Are You Rotten Enough to be a Screenwriter?

Tuesday 12/1/09

Just how mean can you be to your hero? In order to be a really good screenwriter you're going to have to be a monster! I mean it. It's not good enough to create a nice girl who wants something really bad and has to work super hard for it. That's not a movie. That's a shampoo commercial.

Make a hero who wants something so much, she's willing to do anything to get it. Then (and this part is important) make that "something" that she wants, really hard to get.

This is where you play the big brother and your hero plays the baby sister. Like a big brother, you dangle the desired goal tantalizingly close to your hero. And every time your hero goes to grab it, you snatch it away. And then you laugh! Bwa-hah-hah!

If your hero is about to get outfoxed, don't make it with a sleazy con-man. Make it with the nicest, sweetest person he's ever met.  Hah!

If your hero decides he has to go to France, don't let him "find" the ticket. Make him crawl through hell to get it. Hah!

 

Writing the Second Screenplay

Wednesday 10/28/09 time 4:12 PM

A long, long, time ago I ran a half marathon. I ran a half marathon to prove to myself that impossible things are possible. You see, at the time, I was starting to feel that my dream of being a screenwriter was nuts. Crazy. Impossible. And so, I trained. And one cold, rainy day in November, I ran the Seattle Half Marathon. I got a medal and one of those tin foil blankets. I felt awesomely super-human, because frankly, I'm no runner.

Now the good news is that I proved to myself that the impossible is possible. And the impossible did happen screenplay-wise. But the bad news is that I didn't run again for six months.

So why am I telling you all this?

Lots of people achieve the impossible. They write a first draft original screenplay. It's a monumental task. For all the people who say they are "working on a screenplay" only a fraction ever cross the finish line to write FADE OUT.

But the effort of that first draft, the commitment, the time away from friends and interests and TV has been almost too much. And so, the first-time screenwriter takes a break. And the break turns into months and pretty soon it's years. Before you know it, the screenplay books are in a box at the garage sale. Sigh...

Mark and I know this. We know it's hard to keep working. That's why we cooked up some Advance Classes. Because we hope people will continue to write. And we know that we can get you hooked so that when you're driving in your car, or walking your dog you'll actually be thinking about how the bank robbers could use art supplies to bust open the safe. Isn't that the GREATEST feeling? Nobody knows that you're cracking a scene. It'll be our little secret.

A few weeks ago we had our first workshop. We loved it. Former students, many of whom admitted they hadn't really stayed "in shape" for another big race, laced up and got going on brilliant new ideas for screenplays. One screenwriter told us: "I feel inspired! Mark and Mary's class was just the injection of creativity I needed." Mark and I are thrilled!

November 21st we'll have another workshop. This one is about perfecting the Step Outline. Again, our past students know that if they wrestle that bad-boy to the ground; if they make their idea work structurally. If the hero is active, if the world is interesting, if the laws of the genre are followed, they will have the blueprint they need to get through the first draft.

I like to think of it as an expedition. If you bring the right stuff, pack your backpack right; then it's just one foot after the other through that first draft. That's why the Step Outline is so very important. Step by step...

Tips for Global Creative Screenwriters

Friday 10/9/09 time 11:57 AM

Last year I needed to do some research on "giftedness". It turns out there's different kinds of giftedness. Like there's the person who does calculus at five. We'd all agree she's gifted, right?

But then there's the person who can take a moment and turn it into an epic story. Or someone who spends all day wondering the "why" of something. Are these people gifted? Or just odd? Society seems to be split on this one!

But experts call these folks GLOBAL CREATIVES.

Screenwriting classes are full of Global Creatives.

Global Creatives sign up for screenwriting classes because they have lots of amazing ideas. They've usually read piles of books on screenwriting. They've started a screenplay or two. But they've never finished.

When it comes to teaching screenwriting, I consider myself more of an Outward Bound guide than anything else. My job is to get people through the ropes course. To help them find the will and tenacity to keep going so that they won't fail.

Here's the thing: One of the qualities associated with being brilliant and creative (like so many screenwriting students I have known) is that you often have (maybe just a little bit of) ADD. As a result, Global Creatives need to work at not getting distracted. 

If you're a Global Creative and/or a screenwriting student, I have some tips for you:

1. Get off the internet. Really. Go somewhere that doesn't have wifi. The web will take anywhere you want to go, except for that magical place where you write FADE OUT on your screenplay.

2. Leave your script at the front of your screen when you take breaks or stop writing for the day. This way, when you return to your computer guess what you see first? Oh yeah! Your screenplay!

