Entitled

No, this isn’t a post on nepotism…it’s a post on…titles!

Since I’m working on a new pilot I’ve been thinking a bit about titles lately and what the heck I want to call my new pilot.

Titles are fun…but tough.  Sometimes you have an awesome title that inspires you to write something and other times you have a great concept and can write the whole thing but when you're done, you're still stuck with just Untitled.

What the heck do I call this thing?

This is clearly something writers struggle with at every level (baby and up).  Just looking at the recent pilots, several changed their titles (Rookies became The 2-2, The Rememberer became Unforgettable, Damage Control became Scandal, etc.).  Now, the reason for title changes for pros aren’t always creative…there are sometimes bigger (read: legal) reasons for networks and studios to change a title…but other times it’s just about trying to find that one perfect title.

Here are some thoughts I’m trying to keep in mind so I pick the best title:

Get specific!

I remember Blake Snyder mentioning this in one of his Save The Cat books.  He talked about the movie Four Christmases.  Sure, they could have called the movie Yuletide or Noel or some other generic word that evokes the idea of Christmas, but Four Christmases is specific.  He also mentions a fake title...something like Love or Money, as an example of the sort of title that presents a concept that is SO generic dozens of movies could have it.  You don't want that.

I agree that vague concepts make pretty mediocre titles.  I know someone who recently revealed a project they had been writing and the title they picked was SO generic it could have been for pretty much every other piece of writing in that genre.  My Significant Other also mentioned seeing a driving billboard the other day (one of those billboards on a truck) and it was advertising some YA book called Dangerous Children.  I couldn’t help but think this was a sub par title.  While I like the contrast of dangerous and children (you don’t usually think of children as dangerous) this was SO generic it could have been the title for a bunch of other books like Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, or ANY book where there are children who do something dangerous.  All in all this title tells me ZIP about what the book is actually about.

So yeah, get specific and pick a title that could only be for that movie/show/book…I like to use the “no other” test for this.  Imagine the title Humans Vs. Robots…could have been used for several existing sci fi works, but there is no other Battlestar Galactica and no other Terminator.  Likewise, there is no other Harry Potter…no other Hunger Games…no other Jurassic Park...no other Bridge to Terabithia…no other Great Gatsby…no other Ugly Betty…no other Gossip Girl…no other Gilmore Girls…no other Shawshank Redemption…no other Jerry Maguire.   Find that thing, character, element, that makes your script/book/idea/whatever special and unique…and if you can’t find one…maybe you need a new idea?

A little something extra

Another Blake Snyder tip I recall is that a great title will have irony, an unusual contrast, or a double meaning.  His prime example was Legally Blonde which is great because it’s not only a riff/play on words of the term "legally blind" but it also refers specifically to the story of a “dumb blonde” going to Harvard Law.

I think Mad Men is a great title for similar reasons.  Think of all the meanings you can get out of it…(Mad Men as in Madison Avenue men, as a play on the phrase “Ad Men,” and of course "mad" as in crazy).  Also, there are no other Mad Men…another reason it’s an awesome title.

Anyway, just something I’m thinking about…but I think it’s also wise to keep in mind that what you write is more important than the title.  There might be no other Gigli but that doesn’t make Gigli a good movie.  Likewise, plenty of acclaimed books, movies, and TV shows have done just fine with fairly generic titles:

The Killing (couldn’t any crime show be called this/or some form of this?)
Friends (could be the title for pretty much any sitcom)
Election (could be used for any movie with an election)
Pride and Prejudice (pretty much good for any romance/rom com)
War and Peace (that pretty much covers everything…right?)

But then again, for every Pride and Prejudice there’s also a Love Happens.

Serial Killer

Hola, and happy Cinco de Mayo!  Today, something I've been thinking about, and maybe you have too if you’re writing a new spec for this year’s upcoming TV writing program circuit (as mentioned yesterday, deadlines are fast approaching...be sure to check the list again, I had a few mistakes actually that I just corrected).

Specs can cause a lot of headaches.  Like I said in a post way back when, there are a lot of conflicting “rules” when it comes to specs.

“Rules” aside, one issue I always seem to hear fellow spec writers discussing this time of year is: how do I deal with spec’ing a highly serialized show? (like Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, and lots of other cool shows you might want to spec).  As a friend of mine recently summed up, “I wrote a spec for a really serialized show last year and a couple episodes later, everything on the show had changed and now my spec is worthless and makes no sense.”

Wrong kind of "serial."

Jane Espenson has written extensively about specs and this specific issue on her a-mazing blog (btw she advocates NOT constantly updating your specs, so don’t think that is the solution).  I suggest checking out her blog for real pro advice, but two tips I’ve run across/have been suggested in my baby writing circles that I think are most helpful when spec'ing serialized shows are as follows:

1. Write a “one off” episode.

A “one off” is an episode that could happen essentially any time in the show’s chronology/doesn’t have to come after the last episode that aired/you saw.  This is easier said than done with some shows, and honestly, no matter what, you will probably have (and want) to deal with SOME (or many) juicy serialized elements or current cool storylines of any show you want to spec.  However, instead of trying to play psychic with how all the mysteries of your favorite show will develop, try instead to introduce something new into the show (and I don’t mean “new” like new character or location, I mean new like new conflict or relationship between existing characters...something that hasn’t been extensively explored or even hinted at...yet).

