You're never too old to write a screenplay and two other tips from Corey Mandell

Grabbed from Corey's May/June newsletter.

Are the screenwriting contests a waste of time and money? —Mack V.

Most of them are, as they are designed as profit-making ventures. So if you're going to enter contests, I'd stick to the ones that the industry actually pays some attention to. Here's the three I'd target:

The Nicholl Screenwriting Contest

The Austin Screenplay and Teleplay Competition

Final Draft's Big Break Screenwriting Contest

And if your writing has an indie bent, you may also want to submit to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and Film Independent's Screenwriting Lab.

(Full disclosure: I [Corey] have ties to both Final Draft, which sponsors my Professional Screenwriting Workshops, and the Film Independent Screenwriting Lab, for which I serve as a mentor. Regardless, I would whole-heartedly recommend their excellent programs. Okay, enough with the disclosures.)  

How old is too old to break into the business? —Lou W.

You won't be submitting a photo or bio with your script so it's doubtful anyone will know your age. They'll only know how good your script is or isn't. One of my script coaching clients, a 57-year-old South African woman, just sold her first two spec pilots. David Seidler was in his late 60s when he wrote The Kings Speech. Alvin Sargent was in his 70s when he wrote Spiderman. Being too old is never the reason someone doesn't have a career, it is only the excuse.

What's the biggest mistake you see new writers making? —Laura F.

Following the "rules". There's a growing chorus of experts telling writers what they need to do to break into the business, what kinds of scripts they need to write, how they should write them, and what has to happen on what page.  

So what is the one thing almost all these experts all have in common? They have never actually had a writing career. In fact, many of them tried to break into the business and failed. Now they make their living telling everyone else how to break into the business.

Connect with Corey

Corey Mandell | Professional Screenwriting Workshops

310-243-6758 | Hermosa Beach, California, USA

corey@coreymandell.net  | http://coreymandell.net On facebook: http://bit.ly/coreyfanpage

Camp NaNoWriMo: Day One

Story Reaper
by Elaine Greywalker

The sun is falling down, shining into my eyes in a really inconvenient way. The dog is whining outside my bedroom door. What have I accomplished on this first day of April madness?

1. Caught up on all the "Now What?" posts and emails from NaNoWriMo. Mostly they're about revision and editing and getting all fired up for that.
2. Crafted a funky book cover for whatever it is I'm writing. Officially:  a film script. Unofficially: who knows.
3. Cleaned up from yesterday's Easter banquet. (This included myself and my two house mates. So, not the sort of banquet you might suppose.)
4. Reviewed two of my novels, a few plot scribblings, and assorted odd text files looking for ideas and inspiration. 

The idea for Story Reaper came to me as a mash up of the faded memories I have of a short story I read years ago and one of my novel drafts. I don't remember which novel. Anyway, that's as far as I've got. 

Tonight I need to make some notes and start writing. Anything. Anything at all that might be in any way related to what the heck a story reaper is and what he/she does. Even if it means I figure out what he has for breakfast and what color he likes. And his gender.

Laying Fallow

Much like the ground outside which (although warming) is still laying fallow, so, too am I. Creatively I plink and ponder. Not much gets done. I contemplate spring, watch the birds, and listen to the cats meow outside the door. Whenever I can I sit in the sun, soaking up heat and vitamin D while crocheting, knitting, reading, and pondering the universe.

Next month will be different. I've signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo, much like National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo: write 50K words of a novel in 30 days), except you can choose whatever wordy project comes to mind. Temporarily I've signed up for a screenplay. (Or is it script? I never know. I guess script covers them all from stageplay to TV spec.)

As usual, I am laying fallow as I do in October, resisting working, letting stories and dreams flit through my brain without trying to capture them. Come April 1 (no joke!) I'll start writing as action and characters jell on the page.

I like this adventure. I have yet to turn a profit (as I drone each time I begin) and I don't care. I do wish I was more disciplined about the actual seat-in-the-chair-fingers-to-the-keyboard thing. However, I'l settle for what I can get. I'm flexible that way.

Story Basics in Graph, Table, and Diagram

Here's a clean copy of Kurt Vonnegut's graph of character arcs from the shape of stories video.

Kurt Vonnegut's diagram illustrated by Elaine Greywalker

In the video, he mentions that the names of the plot arcs are just reminders; not limitations. For example: Boy Gets Girl is your basic romantic comedy no matter who gets whom.

