The Painful Moments

Movies aren't about the dull times in life. Movies are about adventures, crises, turning points and change. Today the Mini-W started her first day as a freshman in a new high school. Where everybody already knows everybody else. Kid was white as a ghost but teenaged pride wouldn't allow her to articulate how she felt. How many of us read that last couple of sentences and were instantly transported to the feeling of teenaged angst and insecurity? For most of us, even if high school was long ago, the memory is keen. How about moving out of your folks place for the first time? Starting your first real job? Getting married? Or turning back the clock a little, the feeling of having your own car? Being invited to (or not) the prom?

Part of the reason it's so very hard to be a writer is that we tend to feel and remember these emotions more deeply than other people. It's why we write and it's why we write well. When people go to the movies, they go to experience these emotions vicariously. It's a safe place to work out the emotional kinks. Part of the reason that actors are often - let's face it - a little crazy is that they literally summon the emotions of the character in the moment. They feel angry, they feel frightened, they feel insecure. Actors become the character they are portraying and that means wrapping themselves in the experience.

Well, in order for writers to write a really effective painful moment in a script - we have to feel it too. Become your character as you write. Feel their pain, fear, joy or triumph. Tap into your own feelings from life experiences. It's the only way a painful or emotional moment in your script is going to read authentically.

I think we all wish the Mini-W well today. What are some of your favorite high-school movies? Have any Rouge Waves seen SUPERBAD?

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Just for a laugh

I saw this link on Done Deal and it's just so fun. Check out the Hollywood Action Movie Generator and see how frighteningly easy it is to spin the wheel and come up with just about every action movie you've ever seen.

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Learn the Craft

My dear friend Pilar Alessandra at On The Page is offering a wonderful class this fall called "Six Steps to a Screenplay". Take it from me, Pilar is an excellent teacher and wonderful person. Those Rouge Wavers living in the Los Angeles area who keep meaning to enroll in a class but who can't quite commit....this is the class for you. But Pilar's classes fill up very quickly so act fast:

Build your script from premise to pages in six weeks!

Thursdays: Sept 6 – Oct 18 (skipping September 27); 7-10pm.
and
Saturdays Sept 8 – Oct 20 (skipping September 29) 12-3pm.

The cost is $375 but get this - Rouge Wave readers get $50 off!

So check out Pilar's website today!

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Great Blog Resource for TV Writers

...So every once in awhile I check my site meter just to make sure my mom isn't the only Rouge Waver reader (hi mom!) and also look to see where Rouge Wave visitors are coming from. And today I noticed a reader who clicked over from a blog I was unfamiliar with. A short visit later, I was really impressed by this blog and wanted to share it with Rouge Waver readers, front and center. It's Running With My Eyes Closed and it is, as my good buddy Manolo the Shoeblogger would say, super fantastic! So add this gem to your daily reads you aspiring television writers!

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Got Ideas?

...or are you all out? Fresh out. Plumb out. Dried up. Uninspired. Kaput. Okay you get the point. When I taught a Learning Annex class a few weeks ago, I had my students do a really fun exercise. Everybody grabbed a section of newspaper and had ten minutes, with a partner, to browse their section and come up with a logline which included: a main character with a flaw, an antagonist, a central conflict and a genre. The results were actually spectacular. Of the ten partnered pairs, I'd say six had loglines that were absolutely worth developing further. And that was in ten minutes flat.

Sometimes it feels like nose-to-the-grindstone is quite literal when you're a writer. On and on you go working on the same project, becoming frustrated and even bored. Or sometimes too many ideas and projects beckon and you lose focus.

Part of the Writer's Survival Kit is to spread your writing energy out a little bit so that if you aren't working on the first act of your fantastic new horror script, you are taking a dialogue class online and when you aren't doing that, you're outlining your idea for a novel and when you aren't doing that you are always, always being observant and studying people and the weird things they do.

Yes, focus is important but try to avoid that lethal, silent, creativity killer - feeling bogged down and blocked. It creeps up on you and you don't realize it until it's too late. Keep that imagination fresh, playful and joyful as much as you can. Being a writer can feel like a curse sometimes - but it is also an enormous gift. So take your gift out to play each and every day.

Try the newspaper exercise just for fun, just to see if you can do it. Or the next time you're out at a Starbucks, look around at the others waiting in line. Can you come up with a logline based on what's going on right then? Keep those creative muscles moving. Ideas and inspiration are everywhere.

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The Ol' Ball and Chain

Are you wed to some of the elements in your story? And are you stuck because of it? Have you thought about throwing all rules and judgment and presupositions out the window (in other words, your darlings) and really shaking up your story a bit?

