LESS IS MORE

Recently, during a table read of a screenplay, I found myself desperately struggling to stay focused on the story.  The dialog grabbed me, but then it was followed by overly detailed description that in some cases filled entire pages before the next words of dialog were uttered.  To escape the torture of this interminable glut of narrative, I allowed my mind to drift away into pleasant images of my upcoming weekend plans.

Sound harsh?  Maybe so, but the truth remains that excessive description is a fairly common problem amongst new writers and writers who never bothered to educate themselves in the craft.  Basically, you want to include only those details that will add something meaningful to your story.  You want your writing to be tight.

The genre in which you write will help determine the amount of description you’ll include.  The above screenplay, for example, read more like a novel, but unlike a novel, screenwriting structure allows just a hundred or so pages in which to fit all of your story elements.  Therefore, detail must be absolutely terse and dialog to the point.

In addition to excessively detailed descriptions, I have seen characters engaged in activities that don’t relate to the story.  Does the reader really need to see the protagonist awake from a good night’s sleep and then proceed through his/her daily morning routine, step by step?  Probably not.  Ask yourself, if what you’ve written is critical to the story and then define exactly how.  If it’s not critical, cut it.

Robert McKee, writer, instructor, consultant and author of the award-winning book Story, is one of the true masters of story who says it best:

“From an instant to eternity, from the intracranial to the intergalactic,the life of each and every character offers encyclopedic possibilities.  The mark of a master is to select only a few moments but give us a life-time.”

A few years ago, during another table read, the moderator interrupted the readers midway through the first fifteen pages of the script.  It was unclear to him, and to the rest of us, where the story was going.  It began with the protagonist talking to coworkers in his office.  Ok, so we’re getting a feel for who our protagonist is.  But then the dialog went on and on about…nothing.

The conversation continued as the protagonist walked with his coworkers to the elevator.  During the ride down to the main floor, we heard more talk about…nothing.  After exiting the elevator, the protagonist and his coworkers headed to the street and walked to a nearby restaurant, where the same conversation about, yes, you guessed it…nothing, ensued. I was baffled and amazed that in seven or so pages, we learned nothing about the story except that our character worked in an office and was able to carry on a conversation about nothing.  Jerry Seinfeld can get away with this, but as budding writers, you cannot.

Remember, we do not need to see the character doing everything.  Even reality tv shows edit hundreds of hours of film down to less than an hour of your time, an hour of carefully crafted elements that create a structured story. You must do the same.  Here are some suggestions.

First, outline your story.  I know that there are many writers who don’t believe in outlining, but in doing so, you will have a blueprint, a recipe, a guideline of story elements that will keep you from deviating from your story.  In the long run, it will save you time and get you to the final page of your masterpiece much faster.

Next, ensure that each scene of your screenplay or each chapter of your book have a purpose.  Each one must tie into your outlined story elements.  Ask yourself what needs to happen in order to propel the story forward, then put pen to paper.

Finally, when you edit and rewrite your story, ask yourself if you can illustrate the purpose of each scene or chapter with less detail and more precise dialog.  Redundancy will not only bore your readers, but if you’re trying to sell your work to agents and/or publishing houses, it will surely earn you a rejection letter.

For more information regarding story structure, I strongly recommend Robert McKee’s book, Story.  Though it’s intended for screenwriters, the lessons offer useful information for writers across all genres.

CALLING ALL SCREENWRITERS!

Screenwriting is one tough gig!  Not only does a writer need to understand screenwriting structure well enough to create a compelling storyline with interesting characters, but the writer must also weave all major critical decisions, plot points and twists into the story while staying within the confining page requirements of ninety and one hundred-twenty pages, depending on the story’s genre.  In addition, once the masterpiece undergoes numerous edits and rewrites, then the writer needs to strategize a plan to get the screenplay read amongst the thousands of scripts that are stacked sky high in the offices of underpaid, overworked Hollywood readers.