The "Cinderella" plot line (which Kurt says will make you a million dollars) could be fitted to the character arc of Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games trilogy—with modifications. The first book is classic Cinderella. Over the entire trilogy, it's a bit different. Primarily, Katniss goes below her beginning level, unlike Cinderella. Secondarily, she ends in the mid-level between Good and Ill Fortune. An interesting exercise would be to graph her arc across the trilogy on Kurt's chart.

Here's Aristotle's version, which is rather more conceptual.

Aristotle's Table of Plots

A good exercise would be to make character arc graphs for these concepts. 

By the way, the central line is "moderate complexity" in case you were wondering. I know I was.

While reading Story by Robert McKee, I made this triangular diagram which is a modification of Mr. McKee's from page 45 of the book.

My version of Rober McKee's plot triangle.

The three corners are indicators of plot types and not quantity of plots. Mr. McKee doesn't write much about the non-narrative plot area. It's still a big undiscovered sea. And, yes, another good exercise would be to make character arc graphs from this triangle.

Interesting Beginnings: Coarse Corrections

I wrote a screenplay!

In honor of Script Frenzy, which ended April 30 at midnight local time, I'm posting the beginning of another screenplay I began last fall. I made up the idea based on some wild women friends and a day dream.

NOTICE: There's some strong language towards the end.

=========

INT. Deck of confabulated magical ship-like thing - Day

Behind the helm on the mostly wooden deck, stands a very large mature woman with hair flying. Her clothes fly too, being a confabulation of whatever was to hand. The weather is windy and rainy. The woman, MATHILDA, peers through the storm intent on her destination. On the deck in front of her, oblivious to the weather, is SATCHA, a mature, reasonable woman. She stands with her eyes closed, arms outstretched parallel in front of her, palms perpendicular to her arms.


The ship is an amalgam of fantasy and fairtale construction with wide sails and strange wings; a mixture of wood, metal, plastic and whatever other parts could be salvaged from wrecks. A skeleton is attached to the bow. Skulls line some of the railings. Various shades of pink and purple, faded and new, are prominent. There are a lot of long, narrow flags. Inexplicably, steam and smoke periodically arise.

MATHILDA

Can't you do that in your room?

SATCHA

(without opening her eyes or moving)

No!

The wind howls. Another woman emerges from below deck. This is SILVIA, a lovely blond mature woman, her long hair showing three inches of gray roots. She is pleasingly plump.

SILVIA

Are we there yet?

MATHILDA

Nearly.

SILVIA

Good. I'm fresh out of larkspur. (pause) I see she's at it again.

MATHILDA

Yes.

SILVIA

If it works, I'm next.

Silvia disappears below decks. Satcha lowers her arms and opens her eyes.

MATHILDA

Was he there?

SATCHA

(nods a bit sadly)

I miss him.

MATHILDA

You've never met him.

SATCHA

But I will.

MATHILDA

Secure that rope, will you? And bring me a glass of wine.

Satcha secures a rope and then disappears below deck. The wind quiets and the rain stops. Mathilda secures the wheel and adjusts her appearance. She pulls a cloth from the interior of her clothing and wipes her face.

MATHILDA

There. That's better. Satcha!

Satcha is behind her.

SATCHA

Here's your wine. You didn't say, so I brought you white. It was open.

Mathilda takes the wine and gulps it down. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

MATHILDA

Excellent. So, how is he today?

SATCHA

Tolerably well. (sighs) It's taking such a long time.

MATHILDA

Try not to wait so hard. A lady keeps her man waiting.

SATCHA

(dryly)

Oh ha ha. What if it's a woman?

MATHILDA

Then you'd better get out of my way!

There is a pause while Mathilda finishes the dregs of her wine and peers into the distance.

MATHILDA

You see that glittering thing over there?

SATCHA

(peers into the distance)

Yep. Barely. It's just a nuanced anomaly.

MATHILDA

I don't think so. This looks like something. A vehicle. Headed toward us.

Satcha peers again. She climbs up on the shrouds and leans out over the edge of the ship.

SATCHA

You may be right.

MATHILDA

Thank you.

SATCHA

Looks like another ship ... or maybe a plane.

MATHILDA

A plane. That's all we need.

WILLA, a plain-face, matter-of-fact mature woman appears on deck. She dresses traditionally in keeping with present cultural norms.

WILLA

Do we have time for a stop over? I've got a call from my daughter. The grandchildren need me.

MATHILDA

Time is what we're made of. What's the location?

WILLA

(peers at a small, rectangular electronic in the palm of her hand)

Uh, ... let me see ... I think ... oh, here it is. Richmond, 2011.

