(Dumb?) newbie questions

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  • (Dumb?) newbie questions

    Hello, all. First, I'd like to say this is the most fascinating (and educational) forum I have read about writing in any form.

    Secondly, having read through all of the forums and threads until my eyes bled, I'm going to ask for a short-cut to something which I was certain I'd read here a couple of months ago (that's how long I've been lurking - lurk - lurk), but have not been able to find again.

    My current WIP is adamantly refusing to write itself as a novel; it is insisting that I write it as a screenplay, and after much struggling, strangling, arguing and threats (with prejudice), I have decided to give in to its demands.

    However.

    I can't afford a course, so I'm wondering if there's a book or two that are top of mind for the newbie screenwriter. I found the list of recommended books, but it is long, and doesn't specify what's good for someone who's never done one before.

    Despite having three strikes against me for even getting a screenplay noticed (I'm middle-aged, female and don't live anywhere near L.A.), I must get this story written and out of the "queue" so to speak so I can go on to other things. And, what the heck; I'm game to try anything once, even screenwriting.

    I should add that I have written a play, which I knew in advance wasn't going to be produced as a play, but merely read on stage by the actors. So, the story was all told through dialogue without any stage direction whatsoever, which the actors told me afterwards that's what they liked about my submission.

    Also, being impoverished, I only have the shareware RoughDraft as my screenwriting software.

    Helpful suggestions greatly appreciated.

    Oh - the story is a spy thriller, which I've never attempted before, my usual writing genre being science fiction and fantasy (short stories and novels).

    Thank you in advance.

  • #2
    Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

    Your best education will come through reading produced screenplays.

    There are several free sites where you can access scripts. You can find some of them here:

    http://www.scriptsales.com/DoneDLinks.htm
    You're a mighty master of minutia. Your enemies fear you.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

      TD, you can read Trottier and Field etc but what you really need to do is alter your mindset. THINK FILM. Like learning a language.
      http://wasitsomethingiwrote.blogspot.com/

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

        I agree with both OkeyDokey and ED and what they said. Go out there and read PRODUCED screenplays. Many sites out there have thousands of scripts.

        I have heard that reading Trottier's The Screenwriter's Bible (which I own and keep by me at all times...well, only by me when I'm writing) well help you much more than a screenwriting course would. It's only $20 through amazon.com.

        The best thing for you to do, IMO, is to:
        1. Research as much as you want to. (Meaning go out there and buy books, search the web, etc. etc.)
        2. Outline your story. (This has helped me so much. You may not want to do this, but you should.)
        3. Write you story.
        ...

        And of course, I dribble on and on about getting out there. But do it. You'll feel better...

        Well, I hope I've been some help - it really doesn't look I have. Good luck.

        Austen.

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        • #5
          Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

          Read all the columns and articles at:

          www.wordplayer.com
          www.scriptsecrets.net
          http://www.screentalk.biz/
          www.wga.org

          Read screenplays in proper spec format at:

          http://www.weeklyscript.com/
          http://www.screentalk.biz/gallery.htm

          Watch lots of movies, especially those you have the scripts for to see how what is on the screen was expressed on paper so you can see how best to express what you imagine playing on the screen for your movie.

          There are many free templates for Word, if you decide what you have will not meet your needs. There is also some freeware apps like www.celtx.com that may work better for you. You can also try creating a style sheet for word.

          If you don't have word, you can download a freeware app like www.openoffice.org that works very well and you can also easily create a style sheet to assist with formatting your screenplay.

          If you go to www.wordplayer.com and read the scripts forum, you will find a recent thread on script format that will walk you through the process of creating a style sheet for word. If you do want a style sheet but don't feel comfortable making one, PM me.

          HTH

          Let us know how it progresses and feel free to ask any questions that may come up, that's what this site is for.

          Good luck with your script and welcome to Done Deal.

          Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

            Thank you, everyone.

            www.wordplayer.com - check, been through the whole site several times, but did somehow miss the item on script formatting for Word. Will hunt that down.

            Also, thank you for the other links - those I hadn't come across before, the ones for spec screenplays.

