Just Effing Entertain Me

We Are Meaning Machines

Have you ever gotten a text or voice mail and then over-analyzed it? What did he or she MEAN by that wink?! Why did they put a period (this is my favorite example) after that lol? Lol! is good. Lol. implies something different. Like – stop texting me.

We do it absolutely all the time. We make up stories about what things mean in our personal lives and in the world. We base those stories on our beliefs – people don’t like me, or people are always cheating me, or good things always happen to me (that’s where you want to live, that one right there). Our thoughts and stories are refracted through some kind of inner narrative about how we believe the world is and our relationship to ourselves and others. In psychological terms, this of course creates significant angst – why wasn’t I invited to that party? – they don’t like me! Nobody likes me! Well, forget them, I don’t like them either…. and so on. It is eternally freeing to catch yourself making up stories about what things might mean and let it go into a neutral space. Okay so they didn’t invite you, just keep on being your glorious self and more glorious people and parties will happen to you.

As writers we are perhaps more astute about what things mean – or might mean. My son has a scar on his cheek to this day from a time when he was about ten and I accidentally scratched him with my nail while cleaning his face. Our relationship is at times troubled – divorce, life – suffice to say we don’t always click all that well. And – he has a SCAR ON HIS FACE from his mother. To match the scar in his heart! Poetic, isn’t it? If I were writing that little detail in a story, I would most certainly exploit the hell out of that symbolism. Of course I would. In a story, it’s a detail rich with symbolism. But in real life – I scratched him once and this has nothing to do with our relationship. Unless we let it mean something.

We are meaning machines, we humans. Things happen, and we put them through our belief filters and create stories. Sometimes negative, sometimes positive. We are filtering for meaning literally all the time. It’s what we are wired to do – our animals brains needed to quickly weigh and assess everything from danger to warning of possible danger to the ultimate danger for humans – social alienation. We need each other. We need to be liked, to be included. Otherwise, nights outside the village can be real darn cold and dark.

For writers, our challenge is to turn OFF our meaning machines in our own lives (where we are being negative) and turn it ON when we are writing. Writing is our outlet, that’s where we can embellish, create meaning, symbols, metaphor and every other tool in our kits to get our reader or viewer to really FEEL and EXPERIENCE what we are writing.

One of my favorite short stories in the world is Araby, by James Joyce, which is a part of The Dubliners. The metaphors he uses are so perfect, so rich and creamy, so masterful. Well, it is James Joyce we’re talking about! Writing is manipulative and you better believe it. Of course it is. We are trying to evoke as much emotional engagement as we can from our readers – whether that is cinematic, emotional, symbolic – it all rolls into one, effing entertaining piece of work.

So there’s the trick for us – be aware of your tendency to be a “meaning machine” in your personal life and monitor it carefully for when it is negative. But in your writing – go nuts. Layer your writing with meaning in every way that you can. That is the point. And the good part is that at the end, the story can mean anything you, the writer wants. Hope, cynicism, sorrow or joy. Stories are where we writers work out our feelings. I feel bad for people who don’t write, in fact, because for us, it’s a great outlet. In real life, let things mean only good things to you. I got laid off? Great, I wonder what new opportunity is around the corner? Rather than – I got laid off, I must have been bad at my job, or, people are out to get me, or why me not that other guy?

Learning to compartmentalize your meaning machine tendencies as a writer makes your personal life more fun and easy and your screen(writing) life great therapy and even better entertainment.

An Angel of Courage

I found out about a book on writing that Carl Sandburg once called “the greatest book on writing ever written”. It’s Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write. Turns out, Brenda, who passed away in 1995, was my fairy godmother and angelic predecessor! The book is a MUST read for writers, it truly is.

But let me rewind the tape a little. When I came to Hollywood, right around the turn of the century, things were radically different than they are today. More movies were being made, more scripts were being bought and sold and nobody sent anybody a PDF of a script, much less an email query, god forbid. In the Before Times, before the writer’s strike, before this Great Duhpression, before online video on demand, exhibition and distribution, there were still video stores. In the Before Times, the movie business was in healthier condition. In the Before Times, people spent more of their income on entertainment than they do now.

I like to think of these economic times as times of great opportunity, not times of privation and less stuff for fewer people. New insights and ideas are popping up all around us. Just yesterday, I saw one man inspiration Bernhoft perform. From Oslo, Jarle Bernhoft needed a band of about eight members but couldn’t afford it. So he figured out a way to record and replay his own tracks in the moment to create a lush, layered sound, a bit similar to Enya or Imogen Heap. Out of necessity, he stumbled upon something spectacular and he’s gone from Youtube semi-phenom to a national tour. Watch the video; you’ll find yourself grinning.

