The Aspiring TV Writer and Screenwriter Blog

Go see Unscreened!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:24:00 +0000

Sunday and Monday Nights at 8 PM from Feb 6-27
Tickets: $25
Reserve your seats here or call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006
More info at www.fireflyinc.com
Facebook event page

Unscreened is a lively evening of new short plays - at turns funny, insightful, inventive and biting - by some of Hollywood's fastest-rising writers and featuring a multi-star cast.

This year's writers are:
Anna Christopher
Michelle Morgan
Dahvi Waller
John Whittington

Cast includes:
Chris Klein
Josh Fadem
John Forest
Minerva Garcia
Jasper Grey
Will Greenberg
Anne Gregory
Ryan Harrison
Steven Klein
Abby Miller
Tig Notaro
Noah Segan
Maria Thayer

Directed by:
Anna Christopher
Susanna Fogel
Michelle Morgan
Robbie Pickering

Produced by:
Jordana Mollick
Brendan Bragg
Natalia Duncan
Steven Klein

Set Design:
Joel Daavid

Lighting Design: Derrick McDaniel

Costume Design: Karina Torrico

Stage Manager: Miguel Flores

Tuesday links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:03:00 +0000

'New Girl' creator Liz Meriwether talks realism and rom-coms [LA Times ShowTracker]

The Bad-Ass Bard: John Logan realizes a life-long dream by adapting Shakespeare’s macho drama Coriolanus [WGA.org]

'Gossip Girl' Cast and Producers Reflect on the CW Drama's Road to 100 Episodes [THR]

'Man on a Ledge' Screenwriter Takes a Long, Winding Road to Success [THR]

Interview: 'Justified' showrunner Graham Yost on villains, arcs and life without Mags [Hitfix]

Is your straight man too straight?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:41:00 +0000

A common problem is comedies is a boring protagonist. Often we see a show full of quirky, absurd characters through the lens of "normal" person or "straight man" who communicates the audience's point of view - but that person is just boring compared to the fun weirdos.

One thing I love about 30 ROCK is that Liz Lemon is kinda sorta supposed to be the straight one...except that in this world, the straight one is off-kilter and weird too. Thus, I give you Sh*t Liz Lemon Says:

30 ROCK airs Thursdays @ 8/7c on NBC.

Tuesday Links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:24:00 +0000

Is Twitter Helpful for Showrunners? HRTS Panelists Don't Think So [THR]

Smash: Broadway's Big Prime-Time Moment [NY Times]

Creative Minds: 'Gifted Man' producer Neal Baer talks TV doctors [LA Times Show Tracker]

Celluloid Ceiling: Women Comprised Only 5% of Directors in 2011 [The Wrap]

Official Oscars Nomination List 2012 [Oscars.org]

5 Questions with Xander Bennett

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

Xander Bennett, writer of Screenwriting Tips, You Hack, was kind enough to answer 5 questions for us:

1. How did your book come about?

Writing a book was never on my agenda... until one day when Will Akers, the author of my favorite screenwriting book of all time (Your Screenplay Sucks), emailed me. Will said words to the effect of, "Dude, I love your blog. You totally have a book here."

I was incredulous at first. A book? That sounded like hard work. But Will was convincing. He told me to write up a proposal and some sample chapters, which he would then help send out to his publishing contacts.

The first place we tried was Focal Press. Will told me: "They're the Cadillac of academic film book publishers. But it's worth a shot!"

They bought it instantly. Suddenly I had an editor, an advance and a deadline. Just like that, I was writing a book. Perhaps it was destiny?

2. What is the number one most common mistake you see in the screenplays you read?

I think I give a different answer to this question every time someone asks me. :) Today, I'm going to go with...

Your protagonist is the least interesting character in the script.

You'd be amazed how common this is for beginner writers. You see these scripts where the villain is fascinating, the love interest is sexy and mysterious... and the protagonist just sits there like a lump of coal. It's as though the writer had all these ideas for interesting scenes, plot points and side characters, and the main character's job is to go meet and experience all of them. Instead of being the force driving the action, the protagonist becomes a passenger on a rollercoaster ride.

This is incredibly prevalent in comedies, especially buddy comedies, bromances, raunchy dude comedies, etc. Often, the protagonist is a straight-arrow Everyman, and his best buddy is a hard-drinking, loudmouthed womanizer with a complicated past. It quickly becomes apparent that the screenwriter prefers writing the buddy, because that character gets all the best lines, initiates all the conflict and sometimes has the biggest arc. At that point, guess what? You've got the wrong protagonist, and now your entire structure is screwed.

