My goal for this weekend was to hit page 60 of my script. Granted, I’m primarily re-writing from page 40 on, so the task didn’t seem that challenging (I started writing around this time last week). However, when I sat down to write Tuesday and essentially got nowhere, I realized that I couldn’t just plow on ahead like I normally do. I was being held back by something, something very important; I had changed the nature of my protagonist fairly dramatically, setting up a very dark past for him, and I was having trouble advancing before fully fleshing that out and reconciling it with the existing pages.
To see that typed now, the problem seems obvious. Of course I couldn’t write 50 new pages with a drastically different protagonist before addressing Act One and the first part of Act Two. What’s the saying? “If you’re having Act Two and Act Three problems, the solution probably lies in Act One.” Sometimes, you just have to re-learn the old lessons through trial and error.
I thought I could achieve what I needed to before doing too much digging into my protagonist’s past. A tweak here and there to Act One – his past catches up to him in Act Two, but remains largely hidden until then – and I would be good to go. But something was still nagging at me, something telling me that what I had was… incomplete. In fact, the first scene that I sat down to write involved a flashback to one of the darkest memories from my protagonist’s past. There was no way I was going to b.s. my way through it, so I did the only thing that I knew would help me move forward – I wrote a character backstory.
Normally, I don’t tend to put too much about my characters down on paper. I did it in the outlining stage of another project I was working on, and I did a tiny bit in a general outline for this one, but I avoided specifics. I thought that the “gist” would suffice. Obviously, it didn’t, because when I was staring at that FLASHBACK transition, I had no idea what to write next. I set aside the script for a night, opened Word, and pumped out a page and a half about my protagonist’s previous life, detailing who he was and what he tries to hide from his life ten years ago. And once that was done, I felt like I’d made the breakthrough I needed. It was the most elegant piece of writing, and it probably won’t all make it into the script, but it was essential to my work. And, now that I’ve done it, I can move forward with him further into the script.
Logline Central is an irregular segment that takes a deeper look at loglines of scripts or projects that have just been purchased, as listed on DoneDealPro.
Right off the bat, this logline intrigued me.
This week’s logline comes with a big ole WTF.
Title:Violet and Daisy
Logline: Described as a “Thelma and Louise” meets “Superbad” and “Pulp Fiction.”
Writer: Geoffrey Fletcher
More: Wendy Finerman will produce. Geoffrey Fletcher will also direct. Carey Mulligan and Saoirse Ronan will star.
If you’re thinking about sending query letters and looking for logline models, do NOT use this one. Geoffrey Fletcher just won an Oscar for his adaptation of PRECIOUS. His logline could just have read, “I won an Oscar for Precious a month ago."
It’s one thing to compare a couple movies – in fact, that happens all the time. “Bill and Ted meets JurassicPark“ gives you an idea of what you can expect (in this case, probably something about a couple stoners who somehow get zapped back to the time of dinosaurs; cue high jinx). In order for that to work, though, you A) usually still need an actual logline (where you give a brief description of WHO has to do WHAT and WHY) and B) should stick to two movies that people can logically piece together.
I can see how Superbad and Thelma and Louise can maybe go together. But throwing in Pulp Fiction raises too many questions for me to comfortably get behind this, if this is all the info provided. Mind you, I’m trying to think like an Acquisitions Exec here, and the titles just don’t mesh enough for me to think, “Yeah, I could see that; this sounds promising. I should read it.”
When you’re comparing your spec to other work out there (and by NO means do I imply you have to do this in your queries – I never did), stick to just two films. And in order for the example to be a successful one, choose two films that people can see the relationship between.
That said, I’m sure VIOLET AND DAISY is about something and not worth writing off just yet. However, don’t let that “logline” be the example you base yours off of when querying agents and production companies.
This past week held a lot of firsts for me. For one, I had my first ever play reading, which was both nerve-wracking and exciting. I have a day job in the Off and Off Broadway theatre industry, and one of my coworkers is an actor/director who wants to start his own theatre company some day. One day, we were heading to a work event and got to talking about his plans – which at that point consisted of little more than wanting to do a reading of a play – and I mentioned that I had a play sitting in my drawer from a couple years back. He asked to read it and quickly decided to get a reading of it going. I spent some time tweaking it in December and then again in February, and he managed to nail down a cast about two weeks ago. Of course, we probably shouldn’t have planned a reading for Good Friday, but it still went off pretty well.
