Category: Dave

Screenwriter's World Conference - Day 2

10/20/2012

by Dave

We just wanted to keep you up to date with what happened on Day 2 of the conference. The day was full of some excellent 50 minute panels and discussions. For the sake of the diary, I will just post one nugget of wisdom for each hour so you can have a sense of the day.

6:45 - I wake Dustin up by clapping my hands and exclaiming that today is going to be a good day.
6:46 - Just kidding. I turned on the lights and yelled "Wake up, loser! I want donuts before class".
7:20 - We toy with the idea of wearing the shirts our friend from Final Draft gave us yesterday and walking around like we work there so we can answer all questions by saying "Oh yes, Final Draft can do that". No matter what question they ask.
7:45 - Joke that we are going to announce to everyone that Rainbows and Unicorns will be setting up a table in the lobby to take pitches from everyone who didn't get all of theirs in yesterday. We will be there from 9am until whenever security escorts us out.
7:50 - Donuts achieved. We are now fueled by the heady mixture of sugar and caffeine. Let's do this.
8:00 - Walking into the hotel. Cabbies lined up out front are yelling at each other and ready to throw down. Not sure if that is an awesome of ominous start of our day.
8:05 - We arrive at the conference fashionably late. No one is around. I guess everyone will be staring when we walk in the back.
8:07 - We're ready to kick in the doors with both arms held high in victory (might as well own it). There's no one there... because we're morons and everyone else will be here when the conference starts at 9.
8:10 - Dustin seems to be blaming this on me solely on the fact that I read the schedule and said when we had to leave. I think he's being a little unfair.
8:58 - Finally sit down for session. I am redeemed when another early arrival said he could have sworn the schedule said 8am as well. Statistics say we are are wrong based on every single other attendee arriving at 9, but I still claim victory.
9:50 - First session over. Nugget of the day "Working writers do NOT follow THE rules every script guru tells you that you MUST follow." That doesn't mean write a 278 page script, but don't freak out if your inciting incident is not exactly five lines down on page 12.
10:40 - Second session nugget, "there is a big difference between an easy read and a fast read". You want the second one.
10:51 - Most awkward question ever as the entire panel is staring at the asker with totally blank faces. His subsequent follow-ups of "No, let me explain this better..." are not helping. It's like watching a career implosion in front of my eyes. Brutal.
11:21 - Woman is complaining to exec leading class that no one wants to read her fantastic script and it is just so unfair and if someone would just give her a chance they would see how amazing it is but they won't and it's not fair.... whew. (I left the punctuation out on purpose because she seemed to get it out in one breath). She doesn't seem to like the answer that maybe, just maybe, the problem could be in her script. Perish the thought.
11:30 - Nugget of class - A hooky idea is one where other writers say "Damn, I wish I had thought of that".
11:45 - Bonus nugget "Every story is actually a thriller". (think about it)
12:00 - Crepes for lunch. I actually got a savory one, no Nutella in sight. Weird.
2:00 - Sorry, after lunch coma, no notes in first session.
2:30 - Nugget "Typos get your query letter thrown out". I know we have all heard it. That doesn't make it any less true.
2:40 - Exec reminds attendees that desperation is not a good sales turn-on. States that "There is no crying at pitch fests". Not from what we saw yesterday.
2:50 - We are told that the first person to the mic can ask the one question of the hour when it is time. I have a question, I am there first standing patiently. A guy who cannot count very well lines up behind me. Moderator gets mad when another woman stands to line up behind him, saying that I get the only question. Being the gentleman I am, I yield the microphone to the young lady since my question was 80% answered as I awkwardly stood there thinking "What do I do now?" As I step away, the guy behind me seems to think the "her" I was referring to meant him and he steps up to the mic. People boo him, I give him a "seriously?" look. He gets the point, I'm a hero.
2:51 - Panel doesn't like her question, kind of shoots her down. Now I feel like an a-hole.
3:40 - Typos in query letters specifically mentioned again. See a pattern here?
3:45 - Brutal question guy is back. Still brutal. Still digging deeper with his follow-ups. Just sit down buddy... for your own sake.
3:48 - Oh good, it would seem that brutal question guy brought a friend this time. This guys questions aren't so much awkward as they are a rambling, incoherent mash together of all his technical knowledge with a question mark thrown on the end of it. This session is getting memorable for the wrong reasons. Still a great panel.
4:30 - Agent panel nugget, "write a great script". They said more than that, but if you don't have this first part down, you don't need the rest yet.
5:00 - Have question we were going to ask panel. They just spent last hour destroying... destroying, the premise of our question. Leave panel deflated.
5:20 - Something great happened. Don't want talk about it yet, but it was beyond any of the wildest expectations we had.

