Popularity: 2%

I think, therefore I blog…

really struck a nerve inside of me with his current post, ““

YOW!

Great post my man… I actually tried to comment on your post over at your blog and after an hour’s worth of writing, I realized I’d be better off RANTING RIGHT HERE.

You said:

“Do you know what it means to have one of your scripts turned into a movie? It means that your weaknesses as a writer will become public knowledge. Do you honestly think that because you have a couple of movies under your belt that you can STOP studying the craft?”

My answer? NEVER! Yet, how many screenwriters do you know that do in fact continue to STUDY the craft? This is one of the reasons I like blogs… They enable me to read about screenwriting OFTEN. They enable me to think about screenwriting OFTEN. Reading several blogs a day never fails to snap, crackle, and pop a synapse that requires me to study a little more.

Not that I am the end-all know-it-all on how to write a screenplay and get it sold but Jesus H. Christ, one could spend literally thousands of dollars for all the information floating around out there and more than half of it isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. So… If I can somehow help fill the gap with some USEFUL KNOWLEDGE and only one screenplay turns out just a little better, I will count that as SUCCESS.

I seriously just want everyone to WRITE the best fucking screenplay they can and I will tell you every Goddamn trick in the book (that I know) if it will help.

Take your current screenplay that you slaved over for six months to a year… CAN IT BE BETTER?

Probably. Well, DIG IN MOTHERFUCKER! I am fucking tired of seeing the lazy shit I see on the screen.

And you know what?

Most of the stuff I read from people trying to break in is lazy too. No offense meant (you KNOW who you are) but that is the truth as I see it. We’ve somehow dumbed down the ART OF SCREENWRITING and STORYTELLING to the point where only a certain demographic gets off their asses and buys a movie ticket. The same demographic that pushed .

Which is fine. Good for them. But what about the rest of us? What about the demographic that really controls the cash?

We have a job to do and to do it we have to get off our collective asses if we want to see this industry survive.

I only found the community a few months ago after being frustrated with “some” of us in the industry.

I’ve read some outstanding things out there. Things that have made ME think about my own writing and I admit, I am even a little addicted to reading all these blogs because there’s quite a bit of knowledge out there and what I really enjoy is ANYONE’S take on the subject of screenwriting or any aspect of it.

I just had a conversation with a very well known script doctor last night about this very thing. Why aren’t we ALL aspiring to write screenplays that turn into films WITHOUT the shelf life?

What can we, as screenwriters, do to write a film that certainly will fade away from boxoffice sales only to be reborn in DVD sales… Lie dormant for a few years until it strikes a collective nerve with some other segment of the population and lives on?

I don’t know BUT I HAVE A FEW IDEAS as I’m sure a lot of YOU do. However, before we can attempt to do that, we’ve GOT TO KNOW our craft… We’ve got to be able to meet a baseline and therein lies the rub…

WHERE THE FUCK IS THE BASELINE?

Unfortunately, you seem to be correct in your post, Mystery Man.

SECRETS.

SHHHHH. Don’t tell anyone.

Sheesh. But having said that, another fascinating problem/phenomenon I’ve seen recently (within the last two years) is the PERFECT FIRST DRAFT.

Uh… No.

Again… I am not the and I would be the first to tell anyone to get a second opinion but what is this garbage about the first draft being perfect?

I recently gave a screenwriter friend (not anymore) 39 fucking pages of notes and he was pissed off that the notes didn’t read a little nicer…

Eat me.

I keep meeting wannabe screenwriters who are simply too lazy to learn and when you tell them that their screenplay needs work, they try to justify every friggin’ note you gave them just like Mr. Berman did to his friend in the book, … LOL.

I KILL to get honest hardcore feedback on my stuff. It’s the only way to really separate yourself from the work and take a step back… Which is WHY you really do need to find at least two (three is better) screenwriters that know what to look for when they read your stuff.

And… If you can’t get someone who knows what they’re doing to read your stuff, then it’s time to spend a little money. Yup. The truth hurts but here’s the biggest secret of all…

Come up with a . Shop that around to regular people who go to the movies AND even those who don’t and see what they say about your idea. This exercise ALONE could save you a year’s worth of hard labor.

If it doesn’t work right away but the Goddamn thing , start tweaking. Go fucking CRAZY with that concept. Throw in as many elements as you can to twist it into something I will gladly pay $10 bucks to see.

On the other hand…

Who gives a shit if you have a ? I figure there must be thousands of well-written screenplays out there… Maybe HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS! So what?