Having worked in New York theatre for over two and a half years now – and been around it during school for four years before that – I wasn’t new to readings. I was new, however, to having my own material read. We had a rehearsal on Wednesday, which was the first time that I’ve ever had a full length piece (or actually anything longer than a one act) read aloud since high school. I didn’t quite know what to expect going in; I knew that the play read alright on paper, but that was about it. The beginning was a bit shaky, but the seven actors involved (one of them a 9 year old kid) got into their roles pretty quickly, and I calmed down in no time. On Friday, we did the play for a small audience – about 15 people – which was exciting. I remembered how much I dislike hearing my material read before an audience (something I’ll have to get over) and how difficult it is for me to sit still during it. Afterward, though, we had a Q&A that lasted longer than we’d expected and wound up being really successful. People were into the play and debating amongst themselves certain points I had intentionally left open to interpretation. None of the comments indicated a lack of clarity about the story or poor writing, which was great.
The next morning (Saturday), I had brunch with the executive from the production company we’re working with on my post-Apocalyptic spec. It was actually pretty weird timing that she wound up coming to the City last week. I had just emailed my manager to let him know that I have a bunch of vacation days to use up before the end of June and to see if he wanted me to reserve any for LA. While it’d be great for me to get out there, he said that the best time to take meetings would be after I finished the script. The next day, I found out that the executive was boarding a plane for NYC for a number of meetings and that she would be in touch to try and meet. We had sent her an outline for a proposed new draft of the script, and we were also eagerly awaiting her feedback on that.
So Saturday morning the executive and I grabbed a cup of coffee at Dean & Deluca in midtown. In case you’re wondering what to wear to something like that – I actually did some reading beforehand on proper meeting attire for these situations – I wore a polo shirt, Converse sneakers, and jeans. Pretty casual. It was also nice out, so I didn’t have to worry about a jacket or anything. Granted, this was an informal meeting with someone that I’ve been on phone and email with a lot in the past few months, but still – a first impression. Coffee lasted about an hour, the first fifteen minutes of which was us talking about a show she’d seen in town, my play reading (which I had invited her to), and my background as a writer. Then, we dug into her notes on the outline I had submitted, which she had responded to via email a couple days before. I was in agreement with her on almost all of what she said, but I did have questions on where she was coming from on three points, so we discussed those.
All in all, I’d say it was a pretty successful meeting. Of course, there were a few things I wish I had done a bit differently. I hadn’t anticipated talking about my other projects (for some absurd reason), so when she asked what else I had, I informally pitched a few that I would probably not have mentioned had I prepared a bit more for that. Not to say that they’re bad projects – I want to get back to them both – but I’d have gone with other ideas over one of them in particular. At one point she asked me if I had questions about the production company, and I kicked myself for not having asked first. Luckily, I’d done my research, so I could ask about different projects they have in the works (one of them I wish I’d known had fallen apart). Still, it was an hour very well spent, and I think we’re in a good place with the script. She’s excited about it, so are my producer and manager. Now it’s just up to me to write the thing (again).
April is Script Frenzy month, and to help kick it off and spread the word, The League recently had the chance to ask Program Director Jennifer Arzt about the month long challenge. For any of our readers who are new to Script Frenzy, the Frenzy is a writing challenge issued to any and all writers who wish to participate. Entrants are asked to try to meet a goal of writing 100 pages of original scripted material in 30 days - screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome. There is no fee to enter Script Frenzy, nor is there any penalty for not hitting the 100 page mark. The goal is to motivate people to write, and here at The League, we think that's just the bee's knees.
Hi Jennifer, thanks so much for taking a moment to speak with The Screenwriters League about Script Frenzy. What a great program! Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration for this event - whose idea was it and how did it first come about?
Thank you for having me!
In 1999, Chris Baty started National Novel Writing Month, which has since grown into the largest writing competition in the world. Chris founded the nonprofit Office of Letters and Light in 2006 to run National Novel Writing Month and launch new events. In 2007, the curtains rose on the very first Script Frenzy.
I'm very excited for our fourth year! We already have thousands more writers signed up this year than in 2009, and the registrations are still going strong.
This is a really unique program compared to all other competitions and contests. Script Frenzy is so much more about a writer's challenge with him or her self than with other entrants. How has the response been from writers so far (both this year compared to others and in general)? Do you find that the program has helped a lot of writers get words on the page?
It is unique especially when compared to a competition or contest because there are no prizes per se. It is a challenge. The competition is between the deadline and the writer.
As far as I know, most participants' response to this is very positive. I think folks like having the deadline to keep them motivated. It also works as a great excuse to skip out on other events, cleaning, and errand running.
