Why choose to write scripts?

[kitt]

I was just wondering what made everyone here want to write screenplays, as opposed to other writing outlets.

I write screenplays because it goes along the way my brain actually writes. I'm a big idea person. I'm horrible at writing long narrative descriptions, it annoys me because I just want to get to the actual story. The whole "start a scene as late as possible, end it as soon as possible" really works for me.

[whistlelock]

That's a maxim for any sort of fiction writing, not just screenwriting.

And I prefer screenwriting I love movies.

[kitt]

Yea, I'm a movie buff too. Bad movie, good movies, sappy stupid movies- I watch them all. It's my addiction. That and writing, yet another reason why scriptwriting does it for me.

[Jolie Blon]

For me, it's about time and effort.

I write novels and scripts: scripts provide a greater monetary reward for the least amount of effort (pages).

I got a $30,000 advance for a novel that took me seven months to write. I got $75,000 for a script that took one month.

I like movies; I love books.

Interestingly, my book agent is seeking to sell the film rights to one of my novels. Maybe I will be assigned to write the script -- no one would know since I don't write my novels under the name I use for screenplays. :D

[Celia Cyanide]

For me, it's just passion. When I was growing up, all I could ever see myself doing was being a novelist, because books were all I knew. Now I'm older, and that is not the case. I realize that my passion for film is much stronger, now that I've taken up acting, and I have a much stronger desire to write screenplays than books.

[Kosh]

I actually write other stuff; I think I'm better at fiction because I know how to convey emotion better without naming the emotion.

[golfaddict68]

I was brought into writing because I'm an actor that has not made it yet and it seems to be the only way to get access to material that I like and I'm pretty much guaranteed to play without an audition!

I've read so many crappy indie scripts and edited five crappy indie films that were made from mediocre scripts and I thought... I can do this better! In fact, as an editor I realized that my ideas after the fact, during editing, if recognized during filming would have made the project much better if only they were there during shooting. Lines of dialog, cutting certain unnecessary exposition. That's the major issue with every film I've edited, it's over-written, under-developed and under-directed. So, I'm giving it a shot. Next year I'm producing a script of mine and we will see if I'm just full of crap or I have the goods. If that doesn't work out... I'll move into editing full time! Here we go!!!

[Mike The Mover]

I started writing screenplays because I thought I could make good money. I know it's possible, just look at the WGA minimum agreement.

Some people say, oh, I have a story that must be told. Well good for you, but we all have a story that must be told. Problem is, 99% of us end up telling our stories to housepets.

[icerose]

I write all kinds of things, scripts are just another outlet. I have completed 5 novels, nearly a dozen scripts, more short stories than I can count, children stories as well as some poems (I hate poetry but now and then I get something that won't shut up and forces me to write it). Out of all that I have some small credits. I have no idea which venue will actually help me to succeed if any, but at this point writing is writing and I love to write.

[C.bronco]

I want my novel on the screen.

[Write_At_1st_Light]

I'm writing screenplays because of the numbers.

I write because I want lots of folks to read my stuff (eventually).

However, book reading is not only declining across the board - but the percentage of decline is increasing. And you can see that it will continue to go that way. Youngsters simply have too many other activities competing for their attention spans: Cell phoning. Text messaging. Ipodding. Computer gaming. Web surfing. Emailing. Chat rooming. 500 TV stations for tuberino watching. Book reading is way down there, and will drop through the basement flooring eventually.

So: Screenwriting - maybe - increases the chances that people will have the result of my work, albeit in visual form.

They're having a Cell Phone Film Festival now. Omigod. How short can the attention span be shrunken down to?

[Goodwriterguy]

For me, it's about time and effort.

I write novels and scripts: scripts provide a greater monetary reward for the least amount of effort (pages).

I got a $30,000 advance for a novel that took me seven months to write. I got $75,000 for a script that took one month.

I like movies; I love books.

Interestingly, my book agent is seeking to sell the film rights to one of my novels. Maybe I will be assigned to write the script -- no one would know since I don't write my novels under the name I use for screenplays. :D
A Canyonite! I love it. Lived there myself at one time, some of my best years. Have lots of pals there.

