A story writing blog

Thursday, April 30, 2015

TOM WRITES HIS FIRST MOVIE: The big confrontation.

I am still at it, writing my first movie script which I collect HERE.

Here's today's entry. We're pushing towards the big finale, from here things will be moving at a really quick pace. I have a hell of an ending coming.




EXT - DOUGLAS' HOUSE

Bryce pulls into a the driveway of a small, one level house in a dingy part of town. Bryce sits for a second collecting his thoughts, he pulls the gun out of his waistband and looks hard at it. Bryce has a moment of clarity and decides to put the gun away into his glove compartment. Bryce steps out of car door, heads to the back door of his u-haul and opens it. He starts pulling Douglas' things out of the truck and putting them on the font lawn, hoping to just leave Douglas his things and without confrontation. That's wishful thinking, Douglas comes bursting out of the front door.


DOUGLAS
HEY! 

Bryce doesn't answer him, he keeps pulling Douglas' things out of the truck.

DOUGLAS
You want to tell me what that the fuck you're doing?

BRYCE
Douglas, I am just giving you your things back.

DOUGLAS
Why are YOU giving me my things back?

BRYCE
Would you rather have Abby's dad do this?

DOUGLAS
Where's Abby?

BRYCE
Douglas...I don't want to get into this.

DOUGLAS
 Stay away from her.

BRYCE
Are you kidding me?

DOUGLAS
It's funny how this worked out isn't it? I am out of the picture and no less than a month later you move right in.

Bryce doesn't answer him, he stares a hole through Douglas.

DOUGLAS
I know it was you Bryce.

BRYCE
What?

DOUGLAS
I know it was you. The note. The dolls. I know it was you. How did you do it? Did you have a key all along? Did Abby give you a house key?

Douglas' teeth grit, his hands ball into a fist. Bryce takes notice, he glances towards the truck, gauging how much distance is between him and the glove compartment. 

DOUGLAS
When I caught you in that house...what were you doing there? Why did you come back? 

Douglas is getting more and more animated.

DOUGLAS
Abby turned you away, I was there. I saw you leave! I saw her send you away.

BRYCE
You were watching us?

DOUGLAS
What were you doing sneaking back into her house? What were you going to do to her?

Bryce sees how angry Douglas is getting, he starts to back his way towards the truck. Douglas follows him.

BRYCE
I wasn't IN her house. I went home that night. YOU were the one who snuck into her house.

DOUGLAS
Yeah I did, after I saw someone climb through her window.

BRYCE
Oh yeah? You saw that while you were stalking us?

DOUGLAS
YES!

BRYCE
You really are sick.

DOUGLAS
I am getting real tired of hearing that.

Bryce backs right up to his truck and reaches for the door.

DOUGLAS
You're running away?

BRYCE
No.

Bryce dashes into his car, Douglas follows him. Douglas grabs a hold of Bryce and forcibly pulls him out of the car.

DOUGLAS
We're not done talking!

Bryce responds with gun pointed right at Douglas, Douglas takes a step back.

BRYCE
You're crazy and you're dangerous and you're going to leave Abby alone. I swear to god I'll kill you.

DOUGLAS
Shoot.

BRYCE
Take your shit, never come back. If you do I'll be there waiting to put a bullet in you. I won't let you hurt her.

DOUGLAS
Hurt her? All I've ever done is protect her. I've taken it on the CHIN for that girl. I've been arrested, shot at, beat up and arrested again all because some psycho wouldn't leave us alone. You know what the worst part is? I didn't believe her. I thought she was making it all up. She wasn't was she?

BRYCE
No. She wasn't.

DOUGLAS
You're going to have to kill me.

Bryce is genuinely temped to do it, instead he backs up to his truck. Never lowering his gun. He makes it to his truck and gets in.

DOUGLAS
You ruined my life. This won't ever be over.

Bryce doesn't respond, he pulls out of the driveway and speeds off. Douglas' things spill out of his truck as he leaves.

Cont'd...


Tuesday, April 21, 2015

TOM WRITES HIS FIRST MOVIE: Gun face.

