by Zachary Ziemba Hollwedel
ScreenWritersLeague.com

I come from a new generation of (aspiring) screenwriters. We are, more often than not, computer-based writers, having abandoned pens, notepads, and moleskin notebooks for writing software and inestimable laptops. We spend (or ask our parents to spend) hundreds of thousands of dollars on screenwriting degrees. We read books and articles and watch documentaries about the industry and expect Hollywood to seek us out – and are frequently upset when it doesn’t. Ours is a new approach to writing, perhaps an over-informed one, but undeniably an ambitious one. We have the above tools at our disposal that earlier writers didn’t. And of course, we have another, which we grew up using every day. Something very precious. Something as valuable as writing software, how-to books, and university screenwriting courses. We have the internet.

I don’t know that I can tell you when it was that I first recognized how important a tool in my writer’s box the internet is. Truth be told, I don’t know that I really thought about it much. Sure, I was aware of how useful it was, but I don’t think that the depth of that – the benefits it provides, the great fortune I have to be a young writer with the internet at my disposal – sunk in until recently. When I take a step back and look at it, though, I realize just what a powerful instrument it can be – and how it can provide almost everything a writer needs (except, of course, talent itself).

Where do all writers begin their journeys toward screenwriting careers? Watching movies. Without having seen the end results of a scribe’s toil (and falling in love with them), we’d have never become interested in bringing our ideas to the screen. But after that first light bulb goes off, after we’re old enough to realize that movies begin with scripts and scripts come from writers, we find ourselves staring at an expansive wilderness – our goal on the other side of it, and the map in our hand completely blank. What’s next? How on Earth do we wannabes get to a place where our names are rolling across the credit screens?

The answer begins simply enough; we read. We read books on writing. We read screenplays. We read every article and interview about writing that we can find. And then we read more screenplays. That, for many of us now, is where the internet first really comes into play. Book vendor sites and message boards can instantly recommend hundreds of screenwriting books, and the user reviews that accompany each of them help us determine what we need to stock our bookshelves with. Entire sites are dedicated to hosting virtual libraries of uploaded scripts – from first draft to shooting script in some cases – that we can read FOR FREE. Interviews and articles about the trials and tribulations of becoming a working writer abound online, and it takes little more than the ability to fill in a search field to find them. Everything you need to begin that journey you can find online.

Idea at the ready, tutorials completed, you then begin to write. I first started working in Word, indenting when appropriate, losing hours to formatting over the course of a script. In college, I upgraded to specially designed screenwriting software. Now, thanks to sites like Scripped.com, the internet leads the charge yet again. Web-based screenwriting programs make it impossibly convenient to write wherever there’s a connection – secure, no chance of losing your one and only draft, which you can access it from anywhere. And for those still using localized software, there’s little better way to ensure a day’s work is protected than by regularly emailing your progress to yourself. Internet victory #2 for writers? I think so.

Once you have a script ready to see the light of day, it’s back to the trusty web for more help. No matter what your next goal is, there’s a “www” for it. Entering a competition? Not only can you find every single one of them online, but you can find independent reviews and guides to pretty much all of them. And to submit, you no longer have to print that quarter ream of paper and pay the postage on it. A submission is just a click away. Or maybe you don’t want to go that route. Maybe you’re ready to look for an agent, manager, producer, or even talent to get involved. There are sites for that, too. Subscription services can give anyone with a credit card access to script sales (so you can determine who best to target for your project), contact information for industry professionals, query information, and up-to-the-minute business deal tracking. I landed my first manager through a web-based representation search and sent every query letter I wrote via email. Not a page printed in most cases.

Finally, while waiting to hear back from producers and agents, we can continue to use the web to our advantage. In fact, this practice is best used all along. More than anything nowadays, the internet is a marketing tool. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace (if you’re still on it) – these are all 24/7 commercials for YOU. Agents search for talent via message boards, forums, and online groups. When companies are hiring (another example of the internet as a resource – find a job writing coverage or assisting an agent or producer), they check you out on Facebook. They Google you. Anything and everything they find is, for better or worse, fair game. They have professional profiles, so you would do yourself a favor to make sure yours is, too. And the more you have, especially the more you have that’s impressive, the more they’ll want you. Start a blog (be sure to spell correctly). Have a clever profile. Don’t spew vitriol on other people’s walls. This component of the web can be the most helpful in many instances (I’ve had agents solicit work from me because they found The Screenwriters League), but it can also be the most damning. Everyone’s online now – control how you want them to see you. A savvy online presence can get a mediocre script read faster than anything in some cases.