Congrats on these successes!

Say hello to the canyon for me! :D

[Goodwriterguy]

I actually write other stuff; I think I'm better at fiction because I know how to convey emotion better without naming the emotion.
Screenwriting IS fiction writing.

In film you don't have to name an emotion, just describe the character's behavior.

TACK
Arty, your mother was a slug.

Arty leaps to his feet comes across the table like a rattlesnake takes Tack by the throat and chokes him to death.

No need to say anything about anger.

Show don't tell.

[dpaterso]

I got nudged into scriptwriting by a writer buddy and haven't found my way back out yet. It's just... too much fun. Which is about as unprofessional an answer as you'll get.

Can't argue with Jolie's reasons. :)

-Derek

[icerose]

I'm writing screenplays because of the numbers.

I write because I want lots of folks to read my stuff (eventually).

However, book reading is not only declining across the board - but the percentage of decline is increasing.

Actually literacy is at it's highest in history and more books sold last year than ever before, so really it's inclining, it's just it has stiff competition and with literacy so high the percentage of the literate who read is smaller than it used to be, but the actual numbers are higher than ever.

Food for thought.

Oh and the number of books published has also grown quite a bit.

[Kosh]

Screenwriting IS fiction writing.

In film you don't have to name an emotion, just describe the character's behavior.

TACK
Arty, your mother was a slug.

Arty leaps to his feet comes across the table like a rattlesnake takes Tack by the throat and chokes him to death.

No need to say anything about anger.

Show don't tell.

I know; what I'm saying is that fiction allows you to use so many more words and analogies and even small details in the scene that would get a screenplay thrown in a roaring fire. You can do some of that in film, but so much more in fiction.

[Jolie Blon]

A Canyonite! I love it. Lived there myself at one time, some of my best years. Have lots of pals there.

Congrats on these successes!

Say hello to the canyon for me! :D

Thank you! I will! Was there a marauding herd of ex-pet pot-bellied pigs roaming the canyon in your day? Every morning: howling coyotes and squealing pigs... then squealing coyotes as they run for the hills. A 60-pound coyote being no match for a 200 pound pig, much less a herd of them. Ah, the joys of canyon life!

[Jolie Blon]

I know; what I'm saying is that fiction allows you to use so many more words and analogies and even small details in the scene that would get a screenplay thrown in a roaring fire. You can do some of that in film, but so much more in fiction.

I think the problem here is semantics. You're using "fiction" to describe short stories and novel writing, right? "Fiction" actually means not non-fiction and is a generic term for imaginative writing.

Most screenwriters are fiction writers.

You might want to say "novel writing" or "short story" writing simply to be clear in this forum.

Just a suggestion:)

[BottomlessCup]

I like the challenge of screenplays.

You need that narrative economy - finding a shorter, more clever way to tell the story. In prose, you can just say it. In scripts, you try to find a way to make the audience realize it on their own.

In a good script, the story is greater than the sum of the words. It's like the story exists between the words. I guess you could say that about good prose, too, but it's more pronounced in scripts.

And I enjoy the restrictions. The relatively tight structure, the page limits, the "rules." I like trying to create something amazing and creative within those strictures.

Also, in high school I was trying to woo an actress and it kinda snow-balled from there.

[Write_At_1st_Light]

Actually literacy is at it's highest in history and more books sold last year than ever before, so really it's inclining, it's just it has stiff competition and with literacy so high the percentage of the literate who read is smaller than it used to be, but the actual numbers are higher than ever.

Food for thought.

Oh and the number of books published has also grown quite a bit.
Guess it depends on what sources one goes to. I wish you're right, I hope you're right - and since I'm a devourer of books I'm always trying to sell people on the idea of reading them.

But - I don't dispute the decline that has been reported - not at all. I'm also seeing that decline directly, within my circle of people. Family, friends, biz associates. Books aren't discussed like they used to be. I get blank faces when I mention authors, whose names should be familiar. When I say I'm a throwback because I read books? No one disputes that statement, or thinks I'm joking. They just kind of nod.

