Rachel McClard
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rachelmcclard.bsky.social
Rachel McClard
@rachelmcclard.bsky.social
850 followers 1.1K following 200 posts
Queer 🌈 I write about identity, independence & survival w/ dynamic women challenging the status quo. Repped at AAO Ent & IAG rachelmcclard.com/consultingservices
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I had a great general this AM with a prod company I'd love to work with. They requested to read a TV pilot I soft-pitched, as well as wanting to read my WIP feature when it's ready. Here are some things I like to do to prep for generals 🧵 #scriptsky
Thanks and I’m glad this was helpful!
Brought to you by voice to text and my broken hand! #scriptsky
9) i’ll probably rewrite the opening a couple of ways and practice a few different versions to see what flows best with the rest of the structured pitch. #scriptsky
8) i’ll practice for my wife, my reps, and maybe even my writers group! I won’t have it completely memorized, but I will try to be off as much as possible, so I’m not just staring and reading from a document. This is especially important for the opening few paragraphs! #scriptsky
7) once all of that is done I can go through and make small adjustments to the overall structure. That’s when I will start practicing out loud. Some phrasing is easier read than hearing it. And I don’t want to get tongue tied! #scriptsky
6) I’ll then go through all of my big set pieces and see if I need more, add to them, or need to edit to make them stand out more. #scriptsky
5) only then will I write the log line. Then a paragraph or two summary on the theme and overview of the entire story. Next, I’ll take that bullet point outline and put that in paragraph form. #scriptsky
4) bullet point out the plot from beginning to end. This will help get a bird’s eye view of the story. #scriptsky
3) figure out my characters next. If I figure out my characters, then I can start getting some ideas of where the plot will take us. #scriptsky
2) research! Obviously if it is a specific topic look at lots of different articles, Wikipedia, etc. but also look at other films that would be similar in tone or action. #scriptsky
1) find my personal connection early on. Look for something that will tie back to an overall theme that I usually have when the general idea comes together. #scriptsky
Update # who knows… but this pitch has been set for Oct 21st! I broke a bone in my hand last weekend so I can’t type well. Most of the pitch is done, just making slight changes as I practice & doing voice to text. Here’s generally what I do when getting a pitch ready 🧵
#scriptsky #filmsky
Update on this update... Exec loved the changes to the pitch, weaving in his notes and adding in some additional set pieces. Another Zoom with him is set for this upcoming Monday to prep me for the pitch with the head of the company. #scriptsky #filmsky
Update #2: My meeting went great with the exec! He had some notes and I'll update, then we'll set up a pitch mtg with the head of the company. He thought my take was smart, suspenseful, and in the direction he was hoping. Pls cross all your fingers for me 😉 #scriptsky #filmsky
Thanks! It matches the cast I had when I broke my wrist in 3rd grade 💜
I don’t know yet 😣 whenever I can get an appointment with a specialist, I will know more! Around eight weeks. This is supposed to be a temporary cast until I can go to the orthopedic Dr 😔😔
It’s a good thing I finished this rewrite a couple of weeks ago and did another pass on it since then. Now it’s to my agents for their review. Because I fell over the weekend in a random accident and broke my hand 😣😣 #scriptsky
Preparing an OWA pitch for a major prod co, getting ready to send out a new feature sometime this month, and had a couple good generals this week! I’m deciding on a new TV pilot over the weekend so I can get working on the outline. #scriptchat #scriptsky
About 43 pages into this rewrite! Needed to pause to work on something else for a pitch, but excited at the progress. Attempting to get the new draft to my manager this Friday! #Spectember #scriptsky
Talked to my manager yesterday (yes, on a Saturday) and he loved it! A couple notes and areas to clarify but it’s in great shape. Planning on getting the new draft ✅ by Friday 💥 #Spectember 💥 #scriptsky 💥
I'm on p70 of my current feature WIP, and I'm aiming to have the first draft completed by Tuesday. It's a grounded sci-fi thriller, RIPPLE. Will update this with my progress over the long weekend! #scriptsky
Congrats to everyone who made The Stunt List S4!

Kudos to Ash & the whole team who work so hard to put this rad showcase together!

As an alum (Originals Bureau '24 & The Naughty List '23), I'm excited to check out this year's cohort! #scriptsky
Lights. Camera. RADNESS—

For your consideration, The Stunt List S4 presents the premiere of an original series from an Oscar-winner, never-before-seen pages from a comedy legend, & introduces emerging scribes who are HOT (on the page) but don’t know it—

Marquee preview below #scriptsky 👇🏻
Talked to my manager yesterday (yes, on a Saturday) and he loved it! A couple notes and areas to clarify but it’s in great shape. Planning on getting the new draft ✅ by Friday 💥 #Spectember 💥 #scriptsky 💥
I'm on p70 of my current feature WIP, and I'm aiming to have the first draft completed by Tuesday. It's a grounded sci-fi thriller, RIPPLE. Will update this with my progress over the long weekend! #scriptsky
Update on this update... Exec loved the changes to the pitch, weaving in his notes and adding in some additional set pieces. Another Zoom with him is set for this upcoming Monday to prep me for the pitch with the head of the company. #scriptsky #filmsky
Update #2: My meeting went great with the exec! He had some notes and I'll update, then we'll set up a pitch mtg with the head of the company. He thought my take was smart, suspenseful, and in the direction he was hoping. Pls cross all your fingers for me 😉 #scriptsky #filmsky
UPDATE: Follow-up mtg set with the prod comp for tomorrow, 8/5, for the OWA from my pitch 🔥 #scriptsky #filmsky
Our next Valley Writers Meetup is Wednesday, October 1st!
Mark your calendars 🎃🧙👻🍻🍁 #scriptsky
In Aug, I wrote 1-2 pgs a day, following my treatment closely. By the time last Fri, the 29th rolled around, I was 70 pages in and wanted to challenge myself to get this draft done by today. Now on to rewrites & hopefully being able to send to the interested execs by the beginning of Oct! #scriptsky
-June, July, I had more general mtgs, 1 that led to a potential book adaptation, a series of mtgs for developing my feature (NINE LIVES), & an OWA pitch for a project from the same comp interested in developing NINE LIVES. I couldn't focus much on RIPPLE again until AUG. #scriptsky
So by mid-April, I started working on an outline.
-More generals in April and May confirmed RIPPLE was the project to write.
-End of May, I had a treatment (14 pgs + fake art for the company I created in the story)
-Middle of June, 1st 20 pages were complete, & I got notes from my team.
#scriptsky