(I saw him perform live yesterday when I was a member of the studio audience of the Ellen show. During which all audience members got a year of free Tide detergent! I was inordinately excited about that.)

Where was I? Oh yes, I was reveling in the changes that are happening all around us. Here in Hollywood, in the US, all over the world – things are changing and new opportunities are sprouting up all around us – if we look for them. Don’t bemoan these seismic shifts in the economy, look for the opportunities in this time!

At the same time, don’t hide your head in the sand when it comes to the realities of script sales in Hollywood. I feel like someone warning writers about something crazy and they don’t believe me, but don’t take it from me; if screenwriting was EVER a great opportunity for writers (maybe during the time of H.L. Mencken?) it is much, much less so now. That party is over. While tinsel town may seem very magical and glamorous (and in many ways, it is) do not forget, it is a business – a huge business – and it has been impacted by the economy in a significant way. Which means less revenue. Which means less buying of material. Which means less jobs. This is real, dear reader.

I have been blogging about entertainment, writing and life for six years now and in some ways, it seems like forever and others, as if it’s been a quick dream. The readership on Just Effing, according to little charts, graphs and numbers, is quite sizable. If I think about it too much, I’ll suddenly become shy, so I shan’t. Suffice to say I am not the only one interested in entertainment, in creation and in nurturing gratitude and joie d’ vivre.

Sometimes I marvel at how much has changed in Hollywood, in life and in my life in the past decade. It’s unbelievable. Hollywood used to be the Number One Most Lucrative/Glamorous Destination for writers and there were and are hundreds of books, seminars and dvds you can buy that still tell you that this is the truth. But the thing is, it’s no longer true, and if there’s one thing I cannot stomach, it’s pointing writers toward the most narrow opening possible for writing – screenwriting – and telling them falsely but cheerfully that they can squeeze through that tiny opening.

It’s not that a screenwriting career can’t happen, but there are some growing and changing realities about the screenwriting business that aren’t quite talked about because then you won’t buy the book or go to the conference about how awesome screenwriting is.

Screenwriting is ONE opportunity for your writing but of all the outlets for writing, it remains the most difficult in terms of barriers to entry. I really came of age here in Hollywood; I cut my teeth here in the town of “NO”. I have been here for almost ten years now and I have seen it all; the high and dashed hopes, the dreams come true, the frustration, the professionalism, the hardcore focus and the feeling of powerful creativity – and futility. Living and working in Hollywood makes you emotionally muscular.

Many have accused those who teach, mentor and give notes as I do, that we sell dreams that probably won’t come true and that we aren’t being 100% honest when we encourage you to rewrite your script three times, buy our book and come to our class and then you might – you just might – achieve success. And I’ll be honest, I think there is that element among screenwriting teachers. It’s not false hope or encouragement – but it’s not exactly full disclosure, either. I know I am breaking the screenwriting consultant code a little bit in saying this, but it hasn’t sat well with me for a long time, to encourage writers toward a mirage that is at this time, shrinking mightily.

At risk of sounding like a broken record (remember those?) I want to get on the roof and shout out to the entire world of writers (and you are legion) that SCREENWRITING IS ONLY ONE form of writing and one possible writing career. But listen, guys, it is the most sought after, because it seems so glamorous. So what do you think that translates to? Ask any actor living and working in LA how many actors show up to auditions. Does that mean you give up? No, but writers write. We write and we write – poems, letters, prose, essays, scripts, plays – anything and everything. You have been sold a bunch of baloney if you think screenwriting is fast, easy, lucrative and easy to achieve as long as you buy THIS BOOK and go to THAT CLASS. You have been sold a bill of goods if you’ve been told, while purchasing yet another screenwriting dvd, that screenwriting is achievable for anyone who tries hard enough for long enough. Screenwriting is not for everybody. It is a very particular kind of writing, for a very particular kind of writer. You may or may not be that particular kind of writer. And even if you are, branch out for goodness sake – use all your writing muscles!

You don’t have to hear NO time after time, and you don’t have to be told you live in the wrong place or that you are too old or too young. There are other venues to express yourself in writing. And they are growing up SPROING like weeds right now, thanks to the success of ebooks and self-publish books.

The stream toward Hollywood has narrowed, but like water flowing around rocks in a stream, other opportunities have arisen. I mean, look at me, I have an ebook out about the death of my dear brother Pete and it is selling. People are reading it all over the world. Just like that. Now – did I write it just like that? No, it took a great number of months and tears to write. It took a lot of courage to write with that kind of truthfulness and candor. But I compiled the essays I’d written – really, for you, dear blog reader – into a slim ebook because it struck me that others might benefit and it was very easy for me to do.

I hope that I am an example of courage for you, dear readers. Of overcoming challenges and hardship and continuing to show up and believe in life, in art and in the sanctity of creation just for the sake of it.