Ok, tomorrow's project is to write a solid two or three sentence synopsis for this thriller I am writing so I can actually sell you on clicking HERE and getting all caught up to today's post (below).

Or don't. To be honest I don't expect you to. As long as I keep posting I'll eventually have finished my first movie script though. It's pretty dope too.

Not at all sorry that I googled 'gun face'.

INT - ABIGAIL'S KITCHEN.

Richard is sitting at Abigail's table, he's staring contemplatively into his coffee mug. 


RICHARD
I wish I'd killed him.

ABIGAIL
Don't say that.

Abigail is sitting with her father, Bryce is leaning against a wall with coffee in hand.

RICHARD
I wish it wasn't so damn dark that night, I couldn't see him. 

ABIGAIL
Thank god. You'd still be in jail if you hit him. 

RICHARD
I would have gone to jail for the rest of my life just to know that piece of shit wasn't going to be out there anymore.

ABIGAIL
Don't say that! He's not worth it.

RICHARD
That judge made me sick. Letting him lie like that.
I should go find him.

ABIGAIL
No! He just got out of jail and there's a restraining order against him now. He can't come here.

RICHARD
You think that sick bastard cares about a restraining order?

Richard looks up at Bryce.

RICHARD
I am coming with you.

ABIGAIL
You can't!

RICHARD
To hell with that.

BRYCE
I am with Abby, you two can't be anywhere near each other.

ABIGAIL
Dad, just stay away. You're not going back to jail because of him!

BRYCE
I have his things all packed, I won't be there long.

ABIGAIL
What if he won't come to the door?

BRYCE
Then I'll leave his stuff on his front lawn.

RICHARD
You're taking a gun.

BRYCE
No. Thank you.

RICHARD
If you don't want me coming with you then you're taking a gun. 

BRYCE
I am not planning on needing one Richard.

RICHARD
No one does. 

Bryce nods the comment off and puts his cup in the sink. 

BRYCE
I think I am going to head out.

ABIGAIL
Now? It's 9 am.

BRYCE
 Yeah, and hopefully he'll still be sleeping. 

EXT - DRIVEWAY - BRYCES U-HAUL

Abigail hands Bryce the last of Douglas' things. The finality of it brings a tear to her eye, Bryce notices but says nothing. Before Bryce can get into the truck Richard corners him and shoves a gun into Bryce's hands. Bryce takes the gun and tucks it in his waistband. He gives Richard a knowing nod.

BRYCE
Abby, this will be behind us soon.

She puts on a smile, Bryce shuts the door and drives off with the last of Douglas packed in his truck.

Cont'd...


Monday, April 20, 2015

TOM WRITES HIS FIRST MOVIE: The build to the end.

You know what? We're well past the halfway point of my thriller and it's time to start putting the pieces in place for my big ending. I mean that too, my ending is big. From this point onward the story is going to pick up a frenetic pace as my characters stumble their way towards a conclusion that wraps this whole mystery up in a tight, action packed little bow.

Once again, I collect everything as I go and post it all HERE

I still haven't written out a synopsis I am in love with but imagine if you were to wake up one morning and your terrified girlfriend was accusing you of doing something completely f**king psycho. That happened to Douglas.

I admit this is who I was picturing as I wrote this scene.


INT - JAIL

Douglas is being led through a hallway by a couple of officers to a small room with a table. Sitting at the table is his public defender. Douglas takes a seat across from him and the two are left alone. 

LAWYER
Hello Douglas, my name is Alister Cross. I'll be defending you.

Douglas doesn't answer.

LAWYER
I've been looking over your case, I think we'll be able to get you out of here. A man's ex-fiance accuses him of torturing...dolls and then locks him out of the house they shared. According to the police report she made claims of violence but you were never charged?

DOUGLAS
I didn't do it.

LAWYER
Good. The police apparently didn't think so either because I don't see any charges laid. That's very good. Now we just have to convince the judge that you were only in her house to get your things back so you could move on and finally forget about the crazy bitch.

Douglas shoots him a look.