Take, for example, my first ever screenwriting workshop hosted by Hollywood writer and teacher, David Freeman at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York City, nearly seven years ago.  After introducing himself, David invited everyone to look around the auditorium.  As I glanced the room from end to end, I’d estimate that there were at least five hundred of us wanna-be screenwriters, if not more, all eagerly staring back at one another.  After a few moments, David nicely informed us that we were looking at our competition.  Once the melodious sighs of the audience members dwindled, he then added that we were a small group and to keep in mind that at that very moment, every Starbucks in Los Angeles was filled with writers pounding on their keyboards, hoping to create the next Hollywood blockbuster.  Talk about discouraging!

In order to have an edge, screenwriters may want to seriously consider entering screenwriting contests.  Contests offer writers exposure, and exposure is a very good thing because contestants never know exactly who’s reading their script and to whom their reader may be connected.  Every year, screenplay competitions help launch the careers of many screenwriters due to the fact that contest sponsors not only give away monetary prizes, but also opportunities to shop the winning scripts around to various production companies.

Here in Nashville, the Tennessee Screenwriters Association‘s annual screenwriting contest is already underway.  This non-profit organization has been supporting and promoting screenwriters since 1988 through their weekly meetings, networking opportunities and of course, through their annual screenwriting competition, which is in its tenth year.

Winners of first, second and third place will all receive cash awards, but the first place winner will also have his/her script sent to a healthy selection of established and successful production companies.  Visit the TSA website at www.tennscreen.com for a complete listing, as well as official rules and registration information.

The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2011 which means that there’s still plenty of time to dust off the screenplay that you started a few weeks, months or even years ago, to find a cozy spot at a local Starbucks, my personal favorite being the Starbucks on 21st Avenue, and to write that next Hollywood blockbuster.  Who knows?  This could be the one contest which launches the screenwriting career that you’ve long been dreaming about!

The Power of Writing Each Day

As writers, we’ve heard the expression dozens of times: just show up at the page.  But when our daily lives are crammed with job responsibilities, family obligations and holiday tasks, showing up at the page may be difficult to weave into our daily routines.  Before we know it, one day morphs into one week, which then morphs into a month which then spirals into several before we realize, “Gee, I haven’t written anything in a while.”

Though it may appear nearly impossible, it is imperative that writers carve some time out each day to write despite the daily, unbridled events that life hurls at us.  Even if it’s only for ten or fifteen minutes a day, these regular entries will not only serve to strengthen and improve our craft, but how else will those writing projects that we began with such passion and vigor see their final page?  Indulge me as I illustrate the power of how necessary this slow and steady practice is.

When I first moved to Tennessee three and a half years ago, I was living only twenty-four miles from my day job in Nashville.  That may not seem like a big deal, but in order to arrive to and from my work, I had to travel on several of the major interstates in Nashville, and then navigate through various back roads that were loaded with stop lights, stop signs and slow-moving school zone traffic.  A commute, that mileage-wise should be a breeze, took me nearly an hour each morning and afternoon…and that was on good days when the highways were free from inclement weather, car accidents or road construction.  At minimum, I was on the road two hours per day, which in a five-day workweek equates to ten hours of time that could be better spent writing.

Frustrated by the idea that I was becoming more intimate with my car than with my writing, I decided to take action.  In order to build in some writing time, I had to make a tough decision: sleep less.  Instead of leaving for work at my usual time, I left an hour earlier each day so I could spend that extra time practicing my craft.

What a new experience being the first to arrive to a dark and sleepy office space that oozed peace and quiet.  Soon after beginning my ritual, I found that I arrived to work less stressed each morning and I left each afternoon a bit more satisfied, less resentful of my job because I was feeding my soul with my passion.

Over the course of several months, I became addicted to this alone time. However, the real reward presented itself after only nine months of following this routine.  It was then when I completed what I will call a very rough, first draft of my memoir.  How many pages did I write in just one hour per day?  Over five hundred!  Imagine what I could have accomplished if I had doubled my writing time each day.

If you desire to write regularly, but can’t seem to find the time, then I invite you to take a look at your schedule, a thorough look. Search not only for free gaps of time, but also for opportunities where you can rearrange it, like I did.  The point is to commit yourself to your craft.  That five hundred-page novel or that one hundred twenty-page screenplay that you began months ago will remain in limbo until you create a habit of devoting time to them.  And don’t get hung up on what you write.  Just write!  You can edit later, when you reach the end result!

NaNoWri-WHAT???

