Monthly Archives: November 2009

I Survived the (Contest) Week-end

This week-end was reserved for competing in the NYCMM screenplay contest.  I’m happy to announce that I survived the week-end and the assignment.

My five-pager ended up being titled ”Daddy Help Her”.  The assigned genre was horror, the location had to be a farm, and the required object was a remote control.   I’ll post “Daddy Help Her” today if you wish to read it.  Someday it might be rewritten!

I’ll be happy to proceed to the finals but, if I don’t, I got what I needed to out of this competition.  The thing I learned from this competition is how important “time” is when you write.

If you agree  that “writing is rewriting”, then time is needed to do the rewrites.  It is even better if you have a break (more time) in between the rewrites. 

It is possible to produce a polished SP in a week-end but it is a very intense process.   I am so very grateful that my family supports my SP endeavors.

The Challenge of Contests

I am happy to announce that I will compete in the third round of the NYC Midnight Short Screenplay Screenwriting Championship this week-end.   This is the first time I’ve ever entered something like this so I’m pleased with my showing. 

My first entry earned a score of 22 out of 25.  My second entry only earned a 12 out of 25.  What does this tell me? 

Basically it reminds me of how SUBJECTIVE this business is.   My writing style didn’t change.  But the story did because of the assigned genres, locations, and required objects.   There’s also a possibility that I had a different set of judges.

I am currently involved in another contest.    I won’t talk about the contest details  but, if the folks who are sponsoring the contest find a script they like, it will be produced.  The director and producer will decide if anything warrants production.

This contest is informal and small enough that writers are encouraged to submit drafts for comments.  After we receive the comments, we can polish and resubmit.  I submitted my draft and it was read by the director and the producer.  Comments were sent back to me.

I had two very different reactions from them.   One loved it but mentioned a few areas that could be changed.  The other didn’t love it so much.  So I have my work set out for me.

What does all this mean?   It just reminds me that it’s going to be very difficult to please every judge.  Every reader is not going to like my story.   I need to write my best and pray someone out there smiles when they read my work!

Challenge Yourself – Write a “Short”

It’s difficult to whittle away at the same feature day in and day out.    The process is so damn long.   Yes, you might be able to write the first draft  in a couple of months but, in most cases, you’re looking at years to get rewrites perfected.   How long to get it sold?  I’m not even guessing on that…

I would like to suggest that you take a break from the shear length of a feature and write a short.   It  can be as short as a one-pager.   Or longer, you choose!  Most of the shorts I’ve written are under ten pages long.

The beauty of “shorts” is they are done quickly.  And folks who want to direct can get experience with a short, produce it  at a fraction of the cost of a feature.   All this gives you something to add to your writing resume.

Shorts can be fun.   There are web-sites out there that host “free” contests for the “short”.  My favorite is MoviePoet.   Their monthly contests are free and you get a lot of feedback that can help you improve your writing.   It’s a very friendly place to hang out.  Also,  DVXuser occasionally hosts “scriptfests” which are free to enter, too. 

I have had one of my “shorts” made into a film and I uploaded it this past week-end.  It was entered in a DVXuser contest.  If you are interested, take a minute and watch The Puppeteer.

Writing “shorts” allows you to experiment with new genres. 

I’m currently involved in a contest at NYC Midnight.  The results for the second round will be posted this week and I’m hoping to advance to the third round.   In any case, this contest challenged us to write shorts with  assigned genres, locations, and required objects.  In the first round, I was assigned monster movie, horse stable, and generator.  The second round was more difficult with a science fiction assignment that had to include a fish farm and a plunger.

Take a break.  Write a short.  It’s fun.  And rewarding!

Hints on Naming Characters

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m going to begin a new screenplay in January.  Right now I’m working on the plot, fleshing it out, deciding on major beats, that kind of thing.

I’m also starting to think about what to name my characters.    One thing I learned when I first started to write SP’s … I love names that begin with the letter “J”.  But it would be really stupid to give every character a name that begins with that letter.  Can you imagine how confused a reader could become.  Jan, Jean, Joseph, Judy, Jeremiah, Janet, Jim, Jon, John, etc…

So the first thing I do is open a NAME file for my screenplay.  The file is divided into two parts.  The first part, a list of NAMED CHARACTERS, has the alphabet listed along the left side.  As I decide on names for characters, I add the name to this list, making every effort not to duplicate any letters.    The list might begin like this:

A  Anne Gables

B

C  Christopher Long

D  Danielle Stevens  (nicknamed “Duck”)

E 

F  Frank (Frankie) Lopez

This listing allows me to “glance” at all my character names and make sure that one letter is not overused. 

The second part of this file is a listing of UNNAMED characters.  These are minor characters who only appear for a short time in the screenplay.  The listing might look like this.

Newspaper Delivery Boy

Policeman # 1

Policeman #2

Teacher

Traffic Guard

Utility Worker

Another thing to consider is the LENGTH of the name.  If your main character has a very long name such as Bartholemew, the shear length of the name will increase the page length of your SP.  Bart is a much shorter version of Bartholemew.  Only you can decide which name to use, but it is a consideration.

Also, consider the character’s occupation    A stripper will usually have a more flamboyant name than a librarian.   Mike would be a great name for a welder,  whereas a lawyer might be Michael. 

The age of the character should play a factor.   Matilda or Elsie might be a perfect name for an old lady.   Mattie or Elly would be better for a teen-ager.

Where was your character born?  Is he a Billy Bob or a William Robert?    Is he Jose’ or Joseph?

And be aware of rhythm, too.  Don’t give all your characters one syllable names.  Everyone can’t be Joe, Ed, Tom, Ken, Bart, etc.   Give some of the character’s names with  two or more syllables.    Joseph.  Edward.  Thomas.  Kenneth.  Bartholemew.

Or make the spelling unique for the reader.  When the film is watched, the viewer won’t know that Deb is spelled Debb, but it might help the reader visualize your character better.

I enjoy the process of naming my characters.   It is said that writing a screenplay is like giving birth to a baby.  Well, you gotta name that baby!  And in a screenplay, there are  lots of characters who need names!

Lie or Lay … Which to Use

I’m a “stickler” for using the right (write!) word.  I don’t like long fancy words, I like the shorter ones, the words that no one will scratch their heads over.

Sometimes long fancy words are the only ones that can be used, but I always worry that a reader won’t know what the word means and then … suddenly the reader is someplace else but, most certainly, not reading my story!

Someone once told me (or maybe I read it someplace), never use a “quarter” word when a “nickel” word will do!

Which brings us to the use of LIE or LAY.  Both are nice nickel words.  But, I admit, I always get them confused.  When folks read my stuff, I’m forever hearing, “it’s lie not lay” or “it’s lay not lie”.

So, I googled “lie or lay” and found a bunch of web-sites that explained the difference. 

LIE OR LAY

Basically, use LIE if something is going “to be at rest in a horizontal position”.  Use LAY if one is going to “set or place something down”.  If you want more information, click on my google-search above!

Okay, get to work.  Happy writing!   Enjoy your week-end.