What’s the POINT if nobody will make it? What’s the point if it’s not the kind of story that puts asses in theater seats?

I would rather read a poorly-written screenplay with a great high concept instead of a shitty concept wrapped around a well-written screenplay.

Why?

Because there’s a story that I want to see in that high concept. I don’t give three shits about the . She’s cute but she AIN’T THAT CUTE.

Damn Mystery Man, it’s 5:06 A.M. and here I am ranting about your post while my cursor sits here blinking at me underneath the Protagonist’s name…

Oh well.

You definitely hit a nerve but you’re right on target… We don’t discuss the craft enough. We don’t share ideas enough. We don’t pass on knowledge like we should.

But are WE really the problem? I only ask because I’ve been in screenwriter’s groups where it seemed as though none of the members except myself really cared about writing a great screenplay. God forbid someone give you a screenplay and you take the time and effort to make notes only to have those notes absolutely frowned upon.

Sheesh.

I’ve even tried the forum thing a few times… I’ve read a lot of screenplays and except for maybe three… COUNT ‘EM, THREE screenwriters, nobody ever takes the effort or the knowledge seriously.

So you bang your head against the wall trying to help because you get asked for help but hey… Does anybody even really want it? Hence the reason I blog.

I blog to help but I also blog to vent (like this) and even more important, I take my ideas about screenwriting and write them down so they make even more sense to ME and hopefully a few others out there in cyberspace.

I love the craft so much I can’t fucking sleep at night. I can’t watch a DVD like other people. I have to put my in stopwatch mode and time every structural moment.

Hey! I enjoy it!

I buy just about every new book out there. I read articles. I devour articles. I even buy old screenplay books off eBay for maybe… Just maybe… Another little scrap of information I can add to my .

Is it worth it? Oh hell yeah. I just wish I could talk more about it with real people. LOL. Unfortunately, all I want to talk about is screenwriting and most people find that pretty fucking boring.

So I blog. I blog to get it out of my system but it ain’t workin’. The more I blog about it the more I wanna blog about it.

And the less I rewrite.

Hmmm.

Any ideas out there? How DO WE create the ? Syd says we have already… LOL.

Do we create yet another bullshit forum where only a handful of members give?

Hmmm.

Maybe a forum with some interaction rules or you’re out on your ass? LOL.

Hmmm.

I’m ready to share. I’m ready to give.

And take.

Unk

Tags:




Wednesday: 27 September 2006|0406|Under Uncategorized

Print This Post Print This Post
 

Comments

13 Responses to “I think, therefore I blog…”

  1. moviequill on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|0520

    I created my blog expressly so I could read brilliant diatribes such as this. Every once in awhile someone tells me I have something valid to add to the discussion of screenwriting (thanks mom) but I’ll keep doing it if only to inspire someone who is about to step into the shoes I discarded last year.

  2. taZ on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|0723

    I’m really glad to read this post, cause it shows a pure love to the art of screenwriting.

    I agree that something needs to be done, and that you rule.

  3. Mystery Man on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|1343

    Unk,

    Thanks so much for your very kind post. Ya know, I’ve long suspected that you and I are two branches of the same tree. Hehehe…

    Like you, I’ve surveyed the entire screen-blogging community. While I certainly don’t mean to offend anyone, it’s really sad to me that we, as a community, are not talking to each other about the things we ALL love so much – movies & screenwriting.

    We say nothing because we don’t want to give anything away and – OH MY GOD – give someone else an “advantage.” Some reviewers on TriggerStreet will write the bare-bones minimum of 100 words in a review and say absolutely NOTHING because they don’t want to “give anything away.” What’s the point if you’re not going to talk about craft? Or there are screen-bloggers who think that the point of a blog is self-promotion, and therefore, would never consider a “shout-out” if someone else blogs something AMAZING, because hey, giving a “shout-out” to another writer might make YOU look bad. How flippin’ ridiculous is that? Are we still in high school or what? When you had the series on George Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations, every blogger in the community should’ve given you a “shout-out.” Period.

    For God’s sake, sharing what you know and praising fellow writers and exploring the complicated art of screenwriting VS. how well you are applying what you know are vastly DIFFERENT situations. Don’t you think so, Unk?

    SO sorry to post such a long comment. This is one of my many soapboxes.

    -MM

  4. AJ on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|1423

    Thanks Unk. I can’t tell you how much I dig your posts.

