Lazy Writer, Shallow Stories

I recently sentenced myself to my Screenwriter’s Re-education Gulag and it has been, well, a real eye-opener.  I have quickly learned that I am a Lazy Writer creating Shallow Stories.  Why?  Because I write lazy, shallow characters.

In the past I would, for the most part, develop my characters on the fly, adding attributes as situations dictated.  No more – nada – uh, uh.  This is my new 12 Step Program for recovering Lazy Writers.  Well, maybe not exactly twelve, but close.  Here we go – ask yourself (ie. your character):

1.   What makes your character really mad?  List three examples of   what causes extreme anger in your character:

2. Now, find a time in the story when your character gets most angry and let him/her rant: “I’m so angry because…”

3. Pick one of the three examples from above that is not in the script now, but could/should be.

4. Next, imagine three things he might do as a result of the specific anger you are exploring. 

5. Now, determine what makes your character afraid?  List three examples.

6. Find a time in the story when your character is afraid and again, let her rant: “I’m so afraid because…”

7. Pick an example of fear not in the script now, but could/should be.

8. Imagine three things she might do as a result of the specific fear you are exploring. 

9. What would lead your character to lov10. Find a time in the 

   story when your character feels love and let him rant: “I’m so 

   in love because…”

11. Pick an example of love not in the script now, but

    could/should be.

12. Finally, imagine three things he might do as a result of

    love

These are characteristics I never thought of when writing about my characters in the past.  How about yourself? 

That’s it – what I’ve learned about writing characters – so far.  What I’ve learned about my own writing – so far.

Keep Writing!

2012 Resolutions

Okay, normally my New Year’s Resolution is to not make any New Year’s Resolutions. Not this year!

Resolution #1: Get in shape.  Lose weight.  Get healthy. Okay, that’s three, but they are all related.  A healthy writer is an effective writer.

Resolution #2: Write at least two (2)– count ‘em two — new screenplays.  I went to Panera yesterday at 6:30 AM and wrote until 11:30 AM.  Started rewriting my screenplay, Cocos Island, after receiving feedback from my writing family over at Shmucks With Underwoods. 

Resolution #3: Query as many production companies as possible – New York and L.A. I have the list of companies I plan on targeting with ‘canned’ queries and last week I sent out almost 300 queries.

Resolution #4: Update this blog more often.  Hey, it’s day fifteen of the new year and this is my second post.  So far so good.

What are your New Year’s Writing Resolutions?  

Keep Writing!

New Screenwriting Forum: Shmucks With Underwoods

Happy New Year

Wishing you all a Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year.  May 2012 bring you all that is good, nothing bad and fulfilled dreams.

And, of course, I wish you success in your writing.  But to be successful, you need goals and to size those goals so they are manageable I would suggest you head on over to Scott Myers’ blog Go Into The Story: http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2011/12/writing-goals-2012-part-1-looking-back.html and read his series of articles on writing goals for 2012.  Here’s a list of topics he discusses in great detail: 

Part 1: Looking Back

Part 2: Assessing Where You Are

Part 3: Where Do You Want To Go As A Writer?

Part 4: Practical Matters

Part 5: Going Public

Part 6: Schedule

Part 7: Time Management

Part 8: First Draft

Part 9: The Only Way Out Is Through

Part 10: Trust The Process

Read, enjoy and always,

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa

To all you screenwriters out there — and you too, you non-screenwriters ;-)  I wish you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a Happy Kwanzaa.  I could have been Politically Correct and said:  Happy Holidays!  But that’s sooooo, PC.

★*˚°。°*。°*。 ★*˚°。°*。°˚°★*˚°。°*。°*★*˚°。°*。°*★
° *_██_*˚ °。°/ ♥ \*˚°。°*。°*★*˚°。°*。°*★*˚°。°*。°*★
˛ . (´• ̮•)*. 。*/♫.♫ \*˛.* ˛ _Π_____*˚°。*。°*❤*˚°。°*。°*★
. ° ( . • .) ˛° . /• ‘♫ ‘•\.˛*./_______/~\*˚°。°*。°*°*❤ ˚°*★
.* (.. ‘•’..) *˛ ╬╬╬╬╬˛°. ｜田田❤｜門l ╬╬╬╬╬*˚°。°*°*。。°* ♥
★*˚°。°*。°*。°*。★ MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! ★*˚°。°*。°*。★

                                ★   HAPPY HANUKKAH!!!! ★

                                ★ HAPPY KWANZAA!!!!!  ★

May all your hopes and dreams for 2012 come true and always….

