Make It Tough!

I was going through some past dated blogs by other screenwriters the other day and found this one from Will Akers blog called (like his book) Your Screenplay Sucks!  This is so true. Read on wonderful reader!

Make It Tough For ‘Em!


March 9, 2010

Never GIVE your characters anything.

Make them earn it. Make them fight for EVERYTHING. Every single little thing… if it’s easy for them to get, then the story is boring.

Go through your script and list everything your hero gets. The boy’s phone number. The key to the hotel room. The location of the hidden safe. The cure for cancer. Whatev. Anything they get, look at it, and see if you can make it more difficult for them to get…

Make them earn everything. Make them sweat to get it.

If your hero just gets stuff cause he’s cute, then we don’t feel he deserves it. Just like Robert Redford, when he was auditioning for the lead in THE GRADUATE. The director asked him what it was like not to score with a girl… and Redford said, “What do you mean?” Redford never had to worry about a girl telling him “No.” so he didn’t get the part. Nichols cast a guy who would have to earn Katharine Ross, and we believed his story.

Look at every single event in your story and see if your hero has to struggle to get what you give him (or her!). If it’s easy, you’ve got a weak moment… and you can fix it!

Words of wisdom from Will Akers.  I suggest you heed his advice! :)

The Last Word

One of the best things I've learned as a screenwriter is to put the most important word at the END of sentence. 

THAT is where the punch is!

For instance:

I had written a line of dialogue where a naughty merc stated:  "I'd kill my mother for that kind of money."

Rewritten it became:  "For that kind of money, I'd kill my mother."

See? It shocks you... the brain works to put the sentence together and the last word is the final piece of the puzzle. 

One of the best examples I have ever seen was written by Louis L'Amour. (My nod to Will Akers for the quote.) Tell me what YOU think about it.


“I just pointed my rifle at him … and let him have the big one right through the third button on his shirt. If he ever figured to sew that particular button on again he was going to have to scrape it off his backbone.”

Make Some Short Films!!!

If you are a screenwriter, then you should be filming some short films.

Will Akers told me to start filming short films after I had completed his exciting and always entertaining screenwriting class. He told me it would make me a better writer to understand what a camera can or can't do, and what a director will have to put up with some of the crazy shots I saw in my head.

I heeded his magnificent wisdom and here I sit. A blogger, screenwriter and director of another short film that we will be filming in one week. I have a full crew, a full cast, and a full plate.  I'm learning more in one semester than I have in my life. Besides writing, of course. :)

Something that will help as well... HELPING out a crew member on someone else's film. That will teach you a lot too.

A while back I blogged on MUSICA CAMPESINA, a movie I worked on with Chilean director Alberto Fuguet. I started off as a P.A. and then got promoted to Line Producer. How?  I just did what everyone else didn't. I got noticed and have gotten street credit that I'm a hard worker.  Not to mention that the film has been submitted to Sundance and should it get in will be AWESOME to have producer credit on my resume!

See the trailer here:
MUSICA CAMPESINA TRAILER

You don't have to stay in one arena if you're a writer. Get out there! Meet folks! Just in my short time on campus, I've met and worked with people who are now in LA.  So, they are CONTACTS that I have now. Contacts that I can send a script to. Contacts that, should I ever move to the coast, could help me get jobs. Contacts who can help me make independent films of scripts that I wrote.

How could I have met them if I stayed inside writing ALL the time and never made a movie?

Are you afraid of what people will think? Don't be. YOU are the artist. The writer. The director.  It's YOUR dream.

Are you going to let someone else determine if you reach it or not???

Not me.

In Memory Of Blake Snyder

If you don't know who Blake Snyder is, you're probably not serious about screenwriting. His Save The Cat! books have been screenwriting bibles to folk.

I've never met Blake. I've never spoken to him. Never spotted him across a room and was too shy to speak to him. Yet I'm a product of him.

You see, my mentor, Will Akers, met Blake one day and the two formed a friendship. Out of that friendship, a book was created, but not only that, a bond between the two. Blake cheered Will on and taught him a lot of great stuff that Will, in turn, has passed on to me... and countless classes before me.