As I write this post, thousands of eager writers around the globe are at their keyboards, frantically pounding out word after word, working passionately to write an entire 50,000 word novel in just thirty days.  Sound crazy?  Maybe for some, but for many, completing the daily minimum goal of 1,666 words is nothing less than invigorating.

Now in it’s eleventh year, NaNoWriMo, short for National Novel Writing Month, went from having just twenty-one participants in its first year, to an overwhelming 165,000 participants in 2009.

Chris Baty birthed this writing marathon in San Francisco and he, along with twenty of his buddies, began a phenomenon that caught on like wild fire. Over the years, NaNoWriMo has gained non-profit status and has grown to include over five-hundred chapters worldwide.  More impressively, last year’s event consisted of nearly two thousand K-12 schools.

While today is the official kick-off of NaNoWriMo, you can still register by visiting its official website at www.nanowrimo.org.  You’ll have until midnight of November 30th to pump out those one hundred seventy-five pages of novel in order to be eligible for prizes.  For younger writers who are up to the challenge, visit www.ywp.nanowrimo.org to sign up.

Already signed up and worried that thirty days of writing in isolation will have you checking into the nearest psychiatric ward?  No need to agonize because there are plenty of writers in Nashville who will be participating in local Write-Ins. Check out www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/72 under Forums for an updated calendar of events where you can meet and write with other local NaNoWriMo writers.

For those of you with a novel that’s been brewing in your noggin for the last decade, well, now is the perfect chance to give it life.  To ease the struggle, toss the spelling and grammar lessons from your high school days, because they don’t count in this contest.  It’s all about the quantity, not the quality of the work that you submit.  Who knows, maybe you’ll go on to publish your novel just like sixty-four other NaNoWriMo writers did.

So, disconnect all of the appliances, except for the java machine, say adiós to friends and family, and get lost in your writing.  Let your fingers glide over the keys until you reach the finish line.

If you’re participating in NaNoWriMo, leave a comment and let us know how you’re progressing throughout the month.

Good luck!

The Social Network And You

Recently, I saw The Social Network, the movie about Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook.  If you haven’t seen it, then I urge you to go…immediately, especially if you’re a writer, film-maker or someone who just needs the motivation to keep working toward your goals.

I was blown away, not only by the superb acting, but also by the manner in which writer, Aaron Sorkin, captured the spirit and internal force that drove Zuckerberg to succeed.  In the movie, he’s an animal, hungry for membership into exclusiveness, as if being a Harvard student isn’t quite exclusive enough.

With each fleeting second of the film, I became more and more empowered by Zuckerberg’s contagious obsessiveness.  To the viewer, he had no other distractions.  He was driven by a one-track mind, and this allowed him to nurture his baby until it became the international phenomenon that redefined the very meaning of exclusive.  I was intrigued by Zuckerberg and overwhelmed with a sense of exactly what it takes to be number one.

As writers, we all have different goals.  Mine are huge and crystal clear to me; I’m aiming for the top of the New York Times Best Seller List and for Hollywood, two exclusive worlds where only the writers who persevere and operate in maximum overdrive attain.  Like Zuckerberg, I’m hungry to make it to the top.  Actually, after seven intense years of writing workshops, conferences, courses, critique groups and the creation of numerous manuscripts that have been shopped around unsuccessfully, you’d think that I’d throw in the towel already.  No way!  But, in fact, the sad reality is that many people do.

The reason why people don’t realize their goals is not because they aren’t good enough, but because they simply give up.  They get tired of rejection, lose focus and believe that they just don’t add up or they think that their goals weren’t meant to be, leaving their futures up to fate.  Are you one of these people?  Have you given up on your dreams…on yourself?  How far are you willing to go in order to succeed?

Mark Zuckerberg never lost sight of his vision and no matter how difficult the journey became, he continued down the path until his vision became a reality.  We as writers need to follow his lead.  If you’ve wandered from the path or just need some motivation, then I recommend that you find yourself in the nearest movie theater, digest the movie, be inspired and throttle ahead at full speed until you get to where you want to be. See you at the top!

You Just Put One Foot In Front Of The Other…

Kris Kringle and Winter Warlock Putting One Foot In Front of The Other

YAHOOOOOO!

