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Izzy Frost
Screenwriting Tips and Tricks
The Screenplay Logline
Script Tip #6 - The Screenplay Logline Once you've picked the best of your 25 story ideas for your screenplay, the next thing you need to do is create a logline for your story. What is a Logline? It's simple: the logline is one or two sentences that say everything about your story, and is used as a double-check throughout the screenwriting process to make sure that you stay on track with your writing. From these few lines, you should be able to break out every element in a successful screenplay! A good logline has four key elements: 1. a type of protagonist (your hero) 2. a type of antagonist (the bad guy or obstacle) 3. a conflict (what's stopping the hero?) 4. an "open-ended question" (what will happen?) Include an adjective in your logline to describe your protagonist and antagonist. Isn't a homicidal barber more interesting than just a barber? A good logline has a sense of irony; it's that thing that intrigues us or makes us curious about what happens next. It's a surprise twist at the end of the sentence that we didn't expect. Yet remember: the logline doesn't have to tell the whole story. One of the reasons a good logline intrigues is because we don't know what happens. That's why it should be open-ended. A good logline has a sense of audience and cost. Do you know who your movie is for? Teens? Women? Is it a date movie? Or the big magilla: the 4-quadrant hit like Shrek or Pirates of the Caribbean that appeals to Men AND Women above AND below age 25. Draw from all four of these quadrants and you've really got yourself a winner. Just make sure you know who you're targeting! A great logline must also have a great title. Title and logline are the one-two punch that makes studio executives swoon and agents reach for their cell phones. Good ones like Legally Blonde "say what it is," but do so without being so "on the nose" that it's unappealing. My favorite title of all time? The 40-Year-Old Virgin -- not only the title, but the concept. Your logline should have the four key elements; if not, make it so! And be sure to look at your logline throughout the screenwriting process to be certain you haven't strayed off the path of your story. Izzy
Aug 14, 2010 6:15 AM | Link | Comments (1) | Add Comment | Report Content
Use Universal Emotions in Your Screenwriting
Script Tip #5 - Use Universal Emotions In Your Screenwriting Your life is interesting and exciting to you because you are the one living it. You have emotional connections to the people and events you interact with, therefore those people and events strike emotional cords in you and mean something special to you. What you want to keep in mind when writing your screenplay is that while your life may seem interesting and exciting to yourself, it will probably bore others to death. They don't have the same connection to your old Aunt Sally, so they won't really care that she died in her sleep. They didn't live in your childhood home for 25 years, so they won't really care that you were devastated when you had to sell it. My point is that you should steer clear of writing a screenplay about your life. Unless of course you do something extraordinary like work as a hired killer, or as a high class call girl who only screws well-known movie stars. You are much too close to your own experiences to write about them objectively. On the other hand, what you should do is take an event in your life that rocked you emotionally, and weave a fictional story around that emotion. How you 'feel' is universal. Use those universal emotions in your writing. The basic Universal Emotions are... * Joy * Acceptance * Fear * Surprise * Sadness * Disgust * Anger * Anticipation (Click on this link for a complete list of emotions. Just reading through the list will give you tons of emotions and spark ideas to write about). Write about what you know, but fictionalize it and load it with universal emotion. Then, you'll have something that will be interesting and exciting for other people. You want people to feel bad about your old aunt Sally dying? Weave some fiction around her that will make them care. Tell how she was so crippled up with arthritis that every move caused her extreme pain. Tell how she painfully made her way to the kitchen to cook you your favorite breakfast for your birthday and accidentally caught her sleeve on fire over the gas burner. Tell how her screaming woke you up, and how you rushed to the kitchen and saw her writhing on the floor in flames. Tell how despite your efforts, she died in your arms before the paramedics arrived. Talk about grief, shock, and guilt! Oy Vey!! What about that childhood house you had to sell? Weave some emotions and fiction around it to make people care. Tell how the farm house and 120 acres of land have been in your family for 0ver 100 years. Your great grandfather homesteaded that land. Built that house. The old graveyard out back has 100 years of your relatives in it, including your parents who were killed by a drunk driver last year. Your 5 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. There is an experimental drug available that is known to completely cure this type of cancer but it is not FDA approved so your insurance won't cover the monumental cost of the treatment for your daughter. Not only that, but the drug is only available in Sweden and you'll have to stay in Sweden for 6-9 months for the weekly treatments. For the last 5 years a big corporation has offered your family a ton of money for your land. They want to tear down the house, re-locate your dead relatives, and build a nuclear power plant. You are a tree-hugger and despise nuclear power. But, they are offering more money than anyone else so selling to them is the only way you'll be able to afford the chance at a cure for your daughter. You have no choice if you want her to live. A bit wordy, and off-the-cuff, but you get the idea. Write using universal emotions if you want to create a screenplay that will be interesting and exciting to other people, besides yourself. Izzy