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ScreenWriter's World Conference, Day One - Pitch Slam

10/19/2012

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by Dave

Last Spring Dustin and I set a plan for the summer that we wanted to culminate at the Screenwriter's World Conference here in Hollywood. More specifically, we wanted it to culminate at the Pitch Slam event on the first Friday of the conference. I am happy to say that we accomplished everything on that list, but it all became very real this morning when we woke up at 6am (I know, right?) and got ready to check in first thing at 7am. None of what we accomplished this summer would mean anything if we screwed it up today. No pressure, right? Actually, that is a bit too much hyperbole. We were pretty calm and downright laid back, especially compared to many of the other attendees. Today was quite the experience and I kept a running diary to document it. So please enjoy sharing in our day. (Caveat, we know the names of the people we mention, but are intentionally leaving them out for privacy)

8:00 - Sitting in waiting room, talking to other attendees. Lots of nervous people. We keep telling them to calm down and be themselves. Met a kid from Germany here to pitch a sitcom. Seems like a good guy, wish him well.
9:00 - Tables are opened for pitch slam. People begin to line up to collect tickets to their targeted companies.
9:02 - Passes going quick with no rhyme or reason and the volunteers are having a hard time keeping up. Attendees are already starting to freak out. Calm down people, we're here for eight hours.
9:50 - Our first time slot opens, deep breath, here we go. Walk in the door, look at our table... there's no one there.
9:51 - Accident on the 405, some Execs late (including ours), that's life, moving on. People outside still freaking out.
10:10 - Ticket table has descended into a game of Go-Fish "Do you have a 45? No. Do you have a 22? Yes" We got a ticket to our top target. We're happy.
10:20 - Thinking I should start a game where I guess how many hyphens someone is going to squeeze into their title when talking to me. So far the leader in the clubhouse is "writer-producer-director-sound-and sometimes camera operator. Surprised he didn't throw craft services in there because he bought his actors some donuts.
10:45 - Met a guy here to pitch his historical story with real life people that he does not own the rights to but he is pretty sure they are public domain. He admits he may have some hurdles to overcome. He also paid to come here with the intent of seeing the one company he thinks can make his movie. That company is only here for the morning and going fast, he's a little nervous.
11:10 - First pitch down, exec enthused. He asked for our one sheet and more info and gave us his card to talk more. Win.
11:15 - We lucked into a card for a top target of ours. I'll just say that Dustin in very charming.
11:30 - Saw our friend from Germany. He has had three pitches and two asked for more info. He's feeling good.
11:45 - See our true life story guy again. He has not been able to get a ticket to his one target. He's starting to get a little hot under the collar.
12:00 - We didn't get our next pitch in, will queue after lunch. Talked to event bigwig and politely mentioned we were a little distressed that we have only gotten two cards in three hours and one guy wasn't even there. He gives us a makeup card for the late exec so we can talk to him in the afternoon. Charm works again.
12:30 - We go to lunch with our historical story friend and a very nice man from England. Our friend was able to convince his target company to meet him at one so he can pitch. He's much more calm now. Enjoyable lunch.
1:00 - We're back after lunch. We see our friend from Germany, his hot streak is continuing.
1:15 - We see our second company. Movie wasn't for them but they ask for our one sheet and info to talk about Management. Win.
1:35 - Head in for our make-up session with the late exec. Ten feet from the table and someone else sits down and takes our spot. Curb greater impulse to pick him up out of the chair and sit down ourselves.
1:36 - talk to conference organizer, they give us another make-up ticket for that exec. We also finagle a ticket for our number one, hot ticket exec for our trouble You really do get more flies with honey than with vinegar. Thank you random dude who took our spot.
