A Screenplay

"A screenplay deals with externals, with details - the ticking of a clock, a child playing in an empty street, a car turning the corner.  A screenplay is a story told with pictures, placed within the context of dramatic structure." - Syd Field, Screenplay The Foundations of Screenwriting.

Rewrites

I didn't feel like rewriting the script I have been working on today, but I did it anyway.  After months of rewriting, I finally got the courage (or the common sense) to do away with some of the scenes I wanted to keep.  Here are some tips for letting scenes go:

According to Laura Schellhardt, Author of Screenwriting for Dummies,

Ask yourself why you want to keep the scene(s).  The following arguments are NOT convincing:

• I like it.
• It sounds good.
• My friend like it.
• It worked in that other film.

If any or all of these excuses serve as your only reasoning, the section should probably go.  However, the next arguments may suggest otherwise:

• It sets up crucial information.
• It expresses character.
• It supports another scene.
• I know that it means something.

The bottom line is knowing, really knowing your script and all of a sudden, it just feels right deleting those scenes, because you've tried them all kinds of ways and they just don't work - and now you know.

Best of writing,

Kim

Breaking Bad Habits and Picking Up Good Ones

One of the keys to becoming a successful screenwriter is applying the concepts that have made other screenwriters strong.  If you're looking for some good habits to start Karl Iglesias have interviewed the best of the best and came up with The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets From Hollywood's Top Writers.  A must-read and then implement kind of book.  Let me know your thoughts after reading the book.  Who is your favorite writer.  Was he/she in the book?  If so, what did you think of their habit(s) and is this anything you are planning to implement right away?

My Journey as a Screenwriter: Writers

My Journey as a Screenwriter: Writers: Could it be true?  According to Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award-Winning Author, Poet, Playwright and Professor "writers are stubbornl...

Writers

Could it be true?  According to Joyce Carol Oates, National Book Award-Winning Author, Poet, Playwright and Professor "writers are stubbornly independent.  Writers are self-reliant, knowing that there is no one to really help them but themselves; writers hope to be "original," which means not following in the paths of others."  I am a writer.

What Can A Screenwriter Learn from a Comedian?

Can a Comedian really help us become better Screenwriters?  I think so!  We forget that many Comedians write their own jokes.  Now by a show of hands, who wants to hear the same joke over and over again?  I know I don't!  SMH (shaking my head).

So according to Jerry Seinfeld every January he gets the priviledge of ripping down his old calendar full of "X's" and putting up a fresh, new, clean calendar with no "X's".  Then, everyday that he comes up with new material he gets to make a brand new, big, red "X" on that day, then the next one, and the next one and the one after that until he creates a chain.  Which by creating this chain of bright, red "X's" his daily goal is not to break the chain.  For more information on Jerry's method for creative success visit:  http://www.writersstore.com/dont-break-the-chain-jerry-seinfeld.

Okay.  That works for Jerry Seinfeld but how's not breaking the chain going to help "us"?  Well?  For instance, what if your goal is to write 6 pages every day for the next 20 or 30 days?  You could print your very own calendar at http://www.writersstore.com/dont-break-the-chain-calendar and start marking a big, fat, red "X" on everyday that you actually write 6 pages...but the days that you don't achieve your goal you write nothing.  Not making an "X" would be a sad day and making an "X" would mean you had a happy, productive day.  Use the Don't Break The Chain calendar for all of your daily, weekly, monthly goals and be more successful.

Print your Don't Break The Chain Calendar today!  I heard this method is addictive.

Happy writing,

Kim

Research

I don't know about you, but when I am researching a script I am convinced that I am still "writing".  I believe I am always writing, but, actually, I tend to watch movies, rewatch TV episodes and rewrite Scene 1 - Act 1 of my script.  Yes, it is true, only a fool does the same thing and somehow expect for the script to miraculously complete itself.  The same is true with exercise.

I have written the same script at least a thousand times.  The script is fully completed in the spiritual realm, now all I've got to do is bring it to Final Draft.  My problem is that I am always re-researching and rewriting Scene 1.  This is insanity.

