nanowrimos:

One of the great things about Script Frenzy is that you have the option to work with a partner, or go it alone. Either of these options is valid, and there’s nothing wrong with either of them. The hard part is understanding which is right for you.

Reasons to write with (a) partner(s)

• You are confident in your skills but don’t have an idea,
• Or you have a great idea but don’t feel confident in your writing skills.
• You don’t have enough time to commit fully to the project.
• You enjoy collaboration and work well with others.
• You find it easier to brainstorm your ideas with other people.
• You and a friend have a project that you’ve talked about doing forever and it’s a good excuse to get started.

Reasons to say no to (a) partner(s)

• You have the time to devote to finishing it by yourself.
• You might have a hard time working with others.
• You don’t like sharing credit with anyone else.
• You like the idea of challenging yourself personally.
• You already have your ideas all together and are confident in your ability to pull it together.

Personally, I’m doing Script Frenzy solo for the second year. I had success last year and found it easy to do it alone, but it’s completely up to you!

There is only one week until Script Frenzy starts! It’s time to start sharing those log lines!

By that, I mean a long sentence that tells someone the basic premise of your script. It starts with your title and includes the genre, the protagonist and his/her situation, the central conflict, and the protagonist’s arc.

My log line does not include a title because I’m still searching for the perfect one.

UNTITLED - A modern-day drama about a woman struggling to get through some of the challenges life has thrown at her while trying to remain sane enough to care of the husband and his two sons who are coping with loss.

It’s not perfect, but it’s something!

So, what’s your log line?

celtx:

ScriptFrenzy Program Director @SandraSalas and Celtx’s own Ryan FitzGerald will co-host a live video Q&A Wednesday, 21 March at 11:30am PST/7:30pm GMT on www.ustream.tv/channel/celtx.

Sandra will be on hand to talk about the lessons she’s culled from screenwriters over the years.  Ryan will pull back the curtain on the new Celtx ecosystem to help you get the most mileage out of your tools without letting them get in the way of your writing.

Join us in the chat stream or on Twitter so we can field your questions.  Only 12 days to go before FADE IN!

This sounds like a valuable tool for all you first timers! If you can, try to attend!

Make a comprehensive inventory of all the practices and idiosyncrasies that define your writing process. The following is a very incomplete list of questions you may ask yourself:

• What time of day do you most like to work?
• Do you set deadlines for yourself?
• Do you write in long sittings or in short bursts?
• Do you work in total isolation or in public places?
• Do you initially write in longhand or on a computer?
• Do you work off an outline?
• If you do use an outline, how often do you diverge from it?
• Do you write with a partner?
• Do you frequently bounce ideas off of others?
• Do you always start at the beginning?
• Do you keep a journal?
• Is your writing frequently autobiographical?
• Do you only write scenes you’ve already thought through and outlined?
• Do you ever work on two projects at once?
• What do you do when you take a break?
• Do you work from source material?
• When you get stuck, do you plow through, skip ahead to something else, or give up?
• Do you constantly edit or rewrite passages before moving on?
• How much time do you spend thinking about your project when you’re not writing?
• Do you write when sober?

The resulting set of personality traits form the DNA signature of your process. The next step is a set of experiments to challenge each trait, one at a time, to determine whether it’s a vital part of who you are as a writer or a rut you’ve dug yourself into along the way. If you’ve never set deadlines for yourself, try spending an eight-hour day with a deadline at the end of each hour. If you always start writing at page one, try starting in the middle.

Many experiments will confirm that what you’ve always done is helpful to you. But you may also surprise yourself. The goal is to get closer to finding what works for you. It’s an ongoing process with no real end point. We’re all constantly evolving as writers, which means our processes evolve as well. But the better you know yourself, the more what makes you unique will end up on the page.

The above was written by Alexander Woo as a part of Now Write! Screenwriting: Screenwriting Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers, available at Amazon.com for $10.91.

Purchase a copy for more ways to better prepare yourself with simple activities for Script Frenzy!