OR

2. Write an “in between” episode.

This is when you pick two fairly current episodes of the show you want to spec and write an episode that occurs in between these.  Your spec might seem a little stale as the show progresses and characters change, get together, break up, die, move away, but technically your episode will always be valid.  Thinking this way might actually help you do #1 and create a one off idea since you won’t be as preoccupied with predicting your show’s future.

How do you edit a .pdf file?

Not all of writing is glamorous creative work.  Occasionally, a knowledge of the mundane or slightly computer technical is important.  One thing I have to do constantly for writing contests that require hard copy submissions/entry forms is edit .pdf files or make them editable (also, good to know if you ever have to prepare contracts for a production).

Sex:      Yes, please!      

Now, I guess you can always fill all those forms out by hand (ugh) or use Photoshop or Adobe Professional/whatever it’s called if you have it, but if you don’t, you’ll need a good free online .pdf editor.

My favorite one (i.e. the best one, duh) is PDFescape.  I like that you can go to the site and immediately use its services as an unregistered guest (so if you don’t want to sign up for anything you don’t have to) but I think I did sign up at one point because I wanted to store a form longer or something and I didn’t get any emails from the site or extra spam, so that’s good enough for me.

I’m sure some people feel iffy about uploading their forms to a site, but most of the things I have to upload are generic forms (like the blank ones already online that I download from a contest).  And, as far as editing on the site, I don’t have to edit directly on the site, in fact what I usually do is add the empty fields so the file is editable, and then download it back to my desktop to fill it out (although if I did want to edit a form I uploaded while still on the site, I’ve never seen a way I personally would have access to someone else’s files, but I understand the site might keep that stuff and people want their privacy).

While I know the site doesn’t have all the fancy bells and whistles some Adobe program has, it has what I need, saves me time when filling out contest submissions, and is really easy to use.  Not bad.

How to be luckier

I’ve talked about luck on here before.  Mostly, I think I've expressed my own belief that luck can play a role in a person’s (or writer’s) success, but only to a certain extent.  I think it’s one thing to get a lucky break, but quite another to take that lucky break and make something substantial out of it (let’s just say, I’ve seen plenty of people get “lucky” and land amazing jobs…only to be fired shortly after because they couldn’t handle the responsibilities).

They shoulda had one of these babies!

However you might feel about luck, I don’t think anyone would say they DON'T want to be lucky.  But how can a person "be luckier" (an oxymoron)?  Lifehacker ran an article yesterday called "What Lucky People Do Differently Than Unlucky People" that describes a psychological experiment I recognized immediately because it also appeared in Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers a couple years ago (see, I told you to read it already!).  Go ahead and read it again, though.  The experiment involves two groups of people, one that considers themselves "lucky" and one that considers themselves "unlucky."  Each group is asked to count the number of photos in a newspaper.  The lucky group, on average, completes the task in seconds while the unlucky group takes minutes.  This isn't due to the lucky group's superior picture counting skills, but due to the fact that most saw a message on the second page of the paper that said to stop counting and gave them the total number of pictures.

In other words, the lesson appears to be that lucky people catch a break (in this case) because they are more relaxed about the task and not so focused on one narrow thing that they missed a better opportunity.  This is a little hard for me to swallow.  After all, successful people have specific goals and get things done and I worry sometimes that if I don’t stay focused on specific tasks (like finishing a script) that I won’t finish anything.

But, I think there’s a balance to all this.  Like I said before, getting a lucky break and having success after that break aren’t necessarily one in the same.  Maybe it’s best to think about this luck stuff not in terms of tasks you WANT to complete/will be beneficial to you as a writer to complete (like writing your dang script) but tedious tasks you DON’T WANT to complete/don’t make you a better writer (like searching for a job, networking, and counting pictures in a paper).  So maybe the best advice is, be more relaxed in networking situations and don't try so hard to just pass your script along, and you might have the good fortune to make a friend who will help you more than a casual connection.  Or, stay open minded in your job search instead of focusing on one specific job or bust.  Or, just win the lotto already if you’re so lucky, jeesh.

Rebecca Black's "Friday" = Proof that comedy comes from pain

Comedy comes from pain…remember?  Here’s the proof…you know that Rebecca Black song, “Friday?”  Yeah, THAT song:

Well, it’s sold over 2 million copies on iTunes.  And why?  Because people think this massive trainwreck of teeny bopper pop is hilarious.  And why?  Because (it is hilarious) comedy comes from pain…nothing like seeing a pretty teenager totally humiliate herself with some terribly on the nose song lyrics (did you know that if yesterday was Thursday, today is Friday, and tomorrow...is SATURDAY!?) and ridiculous on the nose music video.  The popularity of this song reminds me of that movie, The Room….I haven’t seen it, but I'd bet it wasn't supposed to be a "comedy."

Anyway, not sure there’s a lesson in all this, unless that lesson is: if you want to do comedy, don’t try to be funny, instead, try to do something serious and fail at it in a spectacular and humiliating way.  Ya hear that all you people making “funny” “spoof” videos?  Cut it out and try to make something “commercial” and “serious”…you know, like that "Chocolate Rain" guy:

Or, just upload videos of kittens...or better yet BABIES!  Everyone loves babies (but not baby writers).

How do you become a successful writer?

I was talking to a group of industry peeps recently and we were debating how much talent, hard work, and luck all play in a person’s success.  There were dissenting opinions, but I was of the belief that all three were important to differing degrees and sometimes one can masquerade as another.  I might say “Oh, Jane is so lucky she got a writer’s assistant job this year,” but the truth is, Jane worked for 4 years as a PA busting her butt and it was the connections she made doing that job that got her the better job.  That’s not to say luck didn’t play a role…maybe Jane was lucky her PA job was on a show that didn’t get canceled after 5 episodes.  In the end, I’m of the opinion that luck exists, but it’s what we do with it that really matters, we’ve got to take advantage of lucky breaks (and know that talent and hard work are what will keep us employed after we get those “lucky breaks”).

Anyway, luck aside, all that talk about success made me want to write today's post, and wouldn’t you know, someone way smarter than me, Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. wrote an article for The Huffington Post I recently saw titled, "9 Thing Successful People Do Differently." Read the article, and read below to see some applications of what the article is talking about, as it might apply to success as a writer.

From Charlie Sheen's personal collection.

 1. Get Specific

I actually talked about this before when I mentioned my dislike for vague New Year’s Resolutions.  Give yourself a specific writing goal: “I will finish that zombie apocalypse screenplay by April” or “I will write that Mad Men spec to submit to the ABC Writing Program this year.” 

2. Seize The Moment To Act On Your Goals

In  that same old post mentioned above, I also talked about this when discussing whether writers should write everyday.  What this point is basically saying is that you need to take your free time (how much or little you have) and get to writing.  Tell yourself specifically, I will write for 1 hour after I get home from work, everyday…and do it!

3. Know Exactly How Far You Have Left To Go

This is all about monitoring your progress.  My Significant Other suggests dontbreakthechain.com as a good visual motivator to track that you’re doing that writing you promised, maybe you could also make yourself a spreadsheet or something that counts down to how close you are to being finished on that new script (i.e. 50 pages down, only 50 more to go).

4. Be A Realistic Optimist

This just means that we need to get it through our little baby skulls that this industry is tough (as if we didn’t know) but I think I know a person or two who got discouraged and quit when they didn’t find instant success, so I think there is something to this.

5. Focus On Getting Better Rather Than Being Good

I think this is about understanding that this is a journey not a destination (or something new agey, like that).  In other words, don’t think you’re going to work and work and one day wake up and say “Hey, I’m a great writer!” know that you can always improve your writing…I think having that sort of willingness and humbleness helps baby writers improve (instead of getting offended by notes or stubborn about changing the way they do things).

6. Have Grit

The article describes this as “a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty” so I guess it’s like number 4 in that no matter how many rejections your get, you should know that this wasn’t going to be easy, and just keep trying to improve…baby steps.

7. Build Your Willpower Muscle

This can be summed up as, “You want to be a writer?  Then finish your damn script already instead of watching repeats of Jersey Shore!”

8. Don't Tempt Fate

This is kind of the opposite of number 7 in that it’s saying, "Don’t burn yourself out."  Don’t try to write that novel, spec, pilot, and screenplay all at once.  One thing at a time...if you have Writer’s ADD like me, this is tough, but important.  While I don't think I ever worked too much on so many things to the point I “burned out” I definitely have spread myself too thin between too many projects and ended up with a bunch of half finished stuff.

9. Focus On What You Will Do, Not What You Won't Do.

When you focus on the negative all you think about is the negative: “Don’t smoke that cigarette, don’t smoke that cigarette...” leaves you obsessed with smoking that cigarette.  So, I guess for this, instead of thinking “Don’t watch TV, don’t procrastinate, don’t, don’t don’t…” focus on the stuff you DO want to do “Write for an hour after work.”

Also, while I don’t subscribe to/haven’t read The Secret or most self-improvement type books, I think one good thing I have heard that I guess the book mentions is putting out what you want into the universe (i.e. tell people what you want).  Makes sense to me (in a non-magical non-secretive way).  Who’s going to send you job offers or read that new script you wrote if they no one knows that's what you need?  The last time I was looking for a job, I emailed a bunch of former coworkers and put it up on Facebook, and guess what, people wrote back to me!  And not just the typical former coworker people…random people...from high school...who don’t live in LA but had friends of friends who worked at studios...and yeah a couple people sent me job offers.  Now, don’t abuse this practice by soliciting yourself too much (or posting a job ISO on a huge tracking board) you’ll just annoy people to the point of ignoring you, but do put yourself out there.  Sometimes if you want something, you just have to ask for it.

Planting and Payoff

Today, I’d like to talk about one of my favorite little screenwriting techniques.  You probably already know, but planting and payoff is just what it sounds like: the writer plants something early on in the script (it can be anything like a prop, a mundane skill the protagonist has, or even a line of dialogue) and then, later in the script, that plant pays off when the script recalls it (the protagonist uses that same mundane talent, prop, or line of dialogue to some amazing effect).

Wrong kind of planting.

I really enjoy planting and payoff because it’s like a little gift to the attentive reader/viewer.  Sure, you noticed the protagonist put that child’s toy in her purse or that they have excellent aim when throwing clothes in the laundry, but since it hasn’t been brought up for a while you’re totally delighted when the protagonist rediscovers the toy and uses it to distract that guard dog or when they realize their amazing aim translates to amazing zombie fighting skills.