Wait, can I pick two answers? The other most common mistake is a bit of a sad one: Your premise isn't commercial enough. There's nothing you can really do about this one except write it, get it out of your system and start again with a better idea.

3. What is the best piece of writing advice you've ever gotten?

That would be my Tip Number Zero, the piece of advice with which I opened both my blog and my book:

Don't be boring.

I stole that from Matt Fraction. Apparently, it's written on a post-it note which he keeps permanently stuck to his laptop.

I think there's a lot of wisdom in those three words. It really gets to the core of storytelling and why we're actually doing this. It's the ultimate reminder that the audience is listening, and they want to hear you say something interesting. You can be a lot of things as a writer -- long-winded, unfunny, chaotic, angry, incoherent, offensive -- but so long as you're not boring, there's hope for you.

4. What is your favorite movie from 2011, and what writing lessons do you think we can learn from it?

My top movie for 2011 was DRIVE. It's a beautiful film, at once complicated and uncomplicated. There's so much going on under the surface, and it subverts your expectations in a hundred different ways. Also, the soundtrack is pure joy in audio form.

What I learned from DRIVE was: trust the moment. If you've created a genuinely powerful emotional moment, don't ruin it with dialogue. Don't fear silence -- silence is your friend. Trust the actors to play it out, and trust the moment to carry the emotion through.

5. What is going on with your own writing (if you have any info you can share)?

I'm keeping busy. I have a few projects in development with a few different producers, and my managers and I are hard at work on a new feature spec. I may or may not have a super-secret comic book project in the works. Plus, my one-hour cable pilot from last year is still floating around out there, making friends and influencing people.

More screenwriting books

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:30:00 +0000

Since my last post about screenwriting books, I've had a chance to read a few more:

Getting Past Me: A Writer's Guide to Production Company Readers by Mindi White
As a reader myself, I was excited to read Mindi's tales from the trenches. She offers a lot of good general advice in addition to elaborating upon what readers actually do. Her prose is accessible, if bland - and I think what's missing from this lean, 74-page guide are specific anecdotes/scripts/movies that illustrate her points. I understand that she probably can't divulge secrets about what she's read - but I wish she could have. One section rang particularly true for me:

Sometimes sexism comes through in very subtle forms, such as portraying all the women in a script as very passive while all the men are active... Another possibility is that the women need to be rescued.

Sexism is noticed by readers, men and women alike, and none of us think it is okay.

There is discrimination against men... I have read two of these, and I pointed out that they were sexist. The vast majority of sexual discrimination, though, is against women, and that is, as a rule, far more violent.

For better or worse, the book is not a guide for how to write a screenplay; it's more of a What-to-Avoid guide.

Screenwriting Tips, You Hack by Xander Bennett
A much more comprehensive book written by a reader, Screenwriting Tips, You Hack elaborates upon close to 200 tips from the popular micro-blog that's now under the umbrella of The Black List. These great tips are compiled into helpful chapters on outlining, characters, ideas, rewriting, etc., which makes the book great for referencing when you've hit a particular roadblock in your writing. It also features a ton of helpful real-life examples, from Top Gun and Forrest Gump to Groundhog Day and Breaking Bad. Bennett's experience as a reader definitely informs his effective prose, but the book is filled with suggestions as opposed to complaints.

Here's just one helpful snippet:

But what if you're writing a "hybrid" genre? A horror-comedy, "dramedy," sci-fi western, or something along those lines? ... Hybrid genre films tend not to do as well as straight-up, pure genre flicks - not because audiences are stupid, but because marketing is hard.

A hybrid is harder. In the case of, say, a horror-comedy, marketing teams will sometimes create multiple trailers: one emphasizing the comedy, the other emphasizing the scares. This approach can result in audience confusion regarding what kind of movie they're actually going to see.

But that confusion can really be traced all the way back to the film's initial writer. It's simply harder to maintain a coherent tone when your script is a mashup of multiple genres.

Screenwriting Tips, You Hack is definitely a book that can help you think about your script in a new way - or help you get started on your first script!

The Starter Screenplay by Adam Levenberg
Adam, an executive-turned-consultant, has written an informative book that focuses on a very specific topic: writing that first screenplay that will get an agent or producer interested. What are you missing? I often tell new writers to keep it simple (zero in on a single protagonist and avoid intersecting-lives scripts, for example) - and Adam has provided a number of other tips for establishing attainable goals in your early screenplays. He offers up plenty of examples to think about when you brainstorm a high-concept idea, craft an extroverted hero and write a memorable opening. Adam also discusses topics I know a lot of you worry about: consultants, agents, contests, pitchfests, scams, etc.

