Knowledge Without Thought

no-blood-on-the-pageEver had a ?

described peak experiences as especially joyous and exciting moments in life. They involve sudden feelings of intense happiness and well-being… Wonder and awe — and possibly, involving an awareness of or knowledge of higher truth. They usually come fast and furious — often inspired by deep meditation, intense feelings of love, exposure to great art or music, or the overwhelming beauty of nature.

Ever had one?

I get them while I write. Sure, I get them at other times but since I write a lot, I seem to experience most of my peak experiences while I’m writing. I often get the same peak experience when I finally come up with a concept that I want to write a screenplay around.

It just HITS me. SMACK!

As I’ve said in earlier posts, I’ve been going crazy about theme over the past few months… Trying to recapture the peak experience. Trying to figure out WHY I had a peak experience in the first place.

It keeps coming back to theme and has had a profound effect on me… I was of the opinion — like many of us are — that through the writing, I would locate, develop, and create the theme of my story.

And of course that worked. My screenplays have always contained some overall theme to them but wow… Such a long hard road to get there.

Painful.

Brutal.

I truly do know what it means to … LOL.

But do I want to keep bleeding on the page?

I don’t think so. I think I’d rather experience more peak experiences.

How does one achieve that?

Well I don’t claim to be an expert… On anything. I know what I know. But I will say that what immediately comes to mind is the old quote: .

The more knowledge you gain… And of course, experience adds to knowledge… The more you begin to write without thought.

Flow.

Do you like flow? I sure as hell do.

How does one go from bleeding on the page to tapping into flow?

Who knows? For me, it’s knowledge and experience. Life certainly helps but I’m talking about knowledge of the craft and not simply reading an article but reading an article and then CONTEMPLATING its meaning and how it relates to you and your writing.

Too many writers open up the old screenwriting book, go to the workshop, seminar, read a screenplay… Whatever — in hopes that a microcosm of what they read is going to somehow be absorbed into their screenwriting bloodstream.

Does it?

Never has for me… I have to go back over all my notes and then contemplate those notes. Compare those notes to either my current or past screenplays. That’s why I have this site. Every time I write about the craft and you are kind enough to provide comments — be they good, bad, or indifferent, it kicks up my knowledge and experience a couple of notches.

Thanks for that. Much appreciated. I can only hope it has the same effect for you.

But back to knowledge, experience, and tapping into flow… The problem for me is balance. How do you balance what you learn? When do you apply it? Do you apply it here or do you apply it there?

Maybe it’s all bullshit.

Hell, I only believe half of what I read anyway… That’s how I balance. Too many times have I heard writers tell other writers to stop wasting time reading and learning about the craft and start fucking writing.

Could work. Might work.

For some.

I now understand that when I tap into my theme, I go through sustained peak experience… Or what Maslow referred to as the plateau experience. He was of the opinion — if I understand correctly — that all one’s needs must be met in order to attain a peak experience. But I am of the opinion that rarely can one have all their needs met. Especially for any real length of time. Life is just too crazy for that. I mean hey… Everytime I start feeling like all my needs have been met, WHACK!

Murphy’s law, Baby. Every fuckin’ time.

So rather than attempting to have all our needs met like crossing off the groceries on your list as you toss them into your basket, I think that there are those times when even though all our needs aren’t PHYSICALLY MET, we invoke or prod a that is commensurate with our needs being met and hence, experience a peak experience.

And if that’s true… How in the hell do we invoke or prod MORE of those feelings?

Knowledge and experience comes to mind again. I don’t see it being that different from any profession. You gain enough knowledge and experience and then one day, you go to work with a completely different mindset.

YOU KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW.

Do you know what you know?

If so, OUTSTANDING. I know what I know but I seem to have a leak… A leak that I keep having to plug and then add more knowledge and experience. However, the leaks are definitely coming along much more slowly than they used to be and I don’t have to crack nearly as many books, workshops, etc. as I used to. Now I can pretty much just pick any topic related to screenwriting and simply DISCUSS it and my knowledge and hence, experience grows exponentially. And when that happens, my confidence is restored… The feeling that most, if not all my needs have been met, are at least satisfied for the time being.