I love reading scripts. I have a stack on my desk right now. But I’m also reading several manuscripts and coaching writers in every aspect of writing, which I love. I will soon be changing some of my mentor/reading services to include manuscripts since there has been such a high demand, which thrills me. So keep your eye on the “services” part of this blog in upcoming weeks and don’t hesitate to email me if you have questions about your writing, full stop.

Many of you know by now that in just a few short months, I will be living in my beloved adopted country of Israel, in Tel Aviv, near the sea. ON the sea, I should say. You won’t really notice a difference here on the blog; many of you Just Effers log in from very far away already! I will continue being the same Julie Gray you have come to know; I’ll be writing from the same part of myself that I always have, I’ll just be in a different time zone. And I will continue to be here for you, as an inspiration, a cautionary tale, a laugh and hopefully, some inspiration.

I am no Brenda Ueland, but in having just read her book, I feel I do carry on her message that you can do it – you can write, you can express, and that doing it every day is somewhere between sacred and the most awesome fun you’ll ever have. I do encourage you to check out her book; along with two of my other favorite books on writing, it deserves a place on your bookshelf:

If You Want to Write, by Brenda Ueland
There’s No Business Like Soul Business by Derek Rydall
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

That’s all for today. Make me happy, do some writing today.

10 Questions: Book, Blog or Script?

Hello, everyone!

As we near Rosh Hashana, my favorite holiday, it is a time for renewal, recharging and taking inventory of our writing lives.

Recently, at Warner Bros., we reviewed the questions below, to check in with ourselves about whether screenwriting really is the best venue for our material. If you’ve read this blog for a minute and a half you know how I feel about the huge PAR-TAY going on across the hall from screenwriting, and that is the world of ebooks and self publish.

I may have also mentioned that on Fiverr you can hire me for five bucks to give you a quick few suggestions about how you can improve your blog. With the waiting list I have for reading scripts, I need more work like a hole in the head – call me crazy – but I’m just so passionate about writers and writing. And I’ve been blogging for a long time.

ANYWAY – back to this list of questions, fill it it out and see how your answers stack up!

1. As far as you know, and you’ve spent time finding out – is your idea as unique as humanly possible?

Yes No

2. Is your idea cinematic (visual) and filled with conflict?

Yes No

3. Does your idea take place over many years?

Yes No

4. Do you like to write descriptions quickly and sparingly and focus on dialogue instead?

Yes No

5. Are you an expert or are you passionate about a particular niche subject?

Yes No

6. Do you like to write collaboratively?

Yes No

7. Do you like to write detailed, evocative, rich descriptions of people, places and things?

Yes No

8. Is getting paid for your writing a significant part of what motivates you to write?

Yes No

9. Do you thrive on frequent feedback and audience/readership appreciation and interaction?

Yes No

10. Do you care (and are you informed about) pop culture and current zeitgeist?

Yes No

KEY
You might be a ideal screenwriter if you answered YES to questions 1, 2, 4, 6 and 10.
You might be an ideal blogger if you answered YES to questions 4, 5, 9 and 10.
You might be an ideal book author if you answered YES to questions: 3, 5, 7 and 8.

Is Fear of Success Holding You Back?

It does, for many people. Just today, a friend of mine who is rocketing upward in Hollywood right now said she has this gnawing fear… of success.

With success comes risk – of failure, of losing “friends”, of changing who you think you are, of being seen as a “fraud” and of the humiliation of that.

But – what IS success, really? What would it look like for YOU?

As an exercise, just write, in stream of consciousness, what success looks like for you. Don’t judge. Just write. Money, material things, recognition, pride, power, creativity, travel, that pony you’ve always wanted. And then what – what more? Keep writing. Success is also some other stuff: going out whenever I feel like it, not stressing about money, being able to hang out with friends, maybe having more time to give of myself in terms of volunteer or non-profit work. Success can mean getting my message out there, in the mass media, about women, literacy, aliens, equality, how great sharks are – whatever.

Your success, in other words, beyond material comfort, empowers you to communicate and interact with a global audience and in doing so, to make a difference. Your success, your highest good, in other words, makes you an instrument of change, of entertainment, inspiration, dissent, information, of thought-provoking content. The nice car and fancy cocktails are just frosting – and frosting you deserve – but they are not the goal. You goal is to make a difference and to live comfortably doing so – so that you can keep doing it.

Success also comes and goes with the tides. Define success in YOUR terms – all of the above PLUS success is maintaining optimism, continuing to write, touching the lives of others positively, in ways large and small. In learning how to cook, in making time to read and to be with friends and family.