Of course the decline is occurring more rapidly amongst young people and THAT is the cause for concern. They'll be running things one day. And that will be a world where they'll snicker at the idea of people spending an entire weekend - reading a good book.

I think there is a parallel in film. There may be tons and tons of films being made - but who is watching them? It's weird. I'm in SAG, get the SAG magazine, and I remember being appalled at some stats in one of their issues. In the year 2000, there were about 12,000 principal roles handed out to SAG actors in main distribution films. In the year 2004 - the number was down to 6,500. I don't dispute it. As a SAG member in Hwood I've seen the decline at point blank range.

Anyway I will continue to read voraciously and write friggin' screenplays because I enjoy both immensely. And who knows? Book reading and film watching may make the big loop and head upwards again. Once people get tired of the moronic computer games...

[kitt]

I like the challenge of screenplays.

You need that narrative economy - finding a shorter, more clever way to tell the story. In prose, you can just say it. In scripts, you try to find a way to make the audience realize it on their own.

In a good script, the story is greater than the sum of the words. It's like the story exists between the words. I guess you could say that about good prose, too, but it's more pronounced in scripts.

And I enjoy the restrictions. The relatively tight structure, the page limits, the "rules." I like trying to create something amazing and creative within those strictures.


I like that and definetily agree. It's a creative challenge. The most rewarding thing would be to one day see my seed of an idea turned into a visual art.

[icerose]

Guess it depends on what sources one goes to. I wish you're right, I hope you're right - and since I'm a devourer of books I'm always trying to sell people on the idea of reading them.

But - I don't dispute the decline that has been reported - not at all. I'm also seeing that decline directly, within my circle of people. Family, friends, biz associates. Books aren't discussed like they used to be. I get blank faces when I mention authors, whose names should be familiar. When I say I'm a throwback because I read books? No one disputes that statement, or thinks I'm joking. They just kind of nod.

Of course the decline is occurring more rapidly amongst young people and THAT is the cause for concern. They'll be running things one day. And that will be a world where they'll snicker at the idea of people spending an entire weekend - reading a good book.



Yet bestsellers are selling more than ever and the average is higher than ever per author on book sales, excluding self publishing of course. Look at JK Rowlings' Harry Potter and Lemony Sniket's a tale of unfortunate events. Hundreds of Millions of books sold per each book in the series and the vast majority of their readers are kids.

I am not saying there aren't problems with the industry, the short shelf life is one of the biggest, but it is easier to get read and published and there is a wider audience than ever before. There really is. In the end write and read what makes you happy but that doesn't mean one industry is collapsing because of the other.

[razormoney]

I LOVE MOVIES.

R

[Kosh]

I think the problem here is semantics. You're using "fiction" to describe short stories and novel writing, right? "Fiction" actually means not non-fiction and is a generic term for imaginative writing.

Most screenwriters are fiction writers.

You might want to say "novel writing" or "short story" writing simply to be clear in this forum.

Just a suggestion:)

:e2paperba yeah, I use the words differently for some reason. Sorry for the mix-up.

[Goodwriterguy]

Yet bestsellers are selling more than ever and the average is higher than ever per author on book sales, excluding self publishing of course. Look at JK Rowlings' Harry Potter and Lemony Sniket's a tale of unfortunate events. Hundreds of Millions of books sold per each book in the series and the vast majority of their readers are kids.

I am not saying there aren't problems with the industry, the short shelf life is one of the biggest, but it is easier to get read and published and there is a wider audience than ever before. There really is. In the end write and read what makes you happy but that doesn't mean one industry is collapsing because of the other.
In its writers guide, Reader's Digest changed its reading comprehension grade from 10th to 7th (or something like that) not long ago, a reflection of their estimation that literacy is in decline.

Any survey of the field shows a very mixed bag out there, with indicators showing all kinds of seemingly contradicting data, from High School grads who can't read to huge sales of books like Rowland's, who's readers are, as you note, mostly children. Very hard to get a handle on what's going on. The rise of computer gaming, video watching, expanded cable offerings, and web surfing tends to push youngsters away from books, with little by way of countervailing forces or trends. Reading is not considered a "cool" pasttime among most youth.

