Saturday 24 May 2014

What a Horror!


Artwork by Matthew Howard

Well I have been busy working on a horror script.  Wanted to write a good horror for a long time. Or even a bad horror. Finally I decided to stop wondering and just do it.

It is based on a nightmare I had but I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I like creature features but prefer suspense to gore.  More Alien/Thing than Saw/Hostel.  Yes, I know Alien and Thing has gore too but it is quick and only one part of the plot. It wasn't the core of the film.

Anyway, I have recently been using a different approach to writing.  Before I would write a quick outline then dive in.  Trying really hard to not do that now. Instead I have been knocking outlines, characters and background into good shape first.  Sometimes this is a slog but in this case everything seems to be dropping into place nicely.



Something else that has changed.  I used to try and keep the budget low. However the sad reality is that few speculative scripts get made. They are more a showcase.

Therefore I have split my scripts in two. Some are low budget and hopefully stand a chance of being made. Some are high budget and show what I can do without limitations.  This horror falls into the second camp and I am loving working on it.

So now I have to discover whether all that work was actually useful or if I was just procrastinating. Time to write Draft 1.