Not only is planting and payoff clever, but it also makes a writer look like they know what they’re doing, that they’ve planned meticulously and are not just making it all up as they go along.  Also, I think using planting and payoff makes a writer more aware of when they’ve got extraneous stuff that doesn’t need to be there.  I mean, why show the protagonist’s weird talent or write: CLOSE ON: WHATEVER PROP if it isn’t going to matter later?

So yeah, planting and payoff...use it…wisely, I think having every little thing in your script pay off would generate more groans than pleasant “ah-has!”

The most important thing to get when you move to LA

In honor of my significant other who just paid off a car loan in record time, I’m going to tell you the most important thing to get when you take my advice and move to LA (if you don’t already live here).  That’s right, you guessed it…a working car!

Allow me to tell you a story.  Once upon a time, I had the worst car on earth.  It was well over ten years old when I bought it with a small amount of loan money I had squirreled away in college.  I needed the car on short notice to lug tons of heavy equipment for a class I was taking.  That car ended up being crazy bad (duh) but in my defense, it ran okay at first.

My old car...just kidding, this is way nicer.

Anyway, when the car went bad, it went bad fast and started breaking down ALL THE TIME. Right after college, I was working a night shoot and when I was driving home at 4 AM the car broke down on the 10 freeway (busted radiator).  Yeah, that sucked, and after spending mucho dinero (that I didn’t have) to fix it, the car never ran right again.  I was almost fired from a couple jobs after that when it broke down and I couldn’t make it in to work/I came in late.  On top of that, I was nervous to even apply for jobs knowing there was a chance I wouldn’t make it on time if I got an interview.

So, don’t come to LA without a working car or even a car that has occasional problems because I promise you, those problems will multiple times 1000 at the worst possible time (like on the 10 at 4 in the morning) and besides, it's way better to put your hard earned money towards a car payment for a reliable car than keeping your clunker on life support.  Also, like it or not, this is still a car town.  Even if you’re not commuting much (you will be) you still need to be able to get to interviews, meetings, and just from A to Z (sometimes on short notice).  So yeah, I’ll say it again, the most important thing to get when you live in LA is a working car, take the time to save up for one.

Music in scripts - "The Proposal"

Yesterday I mentioned a lazy and not so good way to include music in your script.  In general, I think dictating the moments where music isn’t in the world of the characters (they can’t hear it) can be dangerous because it’s a crutch for using the song to tell your story instead of actually WRITING it yourself.  Conversely, I think good uses of music are often ones where the music interacts directly with characters.

One example that comes to mind is from the hit rom com The Proposal where Betty White and Sandra Bullock's characters sing and dance to Lil’ Jon's "Get Low."

Betty White knows how to get low.

While attention is obviously paid to the song, the scene isn’t funny because the song itself is funny and the writer was counting on the song alone to make the audience laugh.  The scene is funny because the characters (a sweet Grandma and an uptight control freak) singing and dancing to a song with dirty lyrics is a funny contradiction.  One other good thing about this use of music is that if I read it in a script and I thought it was funny, I know the movie could use a similar song if they couldn't get the rights to this one. That's because the CHARACTERS are the star of this scene NOT the song itself.

Music in scripts - what NOT to do

Okay, so maybe I gave some mixed messages yesterday.  I said, “Go ahead, put music in your script, just remember there’s a big chance people will judge you poorly for it.”  Well then, allow me to point out good and not so good ways to use music in a script.  Today, the not so good…

I’d say the most cringe inducing use of music in a script (regardless of your personal taste in music) looks something like this:

MUSICAL MONTAGE - RICK SPRINGFIELD’S "JESSIE’S GIRL"

Bob watches longingly as Jessie and Jane fall in love.

I think the main problem is the song is working too hard while you are not.  By writing this, you’re saying: “I’m gonna take a break and let "Jessie’s Girl" tell you the story because I’m not a good enough writer to write a scene about a guy wanting another guy’s girl.”  Not that a "Jesse’s Girl" montage wouldn’t be great/funny/whatever, this choice just looks lazy. 

So, before you put a music choice in a script, ask yourself: Is this song doing the work my writing should be doing?  Am I relying on the song to tell my story or set a tone that wouldn’t exist otherwise?  If the answers to those questions are yes, I’d say scrap the song and focus on your WRITING instead.

Must...use..."Jessie's Girl"...can't...stop...myself.

You must watch..."Love Actually"

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Gotta show some love to one of my favorite films about love, Love Actually.  You should watch it again if you haven't recently, and if you haven't seen it yet, watch it first then read this because...SPOILERS!

I think Love Actually is the type of film that interests lots of baby writers because so many want to write movies with big intertwining casts of characters (easy to screw up).  I caught Valentine’s Day on TV the other day.  At first glance it’s very similar to Love Actually...a whole bunch of interwoven stories about a single (and similar) subject (even the posters look the same).

Faces of Famous Actors: The Movie

So, why do I love Love Actually but only felt lukewarm about Valentine’s Day?  Was I simply charmed by British accents?  Maybe...but I think it goes deeper than that.  One problem I had with Valentine's Day was that it often felt too on the nose.  Too many people just talk talk talking and saying just what they're feeling and blah blah blah…just blah.  Love Actually does a nice job burying potentially on the nose moments.  For example, the scene where Juliet discovers Mark loves her, the movies SHOWS instead of TELLS (Juliet sees the video Mark has taken of her wedding, and it's all of her).

