they forsake you, it’s out of your hands and whatnot. Writer’s block is like “We couldn’t get a baby sitter or “I ate some bad shrimp, an excuse that always gets you a pass. The electric company nagging you for money, your cell provider harassing you, whatever — just say, “I’m blocked, and you’re off the hook. But don’t overdo it. In the same way the baby-sitter bit loses credibility when your kids are in grad school, there’s an expiration date. After 20 years, you might want to mix it up. Throw in an Ellisonian “My house caught fire and burned up my opus. The specifics don’t matter — the important thing is to figure out what works for you. WHITEHEAD - NYTimes - 08/01/2012

Congrats. Keep all these comments in mind because rewriting is/can be a bitch, as Laura S posted. Good Luck!

Never had 'writer's block' -- I work from structured outlines. When my ideas slow down, I jump to rewriting or polishing other projects. Keep writing. Make it an enjoyable addiction to your daily life and it will become a necessary fact, like breathing.

Casting to get big-budget funding and make bug-budget box-office: Kiera Knightley or Dakota Fanning (even though she's only 18, she can do it and act rings around any competition!), Also, Gabourey Sidibe, who's actually 29 for about 6 more months, so better act fast, but is in the same league with Dakota. And, that's about it. The rest are no-talent hacks that get by in this business based on their looks or the fact that they used to work for Disney.

Hey Mike, Pretty sketchy request. 1920s or 2020s or 1620s? What genre? Straight, gay, transgender, allegorical, passion play, opera, splatter flick,animation, voice acting, etc. etc. Also are you asking for a specific name or a type? Hekkuba-ish, Livia-ish, Ophelia-ish, Drucilla-ish, Cleopatroa-ish, Elizabethan Queenly, Amazon-ish, Bodecia-ish, Rebecca-ish, Lady MacBeth-ish, Mata hari-ish, Daisy Miller-ish, Lady Gaga-ish--- Flapper-ish, whore-ish, out-spoken... etc. A-grade, B-grade, C-grade. Black, brown, white, yellow, red or combinations? Amputee, one-eyed, scared, tattooed, dancer, prancer, man-lancer? Jesus, maybe I should have become a casting agent...LOL

I thought of Dakota Fanning immediatley. She's so versatile. Or Emilie de Ravin or Allyson Hannigan.

mike you ask a question and you get the energizer bunny :+}

Emma Watson for sure. Lot of talent, lots of star power.

No,.. not if you are writing your ten (10) pgs. a day minimum~ [Stephen King- On Writing]. I would personally the most grueling the probably is my re-write and of course all of us writers experience the old writers block from script to script. Yeah, but that re-write “oh boy!” Here is a list of cosmetics for a really great screenplay I usually tend to stick to and most of these sub-categories, on screenplay production are fundamental for expediency as well as persistence in the development of the writer and his work.

Dan Guardino Agreed! I believe the same thing.

Could be. It all depends on the size, the genre and how many rewrites. Also, if you need to do extensive research, you also need to take that in account. For me a first draft of a short usually takes a week and that's about 15 pages. But if you want to be really good, then take all the time you need.

The reason it takes so long for people to write something is that most people don't have a story. Wait, what!? This is how it happens: they start writing and figuring out things as they write it. Then you meander into never-never land going in circles - it's called "stuck in the Second Act" (Syndrome). Why? Because you don't know how to end it! So this is what you need to do before you pick up your pencil, or start pounding on the keyboard - know exactly "how will the story end". Then work backwards, you'll whip out stories/scripts in weeks. As a corollary, if the ending is mediocre or just run of the mill ho-hum, don't write it - change the ending until it's great, then write it. My opinion only, of course; and YMMV :)

If you have a story and know the characters it will take you two weeks. I just wrote my 65 page TV pilot in eight days. I wrote my first feature film 99 pages in two weeks.