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg. Every day, a new social network, app, site, or gadget comes out that makes writing and self-promoting that much easier. For as much as I love to come up with stories, I can’t even begin to imagine what the next five years of online advancements will bring to a writer’s disposal. I do know, though, that with the internet at our disposal, there’s no reason we writers shouldn’t be prepared – and able – to tackle Hollywood head on.

Learn by Planning

I always have a plan. Not just a Plan A, but also a Plan B.

Will Chandler, Annette Handley Chandler, and Christina Lazaridi

In April, my writing partner and I applied to Sundance Screenwriters Lab with fantasies of sitting round the table, working our adaptation to the bone, while having witty repartee with the great Quentin Tarrantino. So, I dream big.

As we realized it could be August before we heard from Sundance, we started plotting Plan B: workshopping our script at Stony Brook Southampton Screenwriters Conference. Who wouldn’t want to hang on the Southampton beaches for a steamy week in July?

I jumped in and applied. My name is Jeanne, and I’m a learning junkie.

Andrew Bienen, Stephen Molton, Christina Lazaridi, Paula Brancato, Frank Pugliese, and Annette Handley Chandler

Stony Brook Southampton has offered their esteemed writers’ conference

since 1975, with outstanding instructors and lecturers such as Joyce Carol Oates, Nobel Laureate Derek Wolcott, Poet Laureate Billy Collins, Walter Mosely, Elizabeth Strout and many more. The famed Frank McCourt even taught with them for fifteen years.

One day, novelist and screenwriter, Robert Reeves, voiced his desire to add a screenwriting conference to the mix, giving its value as an added discipline. Hence, three years ago, screenwriters were finally given a voice… and a chance to shoot darts together at the local watering hole, The Tidewater.

A past screenwriters’ agent and current Director of the Stony Brook Southampton Screenwriters Conference, Annette Handley Chandler, explains her vision:

“My purpose in constructing the conference as I have has been to keep the emphasis on writing. The business of Hollywood is not an element we can control, but the strength of our writing – our voice, our understanding of the craft, the development of character and theme as well as dialogue – is what we can control. We improve the more we write and read strong screenplays.”

I couldn’t agree with Annette more. Learning is our responsibility as writers.

Much to my delight, I was invited to be one of eight screenwriters to participate in Christina Lazaridi’s workshop. Christina is an Oscar-nominated screenwriter as well as a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate Film Division and works as a screenwriter and consultant.

Pinch me… ouch… not so hard.

The event was astounding and far exceeded my expectations. Christina generously poured through our ideas, even staying late to squeeze the last drops of inspiration from our minds and souls.

All the workshop instructors shared Christina’s passion to help the writers grow, each as qualified as the next. They included Andrew Bienen, Paula Brancato, Stephen Molton and Frank Pugliese.

Outside of the intense workshops, we attended afternoon lectures. Actor Peter Riegert held a mini-workshop on Acting for Writers where writers brought scenes in for readings. Peter’s charm and humor made us at ease enough to dive into the actor’s mind. Thankfully, you cannot see us on youtube.

AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship screenwriter, writing coach, teacher and development executive, Will Chandler, taught a packed-to-the-brim class on The Screenwriter’s Toolbox: Three Tools to Outline Your Story Fast. People’s pens were running dry, copying down all his chalkboard diagrams.

One of the most valuable lectures was given by Carol Dysinger on Editing and Rewriting. She has an extensive editing career and has been a screenwriter for 20th Century Fox, Disney and HBO, and a tenured Professor of Graduate Film and New Media at NYU film school. She shared her personal tips on how to do the film editor’s job with our words – a much cheaper way to edit.

But the real value of the conference wasn’t in the knowledge of the instructors and lecturers; it was in their generosity and that of the other participants.

Long after the classes ended, you’d find writers huddled together, helping each other, swapping emails, and creating google groups to continue learning long beyond the event’s sunset.

Writers coming together to learn and grow. No egos. Imagine that.