3. While you're in the middle of writing your screenplay, you will get a better idea. Trust me, you'll believe this idea is so wonderful that you MUST stop writing what you're working on now, and immediately begin the new thing. THIS IS A MIRAGE. Keep working on the first script. I know it's hard. Keep going. 

I have more tips, but I'm not going to tell them to you today. Why? Because you're brilliant, you're creative, and you really need to get back to your screenplay!

Advanced Screenwriting Workshops for Fall

Tuesday 9/29/09 time 4:39 PM

With Fall suddenly upon us, Mark Handley and I are pleased to announce new workshops designed especially for advanced screenwriters! Please click the SEMINARS RETREATS AND WORKSHOPS button, (above) to learn more about our offerings.

We're looking forward to spending October 17th and November 21st with some talented old friends and former students in one of the most beautfiul spots in Seattle: The Good Shepherd Center. We'll talk shop, nosh on elegant box lunches and help you get your screenplay ideas ready to write.

Starting in the new year, we're offering a first draft boot camp for those brave, advanced souls who want to get another completed screenplay under their belt. You can do it! We know you can.

Big Ideas in Salt Lake City

Monday 9/21/09 time 12:24 PM

I want to thank the many screenwriters, and aspiring screenwriters who came to the Salt Lake City Library on Saturday, for my workshop on developing strong screenplay ideas.

It was exciting to watch people test their idea, to see if it really should be a movie. The fact is, writing a feature-length screenplay is hard work; and spending months on an idea that should probably be a country-western song, or a stage play, or a novel, is way harder!

Salt Lake City is home to some real film buffs, and I was impressed to find so many people who knew their way around three-act-structure and simple, effective loglines. Even the beginners were crafting impressive loglines! You guys rocked!

During the workshop, I confirmed my long-held suspicion that offering a pitching workshop in Salt Lake or Park City during Sundance would be awesome.

Everyone with a screenplay should know how to tell people about it. Especially if movie producers, agents and managers are swarming your home town! 

Stay tuned for more information about a pitching workshop in January!

Words to Graduates

Tuesday 6/2/09

Eight months ago you came here, wanting to write a screenplay. I could see in your eyes that you weren't sure you really would. Most of you have been writers your whole lives. You've started things, but you haven't finished them. Or you've had ideas, but life and family and work have gotten in the way. This time, you wrote a big check, you cleared your calendar of over 100 hours of class time, and more than that for writing. You asked to be held accountable, and you took a shot.

And look what happened. A whole room full of screenplays! Fully-realized original feature screenplays out of whole cloth. In this room I see the screenwriters of funny, exciting, unique, surprising, twisted, terrifying, charming, disturbing, and delightful screenplays. Congratulations.

But there's more.

Because this year you've done something more important than the tremendous achievement of finishing a first screenplay. You've learned how to tell a story. You've learned that good stories have a purpose, and a shape. You've learned that stories come from deep inside, but that no matter how much you wish to share your soul with the world? The audience demands that you take them on a satisfying, cohesive ride.

Life is full of people with a ticket and a box of popcorn. They want to witness a story that will move them. These people don't just sit at the movie theater. They sit across the conference room table from you. They mozy over to you at cocktail parties. They look up at you when you tuck them in at night. These people are listening. And now you are one of those people who can mesmerize others with a well-told story. You know how to make it exciitng, where to add the twist, how to make the reveal visual.

This is when people start worrying about the movie deals and the agents and what to wear to the premiere. Good. Don't worry. The WGA will find you. The studio will give you extra tickets to the premiere. Diablo Cody has a stylist. Why not you?

Just watch great movies. Read great scripts. And keep writing. Keep telling everyone you know that you are a screenwriter. Because you are. You have a story to tell. You know how to do it. And I'm so proud of each of you. 

When is it Done?

Saturday 5/30/09 time 1:27 AM

This is the time of year that people start asking me, "how do I know when my script is done?" They've put in the time; diligently developed outlines and finished a first draft; heeded or ignored notes in a second draft; and shined the apple to a high-gloss in the polish. The script is in pretty darn good shape. It's done, right? 

For many the answer is "yes". Some of these writers have a script with such a great concept that Hollywood will salivate. These scripts need to be well-written but they don't need to be James Joyce. It would be a mistake to spend the next 35 years of your life working and re-working POLICE ACADEMY. Hollywood rewrites these scripts to death. If they like it, they'll buy the idea. That said, make sure it's really good.

