I just want to write a screenplay for some of them. I have done before and I personally don't think it's any good. I don't know maybe I'm just too hard on myself. Are there any good screenwriting books or tips that I should get.
A lot of books suggest that it takes from 5 to 10 screenplays to really learn your craft. Keep plugging away.
RJSchwarz
RJSchwarz
If you aren't happy with the screen play you wrote then just do a rewrite. First drafts and even many other drafts turn out shitty but if you keep working on it then you will most definately have something to be proud of. And go to a book store near you and read a few pages of some of the books and see how you like them. I have at least 6 differant book that are supposed to help you write and they were all good for one reason or another but none of them make writing easier. Only practice and hard work will make it easier for you but almost any book you pick up will have good tips just pick one that appeals to your personality.
Basically you have to write until you like it. If you don't like it figure out what you don't like and fix it. If you can't figure out why you don't like it then you have to find people who's opinions you respect and who'll be honest (very important) with you, and you have to be open to their criticisms.
And, very important, you need to understand that there is nothing you have written that cannot be cut. Don't fall in love with your words and ideas just because they're yours.
Vertigo
quote:
Originally posted by GRob1211
I just want to write a screenplay for some of them. I have done before and I personally don't think it's any good. I don't know maybe I'm just too hard on myself. Are there any good screenwriting books or tips that I should get.
YES!
I HIGHLY recommend that you read every page of the website http://www.wordplayer.com
A lot of people recommend the Syd Field books, but I'm not a fan of them at all. The best book I've found that helped me (and still is a great resource to go back to) is Film Scriptwriting, Second Edition: A Practical Manual
by Dwight V Swain and JOYE R SWAIN
As far as being hard on yourself, that's a good thing. If you have issues with what you've written, chances are that others will too.
That said, a mistake made by a lot of Writers is to think that every word has to be perfect. While it has to be great because the competition is truly overwhelming, it doesn't pay to be precious about everything on the pages. Assuming your script ever was purchased and put into development and then actually made it onto film, once it hits that stage, pages and scenes and dialogue are ALWAYS changed, either on set or after work that day or the "story" is changed later in the edit.
So, certainly write the best damn screenplay you can, but do not obsess over it to the point where you aren't writing other scripts. If you want to be a serious Writer (and hopefully make a career out of it), it takes more than one amazing script to do it with. You should have several great screenplays, most of which will be nothing more than writing samples to help showcase what you're capable of.
Check out those resources above and just start writing! Most wanna-be Writers spend more time talking about writing and taking workshops and such than they do writing. Write LOTS even if they are just short stories or articles or short screenplays or feature screenplays. It doesn't matter. Just write a lot and you WILL get better. 🙂
Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com
http://www.realfilmcareer.com
Brian Dzyak
Cameraman/Author
IATSE Local 600, SOC
http://www.whatireallywanttodo.com
http://www.realfilmcareer.com
?
Yeah, I forgot to mention that producers, directors, actors, editors, and any number of others will certainly change your script around. Another reason not to fall in love with your words.
That being said, you asked for books and Brian recommended some decent ones. Personally I would rather participate in a workshop or course than read a book simply because a good workshop will actually make you write. Yeah, writing exercises seem a little meaningless but most pianists learn scales and patterns before they start playing concertos, and a good course or workshop will eventually turn you loose to write what you want. Theory is more easily understood with practical application and feedback.
I sincerely wish more "writers" would actually learn to write. A local filmmaker asked me recently if I wanted to be in his movie (a feature). The premise was interesting so I asked for a script. I got the script and it was only about 45 pages or so (BIG RED FLAG!). There was a note saying that some of the middle scenes weren't finished and he had planned on a lot of action sequences so the script didn't need to be very long. So, granted, I was less receptive when I started reading, but I gave it a shot (something no agent or producer would have done, trust me).
I threw it out after about 4 pages. It was TERRIBLE! Stilted, derivative, childish, and only a little bit funny. But the main problem I saw was that it was obviously a first draft that he was calling a finished script. Listen carefully:
YOU WILL NEVER WRITE A GOOD SCRIPT IN YOUR FIRST PASS!
repeat:
YOU WILL NEVER WRITE A GOOD SCRIPT IN YOUR FIRST PASS!
or your second
probably not even on your third.
In other words: rewrite, rewrite, rewrite! This is one of the reasons software is soooooo useful. I use Final Draft, but it's pricey, Celtx is a decent free solution and will take you a long way.
One last piece of advice. You should hear your script read aloud by other people. It doesn't matter if they're actors or not. Hearing your script read by others is so different from the way you hear it in your head and when you hear those people reading your words I can almost guarantee you'll hear problems that you never saw on the page.
Vertigo