We are still awaiting news from Sundance, but in the end, it doesn’t matter. We had one hell of a Plan B.

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman

Jeanne has written several spec screenplays and adapted the 2009 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. Jeanne is an active blogger and launched her freelance career with an upcoming article in Writer’s Digest Magazine on the value of Twitter for writers. Her Twitter presence is (in)famous, as she is moderator and #TwitterPIMPangel of the screenwriting chat, #scritpchat. Together with Rachel Langer, she created a blog, SMwriters.com, dedicated to social media and writers. After a six-year hiatus, her novel is back in progress.

We had a blog in the early days of Scripped, when we were less than 10,000 writers and couldn’t get a date with the studios. Times have changed – we’re nearly 100,000 strong and today we meet with three majors back-to-back-to-back.

But now it is just after 7am and I sit at Mel’s Diner in Sherman Oaks, casually looking over the shoulder of an older man typing on Movie Magic Screenwriter as I work on Scripped. He was here before I arrived at 6:30. Who writes screenplays this early? I think he left to avoid the annoying couple behind me, gobbling up hashbrowns after staying up all night, still doing impressions of Chris Farley and giggling too loud for the early Mel’s crowd.

Such is the life of the young entrepreneur. Up too early, hustling too late, getting dropped off by an in-law to get picked up by a business partner, dragging a suitcase around a city that used to be my home. I have to believe that as time goes on things get better and change happens for a reason.

It’s certainly true of Scripped.

Contrary to popular belief, succeeding in Hollywood isn’t about having connections; it’s about making them.  I grew up in Kansas.  For those of you who don’t know, it’s in the middle; the big, flat middle.  The closest “connection” I had was to my Dad’s late friend Greg Sullivan who climbed a local hotel (a la Spiderman) in hopes of getting arrested, gaining publicity, and attracting the attention of a local news anchor he had a crush on.  I don’t know if he ever met said news anchor, but he did make it into the local newspaper and in Kansas, that makes you famous.

In high school, my best friend’s aunt (who was friends with a soap opera actress) invited us to attend the Daytime Emmy Awards.  (“Invited,” as in she invited us to pay $200 a ticket to attend.)  We stayed at the Waldorf Hotel, along with many of the soap actors, where a line of limos was shuttling entourages to the awards show.  In an effort to save our cab fare, we approached the hotel concierge who, without question, loaded us into a limo.  Our driver, assuming we were actors, unloaded us onto the red carpet.  What’s girl to do when she finds herself on a red carpet but walk it?  So we did.  (Please note: This was a pre-9/11 awards show.  If I tried this today, I would likely be arrested.)

If you’re wondering where the red carpet leads, in this case it led to the pre-awards show dinner.  And like most industry parties it was chaotic, so we were able to lie talk our way in without much hassle.  Standing in a room full of writers and actors I was reminded of my father, who insists on stopping at the Grand Canyon any time we’re in the vicinity noting: “You never know if you’ll be back again.”  We were almost certain we’d never be back in this room again so we decided go for it: we approached every actor we knew and (after making sure we weren’t interrupting them; actors hate that) politely introduced ourselves.  In a room full of industry people, you never know who you’re talking to.  We could have been Les Moonves’ nieces for all they knew, so the actors were polite, asked our names, and in the most appropriate way they could, asked what we were doing there.  I’m convinced that had we been older, we would have been arrested, but what seems stalker-like at 20 is adorable at 16.  We were aspiring writers from Kansas.

“Where’s Kansas?”

“In the middle.”

The actors took us under their wings.  One particular actor, Beth Chamberlin, introduced us to every actor and writer she knew as “High school girls from Kansas who want to be writers.  How adorable is that?”  Beth also agreed to send us her old scripts for examples of formatting (who knew about Final Draft?).  And that was the first time I made a connection.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have connections.  The goal is not to have them, but to make them.  But in your effort to make them, you may find out you had them all along.

LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN

Take advantage of email and social networking sites to make connections.  Before I moved to LA, I sent an email to everyone I “knew “– family, friends, acquaintances, alumni, my parent’s friends — many of whom I’d never met.