It's been one year since Blake's passing.  It's strange. I remember the tweets, the Facebook posts, all saying Rest In Peace and what not. I remember reading Tracey Jackson's tear jerker of a blog as she told why she would miss him so.

As a tribute to Blake Snyder, I have copied the following from Will's blog, Your Screenplay Sucks! It can be found at http://yourscreenplaysucks.wordpress.com/. If you'd like a great blog to follow, I highly recommend it.

Anyway, here's hearing from William M. Akers:

Blake Snyder

August 4, 2010

I miss him.

It has been a year. I’m sitting here in my office sweating because I have to turn on the air conditioning and because I worry I won’t write the right thing about Blake.

What a prince among men. That cliche certainly fits.

He is 100% responsible for the existence of this blog because he is 100% responsible for the existence of my book. When I got the idea for a book on screenwriting, he encouraged me and said he’d tell his publisher. They agreed to publish it and here we are.

Blake was long on encouragement.

I miss that a lot.

Anyway, I miss him. I miss his advice. I miss his voice. I miss his loyalty and his kind nature. I miss his smile and I desperately miss his friendship.

Boy, do I miss that.

We Miss You, Blake.

Checklist of Champions

I was recently given a checklist from Will Akers. This checklist was written by Jeanette Winterson and is very good for aspiring screenwriters... and practiced produced screenwriters, too. Like Will!

I wanted to share it with you because it's just so good.

1. Do your work. Discipline allows creative freedom. No discipline equals no freedom.

2. Never stop when you're stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Don't stop altogether.

3. Love what you do.

4. Be honest with yourself. If you're not good, accept it. If the work you're doing is no good, accept it.

5. Don't hold on to poor work. If it was bad when it went in the drawer, it will be just as bad when it comes out.

6. Take no notice of anyone you don't respect.

7. Take no notice of anyone with a gender agenda. A lot of men still think that women lack imagination of the fiery kind.

8. Be ambitious for the work and not the reward.

9. Trust your creativity.

10. Enjoy this work!

Hi again, it's Screenwriter Chic.  I would like to touch base on a few things.

You must write everyday. Not as a chore, but as a work out. An Olympic champion can't just skip a few work outs and then expect to win the gold. They have to stay finely tuned. Same for the writer.

If you're stuck, and I've been there before... I suggest the following. Take a sheet of paper and write the characters name (or type it, whatever) and make a list of the first thing that comes to mind. It's very freeing.

Example:
Bonnie Spailsenberg
She could:
learn to shoot
be abducted by aliens
have a baby
go back to school
sell bottled water

It doesn't matter how silly or weird it becomes, because only you will see it. And it can spark some truly wonderful ideas. Everyone say thank you to John Truby for this exercise.

You MUST love what you do. If you don't, and you consider this work, well, you'll probably be miserable.

If you can't seem to "get it" and you're work stinks, like Ms. Winterson said, maybe you should walk away. It's not that you don't have talent. It could be that your talent is elsewhere, like directing. Writing is hard and not everyone can do it.

Seriously, don't hold on to poor work. I've gutted scripts and reworked them only to gut them again. If I've written a scene that I love, but it doesn't push the movie forward, it gets cut. Actually, I put it in a file on my computer because I may actually use that scene, but for a different script. That's the fun part of my job.

The taking no notice of anyone you don't respect is HUGE. Say you have Daddy issues. All your life you have just wanted to please him. You write a touching story about a dog who saves the world by flying to space on a giant hot dog and in the process discovers who his father is. By the end of the movie Papa Dog has accepted Astro Dog and told him he's proud of him. Fade Out.  And what do you do? You let Daddy read it. He hates is. No guns, no sex, no swearing, you name it. And you're crushed. You throw the next Pixar gem in the trash because of what Daddy says. Unless he's a producer, director, or screenwriter, don't do that! He has no idea what it's like to 1. write a screenplay and 2. get it made. Surround yourself with people you can trust and respect.  I personally, have my script read and reread by folks. My 'club' consists of Jill, who is a smart screenwriter with great insight. Kristy, who will read it from an 'audience' point of view and show me where she gets confused. If she gets confused, a reader will get confused. I can't have that.   Then Ann, who is my editing queen. She locates all the grammar mistakes that spell check missed. Again, she tells me if my scenes are confusing. Once it looks okay to me, I'll hand it over to Will. From there, it comes back, bathed in red ink and I start the rewrite. The point is, all of these people I respect highly, and all help me form this work into something that could possibly wind up on the coveting silver screen.  And none of them kiss my butt. If they don't like something, they tell me.

