Write alone

Recently, I've been doing a lot of collaborative work. It started with MICHAEL'S RESIGNATION - writing with about 10 others to get a script. In the past few months, I've been writing with Michelle. We found each other through a group on facebook and I think the collaborative work started when we had a teen, supernatural drama idea. I couldn't get along with it, so it became Michelle's project. Then I thought about doing a web show. Michelle and I did that (which developed into a full-blown TV show) then we attacked our current web idea LOL.

A few weeks ago, Gabe Cooper got in touch and asked us to work on a script with him. Complete chance that he happened to think we were the shiniest folks from the MR crew. Don't think he knew we were already writing together.

Anyway, through all this I've noticed how fun it is to work with someone on an idea. Things develop far faster and you're constantly receiving feedback in the form of encouragement and criticism. Also, if both of you think something is a good idea, chances are it is (and vice versa). Two people thinking something is good is twice as good as one right?

If you'd have asked me a year ago (when this screenwriting nonsense started for me) if I'd enjoy working with someone else on a project, I'd probably have said no. I like my ideas to stay my ideas. I don't want them messed up by anyone else. But since they're going to get messed up by directors and producers anyway, why not eh?

Ok, that's a joke, but I now really enjoy working with someone else. On my own, LOL would never have been created. A lot of ideas start and keep going in a certain direction - in your direction. But with someone else on board, there are twice as many ideas. Some stick and some get hurled out of the window and plummet to the ground, smashing into concrete and shattering into a million pieces never to be seen again. I use this overly dramatic metaphor because the ideas that are worth anything hit the ground and don't shatter. They bounce back up, you catch them, then you use them somewhere else. Not every idea suits every project.

But if you're working alone on a project, you don't get this. Instead, you use that idea in the project, write it for hours on end, then realise that it doesn't work. In a collaborative project, I believe that if you really feel strongly about something (like you really, really want that guy to punch Bob in the face rather than kick him) then you should roll with it.

But collaborative writing is a compromising situation. If one person is for and another against and neither of you will budge, then you're at a stand-still. You can't progress until you've sorted it out. I haven't experienced this yet but I expect I will at some point. I like to think that I won't get too attached to any one idea that I'll become all stubborn and such. We shall see...

Having gone through the fun perks of collaborative work, I still enjoy writing on my own. To conceive an idea, develop it, write it and keep writing it is something amazing. I have a few films that I wouldn't let anyone in on. I wouldn't want someone to help me with the project because it's mine. Suppose that can sound really defensive, but sometimes you just want to keep things to yourself.

But never forget to get everyone you know to read through something and give you their feedback. You don't have to take any notice of any of it; just smile and nod. But there's a chance that you're missing something invaluable. Something might not seem right about the idea. And because you're so close to it all, you can't step back and look at it objectively. That's where other writers come in. As I've said before, it's much easier to critique someone else's work than your own. Miles easier!

Anyway, this was supposed to be a short post that basically asked this question -

Do you prefer to write alone or with a writing partner?

I'll put this question at the side. I'm really interested in what people think, so do vote!

Later fellow writers and people with real jobs,
Neil.

MR DVD poster

Here's the mock-up poster of MICHAEL'S RESIGNATION for the DVD. Take a look and let me know what you think. Done by a woman called Remy who kicks ass!

Getting things moving

Yesterday, I blogged about all the writing I had to do. That put me in a very good mood for writing, so we can now confirm - lists are good.

I mentioned I was currently editing webisode one of LOL - the web show I'm creating with Michelle. I sat down last night and charged through it (with some beer - just to conform to the cliche of a writer). I'd already made my notes on the script so it was just a case of re-writing it. I changed some dialogue around, cut bits out and changed the ending to add more of a cliffhanger.

I then got an idea for webisode two. I stuck that in a section of the LOL Celtx file then looked at my watch......10pm. Why not? I figured why not write it? I'm one of those people who has two speeds - shit slow and shit off a shovel. I was in the mood so decided the seize the opportunity and have at it.

