My Personal Writing Class--Screenwriting

By Kate Phillips

The fun has begun. I picked the books I’m using as textbooks and I’ve read the two books I’m using as reference guides.

I read Story by Robert McKee a while ago so I could review it. It’s inspiring so in the back of my mind I decided I would try screenwriting at some point. I have it on my desk for reference along with The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby which I read recently. The overview information from these books helps clarify my thoughts as I complete the exercises in my textbooks.

I started my personal screenwriting class with 90-Day Screenplay: A day-by-day guide through the process of getting your screenplay onto the page by Alan Watt. (I enjoyed following his 90-Day Novel workshop even though I’m not a novelist.) He makes writing entertaining and challenging. All the questions he lists makes you dig deep and discover surprising things about your characters.

As Watt points out on Day 7 on page 39: We are less interested in our protagonist getting what he wants than we are in seeing how he gets what he needs.

The exercises on page 42 ask you to write as your protagonist from six different points. If you let yourself go, your character will “speak” telling you things you didn’t know, hadn’t considered, and/or that explain his/her motivation.

One of the prompts is “The last time I cried was when…” Well I had never considered my protagonist crying. As I started to complete the exercise, I realized he had teared up while driving on the main road back into his hometown after almost a decade away which is at the beginning of my screenplay, but he had cried when he left suddenly without explanation to some important people in his life then, people he wanted back in his life now. I may or may not put that he cried in the screenplay, but it gives me insight into a vulnerability of my character.

I will be honest and share that sometimes I do the 90-Day exercises for two or three days at a time in the beginning because they are short (20-30 minutes) and engaging. This makes me feel I’m immersed in my project quickly. As the exercises take more time, I may only complete the exercises for that day.

I have a notebook dedicated to this book so I can see my progression. It also makes it easy to refer back to my answers as I move forward.

I’m alternating reading chapters from Now Write! Screenwriting with Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson and Writing the Romantic Comedy: From “Cute Meet” to “Joyous Defeat”: How to Write Screenplays That Sell by Billy Mernit.

I’m using one notebook for the exercises in these two books. Each entry is headed by the initials of the book and the page number of the exercise. I’m also using blue ink for the exercises in Now Write! and black ink for Writing the Romantic Comedy. This makes referring back to answers a bit easier.

My favorite section so far (I’m on page 38 on May 31^st when I wrote this post) from Now Write! is on pages 3-5. Mardik Martin, who wrote Raging Bull, discusses that audiences identify more with the conflict than the character. Observe people around you as they deal with conflicts. Collect anecdotes. But he also states on page 5: Remember, you can only steal so much from real life. The great writer uses ingenuity to combine characters and their situations.

On page 25 of Now Write!, Paula C. Brancato, who wrote Subterfuge, discusses that writers have many more ideas than they use. I enjoyed the exercise on page 27. There is a story setup then you are asked to jot down as quickly as possible 20 possibilities of what happens next. Find out how creative and clever you can be.

Writing the Romantic Comedy is more of a big picture viewpoint of your screenplay at the beginning. Lots of details and examples about screenplays: Point of View, Characters, Plot & Structure, Dialogue, Settings, etc.

Exercises start on page 29 and they are all about your screenplay so you need to have a good idea of your plot and characters by this page.

My screenplay plot and characters are taking shape.

I hope your projects are going well, too!

A few weeks after I wrote this post, I discovered Screenplay: Writing the Picture by Robin U. Russin and William Missouri Downs. This is the book you need for this class. See post dated 8/10/15.
 

 

Personal Writing Classes: Schedule & Preparation

By Kate Phillips 

          I’ve set up two personal writing classes for this summer—one for screenwriting and the other for songwriting—just for fun. I’ve never tried to write a screenplay before so new territory, but it seems a good summer-sized project. The earliest writing pieces I completed (age seven or so) were songs. I’m going to try and recapture that “magic.”

          First, my plan is to be in class 2 to 4 hours every day which includes reading my chosen textbooks, completing exercises, and writing. I hope to complete my work in the morning, but by midnight counts.

          I’ve chosen three books for my screenwriting class textbooks and two reference guides:

 

Now Write! Screenwriting with Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson;

 

Writing the Romantic Comedy: From “Cute Meet” to “Joyous Defeat”: How to Write Screenplays That Sell by Billy Mernit.

 

and 90-Day Screenplay: A day-by-day guide through the process of getting your screenplay onto the page by Alan Watt.

 

          I’ll be using Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee and The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby as reference guides. I’ve read both of these books.

         

I’m using one notebook for the first two books in my sceenwriting class. I will alternate Now Write! and Writing the Romantic Comedy books after each chapter. The 90-Day Screenplay contains daily exercises so it has its own notebook.