I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

What it is that you plan to do with your one, wild and precious life? (Mary Oliver)

Try replacing the word “success” with the words “highest good”. Are you afraid of your highest good? If you are doing your highest good and you lose friends – were they friends? If you are doing your highest good, can you be discovered to be a fraud? If you become your highest good, will you fundamentally change – for the worse? No. None of these things make sense. What failure is possible, then, in striving to be your highest good?

Don’t Drink the Screenwriting Kool-Aid

This morning I came upon this blog post, from The Screenplay Reader blog, about the top five reasons screenwriters quit. And it’s a really good article. You should read it. Except another reason is missing. I’ll get to that in a moment.

Here are their top five reasons:

5. Only writing one script
4. Not building a network
3. Losing focus
2. Distraction by material comforts
1. Not knowing what to do with the finished script.

Do you want to know what the REAL number one is though? It’s because writers think that screenwriting is the only avenue for their writing and when it doesn’t pay off soon enough, they quit. They quit writing entirely. And that breaks my heart.

Here’s the truth: screenwriting is not for everyone. It just isn’t.

1. Because it’s a particular kind of writing; cinematic, kinetic and mathematic
2. Because the validation and approbation for it is close to nil
3. Because the competition is HUGE but the market is the size of a pinhole, relatively speaking.
4. Because screenwriting is, as John August said: “…10% inspiration, 60% perspiration, 20% witty dialogue and 30% being awesome at math.”
5. But he forgot one. Screenwriting is also 28% who you know. See? Not awesome at math
6. And the knowledge of all of the above is depressing and at times, paralyzing

I have talked here on the blog before about the exploding possibilities for writers: short stories, flash fiction, graphic novels, plays, copy writing, fiction, non-fiction, essays, journalism and these are all readily available through these venues: blogging, ebooks, self-publish, publishing houses.

There is a whole cottage industry out there (and I used to be a part of it) encouraging writers to write scripts. Because it’s fun! And glamorous! And easy! (NOT) But slowly, writers and those out there helping writers, whether that’s supplying software, consulting, books, etc. are becoming aware that not only are there other options, many writers will keep writing and write better material if they write for a different venue. To that end, I have seen new software coming out to help with your novel, to help with your play, etc. Are those necessary? Strictly speaking – of course not – but as I have always said, if you have the extra cash lying around, sure, why not? It can’t hurt. Just be judicious.

Used to be, in the good old days, that publishing houses had editors who worked closely with writers to ensure the highest quality material possible. So closely that there have been arguments, in the literary world, that writers like Raymond Carver, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Thomas Wolfe (the latter 3 had the same editor, the brilliant, famed Maxwell Perkins) were in fact collaborative writers. No more. Publishing houses, hit hard by the contraction in the economy plus the advent (and huge popularity) of e-books, are struggling to stay afloat. Gone are the big advances, gone is the editing and support, gone is the marketing and publicity money. Authors are expected to turn in manuscripts that are FINITO, as is, all done. More and more, there are free agent story editors out there (such as myself) who jump in, swim out to where you are on your project(s) and help ensure that whatever you are working on (be it a blog, novel, short story, graphic novel, essay, etc.) is at its highest level of expression – via YOU.

As competitive as ever, writers now need to be responsible for delivering great material, from the get-go. And they need to bring their own platform with them. Which would be their blog. Which is why having an excellent blog alongside your novel, graphic novel, collected essays or plays is a huge boon.

Screenwriting is an excellent, excellent form of writing for so many reasons. If you have been writing scripts and then set out to write a YA novel, as one example, you already have a strong sense of stakes, structure and character arc. You are in fact, better prepared than the other guy, who has not been entrained to make effing entertaining stuff happen as regularly as possible, on every page.

It breaks my heart to think that screenwriters working on a script that just isn’t a script – maybe it’s a song, a poem, a play or a novel – put the idea and work away never to return to it. God knows how many poems have never been written because it wasn’t enough, this lyrical idea or thought, to sustain a three-act script.

Screenwriting is fantastic. But the odds of selling your script are infinitesimally small. That shouldn’t stop you but you do need to examine what your goals and needs are, as a writer, before you commit to it.

Screenwriting may be for you if:

1. You are under 40
2. You live in or near Los Angeles or New York
3. You need no validation or approval for your writing
4. You know the odds are terrible and you just don’t care
5. You think in high concept, cinematic ways.
6. You love dialogue more than descriptions
7. You write contained stories

I can hear the hue and cry – you can be over 40! You don’t have to live in LA! True. But being in those two categories is quite honestly a detriment. It’s not impossible. For every rule there are exceptions.

David Seidler, writer of The King’s Speech was 73 when he won an Academy Award. Amazing. But let’s take a moment to scroll down through his IMDB. The man has been writing produced material since he was 28 years old. He took a big break in there, somewhere, but Seidler put in many, many years of hard work.

