In a brand new series on The Athletic Nerd, I go way back and examine the moments that kick started my obsession with movies. Birth of a Movie Nerd is about the movies we love, how we discovered them and why we’ll never get enough.
Movie Nerds everywhere have back stories. This series will examine the little tales that led to my love of movies, screenwriting & independent film.
The Zone is elusive and cunning. It’s stealthy and mysterious. It’s extremely difficult to capture but it’s magical when you do.
Screenwriter’s have all been there before. You sit down and stare at a blank page and everything makes sense. You know exactly what to do, how it sounds and what it will look like. You can envision the action, the dialogue and the spirit of your characters.
Before you know it, a couple hours have passed and your wrists ache as you type.
It’s the creative black out. You can’t really remember how it happened but you’ve written something you’re proud of. At this point, readers don’t mean anything. It’s just you, your words and the satisfied smile on your face.
But what happened? What was it that made the words come so easily? How was this particular day different than any other? That’s what makes The Zone so amazing. You can’t predict it. It sneaks up on you.
XTRA | The Screenwriting All-Nighter
Essentially, it’s nothing more than a steady flow of ideas. One leading to another. The story in your mind clicks and you can’t wait to write it down. So your fingers move along the keyboard. You get that excited feeling in the pit of your stomach. It’s an feeling screenwriter’s crave. Once you’re there, it’s nothing but pure creativity.
It’s always a little sad when the creative outburst ends but it’s worth it. You sit back in your chair wondering how you lost track of time for so long. How you thought of that great moment on page 12. How your characters made you laugh or cry.
The Zone.
From a screenwriting perspective, I can’t think of a better way to spend a couple hours.
While working on my new screenplay, I found myself writing a scene that was working but it wasn’t quite… there. It was interesting but it was missing something. Ironically, that also happens to be the same criticism that makes screenwriters cringe.
“It’s missing… Something… I don’t know what it is but… I don’t know just… Something.”
It’s easy to probe the reader for more on what might be missing but when you feel that way it’s tough. You have to discover the answers on your own. I found my answer looking out the windows next to my desk.
I’m fortunate enough to live in an apartment with a fairly fantastic view. It’s not spectacular by any means but it’s gorgeous compared to the garbage cans I stared in my previous home. The main living area has wall to wall windows that overlook a highway that winds over and around a huge park.
I wheeled my chair over to the window and stared, thinking about the scene and the missing piece that eluded me… Staring out the windows was peaceful and calm. As time passed, I just worked it out in my head.
I found the answer in the way the scene began or more specifically, the transition between my new scene and the previous sequence. I came up with a better way to make the transition more seamless. It forced me to start the new scene later. (Which is almost always a good thing.) It made the scene more exciting and within an instant, everything clicked. It felt write. Finding the missing piece simply required a perfect mixture of calmness, creativity and a good view.
There are always pauses when you’re writing a screenplay. Whether you are trying to come up with the perfect line of dialogue or a describing a difficult action sequence, there are always ponder moments. Moments when you challenge your imagination to come up with that something that’s missing. Something that clicks. Something better.
Some days, the answers come easy. For the days they don’t, I’m happy I have my window. The answers are usually out there somewhere.
Click here for more Screenwriting.
I was bound to cave sooner or later…
After months of recommendations and glowing reviews from my friends, I finally decided to give Game of Thrones a shot. Whoa. I now regret waiting as long as I did. The show is absolutely phenomenal and I’m very proud to consider myself a part of it’s rapidly growing fan base. Especially with the newest (and amazing) trailer for Season 2 working it’s way around the web this week.
Over the last week or so, I powered my way through the exceptional first season while avoiding spoilers from virtually every fan I know. At the same time, I read a lot about the books on which the series is based. It’s a pretty fantastic world that author George R. R. Martin created.
What’s impressive about the television series is how well they established the world and the multiple story lines. It’s not easy creating a brand new world full of new characters, locations and cultures on the small screen. That’s part of the charm of Game of Thrones. By the end of the second episode, I was hooked and completely addicted to Winterfell, The Wall, The Starks, The Lannisters and the Iron Throne.
XTRA | Link, Zelda, Hyrule, Middle Earth & Screenwriting
Something funny happened as I watched the first season. I found myself looking forward to the opening credits sequence at the beginning of each episode. Beyond that, I found myself humming the song constantly while I thought about my latest screenplay. The song fit very well into an action script I’ve been developing. I don’t mean to suggest that the opening theme could find a place in the movie someday. I simply felt inspired to write whenever I heard that song. I helped me get into my world and think creatively.
It’s funny how fate can sometimes step in when you are writing a new screenplay. Perhaps I was meant to delay watching the series until I was ready to write my new script? I like to think I was destined to fall in love with that theme and use it as a spark in my own writing.
Inspiration comes in many forms. Whenever something that triggers my creativity comes along, I try to seize every moment and write as much as I can. My new script has absolutely nothing to do with swords, knights, Lords or Kings. Yet here I am, playing the opening to Game of Thrones over and over again and writing…
It’s a good thing the show is amazing too. Win Win!
Do you connect songs to your screenplays? What other influences do you hold close while you write? Music? Art? Other screenplays? Movies? Television shows?
XTRA | How Diddy’s ‘Coming Home’ Inspired My Latest Screenplay
I had to wake up this morning at 6 AM to take my dog to get his hair cut. That might sound awful to most but I consider myself a morning person even though I normally work late. Personally, I think waking up before the sun rises is the best time to write screenplays.
So while I was getting ready, I decided to challenge myself to come up with something new. It could have been anything really. A short, a feature, a concept or simply a main character would have sufficed… I had nothing or at least nothing I would consider good. Every idea I came up with was either something I had already seen or something I had no interest in seeing and that’s never a good thing. Sick of coming up with good ideas for a screenplay, I decided to switch gears and come up with a horrible screenplay idea.
This technique may sound counter-productive but it’s not. It’s just as difficult to come up with a bad screenplay idea if you set out to do so. The whole point is to be creative and get your mind working. (Especially if it’s 6 AM) Within minutes, I was making myself laugh with my horrid storyline and the cheese ball action hero I created. I called my bad screenplay idea:
The story is set in 1972 inside a mental hospital that houses diabolical super genius Pinter. One day, he somehow manages to medicate the head of the hospital in order to retrieve information on a top secret formula that induces violent behavior in patients. He uses this to create an army and escape. Opposing Pinter is a lonely police officer, Bruce, who has just finished a night shift and is on his way to visit his dying wife. Pinter and his army arrive to ‘diagnose’ more people and Bruce is the only one who can stop him.
The only reason I’d want to see this movie is so Bruce can stand before Pinter and say things like:
I’ll make a mental note of that!
And Pinter would reply:
… Go ahead!
See I told you it wasn’t very good. However, while I was figuring out how my main villain would meet his end, I came up with a new idea for a short film that I liked. And it’s all because of a mental hospital, a secret formula and a cheesy catch phrase.
Click here for more posts on screenwriting.