Books will liklely always be with us, but their command appears to me to be steadily losing against the onslaught of other media.

[Doug B]

I am a theater director by avocation. I have read and directed so many plays that I think in dialog. When I write, I hear the characters talking and see what they're doing. All I do is write it down.

[anavicenteferreira]

I started writing screenplays because one of the ideas I had for a story made a lot more sense as a movie than it did as a novel.

[Inkdaub]

I don't know. Mainly because some ideas are too visual in nature to be done justice in prose...at least in any prose someone of my talent can write. Some things just work better in the screenplay format.

That said, I write both prose and screenplays and I love them both. I'm a writer. I'm not interested in writing screenplays so I can have something to direct. I am interested in the screenplay itself as a mode of storytelling.

[kojled]

the answers here are very telling

i write because i'm a writer. screenwriting chose me, i did not choose it. i don't need a motive to write and do not have ulterior motives when i write.

i write screenplays because i do. if i preferred to write poetry (or any other form) than i would write that instead

someone who writes screenplays when they would rather write something else is quite sad. by the same token, anyone who writes screenplays for ulterior motives is just as sad

[dpaterso]

Could have been a fun thread, kojled, could have been a fun thread...

-Derek

[icerose]

The cool thing about writing is anyone can do it for any reason and no one has the right to say their motives are wrong or right. Each to their own, remember that. And visit the thread "All of you are missing the point" in the AW round table area for all writers, it covers the same argument.

All of you are Missing the Point (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46073)

[kojled]

derek

let me make this clear - i don't give a rat's *** if you dislike, disapprove, or otherwise find fault with my comments.

if you would care to argue an opposing point of view, fine. as is, though, your comment is as transparent as mine is direct.

do you have an opposing argument or stance, or just cheap shots?


alan

[Mac H.]

i don't need a motive to write and do not have ulterior motives when i write ... anyone who writes screenplays for ulterior motives is just as sadWhy? Why is it 'sad' to have a motivation beyond feeling an indescribable need to write ?

I don't fit into the category of "screenwriting chose me, i did not choose it."

I choose to do it.

You don't need to feel sad for me.

Mac

[BottomlessCup]

I'm pretty sure every professional screenwriter has an "ulterior motive."

[dpaterso]

let me make this clear - i don't give a rat's *** if you dislike, disapprove, or otherwise find fault with my comments.

if you would care to argue an opposing point of view, fine. as is, though, your comment is as transparent as mine is direct.

do you have an opposing argument or stance, or just cheap shots?
That's a daft reply, if you don't mind my saying so.

I saw this as a potentially fun "let's get to know the writers behind the anonymous usernames a little better" thread. You've decided to take it deadly serious.

Your calling other screenwriters sad because they don't happen to agree with your particular... whatever it is... hmm, well, we all have our opinions I suppose.

Fortunately you don't give a rat's a$$ so this reply is unlikely to affect you in the slightest. Me, I'm kinda disappointed.

-Derek

[icerose]

if you would care to argue an opposing point of view, fine.

I have a counter argument.

I write because I love to write, however, that is not my only reason for writing nor does it have to be. In fact writing doesn't even have to be loved to be done. Look at non-fiction, technical, and article writers. I doubt very much that every single writer especially in the above fields write what they write because they love doing it. It pays the bills and deals with topics they might find interesting, but on a whole they write as a job. I do not find that sad or disheartening because it is what they have chosen to do.

Is a factory worker, lawyer, and doctor sad because they don't absolutely love what they do and sometimes downright hate it but are still good at what they do? I would hope not or a lot of professions would be empty and our society crippled.

Some of our more brilliant writers (subject to opinions results will vary) don't like to write but they are good at it and it pays the bills so they do it. There are many aspects of writing I despise, such as editing, but I still go through it because I want to have my work read, I want it to be the best it can be and I want it to be evaluated in the public eye, none of this has to do with the love of writing. I don't find that sad.