Realizing I'm insane I do the fourth thing on my mental "do" list, I turn to one of my favorite books, Screenwriting for Dummies, look up research take the suggestions:

*Immerse yourself in the time frame (CHECK!)
*Return to other visual mediums (CHECK!)
*Visit appropriate locations (OK...CHECK!)
*Observe Human Behavior (CHECK!)
*See lots and lots of films (CHECK!)
*Read books on the craft (or re-read them) (CHECK!)

The thing I realized today is, like our scripts, for each of these tasks there are different levels and because I keep striving for my best, I have to dig deeper, try harder and stand taller!

Happy New Year!

Movies

I went to www.simplyscripts.com and downloaded the script Black Swan http://www.raindance.org/site/picture/upload/Black%20Swan%20(2010).pdf after I saw the movie.  I found both to be surprisingly entertaining.

I am beginning to wonder if I have a life.  This weekend I watched Little Fockers, Underworld, Social Network (for the second time) and I can't wait to hear the documentary with Aaron Sorkin, but like some many others, I like watching those behind the scene moments alone; and Salt.  Salt was by far, the best and most intense movie of them all.  That darn Angelina - she's awesome.  I guess I will watch the Changeling, now that I think she's the best Actress ever.

I can't believe it's been more than six months since I have written on my blog.  I never wanted to be one of those people with an out of date website or blog.  Will I do better?  I hope so.

I started the blog to vent and to clear my mind when I found my script to be overwhelming.  I have been working on this script since 2004.  I can not believe it.  I never thought I could have writer's block, but still I wonder why.  Why has it taken me so long to complete this script.  I have come to the conclusion that I am lazy, unfocused and maybe even intimidated by the possibly of success.  After all, once I finish the script it's gonna be, gotta be a success right?

Why Screenwriting?

After discovering I enjoy writing, an Executive Producer, friend of mine mentioned if I ever had an idea for a movie he would help me get it produced.  So, what the heck, I grabbed a notebook, a pen and came up with a rather lame, half-baked idea for a TV series.

TIP: Sometimes good ideas need to simmer.

After sharing the idea with my friend he said, "Okay, send me a Treatment".  I could tell he was not moved by the idea. I continued, "So, what's a Treatment?". After he explained what a Treatment was, I replied, “Oh, so a Treatment is like a synopsis of the story?”

That was the first time I realized that Actors and Actresses didn't just make up what they said on the fly. Looking back, I mighta called that small revelation an 'ah ha-moment', but instead I let the idea of writing a script simmer...for years.

Then one holiday season, my Brother-In-Law, Darryl and I were chit-chatting in front of the TV and he and his wife Shon mentioned two movies I absolutely HAD to see:  Blue Hill Avenue and Gladiator. Watching those two movies changed my life forever.

Blue Hill Avenue is a story about four childhood friends and their quest as big-time drug dealers in Boston. The movie stars one of my favorite-LOOKING Actors, Allen Payne and earned Best Director Category in the 2001 Urbanworld Film Festival.

I don't consider myself a big fan of Crime movies although I must admit, I have seen my share, like New Jack City, Sugar Hill, The Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs to name a few. And everyone has seen The Godfather. My favorite was Part I.

Chance are, if you enjoyed The Usual Suspects and Reservoir Dogs then you might find Blue Hill Avenue entertaining. I honestly can not remember the number of times I have actually seen Blue Hill Avenue or its different scenes but believe me, it was a lot!

I do recollect, that after watching the movie Blue Hill Avenue the first time on DVD, I had to go back and watch it again because Tristan, Allen Payne's character, referenced a detail from their childhood I didn't recall so I had to watch it again.

What was not to love about The Gladiator?  Ridley Scott and his team did an awesome job recreating the world in which the movie took place, which made everything believable from beginning to end.

I enjoyed watching the Behind The Scene piece of The Gladiator and absolutely fell in love with the Score (i.e. the music). I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted my first script to mirror Gladiator as much as possible.


My goal is to invite the audience into a world as similar to the real thing as humanly possible. And of course I dreamed of Ridley Scott directing my first script because he is excellent at capturing the essence of 'the world' of the movie.