Take no notice of anyone you don't repect. You can love Daddy and respect him as Daddy, but he doesn't determine if your script is made or not. Shrug and walk away.

The gender agenda is huge. I recently set a query to an agent. He wrote back and said, "Not interested... women don't write like that."  I can't wait for my stuff to get made and I'm going to track him down one day. Poo on narrow minded folk. Break molds!

Being ambitious for the work and not the reward, trusting your creativity and enjoying it all is totally up to you. I write because I love it. I come up with stories and get them out. It's a fun puzzle piecing for me.

Anyhow, dear fans, I hope this helps you.

Good luck!

I Got A Pat On The Back!

As you all should know, Will Akers, author of Your Screenplay Sucks! 100 Ways To Make It Great, is my mentor. I continue to help him on projects, and he in turn, helps me on mine.

Recently, I outlined a new screenplay I'm working on. I believe it's a fresh idea, but I needed some help on opening it. I had a lot of fade ins and outs at the beginning and consulted him on how to write it.

"Email me your pages," he said.

I did. 

The next day, this showed up on his blog:
(Reprinted with permission from Will)

a little research is good…

June 19, 2010

Be specific, but be specific in the right way.

A student of mine, who is a very good writer… probably because she is a very good writer, not because she’s a student of mine, wrote this…

***

INT. MERCY HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM – NIGHT

Meg completes her run ticket.

***
Do you know what a “run ticket” is? I do not. Do you think Meg knows what it is? I bet she does. This is a marvelous example of knowing what you’re writing about… but not letting the research get in the way. We read that sentence, have no idea what “run ticket” is, but we also get the sense, mostly via osmosis, that it is the CORRECT thing, and that it fits and is meet and right and good and just and all that stuff.

Good on ya, Marti!

Conversely, I recently critiqued a screenplay… and I have no idea who wrote it, or what it was about… One of the marvelous services I provide as screenplay critic is a leaky brain, one from which knowledge and memory of your story trickles with the setting sun. I read. I crit. I forget. So, if you want me to crit again, it’s like I am reading for the first time. I’m like a bee. I have a three day memory.

Anyway, this writer was writing some sort of WALL STREET type business script. The writer obviously was not a Wall Street business type, because the scene description, instead of some perfectly perfect description of a Wall Street woman hard at work, would say “Alice works on some papers.” That shouted for Lassie like little Timmy in the well, “Get me outta here!”

Every time the writer would take us to the office, there would be bland references to the work being done. “They work hard.” “Everyone is busy.” Stuff like that.

Not: “Meg completes her run ticket.”

THAT is a fantastic sentence, and it TOTALLY makes me buy that the writer knows what she’s writing about, and it calmed me down and urged me forward, secure in the knowledge that I was in the hands of Someone Who Knows, instead of Someone Who Hopes I Won’t Notice.

 
**Wow! Thanks for the pat on the back, Will! Considering it comes from one of the most objective voices in screenplay critquing, and from a seasoned actual screenwriter with movies that have been made, I'm truly honored.  ~Marti AKA ScreenwriterChic**
 
You can order Will's book (HIGHLY recommended and such an easy read) at http://www.yourscreenplaysucks.com/html/order_my_useful_book.html
 
And I'm sure it's on Amazon as well.
 

Don't Waste My Time

Someone heard that I’m an up and coming screenwriter. This person, who I will, for all intents and purposes of this blog refer to him as: Raul. Which of course, is NOT his real name or ethnicity.


Raul sent me his “life-changing manuscript.”

He certainly changed MY life. I don’t think I’ve ever been so incredibly bored with a script in all my life. When you begin to dream of going to a dentist for a root canal, you know the script is bad.

