Just Effing Entertain Me

Top Ten Finalists

Here are the top ten finalists for the 2010 Silver Screenwriting Competition. Kudos to everyone on this list and even to those who didn’t make it up from the semi-finals. There are some great scripts here and it was really tough to narrow the list down. Congratulations to everyone!

Bank Robbing for Dummies by Robert Keith Watson
Blue Lady by Ron Cecchini
The Doll by Rich Figel
Paraplizzle by R. Ian Simpson
Stowaways by Daniel Wasserman
Terra Incognita by Tess Ortbals and JR Burningham
The Cows by Scott Donnelly and Joe Douglass
The Fix by Ryan Jackson
The Jack Johnson Story by Joseph Puterbaugh
The Jupiter Syndrome by Christine Downs

The Buck Stops Here

Hello, everyone.  For any of you who may be following the online controversy, aspersion has been cast upon the first round judging criteria and methodology of The Silver Screenwriting Competition. Some of the rumors have been wild and some wildly inaccurate but the bottom line is with a competition that has grown as quickly as ours has, we do need to take a look at methods to depersonalize and mechanize the first round judging.  We’ve gone from a very mom and pop business to one much, much larger and comprehensive. With that growth comes more responsibility and constant re-evaluation of how we get our judging done.

It doesn’t matter how these rumors got started, by whom or for what reason, what matters is that I am the boss and I take responsibility for what is said – good and bad. I stand by my competition, my script coverage business, each and every reader and judge that I employ. I only work with the best and the long history and reputation we have at The Script Department attests to that.

But one thing is crystal clear: The Silver Screenwriting Competition has grown exponentially and it’s time for us to address first round judging in a new way. Anyone who has spent two minutes or less with me personally knows that I am a professional and one of the kindest, most honest people you will ever meet in your life. Unfair and untrue accusations hurt more for that reason. But I do see that mistakes were made and I do not shy away from my responsibility to every writer who submitted.  It is our intention at the Silver Screenwriting Competition to be as thorough and professional as any other competition out there if not better. This controversy has raised the bar for all first round judging everywhere.

If you have concerns about the competition, you are welcome to call my private office number 323-300-6051 between the hours of 10am and 4pm Mon-Fri and have a dialogue with me. If any entrant would like a full refund, you will receive it promptly.  If you would like to send me your script and discuss it over the phone or Skype, I am at your service.  You can email me by clicking HERE.

Please note: I will be out of town from September 2nd through the 6th for the Labor Day weekend.

We are announcing the top ten scripts tomorrow, on schedule, and each and every one of us here, but primarily me, Julie Gray wants to let you know that we run this competition with heart and integrity and if a reader was publicly bitter about the process, if some of you have been misled to think that your entry fee is a coverage fee rather than an administrative fee, it is my responsibility to make that right. It is more important to me to run both my personal and business affairs with integrity than it is to wonder who is saying what and what their agenda is. I have one agenda. To do right by every writer who entered.  I do not give credence to malicious rumor, only to the essence hidden within them  – something needs to change.

Again, please call (323-300-6051) or email for a full refund or with any questions or concerns you may have.

Knit Two Purl Two Short Scene Competition

So I’ve (re)taken up knitting in the past few months. I find it a very soothing, meditative thing to do. And little travel tip – no, they won’t take away your knitting needles, even on El Al. I’m really a novice, so I decided to get going on some knit caps for the holiday season. (If you work for me, you’re getting one, so be prepared!). I got the pattern, studied it good but though it was simple, ran into some problems.

Why wasn’t the cap coming together the way it purported to in the picture? I followed every step! I took the stitches off the needles and started over. I cast on again, making sure the cast on stitches were uniform and loosely knit. I messed up again. I took the yarn off the needles and cast on again. And again.

Finally, in frustration, I gave up and went to the knitting store in my neighborhood and asked for help. Turns out I was knitting the decrease ahead of knitting the actual hat. I had skipped an important step! No wonder my knit caps were coming out like donuts; empty in the center!

I went back home, took apart the hat – again – and followed the directions properly. I am proud to say my multi-colored winter beanie already has my assistant’s name on it.