The other script that's "done" already is the script that never really got off the ground in the first place. I'm the patron saint of lost-cause scripts, so its hard for me to say this, but trust me: if you never were able to find out the issue driving your hero, or if couldn't figure out the ending, or if people doze off whenever you tell them the plot...it's time to put that sucker in the drawer for a while...maybe longer. 

The script that isn't done is the script that's not high-concept, but you know has promise. The courtroom drama that rings true, has a wonderful lead that any actor would kill to play, that has twists and surprises. That one? Keep working. Because they pile courtroom drama scripts up like cord wood in Hollywood. Yours needs to SHINE brighter than all the others. The writing has got to blow them away. Every last detail. Don't spend 35 years. But don't hurry it out there. 

When is it done? When you can watch someone read it and laugh. Read it and weep. Read it and sink so into it, that they forget your watching them read it. If nobody will let you watch them read your script, then you'll have to read it yourself. Laugh? Weep? Sink? Then you're done. 

 

 

The Afghan Women Writer's Project

Tuesday 5/19/09 time 1:08 AM

When Max Adams put out the word that her friend, Masha Hamilton had started the Afghan Women Writer's Project, and needed female writing instructors, I said "count me in".  What am amazing idea! Women, who live in Afghanistan, under the Taliban, will, for the first time in their lives, have a forum, a community, and instructors to help them with their writing. Masha is also seeking donations, computers, flash drives, etc...

From New Hampshire to Los Angeles

Saturday 5/16/09 time 2:20 AM

I grew up in rural New Hampshire which is not only geographically as far as you can get from Los Angeles, it's also spiritually, intellectually, socially and philosophically as far as you can get from Los Angeles. I grew up in the town where The Old Farmer's Almanac and Yankee Magazine are published. We tap our maple trees for syrup in the spring. Get the picture?

It took me a while to discover that screenwriting was something people did. But once I found out, I knew that's what I wanted to do with my life. This came a surprise to my parents who thought they'd raised me right. I always say that my parents would be prouder of me if I got a Haiku published in the New Yorker, than if I wrote the biggest block-buster of all time. My mom frequently begs me to write something for PBS. "Masterpiece Theater would be nice." It must have been a comfort to my parents that I didn't come across this crazy idea of being a screenwriter until after I'd settled in salt-of-the-earth Seattle.

But then along came the Disney Fellowship, which requires fellows to move to LA. They even pay the relocation costs, which is decent, don't you think? Well, I was panicked. I was slated for a phone interview with Disney executives who were sure to ask me how I felt about moving. What was I supposed to say? That I wanted to move to LA?

I worked out some vague and hedging answers. Let's put it this way: I didn't plan to dis LA. I just wanted to make it clear that I couldn't move there. I called my friend and mentor, Greg Beal. He runs the Nicholl Fellowship, so I figured I could try my answers out on him.

Greg calmly told me there was only one acceptable answer: "I am fully committed to becoming a screenwriter, and I will do whatever it takes to break into the business. Of course I'll move to LA". 

I ended up having a good phone interview with Disney execs Brigham Taylor and Jason Reed. But sure enough, towards the end, Jason brought down the LA gauntlet: "So Mary, how do you feel about moving to LA?"

I pulled out the paper I'd doodled on during my conversation with Greg. It must have sounded like I was reading, because that's exactly what I did! I read Greg's answer to them: "I am fully committed to becoming a screenwriter and I will do whatever it takes to break into the business. Of course I'll move to LA."

"Well, that 's great." Jason said, after a beat.

And just like that, I was flown to LA for an in-person interview.

And by that time, Greg was right. I was fully committed, and ready to do whatever it took. Of course I'd move to LA. 

Mary: The website

Wednesday 5/13/09 time 5:02 PM

It's not like me to sit down and build a website. But today I did just that. Some of you have asked what my rates are, for individual meetings and coverage. You have urged Mark and me to offer advanced classes, so that the discipline of that first screenplay can continue forward. And every time I travel, I wonder why I haven't planned a seminar, so that you can come, too. After all, the only thing better than working on a killer screenplay, is working on a killer screenplay while gazing out at the Cascade Mountains, or the Mediterranean...

And like so many things, (including writing screenpays!) once I got started, setting up this website was so satisfying, that I wonder why I didn't get it done ages ago!

In this blog I'll take time to talk about screenplay competitions, and agents, and tricks of the trade.

I'll also share stories about the progress of my own writing.

Because, while I love teaching screenwriting, and I love hanging out with other screenwriters, being a screenwriter means writing the screenplays!

So I'm off to do battle with a monster. No really...