You are free to feel as you like but that doesn't mean everyone is going to agree with you, and really, don't feel sorry or sad for me, I am quite happy the way I am.

[Celia Cyanide]

do you have an opposing argument or stance, or just cheap shots?

I'm sorry, but I think it's a "cheap shot" to call another writer sad because they write screenplays for reasons other than "I just do."

Some of us would rather write novels or poetry, but we happen to be a lot better at screenwriting. That's not sad.

[Goodwriterguy]

I'm sorry, but I think it's a "cheap shot" to call another writer sad because they write screenplays for reasons other than "I just do."

Some of us would rather write novels or poetry, but we happen to be a lot better at screenwriting. That's not sad.
I write screenplays because I was born into a movie family and was exposed to film from a very early age. I was also exposed to books and have always been a rather voracious reader. But when it came time for me to write ... the screenplay felt like my natural home, and I've been comfy it in since. I think I have some entertaining stories to tell and perhaps a comment or two to make on the human condition, and that's all the motivation I need. I'd like to think we can all shed a little light on what has heretofore been dark, and entertain folks in the process.

I'm hard pressed to imagine a writer having "ulterior motives." What would they be? Can't imagine. I dunno, but writing is difficult and challenging no matter how it's sliced or diced, and to endure the struggle for some other motive that has little or nothing to do with literary or cinematic art seems like self flaggelation to me, or a form of self loathing. Why engage the arduous struggle for reasons other than the art and its craft and the fact that you think you have something original to say? Whew! Boggles the mind.

I don't think an ulterior motive would sustain one through the wars one must necessarily fight and win to come out on top.

[kojled]

derek

i did not suggest that i thought someone who disagreed with me was sad. how you took that from what i wrote i don't understand. i clearly said that someone who does one thing when they really want to do another thing is sad.

here is my original statement (for convenience, i'll underline the really important part):

the answers here are very telling

i write because i'm a writer. screenwriting chose me, i did not choose it. i don't need a motive to write and do not have ulterior motives when i write.

i write screenplays because i do. if i preferred to write poetry (or any other form) than i would write that instead

someone who writes screenplays when they would rather write something else is quite sad. by the same token, anyone who writes screenplays for ulterior motives is just as sad

derek (or anyone else), i defy you to point out the part of this which suggests that someone who does not agree with me is sad. i'll give you a moment...did you find it yet? take another look.

no. i don't believe anyone can find such meaning in the above statement. disagree all you want -- more power to you. i do not think someone who disagrees with me is sad. i rather look forward to it. i encourage it.

further, for the rest of you, i do not feel sad about you. i did not say i felt sad, i said that certain people are sad (please see the above statement in bold print -- you will not find anything which suggests that i felt sad about or for anyone). i don't know any of you and do not feel any way about you. by 'sad' i meant that someone who does one thing when they really want to do another thing usually finds themselves in a less than desirable state of being.

allow me to illustrate: the broken down shack was a sad thing

this does not mean that the shack felt sad, it means it was in a state of disrepair. any writer that would try to convince you a shack had feelings is either an idiot or writing fantasy

there. see? sad = undesirable state

here is what i believe you thought i wrote: people who disagree with me are dumb and i feel sad for them.

now see. if i had, in fact, said such a thing you would all be correct. what a pompous disrespectful thing to say. (but, i did not say that)

how such simple and clear statements could be misinterpreted to such a degree represents a less than desirable state of being. however, i'm not surprised by this, just a bit sad. i would suggest you (you know who you are) read for content.

oh, derek. you failed miserably in attempting an objective opposing view. really. you rambled and stumbled and openly admitted you did not know about what you were writing. then, you resorted to yet another cheap shot. tsk! care to try again?

otherwise, all i can say is: (some of) the comments here a very telling. oh, sorry, i already said that. didn't i?

alan

ps - icerose. you make a fine point and i apologize for not responding. you'll forgive me but i don't have the time right now. maybe this weekend.

pps - goodwriterguy (and perhaps others). you also make a good point(s). another time.

again, my apologies, but i have to be up in a few hours. i don't have to time to read your comments or respond right now. i do, though, very much appreciate you taking the time to write them. very much.