1:45 - Saw our friend with the historical story. Sounds like the pitch went well and the execs want to hear more. He is in a much better mood and actually leaves happy.
2:15 - Talk to our friend from Germany. Four out of five execs showed interest. He's in great mood and heading for the beach. Well done my friend, well done.
2:16 - That is a sharp contrast to another kid at our table who has gone 0 fer every exec he has talked to. We try to cheer him up. Not sure it worked.
2:44 - Queue up for a string of three pitches in the next three sessions. If you are keeping score at home that means we will talk to more people in the next 15 minutes than we have in the last five hours.
2:45 - Talked to Management company. He is all over our work and truly excited. We seal the deal with Bloodlines and he requests the script. Win. As a bonus, he loves our business cards and asks for the link to where we got them.
2:50 - In to see one of our bigger targets. Feel like linking a picture of a mushroom cloud to describe how well that one went. Oh well... win some, lose some.
2:55 - In to talk to another production management company. Three straight pitches gets to Dustin and he vapor locks. I'm like "Everyone chill... I got this". Exec likes Bloodlines and asks for more info and wants to talk more. Win.
3:10 - Dustin sees kid from earlier who has not gotten any interest. He is crying in the bathroom. Brutal reminder of Hollywood.
3:20 - In to see production company we have whiffed on twice. Wasn't worth the wait. Guy is dressed in shiny black shoes, black pants, black belt, black t-shirt, black sport coat and slicked back black hair. He cues in right away on my Italian last name and builds rapport off that. Being Italian, I know we are somewhere we do not want to be. Guy asks every trap question you can ask in pitch. Asks us to send him synopsis, cast breakdown with actors for each role, budget estimates and release forms for all our ideas. We thank him, pretend like we're going to and GTFO. Dustin wants to refer to him as "Lucifer" while I lobby for "The Devil's Advocate".
3:55 - Sit down for our last meeting, exec not there. Looks like we are going to end the day the way we started it. We start to walk out and Dustin strikes up a conversation with an exec who has no one there to talk to. He says he is a horror guy so we pitch him our zombie movie. He loves it, asks what else we have. We pitch him Bloodlines, he goes crazy for it. Sees our third logline for our revenge thriller, he loves that too. We have spent ten minutes with him now and he wants all three scripts. Best conversation of the day. Vapor lock redeemed.
4:00 - We're done. Saw eight people, 7 want more info, two outright script requests (for a total of four scripts). It's boozin time.
4:05 - We're heading down escalator, Lucifer is on the mezzanine watching us. We nod, he nods, we pick up our pace.

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Cures for the "I got Nuthin" Type of Days

9/3/2012

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by Dave

When we were first named finalists in the Industry Insider Contest I knew it was going to be a busy summer but there was a part of me that was like "I got this". We were given three months to finish a screenplay and we already had the concept and the first fifteen pages written. Easy peasy lemon sqeezy, as my five year old daughters like to say. Let's all take a moment to laugh at Dave for how naive he was. I'll be covering how wrong I was on that in a post later this week. Apparently tight deadlines and the free flow of creativity are not always the greatest mix. In the last few weeks I have seen a lot of articles touching on the subject of writer's block. All of them are different and all of them are right, because there is no one cure for everyone. So I just wanted to throw my two cents into the discussion and share some of what I have learned this summer. Because I have found there is a huge difference between writing on spec and being able to set it down and come back later versus sitting at your computer and thinking "Mother of God, I need to have ten more pages done by tomorrow".

