Category Archives: The Screenplay

When You Can’t Write…

Sometimes we just can’t write. I’m not talking about writer’s block. I’m talking time. I’m talking the ability to focus. I’m talking some kind of physical limitation.

I usually write everyday. Rain or shine. I’ve never had writer’s block. But this past week has found me unable…

For a few days I could not write because I was unable to see very well. You see, I tried to glue my eye shut. Not on purpose. No, I thought I was putting eye drops in my eyes but it turned out to be glue I’d used on my sofa to keep the fabric from fraying.

And then my brother was admitted into the hospital, and I learned he might be on his death-bed. When something like this happens all kinds of feelings get dredged up.

And I find that it is next to impossible to focus on FINDING VERITY the novel I’m writing.

So, what does a person do? What did I do? What am I doing?

First of all, as writers we can write about the experience. So, that’s what I’m doing right now…

Secondly, we can cement the events into our brains, so when we need to pull part of it out to use in a future story, we’ll be able to do it.

The glue experience… the realization of what I’d done, the pain, the inability to see, the confusion, the screams, the fear, the total dependence on someone else to help me, understanding that I’d been in a heap of trouble if I’d been home alone. Going to the hospital. Not having to wait in the emergency room because my accident went flying to the top of the triage, the caring nurses and doctors, and the acceptance that my life was going to be “on hold” for a few days.

Getting the news about my brother.  Ooh boy, all those memories from my childhood and the resultant emotions that surface. The sadness, accepting that this might be the end of my brother’s life, realizing there’s nothing I can do about it. Facing my own mortality. And then I realize, this could be my husband or my child. I can only imagine what my mother is feeling right now.

Some time in the future, these things might show up in my writing. In fact the experiences might make me a better writer.

But, right now, I am unable to work on my novel.

To the Outlaw of Blind Dates… MY SCRIPT PLACED

Happy May 1st!

I woke this morning to some really great news. My short script, To the Outlaw of Blind Dates, earned a third place in MoviePoet.com’s April contest.

The premise behind this short five-page script is:   When two people meet in a park, their first impressions change as they get to know each other. 

I joined the  MoviePoet community in 2008. In a previous contest I earned an “honorable mention” but this is the first time I’ve placed. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am because there are many accomplished writers at MoviePoet.com.

MoviePoet.com is a great place to hang out if you want to learn how to write a screenplay. The site is loaded with writers who care about helping aspiring writers hone their craft. The monthly challenges offer writers a place to try new things.

In my case, a comedy.

Usually most people think I have a kind of warped sense of humor.

I can’t believe I wrote something that people thought was funny.

For the Love of Books…

Which was better? The BOOK or the MOVIE?

I think most of us have compared a book to a movie or a movie to a book and said, The book was better or The movie was better.  In recent months I have done this with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Hunger Games.  In my opinion, these two movies stayed as true to the books as could be reasonably expected. Both movies were exceptional.

But, in both cases, I liked the book better.

In all honestly, this usually happens to me.  I tend to like the book better. And, if you think about it, there is a reason for this.

As we watch a movie, we experience the story by what we SEE and HEAR on the screen. A film by its very nature is the product of many people: the director, screenwriter, actors, cameramen and musicians, to name a few. Additionally, a film can be hindered by underfunding or problems with the location, weather, etc. And a movie has time constraints, too, usually lasting somewhere between 90 and 120 minutes in length, which is why, most scripts come in at under 120 pages. Every script page translates to roughly one minute of screen time. The typical moviegoer does not want to sit through a movie that is four, five, six, or more hours long.

A book, on the other hand, is written by one person. There are writing teams out there who do a fine job but, USUALLY, one person has total control over the entire project. Once the book  reaches a publisher, other people might be involved for, perhaps, cover art and font choice, some editing, but, for the most part, the story is the writer’s responsibility. And the writer does not have the restraints that a movie might have. The story can be as long or short as the author desires.  And the reader can read the book over several days, weeks, or months, if they desire.  Compare that to the two hours a moviegoer gives to the same title.

A short novel is usually about 50,000 words. In comparison, the longest novel ever written, In Search of Lost Time, a French novel by Marcel Proust has an estimated 1,200,000 words. It was 4,211 pages and was published in seven volumes. Recent longer novels have included War and Peace by Leoy Tolstoy, published in paperback with 1,440 pages and over 560,000 words; and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Its paperback version had 1,088 pages and over 550,000 words. The Stand by Stephen King is 1,153 pages.

When a novelist describes a character who is about to punch another character’s face,  he might describe the clenching of that character’s fist, the glare of the sun in the character’s eye, or a memory about the first time the character hit someone. The writer can even go off in a tangent and have the character “remember” the first time he met the person he is about to hit.

In a screenplay, the writer will write something similar to CHARACTER #1 slams fist into CHARACTER #2′s nose. The moviegoer will see the character’s reaction to the fist. They might see the fist hit a nose. But thoughts, memories, etc. are usually not part of the script or scene.

What I am trying to say is a novel can be deeper with more levels and intricacies. And, this is why I usually like book is better.