Beyond Screenwriting: Insider Tips and Career Advice From a Successful Hollywood TV and Film Writer by Sterling Anderson
The cover page is suspect, but the author is legit; Anderson has written for The Unit and Medium, in addition to selling several feature screenplays and teaching at USC. He covers structure, outlines, characters, loglines, pitches and more. Something you won't find in other books is his Missing Writer's Manual, a guide to working in a writer's room in a TV show. "No books, articles, or mentors prepared me for my first experience in a writer's room on a successful one-hour drama," he writes. "Following are some questions and answers that would have helped me."

Writing the Comedy Blockbuster: The Inappropriate Goal by Keith Giglio
I found this book particularly interesting since I write comedy features. Giglio, who has sold over 20 screenplays, focuses specifically on mainstream, commercial, high-concept comedies (which any of us who want to make money want to write). He posits that protagonists in comedies undertake "inappropriate goals" in movies, like crashing weddings to sleep with girls...sound familiar? Beyond this concept, the book discusses characters, conflict, dialogue, stakes, and the hardest thing of all: comedy. Breaking down where comedy comes from isn't always the easiest thing to do...and this book offers a ton of examples to help you start analyzing instead of just laughing. You'll be armed with advice and a huge list of comedies to add to your queue.

Tuesday links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:25:00 +0000

Q+LA: Julian Fellowes of Downtown Abbey [LA Times Magazine]

Killing the Messenger: Veena Sud's investigative team dramatizes a new style of murder [Written By]

How Directors Choose Films (video roundtable) [LA Times - 24 Frames]

John Landgraf (President of FX) Talks POWERS, ANGER MANAGEMENT, AMERICAN HORROR STORY Season 2 and Beyond, and More [Collider]

And because I adore COUGAR TOWN: "Cougar Town" replaces Axed "Work It" [The Wrap]

Nerdist Writers Panel this Sunday!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:15:00 +0000

Nerdist Writers Panel
Sunday, January 15th @ 5 pm

Meltdown Comics
7522 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046

Learn the ins and outs of TV writing with your host, Ben Blacker, and a panel of writers:
Dana Gould (The Simpsons)
Liz Tigelaar (Revenge, Life Unexpected)
Robert Hewitt Wolfe (Alphas)

Cost: $15
Click for tickets

Tuesday links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:02:00 +0000

How Many Stephen Colberts Are There? [NY Times]

New Girl's New Girl (interview w/ Liz Meriwether) [WGA.org]
"The stories never work until we find that emotional spine."

Writers on Writers: Eye on the Oscar 2012 [Variety]

George Lucas on The Daily Show: Why black films can't get studio support [TheDailyShow.com]

Gavin Polone in New York Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:44:00 +0000

If you aren't already reading Gavin Polone's column in New York Magazine, you're missing out. The producer of Zombieland and the new ABC Family series Jane By Design (among other things) has covered topics from bloated movie budgets to our inexplicable attraction to the Kardashians.

How to find a writing partner

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

David writes: I've just started writing screenplays for the first time and am hoping for insight/suggestions on how to look for a writing partner. I'm new at this, though am reading a ton to educate myself.

Most writing teams I've met paired up organically. Friends from college, friends of friends, old coworkers, writing group members, etc. But if you're new to LA (or NY), I don't think it'd be impossible to seek one out. In addition to all your reading, you might take up a writing class at a place like UCLA extension (which could also be a place to meet a writing partner). For comedy writers, UCB offers classes in both LA and NY. In Chicago, check out Second City. You might also meet like-minded aspiring writers at events like writing panels held at The Paley Center, Arclight, WGAw, WGAe, etc. (See "events" at right.) Getting a job in the industry is another way to meet fellow aspiring writers. And there's always Craigslist...

Remember that you'll have to share all your script sales with your writing partner - and teams don't make double the money that solo writers make. Also, you won't be able to use a team sample to get an individual writing gig, or vice versa - so be sure about your partner (or be willing to retire your team samples and write your own solo samples later).

Don't expect a more experienced writer to pair up with a novice; good teams usually have equal experience, work ethic, etc...though I've heard of good writing partner relationships in which one writer is the structure expert, for example, while the other excels at dialogue.

Readers who have partners: how did you meet?

Screenwriting lessons from my favorite movies of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Instead of crafting one of those dreaded top-10 lists, I've decided to write what I learned about screenwriting from some of my favorites of 2011 (in no particular order). What have you learned?

