Screenwriting is a job, and its job you have to do every day. I have to admit that I don't write every day but I do continue to write a book about my now completed IT career, which was very challenging.
To be honest its been a very tough process even getting an agent, and I have been quite amazed at how impossible a hill this new profession has been to climb. I have learned a great deal over the past year, but I need to know much more.
So how did i start to learn this craft. First I read many screenwriting books and there are quite a few below and they are valuable for screenwriting tips and screenwriting ideas. Feel free to select the ones you like below which will take you to Amazon.com. I also got a few reviews of my first screenplay entitled "RB" on FIVER, which is a website where you pay 5 dollars for a small task and some advice. I have been both impressed and very disappointed at some of the results of my five dollar reviews. I also see many movies every year and i have also started a blog about my movie reviews. In my many years of seeing many movies i am always stunned at how many bad movies are made when you consider how hard it is to break into the field as either a screenwriter or actor or director.
I have also entered a few screenwriting competitions, the best one I have heard about is BLUECAT. Its important to research and find out which ones are the best ones, because you don't want to waste your money. Screenwriting is hard work and there is no magic bullet. Keep writing is the secret. If your inclined, perhaps a screenwriting school would be something you would want to try.
Showing posts with label getting an agent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label getting an agent. Show all posts
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Thursday, October 9, 2014
SCREENWRITING SUCCESS
There is nothing easy about breaking into this business. The first challenge is getting an agent, and even that is difficult.
I have written 3 screenplays so far, my first is entitled RB - for Running Back. Its a story about a young man named Jay who was an exceptional athlete in high school and was a stand out running back on his high school football team. Unfortunately in his senior year he gets hurt and all his dreams of College and the NFL are lost on one play. Ten years later what could have been haunts him as he goes through life in his boring job and it even affects his relationship with his girlfriend.
It turns out that his biggest fan in high school is also a great filmmaker and he puts videos out on YOUTUBE showing Jay's greatest breakaway runs in high school. These videos make getting over the past much more difficult for our hero and then the other player who caused Jay's injury gets out of prison and that leads to a climactic ending.
Jay's last name Franklin is the name of a good friend I met on my last ever contract in IT, Roland Franklin. Unfortunately Roland passed away back in May at only 48. It was a horrible shock.
During the last year I have gotten screen coverage for my script, which I don't recommend because its mostly about paying people to review your script and things don't go anywhere after that.
What I have done is probably the best and cheapest current way of at least getting some feedback about your work. Try www.fiverr.com and pay five dollars to have part or all of your screenplay critiqued by someone who has some experience and expertise with the art of screenwriting.
Screenwriting has been called the most difficult of all art forms to master.
As I have heard from others so many times; keep writing and creating every day.
I have written 3 screenplays so far, my first is entitled RB - for Running Back. Its a story about a young man named Jay who was an exceptional athlete in high school and was a stand out running back on his high school football team. Unfortunately in his senior year he gets hurt and all his dreams of College and the NFL are lost on one play. Ten years later what could have been haunts him as he goes through life in his boring job and it even affects his relationship with his girlfriend.
It turns out that his biggest fan in high school is also a great filmmaker and he puts videos out on YOUTUBE showing Jay's greatest breakaway runs in high school. These videos make getting over the past much more difficult for our hero and then the other player who caused Jay's injury gets out of prison and that leads to a climactic ending.
Jay's last name Franklin is the name of a good friend I met on my last ever contract in IT, Roland Franklin. Unfortunately Roland passed away back in May at only 48. It was a horrible shock.
During the last year I have gotten screen coverage for my script, which I don't recommend because its mostly about paying people to review your script and things don't go anywhere after that.
What I have done is probably the best and cheapest current way of at least getting some feedback about your work. Try www.fiverr.com and pay five dollars to have part or all of your screenplay critiqued by someone who has some experience and expertise with the art of screenwriting.
Screenwriting has been called the most difficult of all art forms to master.
As I have heard from others so many times; keep writing and creating every day.
Things I have learned so far
Of all the things I have learned from screenwriting so far in my young career, the most important probably is "Keep on writing".
I have completed 2 screenplays so far and I am still working on my 3rd, unable to come up with a great ending. They say you should work on something else and then go back to your other screenplay when your stuck, so right now I am working on the book about my career in Information Technology which is entitled "Because of the Money".
I found this web site that preaches just that, called Keep Writing and its worth looking at, if only to keep you inspired.
As far as dealing with agents, one thing I found it is - never ask an agent what movie or movies he has been involved with. One agent in particular actually hung up on me - twice when I dared to ask him about this resume.
As far as script coverage services, I have found in my one experience that its not worth it. Your better off going to fiver.com and pay only 5 dollars for some good feedback and advice.
Screenplay contests are OK, but you have to find the right ones. Look at the Keep Writing Web site I mention above for more information about the ones to enter. One of the good ones is BLUECAT, which I entered some months ago.
Some ideas I have found over the past year is that if you have writers block then write anything, you can always go back and fix it later. Be prepared for many re-writes before you are completed with any play or screenplay. Neil Simon wrote his first play "Come blow your horn" no less than 26 times, with each re-write including about 120 pages before he was completed. I highly recommend Neil Simon's biographies, because both of these books talk about his writing career as well as his challenging personal life:
Rewrites: A Memoir
The Play Goes On: A Memoir
I also found something interesting about some ideas about making a short film.
Short Film Ideas
I have completed 2 screenplays so far and I am still working on my 3rd, unable to come up with a great ending. They say you should work on something else and then go back to your other screenplay when your stuck, so right now I am working on the book about my career in Information Technology which is entitled "Because of the Money".
I found this web site that preaches just that, called Keep Writing and its worth looking at, if only to keep you inspired.
As far as dealing with agents, one thing I found it is - never ask an agent what movie or movies he has been involved with. One agent in particular actually hung up on me - twice when I dared to ask him about this resume.
As far as script coverage services, I have found in my one experience that its not worth it. Your better off going to fiver.com and pay only 5 dollars for some good feedback and advice.
Screenplay contests are OK, but you have to find the right ones. Look at the Keep Writing Web site I mention above for more information about the ones to enter. One of the good ones is BLUECAT, which I entered some months ago.
Some ideas I have found over the past year is that if you have writers block then write anything, you can always go back and fix it later. Be prepared for many re-writes before you are completed with any play or screenplay. Neil Simon wrote his first play "Come blow your horn" no less than 26 times, with each re-write including about 120 pages before he was completed. I highly recommend Neil Simon's biographies, because both of these books talk about his writing career as well as his challenging personal life:
Rewrites: A Memoir
The Play Goes On: A Memoir
I also found something interesting about some ideas about making a short film.
Short Film Ideas
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