Turn off the internet: Well, not until you're done reading this article of course. I once read a quote that said "Being a good writer is 3% talent and 97% not being distracted the internet". All I really have to say about that is when I went looking for the quote for this article I spent about a half hour looking at the links on that page, which led me to YouTube, which led me to watching a video about a great white shark eating a seal next to a boat, which led me to....

Hide your cell phone: My iPhone is great, I could go on and on about the great features and games, especially the games. Did you know I am level 628 on Infinity Blade II? I'm excited to see that Zombie Gunship just came out with a rank structure and I am pretty sure I can make General by Thanksgiving, I'm undefeated on 9Innigs Pro Baseball, if I make just one more island on Tiny Wings I get to level up.... you get my point.

Play Xbox: I was going to bury this one a few spots farther down so you would have to work to put these last two posts together to call me a hypocrite, but hear me out. When I play games on my cell phone I am usually sitting there thinking "I'm a horrible person, I need to set this down". When I do finally set it down all it does is sit there and stare at me saying "Just one more level. It will be fun. You can trust me.... friend". When I play Xbox I am making a conscious choice. I say "I am going to take 20 minutes and play one sports game." (finite start and finish) Then, when I'm done I can get back to work because playing the game allowed my mind to relax and a relaxed mind is a creative mind.

Doodle: When I was a supervisor with the government we had to attend quarterly all hands meetings. One thing I could never figure out was whether it was better to take a notebook and be seen not writing anything in it, or not taking one and truly showing that you didn't care about the meetings. I decided to compromise and sat there and doodled all morning (It's okay, it looked like I was taking notes). One day my chief asked to see my notes and I had to tell him that they were pictographic thought ticklers. He wasn't impressed when he had to ask me what the sinking ship and nuclear mushroom cloud depicted (I really was not cut out for government work). That doodling wasn't just a defense mechanism against boredom though, it was a way to keep my mind engaged because an active mind is a ready mind (my chief didn't want to buy that one either). To this day, I keep a book on my desk and pop it open when I get stuck. (In the interest of full disclosure I must note that when I went and got the link to the book I spent about ten minutes looking at all the other links Amazon "suggested" I would like.)

Know your key creative times: You can't just sit down and say "I'll be creative between 10 and 11 today". It doesn't work that way. Some of us are morning people, some of us are night people, there's no use fighting it. I am a night person. I spent all of yesterday saying "I need to write, I need to write and freaking out when it wasn't happening. Then midnight hit and 14 pages just flowed out of me by the time I went to bed at 4am. Know your type and schedule around it. If you are a night person there is no use getting up early and sitting at your computer.

Just write something: Let's face it, as writers we excel at looking at other people's work and saying "I would have done it this way." It's the same with your work. Just write out your scene, no matter how craptastic it is. I guarantee you will look at it and say "No, I should have said this." And ignore that voice in your head that says you are wasting time by having to do it over. That blank page sitting there waiting for you to be perfect isn't exactly the pinnacle of productivity.

Change scenery: Get out of your house. Get away from what is comfortable. Get away from your home phone, your mail, your DVR that is way too full. Get away from the things your mind tells you that you need to do everyday and just focus on writing.

Fail safe: If all else fails just sit down at your computer, stare at the blank screen and hit your head against the keyboard until you bleed. That's what you're thinking you feel like anyway.

And, to head off questions to my my Infinity Blade II claim, here is proof. (I know, I need help)

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I've Got This Script...

8/1/2012

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by Dave

So I got this script, it's really awesome. It has placed well in multiple contests, received a "Recommend" from a well established review service, been described as genre re-defining, has been passed from desk to desk and gotten me meetings with managers.

