20. Setting up to write: Part two

21 April 2025

Alison Rocket Ross

Transferring the outline to the script doc.

Alright. Let’s buckle down and get this done so we can start writing. I say this more for me than for you. This is where 90% of my abandoned ideas meet their death. It comes from a place of fear. We fight to overcome that urge to run.

Left is the outline, Right is the script doc.

We left off at a pivotal point in the story. Everything has changed and there is no going back, and yet we’re only about halfway through. We have to land the plane.

I am nervous since I am not 100% confident in how we ended it in the outline. Some big changes will need to be made. I find it funny that we started simple with this idea, then it got completely out of control, but it ended up being shaved back down to what the story was really about. Aaron. His journey. His hesitation to let people in. Thinking he could hide away forever. Now that’s impossible and he’s grown attachments he can’t ignore.

Alright, let’s get to it.

I really, really, REALLY wanted to throw in some heartbreaking monologue in the quiet apartment scene. I chose not to because some things are better said in silence. And Aaron isn’t exactly a monologue kind of guy. We could’ve focused in on Brooke, but she’s got a big part coming up and I’d hate to overuse her.

We’re going to need a little extra time on the police station scene. I think there’s more potential there we could tap into. That will happen in the writing process. I think we’ll have to explore Katie’s mannerisms and movements to really bring that part to life.

NOTE: It will also be helpful to watch some crime documentaries with interrogation scenes and jot down some of the vocabulary they use. That’ll help us get a feel for how a detective sounds. Ideally, I’d want to interview a real detective in real life, but for now, we’ll just go with what we have.

Here’s an interesting thought… As we’re getting closer to the end, I’m realizing our scenes are longer, deeper, and more precise. More second to second and drawn out as opposed to our earlier scenes which were a bit quicker. I find that interesting because it’s like as the story goes on, Aaron is taking more time to process the world around him. He’s no longer just along for the ride, he’s actually living through it.

Let’s keep this in mind as we write. If we could do a shift right after the midpoint, I think we could make that idea really cool. Like everything slows down after the turning point.

I’m refusing to give Aaron what he wants so he can face the consequences of his lifestyle and the way he pushed everyone away. It’s like the end of this script will be the beginning of Aaron’s journey. He needs to start doing the work and this ordeal is what made his flaws apparent to him.

I wonder how this is going to look on the page. I’m worried about losing people in the second half, but I really don’t want to throw more plot points in there when we’re getting such emotional revelations for our MC. I want it to hurt.

So let’s write this and see if we can still make it interesting. If not, we can always go back and add more excitement to the back half. We just have to write it and see where it goes.

Hm… ok… I think we can all see that something is missing. I don’t know what it is yet. So here’s what we’re going to do… we’re going to start writing. Properly writing. And we’re going to put the ending out of our heads for a little bit and see what comes through.

Ideas happen all the time. Usually through the process. We’re here now and fully prepared to start writing, but it’s not quite right. Do not ever let something being “not quite right” stop you from writing. You will figure it out. Time is on our side. Push forward.

Next time, we’re going into first draft mode. Charging ahead. It’s going to be clunky and brutal and tedious, but it’s where things are going to start coming together.

There’s no stopping now.

-Rocket