Dear Cousin-who-lives-half-way-across-the-country-whom-I-haven’t-seen-since-I-was-four,

I recently graduated from college (Can you believe that?!  I haven’t seen you since I was four!) and I’m planning to relocate to LA to pursue a career in television.  I’m looking to make contacts in the industry that can offer me advice on pursuing my career, etc.  If you or anyone you know could point me in the right direction, I’d really appreciate it.  And I’d love to catch up with you when I get to town!

Why is it we use exclamation points when writing to people we don’t know?  We never use them with our friends.

You’ll be shocked how many connections you can make this way.  It turns out my parent’s neighbor’s nephew was an assistant on a television show.  He passed along my resume to his contacts, which led to two interviews.

After the Emmys, my best friend emailed a Webster University alum, who was the executive in charge of Procter and Gamble Productions.  The email simply said that we were two aspiring writers from Kansas who were planning to attend Webster, that we found her email via the alumni page (we’re not stalkers), and we were looking to make connections; we would love to meet with her next time we were in NYC.  She emailed back almost immediately, inviting us to her office.  This connection lead to an internship with Procter and Gamble Production’s PR department as well as with the writers’ offices of the two soap operas they produced – As The World Turns and Guiding Light.

When we finally met, we thanked the executive profusely for meeting with us, and surprisingly, she thanked us for contacting her.  She said she’s always amazed at how many simply don’t ask for help.  The truth is, not that many people pick up the phone and say, “I’d like to learn something from you.”  And most people are flattered when you do.

ALUMNI

Contact your school’s alumni office or visit their website to make connections with people from your school working in your field.  (We really do want to help you.)

INTERNSHIPS

Internships are an amazing way to make connections while you’re still in school, as well as gain experience for your resume.  I’m working to compile a list of internship listings but until then, visit your school’s career counselor; they will most likely be able to point you in the right direction.  (While in college, I worked for Webster’s career counselors.  Again, it’s amazing how many people don’t ask for help.  Career counselors and their staffs are there to help you.  Utilize them.)

USE THIS BLOG

Personally, I never comment on blog posts.  I lurk, as do many of you.  (I can see how many people visit my page per day and how many don’t leave comments.) Use this blog to connect.  Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on twitter to or email me personally and I’ll put you in contact with other aspiring writers.  Need a job?  Email me.  Need a roommate?  Email me?  My inbox is full of job listings and roommate ads that I’m dying to delete forward to you.  People email me and say, “I’m sorry to bother you…”  You’re not bothering me.  I volunteered to help.  Countless people helped me break in to the industry and now it’s my turn to return the favor.  So stop lurking and whining that you don’t have any connections and use this site as a networking tool.

———

Jessica Butler is a blogger for the Hollywood University Blog

When an audience thinks they know where you are going, it is an opportune moment to surprise them with something unexpected.

One of the formats for fresh writing is “The Unexpected Response.”

This is one of my favorite techniques when used correctly. The  setup sends our minds in one direction and then we get surprised by a response that we would have never thought of…but it still fits who that character is.

Today, we’ll go over one of three methods to create an Unexpected Response.

As you read the example and my explanation, you need to keep an eye on two things — the setup and the unexpected response.

GO OPPOSITE

This is actually an easy technique.  You look at what would be the normal response and go opposite of it.  At the conclusion of this article, I’ll discuss what you need to watch out for when you go opposite, but for now, take a look at this example…

…and remember, we’re simply looking to bring a fresh experience to the writing with one of twenty “Fresh” techniques. So this isn’t the only way a person can add freshness to their writing.

Here’s an example:

»From SHREK  — Page 21

SETUP:
Shrek says things like “Your welcome is officially worn out.  I’m going  to…get you off my land…” He’s throwing them out.

UNEXPECTED RESPONSE:
But because he is also getting them their most important outcome, they cheer him as a hero.

There are two things you need to watch out for:

1. Going with an ineffective “opposite.”
2. Not setting up the surprise properly.

The simple structure below solves both of these.

STRUCTURE:

A.  After writing a first draft of a scene, brainstorm possible “opposite” responses a character could have.

Often, this will generate great ideas that may seem impossible to fit into the story.  Imagine the writers saying “I want Shrek to say something terrible and the response is that the Fairy-tale people cheer him.” Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

Don’t count out any “opposite” response until you have taken the next step.

