It has been said, and is the generally accepted belief, that if you write, you are a writer. Whether you wait on tables, repair PCs or milk goats, as long as you write, you are technically a writer. “Then why don’t I feel like one?” you ask? Some are reluctant to say, “I’m a writer.” As if making that statement would be committing the eighth cardinal sin. If asked, they might say, “I write.”

This might be due to the misguided assumption many have, that unless you are a paid writer, you aren’t a real writer.

I visit numerous screenwriting and novel writing blogs and websites and am in awe of the unsigned talent out there. Most of those guys make little to no money for their efforts. They freely share their imagination and brilliance with anyone who would avail themselves of the opportunity to soak it in. Others write for a living. A good living. So whether you are a paid writer or not isn’t the point. Yet!

Another problem might be that you tend to compare your screenplays to those of Woody Allen, Billy Wilder, Francis Ford Coppola or Charlie Kaufman. Or compare your novels to those of the masters of horror, sci-fi, romance, mystery and so on. While it is good to read and learn from the greats, it is not good to compare yourself to them to the point of discouragement and apathy setting in.

Focus on honing your craft. Find your voice. Your style. You may not become a great writer, but you can become a good writer.

Remember, “The professional is the amateur who didn’t quit.” – Richard Bach

Write first for the personal satisfaction of letting your inner child, demon or alter-ego out. If you are only doing it for the money, then you are more likely to be washed away by the numerous waves of rejection and disappointed that will invaribly come your way. At least when starting out. If love of the craft, on the other hand, is your motivational force, you can enjoy your work whether published or not, whether paid or not. Then, down the road if you are noticed and published, then all the better.

Consider the example of J.L. Bourne. He started a blog several years ago, wrote a little bit of his story each day, and in time his compilations became the book entitled Day by Day Armageddon. What is more, its sequel is scheduled for release in July of 2010! “Ah, but he’s a professional writer.” you say. In truth, he was on active duty serving in the U.S. military when he wrote DBDA. He wrote a little bit each day as he had time to do so.

Not everyone will have a similar success story. But his story proves that it is possible if you just keep after it. And if fate delays in calling your number, don’t give up. Blogs are cheap-to-free to set up. There are also fairly cheap self-publishing alternatives out there. So just keep the pen to the paper or fingers to the keys and continue to do what you love most: BE A WRITER! The joy will ALWAYS be there and hey, could be the payday will follow. However, you’ll never know if you give up.

Check his most excellent blog out here.

Just wanted to update the multitude of readers on what’s been going on in my life? I know there are a lot of you, and I know each one cares.

I hate hearing excuses, and I hate giving them even more. But as stated in previous posts, I have been working on a romantic comedy screenplay and have finally finished it.

Busting out a script isn’t ordinarily the hardest thing in the world to do if you plan well and devote adequate chunks of time to it through the week.

For me though, RomComs are the most difficult. First, I find writing GOOD comedy difficult enough as it is. Secondly, romance has never been my field of expertise. In WRITING that is.

Anyway, I did it. Finished the first draft. 8th screenplay in total. Reading it straight through is bit of a rough read. Not the smoothest thing in the world, several of my comedic devices fall flat and the “romance” isn’t extraordinarily believable.

So, I’m proud. And humbled. Proud that I have at least saw a first draft through and humbled, because after writing this mediocre piece of work I realize all the more what a talent is required to write a truly great romantic comedy.

I have another project I’ve been working on, which I discuss below, and will be devoting much of my “free time” to that, but I DO intend to go through and clean up this mess of a first draft I have here. Shape and mold it like clay in my hands. It may never be great, but I think it’s a decent first real attempt. Especially since I consider RomComs to be my weakest area.

As to the Dan Geruss: Investigative Journalist saga, believe it or not, it’s been a work in progress all along. Though I haven’t posted more new storyline here, I have quite a bit written. It has been the most inspiring work I have done for years and I’m really excited about it. It’s coming along so much better than I had anticipated. In fact, I’ve held off publishing bits here because I am seriously debating turning it into my third novel. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve created an original story that I am THIS in to. Today I began what will be chapter 6 in the story.

Please be patient while I decide what to do with it. In the meantime, I shall begin once more updating the blog on a regular basis with interesting and/or informative tid-bits.

That’s all for now, and thanks for listening. Stay tuned…..

While I don’t sit with a printed list of steps to perform when writing, I find that my process typically takes this form:

1: Theme / Thesis Statement (The “Big Idea”)
2: Synopsis
3: Character Bios
4: Setting
5: Outline
6: Treatment
7: First Draft, Second Etc.
8: Finished Script/Novel
9: Title

10: Log Line (If I’m showing the work)

Among the emotions to look for are anger, desperation, frustration, remorse and fear. Yes, all within what will only amount to approximately four minutes of film.

Please read the linked example below then return when done. I’ll apologize ahead of time for the formatting. Somewhere between converting from Final Draft, to PDF, to RTF to HTML the formatting got dorked up. The piece doesn’t have a name yet so we’ll just call it “My Ball”.

 
Read the Script Snippet Example Here

Alrighty, welcome back! So, did you spot the several ways the audience will be caught up in the emotions?

1)    We’re either hating Samantha because she’s being a spoiled, snobby brat and we remember being picked on like that ourselves, or, we were laughing our ass off because we WERE Samatha when we were younger and remember how much fun that was.

2)    We no doubt empathized with Frankie. Felt his desperation, his anger and his sadness.

