Tag: hacks

About The SciFi Scene Summary I Posted — Then Deleted

Shelton Bumgarner

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

My first attempt to write a novel was a bust. Or, more accurately, my first serious attempt to write a novel was a bust. I tried to write a novel about my time in Seoul about a decade ago, but that was more of an angry rant than a novel.

Anyway, about a year ago, I was working on a scifi novel and stopped. I stopped because it was all conceit. I struggled to figure out any type of character-driven plot arc. It was all premise. It’s taken me some time to think about it and I realize the entire idea was simply misguided. I was trying to tell a very personal story that was so contrived as to be unusable.

I struggled with the novel’s development for maybe three or four months before I gave up for the novel I’m working on now. Things are going much, much, much better this novel. I’m quite pleased with it, in fact.

Before I stopped working on the scifi novel, I posted the first act scene summary. When it began to get an alarming number of hits, I deleted it out of an abundance of caution. It seemed as though I may have given away the secret sauce and I did not want to give hacks any more help than I might otherwise do.

Strangely enough, people keep looking for the page with that scene summary. I honestly don’t understand what’s going on. I thought maybe a link to it was posted on a Google+ screenwriting group, but Google+ doesn’t even exist anymore and people still keep looking for it. The way they come to it seems to indicate it was via email or maybe a website.

All I know is given what I know about storytelling now after working on this latest novel, I honestly don’t know what anyone could get from the scene summary. It’s an interesting conceit, but doesn’t go anywhere. I guess if you are completely devoid of any actual creativity if you see something produced by someone who does who see it as an opportunity to produce hack work. Even if what the creative person produced isn’t even fully developed.

I fucking hate hacks. Especially parasite hacks who aren’t creative enough to think up their own universe. I guess I have to be prepared for someone to successful write a screenplay based on what I posted. In a way it would be both flattering and frustrating. It would be flattering because someone with the resources believed in the project after I stopped working on it. It would be frustrating because I’m unlikely to get any credit for it if it does happen.

Generally everyone is hateful in my experience, especially in showbiz.

I guess the best I can hope for is someone might notice the the similarities between my post and whatever Hollywood blockbuster it inspires.

State Of The #Scifi #Novel I’m #Writing For Nov. 13th, 2018: Fear Of The Concept Being Stolen

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

Given the number of people looking for the original scene summary I posted, it definitely seems as though it’s inevitable someone is going to “steal” the concept and write a hack screenplay — or whatever. At this point, if the worst happens, the best I can hope for is a credit of some sort. That would definitely help my career long term.

Some Hack Is Totally Going To ‘Steal’ My Novel’s Concept

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

I feel as though I have a window of opportunity. I can see from my access logs that an unusually high number of people are looking for the original first act scene summary I wrote. As I have said, it was inevitable that I would do something like that and obviously I made a mistake.

I am working on a much, much better version of the scene summary now and the only reason why I fear someone won’t steal a march on me is, well, even if you’re a hack and you use what I posted as inspiration, for, say, a movie, it’s going to take you time to write a screenplay and actually produce a movie from it. So, I have some time. Not a lot of time, but enough time that if I write really fast and work really hard, at least I might be able to produce something before a hack version of my idea comes out.

Or maybe not. Nothing is for sure in this life.

I just have to believe in myself. The new version of the scene summary is moving along pretty well and it’s so completely different than what I posted as to be nearly unrecognizable. The general gist of the story is still there — and so some hack could really screw me over if they “stole” the concept using what I posted — but, like I said, I have a little bit of a window of opportunity.

I takes time to produce a movie, no matter how big a hack you are, and so that’s all I can hope for at this point. That’s the only reason why I keep going. I simply don’t know. So, rather than freezing up and not doing anything, I’m going to try to race towards the finish line and see what happens.

Wish me luck.

Attack Of The Hacks: People Sure Are Interested In That First Act Scene Summary

by Shelton Bumgarner
@bumgarls

Well, I guess it’s flattering in its own way. I have deleted the first act scene summary because people were obviously interested in it, and not in a good way. Now I have to worry about a movie being made in an extremely hackish fashion from a scene summary that wasn’t even that good compared to the one I’m writing now.

In a sense, I have only my self to blame, but it was inevitable that I would do something like that. I figure I have a limited window of opportunity to develop the novel and write it before (potentially) a movie pops out from what I wrote. I’m full of angst about that, but I have to use it as an incentive to keep going. If people liked that original scene summary that much, then obviously I’m on the right track. I just hope, if nothing else, I can get an “inspired by a concept by Shelton Bumgarner” once I, like, have to sue people for it.