Sunday Picture Post 8 / Tip: Eat & Sleep
For The Sunday Picture Post, we are going to flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday I will post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, please post one or all of the following:
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: EAT & SLEEP
This is going to be one of those “do as I say, not as I do” advice bits.
Exhausted and starving at the time of writing this post, having eaten a bowl of pea soup and a fruit shake today, I can only muster enough brain power to tell you to eat 3 healthy meals a day and to get at least 6 hours of sleep so you don’t get stuck reading the same sentence 50 times, like I am write now. (Oops, I mean, right now.) Lack of food and rest will give you a scuttle brain, resulting in loss of productivity and creativity.
Sunday Picture Post 7 / Tip: Value
For The Sunday Picture Post, we are going to flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday I will post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, please post one or all of the following:
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: VALUE
As they say, anything of great value does not come easy.
Imagine working three years to save up for something special that you want. Now imagine someone giving you that very same thing ten minutes after you had conjured the want. The same item would not have the same value to you. It matters how hard you work for it.
Think about dating, people always want the challenge or the person they can’t have.
Monumental structures are not built in a day, they cost enormous amounts of money and often, human life.
For your monumental career, you must have patience, deal with setbacks, and forge ahead to greatness.
When times get tough and you want to give up, just remember that once you succeed, the reward will be equivalent to how hard you have worked for it.
I Am a Writer
by Jaden
For burgeoning authors, one of the hardest hurdles to jump is being able to say the words, “I am a writer.”
The most commonly asked question by new acquaintances is, “What do you do?” This is the defining moment in relationships. What you say here suddenly becomes everything that you ever were or ever will be.
Squirming and getting queasy, you might claim to be a gigolo or a gift-wrapper or a cracker-jacker, anything to avoid uttering, “I’m a writer.”
Who believes the “I’m a writer” line anyway? Everyone is a writer.
Worse than strangers are your loved ones. Saying “I’m a writer” to your nearest and dearest elicits responses like, “Fantastic, you’ll be poor forever.” Or, “You think you’re special?” Or, “Why don’t you get a real job and work like the rest of us?”
Even though you work eight days a week from the moment you wake until the moment you go to sleep, your friends and family think you aren’t doing anything. People think that because you haven’t showered or dressed or moved from a single spot in three days that you are lounging around drinking margaritas, when the opposite is true; each shower is a half hour wasted that you could be writing.
Writing is a sap-drippingly slow process. Writers dread giving up any time to clean, eat, socialize, or even go to the bathroom. They long for the day when they can say “I’m a writer” and feel confident about it because they are actually getting paid for it. Anything that does not contribute to that goal, ie. anything that is not writing, is a bother and a distraction.
All those hours and years you slave away with only the support of a small handful of people, then all the sudden, you are an “overnight success!”
No, you were a closet writer.
The moment you acquire fame or fortune, those same people who didn’t believe in you will be telling everyone how you are their buddy. Companies will throw more free stuff at you than you could ever begin to imagine. Invitations to events pour out of chic faucets into your hands. And everyone will want to know how you did it.
How did you do it?
If you never say you are a writer, how will anyone ever know you are a writer? How will anyone pay you for your writing if no one knows you write? At some point, you have to start saying, “I’m a writer.”
My new Internet friends have recently been making comments about wanting to be writers. Full to the brim with creativity, writing and editing, these people run their own websites. I tell them, “You write everyday; you are a writer.”
Just because you are not making money at writing, does not mean that you are not a writer. If you love to write, you spend every waking hour writing, and you can relate to this article, you are a writer.
In these modern times, we feel that our worth is based on how much money we make or how much traffic comes through our website.
There are mediocre writers who make millions and unknown geniuses who make nothing; they are both writers.
Income only defines a writer to people who are unable to assess quality on their own.
How good of a writer you are depends on your natural talents, how much you practice, and how much you educate yourself. Just like with any art, career, or sport, you get out of it what you put into it.
The sooner you can say, “I’m a writer,” the sooner you will be a writer.
Think about this. Every famous writer came out of a womb, had a childhood, grew up, felt lost in the world (probably), and ultimately came around to express him/herself through the written word. At some point, each of these people had to stand up to everyone and say, “I’m a writer.”
Being passionate about writing and spending the bulk of your time writing makes you a writer. Whether or not you earn a living at writing is up to you.
Married… Buried: Let Go The Ones You Love
by Jaden
Oh, you lovely romantics, I’m not talking about marriage in the spousal coital sense of marriage (though some of my points apply), I am talking about marriage in the creative writing sense of betrothing your ideas.
When a person first starts writing, they think every thought is precious and should go untouched. It is a common problem.
Marrying unfitting ideas is shoveling dirt on your characters’ graves. Let your characters breath. Be open to change.
The sooner you let go your first ideas, the sooner you will break ground to better ideas.
One time, I went to a panel discussion with the writers and voices of The Simpsons, a television show that I respect more than any other for its unending exploration of ideas and mastery of comedy. As I have witnessed with successful projects, the writers were a glowing, happy, excited bunch of people, even after ten years of working together.
The best advice I received from The Simpsons team was that of being able to let go of ideas, even the ones you love. If not every one of the twenty writers in the room is on the floor laughing, the joke does not make it to screen.