And then I write. Write like the wind. Tapping into that flow like nobody’s business.

Theme. For me, it just keeps coming back to theme. What my overall theme is. How all my characters deal with that theme. They obviously do not have to share my mindset with the theme… In fact, that would be boring if they all did… Nope. Now I’m taking my characters and tweaking their backstory as it relates to my overall theme. I’m contemplating. I’m giving it thought. Analysis.

Some of the characters like the theme. Some fucking hate it. Some are indifferent but it still affects them.

Knowledge and experience. Knowledge without thought. Flow.

So here’s my offer to you… I used to have a forum here but I never really liked the setup. I had to create categories and that just seems like bullshit. I don’t want to make shit up for people to discuss. So now I found a forum script that works in conjunction with WordPress… There are no categories. Just create a topic and we’re off and running. My offer is this… Let’s only use it for hardcore screenwriting discussion. Not some bullshit that we SHOULD already know.

Sure… Some will call it another way to procrastinate but I submit to you that the more knowledge, experience, and insight you have on any topic related to the subject of screenwriting, the faster you’re going to be writing a screenplay that sells. The faster you’re gonna GET IT.

Let’s think OUT OF THE BOX… Let’s go at a topic like it’s not been done before. Just for us. I don’t care if it’s only a few of us. That’s enough to get some amazing discussion going.

Are you game?

Unk

Forum

February 28, 2009 | Filed Under Tips

11 Comments 

We Pass

we-pass

So a friend of mine who just happens to be a reader for one of the big agencies as well as screenwriter trying to break in, sent me an email today… I thought this communication would make an outstanding followup to the last post.

Turns out that when my buddy was hired on to become a reader, he was sat down and given some basic instructions on HOW to get through screenplays rather quickly…

Your latest post cracked me up. We even talked about it here at work during lunch the day of. You really nailed it. One of your commentors also mentioned about many of “US” being English majors. Some of us are but most of us are trying to either become screenwriters in our own right or producers with a smattering of us trying to become writer/director/producers.

What I think your readers might find interesting is that we all abide by many of the same under the table rules. Of course some readers have their own pet peeves as you mentioned you also do, but that can and does work both ways. Sometimes it’s the pet peeve that makes us go ahead and read the rest of the damn thing and sure enough, 99.99999999% of the time, the script is so bad, we’ll all sit down and laugh about it.

If I am learning anything as a screenwriter, I’m really learning what not to do in my own screenplays. I’m sure a lot of your readers are aware that a lot of successful screenwriters were readers before becoming successful. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, that should serve more as a well-placed wake up call more than anything else.

So just to hand off to your readers in case some of them argue these finer points, I thought I would share with you, our “under the table guidelines” we’re given prior to reading our first screenplay.

You’ll notice there is no mention of weak action verbs as you illustrated in your post but this one is so obvious that it is assumed we know that already.

I hope it is entertaining.

Cheers,

Name Withheld by Request

Read it and weep…

Incorrect format:
If the writer isn’t willing to take the time and effort to learn basic screenplay formatting, why should we take the time to read it when we get paid by the script? This includes incorrect fonts, incorrect slugs, centering the characters and dialogue, right-justified text, and character’s intro not capped. WE PASS.

Directing the script:
No camera angles. No songs. No soundtracks. No actors. WE PASS.

Screenplay too long:
Screenplays should be no longer than 130 pages and that is pushing it for a spec. WE PASS.

Screenplays too short:
When a screenplay is less than 110 pages, we immediately begin to worry if there’s going to be enough story in it to entertain and 99.99999999% of the time, there isn’t. WE PASS.

Notes to the Reader:
My own personal pet peeve. I hate them. I don’t think they’re cute. I don’t think they’re funny. When I read them, I either pass right away or dig in with both feet to find a reason to pass. Don’t tell me what I should know after having just read the scene. I should be able to figure it out from reading your action and description. Don’t tell me what a character is thinking. Don’t explain things to me that you should be explaining with your action, description, and dialogue. WE PASS.