LAWYER
Hey, looks like that aren't going to help you get out of there. We need to convince this judge that you want nothing to do with this girl, when he tells you he's placing a restraining order between the two of you; you thank him.

DOUGLAS
There was someone else in that house. I want them to find him, keep Abby safe. 

LAWYER
She's safe and you staying behind bars isn't keeping her any safer. 
Is it?

DOUGLAS
No.

LAWYER
Well then. You made up that intruder story that because you were scared, you got caught and were worried about getting in trouble so you made something up. The mysterious stranger excuse, oldest one in the book.

DOUGLAS
And then I chased after someone I just made up?

LAWYER
No, you ran because you knew she was going to call her dad and his shotgun.

DOUGLAS
They won't believe me.

LAWYER
Are you kidding me? No one believes you now. If you go in there and tell that judge that you only broke into your ex's house to chase out some dark, faceless figure then all you'll do is convince him you need to be kept out of the public and put into a looney bin. I ask you, is that what you want?

DOUGLAS
...I was just there to get my stuff...

LAWYER
Exactly. I think we can get time served plus probation, plus obviously you'd have to agree to never be within a hundred feet of her ever again. 

DOUGLAS
Just her?

LAWYER
And her father probably, but we'll consider that a blessing.

DOUGLAS
Get me out of here.

LAWYER
I'd like you to make a statement. You were alone in that house with Abigail, you saw no one else. Judges are like mothers, they give points for honesty.

DOUGLAS
Honesty?

LAWYER
...Is Abigail safer with you behind bars?

DOUGLAS
No.

LAWYER
Well then.

The lawyer slides a pen and paper across the table to Douglas, urging him to write his statement.

LAWYER
You were alone. You just wanted to get your things back.

DOUGLAS
(reluctantly)
I was alone.

Cont'd...

Thursday, April 16, 2015

TOM WRITES HIS FIRST MOVIE: Remind people that this is a thriller.

Back with another page to add to THIS thriller I am writing. Lets go.




INT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Bryce and Abigail are on the couch, the light of the television is the only thing illuminating the room. Abigail is curled up in the corner of the couch hugging a cushion. It's a bright night outside, the light coming in from the windows casts long shadows throughout the room. Bryce and Abby sit stoically, both staring at the tv. Half focused on what they're watching and half lost in thought. Their shadows stretch along the length of the room and up to the ceiling. Unmoving. 

Their shadows are joined by a third shadow. It moves into frame and stops, it's placed near the window. Somewhere in the blackness something is there, staring at the couple watching TV in the dark. Neither Bryce nor Abby notice. The shadow lingers for a few moments then disappears as it blends back into the blackness of the room.

Abigail yawns.

ABIGAIL
Yawwwwwwwww...my god.

BRYCE
You should go to bed. 

ABIGAIL
Good idea. Where are you going to sleep?

BRYCE
Right here.

ABIGAIL
 I have an extra bedroom.

BRYCE
I am good here.

ABIGAIL
(smiles)
It helps, you being here.

BRYCE
This was fun.

ABIGAIL
(yawns again)
 I know, I waaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Excuse me.

BRYCE
Go to bed. Get some sleep. You need it.

ABIGAIL
Thank you. Goodnight.

BRYCE
Goodnight Abby.

Abigail hugs Bryce and then goes to a linen closet and hands him a pillow and a blanket, she heads upstairs. Bryce pulls the cover over himself and closes his eyes.

INT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Bryce is asleep on the couch. In the dark room behind him someone is watching him. Someone is standing behind the couch looking down on him, cloaked in darkness. 

Cont'd...


Wednesday, April 15, 2015

TOM WRITES HIS FIRST MOVIE: All dialogue...blah blah blah.

Douglas and Abigail are in love. Then one morning Douglas finds Abigail standing in the hallway, trembling and terrified. She's standing beside a room. She thinks he did something. Something only a psycho would do.
That's the idea behind the script I am writing, it's my first. I post as I go. Down there is today's entry, all the rest can be found right HERE.



Cont'd...

The officer sees himself out, leaving Abigail and Bryce alone. Abigail is staring into dead space, in thought. Bryce lets her have her silence.

