I did a fairly detailed outline before starting, since I've never written a script before, not counting something silly that never went anywhere. But of course once I started writing and the Muses started their whispering, a few kinks in the plot pulled it in a different direction.

There is still conflict, but so much of it has been resolved already. I'm using a standard fairy tale - Beauty and the Beast - so there are certain plot elements which have yet to happen (her father falling ill, she goes to him and stays too long, Beast withers away, you know the drill).

Even so, I'm only at 55 pages and I'm wondering ... how the heck am I gonna stretch the denoument out? So my question is, at this late stage of the game when procrastination is biting my bottom, do I:
(a) keep writing and hope it miraculously gets complicated, maybe throw in a storm or two as she makes her way back to the dying Beast, that sort of thing,
(b) take the time to bash out some subplot (e.g. see how the family is doing while she's romping around the castle, give them their own little dramas which have nothing to do with her business),
(c) keep writing and then desperately go back and pad earlier scenes, adding dialogue and details and more interaction between them, or
(d) other unspecified tactics which some of you good people have used?

Thanks to any who can offer advice. I am having fun but would really like to finish this script just so I can say I DID.

Anyone who dramatizes a fairytale usually adds their own "twists" to the story. (BatB is one of my fave fairytales, and Angela Carter's treatment of it in The Bloody Chamber anthology is a good example.

Certainly making the set more dramatic, with the storms would help, but an arbitrary storm isn't as fun as, say, introducing psychological elements of what she's thinking when she plows through the storm - the fact that she's braving such dangerous and terrible weather to get back to Beast says a lot about her character. Play that up.

I think the subplots with the rest of the family is a great idea, but you can make them fit the story and have a lot to do with Beauty's business. What if the sisters who are supposed to be taking care of Dad in Beauty's absence romp neglect him to chase after dull, good-looking but shallow or even ill-hearted men? The good-looking men will of course contrast with Beast, showing that psychologically they are more horrific than Beast. The sister's neglect of their father would also cause him to wither more quickly and provide a solid reason for his worrying himself to death over Beauty.

Hope this helps, and I'm sure you'll do fine!

=o) PK

You rock. Thanks for the ideas. Yeah, the storm would be to show her determination to get back to him, as well as highlighting the fact that maybe she's gotten a little used to him taking care of her, as she has to fend for herself again.

And she does see the sisters and father in Ye Olde Magick Mirror, so she could be getting all angsty about their situation. Food for thought, anyway.

I won't call you a fink simply because you've been a good person and reached your goal, due to my appreciation for your help.

^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.

Okay, I just gave her middle sister (the not-so-perfect one) a skanky boyfriend. Rich, well-liked, and not very respectful of women. She sees *something* in the Magic Mirror that disturbs her, but it's gonna drive her CRAZY (her bestetting fault is curiosity, which is perfect for someone trapped in a castle with a guy who never lets her see his face, duh) wondering how the sister is doing and what she could do to prevent Something Bad from happening. Just like addin' okra to gumbo: the plot thickens.

^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.

Hey, I'm up to 80 pages. I had to "cheat" a bit: Got bogged down at one plot point (ie, specifically *how* she rescues her sister) so I wrote something like "Scene 45: she does something to ameliorate the situation and then realizes she only has one day to reach castle. Build wings on way down." The last is a reference to Ray Bradbury's advice to writers: "Jump off a cliff and build your wings on the way down."

Is this cheating? Because I reeeeaaallly want to FINISH this story, and I got so excited about Beauty making the trek back and all the complications that will keep her away from poor li'l Beastie until he expires, that I did what I usually do (learned from NaNoWriMo) and cut to the good parts, hoping to iron out the details of Scene 45 later.

So, I hope this will still "count" as having "written" a screenplay. Especially if I can make the next 20 pages in a couple of days and then go back to flesh out the sister situation before the 30th comes and I turn into a pumpkin ... oh, wrong fairy tale.

^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.

Woot-woot! One last update. My wonderful husband and I talked about the problem, and he gave me a gfeat idea for the subplot regarding her sister; the crap boyfriend could follow Beauty to the castle and himself turn into a beast (or a rat, or what have you) because he is handsome and schmoozy but a cad inside. So now I'm up to 91 pages, the Beast is alive again, and I still get to have something after the reunion, which worried me b/c I didn't know how to end the stupid thing once we got past the "gee you're alive and no longer a beast." But I can have an extra twist when they stroll hand in hand into the castle and find El Chumpo there, awaiting his unexpected comeuppance.

I LOVE SCRIPT FRENZY!!! I LOVE MY HUBBY!!!

^o^ ^o^ ^o^
Reality is for people who can't handle writing fiction.

Wagh, I know what you mean. I outlined my script, but I'm about fifteen pages ahead plot-wise. I'm just about to head into the climax now, but I'm worried about being able to stretch it out long enough, and still make it dramatic. I suppose I could always go back and add in a new scene earlier on, but my brain has issues with jumping around the story like that. Blaaah...

~~~
Script Frenzy 08: Haunted.
Insanity Gauge - 84%

~~~

TOBIAS: The EMF meter is going crazy!
KADIN: It's not the only one.

I know what you mean... I didn't have a plot until the tenth (that I liked anyway). Then right before the last week I ran out. It caused me to procratinate HORRIBLY which is why my page count is extremally sad.