Go Forth and Procreate

What does the protagonist want

What does the protagonist want

Hi ho the merry oh

Oh What does the protagonist want!!!

 

Check it out: http://toddalcott.livejournal.com/163210.html

 

I am thinking that I would like to include characters with some of the attributes who have influenced me in my life - including my colleagues and students, friends, people from university, people from when I worked in the disability field. I will try not to make them too obvious, as I would twist them so that they are changed or a melange of several people. I guess I will try to stick to a central protagonist and antagonist arrangement to allow the conflict to be emphasised. My main problem is that I do not instantly seem to generate conflict, as I prefer to avoid it in real life!! Maybe there is some conflict right there....

I wonder what the best number of characters to have - I guess it depends if the story is character-driven or plot-driven. I was wondering if there was such a thing as character-plot-driven but I guess not...

Does anybody know of good competitions to enter, or magazines that would except short stories. It would be good to get some experience as I increase my trade.

Hope it is going well for you!
Drop by sometime again!

Well, I have been a disaster writing-wise. I read Stephen King's "On Writing" over the Christmas holidays and came to the conclusion that I am afraid of failure. King said that the scariest time is when you are just about to start, and perhaps this is why I have been putting off so much when deep down it is what I would truly like to do.

My solution is manyfold:

1. Enthuse myself with reading about writing, screenwriting and movies - my Christmas wishlist was nearly entirely book-based and I have been reading and musing ever since.
2. Undertake regular writing challenges - I have joined up (again, after being booted out twice now for lack of submissions a LiveJournal writing community - Musemuggers - to be found at http://community.livejournal.com/musemuggers/ . By writing small stuff more frequently, I can build up ideas for the big important stuff - the screenplay.
3. As a side venture, I have associated with some of the musemuggers in person through meetings for http://community.livejournal.com/eleven_month/ . Once a month, they get together and so******e about all things writerly.
4. I have been blogging with Todd Alcott, whose work and ideas I highly recommend - http://toddalcott.livejournal.com/ . I love reading his insights on movies, Hollywood and writing.
5. I have a few challenges at work to overcome this week, and then it is time to start my own version of NaNoWriMo (http://community.livejournal.com/nanowrimo/) - November just was not my month, so I have decided to work at my pace and I can worry about second drafts later, while still tryinng to achieve a good 50,000 words up to 14 February.  There we go, I have a deadline!
6. With a little luck, I have developed something that will be active and ideal for cameras! Something visual will be then distilled from my rough draft to 120 pages of screenplay. I will say that I would like that done by the end of March.
7. I will do my best to get along to the Screenwriter's Festival! (see previous post)
8. Finally, I would like to try my hand at a bit of freelance work - magazines, papers, whatever. Just to get some cred and credit up!

So, those are my thoughts on writing for now. But again, tis the year for Action!

..in the next county!!!

...only I just missed it....

...but it is an annual event!!!

Here is the link http://www.screenwritersfestival.com

And some tips for new writers...

So you want to write screenplays?

Screenwriters' Festival Director David Pearson offers some advice:

• Write about something you know about, but remember you have to make what you think is interesting into a compelling story that will interest a wide paying audience.
• Write and rewrite and rewrite.
• Make your characters interesting and believable.
• Keep going and complete the screenplay to the end of a story (people often start to rewrite before they found the ending which can cause problems).
• Make sure the first 10 pages of the script are strong and enticing (typical full length film scripts are between 90 and 120 pages long).
• Consider writing short film scripts first i.e. a ten minute film is 10 pages long using standard conventions. You may find it easier to get someone to make a new writers' short script.
• Read other screenplays of films you admire (you can download them free on the internet) and follow a common format for layout - you can get a template from the BBC Writers’ Room or buy industry standard software packages.
• Be prepared to write several screenplays without payment to demonstrate you have the ability and talent - if you want to make a career of screenwriting.
• Follow Richard Curtis' advice to aspiring writers and use your knowledge of a subject in a popular genre e.g. thriller, action, horror, comedy, sci fi etc. That way it is easier to define your story and explain to producers and others what kind of a story it is.
• Learn about genres and the way the industry takes a script into development before going into production.
• Films stories are mechanisms for delivering emotional experiences, and they cost a lot of money to make, so ask yourself:

• Does my story offer an audience an emotional experience?
• Is it a strong story? Don't confuse a strong subject with a good story.
• Can you summarise the story in a few key lines? E.g A man fights his greatest fears to confront a huge fish that can eat him. Jaws.
• That sounds more compelling than "the story is about a fisherman in trouble".
• Is it clear who your main characters are and have they had to undergo a personal change during the course of the story?
• Is there conflict for the main characters and do the difficulties facing them increase as the story progress'?

• Remember making films is a team activity (and films cost a lot to make - so directors, producers, script editors, actors and financiers etc will want to have their points considered), so if you want complete control of your work you may be better suited to another form of writing e.g. poetry, novels, travel writing etc.
• Be resilient, listen to constructive criticism, but follow your own instincts.
• If you do want to write scripts study the industry, read other scripts, watch films and do training sessions, and come events like the new writers day at the Screenwriters' Festival.

I am finally going to be let out of my chains and make a start! 5 and a half weeks of no work!!! Yippee!!!

So if you want a writing buddy, swap ideas, ANYTHING, let me know, cause now I am pumped at the prospect!

Hooroo!!!!

I feel the need to write again!

JULY is going to be the month - with the gonna implications!!!

It's been so long...