Also, when people do tell someone exactly how they feel, Love Actually often buries the moment with humor or other obstacles.  For example, in the scene where Jamie proposes to Aurelia, he has to speak a foreign language to her riddled with funny subtitled errors.  So, instead of the audience groaning while he says all those sappy things, we’re laughing and completely charmed.  Next time you want to write a scene where someone has to do/say something on the nose (like confess their love) find a way to bury the moment.

Another good example of this is the ending of When Harry Met Sally.  First, the movie keeps Harry's on the nose dialogue short and sweet ("The thing is, I love you") then, when Harry has more in depth/sentimental things to say (all the things he loves about Sally) those words are buried by making Harry say them in anger.  In turn, Sally is pissed and crying when she responds.  The characters are basically acting the opposite of what they're feeling.  The result is a scene that could have been overly sappy or cringe worthy but is instead,  funny, romantic, and simply lovely.

Speech Control to catch typos

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to talk about the exciting things I’m writing this week…okay, I’m still working on my pilot, but since I'm nearing the point where I'll be passing it along for notes, I’ll take a moment to talk typos (I was also thinking about typos since Lifehacker just did an article asking for tricks to avoid typos).  Don’t you just hate when you proof and spell check and proof and spell check, only to later find you made mistakes that were hard to catch e.g. repeated words that spanned 2 lines, mistakes spell check won’t catch like then instead of than, an instead of and, or any of the your or its variations?

I’ve been proofing my new pilot a lot this week as my first draft finally takes shape (well, I’ll say it’s a first draft when I show it to people, but it will be more like a 5^th draft when I’m done fixing it).  It’s really important to me not to have distracting mistakes when I pass off my work.  For starters, I want anyone reading it to focus on content and not technical errors.  I will have someone who doesn’t prefer to make story comments (like my significant other) proof for punctuation and grammar, but there’s one trick I really like for proof reading.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who uses this, but if you haven’t tried it, I love the Assign Voices and Speech Control features under Tools in Final Draft.  I think the real purpose of these features is to have the computer robots act out your script for you, but I usually just set all the characters and descriptions to 1 monotone robot voice and have it read.  It’s amazing what mistakes a robot 3^rd party will catch that your eye just glossed over after hours of reading.  Also, the robot voice will help you catch run on sentences you’ve ignored, or even better, chunks of action description and dialogue that are probably too long.

Speech Control is my robot friend

Oversharing

John August had a great post earlier this week about waiting to share script ideas so you don’t get discouraged by less than enthusiastic responses.  I was happy to read this, I know Blake Snyder has a sort of different opinion (if I’m not mistaken, he basically suggests constantly pitching loglines and seeing what people respond to) but I’m with Mr. August on this one because I have first hand experience with sharing too early.  I told my friend who is a reader I respect about the spec I was going to write that eventually got me a finalist spot for a TV writing program.  He was very blah about my idea, but it ended up being the best spec I ever wrote, and thank goodness I didn’t scrap it right then.

I think the biggest problem with sharing work when it's still just an idea is that most baby writers aren’t very experienced pitchers so when we're in casual situations where we aren't ready to pitch we might give a bad pitch OR when people ask us what we're working on in these types of situations, they only take notice when our ideas are really out there.  I mean, if I told you I was writing a movie called Zombie Rainbow Butt Rockets that might get your attention, but if I said I was writing a psychological drama about a troubled ballet dancer you might think…ballet dancer?  BOOOORING!  But, I’m pretty sure Black Swan is a way better movie than Zombie Rainbow Butt Rockets.

On the flip side, I think you must share your work and get feedback when you have something to show (John August mentions around 20ish pages).  Being too secretive about projects will turn you into that person who thinks your work is too brilliant to have a logline or too complicated to explain, which is just bogus.  Think of it this way, how will Tom Hanks possibly intro a montage of your Best Picture nominated masterpiece at the Oscars if the plot of your movie can’t be condensed into about 20 seconds worth of description?

The simple joys of sharing.

Save the pilot!

It’s 80 degrees in January and as much as I’d love to be playing outside, I’m inside trying to finish my new pilot.  I stopped for a while this week to finish reading a couple novels I’m sure I’ll talk about at some point (and to work on a novel I’m also kicking around...that old writer’s ADD).  I guess I was also feeling a little discouraged by the pilot and had to set it aside because it’s waaaay too long (ah to be J.J. Abrams and get 2 hours for a pilot…not that my family drama needs 2 hours but I could probably use it). 

Anyway, I know I’ll get through it, and make the cuts I need to make, but I think what’s harder than running too long right now is feeling a little lost at the end of my episode because my original outline falls apart a bit near the end (i.e. it degenerates from lovely little summaries of each scene in each act to a list of things that I know happen in roughly the right order in the last 2 acts).  And didn’t I just mention how important outlines are?  Well, they are, and this proves it.  Shame on me.  Now, here I am, stalled on finishing my first draft because I have to go back and fix the original outline. 

