Cameo
Now that the Frenzy is over we asked Ron and Steve–who sometimes work as writers–for advice on making the leap from young scribe to master. Take it away, boys!
So we have roughly 500 words to write something to transform brand-new scribes into screenplay-scrawling masters. A bit of a challenge perhaps, but we can do it. After all, our 500-word article on piano playing (excerpt: “Place your fingers over the black and white things and press them musically”) was a tremendous success.
As writing is very easy, it may be most convenient to offer a comprehensive list of things NOT to do when sitting behind the keyboard.
Here's how it goes down: you write a script. It's original, it's authentic. You get a bite. Why? Because your script is original and authentic. Then you get an agent and a meeting and the suits love your script because it's original and authentic. Then you make a deal. You sell your script for scale. You have another meeting. Now your script is too original and authentic. Someone high up in the corporation thinks it should be just a little... "safer."
Congratulations! You finished 100 pages of script in 30 days. It's a great feat, but you can't bask in the glory of your April accomplishment for too long. There’s still a lot of work to be done and, sadly, your computer will not magically revise and submit your script for you. Which is why we're here to help you get back on your writerly feet, and direct you to some places where you can take your script to the next level.
1) Revise
Whether it’s with a writing group, your close friends, or your mom, sharing your newly written script with other people (especially with other writers) makes the revision process much easier. The Script Frenzy forums are a great place to find a revising partner. Another good bet is the Zoetrope Virtual Studio, where you can share your finished Script Frenzy draft with others for feedback, or you can give feedback on other scripts that have already been posted. The criticism is usually very constructive, and you can learn
We asked award-winning playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb for his tips on endings. Take it away, Peter!
I am the type of writer who usually begins a play not being exactly sure of the ending. That's part of the excitement for me of building a story: figuring out as I go along where the play needs to go. The discovery often has full structural ramifications, and I go backwards and forwards to further shape the play and its push towards the ending (which may or may not be conclusive. Let's just call it "the moment the audience is supposed to clap."). As an avid fan of the rewriting process, this "organic free love" ending-finding is a process that works well for me. Sometimes.
The particular moment when I've had the revelation of where my play may be ending has varied from project to project. It usually emerges somewhere around 1/2 to 2/3 of the way
We asked screenwriter, Lauren Miller, for her tips on writing a relatable romantic comedy. Take it away, Lauren!
Who doesn’t love to love a romantic comedy? No one, that’s who! But how often do you go to the theatre just dying to love the new girl-chases-guy, girl-loses-guy, guy-wins-back-girl movie and you leave the theatre just a little… well…not in love?
Unfortunately, I find that it happens a little more often than it doesn’t happen, and I thought of a few things that might make your romantic comedy the most lovable and relatable thing you’ve ever seen.
- Keep your romantic climaxes real. Okay, we all love Richard Gere climbing the fire escape, and we all love Tom Hanks finding Meg
We asked Lisa Drostova, critic turned actor, her thoughts on great dialogue. Take it away, Lisa!
Write things that are exciting or powerful to say, things that make an actor hyperventilate with desire to speak your words out loud. Actors are sweet on writers who pay attention to this point. There are plays that get performed for years, decades, even centuries after they're written because actors want to do them . Not just because directors feel they're "important" or subscribers find them satisfying, but because actors agitate to get them staged. Hang around with actors for any length of time and you'll hear them delivering lines they love, even from plays they've never done. Last month I shared a dressing area with a woman who sings Gilbert and Sullivan's A Modern Major General between acts of a completely different show just because she loves lines like "I know the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes." Meanwhile out in the parking lot, other castmates were wandering around quoting each other's lines from shows
We asked award-winning director, Nathan Marshall, to break down the new rules of television writing. Take it away, Nathan!
Television writing used to be a pretty straight-forward affair. By the mid-1990s, the sitcom had reach the height of its form with shows like Seinfeld and Friends, and the hour-long drama had found an acceptable balance between soap opera plotlines and edgy camerawork in episodics such as ER and NYPD Blue. There was a place for everything, and everything was in its place. Sitcoms used the decades-old double-line-space writing format, and dramas stuck to the tv/screenplay hybrid style that had been hammered out in the 1960s. It all made sense!
And then came HBO. Sure–we’d all wasted evenings watching the tired B-movie fare of the old Home Box Office. The movies you’d never rent at the video store were bound to show up on the afternoon schedule eventually, and there they’d play, over and over again, until bored viewers stood virtually no chance of
We asked screenwriter and story doctor, Jill Chamberlain, the secrets of great stories. Take it away, Jill!
If you find yourself blocked and can't figure out what to write next, the problem may lie not in the scene you're stuck on but in your story as a whole.
Take a look at these three secrets of great storytelling, and see if they help you reimagine your story in a fresh light. With a few tweaks, you can usually manipulate your tale to work within these three frameworks. Then, your story should be rock solid, and hopefully you'll never find yourself at a loss for words again
1. Every story is a version of "be careful what you wish for."
At the beginning of a screenplay, usually within the first 10 pages, the protagonist is introduced, and we find out what the protagonist wants.
Here at the middle of Script Frenzy 2008, we asked screenwriter and producer, Blake Snyder, for his advice on conquering the middle of any story. Take it away, Blake!
In both my Save The Cat! books and also the Save the Cat! Story Structure software, I have stressed the vital importance of figuring out what the midpoint of a screenplay is. I like to say that if you can crack the midpoint, you can crack the story. And it may not be until you do that you truly know what your story is really about!
To me, the day I discovered there is a secret to what happens at the midpoint in EVERY story, I was rocketed into a whole new dimension in my abilities as a writer.
We asked Liz Lisle, producer, dramaturg, and playwright, for her thoughts on sparking up a scene. Take it away, Liz!
Banging your head against the door of the refrigerator because your scene just won’t come together? Here are some quick and dirty ways to get your characters moving, your plot dancing, and your imagination playing the fiddle like it’s a hot summer night.
1. Add a character that speaks differently. Put someone in the scene that uses words in a distinctly different manner than the other characters. As soon as language becomes a focus, there are lots of interesting questions on the table about who, why, and what. As the playwright, you then get to spend time deciding if these are questions you want to answer now or later, if at all. A great way to create a dynamic in a scene is to create mystery around what is common knowledge and what is not.
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