Keep Writing!

Five Steps Your Character Must Take To Overcome Fear

Okay, your protagonist’s Ordinary World has been shaken to its very foundation for whatever reason: framed for murder, kidnapped family member, break up of a marriage.  You fill in the blank.

Is your Hero afraid?  Scared?  

Of course she is, but the all important question now is this: how does she deal with that fear?  How does she deal with her new problem, complete her character arc, and get to the end of the story safe and sound?  

The simple answer is: She must handle that fear.  

But how?

Your character must take these five steps to navigate through that fear:

1. Your Hero must edge forward into the story and take small steps to confront her fear.  The New World your protagonist finds herself in will seem overwhelming at first and will more than likely trigger a flight or fight response.  Reign in these urges and don’t let your Hero take too large a step right from the git-go. 

2. Get your Hero some concrete and positive motivation.  Here is where your Mentor or Love Interest can play an important part in pushing your Hero in the right direction and forcing her to realize she needs to do something, anything. 

3. Of course your Hero will not succeed the first time in solving her story problem or confronting her fear, so let her see failure and rejection in a new light.  This is generally around the mid-point when your Hero discovers she has been chasing the FALSE Goal. But this is good.  Failure often reveals the TRUE Goal.

4. Keep your Hero in the NOW.  What does this mean?  It means keep your Hero focused on the current problem.  Don’t let your Hero’s thoughts and emotions run away to the future or back to the past.  Keep your Hero’s eyes on the prize.  The TRUE Goal.

5. Finally, your Hero will be ready and able to redefine herself and her world and overcome her fears.  Her arc will be complete.

Give It a shot – work these steps into your Hero’s story — add dimension to your characters and to their character arcs and always,      

The Five Stages of Change (Character Arc)

All screenwriters are aware of Character Arc – moving their protagonist from flawed hero to a new and improved human being. But how?  What is the path from flawed to ‘fixed’?  Try The Five Stages of Change.

1. Precontemplation is the stage at which there is no intention to change behavior in the foreseeable future.  Many individuals in this stage are unaware or underaware of their problems.  This is comparable to the Hero’s normal world of ACT I – the Hero has a problem but doesn’t know he has a problem.

2. Contemplation is the stage in which people are aware that a problem exists and are seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment to take action.  This stage corresponds to the Inciting Incident / Call to Adventure of Act I.  The Hero is aware that a problem exists and is seriously thinking about overcoming it but have not yet made a commitment to take action.

3. Preparation is a stage that combines intention and behavioral criteria.  Individuals in this stage are intending to take action in the next month and have unsuccessfully taken action in the past year.  The third stage combines intention and behavior.  This stage relates to the first part of Act II (Act IIa) - the Hero deliberates on his dilemma / perceived Need .

4. Action is the stage in which individuals modify their behavior, experiences, or environment in order to overcome their problems.   Action involves the most overt behavioral changes and requires considerable commitment of time and energy.   This stage is comperable to the Mid-Point of your screenplay – the Hero’s internal needs/flaws are confronted and realized for the first time.

5. Maintenance is the stage in which people work to prevent relapse and consolidate the gains attained during action.  The Hero must not relapse.   He should consolidate the gains/changes made during stage four.  This relates to the Dark Night of the Soul, where the Hero has self doubt and no longer believes in himself and thinks All Is Lost.   More importantly, it is a change in lifestyle that the Hero takes with him long after you write FADE OUT.

Try using the Five Stages of Change to help move your Hero along his Character Arc.

Keep Writing!

Joe Eszterhas

To me, Joe Eszterhas is THE Screenwriter’s Screenwriter. 

I’ve read both of his books — Hollywood Animal and The Devil’s Guide To Hollywood — about Hollywood and screenwriting and liked them both.  But after watching a very brief interview of Mr. Eszterhas, I searched the web for something more extensive.  And, I found it.

Click on over to The Bat Segundo Show (http://www.edrants.com/segundo/bss-73-joe-eszterhas/) and take a listen.  The intro is irritating, but the interview is worth the torture

Let me know what you think about ol’ Joe.  Love him?  Hate him?  Why?

