Don’t just count pages

If you’re like most writers, setting goals to stay motivated in the face of other responsibilities, then I think it’s important that you count more than just pages.

The actual writing of the script might be the most important phase, but stalling out in the pre-writing phases might mean you never get to writing. Or if you do get to writing, you might become lost and abandon the project.

So, keep track of the pre-writing steps to stay motivated!

     1. Write down your concept

If you can turn it into a logline, that’s even better. Now, you can record – “wrote concept/logline.”

     2. Figure out what research will develop your idea

If you have an overview of all the research you’ll need, you won’t feel like you’re wasting time. You’ll know when enough is enough.

Research includes:

• Talking with or interviewing people
• Watching related movies or shows
• Reading articles and scripts.

Research should anchor your project’s relevance, accuracy, impact or marketability. Make sure you keep track of what you do. Some people generate notes.

     3. Plan your beats

Usually you’ll have a few ideas for moments that attracted you to the idea in the first place. Write them down.

I write mine on 3×5″ index cards and then stick them on a cork board, where I can rearrange them. Then, I keep track of how many I write each day.

For feature films, Blake Snyder suggests forty of these cards in his book, Save the Cat!. I usually try to overshoot this number and then refine. The scenes that don’t make it are opportunities to flesh out my characters.

     4. Outline your scenes

I move on to outlining when my board is covered and has some logic to it. Some people go straight into outlining. I find outlining is easy if I really iron things out in the planning phase. And writing is easy if I really iron things out in the outlining phase! Okay, not quite, but easier.

You can measure an outline by page count, but for many people, outlines fluctuate greatly in length. So, it might make more sense to count scenes and make sure you have all your important scenes outlined.

You can count a scene as outlined when it has a purpose to the storyline, conflict, and an emotional change in the characters.

Save the Cat! is a great resource for some of the tools I mention:

Concept tunnel vision

Quarantine is a contained thriller where the concept is everything:

“A television reporter and her cameraman are trapped inside a building quarantined by the CDC after the outbreak of a mysterious virus which turns humans into bloodthirsty killers.”

Cool idea. It offers plenty of intrigue and creepy atmosphere (and at a reasonable cost). But as I watched it, I wondered:

Who are these people?

The characters are flat. I know what their jobs are, but that’s about it. There is a missed opportunity in building deeper connections, particularly between the protagonist (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman (Steve Harris). Why do they never share their hopes, plans, or passions? The only character development is from calm to hysterical.

Additionally, the protagonist becomes less interesting and less active as the story progresses. At the start of the story, she’s cordial with mildly sexist firemen to try and get a better scoop. Then, when the crisis begins, she pushes back against authority to keep filming. But by the third act she is nondescript and reactive.

One of the strengths of a contained setting is it can drive character development. My favorite example of this is The Shining. Jack Nicholson’s descent into madness is driven by his containment.

Avoid concept tunnel vision by making sure your characters are interesting without your great concept. Then, make sure they galvanize as a result of your concept.

Script formatting is like exercise

You can’t do everything the first time. You have to build yourself up gradually.

Screenwriting software is your personal trainer. It will help you get going by putting your scene headings in caps for you and indenting your dialogue the proper amount.

But eventually you have to build your own understanding of when to use terms like (V.O.) and SUPER. This understanding comes from reading formatting books, modern scripts, and screenwriting sites. I say modern scripts because a lot of these issues change with time.

Once you understand all your tools, you have to navigate the more advanced gray areas where not all writers agree. Issues like putting a scene heading in the middle of a sentence. Some of these issues have to be dealt with on a case by case basis. I recommend joining a forum to discuss these cases.

Just don’t overtrain. It’s a great way to kill your desire to write.

If they like it, but want to change it…

Listen.

If they don’t like it, but want to change it…

Give them a moment of consideration.

If they don’t like it, but don’t know how to change it…

Move on.

Someone told me they didn’t like Toy Story 3. But then they also told me they didn’t like animation in general. What does Pixar have to do about these people?

Nothing.

Make writing a necessity

“I’d write more if I had more time!” I hear this a lot. I’ve said this a lot. I think almost every non-professional writer wishes they could spend more time writing. But the shocking news is that even many professional writers wish they could spend more time writing.

A friend of mine is a professional writer with two young children. She tells me that finding time to write is a constant challenge for her. Don’t let people tell you, “if you don’t write everyday, you’re not a real writer.”

But it can be hard to get into writing mode if you haven’t written in weeks. I am a great believer in transparency. The first step toward ensuring you have time to write is becoming aware of all the commitments that stand in your way.

Then, you can see if any of them can be removed, shortened, or re-arranged. I list commitments in four categories:

1. Well-being – Of yourself and others (if you’re a caretaker)
2. Work – This is many people’s biggest commitment
3. Family – This might include close friends as well
4. Everything Else – Usually less essential than the first three

Don’t think of your list of commitments as your life priorities. This is a list that accounts for flexibility and the ability to drop commitments in the short term.

As an example, exercise is justifiably an important part of many people’s commitments. Yet there are so many different ways and times to exercise. Some people exercise on their lunch breaks.