If screenwriting is frustrating you, if you keep being told your script is too “long” too “epic”, too expensive and not for “today’s” market. If there are no franchise possibilities, if your story is too “internal” or derivative, it is possible you have a book on your hands.

Moving away from screenwriting to focus on another avenue for your writing is not quitting, despite a weird culture among screenwriters that it is. It is simply shifting your writing energy to other forms of writing. Of which there are legion. There is no quitting, there is only writing. And if that means writing a blog, or a journal or a cook book – write. Write because it helps you organize your thoughts and opinions, write because you are curious and have opinions to share. Write because for whatever weird reason, you have the impulse, the desire to do it.

Write for the joy of it and don’t let anybody tell you you are “quitting” one form or another – just keep writing.

Here are some resources to keep you WRITING:

The Writer’s Store
Media Bistro
Gotham Writer’s Workshop
Poets & Writers Magazine
UCLA Extension Writer’s Program
Arts & Letters Daily (a plethora of ideas, inspiration)

Writer, Know Thyself!

Existential screenwriting angst. It hits everybody at some point. Sometimes again and again.

Recently, I had a client get very down in the mouth. His is not a bad script – but nor is it ready for prime time. And that truth just hit him really hard. What’s the use? What’s the point? It’s so HARD, this screenwriting thing!

Ironically, I have a dear friend who recently became a pro (read: paid) screenwriter who is in the guild, the whole nine yards who has had a terrible case of this-is-not-what-I-thought-it-be-like-itis. She’s just not happy. And she worked for years to get to where she is. Now she wants to move to Oregon and grow berries and raise goats. For her, there is no there there to where she strove to be for so long. But such is life, yes?

Is anything ever really what you thought it would be like? Your marriage? Your job? Having kids? Being single? Writing a script? Nothing ever is what you could have predicted.

There are a handful of cliches that I used to loathe until I realized they are absolutely true:

Time heals all.
Laughter is good medicine.
Less is more.
Don’t run with scissors.
If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Somehow, the idea that screenwriting is easy, fun and very high-paying spilled out into the mind of the public like a rainbow colored oil spill and has never been cleaned up. I used to believe it too. But this false belief leaves behind writers who run the gamut from darkly bitter and angry to naive, self-doubting and disappointed.

Guys – it’s the arts. Some people do make money, yes. But very, very, very, very few. Which doesn’t mean it’s not worth pursuing. But know what you are getting into: years of trying. Years of what may feel like “failure”. Money spent on competitions, consultants, how-to-books and seminars. Networking events and more writing. Over and over again. Frustration, feelings of unfairness, feeling creatively blocked or somehow just not lucky enough to make it. Years of wondering why why why. IF that’s how you choose to look at this weird experience of writing.

But there is a third way: You don’t actually have to pop a vein straining for the carrot on the stick. There is more than one carrot. And more than one stick.

But first, you have to ask:

Why do you write?

Generally, there are about six reasons people write:

1) To make money.
2) To become famous or respected and preferably both.
3) Because you love writing and please refer to #’s 1 and 2 above.
4) To gain the respect you DESERVE for your BRILLIANCE.
5) Because it’s a tick or obsession that helps you let off steam.
6) To while away the hours doing something creative and interesting.

Newsflash: there is no shame in numbers one through three, above. None. Writing is a skill. That can earn money, respect and acknowledgment for you. Those of you in the number four category and I hope you are few… well… I have nothing for you. And for the number five and sixers – you are hobbyists and that’s absolutely wonderful as long as you are clear that numbers one and two are outside of your wheelhouse. Take that in stride, good naturedly and you’ll be fine.

All right, now you have to ask yourself:

What do you want to write?

• Screenplays
• Teleplays
• Stage plays
• Blogging
• Bloveling
• Novels
• Short stories
• Essays
• Songs
• Poems
• Journalism
• Technical writing
• Reviews
• Journaling

Screenwriting is the least likely, worst odds venue for selling material and earning money. That’s an established fact. It’s the format that is the least likely to get you validation, satisfaction or god forbid, money. But it is cool and for some, it is absolutely their metier. But is it YOURS?

There are thousands of would-be screenwriters out there that are trying to shove a square peg through a round hole because they simply haven’t given enough thought to some of the other, less glamorous outlets for writing. Well, you know what Dolly Parton said about glamour – it takes a lot of money to look that cheap. Screenwriting is amazing. It’s the modern day equivalent of the Great American Novel.

But it is by FAR the least likely way to make a living. And there’s a whole industry out there telling you otherwise on a daily basis. Check your inbox if you doubt me.

But people – there is MUCH more to be had as a writer. Look at the list, above. Just look at that. Is it possible that your strengths lie not in screenwriting but rather, novel writing? Or song writing? Maybe you have a very witty, fun cookbook in you.