B.  With each response you like, brainstorm a setup that could make could make it work for the characters and the scene.

This might require that you put in some padding.  Notice that Shrek also said…

The writers set it up to give the Fairy-tale creatures a reason to cheer that makes total sense.  Shrek just said he was going to solve their biggest problem and he is big enough to do it.

Ultimately, your job as a writer is to gather a whole set of techniques that will have your writing stand out. Adding “Fresh” techniques to your toolbox can provide a lot of extra entertainment and will also cause producers to see you as an amazing writer they need to hold onto.

—————–

Hal Croasmun is a writer/producer in Los Angeles.  http://www.screenwritingu.com/screenwriting-articles

You’ve probably heard the saying “Film is a visual medium.”

It’s true.

What you SEE on that screen usually carries much more weight than the dialogue.  In every scene, one of the dramatic choices you make is the visuals.

It’s so much easier to have a character tell us what is happening, but that usually has far less impact of a really good visual.  Since having emotional impact is one of the goals of screenwriting, we want to master the art of showing and even more importantly, showing with meaning.

Here’s some visuals to consider.  As you read the examples, think about the visuals you use in your script.

1.  VISUALS THAT HAVE MEANING

Moulin Rouge — Nicole Kidman falls off the swing at the conclusion of the first big song delivers a strong meaning – she’s so ill that she faints during a performance.

Evita — The opening funeral of Evita’s father.  His real family arrives in a luxurious coach wearing nice clothes. But Evita and her mother arrive on the public bus in poor clothing.  Evita is a small girl and runs to the casket to see her father.  Men chase her away.  The message is that she is illegitimate.

Bad Santa — At the end of the bar sits a man in a Santa Clause uniform — sobbing and drinking himself into a coma. Without a word said, the visual says that this guy is willing to violate everything that Santa Clause stands for.

2.  VISUALS THAT ARE METAPHORS

Remember The Titans — Denzel Washington takes the players on a late night run and they end up in a field … at Gettysburg…  where 50,000 soldiers died in the fight over black and white.   Gettysburg is a metaphor for what they have been doing to each other.  He uses it to ask them to change their behavior and honor each other.

As Good As It Gets — Jack Nicholson hates the neighbor’s dog about as much as he hates the neighbor (and everyone else, too). At the midpoint, Jack must take care of the dog. So the dog becomes the metaphor for Jack’s acceptance of others. As they  develop a relationship, Jack becomes more tolerant of people and actually becomes friends with his neighbor.

Field of Dreams — In this movie, baseball is a metaphor for life. The field is a metaphor for taking risks and going for your dream.

3.  VISUALS THAT REVEAL KEY INFORMATION

Conspiracy Theory — After saying he doesn’t know her, Mel Gibson takes Julia Roberts into the escape room below his apartment and Julia sees his wall plastered with pictures of her.  In one visual, she realizes that he has been stalking her for years.

Basic Instinct — The movie ends with Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas on the bed.  When Michael says something about having kids someday, Sharon reaches over the side of the bed. Michael retracts the statement and Sharon retracts her arm. The camera tilts down to show an ice pick on the floor. Without words, we know that his life is in serious jeopardy.

Ever After — At the end, the Stepmother and wicked sister get called before the court to explain their actions.  The Queen asks if anyone will speak for them.  When no one says anything, Cinderella steps out, saying she will speak for the two women.  By her dress and manner, we know she is now royalty and the women who abused her so long are toast!

ONE CAUTION

Like dialogue, character, plot, and many other, visuals are one of the tools you can use to tell a story dramatically.

Writers either do very little visuals or they create such complex visuals that you have to reread the scene three times to really get it.

The caution?   Don’t fall in love with your visuals and forget that they are there to serve the story.   Like any other dramatic tool, if it doesn’t work for the story, use something else that works better.

QUESTIONS TO CREATE VISUALS

With any scene, ask these questions and see what answers
you get:

1. What meaning do I want to deliver in this scene?
2. What visuals could deliver that meaning?
3. What metaphors could represent that meaning?
4. What is it like?
5. What information could we reveal through the visuals and what visuals could possibly reveal that info?

Many times, asking these questions will deliver 10, 20, 30 or more answers and then you can pick the best ones. Every scene has the opportunity for visuals.  Often, it is just a matter of asking the right question and allowing your imagination to do its job.

