What FASCINATES YOU?
No offense but I keep getting emails from readers asking me about a certain concept they want to write about.
About 95% of the time I end up YAWNING…
Why?
Because the concept they try so hard to explain to me is not the kind of concept that’s going to put asses in theater seats.
It’s as simple as that.
Sure… I know there are a number of you out there writing the next great drama about a historical figure… Fine. Do it. I wish you luck as a matter of fact.
But somewhere in that historical drama better be a HIGH CONCEPT.
I’m sure most of us know what HIGH CONCEPT is but just in case you don’t know or are not quite sure…
A HIGH CONCEPT for a movie is an idea that can be explained in one sentence and EVERYBODY GETS IT.
In fact, I would go so far to say, that the person you explain your high concept to should be IMMEDIATELY filling in the blanks of the story before you finish your one sentence.
That’s high concept.
If your story is too specific toward a character or event that nobody knows about, then there better be something HUGE within that story that you can use in your high concept explanation.
On one of my MANY backburners, I have my own historical figure story… I researched the HELL out of that character for months because I think it’s an important story and needs to be told… However, I kept banging my head against the wall because I couldn’t find the high concept within the story.
Then one day at the library… Reading a very obscure book that’s not even about my historical figure, I find out that my historical figure was so renowned in his conquests that the people he conquered loved him so much that they cut off his legs so he could never leave them.
BAM! There was my high concept. Only problem… It happens at the end of the story and it’s not the kind of thing you want to include in your logline because then, there is no surprise… But not a problem, I have since figured that out and created my high concept logline that everyone will get about this idea. I wish I could share it but alas… The internet is just a little too informative if you know what I mean… LOL.
My point here being that the story and this character FASCINATED ME. Everything I read about this character made me want to read more. At times, I found myself wondering what it would have been like to be him.
So what FASCINATES you? What makes you sit up and take notice? Whatever that THING IS, might be the very thing you need to write a screenplay about. This is where passion comes in and often, passion is passed on through to the written page… Even if you’re a newbie trying to break in with your spec.
To take this further… You’ve got to find OR create the HIGH CONCEPT in your idea and eventually, your screenplay so that you’ll be able to explain it to me in one sentence. I also want to start filling in the blanks of your sentence before you’re finished telling me about it… I want to be able to conceive your concept on my own. In fact, whatever I come up with in my own mind doesn’t even have to be in your screenplay! That’s right… All your idea has to do is slap the shit out of my synapses and then my brain will do the rest…
Then of course, I will WANT to read your screenplay and that’s what it’s all about, right?
I keep talking to screenwriters writing a spec horror screenplay only to tell me that the reason they’re writing it is to hopefully make a sale because horror is hot.
That makes ME want to slap the shit out of their synapses… LOL.
DON’T DO THAT!
Don’t do that unless horror (or whatever you’re writing) is your PASSION!
I also run into writers who want to write in every genre… They don’t want to be pigeonholed into a type of genre so they experiment with the others…
Uh, okay. Go ahead. You’re making it easy for guys like me to specialize in thrillers and horror. I would personally rather be known as the GO TO GUY (don’t worry, I’m not but I’m working on it) for horror and thrillers rather than the guy that was able to write ten different so-so specs across ten different genres.
Don’t get me wrong… I’m not telling anyone NOT to write across genres… I think it’s our DUTY to learn about all the genres but ya know… It’s taken me YEARS to learn about thrillers and horror and I still don’t know everything… I’m learning new stuff every day. I cannot imagine trying to learn every aspect of all the genres right now.
WHY?
Because I LOVE horrors and thrillers. They are MY passion. I could die happy writing nothing but horrors and thrillers. Maybe that will change one day… I don’t know but for now, I have my hands full with these two genres.
Which brings my rant to screenplay contests…
First of all, I have nothing against these contests. Go for it if that’s something you want to pursue but let me ask one simple question…
Are you writing screenplays to enter screenwriting contests or are you writing screenplays to eventually sell and have produced?
