How far do you need to go to be good?

Writing a screenplay is damn complicated. No revelation there. But just how complicated does it have to get to be good? I don't mean the obvious things, the 3 acts, the inciting incident, the turning point, blah blah. That's the skeleton. I'm talking about the subtleties, the layers of juicy meat. The stuff that makes a story go from good to can’t-put-it-down-except-to-grab-a-tissue great.

I find the more I learn about screen writing, the more impossible it seems to be able to pull it off. There's so much to orchestrate. At times I feel like a tone deaf composer of a symphony orchestra hoping my music won’t make ears bleed. Each time I think I’ve got something that works, I realize I haven’t done as much as I could or should.

So what do I always do when I'm overwhelmed? I make a list.

Here's my new list of 10 things a screenplay must do if it’s to have a chance at being great. It's a compilation of tips I’ve gotten from various books, blogs, sites and feedback over the past six months, when I actually started to try to sell a script. I realize that this is when I started to learn the finer points of screenwriting, and just how far you need to go to be good.

1) Write a good logline, preferably before you write your script. If the logline isn’t clear and compelling, chances are the script won't be either. Irony and opposing forces are key to a good logline, and a good story.

2) Make sure the story tells the hero's story. The hero must ultimately resolve the conflict. The hero must have a flaw(s) that prevents him from getting what he wants. The hero should be far from perfect, but incredibly engaging/endearing.

3) Do a Beat Sheet. It will show a multitude of sins. There are a lot of templates out there. Any one will do. It’s a tedious task, but well worth the pain.

4) Make sure the supporting characters have interesting, full stories with conflicts of their own. Intertwine these with the hero's story as much as possible.

5)Each character must have a unique voice. If the character’s names can be swapped for another with the same dialogue, it’s not unique.

6) No cookie cutter bad guys. Make them interesting (even likeable, or sympathetic?). Make them evoke emotions. (Side note: I recently saw a movie where the antagonist was more likeable than the protagonist! He was in the wrong, but he was very endearing!)

7) The subplots (gotta have em!) should have the same story structure as the main plot. Beginning, middle and end with all the bells and whistles in between.

8) Build the conflict over the course of the story. Chart a graph of the conflict level of each scene (I discovered colour coded scene tags in Final Draft 8!). It should be a steady rise with several big peeks. Make the audience care enough to hold their breath. Every scene must have conflict or at least move the story forward with something not seen before. If not, get rid of it. There's no story without drama, and no drama without conflict.*

9) Write one line of dialogue for the hero that shows who they are; sums them up.* (Famous one liners from movies are often this line of dialogue! Eg. “I’ll be back.”; “Make my day.”; “Yippie Kayay Mother-F***er”.)

10) Cut, cut and then cut some more. It’s amazing how much useless, self-indulgent drivel can creep into a good story. This means reading your script many, many times.

And if that’s not enough… just when you think "Right, I’ve got it. I’m good." check out this “reader’s checklist” written by Terry Rossio. Brace yourself. It's long.

http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp05.Death.to.Readers.html

I might always feel that I could do more fine-tuning, but at some point, I’ll have to feel I’ve gone far enough to be able to move onto the next one, taking all my hard earned experience with me. Hopefully I’ll do a lot less learning from my mistakes. One thing’s for sure, the first draft is allowed to be total crap. In fact, it’s supposed to be. It’s in the re-writes that a story truly comes together. That’s when the double trouble fun really begins.

Obviously, none of these concepts are actually mine, so I felt the need to note the more recent references for my list. Some things I've adopted for my list almost verbatim from "rewrite", indicated with a *.

“rewrite” by Paul Chitlik (it's a bit campy, but man, it's worth the read, and doing the exercises.)
“Breakfast with Sharks” by Michael Lent (about selling a script, but it's so much more.)
“Save the Cat” by Blake Snyder (my current enjoyable bedtime reading. Got the irony note about loglines from this book.)

http://johnaugust.com/ (just for his general awesomeness! Nothing here was actually from his site, but his site is an inspiration and a wealth of insights.)

http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/ (because it’s so damn funny!)

And all the ever so appreciated feedback I’ve gotten from writers, producers and directors. They shall remain nameless to protect the innocent (me!).

should you write what you're passionate about, or what will sell?

I guess first off, it's good to know if you care if what you write will sell. If not, then off you go, write about the migratory patterns of butterflies all you like. Why their wings are spotted. How far they have to go. Someone might be interested. I won't be. But you'll be happy. And that's big.

But if you do want to sell something, then I don't see what's wrong with checking what the movie-buying people are interested in spending their money on. Less and less movies are being made right now. The recession is in full force in Hollywood. Big budget summer tentpole movies are not getting green-lit like they have been in the past. Studios are more cautious, going for the sequels, and the romantic comedies. Sure things or low budget. Feel good flicks in times when people need their spirits lifted.

