12/8/13

Learning to Write (Screenplays)

I'm in the process of writing a screenplay right now - I wrote half of it once before, thought it was bad, and deleted it or lost it on purpose. Now I'm a few years older I started thinking that actually, it could be quite gratifying to rewrite it after having experienced five or so more years of life. I used to write quite a lot (for myself) and I still write for myself. As you probably can guess by now I hate really long lists or lists where the items on the list are too similar. I lose interest after even a single item on the list feels monotonous. Here's what has helped me feel more confident about clicking away on the keyboard without thinking too much:

  1. Read:
    • On Writing - Stephen King (the $1.31 version is fine) - Even if you've never read a Stephen King book (I haven't), it's still an easy-to-read book on writing simply.
  2. Write every day: 750 Words - Low-pressure, simple writing platform with some interesting tools (my metadata tells me that I'm more self-important than most but curse less) 
    • For your first year, use these prompts: http://creativewritingprompts.com/
    • then these: http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/thirteen-writing-prompts 
    • then these: http://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/ The reddit ones are hilarious: The robots have taken over -- and they're incompetent ", "You are holding a rotten orange, convince me to eat it."
  3. Read screenplays:
    • My favorites are The Apartment: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/apartment.html
    • Almost Famous: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/almost_famous.html , 
    • The Man with Two Brains-http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/m/man-with-two-brains-script.html
    • An Affair to Remember: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/an_affair_to_remember.pdf  
    • I have no idea why I chose these or if my mom suggested them. I think I read The Man with Two Brains in her office one day. I haven't even seen An Affair to Remember. How all of the drama of a film can come through a bunch of type-written dialogue is one of the most amazing things about a great screenplay. One of the better places to read scripts: http://www.dailyscript.com/ with less ads. 
  4. Join: 
    • Stage 32 - FB meets LinkedIn for people in the film industry, 
    • Vimeo - watch films from people who aren't famous yet, 
    • Actorsaccess - find talent/be talent
  5. Watch: