Help For Writers

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!

Follow screenwritingtips on Tumblr! There, you will find over 900 useful tips on writing your script.

Celtx is a free online program that allows writers interested in producing scripts or plays the freedom to write without worrying about format. The software sets things up for the writer so they don’t have to worry about margins, whether or not a certain part should be in capital letters, or any other formatting options that could be difficult to do in a word processing program.

There is a paid version of Celtx available for $14.99 through the website for people that are more serious about scriptwriting, but the free version covers all the basics.

The free version comes in 34 different languages for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. You’re able to write screenplays, stageplays, AV scripts, audioplays, comic books and even novels on the software. The novel option is an opportune way to outline your script in the month before you start writing. For more information about the features in both the the free version and the paid version, create a Celtx account, then click here.

When you download Celtx, the icon is a movie slate. Click on it, and you will be brought to the “splash screen.” This is where you choose which template you want: film, audio-visual, theatre, audio play, storyboard, comic book, and novel. The box to the right on this screen will be where you can access your projects. If you click on samples, you will find different examples of scripts.

Each template has different options for formatting, such as character, parenthetical, and scene heading. You’re able to use different keyboard shortcuts to get to a new option. To find out exactly what you can get to from what you’re already in, look at the bottom toolbar. On the right, it will give you different cues, such as “Tab: Character” or “Enter: Scene Heading.”

The process of writing a script can sometimes be daunting. Rest assured that the woes of proper formatting are a thing of the past with something as easy-to-use as Celtx!

If you’re in the New York metropolitan area and you have some time on your hands, why not participate in a one-day intensive in script writing?

Gotham Writer’s Workshops are a great way to polish your writing skills in any area! But, with Script Frenzy coming up, we’ll focus on the ones about scripts: Screenwriting and Playwriting.

The Screenwriting intensives will be taking place on February 24th, February 25th, and March 31st. You will “learn the basics of plot, character, formatting, scene, and dialogue. You will also learn how and where to market your work.” $150 dollars; classes are limited to 15 people, ages 18 and older. Locations, times, and instructors vary. For more information, click here.

The Playwriting intensive is on Saturday, February 25th at 30 W. 16th Street under the instruction of Richard Caliban. You will “learn how to tell a story that is theatrical and produce-able as well as such playwriting craft elements as structure, plot, character, scene development and dialogue. You will also learn how and where to market your work.” $150 dollars; classes are limited to 25 people, ages 18 and older. For more information, click here.

With Script Frenzy coming up just around the corner, it’s time to start practicing out screen writing!

Open up Celtx, or the sreenwriting version of Scrivener, or whatever software that you use to write a script/play for April. Take this opportunity to reacquaint yourself with the program.

The following is a current assignment for one of the Video classes I’m taking. It’s given me a chance to refresh my knowledge of Celtx, a program that is free and that I will be writing a review/how-to guide for.

Write a script with at least 3 different locations (EXT. - DUNKIN DONUTS followed by INT. - DUNKIN DONUTS does not count for this prompt) and at least 2 but no more than 4 characters. It should be at least 3-5 pages, but feel free to make yours longer.

It’s a vague activity, but it’s something to get the script-writing juices flowing. Write about whatever you feel you should write about. An important note: Do not use this as a way to cheat in Script Frenzy. Use a different idea other than your April idea.

Write about a person who seems to be odd, as if he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Your main character should be of sane mind and should initially judge this person, deeming him/her crazy. However, by the end of your piece, the main character should have an epiphany of sorts and should now see this person in a new light; rather than being strange and/or crazy, this person is actually kind and misunderstood.

Write about a New Years Eve party gone horribly wrong. It can be based off your own experience, someone else’s experience or can be completely fictional.

Recall a time when you desperately waited for the mail to come. Write a fictional account of it. Start with “It seemed that the mail would never come.”

A personal favorite of mine: Write a letter to a teacher that gave you a hard time in school.

If you’ve never had a teacher that gave you a hard time, then make this into a piece of fiction.

Write about a person who discovers a key. Because of this discovery, something bad happens. What is that “bad” thing? That’s up to you.

Describe an object, food, or animal to someone who has never seen it before. Include at least one detail for all five senses (it’s okay if you don’t include a detail for taste when doing an animal or object).