Aug 12, 2010 3:19 PM | Link | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Report Content
7 Steps To Screenplay Success
Script Tip #4 - Seven Steps to Screenwriting Success In order to succeed in Hollywood as a screenwriter, you should seriously consider the following Seven Steps to Screenwriting Success... 1. Keep The Seat of Your Pants to the Seat of the Chair. If you want to write a screenplay, you need to write! You must 'plunk' your ass in a chair in front of your word processer and write. If you don't already have a writing regimen, you need to start one now. Start with 15 minutes a day. If that's comfortable, keep on increasing your writing time until you have reached your max potential, and keep it there! It is the regularity that will produce work for you - not the duration! It's better to write for 15 minutes a day, then to write for 3 hours each Saturday. It's the regularity that will do the job. Don't wait for for the muse or inspiration to strike before you start to write, that's not going to happen. But, if you faithfully stick to your writing schedule, your muse will show up much more often than if you write irratically. Every single day you must write. Seclude yourself and work only on your screenplay. (That means no web surfing, no game playing, no IMs. Only writing!) This will exercise your left brain and your creativity will flow much easier. 2. Watch Every Major Release That Comes Out of Hollywood. You need to watch every single major release that comes out of Hollywood, and watch the good ones twice. Because it's the second viewing that will enable you to analyze the movie using the principles of screenwriting that you learn. The first viewing will be emotional. You can lose yourself in the fantasy and excitement of the film. You watch it for the sheer joy of entertainment. Then, the second viewing will be done from an intellectual viewpoint. Make it your goal to watch one movie a week in a theatre, and at least one video a week. If you can afford it, Netflix Online or Blockbuster Online are both wonderful memberships for screenwriters. They will keep the movies coming to your door on a regular basis. You can no longer view movies as something you do on Saturday nights, or as something that you need company to do. It's better to do it by yourself. You will be into the movie more. This is your career! You have to see examples of the principles you are learning so you can internalize them and incorporate them into your script. 3. You Have Got To Read Screenplays Read screenplays for recent Hollywood releases in the market that you are pursuing. You will learn much more about script writing styles than you can ever learn from a class or a book. You will learn what concise, simple writing is. How to go back and forth between action and dialogue. You will learn how to create a vivid story in the mind of the person who reads your script. 4. Join A Writer's Group Writer's groups are very advantageous. They can lead you to scripts to read. Some of them even have script libraries. They are also a great source for critiques of the scripts you are writing. You can get feed back on your ideas and writing by letting others read your scripts. And, you can learn techniques and downfalls of script writing by reading and analyzing other people's scripts. Not to mention that you may meet some very interesting people who share your love for writing. You might even meet a 'connection' who can get your script read. Stranger things have happened. My two favorite Screenwriter Workshop are, Zoetrope and MoviePoet Once you read and critique screenplays, you can submit your own scripts for critique. 5. Educate Yourself on Screenwriting You need to take classes, attend seminars and read books by professional screenwriters. I would suggest starting with screenwriters who are big in the business like Michael Hauge, Syd Field, David Freeman, John Truby, Blake Snyder, Linda Seger, and Robert McKee to start with. But, don't become a professional screenwriting student or you'll never get a script written. Like I said in an earlier post, take a class or seminar and and then write a complete script with the new techniques you've learned. Once you have written that script, or at least a draft for your screenplay, you can reward yourself with a new class or seminar. Balance is the key! You must balance your learning with your writing!! 