The premise was shaky, it was poorly constructed and he repeated himself at LEAST ten times a page. And no, that’s not an exaggeration.

Granted, I started in the same place Raul obviously was. Thank goodness I had the sweet feedback from a Hollywood producer that said basically, “You’ve got great ideas, but you need to learn more. This won’t cut it.” Keeping that in mind, I attempted to extend that same wisdom to Raul. I called him.

“Raul, what is your script about?”

“Oh, it’s a life-changer.”

“Raul. That didn’t answer my question. What about it is life-changing?”

“The character’s journey.”

“Okay, what is the journey? Because I didn’t see it. At all.”

Raul proceeded to speak but never said a word. I tried to rephrase.

“Raul, what color is your car?”

“Do what?”

“Your car. What color is it?”

“Well, it’s kinda bluish-green, more green than blue, but when the light hits it, it shines blue. Teal? Yeah maybe that’s the color. Or seagreen?”

Bingo. I located him.

My advice to Raul at that time was to 1.) purchase Save The Cat! By Blake Snyder and Your Screenplay Sucks! by Will Akers. I gave him some general pointers such as: Never repeat yourself. Write short concise sentences. Vertical structure is great.

And then he asked me the inevitable question: “Did you like it?”

Heck no, I didn’t like it! I’d rather be kicked in the face by a Clydesdale! Of course I couldn’t SAY that!

“Raul, I can’t see how this is a life-changer. I couldn’t get through it.”

Raul proceeds to tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about and when it gets bought he’s going to post nasty comments all over my blog. I tell him to calm down, he contacted me for serious advice and that’s what I’m giving him. I also tell him if he wants a group of cheerleaders for his scripts he needs to keep within his family. I explain that I am as objective as possible. I actually WANT him to make it and I point out that I’m being much nicer than anyone in Hollywood would ever be. His script was amateurish and would never make it past the reading floor. I tell him I started out the same way. We all did. All he has to do is listen, make some adjustments and rewrite.

“It’s perfect the way it is. I finished it last night. It’s complete.”

At this point my jaw drops to the floor with a loud *clunk!*

“You sent me your first draft???”

“And the final one. It’s perfect the way it is.”

I realize Raul is narcissistic and will not listen to reason. I will help people as long as they want or need help. But this guy, I do NOT want my name associated with. If you ever bump into him, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. 

“Raul, that script will never make it to a producer. And if it does it will only be because you know someone. You do know that writers rewrite all the time, right? On the set, etc.?”

“I won’t need to. It’s perfect the way it is.”

You’re an idiot, Raul.

I had the opportunity of speaking to Derek Haas, screenwriter of blockbusters like WANTED, 3:10 TO YUMA, & THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS.

I asked him, "Derek, how many drafts of WANTED did you go through before it was made into a movie?"

Derek's reply: (NOTE: THIS IS A WELL KNOWN SUCCESSFUL SCREENWRITER SAYING THIS!):  "Oh I had about 84 drafts on my computer by the time it was ready to be shopped around."

84. 84 drafts, Raul. 84.

A screenplay is the bones of the production. You provide the structure for a story. The director comes in and adds the flesh to it, with the actors, the sets, and the vision. The producers come in and make it look pretty and gus it up, make it presentable for the viewers. It’s a team effort. Even if this guy somehow sold his horrible slaughter of verbiage, he’d be fired on the spot for not being willing to rewrite. The only award Raul will be receiving is Employee of the Month at his local hamburger joint.

If that sounds harsh, I’m sorry. This is a tough business to get into. And you can’t break into it if you aren’t willing to work and do what it takes to make your work better. If your pride gets in the way of that, well, then that path is all yours to walk. Alone. I’m not going with you.

So, dear readers and adoring fans, if you plan to send me anything to read, please make sure you have rewritten it a few times and be prepared to hear the truth about what I think. Friends will pat your hand. I won’t do that. Friends will tell you your work is awesome. I will look for holes you need to fix and dialogue that is boring and trite. I will never call you names, but I will encourage you to take a long look at your work.