Mild spoiler alerts below!

50/50
I loved a million things about this movie, but I especially liked that it was equal parts funny, sad and heartfelt. Comedy CAN be found in traditionally unfunny things, especially if you know a lot about a world or experience and feel it's your story to tell.
Download the 50/50 script PDF

Crazy Stupid Love
Never underestimate the power of a good twist! Genius Dan Fogelman laid the foundation of Emma Stone's real identity so that it was surprising but still made perfect sense. Sometimes in comedies and romances I think we forget about plot twists, which can be created by manipulating the audience's assumptions.
Download the Crazy Stupid Love script PDF

Like Crazy
I blogged about this before, so forgive me if you already read it...but this movie really got me thinking about the ever-discussed character arc. I had boxed myself in by thinking, "The character must learn a lesson" when perhaps it's more helpful to think, "the character must transform." The difference between Felicity Jones in the first scene and Felicity Jones in the last scene is absolutely heartbreaking - and a testament to her performance.

Young Adult
Perhaps society is ready for an unlikable female protagonist after all. I think this movie worked because it was ever-so-obvious that you're not supposed to like Mavis. But more than that, Young Adult may be a lesson in theme: everything in this movie emulated Mavis' ongoing adolescence, from her E! TV habits to her food choices to her Hello Kitty shirts. Also: nebulous, dark endings can work. Moving on doesn't always mean happily ever after.

The Descendants
Setting is so important! I am constantly telling people to be specific and actually USE the setting they've chosen. When I finish your script, I should be able to see where it is and understand why it's set there. In The Descendants, the Hawaii landscapes provided beautiful shots as well as a rich thematic discussion of what "paradise" is like on the inside versus the outside. How does your setting exemplify your theme? This movie was also an interesting exploration of grief, which can be a terribly inactive and boring emotion to watch onscreen. Instead of a story about a man losing his wife, this movie was a story about a man coming to terms with his dying wife's affair. It was complicated and different, and gave him active things to do.
Download The Descendants script PDF

Bridesmaids
HIT MOVIES CAN BE ABOUT WOMEN.

Also, sometimes a big movie can spring from a small, emotional idea. At its core, this movie was about losing your best friend to her future husband. Growing up. Accepting that things can't always stay the same. Pairing this emotional journey with the ticking clock of the upcoming wedding gave us big comedy set pieces. Interestingly, Bridemaids wasn't the movie many of us expected; they never did make it to Vegas. I think the big "female Hangover"-esque romp that this movie was marketed as could have been fun too...but maybe the fact that this was a fairly small, bittersweet friendship story is why we all liked it so much.
Download the Bridesmaids script PDF

Cedar Rapids
This is another example of the importance of specific settings. The mundane Midwesternness of the location informed every single scene. Also, John C. Reilly's character was beyond entertaining...please write a Dean Ziegler into your script! Now that I'm thinking about it, this movie also demonstrates that conflict doesn't just come from the antagonist. Ed Helms' pals got him in just as much trouble as the evil Kurtwood Smith did. Lastly, stakes come from how much something means to your character. Maybe the Two Diamonds award isn't a big deal to you, but it was a big deal to Ed Helms.

No Strings Attached
Make your B-plots visually entertaining! I loved the Glee-like sets where Ashton worked. This movie also had great character details; Natalie's job as a doctor softened her otherwise tough exterior, and all the supporting characters were funny and specific. Also I want be Liz Meriwether and create hit shows and call bitches pumpkins.
Download the No Strings Attached script PDF

Horrible Bosses
Uncertainty is your pal. What uncertainty is pulling us through your story, making us wonder what will happen by the end? In addition to the hilarious dialogue, Horrible Bosses offered up a number of questions that made the story unpredictable: Will they go through with this plan to kill the bosses? Will all three of them go through with it? Maybe just one or two? Will any of them get caught? What complications will they encounter on the way?
Download the Horrible Bosses script PDF

Martha Marcy May Marlene
Want to craft an exciting role for an actor? Give your character an unsettling truth or trauma hidden underneath layers and layers of tension. In this movie, every scene peeled back another layer - but Elizabeth Olsen could never quite communicate her complicated feelings.
Download the Martha Marcy May Marlene script PDF

Midnight in Paris
This movie was just fun. Magical. Wouldn't it be exciting if you could meet Hemingway? Movies aren't real life; they're better. Do something you can't do in real life.