So I have this other script. It has been called an unoriginal piece of work that brings nothing new to the genre, received more than its fair share of "passes" and been savaged in competition.

The difference between these two scripts? Nothing, they are the same script. My point in this is that this is a rejection based business. Even with my best work I have received more than my fair share of rejection. The key to it all is that every time someone tells me they like it and they want to meet with me, the no I received last week really doesn't matter anymore. You can't dwell on your failures, because there are going to be many. But all it takes is one person in the right place to say Yes.

And that contest we got savaged in last year? I entered it again this year, just for kicks, without making any changes. We just got an email this week that it is moving forward and doing well.

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Charactization vs Stereotypes

6/9/2012

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by Dave

In my former government life I had a job that required me to talk with people from numerous countries and cultures from around the world. In order to be successful in that job I quickly had to learn that there was not a one size fits all type of approach to dealing with different cultures. You cannot talk to a person from France the same way you would talk to someone from Russia. A person from Thailand is going to see the world differently than a person from South Africa. I'm not going to get into the specifics of what the differences are because that is not the purpose of this post. I'm also not going to get into it because it is too easy to offend someone if I speak too generally, and that is the purpose of this post.

Too many times I see movies where you can tell the screenwriter did not really think anything beyond a character than "this guy will be Italian" or "this character is Japanese". The problem is then compounded when the director or actor decides that the best way to convey that is to just put on a fair to middling accent and call it a day "Hey mon, I'm Jamaican". A lot of this falls on the director and the actors, they are the ones who are ultimately in control of the characters. But the more work you do as a screenwriter the easier their job will be. You aren't allowed to get mad at the director and actors if you don't give them anything to work with. If you are the person who thought that some characters needed to be Jamaican and the only thing you did to characterize that is put "Hey Mon" in every other sentence then you didn't do your job.

It is not enough to simply know your character's backstory. If you are going to have a character from another culture you need to do your research on what that entails. Is it a culture that values honor? If so, what kind of honor? Honor for their elders? Honor for a sense of face? Are they an organized culture or are they a culture that has no concept of waiting in line? If it is the latter it is going to creep into their personality much more than just "Oh darn, that line for the movie is too long." They are going to appear rude and pushy to other cultures. They are going to appear loud and abrasive. I used to joke that when we dealt with someone from one of these cultures it was a recipe for disaster (I won't say which culture). People from this specific culture are used to pushing to the front and being abrupt with others they talk to and we (The Law Enforcement Personnel) are used to very orderly proceedings. The interactions were "interesting" to say the least, but the funny thing is that no one was being intentionally rude to the other. We were just acting in such a way our culture had raised us.

So I beg you. Do not just make a character be from a different culture just because you think it would be interesting. You owe it to the character, to the director and actors, to the audience and most importantly... to that culture to make sure you get it right.

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Pitch Festivals

5/31/2012

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by Dave

It seems like every year that goes by pitch festivals become more and more popular. There is a huge difference of opinion as to how useful or successful they are but I am firmly in the camp that they are a useful tool for writers. Notice I did not just say undiscovered writers. They are a useful tool for all writers and here's why:

1. Getting out there: At some point in your career you are going to need to put yourself out there. No one is going to call you and say "I sense that you have completed a screenplay. Will you please send it to me?". If you don't hustle your product, you don't sell your product. It's that simple.

2. Practice: Unless you are Martin Scorsese and can call up the head of the studio and say "I've this great idea, you want to make it" then you need to pitch. Pitching is not the easiest thing to do for any of us. I am not the most social person in the world (probably one of the reasons I am a writer). I am the type of person who calls a perfect vacation one where I have a hotel room with a view of water and a balcony. I'll sit there for a week recharging and writing and not care whether or not I talk to a single person. I get knots in my stomach when it comes to walking into a room. Once I am comfortable we are off and running. The more I pitch, the more comfortable I become with the process. This is the perfect place to practice that. And if you are Martin Scorsese reading this... call me.