I've seen it really inspire first-time scriptwriters to fall in love with the form. And, I've seen it rekindle a love of writing in Hollywood professionals who had become burned out by working on scripts for other people.
Thousands of writers win the challenge every year. Even those who don't win report writing more during Script Frenzy than they otherwise would have.
So, 100 pages in a month. What a great challenge. How did you settle on that, and do you find that most participants accomplish that goal (or at least something close to it)?
100 pages is the average length of the typical feature screenplay.
In Script Frenzy's first year, the goal was 20,000 words. The idea was pulled from our sister event, National Novel Writing Month. It was quickly apparent that counting words just didn't fit the screenplay format, so we changed the measurement to pages.
Each year about ten percent of participants cross the 100-page mark and thousands come close.
We have a total-page counter on the website (it appears on April 1). It is really exciting to see that number start exploding upward. This year, there are already more folks signed up to take part a few days before April 1 than at the end of last year's event! I'm excited to see how many total pages are written this April!
How does Script Frenzy track writers' progress throughout that month? Do you ever get to see the finished products that people submit?
Every person who signs up gets a profile page. Each day writers track their progress and can keep track of how consistent their writing has been by checking their chart.
They can also check the status of their writing buddies. It is amazing how motivating it can be to see a buddy jump ahead of you.
I get addicted to the page-count bar on my profile. I keep the website up when I'm writing just to see how far I've both come and have to go.
We never read what gets submitted for verification at the end. Participants upload a PDF, a supercomputer robot counts the pages, verifies the total pages, then deletes them. Because there are no “best scripts” singled out, we don't need to do anything other than count. With two exceptions...
There is a place in every profile for a script excerpt, but this is completely optional.
Also, at the Headquarters wrap party, we string up clothes lines and folks pin up a few pages that they want to share. The grand finale of the party involves a few members from the very funny improv group Killing My Lobster performing a page or two (with no rehearsals!). It is side-splittingly funny and not to be missed! This year our wrap party will be in San Francisco on May 8.
Is there anything else you want people who are considering participating to know?
You have nothing to lose. Honestly. Script Frenzy is free and is designed to get you writing. That's it.
Script Frenzy starts on April 1 and ends on April 30.
It is one month out of the year that you get to devote to your writing. I look forward to it every year, panic when it is just around the corner because I'm not ready, and then dive in anyway on April 1.
There's really no downside to a challenge like this. And the great thing is that Script Frenzy is run by people who are all also writers, correct? Have you learned anything about your own writing and cinematic pursuits from running Script Frenzy?
You're right! There is no downside.
I am a filmmaker and a writer. I fell into writing by accident when I was trying to make movies. I found that it is hard to direct something that isn't there, so I started writing. It is mostly free and doesn't require a crew, a distributor, or an audience–yet.
Even though I was fully committed to writing, I was still having a hard time getting to the end of the first draft. I would find a plot hole in the middle of Act 2 and go back to fix it. When I returned to the middle of Act 2, I would see that a character would have been better set up a different way. So, I'd head back and rewrite. I just could not arrive at the end. But when I finished my very first full-length, beautifully flawed script with Script Frenzy, I learned that all first drafts are meant to be first drafts. They are meant to get done, be read by friends for feedback, and rewritten. I knew that “writing is rewriting” but it took me actually getting there to really understand it.
So as you know, The League is dedicated to helping other aspiring writers launch their careers by sharing our experiences while trying to start our own. Is there anything else you want to say about Script Frenzy or writing in general, that our readers might like to know? Any advice?
(I'm also still trying to get something huge, wonderful, and career-launching off the ground, so take my advice with a grain of salt.)
In a nutshell, my advice is: Write until it's done, then celebrate what you've done before starting the next thing.
Once you've started a story, spend time with it every day. Every. Single. Day. Don't let it slip out of your hands, or out of your subconscious. Creativity works in funny ways. I'm not doctor, but I can tell you that your subconscious works to puzzle out what it's currently involved with. So, let it work for you. I can always tell how good of a job I'm doing by how many awesome ideas pop into my head while I'm in the shower. If I've been away from the story for a few days, those moments just don't happen.
In an industry where so much is dependent on things that have nothing to do with the quality of your script (who you know, did a similar story just get picked up, did the economic climate hit the next ice age), take time to celebrate getting a script done–no matter what happens to it next. Finishing a screenplay is a huge accomplishment. A lot of people set out to do it and never cross FADE OUT. Just getting to the end of your story is worthy of champagne, confetti, and a high-fives.
Thanks Jennifer. This is a tremendous program. Kudos to you and everyone on the Script Frenzy team from everyone here at The League!