For those of you that answered “to enter screenwriting contests” –cool. Keep writing and good luck with that!
For those of you that answered “to sell a fucking screenplay” –keep reading…
I think the biggest crime of these screenwriting contests are how they perpetuate the IDEA that screenwriters trying to break into the business do not have to come up with a high concept idea. One day about a year ago, I did a couple of hours worth of research to see what kind of screenplays were winning contests… By and large, most were small little character driven stories. A lot of them were local historical figures.
By and large, 99% of these screenplays haven’t been made into films.
By and large, 99% of these screenplays haven’t been sold.
There, I said it. To add fuel to the fire of this conundrum, many of these winning screenwriters are still churning out similar screenplays and wondering WHY nobody’s interested.
I will be the first to admit that these types of screenplays will definitely serve as writing examples but to be honest, I wouldn’t want to be known as the GO TO GUY for writing a passionate screenplay about a local historical figure without a high concept.
Now, I’m going to DUMP the last bit of gas on this fire…
This problem just perpetuates itself. By that, I mean that these are the very same screenwriting contests that almost seem to PENALIZE those screenwriters that do have and submit a high concept screenplay i.e., they don’t win, place, or show.
Of course I’m not naive enough to lump in every screenwriting contest out there but again, by and large, this seems to ring true.
Bottom line?
Now maybe I’m wrong so please feel free to slap the shit out of my synapses if I am…
But with the proliferation of screenwriting contests out there and of course the screenplays that win, are these competitions simply perpetuating non high concept screenplays that will never get made let alone sold?
Do other newbie screenwriters research these contests and winners and relegate themselves to writing similar fare?
I don’t know… I’ll let you figure it out for yourself…
What fascinates YOU? Find out what that is and then find or create the HIGH CONCEPT within that fascination.
Unk
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14 Responses to “What FASCINATES YOU?”
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I just discovered your blog. I love your analytic thinking and clear writing style. I keep getting ideas to use in my high school English class, as well as my own (blocked) writing. Will be back for more. Thanks.
What FASCINATES me? I guess — speaking genre — COMEDY. I love trying to figure out how to get people to laugh — each person is different. When I first thought, “Hey, I could do that.” it was watching a comedy.
BUT writing comedy is hard — especially feature length comedy (anyone can write a one joke short). I have three back burner comedy screenplays — none of which I would ever let anyone read. It’s sad to read your own comedy and not laugh. I guess I should stop calling them comedies and start calling them tragedies.
Is there something I did wrong? One thing I can point at is definitely HIGH CONCEPT — all three of the back burner comedies/tragedies lack a true HIGH CONCEPT.
Here’s a question I’ll toss out — not only to Unk, but to all my fellow readers:
Could it be said that if you don’t strive for a HIGH CONCEPT screenplay, your script might not work even if it’s in a genre that fascinates you?
Poke
Poke,
NOT AT ALL! Just about any kind of screenplay WORKS if it’s written well… Especially if it’s your passion.
But to reiterate…
I’m talking about SPEC screenplays from screenwriters who have not yet sold or have been produced.
When you’re in this boat, the numbers are already against you so why increase those odds?
Save those well written NON-HIGH CONCEPT ideas and screenplays for when you’re established and can MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!
Maybe I’m looking at it differently… I consider myself an artist but let’s ALSO say I’m an artist and a REALIST.
Many many many small, NON-HIGH CONCEPT films are made all the time and they are outstanding. Backtrack the majority of these sucesses and you find out that the players involved have already done things.
For every CLERKS and EL MARIACHI there are hundreds (if not thousands) of LONESOME JIMs. Now LONESOME JIM might very well be a great little film (I have yet to see it) but let’s just say that it AIN’T MAKING NO MONEY.
Having said that, look who directed it… Steve Buscemi. Somebody who can make things happen.
Let’s also say that every once in a while, even those of us that have been doomed to live by Murphy’s Law, are occasionally, blessed with LUCK.
So does that mean that because somebody out there makes it with a NON-HIGH CONCEPT screenplay that we too can make it?
YES and NO.