If you work overtime consistently every week, this is definitely worth scrutinizing. It’s very hard to make writing a necessity while working overtime, particularly if you have family obligations.

I think the book Rework is a great read for writers dealing with these issues:

What’s so great about Contained Thrillers?

A lot of people in the screenwriting world have been talking about contained thrillers lately. For the most part, I don’t hear ‘contained thriller’ defined. I subscribe to Jon Molly’s definition, “A contained thriller is a movie that takes place on a single set (or a very limited number of them).” Recent movies in this genre include 127 Hours, Buried, and Paranormal Activity.

But what’s so great about contained thrillers?

1. They’re cheap.

Fewer sets means it’s cheaper to make a movie. This is not only due to the expense of building the sets, but also the expense of changing sets and re-establishing the shoot.

2. They rely on concept, not star power.

This doesn’t mean they don’t often get stars attached. But it doesn’t take a star to get Paranormal Activity made. The audience shows up for the concept. This makes the movie cheaper, but more importantly, it opens the door to new writers.

3. They’re fun.

The audience is excited to see what the filmmakers will do with the idea. If the story has a group of characters, they’re often forced to interact. The hot girl has to talk to the computer nerd because there’s a built-in justification. Additionally, the restriction on setting helps ease other storytelling plausibility: We discover the computer nerd was a double agent for the CIA all along and we buy it.

At the very least, I think writing a contained thriller is a great exercise. It can help keep you from using “easy outs,” like going to the press or deus ex machina. It demands that you think about your characters’ identities as drivers of the story’s action. For example, in Cube, a motley group of people wake up stuck in a series of interlocking cubes. The movie asks, “How would each of these people act?”

A defect in The King’s Speech

Although this is not a review blog, I will say that The King’s Speech is a very good film. However, The King’s Speech suffers from a structural defect which I think writers can learn from.

The film has two climaxes.

This fact was not mentioned in most of the gushing positive reviews I read, but I did find mention of it here. To be specific, the film has a personal and a historical climax.

While discussing this fact, someone said to me, “but films are supposed to have highs and lows throughout.” Absolutely – but the last high has to be the highest. The argument between Bertie, who has become king, and Lionel, his speech therapist, is the real climax. Bertie discovers that Lionel has no credentials. He feels lied to as a friend. Additionally, his ability to speak clearly depends on his belief that his training is legitimate. Their friendship and the king’s self-belief are jeopardized in a major reversal. This is what the story is about.

Later, when we get to the historical climax of Bertie’s international speech, we see the importance of the event, but we don’t feel much doubt about the outcome. There’s no reversal here in any character relationship. The king doubts himself, but not due to any concrete change. This high does not top the previous high in its relevance to the story.

To fix this problem, the Lionel and Bertie crisis probably needs to piggy back the historical crisis, so that they feel like one issue. I think the first step would be to make sure the Nazi connection, which raises the story’s stakes, occurs prior to Lionel and Bertie’s crisis.

If you were doctoring this script, how would you fix it?

Start with Relevant

There’s no magic formula for where great scripts come from. They come from dreams, life changing events, observations, interests, etc. But if you don’t currently have a good idea to write, a good place to start is “relevant.”

The Social Network (2010) is a relevant story. Everyone was already talking about Facebook: How Mark Zuckerberg is such a young billionaire, how social networking is becoming a key element to all marketing, and so on. Then, when The Social Network came out, people could expand their Facebook debate by talking about the controversy of The Social Network.

This strength, combined with the strength of the filmmakers, won it the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Drama. I think there’s a good chance it will pick up the Best Picture Oscar as well.

Here are a few notable examples of relevant movies:

• Casablanca (1942) – Commented on America’s isolationism before WWII
• The Graduate (1967) – Highlighted the liberal cultural shift
• The Deer Hunter (1978) – Revealed the epidemic of PTSD after Vietnam
• Jurassic Park (1993) – Captured the excitement and anxiety of cloning
• The Matrix (1999) – Explored the development of AI and virtual reality
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008) – Exposed the rich/poor gap in modern India

Some might consider any popular movie relevant. But I’m using a more narrow definition here. I want to consider movies that take on a political, social, economic, or technological issue.

Here’s a simple exercise to test out this approach:

1. Choose an interesting current issue.
2. Figure out a conflict relating to that issue.
3. Develop a character who could be changed by that conflict.
4. Write a story!

Nickelodeon Writing Fellowship

If you think you might be interested in writing for TV, the Nick Writing Fellowship is a great opportunity. Up to four winners will be given the paid opportunity to write spec scripts at Nick. The program lasts for up to a year and many of the fellows go on to work for Nick.

To enter, you have to submit a half-hour spec script of a comedy show currently on the air. The deadline is February 28. If your script makes it far enough, you will be asked to submit another spec script. There’s a great interview with the director of the program here.

For those still interested, I recommend checking out Kiyong Kim’s blog as well. He is a current fellow and he offers a lot of invaluable information about the application experience.

So, write, revise, and submit!

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