I'm not saying that if you have desire to write about a man who losses his job, finds his wife in bed with his best friend, and he can't find a reaosn to live, then gets cancer, only to discover he doesn't want to die, and then dies... that you shouldn't write it. But I'm not sure it'll be very popular. Even if it's brilliant. Not in today's climate.

But I do think it's possible to take something that you're passionate about, and weave a tale around that, which will give people hope, and perhaps get you a lovely sale.

Take that damn migratory pattern. Make the main character a cute little monarch who can't make it the whole way in time, gets lost, has adventures to show him the value of tradition and the independance courage brings, and finally finds his way with the help of a dolphin and a crusty old seagul to the big ass once a year migration party in the amazon (or wherever the hell it is)... you've writen about your passion, given people what they want, and disney just might be interested.

I think the joy in telling a well crafted story can take many forms. Why not stear it in the direction of what people want to hear?

Are we running away or towards? And does it really matter?

I've become facinated with the WoW phenomenon. In case you have been stuck under a rock in the gaming world, that's "World of Warcraft", and it's apparently more addictive than cocaine. It's a MMORPG which is a 'massively multiplayer online role-playing game'. No joke. It's huger than huge. I've heard tales of it ruining people's lives, causing divorce, careers sufferning, and health problems all because of this addiction. It's certainly changing people's lives, and our society. For better or for worse. Here's how it works: You subscribe to the game, you don't buy it. You can choose which kind of gameplay you want, which society you belong to, and what class you will be. Right there, it's better than life. In life, you're born into these things, and changing your lot in life takes a huge effort. In WoW, you just pay a fee if you want to try something new. There is a whole world in there. Your character can gain knowledge, skills, talents, and become more developed. You go on quests. You can trade things. You can make money. And to get the more complicated gameplay, you can team up with a group, and everyone's class works together to achieve a goal. It's brilliant. It's progressive and it's rewarding. Unlike life a lot of the time. I can see why this has become such an international craze. China seems to be the most addicted, as a nation. I'm sure that says something about the quality of life in WoW, vs the quality of life in China. And people are making money for real, in the real world, by being good in the game, or at least playing it so much, that they can't help but get things that other people want. Desperately. Or so I've heard.

Then I read a quote from a comment on John August's site, who btw, has a post that had me in stitches, but was quite illuminating, as he's known to do. http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/seven-things-warcraft "Seven things I learned from World of Warcraft. The quote was from Sean William Menzies and he said "We live in a society so rich that grown men can afford to stay boys much longer than they should."

Now I don't know about you, but all this kind of saddens me in a way. Should grown men not be allowed to stay boys if they can? I supposed if they have responsibilities that they're shirking, like children or dogs, then sure. But I was all for Peter Pan never growing up. He had a lovely life, flying around and fighting with pirates. Is society as we know it, stifling our playful side? The mundane must do's, the people pleasing and the struggle to carve out a niche for yourself, one that most people aren't satisfied with, can get a bit tedious after a while. Is this why so many people have become addicted to a world where you can actually be someone you want to be, and get someplace you want to go while having fun doing it? Are we that unsatisfied with our real lives? And if we are, then why do so few people do anything about changing it? Why can we put massive efforts into our avatar's lives, but not our own? It is because we don't have to actually get our asses off a chair in WoW? Is it because we don't actually have to really learn how to do things? It's certainly a quicker route to success. Have we really become the instant-satisfaction-pill-poppers that don't need the satisfaction of true knowledge, or true discovery, or real experiences? Are the rewards no longer sufficient for the effort required? Are we burned out on trying so damn hard and not getting anywhere? Have our expectations for what we think we should be getting out of life, exceeded what's realistic and available, and so we seek it in a place where there's an unlimited supply of potential success, even if it's just a game? Have our real lives become that unsatisfying?

BUT the need for escapism hasn't changed. People have always loved books, movies, and soap operas. We all escape from our lives in different ways. Perhaps writing is a way as well. I escape into worlds I've created, with people that I love, but aren't real. Is that so different? I don't think so.

So, what's changed? Technology. And this is just the beginning of what will become available. With the wild success of WoW, and technology racing into the future faster than we can keep up, what is around the corner to take us away from it all? Will our world become fragmented into two places? The real world, and the virtual world. Escapism will be taken to new highs. Which do you think will be a better place to live?

my new bible.

I just finished reading "Breakfast with Sharks". (A Screenwriter's Guide to Getting the Meeting, Nailing the Pitch, Signing the Deal, and Navigating the Murky Waters of Hollywood) by Michael Lent.

Wow.