I started the script and wrote - while shamelessly giggling at my own lines that weren't really that funny. I didn't get that far but I know what will happen in the webisode so the rest should come quite easily.

The file is now in Michelle's hands. She'll read through my edit and notes on webisode one and chances are with one or two more edits, it'll be pretty great (for 13 minutes of screen time). Then we really need to think about the show as a whole - where will it lead? How many webisodes will there be? What will happen in every webisode? What's the series arc? Where will we be at the end of series one?

These are just a few of the questions we need to think about. Only when we're certain of this can we move forward safe in the knowledge that what we're doing is going to work.

Some writers say that they don't plan their work. They just write. It comes naturally and falls out on the page without any planning, as they write. This is all well and good and I understand it - I often have a free-writing exercise and the (limited) material that comes out is pretty good.

But that doesn't work in TV and web shows. If you don't plan, it won't work. Simple as that. In writing a TV episode, you have to know what is going to happen in each act - where are the act-outs going to be? What are they going to be? How will everything be resolved. It really is impossible to free-write an episode of TV.

This doesn't seem to apply as much with web shows. This is because the rules that apply to TV have no place on the internet. It's a new medium. There are no rules; they're still being made. There is no ordered length of a webisode. They say people won't stay tuned in on the internet for more than a few minutes, but as Joss Whedon said; if people are interested, they'll stay watching for as long as it takes for you to tell your story. DR HORRIBLE was about 50 minutes long (in three acts) and it's amazing. So basically, there are no rules. It can be as long as you like and any subject is fair game.

LOL has a very simple premise - two people (one a semi-successful actor, the other a shy, innocent novice) meet on the internet and talk about their art. That's it. Would that work on TV? No. So why would it work on the internet? Well, it's actually about the internet. The viewers will be the sort of person who spends hours browsing youtube (like every hard worker does). They're like our characters - instant relationship and an understanding.

I believe that if we write a good enough show and publicise it effectively, we can get it quite well known on the internet.

It's always good to attack the five W's when doing anything.

WHO is our target audience? - internet users (as discussed above)

WHAT is it about? - people on the internet.

WHERE is it set? - in peoples' bedrooms, in front of their computers.

WHEN will people see it? - weekly / fortnightly

WHY will people watch? - because it's funny and about them - internet users.

HOW will people see it? - it will appear free on youtube. Why wouldn't people watch it?

If you look at the answers above, they all relate to the target audience - which is always a good thing. If you have difficulty answering any of the above questions, something is wrong. Tackle it now! You have a huge problem if you can't answer the 'Why will people watch?' question. It's the most important. No viewers, no show. If you can't come up with a good enough reason for people to tune in, you're fucked basically.

So, this was supposed to be a quick post about LOL....but seemed to turn into some sort of shiny writing article. Hopefully doesn't sound too bad. Anyway, I look forward to getting Michelle's notes back on LOL and carrying on. And I will get notes - the woman is a sure thing for that! Over 5000 words? Maybe not for this one, but I know she'll present another 50 directions LOL can go in and everything will be made ten times better.

Happy writing, people.

First thing's first.

Howdy probable readers. Been a bit quiet and lazy on the blogging front recently. There's a good reason for this - I've been pretty gorram busy! Thought I'd list the things I've got going at the moment for three reasons:

1) It lets me moan. Show the sympathy people.
2) It'll help me organise and prioritise.
3) It'll become a blog post. Ha!

So here we go. Besides the normal things like uni and work, these are the writing projects I've got going:

• LOL - the web show that Michelle and I are creating. The pilot that Michelle wrote is in my hands and I really need to get it back to her ASAP so we can plan the rest of the series.
• SLAYERS - the TV show pilot I am writing for uni. Have to conform to the course guidelines, even though they're wrong! Annoying.
• DEATH OF A PUPPET - Gabriel's screenplay that could get sent off to a US producer. Michelle and I are giving Gabe a hand on it. I can't work on the story much (because of all this work) but we're planning on splitting the screenwriting between the three of us. Gabe is a realist. He's a good writer and excellent storyteller but he wants to make sure he gets the film just right. Hence asking for our help. I'm amazed at how open he is to our ideas. He has a shiny ability to detach himself from his work and stay focused on the goal.
  