Elements in your script are moving parts; you are the writer so if suddenly your modern romcom becomes a Western action story - that's up to you. I know that sounds absurd but sometimes throwing out things you were wed to can invite in all sorts of fresh ideas. Don't let your script become a ball and chain - nobody says it HAS to be the genre it is. Or set where it is.

Here are some ideas to unstuck you when you're stuck.

Genre: read your premise aloud and suddenly imagine it's a:
Western
Science Fiction
RomCom
Psychological Thriller
Horror

Does imagining your story as a different genre suddenly suggest new directions in the premise? Does it make it more original or compelling? It might.

Time Period: Why does your story take place in the present? What about:
The Civil War
The 1950s, 60s or 70s
The Gilded Age
The near future
The distant future

Does setting the story during a different era help you imagine different obstacles and creative choices?

Location: Instead of where the story is currently set how about:
Mississippi
Alaska
Manhattan
South Dakota
Europe
The Bahamas
Portland, Oregon
Portland, Maine
Mexico

Does a different backdrop make you think of setpieces and scenes that you wouldn't have before? How about ancillary characters or even your antagonist? People are pretty different in Alaska than in Mississippi. Think of the local customs, rituals and traditions of each different setting. Can you exploit them?

Dramatic Backdrop: What happened right before or right after your story began?
Is this a romcom set three days before the 1986 World Series in which Bill Buckner blew it?
Is this one week before Katrina? Or a week after?
How about the assassination of JFK?
Would a natural disaster in a far away country affect your main character's choices or moods? How about if they had been in the Peace Corps in that particular country?
What if the Olympics are about to start? Winter or Summer? Is it on the tv in the background of your story? Or is your character hoping to go? Are there sports metaphors you can use?
Does an impending presidential election fill the airwaves with campaign speeches and billboards?

Narrative: Are you being too traditional in your storyline?
Is the end of your story actually the beginning?
Should you tell your narrative in order or mix it up?
Is the middle the end?
Does the whole thing start too early? Or too late?
Is there a different way in to this story?
Is this story actually more interesting told from the POV of the antagonist?

Character: Is your main character really that compelling?
Is your main character the opposite gender? Try it out. Make her a him.
Is your main character ten years older or younger?
Married rather than single? Divorced and not married?
Is your main character a different race or religion than you currently have on the page?
How would that change their point of view, actions and judgments?
Would things get way more compelling if your main character were your antagonist?
What if your antagonist is really your main character? Try it out. Think about it.

In other words, shifting genre, main characters, time periods and events surrounding your story can suddenly shed new light. Don’t be afraid to click different elements in and out of place. I have literally seen writers emerge from a brainstorming session completely excited because when they did this exercise they suddenly got it –the thing that was missing – because they were able to throw everything out the window and just spitball their story and characters until something that had never occurred to them before suddenly made perfect sense.

So if you’re stuck, roll up your sleeves, take a deep breath and simply mess with your story. Ask it all kinds of questions. Go big. And you might just find the solution – and inspiration – to get you unstuck. Do it with a sense of playfulness because never forget, Wavers, this is supposed to be fun. We’re making up stories here, people, not solving prison over-crowding. So let loose with that imagination – don’t be backed into a corner because you won't give yourself permission to change up some of the elements in your story.

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Unicorns

Apropos of nothing, here's something that gave the Wave-inatrix a much-needed chuckle today:

Unicorns are better than cats because....

Unicorns can be trained, whereas you could never in a million years train a cat to fly you to a magical fantasy land on its back.

For more fun McSweeney's Lists

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Don't Forget the Blueprint

Every writer has their own unique trajectory and approach. Some writers write two or three or six scripts and then decide to take a class or read a screenwriting book. Others take classes concurrent with writing their scripts. Some never read a book or take a class at all, thinking themselves natural geniuses.

Here's the thing. I talk to writers every day, whether on the phone or in my notes, about every element of a script. Character, dialogue, structure, storyline and premise. And I'll be honest - for some newer writers in-depth discussion of these elements outside of their particular story is new and difficult to grasp. And they think that a discussion of character from an academic point of view is esoteric; what they really want to know is how to make George more "likeable". Or that a discussion of stakes and motivation in the storyline is b-o-r-i-n-g when they really want to know how to "just make it bigger".

