JMS’s book on Scriptwriting
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I just got this on Tuesday, very excited as it’s JMS and it covers all types of screenwriting…..
Any one write this sort of thing???
I was thinking of adapting a novella I’ve been working on….I’ll check it out. I’ve written a screenplay, and a few plays, but that was a few years ago, unfortunately — none of it was sci-fi, although there were fantasy elements. I had a program before to help format them correctly, but made use of several books on writing. One book that got me thinking a bit was [i]Writing the Character Centered Screenplay[/i] by Andrew Horton.
Thanks for the rec, I’ll have to check that out too.
JMS’s is [i]The Complete Book of Scriptwriting[/i] I ordered it off amazon.
It’s over 400pp and covers writing for animation too, which I didn’t realize he penned a He-Man and She-Ra here and there!
(which I did watch, after school is the distant, or maybe not so distant past)
I’ve been thinking about screen plays for a bit since a good friend read my WIP and said it suggested a series to her…. it’s not that huge yet but it’s far from slowing down. I posted some of it up here last year and got some very helpful feedback.
Plus my man Phil is one of my scifi heroes and he has been co-opted quite a bit by Hollywood, not that I think I’m anywhere near his genius, but obviously technology and scifi go hand in hand?!?!?
(yup – just typed that)
I would think a formatting program would make it go much faster too. What did you find really helped you the most? A formatting program, sound advice? Did you approach it as a completely different process than prose fiction?
Would like to hear more about your experience with the crafting!Thanks!
Some one was halking a writers tip disk at DC2004. One of the first (number 3 actually) bits of advice was this.
[quote]Pro’s Tip: Fight “Writer’s Spread.” The job requires
a LOT of sitting and a lot of brain work, which usually
translates into a ravenous writer at the end of a
session, then more sitting, which makes for a wide
butt. Make sure you get exercise. Put on some disco
music and be silly for three minutes or so just to get
your blood moving!Food. Keep a big bowl of fresh raw veggies ready
in the fridge and munch on them while you hammer
out the chapters. They’re good for you and you can
eat a lot of them with fewer “side” effects.
[/quote]You just can’t get enough writers tips like that! 😉
😆 “Writer’s Spread” that’s great!
Unfortunately my day job is receptionist for a beer company so I’ve already got to fight off spread – desk job + beer gut!!!!! 😆
JMS is J.Michael Straczynski, the guy who brought us Babylon 5!
How about you thefrey? Ever try your hand at a screenplay/ script?
Naw, although I did once get a copy of the Salter Street submission form from one of our members, just incase someone ever needed it. ;D
[url]http://www.thefrey.com/saltersteetsubmissionform.htm[/url]
Alas poor Salter Street, we loved thee well.
thanks for that, but it lloks like Salter Street Films was bought out by Alliance Atlanic?? Wonder if the same process will work….
Probably not. I am sure AA has their own version. But, I imagine that it would have much of the same information on it. So this form slides into history, a tiny bit of the greatness that was Salter Street. 🙂 A historical oddity if you will. 🙂
The book I suggested was only one of many that I read, or skimmed through when preparing my screenplay — just happened to see it lying around. 🙂 The program didn’t help that much, I ended up creating my own templates in Word both for plays and screenplays which required different formats.
It’s really helpful to read through some screenplays too. It gives you a feel for the formatting and structure which is really important to do right, and style. I had a great little handout book (I studied it in school) that gave you all the basics for creating a screenplay — if I can find it I’ll get it scanned and email it to you since it proved invaluable.
To have a screenplay greenlit, which I haven’t by the way, you must adhere to strict standards — I won’t get into that much since there’s a lot to it. It’s useful to know the technical directions/jargon (e.g. CU, OS etc.), but unless you’re directing it yourself, it should be minimised since a director doesn’t like to be told their job — there are other descriptive ways to do it.
Aside from books, there’s plenty of info on the web.
As for my general experiences: Yeah, I approched it quite differently. I was focussed on first writing fiction, then short screenplays with all the technical directions (for directing oneself), then poetry, then stage plays, then TV show scripts, then screenplays over a couple of years. Each time I had to swich gears, and visualise it, tell the story, and express it in a different way. It’s important to have an idea of the cost it would take to film your piece, and various limitations. Can it be done? So technical knowledge helps a lot.
With plays I would always bear in mind the confines ofr the stage, and was dialogue driven. Film is a visual medium, and I tended to think out the individual shots. I looked closely at other films to see how they did it technically. You have to be precise and to the point when describing an action in film — what’s on the page is a description of what is on the screen… When you’re writing a novel, you can expose more of your own thinking process, and you describe things ina different way (the author often intrudes more). In a screenplay, it’s generally a good idea to avoid exposition.
Sorry, I’m not writing this at all well since I’m taking care of a baby at the same. Would edit, but she’s demanding.
My initial approach was pretty much the same — I worked out the characters (backhistory works well for me) and the plot and made an outline, but you have to express it differently in the various media, and that can be a challenge.