It answered questions I never even knew I had. It prepared me for some inevitable tests of patience, and just when I start to think I am better off trying to fly to the moon than sell a script, he pulls me back in to thinking I can do it. It talks about how to make your script stand out, how to survive pitch meetings, agents, managers, studios, the readers, contracts, writing groups, indies and much, much more. I feel wiser, better armed and equip and encouraged after reading it. I find that I'm quoting him now, with lines like "It takes 5 years for an overnight success, and 10 years for a career in screenwriting." (although to be fair, I think he was quoting someone else who gave him that advise) and my other favorite is that people don't fail in screenwriting, they just give up. I love that because I'm no quitter.

I'm going to go through the book again, and highlight all the points that I need to keep in mind. Like how NOT to submit a query letter. Damn! I just hope that the ones I already sent prior to reading the bible are as forgettable as they are wrong. So very wrong. What Mr. Lent says makes perfect sense. But without experience or success, I doubt I would have ever figured it out on my own.

Maybe it's a personal thing. Maybe I really needed to hear what he had to say. But it's an easy read, and full of practical, useful info for trying to sell a script. Not just for Hollywood (although that's the focus for sure) but for trying to get a career in screenwriting. I highly recommend it.

a grand new perspective

Elizabeth Gilbert is my new heroine.

I was visiting John August's site (http://johnaugust.com/) to have a poke around as you do, and he posted this:

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/453

saying this:
Terrific talk by Elizabeth Gilbert from the TED series. Nineteen minutes well spent.

So I spent it. I got so much more than I bargained for.

I think when the full weight of this talk sinks in, I will view it as the best 19 minutes I've spent on my writing or any creative endeavor I've undertaken. Or perhaps it's that I've been the subject of the undertaking. I don't only relate to what she said, I feel lifted from intense burden and have been given the freedom to view the creative process in a magical new light. Ole, Elizabeth Gilbert. You bloody rock.

The Write Help

I love the internet. I may have mentioned this before.

I recently took an online course on how to write a treatment from the Writer's University. The course was good, but the best part was that I "met" some writers who are incredibly supportive, and were a tremendous source of great feedback. We've decided to start up a group to keep in touch and continue to help each other in our writing endeavors. Wicked.

I checked out google's groups, and they couldn't make it any easier. I have started a group called "The Write Help" for writers, where only the members of the group can see the posts. It's specifically set up to get and give help to and from writers. Feedback on loglines, synopsis, treatments, outlines, or even scripts. There are no rules for the group. Other than you must be supportive in your feedback (no obnoxiousness). Hopefully there will be enough people who want to join the group that when a writer needs help there will be someone available to give it.

There is nothing like getting feedback on your writing from other writers. And giving feedback as well. It can help you see the forest from the trees, know if you're being funny or just not, and identify if certain subtlties work or are just mirages in the desert that only you can see. And all the while, share a basic understand of the painful need to tell a good story. If you have such a group, they will even clap at your successes, and frown at your rejections. That's gold right there.

Not to mention (as I procede to do just that), it's a great intrem step for sending out your material to the cold, harsh world. Where they will not sympathise with or support your efforts. They will happily rip your script shreds, or simply not give a shit after the first 10 pages, and use it to fill their bin.

Unless you're ready. Unless, with the suggestions from your writer's group, you've honed your plot, given your characters even more heart, and you've writen the greatest story of all time. Who will you thank at the oscars? That's right. Your writing group. ;)

Lesson #548 - A Good Editor is Crucial

I've heard this countless times. Every book I've read on how to sell your script, they say "make sure there are no typos". Every contest that I've entered, they say "make sure there are no typos".

I was convinced that I was typo-free. I had several people check it, and I fixed all that they reported. In fact, I was so confident that I was good to go, that I've been sending and entering this script all over the place. Then a friend, who turns out to be an amazing editor, read it. And he found a shameful number of typos. And phrase repetition. And characters who were not CAP'ed when first introduced. And more that I'm just too embarrased to share.

After a huge dose of gratitude to him, I realized that a good editor is gold. Not everyone is going to spot these indescresions. In fact, I venture to say, the average person reading a script won't catch much. Or they will notice, but not take the time and effort (and it is time consuming, and a huge effort) to make a note, and pass it on.

I shudder to think that there are professionals out there (hopefully) reading my script as it is now. I wish I could swap them all out for my shiney new clean-as-a-whistle version. But I've misplaced my magic wand. Obviously.

Many of these mistakes I could have tried to catch myself, if I re-read my script (for the bloody hundreth time) as an editor, instead of a writer. And now that I have discovered my friend is a brilliant editor, I shall abuse him as much as he will allow. It might mean the difference between looking professinal, and looking like a total country bumbkin.