[dpaterso]

Unfortunately, alan, as you have gathered, I read your statement(s) as cheap shot insults:

someone who writes screenplays when they would rather write something else is quite sad.

by the same token, anyone who writes screenplays for ulterior motives is just as sad

The highlighted articles in each sentence match up, giving an interpretation which you clearly (judging from your reply) did not intend.

Maybe it's just a case of words having different meanings in different parts of the woods? I dare say I might have phrased these statements in a gentler way, e.g. and just for fun's sake, "I find it quite sad that someone would write screenplays when they would rather be writing something else." But each to their own.

My "cheap shot" (a description that caught me by surprise) was intended as a semi-humorous sigh at what I saw as your cheap shot insults. In direct response to what I thought I'd read. My mistake for seeing insult where none was intended...

I don't quite understand "care to try again?" in your reply -- on the one hand you want to clear up any misunderstanding, on the other hand you're up for a sniping match? But if no insult was intended... why would we do that?

Let's both step back, smile, and accept that language can be a funny thing, open to all kinds of unintended misinterpretations.

-Derek

[Celia Cyanide]

the answers here are very telling



someone who writes screenplays when they would rather write something else is quite sad. by the same token, anyone who writes screenplays for ulterior motives is just as sad.

Instead of quibbling over semantics, would you like to tell is what is so "telling" about our responses? What is sad about writing screenplays when we would rather be doing something else? I say this, because when I'm writing, I usually with I was sleeping or playing solitaire or smoking. And what are these ulterior motives?

[aruna]

Back to the OP's question ... a great one, and one I've asked myself a lot over the past year.

I see myself as a storyteller first and foremost. I just have these stories that spring ito being - characters, plots, events - and I want to tell these stories in any way I can.

I'm not really fussy about the medium in which I tell them. To be quite truthfull, I'm a bit impatient with the actual mechanisc of writing a novel. It's too tedius, it takes too long, and I'm in too much of a hurry to get my story out. I like seeing the story on page, I like words, yet I often feel that words are inadequate, and I want something more immediate, espcially because my stories are mostly set in locations my readers (or audience) are unfamiliar with. How to descibe, for instance, the quirky architecture of Guyana, so that the other person can really SEE these houses in their mind's eye? And my locations are very pertinanet to my stories.

That's why when the story of White Night came to me last year, I decided to write it as an original screenplay. I'd written a screenplay before (an adaptation of my first published novel) and enjoyed the process. I'd read the books, mixed with screenwriters (British ones), joined a screenwriting forum. I'd been selected by the UK Film Council to join their 2002 Writers group and my script had been shortlisted by them for developmental promotion. I'd read screenplays and met a few US screenwriting consultants and writers (Linda Seger and a couple others) and attended one or two workshops. So now I felt ready to write a script from scratch. Ha!

The story of White Night came very easily, and my screenplay was finished in a few weeks. I posted bits of it here and got some feedback. I then realised that not only did I have a mountain to climb as far as screenwriting technique was concerned; getting it read by the relevant Hollywood people would be another mountain in itself.

So I scrapped the idea and rewrote the screenplay as a novel. To my surprise, the idea took off in ways I'd never expected. I found new subplots, new characters, new twists, all of which had been lacking in the script.

When it came to shopping it around to agents, I found that the premise at least was working - starting at the top, I got lots of requests for the manuscript, including two from the Willaim Morris Agency (one from the US, and when they rejected the ms, from the London WMA). And pretty soon I found my Writers House agent. She's about to shop it to publishers right this moment!

Still, I really enjoyed my foray into screenwriting. It helped me to really focus the story, see it visually, identify the important parts. Most important: it helped me get the structure right. When I converted from screenplay to novel the structure was already in place; I had my three acts, my climaxes and turning points and reversals all in the right place; I merely had to expand on that basic structure, fill it out from 120 to 420 pages. It was great fun; and I believe that in future this is how Ill write my novels; first, a screenplay draft as first draft, with all the above plot elements to keep the story moving.