But, let’s not dwell on that.  Instead, how about some resources for writing an outline?  Don’t know how to write an outline?  Everyone has their own preferences, but I think the library section of John August's site has some excellent outlines of his own work (film and TV), and if you’re a baby screenwriter and haven’t heard of Blake Snyder’s Save The Cat  beat sheet you really should check out that site (and read the book!).  Not that a screenplay has to hit every single Save The Cat beat right down to the page (I’ve heard some people say they dislike this because it’s so predictable) I still think it’s a great resource for anyone starting out who needs that guiding hand to get through a screenplay (and isn’t that all of us, at some point?).

Bad networking types - PART 2

And now, the dramatic conclusion to yesterday's post on bad networking types!  Here are a few more people everyone dreads running into at a mixer.  Take note, and try not to fall into any of these categories.

Debby Downer

Some people (like Woody Allen) can be down on themselves or self deprecating in a way that’s adorable, even lovable, or simply in a way that doesn’t make you want to ditch them for whoever is on the phone...“Excuse me, I’ve gotta take this.”  But, the majority of us can’t do this well.  I’d say this is the type of bad networking personality I fall into the most…and I totally hate when I do.  Try not to be a Debby Downer.  Maybe you want to downplay accomplishments and ambitions so you don’t sound braggy...that’s fine, but putting yourself down makes people uncomfortable and diminishing yourself makes it hard for people to get to know who you are and exactly what you do.  Likewise, if you got laid off, your girlfriend left you, you got passed over for that promotion you deserved, and you just can’t get a break, try not to dwell on it too much.  If the person you're talking with tells you "sorry" or "that sucks" more than once during your conversation, that's a bad sign.  It’s cool to say you’re looking for a job and you need help.  Some people don’t know to offer help or don’t want to insult you by offering help if they don’t know you need it.  I think the key is seeming upbeat while still serious and not self loathing or pitying.

The Drunk

I actually don’t mind the drunk too much.  Sometimes The Drunk is fun or does something hilarious.  Honestly, they probably hate these things as much as I do...but avoid being The Drunk or getting the reputation for always being The Drunk.  Save The Drunk for your birthday party, Vegas, or not when you’re meeting a bunch of potential work associates for the first time.

The  Town Gossip

When you come face to face with a bad networking type it’s important to handle yourself gracefully.  As much fun as it is to pick on all these types, it’s best to vent your feelings at home…alone...on your blog, and not at the actual event.  Don’t put down or gossip about other people within earshot of them (or to their face…I’ve seen that happen too).  You never know who you might be speaking to when you gossip away.  Even raised eyebrows and rolling eyes are bad.  I know it can be tempting to bond with other people over how much you HATE the drunk guy, the braggy bragster, little miss brown noser, or the aspiring actress who keeps handing out her headshot, but try and restrain yourself.  Resist the urge to become that person because, they often come off worse than the people they're gossiping about.  It might seem okay to pick on someone while you’re laughing it up with a couple people who seem to agree with you, but honestly, if we’ve just met and this is my first impression of you, I always wonder if you’re not going to make fun of ME when I turn my back.  Why would I want to trust or help someone like that?  While you're out networking, focus on being the best YOU can be and not on critiquing the performance of the other networkers.

Bad networking types - PART 1

I’ve stressed connections several times on this blog already.  As a result, I think networking can be an essential part of "making it" in Hollywood.  I’m not so great at networking (99.9% of people will tell you the same thing when you meet them in networking situations, then immediately tell a story that doesn’t have to end with “and then I found $5” to be interesting).  

Whether you’re good at it or not, I think when most people say they’re bad what they really mean is they dislike doing it.  And why shouldn’t you?  I have some good friends I’ve met networking, but there can be a certain air of phony baloney to Hollywood networking ("let's do drinks!").  Like speed dating, it can feel weird to have to "turn on" your personality.  Also, I think there are certain types of bad networkers who make the experience extra uncomfortable.  So, to help you on your quest to be better networkers here are some of my least favorite networking types.  Try not to be these people while networking, okay?

My New BFF

Without a doubt I meet this person at every industry mixer I go to, and without a doubt, they are always full of it.  For example, two minutes after meeting if I mention that I’m loving Friday Night Lights my new BFF will say they ALSO love Friday Night Lights (maybe true), and that we should TOTALLY have a watching marathon at their place (never gonna happen) then ask for my name (which they already forgot) so they can “facebook me” and set that up.  Don’t do this, please.  We just met.  You might not even like me…I’m pretty sure you don’t.  Then, when we meet again at some point you’re gonna have to say something dumb like: “Oh man, I’ve been so busy, we’ve gotta have that TV marathon…uh…what was your name again?  Sorry I’m terrible with names!”

The Kiss Ass

Most people will say “I hate brown-nosers,” but let’s face it, everyone loves to be complimented, and we enjoy it so much that we don’t always realize when someone is doing it in a way that’s insincere (it’s always easier to spot when it’s happening to someone else, right?). I think the kiss ass is most obvious when you meet them and they’re a sour stick in the mud, but when you mention something that they latch onto (like you have a job they want to have) they suddenly become another person.  Or, they are super social and flutter around the room like hummingbirds looking for that sweet sweet nectar that they like (which is anything they think can help them personally) and if you've got what they want, they will ditch the person they were just enthusiastically chatting with to start talking to YOU…and worst of all, they will be so darn flattering you might not even care what a kiss ass they are.