Moneyball
I have zero interest in sports or baseball and I loved this movie. It wasn't about baseball, it was about a guy who had to do the impossible. Give your character an absolutely impossible task and see how he or she tries to accomplish it. Also, isn't Peter Brand the coolest supporting character ever?
Download the Moneyball script PDF

The Muppets
Self-reflexivity is hard to pull off - but when it works, it's delightful. Maniacal laugh, maniacal laugh.
Download The Muppets script PDF

Source Code
This was one of the most underrated movies of the year. Study it for its clever structure! I loved that Jake Gyllenhaal had competing goals and couldn't really try to accomplish them both simultaneously. This movie was also impressive in that we saw the same scenes over and over without getting bored.
Download the Source Code script PDF

Nominations open for WD's 101 Best Websites for Writers

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:38:00 +0000

Thanks to fellow blogger The Bitter Script Reader for putting this on my radar: Each year, Writer's Digest's unveils its list of 101 Best Websites for Writers. If you would like to nominate this blog (or another blog or website), send an email to: writersdigest@fwmedia.com with 101 Best Websites nomination in the subject line. Write a brief note asking for WD to consider the site for inclusion in the 101 Best Websites list and make sure to provide both the NAME of the blog/site, as well as the URL. The deadline for nominations is January 1st. Happy voting!

Jane Espenson is blogging again!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:02:00 +0000

The only reason you probably ever found this blog is Jane Espenson, a TV writer who has worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, The O.C., Gilmore Girls, Once Upon a Time & more. She used to regularly update her blog with writing advice, and one day was kind enough to link to my little blog. Eventually, Jane decided she was out of things to say. (If you're new to the blogosphere and haven't read her blog, though, you should definitely go through the archives!)

Luckily for us, Jane is blogging again - via The Huffington Post. She writes in her first post, "Is TV Writing the Best Job Ever?":

Hello, Gentle Readers. Who's up for a good blogging? I know I am! I used to blog on my own site, expounding on the art and craft of television writing. But I stopped one day when I realized that I had expounded myself into the ground. There was nothing left for me to teach. That was a few years ago, though, and since then I've learned new things and refined my thinking on a lot of the old things. Right now, I'm writing for the network hit Once Upon a Time (ABC), and for my own web series Husbands, so I'm topped off to overflowing with knowledge.

Yay! Welcome back to the web, Jane! It looks like even the pros regularly "refine their thinking" about writing. I'm glad to hear I'm on the right track.

Also, if you haven't seen her webseries Husbands yet, you can check it out here. Below is the official teaser clip:

The best screenwriting books

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 02:07:00 +0000

Professional screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin recently spoke in a podcast about the helpfulness of screenwriting books, concluding that such books are not necessarily detrimental to your development as a screenwriter, but cannot replace analysis of actual screenplays and films. John & Craig also cautioned against any book (or consultant or "guru") trying to boil screenwriting down to an overly simple, one-size-fits-all formula. (I agree that despite the psychological appeal, there is no quick scheme or solution to writing a script.) Also problematic is that many book writers and seminar organizers have few or no produced credits, leading Craig to believe that many of them operate in bad faith.

However, I think that a commenter on John's blog made the valid point that John and Craig may have trouble remembering what it's like to be an inexperienced, aspiring writer. They throw out phrases like "first act" and "midpoint," expecting that we know what they mean. Craig also suggested that a pile of books would cost about $80, forgetting about libraries. Did you know that for zero dollars, the County of Los Angeles Public Library system lets you reserve books (from their network of 88 libraries) online and emails you when they're ready to be picked up at your local branch? (Strangely, there is also an entirely separate City of Los Angeles library network.) As a cash-strapped girl who often gets stuck on a diet of whatever's left at the back of the freezer, I've found the library to be quite beneficial - and the brand new West Hollywood branch is also a gorgeous, free writing space.

John suggested that unlike screenwriting gurus who hold expensive seminars, college professors teach screenwriting in good faith. Let's look at one example: NYU currently costs $41,606 a year for tuition, room and board. So if you go for four years of undergrad, that's $166,424 for a film degree. If you move to LA after school and get an assistant job that pays $25,000 a year, I bet you'll have a pretty tough time paying off your student loans. I actually got into NYU and really wanted to go, but even with financial aid, loans, work study and a $13,000/yr merit scholarship, I was told I would still need to come up with $20,000 a year. (Apparently, I was supposed to have this on hand in a Walter White duffel bag somewhere). I'm not saying professors aren't teaching in good faith - I loved many of my IC professors, and it's not like they're pocketing gobs of cash while selling superfluous services to writers - but private film schools aren't cheap. For financial or other reasons, many writers get interested in screenwriting after college and don't know where to turn for guidance. You can start reading professional scripts (and you should), but you might not know exactly what you're looking for. Sure, some screenwriting books are complete crap, but I think books can be useful in getting you to think about screenwriting in new ways. I figure that if you learn just one helpful thing from a book, panel, blog, interview, etc., it's worth it. I certainly feel that my knowledge of and approach to screenwriting are things I've compiled from hundreds of things I've read, heard and watched.

