Scripts I want to read

It occurred to me a few days ago that, while I read a ton of scripts, I may not be reading the scripts that will best teach me how to get noticed in Hollywood. Sure, reading classics and works of the greatest screenwriters out there today are great ways to improve at the craft of writing screenplays, but these scripts were written by some at the height of their careers. What about reading those scripts that got an unknown noticed? What was it about those early works that caught a reader's eye and sent the script up the chain to be purchased and developed?

I took the question to one of my best Twitter partners-in-crime, @tracinell, who started getting the feelers out there to our online screenwriting community. It's been an interesting few days. Two scripts came up immediately, Juno by Diablo Cody, and Little Miss Sunshine by Michael Arndt. Beyond those two, I then pulled up the analysis of spec sales in 2009 by Scott Myers from Go Into the Story. For 2009, Scott had listed 67 sold scripts. I looked up each of the screenwriters listed to see how many of those were first time sales for the writer. The time-consuming task between the list and IMDbPro was an eye-opener. Here are my rough observations:

• By my loose criteria, maybe 11 of these scripts were from first time, unconnected writers. 
• Many of the scripts purchased were written by teams. While one may be a newcomer, the other was generally well connected which eliminated them from my list. 
• That's about 17% of sales.
• Many of the sold scripts were topping that year's Black List.
• Once someone sold ONE script, several others followed quickly. This is important. Have an arsenal of material. When you're hot, you're hot.
• Finding those first scripts to read isn't an easy task. Even back from 2009 sales, many of those films are still in development or in production making those scripts scarce.

I'll get to later years' analyses, but for now I'm letting 2009 sink it. Not the greatest news for unconnected writers but it's also encouraging: It does happen. Now it's just a matter of working on the craft to up those odds.

TWS

Best Books about Screenwriting and TV Writing

Whether you are a beginning screenwriter or have been honing your skills during the past decade, you are most likely always ready to read the best books on screenwriting. Sometimes, it's for inspiration, other times for motivation to stick to the craft despite the years of tenacious efforts seeking the first break into the business.

I have compiled a bibliography of the best screenwriting books I know about and use, and have made the list available on my Web site, AcademicBib.com. There are books on screenwriting and books on TV writing, each with a link to Amazon so you can get some information about the piece, read reviews and see if it's a book that interests you.

AcademicBib.com is a work in progress, so navigating the site is still a bit rough. However, using the links directly to the books on screenwriting and TV writing should make the search easier. Missing a book you're looking for? Let me know! You can post here in a blog comment or email the information to TheWriteScript@Yahoo.com.

Happy reading and, better yet, happy writing!
TWS

Pilot: getting ready for take-off

Grad school really impedes my writing. Comprehensive exams are finally over. I now have less than a week to make a few changes to the TV pilot and get it submitted to Scriptapalooza before Friday. Looking forward to having that done and getting the script "out there."

With the first week of TV pilots down and a few more coming up this week, it is already apparent that Hollywood needs a new crop of writers with fresh ideas and a different perspective. Frankly, someone's got to be able to present something that is not a formula-driven cop or lawyer procedural. These rehashed story lines are already old...and these are the new shows. Why can't creatives be more creative? Why do some people believe that the only stories of interest take place among cops, reporters, lawyers and doctors? I know these people...they're not nearly as interesting or exciting as TV makes them out to be. But for some reason, we keep perpetuating these myths.

No worries. I will rescue Hollywood and give you something worth watching and characters you want to spend time with. No cops. No lawyers. No doctors. No journalists.

Promise.

Pilot #1 -- Done

Pilot #1: Done and registered. I have my very first WGA registration number. I feel so...so...registered. Probably the first time I've been happy to be just a number. Yet there's something highly symbolic about having that number. There are those who start to write, and those who finish. I'm a finisher. I got through the marathon called the second act and made it across the line to pick up my number. Lots of starters...fewer finishers. That makes me feel good.

Now onto Pilot #2, f.k.a. the Spike TV script. Going to give it a quick read then come up with a plan of attack to finish it up.