3. Lower Pressure: I don't deny the amount of pressure at these events, but I'll put it this way. What do you think is worse? Having your pitch tank when you are one of many that day or having it tank when the studio exec took time out of their day to talk to you specifically? One is more memorable than the other. So take a deep breath. Stop psyching yourself out. Know that it will be all right. You can do this.

4. Exposure: This is where the difference of opinion comes in on these events. Some complain that many times you are "only" pitching to assistants who don't have decision making authority. This is an incredibly short sided argument. Assistants are assistants because they want to work their way up to being reps and execs (no one is hired as the CEO). Their key to that promotion is finding an amazing talent they can champion. You wait to pitch to an exec, hope they say "Yes" and have your script go into their pile. Or you can pitch the assistant, have them walk into the exec's office and say "This script is amazing. You need to read it tonight". An assistant who champions your work can be the best friend you have because you both have a stake in the game. Never, and I mean never, look down on someone in Hollywood or assume they can't help you.

I'll be honest, the reason there aren't more success stories from pitch festivals is because a lot of people who attend are not ready to be there. I didn't say they are not talented, they have obviously worked hard enough to complete a screenplay and that is a major accomplishment. They just aren't ready to be there. Completing your first draft of your first screenplay and heading off to one of these events is not a sound decision that I would endorse. But the cream does rise to the top. If you are prepared, your script is ready and you have a great pitch you will get someones attention. The studios and management companies are there for a reason. If the person before you crashed and burned on their pitch for a film about the madcap adventures of a talking penguin on vacation in the tropics, that has no bearing on your script. Only worry about what you can control, and that is you.

And yes, I do put my money where my mouth is. Dustin and I will be at The Screenwriter's World Conference in October happily (unless it's before 8am. I am NOT a morning person) pitching and networking away. I hope to see you there. If you see us in the hall feel free to stop and chat. I'll be just as nervous as you are.

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Setting Writing Goals

5/24/2012

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by Dave

I talked yesterday about setting realistic goals for yourself to keep your writing momentum heading forward. I also mentioned that setting a daily page count goal is not one of those realistic goals. There are several reasons for this. I touched on the first reason yesterday. You don't always have something to write. In fact I would say there are more days where you aren't actually writing than there are days where you are. Screenwriting is not something where you say "I have a great idea for a movie. I'm going to go write that". That path only leads to madness. You need to plan, prep, prepare, plan some more and then take some time to think about it before you start writing. A writer needs to realize this and incorporate that into their writing process.

Further complicating matters is the fact that if you write just to write you will end up creating more work for yourself in the future. It is a lot easier to identify and fix problem areas of your script in the planning process than once it is on paper. Let's say you write five pages, just because that is your goal, and they actually come out kind of all right. But the problem you keep running into is the fact that those five pages are based upon a weak plot point or scene that needs to go. Now you are in worse shape than where you started because not only do you need to fix that scene but you also are going to have to adjust the narrative thread of every scene that came after that. That can be a very time consuming and frustrating fix.

So that has led to the question I have heard the most. What types of goals do I set for myself? Instead of a page count I have decided to set a time goal. Ideally I want to spend at least an hour each day working on a story. Do I always reach that goal? No, but other days I far exceed it. That is why it is called a goal and not a requirement. But with a time goal I actually have less pressure to produce something specific and therefor I end up producing more. If I was always sweating about my page count I would burn myself out on a story. Instead I can pause and think "I haven't spent any time working on a story today". Usually that will spur me to at least spend a half hour focused on story development. That half hour can be something as simple to jotting notes on paper, working on structure, actually writing, or doing everyone's favorite task of editing. Even if I do not reach the hour goal it has spurred me to work and I therefor keep my momentum going. The pages will come and the finished product will come. By devoting time to the small stuff and not just focusing on pages, pages, pages they actually come easier.