Yes because if it’s been done at least once, it can be done again.
No because of the numbers game. Maybe NO isn’t the right word actually but a NON-HIGH CONCEPT screenplay certainly increases your odds of not getting a sale.
All writing is good experience and should always be looked at as such…
I take NOTHING away from the writing.
However, if you want to make a sale, it is, in my humble opinion, just as important to play the odds and handicap your writing just like a sports bettor handicaps events or a horse bettor handicaps horses.
Why do something that could INCREASE your MAKING A SALE time? So you can be a true artist?
Bullshit.
If you truly want to do this as an occupation, HEDGE YOUR BETS and make the smart play i.e., find the HIGH CONCEPT in your idea and make it happen in your screenplay.
Where you don’t SELL OUT is IN THE FUCKING SCREENPLAY! Make that baby full of twists and turns and unpredicable events. Write as no other has ever written it.
Make a few sales and then make yourself a LONESOME JIM. Budget: $500K — Current domestic GROSS: $154,187.00
*NOTE: No disrespect to Steve Buscemi at all! Lots of reasons why this film has yet to turn a profit… But what if it had been a high concept film? This probably didn’t even matter to Steve because he believed in the script and thought this was a story that should be told…
Unk
just how do you expect us newbies to even get a shot though? I know nobody in the biz, unsolicited query letters are even worse than playing the Poweball lottery, I doubt a Prodco assistant or agent is going to find my blog etc etc. Some of us can only use the contests as a marketing tool
MovieQuill,
Notice I didn’t say NOT to enter contests but what do you enter? Most of the screenplays that WIN are never sold or produced. They can certainly serve as writing samples…
I suppose one could write several CONTEST SCREENPLAYS… Then, when you get some meetings with prodcos, agents, and the like and they inevitably ask, “What else ya got?”
Hand over your HIGH CONCEPT screenplays.
Unfortunately, the plethora of screenwriting contests are in it to make money but even the prestigious competitions usually do not select commercially viable screenplays as winners.
I just tell it like it is… Better to know now, don’t you think?
Never kill the messenger who’s trying to tell it the way it is… LOL.
Of course there’s always the tried and true method… Write at least three great screenplays… Submit the one that you feel is SECOND BEST.
Submit to Inktip.com and get yourself the Hollywood Creative Directory and start sending emails and making telephone calls.
It works… I’ve made a ton of contacts from doing just that… One of my contacts showed a SPEC to a producer and a month later I made a sale.
I’m already in the works for writing a second script after I complete my current rewrite.
It all comes down to the writing.
Having said all that…
If you still want to write NON-HIGH CONCEPT SPEC screenplays, then you’ll still want to target producers that make those kinds of films ALONG with submitting to competitions.
I personally think that’s the much harder road but if that’s where your heart lies and you don’t mind a lesser payday, go for it.
Unk
Do you think there’s a value in writing some non-high-concept screenplays (e.g. character pieces, indie-style scripts) as well? Or should an unknown spec script writer focus solely on the high-concept scripts?
I’ve completed four scripts, and I’m working on outlines for several others. One is a high-concept action/adventure, one is a high-concept comedy. The others are indie scripts, very low budget character comedies. I’ve found that there’s a lot to be learned from writing a variety of styles.
You want to have some high-concept scripts to pitch to the big ProdCos, but it seems to me that it’s worthwhile to have other scripts that could be produced on a very low budget by independent film companies. And maybe other scripts could be used as writing samples or contest fodder.
I guess by trying to write scripts that vary widely in terms of style, budget and scale, I’m hoping to be able to cast a broader net when I try to catch my first sale someday.
Good strategy, or should I just stick to the high-concept Hollywood-style scripts?
I’m on board with you unk - don’t confuse high concept with expensive. There’s no reason a high concept movie has to cost a bazillion dollars.
It just so happens that when you get that high concept idea/script, you attract the biggest names and they have the biggest salaries.
One of the best high concept ideas I know is Bruce Almighty. That probably cost a bit, but most of that budget had to be the cast.