Your work is NOT perfect.

Neither is mine, for that matter.

But I’m willing to rewrite it. Even it means 84 times.

DRAW Wins Honorable Mention!

I’m on my way!

Tonight (well yesterday night by the time I get this published) was the awards ceremony for the Vanderbilt Film Festival.

You may remember on March 19th I had entered not only my first short film contest, but it was also a 24 hour contest. This is what I submitted:


DRAW from ScreenwriterChic on Vimeo.


We didn’t win the overall competition, but we did win Honorable Mention! I consider this an honor. I can’t tell you the feeling I get watching a movie I made, my creation, up on the silver screen, and hear belly roll laughter from the audience. I can say with pride, that no other short film we watched had as many laughs at mine. And no, I’m NOT being biased with that one.

So, since I will obviously need the practice later on in life, here’s my acceptance speech:

"Wow! Thank you so much! Gosh! This is heaver than I expected….

“Thank you, God, for honoring me and humbling me at the same time. Never let me forget who I am or where I came from no matter where any award comes from. I’m nothing without the great grace You’ve bestowed on me. I appreciate the favor, the love and the mercy You show me every single day. I’m nothing without You.

“I have to thank my cast and crew, Kristy Miller, who was my production coordinator and made all the phone calls I didn’t want to. Ann Eubank McKinney for lending me her son for the boom mike (you’ll go far in life, Will!). The cast, Bree Miller… you did great in your first onscreen performance! Michael Haney… yes, your accent did keep changing but we all loved it… Sean Young… you stayed up all night and performed every time I needed you too and were simply fantastic! Keagan Haney… you added depth to the role of Charlotte. Hard to do when you’re twelve but did it magically! And of course, my sweet Elijah. Elijah, you never cease to amaze me. You learned not only your lines, but everyone else’s! I’m in awe of your professionalism and eagerness. You never got tired, never complained and were always ready when I needed you to be. I’ve never been more proud!

“To Craig, my husband who puts up with my writing madness, mania, frustration, mood swings, hopes, dreams, and fears. You’re one in a million.

“Thank you to Will Akers who prompted me to enter the competition. Will, I appreciate you letting me learn from you. I hope to work with you again in the future. You have great insight.

“I also want to thank Dr. Louise Hanson and Jen Swails-Wenger, my bosses. It was their allowing me to audit Will’s classes that I ever 1.) knew about the competition and 2.) had learned enough where I was comfortable enough to give it a whirl. Thanks for allowing me to follow a dream.

“To everyone who’s cheered me on and prayed for me: THANK YOU. It’s the best feeling in the world to know that you have someone rooting for you. I can actually feel your warm wishes, thoughts, and prayers if that makes any sense. Please continue! I want to create, I want to work, I want to infiltrate Hollywood with movies of purpose and value. And I’ve started with DRAW. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Until next time, sweet readers….

Keep dreaming… keep writing!

Director/Writer Marti with the cast of DRAW enjoy the Golden Slate Award

DRAW! My first short film is done!

I’ve recovered from the 24 hour film race.


My team, “Team Triumph” did extremely well. We won’t know who won until April, though. AND I have the finished movie on DVD but I can’t figure out how to upload it to any web sites as of yet. I promise I will have it here as soon as I can.

What happened, you ask? Good question, adoring fan.

Friday afternoon, I arrived at the competition headquarters at Vanderbilt. There were 9 teams total. (One team later dropped out…and they were senior year film students! The sissies!)

We drew numbers. Our numbers correlated with our genre, which was mix-matched. By that I mean, categories were: Superhero horror, British Western, Sci Fi Musical, and Romance Mystery. I got Sci Fi Musical and was NOT happy. I accepted the challenge, however, and didn’t quit like those senior wimps.

We were given our equipment and checked it out. We were handed an envelope with one line of dialogue. We had to incorporate it into the script. We also were given a prop we had to place in a scene. The prop? Bunny ears. The line of dialogue? That’s what she said. We were also told that throughout the night we would be given texts with twists along the way. And of course the final rule: Turn in our finished movie on DVD by 6pm on Saturday. Everyone was excited. Except me with my stinkin’ Sci Fi Musical.