And getting your cookbook, reviews or blovel read is something you can do when you answer:

Who Will Publish You?:

• Self Publish

• Traditional publishing

• Online/blogging

It used to be the case that one had to get published by Random House or other publishers of that profile to have a prayer of a chance of sales, much less respect. But the publishing industry is changing rapidly, with self publish on a powerful rise. For those of you afraid to try writing a novel or starting a blog, take a looky-loo around the internet and gaze upon the plethora of writing out there – ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. You can publish yourself – instantly. Believe me, if you start a blog, nothing satisfies like knowing people are reading it. So with content and sufficient exposure, if your numbers are not going up – you need to raise the bar on your writing. Blogging has flooded the internet with gigabytes of information and by far, most of it is awful. But some – ah – some is just sublime. Funny, truthful, poignant, shocking, informational, instructional, inspiring – everything you could imagine. And your blog could be up with a blog like that if your writing soars and you write veritably daily in a very effing entertaining way.

It used to be that self publish was the last refuge for the unpublishable. And believe me, there is a lot of self-publish which is substandard. But it doesn’t sell. If you write a book and self publish it and no one buys it, the entire experience is rather deflating. So I see the rise of self publish as an exciting horse race – he who writes best will sell best. And you, dear writer, are in the driver’s seat.

If you feel yourself feeling frustrated about your screenwriting – of the odds, of the difficulty of it, of the competition and the lack of validation, ask yourself – ARE you a screenwriter? Maybe you’re simply barking up the wrong tree.

But screenwriting ain’t the only writing tree in town. And it’s not necessarily the one for you or your writing, either. Don’t let a lack of “success” in screenwriting stymie your writing in general. Just have a look at another tree, you may find it far leafier and more fulfilling.

From the Mailbag: Writing a True Story

I am new to your blog and to screenwriting. But wonder if you have written about, or wish to write about on your blog, some of the pitfalls or important things to keep in mind if you want to write a screenplay that actually is inspired by a true person/situation, but the story it inspired in me has little to do with their actual story, but is inspired by a few facts that snowballed into a whole other story for me. The person(s) involved, now deceased, is famous in certain circles but is not widely known.

Love, Lost in Louisiana

Dear Lost, I loved your show. Oh wait, sorry, different guy

Is your question to do with the legality of re-imagining a true event as fiction? I’m not sure it is, but if so, you need to change the names and dates just slightly to make the story your own and that’s about it. Many scripts and stories are based on something sort of kind of true. Absolutely. If you are writing about a particularly famous person, you may want to Google some entertainment law on the topic and be very sure, but I do not see a problem with fictionalizing and re-imagining real events or people.

One thing to ask yourself, though, in this case and in every case when it comes to screenwriting, is whether this person or this series of event is truly a movie. It may be a few things that snowballed into something interesting for you but make sure you idea test it and pitch it to a few friends as well. I think that is one of the definite pitfalls of writing a script about a person “famous in certain circles” is that it is easy to become fascinated by this person personally but fail to see that for most others, it’s just not that great.

Example: I have always wanted to write a film about Mama Cass, from the Mama’s & the Papa’s. First challenge: the rights to the music are owned by Michelle Phillips. Off limits if not grossly expensive. That’s a real stumbling block since the music is central to the story.

Moreso, I have a problem of topicality and relatability:

I find Cass fascinating because she was SO gifted and had an amazing voice but as you may remember, she was also quite heavy whereas Michelle was lithe and beautiful. What was that like for her? Some say that she and Michelle had a rivalry – Michelle was beautiful but Cass was talented – I have often wanted to do a more-or-less straight up bio pic on the topic. Music rights = expensive nightmare but also, what if I am only one of a very very few people curious about the dynamic of these two singers from the 60′s? Are audiences today even aware of the Mamas & the Papa’s? Would the general public be as fascinated by this story as I am? I have come to conclude that today’s audiences would likely be mightily uninterested in the story of Mama Cass. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe it’s too soon. Or too late. Are stories about women who cope with being less than beautiful in the entertainment business old hat? Does the story just not have that spark? I don’t know.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1) are there rights issues to the life story, music or writings of this person?
2) will audiences today know who this person is and be interested?
3) Is the story or the person relevant to audiences today? Is there an anniversary, a fresh interest in the topic or any cultural tie-in to be made?
4) will I need living descendants or friends to cooperate with me to obtain rights or material?
5) am I willing to take flack from die-hard fans of this person or event?

Great question, Lost, and I thank you for sending. I hope the answer is helpful!

Hope that helps!

Movie Time

The passage of time in scripts is one of the first confusing issues a new writer deals with. How does one indicate that after the scene in which the character got coffee, the character took a shower, got dressed, drove through traffic and arrived at work?