Grad school picks up again way too soon. Dreading the workload and trying to balance all the balls again. Back to insane time management if I expect to have screenwriting time. However, I can ALWAYS find time to do the things I enjoy.

Cold Open Trials and Errors

My cold open on Pilot #1 is pissing me off.

I feel I should be able to fix the problem quickly. In fact, at this point in the process -- essentially a completed script -- it should practically write itself. But it's not. I'm fighting with it throughout the day mentally, hashing out options and playing "what if..." games with new ideas. I want the opening to be funny, but it's taking place during an unfunny event. Everything humorous comes across as inappropriate, or distracting from the story or confusing.

[Note to Tina Fey: How do you handle this problem?]

I want/need to finish this. Soon. It'll work itself out. I expect tonight I'll lie in bed before sleep takes over thinking through the newest idea. Most of my brilliant ideas happen that way...in unusual places at odd times. Right now, I'm ready. I am open to the spark that will make all the words fall into place. My brain is creative and magnificent. I know the last few pieces to the puzzle will be found soon enough.

Yet, I'm impatient. Soon enough hasn't been soon enough.

Great Expectations

I have high expectations of myself. I fully expect that I will always do well in my classes, that I will continue to write good papers, do quality research  and soon get out of grad school adding those little initials after my name. I expect the same with my scripts. I never go into the writing thinking that I'll write something adequate or acceptable. From the outset, my intention is to knock it out of the park.

Home runs always? No.

The difference between having high expectations and of expecting perfection, is that high expectations still get the work done. Sometimes, you even impress yourself and others. Sometimes, you fall short of impressive and maybe you barely get to "it's OK." If you expect perfection, I doubt that anything will ever get written. Even if it does get written, it will never get shared with others. It will never get to the outside. Perfection, of course, is impossible. It's incapacitating because it's an unachievable goal.

My great expectations are to get the work done. That's the work of a writer. I've got the October deadline for Scriptapalooza for the TV pilot scripts. I plan to get a little writing done this weekend if the Universe allows it. My scripts won't be perfect, but they will be far better than the guy who claims to be a writer but can't get past the fear that others will deem his work to be just "OK." I've written long enough to be over that. My fear is in NOT getting the stories written. My fear is that you won't have the opportunity to see my stories on your TV or at your theater. That would be tragic for you and disappointing for me.

I don't want you to have to suffer that tragedy. But more importantly, I don't want to disappoint myself.

Relaxation begets Stress

What a great break! There's nothing like doing nothing. But now that the break is over it's difficult not to look at the calendar and wonder where 2/3 of summer went.

Really? Only four weeks left?

In mid-August, it's back to the University for the madness that is the Fall semester. That time of welcoming a new class of first-ever college students tasting their first morsel of freedom. It's a time of drama dealing with their tragic miscalculations of time needed to get passing grades and teaching less about science and more about time management. Frankly, I have my own issue with time (and the lack thereof) yet for different reasons. How I would love the workload of an undergrad! I could get As and solve all the world's problems during my spare time.

Really!

I'm getting into the academic mindset now that I've seen the calendar. Over the next four weeks, I'll start spending increasingly more time on the comprehensive exam study and the thesis. Less time will be devoted to screenwriting. Ideally, I graduate in December. Then I can be a writer without conflict, without guilt. I'll get two or three of my pilots ready for the October scriptapalooza contest and that will be it for screenwriting until December. Pilot #1 needs some minor work, Pilot #2 is partially drafted and Pilot #3 is merely a funny idea in my head and hasn't hit paper yet. I really doubt it'll be ready to submit this go-round.

Really.

I tell my students that all of life is a balancing act, that your time will always have competing interests. It's all about choosing which balls are worth juggling and then not dropping the important ones. Right now, I'm juggling too much. The grad school time suck, however, is nearly done. I'm really close and it would be tragic to drop the ball now.

Really!

Go Into The Story

A huge thanks to Scott Myers at Go Into The Story for linking The Write Script on his blog. If you haven't read GITS, check it out. For a beginning screenwriter, his site is enormously helpful.