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Finding Time to Write

5/23/2012

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by Dave

This first statement may sound a little odd but one of the hardest things for a writer to do is find time to write. Unless you a fantastically successful writer the odds are you have a "day job". So a writer needs to find balance between that world and finding enough time to push their writing career forward. I spent three years going that route before I started Rainbows and Unicorns. Sometimes it was easy to find time to write. Sometimes it was incredibly difficult. I would go through stretches where I would end up working multiple 12 to 14 hour shifts in a row and the last thing I wanted to do at night was sit down and stare at a computer. Sometimes it was physically impossible to do when you get home and have to be back to work in seven hours. But much like working out, if you break the routine it can be hard to get back the momentum. So you have to set a realistic goal for what you feel you can achieve to keep the train rolling.

Many new writers want to set a page count as that goal. They think "If I just write five pages a day I will have a first draft in less than a month." It doesn't work that way. Putting pen to paper (so to say) is only part of the writing process. I spend at least a month figuring out plot points, story arcs, beats...etc before I even attempt to start a screenplay. At least a month. Sometimes those ideas can "marinate" for six months before I feel ready to write it. So does it count if I just jot notes on a story for a half hour but don't type any pages? Absolutely. Anything that helps propel your story towards finish is momentum.

Now comes the tricky part. When do I do this? That is going to be up to you and where your prime creative time is. I wrote many of my first screenplays in the middle of the night after everyone was asleep. I thought that was just due to the needs of my day job. When I left the government and opened this company I thought "Sweet, now I can write all day". Not so. On the one hand I severely underestimated the demands of running a business (and I thought I was being pretty conservative in my estimations). But even on days when I have my desk cleared and can just concentrate on writing I still have trouble. No matter how much I try I am just not in a creative mood in the morning. It just isn't in my comfort zone. So even with writing now being my day job I still find myself sitting up at 3am (last night) writing. I just love that midnight to whenever I fall asleep time. The house is quiet. The lighting is dark. The telephone isn't ringing. No one cares that I have noise cancelling ear phones in. The internet is not constantly updating (big one). I can just sit back and let the story flow.

I'm a night person. That's who I am. I'm comfortable with it. You need to find what's comfortable for you because you need to keep that momentum going. As I like to tell my wife "Screenplay don't write themselves".

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Continuing to Work With a Writing Partner

5/16/2012

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by Dave

As promised, I wish to continue to talk about working with a writing partner. Judging from the response I received, this is a topic many of you are interested in. It's not hard to see why. That's because, at its core, working with a writing partner is conflict. Just not in the bad way many perceive conflict to be.

You're an artist. I'm an artist. Dustin is an artist. At their core, everyone involved in the creation of a motion picture is an artist. The conflict rests in the fact that art is very personal to each and every person. Putting your story forth is a matter of expression. It never feels good to hear someone else tell you they don't like your way of expressing yourself. Or in this case, it's never easy to hear someone listen to your expression and then try and change it. As I stated in the last post, Dustin and I have had our share of... disagreements. At first the differences might has well have been a mile wide. They seemed insurmountable because each of us thought "Why can't he hear what I'm saying?". In reality we should have been listening to what the ideas were saying.

I remember the very first screenplay we ever wrote together. It was a work of art, or so we thought (thought tickler: Remind me to do an article on why your first screenplay really does suck). We had combined two of our ideas into one story, my characters and his world. After it was done Dustin brought up the point that we really didn't have much sorcery in our swords and sorcery movie. I was like "Please. I got this". I felt the story was much more about the human elements and the politics of their relationships. I didn't think it needed to be diluted with wizards throwing fireballs. And since I had control of the writing program, my idea won out (he has since repaid me when we've had disagreements on my scripts that he has directed. So don't feel too bad for him.) Anyway, we sent the script off to be reviewed, stars dancing in our eyes as we waited for the response of "Where have you been this whole time. You need to get down here this afternoon and start making movies". Naive? Yes, but that's part of the learning process. The bigger lesson, and much harder to swallow, was when we got the report back and it said "For a sword and sorcery movie this seems rather light on sorcery..." I'm not used to eating humble pie, but I took a big old bite on this one. But in that moment we learned a lot about ourselves as a team. I gave him one minute to crow about it (literally) and then we got to work brainstorming ways to add sorcery to the script.