6. You Must Educate Yourself About the Hollywood Market. You have got to be familiar with what's going on in Hollywood!! You need to know: Who are the producers who are making movies? What stories are in vogue right now? What's getting produced? The best way to learn what's going on in the business is to read publications on the subject. The publication I like the best is Premiere magazine Online. Other excellent resources are Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and The L.A. Times. 7. Ask Yourself; 'Am I Getting Joy From Writing Screenplays?' If you're not getting joy from the writing process, find another game to play. Life is to short to spend doing something just for the fact of gaining a reward down the road - a reward that you probably won't achieve anyway if you don't really love writing. If your heart is not into it. It is the writing itself that must bring you joy. If you aren't getting feelings of satisfaction from creating characters; or developing stories; or letting those characters emerge from your creativity; or digging in and finding what their inner conflicts are; or imagining how that will look on the screen; or those things into something that would be a movie. If those things, in and of themselves, are not bringing you satisfaction, then don't do it. Find some other pursuit that will bring you joy. But, if you are getting satisfaction from the process, then go for it. You can't lose. Sooner or later you will succeed. You will succeed because you have either sold a script and are making a living, or you will succeed because you can look back at all of the satisfaction you got from the writing. If you decide that screenwriting is what you want to do and what you love doing, regardless of what other people think you must stand up for your gift. You must work hard using the steps I've listed above. Then, you can offer your gift to the world! Izzy
Aug 9, 2010 4:57 AM | Link | Comments (3) | Add Comment | Report Content
Romancing Actors With Your Screenplay
Script Tip #3 - Romancing Actors With Your Screenplay The most important lesson in screenwriting is this: Contrary to what you may believe, you're not trying to write a great story, or a blueprint for a movie. What you are writing is 'ACTOR BAIT'! If your idea doesn't excite an actor, if they don't think that the character and dialogue is going to win them an Oscar, make them look cool, make people cry, or get them laid, then your movie won't be made. In order for your script to reach the actor, you must first excite the Script Reader from page one of your screenplay, all of the way to the final climax. Otherwise they'll stop reading and your script will never make it through the chain of command to the Actor. An interesting book on this subject is: 'Romancing The A-List (Writing The Script The Big Stars Want To Make), by Christopher Keane In the meanitme, keep on writing those scripts! Izzy
Aug 4, 2010 4:14 PM | Link | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Report Content
Find An Idea That is Vibrating with Originality
Script Tip #2 - Find an idea that is vibrating with originality. You've heard it said that any idea you come up with has already been thought of and done. That's true. But, you can take any idea - even one that has been worked to death, and put a spin on it to change it into something original and interesting. Something the same, but different and exciting. While I'm on the subject of 'same but different' I'd like to make a suggestion. The people who will be buying your script are not interested in producing a film that is totally off-the-wall and different from the usual Hollywood fare - especially if it is written by an unknown screenwriter. Those kinds of films are only accepted and produced if you are well-known, like Woody Allen. It's too much of a risk for failure and money loss. Sticking with a screenplay that touches on subjects people are familiar with are much easier to sell. But, you need to take those well-worn ideas and put an original spin on them. And I mean a nice, big, interesting spin - not just little tweaks here and there. Spend time bouncing your idea on its head, turning it inside out, twisting it around to make it more interesting. Ask yourself questions about your idea: * What can I do to make this better? * Is this like another movie I saw? * Is there something here we've never seen? * Why will anyone care about this story? * Is this something people will be busting to tell their friends? * Will it force a strong emotional reaction? * Have I seen it before? * How have I turned the genre on its head? * What can I do to make it cooler? * Am I just rehashing somebody else's movie? * Is there a piece of my soul here? * How can I take this idea and explode it into something amazing? * What parts are going to make my screenplay sell? * Do I have explosions, or steamy romance, or some other exciting action that can be shown in the movie trailer? Ask yourself which ground-breaking scenes you remember from movies - and then create some that work strongly for your story. Following are some examples of those kinds of scenes... * The food fight in Animal House. * When Bambi's mother dies. * In Pulp Fiction, when Samuel Jackson recites the Bible verses and then kills the drug dealers. * In Lawrence of Arabia, when Lawrence has to kill Gasim, the mane he saved in the desert. * In Crash, when the cop rescues the woman, he'd molested earlier, from a burning car. You get the idea. Just think of movies you've watched and the scenes that have really stuck in your head. Then, ask yourself, why are those scenes so memorable? What emotional cords do they pluck for me and why? Once you have the answers to those questions you can go on to create some ground-breaking scenes for your own script. Scenes which will stick in the minds and hearts of the script readers and get your screenplay sold. The other day I went surfing for a list of 'best movies' and came across 101 movies which the Writer's Guild West had compiled. Most of those movies I'd seen at some point in my life but as a 'watcher', not as a movie analyzer. So, I went through the whole list and added them to my Netflix que. I intend to watch them all in my spare time, but this time with an eye for analyzing what makes them so great that they made the 101 Best Movies list. Here's that list for anyone who is interested... 