Screenwriting Linkdump

This will be a short one. On Saturdays, I like to post links to all the resources I’ve used throughout the week to work on the current project. But there really weren’t too many I ended up relying on this week. Here they are, in no particular order:

  • IMSDb
    The Internet Movie Script Database. This was great for finding movie scripts. It’s a very low-key website, which I actually appreciated. No frills, just scripts. And they have plenty!

  • John August’s website
    If you want to learn about the work of screenwriting from a successful screenwriter, this is an excellent place to start. The site has plenty of nuggets of wisdom throughout, and August helpfully categorizes his posts, so it’s easy to search through for whatever you may be trying to find. He also has two great podcasts, Launch and Scriptnotes, worth listening to if you want to dive in further.

  • Weekend Read 2
    This is the script reading app that John August released through his company, Quote-Unquote Apps. I’ve been using it all week to read movie scripts on my phone, and it has been painless to use.

  • Also worth mentioning is John August’s writing app, Highland 2. It looks very sharp. I haven’t used it myself yet, but it’s definitely in my list of apps to try out. In the meantime, since I don’t want to add a new software learning curve to this screenwriting challenge, I’ll be sticking with iA Writer. I’ve used this before, and I’m familiar with the layout. But fear not, Highland 2, I’ll check you out soon!

  • NYC Midnight
    I’m including this for any writers out there looking for a fun challenge. They run multiple events throughout the year, so there’s likely something that will be of interest to any kind of writer. Whether you enjoy writing micro-fiction, flash fiction, short stories, screenplays, what have you, there’s something for you here. My favorite part about their challenges is that all submissions receive feedback from the judges. Whether you make it through to the next round or not, you’ll get to hear from the people who judged your entry. I’ve found this to be rare, and this alone makes these challenges worth entering, in my book.

And that’s basically it for this week. The screenwriting challenge has officially begun, and I’ve received my assigned genre, subject, and character to work with for my script entry. Fingers crossed, I’ll have submitted something decent by this time next week!

Knowing is Half the Battle

Sometimes it’s all about how you approach work. The mindset you have when you begin tackling something, especially something new, can make all the difference.

Today I tried to make a couple quick drafts of a screenplay. Nothing long, nothing fancy, just a first attempt to see how it went. I won’t sugarcoat it. It was painful.

I found myself fighting the format. The editor’s voice in the back of my head was shouting so hard I thought he might need a cup of tea by the end of the day. And I just couldn’t get a head of steam going to make the words come out. Things were not looking good.

So I tried a new approach. I decided I’d first draft a quick story. No formatting. No restrictions. Just words. If I couldn’t write a screenplay from scratch, maybe I could adapt one from something else. I took my quick story and then adapted it into a short screenplay.

This, it turns out, is how I work. And now I know how I work.

And I shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course it makes more sense to create in the mode you know, and then adjust the outcome to fit the mold required. Once I’d figured this out, everything just clicked for me.

So now I know how I will tackle this screenwriting challenge. I’ll first draft the story. Once I’m happy with it, only then will I adapt it into a screenplay. I think this will work best for me. At least for the purposes of this challenge.

Only thing left now is to wait. In just a few hours, the challenge will commence, and the assignments will be emailed out to the participants. I’ll have eight days to write a short screenplay no longer than 12 pages. Should be fun!

The Movie is Never the Same

I always knew that the movie was never the same as the book. I don’t think I ever realized, however, that the movie could also differ from the script. But that’s what I learned today.

I spent the day reading. I started with the guidelines posted on the NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge page. This turned out to be an excellent resource. It covered all the big questions I had regarding formatting and restrictions to text. It also turned out to be very helpful with getting into the mindset of a screenwriter specifically.

After getting a decent grip on how a screenplay actually works, I started reading some screenplays I found on IMSDb. And here was where I discovered that what ultimately ends up on the screen can differ from what was written in the script. Of course, this doesn’t have an impact on me as I go into this writing challenge. But as an avid movie watcher, I was honestly surprised at how much a story can change as it moves from script to screen. I think this realization will continue to reside in the back of my mind as I watch any movie from now on.

And that was basically it for today, just a big reading day. Tomorrow I’ll likely read a couple more screenplays, just to expose myself to various styles and such. Then I might take a stab at doing some drafts, just to get a feel for the flow of the format. And then the real fun will begin when I get my assignment at midnight NYC time (hence the name). Until then, fortune favors the prepared mind!