This is the point at which newer writers - and I stress that because more experienced writers already know this - need to step back from their particular story and study up on the element at hand. Because looking at the micro-view and making quick fixes is like slapping spackle on a wall that is already crumbling. You need to understand the architecture inside the wall rather than just spackling and painting it til it crumbles. George will not only be no more likable, he'll be a mess. And worse - with each successive script, you will be no better a writer.

How do I know this? Because I've done it myself. Don't be so impatient to just make your script better. There's no magic solution. Slow down, take a deep breath and endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of the way character works in general. Or structure. Or writing a great premise.

A house crumbling from within will never stand, no matter how much spackle you use.

Here are some of the books I recommend to clients:

Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach by Paul Joseph Gulino
Inside Story: The Power of the Transformative Arc by Dara Marks
Story: Robert McKee
Save the Cat: Blake Snyder
Backwards & Forwards: David Ball
The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri

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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

(microphone feedback) Paging MovieQuill! (crackle) Moviequill please make your way to the podium to collect your prize! (echo)

A $25 gift certificate for either the Landmark Theaters, AMC or California Pizza Kitchen (winner's choice) and 25% discount on any Script Whisperer service (you must take advantage by August 31st).

Congratulations MovieQuill and to both other finalists - that was a real horserace for awhile there! Thank you to all Rouge Wavers who participted - the creativity, humor and sheer imagination in the submissions was really a joy to see. Thank you to the many Rouge Wavers who took the time to vote. If everybody had fun, we shall do it again sometime. Sometimes it's fun to have a windsprint that has nothing to do with Austin or Nicholls or managers or Hollywood at all. It's just for the joy of writing. Thank you everyone!

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UCLA Extension Writers Faire

Just a quick announcement or reminder for those Rouge Wavers living in the Southern California area, that on September 9th at UCLA, Extension is holding their annual Writer's Faire. It's a really fun event, I've gone many times.

What is the Wave-inatrix always harping on? Network. Network, network, network. There are these fun mini-classes and lots of people milling around, there will be booths there where you can learn more about the WGA for example - if you're in the area - it's a really good idea to go and rub elbows with the writing community.

Here are the particulars:

Sunday, September 9, 2007: 11 am-3 pm
UCLA Campus: Young Hall Courtyard
Admission is free. Parking on campus in Lot 2 is $8.

Join us for our eighth annual Writers Faire. This whirlwind event includes 24 free mini-panels and lectures, where you can hear your favorite instructors/writers in lively discussions about the art, craft, business, and life of writing. Learn more about Los Angeles area MFA programs. Meet and mingle with 15 professional and community organizations. Whether you are interested in writing for film and television, fiction writing, creative nonfiction, poetry, writing for the youth market, playwriting, or publishing, come and hear more than 70 professional writers share their insights, tips, and know-how.

Learn more about UCLA Extension Writer's Program!

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Another Great Question

Our very own Rouge Waver of the Month, Geena writes:

...of the five areas Premise, Structure, Storyline, Character, Dialogue, which do you think is the biggest shortcoming for a new screenwriter? I'll guess and say storyline - structure. I think most of us come up with a decent ideas, then fail getting substance and flow to our stories.

Actually, Geena, total newbie writers tend to fall down in both areas and primarily in premise. Most new writers do not have the tools to test whether their premise is unique, original, compelling entertainment. Well - let me rephrase that - they either don't have the tools to test the premise or they just can't imagine that their idea would NOT be entertaining to someone else. So you get these self-referential, navel-gazing stories about coming of age or partying or the girl who falls for the rock star.

Most premises from new writers are too small and too "soft". Remember, last week when I included two "vague dramas" in what I had read that week? I see TONS of those. Just sort of soft, vague stories with few exciting or memorable moments because the whole idea is just not that compelling. It's not enough to sustain a three-act feature film. Writers get an idea that is actually more a situation than a premise which suggests enough entertaining conflict to draw out over 100+ pages. And it follows that if your premise is weak, no structure in the world can save it.

Geena had another question:

...also I come across mixed comments on dialogue. The keep it four lines max [rule]. But then folks who want the whole grammatical sentence in there, like " I am never going to return to that cave again", and I get jumped for this "Not going back --" as being on the nose.

I've never heard specifically to limit dialogue to four lines but yes, you do want to avoid big chunks of dialogue. It gets tedious to read, it loses that kinetic quality of the cinema and it can also be an exposition trap for the writer. As for full, grammatical sentences - that sounds crazy to me. The character should speak in the way that is totally natural and organic for them! Just bear in mind that writers, especially screenwriters, are always looking for the perfect mixture of economy and impact - whether that's in dialogue, action lines or anywhere else.

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