One thing I learned in this process: I'm a novelist, not a screenwriter. Yes, words are inadequate, and at least for the stories I tell the screen could in many ways be a better medium. Maybe if I were starting off again, and had more time in front of me, I might have chosen film instead of print; but then I'd have wanted to be a writer-director, not just a screenwriter.

I still would like to see this story as a movie, but I've dropped my screenwriting ambitions and accepted my role as novelist. If it ever does become a movie, that's someone else's job.

[scriptwriter91]

The reason I write scripts is because of the fact that I can sit around and just come up with dialog for anything. That's why I took up script writing

[Joe270]

I'm glad you resurected this thread, 91. Not to rehash dpat's feud, but I wanted to respond to this a while back, but feared rehashing it.

I love writing novels, short stories. I take someone I will never know into my story. I own it, they envolve themselves. It is an intimate atmosphere and I like that.

I see screenwriting as more challenging, the aspect of making a buck is much more up-front. It's a collaborative effort after the writing is done. I like that additional challenge. I enjoy the process of taking the written word into moving pictures and making magic. That's why it's worth all the bullshit involved. I cannot imagine how it would feel to have my story on the screen and hearing the audience react. There's a dream come true.

However, I am a practical person. When I have stories which are 'high concept', yet exorbanantly expensive, I write it in novel form. My hope is the novel draws enough interest for my screenplay adaptation will get made.

It's not jaded, it's practical.

[Joe Calabrese]

I write screenplays because I have don't have the patience or talent to write anything else, but also so I won't have any regrets in life.

[seanie blue]

But Mr. Calabrese, won't you have regrets about not trying to kill yourself with a novel?

[Joe Calabrese]

Who said I didn't try. My first and only novel was about a detective who was after a serial killer who turned out to be a vampire, who killed the detective so he would become his little vampire buddy (my vampires have amnesia from the trauma of death). But memories can return... HAHAHAHA!

It read like Ann Rice after a lobotomy and a fifth of scotch. After five or six chapters I laughed and never looked back.

[zeprosnepsid]

I write screenplays in a vain attempt to recoup that 100k I spent on film school...

[WerenCole]

This is an interesting question for me. I have always written novels and short stories, but after the first two novels and a couple dozen (viable, I have so many unfinished) shorts I have wondered about script writing. The idea of being in movies intrigues me. I consider myself a movie buff and will watch anything just for the sake of saying that I have seen it and can discuss it (I do the same thing with novels). I am fascinated with how stories are told, how to tell stories, everything.

At the same time I have an inner soundtrack to my own life. It is quite random. Mix that with the fact that my memory goes a long way back then sometimes you hear me singing songs that I have not heard in 10 years.

I would like to put these together, thus I have started to think of writing scripts.

Also, in thinking of going to graduate school I have identified a university that has a very good film program. Just thinking of it makes me excited. (Note: I am going to apply to the Communications College for journalism too, in the likelihood that I am not going to get into the film department considering that I have no real film experience besides writing and watching.) So yeah, I am going to start writing scripts (not exclusively) and see what happens.

Cheers!

-W

[WerenCole]

I write screenplays in a vain attempt to recoup that 100k I spent on film school...


I wonder about this too. . .

[Hillgate]

Screenwriting IS fiction writing.

In film you don't have to name an emotion, just describe the character's behavior.

TACK
Arty, your mother was a slug.

Arty leaps to his feet comes across the table like a rattlesnake takes Tack by the throat and chokes him to death.

No need to say anything about anger.

Show don't tell.

Just being pernickity but how does one come across a table like a rattlesnake? As FAST as a rattlesnake? With a similar SOUND? With a WRIGGLE? You have, I think, given a good example of the difference between a novel and a screenplay. Your narrative is fine for a novel, but I don't think it's nearly exact enough for a screenplay. Imagine the director saying to his actor: 'OK, Brad. You're a rattlesnake.' :)