—————–

Hal Croasmun is a writer/producer in Los Angeles. http://www.screenwritingu.com/screenwriting-articles

Most days, I’m on the phone with screenwriters, either from my classes or writers we’re working with on some kind of deal.  As we talk about their projects, I often think “That’s something I should write about in the newsletter.”

But in all the excitement and all the work, most of those pieces of advice don’t make it to the page.

In the next few issues, I’m going to provide some of the advice I give writers almost every day.  In most cases, I’m giving it because it solves one of their specific problems.  But most of these problems keep showing up again and again.

Pay close attention.  One of these may solve an important problem for you.

ADVICE: Don’t let a “good idea” keep you from coming up with a great idea.

This is important.  So many times, I see scripts where the writer found a “good way” of writing a scene or character and they set it in stone.

They achieved “good,” then resists anything that could make it ”great.”  It isn’t that they fell in love with the idea.  It’s more like they feel like it is done, so they don’t want to revisit it.

So let me give you a clear idea of the process to do:

1. Come up with the idea for a character or scene and write it.
2. After finishing that draft of your script, check to see how good the idea really is for your story.
3. If it is good, but not great, then elevate it.  If there’s a problem, then solve it.
4. Do a rewrite with the improved version.
5. Check again to see how well it serves the story.
6. Continue steps 3 – 6 until everything in your script is at the highest quality level possible.

Your good ideas are an excellent start — on the way to great ideas — and a great career.

ADVICE:  Tis better to be off-the-charts extreme than to be subtle and dull.

When I first started screenwriting, I asked five or six teachers how to write good subtext.  They usually started out by talking about character, then they moved into what I call “subtle writing.”

For some reason, they had “subtle” mixed up with subtext.  Maybe it was because they both begin with “subt…” but more likely, it was because they didn’t know how to write subtext.

Whatever the reason, here’s the problem:  Subtle is just one part of writing.   When people turn it into a style, they seem to be leaving out all the other important things that make a great script.

After working with hundreds of writers on their scripts, I’ve found out something that can really help you…

It is 10 times easier to back down an extreme script than it is to amp up a subtle script.

Did you get that?  When someone writes in an extreme way, it is easy to find ways to make it more subtle.  But when a script is written in a very subtle way, every change feels like it destroys the mood of the script.

In general, audiences love an emotional roller-coaster.  That means you have both extreme highs and extreme lows, and…there are many subtle parts in between.

The solution:  EXPAND YOUR RANGE.

Get really good at subtle writing and really good at extreme writing.  Become a master at both and you’ll be a star in Hollywood.

ADVICE:  Write “shit” in your first draft and be perfect in your final draft — not the other way around.

This is a major flaw that I see all the time.  People will go out of their way to make their first drafts as good as they can be.

What’s wrong with that?

It violates the purpose of a first draft.  A first draft is all about exploring, discovering, and allowing ideas to show up as you write.  That is a very different process than editing your words as you go.  In fact, editing will reduce or completely destroy the creative process of a first draft.

If you are going to write 3 to 10 drafts anyway, there’s no need to make the first one perfect.  That is the job of the final draft.

But here’s the real paradox of this process:

The same people who try to make the first draft perfect then turn in scripts where the final draft has all kinds of problems.

How could that be?  How could they be so focused on being perfect in the first draft and then turn in something with problems in the end?

Here’s how:  In trying to make the words of every draft perfect, they’ve missed the real purpose of each draft.  So chances are their structure, characters, story outline and other important parts of their script has suffered.

I divide the drafts into three simple steps and each of them has an extremely important job that must be accomplished and requires ALL of the writer’s focus to accomplish it at a professional level.

Here’s the simple version of the purposes:

1. First Draft:  To get your story on paper in a non-edited fashion and create/explore/discover all you can about it.
2. Second to Tenth Drafts:  To solve the problems and elevate anything that isn’t up to the quality level you need.
3. Final Draft:  To polish the script to perfection.

Please notice that you don’t start polishing until everything else is up to the quality level you need.  That final process should only be done when everything else in your script works well.

ADVICE:  You are on the Hero’s Journey.  Stay with it until the end.

Pretend you are writing your own story — You going through the journey of becoming a famous screenwriter.