What’s the lesson for writers here other than that a handicraft is a soothing way to take time to be quiet and think through life’s challenges? Let me say it again – I was knitting the decrease (where the hat gets smaller) ahead of knitting the actual hat itself.

That’s tantamount to what I see many new writers do – write the exciting ending (and beginning) without knowing what the actual center of the story is. Without the proper set up and early foundational template, you cannot rush to the end, where things speed up. The story must be cast on (set up) correctly and evenly before the knit one purl two, knit six, knit two together (k1 p1 k6 k2g), i.e., progression and escalation of the story can really make sense.

In any event, this lesson in the Zen of Knitting prompts me to call for a new one scene competition to give you guys something to chew on over the Labor Day holiday!

Guidelines

Write a one page scene (strictly enforced) containing the key phrase “knit two, purl two” and the keyword “Tennessee”. Use the keywords cleverly, in context and effing entertainingly. All genres are welcome.Only one script will win first place and another will receive honorable mention. This is a departure from our usual peer judging but I’m afraid those have become popularity contests, so I’ll be the final arbiter on this one and we’ll see how that goes. Entrants are free to submit up to three short scenes.

Deadline

Submissions are due Tuesday, September 7th by 12pm PST. The winner will be announced on September 9th.

1st Place Prize

Your choice of a $25 gift certificate to Amazon or a free 15 minute Skype/brainstorm with me at a time convenient for you. Honorable mention gets a big smile and a slap on the back.

Please submit your one page Knit Two Purl Two scene HERE.

Silver Screenwriting Top Ten Delay

Hello everybody – last year we announced our semifinalists and top ten early.  This year, due to a couple of unforeseen events, we’re announcing on September 1st. Sorry for the hold up and for the TENSION and EXCITEMENT but we need a few more days.

Where Do You Create From?

This morning I got a lovely email from a friend that said “create from a place of love, never from a place of fear”.   Though the email was referring to idea that we create our own realities each day with our thoughts and expectations about life, whether you subscribe to that or not, I think most us of would agree that when we are fearful, desperate, angry or jealous – any of those top negative emotions – things never go that well for us in general. If you are dreading and I mean really dreading a visit from your in-laws, that predisposition of resistance and preconception of conflict puts you in a bad mood. Bad enough to go nuts over the first spilled coffee and now the visit spirals down into the negativity you had predicted in the first place. See how that works? Again and again I have heard people say they met the love of their lives in a strange moment when it was the last thing on their minds. Why? Because when meeting someone is first and foremost on your mind, the vibe you give off can be needy, sad or even desperate. When you are just being yourself and you don’t care, then hey, suddenly you draw a like-minded person to you. When you really, really, really desperately want to get the job and you interview, there’s a tiny little ball of fear in your stomach praying that you get it, please, god, and that translates to not coming off as very relaxed and authentic. The adjustment of the dial from nervous, intimidated or undeserving to confident, sincere and not living or dying for the outcome is often times enough to tip the scales in your favor.

Writing is hard. It’s the hardest thing to do and mostly, it’s hard because one gets so very little validation and reward – immediate, medium or long term. Sometimes writers get so frustrated, they write from a place of fear and frustration. And suffice to say this is never your best writing.  Why are you writing today? What place within yourself are you creating from? Check in and make sure it’s for the love of it, because you’re excited about what you’re writing today or because you can’t imagine not. But if you feel a tiny little ball of tension within you, because you are SICK of not SELLING  script or getting repped, be careful. You really do write your best self when you are calm, relaxed, inspired and happy. Do it for the love of the thing itself, not for a result. If you can let go of the outcome of your writing, neither thinking that you’re definitely going to sell this book/script/article nor dreading in advance that you won’t, then you can just flow with this great gift you’ve been given and enjoy the process of the writing itself.

In other words, write from a place of joyfulness and your writing will show it. Write from a place of resentment, fear, pressure or desperation and that will show up in your writing as well. Which do you choose?

Reading:

The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

A Rose by Any Other Name?

If you could rename yourself anything, right now, today – what would it be? Would you choose a name that connoted daring and adventure? Or sophistication and intelligence? How about something very down-to-earth and American sounding like Brick Jones. What’s a guy like Brick Jones like?

Like it or not we humans put a lot of stock in surface appearances and Blink-like judgments. If someone calls you and her name is Candy how do you perceive her even before the conversation really begins?

