Tag Archives: screenwriter

A Busy WRITING WEEK, Screenplays to Novels…

When it comes to my writing, I’ve been very busy this week.

I wrote a short script for this month’s challenge at MoviePoet.com. The script has to be five pages or less, and it can only have two characters. The complication to the challenge is that the two characters must be strangers to each other. I’m pleased with my entry and glad to have that behind me. In previous MoviePoet contests, I’ve earned an Honorable Mention but never placed. Maybe this month… (or maybe not…).

I also read a feature written by Greg Tonnon, a friend of mine at MoviePoet.com. It is titled Habeas Corpus and I plan on reviewing it for him this week-end. It’s a good story, based on a real story. I hope someday it’ll be made into a movie.

I’ve done a lot of work on FINDING VERITY.  Currently, word count is 56,859 words. I’ll be glad when I can say the first draft is done. Then comes the rewriting, the part of writing that I really like. It always amazes me when writers say they don’t like rewriting. For me, rewriting is the part where I see the story improve, getting stronger and coming together. I’d really like to have this project done this year.

As for the sequel to Windfall, titled ANGEL’S KISS, DEVIL’S MARK. I have started the screenplay and finished the first 15 pages. I plan on having the screenplay completed by August so I’m on schedule. Then I’ll start the companion novel.

Bend the Rules when you Write!.

I’ve been feeling very creative lately and my writing has been going well.

FINDING VERITY is now over 51,000 words and I’m excited about the novel’s progress. I’ve experienced some doubts about my planned ending but I’m nowhere near to having to make that choice. I have hope that the problem will resolve itself.

I started the ANGEL’S KISS, DEVIL’S MARK screenplay and finished the first ten pages. I admit to feeling apprehensive about writing the screenplay because it’s been over six months since I’ve written in that format. But, I found it was like riding a bike. I jumped on and started to pedal, and the first ten pages flowed. When I’m finished with the screenplay I plan on putting the story in novel format. This is what I did with WINDFALL and that worked well for me. (Angel’s Kiss, Devil’s Mark is Windfall’s sequel.)

So, now I’m in the process of writing a novel and a screenplay at one time, and it’s interesting. I wasn’t sure I could do it but now that I’ve started, I know it’s possible. Both stories are blocked (outlined). I know the plots and characters well enough so I’m not confusing the two projects.

I’ve found that, since I’ve returned to writing novels, my thoughts on “screenplay format” have relaxed. There are voluminous ways to write a novel. Because of this, I wondered why there have to be so many rules related to screenplay format? Of course, until you’ve proven yourself as a screenwriter, you need to “play by the rules.”  But, screenplays (when compared to novels) haven’t been around very long and it (the screenplay) remains an evolving art.

Bottom line, what the writer should be most concerned about, is the story. And a story has to have a beginning, middle, and end. I asked myself, if all stories aren’t identical then why do formats have to be identical? In my opinion, a screenwriter or a novelist should stay as close to the “rules” as possible. But if bending the rules a bit allows the writer to show the story better then, in my opinion, bend away!

Writing with PASTA!

Windfall’s Sequel Will be Titled…

Angel’s Kiss, Devil’s Mark

Zack’s eighteen year old daughter, Milly, comes home after being kidnapped when she was a toddler. Zack’s efforts over those years, blogging about children being kidnapped, writing a book about how families cope when their children are kidnapped, are behind him and, all he wants, now, is to get to know his daughter. But, a few weeks after she arrives home, Milly is kidnapped again. Zack commits himself to getting to the bottom of his daughter’s disappearance, and his investigation takes him into the underbelly of society. The truths he faces are despicable and, as he descends into an indescribable world, he learns that what you see is not necessarily the truth.

Angel’s Kiss, Devil’s Mark

To be written in 2012!  Screenplay first, and then the novel…