Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

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  • #31
    Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

    Originally posted by HD writer
    Inregards to your original thread:

    Listen, if it's my job to find the best story out there so I can sell something to those hungry hippos in Hollywood, do you think I care about how many parenthesis you make?

    The only thing that will really matter to me is how interesting is your story.

    This is the honest truth. You can't fake talent but you can always find a good editor.

    And you are? I'm a mean drunk HD. Don't make me slap you. The honest truth is that you have no hope of finding a good editor unless you are a good writer. To become a good writer takes time, experience and hard work.
    http://wasitsomethingiwrote.blogspot.com/

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    • #32
      Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

      CE just told you guys, "Hey! Don't worry about it!"

      So what do you do? You go and worry about it. He also gave you a valuable insight. Write for the professional reader. If you want to make sure you communicate to the reader your story intentions, then do what you must.

      Focus on your story. If you stumble on a meaning in your script, you can assume that the reader will, too. So put in that material that you believe will clarify the story for the reader.

      The worst thing you can do is take advice from outsiders, especially newbies.

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      • #33
        Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

        Glad to hear you're an insider.
        http://wasitsomethingiwrote.blogspot.com/

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        • #34
          Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

          I think they are great for breaking up longer dialogue. They can read faster and smoother than an action line, and they don't use as much space considering the spacing above and below the action line.

          I've come to believe that as long as you don't take the reader out of the story, you can do whatever the hell you want.
          Ever thus to deadbeats.

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          • #35
            Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

            Yeah, but you're a NoTalentAssClown. If you'll pardon my saying so.

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            • #36
              Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

              Okay, call me old-fashioned, but I think Dialogue is for dialogue and Action is for action.

              Any time you insert a parenthetical into Dialogue it raises a flag that maybe there's a better way to do it. Sweat the little stuff. Make it as "perfect" as you can.

              I will never understand the position that "something" is okay because nobody cares. I don't think that advice will get you into the top 1% (if you're not already there). You should care about every single word you write.

              Yes, I understand we're writing for the readers. They are not idiots.
              "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
              - Clive Barker, Galilee

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              • #37
                Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                Like any tool, wrylies or parantheticals can be used effectively and they can be used ineffectively. The only time that you get consistant criticism against it (more than one person, say) is when it's used ineffectively.

                So the argument for me is not so much NOT using wrylies, but using them correctly.

                For those of you saying don't worry about it, maybe you should find out for yourself if Aaron has indeed used them correctly first.

                Otherwise you're not helping him.
                "So I guess big parts of our youth are supposed to suck. Otherwise we'd get too attached and wake up one day trapped on a hamster wheel that used to look like a merri-go-round." - Hal Sparks

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                • #38
                  Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                  Lets call it a moot point then.
                  From Final Draft to Final Cut

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                  • #39
                    Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                    Trying to draw any kind of guidance from this discussion has almost convinced me to take up hawking aluminum siding in Poughkeepsie.

                    [sigh]

                    I have a lot of work to do on the script yet.

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                      Thanks for all that, CE -- lots of typing there to try and convince the unconvinced!

                      In the meantime -- how did one page of this get put in the FAQ -- and that page not have anything written by CE?!?
                      my webpage
                      my blog

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                      • #41
                        Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                        Hey, ce...

                        Thanks for the post. I have much to consider.

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                        • #42
                          Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                          "Take the screenwriting books out of your asses and write a script that enables the reader to see and feel the movie."

                          Yeah. But don't sniff it.

                          I had the pleasure to read both scripts in Chris's Valley College class, and none of those issues made any impression on anyone. If you focus on such concerns, then you will miss those things that will shape your character and story in a way that will impress people.

                          You should not waste one moment on format questions.

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                          • #43
                            Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                            Originally posted by creativexec

                            Take the screenwriting books out of your asses and write a script that enables the reader to see and feel the movie.


                            Fu(kin' A, right.
                            "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

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                            • #44
                              Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                              AaronB, you are worrying about this stuff entirely too much. There are no rules that you can live and work by that will make you an effective writer.

                              The reason that I hate this topic of wrylies (forget the "we see" business) is that no matter what you say about it, no matter how flexible you try to be, you always end up being painted into a corner of contention.

                              It is all about effective writing, so that anyone (reader, actor, director) will be drawn into the sweep of your story, into the flow of the moment.

                              So don't worry about it. Just write, and make it sound natural. With a little practice (or a lot! ) you will develop a sense for what is appropriate and what is superfluous and distracting.

                              "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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                              • #45
                                Re: Another lesson learned on Zoetrope

                                Originally posted by ComicBent
                                AaronB, you are worrying about this stuff entirely too much.
                                You know what's really ironic about that? It's that I wasn't worrying about it at all, until several people told me I needed to worry about it!

                                LOL.

                                I'm tempted to say a pox on the lot of 'em, and just write the story to suit myself.

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