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Best advice that has ever been given about writing, @DarthDimi : know your ending. If you can figure out your ending, you now have a beacon of light to follow.
Once this is sorted, go back to the beginning, and now allow yourself to free flow your ideas, and when you get lost, just get back on the path that will lead to your ending.
Also, Hemingway was right: all first drafts are sh!t, so don’t worry about anyone laying eyes on it, just get the first draft out for you and no one else. Ignore the inner critic that’s telling you what you’re writing is crap. Just keep going until the end.
The real writing comes in the re-writes.
Yes, writing is hard. As someone who’s tried to write Bond stories (namely spinoff characters), it’s not easy.
Especially that inner critic, that voice in your head that whispers to you, that says you’re an imposter. There’s a very good book about all of this called, The War of Art:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1936891026/?tag=bestengish-20
My apologies for using that word to you gentlemen, but I was under the impression nasty was the way the discussion was heading. Others were saying I'm bitter, or I need to lift weights, I have a lack of testosterone, or using words like "Kamala and "woke" making me out to be a crazy, old right-winger, and generally an increasingly snarky and nasty tone because I have an opinion.
I again ask, would it be right for fans of wonder woman to be upset if it had a male producer and director/writer?
I think gender is a reasonable question in terms of, how does that affect the tone of a creative project? Hollywood certainly think so because they have racial and gender quotas in place now, so why is that not relevant here?
I'm not against Barbara Broccoli being producer of the bond franchise But it brings me pause when she says stuff like “Bond is evolving just as men are evolving. I don’t know who’s evolving at a faster pace."
and the increasingly antagonistic tone directed towards Bond by Vesper, M, Nomi etc all because he sleeps around.
Well...
“The Old Man and The Sea”, Hemingway's magnum opus, the very book he used to re-establish his preeminent stature as a novelist from the prior critical review of “Across the River and Into the Trees,” was not such a case. In fact, Hemingway’s near-perfect first draft sold 5 million copies of the 1952 issue of “Life” magazine containing the story.
Hemingway began work on a story of an old man and a great fish. The words poured forth and hit the page in almost perfect form, requiring little editing after he'd completed the first draft. ~ The Hemingway Resource Center
And I won't go into Kerouac's butter paper or the surrealists' free stream. The point is, there are writers, and there are writers, one different from the other, none the same.
I've been asking known writers for decades about how they write, and all of them have different methods, some have no method at all. Some start with a title, others only get the title when they finish. Some start with the ending, others find out as they go. Some write facing walls, others windows.
I have something around 14 published books and most of them didn't get much revising or editing. The last novel I wrote got ready in three weeks and was about 250 pages. Some writers swear they suffer a living hell while writing, I adore it, it energizes and it keeps me away from depression.
So, there are no rules. I'd say, just do your own thing, what best works for you, and keep at it.
It's a very interesting discussion, this one, and one we should perhaps open a topic on literature, adjacent to Fleming, perhaps, as to keep the ethos going. I'd love to discuss such things with you guys. Particularly you, @peter, my friend. BTW, I haven't been around much, but I hope everything is ok, and everyone's enjoying Summer one way or another. Cheers
Here’s Hemingway’s quote in full, and there’s gold in his words:
Don’t get discouraged because there’s a lot of mechanical work to writing. There is, and you can’t get out of it. I rewrote A Farewell to Arms at least fifty times. You’ve got to work it over. The first draft of anything is shit. When you first start to write you get all the kick and the reader gets none, but after you learn to work it’s your object to convey everything to the reader so that he remembers it not as a story he had read but something that happened to himself. That’s the true test of writing. When you can do that, the reader gets the kick and you don’t get any. You just get hard work and the better you write the harder it is because every story has to be better than the last one. It’s the hardest work there is. I like to do and can do many things better than I can write, but when I don’t write I feel like shit. I’ve got the talent and I feel that I’m wasting it.
Because one is impatient for a new Bond film doesn't mean they don't know how scripts are written and how films are produced and how long it takes to make a film.
Conventional writing advice is the destination analogy. If you know where you are going, you'll figure out how to get there. I'm not a fan of writing advice. As a novice, I didn't have a mentor or someone giving me sage advice. And dozens upon dozens of rejections without comment except, not for us, damn sure didn't help. Reading about the struggles of other writers provided no insight. It was just do it and keep doing it and hope like hell someone notices. Quite late in life it paid off. Albeit small potatoes. But I have thirty-one works published (not self-published) which pay me annual royalties. I have never had and still don't have any connections. No connections to the publishing world that helped get my foot in the door. And I still get plenty of rejections. No favoritism from those who have published my work.
Knowing your destination can be useful, but not always. Sometimes it's just an idea or a scene that I want to build a story around. And I firmly believe that situations and/or a character can pave the way, wherever that may be.