To join Script Frenzy or for more information, go to www.scriptfrenzy.org. Happy writing!
A few weeks ago, I learned that I'd be diving back into more re-writes on my post-Apocalyptic spec after working for a couple months on a draft that we had turned into the Production Company we're working with. Of course, I was disappointed that my time and effort went without the reward of a sale - or at least a big move forward - and that was no surprise to my manager, producer, and the exec at the production company. In order to ward off any other undesired pages, we all agreed that I wouldn't write another page until I produced an outline that we were all in agreement on.
Last Thursday, I sent that outline off to my manager for his approval after working on it with my producer for some time. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, in no small part because I think it's much closer to what the production company executive wanted. Still, I have no idea whether this will be the final outline that they greenlight for me to write a script off of or not. In fact, I would put money on having to make at least some small changes (I would do this for no other reason than that I've learned to be at best cautiously optimistic about everything; were I not, I'd have gone completely mad by now).
I know that writers sometimes debate the merits of outlining. When I was still in school - and thought that a sale would instantly follow the completion of a script - I tried to convince myself and my professors that I didn't outline, because I didn't need to. It wasn't my "process." I liked to find out where the story went and allow it to take me along for the ride. As I got older, I realized that's a bit crap. Sure, I don't always outline. However, I do not universally brush off the merits of it. Outlining can be a great process and (had I shared the outline with the production company back in December) a time-saving one. at least with this go-around, I know that the structure will be agreed upon before I set out to put one more word down on paper, and then I can just focus on producing pages as quickly as possible.
One of the things that has become increasingly jaw-dropping to me is how different the script has become in the two and a half years of its existence. I'd always heard stories about how drastically a project can change during development (and had joked accordingly that some studio head would one day try to make my post-Apocalyptic thriller a romantic comedy), but this is the first time I've experienced that for myself. Of course, this is the first time I've actually gotten some major interest in a project. Without a doubt, this is at least the fourth major incarnation of the draft (by that, I mean different characters, plot, and story structure). I've been happy - in varying degrees - with each version, and I enjoy this one just as well. Still, it's undeniable that this script would not make the same movie as my first draft (or second, or third). The project has evolved, not always for the best. I just really want to cement the draft that we shop around and try to make some bigger waves with it soon.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the MPAA's notorious NC-17 rating, a designation whose checkered history continues. It all began when, for some reason, the MPAA failed to copyright its "X" rating, which recommended that no children under the age of 17 be admitted. Regular, even prestigious movies could earn an X rating, like Midnight Cowboy and A Clockwork Orange, and no one would blink an eye. But then the porn industry (legally) stole the X and started using it as a marketing ploy, even going so far as to invent the "XXX" rating, for (presumably) extra-naughty movies. Years later film critics like Siskel & Ebert, recommended an "A" rating for "Adult," which would come somewhere between the "R" and the "X," but the MPAA -- in their infinite wisdom -- came up with the NC-17 (no children under 17), which was the equivalent of the "X."
The full article is quite interesting, and breaks down a list of the most notable NC-17 films of the last two decades. (Tanking at the box office is a commonality most of the films share.)
I feel that most of my own spec scripts would just graze a light R-rating, were they to be produced. Maybe. What do you think the hardest rating a piece of your writing would garner?
The Screenwriters League recently had the privilege of interviewing screenwriter Gordy Hoffman (Love Liza) about his writing and his work founding the BlueCat Screenplay Competition. Founded in 1998, BlueCat has grown tremendously in over a decade. In addition to boasting a top prize of $10,000 and four Finalist prizes of $1,500, BlueCat offers something extremely valuable (and unique, as far as competitions go) to every person who enters - written screenplay analysis! Whether a writer takes home the top prize or not, screenplay analysis is an incredibly useful benefit (and well worth it - many professional consulting services charge more than the cost of entering this competition).
Gordy had a lot of great information for writers about entering screenplay competitions, the BlueCat Competition and his goals to help emerging writers, and about pursuing screenwriting as a career.
Thank you for agreeing to speak to The Screenwriters League about your writing and the BlueCat Screenplay Competition. As you know, our site is dedicated to chronicling the journey from unknown to produced screenwriters, so to start things off, can you tell us a little bit about how you got into writing? Did you have any training in it when you wrote your first play? How did you break in professionally?
I did not have any training in writing plays. I wrote poems and stories from my first memories, and my experience acting since I was a child oriented me towards plays. I did write and direct and star in a short film when I was eleven! Shot on Super 8. So the impulses have always been there.