The main character in AMERICAN BEAUTY was Lester Burnham. Great name, right? Lester. And he was losing his hair and had a paunch and, well, he looked like a Lester (apologies to any Lesters out there). And what was the neighbor’s son’s name? Ricky Fitts. And we all remember what Ricky’s father, Colonel Frank Fitts was like. Fitts. Sounds like spits. Sounds kind of German (except that would be Fitz; why the different spelling?).

What is your main character’s name? Why did you name your character that? How much thought did you give it not just in terms of how a reader or viewer would feel about the name but about how the character feels about that name him or herself? How has he or she grown into and personified the name? Do they wear the name well or have they changed it? If so, what’s his or her real name?

It’s all in the name. I feel like a Julie. It’s a cheerful, fun name and that definitely describes me. If my name were Gwendolyn, I’m not sure in what way, but I know I’d feel like a different person. What if I was just Heidi for the day? How would that day seem for me?How about you?  What would you rename yourself and why?  What’s your main character’s name and why?

Want, Need, Flaw Refresher

Most writers, when asked what their character wants, say something general, like love, power or money. But we need to be much more specific than this in order to establish stakes and to give the character a tangible goal.

If you only know what your characters wants in general terms, that’s actually okay because you can now ask WHY your main character wants the power, money, fancy car, etc. And in this answer you will find the inner need.

When you think of what SPECIFICALLY your character wants, now you have your character’s goal.

General want leads to inner need.

Specific want leads to tangible goal.

Want/Goal: something external from themselves that is tangible, specific, attainable.

Need: something painful, emotional and very interior.

Flaw: the result of not being able to get that goal met because of inner pain.

Symptoms: what the flaw looks like when enacted. “Arrogant” can take many forms and guises, no? What forms, habits or signifiers does “arrogant” come in?

Close Your Eyes

Recently I sat and talked with one of the ADR guys working with Terrence Malick on THE TREE OF LIFE, and as he explained what he does we wandered into a discussion of our favorite sounds. I played him a recording I have of a mullah’s call to prayer in Jaffa that I made a few months ago. Then a recording of the bells of St. Joseph’s church in Nazareth. Another one of two Arab cab drivers arguing about something. I collect sounds, you see. Enraptured by our conversation about sounds and how evocative they are, we both closed our eyes and listened to the sounds of the Lot bustling around us. But it wasn’t all bustling at all. There were birds, the wind shushing through the jacaranda trees, the click and buzz of walkie talkies, the beep of a truck backing up, a honk from the traffic on Santa Monica boulevard.

And as we talked, Kris and I, about our favorite sounds, he said that his favorite sound of all was the city of Venice, Italy. Because there are canals with boats, it is much quieter than most cities and he said you can walk down the sidewalk and hear dishes clinking, voices chatting and laughter floating - you can hear people living their lives, he said.  And you can hear people living their lives too.

Do it today. Bring a notepad, sit outside, close your eyes and listen to the world happening around you. Listen for a good five to ten minutes. Then open your eyes and write down all the sounds you heard. Now imagine you are writing down those descriptions for a romantic comedy you are writing. Would you describe them differently? What about a thriller? Does the distant sound of traffic sound foreboding or like a comforting, familiar sound?

What are your favorite sounds? What sounds are comforting to you? How about irritating? Do you incorporate sounds in your script? If you’re not, you’re missing out on a big opportunity to add a cinematic dimension to your story.

Just Effing Entertain Me

So I’m up at the Willamette Valley Writer’s Conference in Portland, Oregon, doing some teaching. So far I’ve taught “Writing the Character Driven Script” and “Testing Ideas for Originality.” Tomorrow I teach the perennial favorite “Top 10 Things Readers Hate” and I give the keynote speech at lunch. Hey, no pressure. Today, the conference organizer smiled and said she can’t wait to hear the speech. Me either, I thought. HOLY SHIT, I gotta come up with something fast!

