Writing visually is not only about crafting words that flow smoothly and evoke vivid imagery. It is also about not including words that detract from that imagery or interrupt the flow. The screenwriter's goal is to create a script in which the writing flows so smoothly the reader becomes part of the story, watching it from within.
Here are some problems aspiring screenwriters should avoid when writing a spec script:
"We hear" or "We see"
Phrases such as "We hear" and "We see" should never appear in a spec script. They momentarily force readers outside the story. You want the reader to become so involved in your story she forgets the rest of the world exists. You want readers to live and breathe your story as they read it.
The imagery evoked by your words should drive what we're seeing or hearing as readers. Phrases like "We see" and "We hear" make the reader feel as if he or she is part of an external audience, not part of the story itself. Instead of reinforcing the idea the reader is immersed in a powerful story, those phrases do nothing but [click to read more]
I've come to the conclusion I truly deserve to be crowned Queen of Procrastination. Procrastination is a big kingdom — especially with so many writers taking up residence there so often — so Queen of Procrastination is a title one would expect me to be proud of, yet somehow I don't feel quite as proud as I should. Instead, I'm burdened with the weight of the lurking feeling of guilt one gets after living in Procrastination far too long, which brings me to the topic of this entry: how to move away from Procrastination and into the much more rewarding place I like to call the Writing Zone.
The Writing Zone is a beautiful, magical place. It fills us with a vibrant excitement that gets our blood pumping and our skin tingling. It puts us on a high unlike any other. It's a powerfully addictive drug, only without all the messiness and legal problems.
Think back to the last time you wrote an incredible scene, a scene that just flowed from your mind and through your fingers onto the page. Think of how [click to read more]
I have an addiction. I've tried to overcome it, but my efforts have been met with an amazing level of resistance. My body fights me. My mind fights me. I often wonder if I'll be addicted to this stuff forever. So many times I've tried and failed to quit, by this point it is hardly more than a joke. What am I addicted to, you ask? Well, I'll get to that detail later in this article, and I'll even fill you in on how I used my own personal addiction as inspiration when developing one of the main characters in my current writing project.
Why do characters need flaws? Perfect characters are boring, and sometimes even annoying. Perfect characters don't have to struggle as hard to achieve their goals. After all, they're perfect. Things come easily to perfect people. If there's no struggle, there's no conflict, and conflict is what makes good writing. Character flaws provide sources of conflict. They can be sources of conflict with other characters, conflict with the environment, and, in many instances, conflict with self.
In most cases, you want a character who isn't perfect but is in some way better than average, or at least a character who has the potential to be better than average. Fulfilling that potential -- overcoming obstacles and growing into that better-than-average self -- will become part of the conflict that drives your story. You want a hero, someone willing to take action, not a passive wimp. Readers are living vicariously through your characters. They want to feel special, and for that you need special characters. At the same time, a character who is too special, too perfect, seems [click to read more]
While working as a freelance script consultant, it was my job to help writers raise the quality of their writing to the highest level attainable. In the course of any given day, I came across a problem appearing in each of the scripts crossing my desk, and I have since noticed the same problem cropping up in book after book.
The problem? The unnecessary "that."
It is a wonder how one little word could worm its way so firmly into the hearts and minds of writers, yet the word "that" has done just . . . well, that.
The word "that" has become ingrained in our daily vocabulary, and many people have difficulty recognizing how often it is misused. It pops up in sentence upon sentence, yet nine times out of ten it is not needed. In a screenplay or manuscript, where space is limited and every inch of text is precious, unnecessary words are a death sentence.
Consider the [click to read more]
Resisting the urge to include extensive detail when writing a screenplay as you would when writing a novel is a difficult challenge for a screenwriter to overcome. Most writers who choose the screenwriting field do so because they think in film -- they imagine their stories unfolding shot by shot, scene by scene, image by image.
The job of the screenwriter is to convey those vivid images and scenes to the reader. This is often confused with the director's job of determining how certain scenes should be filmed. Deciding where to place the cameras, which actors to focus on, and when to pan or when to include a close-up are all factors that will be up to the director, not the writer.