            I downloaed a couple of produced screenplays and have been muddling through them, without really understanding what it is that I'm seeing, hence the requirement for a "how-to" book to explain stuff (slug lines? what?).

            Outline - check, already done (it was at the outline stage when I realised it didn't want to be a novel).

            Whew. A lot of work for something that's never going to see the light of an agent's day, but still good experience, on account of, You Never Know when experience like that will come in handy.

            Again, thanks, everyone! This is going to be fun, once I wipe the sweat of sheer terror from my brow.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

              Best of luck to you! From a middle age female that lives a long way from CA.
              I'm not crazy....I'm just a little unwell....

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                Read the archives in this section. Many, many useful books mentioned.
                Read lots of scripts. Read columns & articles as beforehere mentioned.
                Ask LOTS AND LOTS of questions.

                That's how you learn.

                Charli

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                  Hey! There's another middle-aged female living nowhere near L.A. writing screenplays? Cool! Let's start a club!

                  I also just realised (having browsed www.scriptsales.com to see what sorts of things have been sold, and for how much, absolutely gobsmacked by Halo, for example), the ROI on a screenplay far exceeds that of short-story and novel writing... ah, the lure of filthy lucre. Oh, no. I'm not writing this for the money, no, not I, not at all....

                  -TD, turning to Pinky and saying, "are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                    I should add that I have written a play, which I knew in advance wasn't going to be produced as a play, but merely read on stage by the actors. So, the story was all told through dialogue without any stage direction whatsoever, which the actors told me afterwards that's what they liked about my submission.
                    William Goldman, one of the most famous screenwriters ever, advised that everyone start out by writing some plays. He also said that people were always disappointed when he gave this advice. They never want to do this, but he avowed that it is truly the best way to learn.

                    As for software, you can do just fine with a Word template. Deus has offered to provide you with one. I will do the same. I have templates for Word 97 and Word 2003 which I developed myself. Let me know if you need either of these (Windows only, no Mac).

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

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                      Well, RoughDraft is a bit - rough, but now that I've figured out its peculiarities, it seems to be doing the trick, at least formatting-wise. I don't know what will happen if I try to export it, though - and I don't have a pdf writer on my PC. (Win98 SE! I told you I was impoverished. Feh! Also, if it ain't broke, don't upgrade it, because then it'll be broke for sure.)

                      I work in Word 2000, so the 97 version should be okay, if you want to shoot it along. Thanks!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                        I believe that Roughdraft exports RTF (which can be opened in almost any word processor and is cross platform compatible.


                        You can also try a free PDF distiller. PrimoPDF is very easy to use and works great. Here's the thread on PDF distillers.

                        http://scriptsales.com/boards/showth...829#post132829
                        Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                          TDW,

                          I am also a beginner, although I have completed a screenplay. I am now in the rewrite process. Three books were recommended to me and I bought them all. The Screenwriter's Bible is the first one I got. It is good and explains format, loglines, and all that jazz. I most recently bought Save the Cat by Blake Snyder and The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. I am almost finished reading Save the Cat. It is very well written and has been very inspiring for me. He has a way of putting things that makes it easy to understand. I hope to finish reading it today and start on The Writer's Journey. Then... I'll be on to rewrites.
                          Best of luck to you.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                            Thank you, Harleygirl. Yes, it looks like the Screenwriter's Bible is high on the list as the first purchase since that's been mentioned by nearly everyone so far.

                            I do wonder, though, if screenwriting has the same relationship to writing as math does to accounting. I've just been (lightly) stomped on for commenting about sentence fragments in another thread - my experience as a writer is that Sentence Fragments are Bad, especially when used excessively. They stop the narrative, rather than enhance it, in my opinion.

                            Apparently, this is not so in screenwriting. The more sentence fragments, the better, it seems.

                            Are all the rules of good writing thrown out when one writes a screenplay? This isn't a rhetorical question; I really want to know.

                            -TD, channelling Yoda ("you must unlearn what you have learned")

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: (Dumb?) newbie questions

                              Sentence fragments are not unique to screenplays. They are commonly used in poetry and fiction too. You are telling a story not diagramming sentences.
                              Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

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