Movies embody a certain magical passing of time to which viewers are accustomed. Writers make conscious decisions whether or not to show a character taking every single step involved in getting out the door in the morning. It’s fine to do if it has dramatic or comedic affect on the story. If the point is that the character lives a highly routinized life – show each step. If the main action is going to happen later, in the office, at the bar – or wherever, then the steps taken to get there are implied. For more experienced writers, this is too rudimentary to discuss much more than this but those just starting out, a great way to understand this concept is to simply pop a few movies into your DVD player and observe.

What if more than a few implied moments or hours pass? What if you are moving forward in the story to two weeks later – or a month later? Well, that’s easy enough. Get your slug line down and then simply write in all caps: TWO WEEKS LATER.

We can indicate the passage of time in action lines and using a mini-slug. Remember, a mini-slug is left justified, in all caps and sits all by itself. In fact, there are all kinds of clever ways to indicate the passing of time:

INT. MOSSY CAVE – DAWN

Adam

What are we going to do today?

Eve

I thought we’d go to the pool.

EXT. GLASSY POOL – DAY

Adam stands at the edge of a waterfall with sun block and trunks on. Bright noonday sun shimmers through the leafy fronds that surround him.

OR we could just as easily have written something a bit simpler – which is okay for a READING script which is what you are writing, rather than a shooting script – know the difference.

INT. MOSSY CAVE – DAWN

Adam

What are we going to do today?

Eve

I thought we’d go to the pool.

LATER

Adam stands at the edge of a waterfall with sun block and trunks on. Bright noonday sun shimmers through the leafy fronds that surround him.

In either event he’s at the pool. It’s noon. Done and doner. Say Adam is afraid to jump in the water…

EXT. GLASSY POOL – DAY

Eve

Adam! Are you going to stand there all day?

Adam

No!

EXT. WATERFALL – DUSK

Adam shivers slightly then finally peels off his fig leaf trunks.

See how “dusk” indicates, comedically that he’s been standing there all day?

Or we can take it up another notch:

EXT. WATERFALL – DAY

THREE MONTHS LATER

Autumn leaves drift around a cobwebby Adam. He shivers.

The passage of time can be exploited to achieve many effects.

Generally, simply indicating in the slug line and action lines the difference in daylight, clothes, and positioning of your character is enough. Only tell us that literally TWO WEEKS have passed if it makes logical sense for the story.

Format 101: Slug and Action Lines

I enjoy teaching and talking about everything from why I love movies to how to dig deeper into your character work to how to use sluglines correctly. And the readership of JE would indicate that the needs and wants of learning about writing are all up and down the scale. So today I’ve reposted a simple how-to approach to slug and action lines for newer writers:

A slugline, which indicates where a scene is taking place, includes three elements: INT. (interior) EXT. (exterior), location and time of day. So we might have:

INT. JULIE’S OFFICE – DAY

Notice that all must be capitalized. If you use Final Draft, this aspect of the formatting is automatic.

There are only two choices when it comes to interior or exterior – INT. or EXT.

Location can be anywhere – just make sure to make it both simple and descriptive. Sounds like a contradiction, right? Well, let’s do a little exercise:

EXT. A BARN – DAY

Pretty interesting, huh? Not. But how about if we try this:

EXT. A DILAPIDATED 19TH CENTURY BARN – DAY

Okay, now we’re being much more specific, right? Or how about:

EXT. A BRIGHT RED BARN – DAY

Different barn altogether, yes?

Time of day should really be limited to the following choices:

DAY
NIGHT
DUSK
DAWN
LATER
MOMENTS LATER

In other words, you would never say:

EXT. A BROKE DOWN, WASHED OUT GREY BARN – AROUND 10AM

…because it would be ever so NOT done. Or, you know, not “industry standard”.

Now. Let’s talk about action lines. Action lines are the bits that come after the slug.

So we have:

EXT. A LOW-SLUNG DAIRY BARN – DAY

DREW MACMILLIAN (52) staggers out into the sunshine. His left arm drips blood.

VIOLET MACMILLAN (O.S.)
I TOLD you not to come into the barn!!

Okay we’ve got a ton of stuff we could learn from here. We’ve got Drew staggering out of the barn. The action line is where the, um, ACTION happens. Notice that the action line is written in the present simple tense: Drew staggers.

Many new writers, not knowing better, write action lines in what we would technically call the “present continuous tense”:

Violet is swinging a rake. WRONG! Taser in your neck!

Violet swings a rake. RIGHT! Have a cupcake!

Stepping away from grammar labels momentarily, the reason the first example is not appropriate for a script is that it distances the reader from the action in a small but subtle way. So rather than being in the scene with Violet, in a sensory way, we are distanced because you are telling me what she is doing. I don’t watch it myself – you narrate it to me. As if I am a sight-challenged person. Violet is swinging a rake. Oh hey, thanks for that, are my underpants on the outside, too?