MATHILDA

(grabbing the helm and bringing the ship about)

That's it? You know I hate fuzzy logic.

WILLA

No. There's more. Give me a minute. Uh, June ... 13th ... about 6 p.m.

MATHILDA

Got it.

Willa taps her device and then puts it to her ear.

WILLA

Honey? Okay. I'll be there. Should I bring something? You want me to stop by the grocery store? (she listens) Alright. Love you!

MATHILDA

We've got a situation. Might not be able to pick you up right at the precise moment.

WILLA

That's fine. I can stay the night if I need to.

Mathilda grunts. She whirls the helm. The ship is consumed by cloudy steam or possibly clouds. Only the helm and Willa can be seen. Willa flips out a ladder and steps down into the cloud.

WILLA

I'll call you.

MATHILDA

Got it!

Willa descends into the cloud. Mathilda swings the helm. The clouds and steam clear and we are back to the previous view of the ship. Satcha is still in the shrouds.

SATCHA

I think it's a pirate ship. ... Plane. Whatever. It's turning back.

MATHILDA

Silvia!

Muffled from below comes a reply.

MATHILDA

Is your Ex after you again?

A couple of bumps are heard. Silvia appears on deck.

SILVIA

No. Why do you ask?

Mathilda indicates with a rough gesture. Silvia peers out toward the object.

SILVIA

That's not him.

MATHILDA

Great. Who is it then?

SILVIA

I don't know. Why don't you ask him?

MATHILDA

Him?

SILVIA

Well, yeah. It's some guy with a bunch of his buddies. Looks like racers or sky divers.

SATCHA

Bungee jumpers.

SILVIA

Yeah. That's it. Bungee jumpers.

The vehicle flies closer, appearing to be at first a black galleon and then transforming as we close in to a black catamaran and then a black glider. Hanging from the glider are six guys dressed in black, each one suspended from a different type and color of bungee cord. They wave raucously as they swoop past the ship and then disappear into the horizon.

SATCHA

Was that ...?

SILVIA

No. Never. Nuh ah. ... Anyway, I've got water boiling. Tea anyone?

SATCHA

(raises her hand)

MATHILDA

None for me, thanks.

Silvia goes below deck.

MATHILDA

What you got on for today?

SATCHA

Thought I'd make a few visits.

MATHILDA

Were you going to file a flight plan or did you want me to use my ESP?

SATCHA

Both. (pulls out a crumpled map) Here. And, uh, here.

MATHILDA

What's this in aid of?

SATCHA

My sanity? The order of the universe? Dying children in Cambodia?

MATHILDA

You think you're going to find him in one of those spots?

SATCHA

Uh, yeah. Why not?

MATHILDA

So, okay. Let's imagine that were possible ...

SATCHA

It isn't?

MATHILDA

Tell me about him.

SATCHA

He's a pilot, flies for a commercial airline, used to make long flights - now just does short hops. You know, there and back again. Gets to the airport, doesn't even leave the plane, and then back again.

MATHILDA

But you don't know which airport?

SATCHA

Right.

Mathilda peers at the map.

MATHILDA

Or the time.

SATCHA

Just a minor insignificant detail.

MATHILDA

I can't run around all day with you. I've got a schedule, you know.

SATCHA

Won't take ALL day.

MATHILDA

(sound of disgust)

Might as well.

SATCHA

Thanks.

INT. Passenger Airplane Cockpit - Afternoon

WRIGHT, a well matured male pilot, sits in the cockpit with a clipboard and a laptop checking over the equipment. The clipboard is his backup, having once lost his laptop to the cleaning crew. FUNK, the male co-pilot, enters and sits in the co-pilot seat.

FUNK

Gees. How do you do this everyday?

WRIGHT

(not looking up)

Practice.

FUNK

What's the weather look like.

WRIGHT

Good. Check the maps will you?

Funk turns to the displays and taps screens and shit. Might need someone in here who actually knows something about flight displays. On the other hand, you could just have the ubiquitous big red button.

FUNK

Looks accurate.

WRIGHT

Hmmmfff. Take a look. What's this look like to you?

Wright shows his laptop display to Funk. Do not zoom in on this. No one needs that level of detail.

FUNK

Like a storm.

WRIGHT

And doesn't the flight path take us squarely into it?

FUNK

Uh,.. yeah.

WRIGHT

What have you been smokin'?

FUNK

Nothing. Lately.