Colorful covers:
We tend to keep skipping these scripts. Sometimes, if the screenwriter is a friend of a friend and we have to read it no matter what, we’ll go ahead and put a regular white cardstock or agency cover on it but most of the time, screenplays with bright colorful covers are rejected immediately. I should also mention the use of graphics or binding material other than brass brads. Don’t use them. WE PASS.

Boring first 10 pages:
This is actually one of the first things that get drummed into us. The inciting incident is nice during the first 10 pages but if for some reason, you don’t have your inciting incident within the first 10 pages, those first 10 pages better be phenomenal and provide conflict, action, tension, and/or suspense. WE PASS.

Structure:
You’d be surprised at how many scripts we have to read that have no discernable structure. That means setting up the Protagonist. Inciting Incident. A crisis. Setting up the Antagonist. Subplots. Several twists, a climax, and resolution. WE PASS.

Action and description that cannot be shot:
You can’t shoot a character that’s thinking or dreaming of something that’s happened to them in their past unless you’ve written that past in some action and description. Let me mention notes to the Reader again. WE PASS.

Dialogue:
Dialogue shouldn’t be flat or on the nose. Good dialogue uses subtext. Bad dialogue explains the plot. Bad dialogue tells us what happened instead of letting us see it happen. Talking heads and specifically, pages of talking heads. It’s not somebody else’s job to figure out what your characters should be doing while they carry on their conversations. It’s the writer’s job. There’s nothing worse than two characters standing together yapping for an entire page (or more) without something else also happening. Show don’t tell. WE PASS.

Pet peeves:
Every reader I know has his and her pet peeves and though there’s no way to know who will end up reading your script, it’s best to cover as many bases as possible. Some of us readers for our agency also provide freelance reading for studios and producers so all the above still applies.

So there you go. Defy the basics at your own peril… It’s cool. Your story will shine through, right?

Unk

February 17, 2009 | Filed Under Tips

128 Comments 

Do Yourself a Favor

cowsbull

A young bull and an old bull sit at the top of a grassy hill overlooking a pasture of cows. The young bull can’t take his eyes off one of the cows below and remarks, “Hey, let’s run down there and fuck that cow!”

The old bull, slightly dozing off, glances down to the pasture — back at his young companion and responds, “Let’s walk down there and fuck’em all.”

What does this joke mean to you as a screenwriter?

Nothing?

Cool. Then don’t bother reading on…

How can we turn this joke around to give it a little more meaning to us as screenwriters? Hmmm.

How about this…

A young screenwriter and an old screenwriter sit at a coffee shop writing their screenplays. The young screenwriter just completed the first draft of his screenplay and remarks, “Cool. I’m gonna send this around town and make a hundred thousand dollars!”

The old screenwriter, daydreaming into space glances at the young screenwriter — back into space and responds, “Cool but why don’t you bang out a few more drafts, send it around town and make a million dollars and a few more gigs?”

I know what some of you are thinking… There is no perfect script.

You’re right.

But there is THE ILLUSION OF PERFECTION.

At least that’s what I call it.

I’ve been reading some specs from some people trying to break in over the last couple of months… Some have stories — some don’t. Some could use a tweak and a polish — some need to be thrown away and either be completely rewritten or just simply thrown away.

I’m not talking about anyone specifically here so those of you who think I’m talking about YOU… You’re wrong.

What I’m talking about are simple red flags… Red flags that cause your spec to be passed on and stacked on top of fifteen other specs to hold the door open.

Let’s assume your spec actually has a story. A good story. A story worth seeing on the big screen. Do you really want to fuck up that potential opportunity because your spec looks like 99% of all the other specs littering someone’s desk?

Yes… You are correct. Occasionally, someone’s spec full of red flags gets noticed and makes it through the next round of reading or next several rounds of reading. Most likely however, that’s TALENT shining through.

What is talent?

Please read the definition of talent:

  • A special natural ability or aptitude.
  • A marked innate ability, as for artistic accomplishment.
  • Natural endowment or ability of a superior quality.
  • A person who possesses unusual innate ability in some field or activity.

Do you have talent? If so, does it contain ENOUGH of whatever this kind of talent MUST HAVE to RISE above the red flags? Do you have that kind of talent?

Yeah?

Cool, then don’t bother reading on.

