Time to Write

Year-end 'Write It Right' round-up, offered with abandon

Time for this year's final round-up of language or grammar mix-ups spotted here and there. First, the ever-dependable USA Today featured this headline:

"Strangers Help Dog Get Home After Wandering a Thousand Miles"

It's amazing those strangers had any energy left to spend on helping a dog after they'd wandered a thousand miles.

Then there was the story referring to a "heroine overdose."

Did somebody read all of Little Women in one session?

Not a mistake, exactly, but an assault on language was the comment made by a representative of Alaska Airlines regarding a video showing baggage handlers having a contest to see who could throw a suitcase the farthest. He said, "The optics of this video are unfortunate." (And he claimed it wasn't a passenger's bag but one the handlers kept around for such amusement.)

Then there was an article stating, about something the author considered very important, that "the importance of this can't be underestimated." 

A rare sighting: somebody writing that a particular method "can be used without abandon." To do something with abandon means without restraint, inhibition, or worry, as in, "She dances with abandon." Come to think of it, I dance without abandon, so maybe that article was on to something. 

Let's finish with another one from USA today. A review suggested that a particular pair of headphones would "wet your aural whistle."

It's whet, and I'm having a hard time picturing an aural whistle.

I wish you a happy new year lived with abandon, featuring fortunate optics and lots of heroines!

 

 

 

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How an "amateur move" paid off for a screenwriter

If you're a screenwriter who wants to get the attention of Hollywood, would it be a good idea to take out a big ad in the Hollywood Reporter? Most people would say no way, that would just identify you as an amateur with no idea of how things really work.

Eric D. Wilkinson is no amateur; he's written and produced independent films and he knows how Hollywood works. But he was so excited about his plot for a Die Hard prequel/sequel that he spent a lot of money pitching it in a full-page ad in that trade paper. It took the form of an open letter to Bruce Willis, director Len Wiseman, and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

I don't know how much that cost, but you can bet it wasn't cheap.

Did it pay off? 

Yes and no.

He hasn't heard from the Die Hard folks and doesn't expect to.

However, the ad caught the attention of an executive at Eclectic Pictures, who asked what other projects Wilkinson had. They ended up buying his script, The Devil, an action/horror film, so it definitely wasn't money wasted.

It confirms my belief that to get attention, you have to do something different--even something most people think won't work.

The day after...

Jason hasn't recovered yet from his gig as a department store Santa...

manic santa from jurgen Wolff on Vimeo.

 

 

Best wishes for the holidays

I hope you're having some delicious Christmas treats...

 

(Harrod's Christmas Window Display, 2015)

Christmas safe journey

If you're travelling for the holidays, safe journey!

(Harrod's Christmas window, 2015)

 

Screenwriting tips from Charlie Kaufman

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Adaptation) gave a scriptwriting masterclass in 2011, and this ibe-hour interview includes his account of how he creates his often offbeat material.

Screenwriting advice from Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby)

In this ten-minute video, screenwriter and director Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) discusses the writing process, the need for discipline, and why he only writer things that scare him. His key point: Always write from your gut.

 

Why most screenwriters fail - John Truby

John Truby has been one of the most popular screenwriting teachers over the past few decades--someday I'd like to see him face off with Robert McKee in a mud wrestling contest. In this ten-minute video, he gives his view of why most people who set out to become screenwriters fail. Basically, it's all about learning the craft and having the right temperament.

 

Screenwriting tips from David Goyer

David Goyer has written The Crow: City of Angels, the Blade series, and Batman Begins, among others. In this ten-minute interview he talks not only about the writing process but also pitching, hooking an actor's ego, and other practical elements of having a career as a screenwriter.

Screenwriting: the difference between plot and story, according to Scorsese

More than any details of craft, it's essential in screenwriting (or any other kind of creative writing), to understand the difference between story and plot. Who better to clarify this distinction than highly-esteemed director, Martin Scorsese, in this short video:

 

Theater etiquette (what's that?)

Writing in The Stage, Mark Shenton gave this example of audience behavior in the theater:

"An audience member at Sunny Afternoon last week told the London Evening Standard how he was "left fuming" when an usher asked him to stop humming along to the show. He genuinely couldn't believe why he was creating a disturbance: "I just find it so bizarre to explain why I was singing at a musical. You pay a lot of money... All I remember is my foot tapping along to the music and humming along. Suddenly I was told, ‘Can you quieten down?’ If it was a drama then yes but if it’s a musical you expect to be allowed to sing along to some of the songs that you remember from your youth.”

I share this man's outrage--when I was at the ballet some of the people sitting near me had the temerity to take exception when I did an interpretive dance in my seat.

Shenton also relates stories of people in the audience texting, taking photos, and even taking calls during performances.

That's in addition to the older custom of people chatting away during performances, as though they were sitting on their sofa at home. One time when I turned around and asked the people behind me to quiet down, one of them gasped, "How rude!"

