Not sure what to do.

I have my beginning, middle, and ending (about a handful of pages to go). But I'm having a problem hitting the 100 page mark. I'm currently at 65, but will be at 70 by the time I'm done with the ending.

I don't like screenplays that have 2 pages of slug lines with only maybe 3 single lines of dialogue, so I avoided doing that. I mean, I can easily fill multiple pages with grandiose, meaningless slug lines, but I simply won't.

For those who haven't seen my thread in "Work in Progress", my story is post apocalyptic and takes place 6 or 7 months after the events of a huge blackout. The city never recovered, general pandemonium ensued and a handful or people are left. It's essentially where The Walking Dead picked up but minus the zombies, similar to 28 Days Later.

I was conflicted when deciding where to start, so I included a flashback from the protagonist's POV, which will include a glimpse of the antagonist, and will show the start of the chaos, but I don't know if I want to show more than that.

So, I'm stuck. I have everything laid out and the characters are detailed enough to satisfy the story. I did write this with a sequel in mind, but it could also be a stand alone.

I too frequently get stuck at this point as well.

The last 30 pages and the beginning 30 are the easiest to write to me. I hit somewhat of a road block at page 70-80. I know how the script is gonna end, but I always seem to slow down here, because I don't like what I have in my head.

I don't have any quality advice to share. I try and power through. Write down what comes to me, then refine it later. It's important to me to have the whole script done from start to finish in any form. It will be horrible at first and look like garbage. I leave out action lines, write placeholder dialogue etc. It's just important for me to see the whole story on the page. The movie is already in my head, I'll refine it on the page later because it become much easier for me to visualize things once I know the whole plot scene by scene. It makes an edit much easier, because I see what's lacking where.

Thanks.

I'm trying to avoid using flashbacks as a crutch to fill pages, instead I'll just add some more scenes and see what happens.

You don't add more scenes... you add more story. 70 pages can be enough for a script, so long as it is filled with action. 70 pages doesn't necessarily mean 70 minutes, indeed, it rarely does. Those numbers are just a guideline.

If I was shooting this myself, I wouldn't give a damn how many pages, you know? But when submitting somewhere, I know the page count is looked at and depending on the festival, the script could be dismissed when just looking at it's basic info.

There have been scripts that've sold and they were like 60 something pages long. I get your concern, but like Dustin said, it depends on your story. If it doesn't have much dialogue, the page count will go down.

But, yeah, people will judge you if it's too high or too low.

Looks like I'm going to be at the 75 page mark, possibly a couple of more.

I'm debating on whether or not I should end this with an "open" ending.

Like I said before, the catastrophe was a massive blackout, with the scope being unknown but presumed nationwide. The group of characters makes their way to the peak of the mountain and see lights in the distance.

Do I take them to the lights, or do I end it here?

Quoted from Steven Like I said before, the catastrophe was a massive blackout, with the scope being unknown but presumed nationwide. The group of characters makes their way to the peak of the mountain and see lights in the distance. Do I take them to the lights, or do I end it here?

Only you know the answer to this question.

I WANT to end it at this point, but when it comes down to a table read when submitted to a festival, assuming it gets that far, it could be the determining factor for someone.

I have to take a long, hard look at this thing once more.

Quoted from Steven I have to take a long, hard look at this thing once more.

Leave it alone for 2-3 weeks. Start something else. Then, come back to it.

Maybe it's the mid-point reversal. Whatever the goal is initially should be reached in part by, in this case, page 45ish. Then it becomes a slightly different movie with a new refined goal. (i.e. Titanic is a love story that becomes a survival story. Collateral is Max doing nothing to Max taking action. Jurassic Park is a research trip then becomes a survival movie. Monster House is about staying away, then it's about going in. Sixth Sense is about therapy then it's about ghosts.) So my guess is that the blackout is figured out in-part by the mid-point. The twist happens and you then get about 45 pages to reach the new goal/movie.

Quoted from Demento Leave it alone for 2-3 weeks. Start something else. Then, come back to it.

That's what I'll do. I have one short that is about to be filmed next month and another that I've been working on for a while now. I'll polish that one off and take a little bit of a break.

Quoted from Steven That's what I'll do. I have one short that is about to be filmed next month and another that I've been working on for a while now. I'll polish that one off and take a little bit of a break.

I get what you're saying. The main plot was for the group to get to the peak of the mountain to see what's out there (there is a vast desert on the other side of the mountain). But now that they see lights off into the distance, the plot changes to them getting to that point

OR

I end it here.

Quoted from Steven Looks like I'm going to be at the 75 page mark, possibly a couple of more. I'm debating on whether or not I should end this with an "open" ending. Like I said before, the catastrophe was a massive blackout, with the scope being unknown but presumed nationwide. The group of characters makes their way to the peak of the mountain and see lights in the distance. Do I take them to the lights, or do I end it here?

I don't think anyone can give you a specific answer there. But you could ask yourself this question in search of what's right for your story:

- Does the search and finding of light end the challenge? i.e., are all major obstacles or challenges to your characters resolved - or at least promise to be resolved - by the discovery of the light. I don't know the story - but let's say a character (MOTHER) is trying to find her daughter lost when the blackout occurred. Does seeing the light resolve that for MOTHER? I would say no - I would want to see the reunification of MOTHER and her child.  Again - just make stuff up to illustrate the point.


-

I know it's hard for anyone to really give an "answer", and I don't think that's what I'm looking for.

But to answer your question, no, the source of the light isn't the answer to anything, but more of a question - what's out there? Since the blackout is so massive and the time frame is about 6 months, there should be no area with power. Even if gas powered generators are still working, gas should be depleted or at least just about gone.

I'm writing this with the plan on something bigger happening. You never see a post apocalyptic story (that isn't zombies), that goes on for multiple movies/episodes. Mad Max could be an exception, I guess.

This was meant as a tight, small story where only a handful of characters existed. I built the city so that the ocean is to the west, and a mountain range surrounds the remaining perimeter. Yea, it's fictionalized, but who cares. The only immediate exit for these people that was in close proximity was a long road up the mountain. They walk up it initially, then drive up toward the end.

The two groups of characters meet up about 1/4 of the way through the story, after both dealing with one of the antagonists - an ex Vietnam vet and his crew looking to stir things up and re-live the days out in "the shit".

Once the groups converge, not all of them survive, but then they're faced with the other threat - a blockade in the middle of the mountain road. There is a mobile home park up there where the residents decided to take a "toll" or "donation" from anyone wanting to pass. Safe to say they're violent in the way they do business, as evident by the MC's wife being shot and held hostage.

I'm taking some influence from Robert Kirkman in that he describes The Walking Dead as "a human drama taking place during a zombie outbreak". So, for my purposes, the blackout is a backdrop, and the real threat is people, and how they "change" when there is something to be taken advantage of.

All I can really ask is for you guys to read it. There will be some grammatical errors but my action lines are short and non-literary.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_vHHlz3zmHYazJDdHgwMlFES1U