Thanks, Scott!

Reading Pilot Scripts -- 30 Rock & Community

I found two scripts online for pilots that have been produced: 30 Rock and Community. Interesting reading. The first thing that occurred to me about each was that the main characters' names were later changed. For Tiny Fey's 30 Rock, the female lead, Liz Lemon was originally written as Lisa Lemon. The Tracy Jordan character was originally Lawrence Jordan . In Dan Harmon's Community, the male lead, Jeff Winger, was named Jeff Crocker. Frankly, I think the name Liz Lemon is funnier than Lisa Lemon. Yet I also think "Crocker" better described Harmon's character than "Winger." But what do I know?

My intention of reading these scripts was to see that from the creator's pitch to the pilot production, things get changed. The essential ingredients remain, but names can change, scenes are rewritten and some elements are simply scrapped for different elements. I don't know to what extent the changes came later from Fey or Harmon, how much was dictated from suits or were battled out in development. It doesn't even matter.

Would I freak out if some suit insisted on changing my lead character's name? Yeah, I might die a little inside, but when faced with the possibility of having a pilot script turned into a pilot episode, followed by an order for 13 episodes...hell, I'd be all, "Sure, change whatever you want. What do I know? You da boss." Did Tiny Fey roll over so easily? Next time I have lunch with her or find myself beside her on an airplane, I'll ask.

Until then, the writing continues.

Here's the deal...

It has been quite a month for ideas. Not sure why, but TV comedies are crowding my brain right now. I see what's on TV and the new shows getting produced each year. Not many of them are shows I want to watch. Now I'm writing what I want to see. Here's the list of projects I'm working on:

Project 49
This is my feature film. The project is outlined and several major scenes are written including the first act. About 20 pages written so far on the first draft.

Pilot #1
This is the 30-min., single-camera comedy I am nearly done rewriting. I'm cleaning up a few scenes, writing in a few extra parts for continuity and then it will be ready for WGA registration.

Pilot #2
Another comedy that I am now writing a quick first draft. Good, high concept. Spike TV: Bite me.

Pilot #3
Yet another comedy that will get started once #1 and #2 are both done/registered. I'll jot down some notes here and there in the meantime, but I don't need to have too many projects going all at once.

For each of the comedies, they are three distinct properties with nothing (other than the writer) in common. I want my portfolio to show range and depth. I want to leave a reader asking, "What will the next one bring?" Predictability would kill me.

Pilot #1 -- Penultimate Draft

I'm not sure exactly how to say this, but...

I love the snot out of this pilot.

Bring on the C-4

This crap is crazy. It almost writes itself. The concept is simple. The characters are distinct, have purpose and well-defined goals. The joy of writing, of creating, is that when I need to or want to, I can blow shit up.

Thank you, Spike TV. Saturday would have been dull without you.

Spike TV -- this one's for you

Spike TV is stupid, but brilliant in how they acknowledge this and how they intentionally target their demographic. They are unapologetic in how they describe their viewers:

"Our guys drink beer, chase women, play sports, gamble and attempt at every turn to successfully put off adulthood. The characters in our comedies must reflect these traits, too."

I respect that.

I found out about their screenwriting contest last night on Twitter. Woke up today with an idea that is dumb enough for Spike TV, so I'll write out the 30 pages and pay the $20. I'm not going to spend too much time on it. For me, this is an exercise to see how quickly can I go from idea to submission. It takes me back to my journalist days. Writing on the fly was my drug. We were always "on." We never attempted perfection, but we did marvel in how well we could write given the restrictions of the deadline. Back then, I learned how to write drafts that were so far beyond "draft" quality. A draft had to be good enough for print. There wasn't the luxury of time for revisions. You learned how to edit as you go, proof as you type, and write ledes while driving back to the office.

At the very least, I'm building a portfolio. When someone says, "that's good, but what else do you have?" I will have an answer. In writing.

