How do you get out of the second act without pulling your hair out!

[ScriptNurse]

Let's take a look at the logline ... it looks like the entire story condensed into one really long sentence. That's not a logline, but an incredibly terse synopsis. What is the story fundamentally about in 12-15 words? Maybe ...

A black teen and white man fight racial bigotry in the Deep South in the 60s.

A black teen and white man struggle with racial bigotry in the Deep South in the 60s.

[roadrunner2]

You're absolutely right and I see where there is definite confusion with my post. Let me back up and try this again.

First let me say, I started writing this script in 2005, but didn't finish it until three years later. I never changed my logline during that time. The goal for my protagonist stayed the same. 

Here is the initial logline:

After hiring a cocky, rebellious, black teen to help with harvesting his pear orchard, an angst-ridden, middle-aged white man, struggles to deal with his past, while both search for the courage to fight racial bigotry in the Deep South during the 1960’s.


This logline coincides with how my script is now, but what I think is frustrating me, is the fact that while this has been "seasoning", I  changed the main objective for my protagonist and didn't realize it. Parts of the initial goal don't work now, however, I was unconsciously trying to cram them in.

I'm working on a new logline so I'll post it soon.

Does this make sense?

 

[ScriptNurse]

I'm a little confused. You finished the script. You let it sit to regain your objectivity. Now you're polishing it up ... and you're still writing the storyline? I would think that would have all been decided before you sat down to write the opening scene ... but that's neither here nor there at this point.

How does the story stack up to the logline you wrote before you started?

[roadrunner2]

Oh. My. Gosh.  

I finished my script a few months ago and let it sit (or "season" as I like to think of it)  but now I have picked it up again to begin the polishing and shaving of this sucker and lo' and behold, I am stuck in this darn second act!!   The first act and the third act--and even the climax in the second act works, but there are some areas in the second act that I am struggling with now that didn't seem to be a problem before. Guess you could say, "clarity" has now set in, which is a good thing for turning out a better story, but a difficult thing since I'm stuck with which direction to take some of this storyline.

What do you do to get through the second act?