I started mounting my own work when I lived in Chicago in my 20's, but I did not get paid until I moved to Los Angeles and someone gave me a few thousand dollars to write a script. Then came LOVE LIZA.
Can you talk a little bit about Love Liza (DVD Alert for all you readers who haven't seen it)? What inspired you to write it and what was your process while doing so? When did your brother become involved?
I was a cab driver in Chicago for 3 1/2 years. I saw many things and wrote down many ideas. One of these was "normal guy huffs gas." So one summer, I started to write this story, imagining what might propel a man to do such a thing. After I wrote the first draft, I was home on Labor Day weekend 1996, and my brother was home as well. I thought I had written something special so I showed it to him. He told me he wanted to play the part of the man. This was the start of our process towards what you see today.
When did you decide to launch the BlueCat Competition? What prompted you to spearhead such a large undertaking and what were your goals setting out? What was the attraction to helping writers break into the industry and why did you feel able to help them?
I always had an idea to start a screenplay contest. Maybe I thought it could be profitable, wow, that was wrong! Ha! But very quickly, I got the wonderful rewards of helping other writers. I became a stronger writer in the process, it led me to teaching at USC, and now I'm directing a screenplay written by a writer who submitted ot BlueCat. So it's changed my life, and made me richer, in the best way.
What have been your experiences managing the competition so far? Can you talk a bit about what you have learned about running a competition and other "insider info" about screenplay competitions our readers might find helpful?
Writers need to be themselves and write stories from their own imaginations and lives. If people were able to read submissions to a screenplay contest, they would quickly realize how much borrowing is done from movies already made. If they knew this, they would realize they better follow their own voice, or they're gonna sound like everything else!
The competition has grown tremendously over the years. How do you guarantee that each submission receives equal consideration?
Every screenplay that enters BlueCat receives a written analysis. How do I guarantee my taste will match each and every reader I employ? We cannot. It's all subjective, people. Reactions to your work are simply the opinion of one human being. It doesn't count for much, in the end of the things. But what we do is give you something to think about, and that's why people keep coming back. BlueCat is a pioneer in providing feedback to writers.
BlueCat offers a great service to its entrants in the form of written screenplay analysis, something that is unique among screenwriting competitions. Why was it important to you to offer this extra service?
It's important for us because it supports our mission of helping develop writers and it establishes our integrity as a contest. Our process has yielded very successful results. I hold our alumni up against any other competition! This is due to our commitment to give each and every writer intelligent, challenging notes for every submission to our competition.
When are the submission dates for the next BlueCat Screenwriting Competition? What other advice can you give to people who are contemplating submitting or have submitted but have not yet taken home the grand prize? What are some of the most common red flags that people can easily avoid when submitting this time?
Our Final Deadline is soon, April 1. Make sure the proofread your work very carefully, the readers tend to be distracted by typos. Most importantly, if you don't feel like it's ready, don't send it in. Learn to give yourself notes, and don't submit because it's easy. Submit because you're ready for someone to look at your screenplay.
What – if anything in particular – has set past winning scripts apart from all other entrants, in your experience? You spoke briefly about writers establishing their own voice. Is there anything else that really helps a script stand out?
Trust what you care about when you write. You might not think what you love is going to be good enough for a story, or it won't be commercial, or help your career. Ignore these fears and have emotion for what you create. The winning scripts have always made me cry or laugh out loud. If this doesn't happen for your own work, you're probably not going to win BlueCat.
Looking at the state of the industry for a second, I think that it’s a pretty daunting time to be an emerging writer, just like the Leaguers are, just as people who are submitting to competitions often are. We hear a lot these days about development freezes, giant mergers, and less activity for writers across the board. As someone who is active in the industry, do you have any insight into the situation or advice to people who are hoping that BlueCat (and other avenues) might be their key to breaking in during these difficult times? Is it really that bad a time to try to make it as a screenwriter?
People simply are only buying the best stuff now. I don't think the market's dried up, the standards are simply higher. So okay scripts with great conceits won't sell today, as they might before. The bar has been raised on what will sell, but the great compelling script that sold a few years ago will sell today. In short, we need to write better scripts.
Thanks for all the great advice and information, Gordy. Is there anything else you would like to say about BlueCat, writing, Hollywood, or anything not related to any of the above?
Please stop focusing on getting an agent and write more often. This is the best way to achieve your dreams. Create today.
The Screenwriters League is a collective of NYC-based writers sharing their experiences as they build their careers from the ground up, and hoping to impart any knowledge they gain along the way.