WRIGHT

Dammit! Do I gotta report you?

FUNK

Fuck, Wright. You know I fly better when I'm relaxed.

WRIGHT

Relaxed is one thing - damn out of it is another. Get the fuck off my plane!

Funk stands, picking up his cap from the dash.

FUNK

Happy Trails, mother fucker.

WRIGHT

Thanks.

Funk exits leaving the cockpit door open.

WRIGHT

(shouts after Funk)

And tell the duty manager to send in another navigator!

At the Cafe

Once again, I am amazed at how much sweeter life is when I'm writing on a project with a deadline. Unfortunately, this also involves a virtual supporting cast of thousands, i.e. Script Frenzy or National Novel Writing Month.

Wether or not these projects (six novels and two screenplays) see the light of day or not doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm writing.

Having given in and created a mild outline and/or structure for this year's script, I am very glad to be hanging on it. Even though there are already signs of the structure, once a sensible sail boat, turning into a flying pirate ship, I'm still writing about four pages a day.

Ideas and plot points are falling into my head. I'm reading about William Goldman and agreeing and feeling a little smug about his assertion that the draft, the first draft, is the best part of the script. I am a little daunted by his extensive research.

Once again I have made peace with the process which involves lots of reading of research sources as I write. It doesn't matter how much I think I already know, or how committed I am to writing what I know (so as to make things easier) I always end up writing about stuff I haven't done or know little or nothing about. The research takes extra time, expanding my writing time from an hour to sometimes three hours. Seems so inefficient. Yet without the research I can't write.

Simple things, such as what is in a cart, how foodstuffs are wrapped, whether or not tobacco was commonly available, and more complex things such as the legal obligations of a daughter to her father - need to be determined regarding the MIddle Ages before the action can continue.

I actually enjoy the research. Aside from giving me a good excuse not to write, I like learning stuff. Especially when that stuff has an immediate application.

Every year I learn this again. Some of the experience sticks from one year to the next. The motivational part: joining Script Frenzy, hosting write-ins, telling friends about my goals - all that I remember and do each year. All part of committing to the task.

I guess it's the commitment that I remember. Sort of like a sign post that says, "Start Here."

This is going better than I'd hoped

I am amazed at how much easier it is to write a script when I have an rough outline of what is going to happen. While preparing for Script Frenzy, I discovered that I am a little weak on structure. I mean, it's obvious, isn't it? My scripts wander like nightmares on Serpentine Avenue. The characters do things yet not much seems to happen. There isn't so much an ending as there is a reaching of appropriate page count.

Using "beat sheets" from two script specialists (Michael Hauge and Blake Snyder – if you must know), I sketched in brief summaries of what happens when. Thus removing some of the blocks that stop me from forward movement. I haven't tried this in the past due to my aversion to regimentation. However, having completed only two scripts out of six attempts ... I really needed to give a written outline a shot.

I'm writing and I don't want to stop! So uncharacteristic of me when writing a script. It's usually like pulling hen's teeth.

I hope this keeps up.

There's a counter on my home page where you can follow along. You can also check the statistics on my Script Frenzy profile.
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"whammablamma" (working title) Gender role reversal in 1300's English village.
Statistics
Total pages written: 5
Daily page count goal: 3.3
Pages written today: 5

The Story Experience

Lots of books, articles, and story consultants get into the technical parts of story:
1. Beginning, Middle, End
2. Inciting incident, Crisis, Climax, Resolution
3. Act I, II, and III
4. Premise, Theme, Conclusion
etc.

That is what story looks like from an analytical view point. It's as if you wanted to know what an orange was and you put it under the microscope and analyzed the acidity and talked about the skin and rind. Nothing in there would tell you about the orange experience: how it tastes, the juiciness of it, the fresh smell from the broken skin.

I realized, after reading a lot of books and articles and listening to a lot of podcasts, that there's something else at work here. There's a flavor, a flow, an odor and a substance to story. It's not just about the bones or what you can see from the outside.

It's not even about some backwards process where you write the whole story and then decide what it's about. It's like having someone ask about your boyfriend and you say things like, "He wears a size 12 shoe, has  brown hair, likes to tango, and drives a 2002 Saturn." These little descriptors do not provide the experience of being with your boyfriend. It tells you what he's like on the outside.

Here are my four (so far) categories of the story experience.

