26 years ago I was born. On this day, 26 years after that, I Blog. At the age of 26 the Voice of Unicron in Transformers: The Movie wrote Citizen Kane. In other words, this is my year! One of the screenplays I’m working on will be the next Citizen Kane! What I mean by that is, it will be a commercial failure, but regarded by many as the best film ever made. Now all I have to do is find the exact one, then write it. But first, I have to celebrate my birthday.
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I’ve never experienced writers block, but I do have Writer’s Laz and Writer’s ADD. You might call them something else, but being as this is a post on my blog, that is what they will be called. A while back I had the fortune to see one of my favorite “film makers”, Kevin Smith in his hometown of Red Bank, NJ. If you don’t know, he does this question and answer thing for his fans. These could last anywhere from 2 hours to the 7 hour marathon I witnessed. One of the questions asked was, “Do you believe in writer block and or do you have/get it?” Kevin Smith’s answer to the question was, “I never get writers block, I kind of get writer’s laz. I don’t really get blocked, I just get lazy.” I have writer’s “laz” on top of a case of writer’s ADD. My problem is I’m just lazy. Sometimes I don’t want to do anything but sleep. The worst part about it is, sometimes I’ll have Writer’s laz all day long and right when I decide I’m going to go write, I sit down in front of my computer, write one sentence and then fall asleep. As I have yet to find a way to write while I’m sleep this usually doesn’t do my projects any good.
My case of Writer’s ADD also keeps me from doing any writing. Most people call it procrastination. I don’t because while it could be that, I have better ways of procrastinating then thinking about which project I will do next, which is what I do. One of my biggest problems is knowing which project to pick next. I have a bunch of new ideas and want to pick the right one so when I’m done with it, it would have been well worth it. I don’t want to start something and lose interest in it because in the back of my head I have that other project that might be better then the one I’m working on.
As it stands, I have a short that I just did a polish on that needs another re-write. My next project will be a feature in the thriller genre. I hope to have the first draft done before summer, and it should take that long because of the Writer’s Laz and ADD.
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When it comes to collecting information, what kind of person are you? If some one wanted you to take a look at something, what would be the best way for them to get the message to you? Would it be visual? Having you look at a tape or DVD? Maybe you could presses the information better if you listened to it. If those don’t work, maybe you reading the information will do the trick. Me, I’m more of a watch or listen kind of guy. Lately I have been looking for some podcast on the subject of screenwriting. The first one I came across was, Sam And Jim Go To Hollywood. Their podcast is full of energy and good tips on things from Character, to how to handle a pitch meeting. There are only 11 shows and I have listened to all of them and would give this a podcast an A- only because the last show, Voices in out heads, was just weird. They said they didn’t plan the show and maybe they should have.
Another podcast I like is the Creative Screenwriting magazine podcast. Right now this one only has 3 show as of now but has the potential to be a very good podcast. I also listen the Treatment from KCRW. This by far is the best of the few I’ve listened to. Another one is Spike Lee’s Inside Man podcast, which is also very good. Are there anymore?
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It’s been awhile, I know. Does anyone care? The funny thing is installed a counter right before I took almost a month off from this blog and more people stopped by. Maybe they like the idea of me writing but not the actual writing. Anyway, here are a few updates:
The book a week thing I was trying to do, didn’t work. Still haven’t really finished the first one I started. I’m reading 3 books beside that one as well as 4 or 5 magazines.
I decided that I needed to read more books on story and chose to put down the screenplay books. I think I have a good grasp on those as I have read tons. Personally I think my weakness is in story development. So I have started reading books on that subject.
Also, I finished the first draft of my short screenplay, Connected. I like the way its come along but I know it needs whole lot of work. I’m also starting another short script as well as a outlining a feature. So there you have it. Maybe after I’m done with the second draft I’ll post a scene or two to see what you guys think.
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I decided I would read/re-read all of my screenwriting books over again in light of me getting back in to writing screenplays. I have close to 10 of them, if not more(Don’t know the exact number because I’m writing this from work) and have read most. I’m trying to read one a week (7 day week) because I have other books I’m also reading and have since put on hold. The main reason I’m re-reading them is because they are supposed to be used for reference and I haven’t gone back and read any more then once.