The Bragger (AKA The One Upper AKA The Name Dropper)

This person is tough because they can often hide under the guise of having a “big “ or “fun” personality.  They’re just so darn excited, they can’t help but talk about themselves and all the amazing things they’ve done and the people they know!  It’s like they’re on a non-stop sales pitch and the product is THEM.  You’re a writer?  So are they!  They just finished 5 screenplays one of which was a semi-finalist for the Nicholl.  You went to film school?  They went to film school too!  Perhaps you’ve heard of their Oscar nominated student film?  You’re from New Jersey?  No way!  They once lived in the Himalayas where they not only discovered an injured yeti, but also nursed it back to health.  It’s great (and important) to list and be proud of your accomplishments while networking, but it's no fun being around someone who seems to think the universe revolves around them.  Pepper in how great you are, otherwise it sounds like you’re putting other people down or that you don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself.  You might not, but don’t make it so obvious, okay?

Wow, I think I could write a whole blog on bad networking types, but I’ll spare the preaching and limit myself to one more entry for now…stay tuned for tomorrow's post when I'll talk about some more bad networking types, including the one bad type I constantly fall into...

WTF is my script about!?

As I write this (earlier in the week) I’m still working on my new 1 hour drama pilot.  On my new blog schedule, I’ve reserved Fridays to talk about my own writing, so here I go.  Let’s see...I’m on page 51, which probably sounds like I’m close to finishing, but I’ve got over an act still to write so a major blood letting will happen once I’m done.  I see myself having to cut down several scenes I like, and just plain cutting a bunch of stuff I outlined…no wonder I've been procrastinating this!  

But, cutting down is nothing new for me.  If you can’t tell from the blog, I tend to be long winded when I don’t have a page limit to hold me back.  I’m used to deleting my precious words (or cutting and pasting them to use another time).  It’s amazing what setting something aside for a week will do.  I might think I can’t live without a scene now, but next week I’ll be brutal and say: “Wow, what was I thinking?  DELETE!”  I think the biggest changes will have to come in my first act.  Of course, trying to put all my puzzle pieces together just how I want is taking more space than I want.  Right now, my first act is 22 pages, which wouldn’t be so bad if my show only had four acts, but it has five (plus a teaser) so that’s too much...especially since I’m just a baby writer.  I’ve seen a lot of pro pilots around 60-65 pages, but I figure for a baby, a little shorter is always better.

Anyway, yeah that’s where I am, but I’d be making no progress if I hadn’t outlined the episode before I started writing.  That leads me to a short but amusing article I read on Lifehacker.  Outlining/making a beat sheet/breaking your episode/writing a logline...all that sort of groundwork is ESSENTIAL (I think) to a writer (especially a baby writer), but I know a lot of people don't enjoy it.  I know people who feel like they’re dumbing down their complex ideas when they create a logline, or that they’re sapping their creativity by tying themselves down with an outline...for me, I sometimes think I just suck at it (especially loglines).  So,  if you want to make the process more fun, read the article.  It basically says that asking yourself short, profane, and confrontational questions about your work can elicit shorter/focused and more convincing answers.  I think that’s just the type of useful feedback you need, whether you’re in the early outlining stages, or are pitching your finished script to someone.  So try it, ask yourself: “WTF is my script about!!!???” and see what you get.

Malcolm Gladwell - advice for aspiring writers

In a previous post I expressed my enthusiasm for Malcolm Gladwell's book, Outliers, and cited that book's 10,000 hour rule as a good reason why you should write daily or put more hours into your writing.  

Last week, Big Think released a short video where Gladwell gives advice to aspiring writers (click the link to see the video or read the transcript).  The basic gist of what Gladwell says (or all of what he says since the video is only about 2 minutes long) is that writers and creative types in general need to learn to embrace chaos and not edit themselves.  In contrast, a surgeon probably shouldn't let his/her mind wander too much while in the middle of a procedure.  Simple enough, makes sense, and I can totally understand how over-editing yourself might keep you from writing something great/new/totally original.  

The only problem I have with Gladwell's advice is that it's pretty general (understandable, it's just a short video) and I'm left with more questions than answers.  For example, how does letting your mind wander connect with the reality of having to produce a product?  I mean, it's great to brainstorm, have a vivid imagination, not throw out any idea as it comes to you, but at some point it IS necessary for a writer to focus and complete a project.  

Maybe I'm over analyzing this, but it's a problem I struggle with personally.  I think I have a sort of writer's ADD where I endlessly start (but don't finish) projects and I think it's partly because I always have tons of half baked ideas floating around.  Since I don't focus and embrace chaos TOO much, it's easy for me to put projects aside and say: "When I know how to end that, or when the inspiration strikes for how to write that scene, I'll do it."  But it doesn't always happen, or I'm not thinking about it because I'm on to something new.  Maybe continuing to embrace chaos while making more time for writing will allow me to both keep all the ideas I get (or save them for later) while giving me more time/space to complete projects.  Like how a room full of monkeys typing into infinity might eventually produce Hamlet, me typing into infinity might eventually produce a finished script...or something like that.

Seacrest, out!

Okay, time to buckle down and finish the first draft of a new 1 hour pilot I set aside last month.  In the spirit of writing pilots (or specs) I thought I’d take a moment to stress the importance of nailing your act outs.  Act outs (or act breaks) are the moments that come at the end of your teaser/cold open/acts that make your viewers want to stay tuned during the commercial breaks.  Having physical act breaks is one of the big differences between writing features and writing TV.  Network TV is made possible by sponsors, so if you’re flipping away at the commercial to another station/don’t care about what happens after the break, you’ve lost your audience (and your ratings, and your show).