Chances are that you are going to go through all the stages of the Hero’s Journey.   At some point, you got the “Call to Adventure.” You have probably entered into the “Initiation” phase and are facing your own challenges to completing this journey.

You may have already taken the full-out leap into the Abyss which then leads to the ultimate transformation.  And a few of you have already discovered your gift and make the great Return to life that allows you to express that gift to contribute to society through your art.

Screenwriting can change your life in many ways.  Going through this journey will help you understand how life works, how to deal with conflict, how to work with the character traits of your relatives, and how to see the resolution to a problem while in life’s 2nd Act.

So the next time you feel discouraged, just remind yourself that if you continue to deal with the rising complications and fight your way through the final conflict, you’ll return home as the hero you’ve always wanted to be.

Be strong.  Keep learning.  Keep writing.

————-

Hal Croasmun is a writer/producer in Los Angeles.  http://www.screenwritingu.com/screenwriting-articles

Probably the most tempting thing to do in a script is create a scene where two characters banter back and forth.  It just seems so easy. You set up some kind of conflict and let them talk.

But does that entertain readers and audiences?

Most of the time, “talking heads” scenes don’t deliver anything close to a scene with meaningful action.  But there are some exceptions.  For this article, we’ll focus on one exception and what makes it so entertaining…for a talking heads scene.

In GROSSE POINTE BLANK, Martin Blank (John Cusak) is a “hit man” who has major concerns about returning to his high school reunion and seeing the woman he left on Prom Night 10 years earlier.

In this scene, he is at Dr. Oatman’s office in a therapy session with Oatman (Alan Arkin) and it is a 100% talking heads scene, but it delivers some great drama and comedy.

The script was written by Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis & S.K. Boatman & Steve Pink & John Cusack.

As you read this scene, notice three things:

1. How the dramatic situation gives the dialogue more entertainment value.
2. How both characters are acting out of their own needs and desires.
3. How the banter keeps the scene interesting and funny.

>From the first Act:

NOTE:  Here’s a hook.  Martin has just told us his sad story that ended with a punchline (…killed the President of Paraguay with a fork, how have you been?) and someone is supposed to be taking notes.  Why would be taking notes and why?

NOTE:  We got our answer to the hook, but this has just created more story questions — If he isn’t Martin’s doctor, why would Martin be there telling the sad story?

But there is something more important going on here.  Look at that setup.  Our hit man is forcing a therapist to listen to his problems. But not with a gun.  He has a psychological hold on his therapist. So the scene is done with irony.

30 seconds into the scene, the unique twist gives us a situation and relationship that is interesting from a dramatic and comedic perspective.

This simple twist is a structural tool that gives the dialogue a deeper meaning.  Sometimes, the solution to a dialogue problem is to change the structure of the scene.  In an early draft of this script, they has a normal therapy session where Martin discussed his problems and the therapist replied in a very standard fashion. Their change improved the quality of the scene by ten times or more.

NOTE:  Understatement:  How could someone let a little thing like murder interfere with the therapeutic dynamic?  But also, notice how Martin is having to deal with the issues of his therapist. And it doesn’t stop there.

NOTE:  Martin doesn’t want to be withholding.  It is the opposite of what you would assume of a hit man.  And the subtext line “and I know where you live” tells us why Dr. Oatman has to continue taking these sessions.

NOTE:  Now, the therapist is discussing his own emotions. Again, the opposite of the normal therapy situation, but it makes total sense with this situation.

NOTE:  Finally, check out relationship between these two.  A patient who is truly committed to his therapy is holding the therapist hostage…psychologically.    While the therapist is “withholding” treatment and babbling about his own performance anxiety.

These two are great together!

The scene concludes with Dr. Oatman recommending that Martin go to his high school reunion, but tells him not to kill anybody, which is the primary reason that Martin is going back to Grosse Pointe.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

Dialogue isn’t just about the words.  For banter to work, you need to combine different levels of storytelling.   In this case, they used a structural twist, irony, subtext, conflict, relationship, character, comedy, and interesting words.

Next time you need to solve a dialogue problem, look beneath the surface.  Your solution could come from a stronger plot, structure, conflict, character, or any number of other screenwriting techniques.

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Hal Croasmun is a writer/producer in Los Angeles. http://www.screenwritingu.com/screenwriting-articles

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