1. The Decision Tree. This is a story that goes from incident to incident like an adventure game with the protagonist making a choice at each crucial juncture. Examples are "Star Wars: A New Hope", "Hitch", "The Mask", and "High Fidelity (the movie)." The protagonist may have more than one choice at each juncture. This is a linear story going from A to B with pauses along the way. There is something nearly predetermined about this story. No matter how many twists and turns there are, you know things will work out, because each decision narrows the options for the next decision.
2. Interwoven Arcs. In this story each person, animal, element, and item has an arc. Their arcs are independent of each other yet they interact. In "Notting Hill" the eyeglasses move around, get lost, get replaced by prescription goggles, and are found. Each character has it's own arc that interacts with each other characters. Even the seasons are involved as they move through their turns. The arcs show the passage of time, reveal the characters, move the plot along, all while interacting. You could remove each arc, like whole threads, and reweave them. The key in this is that the story is not linear. There are a lot of stories. Other examples are "Slaves of New York" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
3. Interacting Systems. Unlike arcs, systems have energy centers. Energy moving out from the center causes events. The centers move around pinging off each other, causing other events, making the characters react. Systems can be people, events, or things – even energy itself. Disaster movies are often like this. Something blows up and that unbalances characters who blow up and then perhaps lots of tiny explosions happen until the energy dissipates. "Die Hard", "Independence Day", and "The Fifth Element" are examples of this. Comedies also do this, as in "The Pink Panther" with Inspector Clouseau bumbling around, exploding, and causing other explosions which then move the story into other directions. You could probably think of this as the triangular or pent-angular story depending on how may energy systems you have.
4. Wormholes. If the decision tree is linear, then wormholes are fields. In this type of the story, the events and characters are avoiding. It's as if the story is walking on stepping stones across the field or moving through wormholes, dropping in one place and emerging in another. Much is unsaid and must be figured out as you watch the movie. A lot of mysteries are like this. Examples of this are "Amadeus", "Phantom of the Opera", "Premonition", and "Kate and Leopold."

Maybe I've just renamed categories already out there somewhere. Important for me is that these are descriptors of the experiential process of making the story, not the bare, dry bones of analysis.

I sure hope this helps. I hope, that when I'm doing my usual seat-of-the-pants writing, I can look at what's happening and say, "Hey! This is a Decision Tree or Interwoven Arcs (or whatever)" which will help me recognize what structure I've got so I can build a better story. Or at least get all the way to end of it, for a change.

Screnzied! ... so far

Enora Undoni on Palfrey

I'm deeply thrilled that my screenplay script is quickly moving along. My strategy, to ignore the finer details of formating and to concentrate on story, is working. I'm able to write unimpeded – so far.

It helps that I have written (or attempted to write) four other scripts, one of which reached the goal of 100 pages. This makes it easier to select the correct line format (scene, character, etc.) on the fly. Having used Celtx for five years also helps.

I'm ignoring all the technical advice about how to write a screenplay, concentrating instead on Ann Lamott's idea of writing shitty first drafts, Robert McKee's idea of writing the story backwards (once I've discovered what it is by writing an entire script), and by following my own rules about creating a story by staying in it.

I refuse to think of the ultimate outcome for most scripts – to be produced. That's not my business now. My only job is to write the darn thing. All the rest is gravy. Or icing. Or maybe fudge.
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"On a White Palfrey" is a fantasy story about an time-bending angelic quest interrupted by a man in love.

Word Count Statistics

Goal: 100 pages

Today's Total: 18 pages

Written Today: 6 pages

Writing A Script: No Experience Necessary

It's nearly that time again: time to fall on the sword of inspiration and kill myself over a script. This year I have insurance, of sorts. I'm the Municipal Liaison for Script Frenzy. This means I round them up and point them in the right direction. While writing my own screenplay. I can't not finish. I would disappoint myself and them.

What's held me back in the past (I won one of the four previous attempts) is my inability to write with the same loose abandon of NaNoWriMo. I think it's the formatting. Or the structure. Or the strain of having to visualize. Or it could just be I have test anxiety or jump refusal (wait – that's horses).

Whatever! This year I'm going to have fun and screw the formatting, the plot, the characters, and the structure. For 30 glorious days I'm going to forget everything I've learned studying screenwriting and just go.

My (imaginary) scriptwriting editor is much more formidable than my novel writing editor. Actually, I think the scriptwriting editor is more like a guerilla street gang. I'm going to head them off at an alley, lead them over a cliff, and make sure I have my safety sneakers on.