1. CASABLANCA Screenplay by Julius J. & Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. Based on the play "Everybody Comes to Rick's" by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 2. THE GODFATHER Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the novel by Mario Puzo FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 3. CHINATOWN Written by Robert Towne FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 4. CITIZEN KANE Written by Herman Mankiewicz and Orson Welles FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 5. ALL ABOUT EVE Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Based on "The Wisdom of Eve," a short story and radio play by Mary Orr FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 6. ANNIE HALL Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 7. SUNSET BLVD. Written by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder and D.M. Marshman, Jr. FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 8. NETWORK Written by Paddy Chayefsky FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 9. SOME LIKE IT HOT Screenplay by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond. Based on "Fanfare of Love," a German film written by Robert Thoeren and M. Logan FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 10. THE GODFATHER II Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo. Based on Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" FACTS ABOUT THE FILM 11. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID Written by William Goldman 12. DR. STRANGELOVE Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick and Peter George and Terry Southern. Based on novel "Red Alert" by Peter George 13. THE GRADUATE Screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Based on the novel by Charles Webb 14. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA Screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. Based on the life and writings of Col. T.E. Lawrence 15. THE APARTMENT Written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond 16. PULP FICTION Written by Quentin Tarantino. Stories by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Avary 17. TOOTSIE Screenplay by Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal. Story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart 18. ON THE WATERFRONT Screen Story and Screenplay by Budd Schulberg. Based on "Crime on the Waterfront" articles by Malcolm Johnson 19. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD Screenplay by Horton Foote. Based on the novel by Harper Lee 20. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett & Frank Capra. Based on short story "The Greatest Gift" by Philip Van Doren Stern. Contributions to screenplay Michael Wilson and Jo Swerling 21. NORTH BY NORTHWEST Written by Ernest Lehman 22. THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION Screenplay by Frank Darabont. Based on the short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King 23. GONE WITH THE WIND Screenplay by Sidney Howard. Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell 24. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth 25. THE WIZARD OF OZ Screenplay by Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf Adaptation by Noel Langley. Based on the novel by L. Frank Baum 26. DOUBLE INDEMNITY Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. Based on the novel by James M. Cain 27. GROUNDHOG DAY Screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis. Story by Danny Rubin 28. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE Written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard 29. SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS Written by Preston Sturges 30. UNFORGIVEN Written by David Webb Peoples 31. HIS GIRL FRIDAY Screenplay by Charles Lederer. Based on the play "The Front Page" by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur 32. FARGO Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen 33. THE THIRD MAN Screenplay by Graham Greene. Story by Graham Greene. Based on the short story by Graham Greene 34. THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS Screenplay by Clifford Odets and Ernest Lehman. From a novelette by Ernest Lehman 35. THE USUAL SUSPECTS Written by Christopher McQuarrie 36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY Screenplay by Waldo Salt. Based on the novel by James Leo Herlihy 37. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY Screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart. Based on the play by Philip Barry 38. AMERICAN BEAUTY Written by Alan Ball 39. THE STING Written by David S. Ward 40. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY Written by Nora Ephron 41. GOODFELLAS Screenplay by Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese. Based on book "Wise Guy" by Nicholas Pileggi 42. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan. Story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman 43. TAXI DRIVER Written by Paul Schrader 44. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES Screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood. Based on novel "Glory For Me" by MacKinley Kantor 45. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST Screenplay by Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman. Based on the novel by Ken Kesey 46. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by B. Traven 47. THE MALTESE FALCON Screenplay by John Huston. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett 48. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson. Based on the novel by Pierre Boulle 49. SCHINDLER'S LIST Screenplay by Steven Zaillian. Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally 50. THE SIXTH SENSE Written by M. Night Shyamalan 51. BROADCAST NEWS Written by James L. Brooks 52. THE LADY EVE Screenplay by Preston Sturges. Story by Monckton Hoffe 53. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on the book by Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward 54. MANHATTAN Written by Woody Allen & Marshall Brickman 55. APOCALYPSE NOW Written by John Milius and Francis Coppola. Narration by Michael Herr 56. BACK TO THE FUTURE Written by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale 57. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS Written by Woody Allen 58. ORDINARY PEOPLE Screenplay by Alvin Sargent. Based on the novel by Judith Guest 59. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT Screenplay by Robert Riskin. Based on the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams 60. L.A. CONFIDENTIAL Screenplay by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson. Based on the novel by James Ellroy 61. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Screenplay by Ted Tally. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris 62. MOONSTRUCK Written by John Patrick Shanley 63. JAWS Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley 64. TERMS OF ENDEARMENT Screenplay by James L. Brooks. Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry 65. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN Screen Story and Screenplay by Betty Comden & Adolph Green. Based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown 66. JERRY MAGUIRE Written by Cameron Crowe 67. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL Written by Melissa Mathison 68. STAR WARS Written by George Lucas 69. DOG DAY AFTERNOON Screenplay by Frank Pierson. Based on a magazine article by P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore 70. THE AFRICAN QUEEN Screenplay by James Agee and John Huston. Based on the novel by C.S. Forester 71. THE LION IN WINTER Screenplay by James Goldman. Based on the play by James Goldman 72. THELMA & LOUISE Written by Callie Khouri 73. AMADEUS Screenplay by Peter Shaffer. Based on his play 74. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH Written by Charlie Kaufman 75. HIGH NOON Screenplay by Carl Foreman. Based on short story "The Tin Star" by John W. Cunningham 76. RAGING BULL Screenplay by Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin. Based on the book by Jake La Motta with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage 77. ADAPTATION Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. Based on the book "The Orchid Thief" by Susan Orlean 78. ROCKY Written by Sylvester Stallone 79. THE PRODUCERS Written by Mel Brooks 80. WITNESS Screenplay by Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley. Story by William Kelley and Pamela Wallace & Earl W. Wallace 81. BEING THERE Screenplay by Jerzy Kosinski. Inspired by the novel by Jerzy Kosinski 82. COOL HAND LUKE Screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson. Based on the novel by Donn Pearce 83. REAR WINDOW Screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Based on the short story by Cornell Woolrich 84. THE PRINCESS BRIDE Screenplay by William Goldman. Based on his novel 85. LA GRANDE ILLUSION Written by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak 86. HAROLD & MAUDE Written by Colin Higgins 87. 8 1/2 Screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, Brunello Rond. Story by Fellini, Flaiano 88. FIELD OF DREAMS Screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson. Based on the book by W.P. Kinsella 89. FORREST GUMP Screenplay by Eric Roth. Based on the novel by Winston Groom 90. SIDEWAYS Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor. Based on the novel by Rex Pickett 91. THE VERDICT Screenplay by David Mamet. Based on the novel by Barry Reed 92. PSYCHO Screenplay by Joseph Stefano. Based on the novel by Robert Bloch 93. DO THE RIGHT THING Written by Spike Lee 94. PATTON Screen Story and Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. Based on "A Soldier's Story" by Omar H. Bradley and "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" by Ladislas Farago 95. HANNAH AND HER SISTERS Written by Woody Allen 96. THE HUSTLER Screenplay by Sidney Carroll & Robert