NICK’S BLOG

Hey Fellow Screenwriters,

Well it looks like the cold weather seems to be diminishing people’s creative spirits as attendance for tonight’s meeting was really low. For about half the meeting it was just Gabe and I talking about his story, “Way Down Under.”

We had an in-depth discussion about how to solve certain writing problems by learning to cut out material and then write a line or two that covers what was cut. Also, we discussed the revision process as it often does take many turns with a writing project. Sometimes you write stuff, then revise it, then cut stuff out, then find you have to put stuff back in but in a different order. I used my screenplay, “Opportunity Knockout,” as an example. It went from 124 pages after draft five when I submitted it to an agent who then told me to cut 14 pages, then from 110 pages I had to add 7 pages back in as I needed to make the story easier for so-called “Story Analysts” to grasp the Three Ss (Subtlety, Subtext, and Symbolism) and hopefully recommend the story to producers.

Gabe is now hard at work writing Act Two of his screenplay.

Later in the meeting we had the appearance of a new member, Ed Dugan. Welcome Ed!

Ed came in with a couple of story ideas that he needed to figure out how to flesh out. Gabe and I thought one if his ideas about an inventor’s mysterious mansion was a good basis for a screenplay.

The three of us starting working out a real story-line and then the usual development flow ensued:

Genre, Logline, Title, 3-Act Structural Breakdown, and a Tagline

Now Ed has a real workable story on his hands that he seems eager to write and vows to have 10 pages of a script ready for next month’s meeting.

Hopefully with spring right around the corner more of you will be able to drop by and share your wonderful ideas and works.

See all of you on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010!

Cheers,

Nick

Hey Fellow Screenwriters,

Well it looks like some of you were still recovering from all of that holiday cheer! We only had three people at the café this evening: me, Jeffrey, and Gabe — and Kelvin was there via conference call. I’m sure that we’ll have a full house next month on February 3rd.

We still had a great meeting. The focus on tonight’s gathering was Jeffrey and Kelvin’s project “Immagracion” and Jeffrey sole project “Healing Hand.”

The discussion on “Immagracion” centered on whittling down their 43 page treatment to a solid 120 page first draft. They’ve already started writing Act I of the script. We talked about ideas for where the major milestones and turning points should be, and delved into the concept of “opposition” to the protagonist’s goals. Character development was also an important topic as Jeffrey and Kelvin want to make sure that the main character grows in some way through his journey in the story.

After Kelvin signed off, Gabe and I discussed Jeffrey’s other work, “Healing Hand.” Jeffrey has already drafted 69 pages and will apply the same strategies for honing it down just like on the other script. Also, I talked more at length about formatting requirements and techniques. For example, the concept of secondary headings is useful for things like superimposing text on the screen. E.g. SUPER: “THE NORMAL WORLD”

Another topic that we got into was the idea of “subtext.” I’ve posted a discussion about subtext on the blog (The Three Ss: Subtlety, Subtext, and Symbolism) but made an example from Jeffrey’s story to illustrate the point. In the story there is a pending funeral event. A child has lost his mother and he is very broken up about it. The grandfather worries about his grandson’s well being. The father debates as to whether or not to let the child go to the funeral.

The scene as it is written covers 3 pages but I made a suggestion to cover all of that in four lines of dialogue using subtext. E.g.

INT. CHURCH – DAY

The funeral …

REGINALD
(whispers)
Where’s Carl?

VICTOR
He’s too distraught to see his mother like this; I decided to let him stay home.

REGINALD
That boy’s gonna need to talk to someone.

VICTOR
(bows his head)
I know dad … I know.

Here I’ve used subtext to convey the grandfather’s concern about the overall emotional well-being of the child without going on at length about it. Also, I’ve gotten across the fact that Reginald is Victor’s father and by extension Carl’s grandfather without having to write that in the action/description.

Subtext can be very useful to save time and space in a screenplay — and believe me, both are at a premium.