The important thing to remember is that there is no quick fix to your writing - or your career. I often write complex notes to people and see them write back, "So, if I just switch this scene and this scene, it'll fix everything?" Facepalm. No! I just wanted you to think about your script in a new way. Often, we think of character arcs in movies as lessons character need to learn...but Like Crazy (my constant example, sorry!) made me see the arc as a study of how characters can become drastically different by the end of a movie. It's not about Felicity Jones learning to follow international visa rules, or even whether she and Anton Yelchin will stay together; it's about the fact that they will never again be the people we saw in the opening scene. The transformation is heartbreaking.

As far as careers go, people also send me emails like, "So, I just need to enter a fellowship and then I'll be good?" Facepalm again. There is no quick fix to your career. You need to write something great and get someone important to read it (and like it) - and unfortunately, both of those things entail multiple attempts, tactics and false starts. As Craig noted in the podcast, our psychological desire for certainty and simplicity is understandable - but you won't find it in a Hollywood career.

So, back to the screenwriting books. I've read many of them, and Save the Cat by Blake Snyder is definitely my favorite. You may criticize the book for demanding that screenplays adhere to a super-strict structure, but it's been a very useful tool for me. It was the first book that made me think, "Okay, this makes sense. I can do this," rather than intimidating me with lofty thoughts about the hero's journey. (But hey, read about that too!) Also, I tend to write things based on characters I love or lines of dialogue that pop into my head - and that can make me want to ignore structure. Blake's book forced me to focus on structure, in addition to giving me a practical framework for analyzing scripts and films. I have printed out the BS beat sheet and used it to break down dozens of movies. Now when I'm struggling with a midpoint, I can flip through my binder of breakdowns and look at how 15 similar movies dealt with midpoints. In Legally Blonde, the midpoint is when Reese stops trying to win back Warner and starts trying to exonerate Ali Larter. At The Holiday's midpoint, Cameron Diaz finds out that Jude Law has kids and isn't some deceptive womanizer. Both can inspire you to think about your script's beats in a new way.

Below are some of the most popular screenwriting books. If you'd prefer to buy copies so you can refer back to them later instead of borrowing them from a library, I've included Amazon links. Full disclosure: I earn a small fee if you click on any of these links and buy anything on Amazon, whether it's a screenwriting book or a Kindle or boy gamer shit. If you have found my blog helpful and were planning on buying Amazon stuff anyway, consider it an easy way to say thanks. :)

Save the Cat! The Last Book You'll Ever Need on Screenwriting by Blake Snyder

Save the Cat Strikes Back

Save the Cat Goes to the Movies

Story by Robert McKee

Screenplay by Syd Field

The following aren't specifically books about writing, but are fun and informative books about the industry:

Small Screen, Big Picture by Chad Gervich

Billion Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson's Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing by Jeffrey Stepakoff

Hello He Lied by Lynda Obst

Writing Movies For Fun & Profit by Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant

The Mailroom by David Rensin

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Feel free to comment about any screenwriting books or TV writing books you've found helpful!

Also, a quick note about my script consulting. In the podcast, Craig theorized that many script consultants start notes services because of underemployment. True! The production companies, festivals and contests I read for simply don't send me enough work to add up to an entire income. If I only needed one job, I wouldn't have five. But I like to think that my prices convey that I'm not doing this in bad faith; I'm simply making a fair and modest hourly rate. I never try to up-sell people, and I'm honest about shows I haven't watched or genres I don't like. Do I give encouragement to people whose scripts need a ton of work? Sure...but I'm also honest about whether their work would be taken seriously by professionals, and I acknowledge that we all have to start somewhere. Some of those who have asked for my notes are attempting their first scripts, and I evaluate them as such. Whether you think I'm qualified enough to offer notes is completely up to you, and I don't begrudge anyone who would rather go to someone with more than four years of professional reading experience. Most aspiring writers turn to their friends for free notes, and if those notes plus studious analysis of real scripts are enough for you, great! However, some people (in LA or otherwise) have complained to me that their friends only give feedback like "I like it" and "cool." I can't give you a simple quick fix for your script, but I can be more specific than that.