You can too! Sign up now! No experience required. If you've ever seen a movie you can write a script! At least for the 30 days of Script Frenzy. No one said you had to show your script to anyone – ever. And what else are you doing? If you're the lenten type, this is a good way to fill in the time left vacant from giving up your favorite vice. The month will soar by and before you know it Easter will be here. Then you can celebrate by finishing your script.

See! Drivel is easy. Anyone can do it. And it's fun! Don't wait! Sign up now! (before sanity kicks in)
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"Untitled Masterpiece", The Phantom of the Opera, masquerading as a cable guy, donates his fortune to a poor old woman by repeatedly fixing her cable for no charge.

Word Count Statistics

Goal: 100 pages

Today's Total: xxxx

Written Today: x

ps: For those of you who insist on formatting a script correctly, you can let Celtx do it for you. It's free! And easy to use! And it handles a bunch of formats, not just screenplays. There are still 63 hours before Screnzy begins. You can study up if you prefer to be prepared.

Movies I Love, explained

Shades of immortals!

To expand on my tweet about #moviesilove, here is what makes my favorite movies worthy of love.

1. Slaves Of New York: Wondering what it's like to be an artist? Reminds me a lot of my art school days at Virginia Commonwealth University. And no wonder! Screenplay and book by Tama Janowitz who wrote about the world of Andy Warhol during the era when I was in art school. Heart warming in a satirical kind of way.
2. Defending Your Life: Albert Brooks' subtle humor gets better with rewatching. Even the concept is funny: purgatory as resort. Meryl Streep balances Albert nicely. Eating all you want and never gaining any weight? Puh-leese!
3. Galaxy Quest: I save this up to watch during the winter holidays every year.There's a parallel between the insanity of creating a universe based on fake science and families at Christmas. Everyone thinks they're doing the right thing but it all works out anyway. "... by Grabthar's hammer... by the Sons of Warvan..."
4. The Princess Bride: A lovely fairy tale for adults. A funny one. Full of sweet silly innuendoes. Sending up the fairy tale genre with a noble pirate, a gutsy princess, and a pretty villain. "Do you think it will work?" "It would take a miracle."
5. Star Wars: Do I really need to explain this? And, yes, I like them all in spite of "the phantom plot", other flung pejoratives, and JarJar Binks. I particularly enjoy seeing extra footage of Jabba the Hutt in the digital remake and being able to jump from III to VI to see Vader turn around. Although, it's kinda weird to see a young Hayden Christensen as the unmasked Darth Vader.
6. Harry Potter: I was dragged kicking and screaming into reading Harry Potter by my daughter who agreed to read all of The Lord of the Rings if I read HP – a mutually beneficial exchange. This series brought me understanding of the differences in storytelling technique between books and movies. I like each in their own way as great stories. Movie 6 (... The Half-Blood Prince) is so incredibly artsy. It even got a Cinematography Oscar nomination. 
7. Notting Hill: Most amazing long shot of changing seasons to the tune "Ain't No Sunshine." Lovely will-never-happen romance between a scuzzy book seller and famous actress. I hope Working Title won't flame me for telling you that I use this movie to go to sleep with every night. I watch it on my iPhone, enjoying all the little nuances that can only be noticed after 84 viewings. This title slid into seventh place because the number of tweet characters remaining precluded a lot of other favorites. Other options for 7th place: The Lord of the Rings, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Bridget Jones' Diary, Amadeus, Phantom of the Opera.

With Script Frenzy coming up I thought this an appropriate post. I am in a mild panic because I can't settle on an idea or even characters. I'm the Municipal Liaison for Richmond this year so I have to finish. Nine days to figure it out. Wish me luck. Or a broken leg or something.

Not Writing a Script

Ever since Script Frenzy began, well almost since then, I have been happily not writing a script. Just yesterday, in fact, I reveled in the joy of not script writing. Whenever I am writing, and a script seems to be the biggest catalyst, the rest of my life goes beautifully by comparison. It's a crazy insanity (uh huh) that I feel so much better when I am not writing a script. But when I write a novel, I am happier when I have written. Even though not writing a novel is also gives me a good feeling. It's like not script writing throws the rest of my life in sharp relief as a real cake walk by comparison. And I guess I get a charge out of defying whatever plan I have made to write.

It's not that I don't know what to write. I have stories in my head all the time. It's just that I prefer to think of them than write them down. If I could make movies just for me, I would. Unfortunately I haven't the patience for that. In the meantime there's not script writing.

Surprisingly, I did sit down this morning and bash out four pages of script. I am, however, far behind the goal for daily output if I am to reach 100 pages by April 30. The nice thing is that this story actually seems promising. I think it could actually make a movie.

