I must confess, my only real exposure to author Henry Miller is the provocative film, Henry and June. Based on that movie, I’m surprised he found time to write (Lucky bastard!). But nonetheless he seemed to have an effective approach.
Here’s a graphic, courtesy of The Chive, that appears to show part of his work schedule. It contains some great writing tips or “commandments” that can also apply to screenwriting:
While items 4 and 8 seem to be somewhat contradictory, there are some wonderful “commandments” here. Which ones do you find most helpful?
There are two types of people in this world – those who are bothered by small mistakes, and those who are not.
And what’s interesting is that both types have a hard time believing that the other type really exists.
“How can you not see that mistake?”
“No one else cares about that stuff!”
Ever been on either side of that argument?
For example, yesterday a friend of mine asked me to look at a YouTube video she’d just created to promote her new landscaping business.
Among other things, I suggested that she correct a typo on one of her slides. It read:
“Regular site visits ensures a smooth installation process.”
Did you spot the mistake? It should have read:
“Regular site visits ensure a smooth installation process.”
And what was her verbatim response when I told her about the typo?
“I can live with it.”
You can live with it, but can you succeed with it?
Remember, what’s no big deal to you, may be a big deal to someone else. And that someone else may be the person deciding whether or not to give you their business, or push your script further up the ladder.
Baboon snipers roaming the neighborhood? No big deal.
All things being equal, it’s better to have a polished script than an unpolished one. Both types of people respond well to a lack of mistakes, so it’s a much safer play.
Sure, it’s difficult to eradicate every single typo from your script. But it’s usually the cumulative effect of the mistakes that’s the problem. If you push past someone’s tolerance for errors, you’re done. And many people have a very low tolerance.
Even billion dollar companies make mistakes
Here’s an image another friend of mine, on the other side of the equation, sent me yesterday. Can you spot the mistake?
And what did my friend say in his email?
“I thought you might feel my pain.”
Pain!
It goes without saying, if you can avoid giving your reader pain that’s probably the way to go. It’s okay if you don’t quite get why these kinds of mistakes are irksome — you just need to know that they are, to many of the decision-makers reading your script.
There’s a reason that scene description is also known as “action lines.” It’s important that your descriptions contain the feeling of movement, even when none actually exists.
Here’s an example of a weak way to describe objects at a location (i.e. bad writing):
INT. CABIN – DAY
Stacks of dusty boxes are everywhere. There’s a deer head on the wall.
Blech. How can we make that better? Let’s make the objects come alive with a couple of simple changes.
INT. CABIN – DAY
Stacks of dusty boxes pack the room. A deer head stares from the wall.
Not fantastic writing, but you get the idea. Giving your objects an action (even though they’re not moving) brings your scene description to life.
There was no character in this scene. But if there was, one of the active ways to introduce objects in a scene is to have your character(s) interact with them.
For example:
INT. CABIN- DAY
Steve pushes through stacks of dusty boxes. A deer head stares at him from the wall.
It’s easy to lose your way while writing your script, or when producers are giving you notes.
In the following clip, Jacob Krueger (a WGA award-winning screenwriter and founder of Jacob Krueger Studio in NYC) offers some great advice for staying on track.
I especially love the part where he discusses fixing your script and incorporating notes:
“What I want to encourage you, is set the fix aside. And instead look for, ‘What’s the opportunity?’ Don’t try to fix your movie. Listen to the note. Think of what you’re going for. Ask yourself where the opportunity is. ‘What would be fun?’ — Not, ‘What would be expedient.’ ‘What would be cool to do?’ — Not, ‘What would solve the problem?’… When you allow your self to play, that’s when you figure out how to do it in a way that really resonates.”
There’s a really engaging TV series in the UK, on Channel 4 (E4), called Skins (not to be confused with the short-lived MTV version). Part raunchy drama, part teen comedy, the BAFTA-winning show is packed with gripping characters and storylines.
It’s made all the more impressive by the fact that the entire main cast is replaced every two years! (And you thought Glee was harsh!) On top of that, each episode focuses on a different character that you can’t help but love by the end of the hour.
On seasons/series 3 and 4 there were two stand-out characters — Emily and Naomi (known as Naomily by their legions of fans); fearlessly played by Lily Loveless and Kathryn Prescott.
Their two-season journey was exciting, poignant, surprising, touching, agonizing and uplifting. Everything you’d want in a story arc. So much so, that I decided to use my screenwriting sensibilities to create [say this next part in your head with an ominous echo] the ultimate Naomily Youtube video!
It’s called “Naked.” (Settle down, no one’s actually naked. It’s a play on the many definitions of the word, like exposed, raw, vulnerable… Plus the main song used is “Naked” by Tracy Bonham.)
Why spend the time to make such a video?
A few reasons:
1. I love the show.
‘Nuff said.
2. The challenge.
How do you distill two seasons into a video that’s under ten minutes in length, present it in a way that’s fresh, and hone the story so that it can stand on its own?
It involved doing what all good screenwriters do — strip everything out until you’re left with only the story you want to tell. Similar to writing a script, there were so many wonderful scenes that I wanted to include but didn’t support the main narrative, so they had to go. It was a really good exercise in killing your darlings.
3. To create something visual.
We toil away for years in our darkened rooms, writing stories that we hope will sell or, dare we dream, actually dance across the silver screen one day. Sometimes it just feels nice to be able to create something that people can see right now and say, “Wow.” (Of course an original short film would be better, but…)
The resulting video utilizes non-linear storytelling, and synchronizes key actions and scene cuts to the music, to enhance the emotional punch. In doing so, hopefully it becomes more than the sum of its parts. Let me know what you think!
Warning: Lesbians!
This video doesn’t contain any nudity or significant swearing, and would probably be acceptable by late-night network television standards (tame by cable television standards). However, it does contain several scenes of girls kissing, etc. So if you’re homophobic, or lesbi-antsy, you might want to stay away from this vid… But if you do, you’ll be missing out on something rather beautiful.
Can’t see the video above? Want to download it? Naomily.avi (Optimized for Windows | 1280 x 720 | 174 MB) Naomily-iPad.mp4 (Optimized for iPad/Mac | 1024 x 768 | 125 MB)
FYI – The first three seasons of Skins can be streamed through Netflix or Amazon. The fourth season DVDs can be rented or purchased through the same.
There’s a really engaging TV series in the UK, on 