Books on screenwriting.
Lectures on screenwriting.
Interviews about screenwriting.
We've all downloaded a lot of information about the craft.
What's the single best piece of advice about screenwriting you've ever found?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
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14 comments:
Write everyday.
And I modified that to: write everyday and keep learning.
Write more.
William Goldman - "Start every scene as late as possibly and end it as early as possible." I've found it works for every piece of writing I've ever done...
Best piece of writing advice I ever got was from a WORKING AGENT at a Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference event who suggested I buy Final Draft software when I asked him what script writing he recommends.
Paying it forward.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
"It doesn't take seven to ten years to break in as a writer. It takes seven to ten finished scripts." - Chuck Slocum WGA
1) Apply ass to chair;
2) Conflict, conflict, conflict.
And I concur with Rob - get in late, get out early is always good to keep in mind.
Persevere. And...
Keep Writing!
Yep. Write every day. At least an hour. If you can do that, everything else will fall into place...
Eventually...
It seems many have heard this one: Write.
A very close second, that I found to be not only helpful and useful, assists in those periods where the writer is lost or has found themselves in a slump, in which he/she would like to occupy his/her time effectively... READ. Read screenplays. Read good ones. Read ones written by those you admire, or read ones for flicks you love. Ones with spectacular dialogue or ones with great scene descriptions.
I would recommend reading bad screenplays too, but I think it takes a certain level of determination to keep those samples as a separate learning experience from those that are good.
Take lots of notes. Any time you get an idea, write it down. It may not fit the piece you are writing now, but it can be perfect for the next one down the line. If you get stuck on one project, work on another idea you've had and come back to it.
But ultimately, the best thing to do, is keep writing.
What does it mean to your main character and more importantly what does it mean to you?
If you can take a scene out of your screenplay and it changes nothing, it should never have been there in the first place.
'Don't be boring.'
I first heard it from Matt Fraction, who claims he has it written on a post-it note stuck to his laptop.
In writing the first draft: "the only way out is through". Can't recall where I picked that up from, though...
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