Still, that was a mild response compared to one time when a friend and I politely asked a group of people at a movie in Los Angeles to be quiet. They said they'd see us in the parking lot after the movie. It was only when one of the more brightly-lit scenes illuminated the audience that we realized they were gang members. We left early. 

I think we need to wire theater seats and give talkers and texters and hummers a few thousand volts. There could be some fatalities, but it would be worth it. 

 

First step in writing a screenplay: Richard Walter

The UCLA's Richard Walter is one of the most respected screenwriting teachers, so I thought I'd kick off a series of screenwriting tips with this eleven-minute video from Film Courage:

 

 

Why book trailers are not a good idea for self-published fiction authors

I see that somebody is selling a course for self-published authors on how to make "Hollywood-style" book trailers. 

I don't think that's a very good idea. Reading a book is a different process from watching a movie. A trailer is a sample of the full movie-viewing experience, it's not a sample of the full reading experience.

Authors of non-fiction have it easier. If, for instance, your book is about cooking, you can make a trailer that includes some cooking tips. Viewers will know that if they like those tips, they'll get more like them in your book.

If your book is about space travel, you can build a few fun facts about that in your trailer. If they buy your book, they'll learn more about that topic.

However, if you've written a novel, there's not the same kind of link. Yes, if it's a mystery in which the protagonist is a chef, you could include a cooking tip but people don't buy fiction for tips. Similarly, viewers wouldn't read a sci-fi novel primarily for facts.

I've seen book trailers in which authors are interviewed (or interview themselves) about what inspired them, their research process, etc. Unfortunately, people are likely to find that interesting only if they've already enjoyed the book or know you from other things you've written. Sorry to be brutal, but otherwise nobody cares. 

Even non-fiction authors who make a trailer for their book are left with the big question: how do you get people to watch it? Put it on YouTube? Here's a little quiz:

In 2014, Youtube said 300 hours of new videos were uploaded every:

A. Week

B. Day

C. Minute

You probably guessed right--300 hours every minute! That's not to say you can't get your target audience to watch your YT video, just that it's not easy.

The bottom line: if you're a self-published author of fiction, there are better ways to spend your money than learning how to make a book trailer or on a trailer itself. 

 

 

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A present to give yourself

This can be a rough time of year for some people. If that's you, I'd like to encourage you to give yourself this gift:

Be as kind to yourself as you are to your friends.

Once a day or so, check how you've been treating yourself.

If you're having a hard time, what advice would you give a friend who was going through something similar? Are you doing the things you'd advise them to do?

If you find yourself hosting a harsh inner critic and you haven't been able to overcome it, send me an email ([email protected]) this month--December 2015--and I'll send you a present: my downloadable mp3 program on how to tame your harsh inner critic. 

Usually this costs $69, but there's no catch, I won't bombard you with offers of paid products, I won't share your email address with anybody else, it's just a little gift. Hmm, according to the principle...now I have to give myself a present, too. Win-win!

 

What ingredients do you need for flow?

A lot has been written in the past few years about the state of "flow," in which whatever you're doing seems to come to you effortlessly. I had a rare experience of it yesterday, on a ten-hour flight back to London from Los Angeles.

I wrote about six thousand words during that time, on a new idea for a kids' book. I'm sure the work is rough but it was great to have it pouring out. 

THE CONDITIONS FOR FLOW

The conditions seem to be:

• being away from your usual workspace - in this case, an airplane
  
  
• being in a place with low external stimulus - this was an overnight flight, the cabin was dark, and most people were sleeping. When we got on the plane I thought there might be a  LOT of external stimulus, since the middle row opposite was occupied by two dads, a little girl, and two very young babies. The little girl was well-behaved and, amazingly, the infants didn't cry even once.

• having few interruptions - there were two meal services, one of which I skipped, the rest of the time the flight attendants were rarely seen.

• not stopping to re-read or critique the material

I'm not sure whether having a general idea about where the story is going is important. In this case, the same character is involved in a lot of short stories, which is an easier structure to handle.

That's not to say that flow happens every time those conditions are met. I've made that flight many times, and have been very productive on only one out of five or six.

CAN WE CREATE THE CONDITIONS?

It's made me wonder to create such conditions without getting on an airplane. Some writers do it by going to a hotel for a few days or weeks, not turning on the TV, not hooking up to the wi-fi, and taking at least some of their meals via room service. That's a fairly drastic approach, though (as well as expensive).

Working in a cafe, ideally without internet access, can be a mini-version of that, although here in the center of London it's hard to find one that doesn't have the distraction of people-watching and the obligation to move on after you've had a couple of cups of coffee. Maybe I just need to look harder for an unpopular place. 

Getting on a train (obviously not during peak times) for a couple of hours might do it, although given the price of train travel it could be an expensive option.

If you'd care to share how you get into a flow state, please leave a comment. I'll be experimenting more with this and will let you know how it turns out.

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