As an update, Mr. Eszterhas has three (3) new projects in the works:

1.     LUST – a thriller: A Miami real estate broker in a loving marriage with an older man, is unexpectedly seduced into an affair with a younger, charming playboy from Los Angeles, only to suffer the consequences as she ends up in a dangerous love triangle.

2.     Untitled Joe Eszterhas/Virgin of Guadalupe Project – a drama: The story of the first sighting of the virgin of Guadalupe by an Aztec peasant in the 16th century.

3.     Untitled Judah Maccabee Project – a drama: Judah Maccabee leads a Jewish revolution against Seleucid Empire for outlawing their religion.

As I said last week… you can’t keep a good man down.

Keep Writing,

Can’t Keep A Good Man Down

Hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving holiday and that Black Friday has not done you in.

Been a while since my last post (an understatement, I know) and for that I apologize. Strictly my bad. Call me lazy. Call me busy. No excuses. I can only hope my one or two faithful followers are still lurking in cyberspace and will forgive me and continue to follow me.

What have I been up to, you might ask? Writing. Rewritiing. And more rewriting.

Since we last chatted I have finished one script — a Sci-Fi thriller called Bad Penny (logline available on the Logline page) and started work on a contained thriller called Cocos Island (which now sits on the shelf waiting for me to figure out how to end the damn thing). Most of my time has been taken up by sending out email queries to, well, let’s say a lot of managers and producers with very limited success. It wasn’t a total loss though. Out of some forty-two requests for scripts, fifteen are still out there awaiting a decision. So Hope floats.

In the future I will attempt to be more consistent in posting on this site. Don’t know exactly what we will discuss, but I’m sure I can think of something. If there are any subjects you wish to see discussed here, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

For now, that’s a wrap.

Keep Writing!

Epiphany!!

Sorry to have been away so long… life always seems to get in the way.  But, I am happy to say that things have finally settled down.  The mother-in-law is safely ensconced in the Skilled Nursing Facility (aka: Nursing Home) and the wife-unit has recovered from her surgery and the anesthesia debacle.  Now, I can concentrate on writing. 

Which segues into my Epiphany. 

Although I did not get much writing accomplished this last month I was able to read/analyze several scripts.  I would write a short paragraph (3 - 4 lines) on what transpired on each page.  I would flag paragraphs that represented a Complication.  I would also flag those paragraphs representing Resolutions.  When I sat down to review just when, where, and how often Complications and Resolutions occurred, I discovered…

First, I should explain something relevant.  Over the years I have been aware — through reading screenwriting books and listening to interviews with screenwriters — that it is important to pile Complication after Complication on your Protagonist until he experiences the so called Dark Nigh Of The Soul (or The All Is Lost Moment).  I knew this.  I think we all know this.  But I never consciously practiced it.  And that, my Dear Reader, is why my scripts SUCK!

Now, back to that Epiphany….

As I said, when I finished reviewing all these Complications and Resolutions — the when, where, how often — I discovered this:

Act I: Complication changes Protagonist’s Ordinary World and takes us into Act II. 

Act II:  two more Complications for a total of three (3) in a row before we have our first Resolution around the mid-point. 

Act III: another Complication, then two (2) quick Resolutions of previous Complications.  Followed by: Complication, Resolution, Complication and Act III’s final Resolution, which takes us into… 

ACT IV: Another Complication (the All-Is-Lost-Moment), followed by two (2) Resolutions of previous Complications which leads to the Story’s biggest Complication followed by the Resolution of most, if not all, of the previous Complications.

To simplify things (my new Mantra for 2011: SIMPLIFY!) you could use the following as a simple reference/template: 

ACT I:

Complication (takes Hero out of Ordinary World into New World) 

ACT II:

Complication

Complication

Resolution 

ACT III:

Complication

Resolution

Resolution

Complication

Resolution

Complication

Resolution 

ACT IV:

Complication (Dark Night of the Soul)

Resolution

Resolution

BIG COMPLICATION

Wrap Things Up (Resolve most, if not all, previous Complications.

That’s it!  My Epiphany.  I hope it helps you to get a handle on how to complicate your Protagonist’s life, when to do that, when to resolve things and how often.

Let me know your thoughts on Complications and Resolutions as you,

Keep Writing!