So the question remains. How can you, as the writer, direct the reader's mind to imagine your film as you envisioned it, shot by shot and image by image?
The answer -- through the use of white space.
One immediately noticeable difference between script format and [click to read more]
You may have written the most riveting piece of dramatic work in existence to date. Your dialogue may be perfect. Your characters may seem so real they beg to jump right off the page. Your story may rival those of Oscar-winning screenplays. It might even be so good as to put those stories to shame, but if your script never gets off the reader's desk, no one will ever know.
It's well known that readers are the gatekeepers of the film industry. It is also well known that while most readers would rather be doing anything but reading, they still spend countless hours making their way through stacks of scripts in the hopes of finding the next big blockbuster. The late-night caffeine-induced decision of one reader could be the turning point of your screenwriting career.
So how do you make certain that decision is in your favor? [click to read more]
If you are an aspiring writer, you need to check out Holly Lisle's new writing course, How To Think Sideways: Career Survival School for Writers. It is a six-month class offered entirely online, and it covers an immense range of material. One of the students even referred to it as "grad school for writers", and I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment. The course is perfect not just for novelists but for screenwriters as well.
I can't recommend this course highly enough. There is nothing else out there like it. It will change the way you think about writing, and it will change how you think about yourself as a writer. It is incredibly motivating. The lessons are interesting and thought-provoking, and the techniques are practical and useful no matter your writing style. There's something for everyone. The sheer volume of information offered in this class could fill a library of how-to books about writing, publishing, and marketing.
Here are a few of the things you'll [click to read more]
In my last entry, I described my personal experience with writer's block. I had an abundance of story ideas but I froze every time I faced a blank page. I couldn't even start writing, let alone complete a chapter or a whole novel or screenplay.
There are two types of writer's block. Writers who experience the first type suffer from a lack of ideas. Writers dealing with the second type have no shortage of ideas but suffer from an inability to get into the flow of writing.
This technique is intended for writers bogged down by the second type of writer's block. It's a trick I learned a couple of years ago but at the time I thought it sounded a bit silly. It seems to work well for me now that I've given it a fair chance. Give it a try. It will help you get the words flowing again.
Step 1
Grab one of your favorite books, preferably in the same genre as the story you're trying to write. You'll only need the first two to six pages, so if you don't have a copy of the book handy, feel free to select an excerpt from the author's web site and [click to read more]
For the past year, I've suffered from a form of writer's block that is completely new to me. Actually, any form of writer's block is new to me because I've never had writer's block before. I've always had more ideas than I'll ever have time to write about, and I've always been able to sit down in front of my computer and write without hesitation. Then, a year ago, something changed.
At the time, I didn't know what changed. I only knew I'd suddenly lost my writing groove. The ideas came at me fast and furious, as always, but when I sat down to write, the words just wouldn't come.
I put my hands on the keyboard and froze. My mind drew a blank. I couldn't string two sentences together to save my life.
This went on for days, then days became weeks and weeks became months. I went through bouts of depression. I felt frustrated, angry, stifled, and confused. Writing was my outlet, and now that outlet was gone. It had slipped [click to read more]
Words have the power to create images in the reader's mind. Those images are yours — the writer's — to control, to manipulate and direct based entirely on the words you choose to employ. That power is within your grasp. All you have to do is reach out and take hold of it.
How, you ask? Make use of that fantastic tool we call a thesaurus. You've all seen them before — you know, in the bookstore, shelved side-by-side with the dictionaries and a myriad of "How To Get Published In 90 Days Or Less" handbooks — but do you own one? If you don't already own a thesaurus, stop reading right now, head to the bookstore or Amazon.com and buy yourself one. A writer without a thesaurus is like an artist without paint, a sculptor without stone. The tools to create are there but the substance is missing.
Many a writer will claim, "I have all the words I need right here in my mind," but why limit yourself? Every one of us is raised differently, our environment playing a major role in the extent of our vocabulary and many times limiting that vocabulary to the specific slice of culture we're exposed to as we grow and mature.
In a language filled with variations and nuances, there may be twenty different words used to convey a similar meaning, and some words are naturally more powerful than others. While writers and readers may [click to read more]