Looking forward to EASTER so that I can do some writing.

Sorry to have been SO boring, but my life has been in unheaval since I was last in, and then the password would not work.....

So great things in store...

I have managed to get an enforced working holiday around the world, what should allow me plenty of time to get some writing in. I have to travel to Australia to straighten up my visa, so apart from that, I will be stuck in freezing cold Canberra with the motivation to knock of some serious screenwriting. Am massively looking forward to it, so I look forward to sharing when I get home.

Sorry, but my life is a bit complicated!!!!

Hi y'all.,

 

Am not really showing my cards yet, but am writing now and working on novel. Need to get back to screenplay soon, which needs a bit of editing and finishing. Will share in a fortnight, I swear!!!!!!! You are very patient and life will become more interesting in these parts, I promise. These holidays are taking me away from the internet, but not away from my pen and paper at least!

Hope you are all well and thanks to people like Robert for keeping us inspired.
Hooroo

Those of you who have lived through the lows and the lowers with respect to my (lack of) writing will be pleased to know that the Friday arriving is the first of a 6 week holiday. That's right, this chalkie is on summer vacation, and cannot wait to put pen to paper, or fingers to computer keys or whatever strategy I am going to use. My life is rich in experience and memories at this point, so I will be forging ahead with a number of projects.

1) Finishing screenplay (first)

2) Finishing novel (either for JulWriMo, if the gods are kind and I adopt a sleep deprivation program; or more likely for AugWriMo)

3) Daily doses here and there for my own practice and development, before I undertake some further education in writing down the track.

Life is great right now, I will be more active soon, so fear not.

It is good to see that my friends on this blog are making good progress - keep smiling!

Under the weight of sound rational arguments by several members of my screenwriting guild, I have decided to push on the screenplay I started, which after all can be finished well before a 50,000 word novel....these short term competitions are a bit of a double-edged sword for we who have ADD (Always Distracted Disorder ) and we should use them for what they are worth - inspiration to get started....I guess I am a bit of a starter and need to develop the finisher in me.

So here I am in London again, and no doubt the ideas to help me finish Act II are about the place....better get out there and get writing.

 

Thanks for the support, guys!!!!!

Well, after shelving my screenplay until the summer holidays, I have another challenge - a novel in a month. JulWriMo is the latest monthly novel writing competitions, which I will probably not meet the deadline, but then again, I might!

 

Whoa! That sounds even optimistic for me!

 

Want to make the novel sound screenplayish, so that I can cut corners later.....Dialogue dialogue dialogue...

Well, I made a push and got 75 of 120 pages done. It is still very rough, and I will keep working on it. I have been a bit affected by the weather, spring fever and the World Cup. It is a wonder that I got as much done as I did.

When I finish, I will post some snippets for you.

 

Sorry it has not been the exciting buildup I might have implied....

This is the plan, anyway.

That and watch the England game of the World Cup.
Priorities...

 

I have just about finished the first act, so that is better than nothing....

At long last, the break I have been waiting for is due. There has been no rest for the wicked, and now I am pumped to translate my notes into the story I want to write. Have been gaining additional ideas from my crazy life, so the wait will be worth it.

 

The guys finishing the 14-Day Screenplay are admirable. Unfortunately, I have had to shift the goal posts for me!! It is about writing, not giving up after all.

 

Found a couple of links just randomly that might be useful

1) http://www.screenwriting.info/

2) http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/howtowrite/screenplay_structure.shtml

3) http://www.scriptfly.com/sceneanalysis/

 

Just adding things as I go along.

 

 

I'm feeling down on myself, as I went into the 14-day Screenwriting Challenge, only to find that I prioritise more to the World Cup and to going on blind dates.....

 

It has given me a lot of ideas to think about, and I have been developing them, but I am not very good at working to deadlines.....

 

As Douglas Adams said: I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

The fact that I wont finish the challenge is sad in many respects, but I can use the work that I have done to rechallenge myself - can I get the thing done by the end of the month. To be honest, what I am doing is the preparation I should have done beforehand... I would be better off spending 2 weeks from this Saturday, and finishing on the 30th.

 

Then I could start the JulWriMo, and we would really be off and running in the world of writing....

Well, in case you thought it would never happen, I have started writing, and am getting towards finishing Act I by the end of Friday. Sunday night I will need to pick up the pace and try to get half of Act II done, the rest by Wednesday - this will be a hard task, but now that I have plotted it out and the writing is coming along, all the better.... Act III and any polishing up will be happily done on Friday and Saturday morning, just in time for me to catch up with the Oxford Wrimos for a drink. A very tight schedule, but once I get started, I tend to keep going.... I appreciate that it sounds a little ridiculous, but then so is my approach to deadlines....

I have gotten a little behind on my 14-Day Screenplay, due to a problem with my plot. This should be resolved in my head by the end of the day, and I will night-owl it so that I can get some pages in. I will need to average about 15 pages a day to get the whole show done.....

It is not impossible!!!!!!!!

Well, I have been working on ideas, and tonight I put pen to paper.....

It was just one of those weekends, do you know what I mean????

Well, I have been researching away, brainstorming some ideas, and I am getting closer to a story idea. My aim is to develop it a little further today, see if I am tangling two different stories and proceed from there. I want to do some character development tomorrow, and have some structure in place so that I might begin on Saturday. And then, it is a race to get 120 pages done in 14 days...

I just looked through the screenplay for "Annie Hall", one of my favourite movies and it is interesting to see how dialogue looks in print.

Time to dash!