The big deal about high concept is that when you’re selling to Hollywood, they’re looking mostly for films that will make all their expenses back plus a profit. In order for that to happen, the idea has to be able to be recognized and understood quickly, be interesting enough to make you want to hear/see more and be able to be marketed.
Hollywood has enough established folks who will make their “small” movies. There are plenty of indie folks releasing their “character” pieces, so unless you’re in one of those boats, I wouldn’t focus on the character piece unless it’s for contests or your own desires.
I’ve seen the same thing about contests winners. One of the things you can do is see who is judging the contest you’re entering. Some of them have current producers, directors, etc. and getting good writing of any kind into their hands can lead to something else.
Also, look for contests that offer notes. At least then, regardless of what you enter, you’ll get feedback for the price of entry - which is often decent and cheaper than paying somebody for notes.
Dave,
Good stuff… Thanks.
Unk
[...] One of the older posts here talks about writing what FASCINATES YOU. Let me once again shout this out at the top of my virtual lungs… [...]
GOD BLESS all readers/writers:
Plot is a major importance.
Plot is a huge thing to a writing . . . and drifts the story along or else . . . there is no
seeming way for the characters to go.
Intro: I love flawed characters because they are real characters. They can be introduced by a line or a certain action *which can be funny or whatever the writer puts to paper*
The starting and rising action. This will be the protagonist (and/or antagonist) who are people who may be in a positive or negative portrayal.
The RISINg action is what the people want or dream or think they know is happening. They will express their “opinions” and tell it like they see it. And the ACTION part are the events that take place and show a type of conflict. The rising action is the heightening tension or the coming of a big event (THE CLIMAX).
And the turning point or the climax can be a twist or a turning of the tables (i love those; it shows a writer’s gift for their love of writing).
Then there is the place of turmoil of the people revealing how they truly feel (THE GREAT GATSBY) and it goes inevitably to its conclusion (the Denouement: Pronounced DAY-NOO-MAH). Then there can be the conclusion which could be the tying of the strings or may be the edge of the reader’s (or watcher’s) seat.
I have had great teachers (who loved writing).
If one has a t.v. to watch here are a few good films to see (or read if you like to put the SUBTITLES ON).
The Second Chance (may be at Borders; don’t know).
CRY_WOLF (pg-13 version is good. Who is the innocent sheep and who is the Wolf in Sheep’s clothing?).
There are many interesting figures that I adore:
-People that have a story (maybe yours).
-People in the history far (Paul of Ephesians and Galatians,etc., the books of the Disciples of Christ and what they went through, Kings that ruled and kings that REALLY ruled,) (The Trojan horse made of wood).
-People in more recent history (abolitionists, Presidents like Lincoln and Jimmy Carter, the thing that many leaders go through which is praise and blame, Chinese history, current events like Iran and Afghanistan’s influence, Satellite dishes that can send info afar,).
_people who wrote books and told what they went through (Frederick Douglas, Sandra Cisneros which is iffy as it seems more poetic than autobiographical about the House on Mango Street).
-Fantastical stories (C. S. Lewis, film of recent Katherine Paterson, Films of J. R. R. Tolkien)
-Films with a sometimes hard message but good in life (Christians and others who started not knowing the lORD_).
THERE IS A FILM that critic Leonard Maltin gave three and a half stars out of four (!) and I wonder if one or others have seen it. It is The BOURNE IDENTITY. I saw it in the theaters and it will throw you out of your seat.
There are two movies on Leonard’s list that I want to see (but they may be rare). One is called Skins (2002) about two Sioux Native Americans and the other is an old British film called The Hidden Room (1949) and it is a story concerning a possible killer.
I am also amazed that Jesus has taken the time to be a part of my life. I owe all to Him and can never give enough.
John 3:16: For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Will one day make a blog. Sorry Unk, that I write so much on yours.
:)
A question to all and Unk.
Who has ever wanted to write a James Bond screenplay? ANYone?
To poke: I love how comedy in movies causes people to react in the theaters in any genre. It is great to see it still in other movies.