6pm: The race began! My crew (Kristy and Ann) and I loaded up and trekked to my house. For three hours we brainstormed on how to create a Sci Fi Musical. I was at a loss. I don’t watch Sci Fi. I don’t like alien crap. Ghosts, maybe. Loved the Matrix, but you know, my special effects budget was lacking for this flick. Exasperated, Kristy and I drove to the top of an overlook to get some shots of the moon since OBVIOUSLY Sci Fi stuff would need to have that in it. Ann took a puppy (I’m giving them away, want one?) and went home to rest.

At the overlook, all was well until the police pulled up and shone a bright light in my face. Maybe he thought the camera was a weapon? Kristy and I tried to explain we were filming a movie, but we were frisked against the car anyway. Kristy enjoyed it. I was rather miffed. I had the camera in my hand! Then we were told that no one was allowed up there after dark. AGAIN I explained that I needed a shot of the moon. He told me I needed to go in five minutes. Whatever. I was gone in four.

Fifteen minutes later, the text came: “The first person to respond to this text will be able to swap genres.” I was on that like white on rice! Kristy made the call and our genre became: British Western. Okay. THIS I can do.

By 11pm the script was made, copies were given to the actors, who just happened to be my four children and Kristy’s daughter.

At midnight production stopped. We spent an hour and a half in WalMart so the girls could get their DVD of New Moon. (We won Awesome Mom awards for that one!) I snagged a few props there while I was at it.

2-4am: Viewing of New Moon while I tweaked script. Michael, my eldest, went to bed so. He did this because he knew if he wasn’t well rested 1.) I wouldn’t let him drive me ANYWHERE and 2.) He needed to be able to be in a good mood in order to maintain peace between siblings.

5am: Breakfast at Waffle House. My youngest was slow to rise, but he had known about this for awhile. He was generally excited and happy. The girls put on their outfits and we were all good to go.

6am: Carnton Plantation, Franklin, Tennessee. Cold. Got good shots of sunrise. Overcast day. Perfect lighting.

6:45am: Started filming the kids. I admit, I was a bit worried about filming my youngest. He’s 10 and has special needs. He can be whiny and difficult. However, he was so stoked about being in a movie, he was amazing. He worked so hard for me! Time after time after time! He had memorized his lines, too! All of the kids were wonderful! My boys did their own stunts.

7:15am: The boom mike quits working. We changed out batteries, nope, that wasn’t it. Fiddled with wires. Finally worked, but wasted thirty minutes.

8:00am: First camera battery dies. Swap out with another. No inverter to charge first battery. Muffled grumbling begins.

9:00am: Filming pauses so hot air balloons can float across our sky. Grumblings get a bit louder.

10:15am: Last line of dialogue taped. Camera dies. Grumblings are very vocal at this point. No way to charge batteries. We will have to make due.

10:30am: Ann departs. Kristy and her daughter come to my home to grab their things, leave. It’s up to me to edit it and make it pretty. I leave the kids with my parents and Michael and I book it to Vanderbilt.

10:50am: Get tutorial on editing station. I try my best to figure out Final Cut. It’s not my niche. Michael, however, seems to be a natural and takes over. My son, who was an actor, now becomes my editor. We edit for five hours straight.

4:30pm: Discover that the last line of dialogue was erased when the camera died. Screams fill the station. People run to see if I have had an embolism.

4:35pm: The next twist: You must film an alternate ending. Very happy about this, Michael, still wearing the same clothes, takes a seat against a wall. I film him improving an interview for our “new ending”. The old ending (the ORIGINAL ending) doesn’t work without the last line of dialogue, so it becomes an outtake ending.

5:00pm: Michael leaves to retrieve the children for the film screening. I’m left in charge of the movie and still can’t figure out stuff on Final Cut. I’m just not a techie. I enlist aid from Dean, a guy stationed at the competition to help people like me out. He helps me with credits, titles, and music. He also ensures that the editing is smooth. He was a great help. I was and am grateful. My grumbling subsides.

5:30pm: Our film, “DRAW” is burned to DVD.

