"The Jinx Project" - Writing the Story - Part 2

"The Jinx Project" - Writing the Story - Part 2 

Read this "Story Commentary" from the beginning by clicking HERE.

As a kid, I enjoyed writing poetry occasionally... rhyming or not. Both of my parents write poetry, so I guess that's why I've found it comes naturally to me.

On this project, however, I still had my share of writer's block!  I would sit there staring at my laptop trying to make sense out of my sentence... and say what I wanted to say, using only rhyming words...

Sometimes I found simply putting the bottom sentence on top and rewording a little, solved the problem. Other times I wrote down every rhyming word I could think of... and moved on to another section of the story just so I didn't stare at the screen too long during the time I had set aside to write. 

Unlike the Director's Notes I had written as a foundation for the script, I found myself writing the story randomly... jumping to different plot points each day. This is also where the notes were especially helpful, so I didn't leave any important details out.

Sometimes I'd get 'on a role'...  as some groups of sentences felt like they wrote themselves.  When I had these moments, I found the future Animated Story was playing in real time in my head while I was writing it... I could see all the details, the characters, the settings, and I found it all that much easier to write ideas down.

There was a small frustration I had each day. I found I was just getting into 'The Zone' about 5 minutes before my train would be arriving at my stop... and I had to put my ideas on hold.  In the last minutes of each trip, I wrote down any relevant details or rhyming words that would spark ideas later.

When I could invest more time, I'd work on the story at home.  I was much more productive writing on the couch... without distractions.  Hours seemed to disappear each time... as I started some weekends watching the sun come up.

When I had some sections completed, I read them out loud to some good friends, and received some helpful feedback.  In the past I have always kept my stories to myself, but this one I wanted to get a good range of opinions to fine-tune the story and make it appeal to a general audience.  I took their suggestions and made some adjustments.  Most importantly, their positive and emotional reactions told me that I have a story worth telling.

Fast-forward about 40 days of writing on the train, coffee shops, and in my livingroom... I had finally finished connecting all of the plot points, dialogue, inner thoughts and acting, and had a complete rhyming story. Knowing what I had written and visualized all along, I estimated it would be about 15 minutes of animation... but I wasn't prepared for the shock I had when I read it out loud for the first time...

Read the Next Part of this "Story Commentary" by Following This Link... 
 

Thanks for reading!

Mike Hogue