In preparing for this class, I read two published movie screenplays to see how they are formatted. Pick one or two that appeal to you. Since my screenplay is for TV, I also spent several hours replaying a TV movie a moment at a time copying down all the lines so I could see how many words/lines fit into the time frame as well as understand scenes, settings, and characters.

                                                ************

          I’ve chosen two books for songwriting textbooks:

Songwriting without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises for Finding Your Voice by Pat Pattison;

and Writing Better Lyrics: The Essential Guide to Powerful Songwriting Second Edition by Pat Pattison.

          I’m using only one notebook for both books in my songwriting class. I’m going to complete Songwriting without Boundaries first then work on Better Lyrics.

          I'm always thinking of six-word memoirs. It is a useful exercise to distill thoughts so Six-Word Memoirs edited by Larry Smith is a great book for inspiration.

          I plan on writing with a pen most of the time. When I write on the computer, I’ll print out my work and either staple the pages into the notebooks or keep them in a folder nearby—depends on the number of pages.

          I’ve always believed writing in several genres helps improve my writing as well as strengthens my voice. I dabble in poetry (for my eyes only). I write articles and essays. I want to write a screenplay and songs. These personal classes help me achieve my goals.

          I hope you choose a genre and some writing books that appeal to you.

Have fun in class!

   

A Writer's Summer Plans: Personal Writing Classes

By Kate Phillips 

         If simply planning time to write isn’t enough motivation, if you are not going to Paris to write, or if you need some structured writing time, look into writing groups or classes.

If you cannot find any that work with your writing schedule, set up a class for yourself. Simply pick a genre. Find two or three helpful writing books in that genre that speak to you. Choosing the writing books will take some time and effort as there is no one perfect writing book for everyone so start looking now. Then decide on either one notebook for all your work or one notebook for each book.

         You can work with one book at a time or alternate after each chapter. I recommend at least two books to get different perspectives on the genre.

Here are some books I recommended. If I’ve written a review on The Writer's Crate blog (not this blog as many posts have the same published dates) the date appears after the author’s/editor’s name.

  

For overview:

The Modern Library Writer’s Workshop: A Guide to the Craft of Fiction edited by Stephen Koch (8/5/13);

The Writer’s Home Companion: An Anthology of the World’s Best Writing Advice, from Keats to Kunitz edited by Joan Bolker, Ed.D., (12/3/12);

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg (6/2/14; 3/3/14; 9/17/12);

Lots of writing exercises:

The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within by Alan Watt (12/31/12; 1/7/13; 2/4/13; 3/4/13; 4/1/13);

The 90-Day Screenplay: A day-by-day guide through the process of getting your screenplay onto the page by Alan Watt;

The Writer’s Home Companion: An Anthology of the World’s Best Writing Advice, from Keats to Kunitz edited by Joan Bolker, Ed.D., 222 exercises on pp. 56-66, (12/3/12);

The five book series Now Write! with Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers includes these topics:

Fiction edited by Sherry Ellis;

Nonfiction: Memoir, Journalism, and Creative Nonfiction edited by Sherry Ellis;

Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror edited by Laurie Lamson;

Mysteries: Suspense, Crime, Thriller, and Other Mystery Fiction Exercises edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson;

and Screenwriting edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson;

The Weekend Novelist: A dynamic 52-week program to help you produce a finished novel…one weekend at a time by Robert J. Ray (11/5/12);

The Weekend Novelist Writes a Mystery: From empty page to finished mystery in just 52weekends—A dynamic step-by-step program by Robert J. Ray and Jack Remick (11/5/12);

 

Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse by Mary Oliver;

 

The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron (Cheryl recommended it on 2/28/13);

Six-Word Memoirs edited by Larry Smith (9/10/12).

          Useful tools:

                   The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale (6/9/14);

                   The Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus (6/9/14).

For novels:

The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt (12/31/12; 1/7/13; 2/4/13; 3/4/13; 4/1/13);

Now Write! Fiction with Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers edited by Sherry Ellis;

You Can Write a Mystery by Gillian Roberts;

You Can Write a Romance by Rita Clay Estrada & Rita Gallagher;

Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror with Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers edited by Laurie Lamson.

For poetry:

Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life with Words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge (4/7/14);

 

Rules for the Dance: A Handbook for Writing and Reading Metrical Verse by Mary Oliver;

Poetry from the Inside Out: Finding Your Voice Through the Craft of Poetry by Sandford Lyne (9/23/13).

          For memoirs:

Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir by Beth Kephart—who recommends many other books, (8/26/13);

Now Write! Nonfiction: Memoir, Journalism, and Creative Nonfiction with Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers edited by Sherry Ellis.