Writing is especially hard if you're not a writer. If you are a writer, it remains a challenge. But in the end, I think you find what works for you.
@DarthDimi where's your post gone, I wrote you some dialogue lol
Me: "You've been awake all night trying to write your script..."
You: "Yeah, dammit, I'm not a professional."
Me: "Even the pros have sleepless nights. (Pulls gun out of jacket) Now drink some coffee, or Larry the Goldfish takes a hit."
Title: Deadline Under Fire
Of course, not everyone thinks that. I apologize for the generalization. I was responding to those suggesting that they should "just" get another Bond film made like in the old days, one every year or year-and-a-half, with scripts thrown simply together from familiar elements. I cannot imagine it'd be that easy.
@DewiWynBond
Let's do this together, mate. :-)
Yes, Bond screenplays are not meant to be masterpieces, contrary to what Richard Maibaum thought of himself. They are also not just about “finding the villain’s caper and the rest is fun.” They just need to be fun, with a serious moment or two in them for human and character development. Even with a set formula, it can be hard for any series in media to get there, without truly repeating itself. Bond is no different in this regard.
I think that’s happened, lol.
Think about it: it could be the plot of the next Bond film. What a meta adventure that would be! In the film, it turns out that NTTD was written under pressure, Bond killed off because of the evil screenwriter willing it that way, and B26 is actually B25 with NTTD merely a film within a film.
I wish I could say "directed by David Lynch" but he's probably not in good enough health for that. Sigh. Charlie Kaufman then? ;-)
But otherwise I think it should be an original story and I don’t see a reason to faithfully adapt a full novel. EON do still have a lot of Fleming in their films though. I’d go as far as having it in there is vital to the screen Bond at this point.
Indeed. If it's undercover for say blood diamonds, it could take place in Africa (Spectreville in the jungle, an abandoned train and town from the colonial era) to see how a terror cell is financed...but maybe that's too Casino Royale (the film)...
I would consider Casino Royale (2006) to be a faithful adaption. I would even be fine with them calling it "Diamonds are Forever" and then we could differentiate between the two by calling them Diamonds are Forever (1971) , Diamonds are Forever (2027).
I'm with you. DAF, MR, and TMWTGG are novels that I think contain plenty of stuff that can be used in a Bond film.
I suppose they tried to use a few rough story beats of MR in Die Another Day, but I'd still like to see more of that one, too.
To make a point about AI, I just developed a storyline for Bond 25 in last 15 minutes using AI to assist and this is what I came up with. With a little rewriting this could shape up into something interesting.
Logline:
James Bond narrowly escapes a deadly assassination attempt by SPECTRE and joins forces with a defecting female SPECTRE agent to uncover a plot that threatens to plunge Europe into chaos.
Act 1: The Initial Threat
James Bond is on a mission in Berlin when a deadly assassin sent by SPECTRE attempts to eliminate him. Bond narrowly survives the attempt, showcasing his resourcefulness and skill. Realizing that SPECTRE has escalated their efforts to eliminate him, Bond is determined to find out why.
Act 2: Unlikely Allies
As Bond investigates, he encounters Elena Volkova, a high-ranking SPECTRE agent who has chosen to defect. She reveals that she has valuable information about a secret operation, but she needs Bond's help to escape SPECTRE's clutches. Bond is initially skeptical, but after she saves his life during a second assassination attempt, he decides to trust her. The two form an uneasy alliance.
Act 3: Uncovering the Plot
Elena leads Bond to a hidden SPECTRE facility where they discover details of a sinister plot: SPECTRE plans to replace the German Chancellor with an imposter, a double who will destabilize Europe by implementing policies that benefit SPECTRE's interests. The real Chancellor has been kidnapped and is being held in a secret location.
Act 4: The Final Confrontation
Bond and Elena track down the assassin sent to kill Bond, realizing he is the key to finding the real Chancellor. After a tense showdown, they manage to defeat the assassin and rescue the Chancellor. However, Bond realizes that SPECTRE's influence is deeper than they imagined, and the imposter plot is part of a much larger plan.
Act 5: A Fragile Victory
With the Chancellor safe and the imposter plot foiled, Bond and Elena part ways. Elena disappears into the shadows, her fate uncertain. Bond, having thwarted SPECTRE's plan for now, knows that the battle is far from over. He remains ever vigilant, knowing that SPECTRE will not rest until they achieve their goals.
Closing Scene:
Bond stands alone, looking out over the city, aware that the world is safe for now but knowing that the fight against SPECTRE is never truly over.
Remember I did this outline from scratch in less than 15 minutes.
Mod edit: double post merged. Please consult this thread, https://www.mi6community.com/discussion/21601/polite-reminder-multiposts-and-more#latest. Thank you.
I like it, believe it or not.