PaleyFest 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:13:00 +0000

PaleyFest 2012 takes place March 2-14 in Beverly Hills.

Individual tickets go on sale today! Events include Mad Men, American Horror Story, Sons of Anarchy, Modern Family & more!

You can also follow @paleycenter on Twitter.

Tuesday links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:18:00 +0000

Piracy legislation pits Hollywood against Silicon Valley [LA Times]

10 Screenwriters to Watch [Variety]

Americans are watching more TV than ever, but on fewer actual televisions [The A.V. Club]

The Jobs Crisis: Poor Folk Are Making a TV Comeback [The Wrap]

Screenwriter John Logan Talks HUGO, the New James Bond Film SKYFALL, LINCOLN, and More [Collider]

Video Interview: 'The Muppets' Co-Writer & Filmmaker Nick Stoller [FirstShowing.net]

Jonah Hill's Expanding Comfort Zone [NY Times]

The Death of Titles [Slate]

Top 11 in '11: TV's Funniest Women [AOL TV]

Terriers available on Netflix streaming!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:46:00 +0000

FX's one-season PI character drama TERRIERS is available on Netflix streaming! I LOVED this show...kind of an adult VERONICA MARS. Check it out:

You haven't seen...?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:42:00 +0000

I can relate to Edgar Wright, who sometimes gets chastised for not having seen popular films. From his blog:

I hope in my time I have never chastised anyone for not seeing a movie. Neither am I a big fan of the phrase “I can’t believe you haven’t seen…” accompanied by an exaggerated expression of surprise. (Case in point: When I bought the first season boxset of ‘Breaking Bad’ at Amoeba, the cashier said with a smirk “You haven’t seen this yet?”)

I basically believe that you can’t be late to a party if the party never stops.

Back in January, I did my second New Beverly season showing some of my favourite films and indeed saw some of them on the big screen for the first time. Which gave me an idea…

For my next programming stint, why not screen classic or cult movies that I have yet to see and always wanted to see on a big screen.

He'll be showing films from Dec 9-16. Check out the listings here.

Tuesday links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:34:00 +0000

Mindy Kaling writes her own script [LA Times]

Watching people watching people watching [NY Times]

Tuesday Links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 17:27:00 +0000

‘Muppets’ Screenwriter Nicholas Stoller Talks Art of Montage Writing & Abandoned Plot Lines [Celebuzz]

Gender inequality still has a starring role in Hollywood, USC study finds [LA Times]

Paynefully Funny: Academy and two-time WGA Award-winner Alexander Payne on his latest release, The Descendants, the origins of his comedic sensibilities, and what he sees as the key to writing a good adaptation. [WGA.org]

Does your conflict stem from concept?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:25:00 +0000

I'm alive! Sorry, guys. I know the blog has been a bit quiet lately. I've been working on several writing projects, doing a lot of copywriting/blogging to keep my (leaky) roof over my head, and attempting to work off a lot of restaurant food at the gym.

But I thought I would throw out at least one thing I've been thinking about lately: does your conflict stem from your concept?

I guess you can file this under the list of things that might be wrong with your script when you finish it and it's just not "right." It also relates to Blake Snyder's idea of fulfilling the "promise of the premise."

You have a high-concept idea. A compelling logline. You have plenty of conflict and obstacles. Your character wants something and has a lot of trouble getting it.

But do your obstacles stem from your concept? In Veronica Mars, the title character is a PI who's still in high school. So when she goes out on PI missions, the fact that she's a young girl is what keeps her from solving her cases. People don't take her seriously. She can't just march into any biker bar she wants. And she still has to go to school. Of course, the concept also creates plenty of fun, and grants Veronica some special abilities (since nobody expects a high school girl to be a PI)...but it also creates specific obstacles. Your concept might offer a few different kinds of obstacles; on The New Girl, conflict results from the fact that Jess is newly single, and also that she lives with three dudes who don't really know her or understand her. Especially in the beginning, it wouldn't make sense for a New Girl ep to be about Jess having problems with a student at work, you know? Her problems come from being newly single and living with three dudes who don't really know her or understand her. In this week's ep, she brought home a date (Justin Long) - and the conflict stemmed from her new roomies trying to get along with him. Along these same lines, if you're pitching a show, you want your episode ideas to be stories that come directly from your concept - not stories that could be told on any show on TV. I came up with a ton of episode ideas before it really clicked that they weren't specific enough to my show (and concept).