Rossen. Based on the novel by Walter Tevis 97. THE SEARCHERS Screenplay by Frank S. Nugent. Based on the novel by Alan Le May 98. THE GRAPES OF WRATH Screenplay by Nunnally Johnson. Based on the novel by John Steinbeck 99. THE WILD BUNCH Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah. Story by Walon Green and Roy Sickner 100. MEMENTO Screenplay by Christopher Nolan. Based on the short story "Memento Mori" by Jonathan Nolan 101. NOTORIOUS Written by Ben Hecht How I roll is this: I choose one of the movies then download the script from one of the free script download sites on the Internet. After I read the script, I watch the movie. Quite a few of the movies on the list are free, 'watch now' movies on Netflix. You just choose your movie and it is instantly streamed to your computer.God, I love instant gratification! The other day, I checked out Casablanca. Embarrassingly, I've never watched that movie before and I thought, "What can a 1942 black and white move show me?" But, looking at it with a screenwriter's eye, I was amazed at the filming techniques and the intricacies of the script writing. The dialogue was written differently than it is today - much less slang, but all of the script writing rules used today were present in that film. And, the romance was palpable and exciting. Casablanca was definitely worth the watch and I'm looking forward to going through the rest of the list at my leisure. God, I love watching movies and living in a fantasy world when I'm working on a screenplay! Izzy
Jul 31, 2010 5:43 AM | Link | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Report Content
Write About Something You Care About
Script Tip #1 - Write About Something That You Care About "Write a screenplay that will change your life. If you don't sell it, at least you will have changed your life." - John Truby You can't know what's going to sell to Hollywood because nobody knows exactly what they want. Not the producers. Not the script readers. But what they do want is something that is of deep interest to people. Something that is fresh and exciting. The way to write a script like that is to find an idea that is of deep interest to you. An idea that fascinates you and boils your blood. Something that gets you out of bed at night to jot down a bit of action or dialogue that pops into your head. Something that occupies a great deal of your thoughts. Something that you are passionate about. If you have something to "say," than your script will be worth reading. Even if you're writing about an all-nude cat burglar musical, if you are passionate about it, you can make it sing - pardon the pun. Writing takes colossal mental and spiritual energy. It's hard work, and you'll probably end up with a ton of scripts that won't sell, a bad case of hemorrhoids, and numb, painful fingers from carpal tunnel syndrome - if you really put your back into it. So, forget writing screenplays strictly for financial gain because you'll probably lose in the long run. But, if you have something that you are dying to say, by all means say it! Just make sure it's something that you are passionate about. You can write the goofiest movie in the world, and if there is something in there that's got its hooks in your guts, you've got a chance at writing something wonderful. Something that will change your life even if you don't get it sold. A book that might help you find your story is, 'Telling Your Own Stories' by Donald Davis. Choosing Your Idea: * Does a particular original idea keep popping up in your mind? * Are you in very interested in a particular subject you 'd like to expand on? * Is there a special world you'd like to create? * Is there a character in your head you'd like write about? * Is there a public domain novel you'd like to turn on its head like Jane Austin's novel 'Emma' was turned into 'Clueless'. * Is there a bit of history you'd like to populate with characters and give a fresh twist to? * Is there a news story or article you can turn into something fresh and different? Ideas for your script are all around you. All you have to do is open your eyes and ears and find something that excites you. Keep something on you at all times that you can use to record your ideas as you get them. Write your ideas down or do what I do and record them on your iphone recorder. Use a napkin or your hand if you have to. You can transcribe them later. Just get those ideas down when they come to you! A last note here. Whatever you choose to write about, make sure you create characters that get our attention. Good writing is about the human condition. The more you get bogged down in plot, action, special effects and things that don't reveal your character, the more they go astray. If the reader doesn't care about your people, it's over. But, if he/she connects with the characters, you are home free! Ask yourself, will the reader and producer want to walk barefoot across burning coals to make your movie? If not, then you need to rethink your idea and twist it around to make it fresh. Remember that whatever you choose to write about, it has to excite you enough to get you through the original draft and tons of rewrites that will span over a great amount of time. If you are not passionate about your idea, you'll never make it through to the final draft. Izzy
Jul 30, 2010 8:29 AM | Link | Comments (0) | Add Comment | Report Content