We have taken that lesson to heart for the rest of our partnership. When it comes to collaborating, the old adage is spot on "The truth lies somewhere in the middle". Now we listen to each other when we throw ideas off each other. Instead of dismissing them as not what the other was thinking, we process them and tweak them. After a couple rounds of tweaking we will suddenly have one that comes up and just screams "Bingo!". When you hear that idea you just know it is the one. And it is one we would not have come up with if we just decided to write our story our way.

That doesn't mean I don't still poke at him. A few months ago we were in LA for a directing class and the instructor was talking about collaborating and all of the arguments that you can expect as a healthy part of the process. Dustin smirked, looked at me and raised his eyebrows in a "You should listen to this." kind of way. I just fired back with "If you would just realize that I'm always right, we wouldn't have to argue so much and we could get down to business." Isn't friendship great?

This was a bit longer than I thought so I will end this the same way I ended my last post. Tune in next time when I talk about how exactly we break down our roles in writing the actual script.

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Working With A Writing Partner

5/10/2012

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by Dave

We'll see what Dustin thinks of this one as I didn't really tell him I was going to write it. Dustin and I have been fortunate that we were very good friends before we started writing together. He was in my wedding. I will be in his wedding next month (send him congrats, there was a time we didn't think he was going to make it to this step) We know what makes each other tick. We know where each other is coming from. And we know how to talk with each other. That doesn't mean we haven't had our share of.... disagreements. That is what writing partners need to understand. There are going to be arguments. On some of them you will be so far apart you will wonder how you are ever going to get the story done together. We've been there, because no matter how much we are alike, we are also vastly different.

Dustin brings his computer animator background to the table and approaches things from a much more "punk rock" vibe. Me? Not so much. I approach stories from a much more analytic and human emotion side of the table. Dustin? Meh. I'll propose a story idea to him and he'll be totally grooving on it. Then suddenly he'll come up with an addition that, to me, is totally out of left field, and I'm like "No". Then I'll counter with another view and he'll be like "uh, uh" (sorry for the valley girl speak, but I'm kind of highlighting the absurdity of some of our conversations). Then a funny thing will happen. We'll ruminate and think about it and suddenly we have a solution neither of us thought of, but is way better than anything either of us could come up with on our own. That is the beauty of the partnership. You have to allow yourself to have those arguments so you can find those common new ideas.

We just got finished writing an updated draft of a revenge thriller with a federal agent at its core. We have gone back and forth many times on the characters internal thoughts. Sometimes the discussions are easy, sometimes we dig in our heels and stick to our guns. It would be easy for me to say something like "raise your hand if you've actually been a federal agent.... Oh, just me? I guess we'll go my way then" (To be honest I probably have done that a couple of times just to tweak him). That would defeat the purpose though. I am not writing this movie for me. I need to think about how the audience will react. If the thoughts are too "in" and will pass by someone I need to know. Better now, while we can fix it, than in front of a test audience.

I'll do another post at a later date of how we actually break down our roles, but the key for today is that we are both better writers because of out partnership. The end result is the winner, and that is the key. Even if the road to that finish line can be a little rocky.

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Screenwriter's World Conference - Day 2

ScreenWriter's World Conference, Day One - Pitch Slam

Cures for the "I got Nuthin" Type of Days

I've Got This Script...

Charactization vs Stereotypes

Pitch Festivals

Setting Writing Goals

Finding Time to Write

Continuing to Work With a Writing Partner

Working With A Writing Partner

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