The first book I’ll be reading is: The 101 habits of highly successful screenwriters: Insider secrets from Hollywoods top writers. This was one of my favorites out off all the ones I own. I highly recommend it. I think this should be one of the first book people new to screenwriting must read. The book is formatted in an interview style with some of the businesses top screenwriting professionals answering questions that everyone wants to ask but can’t get close enough to do so. If you on the fence about whether you want to be a screenwriter, what it takes to be one or any other question, I’m sure this book has the answer.
Explained by the Author:
This book is not intended to replace any of the books on craftsmanship. As
Robert McKee says,”No one needs another recipe book to reheat Hollywood
leftovers.” Whereas the more then one hundred books on the craft attempt to
teach the reader what to do, this book outlines, by
asking those who are already doing it successfully, how to do it. It focuses on the necessary habits, so
that the “how” becomes second nature to you. In other words, it explains how to be a screenwriter.This book departs from the established interview books in that its
structure is organized by topic rather the by individual interview, following a
much more efficient model of reverse engineering. In other words, it focuses on a
particular habit, trait, or indispensable skill, and then has a group of highly
successful screenwriters share their thoughts on the subject, much like a panel
of experts discussing a specific topic.
I will list the other books as I get to them, but now I have to go read this
one as I am already behind.
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Couldn’t sleep again so I decided to write some more. Knocked out 2 more pages. Could have done more but I like to stop in the middle so when I return I’ll have a jump start instead of just sitting in front of the computer. I’m developing a theme lately, first I start writing and get a good flow going. Then I get stuck, nothing to bad, just caught with trying to find the right dialogue. So, I take a break and make myself a Tazo Chia Tea with soy. This comes at the right time and hits the spot. After this I’m good for another hour or two.
I started thinking this short script would be about 20 to 25 pages. As it stands right now I’m on page 10 and about 40 to 45% done so I’ right on pace give or take a few pages. I’m thinking 20 seems about right. The progress bar on the right is based on 25 pages so that might jump as I get closer towards the end of the script. I also did a few updates to the links. Check them out!
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Last night after not being able to stay asleep, I decided I would use my time productively and knocked out 4 pages from my Connected script. Everything is coming along just right. Writing with a outline sure does help. Even with the outline I still find out new things about my characters that I didn’t know. It’s fun when a character you thought was just going to have a few lines develops into something totally different.
Part of the script takes place in a taxi cab. I didn’t think the driver was going to say much, but as I was writing it I just kept placing dialogue in that characters mouth - or he just kept talking however you look at it - and it make the story a lot better.
I also did a little more writing on my outline for Larry. All in all, this was a very productive night. Hope to have more!
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I haven’t worked on any project in a few day so I must discipline myself.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
I am a writer.
Now back to work
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I just got finished the Outline for my short screenplay Connected. I started on April 10th, 2005 and just finished. Was it hard? No! Was I lazy? Yes! I could have done this a lot faster but I think taking my time has made it that much better. I should be able to finish the screenplay in far less time. One of the “tools” I use for writing/outlining I got from the Screenplay Workbook.
The book is exactly what the name says it is. I only use two or three workbook sheets as I find the plotting ones to be a bit cookie cutter. The scene worksheet is the one I use the most because, well, there are more scenes in a screenplay then anything else. I like the way it breaks it down for you. At the early point of my screenplay this is all I need. The few lines it provides is more then enough. On the worksheet there is a section that lets you list the characters present in a scene. There are 12 line for you to fill in and I never thought I would need more then five of them. Well, one scene of my screenplay takes place in a court room. As I was writing this out I filled in eleven of the twelve lines. Do all these people speak? Not at all, but I thought it was important to list them so when I writing the screenplay I wouldn’t forget them. I will be filming this short in the near future and didn’t want to miss a small detail like the court reporter or bailiff and on the day the scene is to be shot I then relies that I’m missing the Magistrates Court clerk.
These sheets list enough to get you started but not enough to write out the who screen. This is all I need. It leaves room to discover more as you start to write your first draft. Another sheet I use a lot is the Character Development worksheet. This lets you give the develop your characters background down to their quirks and vices. Could I do all this in a mean copybook? Sure I could and I have but this way works for me. It keeps everything organized and in its place. I do use a regular copy book before I even get to this point to just sketch out ideas. This works for me, what works for you?
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