5:35pm: DRAW is handed in to the powers that be. Early. I like that.

5: 50pm: Michael and the children return and are out of breath from sprinting from the parking garage. We take our seats in the theater.

5:55pm: My youngest takes a potty break.

6:00pm: Screenings begin. My mentor, Will Akers, is a judge. Didn’t even know he was coming!

All in all, the evening was fantastic. I won’t find out until April sometime if we placed. I will say that everyone laughed and LOVED our film. The kids loved seeing themselves up on a silver screen. Rave reviews from everyone who saw it. It was extremely entertaining. And so much fun to make.

Hands down. One of the best days of my life. Making my short film and being able to bond with my kiddos at the same time. Priceless! If any of you ever get a chance to make a film, oh my gosh, do it! Remember to laugh. We laughed a lot on our film. Wouldn’t change a darn thing.

Like I said, once I figure out how to upload it, I will.

On another note, TODAY I get to speak with Linda Woolverton, the screenwriter for Alice in Wonderland. I’m pumped. Most in my class didn’t like Alice, but I did. I really enjoyed it. I like things with twists…things that are done differently than expected. Weird. Maybe because I’m weird. Who knows.

I’ll post it here in a few.

Thank you for following my blog. Keep writing!

I'm so thankful there are youth that understand technology!

Michael is a superb editor!

Have A Dream? Find A Will!!!

This posting is for all aspiring screenwriters.

Okay, so you have a story rolling around in that noodle of yours. What do you do? If you're like me, you go to a library or amazon.com and start borrowing/buying all the books you can on the subject. And then..you feel overwhelmed. And lost. The books do not compliment each other at all.

In fact, they contradict one another.

As you gaze in frustration down the road you suddenly realize that the tumbleweed gently bobbing across your path is actually tufts of your own hair you've pulled out.

Not a good sign.

I have a few suggestions, of them being Rogaine.

Beside getting more books on the matter (I highly and will always recommend Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder), I would like to suggest this:

See if any universities or colleges in your area have screenwriting classes and see if you can audit.

True story:

I had written a script which ,of course I felt was a sure winner. I didn't have any Final Draft software so I attempted to do it all on Word. (NOT recommended at all).  When I was done and had rewritten it a few times, I decided I was ready for the plunge. I began querying around and a producer actually wanted to read my script! I was elated. I sent it to her and she got back to me in a month's time.  She said she loved my story, but it wasn't formatted correctly, and gave me some feedback. I still have her email. It was a very gracious thing for her to do. Because now, the classes I've taken, I realize what a piece of crap and how amateurish it was. I bang my head on the computer when I think about it. She did leave me an open door, however. When I rewrite it, she wants to see it. Like I said, she was extremely gracious. Finding this kind of "niceness" is rare in these waters.

So, since I work at a prestigious university at the moment, I decided to see what classes I could audit. Lo and behold, there WAS a screenwriting class I could take! And, HOLY SMUDGEMUFFINS! The teacher was Will Akers...the author of the book I was currently reading! I contacted him and he gave me permission for the class. I was on Cloud 9.

I can't tell you the wealth of information I've gotten from his class. It's WAY different from reading a book. You can ask questions, bounce ideas off the teacher, etc. I wouldn't change my attending his classes for anything. In classes, you can not only find out about the craft, but also the intricacies of the business. WHEN my screenplay is being considered, I can tell you right now the first person I'm going to call for guidance is Will. You can't call a book for advice. If it's written, it's written. Anything else that you need that's not in that book, tough tiddlywinks, kid!

So, find a mentor. Find a Will Akers. And when you do, for God's sake, LISTEN to them!!! If he/she is in a position to teach a class, there is probably good reason. If you're willing to listen, shift plots, ideas, dialogue now, it won't be such a shock to you when a producer asks you to do it later.

Keep dreaming! Keep writing!

PS I DO  highly recommend Will's book: Your Screenplay Sucks! 100 Ways To Make It Better. I've also added some other links of his.

Book - Your Screenplay Suck! 100 Ways To Make It Great
Blog by Will Akers
Website - Will Akers