The same goes for movies. In Like Crazy (have I told you that you have to see this movie?!), two characters attempt a long-distance relationship. With an 8-hour time difference, they're never around for phone calls. They aren't together to celebrate each other's career developments. Relationships can have plenty of conflict - but this one's specific conflicts come from the fact that the couple lives apart. Like Blake Snyder says, you want to fulfill the promise of your premise...so if you tell us the movie is about witches getting trapped in a prison, we'd better see a lot of set pieces of witches trapped in a prison.

Perhaps this all sounds obvious...but it took me a little while to figure this out. If you have a decent concept and plenty of conflict, you might miss the fact that the two aren't connected.

Tuesday links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:23:00 +0000

The Secrets of Hollywood Agency Mailrooms [THR]

Universal Chief Ron Meyer Addresses VOD Fiasco, Admits Cowboys & Aliens, Land of the Lost, Wolfman Kinda Stunk [Movieline]

Sitting for hours on end can put you at risk for breast, colon cancer: research [NY Daily News]

'Harold and Kumar' writers on the art of offensive comedy [LA Times]

Hunter and I: Withnail and I writer-director Bruce Robinson channels a kindred spirit, the legendary Hunter S. Thompson, to script his rendition of the gonzo journalist’s first novel, The Rum Diary. [WGA.org]

Comedians Sound Off On Louis CK's Latest Funny Business [Fast Company]

Intern Sushi & Laugh Factory Present: The Business of Comedy Panel

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:37:00 +0000

Next Monday, Intern Sushi is hosting a FREE panel event at The Laugh Factory.

Host: Mark Gordon
Panelists:
Heather McDonald, Comedian, Writer & Story Producer, Chelsea Lately
Erik Baiers, VP Production, Universal Pictures
Julie Darmody, President of Management, Mosaic
Stuart Cornfeld, Partner, Red Hour Films
Daron Moore, Director of Marketing, The Laugh Factory

The panel will be followed by a one hour standup comedy show, featuring T.J. Miller, Deon Cole, Melissa Villasenor and more!

Date: Monday, Nov. 14th at 7:30pm
Location: The Laugh Factory - 8001 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood
It's FREE, but RSVP is required: internsushi.eventbrite.com
Limited tickets available.

Tuesday links!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:15:00 +0000

No film has affected me this year quite like Like Crazy... go see it.
Interview: 'Like Crazy' Director Drake Doremus on Filming Romance [FirstShowing.net]

Young Hollywood: How 40 became the new 30 for actors [Slate]
The average age of female Oscar winners, after remaining steady for almost half a century—40 in 1960s, rising slightly to 41 in 1970s, 41 again in 1980s, 40 in the 1990s—in the 2000s dropped to 35 for the first time, pulled down by wins for Charlize Theron (28, Monster), Reese Witherspoon (29, Walk the Line), and Natalie Portman (29, Black Swan). And those are Oscar wins, not nominations, the culmination of careers, not their beginnings.

Interview: 'Happy Endings' producers David Caspe and Jonathan Groff talk Halloween, friendship and more [HitFix]
Caspe offers an honest, interesting perspective on the similarity among shows premiering at the same time: Obviously, when I pitched the show, all those others were being sold simultaneously. None of us were aware of each other. I know that from the outside, some of the reception was, "Oh, that's the thing to do this year," but that's not how it works. I was completely in a vacuum, and unaware of what's being pitched, and the people on those other shows were the same way. So not until things start to air did I realize, "Uh-oh, there's like 5 or 6 of them coming out." Then there is the concern, especially because we aired last, I believe. If you count 'Mad Love,' 'Perfect Couples,' 'Traffic Light,' only 'Friends with Benefits' came on after us. I felt the writing on the wall and felt we were going to have a tough road. I didn't quite realize how tough it would be, and some of that's my inexperience in television. And then there were some things that I kind of wasn't aware of. I thought a guy getting left at the altar to start a show was an interesting way to start a pilot, and I think people felt it was too similar to Jennifer Aniston's character running away from the altar. To be honest, I haven't seen the pilot of "Friends" in a long time and didn't realize that similarity. Once one thing went against us, everything looked even worse. I look like I ripped a show off even more. But it is what it is, and we just keep plugging away and trying to make funny shows.

Producers and Executives at Odds as the Sweet Studio Deal Dies [THR]

The State of the Studio Deals: Who's Doing What Where [THR]

The Script Writer for 'Anonymous' Defends His Controversial Movie [The Atlantic]