Screen-writing v. screen-thinking

Some people are thinkers and other people are writers. The thinkers are the kind of dreamer that never gets their ideas out of their head, they don't know how to get them out, how to put them into words on paper and communicate their ideas to others. They have this concrete wall, a skull, they can't permeate.

Writers are dreamers as well, only they have developed the skills to translate their thoughts into words. Writers write, as the saying goes. I look at the guy who struggles with the idea in his head, incapable to take pen to paper and connecting the two. I don't want to be him.

I can be intimidated by the task. I can be overwhelmed by the hard work. I can be exhausted from the long hours. I can ache from slouching in front of the computer all night. I can want to quit but I don't. The payoff is finishing the work. Finishing the work is succeeding where most everyone else fails. As long as I continue to write, I will finish. If I quit, then I'm just that guy.

Ah...It's coming alive

During my massage this morning, I was intentionally focused on letting my mind wander through my story in hopes of bringing a few areas of my story to life. What more could have been achieved than naming one of my key players. Names for me are not just accidental, meaningless configurations. For this character, I wanted his name to "fit" in more than just an identity, but with a name that was filled with multiple connotations.

This works. Suddenly, there's new excitement for my story...as if individuals are coming to life, becoming breathing beings. Something about naming -- it makes a difference. This character now has a substance and a "nature" that he didn't have yesterday. Creating a "being" is about the ultimate creative endeavor.

Days like today...being a writer feels powerful.

The History of Writing and Waiting

I'm not sure when my copy of Final Draft will show up, but I keep watching for the mail. I'm on a route that gets mail near the end of the day. I don't remember if it's being shipped by U.S. Mail or UPS...

Not that I could do much other than install the program on my laptop and then get back to the school work. Fortunately, the semester will be over soon (two weeks) and I can then think about the script project. So hard to focus what's important at the right time. That's the procrastinator in me. I have to ask myself that question daily, what's the most important use of my time today? When it's a paper due in a few days, it's the paper, not the script. But the characters and events are usually not far from the front of my mind.

Writing is a strange activity. Part of the drive to write is the feeling that something has to get out, for me, it's getting something out of my brain and turning an idea into "something." I remember the feeling I had after finishing my first script. I had to make three copies at Kinko's, binding them with brads and them shipping copies off to the small screenwriting contest I was entering. My script didn't win, it effectively got fourth place, the first of the honorable mentions after the big prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd where handed down. Actually, none of the prizes were "great" it was just a nod in the right direction. For me, the contest served as a deadline to finish the project. To commit to something new from beginning to end and put my work "out there." The feeling of being in the game was uncomfortable at first, but that awkward feeling is now gone. There's some confidence in that this isn't my first attempt at writing for screen.

My writing background...

Always a writer or one type or another. Stories as a kid. But at five, when asked what I was going to be when I grew up, my answer was "a director." My first career was as a journalist. I took a playwrighting class early in college but never got past writing short scenes and one-act plays. Yet it was good for learning classic structure and the rules of stage writing. As a journalist, the writing was different yet interesting because the topics changed daily and I got to meet interesting people and as a crime reporter got to hear the details of creative crimes of white collar criminals that are more clever than some are given credit for.

After a long break from work and school, I returned to school and got a B.A. in Political Science studying international relations and American politics. When entering grad school, my initial areas of study were international relations and public policy, but I've since dropped the IR component and changed it back to American government keeping the policy. It's an amazing breadth of knowledge that has given me way more to write about than I probably could in my lifetime. The original plan with grad school was to stay and get the PhD. But life changed and so did plans. I'm absolutely OK with the decision to stop (for now) with the MA. There is a large part of me that is tired of the semester schedule, the workload, teaching incoming freshmen and all their drama...the long hours of little sleep, the grueling exams. In September, I'll take comprehensive exams and if I do well enough to be recommended to continue at the PhD level, at least I'll have left the door open to return. But for now, I'll be more than happy to have completed the MA. Graduation is in December if I pass comps and get my thesis done.

Back to watching Life on Discovery. Amazing pictures even on my non-HD TV.