I thrive under pressure. I love the adrenaline and the rush of doing something quickly and doing it well at the last minute. The title of my 10-minute keynote is this: Just Effing Entertain Me. Well, that should be easy, since I talk about that almost every day. I’m looking forward to talking about writing for the sheer pleasure of it. Writing because it entertains you and you love to entertain. Writing playfully and passionately, rather than for the market. I look forward to reminding the conference attendees that the reason people go to the movies is to FEEL and that our job is to make them feel and experience something as a way of escaping from their own lives.

I see writing as a lot more than academic navel-gazing or a status climbing intellectual pursuit. No, storytellers need to harken to their roots around the campfire. Tell me a story, the listener asks. Take me to another world. Help me forget the economy, or the grief, or the bad day at work. Just effing entertain me.

Improve Your Quality of Life

Do any of you ever feel as if you are on an increasingly crazy treadmill of busy busy busy? I know I do. My iPhone has made me possible to reach, wherever I am, by text, phone call or email. And I find that the more connected I am, the more saturated I am by stimuli – people, appointments, rush rush rush.

Increasingly, the evenings I spent simply knitting quietly while watching a movie or listening to music are a thing of the past. I not only miss those evenings, I need them. I used to bring my knitting to work and take breaks with my bamboo knitting needles, doing some quiet handwork. It was peaceful, even if for a few moments. Not anymore.

And it’s not just me – it seems that life has sped up for everybody. When I was growing up, my dad used to bemoan the loss of the simplicity of the time he grew up – the ’50s – and complained about our complicated lifestyles of today. Typically, being a teenager, I found his complaints silly. Come on, dad! Bigger, better, faster, more!

But over time, I have found that he is correct. Things have changed. When I was a kid, there was one phone in the house and it had a seven foot curly cord and you had to stand there to chat. There were no text messages. No Facebook. No cell phone reception to complain about. If you couldn’t get ahold of someone at home, you really couldn’t get ahold of them at all. You’d have to wait.

What have we lost in translation, I wonder, when we can’t slow down? Writing time is certainly something one needs to do alone, quietly and slowly. Do you manage to grab enough time to do it? And when you “grab” that time do you feel a bit rushed?

Our relationship with time has changed from our being able to master time (calendars, sundials, harvest moons and astronomy) to time mastering us. How many times do you glance up at the clock each day to measure either what you have not yet done or where you need to be next? Glancing at the clock rips one out of the present moment and speeds one toward the future. Running madly, we chase the rabbit around the track with blinders on. A “productive day” can never include lying on your back and staring at the clouds.

If there’s one thing my brother’s death has taught me, it is to be grateful for the quotidien pleasures and moments of daily life, for they are multitude if not “important.” I notice the quality of the golden California sunlight and the way it washes over the cafe table I’m sharing with a friend. I notice the tall palm trees with their Dr. Seuss manes. I notice the moon and the phase it’s in. I love to hear my neighbors as I walk down the street: dishes clinking, laughter floating, the occasional sharp yelp. And I’m so grateful to be here in it, part of life, one with it, observing it. There is nothing else that life is, really, except being present in it. There are no expectations, there are no magic answers or HUGE MOMENTS to work toward. We only have each day, unto itself. I’m 100% positive that if he could turn back the clock and make a different decision, my brother would savor the rich banquet of sensations and feelings that each day has to offer rather than rushing from one thing to the next.

How present are you in your life? Have you caught the bigger, better, faster, more bug? If you have, how do find time to write and when you write, how do you be totally present in that quiet writing time? For some, shifting gears into writing time can be a lengthy process. Primarily because it takes awhile to still the hamster-wheel noises of our minds enough to listen to the muse. And it truly takes quiet to do that.

Remember when, if someone was late and you were meeting them in a public place, you’d just sit and watch the people go by? It was a quiet pleasure; you weren’t quite lonely, because someone was soon coming, but you had a window to observe the day going by. The way people walk. The sounds of the traffic and the birds. The shapes of the clouds, the touch of the wind on your cheek. But now, our cell phones are our instant friend. We text, we check our emails, we check weather reports – anything but sit there alone, quietly.

I am reading a book right now, In Praise of Slowness, that is really having an impact on me. It’s a good read, and I recommend it. And today a friend sent me a lovely video that I wanted to share with you guys. Not only because of the beautiful, healing message but also, when you watch it, listen to the quality and cadence of the writing.
How to be Alone

Have a good day. A truly GOOD day.