          For screenwriting:

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee (12/17/12);

The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby;

Now Write! Screenwriting with Exercises from Today’s Best Writers and Teachers edited by Sherry Ellis and Laurie Lamson;

90-Day Screenplay: A day-by-day guide through the process of getting your screenplay onto the page by Alan Watt;

Writing the Romantic Comedy: From “Cute Meet” to “Joyous Defeat”: How to Write Screenplays That Sell by Billy Mernit.
 

For songwriting:

Songwriting without Boundaries: Lyric Writing Exercises for Finding Your Voice by Pat Pattison;

Writing Better Lyrics: The Essential Guide to Powerful Songwriting Second Edition by Pat Pattison.

 

I’m setting up two classes for myself. I’ll be writing a screenplay and several songs this summer. You can read all about my preparation as well as how my two classes are going and some recommended screenplays in my next four posts.

Pick your genre. Choose your books. Set a schedule. Time to write!

    

16 Gift Book Suggestions

By Kate Phillips 

            If you are buying a book for another writer or using a gift certificate to buy one for yourself, here are 16 books I found helpful at different stages in my writing career:

At any level:

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. If I could only own one writing book, this is it. You are not a writer unless you are writing on a regular basis. If I am having a tough time getting started one day (or every day), I randomly open this book and read until I cannot wait to pick up my pen or go to my computer and write. It has never failed to get me going. Pressfield followed up with Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work.

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. This bestselling author shares his life story and writing advice. It's moving and inspiring. While I am not a fan of the horror genre, I truly enjoyed Mr. King's personal tale.

Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. This funny, irreverent author shares how and why she became a writer as well as what it really means to be a writer. She offers both specific advice and broad overviews. It's an excellent book to reread to keep a fresh perspective.

The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt, who also wrote the bestselling award-winning novel Diamond Dogs. Despite the gimmicky title, this is one of the best writing books I have read. The author's thoughts and insights before each day's exercises are terrific and inspiring. As of this post, I am on Day 30. Future posts will track my progress.

A grammar guide that works for you. Cheryl wrote about Grammar Girl who has written several excellent books. I also use The Chicago Manual of Style at work so it carries over to my other writing, Woe is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English, and Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing both by Patricia T. O'Conner.

The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale is my preference when I am searching for just the right word.

In the Beginning:

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. This is the first book that got me to write on a regular basis which is the only way to become a better writer. Her suggestions and advice are easy and fun to follow. The most important is to fill an 80-100 page notebook every month. No excuses.

For Writers Only: Inspiring thoughts on the exquisite pain and heady joy of the writing life from its great practitioners by Sophy Burnham. The title says it all.

Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury. The author shares his life story, the fight to be true to himself and his muse as well as amazing writing advice. In the back of the book, his poem, "What I Do Is Me—For That I Came for Gerald Manley Hopkins", should be framed or painted on the wall of every nursery and Writing Crate, in my opinion, so children and writers and everybody would know the importance and happiness of using your unique gifts while living your lives! (Please note: God is mentioned in the poem so do not read it if you will be offended by that.)

The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron. Famous for writing The Artist's Way, this book continues the author's work to help and support people who want to be writers. A combination of essays and exercises help make her points clear and easy to follow.

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers by Lawrence Block. With 48 titles of his books listed in the front of the 1994 version of this book, Block is more than qualified to tell writers how to make a living—and he does so in a funny and approachable style.

With some writing experience:

The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons About Writing and Publishing by David Morrell. The author offers lessons to writers starting with beginners and working up to writing successful books. It's the life he has led having written a couple of dozen books, novelizations, short fiction, as well as worked in Hollywood on the Rambo series, a character he created and wrote about in his debut novel, First Blood, at the age of 25.

Architecture of the Novel: A Writer's Handbook; Plot, Story, and the Mechanics of Narrative Time by Jane Vandenburgh. Plot and characters are front and center, but they are not enough alone to support a novel. A structure holding everything up and together is also necessary. This beautifully written book shows how to do this while also improving your ideas and writing.

Championship Writing: 50 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Paula LaRocque. According to the introduction, "This work is based on one chief assumption: That good writing is clear, precise, graceful, brief, and warm, and that bad writing is not." It is written for journalists and professional writers.

Is Life Like This? A Guide to Writing Your First Novel in Six Months by John Dufresne. This book is not a step-by-step guide, but rather a guide to all the facets you need in a successful novel. Each facet is discussed by Dufresne with other writers quoted or shown as examples so you can use the information and insights with your own characters, setting, dialogue, and plots to improve and complete your novels.

Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee. Whether you want to write a screenplay or a book, the author's advice and insights about stories applies. The list of his students' movies and TV show credits on the back cover is impressive enough to make you buy the book—and you won't regret it.

What books do you give as gifts?