Writers out there, I have something exciting to share. After a month of working a full-time job, which exhausts me thoroughly, tending to home and family obligations, pushing myself beyond my limits of sleep deprivation and surviving a week at home and in bed with a sinus infection, stomach virus and Strep, I have finally posted at least one entry to all four of my blogs!

I have also purchased the domain names for each of these blogs…AND I have monetized these blogs…sort of…with one dinky Amazon link at the bottom of each post that has so far earned me zilch…AND I have watched hours and hours of how-to videos on building websites…AND I have had my second meeting with the Divine 9, my fabulous writing group…AND I am still on fire doing at least one thing per day, no matter how small, just to move myself a little closer to becoming a full-time writer and living life on MY terms! I’m on the right track, I can feel it.  By the time I reach the old folks home, I should be world famous!

So, let this post be inspirational to you. Get off your butts and write! Just one thing at a time. In fact, this reminds me of one of my favorite motivation boosters…a scene from the animated movie, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.  Click on the lyrics below to hear the song and be inspired.

“You just put one foot in front of the other, and soon you’ll be walkin’ ‘cross the floor. Just put one foot in front of the other, and soon you’ll be walkin’ out the door!”

Click Here to Get Your Copy of Santa Claus Is Comin to Town at Amazon.comn

Photo Credit:  Stephanie Sandifer @ http://www.ed421.com/?p=373

William Akers Speaks To Nashville Screenwriters

Attention all screenwriters!  This is a must-have book for your screenwriting library collection. For real! 

On Monday, Will Akers spoke to members of the Nashville Writer’s Meetup at Border’s Books and Music, about his new book, Your Screenplay Sucks: 100 Ways To Make It Better.  He highlighted some of the all-too-frequent and common mistakes that his screenwriting students at Vanderbilt have been making over the years, mistakes that were the inspiration for this book.  

Will’s book is loaded with great ways to vastly improve your screenplay.  During his presentation, he produced a piece of blank paper with a glowing, red F plastered on it.  This is what Will’s students receive if their work contains any spelling errors.  He emphasized how Hollywood will toss your screenplay into the slush pile if they find misspelled words, so his most important piece of advice is to make sure you use Spellcheck before sending your screenplays to agents and producers. 

Will has been in the biz of writing and critiquing screenplays for two decades, and he’s had three of his works made.  For more information on how to get your own copy of Your Screenplay Sucks:  100 Ways To Make It Better, or if you want to follow his blog, or invite him to speak to your group, then head over to http://yourscreenplaysucks.com.

Click Here To Get Your Copy At Amazon.com

Balancing Act 101

Image by Rebecca Ford

When I launched this blog, I did so with the intention of posting something new and inspirational at least once per week. Something that would keep myself and my readers motivated to write on a daily basis. But if you look at the date of my first and only post thus far, and you do some second grade calculating, you’ll notice that I’m exactly a month and two days late.   As a teacher, I would consider this unacceptable from any of my students, and for sure they’d end up with a zero for the assignment.

One day while my brain was being inundated with a plethora of excuses for not having posted to my blog sooner, I was suddenly prompted by an idea for this week’s post, one which I am most certain that all writers who work a full-time job have experienced.   How do we create a balance that allows us to fulfill our daily responsibilities to our jobs, families and friends, and then have time to nurture our creative writing side?

I know that when I don’t find time to write each day, I’m miserable. Really! I am! Ask the people who live with me. With the exception of sending emails, I have spent less than ten hours writing during the past month, which has resulted in not only an increase in my dark chocolate consumption, but also in my resentment toward the things that take me away from my writing, i.e. a full-time job, a five day trip into the woods with fifty-five seventh graders, a two-hour round-trip, daily commute, household chores, and sleep! Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy being in the education field, but teaching children is mentally and physically exhausting, and most days when I arrive home, I require a power-nap to recharge my batteries before carrying on with the remainder of the afternoon and evening as a sane member of society.

But writing for me is more than a hobby or something that I can do every once in a while.  I need to write each day, even if it’s a small blurb.  It’s like people who need to smoke that cigarette after they eat, or people who go right for the popcorn when they enter the movie theater.  If I don’t write, I become anxious, and then as I mentioned earlier, miserable.