• MICHAEL'S RESIGNATION - we're storming ahead with MR now. There are currently a few....issues that need resolving but worry not - everything is fine. Keeps me busy though with managing the fan group (keeping everyone up to date). Alex has asked me to help direct the action scenes (since I wrote them) so if I can be there for filming, I should be.
• GHOULIES - the original web show Michelle and I created that evolved into a full-blown TV idea.
• FRAMED - the half-hour script I'm trying to write for the Coming Up competition. Need to get it finished and sent off ASAP but not got a first draft yet. It might have to be forgotten with everything else I'm doing. We'll see.
• CHAOS LOST - this is my epic (and gorram complicated film) that Michelle is going to help me plan and write. Taken a bit of a back seat because we're both extremely busy. But as soon as we have one of those 'light bulb' moments, we'll get moving. It's not a project I want to rush.
• EXILE - I've put this off for long enough. This is the first screenplay I wrote nearly a year ago and it hasn't been touched since. It's a terrible first draft and needs to be tackled. Time to bite the bullet.
• VISION - the TV show I'm writing the pilot for. It's not easy and I can see some flaws already. As much as I hate to say it, it might need a lot of work.
• DEAD ALLIANCE - of all the semi-formed ideas and half-written scripts in my 'Writing' folder, I'm confident this is the one to concentrate on. It's unique (I hope) and the first few pages I've written are quite good. Just need to plan the full film and get on with it.

So, not a lot to work with there! As crazy as it seems, I'm loving it. It's driving me mad but I can't work slowly. I can't be happy just doing one thing. I have to be rushed off my feet (and have no time for a social life) to get things done.

If it weren't for the fellow writers out there that are in the same boat and constantly give me support and reassurance, I'd feel all alone and probably end up giving up. Here, I'm talking about Michelle, Gabe, Alex and the rest of the MR crew. I'm lucky to have met them all and grateful they're as crazy and shiny as I am.

Happy writing, people.

Shiny short

I just had to post it once I'd watched it. It's a shiny short film (subtitled) about an ordinary guy who wishes he had superpowers. It makes for great, original, funny and thought-provoking viewing so I strongly suggest you take a look. You won't be disappointed. Enjoy.

Podcasts

I found this shiny blog a while ago - Creative Screenwriting. It's an amazing resource and you can basically listen to hours upon hours of screenwriting podcasts - interviews with the world's top writers.

The latest one is from WATCHMEN, interviewing David Hayter and Alex Tse. If you want to learn about screenwriting, this is a great resource. Or if you just care about a particular film, check it out. You can't go wrong.

Check it out here.

Say hello to your fatal flaw

The Unknown Screenwriter posted a blog recently about Hamartia - or a character's fatal flaw - and it makes interesting reading.

If you don't know what hamartia is (and I wouldn't if I hadn't studied Ancient Greek literature at school), it's basically a term coined by Aristotle meaning a character's fatal or tragic flaw. Good examples can be seen in Shakespeare's 'Othello' - Othello's fatal flaw is that he is far too rash and impulsive. He doesn't step back and think about things. As a result, he believes Iago's lies and kills Desdemona. It's important to note that these often appear in tragedies, what with the fatal flaw often resulting in the character's death.

A good example in film is DEATH OF A SALESMAN (ok, so that was a play first). In DEATH OF A SALESMAN, Willy Loman's fatal flaw is that he is too proud. He won't let himself accept that he's crap at his job. As a result, he kills himself.

The Unknown Screenwriter does a good job of explaining all about it and how it can help with character development. I suggest you check it out here.