Here, you have a room full of writers throwing out joke after joke, each time being met with rejection. Each joke has to be focused on the main story of the episode, in line with the overall theme of the show, and truthful to the characters.
Maybe one guy has lots of good jokes and another guy only interjects one fantastic joke every so often. Each writer has their own strengths and weaknesses. Not every joke put on the table will be accepted. Quite the opposite, everyone has to agree for the joke to survive.
When you are writing alone, there is no one to disagree with you. If you are in doubt about something you have written, that means it is probably really bad, so cut it. As hard as you think you are on yourself, Hollywood will be much harder.
It is irrational to think every thought you have is ingenious. No professional writer thinks this way. All professional writers cut massive amounts of ideas and wording.
Anyone scared to edit will not write an interesting sellable script.
Your first ideas are going to be common and unoriginal. Don’t marry your ideas. Don’t marry your script. Be open to change. Explore every possibility until you have found exciting and unique ideas.
You will know when your story and characters really click, they will take on a magical life of their own. Don’t tell your characters what to say, let them tell you.
When creative writing, escape your ego. Let your mind travel to a strange preternatural place. You might feel a little crazy, but therein lies enchantment.
Liberate yourself from inharmonious ideas to allow your story and characters to flow freely.
The Agent Trap
by Jaden
Agents and lawyers have a bad rap for being megalomaniacs.
Just like in any group, the few extremists give the rest a bad name.
I have heard stories about agents who curse, yell, and throw things at their assistants. As fun as that sounds, when it is unwelcome, it can break down a person’s good spirit.
Agencies are like fraternities; they do some heavy hazing before they let agent-hopefuls climb the ranks.
Although agents get away with a lot of bad behavior, there are lots of people like me who take note and would never give the brash ones my business.
One time, I was working in the entertainment legal department of a television network. Some young flunky lawyer who thought he was a hotshot agent was trying to play hardball with the old school attorney for whom I worked.
On behalf of the network, we were negotiating with the representatives of the actor for our television show pilot. Because the agreement is a seriously detailed seven-year binding contract between the actor and the network, often sensitive negotiations go right up until the audition time.
The actor is not allowed to audition if the agreement is not signed.
After weeks of negotiation, this nobody agent was still arguing over some silly detail for his nobody teenage actress, something like whether there would be one or two doors on her trailer. Whatever it was, it was a detail that the company didn’t allow to be changed even for big name actors. As the agent was busy making unrealistic demands over the phone, the strict audition time passed for the poor little girl who was sitting out in the lobby.
As this was a one-shot deal, another actress was chosen and the TV show went on to great success. Many years have passed since then. This sweet and talented actress, who was the number one choice for the show, never landed any other major roles because she had a cocky no-good agent.
After everyone had gone home, this guy calls me back and asks for the Vice President. I say, “She’s left for the day. The auditions are over. Your client missed it.”
The agent says to me, “You’re lying. Put your boss on the phone.”
Talk about dumb arrogance! What could I do? There was no boss to put on the phone. We weren’t playing games with him, like he was with us. Our group was a straight shootin’ bunch. We honestly did what we reasonably could for this actress.
When the rest of the legal team came back the next day, we all had a good laugh about this agent’s illusions of grandeur. Other lawyers had a few stories to share about him too. And I can tell you, I told all my friends in the industry to avoid dealing with this guy.
The day was done! The cast had already been selected for our TV show, and here’s this guy calling me a liar, and still trying to make demands. He had no idea how to do his job or what was the process.
A bad agent can ruin a person’s entire career. Sometimes, a golden opportunity comes once in a lifetime.
As a writer or actor, your name can be tarnished by those who represent you. You must choose wisely. Never be desperate about selecting your representation. Be confident that you are valuable and that you want to work with someone who is worthy of you. Keep in mind that any money you make from your hard work, your agent gets 10-20% of it. Don’t pick a jerk who doesn’t deserve it!
In this case, it was the perfect role for this girl and the director wanted her specifically. If your rep blows it for you — that’s it! Game over. We, at the network, all felt terrible for this young actress, but there was nothing we could do for her.
Being a dolt does not serve the agent or the client or anyone else involved. Rude behavior never wins.
You can play hardball with good manners. “No, I am sorry we cannot accept that offer. We want two doors and ten mirrors in the trailer. If you change your mind, call me. It has been a real pleasure negotiating with you.”
Before saying something like that, and before flushing a client’s career down the toilet for some extra doors and mirrors, agents and lawyers ought to do their homework. Find out whether your demands are realistic or not. Ask your co-workers at your agency.
In this agent’s case, plenty of his co-workers had done similar deals with our network. Asking a few people, he would have found out that even higher paid, more notable, actors had not received that for which he was demanding.
Not only did the young actress miss a huge opportunity, but also the agent/lawyer (he was some kind of crossbreed) lost out on his 15% of her money for the next seven years!
There are lots of other negative ways a client is seriously affected by their agent’s rude behavior, but legally, I can’t share that information. Just know that it is better for all parties to play it safe and be nice!
Choose representation that will reflect positively on you, someone who has your best interests in mind, not someone who is blowing air into his inflatable ego. When you are making money, the agent is making money. Sometimes, it seems like agents forget that.
ADVICE TO AGENTS AND LAWYERS:
Treat every person with respect.
Never make absurd accusations or demands.
Do your homework.
Say “please” and “thank you.”
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