I did some research to see if there was some way to write "natively" in the film medium. There isn't. Even graphic novels and comics take their labels from the film industry. It's all adaptation. There is no native film medium. Sort of odd. The closest I can get is to see the movie in my head and try to put that on paper. Scary sometimes how clearly I can see it.

I'm off now for a walk — a break from all this mad production. Maybe I'll come back and write some more, maybe not. After all, it feels so good to not write a script. Maybe I'll get some of those projects done that have been hanging around here for a long, long time.

Story: a contemplative progress signifying something

I feel as if I have tracked and caught a rare species in the wild. I brought home "Story" by Robert McKee today, after researching the author and reading nearly three chapters of the book. And I feel captured in return.

The book is expensive — I usually pay ten or fewer dollars for a book. For this one I gave up $35 (and some tax).

The book is compelling. I started reading skeptically thinking that here again was another overhyped screenwriting book with little substance. Instead, I was drawn from page to page by the beautifully organized structure, depth of knowledge and elucidating examples. I am happy and relieved to have finally found a book that makes sense of all the theories and brass tacks of story development. I'm 50 pages into the book and eagerly looking forward to reading and learning from the next 320 some pages. It's like a textbook.

I am heartened by the 16 suggested readings at the back of the book as I have previously encountered and respect five of the authors listed. In "Story" I have found a teacher who has been where I'd like to go and returned with a detailed and useable map.

Some of you may think I've been living under a rock to have missed as big a name as Robert McKee. Maybe I have. Even if the film industry has moved on to other story fads, McKee's book is a firm foundation for whatever comes next.

If only I could afford his upcoming seminar in New York! Oh well. Lots of good stuff in the book. I'm planning on taking the stories I have written so far and reorganizing them using his elements and principles. I'm sure I will learn a lot and that my stories (and I) will grow and improve.

Perhaps I am not so much captured as corralled into a large and rich workshop where I will be given the tools to make whatever my heart desires. That's definitely significant.

No movies for oldies?

According to Daniel Manus:

Here are the true reasons why studios don't make movies for the older crowd:

• They don't come to the movies very often. They are picky and while they will come out to the movies ("Julie and Julia" proved that), they don't do it very often, and studios have to play the odds. Kids go to the movies every weekend. If it rains, even more kids come out to movies, but everyone over 55 stays home.
• Their tickets are less expensive. Hello, Senior Discounts! Thank you AARP.
• Even if they will go see a movie in the theater, they won't go buy the DVD afterwards, they won't buy the soundtrack or iTunes merchandise, they won't get the Happy Meal with a shiny old person toy inside and they won't buy the T-shirt, poster or any other ancillary crap that kids most certainly will.
• Older crowds only respond to older actors that they can connect with (Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, etc). Unfortunately, there are only a handful of these women that can aid in opening a movie. The men are slightly different, as no one thinks of Harrison Ford as being 67 years old even though he is. But the type of movies he does doesn't bring his AARP co-patriots to the theater.

My opinion point-by-point:

1. We don't go to the movies often because they're usually all about kiddie toothpick fashionistas. When we were kids we wanted to see kids doing stuff. Now we're oldies we want to see stories with depth, plots that are engaging, thespians that can turn a phrase on a dime with non-verbals that match, and productions that haven't lost the continuity girl. Yes, we're picky. We like quality. We're sophisticated viewers. You can't bamboozle us with the same schlock you feed kids. Everyone over 55 stays home? Hah! I see them in movie theaters all the time.
2. If there were enough movies we thought were worth seeing, those miniscule "Senior" discounts would evaporate. And what about matinees? Hello cheaper tickets!!
3. When, out of desperation, an oldie does see a movie it's usually not worth replaying. Make a quality movie and we'll buy it. Scratch that, I've bought DVDs and I still buy DVDs. I buy merchandise when it's worth having. Has anyone asked us what merchandise we would like to buy? Whatever it is it has to be worth making space for among all the schlock I bought when I was young.
4. Sure, I respond to mature thespians. Why not? They're good, experienced and do quality work. Are you seeing a trend here? Quality work. I also respond to younger thespians who have more going for them than being able to model for a Biafra poster, look cute, and giggle.

Quite frankly I'm tired of seeing juvenile toothpicks with their bones poking out of oversized sleeves, wearing padded breasts and having to use body doubles whenever a scene requires a real body. I'm tired of thin plots, ubiquitous lines of dialogue, and characters that are cute trendsetters. I'm tired of linked merchandise that falls apart two minutes after it's out of the box and dumb tee shirts that are nothing but ads.