After we finished up discussing Jeffrey’s second story we then got into a discussion about good writing strategies and how to break a story down so that you can reign it in to fit the 120 page limit for first time writers. The strategy I referred to is in Blake Snyder’s book, Save The Cat. He uses a beat sheet to map out all the main beats of the story, and then a limited amount of index cards (40) each representing one scene in order to force your story to be as streamlined and concise as possible. It is just one of many strategies but an effective one. And when you’re a first time writer you need to learn to “say more with less” or you won’t get the people who “hold all the cards” to read your work.

Finally, we talked a bit about the marketing aspect of screenwriting, delving into one-sheets, and my project of filming a scene from my rom-com to post on YouTube to raise awareness about my story. And of course we talked more about the upcoming in June, 7th Annual Great American PitchFest.

Great meeting, and I look forward to seeing all of you the first Wednesday in February (2/3/2010) at the café!

In the meantime keep working on those projects and let us all know how you’re getting along.

Also, keep checking the blog as I will be posting some new content very soon. I’m working on a post right now about “The Three Ps” for character development.

Cheers,
Nick

P.S. My interview on the Production Live website where I pitched my romantic comedy at the Filmmaker’s Shindig will be posted very soon — I’ll let you know when and send the link.

Hey Everyone,

Wow! What a great meeting we had tonight. Here’s the brief recap:

We looked at Lynda’s, Gabe’s, and Ken’s stories.

With Lynda’s story we talked about in what decade would be good to set the story. Also, we discussed some of the supporting characters and how they may play a bigger role in the main character’s development. We also talked a bit about how she might end the story. And commented on how great the title, Wasted Youth, was. A nice double entendre which is what makes a great title for a screenplay.

Next up was Gabe’s story. We talked about character development, who should the “opposition” be, should the father of the dysfunctional marriage play a bigger or lesser role, and when is the moment of “epiphany” for the main character that tells him it’s time to go home? Also, we tried to help Gabe figure out how to “break Act III” which is a challenge for any writer on any project.

And finally, we looked at Ken’s story. The observation from the group was trying to figure out how to establish it as a comedy early on. Also, we talked about the main character and what he’s all about. Finally, we talked about the setting and some of the challenges of how to explain on the page how the technology of this time frame works.

All in all a great meeting filled with lots of energy and great feedback!

Also I would like to pay a nod to our new members: Louise, Kelvin, and Jeffrey. I’m really glad all of you could make it this evening. I think I can speak for the rest of us in saying that we’re looking forward to reading and discussing your work on the next meeting.

We also covered the concepts of a “screenplay coverage,” “one-sheets,” and delved deeper into “treatments.” We talked about how script readers (or story analysts) are the “gate keepers” to the film industry much like HR at a company. You have to catch their attention quickly because they read 50-some-odd lousy scripts a week (like having to wade through hundreds of resumes). The dilemma is how to make things overly clear to them while infusing your story with the hallmarks of a great screenplay (that producers demand): subtlety, subtext, and symbolism. A challenge indeed!

Finally, I’d like to say that I’m glad Gabe, Jeffrey, and Kelvin are planning on joining me at The Filmmakers Shindig networking event this Saturday. Networking is the key to breaking into any industry and I’m glad that there are networking events for the film industry here in MA as well. Looks like we’ll have a great time at the event and hopefully make some serious connections. That’s the power of the WIND Networking Group philosophy.

Oh, and I forgot: we have a new democratically elected name for our group:

“From Page To Screen Writers Group”

I love the double entendre of “screen” and “writers” also meaning “screenwriters.” Way to go Lynda for coming up with the name!

Well I can’t wait to read the next round of assignments and then discuss them at our next meeting on Wednesday, January 6, 2010.

Coming soon: I’ll let everyone know when the blog on my website is ready for us to post to. But always feel free to email the group questions you may have about the screenwriting process or for suggestions on solving a writing problem.

In the meantime, keep working on your projects and never stop!

Cheers,

Nick