I read a lot about the craft of writing. Everyone seems to have their own take on how/when/where you should actually write. But before all that crap you need to have some knowledge on actually writing scenes. I will sometimes blog about my own personal experiences, but when I come across some great info on the topic I will always link to it. So here you have it... a fantastic read written by a wonderful writer named Ken Levine (who you've probably never heard of) simply titled 'Great advice for all writers (not just young ones).' Enjoy!
0 Comments
Wow two posts in a week! It's been awhile since I can say I've done that!!! A question I've been getting a lot recently is what I'm working on next, and to be honest for the longest time I didn't really have an answer. But I now think I do...
To my defence I have been devoted to promoting '50 Kisses' the past year. If you're unfamiliar with what I'm talking about, just scroll down in the blog, or click on the '50 Kisses' category on the side to get caught up. It's been a fantastic year, and I'm very proud to have been a part of such a ground-breaking project. Anyways I'm getting off track... back to what I'm working on. I love the internet. I mean love it. It's opened doors to new ways of telling stories and has helped many filmmakers get things produced, and more importantly seen, by many people. And that's where I'm going next. Yesterday I finished the PILOT episode of what i'm hoping to be a 12-part mini web series. I'm not going to get into specifics on what it's about yet, but I will tell you that the idea has been sitting with me for over two years and was originally going to be a feature length film. My tune has changed over the past year, and I have '50 Kisses' to thank partly for it. The internet is a powerhouse and wanting to be there will allow me to have complete control over this project. Of course I'm guessing that it'll end up being a 12-part mini web series, it can easily be more, doubtful that it'll be less. Furthermore, I don't think the concept warrants more than one season so I'm hoping marketing it this way will help gain viewership. Time will tell. So there you have it. The 'what I'm up to next' question is answered. Now when I get asked the question all I need to do is lead people here to my website for the answer. After all, the internet is where everyone goes to get info now-a-days isn't it. OK I know... it's been awhile since my last post. But every so often you come across something spectacular. This video is just that. I'll go out on a limb and also say that if you're a lover of movies you'll really dig this video. I have to give credit to its creator David Anderson. Great stuff! What you're about to read is definitely a Cole's Notes answer. It's a question I get asked every so often, but my response is always the same. I'm sure others do it differently, but this is my routine. For me, every project I've ever started got going with a plot point or situation. Never have I started with a character. I've spoken to some writers who've been inspired by character. I'm not one. Every single thing I've written has started like this and I don't see myself changing anytime soon. Why? Because it works for me. I will add that in the end, to have a successful story you do need both plot and character, but for me, when I start, it's always been plot based.
Once I have the initial plot point I want to explore I then ask myself how do I want this story to end. Once an ending has been conceived I then work in some characters. I'll start asking myself 'what if' and before I know it, I'll have a list of characters, not yet fully developed, but ready to be tossed into this hell I'm about to dream up. After I have some characters, I'll work on developing them a bit further, and by that I mean giving the main characters some internal and external conflict. After all, movies need conflict. Without it, you have nothing. If you plan on writing a script without conflict don't. Just save your time and go write greeting cards. After I have a good group of characters, and a plot that has an ending I'm happy with, I then begin with building ACT 1. For those newbies reading this ACT 1 introduces everyone and is known as the 'setup.' After I've introduced everyone and have given the audience all it needs to know about what the movie is trying to accomplish, I then proceed to plotting ACT 2 - confrontation. Basically, in ACT 2 what you're doing is tossing crap at your main characters, and if they're somehow able to dodge it, you then drown them in crap. The whole point of ACT 2 is to push your main character to his/her limit. After you've tested your main character(s) though out ACT 2, you're then off to ACT 3, or otherwise known as the 'resolution.' ACT 3 is your story's ending. This is where you need to wrap everything up and more often than not, have some sort of happy ending. Again, the most important part of writing is knowing what to write. I accomplish this by plotting out every scene on 3 x 5 cue cards. Why cue cards? Because you can easily change, or re-organize them if something doesn't work. It's simple. You have a blueprint of your story in front of you, and once you're done plotting your entire story on cue cards, all you have left to do is actually write. Not so hard sounding is it? |