…has been agreed upon as the title for my book. Slated for publication in Spring 2012. Share on Facebook
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Tag Archives: Writing
Transparency
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Many screenwriters, some very well known and successful, take a tactic of familiarity in their writing. They pepper their screenplays with jokes, or references to other films. They allow themselves editorial comments — well phrased, and perhaps funny or clever — to describe inner states or character facts that would not otherwise be knowable from [...]
Imagination vs. Composition
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Writers are sometimes lumped into one of two categories: the story-teller and the stylist. As if they were separate skills. In fact they are two sides of the same coin. There are no novels completely devoid of style, and none empty of story (even if only the one the reader creates). What is the relation [...]
No Apologies
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Perhaps the cardinal sin a writer can commit is to mitigate his intention for fear of offending. I always say: if it's worth doing, it's worth doing extremely. The most benign form of this error is timidity. Often I have seen descriptions of characters that pull punches. Make a decision. If your character is greedy, [...]
The Treatment
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
There are two ways to think of a film treatment. Articulating your story — what you know of your story before actually finishing it — to yourself. Pitching the story's potential to someone else. The first is a working document. The second is a sales document. One is for consumption, one is not. A story [...]
First Draft
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
After struggling with the blank page and accreting notes and scribbling an outline and hearing the first faint whisper of a voice and gathering pages like rooting truffles and building idea to event to story to plot and finally hammering out a few scenes and a few more until you can almost see a shape, [...]
Just Because You Can Type Doesn't Make You a Writer
Friday, November 13, 2009
There's an ad campaign out right now for Windows 7. Ordinary people telling how they had an idea for improving their computing experience. Flash back to the moment of their insight, in which they are unflawed, beautiful people. The tag line of the ad is: "Windows 7 was my idea." Clever. Perhaps even effective. But [...]
What we tell is Story. How we tell is Character.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Story is always carried by character. Character generates plot. Character creates motive. Character endures consequence. It is from a character's passion, drive, desire that plot becomes more than event. Becomes meaningful. Plot devoid of consistent character — driven and driving character – is merely spectacle. Structure without voice is empty form. Never forget that empathy [...]
Why are you writing a screenplay?
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Writing is hard. Way too hard to do if you don't love it. Here's a great quotation from Andre Gide: If a young writer can refrain from writing, he shouldn't hesitate to do so. Writing, as Plato said, is a kind of madness. A sickness of sorts. And for the true writer, there's no cure. [...]
Big Deal. So you are writing a screenplay…
Friday, November 6, 2009
That was the working title of a book I'm writing on making screenplays. I liked it because it captures two truths about the screenwriter's ambition. We all hope — deep down — to strike gold. To write the screenplay that will be startlingly original, get us labeled the new and improved accessible Charlie Kaufmann, start [...]