One thing that was helpful before I got lazy and lost any serious interest in creative writing was http://www.zoetrope.com/
That’s Francis Ford Coppola’s site (got the chance to talk shop with him there in the virtual “producer’s studio” — I was totally unprepared) and they actually greenlight some screenplays. You have to write several detailed reviews of other people’s screenplays before you can submit your own. A lot to learn there.
So is Phil your significant other? Well, a contact and informed feedback is worth an awful lot in most anything you do.
Cool about He-Man and She-Ra, I [b]loved[/b] those shows as a kid!
Logan!
Thanks for all the feedback, I really like to hear how other artists approach the creation of their work.. I’m always very character/emotive driven in my fiction. The emotions that drive the characters motives and propel them through the conflict of the plot.
great quote from Anais Nin something like, “It’s our feelings in the face of experience and not the actual experiences themselves that make us similar.”
Also:
Good thoughts about the difference of screenplays, setting up the scenes…I did take a couple film classes in college…might have to rack the old brain to remember them…. 😉Oh and Phil 😆 “my man Phil” is just how I refer to Philip K. Dick!
I love Phil’s writing! and I prefer Phil to just calling him Dick! 😆Bladerunner, Total Recall, Minority Report, Paycheck are all Hollywood movies based on Phil’s work. I’ve been slowly making my way through all his novels and short stories….Scanner Darkly is one of my favorites and Valis.
So no SO for me….I was just had a tarot reading done last weekend…apparently next spring is when I meet the next big love of my life…. 😯 😆
Here are some guidelines I once wrote on getting a studio to greenlight your work (a recent Mandara K post put me in mind of it):
Some things, I think, to consider when submitting your material:
1. Sex: Does the submitted work have sex, and if so, a little or a lot? I’ve found they like a lot.
2. The gore factor: Is there sufficient violence? Blood is good, but blood and guts is better.
3. Age appeal: Would the material appeal to the proper age and sex demographic? Whilst the teenage market is important, the preferred demographic is usually dirty old men in dirty old raincoats.
4. Morality: Do the bad guys get their comeuppance after entertaining the viewers with their depraved and malicious acts? It’s important for there to be a positive message to justify all the violence and depravity. [i]But bear in mind rule seven[/i].
5. Does the submitted material have a happy ending? Most viewers don’t want to leave feeling gloomy. Make it gay, but not too gay.
6. Cats: Are there ferocius felines thrown into the mix? Cat fetishists are another key demographic, but beavers are often an acceptable substitute.*
*[i]As Castor Canadensis is our national rodent, in Canada beavers are preferred — remember, you can never be too gratuitous which brings me to number seven.[/i]
7. When it comes to sex and violence, sublety is best left to the amateurs. You can never be too gratuitous.
[quote=”Sidhecafe”]
So no SO for me….I was just had a tarot reading done last weekend…apparently next spring is when I meet the next big love of my life…. 😯 :lol:[/quote]
Hi Sidhecafe!
Off on a tangent – How accurate was the Tarot reading?
[quote=”Sidhecafe”]Ahhhhhh….the fine swift smell of reality!
Breath deep fellow saddies! Breath deep![/quote]
I actually came up with an edited version… Would be fun to come up with lists from various sadgeezers.
1. Sex: Does the submitted work have sex, and if so, a little or a lot? I’ve found they like a lot.
2. The gore factor: Is there sufficient violence? Blood is good, but blood and guts is better.
3. Age appeal: Would the material appeal to the proper age and sex demographic? Whilst the teenage market is important, the preferred demographic is usually dirty old men in dirty old raincoats.
4. Morality: Do the bad guys get their comeuppance after entertaining the viewers with their depraved and malicious acts? It’s important for there to be a positive message to justify all the violence and depravity. But bear in mind rule seven.
5. Does the submitted material have a happy ending? Most viewers don’t want to leave feeling gloomy. Make it gay, but not too gay.
6. Cats: Are there ferocius felines thrown into the mix? Cat fetishists are another key demographic, but beavers are often an acceptable substitute.*
*As Castor Canadensis is our national rodent, in Canada beavers are preferred — remember, you can never be too gratuitous which brings me to number seven.
7. When it comes to sex and violence, sublety is best left to the amateurs. You can never be too gratuitous.
8. More action! Film is a visual medium, so make it visually explicit!
9. Drugs! Gotta have drugs to go with the sex. Rock and roll!
10. Oh, yeah, and rock and roll to go with the drugs which complement the sex.
11. And perhaps most importantly, don’t forget to be unoriginal. Only artsy-fartsy poseurs write original stuff these days.
12. Remember, fart is three-quarters art, so include plenty of toilet humour. [i](the smell of reality sure can stink! Don’t breathe too deeply)[/i]
On a tangerine, oops. mixing my fruits and tubors..
So what’s this I hear about a taro reading? As if common-old garden bad carrots and rotten rutabagas weren’t bad enough, gosh it’s scary how smart genetically modified vegetables are becoming. Judging by the quality of the writing in shows out there, I suspect vegetables have been writing for quite some time. There will always be pretty mindless potatoes willing to absorb it through their budding little eyes from the comfort of their potted couches.
Okay, last time I try to submit this. Having major problems with posting.
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