Act outs are not to be taken lightly.  Most 1 hour dramas used to only have 4 acts, and maybe a teaser.  Now, networks are adding more commercial breaks which means most new 1 hour dramas have 5 or even 6 acts (and sometimes a teaser, too!).  That means...more act outs!  You can’t just gloss over/ignore these moments.  You MUST have them.  Don’t think you can just write a script where stuff happens whenever you want, cut it into 5 equal parts, and assume you have a show with 5 acts.  

A common act out is a cliffhanger (House’s patient just went into cardiac arrest, will he live or die?  Find out, after the break!).  Some shows have fewer life and death moments, so act outs are trickier/usually more about emotional beats.  But, even family dramas have cliffhangers.  I really enjoyed the show Everwood when it was on, and at the end of the teaser/prologue in the pilot we see Dr. Brown setting off with his family for the town of Everwood after his wife’s death (What’s in store for Dr. Brown and his family in this new town?  Find out, after the break!).

I think the popularity of certain cable shows (and popularity of spec'ing certain cable shows) makes learning to write act outs harder since many of those shows either don’t have commercial breaks, or are written without act breaks (like Mad Men).  That doesn't mean you don't need those moments in your script, but I think the omission of the visual cue (END OF ACT ONE) can mask when you're lacking such twists and turns.  If you’ve only spec’d cable shows, or shows without act breaks, I’d HIGHLY recommend doing a network show next so you can practice this skill (and I think it IS a skill...it's not exactly a piece of cake to come up with 7 unique and dynamic moments to place at the end of a teaser + 6 acts AND still write something great that's only about 50 pages long).  

So, how do you know if you have a good act out?  Well, I think one way to answer that question involves the #1 show on TV.  That's right...American Idol.  If you're ever working on a pilot or spec and find yourself feeling iffy about you act outs, think of that moment when Ryan Seacrest says something like: “The next person voted off the show is…going to find out, after the break!”  Ask yourself, "Could Seacrest take my act out and send us into commercial?"  If the answer is yes, then I think you're probably in good shape and can act out accordingly.

Should writers write every day?

As we get further into January, it becomes sink or swim time for any 2011 resolutions.  I'm not a big resolution person (I think they're usually too general or nebulous like "lose weight" or "be a better person") but I do like to have a few concrete goals for myself at the start of each year.  For 2011, one was to start a blog (check!) while another was one that most baby writers make and break yearly: to finish several projects I'd started...which really translates to the more general/nebulous resolution to "write more often."  This brings me to the somewhat divisive question I recently discussed with another baby writer and one that I think baby writers discuss all the time: Should writers write every day?  Luckily, I think I have the answer, and that answer is YES...SORT OF.  Let me explain...

I think the whole “writers should write daily” axiom can come across as a little bogus when pros say it to baby writers.  It sounds better to tell an eager baby, "Yes, write every day" than to say, "Well, yeah, I try to write all the time, but sometimes I just play Mass Effect and Madden all day."  Furthermore, I know for a fact some pros don’t write daily (on the flip side I know many who do).  And, how much are you supposed to write every day if you do write daily?  And, what about days you write a lot?  Do those balance out days you don’t write at all?  And does writing a blog count even if it has nothing to do with your screenwriting? (please say it does). So now that I’ve raised a bunch of questions and haven't explained anything, what was my point?

Well, I’m a big fan of the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (my friends tell me I’m kinda obsessed).  Anyway, the book throws a lot of ideas out there, but the one that really stuck with me was that practicing your craft can be equally if not more important than natural talent or ability.  Gladwell gives examples of “outliers” in certain fields like the Beatles, Michael Jordan, and Bill Gates, and talks about how all of these "outliers" had tons of meaningful practice in their respective careers before they made it.  This introduces the 10,000 Hour Rule...you've probably heard of it, even if you haven't read the book.  The rule basically says you need to practice your craft for 10,000 hours before you can reach the level of expert.

Now, there are plenty of people who want to dispute and nitpick this rule, but considering all the success stories Gladwell mentioned, let’s assume for a minute that he's right (or that we at least want to emulate the success of those people).  So then, let’s say you decided (or only made time) to write for an hour a day, 3 days a week (basically every other day...pretty common among some baby writers I know).  At that rate, it would take you 64 years to get your 10,000 hours and become an “expert.”  Ouch.  If you change that number so you’re writing 1 hour every day, that number goes down to about 27 years, and if you can manage nearly 3 hours a day or 20 hours a week, that number goes down to around 10 years.  

So, what does this mean?  Well, even after dedicating as many (unpaid) hours to your writing as you would to a (paid) part time job, it still takes years to reach that expert level.  Now, the good news for writers is you probably didn’t write your first word today.  You’ve likely had hundreds of hours of practice through school and your own enjoyment, already…but if you never make time to write (despite life or a busy work schedule), it’s gonna take a long long long time to get to that 10,000 mark (if you EVER reach it). 

So, let’s all resolve to "write more often" (every day or several hours once a week if that’s what works best for you) oh, and to read Outliers if you haven't, because it's awesome.