3)    Frankie’s fear leaped from the written page straight to our hearts. Our hearts were pounding as Frankie lay there on the cot, afraid he would die. And the mothers out there were stricken with the emotions a mother feels when a child is hurt.

4)    Perhaps a tear broke loose when we saw how terrible Samantha felt. How she was filled with remorse for what she had done.

5)    The basic human desire for, or need for, atonement was present also. Nothing Samantha could have done would have undone what had happened. But in an attempt at atonement she first offers Frankie his ball back, then offers to keep it for him until he returns.

Then there is the context of the scenes in their entirety. We go from light-hearted picking, to the whole range of emotions including anger, fear, sadness, desperation, remorse then we follow this up by promptly telling the audience that the first scene would not be the overall tone of the movie.

The bar scene accomplishes a few things. One, it let’s the viewer off. Lightens it up. It says that this movie will ultimately be about a man and his quest to find love and companionship. The concluding scene and Frank’s words, “And it hasn’t gotten any better since” now sets the tone for what will obviously be a romantic comedy.

These opening scenes also demonstrate “foreshadowing”. Once I have finished the script I will demonstrate this technique as well.

So there we have it. Emotion. With it you can take the viewer anywhere you want. Take them to the clouds and allow them to freefall back to earth. You can have them laughing in one scene and crying in the next. Try it!

Long story short, his argument was that all a director needs is technical skill. That he needn’t be bogged down or concerned how a scene, series of scenes or movie comes across on an emotional level. He enthusiastically stated that the prime thing is making a visually aesthetic piece. I can appreciate great cinematography as much as the next person. And a masterfully filmed chase scene or expertly choreographed fight is attention grabbing.

However, we’re not Borg, we’re human.

A film maker must make an emotional connection with the audience. He’s not thinking: “How can I make the audience appreciate the craftsmanship of this work?” He wants us to forget we’re at the movies and immerse ourselves in the story. As a viewer, our focus should be completely on the story. When we’re concentrating on the technical stuff during a movie, we’re ignoring the idea behind going in the first place.

However, remember this; anyone can dip a brush into some paint, swath it across a canvas and call it art. More is involved. Put some feeling into it. Have heart and give it some heart. It becomes memorable if it has been etched into your psyche, if it touched or moved you in some profound way. Even Aliens touched us emotionally. The emotion was fear, but it’s an emotion nonetheless. Let it prove to be a fire coursing through your veins.

And remember, an unemotional creation will evoke an uninspired response.

Along the way he meets interesting characters and gets caught up in fascinating experiences and circumstances. After the adventure the lead typically has some new insight into himself. Again, this character arc thing we keep hearing so much about.

Many movies fall into more than one category. For instance, many adventure movies involve a quest. Or one or more of the other 20 plot ideas. But below are some movies that serve as excellent examples of the adventure plot.

Star Wars (1977) – Space adventure
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Romancing the Stone (1984)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Stargate (1994)
The Mummy (1999)
The Lord of the Rings – Fantasy adventure
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone (2001)
The Incredibles (2004)
Serenity (2005)
Beowulf (2007)
10,000 B.C. (2008)

The challenging part of writing an adventure is to not get caught in the trap of writing “episodes.” In other words, your lead shouldn’t just leap from one adventure, or “episode” to another, always coming out in the same place.

One drawback to writing in an episodic manner is that the piece can end up with a disjointed feel to it. One adventure should send your lead relatively seamlessly to the next. And during the process, each adventure should teach the lead something new. She should come to a new understanding of life, herself or both.

As a rule of thumb, remember: While we may be stuck in a routine of going to work everyday at our 9-5 job, watching a movie with the family every Saturday night at 8pm or otherwise entrenched in a holding pattern, our lead should not. He’s out there. Seeing the world. Experiencing new and exciting things. Meeting new people. Learning new and valuable lessons. Basically, doing all the things we wish we could do.

Next up: The Pursuit Plot

1) The lead is incomplete somehow and generally has a typical life.

2) He/she searches for something of critical importance.

3) There must be huge obstacles preventing him/her from attaining it.

4) Character arc. The character must learn something. Must change somehow. Could be for better or worse, doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter whether the lead attains his goal. The important thing is what he learns, how he changes. It can be a change for the better or a change for the worse. Just so long as he changes.

It’s just like real life. Consider your own life. It’s been a quest has it not? Through our lives we chase our passions and dreams. We’ve often met with failure. But we kept pressing on and finally, finally we attained that goal!

Put your character through the same struggles. Her quest must come with challenges. She must learn something about herself, others, the world around her or all of the above. Her struggles teach her perseverance and she reaps its rewards. Attaining the goal then becomes oh so sweet.

And we can relate to that. The reader, or viewer, will feel her pain when she fails and share her triumph when she succeeds.

Pretty simply eh?

1. Quest
2. Adventure
3. Pursuit
4. Rescue
5. Escape
6. Revenge
7. The Riddle
8. Rivalry
9. Underdog
10. Temptation
11. Metamorphosis
12. Transformation
13. Maturation
14. Love
15. Forbidden Love
16. Sacrifice
17. Discovery
18. Wretched Excess (A personal favorite)
19. Ascention
20. Descension (Another personal favorite)

Some good books covering plot are:

20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them) - Ronald B. Tobias
Plot & Structure - James Scott Bell
The Screenwriter’s Bible - David Trottier

For now the WWIII sci-fi will be placed on hold.

I am also devising an idea for an action/adventure/thriller periodical of sorts. I’m currently fleshing out ideas for “Adventure #1″.

More on that later….