For those of us that are left, I ask a very simple question…

Why would you not take out every red flag there is in your spec before sending it around? I really want to know. I’ve heard some of the following reasons…

  • That’s the way I write…
  • That’s part of my voice…
  • The rest of my script is so good that all that shit doesn’t matter…
  • The blueprint is there…
  • If I change it, it won’t be my script anymore…
  • I’m shooting it myself so none of that is a big deal…
  • Nobody cares about passive sentence structure…
  • They’ll know what I’m talking about…
  • So and So did the same thing in their script that sold…
  • I’ve read a zillion scripts that were worse than mine…

I could go on but you get the gist… Just stick your own excuse somewhere in the list.

Hey, that rhymed…

Now of course I have absolutely no proof of what I am about write but it seems to me that many people are under the delusion that leaving all the red flags in their script is going to somehow make their script STAND APART from all the other specs.

And they’re right of course… Their script will in fact stand apart from all the other good specs. I’m here to tell you that no matter what they read… No matter how many gurus tell them… No matter how many professionals explain…

99% of all newbie specs leave the red flags in. Sure, you might see a spec on Triggerstreet or Zoetrope that’s had all the red flags cleaned up but I submit to you that those are the exceptions and most just don’t clean house.

As far as I’m concerned, this is where the CRAFT side of screenwriting comes in.

Let’s read the definition of craft:

  • An art, trade, or occupation requiring special skill, esp. manual skill.
  • Skill; dexterity.
  • To make or manufacture (an object, objects, product, etc.) with skill and careful attention to detail.
  • People who perform a particular kind of skilled work.
  • Skill in an occupation or trade.

Some of you may think there’s a fine line between talent and craft… You could be right but that’s not the point. The simple point is that they are DIFFERENT. For instance, let’s compare the craft of screenwriting to the craft of a mechanic changing the oil in your car. He or she lifts your car, drains the oil, reinserts the drain plug, fills the crankcase up with new oil, screws the top on the filler opening, lowers the car and you’re driving again.

But what if the mechanic decided that there’s really no reason to tighten that drain plug? What if he or she leaves the top off the filler opening? He still changed your oil, right? But would you be happy?

Probably not.

Let’s take it further… Let’s say you’re a mechanic and you’re allowed to watch this mechanic perform his work OR inspect his work afterward… Would you be happy?

Probably not.

But why? They changed your oil, right? They technically did what you paid them to do, right? Isn’t that ENOUGH?

You wouldn’t send someone a script with incorrect format, right? Why not? Doesn’t the story shine through the bullshit formatting? Does changing to proper format keep it from being your spec? I once had someone send me a comedy spec and she changed the font to the COMIC font… She told me later that she thought it would add to the spec’s humor.

She was wrong.

I certainly have my own pet peeve red flags…

Hmmm. Wonder where I got all those pet peeves… Hmmm.

Guess.

The truth of the matter is this… You never know where the spec you send out is going to end up. Sure, you sent it to X producer but in reality, you never know who else is going to pick it up — thumb through it — sit down and give it a read.

Stranger things have happened.

Do you not OWE it to YOUR STORY and YOUR SPEC SCREENPLAY to give it the very best presentation you can? Doesn’t all that hard work deserve a little cleaning up? At a minimum, how hard would it be to convert most if not all the passive voice to active voice? How hard would it be to open up a thesaurus and find the perfect action verb that creates the EXACT visual picture of action you want somebody to have when they read your spec?

Sure… Every so often, it’s okay to use passive voice in your screenplay… SOMEWHERE. But here’s the deal… A sentence here and a sentence there… A few in the entire script? No problem. All through the script? It not only dumbs down the reading but slows it down too. Passive voice just doesn’t flow like active voice and is in fact perceived as weak writing by a lot of experts.

The same goes for weak action verbs like walk, run, look, see, watch, take, hold, reach for, or pick up.

Do yourself a favor and at a complete minimum, make sure your spec has proper formatting, very little if any passive voice, and the perfect action verb that gives us the actual visual you want to relay.

Why?

Because getting rid of this shit will help make your spec STAND APART even IF the rest of it is garbage.

Unk

February 8, 2009 | Filed Under Rants, Tips

62 Comments 

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