    I often wish I had a writing partner but finding a creative fit seems harder than finding a “soul mate.”

    That’s why I read screen writing blogs.

    I read quite a few and I totally appreciate the time you put into it. You consistently update with valuable insight and advice.

    If screenwriting blogs play a part in the “screenwriting revolution,” it will happen because of our focus on craft.

    That is why I troll.

    Thanks for that Unk.

  5. Unknown Screenwriter on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|1500

    Okay… I wrote all that at 4:00 in the morning this morning after trying to work on my rewrite but MM’s post got the better of me.

    But now here I am with a little sleep (very little), a cup of coffee at my favorite coffee shop, the cursor STILL blinking at me from underneath my Protagonist’s name and I still like the post in all it’s exhausted, stressed out glory. LOL.

    So what do we do about this people?

    Let’s hear it.

    Unk

  6. Mystery Man on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|1624

    This post has been removed by the author.

  7. Mystery Man on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|1628

    Unk,

    Every screenwriting blogger should start writing about what they love in movies and screenwriting. How do you get them to start doing that? I mean, hell, we’ve ALL paid the money to go to the Expos and read all the guru books. Surely, your curiosity hasn’t been satisfied yet. Those things BARELY scratch the surface. So what else about the craft interests you, that you want to study and discover for yourself?

    That’s why I love Unk and his blog.

    I’ll tell you what I’m going to do:

    - Continue writing a series on the Screenwriting Revolution.

    - Continue posting Miriam’s Movie Breakdowns.

    - I’m going to STUDY THE CRAFT on my blog. We just did a study on subtext in dialogue and we’re moving on to CHARACTER DEPTH.

    - I’m going to blog about every little thing I love about screenwriting and the movies.

    - I want to create forums for debate, too. We had a raging debate on my blog under the “New Spec Style” post about multi-protags. Everyone loved it. We need more debate.

    I’m hoping that by doing all these things, WE will inspire others to start blogging about the things THEY love that we are not talking about. Things we don’t even THINK to talk about. And THEN we will see an explosion of ideas and thought like never before. That’s exactly what happened with the film bloggers, and now there’s a revolution afoot in the art of film criticism and the very nature of how people discuss film.

    We should be so lucky.

    -MM

  8. Anonymous on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|1735

    Unk and MM,

    I’m with you all the way on this one. Right now my focus is on learning all there is about structure. Not just the traditional 3 act kind, but 4 act, 9 act, and any alternative structures.

    To be honest, the reason I follow blogs is to pick the blogger’s brain. Martel, August, Unk. I’ve learned something from each and everyone and I thank you all for sharing.

    Regards,
    Mike S.

  9. greg on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|1757

    Wow…

    Great site! Haven’t been here before - but I feel right at home. Comfy enough to take my shoes off…

    Thanks for stopping by my place - or I wouldn’t have found you.

    Now stop talking and start writing…:) that’s the real revolution - to finish product. Everything we do to help us learn is great - but writing is what separates the men from the boys.

    Love your site.

  10. Poke on Wednesday: 27 September 2006|2113

    Great post Unk — hit me in the gut.

    Poke

  11. pooks on Thursday: 28 September 2006|0605

    Thanks for a cup of steaming hot passion to start off my day.

    Now. I’m off to write something.

  12. The Film Diva on Thursday: 28 September 2006|2209

    My first visit and I’m wowed. My ass is ready to grab a pen and start stabbing folks…er, I mean writing all upside everybody’s head! Keep it coming. I started my blog to shake the cobwebs off my own passion after ten years as a suited minion in the evil empire and it’s made a huge difference for me.

    I can say this, for all the page loads and visits, I wish more people would reach out and talk to one another via the blog (maybe they are and I’m just too lame to know about it).

    Anywho, great blog, kick some ass, don’t eat any specious burritos.

  13. Anonymous on Friday: 29 September 2006|2024

    Wow. I always want to go write after reading your blog. You bring up great points- if I were to get even one full page of critisicm on my script, I’d be on the floor bowing with praise. Critism is SO essential to getting a brutal first draft into an average second, and then a supreme third. People who can’t accept critism in the script stage are in for a surprise when the final picture is playing in front of REAL people. Sheesh.

    I realized half way through writing my latest that even though directing is glorious and acting fun, screenwriting is the most fulfilling creative part of filmmaking. Which means I have to go out and buy some books… and keep reading this fine blog! Great rant, good stuff. Best of luck with the rewrite!
    _Spatula

Leave a Reply