21. Here we go
22 April 2025
Alison Rocket Ross
Starting the draft of AARON (35) LANDSCAPER.
Before I even open the Final Draft document, I want to talk about a few things.
This next phase is going to be a long, drawn out process. We’re going to go fast and write without thinking too hard about it. The only thing a first draft needs to be is finished. In reality, we’ll probably write this damn thing a dozen times over.
I am nervous to start for that exact reason. First drafts are messy and this is where I have to start getting really honest and really raw with the process. It is going to suck for a while, then it’s going to slowly get better and better. There is no way around this.
I will do my best for you. This is not the only script I’m working on. I spent over an hour this morning working on a different feature that is just now coming together, so my time and attention is split. But when I’m here, I’m here. It’s all about AARON (35) LANDSCAPER. So let’s see what we can do.
Another thing we’ll have to consider is tone. I don’t have a vision for it yet, so we’re going to have to discover it as we write. I don’t see it as something particularly funny, but we’ll see. When I have ideas, I’ll walk you through them and we’ll test them out.
Ok, I’m loose and ready to go.
Since we already had these pages written, I’m just doing a light clean up. Keep in mind that everything is going to change.
We need research for the tree. I don’t feel like doing research right now, I just want to get the first draft up and running, then we can go back and fill in the blanks.
Again… more research… We really should have sat down and figured that all out before we started writing. But here’s the deal, if we just get the words out, the story out, other things will reveal themselves. That way we can zero in on some story elements and put in trees/trivia questions that are relevant in a thematic/foreshadowing way.
This is just how I write. When it comes to research like this, I find it easier to fill it in AFTER I know exactly what the story is. Exactly what happens and what we’re trying to do.
Also, we’ll probably delete the Keith David part, I just pulled that from an actual trivia night I was at a while back. The subject was John Carpenter movies so obviously, I got that question right.
Alright, I’m actually going to end this session here. I’m burnt out from my previous writing sprint and I have some things I need to do today. I’m going to let it sit just for a little bit and try to get back to it tonight.
As we go, these sessions will get longer. We’ll get more done. We’ll pick up momentum. We’re going to go through phases of loving this script and hating it. It’ll start to get fairly emotional and I’ll keep you in the loop of how those emotions play a huge part in the process.
To be honest, I’m just not feeling this script right now. My other feature has most of my attention. That can happen when you work on multiple things at the same time. But it changes by the day, so don’t worry.
Ok, that’s all for now.
-Rocket