Fictional Skies

Some have common sense, others a great sense, few have a sixth sense, many an undesirable sense. What is your script sense?  What begun as an idea for a blog post series to offer sensible scriptwriting advice to beginners and intermediate writers didn't quite make the first post. However, it has transformed into something so much better.  I had previously planned a blog post series entitled Script Sense and had a fair amount planned for it. But something happened the moment before hitting publish on the first post.  " Why am I not one hundred per cent convinced on this? " Something was out of balance with what I was trying to attempt. I had good intentions and wanted to help but felt it wasn't quite the right way to go about it.  Then in a moment of inspiration, a desire to keep Script Sense alive and to still help others:  Twitter  met My Rejected Idea  And  This was born:  If you can't m...

A round up of the most recent discoveries in the screenwriting world that I have a duty to share... The Pocket Screenwriting Guide   120 Tips for Getting to Fade Out  The Script Lab    Screenwriting Education and Screenplay Development  Screenwriting Tips... You Hack   (And hundreds of them!)  Other recent discoveries include Scriptwrecked ,  Industrial Scripts , My PDF Scripts  and TV Writer Chat . Screenwriting blogs: Dom's World , So Fluid  and  Lisa Edwards . Happy perusing!

If only it was that easy.  Almost a year ago (and the rest)  I drafted a blog post, which I never published. I do this often. This particular one was entitled " The Mentor and The Apprentice ."  Again this new draft (re-imagining) is an old one but now I feel is important to mention.  The original post began...  " Some time ago the new and improved  The Scriptwriter's Life  diagram went live and it featured a specific point that got my attention. It was something that I hadn't been conscious of until it was spelt out right in front of me.  So I realise that within  my great passion for writing, a small unknown frustration and longing had started to materialise..."  However, I realised that the then approaching dark cloud wasn't something that I should beat myself up over or view as a weakness in my ambition or resolve. But that it was perfectly natural to feel that way.  I just had a lacking element in t...

If you're writing a screenplay (like any other script) it will need to have an underlining structure to it which means outlining and planning, not rushing in without an endgame in sight. To help us along the way there are some structural guidelines and practices to take into account. The Three-act structure is widely taught in screenwriting books and courses for beginners. However, John Truby has a different view and outlines  in detail and length "Why 3-Acts Will Kill Your Writing." The fundamental problem is that the structure isn't at all about character. How are we supposed to structure character growth?  Here is where a number of useful and insightful character development structure guidelines come into play. For instance, John Truby has his 22 Steps  in The Anatomy of Story -  Joseph Campbell  developed The Hero's Journey - others have their own ways, steps and points but will require some research and experimentation to see which one...

" DreamWorks Pictures ' "War Horse," director  Steven Spielberg 's epic adventure, is a tale of loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War. "  ( YouTube )  Novel  Based on the 1982 novel by English author, poet,  playwright  and award-winning children's author  Michael Morpurgo . It  is one of his most celebrated novels (turned celebrated stage play ) and was runner-up for the Whitbread Book Award (now the  Costa Book Awards ) in 1982.  Amazingly, Michael has written more than 120 books and has released at least one new work  consistently every year since 1974. Release Dates  The film will open in USA on December 26, 2011 and in the UK on 13 January 2012. For the rest of the world see the film's release dates . I'm looking forward to this! It's going to be one to remember.

Screen grab courtesy of Danny Stack. Liquid Lunch came to life after a bet  Danny Stack and a few friends agreed to at the London Screenwriters' Festival in Oct 2010. The bet was to make a short film to a specific criteria and to a deadline. However, Danny lost the bet - but won with Liquid Lunch instead! For those who are strangers to the term Liquid Lunch (i.e. Teetotallers, under the age of eighteen, etc.) here is a little education . If you haven't heard of the six-part comedy web series (webcom to the savvy) or can't remember how the story goes, which is unlikely, here is a reminder: Ollie and Alex regularly meet in the pub to break up the monotony of their working day. But when they realise life is passing them by, they decide to do something about it... Three Ways to Watch You can watch the complete web series at the  Main Website , on the Facebook page , or over at the YouTube channel . *Warning, the youtube channel autom...

So my TV Drama Spec script didn't pan out for a suitable Emmy scriptwriting competition entry. But a new script was decided a few months back and is almost done. It's a sixty page family drama and road trip type affair written specifically for the  Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award 2011 .  Every script starts out with the best intentions and has an ideal way forward. But due to various factors they can sometimes fail to materialise how and when you wish. However, this one arrived at the right time, took me by surprise, by the heart, and demanded (by way of emotional blackmail) to be written before anything else. I had to comply.  What begun as a fleeting glimpse of an unbreakable bond between two characters developed into a larger story and a collective journey of discovery. It's a story about the fragile but wondrous nature of childhood and family, the vicious inner workings of assumptions and fear, the destructive and irreversible...