ABIGAIL
I want a gun.

BRYCE
What?

ABIGAIL
I need a gun.

BRYCE
Abby. He's in jail.

ABIGAIL
He won't always be.

BRYCE
He has a restraining order against him now. He can't come anywhere near you.

ABIGAIL
 He's crazy! He doesn't care. Bryce I am not moving, so he's always going to know where I live.

BRYCE
Maybe we should just move you back to your fathers. Just for a bit.

ABIGAIL
Fucking asshole.

BRYCE
Sorry?

ABIGAIL
Douglas. Not pressing charges against my dad, I know what he's doing. He's manipulating me. He's trying to get me to trust him. Piece of shit.

BRYCE
Abby?

ABIGAIL
What?

BRYCE
That night, when Douglas was in your house. What do you think he wanted?

ABIGAIL
Honestly? I think he wanted to kill me.

BRYCE
I don't get why he told you to call the police.

ABIGAIL
Because I scared him. I saw him before he could get me.

BRYCE
Did he look scared?

ABIGAIL
Yeah. I caught his ass and he knew it. So he made up some bullshit story and ran.

BRYCE
If he came here to hurt you then why not hurt you? When you started screaming, why run? Why not attack?

ABIGAIL
What the hell are you saying? 

BRYCE
I am just thinking.

ABIGAIL
What? Someone else was here and poor Douglas was just trying to save me from the dark figure?

BRYCE
No. No! This isn't a movie. Real life doesn't have twists like that. Your ex-fiance actually IS just one of those sick stalkers you read about, that's why this is happening. That's the only reason this is happening.

ABIGAIL
I need a gun.

BRYCE
We'll talk to your father when he gets out. If you still want one, he has lots. 

Abigail give him a half smile.

BRYCE
I am sorry Abby.

ABIGAIL
Wht? It's not your fault.

Con't...

Sunday, April 12, 2015

TOM WRITES HIS FIRST MOVIE: The aftermath of all that stuff that happened.

Still writing my first movie script. It's a thriller.

You can check it out HERE.



INT - LIVING ROOM

Bryce is in Abby's home. He's walking from the kitchen to the living room carrying a steaming cup of tea. Inside the living room Abigail is sitting with the police. The lead officer is that same one who interrogated Conrad earlier. Bryce hands Abigail the tea.


COP
We have him on criminal trespassing, but these waters are bit murky given your former living situation.

ABIGAIL
No they're not, I told him I didn't ever want to see him again.

COP
You still have his things.

ABIGAIL
What?

COP
Why do you still have his things?

ABIGAIL
I don't want them.

COP
You see why a jury might be sympathetic to someone breaking into a house to get his own things back.

ABIGAIL
HE ATTACKED ME!!

COP
We weren't able to prove that. We weren't able to lay a single charge in that case, in a court of law that means it didn't happen.

BRYCE
And what about this other thing that he's saying? That he saw someone?

COP
You mean this mysterious figure that he conveniently can't give a description of because it was too dark? I wouldn't lose sleep over that. Frankly it's not the first time we heard that one from someone. 

BRYCE
So where is he?

COP
Right now he's behind bars until he sees a judge but unless we have something that can keep him there then he's probably going to get away with a fine and some probation. Are you sure you didn't notice anything last night as you were leaving?

BRYCE
I didn't see anything.

COP
Miss...maybe it would be better if you stayed with someone for a while. 

BRYCE
I am staying with her.

ABIGAIL
When are you letting my father go?

COP
 Actually Douglas refuses to press charges against your father. He'll be out later today.

The room falls quiet.

 COP
Well, we'll be leaving. This time we'd like you to file an official restraining order against Douglas, and if I were you I'd think about finding someplace else to live. He's...

ABIGAIL
No.

COP
Keep an eye on her.

BRYCE
I will.

COP
We'll be in touch.

Cont'd...



Wednesday, April 8, 2015

TOM WRITES HIS FIRST MOVIE AND HE'S PAST THE HALFWAY POINT.