When an action line is written properly, I observe the action myself. I watch it happen. You aren’t telling me it’s happening, it just IS happening. I am the observer and I see Violet as she swings the rake.

Let’s see what else…

EXT. A WHITE CLAPBOARD BARN– DAY

DREW MACMILLAN (52) staggers out into the sunshine. His left arm drips blood.

VIOLET MACMILLAN (O.S.)
I TOLD you not to come into the barn!

All -cap when introducing a new character and in general, put age in brackets.

Notice that I used (O.S.) rather than (V.O.) in Violet’s dialogue? O.S. stands for “off screen”. Some people use (O.C.) or “off camera”. In Hollywood, we mostly do (O.S.). So it literally means that the character who has spoken is somewhere IN this scene but we just cannot see them. She’s behind the door, inside the barn with her rake,

(V.O.) means “voice over” so that would mean that the character speaking the words is nowhere near this scene but rather is narrating it from the past, from the future or maybe from the comfort of his or her living room or jail cell. So we might have:

EXT. A CON-AG INDUSTRIAL BARN – DAY

DREW MACMILLAN (52) staggers out into the sunshine. His left arm drips blood.

VIOLET MACMILLAN (V.O.)
I TOLD him not to go in the barn.

You’ll often hear “show it don’t say it” in action lines. Well, yes, a more fundamental screenwriting rule would be hard to find. But what the devil does it mean?

Well, pretend you are a Hollywood script reader for a moment and you run across this in an action line:

Violet and Drew have been friends since high school.

Or –

Drew enjoys impressing the other farmers even though he’s broke.

Or –

Violet has a hot temper.

***********************

As a basic reality check, action lines do not appear on the screen, correct? So using that as a jumping off point, does everybody see what is patently wrong with these examples?

Go ahead. Look back up at those examples. I’ll wait…

So what does “They’ve been friends since high school” look like in an action line? It looks like NOTHING because you have told me, not shown me. So, if you’re needing to show that two characters have been friends since high school, don’t TELL me that in an action line – EVIDENCE me that in the actions that are going on. Such as:

VIOLET: I’m so fat! I can’t fit into this dress!
DREW: Aw hon, you’re as beautiful as you were at senior prom.

There are so many creative ways to let us know that these two have been together since high school. This can be indicated in dialogue or it might be indicated by possessions, shared memories, or even someone else making a comment. Don’t cop out and simply announce to us what this relationship is. It’s lazy writing, it doesn’t work, it is the mark of an amateur and it will get you a PASS.

On the other hand, crafty and skillful writers can say things in action lines like:

Violet crouches down in the hay. Wishing she were anywhere but here.

Drew sharpens a knife calmly. Never can be too sharp.

Violet sits up, frightened.

Why can you get away with things like this? Because these are sentiments generally accompanied by facial expressions or body language. Can you picture Violet sitting up, frightened? How about if she sat up, annoyed? Or sat up, confused? See how she’d look different in each instance just by that single word choice?

Remember – show it, don’t say it. Evidence things, do not list them.

To summarize:

Action lines SHOULD:

Be like haiku: brief, economical and as sensory and colorful as possible

ALL CAP and briefly describe new characters – even extras like the NURSE.

Always show do not tell. Evidence how your character feels. Do not make a list.

Be written in the present simple tense.

Action lines SHOULD:

NOT be dense and long-winded. Try to keep them to about 4 lines. Particularly on your first few pages.

NOT be so brief that they are choppy and weird sounding. Don’t economize so much you leave out the fundamentals of sentence structure.

NOT ever talk to the reader. Do not tell us how we should feel in this moment. Do not tell the camera what to do. Do not give music instructions or set design ideas. Just tell your story. In fact, if there’s one DO NOT about action lines this might just be the most critical one because having these types of instructions on your pages will mark you as an amateur faster than it took you to read this sentence.

That’s the long and short of it!

Procrastination Getting You Down?

Well – it should. In the past few weeks I have had more writers come to me and say remember that GREAT idea I had two years ago, that was WAY on top of the zeitgeist and so high concept?! Well, I never did get it done and now I see a spec sale of the same idea.

Womp woooomp.

That, guys can be the price you pay for hatching great ideas but not acting on them. Keep yourself organized. Your ideas, your loglines, your scripts, your character work. Use a calendar and if you can, a script buddy who will keep you on track. It’s that important. Great ideas are a dime a dozen unless they are not only executed well but actually executed. Particularly high concept ideas because those do float around in the ether. If you don’t write that script, somebody else will. And you’ll be left with half a script or outline and a very bitter taste in your mouth.