Sunday Picture Post 5 / Tip: Research
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: RESEARCH
One thing that really bothers me when I watch a movie is when it is factually inaccurate.
Almost all movies will forsake some truth for art. Often, this can be a wise and acceptable choice. Other times, incorrect information can strongly detract from the movie.
As a writer, you need to make the decision as to what you will keep true and what you are knowingly altering into pure fiction.
If you have to change the look of a character, the location of a city, or dialog, do it because it makes the story flow better, not because you are lazy and didn’t do the research.
To make a story believable, whether it is fiction or nonfiction, you have to research to get to know every dark crevice, especially if it is a time period piece, historical, or based on something real.
Writing good fiction is based on intelligent thorough research.
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11 Responses to “Sunday Picture Post 5 / Tip: Research”
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Great post Jaden. I am going to try and do this exercise with you every sunday.
REEL NINJA - Cool. I look forward to your creativity.
A few years ago I had an idea for a novel that would be set in the Roaring Twenties. I started writing and quickly realized that I needed to do some research. What did they wear? Drive? What jargon did they use? Even going through the motions of having a character wake up and start her day required some knowledge of that era. Within a week, I shelved the project because the research was too daunting. At that point, I just wanted to write. Not that I mind research, but I wanted to work on my story, develop my characters, and devise a plot, which is why many writers advise “write what you know.”
MELISSA - Good point. In an effort to keep my TIPS short, as I could go on a million tangents, I did not discuss this: Yes, research can be exciting and derailing. This brings me back to SPP4/FOCUS. I think research is important and shouldn’t be forsaken, but yes, at a certain point, you have to get back on track and FOCUS on your initial intentions and project. As with all things in life, it is about BALANCE! Like a healthy diet or a superb recipe, a work of art must be balanced with a little bit of this and a little bit of that for just the right mix. A person should not lose focus by spending too much time researching things unnecessary to the script, but he should know the basics of his topic, at least.
Adventure
Two scientists examining the engine of the next space shuttle.
From the construction of the space shuttle to the first steps on the moon, Neil Armstrong is the documentary film of the events leading up to the first space walk.
JEAN - I wish your story was the beautiful truth behind this tragic image. Good job.
What’s the story behind it?
JEAN - I will send you an email about what it is because I want people to make up great fiction ideas here. The truth is very sad. This is a perfect experiment on how something so awful can be viewed as something so wonderful. One’s life is drastically altered by their perspective and imagination.
1. Kong!
2. Jimmy and his dad build an artificial heart in their garage.
3. Boy wonder Jimmy and his MIT professor dad resurrect King Kong with an artificial heart, much to the dismay of New York City.
BILL - Love it! Much preferred to your STD pitch! Can I say, you are improving already? ;-)
Jaden,
I’m not sure about this one. Looks like something confiscated from Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
I agree with movies that aren’t well researched. You just can’t get into them and they fall flat.
I am working on a novel set in the Renaissance and research has taken up quite a bit of my time. Once you get into it though it kind of flows and I find, anyway, it is much easier to envision rather than stereotype. Of course, can we ever really give a blow by blow account since we are biased towards what we know now, and what happened then? Dialogue should always retain the flavor of what was, or people can’t read it.