In order to ensure that I write each day, I finally took some time to carefully examine my daily routine.  I searched for ways to become more efficient with my time spent on non-writing tasks, and then implemented some changes that have really helped me boost my writing opportunities.  Maybe these suggestions could help you as well.

1. Arrive to Work Early. I arrive to work an hour early and I spend the entire time writing.  I’m usually the first one in the building, so it’s dark, quiet, and simply the perfect writing environment.  As a result, over the course of two years, I completed a five hundred page draft of the memoir that I’m currently writing titled, Real Teachers Don’t Drive Carts: A Spanish Teacher’s Search for Her Classroom.

2. Find Time to Rest. As I mentioned, I take power-naps during the day. In many parts of the world, this practice is built into everyone’s workday. But we Americans haven’t caught onto that wave yet, and I’m not sure that we ever will.  A power-nap energizes me enough so that I can drag my old bones to the gym, workout, and get those endorphins moving. This results in a rush of thoughts and ideas along with a burst of just enough energy that allows me to write for a short time before I turn in for the night.

3. Get a Smart-Phone. I bought an iPhone last year and I find that I spend less time in front of the computer checking email and more time writing. During those moments when I’m waiting in a checkout line, sitting at a red light, stewing in bumper-to-bumper Nashville traffic, lounging in a doctor’s office, riding six hours on a bus with fifty-five seventh graders, I can read and send emails, check phone messages in whichever order I deem most important, record story ideas digitally when they hit me without warning– like when I’m filling my gas tank–conduct google searches, and even pay my bills with online bill-pay.  The possibilities for saving time throughout your day are endless when you own a smart-phone. Of course my monthly iPhone bill is more expensive, but for me the monetary cost outweighs the time that I’d be wasting.

4. Send Yourself an Email. I do it all the time. I have been known to be in the midst of planning lessons or correcting papers at my desk when suddenly, this magnificent idea hits me from out of left field. I immediately connect to my email account and send myself the details.

5. Send Detailed Emails to Your Friends. One of my best friends is also a Spanish teacher. We tend to email each other with our teaching gripes, frustrations, and sometimes triumphs. The memoir I’m currently writing focuses on my career as a teacher, and when I get an idea that I want to write about, it’s usually something that I would end up sharing with my dear friend. So, in order to kill two birds with one stone, I send her a detailed email.  I cc myself, print the email out, punch holes in it, stick it into my binder and viola! I have a writing entry for the day.

6. Call Yourself and Leave a Message. I do indeed call myself. Yes I do! Do the men with white jackets need to take me to a white, padded room? Probably. But, when I get a really pressing idea that I don’t want to record on the voice memo for fear I’ll forget about it, I call myself and leave a detailed phone message!

7. Carry Your Manuscript Everywhere You Go. At this very moment if you were to search my big, black, leather purse, first you’d fall in, then you’d bump your head on a white, one-inch binder containing a manuscript and sticky notes.  It’s great for those unintended stops to Starbucks or when you’re just stuck waiting, for example, on a charter bus with fifty-five loud seventh graders for six hours!

Ideally, I’d like to spend four to six hours per day writing, but sometimes that’s just not realistic with my current work schedule.  At least by becoming more aware of time and attempting to be more efficient, I can ensure that I write something, even if it’s small, each day.

I’m sure there are plenty more ways to aid in balancing our writing lives with our many other lives, so I invite you to share your ideas in the comment area of this blog. Anything that can enable us to increase our time writing is always worth a try. Until next time, keep writing!

Camera! Action! Roll’em!

Photo by Rebecca Ford

After three days of educating myself about blog hosting, domain names, and how to customize a blog’s theme, which I still haven’t mastered…by the way, I have finally moved this blog from Blogger to WordPress, and have it up and running after two years of dormancy.

Yaaaahoooo!!!  Let’s get this blog started!

It only took three extremely long days of neglecting household chores and three endless nights of sifting through websites full of text, watching more than enough YouTube tutorials for a lifetime, and listening to a variety of semi-interesting podcasts, to have finally emerged from heaps and mounds of overwhelming information. Let’s just say, I’m glad it’s over and I can now start blogging!  Oh, but wait, I have three other blogs to work on yet. Check’em out in my blogroll, and don’t forget to come back here soon for updates.