A day early, I got 6 pages of notes from The Final Draft script competition. I submitted my first draft of my first Feature screenplay. I KNEW when I submitted it, that it wasn’t even close to being a winner. I went into this competition to get the notes, really. So, these notes are for Across the Veil and they are pretty much what I expected. They are about 30% positive and 70% constructive changes and advice for improvement. What makes me really excited about these notes is this: The action was the HARDEST part in the writing of this script. For those who have’t written a script, there is a LOT less detail than in novel writing. That said, you don’t want to omit TOO much detail, either. So to say that writing the action scenes mentioned above on pages 86-89 are well written is a HUGE proud moment. I now have a good personal example to base my future action writing on. Woot!
The love the male main character has developed came natural and I’m proud it wasn’t lost or shorted. And the last one noted at the bottom was emotional for me, so I am super happy to learn that the reader found it so as well. The changes I will be making using the notes in the next couple days I completly agree with. There are one or two suggestions of which I will not be making changes to. However, I feel that with some of the already mentioned changes I WILL make, will solve the issues there. I feel like I’m about halfway through the editing process already. Most of the revisions will coincide with one another so they wont be too time consuming. Wish me luck! And share what projects you’re editing and how long you’ve been working on it.
0 Comments
Research. What it means for a screenwriter: watching a lot of television and movies. And sometimes a lot of reruns. The reasons why are obvious in some ways, while others I hadn’t thought of until I started screenwriting.
One reason, the most obvious I feel, is to learn the craft. Watching tv/movies, picking out where jokes land, when the commercials happen. The flow of the story itself. For instance, when does the climax pop up and how does it conclude if you’re watching a movie. In this type of research you also get a feel of how the writers and showrunner directs the storyline throughout a season. Who is the big bad guy (I watch a lot of Arrowverse shows on CW)? What is the conflict within the secondary plot with the characters? And this goes for each individual episode as well. Learning the feel for the flow of the season’s flow is just as important if you want to work in a television scene or a writers room for a show. Second would be to support and appreciate someone else’s work. Especially, ESPECIALLY, if you ever want to meet or work with said person. Even IF that work (show) isn’t your usual watching genre. For instance, if you appreciate, like and want to meet a screenwriter, showrunner, director or producer in the future, you HAVE TO watch their work. Now, I want to enter here that you do NOT have to watch it ALL, though that would be beneficial if you ever have to work with this person, and you don’t have to LIKE that particular show, but you have to watch it, appreciate it and support it. There are also tons of recap resources you can read too if you don’t have time to watch a lot of tv. That’s a good back up, but not a great substitute. It will do in a pinch. Last would be inspiration. I watch a lot of DC comic shows, obviously, lol, and though I don’t write similar stuff, I do find a lot of writing motivation after watching Arrow and Flash. I find I will watch a show and then right away feel the itch to write, even something completely unrelated. What do you do for research in Screenwriting? Anything in particular or different? Dear Twitter friends: I’m not an expert by any means, but I have seen some people asking about how to be more Twitter successful. Here are a few things I’ve learned in case you’re curious.
First, be selective of who you follow. I know a lot of people who will just follow anyone in hopes of connecting and getting a follower in return. Check their Twitter bio, research them if you don’t know who they are or their bio isn’t informative. If you’re in the film business, IMDB them. Second, Be sure your bio lists whatever your business affiliation is in the first line. I want to follow people in the film and writing industry, but it you don’t have either of those listed somehow in your bio, I often will pass up on the return follow so I can take time to research you later. And you don’t want to get lost in the cracks if the other person is really busy. Third, you want genuine followers who will interact with you. By that, I mean you don’t want to just have followers for the numbers. You want people to talk to you, share with you. Like your posts, Retweet and vice versa. Fourth, to GET those genuine followers (returned Follows), you HAVE to network. Don’t post on Twitter and simply wait for your hundreds or thousands of followers to comment if YOU aren’t doing the same. You must comment and interact with people you follow and aren’t return followers, yet, as well as those you currently follow. The last thing you want is for people to stop following or caring about what you post. Fifth, post engaging topics. Retweet stuff you care about or what you feel is important. Be true to yourself and you’ll get the genuine followers you want with similar interests. Follow up, I do NOT have a ton of followers, this is true. I’m not saying this will happen overnight. It will NOT! That’s just how things work. A successful Twitter networking account can NOT gain thousands of followers overnight. You may find later you have thousands of followers but no interaction, which doesn’t make for a successful following. Please please please don’t think that I am assuming that I’m an expert, I know I’m not. I’m just sharing what I’ve learned so far. I’m sure something will change later and if something is working for you, please share with the community. Good luck, everyone! I’ve now completed three scripts. Each one is entirely different, both in class and genre. I have a TV pilot, a feature and a flash short script. I am really proud of myself for completing the first draft (post editing, too) of the feature. It’s exactly 120 pages, which is what they recommend for feature script length. Again, I kind of surprise myself when I actually complete a script without any real outline, most of the planning in my head, and at the length I aim for. The stories keep to their individual track as I write them. I add the acts later on but each scene plays out how I picture them, even when I add things as I go.
Enough gloating. :) I submitted it to the Final Draft writing competition. This contest is different from your average writing competition. The Final Draft sends you notes within a week or so of submitting and you get a certain amount of time (a good amount too) to make revisions and resubmit to stay a part of the contest. With this, I hope to perfect it even more. I have a hard time reading my own work from the get go and seeing issues, like most writers I know, so paying for the notes as well as the entry fee really is beneficial to me. This week and the last has been full of different doctors and school appointments for myself and my son, Korben, whom was just diagnosed on the Autism spectrum last week. We are hitting the ground running with different therapies and special education preschool for him. This morning was his first speech therapy since he turned three. I’m excited for him. This next month I have physical therapy and a possible surgery coming up but I hope that’s all over and done with by the time March rolls around, when the family goes to Florida. Yay! That’s really all today. I just started writing a spec script for Arrow and I think this will be my biggest challenge yet. I completed three pages yesterday and hope to squeeze in some writing time tonight. Wish me luck! |
Archives
March 2024
Categories |