I want to be able to choose my merchandise and customize it. I tried in vain to find cuddly Dronkeys after the 3rd Shrek movie. If they had been for sale I would have bought them for me and everyone I know. I made a customized Dory mug. I plan to buy some good Star Trek merchandise (if I can find it). When the music is good I want the CD or to be able to choose the songs I liked as they were performed in the film. And let's not forget us oldies have grandchildren for whom we purchase items and with whom we sit in theaters.

So don't blame us for your lack of marketing research and blatant agism.

feeling like a real writer

I just printed out my screenplay draft – all 80 pages of it. It's is a thing of beauty. I am overwhelmed by my discovery at how official it looks printed out. Wow. It's not the same feeling as seeing the book version of my first novel draft. That was not exciting. It was satisfying but not exciting.

It's all beautifully formatted thanks to Celtx (completely free and totally wonderful). I could press a tab in Celtx and see the scene for each character. The scenes wouldn't be in order and it's a bear to rearrange them. I hoped there might be an index card function so I could rearrange the scenes. There is an index card tab and it does put the screenplay into the cards by scene, however, you have to type each theme at the bottom of the card which is automatically populated with whatever theme you typed into the previous card. Whatever the index card function is for, it's not working for me.

Anyway, it's all printed out now. I'm off to slice up all the scenes and put the character arcs in order so I can figure out what to do next, which I hope helps get me through this latest block.

Page Count: Still 80

It's not that I have no discipline. Not really. I went away for the weekend to a pagan festival and had such a good time that I didn't come back for two weeks. Physically it was just a weekend. Emotionally it was two weeks. For two weeks I threw an emotional tantrum and refused to do anything ... pretty much. Spent a lot of time mourning my lack of ideal life and dreams that will never come true.

I finally came around yesterday and got the script out and read it over. Man, have I forgotten a lot. Whoever said visit your characters every day was right!

In the meantime, I have discovered Patrick Horton who writes these really good articles on scriptwriting. I started answering the seven questions and got through five. They are tough questions and good questions. I had a small revelation about the screenplay story and why I'm writing it. So that's kind of sinking in.

Tomorrow I must write at least one page. At least.

Today's Page Count: 80

I wrote for about 30 minutes and am now at 80 pages on the screenplay. Nothing like a little love scene to add to the page count.

I've installed the Session Timer into Celtx which tells me how many minutes and words I've done. The plot continues to develop in unsuspected ways. I like it.

Refined the log line on IndieGoGo. Seems to help to have a more targeted summary. Have you ever been over to imdb.com and read the log lines? The Star Wars ones are distinguished in that they name actual characters. I guess when you own your own madly successful studio you can write the log lines anyway you want.

An hour a day

To keep moving forward on the script, which is now at 76 pages, I'm going to write an hour a day. Today it was actually 46 minutes. That's okay. Will try again tomorrow.

Signed up for IndieGoGo on the recommendation of Script Frenzy. Not ready to link to my project yet. The title is half formed, the log line a bit squashed and the summary needs more words. Promise to keep working on it. They say you never get perfect, but I think half-formed is not good enough.

Script Frenzy over - screenplay not done

I made it to 74 pages. I believe I can finish the story and the screenplay if I write a little everyday. But not today. Ha ha.

There an interesting site called MakingOf, apparently the brain-child of Natlie Portman, which has a ton of those "making of" videos. Amongst all that I found this lovely article about writing everyday. Sounds like good advice to me and a good reason to start another blog. Yikes!

A Swing and a Miss

Heh heh. That title suggests something to me – like a brand new screenplay (which is ridiculous as I still have to finish this one) – and that's not going to happen. I'm at 74 pages and need to write 26 by tomorrow morning at 9 am. Script Frenzy goes until midnight, but I won't be at home and, so, away from the keyboard that has the application I need to finish. I suppose I could always take the file with me, install the application at the keyboard I will be at and then write and delete the application when I'm done. I could do that. Not sure it's a realistic option. I'm painfully resigning myself to not winning this one.

I did better than my last attemp, which was two years ago. Got a lot more pages, got a lot further and learned more about the way I work and that scriptwriting is definitely different from novel writing. It's not just my imagination. So, there we go. Done. Mostly. Pretty much.

I could say I'll keep writing and finish the script after the 30th. I could but I wouldn't believe myself if I did. Still. It could happen.