As of this entry I am officially more than halfway finished my first script.

Douglas and Abby have just started a happy life. Abby loves Douglas, Douglas adores Abby. One day there's a break. A psychotic break. Abby finds a room full of her favorite dolls, all torn apart and molested. Disturbed writing scrawled all over the walls. Douglas won't admit to it, he says Abby is very sick. Abby says Douglas is very sick. She wants him gone, he wants her back.
You can catch up on the whole story by clicking HERE.






EXT - ABIGAIL'S HOUSE


Douglas chases the figure out the front door, in the background he can still hear Abigail screaming. Outside of Abigail's house is almost pitch black, once you're away from the houselights there's little illumination. Surrounding her house is a thick wooded area, Douglas sees the figure race into the forest. He follows it into the darkness, he looses is as it whips through the trees and becomes invisible in the night. Douglas stops his pursuit. 

Douglas collects himself and then heads back towards Abby's house, he hesitates for a second. Tempted to make a break for it, he realizes the only way to clear his name is to face the police and explain his side of the story. He's compelled to tell them about Abby's stalker. Douglas starts towards the house. 

Gunshot. The tree beside Douglas's head explodes. Douglas hits the ground on instinct, when he gets up he sees Richard taking aim at him with his shotgun. 

DOUGLAS
Richard! Put that gun down. I am coming out. 

Richard fires again, this time leaving no doubt that he's aiming to hit Douglas.

DOUGLAS
Richard!!!!

RICHARD
I told you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again.

He levels his gun at Douglas, its staring him dead in the eye. Douglas doesn't call Richard's bluff, he runs into the trees. Another blast from behind him sends him to the dirt. Douglas can hear sirens. The lights of the police cars threaten to give away Douglas's position. 

POLICE
Put down your weapon!

Richards gun is still locked on Douglas's hiding place, he doesn't lower it when ordered. 

POLICE
Put the gun down NOW!

Richards reluctantly legs go of his shotgun, never once taking his eyes off Douglas. Not until the police tackle him to the ground. Officers approach the edge of the forest, their flashlight piecing though the blackness. Douglas hides against the stump of a tree.

POLICE
Is anyone there? Come out!

Douglas is conflicted, his primal instinct is to run but he thinks about Abby. He need to tell someone that she's being stalked. Someone is doing all this to her, to them.

POLICE
Last chance. Come out!

DOUGLAS
Ok...I am coming out. 

The police train their guns on Douglas as he emerges from the dark forest, he's brought down and handcuffed. On the porch a tearful Abigail watches the police take him and her father away.

CONT'D...





Wednesday, April 1, 2015

My SCRIPTS, ARTICLES, VIDEOS


Writing is something I would love to get paid to do someday. Even if I don't, apparently I am going to keep doing it anyway because I've never been able to stop.

Here's what's come out of my head so far:

SCRIPTS:

I finished my first movie script. It's a thriller about couple, a man and a woman who's love falls apart because each one thinks the other is a complete psychopath.

It's called I am Not A Weirdo

I also wrote a short horror movie called Lurking about a girl named Darcy who sets sail with her new fiance Cade on an ocean adventure across the world only to wake up alone one morning with no sign of him and something in a water stalking her small boat.

Want something lighter? Here's a short script about 3 roommates trying to decide if something is a spider or a hairy chocolate chip.

How about something dark? Here's a short script I just call the Hotel Murder script.

This is an oldie I wrote about two drunk guys talking about space on a walk home from the bar. I call it Two Drunk Guys Talk About Space On A Walk Home From The Bar.

Being a comic nerd I felt it was my responsibility to invent a superhero. This guy's name is Cockroach and he's the last person you want catching you in the act of murdering a young girl.

I've tinkered with the idea of writing a romantic comedy but I've only gotten so far as writing a couple practice scenes. HERE and HERE

This one has gotten me in trouble because aparently it's controvertial to write a short comedy about a man who was date raped at a party and goes on a quest to find his female rapist. If she's ugly he's going to press charges. If she's hot he's going to ask her out.

