Fictional Skies

Vince Gilligan (via  David D. Burstein ) has three excellent  storytelling tips  for those not wanting to ruin their work by rigid long term planning. Script Quack  offers two words and great  craft insight  for those struggling to get to grips with structure. Danny Stack  touches on the  realities  involved in becoming a professional screenwriter for those looking to create a ten-year plan. Jeffry Hirschberg  shares his  11 Laws of Great Storytelling  for those wanting increase the odds of their screenplay achieving greatness. Screenwriter's Digest

" The pursuit of perfection often impedes improvement . " - George F. Will There is a danger with beginner writers who may feel that their first draft has to be perfect. I know because it's how I used to think. However, a first draft is not meant to be brilliant. There's no way to get a first draft right other than to get it wrong. Or some of it, at least. It's why it's called an  exploratory draft. It's where you follow your curiosity and explore ways of doing things to see how it plays out. It needs time to be left alone. It's meant to be torn apart later on. The majority of it doesn't have to make the second draft. This stage is less about quality and more on getting something down. It doesn't have to be great but it has to be something. You need to go through what doesn't work in order to find what does. The first draft is an essential part of that discovery. Rewrite Later  You only get one chance to make a good fi...

It can be tough finding the right medium to tell a story in especially when you discover a versatile concept that could work or crossover into either television, film, web, literature, stage, radio, video-game or graphic novel. How do you know what to write it as? The short answer is: you don't. Unless you're specifically: a playwright, scriptwriter, or novelist. However, if you've yet to figure that out or commit to a set course, or want to write in more than one discipline, then it's not as simple as knowing what you don't want to write. Everything is possible. You can chat to people about it or consult writing books. You can do some research consuming a mass of product looking at how others have done things with the story concept they had. Ultimately, you just have to follow your instincts and see where it takes you. The goal is to do the story concept justice - to attract a producer/company and an audience. Naturally they want their money's wo...

The Script Lab has a helpful piece on the first ten pages of a screenplay for those wanting to hit those five crucial elements. Andrew Stanton offers an insightful talk for Ted on what he knows about storytelling  for those interested in story and the man himself. Gideon's Screenwriting Tips  has a useful piece on the common mistakes of novice screenwriters for newcomers looking to develop. Michael Ferris at Script Mag  passionately outlines his four secrets to screenwriting success for those wanting to break through the noise and maximise opportunities. Go Into The Story has an excellent piece and list on clichéd dialogue for those wanting to avoid it and know when it's necessary. Screenwriter's Digest

The story of Facebook and its rise and rise and rise fascinates. Most success stories and personal achievements inspire, but this one is different. That has only deepened over the last week as I received The Social Network on rental and have watched it four times. That includes 2 x film watch, 1 x with David Fincher commentary and 1 x with Aaron Sorkin & cast commentary. Even after four watches, I am more drawn to and compelled by the film than ever - as well as the origin of Facebook's success story, filmmaking, the industry, business and people in general. Ultimately it's about people: their personalities and desires; their talents and flaws; their failures and achievements. Everyone is the same under the surface but different and fascinating in their construct and actions. As writers, the more we experience, observe and learn about people the more informed, realistic and powerful our writing becomes. Facebook's Success  Ultimately what I feel the succe...

Two and a half months in and things are progressing nicely. Project Spacebound has a first draft and soon-to-be-announced Project Nightingale has an outline for its pilot episode. I found myself working on the first draft of Project Spacebound for three days during the week. Then at weekends developing and doing the prep work for Project Nightingale. I prefer prep work at the weekends because it's more relaxed and there's more time to give. Plus the prep work should be developing quicker than the script draft. So it worked out nicely. Adapting to Change  As previously mentioned , I have three projects set aside for the year and two of those have already begun. But I've decided not to bring the third one into the mix just yet. Again, like discovering the stacking projects method at the last moment, this decision was much the same. I'm comfortable with two projects going at once and really enjoy it. But feel I need to gain experience with two projects and see...

This book has taught me a lot. In fact, I taught myself screenwriting with the third edition before going to university to study it, as a result: didn't learn anything new on the craft for the first two years. Luckily, I wasn't going there to be taught the craft. This is a  great book for beginners and is there to prevent you from rushing into things and suffering the potential side effects: Start writing a feature screenplay of Roman epic proportions: get stuck four pages in and give up.  Jump straight into theory/methods from intermediate + material from Syd Field, Blake Snyder, Robert McKee, John Truby, etc: get a headache, overwhelmed, and possibly get writer's block before you even start.  Religiously follow professional screenwriter blogs and websites for advice, how to info, craft insight, competitions, success stories, agents, spec sales, box office, and so on: feel worse off, more insecure, develop a severe migraine and/or inferiorit...

" Nobody tells people who are beginners, and I really wish somebody had told this to me.... is that all of us who do creative work, we get into it and we get into it because we have good taste. But there's a gap. That for the first couple years that you're making stuff, what you're making isn't so good. It's not that great. It's trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but it's not quite that good. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, your taste is still killer  and your taste is good enough that you can tell that what you're making is kind of a disappointment to you. A lot of people never get passed that phase and a lot of people at that point they quit. And the thing I would just like to say to you with all my heart is that most everybody I know who does interesting creative work, they went through a phase of years where they had really good taste, and they could tell what they were making wasn't as good as the...

John The Animator Guy has an interesting and helpful piece on visual storytelling  for newcomers. Lucy V at Write Here, Write Now  offers great advice  on how to put together a Writer's CV for those looking to do so. Scott at Go Into The Story has an excellent ten-part series on his scriptwriting process for the curious. Michelle Goode of So Fluid: Confessions of a Screenwriter  has some great info and resources on social networking and peer feedback for writers wanting to network and share work. Brian at Screenplay Readers  shares some golden advice on how to get a 'Recommend' on your script coverage for those wanting to improve their game.