I wrote an internet show called House Arrested about a group of dipshits all under house arrest. I played with a couple variations on the idea.

House Arrested:

Ep 1 - Benjamin gets stabbed.

Ep 2 - Benjamin gets stabbed again.

Ep 3 - Dick Pics

Ep 4 - Cannibalism

Ep 5 - The mouse fight.

I also wrote and developed a half hour workplace, action comedy about a group of low paid, government ghostbusters called DOPE (Department of Paranormal Events).

DOPE:

Short #1 - Knife teeth

Short #2 - Little Kid Ghost

Pitch Package and Episode 1 - Buried Alive.

Episode 2 - Vampires

Episode 3 (Teaser) - Zombies


THREE ONE MINUTE SCRIPTS:

A story about a loser who will never, ever get the girl

A story about a meek coward forced to save a woman from an attacker at night

A story about a lucky guy who skinny dips with a beautiful woman and doesn't notice the monster behind him.

I've also got a couple example of ideas under development. One is a video game show I was working on with a friend called Pwned and the other is for a movie about a violent flash mob.


VIDEOS:

Here's an archive of videos I've made, many of them I've starred in.

This is the pilot we shot, it's essentially about two people who resolve to never work a day in their lives. It was called THE BEAUTIFUL and it features a guest appearance by Shay Mitchell.

Here's a gory horror short I was in called CLEAVER

Here's a trailer for another little short I was in, a heist movie called WORST LAID PLANS

Ok this...this takes some explaining and it's probably the thing I am proudest of. There was once a free animation site called Xtranormal. It allowed you to choose characters, a background and a few animations to write a scene around. You were limited to what was presented in the backgrounds, meaning if you chose to do the train settings then you would have to write a scene around the train and whatever else was there in the pre-set image. The feature allowed for text-to-speech writing which resulted in a couple of robotic voices so it's best to imagine this is taking place in a world where everyone sounds like Stephen Hawking. This was about writing within limitations and forced you to be creative. I miss that site. Here's what I came up with - HEROES OF JUSTICE

This is just a simple little clip of me reading my favorite supervillain monologue from Final Crisis #3 when I was sick and my voice was super sexy.


ARTICLES

Here's an article I wrote on the incredible, first black boxing champion Jack Johnson.

This was actually my attempt to bring my favorite comic character back from obscurity. I call it the Killrazor Experiment and it was unsuccessful.

I HATE that book/video/philosophy called "the Secret" and HERE'S WHY

Canada - Slow and Steady

PERSONAL STORIES:

The time I caught the Norwalk virus while testing playstations at work.

The worst ass kicking I've ever taken.

I am 6'4 and can't dunk, it's my single biggest failing in life.

The time a bully had me cornered in the washroom.

Two random and amazing experiences.

ADVERTISING:

I once considered getting into a career in copywriting before it was explained to me that the actual profession has little to do with writing and more to do with graphic design. Anyway, I used this blog to try it out.

Men should be the ones buying SCENTED CANDLES.

Stubble so sharp it can be used to peel potatoes? Try these shaving products.

MONOLOGUES:

Monologue Mondays were a thing...until I totally forgot about them. It was what it sounds like, I would write and post a stand alone monologue. They were fun, I should do more of these.

Hey racist. You're bad at science.

My super-villain monologue.

That girl bore a hole in my mind.

I hate CEO's - This one I actually shot a video for. I got my friend (a non-actor) to take a crack of reading it. Shot and edited on my iphone.

A poseur vampire guy defending himself.

POETRY:

I even wrote some poems.

Here's one about BATMAN and one about JAMES DEAN

There's more on this blog, if you scroll through you'll see me developing a changing all my scripts, generally everything you see above is a first draft and you can follow the building process as I go. Like I said, I am currently writing my first full length movie script and it's going very well. I am halfway through and I am proud of what I have so far.

I ask that anyone who comes across this, if you know of anyone who might be in a position to help a hungry writer get noticed then please pass this page on. This is what I want to do with my life and to make that dream a reality I am going to need to start asking for help.

Thank you.

-Thomas Holler
apescripts@gmail.com